@kun1nn Requested This So I Delivered It, Hope You Like It ^^

As someone who's been a lover of traditional folk music from the British Isles for several decades, one thing I've learned is that "True Love" didn't always mean what you think it means. In the older songs, "true love" is not some mystical quality, some type of connection that is magically better than other Loves. No. A love that is "true" merely means that your Love is "true TO YOU." "True" as in faithful and loyal and trustworthy. A lover who will stand by you and with you no matter what comes. True the way a good sword is True. True the way a good knight is loyal. The contrast is "False Love," which is a lover who betrays you, who cannot be trusted.

"True Love" isn't something you find, it's a vow and a choice that you make, every day, to BE TRUE.

Harrison Wood Hsiang

"I wish we met sooner" is such a gentle sentiment. I love you so much I not only want you in my future, but in my past too. I want to have known you when we were small stupid kids, have held hands together as we played outside. I want to have stressed out over exams together, nudging a mug of still steaming hot chocolate against your elbow to get you to focus. I want to have told you I love you before I did anyone else. I want to have held you in my arms when all those sad memories you describe to me were still fresh wounds. I want my past to have been full of you, and full of meaningful memories with you. I want my past lives to have been spent with you, whether as two lovers, or two housecats cuddling by the fireplace on a snowy day, or two flowers that just happened to bloom on the same day, next to each other. I want to have consumed your existence and intertwined it with my own since my birth, never to be separated from you for a moment. I want to have loved you throughout it all, for all time.

Writing Tips

Punctuating Dialogue

✧

➸ “This is a sentence.”

➸ “This is a sentence with a dialogue tag at the end,” she said.

➸ “This,” he said, “is a sentence split by a dialogue tag.”

➸ “This is a sentence,” she said. “This is a new sentence. New sentences are capitalized.”

➸ “This is a sentence followed by an action.” He stood. “They are separate sentences because he did not speak by standing.”

➸ She said, “Use a comma to introduce dialogue. The quote is capitalized when the dialogue tag is at the beginning.”

➸ “Use a comma when a dialogue tag follows a quote,” he said.

“Unless there is a question mark?” she asked.

“Or an exclamation point!” he answered. “The dialogue tag still remains uncapitalized because it’s not truly the end of the sentence.”

➸ “Periods and commas should be inside closing quotations.”

➸ “Hey!” she shouted, “Sometimes exclamation points are inside quotations.”

However, if it’s not dialogue exclamation points can also be “outside”!

➸ “Does this apply to question marks too?” he asked.

If it’s not dialogue, can question marks be “outside”? (Yes, they can.)

➸ “This applies to dashes too. Inside quotations dashes typically express—“

“Interruption” — but there are situations dashes may be outside.

➸ “You’ll notice that exclamation marks, question marks, and dashes do not have a comma after them. Ellipses don’t have a comma after them either…” she said.

➸ “My teacher said, ‘Use single quotation marks when quoting within dialogue.’”

➸ “Use paragraph breaks to indicate a new speaker,” he said.

“The readers will know it’s someone else speaking.”

➸ “If it’s the same speaker but different paragraph, keep the closing quotation off.

“This shows it’s the same character continuing to speak.”

Writing Descriptions

I was just musing recently about this, so thought I’d share some bits about how I try to build compelling descriptions of scenes/environments. Normally I just post fan art but eh, diversifying lol.

Having an agenda

I found both reading and writing descriptions that if I don’t have an objective for them they end up feeling aimless and sometimes forgettable. I am always trying to build a narrative. It can be as simple as “this building is old/unused” or as complex as ‘contrasting a bright atmosphere with an underlying coldness as an allegory to a character’s crushing isolation in the face of their personal grief/pain’. What does every line and descriptive word contribute to what you’re trying to do? What emotions or vibes are you trying to evoke? How does every part of it tie together into a cohesive picture instead of a bunch of disparate parts?

2. Utilizing descriptions as a tool

descriptions inherently tend to center a story in a specific setting, or serve as our senses to experience the story alongside the characters — but I try to use it as more than that when possible. How you can use it may vary with what person you’re using, but even third person (what I typically use) descriptions can give you a glimpse into the headspace of your character. This can be really helpful when writing a character who isn’t very emotionally self aware, or a character who is stoic. I typically use this one of two ways.

First one is seeing through the eyes of the character. How do they see this other character? How does their emotions, history, etc affect their impressions about different settings? For example, a characters with religious trauma might have a more negative/emotionally loaded perspective when walking into a church which can manifest at different levels of subtlety within the description of the environment.

second one way is just to get the reader on the same page emotionally as a character. If the character is desperate, incorporate that emotions/vibe into your description of the setting or even of them. If they’re lonely invoke that, etc. Note that this can also be used for plot beats and not just character moments.

Also total side note, but I’d reccomend not taking any writing advice too seriously. Explore how people write their stuff, take little tidbits here and there when it speaks to you and your style, and toss aside anything that doesn’t work for you.

Putting the term "male gaze" on top of the fridge until everyone remembers that it refers to a cinematographic trend and not the act of looking at things while being a man

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we need to bring back inviting people over for cake and coffee. my grandma used to do that all the time and I think it's a lost art

Laid-back but I’m filled w passion