Pieces Of Art That Make Me Think Of MWPP Era Characters - Remus Lupin Edition

Pieces of Art that make me think of MWPP era characters - Remus Lupin edition

Fariha Róisín / Grzegorz Gwiazda / Clarice Lispector / Henrik Uldalen / Neil Hilborn

More Posts from Lrs35 and Others

lrs35

4 years ago

2021 really said yes to books with:

sports sapphics,

time traveling wlw,

murderous sapphics + dorian gray

bi women dating soft boys,

fake dating desi lesbians,

great gatsby retellings with queer asian girls,

f/f slavic enemies to lovers,

gay women + peter pan retellings,

grumpy/sunshine + lesbians of color,

bisexual con artists & trauma recovery,

queer tsoa inspired fantsay set in china

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lrs35

3 months ago

snoopy of the day

Writing an argument.

Everyone’s process for this is a little bit different, but here’s a look at mine, which has helped me reach the best end result (after many failed argument scenes in the past):

1. Dialogue. I like to write this as a script of sorts first, playing the scene in my head and only writing down the words and some vague comments regarding what the characters might be experiencing or doing. I leave breaks in the dialogue where the characters naturally pause from build ups of emotion, and add in all the em-dashes and ellipsis my heart desires (despite knowing a lot of them won’t make it through the reread, much less the final draft.)

2. Action. Not only does having your characters do things while they argue make the whole scene feel more realistic and plant it within the setting, but it also provides a great way for your characters to express things they don’t have the words to say. These “actions” can be facial expressions and body language, movement, or interaction with the objects in the setting, such as gripping a steering wheel too tightly or slamming a cupboard or tensely loading a gun.

3. Emotion. I save this for last because I find emotion very hard to write into narratives, but no matter when you write it or how you feel about it, feeling the pov character’s internal emotions is integral to the reader’s own emotional connection to the argument. Remember though, emotions should be shown and not told. Instead of saying the character is angry, describe what that anger is doing to them physically (how it makes them feel), and what desires it puts in them (how it makes them think.)

Other equally (if not more) important factors:

- Build tension slowly. Arguments will never be believable if the characters go from being calm and conversational to furious and biting in a single paragraph. The reader must feel the character’s anger build as their self-control dwindles, must hear the slight tension in their voice and the sharpness of their words as the scene leads up to the full blown argument.

- Vary sentence length. Arguments in which characters shoot single short sentences back and forth often feel just as stiff and unnatural as arguments where characters monologue their feelings for full paragraphs. If a character does need to say a lot of things in one go, break it up with short, emotional reactions from the other characters to keep the reader from losing the tension of the scene. Likewise, if characters don’t have bulk to their words, try including a few heavy segments of internal emotional turmoil from the pov character to make the argument hit harder instead of flying by without impact.

- Where did this argument start? Most arguments don’t really start the moment the words begin flying, but rather hours, days, weeks, even years before. If you as the author can’t pinpoint where the character’s emotions originated and what their primary target or release point is, then it’s unlikely the reader will accept that they exist in the first place.

- Characters want things, always. Sometimes arguments center around characters who vocally want opposing things, but often there are goals the characters hide or perhaps even from themselves. Think about what goals are influencing the characters in the argument while you’re writing it in order to make sure everything is consistent and focused.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to do all these things the very first draft. My arguments consistently have little emotion and even less build up until the second or third draft. As long as you return to these things as you continue to edit, the final result should feel like a fully fleshed out and emotional argument.

For more writing tips from Bryn, view the archive catalog or the complete tag!

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lrs35

5 years ago

Guide: How to Skip Time in Your Story

Few stories take place during a short, unbroken chunk of time. Most stories take place in small chunks spread out over days, weeks, months, or years, which means there will be whole chunks of time not covered. So, how do you skip the time between those chunks?

Scenes and Chapters

With the exception of some very short fiction, most stories are broken into scenes, each of which encapsulates a particular moment or event. In longer fiction, like novellas and novels, related scenes can be grouped together into chapters, though sometimes a chapter contains only one scene. Either way, because scenes and chapters focus on particular moments or events, or a related group of moments or events, starting a new scene or chapter is a natural way to represent the passage of time in your story. In fact, unless otherwise stated, readers will naturally assume that time has passed between scenes and chapters–which doesn’t mean you don’t still have to make the transition between them.

The key to skipping time between scenes or chapters is to make the transition by doing two things:

1) Set up the time skip at the end of the scene or chapter by hinting at what is to come. For example:

As I gazed out the window at January’s first falling snow, I couldn’t help but wonder what the new year would bring.

2) Clarify time, place and (if necessary) POV at the beginning of the new scene or chapter, playing off of the set up from the previous scene or chapter.

The first week of January was over in a blink, and then I found myself back at school, dealing with all the problems I’d left behind during Christmas Break.

Notice how the set up at the end of the previous scene/chapter flows seamlessly into the scene transition at the beginning of the new scene/chapter?

Because the passage of time is expected between scenes and chapters, it’s not always necessary to be direct about how much time has passed. Especially if the amount of time passing is unimportant or already implied.

Direct:

Melinda finally dragged herself out of bed, painfully aware that her entire career hinged on her ability to pull this meeting off without a hitch. She hated the uncertainty of what lay ahead, hating even more the only thing she did know for certain: it was going to be one hell of a shitty day.

# # #

Two hours later, Melinda stood in front of the board, coffee in hand, trying to exude confidence she in no way truly felt. The tired, stoic faces of eleven other men and women gazed back at her, plainly ready for whatever it was she was about to unleash upon them. She only wished she felt as ready as they appeared to be.

Less Direct:

# # #

All eleven faces of the other board members gazed back at Melinda, stoic and tired as she stood before them, coffee in hand, trying to exude a confidence she in now way truly felt. It was clear they were prepared for whatever she was about to unleash upon them, and she could only wish she was equally prepared.

In the second example, even though you don’t specifically say “two hours later,” it’s clear right away from the context that the time and place have changed. No one is going to read “all eleven faces of the other board members” and assume that they’re waiting for her in her bathroom as she goes in to brush her teeth the next morning. As often as possible, try to reserve the “two hours later” and “when she got back to the office” transitions for when the context would otherwise be unclear, or when those specific details (how much time has passed, a specific location) is immediately important.

And, if no time is passing between two scenes or two chapters, you can make that clear via context. For example, if one scene ends with Melinda falling asleep and then being woken up by a loud knock at her door, the next scene could continue with something like “Heart pounding from the shock, Melinda jumped out of bed to see who was at her door.” Now it’s clear no time passed in the next scene. But, since a new situation is beginning, it still warrants being its own scene.

Expository Time Skip

Sometimes you need to show a quick glimpse of something that happened but which doesn’t really warrant its own scene or chapter. In this case, you may need to illustrate the time skip using exposition within the scene. It may look something like this:

The first week of January was over in a blink, and then I found myself back at school, dealing with all the problems I’d left behind during Christmas Break. Not the least of which was the newly formed rift between me and Kristina, who was glaring at me from across the hallway as I spun the combination on my locker that first day back. I’d done my best to ignore her, shoveling my million textbooks out of my book bag, doing a quick check of my hair–which somehow managed to be both wet and frizzy with static–before grabbing my biology books and hurrying off under Kristina’s cold glare.

Later that day, at lunch, Michelina and I decided to eat lunch outside, even though it was thirty degrees and still snowing. Despite the wintry chill, it was warmer than the cafeteria with Kristina’s angry gaze constantly searching us out.

Terms such as: later that day, two hours later, the next afternoon, the following day, by the time the bell rang, when it was time to close, etc., allow you to show that time has passed without transitioning to a new scene or chapter. This allows you to cover smaller moments/events that don’t warrant their own space.

Whether you use a scene transition between two scenes or two chapters to show the passing of time, or whether you clarify the time skip through exposition, just pay attention to where you leave your readers before the transition/clarification, and where you take them. Make sure it’s clear, flows well, and wouldn’t leave anyone confused. Do that and you should be in good shape. :)

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