remember guys: pride month gives every lgbt+ person +10 in charisma but a +5 penalty in stealth
Okay, I’ve seen a huge angry response to that one line from this week’s TJ chapter. It goes as follows:
“If fanfiction is Beau’s outlet, I’m not sure I want to know what issues he’s working through.”
I laughed at this line, because it was CLEARLY a jab at the CONTENTS of Beau’s writing, NOT ABOUT THE FACT THAT HE WAS WRITING.
Unfortunately, it seems that everyone in this fandom missed the point, and the writers for PB are being attacked.
I’m going to address a few issues here.
1) “Why doesn’t PB ever promote fanfiction?!??”
They can’t. Promoting non-canon events causes fans to wonder what counts as legitimate and what doesn’t. It also brings up legal issues like copyright and fair use. Please stop badgering the writers about this.
2) WHY WOULD THEY SAY SOMETHING SO MEAN?!
Let’s dissect the statement:
“IF fanfiction is Beau’s OUTLET, then I don’t want to know what kind of ISSUES he’s working through.”
This statement clearly refers to the way Beau uses fanfiction, not just fanfiction as a whole. He clearly has deep-seated psychological problems that cause him to write strange and violent scenarios. THIS STATEMENT WAS NOT THROWING SHADE AT FANFICTION AUTHORS.
3) “PB writers hate us because we’re COMPETITION!!1!”
Ah, yes, I’m sure that the PB workers being paid to write for you are intimidated by your 38-part Drake Walker smut fanfiction. Get real, guys. Why would the PB authors see us as “competition?” I’ve had a fanfiction written about a novella I published, and I just felt flattered.
In conclusion: STOP acting as though everything PB does is a personal attack on you, guys.
Whoa! Amazing work as always! I love this so much!! 😍😍
Too adorable. Thank you for sharing it!
Casual Hana
in animal crossing when it’s raining and u spin ur umbrella and the rain flies off reblog if u agree
Hey everyone, Abby here with another writing post! Today we’re talking about those classic characters, the ones who have crushes and no idea how to act on them.
Everyone knows that one person who can’t relationship. They can’t romance and at the moment it seems hopeless, but it’s also kind of entertaining to see how things work out for them. Today I’m giving advice on how to write that character, things to do and not to do, as well as some ideas to get the inspiration flowing.
So, your character doesn’t know anything about relationships. How do we know? These things usually start off with two things: a crush and a character who has no idea what to do with it. Do they act on it? Do they not? Do they stay friends? Do they just keep staring until their crush gets the message and asks them out? (That was weirdly specific but we’re rolling with it.) Who knows? Not them.
We’re also going to remember that anyone can have no idea how to relationship. It’s not always the quiet kid in the back with the high grades and big glasses, please remember this. It can be the star of the basketball team or the girl who’s friends with everyone. It can be anyone.
Also, there’s a difference between being “good in bed” and knowing how to maintain a proper relationship. There is a huge difference. Characters like this who get into serious relationships can end up being abusive or (more likely) only in it for the sex. If the other person wants a legitimate relationship, things aren’t going to work out.
If you’re character has no idea what they’re doing, they probably fall into one of two categories. They’ve either never been in a relationship or they’ve been in multiple that didn’t make it very far. So, you could probably consider them naive when it comes to relationships. So when they get into a real, lasting one, they’re going to be in love with the idea of being involved with someone. This can often be a misunderstanding or misinterpretation; they might project that love of being in a relationship onto the person they’re with, which could lead to some major issues.
Another problem is the media. It only portrays the extremes. You never see anything in the media about people in regular relationships, they’re either madly in love or falling apart. There’s no in between, and because your character has no experience to tell them otherwise they could fall into the trap of believing that’s the way real life goes. (Hint: it’s not.) This could end up creating a lot of unnecessary drama when things are going fine, because there’s nothing you would see in the news about that and your character expects action.
I just realized I’ve made this more of a list of the negatives of writing these characters. Why not some positives?
This is a relationship, and it’s important to them. If your character cares, they’re going to do everything they can to keep this relationship in a healthy state. This could include things like random little surprises, trips to random places for some time away, things like that. These things are all considered endearing and will definitely earn them some Romance Points™.
If this character hasn’t been involved with anyone in a while (or ever) and they’re happy in their relationship, you bet they’re going to talk about it. This might include proclamations about how happy they are, how great their partner is, etc.
If your story is set in today’s world, the Internet is a thing. They’ll probably be turning to all sorts of articles to help them out, and the fact that they’re doing this is definitely a good thing. Even if they do something wrong, they cared enough to try.
So, there are some tips to follow. Just to get the ball rolling (because this topic isn’t a stranger to anyone, I’m sure) I’m going to throw in a few examples/ideas for your clueless characters.
Being afraid to talk to their crush.
Thinking about simple exchanges (saying hello in the hallways) for ten million years.
Finally working up the nerve to ask their crush out.
The intense joy that comes after they say yes.
Or the bout of sadness that comes from rejection.
Brainstorming little things to do, like making breakfast in bed or arriving to their house with a bouquet of flowers.
Intense confusion about first kisses, when they should happen, how they should go.
Long phone calls or texting late at night, being exhausted in the morning but it’s okay because at least they got to talk.
Things like this. I would probably die of a cute overload if book characters did anything like that; maybe I’m reading the wrong genre, but I don’t think I see enough of it.
Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for today. Like a lot of the topics I write about, there are plenty more pointers to give, but I think this would be enough to get you going. If there’s anything you’d like to see me write about in my next post, please don’t hesitate to leave a message in my ask. Until next time, stay lovely <333
– Settings are a tricky business in stories, whether they’re real or make-believe. For those of us who decide to choose a place that is somewhere on this Earth, we have a lot of research to do; so much that it can be daunting at first. Here’s a list to start you on the path of capturing that place on the pages.
Weather Patterns -
What it’s like when it rains
What it’s like when it snows
What it’s like when the wind blows
How the people react
Where the weather is consistent and where it isn’t
How the weather effects people and their plans
You’d be surprised how large a role this plays in society.
Culture -
Cost of living
Major subgroups
Dominant subcultures
Popular places
Trends
Slang
Fashion
Food
Politics
Accents
Populations
Geography -
Street and place names
Landmarks
Locations
Distance between locations
Transportation
Become a local from far away.
Where It Could Go Wrong - If you’re going to use a place that exists in real life, where people could potentially visit or even have grown up in, please use discretion when deciding which parts of your story in which you decide to incorporate reality and which parts you decide to make it up.
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Some examples of why the Oxford comma is generally a good idea
Sofia. She/her. Writer, thinker, listener, trans woman, and supporter of the Oxford Comma.
172 posts