"How Do You Write Such Realistic Dialogue-" I TALK TO MYSELF. I TALK TO MYSELF AND I PRETEND I AM THE

still thinking about this youtube comment i screenshotted ages ago

cannot recommend more putting secrets and hints in your creative work that you dont expect anyone to figure out

me: *writes fic*

me: great! time to post to ao3-

ao3 summary box: *exists*

me: 

ao3 summary box:

me:

ao3 summary box: 

me:

Body type and shape

1. Lean: Having a slender and toned body with minimal body fat.

2. Muscular: Having well-developed muscles and a defined physique.

3. Slender: Having a thin and graceful body shape.

4. Curvy: Having an hourglass figure with well-defined curves, particularly in the hips and bust.

5. Athletic: Having a fit and muscular body, often associated with participation in sports or physical activities.

6. Petite: Being small and slender in stature, usually referring to height and overall body size.

7. Voluptuous: Having full and shapely curves, often emphasizing a larger bust, hips, and thighs.

8. Stocky: Having a compact and solid build with a sturdy appearance.

9. Thin: Having a slim and slender body shape with little body fat or muscle definition.

10. Well-proportioned: Having balanced and harmonious body proportions, with each body part in good proportion to the whole.

11. Toned: Having firm muscles and a defined physique resulting from regular exercise and strength training.

12. Chubby: Having a plump or rounded body shape, often with excess body fat.

13. Pear-shaped: Having a body shape where the hips and thighs are wider than the shoulders and bust.

14. Hourglass figure: Having a curvy body shape characterized by a well-defined waist and proportionate bust and hips.

15. Apple-shaped: Having a body shape where weight is primarily carried around the midsection, resulting in a broader waistline.

16. Broad-shouldered: Having wide and well-developed shoulders in comparison to the rest of the body.

17. Long-limbed: Having long and slender limbs in proportion to the body.

18. Stout: Having a sturdy and robust build, often characterized by a solid and thick physique.

19. Plump: Having a pleasantly full and rounded body shape, often indicating a higher percentage of body fat.

20. Tall and slender: Being tall in height and having a slim and elongated body shape.

if you’re ever in doubt about what pov to write a scene from, a good rule of thumb is to pick the person who knows the least about what’s going on. lots of pros!

you automatically have some level of tension in the scene, as they either struggle to figure out what’s happening or completely fail to notice it

if they know as much or barely more than the reader, the reader is learning things alongside them, which will help make exposition feel more natural

if they know less than the reader you now have dramatic irony! great for humor and/or agonizing tension

helps you keep secrets from the reader longer, since your pov character doesn’t know them either. (I mean you could also just carefully omit major info and pretend you thought it was obvious. see the Queen’s Thief series for several examples that span a whole novel!)

helps add a fun little mystery for the reader as they try to figure out those secrets (fun little mysteries are great attention hooks!)

“what’s going on” can mean anything btw, it could be the plot or the worldbuilding or another character’s motivation or the location of the buried treasure.

for best results, think about what each character in the scene wants to get out of this scene, and then pick the pov of the person who has least control over/knowledge of whether they get what they want. failing that, figure out which character has the most important secret that’s affecting the course of the scene, and write from the pov of someone who doesn’t know the secret. (the secret can be stuff like “I’m in love with you,” “I’m a spy for the spider queen,” “I’m the one who stole the muffins,” just whatever’s adding an undercurrent of tension to the conversation.)

this rule won’t be right for every occasion and you should trust your gut, but it’s served me well for years, so I encourage all you writers to consider it when figuring out how to approach a scene :)

Everything matters to me

if you’re white and wanna write a poc character and feel awkward about it i implore you to ignore any twitblr stuff treating it as a massive ethical burden and instead come in more with the same mindset you’d have if you wanted to write about idk firefighters but didn’t know anything about firefighters so you do... research. Like fuck off with the weird kinda creepy calls for spiritual introspection you’re not writing about god damn space aliens you’re writing about humans and if you think you need more perspective of different life experiences just read?

do you all see my vision here

50 WORDS TO USE INSTEAD OF “SAID”

Do you ever find yourself over-using the word “said” in your writing? Try using these words/phrases instead:

stated

commented

declared

spoke

responded

voiced

noted

uttered

iterated

explained

remarked

acknowledged

mentioned

announced

shouted

expressed

articulated

exclaimed

proclaimed

whispered

babbled

observed

deadpanned

joked

hinted

informed

coaxed

offered

cried

affirmed

vocalized

laughed

ordered

suggested

admitted

verbalized

indicated

confirmed

apologized

muttered

proposed

chatted

lied

rambled

talked

pointed out

blurted out

chimed in

brought up

wondered aloud

(NOTE: Keep in mind that all of these words have slightly different meanings and are associated with different emotions/scenarios.)