I love this
wearywanderer
theperksofbeingginny
Eh, while it’s great that these characters are independent, something about all these princesses of color not finding love at the end of their movies rubs me the wrong way. Just like how Disney patted itself on the back for a black princess but she was Frogger damn near the whole movie.
And it would’ve been a great opportunity to cast moc in romantic roles from that culture :/
^^^ I’m so conflicted because yes, always having a love interest is annoying but poc never get to have a love interest
Having the princesses of color not find love reinforces the idea that we have to strong and independent and aren’t needing of any support
But I do like it because it deviates from the norm
It might be cool if they had dudes in the movie who were interested and they had the princesses be like, “naw, I got shit to do, but maybe later!”
Cause then it would obviously be a choice, instead of a worldstate that WoC don’t get hetero love (I’m not even gonna wish for queer love).
This is actually a good example of the need for intersectional feminism.
- it is very common that white girl characters have love interests and finding love be the plot line and basis for all their stories and interactions.
- It is uncommon for a girl character of color to be seen as a potential love interest, in need of defense by a male character and/or support from a male character full stop.
This is because of the history of social devaluation of woc and infantilization of white women.
Thusly:
- it is subversive for white female characters to not have love interests for once and to focus on strength outside of male attention.
while at the same time
- is it subversive for woc to be love interests and treated with care and reverence and with support in relationships on screen.
The “norms” for two groups of women are different based on the historical interaction both groups have had to suffer under patriarchal and sexist/racist media.
This is why its okay to feel hurt and roll your eyes when you see people screaming about how michonne from the walking dead “dont need no man” because she’s too “strong” to want to be desired and cared for, while at the same time feel hurt and roll your eyes when Black Widow is suddenly too helpless to get herself free from a basic ass cage and needs to be rescued by her randomly inserted love interest.
@drwhothefuckyouthinkyoutalkinto @itsmikuisa @bougiebussy (the others dont have tagging on i dont think)
This is low key racist. Because they gave us decades of white girls falling in love until everyone got sick of it. And when they started creating princesses of color suddenly none of them want love? I guess it’s so easy now to create ‘independent’ princesses because they don’t think women of color deserve love anyway. Why not appease the white girls while reinforcing this stereotype, kill two birds with one stone!
fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment
writeworld-blog
by Liz Bureman
For those who might not be familiar with the term, a Pyrrhic victory is technically a win, but the results of the victory or the casualties incurred in the process of achieving the victory are absolutely devastating to the victor, either physically or emotionally, to the point where calling the campaign a victory is arguable depending on the observer’s perspective.
littlemonroe92
This is one of the most accurate things I’ve ever read. I wish more people could understand my personality.
nimblesnotebook-blog
fixyourwritinghabits
cathedral-spires asked:
I have a question. How can I write well- constructed "slimey," sleazeball characters like Littlefinger from Game of Thrones?
fixyourwritinghabits answered:
I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for slimy characters, both because I think they can be more interesting than frequently portrayed and that they have so much potential to be more than just plot fodder. With every character, exploring their motivations is a must, and this sadly often gets neglected when it comes to slimy characters. There’s three main things you should keep in mind.
- All characters have motivation for their actions. Your character must have a valid reason for making the decisions they do, even if their reason is despicable. Because The Plot Demanded It ruins a good deal of stories, and you want yours to do better. Whether it’s greed, jealousy, or just plain desperation, your character must have a reason for their choices.
- They probably won’t think they’re in the wrong. A character who knows the choice they’re making is wrong and feels deeply conflicted about it probably isn’t a ‘slimy’ character. One who feels justified or only a little guilty, but doesn’t dwell on it until it backfires in their face is more in the slimy category. The ‘slime’ factor is in how they feel about their actions, and if they take pride in something most people would find wrong.
- They’re still a person in the end. A stereotype does your story a disservice. Your slimy character is still human, and will need to have feelings and do some good things. This doesn’t redeem their awful behavior, but it does show that they’re not a flimsy trope.
Types of Slimy Characters
- The Betrayer. Whether it’s greed, a shot at power, or something else equally motivating, the slimy betrayer is one who clearly has other options and chooses the wrong one. Someone forced into this choice is more sympathetic than slimy, so be sure it’s entirely their choice.
- The Greedy. Greed or power is a huge motivator for slimy characters. Someone who acts purely to benefit themselves or increase their own wealth at the expense of others, especially if they’re already well-off and wealthy, is pretty slimy.
- The Status Quo. I would argue a lesser explored slimy character is one who actively fights positive change when it is so desperately needed. The problems around them don’t affect the Status Quo character, and therefore they don’t care about them. They continue to resist the change, even long after it’s clear that they are wrong.
its-a-writer-thing
clevergirlhelps
zeroofhate-deactivated20191009 asked:
So I'm trying to write a fantasy story, and I'm a bit hung up on one element of world-building. Language and names. I admit I'm not sure how one goes about coming up with fairly usual sounding names that aren't either a jumble of random sounds or just names from real-world languages. Since I'm not trying to write something with the scope of Lord Of The Rings I obviously don't need to invent new languages, but I'm still unsure of how to proceed. What would you recommend?
fixyourwritinghabits answered:
Oh man I HEAR you I am shit at names. Total shit at names. I’ve been referring to the names in my Nano story as ‘bullshit fantasy crap’ because I’m sure they will have to be tweaked later. If names are holding you back from the for-real writing stage, make a note that they’ll be changed later and charge on.
In most real world cultures, names have a very important context and are very carefully chosen. Even without that context, most parents spend a great deal of time choosing names for their kids. If you want a fantasy culture that is reflective of Chinese culture, for example, you have to research on what goes into naming children in that culture. Your naming conventions in your story are going to reflect your worldbuilding. Is there a particular religion that’s predominate? Names could stem from that. Or they could reflect on where someone is from, or a syllable is added to show which generation they were born in.
That’s all good and well, but actually creating names from scratch is the hard part. If you’re not a master at creating fantasy foreign languages and names, here are my recommendations
- Go for nice, pronounceable sounds. Don’t smash syllables together randomly in order to make it look cool, say it out loud to be sure it’s actually something people would use. Xisdhijbur is lazy keyboard smashing, try to avoid it. If you’re at a true loss, pick a real name (Maria) and change it until it seems both different and believable (Maerai, for example).
- Steal blatantly from real life. If you want to get in depth, look at a list of the most common or popular names in different languages and see what they have in common (how many syllables, how common are certain vowels, etc). You can make up different cultures based on these different naming trends.
- Avoid excessive grammar in names. There are real languages that use pausing and glottal stops (often indicated by ‘), but please don’t make names that look like Ti’pi’la’b’un. It looks silly and sounds even sillier. If you’re not confident you can use this in a way that would make sense in a language, I would avoid them.
- Consider nicknames. A lot of American nicknames favor the ‘ee’ sound - Charlie, Christy, Katie, etc. In Chinese, the most common way to make a nickname is to repeat a syllable - Mingming, Pingping, Xiaoxiao, etc. Anastasia can become Ana, and so forth. If your characters have long, grand names, a nickname is often going to be used (depending on their personality). One thing I’ve almost never seen in fantasy is the tendency of people to often share a common name. This is a good way to do that.
For more:
nimblesnotebook-blog
Anonymous asked:
You know how a good story usually has a character having to sacrifice something and then changes because of it? I'm having trouble trying to find a sacrifice and change that fits with my story. I am mostly unsure of the magnitude needed. I watched 12 angry men recently and learned that a change/sacrifice can be as small as an opinion, but I'm still lost. Do you have any insights/links that could help guide me? Thank you!
Not all good stories have sacrifices and you shouldn’t add one just because you think it’ll make your story better. There’s no guarantee of that. When we try to force certain elements into our stories, we’re at risk of hurting them.
In order for sacrifices to work, they have to be deeply personal. I can give you a few general ideas for sacrifices, but not all will be applicable to your character.
First, there are two types of sacrifices.
A selfish sacrifice occurs when a character makes a sacrifice that will benefit themselves. These characters often end up losing a lot anyway, but they lose things they already had, such as friends. The key thing to remember about this type of sacrifice is that there is some kind of benefit for the person who makes the sacrifice. Also, this doesn’t mean that your character is selfish.
A selfless sacrifice occurs when a character makes a sacrifice that is supposed to benefit others. Sometimes these characters give up something that could have been and sometimes they give up something they already have.
When you write a sacrifice, they shouldn’t need explanations for the audience to understand them fully. By this I mean show, don’t tell. When your character makes their sacrifice, whether through dialogue or action, the audience should understand that your character has just made a sacrifice. Sometimes the realization comes a little bit later because another action or bit of dialogue is needed for clarification, but don’t outright say your character has just made a sacrifice.
Types of Sacrifices: (there are some spoilers in the examples)
- Two Motives: This is one of the bigger sacrifices and how well it works depends on how you write it. Give your character two motives. At the end, they end up giving up one motive to achieve the other. Alternatively, one character can give up their motive so that another character can achieve theirs. Example: Dr. Horrible achieves his motive of joining the Evil League of Evil at the cost of accidentally killing Penny and thus losing his other motive of being with her (Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog).
- For the Greater Good: This is one of the more common sacrifices and it’s so common that it doesn’t create as large of an emotional response as it used to. Therefore, it has to be personal and heart wrenching for it to work. This is when a character gives up their life, their power, their money, their reputation, etc. for a better/larger cause. Example: Spock saves the ship, but exposes himself to radiation poisoning and dies (The Wrath of Khan).
- All For Nothing: This is when the character makes a sacrifice of some kind, only for it to be for nothing. Example: Katniss volunteers to save Prim’s life, but Prim dies anyway and the Hunger Games continue (The Hunger Games).
- The Savior: This is also a common sacrifice and, again, it’s hard to make it good because of that. This is when a character makes an impromptu decision to save someone from harm, such as taking a bullet for them. This sacrifice often results in death or injury that just happens to stop this character from reaching a motive/doing something they love. Sometimes this is premeditated. Example: When Gandalf faces the Balrog and exclaims, “You shall not pass!” (The Lord of the Rings).
- Taking the Blame: This is when a character confesses to something they did not do in order to save others. For this to be a sacrifice, this character has to be giving up something by doing this. Example: Every sitcom ever when they have that one episode about cigarettes or cheating or something so one character steps forward and takes the blame.
- Redemption: Sometimes a person is not losing anything through a sacrifice because they have already lost a lot. Their sacrifice is a way of redeeming themselves. Death is not always the sacrifice for these characters. They may pledge loyalty to someone, give up their freedom, give up their ability to do something, work for the person they wronged, etc. Example: I’m honestly drawing a blank right now.
- Opposite: Use the opposite of a sacrifice. A character might be expected to make a sacrifice of some kind, only to not follow through. Example: BoJack Horseman and his decision to leave/stay on his TV show after his friend got fired (BoJack Horseman).
nimblesnotebook-blog
Anonymous asked:
Hello! I couldn't find a question like this, but I apologize if I missed it. Anyway, is it possible to have too many elements in one story? I have 9 books planned, so I obviously need a lot 'happening' but I'm worried I have too many themes going on. Thanks!!
How to tell if you have “too much” going on in your story:
- Subplots vs Main Plot: Look at your subplots. Look at your main plot. If your subplots take up more space than your main plot or if they’re more important, you’ve got too much going on.
- Too Many Characters: If you have trouble remembering all of your main characters and all of the important details surrounding them, you need to downsize. The exception is if you’re still planning/brainstorming/plotting/writing the first draft. Too many characters can carry too many plots along with them.
- Constant Conflict: If every single part of your story is full of conflict and if your character is constantly going from one problem to another with no down time, you have too much going on. Your pacing shouldn’t stay at a constant.
- What’s Going On?: The best way to tell if you have too much going on in your story is if you, and especially your readers, can’t keep track of what’s going on because there’s just so much packed into one story. Your readers shouldn’t have to consult one of the previous books to remember a detail that is necessary to understanding the rest of the story. Your readers should be able to identify the main conflict.
If you’re having trouble deciding if there’s too much, get a beta reader. If you’re having trouble writing all of it in a coherent way, cut it down.
Of course whether your story is too complex or not also depends on how well you’re able to write it. Some writers can write several different plots and POVs without over packing their story or confusing their readers. Others cannot. Find your comfort level and don’t over complicate your writing.
nimblesnotebook-blog
the-story-bank
How to Write A Story (Without feeling like your work is awful and wanting to put your fist through a wall)
Your First Draft The “Word Puke” Stage
Don’t write anything more than plot. If you have an idea of a character, the most important thing is to just get it down. Don’t worry about errors. Don’t worry if it doesn’t make sense. The worse your first draft is, the better. A lot of people think that good writing comes from a good first draft that just gets improved. No. Good writing comes from a good idea that is written badly, and then fixed. The more lowly you think of your first draft, the more likely you’ll want to improve it.
I wouldn’t even call this a draft. I’d call it a word puke stage. Just get your thoughts on paper. Once they’re concrete, you can work with it.
Your Second Draft
Don’t worry about writing philosophical undertones to your plot. That comes next. For now, just make sure your story is coherent and has all the basic elements a story has (like fully developed characters, a beginning, middle and end) and all that that you didn’t do in your “work puke” stage. In this stage of your writing, just make sure there aren’t any errors or holes in your plot and don’t forget about adding in other elements that develop the character’s personality, actions and feelings as well as the plot!
Your Third Draft
Now you can write in deeper meanings and other philosophical undertones to your story. Fix up all the mistakes in your second draft, chop out plot holes, revise, and redo and your original idea! You should have a complete and clear plot. Your character at this point should be an “iceberg” character, meaning what’s shown in the story is only about 10-20% of what you actually know about them! The deeper you know your character, the more fun it is to write about them. And remember, the story is told through the character’s eyes, so make sure you really know them.
Your Final Draft(s)
Here’s where the serious editing takes place. This is where you add the finishing touches to your story. By this point, you should be confident in your writing and what your editing comes down to is just how you word your sentences to fit your character’s charisma and develop your plot. Every single word you use should contribute to character development or furthering the plot. Add in the finishing touches and boom! You’re done.
yourfavouritedoll