No One Is Instantly A Perfect Student. It’s Well Known That ‘’perfect’’ Studying Requires

Take me to an art gallery

despite all my saddened rage i am still just a girl in her room watching her silly little films, reading her silly little books, listening to her silly little playlists

idk if it’s the mental illness but sharing literally any information feels like oversharing. i’ll be like “i skipped breakfast this morning” and immediately im like “i might as well have told them where i buried the money”

Any advice on back and forth dialogue? Like properly portraying an argument? I think all the spaces will get bothersome to the reader...

(Since arguments are the hardest type of back and forth dialogue to master, and other dialogue follows the same structure but in a more flexible manner, I’ll focus on arguments specifically…)

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!

i just think they are always on the kitchen floor you know what i mean. like they’ve lived in this shoebox flat two months now but can’t be fucked to buy any furniture all they’ve got is a scratchy red sofa and some bookshelves and as a table they’re using a flipped-over cardboard box that’s got peeling tape and ‘records books other shit’ written on the side in blue marker it’s waterlogged and has mug rings on both sides and that’s all they have so they’re just sitting on the kitchen floor sleep-rumpled in pjs eating their toast in the morning and sitting on the kitchen floor in silence after moons and missions covered w dirt and blood and bruises and some nights they’re sitting on the kitchen floor passing a bottle of cheap liquor between them and they’re laughing and listening to records and sharing a joint and the window is open w a breeze coming through and also sometimes they’re sitting on the kitchen floor eating cereal in the middle of the night w their knees touching sneaking little glances at each other and other times they are fucking on that kitchen floor and other other times they are just quietly saying i love you. on the kitchen floor.

hiii rae!!! so i wanted to ask you this since it sound like ur well versed on this topic and you seem really smart and all, but do u have any recs on what to read for topics like transmisogyny or bioessentialism? i’ve been meaning to read more abt it but I have no idea where to begin

hi!! i am definitely always learning more myself but i would be happy 2 share some recs!!

starting off with bioessentialism:

performative acts and gender constitution, by judith butler, is like. one of the most foundational texts re: gender as a social construct. it can be a bit dense to tackle if you're just diving into this stuff so i recommend taking it slow and really trying to parse through what they're saying--a lot of people sort of skim through this and just take away "gender is a performance!" which at best is a pretty broad simplification and at worst ends up being like a direct contradiction to what butler is saying lol

the logic of gender is another article that is, again, very dense but a very in-depth historical materialist analysis specifically looking at the development of gender as a social construct tied to capitalist economic structures

trans liberation: beyond pink or blue by leslie feinberg is definitely an easier read and another good place to start if you're looking for a text that challenges sex + gender categories

regarding transmisogyny more specifically:

whose feminism is it anyway? by emi koyama is an essay breaking down the logical incoherency of trans exclusionary feminism

fighting fascism in feminism by chanelle gallant is another, more recent article also discussing how trans exclusion is antithetical to feminism

whipping girl by julia serano is where the term "transmisogyny" was first coined

on liking women by andrea long chu is an essay that i personally love bc of the way it shifted my own thinking regarding sex, gender, and desire. chu's writing tends to ruffle feathers but i really like it; i'd also recommend her book females if u dig on liking women

+ if anyone has any recs they wanna add please do!!

Words cannot express how utterly disappointed I am when it comes to helping Sudan. People are hesitant to show their support. They would even dismiss it. No, I am not making this shit up. I have been talking to people about Sudan and their reaction is lacklustre!

I know anti-blackness plays a significant role, along with the lack of media coverage (which is, again, due to anti-blackness), but this is unacceptable. Many people are dying. The country going through a flooding. Homes are destroyed. Families are displaced. Famine is claiming more lives than the RSF (Rapid Support Forces) and SAF (Sudanese Armed Forces) combined.

They need our help!

There is one way you can show your support! Kindly have a look at this fundraiser. It belongs to Eman Abdelrahman (@emooz-8). She is a 25 year old Sudanese and she is raising funds to evacuate. She has been campaigning since January of this year, but she struggles to receive donations to this day! The last one was made 2 DAYS AGO!

Let's pick up the pace and aim for a doable goal once again - 30K in 3 days! As of writing this (Sept 9th), 29,517 CHF has been raised! There is only 483 CHF left to go! Please check your currency exchange. It is in Swiss Franc! ($10 USD = 8 CHF)

gofundme.com

Donate to Our home bombarded and destroyed, organized by Eman Abdelrahman

Hi, my name is Eman Abdel Rahman, I am a 25 years old from Sudan. My family are curr… Eman Abdelrahman needs your support for Our home bomba

There is also a fundraiser for her extended family. Please keep in mind that it is in Singaporean Dollars, so double check with your currency exchange! ($10 USD = $13 SGD)

You can even match me! I've given 5 CHF and $5 SGD!

Chuffed

Help us flee Sudan

Hello, I am Joey, better known as Jia on X/Twitter. and I am hosting this fundraiser for Eman so that her family can evacuate from Sudan.

Verification (#213).

Thank you!

i am a simple creature. every day i am sleepy

can’t criticize plastic surgery as an institution because it’s none of your business if a woman wants to “fix” her insecurities. can’t criticize the makeup industry or beauty standards because some women feel good when they shave and wear makeup. can’t bring up the challenges women face in the workplace because some women want to be stay at home wives instead of working. everything a woman does is automatically feminist and we shouldn’t stop to think about the context surrounding her actions because that would be misogynistic. here’s what i had for girl dinner. according to my girl math the barbie movie was a revolutionary piece of feminist media. i may not show it but i feel the life slowly draining from me day by day.

“how could you have forgotten that” i forget Everything. unless i remember