Fanfic Writer: And Publish! Finally Got This Story Out Now I Can Sleep. Hmm, Maybe I Should Wait For

Writing Characters Who Don’t Know How to Relationship

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

I am none yet all of these.

Oh look

ಠ‿‿ಠ

[Image Description: A pastel rainbow pride flag with text that reads “happy pride month 2018”]

Everyone! Keep your fingers crossed! The battle is not over yet.

Keep calling, emailing, sending letters! Bug your senators until they do something!

PSA

I love every fanfiction author on earth !!! Thank you so much for using your own time to provide us with a free(!) story to read that is 10x better than every book I have read put in one!

For long fic writers: Your detailed fics are so amazing and you amaze me every single time with the amount of research and time you have put into your beautiful works! Whether I am looking to kill time or just want something to distract me you have provided me with that, and I am so glad we have writers like you!

For short fic writers: Your fluffy/angsty/smutty/all of the above fics are so nice to read after a long day! When I just need something small because I don’t have the energy for something long, you wrote something for yourself and shared it with us, and I am so glad that we have writers like you!

If you write fluff; Thank you so much! I love reading your self-indulgent fics. They are so sweet and adorable and those characters definitely would do that.

If you write angst; Thank you so much! I love reading your painful fics. I’m always excited to see how it will end and if things will ever get better.

If you write smut; Thank you so much! I love reading your own fantasies(or realities, or just what you chose to write). They make me smile and blush.

If you write romance; Thank you so much! I love reading about my otp falling in love over and over. Even if it is cliché, it’s also unique and I’m still  surprised each time.

If you write about platonic relationships; Thank you so much! I love reading about my favorite best friends and siblings. You bring something not often seen and your courage is amazing.

If you write crack; Thank you so much! I love reading your random fics. They make me laugh time and time again and even if they are weird and ooc, they are amazing too.

If you write anything else; THANK YOU SO MUCH! Whatever it is you write, it is amazing and I love it. 

I know my singular opinion doesn’t mean much when there are millions of people on this earth, but I want it to be heard!

I LOVE FANFICION WRITERS. YA’LL ARE THE REAL MVPS.

Things To Know About Your Real-Life Setting

– 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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Meanwhile at the PB emergency meeting...

"WHO LEAKED THIS INFORMATION? WE WERE GOING TO CHARGE FOR THAT!"

Crack theory time.

The Endless Summer crew managed to save the World, but unbeknownst to them they ended up back in time.

So they hop onto a plane and start flying back home. But because Jake is flying they crash and die horribly.

The only thing to survive the crash unscathed is Jake’s jacket (because it got “accidentally” thrown from the plane). The jacket is blown away by the wind until it is found by a Berry High student

And that is how Micheal Harison got his signature look….

for all the non-native English speakers out there that play Choices

you’re doing a great job, seriously

guess what? the game even helps you on training your English skills, how amazing is that??? seriously, for free

don’t worry about missing some quick time events just because you misunderstood (or didn’t comprehend at all) a word, really, you’re managing to understand 99% so you’re a star!!!

just so we remember that even though we can miss some references sometimes, we should neither forget nor be afraid of being an active part of the fandom

you’re doing amazing, everyone

Happy #TransDayOfVisibility to my trans siblings out there! Have a wonderful day and keep being amazing!!

So quite a while ago I discovered my account was shut down by tumblr. I was given no reason or word at all abiut it and was not aware until I attempted to log in after a break. It took nine months for support to finally send me an automated response to my inquiry of my account. After again asking why it was taken down my account was restored afte rtelling me it found nothing wrong.

Okay.

Not sure what happened but my avatar was removed by them? Haha it was a literal snowflake with the blog's name.

I must have been hacked?

That aside things look the same around here. Fun to see all the cool art out there again.