This story is so cute! I love the style and tone of it; it really makes me sympathise with the character!
December 3rd There is a new barista at my coffee shop. She has the most amazing eyes I ever saw. I mean I know ember colored eyes exist but I have never seen some in real life. Hers glow like the sun and sparkle like the stars. Sadly I had no time today because of this stupid essay. I really like to know why we need to finish it before Christmas. Like December isn’t already busy like hell and a good month to kill someone and go free because of acute mental incapacity. December 7th I hate deadlines! Especially when they suddenly are earlier than the professor said at first. How shall I finish this in three days? At least I ran into the new barista again. It seems like she works only part-time there. I guess she is my age? So maybe she works to pay for college? Anyway, she was so nice to not put the extra shot espresso on the bill. I must have looked like a zombie. I actually feel like one. Beware of the Walking College Student! December 10th I either kill my professor or my roommate, whoever happens to cross my path first. Now we are back to the old deadline and my fucking stupid roommate managed to kill the electricity for the whole dorm. I am sure she made it on purpose to have an excuse to ask for more time for her own essay because she is the master of not planning. So I had to sit at the coffee shop to work on this stupid essay I like to burn right now. Or burn down the professor’s office? Could it help? But I now know the new barista is a student because I sat there when she came in for her shift and still wore one of the college sweaters. Damn, these hips can kill, I am sure off. I wouldn’t be surprised if she has to fend of idiots multiple times a day. Men can be so damn stupid sometimes. December 12th I managed to remember to look at the new barista’s name tag. Her name is Allison! Okay, that is so not creepy, right? I think I spend too much time at the coffee shop. My caffeine intake doubled the last weeks like I am made of coffee. But on the other side, it gives me a chance to go to the coffee shop more. I think I can blame my professors for this when mom starts to nag about it. I mean how shall a normal person with a 24 hours day manage to get all this shit done without coffee?
Lees verder
Death never brought itself onto her, but she noted how it always felt like a distant memory.
Maybe she had died once before—death at the hands of an executioner for her vile felonies that she was lucky to have only been imprisoned for, or at the hands of her own, the rich heiress with a family heirloom using her breast as a sheath she had buried there. Maybe, once, she’d seen death, seen his skeletal hands and his shrouded face and the infamous scythe to steal her soul and escort her onto the next host body as if she were a parasite. The baby she’d inhabit until death, when she was reunited with what would feel like her one and only true love, the only love she’d ever really know as she continued to cycle back to him and be in his arms once again.
Or maybe she was a new soul. A soul fresh from the womb of her mother, a fire forged and made to burn hot until the day she fizzled out into the cold hands of the being she’d like to envision as friendly and be forever trapped in the abyss of nothing, wandering in a place that certainly wasn’t Hell but did not match the stories of Heaven with the gates or whatever God or gods there were or the familiar faces of family and friends long since passed.
‘where lucia died’ tagslist: @theforgottencoolkid @vandorens @whorizcn @alicekaiba @evergrcen @goldbonne @babeineauxs @the-writers-blocks @suswriting @lucamused @noloumna @shezadis @semblanche @emdrabbles @sapphospouse @waterfallofinkandpages @calfromzeroday @andinbetweenwegarden @aphteavanawrites @bbabyapollo @hillelf @milkyway-writes @the-introvert-cafe | ask to be added/removed
One thing that I worry about is that my plot isn’t good enough. I know lots of other writers who have had this issue in the past as well, and it’s all about having confidence in yourself and your ability to tell a tale.
The plot doesn’t have to be groundbreaking, just think of how many people get fed up of Shyamalan twist-endings. They’re clever sometimes, yes, but they’re also not what everyone ever is looking for, and when they are forced into a piece of work it is painfully obvious to anyone who really values what you’ve written.
What matters is the telling of the story. Your plot can be exceptionally simple, and you might write one of the most compelling books of our era.
I found one thing that helped was to look at other works, and try and break them down into their very, very simplistic terms - the bare bones, the things the author would have decided up front perhaps. The things that… if told without the wonder of the story, might have been boring.
Like A Song of Ice and Fire, for example, which tells the stories of Political struggle against a backdrop of Ice creatures who can raise the dead and force them to attack you. It’s basically a Socio-Political zombie apocalypse, with dragons. That could have gone either way; as it was, it went amazingly. Because Martin is a master of making every character a person, and building such a rich, colourful world that we believe it.
So, what I’ve done is looked at a very popular work that spans multiple books. Harry Potter is widely known, so this should be useful to as many people as possible. It is also praised as one of the most in depth and atmospheric works for children, young people, adults, or just about anyone, having been translated, adapted and studied over and over.
So, when I asked Google what the heck the plot of Harry Potter was, I got this;
This is what I’m going to call the BREAD AND BUTTER of the story. It’s what happens in the day-to-day of the story. It’s perhaps the introduction J. K. would have given when first sending in her manuscript. It’s also a hugely unoriginal idea.
The concept of a young Witch or Wizard attending a magical school where they can learn their abilities has been done before, a lot. It is basically the prmise of books like EarthSea and the Worst Witch.
So next time you think your premise is overdone or uninspired, remember that it doesn’t matter. It’s not the premise that counts, it’s what you do with it. What Rowling did with it was create an in-depth world, full of structures and rules, populated by characters we all loved, hated, felt sorry for or routed for. She also made sure to include a way for us to learn more about the world, so she made her protagonist just as unaware of the wonder and horror as all of us.
In this case, tea is gonna’ be the conflict of the story. The main arc. Because going to a Wizard School is freaking awesome and everything, but this story needs risk. Our characters need to be in danger, and they need something to overcome. Often writers get stuck here. They have a wonderful setting and they really want to write about their character doing this or that, but what’s the main goal? What is there to overcome?
Very simply, Rowling’s villain is a man who wishes to purify the progression of magic by weeding out those who’s blood he see’s as tainted. He is a Hitler-figure, who himself should be ‘tainted’ in his own view. That’s the villain’s GOAL. It’s clear, and simple.
If you think your villains goal is too simple, just look at Voldemort’s goal. What makes it more complex are the many twists and turns he and Harry both have to adapt too. His many failures, as well.
Voldemort fits into many tropes, including the bad guy ‘selling his soul’ to achieve a vain goal, the bad guy murdering the heroes’ parents, the ‘more like you than you think’ trope, where a Villain and a hero are quite similar. I especailly like that last one, because J. K. played with it. Yes, she included it, and yes she gave a magical reason as to why.
That just shows that unique elements can be added on to overdone ideas, to make them wonderful.
This is where Rowling turns her simple ideas into something beautiful. Whether an idea is original or not, it will not matter if the depth is not there. Jam and Cream stands for all the little things.
The fact one of the most hated antagonists was only a prime player in one book but left such an impression, the fact Hermione was disliked by the main characters at first, the fact Neville was the cowardly laughing stock of the group for years. Let’s see… The fact Sybil was right about almost all of her predictions and no one believed her, thus linking her with the Mythological figure Cassandra.
The use of diversion and tension in The Prisoner of Azkaban, the fact that Harry’s own father was rather arrogant and mean at times, yet still a good person. The moral ambiguity of characters like Dumbledore or Snape.
That isn’t even naming the things the books got wrong. Because every author makes mistakes. Yes! You’re allowed too! J. K. has Dumbledore play the ‘I’m going to withhold information from you for the sake of the plot,’ card. We are also supposed to believe Harry forgave everything Snape ever did and named his son after him because he rather fancied his mother. Many issues are left unaddressed, such as the disinterest/damn right rudeness towards Hagrid in the final years, or the silly quest over the fake Sword.
But in the end, if the story is told masterfully, no one is going to care.
Basically, what I’m trying to say is, if you plot is overdone, don’t worry about it. If your world feels familiar, do more to make it your own. If your villain feels like a trope, give them more twists and turns, and maybe a reason for the trope that fits your world alone. If your characters feel stale, give them more scenes that address their personality.
You’re doing fine, and your manuscript is totally fine. If you believe in it, there’s gonna’ be at least a hundred more people who would too.
Hi! I’m trying to start a new story and I was wondering how would you build a new character from scratch? Like how would you go about creating them?
There are many different ways a character is conceived. You’ll need one of these things to start with:
name—you heard one that sounded cool to you, either the meaning, the pronunciation, or the ideas it brings to mind when you hear it.
look—you saw or imagined a character with certain physical features or garb, someone new and interesting that you want to know more about.
profession—you’re interested in exploring a certain occupation within a fictional setting and what kind of things might happen during the work day.
lifestyle—this can include profession, but it’s more about who they are (or who they pretend to be) at all hours of the day/night.
archetype—you want to explore a character who is the sidekick, villain, mentor, or some other archetype within a story.
From there you shape them into a three-dimensional person with these aspects (which in themselves can inspire a new character):
family/friends—the people who raised, supported, and cared for them (or didn’t) at different points in their lives and thus affected their personality.
culture—the lifestyle of the community they identify with which can include shared customs, traditions, beliefs, foods, entertainment, etc.
skills—stuff they’re good at, but also stuff they’re bad at because both are important for you to know.
backstory—the combination of big experiences that shaped them permanently and that they might think about on a regular basis; a loved one dying, a successful career, a big mistake, and/or a long-term illness.
experiences—individual events that shaped who they are now, but aren’t really a big part of their life story; that time they had their first kiss, played their first sport, encountered a wild animal, and/or learned to cook their own meal.
traits—inherent aspects of their personality that can be their strengths and weaknesses depending on how they improve on or neglect them; they are very kind and compassionate, but easy to take advantage of and are sometimes overly fussy.
beliefs—their driving force, their purpose in life, the reason they get up in the morning and continue to exist.
personality—the combination of skills, beliefs, and cultural norms that make them an individual based on their experiences and upbringing, as well as inherent traits.
Now, the reader does not want to know all this stuff on the first page. In fact, the reader might not need to know much of it at all. You do, and what you include in your story should be primarily stuff the reader needs to know with just a sprinkling of other character information. Some books might give the MC’s entire biography in the first chapter, but even Charles Dickens knew to save the best details for later.
These bullet points work for all characters, not just your main protagonist(s). A writer doesn’t need to know every detail about every side character, but it helps to think of each one as a whole person. Makes the writing feel more authentic.
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Character development is extremely important when it comes to storytelling. If your audience doesn’t feel for your character in some way, even if they’re not necessarily a good person, your story will fall flat. As the audience, we need to understand what a character wants, how they’re trying to get it, and what stands in their way. We need to get inside their heads. Talking about character development is one thing, but actually executing it effectively is another. If you’re looking for ways to build your character’s personality, here are a few tips to get you going.
Try focusing on these areas if you want to get a full picture: childhood/past, personal relationships, likes/dislikes, personal opinions, and wants.
Childhood/past
Your character came from somewhere. Even if your main character is a robot, that’s their past. Their lack of childhood still plays a part in your story. Think about your character’s early life and how it might have shaped what they want now. Your past definitely played a part in building your personality, so it should do the same for your characters. Even if you don’t necessarily discuss their past, you should know it as a writer. You should know how it formed them in some way. Don’t skip this part!
Personal relationships
It helps to take time developing your character’s personal relationships. Does this character care about anyone? Did that change over time? Who is most important to them? Figuring out these things will help you build your character’s personality. Who and what we care about is very important and it forces us to act in certain ways. If your main character has a son or daughter, this might serve as their motivation for something. Love and friendship, or the lack thereof, has a lot to do with how we develop. Think about the difference between Harry Potter and Voldemort. The story makes it clear that Harry could have gone down the same path if he didn’t have the support of his friends.
Likes/dislikes
Taking the time to fill out one of those character development sheets might make a big difference. You should know what your character enjoys most and what they hate. It might not seem like the most important thing in the world, but we can be shaped by our interests. Know your character’s interests and you will have a better understanding of their personality.
Personal opinions
What is your character’s outlook on life? Do they see the glass as half-empty or half-full? Knowing these things will help you shape your character’s view of the world. If your character has consistently been through hard times, they might have a dim outlook on the world around them. This will shape their personality. All these factors will help form who they are and what they want.
Wants
Knowing what your character wants is super important. Every character should want something. Every character should have a goal of some kind. This information will help you develop your character’s personality. If you they want something really bad for a long time, they might become obsessive. If they don’t want something enough, we might see them as unmotivated and lazy. Use these wants to help shape your character and what actions they will take.
-Kris Noel
@flashfictionfridayofficial
The Princess had reached the right age to marry. Her father picked some young noblemen and noblewomen from families that he had an allyship with as marriage candidates. However, when he presented his daughter the options she rejected all of them. "Father, I'm in love with my best friend. I will marry her or no one at all."
The King was not satisfied with that answer because he was in conflict with that family. "I don't believe you're really so in love with her. You'll have to prove it. Next week I host a masquerade ball in celebration of my birthday. Show me you still recognise that girl when her face is hidden under a mask."
The Princess agreed.
A week later the masked Princess entered the ball room. It was crowded with guests from all over the country. A few of them dared to ask the princess for a dance but she declined them all. Soon she spotted her friend in her heavenly blue dress. She was masked but the Princess could still see how her smile lightened up her whole face when their eyes met. "Will you dance with me?"
"I saw you dancing with her the whole night, how did you recognize her?" the King asked the Princess the next day.
"That was easy, father," she answered. "She wore the dress we sewed together last year and a necklace I gave to her."
"That's not fair," he said. "I still don't believe you're really so in love with her. You'll have to prove it again. Next week I host a party in celebration of the anniversary of my reign. Show me you still recognise that girl if you go there with a blindfold on."
The Princess agreed.
A week later the blindfolded Princess entered the assembly room. She bumped into a few acquaintances but she left them alone as soon as possible. She went to the terrace, one of her friend's favourite places. "Hi?"
"There you are, I was already waiting for you!"
"I saw you talking with her the whole time, how did you recognize her?" the King asked the Princess the next day.
"That was easy, father," she answered. "She wore the same perfume as always and I can recognize her voice everywhere."
"That's not fair," he said. "I still don't believe you're really so in love with her. You'll have to prove it again. Next week I will have dinner with the noble families of this city to celebrate my successfulness. Show me you still recognise that girl if you can't see, hear or smell her."
The Princess agreed bitterly.
A week later the Princess entered the dining hall, her eyes, ears and nose covered. She sat the whole evening quitely besides the King.
"You did not recognize her this time, did you?" the King asked the Princess after the guests had left.
"No, but neither did you," she answered. "Look, I am not your daughter. The Princess left this morning, with her girlfriend."
"But why?" the King cried.
"You proved her you don't really love her."
i just put together an autistic character profile to help allistic people write autistic characters. have at it
As writers, we want our work to hold weight — for our characters’ actions, emotions, and desires to resonate with and impact our readers. But how do we make that happen?
The most helpful advice, in my experience, has been to:
Make the internal become external, and
Make the external become internal.
Let’s talk about what that means and how these tips can help you add emotional weight to your story.
To “make the internal become external” is to take the interior aspects of your character (their fears, desires, pains, and epiphanies) and find ways to express them with external actions. For example:
If Marcos realizes his girlfriend doesn’t truly love him, don’t just make him mope; have him throw the engagement ring he purchased into the river.
If Amelia feels overworked and stressed at her new job, don’t just show her exhausted in bed; show her bailing on plans with the people she cares about or giving up her favorite pastimes.
If Kara is afraid to get onstage and perform as Lady Macbeth, don’t just have her wait in fear; make her run out on the show on opening night.
By expressing your character’s emotions and realizations through clear external actions, you add weight to what they’re going through.
The goal here is similar, but reversed. Where before you were taking an internal emotion and accentuating it with action, now you’re taking the external elements of your story (plot, character actions, external conflicts, etc.) and making them have internal ramifications for your characters. For example:
If Thomas gets slapped by his older sister during a disagreement, don’t just move on like it never happened; make it change the dynamic of their relationship for the rest of the story.
If Davy’s new boyfriend excessively dotes upon him, don’t just have him awkwardly brush him off; make Davy tentative and uncertain because he’s never been in a healthy relationship before.
If Anna loses the championship match of a tennis tournament, don’t just have her grudgingly accept defeat; make her feel crushed because of her impossibly high expectations for herself.
By taking external actions or events and tying them to your character’s deepfelt emotions and, when possible, their core struggle, you add weight to what happens in your story. Everything starts to matter, and that makes for captivating storytelling.
I want to clarify that I’m not telling you to make your characters act and react in ways that don’t make sense for them. Always stay true to your characters.
But I do encourage you to always look for opportunities to merge the internal and external aspects of your story — because that’s the key to telling stories with true emotional weight.
Good luck, and good writing, everybody. :)
— — —
Everyone has stories worth telling, including you. For helpful writing tips and advice, check out the rest of my blog.
Character Help
MBTI Personality Test
MBTI Personality Descriptions
123 Character Flaws
Character Trait Cheat Sheet
List of Personality Traits
Character Virtues And Vices
Underused Personalities
7 Rules For Picking Names
Character Names
Character Name Resources
Surnames Masterpost
Write Real People Generator
Types of Voice
55 Words to Describe Someone’s Voice
Showing Character Emotion
Character Motivation
Writing Characters Of Colour
More On Writing Characters Of Colour
Describing A Character’s Skin Colour
All Characters Talk The Same
Character Description
100 Character Development Questions
Character Development Questionnaire
30 Day Character Development Meme
Character Development Check List
Character Development Through Hobbies
List Of Character Secrets - Part 1 - Part 2
Mysterious Characters
Flat Characters
European Characters
Creating Believable Characters
Writing A Character Who Has Lost Someone Important
Writing A Drunk Character
Writing Manipulative Characters
Writing Vampires
Writing Witty Characters
Writing Natural Born Leaders
Writing Rebellious Characters
Writing Hitmen
Writing Indifferent Distance Characters
Writing Bitchy Characters
Writing Popular Characters
Writing Rich Characters
Writing Child Characters
Writing Villains
Villain Archetypes
Writing Stalkers
Avoiding LGBTQ Stereotypes
Writing Homosexuals as a Heterosexual
Writing Males as a Female
Writing Convincing Male Characters
Writing Characters Of The Opposite Sex
Revealing A Characters Gender
The Roles Of Characters
Creating Fictional Characters From Scratch
Creating A Strong, Weak Character
Writing Characters Using Conflict And Backstory
Writing A Character Based On Yourself
Switching Up A ‘Too-Perfect’ Character
Help I Have A Mary-Sue!
Dialogue
Dialogue Tips
Realistic Dialogue
Flirty Dialogue
On Dialogue
General Help
Alternatives To Said
Avoid Saying ‘Very…’
100 Ways To Say Good
Avoiding Unfortunate Implications
Begin A Novel
Finishing Your Novel
Creating Conflict
Show Not Tell
Words For Emotions Based On Severity
Getting Out Of The Comfort Zone
A Guide To Writing Sci-Fi
Naming The Story
The Right Point Of View
Essential Story Ingredients
Writing Fantasy Masterpost
Five Rules For Thrillers
Pacing Action Scenes
Writing Races
Using Gender Neutral Pronouns
Dos and Don’t of Writing
General Writing Tips
How To Avoid Tense Change
Seven Steps To A Perfect Story
Plotting
Outlining Your Novel
Creating A Compelling Plot
The Snowflake Method
Beginning and End, But No Middle!
Prompts and Ideas
Prompt Generator Lists
Creative Writing Prompts
Story Starting Sentences
Story Spinner
Story Kitchen
Writing Prompt Generator
Quick Story Generator
Dramatic Scenes
Plot Bank
Masterpost of Writing Execrises
Writers Block?
Visual and word prompts on pinerest boards
Research
Survival Skills Masterpost
Mental Illness
Limits Of The Human Body
Stages of Decomposition
Body Language Cheat Sheet
Importance Of Body Language
Non Verbal Communication
Tips on Drug Addiction
Depression
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Anxiety
Schizophrenia
Borderline Personality Disorder
Degrees of Emotion
List Of Phobias - Part 1 (A - L) - Part 2 (M - Z)
Psychology In Writing
Psychology Of Colour
Mob Mentality
How Street Gangs Work
Street Gang Dynamics
How To Pick A Lock
Death Scenes
Realistic Death Scenes
Fighting and Self Defence
Fighting Scenes
Problems With Fighting Scenes
Every Type of Fight Scene
How To Fight Write Blog
Fantasy Battle Scenes
Body Language Of Flirting
Flirting 101
Kissing
Sex Scenes
Friends With Benifits Relationships
Ballet Terms
Torture Guide (Trigger Warning)
Sibling Abuse (Trigger Warning)
Dream Sequences
Kleptomania
Psychiatric Hospital
Understanding issues, -isms and privilege
Guide to writing smut
Post-Apocalyptic Cliches To Avoid
Revision
General Revision Tips
Cliché Finder
Reading What You’ve Wrote So Far
Synonyms For Common Words
Urban Legends On Grammar
Common Grammar Mistakes
Revising A Novel
Setting
Average Weather Settings
Apocalypses
World Building 101
Bringing Settings To Life
Creating A Believable World
Mapping A Fictional World
Mapping Your World
Religion in Setting
5 Editing Tips
Sounds to listen to whilst writing
Coffitivity
August Ambience
Rainy Mood
Forest Mood
SimplyNoise
Soundrown
iSerenity
Nature Sound Player
myNoise
Tools
Tip Of Your Tounge
Write Or Die
Online Brainstorm
Family Tree Maker
Stay Focused
Writeometer App
Hemingway App
Wow, first of all I just want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the support on the First Ask Masterlist! Obviously I had to make a second one with all the asks I’ve answered since then so here you go. You can also check out my list of Random Writing Tips. As last time, some of these posts have notes from lovely people who have added onto my answers with their advice and you can also help out fellow writers by adding your tips or ideas to the posts in the replies or by reblogging. Hope you enjoy! 😊
Writing unnecessary scenes with your characters just for fun
Can’t think of what to write for a scene? Cut it.
The “organized chaos” form of outlining
Resources for writing a story synopsis
Can a comedy also have a good message?
Writing a fantasy fit for most ages (also under Fantasy)
When you’ve got an idea but don’t know how to expand it
Building on your story yourself
Will posting writing online hurt publishing chances?
Using a prompt for a series
Ways to give information to a character
Dialogue tips
Coming up with a title (expanded)
Making the real villain a plot twist
GRAMMAR CHEAT SHEET
Some resources for creating a language
Coming up with villains
How to decide if you want a good or sad ending (Also, how not to screw up an ending) (Also, why the GoT ending makes me sad)
Story Structure Tips
Travelling scenes: when to skip and how to make them impactful
Writing a sloooow carriage ride without being boring
Moving back and forth in time in the story
difference between inciting incident and plot point 1
Blending backstory with present to further the plot
Writing scenes with a lot of characters
Writing a story as a journal or video log style
Third or first person?
Writing a long series
Connecting your ideas
When to introduce major and minor conflicts
Worrying about “originality” with your writing
Staying focused on writing
Turning off the editor voice
starting to write and keeping motivation
quick tip on writing down inspiration in the moment
How do you know you are cut out to be a writer?
When you feel your plot isn’t exciting enough*
When you think your idea is stupid (it’s not)
Tips for writing a fully-fledged peppy girl
Teen raised by twenty-year-old family member
Mentor/Mentee relationship
Describing nature the way a nature-lover would
Showing a dead family member’s impact on the MC
Writing about a character losing loved one
Ways to show a character’s disgust
Why a “good” character would switch to the bad side
Why the “White Saviour” thing is a cliche and sucks
Villains who do things like “killing the dog”
Good and bad reasons to kill off a character
Character exercise when you lose their voice
Resources for learning more for a Jewish character (in the notes)
A reason a character might feel cliche
Representations of Gluttony and Laziness as humans
Writing Types of Characters
Writing a good guy MC who turns out to be the villain
Bad guy turning good and making them sympathetic
Dr. Doof: how to write a great villain
A character raised by a computer
Bilingual character tip
Interracial couples
Some negative traits for someone in a zombie apocalypse
Flaws for a Gary Stu type
a character trying to learn the language on a new world (also under World Building)
Good guy vs bad guy stories aren’t a cliche
Writing a CIA/FBI/Military character (also under Thriller)
writing a drunk character with some heartfelt moments and humour
Why NOT having diversity in your story cast is odd
A character with diabetes
Fictional races where one is “superior” to the other
Writing a serial killer as your main character (also under Thriller/Crime)
Writing a good Strong Female Character™
Creating a creation myth
History research post
Making an acronym from an organization
Naming world building aspects
strange weather ideas
ideas for ridiculous rules to join an excuse club
Why someone would put on a massive tournament
a character trying to learn the language on a new world (also under Types of Characters)
Making a magical setting exciting (also under fantasy/paranormal)
When you have too much information for an expansive world
Weaving a complex magic system into your story (also under fantasy/paranormal)
Using words referring to our world in a fictional world
Why gods would abandon their world
Aphrodite, Hephaestus and Ares: the original love triangle
basing gods on multiple gods
Why someone would control dreams
Dark fantasy with a dream shop
Conflicts for someone with the power to share dreams with others
Ways to break the curse to get the Prince out of the tower
Prince/ss of one kingdom raised by another king
why a princess would run away
Prompts for a King or Queen getting assassinated
Why a villain would overthrow a royal family
Reasons two Kings would marry each other
which fairytales deserve retellings
Writing a fantasy fit for most ages (also under Writing Tips)
Vampire and human couple meeting
Angel and ex-demon hanging out together
demons that feed on love and joy?
mythical kids meeting humans
Sword fight resources
Using an axe as a weapon
Haunted house story from ghost’s perspective
A family moves in to a house that is alive
Does the afterlife have to include religious aspects?
Witch sisters with unequal powers
Reasons a village would be afraid of a kind wizard
Making a magical setting exciting (also under world building)
Weaving a complex magic system into your story (also under world building)
Things a magic council would use money for
Prompts about cities that are always in night
Prompts about a changeling
Coming up with a good curse for your character
Reasons a magical world would need a saviour
mirroring strengths and weaknesses for magic manipulation
How an immortal could die under mysterious circumstances
How to get regular folk involved in a magical world
“Underused" fantasy settings
writing assassins
Clues that would make a character suspect another for murder
Writing a CIA/FBI/Military character (also under Types of Characters)
Serial/mass murder…causes?
Quick reasons why genocide doesn’t just happen overnight
tests to get into secret organization
Writing a serial killer as your main character (also under Writing Types of Characters)
Tips for writing a consistent murder mystery
Murder mystery party prompts (humorous)
Superheroes and Super Villains
Sidekick wanting to be a superhero
Super villain cause ideas
Sidekick and villain falling in love (also under Romance)
Superhero story originality
How a super villain can get notoriety
Woman unknowingly falls in love a super villain
World building ideas for superhero stories
Effects of the power of intangibility
How a princess and a pirate fall in love
two exes who end up working together
How two random kids could meet at school
Sidekick and villain falling in love (also under Superheroes)
Cliches in romance scene?
Original ways that a couple could break up
How to introduce a living girl and ghost love interests
Prompts about being abandoned
Character who has never danced in pressured into it
Futuristic space pirates
The best ask ever
MC and sister get kicked out of clan. What next?
Reasons characters would hate another (a concubine)
How to tell who is the clone and who is the original
Artifacts curious aliens would steal from Earth
A disturbing cultish 1950’s-esque town