Pretty Word Asks 🎀

I personally have no issues with the LH MCs. Although I feel that is partly due to the fact that I have chosen a different MC for the three stories they have been used in. I suppose PB is hoping that that is what most players will do, which is a bit silly if so. So I can completely understand that it is annoying and repetitive for players who chose MCs that reflect themselves. I can only hope that as the company continues to grow, they are able/willing to afford/hire artists to create unique sprites for every new series going forward.

Sent by anonymous

‘I don’t understand all the hate for the lovehacks faces. Yeah, they’re overused at this point and I’d much prefer new ones, but honestly they look a lot better than the ilitw, hss, or rcd faces.’

POST/CONFESSIONS DO NOT REFLECT THE MOD’S PERSONAL OPINIONS!

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Showing Instead of Telling

@aithlynfreyeaesthetic said:

Hello. I hope you are doing well. I struggle with showing and not telling. Do you have any tips to get better at this? I apologize if you’ve already answered an ask like this.

Hi there, thanks so much for your ask! I don’t have much to say as a prologue-type thing, so let’s jump right into it!

The Difference Between Showing and Telling

“Nick was cold.”

This is telling. When you “tell”, you’re just giving your reader information. There’s not much room for the reader to deduce what’s happening or for you to include too many double meanings (if that’s your intention).

“Nick shivered as the strength of the wind grew, goosebumps appearing on his forearms.”

This is showing. Does it say Nick is cold? No. Could you have guessed that Nick is cold? Probably. When you “show”, you’re doing more than just giving your reader information; you’re giving them clues of sorts that lead them to the knowledge that, in this case, Nick is cold.

The Importance of Showing

In many cases, “telling” is a good way to make your readers believe that you think they’re stupid. Showing helps you give readers the opportunity to discover for themselves, and it also helps them paint a picture in their mind’s eye. 

Let’s look at the above example. Nick is cold, sure. But how does he react to being cold? How do we really know that he’s cold, as opposed to just being told? This is where showing comes in; it’s also a great way to include some imagery and for underwriters to boost their word counts.

Is telling ever acceptable?

Yes! Think, for example, of a time jump in your novel. If there’s something that you need to include but that doesn’t play a legitimate role in your story, this is where telling comes in. A week passed and nothing important happened? Write that.

For example, in my current project Smoke Shadows, I have the phrase: “Three days pass in a monotonous routine of…” Why? That’s all I need to write. Nothing important happened in these three days, but I needed my readers to know that three days passed.

It’s probably best to use telling to describe things like this, then jump right back into showing.

Some Tips for Showing

Here are some quick things to think of.

Do you ever state an emotion? Think of how you could let your readers know that your character is feeling this emotion rather than just telling them outright.

What about character traits? Sometimes those don’t need to be said outright, but instead you can pepper your writing with clues. Maybe a short character is always getting their hair ruffled or having people leaning their elbows on their shoulder.

Do your best to avoid forms of “be”. Unless it’s in dialogue or in a few other circumstances, the verb “be” is usually a sign of telling.

How are you describing the world around your character? Instead of saying they’re in a classroom, describe and give clues/description that would lead the reader to understand that the character is in a classroom.

Use your five senses! If you can really put yourself in the character’s point of view for this moment, then you can probably be sure that you’re showing instead of telling.

Read through your writing. Is there anything that seems abrupt, or that makes you feel like you’re just being given information? Unless it’s dialogue, you’re probably reading a bit of “telling”.

Remember that not everything needs to be shown! Trust your own judgment; if you’re telling but you believe that’s what’s best for your work, then don’t change it because of an advice post you’re reading on the internet.

So, that’s all I’ve got for today! If there’s anything else you want to see me write about in my next post, please don’t be afraid to drop a message in my ask! Until next time, much love! <333

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how to write a fat character

by: your local fat writer 

media seems to do such a terrible job at representing people like me and same goes for many fic writers who try to base their characters on these characters shown in media. Here are some basic do’s and and don’t’s to writing fat characters! 

DONT:

make your character in love with food- they’re allowed to eat like everyone else, but not every real fat person has an obsession over food. The rule can get iffy if your fat character is a cook.*

make your character the center of jokes- everyone has something “funny” about them, but don’t make your fat character constantly make jokes about their own weight. Fat people get enough bullshit from skinny people about their weight already. 

make your character incredibly unfit- there are real fat people who are incredibly athletic! their weight may be from genetics or from proper muscle building (not the muscle building we’re groomed to think is right in society). The choices your character makes is what affects their athleticism, not their weight 

make your character the Depressed One- yes, fat people do get upset over their body. Many go through horrible diets to try and get slim. It takes years for real fat people to get over it and realize their body is horrible gross. Their weight can simply be because of genetics, not because of how much they eat. 

make your character’s arc about things involving their weight- unless your fat character ABSOLUTELY needs to involve food, don’t make this their entire character arc. There are so many cooler things you can do with your character; sexuality, friends/family, simplifying the heroes journey, etc. make your character exciting! make them relatable! 

make your character the token fat character- the real world has many types of people, the fantasy world should not be too different from this fact. Your characters should always show diversity, and sometimes repetition is good when its the right character type. 

*making your fat character a chef can be a risky move. think about why your fat character is a chef. was it because they’re the fat character? or is there something that influenced them to become a chef? choose your answer carefully

DO:

make your character’s interests diverse- I like food! but i also like many other things! video games, bike riding, painting, singing, give your character varying interests! maybe your character has that one thing they love above all else. the game Fire Emblem: Awakening has always been my go-to favorite thing, what’s your character’s?

make your character an individual- develop their personality! how would your character react to seeing the ASPCA commercials? What’s their reaction when a family member dies? When their favorite artist is performing in town? Are there songs that make them emotional? What do they do to de-stress? Do they stim? There’s PLENTY you can say about your character that isn’t just “I love food.”

make your character as realistic as possible- just as skinny people are diverse, so are fat people. When you’re describing a fat character, don’t default to “pear shaped.” there are proportionate and disproportionate fat people. maybe they have fatter thighs than they do calves, their stomach pops out but they don’t have “bingo wings,” maybe their chin does that weird thing or maybe it doesn’t (this happens to skinny people, too!). and don’t forget stretch marks. they are real and they are not “taboo.”

write your character as if they’re like any other- it all boils down to one thing: the similarities and differences. I’m an XL and my friend is an XS, we both enjoy oversized hoodies! She would wear hoodies in the summer but I would rather walk around shirtless (if society didn’t tell us boobs are bad.) I would never wear short shorts when exercising because they ride up my thighs. Your fat character can act just the same as your skinny one(s).

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Resources For Describing Characters

Physical Appearance

Arms

Athletic Build

Back

Butts

Cheeks

Chest

Chins

Curvy Build

Ears

Eyebrows

Eyes

Faces

Facial Hair

Feet

Fingernails

Fingers

Hair

Hands

Head

Hips

Jaws

Knees

Legs

Lips

Muscular Build

Neck

Noses

Shoulders

Slender Build

Sickly Build

Skin

Stocky Build

Stomach

Teeth

Toenails

Toes

Underweight Build

Character Traits

Affectionate

Ambitious

Bossy

Brave

Calm

Cautious

Charismatic

Clever

Conceited

Courageous

Creative

Critical

Curious

Determined

Diplomatic

Dishonest

Disorganized

Eccentric

Excitable

Friendly

Funny

Generous

Glamorous

Guarded

Honest

Impulsive

Independent

Intelligent

Just

Kind

Loyal

Manipulative

Mature

Modest

Mysterious

Naïve

Optimistic

Prejudiced

Persistent

Proper

Responsible

Sensitive

Sentimental

Serious

Shy

Reckless

Stingy

Stubborn

Talented

Thoughtful

Thrifty

Visionary

Wise

Witty

Worry Wart

Wounded

Talents & Skills

A Knack for Languages

A Knack for Making Money

A Way with Animals

Archery

Astral Projection

Astrological Divination

Baking

Basic First Aid

Blending In

Carpentry

Charm

ESP (Clairvoyance)

Empathy

Enhanced Hearing

Enhanced Sense of Smell

Enhanced Taste Buds

Farming

Fishing

Foraging

Gaining the Trust of Others

Gaming

Gardening

Good Listening Skills

Haggling

Herbalism

Hospitality

Hot-Wiring a Car

High Pain Tolerance

Knife Throwing

Knowledge of Explosives

Lip-Reading

Lying

Making People Laugh

Mechanically Inclined

Mentalism

Mimicking

Multitasking

Musicality

Organization

Parkour

Photographic Memory

Predicting the Weather

Promotion

Psychokinesis

Reading People

Regeneration

Repurposing

Sculpting

Self-Defense

Sewing

Sharpshooting

Sleight-of-Hand

Strategic Thinking

Strong Breath Control

Super Strength

Survival Skills

Swift-footedness

Talking With The Dead

Throwing One’s Voice

Whittling

Wilderness Navigation

Wrestling

Elemental Abilities

Miscellaneous

Voices

Voice Types

Speech Patterns

Speech Impediment

List of Character Flaws

List of Archetypes

Hairstyles

Describing Body Types & How They Move Around

Secrets To Give Your Character

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say it with me

liking a character ≠ condoning their actions

understanding a character ≠ condoning their actions

relating to a character ≠ condoning their actions

never assume that only because someone likes/understands/relates to a character that they see this character as “perfect” and don’t recognise their flaws

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while i get and agree with the fact that gay people should probably play gay people and gay stories are best written by gay people, the fervor to prove that “straight people shouldn’t play gay characters!!” is what the interviewer used to forcibly out lee pace so like

idk maybe slow your roll and realize that like… actors can be closeted, content creators can be closeted, and tbh this “you can only write your own experiences, never write someone else’s” rhetoric is also a bigot’s fucking wet dream?? like the perfect excuse to never write diverse characters?? and to say that they have nothing in common with people who don’t look/love/exist the same way as them??

yeah, the author of simon vs the homo sapien’s agenda is a cis straight woman, which means love, simon (though directed by a married gay man with multiple gay characters played by gay/bi actors) is based on a novel written by a straight woman… but this straight woman literally ends her book acknowledging the LGBT teens who helped her write the book and make sure she was writing it appropriately.

this is the content we want

listen… EVERY SINGLE piece of media EVER involves some level of writing about experiences that are not your own, especially if it’s diverse. even bland stories just about white people involves an author writing about genders that are not their own. if you want a story with characters of color, white authors are going to have to write about those perspectives. if you want gay characters in every story, straight authors are gonna have to write about those perspectives. even LGBT narratives might involve gay authors writing about bi characters or cis authors writing about trans characters.

what we HOPE FOR when they do that is that they talk to people… actually belonging to those groups to learn what is and isn’t appropriate and true to life. which is what the author of simon vs the homo sapien’s agenda did.

it’s exactly what she did. she literally worked in a support group for LGBT and GNC kids, saw they did not have cute love stories written for them after they told her this, and then worked with them to give them the love story they craved.

this is a good thing. this is progress for lgbt people. this is the path we need to walk towards getting LGBT content created by LGBT authors.

when you attempt to take the ~moral ground on protesting this film, all you’re doing is telling people who fund these projects that gay products don’t sell. they don’t get the nuance of what you’re going for. and, chances are, you’re looking like a fucking hypocrite, because i can promise you most of the canon gay characters you stan profit a cishet somehow (if they’re even canon).

so, y’unno, as someone who has read simon vs the homo sapien’s agenda AND seen the fucking movie let me tell you!! it’s fine!! it’s diverse beyond having gay character, it’s written respectively, and it hit home on a lot of experiences i WISH i had as a gay teen. it’s corny, it’s silly, and it’s all i ever would have wanted at 13, 14, 15

if you don’t want to see it, just fucking say so! but don’t act like you’re doing it on moral grounds. you can just… not like a movie or not want to see it without it being some moral victory.

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Anon, if you see this, I mainly write kaitlyn content so there is a ton of content in my archives if you are interested.

From the six fanfic writers you sent me only two are kaitlyn stans.... and two are not writing kaitlyn fanfic accept mabey one they wrote (i don't mean to hate on any of them i am sure they are all amazing) but this is kinna sad to see how little kaitlyn fanfics and content there is out there 😭😭😭

I’M SORRY 😭😭😢. There aren’t many kaitlyn stan who write (from what I’ve seen). I wish we had more tho, Kaitlyn deserves love too 😢💔

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Swallows & Damsons, South Yorkshire, England

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I think you nailed it on the head. It certainly had issues, like the stuff with your religion choice and the lazy re-use of MC faces and the now regular forced male LI, but I agree everyone was certainly ready to jump on that bandwagon for multiple reasons.

Unpopular opinion: despite it's more serious issues, I actually enjoyed home for the holidays. I just took it for what it was worth. Plus I really liked Holly. She is gorgeous and I did not find her boring at all.

I’m neutral on this one, I’m not sure if it was actually a terrible book or we all just collectively agreed and followed along with what the majority said because if you disagree with everyone, well…

I only wish they used better MC’s faces instead of recycled love hacks ones

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Everyone who gets like really into Greek mythology either ends up worshipping the gods, studying classics, gay, or somehow all three at once

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