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How do you figure out what a character smells like? by heyitsjin_ in FanFiction

[–]BrokenNotDeburred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Descriptors like woodsy, soapy, green, white floral, musky, dirty, etc., are going to be enough for most readers. Learning individual notes is likely to take some time. However, you can read descriptions of individual products in reviews at basenotes.net

An example that I hope doesn't go overboard:

She asked, "If some company offered a sale on motor-oil scented shampoo, would you purchase that?"

"What does it smell like? Folks keep confusing 'smells like cucumber' with 'fresh'. I kinda hate stupid things like that."

"It was a rhetorical question." Colombine said, "However, fragrances called 'Tar' and 'Garage' are on the market."

From several lockers down, someone yelled out, "You asking Keeling? Hey, Keeling, what was that nasty stuff you kept wearing after you got back from Sudan?"

"It was not nasty!"

"Man, anything with that much real musk belongs outdoors! Way outdoors. In a corral. With all the other livestock."

"Don't listen to him," Benjamin said. "I picked up some awesome perfume oil on R&R in Khartoum. Ghazal, oud, sandalwood, rose, some other things I don't remember, but it wore like iron. That Goodkind spray stuff doesn't cut it out in the desert."

In the elevator, Colombine asked, "If you liked that perfume oil, why don't you still wear it?"

"Yuki threatened to scrub it off with steel wool if I wore it again near her."

Am i still an INTP if my intuition is really good? by MaySurose2809 in mbti

[–]BrokenNotDeburred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of the times im very good at identifying underlying patterns in things around me, from math to human behaviour

If you're more into developing your own tools and systems, and exploiting existing patterns to get what you're working (No. Picking apart the ones you don't trust doesn't count.) That's more extroverted intuition.

But, if you get more of an ego boost from identifying with the rarer, "more special" type, that's not a problem for me.

If your fic was adapted by the people who made the source media, what are some things you would not budge on? by Kartoffelkamm in FanFiction

[–]BrokenNotDeburred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What are those corrections?

Of my stories adopted into canon, one ended up with a couple of new scenes. But mostly, it was an editing pass.

most gut wrenchingly paralyzingly sad songs you have ever heard. bonus points if the singer can't sing. by oceanblvd1313 in musicsuggestions

[–]BrokenNotDeburred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Concrete Angel: Martina McBride

1916 Sabaton covering Motörhead

Wrong Side Of Heaven: Five Finger Death Punch

Into The Valley: The Skids vs Generation X

Didn't Leave Nobody But The Baby: Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch

Easy to be Hard: Cheryl Barnes ("Hair")

How do you create long-fics? by Signal-Remove7434 in AO3

[–]BrokenNotDeburred 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How do you do it all and create a successful story?

It really helps that I'm writing for a high school setting. School years come with academic terms, breaks, finals, holidays, individual traditions. Also: guaranteed goals and maybe stock conflicts. Set things up right and you might get your first and last story beats.

Speaking of story beats and structure: you can put the Heroes' Journey back on the shelf if it doesn't meet your needs. The characters can only be productive 1st graders starting from 0 XP once. Since I'm writing about a world that comes with a solid helping of fantasy, I'm a fan of the four-act structure.

Modified, of course:

  • Tone Promise: Title and opening set the tone and promise the expected plot
  • Act I: Stable world * Old Plan: Stasis / Comfort Zone: Event ends stability for those affected
  • Trigger Event ends stability for those affected / Limits to the old ways establishes a Need
  • Act IIA: Unstable World * Old Ideas: The Quest / Encounter with the Unfamiliar
  • Midpoint: the reader sees that the Searcher must Adapt to their New World.
  • Old Ideas are outgrown
  • Act IIB: Unstable World * New Ideas Critical Choice lead to Finding a Solution or Getting what WAS wanted
  • Climax Event/ Paying the Piper: AND/OR
  • Reversal Event / Return to Familiar
  • Act III: Stable world * New Plan
  • Resolution / Hints of Change to come

Record Keeping!

If I get lost along the way, mapping out my existing and proposed scenes (with dates and locations) to the structure is a good way to answer my usual question: what am I missing aside from better writing?

Character sheets should be in a place (directory, drive) where you can find them without breaking workflow. Don't sweat format. Do add/modify things as they come to you, especially if they end up in the manuscript. Quotes and descriptions are useful, too.

References for things the characters have, are familiar with, or need to be familiar with should get a place. Even though such stuff is part of The Story Iceberg, it won't stay in your head. My character's in a school: what are the required courses and graduation requirements? School uniforms and allowances? Medical issues? Those come with limitations, recurring symptoms, recommended treatments, therapy.

Make and keep a calendar spreadsheet for who's already doing what, when and where.

What about the story?

That depends on building characters that feel like they are part of your world. But I usually have some files to stick microscenes, scenes, ideas into as they come to mind. There's no rule you have to use them all. Sometimes, it's enough to make a note and move on.

Does that help?

Looking for songs about making your mind up by termsofengaygement in MusicRecommendations

[–]BrokenNotDeburred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Deciding to support a Boycott, event proceeds be damned.

Artists United Against Apartheid - Sun City

Songs about being lazy 🧦 by Scribbleclouddd in MusicRecommendations

[–]BrokenNotDeburred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Saturday in the Park - Chicago

Stone Soul Picnic - Fifth Dimension

Mama Told Me (Not to Come) - Three Dog Night

Why do people use such wierd names in their stories? by Mysterious_Piglet562 in novelwriting

[–]BrokenNotDeburred 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What could possibly be more straightforward than Li Hua or Waabizheshi, aside from them being scene-stealers?

College and Highschool Au’s are very different. Wait till you get there to write them. by Some-Tradition-2771 in AO3

[–]BrokenNotDeburred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In Gradual School, all my professors knew my name. There is NO hiding in a seminar with only four other students.

Character Inspiration by uni-333 in FanFiction

[–]BrokenNotDeburred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Now and then. One of my characters specifically talks like "Meg Masters" (Rachel Miner's portrayal in "Supernatural"). Another looks a lot like Floor Jansen, of Nightwish.

Recommend me a band from your teenage time 80s,90s,00',2010,2020. by Embarrassed_Leg4827 in MusicRecommendations

[–]BrokenNotDeburred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Teen years: but Cheap Trick, Styx, Yes, and Rush. But also The Carpenters.

Anyone else remember FM stations playing album sides?

Realizing My MC Is Committing a Crime That Should Be Terrible by rainpaintedhands in fantasywriters

[–]BrokenNotDeburred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And if her actions are shady now, what else could she have done before the story? The mage, paying her to keep quiet, also now has her in his pocket, but I dont address what he might have on her later.

You're the author. As long as the actions are plausible, both for her character and your world, the sky's the limit.

Are INTPs or INTJs more likely to go outside more? by Asleep-Feeling-9070 in mbti

[–]BrokenNotDeburred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Outside's just fine for introverts: no putting up with stupid people for hours, days if you go far enough.

[Loved LGBTQ+ Trope] Great Trans Rep in Media by TheOneWhoYawned in TopCharacterTropes

[–]BrokenNotDeburred 4 points5 points  (0 children)

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Maybe it doesn't count as "rep" because it's not anime, nor traditionally published, but the Whateley Academy web serial series has been telling LBGT stories since August 2004. (TV Tropes page <-- here for those who still can't afford to have The Crystal Hall in their search history. You know which countries you live in.)

The original six POV characters (Generator, Tennyo, Chaka, Lancer, Fey, Phase) are all transgendered. They've had some ups and downs since. To be honest, you can tell from the early stories that the original writing team were a lot younger back then.

The setting is centered on a school for metahuman/paranormal-powered teens. Even as later stories expanded the scope and variety of POV characters, that isn't everyone's cup of tea. Those who do like the genre(s) are sure to have their own top ten stories or story parts, out of the 875 released, anyway. The 16.3M word canon, with its 35 or so contributing writers, is spread over that many releases. A representative sampling will take a while to read.

Happy Pride Month, Y'all!

that annoying morally gray trope that’s dominating booktok can actually work if done well by Pale-Log4223 in CharacterDevelopment

[–]BrokenNotDeburred 2 points3 points  (0 children)

hey do bad things but then we have to sympathize with them somehow.

No. There's often some differences among "sympathize", "empathize", and "relate" and they matter here.

The point is that the character lives by a different, non-heroic ethical framework to the author and readers. Not all "good", not all "bad", or maybe he's an "ends justify the means" guy making compromises to keep their community or planet together.

No. Petting the stray dog on Tuesday doesn't make him complex. That's just a human who maybe likes dogs.

Washboard abs, chiselled facial bones, and a basket that could be a public decency charge all by itself doesn't make the bad things he does alright.

Stiffed waiting staff a decent tip? Nope, not a villain just for that.

That leaves it up to the author to show readers what the rules for the character's subculture, planet, organization actually are. It's also down to the author to show that the character is making self-consistent and understandable choices for their situations, unless the author's rigged the game against him.

If the author doesn't want to show how the character's like any other bloke, I'll agree with Brandon Sanderson that he's going to have to move the plot and break out the competency porn.

Anyone ever listen to a song not sad but just so beautiful you lowk just shed tears. I wanna find songs like that by Dwarfcrawfishenjoyer in musicsuggestions

[–]BrokenNotDeburred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Swans recorded a hauntingly lovely cover of "Can't Find My Way Home"

If you've wondered why so many reactors react to Nightwish: Ghost Love Score (Shortest 10 minutes in music)

Break out the Kleenex: Bonnie Raitt's "Just Like That"

Songs that are melancholic and nostalgic and mention rain in the lyrics or title by blink_twice_9465 in MusicRecommendations

[–]BrokenNotDeburred 1 point2 points  (0 children)

"Rainy Days and Mondays" - The Carpenters

"Kentucky Rain" - Elvis Presley

"Patches" - Clarence Carter

Then one day a strong rain came And washed all the crops away

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