Writing Guide // yventualip

how to do it all

This is me breaking down how I do every component of my writing to the best of my ability:

Dialogue

I know this was already partially covered, but here it is again. It may be hard to feel like your characters have distinct voices or personalities, or maybe it's that your dialogue feels stilted and unnatural. Try to come up with some sort of idea of the way each character would speak. What does their voice sound like, do they use slang? How often do they swear? How comfortable are they with the person they're speaking to and how does that affect their speech? What dynamic do they have with that other person? Do they use a lot of frivolous words or are they more to the point? 

You'll find that depending on the level of familiarity between characters, it'll change what they say. I think about my own life and the close friends I have. A lot of the time our conversations are building on previous ones we've already had. I can predict (sometimes) what they're going to say, or I know things I shouldn't say. Your characters are the same. Are they able to make fun of each other? Have they had previous conversations about what they're talking about now? 

Another thing to remember is that every conversation should have a purpose. Sometimes scenes are important because it relays information, but it can also be important for showing relationships or setting a tone. Point is, your characters should not be engaged in meaningless discussions because you and i both would be bored. Evaluate the need for their words. 

If it still feels stilted and awkward, try reading it aloud and acting it out. Often characters seem to be speaking too formally, too polite and respectful for the setting. Think about yourself in that situation and how you might act. 

I don't feel like I need to explain that siblings don't call each other bro and sis, but I feel the obligatory need to put it here. siblings are basically friends without the need to be nice to each other if they're close in age. 

And for the love of god, be sparing with the stuttering. 

Sex. 

I'm not gonna teach you how to write it, but look it up. It's both easier / harder than it seems. Do not overuse pet names or I will have to kill myself. Also, if you're writing a story that's basically porn with a little plot, can you say that before i read it? sometimes i just wanna see them hold hands. if you like, really need help, i'll respond to dms. but not anywhere my mutuals can see it love yall. 

Creating Tension / Confession time

This is mostly related to romance, but if you don't have some sort of tension then I'm bored. Your characters shouldn't be obsessed with each other, but they should feel the pull of attraction and be human in the way they communicate. By that, I mean that they're going to hold things back, they're going to be conveying emotions without speaking. 

One of the most frustrating things I read in fan fiction recently was a scene in which character 1 confessed to character 2 by thinking a long paragraph, which when paraphrased sai "oh i'm in love with you" and then realized she'd said it aloud. How many of us accidentally and clearly say paragraphs of our thoughts? don't lie, no one does. at least in this context. 

In my humble opinion (feel free to correct), my confession scenes work really well because they all have high tension or high emotion. I'll include an example.

"For the past month, I swear, all that's been on my mind is you. It's like everything I eat, everywhere I go, there's these little things that remind me of you. There were...dreams, too. I wanted to go back to not caring about relationships, to being some heartless player because it's easier, but..." Heejin groaned. "I don't know what you did, but it doesn't work anymore,"

Hyunjin felt her heart pounding in her chest.

"I slept with one person, her name was Nam Yujin and she wants to be a singer, she has a winter birthday and she's been to Japan," Heejin said suddenly. "I needed to feel like I could be with someone else but god, nothing feels like it's supposed to and I don't understand why it's like this and..." Heejin took a sharp inhale. "See, I can do it, I can care about someone-"

"Heejin," Hyunjin grabbed Heejin's shoulders, forcing her to calm down. "It's okay,"

"-but I can't care about them the way I care about you," (Around You from my Oneshots book)

"Is that why you can eat ramyun with Jiwoo every day and with me only once every two weeks in the middle of the night when nobody is watching?" Jinsol asked. She crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow. "Because Jiwoo is gross?"

Jungeun narrowed her eyes at the other girl. "Are you making this deliberately difficult for me?"

" I am making this deliberately difficult for you ? You avoid me, you can barely look at me and when I cook for you, you basically say you like me more, because something about Jiwoo is gross? Jungeun! What am I supposed to think here?"

Jungeun cringed and squirmed and wanted to look away. "I think that's one way to look at it."

"What's the other way to look at it? You say you like me but so far I'm not ranging a lot higher than girl cooties, it seems to me," Jinsol said.

"Jinsol unnie." Jungeun took her by her upper arms, looking at her, willing her to understand. She shook her lightly. "I don't like Jiwoo, I like you. Romantically. I like you romantically."

Jinsol eyed her again. A pause. Then: "Are you serious ?"

Jungeun threw her hands and rolled her eyes. She was about to say something sharp and grumpy, but then Jinsol stepped closer.

"Are you serious?" Jinsol asked, her voice softer, searching her eyes. (NOT MY STORY. I just love it alot. Ramyun Love Story by Barefootnotea. support them on ao3)

Too In Love

I just wanted to point out that no matter what kind of love story you're writing, make sure that your characters are also their own individual people without their love interests. They should have hobbies, friends, dreams, and they can't only think about their love interest. People like reading characters who aren't too two dimensional. They should also have other problems and other relationships outside of their love interest, especially if your story is on the longer side. 

Action

Ugh, even talking about action I hate. I'm gonna give it to you in bullet points to spare myself the time. 

-fast pacing makes the actions feel quicker - ie shorter sentences
-lengthy descriptions mess up said pace and you don't need them mid-scene, the beginning is fine but not in the middle, please. unless they're like fighting and your main character stops to look at something (dumbass), save it for later. 
-cut out filler words, make sentences direct.

Okay, no more action. I don't like writing about writing action. Lemme tell you though, I have this one scene deep in my drafts where Sooyoung and Jinsoul are fighting because Jinsoul was an asshole about Jungeun and Sooyoung's sheer attractiveness brought my motivation back... 

:]