coffeebeanwriting:

Plot armor is when important characters seem to survive each and every treacherous obstacle that is thrown their way just for the sake of the plot. The readers know that your protagonist is important and won’t meet their demise because who else will defeat the bad guy in the end? This can result in underwhelming battle scenes, loss of suspense and an overall boring experience.

Here are some ways to avoid having your readers notice the plot armor (because let’s be honest, it’s there whether we like or not) or at least make it more realistic:

1) Injure your characters. Let it be known that no one is safe. During the heat of battle, the prized soldier loses his sword arm. The invincible superhero receives PTSD after witnessing a terrible event. Raise the stakes!

2) If they escape, make it believable. Did they sacrifice something to escape? Did a past experience give them the wits and knowledge to outsmart the danger? Justify your protagonist’s escape. Don’t make it an easy get away just because you need them out of the situation. 

3) There are consequences. Every action sparks a reaction. Have there be realistic push back. Your character shouldn’t be immune to the rules and laws of your world.

4) Detailed Explanations. So, your character needs their limbs, their sanity and anything else you could strip them of. How do you make it seem like they’re not immune to everything then? Equip them with what they need (knowledge, weapon, confidence, etc) and really sell it to your reader on how they survived. 

There’s no way a teenaged girl stakes a 400 year old vampire just by picking up a branch and defending herself. Equip her with some knowledge of vampires (fanfics to the rescue?), an ancient relic that she unknowingly wears around her neck and an insane amount of adrenaline… and maybe I’ll believe it.

5) Kill off other characters. Have their deaths affect the protagonist.

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lyralit:

ingrid sundberg’s colour dictionary - writing help

2soulscollide:

BEST accounts to follow as a writer

It’s been a long time since my last visit here on Tumblr, right? So, as a comeback and since you loved my masterpost of websites for writers, I am bringing you my favorite Tumblr blogs to follow if you’re a writer and are interested in finding lots of inspo on your timeline, as well as prompts, tips, and useful resources. Shall we start?

PROMPTS:

1. @givethispromptatry
2. @dailystoryprompts
3. @here-haveaprompt
4. @dark-fiction-and-angst
5. @youneedsomeprompts
6. @deity-prompts
7. @whygodohgodwhy
8. @writinghoursopen
9. @fluffyomlette
10. @promptsforthestrugglingauthor
11. @novelbear
12. @gfuckign
13. @ghostly-prompts

WORLD BUILDING INSPO / PROMPTS:

1. @worldbuildingprompts
2. @locationbuildingprompts
3. @wbqotd
4. @wildworldwritingprompts
5. @worldbuilding-question
6. @thealpha-chronicles
7. @happyheidi
8. @enchantedengland
9. @ancientsstudies
10. @greeksblog

OC PROMPTS:

1. @yourocdoeswhat
2. @questionsforyourocs
3. @oc-question
4. @oc-dev
5. @characterization-queries
6. @oc-factoids
7. @tag-that-oc
8. @some-oc-questions

GENERAL WRITING ADVICE:

not all of the following accounts post things but they reblog useful info

1. @writing-with-olive
2. @tstrangeauthor
3. @everythingwritingg
4. @writerthreads
5. @heywriters
6. @thewritersphere
7. @writelively

PS: If you think your account fits any of these categories, feel free to comment! Someone will check it out!!! :D

promptful:

70 Taunting Enemies Prompts

Remember, requests are open.

WARNINGS: VIOLENCE, CURSING, MENTION OF BLOOD. MENTION OF A GUN.

DIALOGUE:

TAUNTER:

1. “Is that really all you got?” 
2. “Come on, you can do better than that.” 
3. “I’m not even sweating yet.” 
4. “Think I broke more of a sweat 
5. “I’m sure you can hit me if you try hard enough. I believe in you.” 
6. “So close.” 
7. “You’re… boring me.” 
8. “I expected more.” 
9. “Why couldn’t the cops deal with you?” 
10. “Oh, no.”
11. “I’m sooo scared.” 
12. “Honestly, if you weren’t threatening actual lives, you’d be more of a nuisance, really.” 
13. “This is what I was called for? You?” 
14. “What… is this?” 
15. “Do you want me to slow down for you?” 
16. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll let you get a hit in.” 
17. “This is stupid. Goodnight.” 
18.  “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be good enough to beat me one day.” 
19. “Come and get it.” 
20. “That actually hurt. Wow.” 
21. “Compared to my usual crowd, you’re nothing.” 
22. “Get out of my way.” 
23. “Move.” 
24. “Having fun?” 
25. “Aw, you’re not hurt already, are you?” 
26. “I was just playing. Surely you can take more.” 
27. “Oh my, is that blood? Just from that?” 

RESPONDING:

1. “You have to get through me!”
2. “Shut up!” 
3. “I can keep going.” 
4. “This— this is nothing.” 
5. “I’ll make you regret saying that!” 
6. “Then let me make this a little more challenging!” 
7. “Of course it hurts, dipshit.” 
8. “You should be scared.” 
9. “Stop— stop taunting me!” 
10. “Fun? Fun? Don’t insult me.” 
11. “I’ll show you better!” 
12. “I can’t stand you.” 
13. “Get out of my way!” 
14. “Over my dead body!” 
15. “I won’t let you get to them.” 
16. “I’ll make sure you can’t hurt anybody else.” 
17. “Over my grave, you bastard.” 
18. “I’ll take you down if it’s the last thing I do.” 
19. “If I can’t take you down, I will never forgive myself.” 
20. “Try and move me, I dare you!” 
21. “You’re gonna regret that!” 
22. “You want to see what I can do?” 
23. “You’re nothing.”
24. “Keep taunting me and see what happens.” 
25. “I’ll give you one chance, walk away.” 
26. “Fine, I guess we’re doing this.” 
27. “Y’know, talking during fighting isn’t very professional!” 
28. “Dammit, all right, here we go!” 

SCENARIOS:

1. You have a stupid smirk on your face, and I’m just trying to be serious. Why are you like this? Can we fight already? 
2. Why are you taunting me? Stop— stop dancing. We’re in the middle of a fight. 
3. When the cops/superhero/my friend told me what you were doing, I wanted to stay in bed. And now that I’m here, I’m thinking that maybe I should have. 
4. Is that bomb fake or real. I can never tell with you.
5. I’m bleeding from your knife/kicks/punches, but I’m not gonna stop fighting until you’re finally taken down. 
6. Every time you taunt me, I see red, and you know this. I should be stronger, but I’m not. 
7. I won’t let you hurt the people I love. Not while I’m still breathing. 
8. You notice that I’m breathing heavy, and you just keep smirking. I— I can keep going. I can. 
9. We used to be friends, what happened to us? Why do we always have to fight? 
10. If you’d just put that gun/remote/knife, we could go home, y’know? We don’t have to keep fighting. 
11. You’re not fighting like you used to, what happened? 
12. This is pathetic and a waste of my time, you’re in my way. 
13. You’ve gotten weaker, I can’t help but let a smirk cross my lips, this is almost… funny. 
14. You stumble against the wall with half-lidded eyes. It’d be so easy to just stroll by you, but for some reason, I can’t help but keep taunting you. 
15. You hate me. I hate you. Yet, taunting you is one of my favorite things to do. 

writing-prompt-s:

You’ve been sentenced to 400 years for multiple murders. It’s been 399 years and your jailers are starting to get nervous.

2soulscollide:

WEBSITES FOR WRITERS {masterpost}

1. E.A. Deverell - FREE worksheets (characters, world building, narrator, etc.) and paid courses;
2. Hiveword - Helps to research any topic to write about (has other resources, too);
3. BetaBooks - Share your draft with your beta reader (can be more than one), and see where they stopped reading, their comments, etc.;
4. Charlotte Dillon - Research links;
5. Writing realistic injuries - The title is pretty self-explanatory: while writing about an injury, take a look at this useful website;
6. One Stop for Writers - You guys… this website has literally everything we need: a) Description thesaurus collection, b) Character builder, c) Story maps, d) Scene maps & timelines, e) World building surveys, f) Worksheets, f) Tutorials, and much more! Although it has a paid plan ($90/year | $50/6 months | $9/month), you can still get a 2-week FREE trial;
7. One Stop for Writers Roadmap - It has many tips for you, divided into three different topics: a) How to plan a story, b) How to write a story, c) How to revise a story. The best thing about this? It’s FREE!
8. Story Structure Database - The Story Structure Database is an archive of books and movies, recording all their major plot points;
9. National Centre for Writing - FREE worksheets and writing courses. Has also paid courses;
10. Penguin Random House - Has some writing contests and great opportunities;
11. Crime Reads - Get inspired before writing a crime scene;
12. The Creative Academy for Writers - “Writers helping writers along every step of the path to publication.” It’s FREE and has ZOOM writing rooms;
13. Reedsy - “A trusted place to learn how to successfully publish your book” It has many tips, and tools (generators), contests, prompts lists, etc. FREE;
14. QueryTracker - Find agents for your books (personally, I’ve never used this before, but I thought I should feature it here);
15. Pacemaker - Track your goals (example: Write 50K words - then, everytime you write, you track the number of the words, and it will make a graphic for you with your progress). It’s FREE but has a paid plan;
16. Save the Cat! - The blog of the most known storytelling method. You can find posts, sheets, a software (student discount - 70%), and other things;

I hope this is helpful for you!

(Also, check my blog if you want to!)

lyralit:

show, don’t tell:

anticipation
- bouncing legs
- darting eyes
- breathing deeply
- useless / mindless tasks
- eyes on the clock
- checking and re-checking

frustration
- grumbling
- heavy footsteps
- hot flush
- narrowed eyes
- pointing fingers
- pacing / stomping

sadness
- eyes filling up with tears
- blinking quickly
- hiccuped breaths
- face turned away
- red / burning cheeks
- short sentences with gulps

happiness
- smiling / cheeks hurting
- animated
- chest hurts from laughing
- rapid movements
- eye contact
- quick speaking

boredom
- complaining
- sighing
- grumbling
- pacing
- leg bouncing
- picking at nails

fear
- quick heartbeat
- shaking / clammy hands
- pinching self
- tuck away
- closing eyes
- clenched hands

disappointment
- no eye contact
- hard swallow
- clenched hands
- tears, occasionally
- mhm-hmm

tiredness
- spacing out
- eyes closing
- nodding head absently
- long sighs
- no eye contact
- grim smile

confidence
- prolonged eye contact
- appreciates instead of apologizing
- active listening
- shoulders back
- micro reactions