❛ the lazy writers ❜ V2

[Totally_A_Human]

Thank you cleric!

Gosh, I feel so needy, but I also want to know your thoughts on writing more casual things. I am terrible at writing casual things, like two people walking, or just spending time together. It always ends up being super deep, much deeper than I meant it to. It also usually ends with the character questioning their existence.

[pdf]

not to clog up the thread with my responses buuuut that was a really interesting question so shrug emoji



Thank you cleric!

Gosh, I feel so needy, but I also want to know your thoughts on writing more casual things. I am terrible at writing casual things, like two people walking, or just spending time together. It always ends up being super deep, much deeper than I meant it to. It also usually ends with the character questioning their existence.



what i personally do is use the moment as a vehicle to convey something else instead of focusing on internal monologue about existence, the character themself, etc. if the overarching story is about a couple falling in love, then use the moment for the character to realize all the little things they love about the person. or, use the moment as exposition. use it to get into the core of the setting by describing the surroundings, or use it to talk about the character's childhood/circumstances by describing the environment, their actions, etc.

also, instead of letting a paragraph of thoughts spiral, nip the bud before it grows by interrupting thoughts with actions or dialogue.

like, here's an except from something i've been working on. it's a fairly casual conversation in a kitchen (though slightly tense and awkward), which i'm using as exposition at the beginning of a short story:



“Things change,” I revisit my previous sentiment, letting my finger ride the rim of my coffee cup.

“... They do,” Angela says, turning to me again. She looks down, smoothing out her jacket, before glancing around the room, “I’ll show myself out. Don’t want to keep you from any sudden inspiration. It strikes like lightning, they say.”

I want to correct her; for me, inspiration is a slow burn. I want to tell her that inspiration is the steady warmth of standing beside a furnace, watching the orange flames lick the glass of the door, and that her desperate reach to touch the scalding metal instead of waiting for the heat to sink into her skin was what always held her back from her artistic capability.

“I’ll get the door,” is all I can make myself say, and I stand, putting down my mug and striding past Angela as she throws her handbag over her shoulder. The cottage is small; just three rooms. The front door goes straight into the kitchen.

I open the door, and the air is sweet and fresh; almost unsettlingly so. My front yard is full of wildflowers and surrounded by a crooked picket fence. It’s everything I used to imagine as a child, but as Angela shuffles past me - the heels of her shoes leaving holes in the dirt path up to my door, making her way to her black Bentley - it doesn’t feel like a dream come true.




there were a couple times where my character started to get existential (like the rant about inspiration), but it's clipped quickly with dialogue. in the last paragraph, there, i use the moment of opening the door to provide exposition about the speaker's situation.

hope that was at least somewhat helpful and that it made sense?

[Totally_A_Human]

It does and it is extremely helpful! I am currently writing a book, so both of those questions were about figuring out my story. There are quite a few casual scenes that don't have dialogue, so I am trying to figure out how to not rush through them, but still keep it casual.
Thank you again for this help!

[Ranger of the North]

Quick question for people, I am trying to write out a panic attack. I personally have never experienced one, but I know people who have. I tried to base it on what they have told me about it and the symptoms for it, but I am still struggling. Does anyone here have any suggestions?

The others have given you pretty sound advice, but I would suggest also maybe giving your friends the option of proof-reading it, since they know first-hand what it's like? c:

Thank you cleric!

Gosh, I feel so needy, but I also want to know your thoughts on writing more casual things. I am terrible at writing casual things, like two people walking, or just spending time together. It always ends up being super deep, much deeper than I meant it to. It also usually ends with the character questioning their existence.

Pff, no, it's not needy! It's what this thread is here for, and tbh it's nice to finally have some life back XD
My characters always start bickering c': Maybe you could get yours to try that? XD Banter, argue, take a minute to just enjoy their surroundings and/or hanging out together - that sort of thing? And I mean contemplation isn't all bad, either, so there's that too :p

[BucketORandomness]

Quick question for people, I am trying to write out a panic attack. I personally have never experienced one, but I know people who have. I tried to base it on what they have told me about it and the symptoms for it, but I am still struggling. Does anyone here have any suggestions?

I'm not entirely sure it's a panic attack, but I wrote out something stress-related once. The others seem to have given you grammar hints and mental ideas about what happens, so I thought I'd chime n. I'll quote it at the bottom here so it doesn't clutter, but it' mainly focused on what I felt physically during the "meltdown" as my mom calls them. It's not the happiest thing in the world, so I'll also post the counter I made after the fact so it's not such a moody mess. Like I said, I'm not entirely certain it's accurate to a panic attack, but if you're looking for stress in physical notes, I'll post it below.

Thank you cleric!

Gosh, I feel so needy, but I also want to know your thoughts on writing more casual things. I am terrible at writing casual things, like two people walking, or just spending time together. It always ends up being super deep, much deeper than I meant it to. It also usually ends with the character questioning their existence.

Well, you could try just putting your characters into situations where it would be weird to contemplate something deep. You're eating breakfast at a new diner. You're waking upon a sunny hill, or watching clouds go by as you listen to another character talk about something they're really passionate about. Go through scenes without dialogue, with just descriptions, or with just dialogue. Really the best advice I can give you is practice. The more you practice, the better you get, really. >^.^<

Alright, guys. Here comes the moody mess. Before you ask: Yes, I'm okay. This was just a thing that happened and I figured I might as well write it out in case the experience could be translated to my writing somewhere.

Ever focus on your breathing? How much work it is? How little air your lungs actually hold? How they never seem full? How you always breathe out before you're satisfied? How the air whistles through your windpipe because breathing through your nose is not effective? Ever think about how much blood is pumped through your tiny brain? How your head pounds louder with each second? How hard your weak little heart works to get it up there? How all that blood pools behind your eyes, making them go fuzzy, pushing them further and further out of your skull? Ever payed attention to your body? How your skin is covered in heat? How it shivers? How the whole thing covers your body? How it stretches with each movement? How your legs feel like granite? How your joints are cemented in place? How your tongue fills your mouth with its ungainly metallic mass? How your stomach roils and twists and rebels at just being? Ever feel like the world is too noisy to hear? Like it's too quiet to think? Like you're so stupid, so helpless, so hopeless, that you just...

... Stop?

Ever stop focusing on the breathing, and instead focus on the air? How it tastes? How it fills your chest? How you always have to let it go? How everyone else is doing the same thing? How so many lives touch yours just by breathing in? How many people let go so you could breathe in? Ever stop thinking about the amount of blood, and instead think about how your heart beats? How it's the strongest thing to you? How you can feel it throughout your whole body? How it gets excited, or sad, or scared right along with you? How it feels when that one thing happens to brighten your day? Ever stop paying attention to your body in pieces, and instead think of it as a whole? How your face naturally glows when you laugh? How your spine and head straighten when you're confident? How your feet dance when you taste that coffee? How your hands move when you let go of that breath and make words for others? Ever feel like the world is huge? Like it's full of opportunities? Like there's people who care? Like you could do anything, go anywhere, meet anyone? Because you can.

[beebopbee]

Does anyone have any ideas for a main character? I've got April-May, a girl in a small town. I want her probably to be a little nice, but I'll take a peek at the oposite too!

[Ranger of the North]

That was really good, Randy! Love the different perspectives c:

[BucketORandomness]

Thanks, Ranger. >^.^<

Does anyone have any ideas for a main character? I've got April-May, a girl in a small town. I want her probably to be a little nice, but I'll take a peek at the opposite too!

Hiya! I don't recognize you, but that doesn't mean you're new. I think the personality for April-May will really depend on you, though I'm about to spam a ton of questions at you. Fear not; they're only meant to get you thinking.

~What genre are you writing? Is it fantasy? Sci-fi? Horror? Historical?
~What kind of plot are you looking at? Redemption? Adventure? Mystery? General scary night?
~What kind of role do you want your Main Character ((MC)) to play in that plot? Accidental genius? The one with all the solutions? The hero? The unreliable narrator?
~What personality traits would make your MC fit that role like a glove?
~What personality traits would make your MC struggle to fulfill that role?
~Is there going to be secondary MCs? What might they do? How do they relate to this MC?
~What is their nervous tick?
~Is there something in particular they do when bored?
~How does your MC deal with new situations?
~What might the MC do differently in front of friends verses in front of others?
~What kinds of interests does the MC have?
~How does the MC express happiness? What about sadness? Guilt? Anger?
~On a scale from "no filter" to "iron jaws of control" how much does the MC consider their words or actions beforehand? Afterwards?
~What is the MC's relationship with their parents? Extended family? Siblings, if they have them?
~What is their favorite thing to do when left unsupervised?
~What kind of backstory would your MC need to develop these traits?

[beebopbee]

Thanks, Ranger. >^.^<

Does anyone have any ideas for a main character? I've got April-May, a girl in a small town. I want her probably to be a little nice, but I'll take a peek at the opposite too!

Hiya! I don't recognize you, but that doesn't mean you're new. I think the personality for April-May will really depend on you, though I'm about to spam a ton of questions at you. Fear not; they're only meant to get you thinking.

~What genre are you writing? Is it fantasy? Sci-fi? Horror? Historical?
~What kind of plot are you looking at? Redemption? Adventure? Mystery? General scary night?
~What kind of role do you want your Main Character ((MC)) to play in that plot? Accidental genius? The one with all the solutions? The hero? The unreliable narrator?
~What personality traits would make your MC fit that role like a glove?
~What personality traits would make your MC struggle to fulfill that role?
~Is there going to be secondary MCs? What might they do? How do they relate to this MC?
~What is their nervous tick?
~Is there something in particular they do when bored?
~How does your MC deal with new situations?
~What might the MC do differently in front of friends verses in front of others?
~What kinds of interests does the MC have?
~How does the MC express happiness? What about sadness? Guilt? Anger?
~On a scale from "no filter" to "iron jaws of control" how much does the MC consider their words or actions beforehand? Afterwards?
~What is the MC's relationship with their parents? Extended family? Siblings, if they have them?
~What is their favorite thing to do when left unsupervised?
~What kind of backstory would your MC need to develop these traits?

thanks so much! i'll look at these <3

[Yubel Fated]

Favorite Genre? And why?

My favorite Genre? I dont really have one in particular. If its good I'll be willing to read it.

Have any of you read/written stories on CS? If someone in here write one, would you read it?

I've read a few of Ranger's writings if that counts. But as for anything else, no not really. On the flip side, you can find a Twilight Princess Fanfiction deep within my threads. I dont know if its still up. But I did write something. I also post prompts and beta versions of my work both old and new.


Do you have any writing-related resolutions for 2019?

Try and finish the first draft for the rest of my original book.

Though this is a late thing. its the 27th and I'm just barely answering this question and returning to this thread.