psychology-terms:

Sternberg’s Love Theory

writingbox:

Sometimes you want to write, but you have no plot ideas. Perhaps your fingers are itchy to write, you want to meet a submissions deadline, a character is bugging you to tell their story, or a single image, phrase, or scene is sitting heavy in your head. But you still can’t find the whole story.

So what can you do?

• Start with characters: find their names, their backstories, their relationships. Create detailed descriptions, draw them, build their family trees. Get them interracting, put them into a room together, or bump them into each other in the street. Read their diaries, their love letters, their bank statements. Get to know them inside out. This is one place where you may find your story.
• Start with a world: create your map, name the towns, lakes, forests, and mountains. Work out the trade routes, position the markets, the ports, and the industry. Find the history, predict the future. Draw out the borders, bring war, re-draw the borders. Get down to street level and see who lives there. Walk the streets yourself. This is one place where you may find your story.
• Start with a room: stand in the middle of a room and open your eyes. What does the room look like? What’s in it? How many doors and windows are there? What is the room used for? Who uses it? What has happened here, and what is going to happen here? This is one place where you may find your story.
• Start with an object: pick something up into your hand. What is it? What is it used for? Who owns it, and who owned it before them? What is it worth, either monetarily or sentimentally? Has it been lost, found, stolen, given away? Why is this object important? This is one place where you may find your story.

babbleslime:

Character development thing.

Plot points on this chart to represent how important these different aspects of a character’s life are to them. By doing that you can help determine what type of things your character deems to be most meaningful in their life, especially compared to others aspects.

A brief explanation of each aspect is below in case you’re confused about the meaning of any.

Physical Aspects

• Strength: to have physical power and strength
• Sex: to have sexual gratification and satisfaction
• Possessions: to have objects and tangible things
• Health: to have physical health and stability
• Appearance: to have a good external appearance

Emotional Aspects

• Love: to love and be loved, romantically or otherwise
• Appreciation: to be appreciated by others
• Attention: to be paid attention to
• Security: to feel secure emotionally
• Approval: to be approved by others

Social Aspects

• Respect: to be respected
• Friendship: to have friends
• Intimacy: to be intimate with a partner or partners
• Belongingness: to feel needed and belonged
• Family: to be on good terms with/have a family

Spiritual Aspects

• Inner peace: to be content with themselves
• Purpose: to feel as though they are fulfilling a purpose
• Self-sufficiency: to feel that they are able to provide for themselves
• Growth: to feel as though they are growing and changing
• Acceptance: to be able to accept themselves without consequence

artfreak17:

123 Ideas for Character Flaws

amandaonwriting:

Character Flaws

1. Absent-minded - Preoccupied to the extent of being unaware of one’s immediate surroundings. Abstracted, daydreaming, inattentive, oblivious, forgetful.
2. Abusive - Characterized by improper infliction of physical or psychological maltreatment towards another.
3. Addict - One who is addicted to a compulsive activity. Examples: gambling, drugs, sex.
4. Aimless - Devoid of direction or purpose.
5. Alcoholic - A person who drinks alcoholic substances habitually and to excess.
6. Anxious - Full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; greatly worried; solicitous.
7. Arrogant - Having or displaying a sense of overbearing self-worth or self-importance. Inclined to social exclusiveness and who rebuff the advances of people considered inferior. Snobbish.
8. Audacious - Recklessly bold in defiance of convention, propriety, law, or the like; insolent; braze, disobedient.
9. Bad Habit - A revolting personal habit. Examples: picks nose, spits tobacco, drools, bad body odour.
10. Bigmouth - A loud-mouthed or gossipy person.
11. Bigot - One who is strongly partial to one’s own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ.
12. Blunt - Characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion. Frank, callous, insensitive, brusque.
13. Bold - In a bad sense, too forward; taking undue liberties; over assuming or confident; lacking proper modesty or restraint; rude; impudent. Abrupt, brazen, cheeky, brassy, audacious.
14. Callous - They are hardened to emotions, rarely showing any form of it in expression. Unfeeling. Cold.
15. Childish - Marked by or indicating a lack of maturity; puerile.
16. Complex - An exaggerated or obsessive concern or fear. (List specific complex.)
17. Cruel - Mean to anyone or anything, without care or regard to consequences and feelings.
18. Cursed - A person who has befallen a prayer for evil or misfortune, placed under a spell, or borne into an evil circumstance, and suffers for it. Damned.
19. Dependent - Unable to exist, sustain oneself, or act appropriately or normally without the assistance or direction of another.
20. Deranged - Mentally decayed. Insane. Crazy. Mad. Psychotic.
21. Dishonest – Given to or using fraud, cheating; deceitful, deceptive, crooked, underhanded.
22. Disloyal - Lacking loyalty. Unfaithful, perfidious, traitorous, treasonable
23. Disorder - An ailment that affects the function of mind or body. (List the disorders name if they have one.) See the Mental Disorder List.
24. Disturbed - Showing some or a few signs or symptoms of mental or emotional illness. Confused, disordered, neurotic, troubled.
25. Dubious - Fraught with uncertainty or doubt. Undecided, doubtful, unsure.
26. Dyslexic - Affected by dyslexia, a learning disorder marked by impairment of the ability to recognize and comprehend written words.
27. Egotistical - Characteristic of those having an inflated idea of their own importance. Boastful, pompous.
28. Envious - Showing extreme cupidity; painfully desirous of another’s advantages; covetous, jealous.
29. Erratic - Deviating from the customary course in conduct or opinion; eccentric: erratic behaviour. Eccentric, bizarre, outlandish, strange.
30. Fanatical - Fanatic outlook or behaviour especially as exhibited by excessive enthusiasm, unreasoning zeal, or wild and extravagant notions on some subject.
31. Fickle – Erratic, changeable, unstable - especially with regard to affections or attachments; capricious.
32. Fierce - Marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions; inclined to react violently; fervid.
33. Finicky - Excessively particular or fastidious; difficult to please; fussy. Too much concerned with detail. Meticulous, fastidious, choosy, critical, picky, prissy, pernickety.
34. Fixated - In psychoanalytic theory, a strong attachment to a person or thing, especially such an attachment formed in childhood or infancy and manifested in immature or neurotic behaviour that persists throughout life. Fetish, quirk, obsession, infatuation.
35. Flirt -To make playfully romantic or sexual overtures; behaviour intended to arouse sexual interest. Minx. Tease.
36. Gluttonous - Given to excess in consumption of especially food or drink. Voracious, ravenous, wolfish, piggish, insatiable.
37. Gruff - Brusque or stern in manner or appearance. Crusty, rough, surly.
38. Gullible - Will believe any information given, regardless of how valid or truthful it is, easily deceived or duped.
39. Hard - A person who is difficult to deal with, manage, control, overcome, or understand. Hard emotions, hard hearted.
40. Hedonistic - Pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasures of the senses.
41. Hoity-toity- Given to flights of fancy; capricious; frivolous. Prone to giddy behaviour, flighty.
42. Humourless - The inability to find humour in things, and most certainly in themselves.
43. Hypocritical - One who is always contradicting their own beliefs, actions or sayings. A person who professes beliefs and opinions for others that he does not hold. Being a hypocrite.
44. Idealist - One whose conduct is influenced by ideals that often conflict with practical considerations. One who is unrealistic and impractical, guided more by ideals than by practical considerations.
45. Idiotic - Marked by a lack of intelligence or care; foolish or careless.
46. Ignorant - Lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact. Showing or arising from a lack of education or knowledge.
47. Illiterate - Unable to read and write.
48. Immature - Emotionally undeveloped; juvenile; childish.
49. Impatient - Unable to wait patiently or tolerate delay; restless. Unable to endure irritation or opposition; intolerant.
50. Impious - Lacking piety and reverence for a god/gods and their followers.
51. Impish - Naughtily or annoyingly playful.
52. Incompetent - Unable to execute tasks, no matter how the size or difficulty.
53. Indecisive - Characterized by lack of decision and firmness, especially under pressure.
54. Indifferent - The trait of lacking enthusiasm for or interest in things generally, remaining calm and seeming not to care; a casual lack of concern. Having or showing little or no interest in anything; languid; spiritless.
55. Infamy - Having an extremely bad reputation, public reproach, or strong condemnation as the result of a shameful, criminal, or outrageous act that affects how others view them.
56. Intolerant - Unwilling to tolerate difference of opinion and narrow-minded about cherished opinions.
57. Judgemental - Inclined to make and form judgements, especially moral or personal ones, based on one’s own opinions or impressions towards others/practices/groups/religions based on appearance, reputation, occupation, etc.
58. Klutz - Clumsy. Blunderer.
59. Lazy - Resistant to work or exertion; disposed to idleness.
60. Lewd - Inclined to, characterized by, or inciting to lust or lechery; lascivious. Obscene or indecent, as language or songs; salacious.
61. Liar - Compulsively and purposefully tells false truths more often than not. A person who has lied or who lies repeatedly.
62. Lustful - Driven by lust; preoccupied with or exhibiting lustful desires.
63. Masochist - The deriving of sexual gratification, or the tendency to derive sexual gratification, from being physically or emotionally abused. A willingness or tendency to subject oneself to unpleasant or trying experiences.
64. Meddlesome - Intrusive in a meddling or offensive manner, given to meddling; interfering.
65. Meek - Evidencing little spirit or courage; overly submissive or compliant; humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness.
66. Megalomaniac - A psycho pathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of wealth, power, or omnipotence.
67. Naïve - Lacking worldly experience and understanding, simple and guileless; showing or characterized by a lack of sophistication and critical judgement.
68. Nervous - Easily agitated or distressed; high-strung or jumpy.
69. Non-violent - Abstaining from the use of violence. 
70. Nosey - Given to prying into the affairs of others; snoopy. Offensively curious or inquisitive.
71. Obsessive - An unhealthy and compulsive preoccupation with something or someone.
72. Oppressor - A person of authority who subjects others to undue pressures, to keep down by severe and unjust use of force or authority.
73. Overambitious - Having a strong excessive desire for success or achievement.
74. Overconfident - Excessively confident; presumptuous.
75. Overemotional - Excessively or abnormally emotional. Sensitive about themselves and others, more so than the average person.
76. Overprotective - To protect too much; coddle.
77. Overzealous - Marked by excessive enthusiasm for and intense devotion to a cause or idea.
78. Pacifist - Opposition to war or violence as a means of resolving disputes. (Can double as a merit in certain cases)
79. Paranoid - Exhibiting or characterized by extreme and irrational fear or distrust of others.
80. Peevish - Expressing fretfulness and discontent, or unjustifiable dissatisfaction. Cantankerous, cross, ill-tempered, testy, captious, discontented, crotchety, cranky, ornery.
81. Perfectionist - A propensity for being displeased with anything that is not perfect or does not meet extremely high standards.
82. Pessimist - A tendency to stress the negative or unfavourable or to take the gloomiest possible view.
83. Pest - One that pesters or annoys, with or without realizing it. Nuisance. Annoying. Nag.
84. Phobic – They have a severe form of fear when it comes to this one thing. Examples: Dark, Spiders, Cats 
85. Practical - Level-headed, efficient, and unspeculative. No-nonsense. 
86. Predictable - Easily seen through and assessable, where almost anyone can predict reactions and actions of said person by having met or known them even for a short time.
87. Proud - Filled with or showing excessive self-esteem and will often shirk help from others for the sake of pride.
88. Rebellious - Defying or resisting some established authority, government, or tradition; insubordinate; inclined to rebel.
89. Reckless - Heedless. Headstrong. Foolhardy. Unthinking boldness, wild carelessness and disregard for consequences.
90. Remorseless - Without remorse; merciless; pitiless; relentless.
91. Rigorous - Rigidly accurate; allowing no deviation from a standard; demanding strict attention to rules and procedures.
92. Sadist - The deriving of sexual gratification or the tendency to derive sexual gratification from inflicting pain or emotional abuse on others. Deriving of pleasure, or the tendency to derive pleasure, from cruelty.
93. Sadomasochist - Both sadist and masochist combined.
94. Sarcastic - A subtle form of mockery in which an intended meaning is conveyed obliquely.
95. Sceptic - One who instinctively or habitually doubts, questions, or disagrees with assertions or generally accepted conclusions.
96. Seducer - To lead others astray, as from duty, rectitude, or the like; corrupt. To attempt to lead or draw someone away, as from principles, faith, or allegiance.
97. Selfish - Concerned chiefly or only with oneself.
98. Self-Martyr - One who purposely makes a great show of suffering in order to arouse sympathy from others, as a form of manipulation, and always for a selfish cause or reason.
99. Self-righteous - Piously sure of one’s own righteousness; moralistic. Exhibiting pious self-assurance. Holier-than-thou, sanctimonious.
100. Senile - Showing a decline or deterioration of physical strength or mental functioning, esp. short-term memory and alertness, as a result of old age or disease.
101. Shallow - Lacking depth of intellect or knowledge; concerned only with what is obvious.
102. Smart Ass - Thinks they know it all, and in some ways they may, but they can be greatly annoying and difficult to deal with at times, especially in arguments.
103. Soft-hearted - Having softness or tenderness of heart that can lead them into trouble; susceptible of pity or other kindly affection. They cannot resist helping someone they see in trouble, suffering or in need, and often don’t think of the repercussions or situation before doing so.
104. Solemn - Deeply earnest, serious, and sober.
105. Spineless - Lacking courage. Cowardly, wimp, lily-livered, gutless.
106. Spiteful - Showing malicious ill will and a desire to hurt; motivated by spite; vindictive person who will look for occasions for resentment. Vengeful.
107. Spoiled - Treated with excessive indulgence and pampering from earliest childhood, and has no notion of hard work, self-care or money management; coddled, pampered. Having the character or disposition harmed by pampering or over-solicitous attention.
108. Squeamish - Excessively fastidious and easily disgusted.
109. Stubborn - Unreasonably, often perversely unyielding; bull-headed. Firmly resolved or determined; resolute.
110. Superstitious - An irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear from an irrational belief that an object, action, or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome.
111. Tactless - Lacking or showing a lack of what is fitting and considerate in dealing with others.
112. Temperamental - Moody, irritable, or sensitive. Excitable, volatile, emotional.
113. Theatrical - Having a flair for over dramatizing situations, doing things in a ‘big way’ and love to be ‘centre stage’.
114. Timid -Tends to be shy and/or quiet, shrinking away from offering opinions or from strangers and newcomers, fearing confrontations and violence.
115. Tongue-tied - Speechless or confused in expression, as from shyness, embarrassment, or astonishment.
116. Troublemaker - Someone who deliberately stirs up trouble, intentionally or unintentionally.
117. Unlucky - Marked by or causing misfortune; ill-fated. Destined for misfortune; doomed.
118. Unpredictable - Difficult to foretell or foresee, their actions are so chaotic it’s impossible to know what they are going to do next.
119. Untrustworthy - Not worthy of trust or belief. Backstabber.
120. Vain - Holding or characterized by an unduly high opinion of their physical appearance. Lovers of themselves. Conceited, egotistic, narcissistic.
121. Weak-willed - Lacking willpower, strength of will to carry out one’s decisions, wishes, or plans. Easily swayed.
122. Withdrawn - Not friendly or Sociable. Aloof.
123. Zealous - A fanatic.

From The Character Therapist

shannahmcgill:

1. The Foreknowledge Fiona. The Foreknowledge Fiona has vast stores of intuition that are never wrong.  She just knows to hide information from somebody who’ll turn out to be a bad guy later on.  The giant monster’s weak spot is easily guessable for her.  All of the author’s knowledge about the plot is hers to command.  It often manifests itself in little impulses that always work out.

2. The Solver Sarah.  If there’s a puzzle that a large tribe of people have been working on for thousands of years, expect the Solver Sarah to stumble upon the answer with no help in an hour.  This might be acceptable once, but the Solver Sarah will then proceed to find the culprit behind a string of murders all by herself.  She seems to be a staple of detective series.  Remember: the more people who are working on finding something, the less likely your protagonist will be the one to do so.

3. The Obsessed Oswald.  The Obsessed Oswald is only bad in a cast of similar characters.  The author has decided that when they give a character a trait such as “likes cereal,” the character must then love cereal with a passion.  Everything the Obsessed Oswald likes, he loves.  Everything he dislikes, he hates.  It’s fine to have one character like this, but the Obsessed Oswald usually likes to bring his other obsessed friends along for the ride.

4. The Correct Carl.  The Correct Carl lives only to give sage advice.  The magical sage advice he gives is always right.  When characters follow the Correct Carl’s advice, it works out well for them.  When they don’t, they get in trouble. Unless you’re writing about Jesus himself, nobody is going to give the right advice 100% of the time.  The Correct Carl is at his most annoying when he works as a relationship counseler or matchmaker.

5. The Quiet Quinn.  There is nothing at all wrong with having quiet, introverted characters.  To accurately represent humanity, some of your characters should be quiet.  The problem arises when you portray introversion as inherently better.  The Quiet Quinn is always smarter than his loudmouth companions.  He’s able to notice things that they miss.  He’s more polite and more caring.  Often, the Quiet Quinn will only really open his mouth when there’s a wise figure around to ask questions to, because the Quiet Quinn is also more curious than those idiot extraverts he has to put up with.

6.  The Dark Damien.  The Dark Damien tries to fit the dark and brooding character profile, but he doesn’t actually have anything to brood about.  His past was pretty nice.  Instead of just cheering up because he has a pretty good life, he broods about philosophy.  This is always a bad idea.  If your character broods about philosophy and has a bad past, that’s fine.  If it’s just philosophy, you’ve created a Dark Damien.  Unless you go to great lengths to portray him as just a whiny emo, you’ll create an annoying character who’s really hard to like.  People can sympathize with a whiny emo.  Many people were whiny emos at one point.  I don’t think there’s anybody who can sympathize with a legitimate, serious dark and brooding character with nothing to actually brood about.

7. The Evil Ella.  The Evil Ella doesn’t just run an evil empire and hate the heroes.  She also steals pocket change and draws dirty pictures on bathroom walls.  The Evil Ella is rumored to be a cannibal as well, and she keeps a whole room full of small, furry animals just so she can punch them when she feels bad.  There comes a point when if you made your bad guys do any more bad things, they’d become funny instead of scary.  This is to be avoided.

8. The Dialog Diana.  Oh, no!  There’s a battle happening, but nobody’s around who’s not fighting so that it can be talked about!  Call the Dialog Diana!  The Dialog Diana is like a second narrative voice.  She talks about all of the stuff that should be conveyed in the narrative.  The Dialog Diana voices her opinions on everything, right as it’s happening.  She turns books into plays.

The follower of the day is mayoremanuel.

owlcritic:

List of Smut Writing Guides

Below is a list of guides that have been written on how to write smut. Credit goes to their original writers. This list will be updated each time I find a new smut guide. [Each link below is titled as the topic it covers]

• Accurately Write Gay Sex
• Bare Bones [Step by Step/Stages]
• Boners
• Casual Sex
• Erotic Horror
• Gay Sex
• Guide to Bottoming
• In General [and details]
• Kisses
• Kissing
• Language in Smut
• Lesbian Smut
• Making Love
• Planned Sex [Girl POV]
• Sex Between Virgins
• Sex Scene
• Sex Scenes
• Sex Scene References
• Terms [Vocabulary]
• The Basics
• The First Time
• Words for Sex
• Writing a Sex Scene
• Writing from a Male’s Perspective
• Writing Tips
• 12-Step Program [How to Write Sex]

Yes, some of these may not relate directly to smut or cover the topic, but they can be helpful when writing smut.

The updated list can always be found here. If there are any broken links, please let me know.

keyboardsmashwriters:

One of the strongest bonds that link us to our favorite stories is the emotional tie, or books that sink a fist right into our guts. When you finished a book where you couldn’t let go of after the last page, chances are, the author successfully punched you in the spleen. If you’ve ever wondered how to do just that, here are some of my favorite methods:

1. Make your reader root for your main character(s). Make your character stretch out their arm toward their goal, as far as they can to reach, until their fingertips barely brush it. Make your character want something so much that your reader wants it, too.
2. When your character trips and stumbles and stops to question themselves, the readers will hold their breath.
3. Push your character to their very limit, and then a little further.
4. When your character hits the bottom, they should scrape themselves back together and get back up. Give readers a reason to believe in your character.
5. If your character is challenging your plot, your plot should challenge your character.
6. Leave a trail of intrigue, of questions, of “what if?” and “what next?”
7. If a character loses something (a battle, an important memento, part of themselves), they must eventually gain something in equal exchange, whether for good or bad.
8. Raise the stakes. Then raise them higher.
9. Don’t feel pressured to kill a character (especially simply to generate emotional appeal). A character death should serve the plot, not the shock factor. Like anything else in your story, only do it if it must be done and there’s no other way around it.
10. What’s the worst that can happen? Make it happen. Just make sure that the reader never loses hope.

patchjelly:

s o u r c e

Blubbering: Unattractive, loud crying. Characterized by mutters, truncated, erratic breathing, clinched facial expressions and hunched posture.

Hyperventilate-Crying: Forceful crying causing heavy breathing, resulting in the inability to speak or produce sounds even resembling words.

Scream-Crying: Violent crying accompanied with bouts of yelling or sometimes shrieking. May also include slapping, punching or other physical expressions of distress.

Silent Tears: Soft, inaudible crying that does not draw attention; May manifest only in a single tear rolling down one’s cheek.

Sobbing: Heavy crying with a large volume tears flowing steadily; Generally audible but not inappropriately loud.

Sniveling: Audible, but soft crying, also prone to muttering and erratic breathing; May also show signs of drool or mucus.

Weeping: A gentler version of sobbing; Involves soft, steady stream of tears with some times lightly audible signs of distress.

Whimpering: Soft crying usually including few or no tears at all; Often incorporates muttering and/or high-pitched sighs.

loudthinkersoftspeaker:

Body Language Signs

You can tell how someone is feeling by their body language signs. It’s useful to be able to read people’s body language because what people say and what they feel are often not the same. Studies have shown that of the information that we receive from other people: 10% is from what they actually say; 40% is from the tone and speed of their voice; 50% is from their body language.

Head (Body Language Signs)

• A tilted head symbolises interest in someone or something.
• A lowered head is a negative signal that communicates acceptance of defeat.
• Running fingers through hair can mean that someone is frustrated or that they’re preening themselves because they feel attractive.
• Fondling or patting down hair demonstrates insecurity and a lack of self-confidence.
• The occasional nod from a listener to a speaker is a positive message; it’s an indication that they are listening and are interested.
• Too much nodding implies that a listener has lost interest, is not really listening and is simply nodding to be polite.
• Touching or tugging an ear indicates indecision; though it’s also sometimes done when a person is being untruthful.
• Someone may touch or slightly rub their nose if they are doubtful about what is being said or if they are rejecting an idea.
• People often pinch the bridge of their nose and close their eyes when making a negative evaluation.
• People place their hand on their cheek when they’re thinking or evaluating.
• A genuine smile engages the whole face (including the eyes) and is usually larger on the right side.
• A false smile will often only engage the lips, and will be fairly symmetrical or larger on the left side.
• A person stroking their chin is evaluating or making a decision.
• Projecting the chin towards another person demonstrates defiance or aggression.
• Clearing the throat or swallowing air is a sign of anxiety.

Eyes (Body Language Signs)

• Failing to look someone in the eyes displays a lack of confidence.
• Lowering the eyes is a sign of submission, fear or guilt.
• Staring is interpreted as aggression and implies a person feels dominant and powerful.
• Looking directly into another person’s eyes without staring signifies self-assurance.
• Sizing up a person by looking at them from head to toe is associated with assessing them as either as a potential threat or as a sexual partner.
• Continual glancing at something or someone suggests a desire for that thing or person.
• Blink rate increases when someone is nervous or assessing something.
• Looking upwards and to the right indicates that someone is recalling a memory.
• Looking upwards and to the left implies that a person is using the imaginative / creative part of their brain.
• When a person looks directly upwards they are thinking.
• A widening or brightening of a person’s eyes shows an increased interest in a situation / conversation.
• People who feel insulted, caught-out or threatened, will likely break eye contact.
• A quick glance sideways during a conversation can be used to show irritation at the last comment made.
• Eyes moving from side to side whilst talking suggest that what is being said is not meant to be heard by other people.
• A person who consistently looks around them is bored with a situation / conversation.

Upper Body (Body Language Signs)

• Pushing the chest forward draws attention to it; for women this is seen as a provocative romantic display whereas for men it’s a show of strength and power.
• A person may push their shoulders back to demonstrate their power and signify that they don’t fear attack.
• A pulled back chest with forward curled shoulders is a defensive position taken by people who want others to know that they are no threat to them.
• A person with folded / crossed arms is placing a barrier between themselves and their surroundings; indicating that they’re not happy with what is being said or done.
• Open arms, particularly when combined with showing palms, mean that someone is approachable and willing to communicate with others.
• Upward facing palms signify that a person’s defences are down and that they’re speaking sincerely with an open heart.
• Outward, upward hand movements express an open and positive message.
• Open palms occasionally touching the chest imply honesty.
• Using hands with downward facing palms symbolises a calming action.
• A palm facing outwards towards someone signals to that person to stop what they are doing or not come any closer.
• Positioning hands behind the back shows that someone is relaxed and comfortable; though it can also be used on purpose to convey a message of power and confidence.
• Finger pointing is interpreted as either a sign of assertiveness or a sign of aggression.
• Tapping or drumming fingers communicates impatience or frustration.
• Biting fingernails represents insecurity and nervousness.
• Fiddling with items (e.g. keys or a pen) can be a sign of nerves or anxiety; alternatively it may be done as a result of boredom or impatience.
• Interlinked fingers, finger tips touching or index fingers pressed together, are positive gestures that show a person is thinking, evaluating or deciding.
• Sides of the palms close together with extended fingers (forming the shape of a plate) is an action often used when offering thoughts or ideas to people.
• Fingers held together and curled upwards (forming the shape of a cup) is a gesture used when someone is pleading for something.
• Touching the front of the neck symbolises concern about what another person is saying.

Lower Body (Body Language Signs)

• Walking briskly with an upright posture shows confidence.
• A normal, relaxed standing pose is with the feet positioned at shoulder width.
• The wider a person’s feet are positioned from each other, the more dominant and powerful they feel.
• Standing with hands on hips expresses either readiness or aggression.
• Leaning back with the hips pushed forward is a provocative and suggestive gesture; it can also signify that a person feels powerful.
• In a relaxed sitting pose, the thighs are typically slightly open, with legs running in parallel from the hips.
• Sitting with legs open / apart means that a person is comfortable and is feeling secure in their surroundings.
• Sitting legs may point (with knees or feet) at the most interesting person in a room or in a person’s desired direction of travel (i.e. towards a door).
• Crossed legs can be either a negative, defensive position or a relaxed, comfortable one; it depends on how tense a persons leg muscles are.
• Legs crossed towards someone suggest a greater level of interest in them than legs crossed away from them.
• A slightly kicking / bouncing foot when sitting with crossed legs suggests boredom or impatience.
• Crossing ankles is a sign of being fairly relaxed, especially when the legs are stretched forward and the person is leaning back.
• The ‘figure-of-four cross’ occurs when one ankle is placed on top of the other legs’ knee, with the top leg’s knee pointing sideways; this signals confidence and power.

referenceforwriters:

• a young character
• a character who lost someone important
• a flirtatious character
• a villain (2) (3) (4)
• a character based on yourself 
• a hit man or mercenary
• an indifferent character
• a bitchy character
• a gay character
• a dancer
• a vampire
• a pansexual character
• a character on the police force
• a drunk character
• a manipulative character
• a friends with benefits relationship
• a natural born leader (2)
• a nice character
• a british character
• a character with a baby
• an assassin
• a character with night terrors
• a rich character
• a witty character

referenceforwriters:

• How to Write a Kissing Scene in a Romance Novel
• How to Write a Kissing Scene… Valentine Edition
• How to write a kiss (1)
• NaNoWriMo Expert: How To Write a Kiss? and Should You Write Sex?
• How to Write a Kissing Scene in 5 Simple Steps
• How to write a kiss (2)
• Kiss and Tell – How to Write a Kissing Scene.
• Masterlist - All about kisses in one place (GIFS, pictures, types of kisses)

• Get idea I’m excited about
• start writing 
• realize I don’t know how I’m going to end it
• Panic
• ideas freeze
• procrastinate
• stop attempting it all together

amandaonwriting:

Writers can use these 12 Archetypes to create characters

The 12 Common Archetypes by Carl Golden

The twelve archetypes are divided into ego types, self types, and soul types. 

1) The Four Ego Types
 
1. The Innocent
Motto: Free to be you and me
Core desire: to get to paradise
Goal: to be happy
Greatest fear: to be punished for doing something bad or wrong
Strategy: to do things right
Weakness: boring for all their naive innocence
Talent: faith and optimism
The Innocent is also known as: Utopian, traditionalist, naive, mystic, saint, romantic, dreamer.
 
2. The Orphan/Regular Guy or Gal
Motto: All men and women are created equal
Core Desire: connecting with others
Goal: to belong
Greatest fear: to be left out or to stand out from the crowd
Strategy: develop ordinary solid virtues, be down to earth, the common touch
Weakness: losing one’s own self in an effort to blend in or for the sake of superficial relationships
Talent: realism, empathy, lack of pretence
The Regular Person is also known as: The good old boy, everyman, the person next door, the realist, the working stiff, the solid citizen, the good neighbour, the silent majority.
 
3. The Hero
Motto: Where there’s a will, there’s a way
Core desire: to prove one’s worth through courageous acts
Goal: expert mastery in a way that improves the world
Greatest fear: weakness, vulnerability, being a “chicken”
Strategy: to be as strong and competent as possible
Weakness: arrogance, always needing another battle to fight
Talent: competence and courage
The Hero is also known as: The warrior, crusader, rescuer, superhero, the soldier, dragon slayer, the winner and the team player.
 
4. The Caregiver
Motto: Love your neighbour as yourself
Core desire: to protect and care for others
Goal: to help others
Greatest fear: selfishness and ingratitude
Strategy: doing things for others
Weakness: martyrdom and being exploited
Talent: compassion, generosity
The Caregiver is also known as: The saint, altruist, parent, helper, supporter.
 
2) The Four Soul Types
         
5. The Explorer
Motto: Don’t fence me in
Core desire: the freedom to find out who you are through exploring the world
Goal: to experience a better, more authentic, more fulfilling life
Biggest fear: getting trapped, conformity, and inner emptiness
Strategy: journey, seeking out and experiencing new things, escape from boredom
Weakness: aimless wandering, becoming a misfit
Talent: autonomy, ambition, being true to one’s soul
The explorer is also known as: The seeker, iconoclast, wanderer, individualist, pilgrim.
 
6. The Rebel
Motto: Rules are made to be broken
Core desire: revenge or revolution
Goal: to overturn what isn’t working
Greatest fear: to be powerless or ineffectual
Strategy: disrupt, destroy, or shock
Weakness: crossing over to the dark side, crime
Talent: outrageousness, radical freedom
The Outlaw is also known as: The rebel, revolutionary, wild man, the misfit, or iconoclast.
 
7. The Lover
Motto: You’re the only one
Core desire: intimacy and experience
Goal: being in a relationship with the people, work and surroundings they love
Greatest fear: being alone, a wallflower, unwanted, unloved
Strategy: to become more and more physically and emotionally attractive
Weakness: outward-directed desire to please others at risk of losing own identity
Talent: passion, gratitude, appreciation, and commitment
The Lover is also known as: The partner, friend, intimate, enthusiast, sensualist, spouse, team-builder.
 
8. The Creator
Motto: If you can imagine it, it can be done
Core desire: to create things of enduring value
Goal: to realize a vision
Greatest fear: mediocre vision or execution
Strategy: develop artistic control and skill
Task: to create culture, express own vision
Weakness: perfectionism, bad solutions
Talent: creativity and imagination
The Creator is also known as: The artist, inventor, innovator, musician, writer or dreamer.
 
3) The Four Self Types
 
9. The Jester
Motto: You only live once
Core desire: to live in the moment with full enjoyment
Goal: to have a great time and lighten up the world
Greatest fear: being bored or boring others
Strategy: play, make jokes, be funny
Weakness: frivolity, wasting time
Talent: joy
The Jester is also known as: The fool, trickster, joker, practical joker or comedian.
 
10. The Sage
Motto: The truth will set you free
Core desire: to find the truth.
Goal: to use intelligence and analysis to understand the world.
Biggest fear: being duped, misled—or ignorance.
Strategy: seeking out information and knowledge; self-reflection and understanding thought processes.
Weakness: can study details forever and never act.
Talent: wisdom, intelligence.
The Sage is also known as: The expert, scholar, detective, advisor, thinker, philosopher, academic, researcher, thinker, planner, professional, mentor, teacher, contemplative.
 
11. The Magician
Motto: I make things happen.
Core desire: understanding the fundamental laws of the universe
Goal: to make dreams come true
Greatest fear: unintended negative consequences
Strategy: develop a vision and live by it
Weakness: becoming manipulative
Talent: finding win-win solutions
The Magician is also known as: The visionary, catalyst, inventor, charismatic leader, shaman, healer, medicine man.
 
12. The Ruler
Motto: Power isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.
Core desire: control
Goal: create a prosperous, successful family or community
Strategy: exercise power
Greatest fear: chaos, being overthrown
Weakness: being authoritarian, unable to delegate
Talent: responsibility, leadership
The Ruler is also known as: The boss, leader, aristocrat, king, queen, politician, role model, manager or administrator.

Note: There are four cardinal orientations: freedom, social, ego, order. The types have a place on these orientations.

Article via soulcraft.co