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suzannahnatters · 1 year

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Subplot Romance

Over the years I've created some twitter threads on writing and history and I've decided it's a good time to start compiling and sharing them on this Tumblr. I'm going to tag them "writing".

Here's what I've learned about writing subplot romance. (People who write genre romance probably already know this stuff. It's those of us who are mainly leavening romantic subplots into fantasy novels that need this info).

1. Romance = fundamentally character-driven. All internal conflict & internal growth. (Can these two trust each other? Will their character flaws drive them apart?) The more study you put into creating characters and building character arcs, the better your romantic writing.

A romance arc is not the SAME as a character arc, but it 100% NEEDS solid character work undergirding it.

2. Romance needs two ingredients: a compelling reason for the characters to be TOGETHER, & a compelling reason for them to be APART. This forms the conflict in the romance so do not skimp on either.

Eg, a common mistake in male-penned stories: female lead has no compelling reason to want male lead. "He's a good-looking warrior dedicated to winning her throne!" Yeah nah, she's literally surrounded by good-looking warriors dedicated to winning her throne, why's he different?

3. Romance needs chemistry = a believable spark of attraction. Something that blew my mind when I realised it: romantic chemistry =/= sexual chemistry. Sexual chemistry (purely physical attraction) is simply PART of romantic chemistry.

Romantic chemistry is a good deal broader. (Read/watch some good romances to see how chemistry is built by different storytellers. One fave of mine is the Romola Garai EMMA. Peerless friends-to-lovers chemistry. Watch the actors' body language; the way they gravitate to each other; the way their faces light up)

Chemistry tip A: if the driver behind sexual chemistry is lust, the driver behind romantic chemistry is trust. Protag needs/wants someone to trust. It's the way you play with trust/distrust that will create romantic tension.

eg: love interest holds protag's hand. With sexual chemistry, protag simply feels a jolt at the contact. With romantic chemistry, protag feels comforted and trustful - then betrayed when it turns out LI is tracking her pulse to see if she's lying to him (see: MISS SHARP 😇)

Chemistry tip B: if protag is falling for someone, that person should occupy their mind. LI should be mentioned/thought of each scene, even when absent. When present: LI consistently provokes unaccustomed emotion - either positive or negative, depending.

Chemistry tip C: make the characters their best/most lovable/most iconic selves when with each other. Quirkiness, smarts, hilarity. Make these the most fun character scenes in the book & the audience will ship them. Passionately.

4. Build romantic chemistry/attraction through escalating moments of trust and tension. If aiming for happily-ever-after(HEA)/for-now(HFN), then the overall arc is towards greater trust, but you need those moments of tension to give the big payoff scenes appropriate catharsis.

OTOH, if you're writing a tragic/backstabby romance, you need the trust/comfort moments in order to sell the big tragedy/betrayal.

5. Trust, comfort, & happiness are POWERFUL. This is what genre romance thrives upon. Even in dark/spiky stories, the most surprising thing in the story can be the moment when the LI DOESN'T betray the protag. That too can be wildly cathartic. Use it.

6. Just as character-driven skills help you with romance, so if you master romantic writing, you'll be better able to write ALL types of relationship - platonic, friendly, hostile.

OK that's all so far. Two book recs: ROMANCING THE BEAT by Gwen Hayes & THE HEROINE'S JOURNEY by Gail Carriger teach you the rules/expectations of genre romance so you'll know what the rules are for a happy romance subplot & how to break them for a tragic version.

#Writing #writing romance #Miss Sharp's Monsters #Romancing the beat #Gwen Hayes #The heroine's journey #Gail Carriger #romance tropes #writing tip

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performativezippers · 16 days

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Could you share your thoughts about beats in writing, please?

OKAY HERE WE GOOOOO this is going to be long but honestly it could have been so much longer so oops!

tl;dr: Beats are when things in the story happen.

So in a mystery novel, for example, when does the crime occur? when do they think they've solved it, but they're wrong? when do they realize they were wrong? when is their life in danger? when do they know who did it? when does the reader know who did it? when is the b-plot introduced and when it is resolved?

These typically happen in a similar place in each mystery novel, because of course it wouldn't make sense if it went: (1) you think you know who did it, and then (2) the crime is committed. Right? or if the very first person they suspected did it and they catch them immediately! that's never what happens because then what's the other 200 pages of the book?

so there is relative order, and you know it even as a passive reader, so then the question is how spaced out are those things throughout the fic or manuscript?

in a romance, it's the same. typically we see:

meet cute/first meeting/first canon meeting (the pilot) e.g. alex meets maggie at the airport and they fight over jurisdiction, or jane and maura work a case together as usual but it's the first one where jane is scared, aka a new start to their existing relationship

why aren't they together off the bat? (aka why is this a romance novel and not a romance sentence?) e.g. alex thinks she's straight and they're good friends, or maura dates elon musk types and jane is, you know, not that

complication e.g. alex comes out and then asks maggie to be her gf but maggie says no because alex is fresh off the boat, or maura starts dating jane's dumbass brother

false high (if there is a third act breakup, this is the happy time before that) e.g. alex and maggie get together and are very happy kissing the girls they want to kiss, or maura dumps tommy because her life with jane is more important to her

low point (this is often the 3rd act breakup, but doesn't have to be) e.g. alex freaks out when family conflicts with romance and dumps maggie, or jane kills maura's dad

KISS KISS KISS (aka the happily ever after) e.g. alex apologizes and sanvers stays together forever because the show was cancelled, or jane performs surgery on maura in the woods and then they kiss forever because the show was cancelled

SO, all of those things have to happen, and beats are when. you can of course put your plot points whenever you want them. it's your life and your art and your hobby!! have fun! but if you want to learn "craft" or whatever, or get traditionally published, you need to know when the conventional beats for your genre are, so that you can show you know what you're doing.

You've noticed beats even if you haven't thought about them. Sometimes a fanfic feels like it's going on too long or ending too abruptly, which is because they didn't place their beats carefully. Maybe it's taking forever to get past the set-up, and then the ending feels rushed. Maybe they got to the end of the plot but kept writing little one-shots or vignettes that don't have any tension in them. Almost all pacing problems can be solved by beats!

There are two main beat sheets I use for writing romcoms, Save the Cat and Romancing the Beat. There are book and workshops for both. My spreadsheet I use for every book uses Save the Cat beats, which was originally developed for screenplays. Here's a screenshot of that from the spreadsheet i use religiously:

I try to focus on

inciting incident at 0 or 10% (catalyst)

fun and games 25-50%

mid point high right around 50%

Things get bad from 50-75 until dark night of the soul from 75-80%

Redemption 80-90%, climax around 90%, final snippet less than 1,000 after end of climax

I do the math on my word count and ideal final word count to reverse outline where i am. in my book that's going to be published, i was really struggling with how to fill the 50-75% chunk; it was perfectly paced up until the shattering of the false high at 50%, and I knew what would happen after the dark night of the soul at 75%, but my project was to figure out how i could keep the plot driving forward and interesting while the MC's mood and situation tanked for a full 25% of the book. It turns out in the most recent draft, that stuff is 52-86%, and is stuff i really love. i was able to work in other plot points earlier that had time to breathe and got the space they needed in that portion, as well as find the balance between 20k of boring moping and maintaining tension while the romance was tanked.

it's very very hard to use beats in a fic you're posting as you're writing it (which is most of the fics i post), but even having it in the back of my mind helps. For the Ultimatum fic i'm writing and posting now, i knew before i started posting what the midpoint false high would be, plus the dark night of the soul, plus the endgame. it's important to make sure any b-plots, or in the case other couples, get their shit resolved around the same times as Kacy does, so that we don't need too much wrap up/exposition after the kacy climax.

what other questions or thoughts do you have about beats and plot pacing? send them to me!

#ask zipps #writing advice #writing fiction #writing fanfiction #writing original fiction #writing beats #save the cat #romancing the beat

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lunathehungry · 2 years

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Plot Structure Analysis for Love in the Air (so far. Spoilers to Ep 6)

Wrote this for my fave subreddit. Posting here too.

Some Notes:

1. Feel free to jump in fellow romance and writing lovers if you feel my beats are placed wrong. Haven't done this in awhile and it's a lot easier to do this on a novel than a drama series.

2. Plot breakdowns can sometimes break immersion for viewers and ruin the viewing experience because your brain starts thinking analytically and you can't just ride the story wave anymore. If this is you, don't read this, treat yourself by fully experiencing the romance. You deserve it.

3. This’ll probably be long and i'm drunk. Lets goooooo

The Romance Is The Plot

I know, I know, people might be saying “what plot does LITA even have?” But these are people who forget romance novels exist, even though the genre sells so hard that it rakes in nearly double the dollars of the next closest genre (which is crime/mystery, in case you're curious).

This is not a surprise because, especially in the west, romance novels very rarely get adapted.

Can you sense my derision at western media for looking down on romance? Because it's there.

Not all romance novels are the same, some have a lot more external plot stuff.

General format:

A Plot (aka Romance Plot) = 51% to 100%

B, C, D plot (aka everything else) = 0% to 49%

Love in the Air is like, 94% romance plot, 6% everything else. These are numbers I just made up, but I feel in my drunkenness that they are 100% correct.

So What Is A Romance Plot?

It's a character focused plot, driven by 2 (or more for poly/harem) individuals who are lacking something that they find in each other in order to achieve their HEA (Happily Ever After or Happy For Now).

This means that all the tension and excitement that comes from watching the story unfold MUST come from the character's interactions and relationship progress. Each moment builds upon the next to take another step towards their HEA. Even when a character takes a step back, like Rain does when Payu bans him from visiting, it's because something needs to change for that character before they can move on in the relationship.

If you, as a viewer, do not feel the tension between the main characters and get invested in their relationship, then you will find a heavy Romance Plot very, very boring. It's like reading a mystery, but not caring what the reveal will be. You might not connect with the characters, you prefer romance's with bigger side plots, or you just aren't into romance at all.

Love in the Air relies on Payu and Rain's relationship and their interactions to drive the story. That's the only plot available to attract viewers (except for PrapaixSky fans who diligently look for crumbs each week - my heart goes out to you all). Luckily, Boss and Noeul have great chemistry and the script has a good build up of the relationship beats.

Time To Break This Plot Into Parts

Story Theme: This is easy, it's "Love always wins" (or any variation of this). This is ALWAYS the main theme for a romance, though it doesn't have to be the ONLY theme.

I'll be using Gwen Hayes' Romancing the Beat for the beats because ICONIC.

The flashforward of the race is technically a Prologue so...skip!

PHASE 1:

Intro to Rain and Intro to Payu

These first 2 beats generally introduce the character's 'regular life' before they're disrupted by each other. However, LITA has Payu and Rain run into each other immediately when Payu changes Rain's tire. Although this is a meet cute, it's not THE Meet Cute beat. It just serves to show the difference between our characters-- Rain gets a flat, doesn't know what to do and panics, but Payu is capable and friendly enough to help a stranger. It's a tease for the relationship to come, shows there's a physical attraction component, and adds to the 'nice guy' Payu persona (with some ominous musical hints that he might not be so nice).

Switch to the classroom the next day.

Rain's External Goal is introduced here, which is to date Ple. But his Internal Need is actually stated here as well, when he's talking about Biker Guy to Sky. He wants someone who'll listen to his talking and who doesn't find his exuberance annoying.

This is brought up again later in the series, when Rain worries Payu finds him annoying after telling him not to visit anymore and also when Sky tells Rain he doesn't actually find him annoying, just determined. it's the basis of Rain's character flaw/wound/desire thing.

Here we also get an inaccurate intro to Payu, described through the eyes of Ple and Sky, he's practically perfect. There are tiny clues here that this might not be the full picture, like how no one knows what business his family owns, but otherwise it's meant to lull Rain (and us) into a false impression of Payu.

Side note: This is actually why I wish they'd left out the flashforward, so that we could have really fallen for this fakeout.

Meet Cute

This beat is actually their second meeting, at the frat party thing. We already know Rain finds Payu hot, this is where we find out it's the same for Payu. They're attracted to each other, but Rain's oblivious.

Payu: "If you're trying to seduce me, do it better next time."

Rain: Doesn't deny it while staring deeply into Payu's eyes, proceeds to hold onto his hand, and lets Payu rub him with a towel on his bed. 🌈✨🏳‍🌈

Payu: "Let me know if I'm too rough."

Rain: This is totally normal bro stuff. He's not hitting on me at all.

If you use Save The Cat to analyze story structure, the Meet Cute beat lines up with the Catalyst.

No Way 1

Rain finds out Payu is not the nice, perfect gentleman the rest of the world thinks he is. While Rain finds Payu handsome, he's not ready to face his feelings and just jump into bed with him so he hits him with a pillow, and proceeds to tell him he'd never get with him. (never ever ever).

Adhesion

This beat is Rain finding out Payu fixed up his car and didn't charge money for it. This debt is (supposedly) why Payu keeps seeking out Rain. But this is just an excuse created by Payu to stay in Rain's orbit. Anything to flirt with Rain, amirite?

This is also the section where we get the first introduction of what Payu's character desires/needs. brought up by Saifah when he says, "Then get into a serious relationship if you want to be like me." So Payu wants a serious, long term relationship, but he's been single a long time.

Payu’s a very self-aware character, since his internal and external goals are very similar, he won't have as much of a character change as Rain.

Internal Payu: Form a serious relationship with someone who welcomes the challenging demands he puts on a partner.

External Payu: Get Rain to date him and see if he's the guy who can handle it.

PHASE 2:

No Way 2

This beat is Rain kissing Payu and telling him he's going to make him fall in love with him toward the end of episode 2. I know it might sound counterintuitive for this to be a No Way beat, but here, Rain is outwardly denying his own feelings. He's going to make Payu fall in love, but not get entangled himself. Payu also plays it cool to Rain, challenging him and acting as if he's not affected by Rain, but since us viewers get to hear him talking to himself, we know better. The other 'no way' moments, like the ones that occur earlier in the university bathroom, build up to this bigger moment. They aren't the actual No Way 2 beat.

Inkling

Payu comforts Rain after he gets chewed out by the professor. This beat usually has a slight perspective shift for our characters. While we see the growing attraction throughout episode 3, it's not until this moment that Rain wonders why he went to Payu when he felt so down.

We also see a small shift in Payu. He said he wouldn't comfort Rain, but he's unable to resist and turns back to do it anyway. Payu starts taking Rain more seriously after this point and brings out a tougher challenge by banning Rain from visiting.

If you use Save The Cat to analyze story structure, this and the next couple beats line up with the Fun & Games section.

Deepening Desire

Rain decides to go all in and continue pursuing Payu, showing that he can handle school at the same time. His external goal has changed from Ple to Payu, which now matches his internal goal - a partner who listens to him talk and doesn't find him annoying. Payu has a conversation during this section with Saifah about how none of Payu's other partners have stuck around this long because of his tricks. As Rain exhibits his determination to have a relationship, Payu falls deeper and deeper.

Maybe

This is the 'getting vulnerable and opening up to each other' beat. Rain's confession in the rain to Payu and the beginning of the First Sex Scene.

Midpoint

This is pretty much just,

"Rain belongs to P'Payu now. Say it"

"Rain belongs to Payu."

And a little of the happy-morning-after before Rain takes off. It's the sweet moment before the down beats start.

PHASE 3

This is a low angst drama so all these following down beats get resolved very quickly. If this was high angst, they'd be drawn out a lot longer, some resulting in actual fights or breakups.

Inkling of Doubt

Payu shows up at Rain's, upset that he took off without telling him. Payu pulls away from Rain before it's resolved by Rain's apology. Here we get the introduction to Payu's fear (plus foreshadowing), telling Rain not to disappear on him again.

Note: I'm not sure Payu's breakup fakeout is part of this beat, but honestly, I'm not thinking about it too hard because I'm flagging, the Long Island Iced Teas are leaving my bloodstream, is this even coherent? I need a nap.

Save The Cat: Bad Guys Close In beat.

Deepening Doubt

This is where the real world starts to intrude on their relationship. Rain finds out Ple and Som🍎🍊 are after his boyfriend. He feels jealous but doesn't want to admit it to Payu. This section is also when Sky runs into our couple on their date and Payu admits he wasn't sure Rain would want to tell him about their relationship.

The movie date scene is where we get a nice visual of how each of them have satisfied their internal goals. Payu listens to Rain as he goes on nonstop about the movie and he now has the serious relationship that he wanted.

Retreat

This beat kicks off when Saifah suggests taking Rain to the race and Payu initially doesn't want to because of the rich assholes who'll attend, then covers most of the night race scenes. Rain is visibly hesitant when he's there. He's finally entering Payu's world, but is unsure of himself. He starts to realize how dangerous it might be and this becomes the foundation of his new fear revealed in the next beat. Payu lets the arrogant rich kid get under his skin. He gets upset and Rain has to coax him out of it.

Shields Up

Payu's race isn't really a romance beat, it's an external plot point that's a catalyst for this beat. Payu wants to race the rich boy jerk and Rain doesn't want him to. Since we've covered a lot of ground for Rain's character arc, it's time to introduce a new fear - fear that Payu will get hurt. Payu admits he doesn't exactly have a logical reason for the race (it's just pride/ego).

This is resolved by Rain not letting his fear get in the way of supporting Payu and Payu realizing during the race how unimportant this loser is. Sex with Rain is more important. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Break Up

The kidnapping (sort of). This beat is PROBABLY Payu finding Rain missing. It usually involves the characters fear which, for Payu, is Rain disappearing. And for Rain, Payu getting hurt.

One interesting thing Mame has chosen to do here, that helps maintain the low angst romance style, is had them reach their internal goals early, but started slowly introducing external troubles in order to maintain tension in the back half of the drama (of PayuxRain's section). Kidnapping may not seem low angst, but within the Romance Plot structure it is because it's not an internal conflict causing them to fight/breakup. Their relationship remains solid.

What's left? Pretty much all of Phase 4.

Dark Night of the Soul

Wake up/Catharsis (Save The Cat: Break Into Three beat)

Grand Gesture (Save The Cat: Finale beat)

What Hole-hearted Looks Like

Epilogue

It looks like we have a lot of beats left for this couple, but these final ones usually happen quite quickly, sometimes even in the same scene. They all deal with overcoming your fear and the Happily Ever After. I have some ideas, but I prefer to just watch it all play out instead of solidifying my predictions. It's more fun to watch when I turn off Writer Brain.

I can't believe I wrote this all up. Love in the Air, what have you done to me?!

#did this instead of working on my own writing #decided to call it 'work research'#plot analysis #writing romance #romancing the beat #love in the air #love in the air the series #payurain

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moonshinemagpie · 10 months

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In which I discuss the first steps to plotting a romance novel and also introduce my main characters (with music!).

#romancelandia #am writing #am writing romance #romance #sapphic romance #sapphic #lgbt #lgbt romance #chess romance #writeblr #writing advice #romancing the beat

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the960writers · 2 years

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youtube

From IDEA to FULL OUTLINE! | a writing vlog following Romancing the Beats

Kate Cavanaugh Writes

I took my romance novel idea from ✨concept✨ to full outline! Here's my writing vlog using Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes to help complete that goal!

#writing romance #writing advice #romancing the beat #structure #romance beats #Kate Cavanaugh #Youtube #Gwen Hayes

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kevinklehr · 8 months

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I'm writing Romance

This is new to me. Well, almost. I have written two Romance novellas before (see images below), which were guided by a couple of years of binging Sex and the City. There were mixed reviews, making it clear the Romance purists weren’t impressed. But at least those who loved them, really loved them. The original cover for ‘Nate and the New Yorker’ (Wilde City Press edition) and the current ‘two…

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#author #gay romance #Gwen Hayes #novel #novels #romance #romance books #Romancing the Beat #writing #writing life #writing Romance

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rightwriter · 11 months

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youtube

#kate cavanaugh #romancing the beat #romance #writing #rightwriter #writing tips #writing outline #youtube #Youtube

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earlycuntsets · 1 month

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2005 when MCR was a sweet little goth nsync.

X X X X

#this was the whole point of going to the grocery store #10/2005 seventeen magazine #2005 j-14 magazine #012006 - bop #2006 tiger beat #not my scans #my chemical romance #mcr #gerard way #frank iero #ray toro #mikey way #three cheers for sweet revenge #mcr scans

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reineydraws · 27 days

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i think a side effect of loving mishanks for many people is becoming very endeared by the "rayleigh is mihawk's parent" au's haha :') first one's part of this fic i posted where smolhawk challenges rayleigh to a duel ⚔️✨️ second one's just a random kid!mishanks doodle. i think their shenanigans (incl buggy!) would be cute.

#fic recs #dracule mihawk #silvers rayleigh #one piece #one piece fanart #op fanart #mihawk #shanks #akagami no shanks #red haired shanks #mishanks #kinda #the fic series is future mishanks and shanks def has a crush in the now but the focus of the series is mihawk & rayleigh :P #still tho #akataka #but yeah mihawk doesnt even so much as consider romance let alone shanks until much later in life haha his hawk eyes are on the prize #and that prize is yoru and the title of the wgs! but first: beating his (adopted) dad in a duel ⚔️⚔️⚔️

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wigglebox · 8 months

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Sad Bois’ Story Time

Bonus:

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norrriey · 6 months

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romance dawn (☀️🍊🦜🐁🐁🐁)

the weather is getting colder and im wilting and losing my power... wish i could hibernate

twitter instagram

#one piece #romance dawn #romance dawn trio #luffy #monkey d. luffy #zoro #roronoa zoro #nami #beat the cold by thinking of tropical pirates #illustration #norrriey

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dnncats · 6 months

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slaying while slaying 🔪🩸

still + alt color:

#art #dnncats #astarion #my beloved #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #astarion art #havent been active w art but big news this man has me in a GRIP #going 2 ramble in the tags a bit for those who Care!!!#the brain has been rotting ovr bg3 for like. 2 months now #ive done 2 playthrus (1 current) so far and bro ive only ever romanced this fucking guy its so over 4 me.......i cant deny him #i love him so much my chaotic neutral bf wife #ive gotten my ass beat by abdirak in the goblin camp every time for his approval #its actually so serious LMFAOO #anw more astarion art 2 come hopefully hehehe <3

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mobius-m-mobius · 7 months

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#tfw no one stops talking about you losing all your skin ✌️😭

#mobius #owen wilson #lokiedit #mcuedit #marveledit #loki #loki spoilers #he was so DONE lmaooooooo #not even sorry that him writing skin? in that dust then being completely resigned to a flaying is THE funniest thing anyone's ever done 😭😭#istg owen's choices are on another level #and mobius going through all this for no benefit to himself other than keeping loki safe is peak romance like no one's beating that 💖#marvel #owenwilsonedit #loki s2 spoilers #dianagifs

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hannaedits · 1 year

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Book Review: Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels by Gwen Hayes

When I decided to try my hand at paranormal romance, I knew I’d have to learn everything I could about the structure of a romance arc in order to tell a successful story. In every place I asked for recommendations on romance craft books, the top answer was always Romancing the Beat. It’s a slim volume but wasn’t terribly expensive in paperback, so I bowed to the collective expertise and bought a…

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#book cover #book review #books #craft book #Gwen Hayes #kissing books #love story #nonfiction #reading #romance #Romancing the Beat #writing

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moonshinemagpie · 1 year

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Writers: As we enter 2023, what books about craft have you found useful? What are some you want to read? (1-4 of each)

I'll start.

Have read:

Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes; used it to outline my first published romance novel

The Art of Description: World into Word by Mark Doty

Jill Elizabeth Nelson's Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View: read it years ago but remember it being very helpful; would give beginners a big boost

Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide From Story Creation to Publication by Ann Whitford Paul

(including a picture just because it's pretty)

Want to read:

Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative by Jane Alison

Writing for Animals edited by John Yunker

The Antiracist Writing Workshop by Felicia Rose Chavez

What are yours?

#bookblr #writing #writeblr #readblr #booklr #am writing #nonfiction #romancing the beat #kidlit #writing poetry #fiction #books #2023 writing #writing community #writing goals

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dewdropdinosaur · 2 months

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Redemption is Best Served Hot

LUCIFER x READER

Part Two

Summary: You are like the mom Charlie always wanted. And like the partner Lucifer wishes he had.

Warnings: NONE.

REQUESTS ARE OPEN! See pinned post for details

In the bustling underworld of Hell, where chaos and mayhem were the order of the day, there stood a peculiar establishment known as the Hazbin Hotel. Run by the optimistic and determined demon princess, Charlie, the hotel aimed to rehabilitate wayward souls and give them a chance at Heaven.

You, an older demon, found yourself entangled in the unique tapestry of the Hazbin Hotel. Drawn to Charlie's mission and warmth, you had become an essential part of the hotel's daily operations. As the pseudo-mother to Charlie and the other inhabitants, Y/N provided a sense of stability and care in the tumultuous underworld. A pillar of support for the lost souls seeking refuge within the hotel's walls, helping with the cleaning, aiding anyone with anything; you were in fact quite literally acting mother to all six inhabitants. Not that they minded, each loved you in their own way. Even Alastor, who would not admit it to himself that maybe your cooking could have rivaled his own mother’s.

“Nifty darling, here. Don’t run around with that old knife. This one is much sharper.” “Oooooo, thank you! BUGS PREPARE TO DIE!”

“Angel, poor thing. Come here, let me draw you a bath and we can talk all about it….or we can just sit in silence. Whatever you would like.” “Yeah…that woulds be good.”

“The new shipment just arrived, Husk! Do you want me to help you carry it in?” “Nah, I got it. But thanks.”

“PENTIOUS! What did I say about letting the Egg Bois into my kitchen?!” “Sssssory Mssss Y/N.” “It’s alright dear, just…please be more mindful of them. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“Vaggie, no you may not kill Alastor.” “But..!” “No buts! You will respect Charlie’s wishes. And that goes for you too, Alastor.” “Oh me? Darling, it would be a pleasure to do as her highness commands.”

And so on and so forth as the world goes.

Over the years, Lucifer, the charismatic and charming ruler of Hell, found himself increasingly drawn to you after the original spout with Heaven. It wasn't just your unparalleled dedication to the hotel or the unwavering support you offered to Charlie; it was a magnetic force that pulled him towards you. Lucifer, accustomed to the chaos and seduction that surrounded him, found the calm demeanor and genuine kindness irresistible. In the dimly lit chambers of the hotel, Lucifer found himself captivated by your unwavering dedication and boundless compassion. He admired the way you effortlessly navigated the tumultuous currents of Hell, offering solace to those who had long abandoned hope.

One evening, as the residents of the Hazbin Hotel gathered for a makeshift family dinner, Lucifer couldn't help but steal glances at you throughout. Laughter echoed through the room, bringing an unusual warmth to the usually cold and unforgiving realm. Lucifer found himself captivated by the way you effortlessly connected with the diverse souls seeking salvation and he felt his heart twinge a little. The scene was sweet, almost too much so. It made him long for something he had never had with Lillith or thought he could ever have. He hardly touched his food all night, too enthralled with you and your presence. You were like an angel, ironically so.

After the meal and asking the Egg Bois to clean up(they were kind enough to oblige), you retreated to the hotel's back rooms with a book in hand, a haven of peace in the chaotic underworld. Lucifer followed, the air thick with an unspoken tension. You, engrossed in a book, hadn't bothered to notice the King of Hell until he cleared his throat. With a small flush of embarrassment at accidentally ignoring him, you looked up and met Lucifer's piercing gaze with a soft smile, setting your book aside.

“What can I do for you Lucifer?”

"Quite the family you've built here," Lucifer commented, his voice a silky blend of charm and authority.

Smiling and setting the book aside, you laughed softly. "They're a unique bunch, but they deserve a chance at redemption, don't they?"

Lucifer nodded, taking a step closer. "And what about you, Y/N?”

Your gaze met Lucifer's, eyes reflecting a depth of understanding about the true meaning of his question. "We're all seeking something, aren't we? Redemption, forgiveness, a second chance."

Lucifer reached out, gently tracing a finger along Y/N's cheek. "And what do you seek, Y/N?"

Your heart fluttered, and as you took a deep breath you held his gaze. Oh how he loved that dazed look in your eyes. He wanted you to look up at him that way everyday if possible. Just the way your sparkling and your lips parted so sinfully sweet, he knew even the original sin barrer himself could be tempted. "I seek a chance to make a difference, to maybe bring a little of Heaven down here when I could never do it when I was alive."

Lucifer leaned in, his lips dangerously close to your ear. "Perhaps you've already brought light to the darkest corner of my realm."

Lucifer then pulled away, a small flush gracing his cheeks. He tipped his hat in acknowledgement before leaving the room without another word. Once outside the door, Lucifer pressed back up against a wall and could feel his undead heart about to beat out of his chest. Placing a hand over his chest in order to calm himself back down, the King of Hell flew back to his castle with a giant grin on his face.

You too were no stranger to the effects of his…flirting. A giant grin and flush appeared on your face as you sunk back down into the chair you were sitting in. Giggling like a schoolgirl, you kicked your feet happily and ignored the book you were once reading.

A forbidden connection sparked between Lucifer and you, a dance of redemption and desire in the heart of Hell, where the Hazbin Hotel stood as an peculiar beacon of hope. For in the heart of Lucifer Morningstar, amidst the chaos of Hell's domain, love had found its most unlikely champion.

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