Writing a character who becomes severely malnourished/dehydrated/sleep-deprived?

Here’s what you’ll need to know! Learn all about the wonders of the human body and add scientifically-accurate drama to your stories.

MALNOURISHMENT

recommended reading:

DEHYDRATION

recommended reading:

SLEEP DEPRIVATION

recommended reading:

Another trope I'll never get tired of: the stealthy character who somehow manages to sneak up on people or vanish completely unseen and unheard. I love it so much and yes I unabashedly used it in my work.

And that ONE character their stealth is useless against. For example, character A finishes an important discussion and as the last person walks from the room, they'll call out, "you can come out now." Character B comes crashing down the chimney in a cloud of dust like: "how did you know I was here??"

Map by 宋大能

How do you guys write stammering dialogue?

In the second one, it feels redundant to use stammer as the dialogue tag. I personally use the first when writing because I think it adds characterization to a nervous/anxious character, but I’m considering changing it if the majority of people think the third way is best/not annoying.

Call me out for my linguistics nerdery, but it is entirely dependent on how the word is actually pronounced (standard-wise or specific to the dialect) for me. Warning, what's next is gonna be a lot of hyper analysis when you probably wanted a simple pick from the 3 😅

The English H is a voiceless glottal fricative, i.e. it does not vibrate your larynx, it takes place in the back of your throat, and it forces air through a narrow passage. Ergo, to me it's not a traditionally easy thing to stammer over. I'm still going to start with that example for the sake of showing style!

I have a stutter myself, and I would be much more likely to go, "Ho- Hold on." The O vowel makes the H more present. Or perhaps the character stammers on whole words, which I also struggle with. "Ho- hold- hold on." #3 is also perfectly acceptable.

Easy stammer sounds (i.e. sounds I've personally struggled a LOT with) are typically voiced, though not always (g is voiced, k is just like it but voiceless) and in an area that's easy to have articulation issues, such as:

These sounds are called "stops," due to some part of your mouth (lips, etc) stopping the air as it exits your throat. Plosives is another good word to know, which basically summarizes the sounds bulleted above. They're consonants stopped in the front of your mouth.

I do believe #1 or #3 are best, and #2 overexplains. So to answer your question more succinctly, stuttering in my book may look like:

TLDR: These depend on the type of stammering as well as the sound, word, or even concept the character is tripping up on! As for the tag, it's up to your instinct and the context. I try to really adapt the characters' tags and actions to the type of stuttering.

This was very abridged on my part (if you could believe), and it's late here, so lmk if I didn't explain anything you're curious about or I jumped around too much in my (unnecessarily long) explanation. I studied this in undergrad, so I can answer a lot of writing-related questions about it!

Tag the OC who would drink vanilla extract

hey friends, how many of you actually pick up on what characters are wearing when it’s described in-book?

i have a character and i desperately want to show her character development through her clothing (going from flowy pastels & earth tones to more structured garments in rich reds & jewel tones) but i’m not sure it would work in a book

that writer moment™ when you're doing something without your full focus (i.e. about to fall asleep, showering, cooking) and all of the sudden a new idea for the story that you've been working on since you were fourteen pops into your head and makes you go :0

Op turned off reblogs so I’m stealing this meme

Image ID by @loveize

[image description: a meme showing several people dancing at a party. one person stands alone in the corner with text by them saying "they don't know the excruciating oc lore that only exists within my brain..." end description]

writing an autistic character when you are not autistic - a masterpost

completely double spaced version on google docs here – this post is more blocky for the sake of people’s dashboards, but still long so people will be less likely to glaze over it. my apologies if that makes it hard to read

things to look for and avoid in an autistic character

• symptoms only manifesting as “nonverbal and rocking” • super smart / living calculator • super dumb / doesn’t understand anything • all the symptoms you can come up with for them are “awkward” and “has special interest(s)” (please do more research) • trains, technology, and/or math as special interests • acting like a child • getting treated like a baby • unreasonably cruel and uncaring about others’ reactions to them being cruel • if they’re comparable to sheldon from the big bang theory, start over • animal comparisons • a lack of feelings • please no stories about what it’s like to be autistic told by allistics

the right way to write an autistic person

• lots of symptoms, including secondary ones not included on a general diagnosis requirement list (here’s a list i rather like that was made by an autistic person – their blog is also a good resource) • having a good amount of general knowledge and actually talking about it (i cannot believe that i have to say this) • talking about things outside of special interests (again…. come on……….) (special interests are usually the default things our brains go to when theres no stimulation or we want to entertain ourselves – it isn’t literally all we think or talk about ever. if a conversation has no connections to a special interest, reconsider having your autistic character bring it up in a context that is not an introduction.) • explicitly expressed to be capable of attraction and romantic feelings – if your character is an adult, add sexual feelings to this point • capable of general functioning, just with a disability that makes it more difficult – not a walking disability (….sigh) • a wide amount of feelings and emotional turmoil (but perhaps only being able to express it in limited ways) • we’re people • just people whose brains are wired differently

things to avoid in research for an autistic character

• autism moms / autism blogs and websites not run by autistic people • any affiliation with autism $peaks means you should walk away and never look back • a scientist trying to create explanations for what autistic people do without actually asking / not mentioning asking autistic people • anything about a cure for autism • a person that “worked with autistic kids” phrased in the same way as “worked with animals” • talking about autistic people as if they are mysteries, are like animals, or are otherwise othered weirdos instead of people

things to look for in research for an autistic character

• actual autistic people talking about their experiences and symptoms • just stick to that and you’re good but it’s hard to find sometimes ngl. just look for the above red flags

things i would personally like to see in an autistic character

• less easy to swallow sadness and more destructive anger. i would love to see a canonically autistic character who was frustrated easily by small things and had trouble communicating why • not a story about being autistic, a story that happens to have a character or characters who are autistic – it isn’t pointed out or questioned, they’re right at home with the rest of the cast and not othered (a la symmetra from overwatch) • intensive sensory issues / small sounds making large reactions • clear communications about not liking x sensory thing (for example being touched) • poor motor skills / clumsiness and not being laughed at for it • walking funny (body bent downwards, walking very fast, walking slowly, big strides, shuffling, stiffness, etc)  – no one treats it as if it’s funny or something totally strange • a big personality that has a presence so they can’t be cast aside (but feel free to have quiet characters too) – if this was along with being nonverbal they would probably leap to being one of my favorite characters ever • a fear of asking for clarification on sarcasm or jokes because of past experiences and an arc about the character becoming more comfortable asking questions

>> if any fellow autistic people want to add something, feel free <<

allistics are encouraged to rb this

GUILT-FREE!!!! DO U HEAR ME!!!! GUILT-FREE!!!!!!

Did I daydream this, or was there a website for writers with like. A ridiculous quantity of descriptive aid. Like I remember clicking on " inside a cinema " or something like that. Then, BAM. Here's a list of smell and sounds. I can't remember it for the life of me, but if someone else can, help a bitch out <3

I FOUND IT BITCHES

This is going to save me so much trouble in the future.

@charlesoberonn