I was reading a post about kinks and there was a couple that had sex while the roommate was with them in the dorm. They were under the covers, talking to the roommate face to face while quietly having sex and all I could think about was that only Ron could maybe be so blind when Harry says that Draco is only in the bed with him cause he feels sick, but in realitiy the two of them are having sex. I pray that I someday find a oneshot like this. Amen.😄🙏
(This is from my own personal experience as a Chinese person who’s better at English, my “first” language, than Chinese, my “second” language.)
When your character is going speak unintentionally in their second language instead of their first one:
• When they’re tired, they could slip up and accidentally start a sentence with their second language. Generally, though, they realise and correct themselves before finishing the sentence
• When they were just thinking in their second language/ talking to someone in their second language. The shift from one language to the other is where they could get caught up
• If they were startled, after just speaking/thinking in their second language.
Keep in mind though, that people very experienced in both languages will probably not be tripped up as often. Your character who has been speaking their second language for 10 years is going to trip up a lot less than your character who’s only known their second language for 5 years.
Unrealistic scenarios:
• Slipping into their second language in the middle of a sentence accidentally, unless they forgot a word they needed to use
Unrealistic: “Ok so you’re going to go down the hall and— 他妈的! I forgot my homework on my desk! Gotta run and get it” (The Chinese is a swear)
Realistic: “We’re going to need a… 车? What do you guys call that again?” (The Chinese character is the one for car)
• Suddenly saying something in their second language, when they were just conversing in their first language. There’s a mental switch you need to make when changing from a conversation in one language to a conversation in another which makes those situations pretty unlikely.
Person 1: “Could you send the powerpoint to me?”
Person 2: “Just did that. Did you get the email yet?”
Person 1: “我– oh whoops. Sorry! Yeah, I just got it”
(Chinese character is the character for “I”)
Bilingual things you could include in your writing:
• Thinking in one language when doing one specific thing. For instance, I almost always do Maths in Chinese. The whole structure of the language and how the words for numbers work out means it’s a lot easier in Chinese than English.
• A conversation that’s a mess of two languages all mashed together. Frankenlanguages. As stated before, I’m personally better at English than Chinese. So, when I’m speaking in Chinese, it’s often with English words interspersed throughout when I forget the Chinese word. In that case, there is no mental shift between languages needed. Instead, you pull from both languages at once. Ex: “我今天在学校的时候跟我的 Chemistry 老师 discuss 我的essay on the effects of acid rain on 咯房的 roofs.” (Translation: today, at school, my Chemistry teacher and I discussed my essay on the effects of acid rain on the roofs of buildings.)
• Your character could speak one language at home and another language when at work/school/with friends. For example, I speak Chinese when I’m at home with my Chinese family and I speak English everywhere else because I live in Canada. This makes for interesting situations where, even though I am highly proficient in English, I lack some basic vocabulary. What is a blouse? Not really sure to be honest. I used to get “dress” and “skirt” confused a lot because I only used Chinese to refer to those things and thus never built up my English vocabulary in those areas. I’ve had to awkwardly describe the fruit I was looking for in stores before because I didn’t know the English name for it.
Anyway, if you need help with writing a bilingual character, feel free to shoot me an ask!
Oh hey– here’s a list ranked by Writing With Color’s most popular posts since opening in 2014 up till now, the start of 2017. Pulled together for the interest and usefulness for readers like you. Thank you.
Top 7 Popular Original Posts
Words for Skin Tone- This two part guide offers an array of words for describing skin color. Part I focuses on the problems with food descriptors. Part II provides alternatives. (68k+ Notes)
Hiya! Thanks for your question! Plot structures are important for creating a good story.
There’s an infinite amount of plot structures depending on the story you’re telling. Some types are better than others within certain genres. Here are the most common plot structures, and how they’re used:
The Four Main Plot Structures:
Freytag’s Pyramid:
Also known as dramatic structure, this is the most simplistic of plot structures, and probably the one you were taught in elementary school. In this type of story structure, the climax falls in the middle, and the latter half of the story consists of falling action and the resolution. This was developed to analyze Greek and Shakespearian plays that use a five-act structure.
Why it’s good: It allows authors to explore the consequences of one’s actions. It’s also good for story analysis.
Why it’s bad: Long resolutions get boring fast. Modern novels don’t use this because no one wants to read a story where the villain is defeated in the middle.
When to use it: Children’s books and short stories
It’s good to use in children’s books because the goal of most children’s books is to teach kids a lesson. Using Freytag’s Pyramid gives writers the chance to teach kids the consequences of doing something wrong (lying, bullying, etc.). It works in short stories because the limited length prevents the denouement from being too long and boring the reader.
Examples: Any of Shakespeare’s plays
The Fichtean Curve:
This is what most modern novels use, no matter the genre. The Fichtean Curve features a varying number of crises (or mini-climaxes) within the rising action to build up to climax about two-thirds of the way through the story. The falling action is short and used to wrap up loose ends or establish a new way of life for the characters.
Why it’s good: Putting crises throughout the story will keep readers hooked until the end. It also helps to keep good pacing. Despite being frequently used, this structure is loose enough that anyone can use it and make it unique for their own story.
Why it’s bad: Too much action can be overwhelming. This structure also doesn’t work well with certain story types such as Voyage and Return, Rebirth, or Comedy.
When to use it: Action-packed stories, Overcoming the Monster plots, or Quest plots
Examples:Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, World War Z by Max Brooks, or Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
The Hero’s Journey:
Another common plot structure that is seen in modern novels (especially western literature), and can be combined with the Fichtean Curve. Often, modern novels are a combination of the two. What makes the Hero’s Journey unique is that the protagonist must go through a literal or figurative death that completely transforms them. The death is usually, but not always, the climax of the story. Another key difference in The Hero’s Journey is that the protagonist must atone for their past rather than overcome it or move on without going back.
Why it’s good: Allows for great character development in character-strong stories.
Why it’s bad: Nearly every western novel, film, or TV show (successful and unsuccessful) uses this plot structure. It’s a little overdone, but if you can put a good personal twist on it, it can work out just fine.
When to use it: First-person stories, stories with small casts, Voyage and Return plots, or Rebirth plots
Examples: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, or Divergent by Veronica Roth
In Media Res
Latin for “in the middle of things”, In Media Res is a unique plot structure. Rather than start with an exposition that builds up to the action, In Media Res starts right in the middle of the story. If you were to start your story at the second or third crisis point of the Fichtean Curve, you would get In Media Res.
Why It’s Good: Dropping people in the middle of the action will hook the right from the beginning.
Why It’s Bad: Starting with the action can be disorienting for readers. Make sure you fill in the backstory as the plot moves on.
When to Use It: Stories with small casts, Crime plots, or Mystery plots
Examples: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, or The Iliad by Homer
There are plenty more plot structures, but these are the main four, and all others are based off these in some way. Keep in mind that most stories use a combination of these plot structures, so you don’t have to stick to just one.
Thanks again for your question! If you need help with anything else writing related, feel free to send in another ask. Happy writing!
So I’ve been thinking. You know how we read in fanfics about Harry seeing Draco for the first time after the war and being like “SHIT I’D TAP THAT”?
Well, I live in London and I was looking around on the tube and on the street. In reality, Draco’s appearance makes him fucking STRIKING. How many really blond, grey-eyed, tall, lean, dressed-to-the-nines men do you see every day, at least in the UK? Exactly.
As a teenager, it’s not really a big deal. But as an adult? Fuck me, Draco is bloody irresistible. So yeah, all those reactions Harry has in fanfics are like 100% legit. I would probably pass out.
It let him think and it let him breathe and it let him close his eyes and focus. Times of great silences were the ones that would make him slip into that comfort he always tried to find. So when bleeding sun spilled dusk all over the horizon and the night sky dripped at its edge, Draco would sneak out into the dept of his mind and relax. He would empty his mind and think of nothing. The emptiness that would fill him was warm and soft and plain- it would make him wake up and see clearer. So silence was his friend…
Harry liked noise.
Loud, annoying rush of a morning crowd. The voice of the city the life of a party the music that hundreds of people would make all together. He liked the greater picture- the mess the noise represented. He like the worlds that noise created leaving him lost in the murmurs, yells, chatter. He liked the way he could just disappear in the crowd of voices and be a part of something bigger. The way he would just be another tiny part of this beautifully hiding composition. He liked the anonymity of the noise. So when he would rush to work because he chose to walk instead of aparate, with taxis honking and nervous system yelling and cursing and children laughing he would walk to a bench or a staircase or a place a bit to the left. He would close his eyes and breathe because in that moment he felt like he was alive. So noise was his friend…
But Draco loved the noise Harry would make.
When he cooked and all the furniture would be covered in food and the dishes would clamp together and the noise the mixer would make and all that combined with Harry’s out of tune singing that followed the radio music filled with static. Or when Harry sang in the shower and the water would be loud against the glass shower door and then Harry would knock down a whole row of shower gels and shampoos. Or when Harry would laugh or watch TV or yell at the said TV ‘cause it was a fault and who hired that damn referee anyway? Or when they made love… Harry’s noise would make Draco lose his fucking mind because Harry, he moaned so loud the whole street could hear him and the way his voice sounded in the dark with the room warm and filled with their scent. And let me tell you, Harry’s moans were better than any drug, really, he moaned like a porn star. And when hisses rolled over Harry’s tongue in language Draco could never understand, Draco would lose his senses. And yes, Draco liked silence but if it was Harry’s noise, then he could bear it…
But Harry loved the silence Draco would make.
Some would tell him that you can’t hear silence as it’s not a sound but he could. He could always hear Draco’s silence. When he fell asleep on the couch trying to binge watch one too many seasons of some strange, foreign show and the TV volume would be turned of so it wouldn’t wake Harry up. Or smoking a cigarette by the open window and Harry knows the night wasn’t good and he felt Draco get up but he gave him time, he gave him silence, before coming after him, taking his cigarette and taking him back to bed.Or when the day was stressful and they both came home in a bad mood so Draco would walk up to Harry in silent understanding and then wrapping his arms around the Gryffindor waist because they both needed that. Or when Draco was reading, sitting on the edge of the couch, in suspense with rain clouds creeping outside and Harry’s love was lost between the pages. Or when their moans would die out and they would curl up under the heavy blankets because the world around them was cold and they were tired and so, so in love… And Draco would smile then, staring at the beautiful, green eyes of Harry’s. A whispered “Je t'aime” would be the onyl thing breaking the silence that love left them in. And yes, Harry liked noise, but if it was Draco’s silence, then he could bear it…
And here’s one more au (am I even going to stop making them). Ok, so this au is about the Victorian era (bc I hate 20th century, there’s too many wars and deaths in it)and contains some moments from the film “Maurice” (1987) (go watch it, it’s so amazing and gay, I love it). Draco is an aristocrat, his father has hired a new stableman, Harry, and here they are, in love and very confused.
