u/mrmalaria

Hello everyone. I am writing here to find out everyone's opinions on this, as i want to make my own stories more memorable too.

I figure its because of factors like these:

• characters: i don't mean a character design, but rather character development and their impact on the story. if the audience is invested in the characters, they'll remember them
• character moments: a conversation between two characters that reveals something about both characters while also driving their development further will also be memorable if built up properly.
• fights: this is kind of obvious, but then again most fights except the bigger ones are sometimes forgotten. i attribute this to the fights not having any effect on character development, or not having a bigger impact on character, or on the events after
• emotional events: something like a character tragedy will also be memorable if it is built up properly and actually means something to the story, like the effect of loss on the main/other characters.
• plot twists and overall unpredictability: if the plot is predictable, then the audience ends up classifying it as "just another [insert genre] story". i like when we can't guess the plot, or when we think its going in one direction and it ends up going in another. i also love a good (and well built up (sorry, i keep saying this)) plot twist that absolutely changes how you see the story, characters, and fills in/adds knowledge about past events.
• some sort of theme: i figure stories that question the characters' beliefs and ideals also makes the audience question their own, leading to the audience remembering it.

this is all i can think of so far, but i want to learn more tips from you guys. any help is appreciated, thanks!

Hello everyone. As the title tells you, I am looking for advice on this topic. I want to make every chapter that I write to keep the audience engaged while also being just a really good chapter (for convenience on my end, I'm just going to refer to them as chapters).

I figure its because of these factors:

• pace: a chapter shouldn't be too slow paced, although a slow pace doesn't make it bad (e.g., andor). but there is a difference between slow paced and just plain boring.
• momentum: every chapter should also move the story along as much as it can without it feeling rushed while also giving every event their proper importance. by importance i mean the time for the event to sink in or for it to make its mark on the audience.
• adding further mystery: this doesn't necessarily apply to mystery stories, but in my opinion, every story has a level of mystery and suspense to it, even a simple romance story. and by this, i mean when the story gives you questions: "what's behind that door", "what is this character's intention", "what's this masked character's true identity", "when will these characters get together", "what are they going to do next", and many more questions to keep the audience hooked.

other than these factors that I have theorised, I have no other ideas, so please give me more tips! any help is appreciated, thanks!

I dont really know when exactly this started, but when I was 16 thats when I really began to despise myself.

Before this i was always happy. The year I was 15 was the happiest year of my life. I had my friends, my life was great, my grades were at their peak, and i was finally becoming a better person (i made a lot of mistakes before this, which really put distance between me and my classmates) and that people were forgiving me.

But then something changed. The next year, not only did my grades slip so far (85 avg to 50 avg), but for some reason no one wanted to talk to me anymore. It just seemed like nobody liked me. Everything was going wrong for me. I couldn't keep up my grades, I became anxious in class like there was a pit in my stomach, I had no friends, i couldnt keep a conversation going anymore, my parents were constantly picking on me for everything, I just gave up.

I remember the day I gave up. I studied two weeks for a chemistry test, only to have so many problems during the test. We were supposed to do lab practicals, and somebody messed theirs up before mine. I never got to finish in time and lost points, and the teacher never listened to me. Come to think of it, even this teacher started being mean to me. I remember walking out of the classroom, just feeling dead inside. I didnt want to study or prove myself anymore. I became a husk that day.

Im 18 now. I graduated high school six months ago with extremely poor grades (toward the end, even my parents gave up on me), and somehow I ended up in a course anyway. My one piece of good luck. But it turns out im messing this up too because all my anxiety over studying comes back and I just cant do it. I struggle with procrastination and always leave things to the last. When I graduated I felt empty because I couldn't even force myself to feel sad it was over. I hated it. When I went to someone's birthday party, as usual nobody talked to me. I just sat by myself again. I always feel like I have to interject to get someone to notice me. I dont know what I did.

When one of my old friends reached out after hearing a song at his workplace that we used to listen to together, he told me that when I was 16, he and his friends didnt even like me, but they just let me hang out with them anyway. I was crushed because i thought we were best friends. I dont know if anyone actually liked me when I was in school, and if anyone was actually trying to be my friend, except two people. Those two are the only two people from my grade that keep in touch with me, they're my only real friends from high school. They don't know how much they mean to me, but as usual I probably mean less to them than they mean to me.

I finally have friends now. Oddly enough, theyre from my primary school. They're the best friends I've ever had, but im scared one day theyll get bored of me and walk out on me, because everyone else in my life who wasnt attached by blood has done that to me.

But i still crave attachment. I love them, but i am not their best friend. I feel like a fifth wheel or a third wheel sometimes, and its not because they exclude me or anything, its just that I can tell they've been friends together for a longer time than I have been friends with them.

My parents are constantly mean to me. My father refuses to listen to my point of view on anything, and always says I am wrong. It's like he listens to me with his heart blocked, even when it seems he genuinely cares. My mother screams and yells at me constantly, and calls me names. I dont why she treats me like this. She always makes me out to be this horrible, arrogant, rebellious, son, when i do none of that and always try to listen to her and do what she wants. My grandmother, who lives with us, is the worst one. She says she loves me, but she doesnt act like it. All she does is yell at me, and she always picks on me first instead of my siblings. She's so quick to believe i did something wrong before actually finding out what happened. My siblings have no respect for me or my stuff (but that might be my fault because I feel like the only way to connect with them is to go down to their level) but they still love me, but I fear that one day this lack of respect for me will cause them to betray me, and my parents will take their side.

Don't get me wrong, my parents love me and give me financial support and encourage me, but I just wish they were nicer to me. I feel like I dont get any emotional support from them, and i always go through everything alone. If I talk to them about i feel, they'll hold it against me and say i think they are bad parents.

And then there's my lust. I fall in love with every girl who shows me the tiniest bit of kindness. And i always end up getting over it in a week anyway. It really makes me wonder if I can ever actually fall for someone properly like i used to, or if its actually just affection that's clouding my judgement.

And theyre all so beautiful too. Even the other guys I know, theyre all good looking guys.

And then there's me. Im ugly. My face is ugly. I wish i was as good looking as the other people I know. I hate my face. I hate how one of my eyes looks a little more open than the other, I hate how if I grow my beard one side is patchy, I hate how big my nose is, I hate how my eyebrows grow together, I hate the shape of my head too. I how how fat i am too. I barely eat and I know people who ate a lot more, did a lot less exercise, and just looked better than I did. I hate my body. I hate my hair. Im balding at 18, and somehow extremely fast. My hair is thinning and my hair density is decreasing by the day. I always knew id go bald at some point because my dad and his dad were bald, but why did it have to be this early. Why not at around my thirties like my dad? I always see others with so much hair on their head and i get jealous and ashamed of I look. I have a buzz cut and you can still see my head through my hair. My parents are no help either. They wont tell why this is happening, and they used to laugh at me whenever I spoke about it. Now, when i do, they just get mad as I complain about it all the time. I hate how weak I am. I've always been bigger and taller than others, so why am I not stronger? Every time I look in the mirror I hate what I see. Im so ugly I look like a monster. I dont even know why I look like this, my parents looked way better than me when they were my age, and my siblings already look better than me.

My life isnt that good either. My parents laugh at me whenever I say i want to go the gym, even though they tell me i should. My grades in uni suck, and I have no job. I get rejected from every single place i apply. The only reason I havent given up is because i dont want my parents to be mean to me and I want to move out by 23. My luck sucks too. Is the percent of a bad thing larger than the good thing? Im/ve getting/got it. Is it smaller? I've still got it. I always get the short end of the stick. All I have is the music i listen to, the movies/shows/anime I watch, and the manga I read.

I also am super uncertain about my health in the future. I fear there may be signs of diabetes that are starting to show, and im really scared. The doctor did a blood test but nothing showed, but im scared cos its on both sides of my family. Not only that, but heart disease, too. I dont want to pass on these horrible health genes to my children, or burden my future wife with my health concerns. Then again I probably wont have a wife a children with the way im going.

I want someone to be my best friend. I want someone to be my girlfriend. I want someone who actually loves me for who I am. I want someone to choose me. I want to be someones first preference. I want to have a friendship like they do in tv shows, or like i see others have. I want a relationship. I want love. The darkest it ever got is when I was coming home from uni and I was so depressed I fantasised about throwing myself in front of the train. Im so far gone.

i dont deserve love. Even if i do get it, in some cruel twist of fate - actually is it really a twist? - ill lose it in some cruel way. I hate myself. I want to die. There is no light. I just move through every day with no impact on the world.

Tldr, I hate myself, fml, I want to die.

I dont really know when exactly this started, but when I was 16 thats when I really began to despise myself.

Before this i was happy. The year I was 15 was the happiest year of my life. I had my friends, my life was great, my grades were at their peak, and i was finally becoming a better person.

But then something changed. The next year, not only did my grades slip so far, but for some reason no one wanted to talk to me anymore. It just seemed like nobody liked me. Everything was going wrong for me. I couldn't keep up my grades, I became anxious in class like there was a pit in my stomach, I had no friends, i couldnt keep a conversation going anymore, my parents were constantly picking on me for everything, I just gave up.

I remember the day I gave up. I studied two weeks for a chemistry test, only to have so many problems during the test. We were supposed to do lab practicals, and somebody messed theirs up before mine. I never got to finish in time and lost points, and the teacher never listened to me. Come to think of it, even this teacher started being mean to me. I remember walking out of the classroom, just feeling dead inside. I didnt want to study or prove myself anymore. I became a husk.

Im 18 now. I graduated high school six months ago with extremely poor grades (toward the end, even my parents gave up on me), and somehow I ended up in a course anyway. My one piece of good luck. But it turns out im messing this up too because all my anxiety over studying comes back and I just cant do it. I struggle with procrastination and always leave things to the last. When I graduated I felt empty because I couldn't even force myself to feel sad it was over. I hated it. When I went to someone's birthday party, as usual nobody talked to me. I just sat by myself again. I always feel like I have to interject to get someone to notice me. I dont know what I did.

When one of my old friends reached out after hearing a song at his workplace that we used to listen to together, he told me that when I was 16, he and his friends didnt even like me, but they just let me hang out with them anyway. I was crushed because i thought we were best friends. I dont know if anyone actually liked me when I was in school, and if anyone was actually trying to be my friend, except two people. Those two are the only two people from my grade that keep in touch with me, they're my only real friends from high school. They don't know how much they mean to me, but as usual I probably mean less to them than they mean to me.

I finally have friends now. Oddly enough, theyre from my primary school. They're the best friends I've ever had, but im scared one day theyll get bored of me and walk out on me, because everyone else in my life who wasnt attached by blood has done that to me.

But i still crave attachment. I love them, but i am not their best friend. I feel like a fifth wheel or a third wheel sometimes, and its not because they exclude me or anything, its just that I can tell they've been friends together for a longer time than I have been friends with them.

My parents are constantly mean to me. My father refuses to listen to my point of view on anything, and always says I am wrong. It's like he listens to me with his heart blocked, even when it seems he genuinely cares. My mother screams and yells at me constantly, and calls me names. I dont why she treats me like this. She always makes me out to be this horrible, arrogant, rebellious, son, when i do none of that and always try to listen to her and do what she wants. My grandmother, who lives with us, is the worst. She says she loves me, but she doesnt act like it. All she does is yell at me, and she always picks on me first instead of my siblings. She's so quick to believe i did something wrong before actually finding out what happened. My siblings have no respect for me or my stuff (but that might be my fault because I feel like the only way to connect with them is to go down to their level) but they still love me, but I fear that one day this lack of respect for me will cause them to betray me, and my parents will take their side.

my parents love me and give me financial support and encourage me, but I just wish they were nicer to me. I feel like I dont get any emotional support from them, and i always go through everything alone. If I talk to them about i feel, they'll hold it against me and say i think they are bad parents.

I also fall in love with every girl who shows me the tiniest bit of kindness. And i always end up getting over it in a week anyway. It really makes me wonder if I can ever actually fall for someone properly like i used to, or if its actually just affection.

And theyre all so beautiful too. Even the other guys I know, theyre all good looking guys.

And then there's me. Im ugly. My face is ugly. I wish i was as good looking as the other people I know. I hate my face. I hate how one of my eyes looks a little more open than the other, if I grow my beard one side is patchy, how big my nose is, how my eyebrows grow together, the shape of my head too. I how how fat i am too. I barely eat and I know people who ate a lot more, did a lot less exercise, and just looked better than I did. I hate my body. I hate my hair. Im balding at 18, and somehow extremely fast. My hair is thinning and my hair density is decreasing by the day. I always knew id go bald at some point because my dad and his dad were bald, but why did it have to be this early. Why not at around my thirties like them? I always see others with so much hair on their head and i get jealous and ashamed of I look. I have a buzz cut and you can still see my head through my hair. My parents are no help either. They wont tell why this is happening, and they used to laugh at me whenever I spoke about it. Now, when i do, they just get mad as I complain about it. I hate how weak I am. I've always been bigger and taller than others, so why am I not stronger? Every time I look in the mirror I hate what I see. Im so ugly I look like a monster. I dont even know cos, my parents looked way better than me when they were my age.

My life isnt that good either. My parents laugh at me whenever I say i want to go the gym, even though they tell me i should. My grades in uni suck, and I have no job. I get rejected from every single place i apply. All I have is the music i listen to, the movies/shows/anime I watch, and the manga I read.

I want someone to be my best friend. I want someone to be my girlfriend. I want someone who actually loves me for who I am. I want someone to choose me. I want to be someones first preference. I want to have a friendship like they do in tv shows, or like i see others have. I want a relationship. I want love.

i dont deserve it.

Hey all. When i plan out a story, I usually plan it all out from start to finish, plotting out the major events and character arcs and interaction. I dont plan everything that happens, like every scene or interaction, unless its important for character development or plot, and usually leave that stuff to when Im actually writing it.

For stuff like dialogue and interactions, I usually try to keep in mind what each character is feeling, thinking, and their stance on certain subjects related to the plot, and what i want them to feel like afterwards. what do you think of this?

What I am worried about is how do i avoid making the story feel too rigid, despite being planned out? I want it to feel more natural, like its all happening as if these events are naturally taking place because of the characters and their interactions? i chalk this up to fleshing out my characters and planning the story around them, making sure to carefully give them enough time and development so that they do make a decision important to the plot, it doesnt feel like it came out of nowhere. I want it to be something like a story where when you finish it you can tell it was all planned from the beginning, like with twists and foreshadowing, but it never felt that way when you were experiencing it for the first time.

Do you guys have any others tips? Any and all help is appreciated, thank you!

Do you remember those Drake is the type of guy memes? Where it would be something like, Drake is the type of guy to be hanging out with friends, and would pause, sigh, and whisper, I needed this.?

Well, what i want to know is how to avoid writing character actions and interactions in a similar way so that my writing can sound more professional and less like a teenager. (Sorry for the bad comparison I really can't think of anything else to compare it to). I want to be able to write the dialogue and the scene itself in a way that feels natural, like how it would play out in real life.

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

Couldn't cross post this one from the attack on titan subreddit, so im just putting it here.

Even if it isnt your favourite, at least tell me why you like it a lot.

Or if it isnt, tell me why you like it a lot

If it is I mean, or if it isnt, then at least tell me why you like it a lot.

do i go to student hq? do i email the professor? what can i do? i need an elective bruh

hi there! aspiring writer here, and i love vagabond and the farming arc, and i wanted to get you guys' thoughts on this. there are some other more character driven arcs that make readers feel like the story is just dragging on and not going anywhere, but it never feels like this for vagabond. i know for those of you who read the chapters as they released, it might have, but when reading them consecutively, its amazing. i have a few ideas as to why:

1. the first three arcs (takezo, first yoshioka, hozoin) do a great job of telling you what kind of story this is going to be. inoue writes those arcs so well to really hammer it home to the viewer that vagabond is NOT a fighting manga, despite being a manga about the most famous samurai of all time. heck, the entire last fight of the hozoin arc isnt even a proper physical battle, but more so a battle of the mind between musashi and inshun, and musashi wins because he has learned that its not just about swinging a sword. this old and barbaric mindset is why he needed to change in the first place in the takezo arc and why he couldn't beat the yoshioka despite his incredible strength

2. the story is also character driven (yes, i know, obvious), where it focuses on musashi first, story second. i think if it was the other way around, musashis character development and reflection wouldnt be half as impactful as they are now. the farming arc feels like its naturally placed, as the readers are already accustomed to musashis character being the primary focus.

3. there is no antagonist in the farming arc (unless you count the rice field lmao), unlike the other arcs, where the antagonists are tusjikaze gang, seijuro and denshichiro yoshioka, hozoin inshun, the yagyu dojos students (i cant really consider sekishusai a villain here), shishido baiken and rindo, the seventy yoshioka men, and ito ittosai. since the farming arc doesnt have an antagonist, musashi put in a position where his sword cant fix anything, and he is forced to directly help the village by learning their way of live: farming. its beautiful to watch musashi get better at farming as he is taught by others, while he helps them too. musashi does practice his swordplay, and comes to realisations during these sessions, but these came from not only the lessons he learned from his life before, but from the lessons he learns while farming that he then applies to his knowledge of the sword.

this is all i can come up with, but if you guys have any other reasons you think the farming arc is not only amazing, but also never makes the reader feel like the story is being dragged, please let me know.

what do i do if all my recommended electives are above my year level (im a first year)? like if they say something like if the number has a 2 or 3 at the start of the number? can i still take it or do i have to be 2nd year to take them? i only had one recommended elective that had a 1 in the front of the number, so yeah.

any help is appreciated. thank you

I need to beat lust

Hi everyone. I (18M) know this can be an adult topic, but im going to word this in the most tactful way I can. Sorry for the long read.

Well, you've probably gained this from the title. I lust. I know everyone does it to some degree, but i think its ruining me.

I... do an "activity". Im trying to beat it. I figure ill slowly get off it by increasing the days between when I do it.

I also really want a girlfriend - badly. I want to care for her but there are some problems, like my "activity". It's also that whenever I meet a girl and whenever she's nice to me, I develop a small crush on her. It sucks because I genuinely want to be her friend.

Im a very lonely person ever since high school, hardly any friends. I dont really like myself either, so i see why they would avoid me. I feel like the reason I fall for everyone is because I need human connection. I want friends. I used to be the most extroverted person alive and could get along with everyone, but now I cant seem to do it. I boiled my crushes down to infatuation. Not love.

And that's what scares me. I know that im love with the idea of having a girlfriend, not the girl herself - and I dont know how to change that. How will I know when im really in love? What happens if I do get a girlfriend, and I KEEP falling for every girl who becomes my friend? How can I do that to her? Im betraying her everytime I do that.

Please help me. I want to be happy not because I have someone in my life, but because im happy with myself.

Hi everyone. I (18M) know this can be an adult topic, but im going to word this in the most tactful way I can. Sorry for the long read.

Well, you've probably gained this from the title. I lust. I know everyone does it to some degree, but i think its ruining me.

I... do an "activity". Im trying to beat it. I figure ill slowly get off it by increasing the days between when I do it.

I also really want a girlfriend - badly. I want to care for her but there are some problems, like my "activity". It's also that whenever I meet a girl and whenever she's nice to me, I develop a small crush on her. It sucks because I genuinely want to be her friend.

Im a very lonely person ever since high school, hardly any friends. I dont really like myself either, so i see why they would avoid me. I feel like the reason I fall for everyone is because I need human connection. I want friends. I used to be the most extroverted person alive and could get along with everyone, but now I cant seem to do it. I boiled my crushes down to infatuation. Not love.

And that's what scares me. I know that im love with the idea of having a girlfriend, not the girl herself - and I dont know how to change that. How will I know when im really in love? What happens if I do get a girlfriend, and I KEEP falling for every girl who becomes my friend? How can I do that to her? Im betraying her everytime I do that.

Please help me. I want to be happy not because I have someone in my life, but because im happy with myself.

Hi everyone, thanks for clicking on this. For some reason, the connector of my charger buzzes just a little. It feels a little strange when I touch it. I dont know why, and it only happens when my charger is plugged in.

It's a kmart usb c to usb c charger with a third party brick (I forgot what brand but it wasn't a cheap 2 dollar store charger).

Whats causing this? Is this something I should be worried about?