three of them ...

Word Lists

will update this every few weeks/months. alternatively, here are all my tagged word lists.

• Blood ⚜ Blush ⚜ Book ⚜ Eye ⚜ Flower ⚜ Fly ⚜ Girl / Boy
• Glow ⚜ Gold ⚜ Heaven ⚜ Hell ⚜ Honey ⚜ Moon ⚜ Sun
• Sick ⚜ Soul ⚜ Time ⚜ Ward ⚜ Water

Collections

• "Beautiful" Words: Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
• "Poetic" Words: Part 1 2 ⚜ "Ugly" Words
• Animals ⚜ Dance ⚜ Emotions ⚜ Garden ⚜ Kill ⚜ Personality Traits
• Food: Part 1 2 3 4 5 ⚜ Aphrodisiacs ⚜ Drinking
• Love: Part 1 2 ⚜ Sex Scenes ⚜ Sensory Words ⚜ Saying No
• Palindromes ⚜ Shapes ⚜ Voice ⚜ 1930s Slang ⚜ Habitats
• Legendary Creatures ⚜ Parts of a Castle ⚜ Silent Letters
• Lexical Universals ⚜ Magical Properties of Oils
• Loan Words: French in Middle English ⚜ Nonsense Words
• Months: August ⚜ September ⚜ October
• Seasons: Autumn ⚜ Spring ⚜ Summer
• Topics List: Part 1 2 ⚜ Terms of Endearment
• Uncommon Words: Body ⚜ Emotions

Characters

• Achilles ⚜ Patrolcus ⚜ Amy Dunne ⚜ Aphrodite
• Aragorn ⚜ Arwen ⚜ Hannibal ⚜ Will Graham
• Giorno ⚜ Josuke ⚜ Katniss ⚜ Morticia

Languages

• Ancient Greek ⚜ Czech ⚜ Greek Words for Love
• French Part 1 2 ⚜ Italian ⚜ Japanese ⚜ Latin
• Portuguese ⚜ Romanian ⚜ Russian ⚜ Spanish

Literature

• Sylvia Plath ⚜ The Secret History

all posts are queued. send questions/requests here.

Synonyms & Related Words

• Air/Wind ⚜ Temperature ⚜ Exsanguination
• Beautiful ⚜ Dark ⚜ Decompose ⚜ Infinity ⚜ Love ⚜ Quiet
• Emotions ⚜ Enjoyable ⚜ Exclaim ⚜ Positive Emotions ⚜ Smile
• Fighting ⚜ Panting ⚜ Poking ⚜ Running
• Flop ⚜ Pace ⚜ Pain ⚜ Wilt ⚜ Wrap around
• Said ⚜ Very ⚜ Went
• Sighed & Frowned ⚜ Somewhat & Hardly

Vocabulary

• Agrostology Part 1 2 ⚜ Allergy ⚜ Architecture ⚜ Baking
• Biochemistry ⚜ Ecology ⚜ Esoteric ⚜ Food Poisoning
• Gemology Part 1 2 3 ⚜ Geology Part 1 2 ⚜ Weather
• Art: Part 1 2 3 ⚜ Ancient Egyptian ⚜ European Renaissance
• Art: Greek ⚜ Islamic ⚜ Roman
• Editorial ⚜ Fashion ⚜ Worldbuilding
• Latin Forensic ⚜ Law ⚜ Psychology
• Phylogenetics ⚜ Science ⚜ Zoology
• Literature Part 1 2 3 ⚜ Detective Fiction
• Mythology Part 1 2 3 ⚜ Poetry Part 1 2
• Medieval: Art Part 1 2 ⚜ Beasts ⚜ Some Vocabulary

Topics Lists ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Random writing tips that my history professor just told during class that are actually helpful

• Download all your sources or print them so you can turn off your wifi
• Give your phone to someone
• Just. WRITE. Writing is analysing, you’ll get more ideas as you write. It doesn’t need to be perfect, for now you can just blurt out words and ideas randomly. You can fix it later.
• Create a skeleton/structure before writing.
• Stop before you get exhausted. It’s best to stop writing when you still have some energy and inspiration left, this will also motivate you to get started again next time.
• Make a to do list
• Work in bite sizes. Even if it’s not much, as long as you put some ideas on paper or do some editing.
• Simple language =/= boring language, simple language = clear language.
• Own your words. If they are not your words, state this clearly in the text, not just in the footnotes.
• STOP BEFORE YOU GET EXHAUSTED. Listing it again because it’s easily one of the best tips a teacher has ever given me.

PSA: stuttering in fics

as someone with a speech impediment, all of the people saying that only one type of stuttering is valid are wrong.

stuttering CAN look like this: "t-this is a-an example s-s-sentence"

OR this: "this-this is an example sen-sentence."

OR this: "t-t-t-th-..t-ttttthis is an example sentence."

OR this: "this is, uhm, an example, uh, sentence."

OR this: "this is an example sssssss-sentence."

OR this: "this is an examp-...this an example sentence."

sometimes the sentence won't even come out of your mouth at all.

there are probably many examples i'm forgetting, but that's the point! it usually is a mix of a few of these, but some people do one of them more often than others! some people with speech impediments have certain sounds that they almost consistently have trouble with (for me it's "st").

people with speech impediments also rarely-if ever-stutter whilst they're singing or whispering.

most importantly!!!! people with speech impediments are capable of saying a sentence without stuttering!! it can just be a gamble sometimes.

and if more people could portray the frustration that comes with stuttering and not being able to get words out, i'd be a very happy girl.

(fun fact: sometimes when my mouth won't let me say what i want to say, i get so annoyed that i just yell or grumble out "WORDS.")

this was your speech impediment PSA!!!!

We need more repeat and pause stutters or when you basically lose the plot after one too many retries

Its like- its like when- like- when- like when- FUCK

Its like.........uh- like when.... when— fuck nevermind

We get this shit so much hh

a talking point i often see when defending the consumption of dark content is that it’s a coping mechanism for those with trauma which is very valid and true but i also want to make this abundantly clear: you can like dark content for no reason. you can enjoy fucked up shit in fiction because it’s enjoyable and entertaining. trauma is not required as a ticket for entry. enjoy your dark content bc it’s fun and sexy and don’t let anyone take that away from you

sometimes the reason is this

reblog if you love to see that shit that was fucking crazy

We discussed the issues describing People of Color by means of food in Part I of this guide, which brought rise to even more questions, mostly along the lines of “So, if food’s not an option, what can I use?” Well, I was just getting to that!

This final portion focuses on describing skin tone, with photo and passage examples provided throughout. I hope to cover everything from the use of straight-forward description to the more creatively-inclined, keeping in mind the questions we’ve received on this topic.

Standard Description

Basic Colors

Pictured above: Black, Brown, Beige, White, Pink.

“She had brown skin.”

• This is a perfectly fine description that, while not providing the most detail, works well and will never become cliché.
• Describing characters’ skin as simply brown or beige works on its own, though it’s not particularly telling just from the range in brown alone.

Complex Colors

These are more rarely used words that actually “mean” their color. Some of these have multiple meanings, so you’ll want to look into those to determine what other associations a word might have.

Pictured above: Umber, Sepia, Ochre, Russet, Terra-cotta, Gold, Tawny, Taupe, Khaki, Fawn.

• Complex colors work well alone, though often pair well with a basic color in regards to narrowing down shade/tone.

For example: Golden brown, russet brown, tawny beige…

• As some of these are on the “rare” side, sliding in a definition of the word within the sentence itself may help readers who are unfamiliar with the term visualize the color without seeking a dictionary.

“He was tall and slim, his skin a russet, reddish-brown.”

• Comparisons to familiar colors or visuals are also helpful:

“His skin was an ochre color, much like the mellow-brown light that bathed the forest.”

Modifiers

Modifiers, often adjectives, make partial changes to a word.The following words are descriptors in reference to skin tone.

Dark - Deep - Rich - Cool

Warm - Medium - Tan

Fair - Light - Pale

Rich Black, Dark brown, Warm beige, Pale pink…

If you’re looking to get more specific than “brown,” modifiers narrow down shade further.

• Keep in mind that these modifiers are not exactly colors.
• As an already brown-skinned person, I get tan from a lot of sun and resultingly become a darker, deeper brown. I turn a pale, more yellow-brown in the winter.
• While best used in combination with a color, I suppose words like “tan” “fair” and “light” do work alone; just note that tan is less likely to be taken for “naturally tan” and much more likely a tanned White person.
• Calling someone “dark” as description on its own is offensive to some and also ambiguous. (See: Describing Skin as Dark)

Undertones

Undertones are the colors beneath the skin, seeing as skin isn’t just one even color but has more subdued tones within the dominating palette.

pictured above: warm / earth undertones: yellow, golden, copper, olive, bronze, orange, orange-red, coral | cool / jewel undertones: pink, red, blue, blue-red, rose, magenta, sapphire, silver. 

• Mentioning the undertones within a character’s skin is an even more precise way to denote skin tone.
• As shown, there’s a difference between say, brown skin with warm orange-red undertones (Kelly Rowland) and brown skin with cool, jewel undertones (Rutina Wesley).

“A dazzling smile revealed the bronze glow at her cheeks.”

“He always looked as if he’d ran a mile, a constant tinge of pink under his tawny skin.”

Standard Description Passage

“Farah’s skin, always fawn, had burned and freckled under the summer’s sun. Even at the cusp of autumn, an uneven tan clung to her skin like burrs. So unlike the smooth, red-brown ochre of her mother, which the sun had richened to a blessing.”

-From my story “Where Summer Ends” featured in Strange Little Girls

1. Here the state of skin also gives insight on character.
2. Note my use of “fawn” in regards to multiple meaning and association. While fawn is a color, it’s also a small, timid deer, which describes this very traumatized character of mine perfectly.
   

Though I use standard descriptions of skin tone more in my writing, at the same time I’m no stranger to creative descriptions, and do enjoy the occasional artsy detail of a character.

Creative Description

Whether compared to night-cast rivers or day’s first light…I actually enjoy seeing Characters of Colors dressed in artful detail.

I’ve read loads of descriptions in my day of white characters and their “smooth rose-tinged ivory skin”, while the PoC, if there, are reduced to something from a candy bowl or a Starbucks drink, so to actually read of PoC described in lavish detail can be somewhat of a treat.

Still, be mindful when you get creative with your character descriptions. Too many frills can become purple-prose-like, so do what feels right for your writing when and where.

Not every character or scene warrants a creative description, either. Especially if they’re not even a secondary character.

Using a combination of color descriptions from standard to creative is probably a better method than straight creative. But again, do what’s good for your tale.

Natural Settings - Sky

Pictured above: Harvest Moon -Twilight, Fall/Autumn Leaves, Clay, Desert/Sahara, Sunlight - Sunrise - Sunset - Afterglow - Dawn- Day- Daybreak, Field - Prairie - Wheat, Mountain/Cliff, Beach/Sand/Straw/Hay.

• Now before you run off to compare your heroine’s skin to the harvest moon or a cliff side, think about the associations to your words.
• When I think cliff, I think of jagged, perilous, rough. I hear sand and picture grainy, yet smooth. Calm. mellow.
  
• So consider your character and what you see fit to compare them to.
• Also consider whose perspective you’re describing them from. Someone describing a person they revere or admire may have a more pleasant, loftier description than someone who can’t stand the person.

“Her face was like the fire-gold glow of dawn, lifting my gaze, drawing me in.”

“She had a sandy complexion, smooth and tawny.”

• Even creative descriptions tend to draw help from your standard words.

Flowers

Pictured above: Calla lilies, Western Coneflower, Hazel Fay, Hibiscus, Freesia, Rose

• It was a bit difficult to find flowers to my liking that didn’t have a 20 character name or wasn’t called something like “chocolate silk” so these are the finalists. 
• You’ll definitely want to avoid purple-prose here.
• Also be aware of flowers that most might’ve never heard of. Roses are easy, as most know the look and coloring(s) of this plant. But Western coneflowers? Calla lilies? Maybe not so much.

“He entered the cottage in a huff, cheeks a blushing brown like the flowers Nana planted right under my window. Hazel Fay she called them, was it?”

Assorted Plants & Nature

Pictured above: Cattails, Seashell, Driftwood, Pinecone, Acorn, Amber

• These ones are kinda odd. Perhaps because I’ve never seen these in comparison to skin tone, With the exception of amber.
• At least they’re common enough that most may have an idea what you’re talking about at the mention of “pinecone.“ 
• I suggest reading out your sentences aloud to get a better feel of how it’ll sounds.

“Auburn hair swept past pointed ears, set around a face like an acorn both in shape and shade.”

1. I pictured some tree-dwelling being or person from a fantasy world in this example, which makes the comparison more appropriate.
2. I don’t suggest using a comparison just “cuz you can” but actually being thoughtful about what you’re comparing your character to and how it applies to your character and/or setting.

Wood

Pictured above: Mahogany, Walnut, Chestnut, Golden Oak, Ash

• Wood can be an iffy description for skin tone. Not only due to several of them having “foody” terminology within their names, but again, associations.
• Some people would prefer not to compare/be compared to wood at all, so get opinions, try it aloud, and make sure it’s appropriate to the character if you do use it.

“The old warlock’s skin was a deep shade of mahogany, his stare serious and firm as it held mine.”

Metals

Pictured above: Platinum, Copper, Brass, Gold, Bronze

• Copper skin, brass-colored skin, golden skin…
• I’ve even heard variations of these used before by comparison to an object of the same properties/coloring, such as penny for copper.
• These also work well with modifiers.

“The dress of fine white silks popped against the deep bronze of her skin.”

Gemstones - Minerals

Pictured above: Onyx, Obsidian, Sard, Topaz, Carnelian, Smoky Quartz, Rutile, Pyrite, Citrine, Gypsum

• These are trickier to use. As with some complex colors, the writer will have to get us to understand what most of these look like.
• If you use these, or any more rare description, consider if it actually “fits” the book or scene.
• Even if you’re able to get us to picture what “rutile” looks like, why are you using this description as opposed to something else? Have that answer for yourself.

“His skin reminded her of the topaz ring her father wore at his finger, a gleaming stone of brown, mellow facades.” 

Physical Description

1. Physical character description can be more than skin tone.
2. Show us hair, eyes, noses, mouth, hands…body posture, body shape, skin texture… though not necessarily all of those nor at once.
3. Describing features also helps indicate race, especially if your character has some traits common within the race they are, such as afro hair to a Black character.
4. How comprehensive you decide to get is up to you. I wouldn’t overdo it and get specific to every mole and birthmark. Noting defining characteristics is good, though, like slightly spaced front teeth, curls that stay flopping in their face, hands freckled with sunspots…

General Tips

• Indicate Race Early: I suggest indicators of race be made at the earliest convenience within the writing, with more hints threaded throughout here and there.

• Get Creative On Your Own: Obviously, I couldn’t cover every proper color or comparison in which has been “approved” to use for your characters’ skin color, so it’s up to you to use discretion when seeking other ways and shades to describe skin tone.

• Skin Color May Not Be Enough: Describing skin tone isn’t always enough to indicate someone’s ethnicity. As timeless cases with readers equating brown to “dark white” or something, more indicators of race may be needed.

• Describe White characters and PoC Alike: You should describe the race and/or skin tone of your white characters just as you do your Characters of Color. If you don’t, you risk implying that White is the default human being and PoC are the “Other”).

• PSA: Don’t use “Colored.” Based on some asks we’ve received using this word, I’d like to say that unless you or your character is a racist grandmama from the 1960s, do not call People of Color “colored” please. 

• Not Sure Where to Start? You really can’t go wrong using basic colors for your skin descriptions. It’s actually what many people prefer and works best for most writing. Personally, I tend to describe my characters using a combo of basic colors + modifiers, with mentions of undertones at times. I do like to veer into more creative descriptions on occasion.

• Want some alternatives to “skin” or “skin color”? Try: Appearance, blend, blush, cast, coloring, complexion, flush, glow, hue, overtone, palette, pigmentation, rinse, shade, sheen, spectrum, tinge, tint, tone, undertone, value, wash.

Skin Tone Resources

• List of Color Names
• The Color Thesaurus
• Skin Undertone & Color Matching
• Tips and Words on Describing Skin
• Photos: Undertones Described (Modifiers included)
• Online Thesaurus (try colors, such as “red” & “brown”)
• Don’t Call me Pastries: Creative Skin Tones w/ pics I 

Writing & Description Guides

• WWC Featured Description Posts
• WWC Guide: Words to Describe Hair
• Writing with Color: Description & Skin Color Tags
• 7 Offensive Mistakes Well-intentioned Writers Make

I tried to be as comprehensive as possible with this guide, but if you have a question regarding describing skin color that hasn’t been answered within part I or II of this guide, or have more questions after reading this post, feel free to ask!

~ Mod Colette

Remember not to give a shit and write cringy fanfiction and make bad art and wear weird clothes and dance badly to your favorite song never stop doing these creative things that make you happy.

it actually is insane to me that it's a cultural norm for men to suck ass at getting their wives/gfs gifts. especially when they whine about how they have no idea what women like.

man, you're not getting a gift for Female Domestic Partner. you're getting a gift for Natalie, a person whom you have been married to for 7 years, whom has lived in the same home with you for a decade, whom speaks to you every day about her thoughts and interests, whom you presumably love, and whom you can directly or indirectly ask what she wants. it's not that you don't know what half the human population wants, that's irrelevant. you don't know what Natalie wants and that is inexcusable.

from the bottom of my heart: just because something makes you uncomfortable doesn't mean it shouldn't be allowed to exist

"But what about <thing that literally kills people>?"

This was on a non rebloggable post so I'm setting it free.

Archaic Words: Drinks

ALT

for your next poem/story

1. Adam's ale - water
2. Antioche - a kind of wine; a drink for wounded persons called "water of Anteoche"
3. Apple moise - cider
4. Battry - a tea kettle
5. Blue milk - old skimmed milk
6. Bun feast - a tea-drinking
7. Cat lap - tea
8. Chatter water - tea
9. Cyther - cider
10. Dallop - a parcel of smuggled tea
11. Drink meat - boiled ale thickened with oatmeal and bread
12. Foison - the natural juice or moisture of the grass or other herbs; the heart and strength of it
13. Fresh drink - small beer
14. Lycced tea - tea and spirits
15. Pipe drink - sparking weak ale
16. Pop gun - elder wine
17. Posset - a drink of wine or treacle boiled with milk
18. Pug drink - water cyder
19. Rambuze - a compound drink at Cambridge, and is commonly made of eggs, ale, wine, and sugar; but in summer, of milk, wine, sugar, and rose water
20. Rum barge - a warm drink
21. Ruspice - a kind of red wine
22. Scandal broth - tea
23. Stum - strong new wine, used for strengthening weak liquor
24. Tea - the one; too, likewise; to take tea
25. Thin drink - small beer
26. Tier - a bitter drink or liquor
27. Tutting - tea-drinking for women, succeeded by stronger potations (i.e., archaic: drinks, usually alcoholic) in company of the other sex, and ending, as might he expected, in scenes of ribaldry and debauchery
28. Vernage - a kind of white wine
29. Wemble - to turn a cup upside down in token of having had enough tea
30. Woyse - juice

Source ⚜ More: Notes ⚜ Word Lists ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

"I don't write my draft before I start writing, I simply write, and then if I don't like it, I edit it, and when I say I'm done, I UPLOAD IT. I AM NOT WRITING THAT SHIT AGAIN."

That's the ✨️ writer's experience ✨️