Writing Dialogue - Tumblr Posts
Not that much, but yeah. I know that Hal has many boyfriends and girlfriends, but I love him in a unique, different way.
Me explaining to my F/O's fangirls how I'm his Number 1 fangirl AND girlfriend that knows everything about him and loves him the most and that we're meant to be together and no one else can take us apart
P.ro/c.omship DNI
I do not believe in heaven or hell but trust me i will suffer through seven levels of torment if it meant you smile when you thought of me, for heaven forbide the day you see me as a enemy is the day i die
Words to use instead of ‘said’
**Using the word ‘said’ is absolutely not a bad choice, and in fact, you will want to use it for at least 40% of all your dialogue tags. Using other words can be great, especially for description and showing emotion, but used in excess can take away or distract from the story.
Neutral: acknowledged, added, affirmed, agreed, announced, answered, appealed, articulated, attested, began, bemused, boasted, called, chimed in, claimed, clarified, commented, conceded, confided, confirmed, contended, continued, corrected, decided, declared, deflected, demurred, disclosed, disputed, emphasized, explained, expressed, finished, gloated, greeted, hinted, imitated, imparted, implied, informed, interjected, insinuated, insisted, instructed, lectured, maintained, mouthed, mused, noted, observed, offered, put forth, reassured, recited, remarked, repeated, requested, replied, revealed, shared, spoke up, stated, suggested, uttered, voiced, volunteered, vowed, went on
Persuasive: advised, appealed, asserted, assured, begged, cajoled, claimed, convinced, directed, encouraged, implored, insisted, pleaded, pressed, probed, prodded, prompted, stressed, suggested, urged
Continuously: babbled, chattered, jabbered, rambled, rattled on
Quietly: admitted, breathed, confessed, croaked, crooned, grumbled, hissed, mumbled, murmured, muttered, purred, sighed, whispered
Loudly: bellowed, blurted, boomed, cried, hollered, howled, piped, roared, screamed, screeched, shouted, shrieked, squawked, thundered, wailed, yelled, yelped
Happily/Lovingly: admired, beamed, cackled, cheered, chirped, comforted, consoled, cooed, empathized, flirted, gushed, hummed, invited, praised, proclaimed, professed, reassured, soothed, squealed, whooped
Humour: bantered, chuckled, giggled, guffawed, jested, joked, joshed
Sad: bawled, begged, bemoaned, blubbered, grieved, lamented, mewled, mourned, pleaded, sniffled, sniveled, sobbed, wailed, wept, whimpered
Frustrated: argued, bickered, chastised, complained, exasperated, groaned, huffed, protested, whinged
Anger: accused, bristled, criticized, condemned, cursed, demanded, denounced, erupted, fumed, growled, lied, nagged, ordered, provoked, raged, ranted remonstrated, retorted, scoffed, scolded, scowled, seethed, shot, snapped, snarled, sneered, spat, stormed, swore, taunted, threatened, warned
Disgust: cringed, gagged, groused, griped, grunted, mocked, rasped, sniffed, snorted
Fear: cautioned, faltered, fretted, gasped, quaked, quavered, shuddered, stammered, stuttered, trembled, warned, whimpered, whined
Excited: beamed, cheered, cried out, crowed, exclaimed, gushed, rejoiced, sang, trumpeted
Surprised: blurted, exclaimed, gasped, marveled, sputtered, yelped
Provoked: bragged, dared, gibed, goaded, insulted, jeered, lied, mimicked, nagged, pestered, provoked, quipped, ribbed, ridiculed, sassed, teased
Uncertainty/Questionned: asked, challenged, coaxed, concluded, countered, debated, doubted, entreated, guessed, hesitated, hinted, implored, inquired, objected, persuaded, petitioned, pleaded, pondered, pressed, probed, proposed, queried, questioned, quizzed, reasoned, reiterated, reported, requested, speculated, supposed, surmised, testified, theorized, verified, wondered
This is by no means a full list, but should be more than enough to get you started!
Any more words you favor? Add them in the comments!
Happy Writing :)
Distinguishing Between Character Perspectives
I’m sure many of you are already working on projects that have multiple characters that hold perspective (as in, we follow the story from their eyes), or you will someday. Whether you do it chapter by chapter or just intentionally head-hop, distinguishing between perspectives of characters is important both for clarity to the readers (we want to be able to hop into any part of the story and know who we’re with) as well as for conveying character!
We do this through building the narrator with the character’s voice.
Whether you’re writing first person, third person omniscient or limited, or even second person, your narrator is going to have a voice. This voice is the voice of the character you are following.
Narrator voice works almost the exact same as how you would write your character voice. Your narrator is going to tell the story matching the attitude and background of their character. Background will influence the kind of words they use, the way they see the world, and how they would comment on it. In an easy example, if your character doesn’t swear—their narrator definitely wouldn’t, unless the character swears inside their own thoughts but not out loud.
Attitude is telling personality through voice. Take for example, your character has just walked into the bar:
“The bar was filled to the brim with sweaty drunks falling over each other, barely cognizant of the drinks they were spilling--much less so the people around them.”
Versus
“Upbeat dance music filled the bar. A crowd had formed in the middle of the floor, people cheering and dancing together like the rest of the world hardly mattered.”
Same situation, far different attitude.
Your narrator for different characters will use their tone, their word choices, and convey a specific and unique outlook on the world. All of this conveys their character in an intimate way (the narrator is almost like their inner-thoughts or literally seeing through their eyes) and will make reading works with multiple perspectives far more interesting!
(However, this also applies even if there’s only one perspective!)
What are some unique choices you made for your narrator/characters’ voices?
Dialogue tips that actually work:
You are not writing a movie (ignore this if you are). The reader doesn't need to know every word the characters say for the duration of the story. Less is more.
Dialogue can happen within the prose. "And they awkwardky discussed the weather for five minutes" is way better than actually writing five pages of dialogue about the weather.
Balance your dialogues. Surprise yourself with a monosyllabic answe to a dialogue that's ten sentences long. Don't be afraid of letting your character use half a page for a reply or nothing at all!
Don't write accents phonetically, use slang and colloquialisms if needed.
Comma before "said" and no caps after "!?" unless it's an action tag. Study dialogue punctuation.
Learn the difference between action tags and dialogue tags. Then, use them interchangeably (or none at all).
Don't be afraid to use said. Use said if characters are just saying things, use another word if not. Simple. There's no need to use fancy synonyms unless absolutely necessary.
Not everyone talks the same way so it makes sense for your characters to use certain words more often than others. Think of someone who says "like" to start every sentence or someone who talks really slow. Be creative.
Use prose to slow down the pace during a conversation.
Skip prose to speed up the pace during a conversation.
Pro Tip: The Way You End a Sentence Matters
Here is a quick and dirty writing tip that will strengthen your writing.
In English, the word at the end of a sentence carries more weight or emphasis than the rest of the sentence. You can use that to your advantage in modifying tone.
Consider:
In the end, what you said didn't matter.
It didn't matter what you said in the end.
In the end, it didn't matter what you said.
Do you pick up the subtle differences in meaning between these three sentences?
The first one feels a little angry, doesn't it? And the third one feels a little softer? There's a gulf of meaning between "what you said didn't matter" (it's not important!) and "it didn't matter what you said" (the end result would've never changed).
Let's try it again:
When her mother died, she couldn't even cry.
She couldn't even cry when her mother died.
That first example seems to kind of side with her, right? Whereas the second example seems to hold a little bit of judgment or accusation? The first phrase kind of seems to suggest that she was so sad she couldn't cry, whereas the second kind of seems to suggest that she's not sad and that's the problem.
The effect is super subtle and very hard to put into words, but you'll feel it when you're reading something. Changing up the order of your sentences to shift the focus can have a huge effect on tone even when the exact same words are used.
In linguistics, this is referred to as "end focus," and it's a nightmare for ESL students because it's so subtle and hard to explain. But a lot goes into it, and it's a tool worth keeping in your pocket if you're a creative writer or someone otherwise trying to create a specific effect with your words :)
Writing Tip: Don’t Be Afraid of Mixing Dialogue and Action
So I’ve been reading a lot of amateur writing lately, and I’ve noticed what seems to be a common problem: dialogue.
Tell me if this looks familiar. You start writing a conversation, only to look down and realize it reads like:
“I’m talking now,” he said.
“Yes, I noticed,” she said.
“I have nothing much to add to this conversation,” the third person said.
And it grates on your ears. So much ‘said.’ It looks awful! It sounds repetitive. So, naturally, you try to shake it up a bit:
“Is this any better?” He inquired.
“I’m not sure,” she mused.
“I definitely think so!” that other guy roared.
This is not an improvement. This is worse.
Now your dialogue is just as disjointed as it was before, but you have the added problem of a bunch of distracting dialogue verbs that can have an unintentionally comedic effect.
So here’s how you avoid it: You mix up the dialogue with description.
“Isn’t this better?” he asked, leaning forward in his seat. “Don’t you feel like we’re more grounded in reality?”
She nodded, looking down at her freshly manicured nails. “I don’t feel like a talking head anymore.”
“Right!” that annoying third guy added. “And now you can get some characterization crammed into the dialogue!”
The rules of dialogue punctuation are as follows:
Each speaker gets his/her own paragraph - when the speaker changes, you start a new paragraph.
Within the speaker’s own paragraph, you can include action, interior thoughts, description, etc.
You can interrupt dialogue in the middle to put in a “said” tag, and then write more dialogue from that same speaker.
You can put the “said” tag at the beginning or end of the sentence.
Once you’ve established which characters are talking, you don’t need a “said” tag every time they speak.
ETA: use a comma instead of a period at the end of a sentence of dialogue, and keep the ‘said’ tag in lower caps. If you end on a ? or !, the ‘said’ tag is still in lower case. (thanks, commenters who pointed this out!)
Some more examples:
“If you’re writing an incomplete thought,” he said, “you put a comma, then the quote mark, then the dialogue tag.”
“If the sentence ends, you put in a period.” She pointed at the previous sentence. “See? Complete sentences.”
“You can also replace the dialogue tag with action.” Extra guy yawned. “When you do, you use a period instead of a comma.”
So what do you do with this newfound power? I’m glad you asked.
You can provide description of the character and their surroundings in order to orient them in time and space while talking.
You can reveal characterization through body language and other nonverbal cues that will add more dimension to your dialogue.
You can add interior thoughts for your POV character between lines of dialogue - especially helpful when they’re not saying quite what they mean.
You can control pacing. Lines of dialogue interrupted by descriptions convey a slower-paced conversation. Lines delivered with just a “said” tag, or with no dialogue tag at all, convey a more rapid-fire conversation.
For example:
“We’ve been talking about dialogue for a while,” he said, shifting in his seat as though uncomfortable with sitting still.
“We sure have,” she agreed. She rose from her chair, stretching. “Shall we go, then?”
“I think we should.”
“Great. Let’s get out of here.”
By controlling the pacing, you can establish mood and help guide your reader along to understanding what it is that you’re doing.
I hope this helps you write better dialogue! If you have questions, don’t hesitate to drop me an ask :)
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Here's a list of all my posts so far!
Daily Writerly Updates! | Open to post requests & questions
+ Feel free to chat with me anytime :) Think of me as your next door writer neighbor 🏡
☕📜Writing Prompts (general)
Angry-crying dialogue prompts
Angry Love Confessions
Forbidden Love Prompts
"The Romantic Academic" Prompts
Dark Fairytale Writing Class
Lovers in Denial Prompts
Responses to: "I Love You"
Arranged Marriage Prompts
Seven Levels of Heaven
Nine Circles of Hell
Library Romance Prompts
Responses to: "break my heart"
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✧𑁍.ೃFantasy Writing Prompts
Dark fantasy tropes
Dark fantasy prompts
Fantasy Cultural Quirks
10 Magic System Ideas
What If God Dies in Your Story?
Master List of Superpowers
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🧛🏻♀️Character Writing Tips
Character names with unfortunate meanings
Toxic Traits for Your Characters
Serial Killer Escape Manual
Writing Redemption Arcs
Fantasy Nobility Ranks
Characters' Dark Backstory Ideas
Best Picrew Character Makers
Dark Character Backstory Ideas
Dirty Habits for Your Characters
Fantastical Asian Monsters
Writing the "Mean Girl"
How to Write Introverted Character
Writing Morally Gray Characters
Writing Child Characters Believably
Writing Toxic Parents
Writing Homosexual Characters
Establishing the Character-Reader Bond
Writing Blind Characters
Emotional Mini-Bio for Characters
Character Arc 101
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⭐Plot Writing Tips
Plotting for romantasy
Dark Fantasy How-To
A Guide to Cozy Fantasy
Dark Academia Plot Must-Haves
Writing Strong Opening Lines
The Three-Act Structure
Writing the perfect betrayal
List of Plot Generation Exercises
Scenes: The Basics
How to Energize a Sloggy Middle
Types of Deaths in Fiction
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⛰️Setting & Description Tips
Weather symbolisms
Writing Fantasy Battles
Fight Scene Vocab
Using setting meaningfully
Describing Cuts, Bruises and Scrapes
Describing Food in Writing
Kiss Scene Vocab
Nervous Tension Vocab
Words to Use Instead of....
Haunted House Vocab/Inspo
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📋Other!
How to Insult Like Shakespeare
Words to Use Instead of...
Said is dead: words to use instead
10 Great Novel Opening Lines
Symbols of Death
Methods of Death & How They Feel
How to write faster
Plant Symbolisms
List of International Slag
How to Pick Ideas That Sell
Writing Webnovel
Book Title Ideas
Juggling Multiple Writing Projects
Cute ;-;
”who me? couldn’t be!” - dialogue for those in denial about their feelings
prompt list by: @novelbear
"are you crazy? they're not my type, you know that."
"i don't have time for a relationship." "that has nothing to do with anything i just said. like at all."
"they're annoying as hell, no i don't have feelings for them."
"i honestly don't even know who you could possibly be referring to."
"what if i told you i said those types of things about everyone? then what?" "i would really hope you didn't. oh god."
"i do not want to see their face, hear their voice or their name for that matter. stop talking about them."
"what gave you that idea?"
"why does everybody keep saying that?"
"it's just been a while since i've had a close friendship like this, that's all."
"no.....no."
"i wasn't blushing! it was hot out." "it is literally snowing outside as we speak are you joking."
"i don't even like them like that i don't know what you mean."
"i'd do that for anyone!"
"flirting? me? i wouldn't say i was."
"cut it out, i'm tired of hearing you guys tease me about this."
"that's not true, where did you hear that from?"
"they're just a friend. that's all."
"we've been friends since we were little, we're practically siblings! no!"
"love?! you think i'm in love?"
"i know what having a crush feels like and this is nothing close..." "have you considered that it's because this is more than just a crush?" "stop talking."
List Of Sexy Things To Say
I am way too witty for my own good so here are 10 powerful things for you or your characters to say with a religious twist!
"If you are God then I want to commit blasphemy:
"I would love to be covered in your sins"
"I hope God is seeing this"
"I'm sure you taste as divine as you look"
"If you knew just what I was thinking, then you wouldn't be saying all those pure things about me"
"I would do anything for my God"
"All the things I think about doing to you would make me see the man in red"
"May God rue the day we are seperated"
"I wonder how "pure" either of us will be after this"
"Nothing could be a sin if it was done for you"
You might think these are cringe but remember, "one man's cringe is another man's fantasy". If a dialogue is your struggle here is a little bit of personal service
Dialogue Between My Characters
Jukka, in the gayest villainous pose: "I guess you can call me Actor à La Mode because I am an actor who is modern, fashionable, and delicious when topped in your dessert, hero~"
Yuuma, just tired of this bullshit: "So original. Great. A flirtatious supervillain with sex jokes"
*Jukka's laughter fades off into the distance*
Character Quotes
Here are some out of context quotes ranging from feral to adorable to just down right tragic ^-^
" It seems remarkably simple. So simple, I feel so stupid that I'm truly flabbergasted by how it served as an epiphany. But even so, when I looked into the future, my future, I had one singular thought "I don't deserve this". - Nonkosi Tyali to Yituing
"Whatever you choose to be in the future is fine! When I say I love you, I don't want it to be a rule that means "stay this way forever". If you will be a burden in the future, that's fine. If you will be someone who decides not to love me, that's fine aswell. " - Yuuma Mochizuki to Jukka Virtanen
"I'm not naive darling, desite your unholy misrepresentation of my words. I understand the sins of men. I know all about your own failures to follow the scripture. I choose to be with you because I want my words to be honorable. And using my honorable tongue, I will say I love you because you are so delightfully human. - Gabriel to Claude
"At least the king named it Defense Innovation in Living Faculties (DILF) and not something named after himself!" - Hetrunmeass to Nariman Nahornyj
"If my vow was to fall in love with a virtuous person, then I definitely didn't break it." - Yal'ir to Monday
"If believing in love is all humans can ever do, and if hope for love is the most human of all, then I am purely human." - Verne Lawless to Stansevain
Why I don’t make my ideas into stories
Hello y’all, Derin here.
I figured I’d made this post since many of the people I have been sending my ideas to; have all said something similar to this after they read them all.
“These are really well thought out, you should try making these things into actual stories”
So I figured I would make this post to explain why I do not just do this.
I think the main reason that I myself don't just turn these outlines into full fledged stories is because I am unable to write dialogue. You'll notice that all of the ideas are really just me explaining things and saying what is happening. What you see is probably the best of my writing ability.
However when it comes to dialogue, I got nothing. I can't really figure out a way to make something that sounds clear in my head, sound natural in a written format. Heck, I struggle making conversation in real life as well!
In fact, the original version of idea 11 used to have an actual piece of dialogue. It was where the "Suddenly, before she can even think..." part is now. It used to say, "Wh-what did y-you do?" . I eventually removed it and replaced it with the line you see now because it just didn't sound right and felt weird and out of place. You can still see that version here.
If someone who is good at writing dialogue was interested in collaborating with me or something, then I feel like I would be able to turn one of these outlines into a full fledged story.
Until that happens all I can really do is just keep trying my best to inspire others. Give them medium quality clay to form something beautiful.
And it is why I am incredibly grateful that some others have made stories based on these outlines, and why I have an entire chapter dedicated to those works and tell as many people as possible to check them out to give them the credit they deserve. Here they are: one two three four five
I am also endlessly surprised that so many people who are far better at creating content than I ever will be, consider my ideas/story outlines to be really good. To all of those who have seen them, thank you.
Please leave a comment letting me know what you think of all this, and if you are someone who is good at writing dialogue and wants to work with me to turn these outlines into proper stories, let me know in my dms or on any of my social medias!
To Love and To Cherish
All of the things that I want to say Just aren’t coming out right I’m tripping on words You got my head spinning - You and Me [Lifehouse] Fandom: Overwatch (Pre-Fall) | Angela / Gabriel
AO3 | FF.net | Works
“We’ll never have what they have, you know.” Angela glanced up at Gabriel. Her fingers, which had been idly tracing the scars on his chest, stilled. He wasn’t looking at her; instead, his hands were folded behind his head while he stared up at the ceiling as if it held the answers to the universe. “What who has?” She asked, once it was obvious he wasn’t planning to elaborate - as if, without any context, she could contribute to the conversation. “Gérard and Amélie,” he sighed. Understanding flooded Angela. While she wasn’t exactly certain where the conversation was going, she knew where it stemmed from. After all, the wedding had just been earlier today; the dress she’d worn to it was in a heap on the floor in the other room, forgotten after Gabriel had stripped her some time ago. “I know that,” Angela agreed, moving so that she was sitting up in the bed with her back pressed to the headboard. Absently, she reached one hand behind her to shift a pillow so that she was more comfortable as she looked down at his face. “And that doesn’t bother you?” He turned to look up at her; his eyes were stormy with emotion and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking - not exactly unusual, but frustrating all the same. “No?” Unsure of how he wanted her to respond, her definitive answer had become a question. Was it supposed to bother her? She’d never considered it - not seriously, anyway - before. Her life, even before Overwatch, hadn’t exactly been conducive to such things. “It doesn’t?” His voice took on a tone of disbelief as he shifted, propping himself up on one side. “It doesn’t bother you that I’ll never get down on one knee and propose? That you won’t wear a wedding ring or take my name?” Angela pulled her knees up to her bare chest, suddenly self-conscious and uncomfortable. “I—” Her shoulders hunched and she tilted her head, just enough that her hair fell in a curtain between them, shielding her face from his view in an attempt to hide at least some of her discomfort and uncertainty. She tried her best not to lie to him, so she couldn’t tell him that it bothered her. It did bother her that it didn’t bother her - that it bothered him - which only added to her discomfort. Was it weird that she had never considered marriage, not even after all this time with Gabriel? “I’m sorry?” She whispered instead, because what else could she do? Angela couldn’t change how she felt: marriage just wasn’t that important to her. That wasn’t to say Gabriel wasn’t important to her - no, there wasn’t much she wouldn’t do for him; a ring wouldn’t change that. She wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them close as she glanced away from the man in her bed. “Dammit,” Gabriel sighed. Angela tensed as the bed shifted with his movements, but she didn’t look at him to determine what he was doing. “Come here.” He pulled her rigid body into an awkward embrace that she refused to relax into. “Mi corazon, I’m sorry,” he murmured, shifting so that his chin was resting on her shoulder. “I shouldn’t have said it like that.” He sighed. “I’m saying it all wrong.” “What are you trying to say, then?” Angela whispered. She was mollified that he took the time to think about his words, to properly express whatever this was instead of jumping down her throat again. “I’m trying to say that you deserve better than what I can offer you,” he confessed eventually. His arms tightened, holding her in place so that she couldn’t turn to look at him. “You deserve someone that can give you flowers or take you out to dinner - not this sneaking around that we do.” Angela scoffed. “What makes you think I want that?” Honestly. While the sentiment was sweet, it was like he had forgotten who he was speaking to. “Since when do I even want to eat dinner?” Considering that time of day was when her best work was accomplished, a dinner date would be close to a nightmare. “You’re missing the point.” He retorted. “You deserve to be with someone you can be seen with. You don’t deserve this,” Gabriel’s hand lifted, waving in an absent gesture that she assumed was meant to encompass their relationship. “Do you—” Angela hesitated, taking a breath before trying again. “Do you… not want this? To be with me?” She was so tense her body was trembling, her chest heavy as she tried to remember how to breathe; this was not how she had pictured this evening going. “What?” Gabriel demanded after a moment of stunned silence. “Angela, that’s not what I’m saying at all!” And just like that, her tension melted away and she could breathe again; she could work with this - whatever this was. This time, when she pulled against his hands, he let her turn so that they could both look at each other. “Then why are you trying to convince me to leave?” The words were shaky with the remnants of her stress, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care. “Because it’s true - you do deserve better than this, Angela.” His fingers reached out to stroke her cheek gently, and she smiled. “It doesn’t matter what I ‘deserve’,” Angela told him gently. “Because I don’t want that; I want you.” His eyes lit up as he leaned down to kiss her.
---
“Hey, Gabriel?” Angela set her pen aside as she glanced towards her communicator. Gabriel had returned to Rome the day after Gérard’s wedding over a week ago; while they hadn’t seen each other since, they often spoke on their communicators - either verbally or through text. Usually it was late in the evening, like it was now. “Yeah? What’s up?” Angela shifted uncomfortably, grateful that he couldn’t see her. She’d been thinking about this ever since his outburst in their bed; like a sore tooth, she couldn’t stop poking at it. Angela had never considered marriage - not until he had brought it up. They’d never discussed such things before then and, considering their respective positions, Angela had assumed they never would. It was just something that was; they could be together, but the rest of the world couldn’t know. It was too dangerous. But, after that night, she had allowed herself to wonder what it would be like. To wonder how it would feel to be openly together, to be seen on Gabriel’s arm. To wonder what it would be like to arrive together at events instead of separately and, for all appearances, alone. Angela had allowed herself, for only a moment, to be jealous of Amélie and Gérard’s happiness. Had let herself wish that she would wear a beautiful gown and walk down the aisle. Had let herself want to be the kind of woman who would do those things - or that she was with the kind of man that could do those things. Then, the moment had passed. It was a nice daydream - an idea that might have become reality if they held different positions - but that was all it was: a dream, and not even one she wanted, not really, even after a week of consideration. “I was wondering…” Angela paused, mustering up her courage. She’d been trying to build up the nerve to bring up this topic for the last few days. Before she could change her mind, she forced the words out in a rush. “I was wondering if you wanted to get married?” Gabriel made a choked sound of surprise, and she could imagine what his face looked like: wide eyed, mouth slightly open, staring at the communicator since she wasn’t there for him to gape at instead. Now that it was out, her doubts surged again. Would he read too much into it? That he needed to worry about her wanting a ring or a dress? Or, worse, would he say no? It wasn’t that she wanted to get married - it didn’t matter either way to her, because she would love him whether they were married or not - but it would still hurt if he said no. “Ang— what?” He stammered, shocked. “You know we can’t.” And she did know that - if they couldn’t even date openly they could never marry. There could be no paperwork, could be no rings or other tangible proof of their relationship. The texts and the calls were pushing it as it were; anyone that managed to break the security - which, in fairness, was quite strong – could potentially find their conversations - or, worse, the footage of him entering her rooms in Zürich - and piece everything together. “Yes,” Angela agreed, forcing herself to speak instead of allowing herself to lose her nerve and change the topic - or just disconnect the call. “I know we can’t, but — well, I just—” She sighed, exasperated with herself. “If we could, would you want to?” “Of course I want to marry you,” Gabriel insisted indignantly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “If I didn’t have so many enemies - if it weren’t too dangerous - I would marry you in a heartbeat.” It made her smile despite herself. After a moment, Gabriel broke the silence with the question she expected. “Would you marry me?” He asked, intense in a way that made her heart pound. “If you asked me, I would say yes,” Angela told him - because, if that were what he wanted, she would marry him. In a different life, Angela knew that she would happily wear his ring, because she loved him. “Well, you don’t have to sound so excited about it,” Gabriel said dryly, causing her to laugh. “I don’t need a ring to prove I love you,” Angela assured him. “But I would wear one, if it was what you wanted.”
What? It's not something cruel or horrible? I don't know either, man. I'm just going wherever my brain takes me. Check out @promptsforbrighteye. and let me know if there’s something you’d like to see! Let me know if I didn't do this tag / reblog thing right and I'll get it fixed straightaway. Still learning the ropes of all this.
"i dont have a speech prepared and i'm not going down on one knee"
Words to use instead of ‘said’
**Using the word ‘said’ is absolutely not a bad choice, and in fact, you will want to use it for at least 40% of all your dialogue tags. Using other words can be great, especially for description and showing emotion, but used in excess can take away or distract from the story.
Neutral: acknowledged, added, affirmed, agreed, announced, answered, appealed, articulated, attested, began, bemused, boasted, called, chimed in, claimed, clarified, commented, conceded, confided, confirmed, contended, continued, corrected, decided, declared, deflected, demurred, disclosed, disputed, emphasized, explained, expressed, finished, gloated, greeted, hinted, imitated, imparted, implied, informed, interjected, insinuated, insisted, instructed, lectured, maintained, mouthed, mused, noted, observed, offered, put forth, reassured, recited, remarked, repeated, requested, replied, revealed, shared, spoke up, stated, suggested, uttered, voiced, volunteered, vowed, went on
Persuasive: advised, appealed, asserted, assured, begged, cajoled, claimed, convinced, directed, encouraged, implored, insisted, pleaded, pressed, probed, prodded, prompted, stressed, suggested, urged
Continuously: babbled, chattered, jabbered, rambled, rattled on
Quietly: admitted, breathed, confessed, croaked, crooned, grumbled, hissed, mumbled, murmured, muttered, purred, sighed, whispered
Loudly: bellowed, blurted, boomed, cried, hollered, howled, piped, roared, screamed, screeched, shouted, shrieked, squawked, thundered, wailed, yelled, yelped
Happily/Lovingly: admired, beamed, cackled, cheered, chirped, comforted, consoled, cooed, empathized, flirted, gushed, hummed, invited, praised, proclaimed, professed, reassured, soothed, squealed, whooped
Humour: bantered, chuckled, giggled, guffawed, jested, joked, joshed
Sad: bawled, begged, bemoaned, blubbered, grieved, lamented, mewled, mourned, pleaded, sniffled, sniveled, sobbed, wailed, wept, whimpered
Frustrated: argued, bickered, chastised, complained, exasperated, groaned, huffed, protested, whinged
Anger: accused, bristled, criticized, condemned, cursed, demanded, denounced, erupted, fumed, growled, lied, nagged, ordered, provoked, raged, ranted remonstrated, retorted, scoffed, scolded, scowled, seethed, shot, snapped, snarled, sneered, spat, stormed, swore, taunted, threatened, warned
Disgust: cringed, gagged, groused, griped, grunted, mocked, rasped, sniffed, snorted
Fear: cautioned, faltered, fretted, gasped, quaked, quavered, shuddered, stammered, stuttered, trembled, warned, whimpered, whined
Excited: beamed, cheered, cried out, crowed, exclaimed, gushed, rejoiced, sang, trumpeted
Surprised: blurted, exclaimed, gasped, marveled, sputtered, yelped
Provoked: bragged, dared, gibed, goaded, insulted, jeered, lied, mimicked, nagged, pestered, provoked, quipped, ribbed, ridiculed, sassed, teased
Uncertainty/Questionned: asked, challenged, coaxed, concluded, countered, debated, doubted, entreated, guessed, hesitated, hinted, implored, inquired, objected, persuaded, petitioned, pleaded, pondered, pressed, probed, proposed, queried, questioned, quizzed, reasoned, reiterated, reported, requested, speculated, supposed, surmised, testified, theorized, verified, wondered
This is by no means a full list, but should be more than enough to get you started!
Any more words you favor? Add them in the comments!
Happy Writing :)
“Oh,” They giggled, cheeks pink.
“Oh!” They gasped, hands to their mouth in horror.
“Oh,” they whined, gripping their hair in frustration.
“Oh,” they breathed, head back and lashes fluttering.
“Oh,” they mumbled, shifting awkwardly.
“Oh,” they deadpanned, arms crossed.
“Oh?” they asked, brow arched and smile bitter.
“Oh,” they chided with a smirk.
“Oh?” they asked, head tilted curiously.
“Oh!” they hissed, scrambling away.
“Oh,” they mumbled, rubbing their neck.
“Oh,” they uttered, eyes wide in awe.
“Oh,” they muttered with an ill-impressed frown.
“Oh!” They cried, throwing their arms around them.
“Oh,” they goaded, smiling mischievously.
“Oh,” they taunted, skipping backwards.
“Oh,” they snarked, hands on their hips.
“Oh,” they breathed, putting it all together.
“Oh,” they said softly, hugging themselves.
“Oh,” they whispered, holding back tears.
“Oh!” they gasped, ducking out of the way.
“Oh,” they uttered, and smacked their forehead.
“Oh,” they laughed, brows wiggling.
“Oh,” they tittered, batting their lashes.
“Oh,” they hissed, gritting their teeth.
"Oh."
Tag your dialogue.
Antonio and Xaiden fr
~ I DON'T CARE FOR YOU ~ RIVALS/ENEMIES PROMPTS
requested by: anonymous request: rivals/enemies that secretly care about each other and look out for the other
Feel free to use and reblog!
"I won't ever do anything for you again!" *continues to help them whenever they're in distress*
cursing the other but secretly being worried about them
taking care of the other while they're unconscious
supporting the other in every regard as long as they're staying anonymous
"How could you be so stupid?"
"Do you really think I hate you? Just because we're rivals doesn't mean I hate you."
"What?! Person A is hurt?" *wide-eyed panic on their face*
feeling defeated when the other is defeated
"If I were you I wouldn't do that."
^ "Oh, so I probably should do it...?"
saying the opposite of what they're feeling
being their secret supporter
"You never listen to me!" "Yes! For a good reason!" "No! You're just being stupid!"
deliberately giving the other a headstart
insults as their love language
getting angry whenever someone else talks badly about the other
"YOU'LL NEVER MAKE IT!" *mutters under their breath*: 'You got it! You got it!'
"You know, someone said we would make the perfect team." "Eww! No!" "That's what I thought."
working on themselves just to be better than the other (or for the other?)
A: *being in a dizzy state* B: *taking care of them* "You can be such a pain in the ass." A: *slurring and grinning* "Bu'you love me." B: *sighs*
“say you won’t let go” - some touch starved scenarios
prompt list by @novelbear
heart pounding whenever the other does so much as to hold onto their wrist while guiding them through a crowd
one just casually sitting down on the other's lap and they start internally freaking the hell out
hesitantly tugging the other's fabric of their shirt or sleeve, testing the waters
^^ the other notices so they pull them into a hug, smiling as they just watch them melt
"wait, don't go, please.."
"is this okay?" "it's more than okay."
already barely holding it together as they're getting their hand held but then they feel that reassuring squeeze and they just can't
wearing the others' clothes so that it can at least feel like they're hugging them, even for just a moment
feeling so lonely that they have to call their lover/friend, just to get a sense and reminder that they're still there
^ trying and failing to hold back their tears as they do so
"can i have one more hug?" "aw, babe you don't have to ask, c'mere..."
when the other holds onto their waist briefly as they're passing by and it just send chills down their spine
breaking down mid-hug because they just needed this so much
their breath hitching whenever the other gets a little closer
^ feeling crushed when that action is taken as a sign of discomfort, and they watch them slowly back off
holding onto a stuffed animal/pillow, imagining that it's their lover in their embrace instead
one leaning their head onto the other's shoulder suddenly and they just freeze
"i wasn't sure how much longer i could have taken this..."