Writing Platonic Relationships

🍀 21 Plot Twist Ideas 🍀

Stuck on your WIP? Unsure of how a scene should go? Feel as though your story is lacking substance? Enduring with the frustrations of writer’s block?

Why not try throwing in a plot twist?

A messenger brings bad news

Something important is stolen

Someone vanishes without a trace

An important item is damaged

Protagonist recognizes a face in the crowd

Someone seems to intentionally fail

Protagonist finds an item thought lost

A charitable act has a harmful result

A cruel act has a beneficial outcome

Someone unexpectedly returns the favour

A raging storm moves across town

A gift makes a character the target of a murderer

A fallen enemy makes one last attack

Only one character in danger can be saved

An enemy saves the life of Protagonist’s friend

A will from a long-lost relative appears

A secret rival seeks to replace Protagonist

A thief makes Protagonist their next target

An obscure law suddenly becomes important

Strangers mistake Protagonist for a fugitive

A tool breaks when needed most

I once saw someone say

There are two kinds of writers

One's an architect

And the other's a gardener

The architect plans each careful window

While the gardener simply plants a seed and watches it grow

"Which one am I?" I wondered

Then I thought, I planned a house, but I plant seeds in the foundation

The vines grow

Through the windows

And the foundations are riddled with roots

I had a plan but lo behold

The tree that grows through the roof

20 Subtle Ways a Character Shows They're Not Okay (But Won’t Say It)

(For the emotionally repressed, the quiet imploders, the “I’m fine” liars.)

✧ Cancels plans they were excited for.

✧ Sleeps too much—or barely at all.

✧ Snaps at tiny things, then immediately regrets it.

✧ Can’t stand silence, suddenly always has noise on.

✧ Dresses in oversized clothes to hide their body.

✧ Laughs too loudly. Smiles too tightly.

✧ Picks at their nails, lips, or skin.

✧ Constantly checks their phone, even though no one is texting.

✧ Stops answering messages altogether.

✧ Forgets to eat—or pretends they already did.

✧ Eyes scan the room like they’re waiting for something bad.

✧ Overcommits. Can’t say no. Burns out quietly.

✧ Stops doing the things they love “just because.”

✧ Apologizes too often.

✧ Avoids mirrors.

✧ Can’t sit still—but won’t go outside.

✧ Says “I’m tired” instead of “I’m hurting.”

✧ Tries to clean everything when their life feels out of control.

✧ Uses sarcasm as armor.

✧ Hugs people just a second too long—and then acts like nothing happened.

"For fuck's sake, this song and dance again? Every single generation complains about the youth, going back to Aristotle and ancient Chinese philosophers. And it's always some grandstanding about their inherent moral character and never the fault of parents. You know what my fucking generation did? They fucked when they were 13 and became drug addicts at 11. You steered clear of teenagers in groups because they would fucking shank you and rob you. And nobody ever read. You ASSUME cooking an egg is easy, because it's a skill you already have. As someone who had to consciously teach himself this skill as a teenager due to family bullshit, IT'S NOT. There's tons of fiddling involved if you want your boiling egg to taste nice. I didn't know you're supposed to salt the water until years later because it just never occurred to me. And you bet your ass there are tons of skills that you struggle with that are effortless to your parents and that they complain that 'kids these days' can't even do. Humans will always choose the easiest path. The fuckers who mastered cooking tapioca were either desperately hungry with nothing else to eat or lonely autistic weirdos who just do these things because they can. Same as it ever was. Take a step back, look at yourself and learn some goddamn humility. How often are YOU on the second page of the newspaper?"

— Goncharov, Goncharov (1973)

My favourite one is Creamy Caramel Latte🍮☕️

But I also like tea.. with some sugar🥰

How to avoid White Room Syndrome

by Writerthreads on Instagram

A common problem writers face is "white room syndrome"—when scenes feel like they’re happening in an empty white room. To avoid this, it's important to describe settings in a way that makes them feel real and alive, without overloading readers with too much detail. Here are a few tips below to help!

Focus on a few key details

You don’t need to describe everything in the scene—just pick a couple of specific, memorable details to bring the setting to life. Maybe it’s the creaky floorboards in an old house, the musty smell of a forgotten attic, or the soft hum of a refrigerator in a small kitchen. These little details help anchor the scene and give readers something to picture, without dragging the action with heaps of descriptions.

Engage the senses

Instead of just focusing on what characters can see, try to incorporate all five senses—what do they hear, smell, feel, or even taste? Describe the smell of fresh bread from a nearby bakery, or the damp chill of a foggy morning. This adds a lot of depth and make the location feel more real and imaginable.

Mix descriptions with actions

Have characters interact with the environment. How do your characters move through the space? Are they brushing their hands over a dusty bookshelf, shuffling through fallen leaves, or squeezing through a crowded subway car? Instead of dumping a paragraph of description, mix it in with the action or dialogue.

Use the setting to reflect a mood or theme

Sometimes, the setting can do more than just provide a backdrop—it can reinforce the mood of a scene or even reflect a theme in the story. A stormy night might enhance tension, while a warm, sunny day might highlight a moment of peace. The environment can add an extra layer to what’s happening symbolically.

Here's an example of writing a description that hopefully feels alive and realistic, without dragging the action:

The bookstore was tucked between two brick buildings, its faded sign creaking with every gust of wind. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of worn paper and dust, mingling with the faint aroma of freshly brewed coffee from a corner café down the street. The wooden floorboards groaned as Ella wandered between the shelves, her fingertips brushing the spines of forgotten novels. Somewhere in the back, the soft sound of jazz crackled from an ancient radio.

Hope these tips help in your writing!

Excellent tips and habits for writers

The advice I've given before is to write every scene you think of, no matter if it gets used or not. Its always a great idea to go back every once and a while and edit these scenes, or revise them.

Never force inspiration or a scene. If it isn't coming naturally, take a break and come back later or the next day. it's important to give yourself time to think. use your break to day dream about your story and what could come next. if your brain is happy, this should be relatively simple. If your brain isn't happy, then you need to take a longer break, stop writing for the day all together, or write something else.

if you're a pantser, like me, and it's hard to plot. You can practice reverse plotting, and plot your story as you go. make notes of things that happen in your story, changes in a character, changes in the plot, changes in the setting, dates for events, timelines, important information that's been revealed, anything you deem important to your story.

always reread what you've already written. don't try to edit it. turn off your editor brain and reread your story so far before you resume writing, so you can get into the voice and tone that you've already established.

if you're finding it difficult to start writing or keep writing. try turning off your internal editor and free write. it's good practice to be able to write down your unfiltered thoughts or daydreams without having to stop and edit while you're writing. it helps with your writing flow, getting the scene down onto the page, and increases your writing intuition.

before you write, always take time to daydream or think about your story beforehand. it helps things go much smoother in the long run.

if you've been working on something for a long time, don't pressure yourself into confinement. if you want to work on something new but you're worried about what you've been working on, don't. stop worrying and write what you want. forcing yourself to keep writing something when you don't want to is just going to make you burn out faster.

don't be afraid to create visuals or playlists that help you with what you're writing. It's an enviable talent to be able to write something off a photo you saw on pinterest, or a song you really like.

if you find yourself in a mood where you want to write really badly, but you have no idea what you want to write, and none of the prompts you find are appealing enough. find an activity you use to destress, whether its listening to music, listening to asmr, doom scrolling on social media, or browsing pinterest. go do that. chances are, you'll find something that will inspire you what to write when you're not looking for it.

Writing Resources List

I use my blog to share writing resources that I’ve collected over the years. I’ve recently gotten some new followers, so I thought I would make a list of many of these resources for easy reference.  

(However, this is not a complete list of all the resources I’ve posted. For more writing resources, feel free to check out my blog.)

Encouragement for Writers

Writer’s Block & Procrastination

Writing Your Story’s Plot

How to Write a Scene

Choosing a Setting for Your Story

Character Arc & Character Development

Character Traits

How to Write Heroes & Villains

Elemental Magic & Superpowers

Writing Magic Systems

Fantasy Writing & World-Building

Writing Fight Scenes

Swords and Bows

Writing Mermaids

Writing Relationships & Romance

Romance & Relationship Prompts

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I’m a writer, poet, and editor. I share writing resources that I’ve collected over the years and found helpful for my own writing. If you like my blog, follow me for more resources! ♡

I hate the “Thoreau’s mom did his laundry” criticism so much, it drives me crazy.

Henry Thoreau did not go to Walden Pond because he thought it would be a fun adventure. He went into the woods because he was deeply depressed and burnt out. He was running from the horror of his brother and best friend recently dying in his arms, and the haunting memory of causing the Fairhaven Bay fire. His friend Ellery Channing literally gave him the ultimatum of either taking some time off to write and think, or else be institutionalized.

I think Thoreau’s mother saw her depressed son choosing to retreat into a small cabin in the woods, and was worried about him. Of course she did his laundry - just as Ralph Waldo Emerson probably brought him firewood and bread. These were not chores of obligation to support a “great” man, but services of love to help their deeply depressed 28yo son and friend.

And if you ask me, there’s a lesson in that - to “suck out the marrow of life” and “live deliberately,” one must also accept help offered from the people in your life who love you. There is no true transcendentalism or individualism without love and friendship behind it.

"Absolutely no one comes to save us but us."

Ismatu Gwendolyn, "you've been traumatized into hating reading (and it makes you easier to oppress)", from Threadings, on Substack [ID'd]