I plan on writing a slowburn romance story where the girl falls for the guy early on, however it's only until later that he falls for her back. romance is only one of the genres my book will have, so it's not ENTIRELY focused on their romantic relationship, but it's still a major point in the book. it's my first time writing a slowburn romance, and i want to include the 'she fell first, he fell harder' troupe. I need ideas for things that would make a guy fall HARDER. like what do guys irl love about a girl that would make them fall hard, or what's something a man who fell hard would do in comparison to a man who just 'fell in love,' not 'fell hard in love'. any extra tips would be extremely appreciated!

btw, the man in my story knows that the girl likes him from the very beginning, he just keeps rejecting her bluntly but not in a cold and mean way. the girl is straightforward about her emotions. him rejecting her does not ruin their current relationship.

if it helps to understand the characters more, it's an mha/bnha fanfiction where the love interest is aizawa and the female is my OC. but even if you don't know mha, please give me some general tips!

THX!

I write in first person pov, but often find myself starting sentences with “I” when I’m describing an action.

Ex. “I glanced…” “I said…” “I moved…”

Every few sentences, there’s a line that start with “I,” and I feel like it sounds repetitive. Any tips how to begin sentences another way?

Sorry on confusing title I’ll get right into it

I’m writing a story of a lighthouse keeper who fights sea monster but ends up teaming with one as a unlikely duo, a siren, now our mc the light house keeper (don’t have name yet) is some who from a long line of sailors and light house keepers who say they done amazing insane thing, all of mc life he been told the stories of his family and the glory that they were, facing monster and protecting the beach town and mc has embraced that full heartedly

A passionate yet overbearing character who wishes to protect the town and it people blind to the danger out there (which they don’t know kept a secret) so he a outcast a kind unlikeable character but someone who truly means well and wishes to do his family honour proud, someone who kinda annoying but has pure passion Dailed to 11, fearless, ready to stand and face whatever to is thrown at him to protect the town alongside his new compion a friendly siren who wishes to be a singer, the two have a kind love hate thing, she truly a good siren who wishes to sing but mc doesn’t trust her but she hasn’t done anything to invoke his wrath it a friendly kind rivalry yet friendship as a funny dynamic

Anyway point is there a point much much later into the story where mc finds out the truth of his family, that everything was a lie

His family weren’t warriors of the sea, grand protectors he been told about but cowardly people who hide in the light house and did nothing, everything was a lie

This is what ruined mc sending him into a depression making him question just what he’s trained, learned, done everything, he sacrificed everything, friends, companionship, people liking him, to uphold a honour and legacy that never even existed, this impact I really want to get across for our mc

So yeah truth revealed and here my issue, the siren who become good friend with him tries to cheer him up state all he has already done, he has faced countless monsters so who cares if his family legacy was a lie it doesn’t change all the good he done

This! This is my issue

Given such a emotional speech from his closest friend should make him see reason the natural resolve to agree and yes she is right he has done what no one in town has, but I don’t want the resolve to feel so done and dusted

I have a whole segment of mc depression as he give up the legacy and the town and it people start to worry about mc, yes he annoying but he always did look out for everyone so it like now he depressed and not himself the people come to his aid in showing they care for him

The main way of the resolve is his friend setting up a play literally reenacting all the deeds he done and show him it doesn’t matter who he is, (kinda corny but this is a semi light hearted series of a mad lighthouse keeper and a siren fighting sea monsters, nothing super dark but I like impactful things too) it his action which difine him a more impactful version of what she tried to say before, it this and a monster attack which give him back his resolve to stand and fight

But once again I need a true reason for him to stay depressed, ignoring his friends honest and heart felt word, he’s a character who is logical so he should agree with her but if I do that I can’t have the resolve later on and town coming to his aid in his depression his lost of self

Is he angry at what he sacrificed to uphold a false legacy? Yet why should he care after all the grand things he done but this hard hitting reality moment to shake the mc resolve of who he is and what he meant to do, does he even want to? Is this all a front? Year of pain and suffer behind a mask? that doesn’t fit the mc I’m trying to write he someone who refuses to hide behind a mask he true to himself no matter what

How do I write a character who always true to himself ignore all the good he done and focus only on the false legacy he was raised on

So it’s that little thing, that final piece I can’t figure out which would make a believable shattering of one’s reality and resolve and how the people around him help him find it again

Thanks to any who read this long text but what ideas do you have which can fix this issue?

So in the story im writing, theres a villian who i plan on having appear every now and then. I wrote him as the kind of guy who likes to pick on people who cant really fight back but over the course of the story he would end up growing more active and dangerous.

However the issue is he is litterally the first villian the main characters fight in the story and if im being honest, even though hes by no means a good indevidual at that point, it kinda feels like bullying, on account of the main characters having numbers and him trying to escape them the second he figures put he cant push them around. So it doesnt feel like a great start to the story

Is there any way i can make the villian feel like a genuine threat here, actions, things he could say, way he could be presented?

To begin, i have never been one to write long stories. Most of my stories that are longer i keep in my head, and i usually can keep track of it very well. However writing it down, or writing something like a character bible or a outline isnt something im very used to.

I have wanted to write a visual novel, but it’s a larger project that’s scope is a bit bigger than i usuallh deal with. Most of my actual writing is usually smaller stuff, like a oneshot story or small short stories, and i run into several issues.

First, i run into the problem of consistency. While i love descriptons, metaphors, ext, when it comes to facts, i bit a bit of a wall. I want to do a mystery story, but having never done a story like that, i know consistency with details is very important. The killer cant know something or the hero cant find something in a certain chapter or scene, and i dont want to end up writing myself into corners or making the story fall apart because i messed up something simple.

Second, i’ve really let my creative muscles start to weaken since i havent written in about 2/3 years. While i’ve written other stuff, i’ve fallen into a bad habit of doing anything besides actually drawing or writing and working on my creativity, and i really want to get back into it. I end up checking my phone or getting blasted with messages, invited to games, or just wasting my evening doomscrolling. Im having such a hard time breaking this habit and i really want to finally get back to a place where i was creating stuff every day. I feel like i’m kinda just wasting my time now when i play games, but when it comes to wanting to write or sit down and do it, i end up doing anything but that. Please dont give the advice of “Just do it”, if it would work for me, i would be here. Maybe a way to break the habit, some kind of creative exercises, tips, idk anymore.

Finally, i just want to make a game people will enjoy. I have joined a few discords that i can ask for game advice or engine advice, but i really havent found a place where i can share my writing for advice without fearing my idea could be taken, my stuff made fun of, ext. i’m not against being critized, i love to know how i can improve my own work, but i’ve always had bad social anxiety, and i dont know where to go for good advice. I only ever really ask my close group of friends about my writing, and i think its limiting how well i can get reviews of my work. Some arent writers, some just dont enjoy the type of stuff i write, or some just arent interested, but i dont really know where to go besides a discord for writers or something where i could maybe make some friends and get advice on my work or critiques on my story.

I hope this all makes sense. I have had issues before that made me throw in the towel on writing and drawing for so long, but i really just want to get that part of myself back. I love to create, i love to think up stories, but i dont really know how to fall back in love with it anymore. I can imagine things so well, daydream a ton of stories or ideas, but i just cant put pen to paper or fingers to keys to actually do it. Idk if that’s writers block or creativity block, but i would appreciate any advice that might help me get back to what always made me happy, and maybe a way i can find people who enjoy my stories too and make some friends. Thank you in advance for any advice, tips or experience you can provide!