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Help, please.
Chatterbox: Inkwell
Help, please.
Help, please.
Hi, everyone, I'm kind of in jam right now, and could use some help. My friend and I are writing a manga which is going quite well (she's drawing and I'm writing), but I kind of need some help in this one scene:
Akio and Yuki are high school sophomores and have been best friends since kindergarten (they are FRIENDS and that's all). Yuki is a bit spacy, but rather quiet and smart. Akio is pretty gung-ho, makes a lot of bad puns (mwa ha ha, finally a use for bad Japanese puns), but is also pretty smart. But maybe say, a quarter of the way through the school year, they get a foreign exchange student from somewhere (he's European, I think) and his name is Jordan. Now, Jordan is this kind of good-looking guy who every one in high school will squeal about for a while, and he knows this, so he's going to act like a flirtatious idiot. Yuki is really shy, because she kind of likes (crush) Jordan but kind of thinks he's a moron and doesn't entirely trust him. Akio kind of likes (friendship) him so Jordan starts hanging out with them. Akio is like a big brother to Yuki, and also doesn't really trust Jordan, so he gets a bit mad at Jordan for flirting with everyone.
That sounds really complicated, doesn't it? The problem is, I've never had a crush on anyone so I'm not sure exactly how to write the way Yuki is acting. This is really stupid, but if you have suggestions, please help!
submitted by Sakura C., age 13, On a Raven
(July 31, 2012 - 4:57 pm)
(July 31, 2012 - 4:57 pm)
I would be careful with how you write this. The plot is starting to take a turn into the Land of the Clichés. Turn away while you still can!
Symptoms of a Crush (I've never really cared for boys as more than a friend, so these are taken from my friend who is a romantic of the first degree.)
Blushes when near.
Talks about them a LOT.
Tries to make themself more appealing when their crush is close by
Unnatural attention to them talking.
Et cetera. Read some girly romance book fro ideas.
~Ash out~
(August 1, 2012 - 8:32 am)
First of all, TNÖ had a similar problem, and this thread should help you a bit: http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/inkwell/node/96189
Now, my answer. Be warned, when it comes to crushes, I'm a little unconventional.
As other people have said, when you have a crush everything is blown out of proportion. A smile, a compliment, a small conversation, all of these can make your day. But don't overdo it: after the first time, "HE SAID HELLO TO ME!" indicates that you're boy-crazy. The first time he says hello, though, it's fine.
When he doesn't talk to you, however, you worry that he hates you.
I personally have never had problems with talking to my crush. But when he talks, you want to listen. When he says something funny, you want to scream with laughter. When he says something that, from the mouth of another boy, would have earned an eye roll, you listen with rapt attention. You love to talk to him (for me, talking is the best part). Again, though, this is unconventional, and if Yuki is really shy, I doubt that she'll feel the way I do.
If your crush isn't much of a looker (which doesn't happen much in mangas, of course, but I'm putting it up here anyway) then you stop noticing it and only notice the good parts about him.
You can look at him for long periods of time. You can later remember his voice in your head, recognize him by the way he walks, et cetera. Some of my friends consider me a stalker for this, but most of them have never read Twighlight. And I'm not a stalker. I don't stalk him. I just remember him.
Off topic.
Another big big big part of crushes: daydreaming. You daydream about walking, talking, when you go to places you half-expect him to show up there too because you've seen so many movies and read so many books where it happened.
~~~
Of course, it really depends on Yuki's personality and more specific feelings, plus hobbies and whatnot.
If she likes to draw, she might draw him, but this is for people who are really obsessed so I don't think so.
If she reads a lot, she might imagine them in the place of some pair (e.g. her as Ginny and him as Harry). Ditto for movies, shows, comics, et cetera.
If she's shy, then talking to him would be difficult, but if she's outgoing she might be more like me.
It also depends on how much he talks to her on a daily basis. If not much, then she might think up ways to talk to him -- mention things in class that might get his attention, sit down by him in class, etc. Of course, this also depends on how shy she is.
~~~
Hope this helped!
(August 1, 2012 - 12:29 pm)
Top.
(August 1, 2012 - 1:20 pm)
Um, thanks you guys. I'm kind of confused as I don't really see people in a "romantic" way, so this scene is really hard to write. This was helpful. I think I know what I'm going to do. Oh, and don't worry, Jordan will betray Yuki and Akio to a "evil" society (I say "evil" because we don't know whether they are trying to take over the world or save it). Oh, and by the way, does anyone get my raven/writing desk joke?
The captcha just said euwd. That's what I think about romance: euwd.
(August 1, 2012 - 2:17 pm)
"I have also made the very grave mistake of posing riddles for which I do not have the answer, so now I feel obliged to solve them. For example, why is a raven like a writing desk?"
I would offer advice on the crush thing, but, as has been mentioned, I have more or less the same problem. Best of luck, anyway.
(August 1, 2012 - 7:24 pm)
Answer to the riddle: (spoiler alert) Poe wrote on both! *starts guffawing* *slaps knee*
Anyways... I have experience in unrequited crushes so...
1. First time they meet, the girl is overwhelmed, starts blushing
2. Freezes up when she tries to speak to him
3. Overthinks everything when it comes to him
4. Daydreams about him.
Im going to let you know right now, I'm a little over-the-top when it comes to crushes, so you might want to tone down my suggestions a bit.
Worse comes to worse, go read a romance novel with no plot other than the romance, then use that for a model.
(August 2, 2012 - 11:30 am)
But not Twighlight.
(August 2, 2012 - 3:52 pm)
The day I voluntarily read a romance novel will be the day I have gone completely out of my mind.
(August 3, 2012 - 11:24 am)
"Because it can produce a few notes, though they are very flat and it is nevar [sic] put with the wrong end in front!"
(August 2, 2012 - 12:09 pm)
My favorite answer is "they both carry plumes as black as ink."
(August 2, 2012 - 6:18 pm)
My experience with "crushes" as follows:
A new kid came to my school, and I started considering him my best friend. Then, one of my friends at the end of the year told me that she thought the boy had a crush on me. I didn't think he thought of me that way, and I apparently was the only girl in my grade who didn't think he had a crush on me. The next year, I thought I had a minor crush on him. I told on of my other friends, and then soon after, I realized that all this "dating" in my school was happening because a) people wanted to seem mature and b) girls were afraid to be best friends with boys (and vice versa). Thus ended my supposed crush.
I know this probably doesn't help, but if Yuki ends up realizing she doesn't really like Jordan, this might be useful.
(August 2, 2012 - 4:45 pm)
Maybe she feels nervous around him, and talks extra quietly, but still wants to spend time with him, he makes her feel good?
(August 14, 2012 - 4:31 pm)