What Is An Unreliable Narrator? And How To Write One.

The symbolism of flowers

Flowers have a long history of symbolism that you can incorporate into your writing to give subtext.

Symbolism varies between cultures and customs, and these particular examples come from Victorian Era Britain. You'll find examples of this symbolism in many well-known novels of the era!

Amaryllis: Pride

Black-eyed Susan: Justice

Bluebell: Humility

Calla Lily: Beauty

Pink Camellia: Longing

Carnations: Female love

Yellow Carnation: Rejection

Clematis: Mental beauty

Columbine: Foolishness

Cyclamen: Resignation

Daffodil: Unrivalled love

Daisy: Innocence, loyalty

Forget-me-not: True love

Gardenia: Secret love

Geranium: Folly, stupidity

Gladiolus: Integrity, strength

Hibiscus: Delicate beauty

Honeysuckle: Bonds of love

Blue Hyacinth: Constancy

Hydrangea: Frigid, heartless

Iris: Faith, trust, wisdom

White Jasmine: Amiability

Lavender: Distrust

Lilac: Joy of youth

White Lily: Purity

Orange Lily: Hatred

Tiger Lily: Wealth, pride

Lily-of-the-valley: Sweetness, humility

Lotus: Enlightenment, rebirth

Magnolia: Nobility

Marigold: Grief, jealousy

Morning Glory: Affection

Nasturtium: Patriotism, conquest

Pansy: Thoughtfulness

Peony: Bashfulness, shame

Poppy: Consolation

Red Rose: Love

Yellow Rose: Jealously, infidelity

Snapdragon: Deception, grace

Sunflower: Adoration

Sweet Willian: Gallantry

Red Tulip: Passion

Violet: Watchfulness, modesty

Yarrow: Everlasting love

Zinnia: Absent, affection

After months of collecting, compiling and formatting, we are finally unveiling our biggest project to date:

INTRODUCING: The Interact-IF Database

In an effort to help readers find games and WIP projects following a certain tag, genre, theme or level of customization, as well as finding diverse authors of a variety of identities, we have created a database of primarily Tumblr-based IF projects!

This list has been put together with the help of the authors of the featured projects, who have provided us with information about their games. It will be updated regularly by the mods of this Tumblr.

Are you a reader looking for your next read?

Head over on to our list [link].

The projects on this database are in compliance with our FAQ and Guidelines. We reserve the right to not include entries sent by authors if their projects do not follow said guidelines.

Are you an IF author/dev wanting to share your project?

• You can fill in this form [link].

Are you the author of one of the projects and found an error?

• Let us know through this form [link].

Do you have questions about our database?

• Head over to our Database FAQ first to see if we provided an answer for it. You can always send us an ask otherwise.

If you are an author of a playable project (WIP or completed), you should also consider adding it to the IFDB, the Interactive Fiction Database.

Some of the biggest fantasy worldbuilding fails that I see, in no particular order

Gods without religion. The Gods are real and a known historical fact, but virtually nobody is religious.

Cultural racism/discrimination without structural racism/discrimination. Discrimination that exists only in microagressions or mean comments, without existing in any sort of structural way.

Secret history with no clear reason for it to be secret and no clear method for maintaining that secrecy. Major parts of the world's history are kept entirely secret, even though there's not an obvious reason to do so and even when history has shown this is virtually impossible to enforce (especially in a world with any movement or communication across borders).

Large, homogeneous countries. Even without immigration, virtually no country larger than the Vatican will be fully homogeneous in terms of culture, dialect, beliefs, traditions, etc., much less a large one with limited communication technology as is often seen in fantasy. The Planet of Hats problem.

Punctuation Rules

Punctuation is like the very last thing I actively think about when writing something (what's the point of fixing the punctuation of a sentence you'll end up taking out or editing anyway?) but it is still an important step!

Having proper punctuation increases your credibility and the overall quality of your work. Also, it’s doubly important in professional work, emails, and resumes. With that, let’s get into it!

Commas

We use them all the time. We get them wrong all the time. There are six rules for where you can use commas:

Use to separate items in a list or series:

The book was long, tedious, and painful.

The comma after tedious is called the Oxford’s comma. Feel free to debate if you need it in the reblogs, but you won’t get in trouble professionally if you use it or leave it out (in most cases.) It always comes before ‘and’ in a list to prevent confusion of the items:

I ran into my mother, my best friend and a scientist. (1 person?)

Is very different from

I ran into my mother, my best friend, and a scientist. (3 people)

2. Use to separate independent clauses, with a coordinating conjunction.

An independent clause is just a sentence that makes sense on its own.

A coordinating conjunction is: and, but, or so.

Miley had a ton of work to do, so she set her alarm early.

3. Use after an introductory statement.

Introductory statements begin with many different words, but typically: Before, after, when, while, as soon as, etc.

Before her first class, Stacy looked up her prof on Rate Your Teacher.

Main point about this, “Before her first class” is not an independent clause, it needs a second part.

4. Use to surround info in a sentence

This info is not essential to the sense-making of the sentence, but it should be relevant.

Parents, no matter how skilled, cannot function at 100% all the time.

5. Addresses and Dates

6. And with direct quotes

Important for essay writing.

Casey said, “I hate this house!”

Colons:

Introduce a list after a complete sentence:

I have three favourite foods: spaghetti, chowder, and garlic bread.

2. Use after ‘the following’ or ‘as follows’

Please provide the following information: your date of birth, full name, and address.

3. Don't use with sentence fragments

A sentence fragment is an unfinished sentence (that doesn’t make sense on its own).

My favourite foods are: spaghetti, chowder, and garlic bread.

This is wrong because, “My favourite foods are.” Isn’t an independent clause.

4. Introduce an explanation

My parents ask one thing of me: that I try my hardest.

5. Introduce a quotation

Mom always quoted the bible: “The truth will set you free.”

6. And times (12:00)

Semi-Colon:

Not super common, but makes you look good if you can use it properly.

Separate two related independent clauses

I never drink Starbucks; it tastes burnt.

2. Similar, but with conjunctions: however, moreover, therefore, nevertheless, etc.

I don’t like Starbucks; however, it does the job.

Agatha didn’t witness anything; nevertheless, she was called in to court.

3. Use to avoid misreading in a series

The invited guests are the club leader; the treasurer; the new member, Jason Tanner; and Wanda Johnson, the investor.

Semicolons clarify the separation between the four people. Had it been, “The club leader, the treasurer, The new member, Jason Tanner…” it would seem that the new member and Jason Tanner are two different people.

Apostrophes – Possessive

‘s shows possession of a singular noun

The girl’s parents were quite rich.

2. S’ shows possession of a plural noun

The students’ books were all over the place. (there are multiple students who have books)

3. ‘s to singular words ending in s, and nouns that are plural

My boss’s office My children’s toys

Apostrophes – Contractions

Use to combine two words (they are, he is, there is, etc.)

It is -> It’s a beautiful park They are -> They’re really good friends You are -> you’re good at this and so on.

Selective Mutism (SM) is a situational anxiety disorder. Those with SM speak fluently in some situations but remain consistently unable to speak in others. Outside of speech, all forms of communication may be inhibited, such as writing, body language, gestures, and facial expressions in some people.

Good Links: DSM, NHS, iSpeak, SMIRA

SM is not very well known, therefore there are many misconceptions about it.

1 - Selective Mutism is NOT a choice.

People with SM are unable to speak in certain situations, or with certain people. They do not refuse to speak. 

2 - People of ANY AGE can have selective mutism. 

SM usually begins during early childhood, most commonly before the age of 5. Many people believe that it only affects children and that they will ‘grow out’ of it. This is not always true. It can still persist into adulthood, especially without treatment. 

3 - Selective Mutism is NOT always due to trauma.

There is no evidence that people with SM are more or less likely to have experienced trauma or mistreatment than people without SM. As stated, SM is an anxiety disorder, not a trauma disorder. Although some people with SM may attribute it to trauma, this is not the case for the vast majority of people with SM.

4 - Selective Mutism is NOT a symptom of, or the same as, autism.

Selective Mutism is classed as an anxiety disorder and can be ‘recovered from’. Whilst autism is classed as a neurodevelopmental disorder, or neurodivergence, which someone will always have.

The two conditions are commonly comorbid. However an important distinction is that SM is mutism that is specifically caused by anxiety, not by autism (or by delayed speech or language impairment). In each case the mutism will have fundamentally different causes, and require different ways to treat and respond to each person. This is an important distinction, as misdiagnosing one as the other can be potentially harmful.

5 - People with Selective Mutism always have ‘lesser’ language abilities.

There is no correlation between SM and an individuals language development.

List of 40 character flaws

Stubbornness, Unyielding in one's own views, even when wrong.

Impatience, Difficulty waiting for long-term results.

Self-doubt, Constant uncertainty despite evident abilities.

Quick temper, Excessive reactions to provocations.

Selfishness, Prioritizing one's own needs over others'.

Arrogance, Overestimating one's own abilities.

Trust issues, Difficulty trusting others.

Perfectionism, Setting unreachable high standards.

Fear of change, Avoiding changes.

Haunted by the past, Old mistakes or traumas influencing the present.

Jealousy, Envious of others' successes.

Laziness, Hesitant to exert effort.

Vindictiveness, Strong desire for revenge.

Prejudice, Unfair biases against others.

Shyness, Excessive timidity.

Indecisiveness, Difficulty making decisions.

Vulnerability, Overly sensitive to criticism.

Greed, Strong desire for more (money, power, etc.).

Dishonesty, Tendency to distort the truth.

Recklessness, Ignoring the consequences of one's actions.

Cynicism, Negative attitude and distrust.

Cowardice, Lack of courage in critical moments.

Hotheadedness, Quick, often thoughtless reactions.

Contentiousness, Tendency to provoke conflicts.

Forgetfulness, Difficulty remembering important details.

Kleptomania, Compulsion to steal things.

Hypochondria, Excessive concern about one's health.

Pessimism, Expecting the worst in every situation.

Narcissism, Excessive self-love.

Control freak, Inability to let go or trust others.

Tactlessness, Inability to address sensitive topics sensitively.

Hopelessness, Feeling that nothing will get better.

Dogmatism, Rigidity in one's own beliefs.

Unreliability, Inability to keep promises.

Closed-offness, Difficulty expressing emotions.

Impulsiveness, Acting without thinking.

Wounded pride, Overly sensitive to criticism of oneself.

Isolation, Tendency to withdraw from others.

Innovative Relationship Stats in Interactive Fiction

This is the write up I've been most excited to do--this is one of my favorite things in interactive game design--doing cool stuff with stats. I really, *really* wish someone had told me this stuff when I was starting out.

The most ordinary way to handle a relationship stat is to track it with a number that goes up and down according to choices and tests in some predictable fashion.  So, for example, if I do something that Gilberto likes, according to some reasonable option, like “support Gilberto in the argument,” I get:

*set rep_gilberto %+10

And this makes sense to everyone.  I gave Gilberto a gift, I get reputation points with him.  I showed that I’m good at swordfighting, this impresses him, and I get a higher number.

Similarly, if I insult him, if I’m nice to his enemy, if I do something stupid in front of him, I get

*set rep_gilberto %-10

For my first game, this is the only kind of relationship stat I used.  It was the only one I knew!

So the relationships were very simple to track and very simple to test.  If, by the end of the game, Prenzie likes me 72 much, and that’s over the romance tester of >= 65, congratulations, Prenzie and you can have a happy ending together.

You can write a totally fun game never using anything weirder than that.  But I thought it would be fun to share with you some other interesting ways to conceive of relationship stats.

A character who only goes to 0 or 100. That's it. Her relationship stat with you is essentially a boolean true/false. You can do everything for her, but the second you do something she doesn't like, it's down to 0. She loves you or she hates you. This is very character defining. The number tells you everything you need to know about the character.

That same character, who only goes to 0 or 100--except that you can do something over the course of the game to change them, to allow them to have a broader range of relationship numbers. Suddenly there can be shades of relationship. You did something to help them mature, to understand people better.

A hidden relationship number. If you look at the stat screen, whatever you do, nothing will change their number. They neither like you nor dislike you. They are professional, perhaps, and nothing more. However, you can do something to break down their shield or facade, and then, you can see the number moving; or perhaps the number doesn't move at all until that shield is broken.

The above, but in reverse. Something happens to chill someone's heart, and then nothing you do can affect the number. Or perhaps it can only go down, and then you are in a constant battle of attrition where you can only lose affection from someone.

When you reach a certain level of love and trust from someone, the bottom of the scale raises permanently. No matter how much I annoy my true love, the number just bottoms out at 40.

A relationship number that can be tapped as a resource. The bartender at the Noble Gases Club likes me reasonably well. Let's say she likes me 60 out of 100 much. When I need something in an emergency, she can do astonishing things. If I have over 35 relationship with her, she'll help me. Each time I use her, it depletes her by some amount depending on how big a favor it is. So this one is interesting, because now I have to balance whether I want to keep her liking me because I want to pursue this relationship, or whether I just really need her help right now.

A relationship number that can be a catch-all variable for a test. If you have a high relationship with Toppers, the club millionaire, I can throw that in as a variable in a test to see if you can impress someone by talking about high finance on the grounds that you may have had a conversation with Toppers about her money in the past. (*if intellect + toppers >= 50) Then, if you pass the test *because* the Toppers variable made you cross the threshold, you can add flavor text talking about that conversation with her. This is very, very good, because it tells the player that the game has taken into account your having done things to get close to Toppers (and there's a reward for it--you passed the test, sure, but...here's more content, too!)

A degrading relationship stat is incredibly powerful and characterful. This stat declines, scene by scene unless you do something to raise it. This is a "what have you done for me lately" person, and even though it take a little setting up, code-wise, it's really powerful, and your player will feel smart for figuring out that's what's going on. Also, it's stressful. If you want to create that stress, this a great way.

You can, of course, do the opposite--this is how you code your biggest fan. I like you, and I just keep liking you more and more and more and more!...until you do something to halt that, at which point, the growth shuts down, which is a gut punch. The numbers tell such a story here.

Finally, numbers that seem to tell a different story than the narrative. Players are going to look at numbers; they are going to look at the stats. Not everyone, but a lot. And so they are part of the story, they just are. So you can make them part of the push-pull of romance, for example, or rivalry. What does it mean that as my relationship number with Haze goes up, they are more and more standoffish? Does their scale mean something different from other people's, and if I figure out out, will I understand them in some sense? Perhaps there's a tremendous amount of pushback in the 60-75 range, but once you get through that minefield, something changes?

More musings on game design and other Jolly Good stuff here (I just wrote up a thing on "hidden relationship stats and their use")--I'm on a relationship stats kick today, I suppose:

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The Noble Gases, est. DCIVMCD

every writing tip article and their mother: dont ever use adverbs ever!

me, shoveling more adverbs onto the page because i do what i want: just you fucking try and stop me

You want to call your House rep now and tell them Trump needs to be impeached immediately for defying a Supreme Court order (re: Kilmar Abrego Garcia), which functionally voids our constitution and means no one in America has rights anymore.

I am not exaggerating.

As of now, anybody can be disappeared, no due process, no recourse. Trump is openly disregarding a Supreme Court order and says he’ll send US citizens to El Salvador.

This is not a drill.

Call your House rep and tell them they must impeach. Tell them if they cannot bring themselves to impeach, they must resign. A more open and shut case to impeach is not possible. Trump and his administration are saying openly, in public, that anybody can be kidnapped by ICE, even in error, and disappeared permanently.

Call your senators, too, and tell them to support impeachment (it goes to them once it passes a majority House vote).

Common Cause

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Find your representatives. Learn how to find and connect with them. Stay informed about their bills, committees, and contributions.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again but it is absolutely an example of civilizational inadequacy that only deaf people know ASL

“oh we shouldn’t teach children this language, it will only come in handy if they [checks notes] ever have to talk in a situation where it’s noisy or they need to be quiet”