❖ 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀
So I've been reading a lot of fics lately where people are either
✎ Putting wings onto canon characters
✎ Making OCs with wingsSo I decided that, with the influx of people who are writing winged characters (and therefore the influx of errors that come with writing winged characters), I'd make a little thing to help you slap a pair of wings onto anyone!
✎ 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺
Part of being a writer is the desire to take something (whether it be a pre-existing work or an idea in your head) and make it into your own. So, instead of just going with the classic bird wings, why not spice it up a bit? If your character is an angel, you certainly don't have to stick to the classic depictions of angel wings. Why not give them butterfly wings or dragonfly wings?
Here's a small list of different types of wings to choose from:
✎ Bat wings
✎ Beetle wings
✎ Bird wings
✎ Butterfly/Moth wings
✎ Dragonfly wingsNote that these wings are for animals who can fly. There are also animals who can "fly" that actually glide, such as sugar gliders and flying squirrels.
Yeah, so the options are pretty limited, but feel free to make up your own kinds of wings that aren't necessarily based on a pre-existing creature's wings!✎ 𝗕𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘀
If your wings are completely unique, draw them out. A diagram or picture is key when it comes to things like description. I'm not gonna tell you what everything does and give you Animal Wing Anatomy 101, that's for you to research. Know that there are different types of wings and that they have different uses, strengths, and weaknesses.✎ 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵
"But wait, Maddy!" you cry, writing utensil in hand and poised to stab me. "I thought we were supposed to were supposed to show our research!"
Well, you are. Technically that's not wrong. But, readers don't want to know ALL of it. Over-described wings are sometimes worse than under-described wings; what sucks more than not knowing what a character's wings look like is having to look up wing anatomy in the middle of the chapter!
Only use the most basic of vocabulary when it comes to describing the parts of the wing. Most of the time, you just have to say "bat wing" or "feathery wing" and the readers get the basic idea. (Like seriously, do you think the readers know what a dactylopatagium brevis is????? It's a part of skin on a bat's wing btw)✎ 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺
Unless your character's wings can fade away when they're not needed, wings are a 100% real, 24/7 thing! It's bothersome when writers mention the wings in one chapter and then only bring them up when there's a daring escape that needs to be performed! Most of the time, I forget that the characters even have wings at all!
There is also the fact that wings aren't all pros and no cons. If they're functional, they're probably big, and if they're muscular, they're probably bulky. If your character is clumsy, they'll probably knock things over constantly, and if they're not clumsy, they'll still knock things over constantly.
Your wings are two (or four, or five, or six quintillion) extra appendages; they're a part of your character! You don't have to spend every second reminding the readers that they're there, but don't go long stretches of time without even mentioning them.✎ 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗱
Why wouldn't you want to describe the wings? I mean, you don't want to describe every minute detail over and over again, but it'll boost your word count a lot more than you think. They can also be used to convey your character's feelings without explicitly telling the reader! It's like a new set of facial expressions!
Here's a list of wing language (?) that you can incorporate into your story that will not only increase your word count, but will also add to the sustenance of your story!✎ 𝗡𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗼𝘂𝘀
- Twitch
- Flutter
- Ripple
- Fold gently
- Fidget
- Flap
✎ 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗿𝘆
- Flare
- Bristle
- Fluff up
- Ripple
- Beat
- Raise up
- Snap open
✎ 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆
- Flutter
- Curl up
- Ripple
- Wave
- Flap
✎ 𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲
- Bludgeon
- Smack
- Bat
- Clout
- Whack
- Kick someone's legs out from under them
- Snap someones neck (only for muscular wings like bat and bird wings)
✎ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲
- Poke out from under blankets and let all of the cold air in
- Stepped on
- Get pins and needles from being folded for too long
- Squashed on chairs/ in beds/ in crowded hallways
- Vulnerable in battle
- Molting (for bird wings)𝗰𝗿; 𝘀𝗵𝗲-𝘄𝗵𝗼-𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀-𝗮𝗻𝗱-𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀

YOU ARE READING
𝖶𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖳𝗂𝗉𝗌 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖫𝗈𝗌𝖾𝗋𝗌
Random𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬. This book contains tips from tumblr, and do not belong to me. All tips will be rightfully credited. [#5 in bilingual] [6th March 2020]