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linaket · 4 months

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Monthly Update (Feb 6, 2024)

It has definitely been... a January. This year, I had a lot of plans and goals relating to my writing, but a lot of them are already not going through. One was to do weekly or monthly updates, kind of like when I did weekly updates while working on TS. But, it's still early in the year, so I figure its better late than never. Also still early in the month even if I didn't manage to get this out there at the end of January...

My personal life has been a bit hectic. First thing was that some major projects in the house I planned to have completed last year were finally finished this month--I have all new windows installed in my house now, and a new door, and while I didn't personally do the windows (I did install the door, though) it takes a lot of time to prep before and clean up after reno projects and get the house back in order, so I've spent the last two weeks on this. Additionally, I'd applied for a promotion at work, and then was coated in stress waiting for the results... (which I received a few days ago... and I got it! Been a long time coming, really.)

So this is the first one of these... just gonna throw things out here and decide on a format as they go.

Books Read

Finally completed The Fifth Season trilogy by N. K. Jemison. I wanted to finish this one last year, but the last book lingered into the new year.

All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

The Dead Take The A Train by Cassandra Khaw & Richard Kadrey

Important Posts

I shared a summary of my 2024 writing goals/wips on instagram. I meant to bring this over to tumblr and do a bit more on it but... didn't. Maybe this month?

Shadow's Prey: Act 1 wip intro here on tumblr

Writing

30k on Mortal Teeth. 15 chapters done of.. ?? a lot probably. 40 something, at least, if not 50-60 range. This completed the second major arc/goalpost (there are about 5 of these at the moment)

Shadow's Prey: Act 1 formatting is moving along well, and so it's still on time for a March release. I may aim more for mid March, depends on how quickly I'm able to finish up the extras and get some promo in. I really wish I could figure out exactly what size image it takes to make a full-page image in ebooks, but I think I'm going to have to settle for the title page not being... perfect. Which. Does not make me happy. But there really isn't a way to appease every e-reader, as they are all different sizes, so I am finding there is only so much I can control here.

Favorite Excerpt

I wrote a lot of things in Mortal Teeth that I was proud of this past month, but one of my favorite things I ran across when writing was realizing that my writing has improved... massively. It's been a while since I've had a leap of growth that I can easily pinpoint, but the extra I planned for SP Act 1 was partially written, and I needed to work on it. I kept getting stuck on continuing because something about it felt off/forced when I tried, so I did the classic open a new doc and retype/rework as I go... and quickly realized why I was having trouble working on it. My style had shifted dramatically....

This isn't a major point in the short, but I wrote the beginning of this around the middle of last year and it went from this:

Whereas Kanna actively ignored Masao’s approach, Ira glared at him in challenge. “Here,” Kanna said, drawing Ira’s attention by offering Amon’s reins as a lead. “Find someone to tend him, and get me a count of the survivors.” Masao’s voice at her back carried a smirk she could feel between her shoulder blades. “What about the casualties?”

to this:

While Ira glared at Masao in challenge, Kanna actively ignored him. Though she was coated with the blood of those she’d killed, her hands to her wrists to her elbows with it, Masao delighted in his stain. Even here, with the smell of death in the air and the unholy silence that followed battle, he smiled. The joy he radiated amidst destruction unsettled her, something deep inside of her flinching from it. Kanna gathered Amon’s reins, drawing Ira’s attention by offering them. “Find someone to tend him, and get me a count of the survivors.” Masao’s voice at her back carried a smirk she could feel between her shoulder blades. “What about the casualties?”

Final Thoughts

I was excited to get through another phase of MT in writing, but I don't think the time I've allotted to finish the draft is going to be enough. This stresses me out a bit, because I gave myself a pretty tight schedule for the year with all the releases (there are 4 ebooks, and I was considering restarting Act 4 in the serial which would be 5 releases total....)

I'm actually... thinking once again that I won't go back to serial posting for SP. Tapas was/is my primary platform for it, and I am simply... no longer a fan of the platform, and not really interested in others, either. So that might be one of the things in the "coming this year" that ends up pushed to next year or later this year, depending, as it will likely be an ebook release instead of serial and... I'm still working on drafting the teeth wip and I don't see it taking a backseat for a while, until I'm truly stuck.

I've been trying not to beat myself up about not doing the things I said I'd do at the start of the year (daily journaling, more updates here and other platforms, etc) because it's simply... not great for me. And really, I'm not sure I would have had the aforementioned improvement in my writing if I'd continued to stress myself out about writing itself, on top of doing all these other things that I'm supposed to do. I took it pretty easy last year after a massive disappointment, shutting down a lot of my online presence and focusing on reading and writing for myself, and I think that's what allowed me to become comfortable again and led to growth. I don't want to feel as defeated as I had that time, because its the kind of thing that would have led to me completely giving up in my younger years, and I also don't want to get stagnant because I'm trying to do too much that isn't... the actual writing. So... I guess we'll see how this goes?

#linaupdates #writeblr

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moonshinemagpie · 5 months

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Draft Dash Intro

Hi everyone! This is my intro for Draft Dash, the New Year’s challenge to write your WIP for at least 15 minutes every day in January.

DraftDrash Intro: Lady Chess Romance (Definitely the Final Title and Why Would You Guess it’s a Working Title)*

I started writing my sapphic romance about two women chess players last year. I love chess itself, I love following top players, and I love how international the chess community is.

I’m interested in exploring some of the reasons women do and do not get ahead in the chess world while also sharing the dreamy parts of what chess master Jennifer Shahade calls ‘the chess lifestyle’: It may be just a board game, but players travel the world to play it, often bouncing from one hotel to the next, forming friendships that transcend culture, class, and language. That makes for a lot of novel-writing inspiration.

*It’s a working title.

There's no summary for now, because I'm reworking what I wrote in 2023 and reimagining some of the more major plot points.

I'm an editor, which can make it hard to prioritize my own writing, but the Draft Dash challenge sounds like a great way to recenter your work in feasible chunks of time.

Looking forward to it!

#am writing #draftdash #draftdash intro #sapphic #sapphic romance #am writing romance #lady chess masters

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sugareey-makes-stuff · 10 months

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This is definitely a long time coming, but I finally wrote a text only fic for Sterek, complete with a stylized AND plain text view for reading! Also my first long fic that I've written since...I don't even know when (aka it's NOT a drabble or ficlet!!). This is also belated from July, but for reasons you can read more about below the cut. Inspired by @yearoftheotpevent's July prompt "stars," as well as sniperjade's Masturbation Midsummer Bingo 2023, using the square "I can't anymore," and Summer of Cum 2023 prompts "creampie," "come marking," "precome," "come swallowing," "coming untouched," and "coming in pants" (yeah, there's definitely a spicy theme here :P).

Title: Feel You Breathing (<- on AO3) Rating: Explicit WC: 8.4k Tags: Texting/Sexting, Established Relationship, UST, Porn with Feelings, Porn With Plot, Fantasizing, Teasing, Banter, Filthy, Dirty Talk, Masturbation, Idiots in Love, Writer Derek Hale, Bartender and Graduate Student Stiles Stilinski, Business Trip, Flight Delays, Coming In Pants, Coming Untouched, Nipple Play, Light Dom/sub, Bad Pick-Up Lines, Humor, Shopping, Sex Toys, Kink Exploration, Werewolf Mates, Anchors, Love Confessions, Pet Names, Romantic Angst, Stiles AND Derek are Little Shits, POV Alternating

Summary: Derek: So, you need a distraction. Stiles: Maybe Stiles: It’d be better if you were here to help me with that. Stiles: ;D [Or: Sexy things start late one night when Derek gets a text from Stiles and escalate from there. A few secrets are revealed along the way.]

Some of my lovely Sterek friends know I've been dabbling in and out of writing text fics since last year (2022). Easier said than done 1000%, I'm going to tell you that right now. It only took me 3 tries to get it right! (And yes, it means my other 2 WIPs need to be reworked, le sigh.) It's one thing to write a text fic, but it's a completely different beast to style the damned thing with AO3 skins while making it as legible and accessible as possible. I thankfully know how to code in CSS and HTML, but it took me quite a long time to create a custom skin template that I liked and could reuse while getting the look and feel just right for our idiotic boys and the overall Teen Wolf world. Texting and sexting is legit an art. There are so many ways to approach how to write a text because each person does that differently. There's also intention required when using emojis, figuring out how someone would react to things, and hell, even playing around with timestamps and timezones is important. A text fic isn't just about words. All the tiny details add up and make a new experience. I think I took a full week to QA this whole fic because I wanted the aesthetic to look good, and it was worth it! It was nice to make something for myself, which let me write dialogue and banter and a lot of fun things I normally wouldn't had this been a different kind of fic. Super grateful for having a Write-A-Thon sprint weekend, which motivated me to finish the bulk of this baby up. And when I think about it now, this labor of love was originally supposed to be an experiment for me to play around and learn more about coding intricacies. It was supposed to be a short Porn without Plot thingie (but uhhh, it's definitely Porn with Plot and Feelings because that's the way it is). 1-2k words somehow became 8k+ words. No regrets though. It has been a long time since I've felt good about writing something this long and doing something different than the norm. It has been such a blast coming up with all the texts in this fic, because they're humorous and spicy with the usual banter and sarcasm we love between Derek and Stiles. But hey, there's some romantic angst too (they might be texting and using words, but they could do better, of course). Anyway, I hope you give this a read when you have a chance. Enjoy!

#year of the otp #teen wolf #sterek #stiles stilinski #derek hale #MasturbationMidsummer #summerofcum2023 #teen wolf fanfiction #fic challenge #spicy #fic rec #self rec #my fic #sugareey

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mrs-dr-reid · 3 years

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Logan’s WIPs

Howdy!!! In order to keep myself somewhat accountable, I’m gonna make a list of all the fics I have in the works to see what you guys want first! Because tbh my motivation has been SHOT recently, and knowing what y’all wanna see might give me the shove to start working on them ☺️☺️☺️.

(Btw, I will edit this thing whenever I get new ideas/post the WIPs currently listed, so this list will be changing at least somewhat frequently)

New Beginnings

Pairing: Matthew Gray Gubler x Reader

Summary: The Reader gets set up on a blind date after being newly single for 8 months, and it goes better than she anticipated (based on the song Begin Again by Taylor Swift)

Just a cheesy, fluffy little piece that I’ve been dying to get out of my brain.

Home

Pairing: MGG x Fem!Reader

Summary: Matthew comes home from a long three months of filming for Criminal Minds, and the reader is glad he’s home.

This boy came to me in a dream, but I have yet to write it all down. So I might do that soon.

All I Need Is You

Pairing: Evan Buckley x Fem!Reader

Summary: Buck tries to make his first date with the Reader as special as possible, but one attempt goes wrong after another, and Reader has to reassure him.

This boy also came to me in a dream, I’ve been wanting to finish this for so long, and I meant to post it on Valentine’s Day, but I never did (obviously).

You’re An Idiot

Pairing: Evan Buckley x Fem OC (Lydia McCormick)

Summary: Lydia tears Buck a new one in the aftermath of Eddie’s accident, and it leads the both of them to question their priorities.

Whoaaaa, my second ever thing involving one of my OCs on here (Holiday Romance isn’t published yet, so I don’t count that)! If enough people like it, I might do more OC stuff (because I have a LOT that I can do stuff for).

Nice Sweater

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Summary: Inspired by these prompts: “You look really cute in that sweater” and “Wanna, like– I mean, if you’re not busy… We could get lunch? Or even just coffee if you don’t have a lot of time?”.

Basically a friends to lovers soft boi, but I loved these prompts so much that I had to at least get a semblance of an idea for them.

The BAU on Broadway (Wicked)

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!OC

Summary: The BAU never really made it to the FBI, but they did end up making it on the Great White Way. Adri Carmichael is fresh off her third PhD and her second BA when she gets her big break as a certain magical lady who knows it isn’t easy being green. But when her leading man ends up being another young genius doctor, she’s not sure she’ll ever dance through life the same way

I put this series on hold until I had finished Criminal Minds so I could include all the other characters rather than just the Core 7 everybody always writes about. But (predictably) I never picked it up again. The singular chapter I got out before I put it on ice is linked on my landing page if you wanna check it out.

Holiday Romance

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!OC

Summary: Jessica Lewis is a nurse at the Seattle Children’s Hospital, and she hasn’t been home for Christmas in almost five years. But when an invitation to her favorite cousin’s New Years wedding finally brings her back to Colorado for the holidays, she has to face the fact that her secret long-harbored affections for an old friend from high school haven’t really gone away

This series has been on ice since I first got Tumblr because I had started it on Wattpad, but then there was a whole data mining issue over there, I had to delete my account, and I forgot to save the 7 chapters I got out before I nuked my account. So now I’m hoping to rework it and make it less stupid than it was back then (because I was like 15 when I wrote it)

Betting on the Right Horse

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Summary: Spencer and the Reader are forced to work together after being named the co-owners of their late adoptive father/uncle Jason Gideon’s horse ranch in Colorado, and they hate every minute of it

Basically I’ve been watching too much Heartland with my mom, and my brain came up with this brainrot of an idea, so now I gotta write the thing. It’s a series too

Here For You

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Summary: Coming home after being imprisoned and forgetting who he is was tough for Spencer, but thankfully the Reader was there to remind him

To sum it up, the writers discord I’m in peer pressured me into writing smut, so that’s what this is

Not Gonna Stop

Pairing: Sam Winchester x Fem!Reader

Summary: Reader notices that Sam is in one of his “I’m a worthless dummy” headspaces, so she showers him in compliments.

This also came to me in a dream, which means I might need to become a SPN writer now.

Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: Reader is tired of Bucky never understanding her pop culture references, so she sits him down for an EPIC movie and tv marathon to make sure her jokes never go over his head ever again.

This is for a challenge on @belladonnabarnes’ page, and I still gotta get started on it 😅😅😅

What Have We Here?

Pairing: Loki x Fem!Reader

Summary: Reader is a friend of Thor’s, and when he invites her to visit Asgard, she runs into his brother and is rightfully cautious of the trickster.

Just a random idea that popped into my brain last night.

Sleepover

Pairing: Loki x Fem!Reader

Summary: Reader is APPALLED to learn that Loki has never had a sleepover, so she makes it her mission to change that.

Inspired by a post that popped up on my tl that I couldn’t NOT write about.

Safe

Pairing: Mark Watney x Fem!Reader

Summary: Mark wakes up from a nightmare about his time on Mars, and the reader comforts him

Basically, The Martian is one of my comfort movies, I watched it for like the 22nd time the other day, and this popped into my brain. Nuff said.

Who’s That Girl?

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader, allusions to past Nick Miller x Fem!Reader

Summary: The Loft Crew comes to visit the Reader in Quantico for Thanksgiving, (and as the trend goes with the Loft Crew and that particular holiday), chaos ensues

Basically my moot Nati inspired me to write a New Girl x Criminal Minds crossover fic, and I couldn’t resist the temptation.

“Just A Summer Thing”

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Summary: There’s only one week left of summer, and the Reader has one last chance to make Steve realize that she wants more than just a summer fling

Just a slightly angsty Steve Harrington fic loosely based on “august” and “betty” by Taylor Swift because ya girl has ZERO self control.

Weird But F*ckin’ Beautiful

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Summary: Eddie and Reader are best friends. But one late night they both come to the startling realization that they’ve always wanted to be more than that

A really fluffy Eddie fix VERY loosely based on “Snow On The Beach” by Taylor Swift because Midnights is my entire personality for the next month

Going Batty

Pairing: Bat!Eddie Munson x Fem!OC (Kim Anderson)

Summary: Eddie turns into his bat form when he’s feeling antisocial, but he’s also clingy, so now all of Hawkins thinks that Kim adopted an injured bat and named him Sonnie

Just a really fluffy Eddie fic that came to me in a dream last night because I frickin LOVE Bat!Eddie stuff

Those Meddling Kids (And Teachers)

Pairing: Teacher!Steve Harrington x Teacher!Carrie Brown (OC)

Summary: Mr. Harrington and Ms. Brown clearly like each other, but they seem to be the only people at Hawkins Middle School that are completely oblivious to it, so Mr. Munson, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Buckley, Ms. Wheeler, and Mr. Byers conspire with their students to get them together

Basically I’m a sucker for a teacher AU, and I saw a doodle on my dash of Steve with glasses, which in turn triggered this brain rot

Love is Blind

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader

Summary: Matt and the Reader are planning their wedding, and they accidentally forgot to mention to their wedding planner that Matt is blind to hilarious results.

Basically, my moot @leossmoonn roped me into her Daredevil Bullshit (which I ain’t mad about), and this idea popped into my brain after I beta-read a fic for her.

The Luckiest

Pairing: MCU!Peter Parker x Fem!Reader

Summary: Dr. Strange worked his magic, so Peter was able to keep the one person he had left from forgetting him

I needed comfort after NWH, so I came up with this. Kinda based on the Ben Folds song of the same name, but also not really at all

The Boy Who Lived & His Brightest Witch

Pairing: Harry Potter x Fem!OC

Summary: Elaina Granger recounts her time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as well as the road that lead her to falling in love with The Chosen One himself, Harry Potter

This was my first ever OC thing that is unfortunately in need of a full overhaul because I lost all of the stuff I’d written for it, which might be a good thing because I was in middle school when I wrote it 😬😬😬

The Sexy Brit Frat House

Pairing: Andrew Garfield x Fem!Reader, Platonic SBFH x Fem!Reader

Summary: The reader and Andrew have been going out for a while, but now she has to meet his roommates, and suddenly she's in an entire house full of sexy aspiring British actors.

This entire idea was spawned from a conversation I had in a TikTok comment section, and I had to write it.

=================================

Welp, I think that’s all of them! Let me know what you wanna see first!

Tagging some writer moots and a few writers that I always yell support at in their inboxes/comment sections to signal boost this: @homoose, @libraryofloveletters, @reidsnose, @belladonnabarnes, @themetaphorgirl, @meganskane, @borntobewondering, @scarletred79, @goldentournesol, @reidemandweep, @romqnticizer, @there-must-be-a-lock, @spilledkauffie

#logan speaks #logan writes #current wips #feedback needed/wanted plz #help me

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thelittlefanpire · 3 years

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100 days of writing // day 93

thanks to @the-wip-project for putting this idea together. tagging @kinetic-elaboration @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold @hopskipaway and @dylanobrienisbatman.

I have 50+ oneshot ideas, in various stages of development, but I am unable to FOCUS long enough to write any of them.

I tweeted the above yesterday and asked for advice on what to do. Short Sprints and a Roll of the Dice was what I got in response.

So @dylanobrienisbatman and I tried to set up a FaceTime Sprint Session…and omg I am so tired today… but we actually got zero writing done last night! Oops! lol.

I also tried to pick a fic at random to work on but still wasn’t satisfied with anything. But I do appreciate that sometimes you just have to let fate decide!!

This morning I decided on two things that I think will help me write:

Writing the Ideas in Chronological Order

Writing in a physical notebook!

I know…what? Seriously, I think I’ve had some kind of ADHD thing where I keep coming up with ideas but my brain keeps telling me I need to go back to my earliest idea. Especially if there isn’t a TROPED event going on…Today I worked on getting all my ideas ordered and you can see which one I started with at the bottom of this post! I grouped them, categorized all the fics, and broke them down on a loose deadline.

The Notebook Idea I’ve been thinking about for a little while now. I do/write EVERYTHING on my iPhone! But that means I do a lot of doom scrolling and digital pacing that just isn’t productive for me. I brought a blank notebook out with me today while one of the kids had my phone and actually wrote words! REAL WORDS, y’all. It also helps that I’m not reading and rereading over and over and I just focus on writing until I’m done.

I’m still taking advice on how to focus, by the way, but I’m off to a good start I think!

to @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold’s response to yesterday’s post: I decided this morning that I am not ready to write any of my Visual fics right now, but I will talk about their titles real quick!

a pair of bourbon kings - I swear I got this title idea from a book! what book that was remains a mystery to me because the book I thought it was (The Bourbon Kings by JR Ward) did not have the same ✨vibe✨ that I was remembering from whatever I had read before. but still, it’s a damn good title and I’m not exactly sure how it will relate to the story but I’m working on it!!

a touch of destiny - given the theme of the board and the summary, I feel like it’s easy to pick up on this obvious callback to a line from the universe I’m thinking about writing…

the longing, the pitch, and the choir robes - ok, but this just feels like the cleverest play on words from the universe I’m drawing inspo from and the one I’m creating. The cleverest!

17 & Holding - I’ve had this title for so long with this idea that I don’t remember the source or what I was thinking but I did include the exact photo from my original planning in my moodboard rework.

WIP of the Day:

Killing Me Softly || ao3 || moodboard

I did a morning walk to jumpstart my brain into thinking about this fic, ran through the remaining parts of the story I had left to tell, and then realized I backed myself into a corner with a few things. Some inconsistencies with the timeline and the weather and the landscape…of all things…oh, well! I did not let this stop me!! It’s all about the ✨vibes✨ anyway! I’m up to final climax of this fic and there is a lot of action and character resolution happening. Now to just keep writing!!!

#100daysofwriting #tlfwritingthoughts

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joemerl · 3 years

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OC-Tober 2021, Day 5: "Throne"

OC/WIP: Tristan and friends from "Old Fantasy Novel Series That I Haven't Gotten Around to Renaming Yet"

Strap in, because I'm about to bare the stupidity of my teenage years.

So, around age fourteen, I started working on a series of fantasy novels. (Heck, I even wrote them out! Then tried to rewrite them, rework them, etc.) It was about a kid named Tristan, who lives with an abusive foster family and knows nothing of his birth parents. He's sucked into a magical world that's currently in a state of civil war, ever since the king's evil brother killed him, his wife and infant son. The weird magical medallion that Tristan has always had turns out to be a magical relic of this royal family, and will occasionally do Deus Ex Machina things, even though nobody except the true King of Fantasy Land should be able to use it. He also discovers and is able to use the royal family's magical sword, which is also supposed to be unusable to anyone but the true king.

Now...hold on, you're not gonna believe it...it turns out that Tristan is actually that infant prince who everyone thought was dead! Yeah, I know! Who could have seen that coming? Obviously nobody, until it was dramatically revealed at the end of the sixth book. I did plant some subtle clues though, like Tristan looking exactly like the dead king's portrait.

You can perhaps understand why, upon reaching adulthood, I decided to pursue other projects and put this one on indefinite hiatus.

But these characters still live rent-free in my brain, and every so often I think of how I might revive this into something not only readable, but maybe even decent and not the most obvious trash heap of clichés ever. So here's a brief summary of Tristan and his group of companions and vague ideas of what they'd be like in the revised version.

MAIN CHARACTERS

Tristan: The old Tristan was your "vaguely geeky and unpopular, mostly generic kid" sort of character; since he was supposed to eventually become a king, I did try to make him a good leader of his little group, mostly in the sense of being the diplomatic one when they fought. In the new version I want to both up his geekiness but also his charm, so we see that he's really popular at school and has a lot of friends.

One change that I think could be interesting is that Tristan also came to our world when he was a toddler rather than an infant; as such, he actually remembers the murder of his birth family, if only in vague and terrifying terms. Nobody knows his origin, but he's been in therapy long enough to believe that the "monsters" he remembers were surely ho-hum human murderers distorted by trauma, and anything that sounds like a castle or magic are also probably imaginary. He really, really would prefer to believe that, but the plot isn't going to let him.

When he finally winds up in Fantasy World The Name of Which I Need to Change, he is decidedly not going to want to take the throne. Whether or not he does anyway is undecided at this point.

Erasmus: Tristan's foster/adoptive brother (biological cousin in the old version), of approximately the same age. Timid and shy, he's both very close to Tristan and maybe a bit resentful at how much more outgoing and popular he is. There's a bit of irony there: Tristan comes off as happy and well-adjusted to most people, but "Raz" knows that Tristan also has a mysterious, traumatic past, which also means that Tristan can be at least a little vulnerable around him.

I think he's an albino, for reasons that relate the old version but I don't even want to get into right now. And hey, disability rep.

E(d)ric: In the new version he's probably, like...a football player or something? He's supposed to be a big guy and the best "normal" fighter. He's reserved and grouchy but extremely loyal to people he cares about. Reading this over, I feel like I need something to make him more interesting.

Cynthia: Hmm...in the old version she was a witch, but since I'm reimagining all of the main characters as being from our world, I'm not sure how that would carry over. Maybe she gains/has magic in the fantasy world for some reason? She's tough, sarcastic and smart. Erasmus has a crush on her. I swear she wasn't the only female character in the old version, but apparently she was the only one important enough for me to list here.

Pythian the magical snake, Bast(et?) the cat, That Baby Hippogriff Whose Name I Don't Even Remember: There were way too many team pets in the old version.

OTHERS

The Guide: Merlin knockoff. Actually, I think in my earliest draft he was Merlin, somehow, and I don't even know how fourteen-year-old me justified that. He may have been the one who sent Tristan to our world, but then stayed in Fantasy World to help fight the villains. Maybe he's more involved here? Hmm.

Jay: He was Tristan's younger foster brother in the old version (so his and Erasmus' here?), who witnessed him getting sucked into Fantasy World and wanted to figure out what the frick happened to him. I think that concept is interesting, but I'm not sure where it goes, exactly.

Connor: E(d)ric's younger brother. Looking back, pretty much everything I had planned for him in the old version was stupid or would work better for other characters. Not sure what to do with you, Connor. Maybe he's Jay's friend.

#OC-Tober #Fantasy

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silentexplorer18 · 4 years

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Author Interview Tag!

I just wrote this whole thing out and tumblr deleted it. Not mad at all.

Thank you to the wonderful @celestialceci for tagging me in this! 💙 It was really fun to sit down and relax from a long day of school by answering these questions until tumblr struck again lol.

Name: Silent. I don't know why I picked this username, but here we are!

Fandoms: Oh gosh. Currently deep into Harry Potter, and I have several TVD/The Originals fics demanding to be written. I've been reading quite a bit of Newsies and The 100. And apparently Tom Holland?? Is? A Thing?? Now?? I still haven't rented his movies yet, but they've somehow sucked me in.

Where you post: Everything ends up on AO3. Most things end up on Tumblr (or are linked to elsewhere on my masterlist). Some things end up on Wattpad. But everything everywhere is under silentexplorer18.

Most popular oneshot: We Can Never Be Friends (Drarry, Explicit) has the most hits. The Howler (Drarry, T+) has the most kudos though I don't know why. Both by AO3 cause tumblr stats are confusing lol.

Most popular multichap: Inarguably Desperate Developments (Drarry, T+).

Favorite story you've written so far: I really love my current WIP Failed Education (Draco x Reader). I also really love Battle Scars (Drarry), though the writing isn't without flaw. And I really enjoy Abandoned (Colby), though I no longer support SnC.

Fic you were nervous to post: Desperate Developments. Multichaps are difficult, and I was so worried it wasn't very good.

How you choose your titles: I either use the 'sum up the plot/setting' approach or the 'pull a line from the text and use it as a title' approach (though sometimes the text finds a way to incorporate the title). For songfics, I tend to use lyrics (speaking of, I also really like 27's plot).

Do you outline: Ish? My outlines are essentially a paragraph of summary/ideas, and then the fic is written underneath while I cross off what the paragraph covers. It works okayish. It's currently not helping with my monster of a WIP 😂

Complete: AO3 puts me at 65 woah once my latest WIP is completed next week. I was on a roll at some point lol.

In progress: Currently I have one George Weasley multichap, two Drarry fics, one Draco x Reader fic, one Kol Mikaelson x reader fic, and one HxH fic that may or may not have a 1k word outline in the works. A few of these are currently sitting on the backburner, but I love all of them and can’t wait to finish them.

Coming soon/not started: 😬 Counting the WIPs for my current fandoms plus the pile of dead fics I have for Colby that I hope to rework into fandoms I'm comfy writing, I've got about 60 which is as outrageous as it sounds.

Prompts? I really enjoy prompts. They're fun. I want to do another blurb night once I get through my finals because those are always so exciting. But I do have a few prompts that I haven’t been able to get anywhere with yet (sorry folks).

Upcoming work you're most exicted about: If I can get the rest of my George multichap figured out and written, I have a feeling it'll be great. I love the plot I have figured out so far. But I also love the ending I have for Failed Education coming out next week.

Tagging: @ilguna (love ya Q), @slytherinbarnes (I thought these could be fun to apply to chapters or future WIPs 😊), @stuckonspidey (if you’re feeling up to it), @candybarrnerd (sending love, Le!), @im-a-writer-right (for when you come back), and @alxmeg (hello, friend!). No worries if you’re not up to it, but just in case you’re in the mood for something fun. 😁 And if you’re not tagged but decide to do it anyway, tag me!! I can never have enough fics on my list to read!

#tag game #celestialcece #silent talks #and apparently fights computers #I hope everyone's doing well and taking care of themselves!#sending love!

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great-skies1 · 4 years

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If Truth Be Told

Here we go, the first chapter to my first chaptered fic!

This is something that I have been working on for a little while now. I’ve been using a few snippets for WIP Wednesdays and the likes, and now it’s finally ready to post!

If I’m being honest, I published a draft of the first two chapters onto Ao3 a while ago, but upon reading them again, I decided that I needed to delete it and restart, since the premise was interesting, but the way I wrote each of the characters (especially Agatha), was just so juvenile that it needed to be reworked. I think it’s improved though, and now I’m proud to share the better version!

Alright, I’ll zip it now. Here’s ch. 1 of If Truth Be Told!

***

Summary: It’s the beginning of eighth year and Agatha has decided to run away from the World of Mages to chase her own ambitions. This sends a shockwave through all of Watford, as Simon is convinced Baz has done something to her, when in fact, all he’s is trying to do is keep both his and Agatha’s best kept secrets from being discovered.

***

I’m sick of this. So, so incredibly sick. Sick of magickal politics, sick of using spells, sick of being caught up in the middle of violence and impending war and the dark creatures’ twisted revenge plots. But most of all, most of fucking all, I am sick and tired of being paraded around like Simon Snow’s shiny new prize, and the next person he has to risk his life rescuing. How can I blame him? It’s his destiny to to save the day when we all need it most, and not to go after what he really wants. But I can’t continue to stand by his side. I’m not useful in the fight, and I never was. I’m just the bait that his worst enemies use to make him come by and blow the place up to pieces. And as much as he might have denied it, I don’t think chasing after me was anything like what he expected, either.

I still hope we can make amends one day, when all of this is over. I care about Simon so much, but I haven’t had romantic feelings for him since we were fourteen. It was only once we got together, when I had finally realized dating the most powerful mage that’s ever lived is not nearly as charming as it first seems. There’s a lot of waiting around, wondering if the Humdrum or a goblin or Baz has finally found a way to kill their greatest threat. I don’t want to live through any more of that heartache, and then when it’s all-said-and-done and Simon has survived once again by the skin of his teeth, I don’t want him to look at me like he’s looking forward to loving me in the future, and not right now.

I want to find someone who feels like dating me satisfies their sense of adventure—and they’re not living in a position where they’re forced to think otherwise.

So I’m going off to find that someone. For once in my life, I am going to take matters into my own hands, and solve my own problems without any help. I’m going to go exploring, in a place where being Normal is a trait of necessity, and not everyone’s worst nightmare.

Read the rest on Ao3!!

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dessarious · 4 years

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Writing Craft: The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing Ch1

AO3 Intro Next

The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing Chapter 1: Taming the Beast by N.M Kelby

In this article the author compares creating and refining your story ideas to training a dog. I’m going to leave out the metaphor and just give the bare bones of the advice.

The biggest take away from the first section is: “Ideas often start with boundless energy, vying for your attention. But when you get them on the page, they don’t always live up to how you thought they would be” pg. 5

This is a huge issue, especially for new writers. You finally get words on a page but immediately get discouraged because it’s not as good as it seemed in your head and/or your inner critic takes hold and trashes your efforts. (Whether that trashing is justified or not is a moot point) Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Before I get into this specific author’s take I want to throw out a couple ‘standard’ thoughts on the subject.

‘You can’t edit a blank page.’ It’s one of those truisms that make me want to bash my head into a wall whenever I encounter it, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Basically try to think of your writing, especially first drafts, as practice. You’re not going to start out perfect but the more you work on it the better you’ll get at it, and by extension the better the piece itself will get. If you come to the table thinking your writing needs to be perfect, you’re just setting yourself up for failure.

‘All art is a work in progress, even when it’s finished.’ I don’t think I’ve seen this stated anywhere but given the number of times I’ve seen authors complain about parts of their published works they wish they’d done differently, I’m just going to throw it out there. Perfection is unattainable and someone will always find fault in what you do. So don’t try and be perfect, try instead to a) be consistent and b) improve your vision. And what I mean by that is develop a writing routine that works for you and make sure when you write and edit you’re making the story clearer for the reader. For first drafts that’s simple because anything you write will be clearer than nothing. (okay, given some of the garbage that’s come out of my head that’s not strictly true but even bad writing is practice on the way to good writing so it’s still useful)

Establish a calm, centered mind

In this section the author gives their thoughts on creating your writing space, writing routine, and not siking yourself out.

“Nonexistent boundaries, unfocused expectations, and lack of routine are the writer’s downfall.” pg. 5

Okay, I’ll agree with this to a point. Especially when you’re first starting out developing your writing habits, and making sure the people around you respect that, can be crucial. However, don’t get so rigid that you can’t adapt to change. Shit happens and you may need to adjust either for life or because your writing needs themselves evolve and change. The best way for you to write right now, may not still be the best way in six months or a year. It’s best not to assume what does and doesn’t work for you now will always be the same. As to the part about expectations… that’s going to be very specific to each author. It’s good to have goals for your writing but if the thought of a specific word count or getting an entire chapter out stresses you out to the point you can’t write, chose a less concrete goal. Anything from I’ll spend at least ten minutes free writing or brainstorming and then see what I can get done on my current WIP to I’ll spend ten minutes thinking about ideas are completely valid. Yes, at some point you want to get words on paper, but forcing yourself to write on demand is a process and it’s usually a bad idea to frustrate yourself to the point you just give up.

The author makes some other points that I’ll summarize: Don’t panic, nothing’s perfect the first time around. Some writing days are better than others, it’s okay to take a break or sleep on it. Don’t place yourself in competitive situations while you’re working on a book. Don’t compare you WIP to the latest bestseller. Write from an authentic part of yourself. Set a pace that works for you and don’t compare it to others. (pgs. 5 & 6)

This is overall good advice in my opinion. The words ‘Don’t Panic’ always bring to mind Hitchers Guide to the Galaxy for me and it’s sound advice. Unless you’re working on a deadline there really isn’t a need to panic, and even then, all it’s likely to do is make things worse.

Some writing days are better than others. This is true no matter who you are. It doesn’t have to mean that your actual writing is bad either. All this means is that some days you won’t be on your A game, at least not for the project you’re currently focusing on. If you need to step away, do it. If you need to work on something else, do that. If you need to completely rework something you already wrote, go for it. Don’t get upset if your brain won’t focus where you think it needs to be. Trust your subconscious to know when you need a breather.

Don’t place yourself in competitive situations. Okay, this one is person specific. Some people thrive off of competition while others shut down completely. You need to feel out what’s best for you but at the beginning it can be one more stressor that sets you up for failure. My suggestion would be to get into a seminormal writing habit before you add something like this into the mix, but again, everyone is different.

Don’t compare you WIP to a bestseller. This should be self evident but almost everyone does it. You think about how much better published works are compared to yours and it freaks you out. The thing about published works is that you don’t see everything that happened before. All the starts and stops and horrible prose that was edited out. It’s the difference between seeing a car for sale at a dealer and seeing it at the beginning of the assembly line in the manufacturing plant. Comparing the two is obviously going to make your WIP look like garbage, at least to you, and that’s not conducive to keeping you excited about your project.

Set a pace that works for you. Basically everything is about what works for you, but in this case it just means don’t compare yourself to authors that put out a book every six months and assume you’re lacking in some way. Especially as a new writer you need to figure out so much before you even worry about pace. Fast is not necessarily good and slow isn’t necessarily bad. Just find your own rhythm and screw anyone who thinks it’s wrong.

Study Your Breed

This section is basically a suggestion that you should figure out the standards that your readers will expect from you in a certain genre so that you know what you can and can’t put in a story. It’s sound advice to a point, and certainly it’s helpful to know what the conventions are before you break them, but this is another one of those issues that’s writer specific.

Yes, if you label a book as a mystery and there’s no mystery people will be a bit peeved. This goes more to story structure in my opinion and some writers my find it constricting to even label their work as a specific genre at the onset, let alone force their writing into a certain mold.

The writer of this article strikes me as a plotter, so if you’re not this may be something you need to look into after you’ve finished a draft to help with getting it published, but if you get stressed out thinking about it before you even start, just ignore it until then. If, on the other hand, you plan everything out in advance, it's very helpful to have genre guidelines to add to your roadmap so you know you’re hitting the right concepts.

Also don’t confuse structure with how you tell a story. The author gives the example of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Wicked. Two stories set in the same basic world and time with vastly different tellings. Given the same plot, it’s unlikely bordering on impossible that two authors will come up with the same story. (I only say bordering on because someone will find an example of it happening just to spite me if I say it’s actually impossible)

Train Your Focus

This section more than any other is what tells me this Author is a plotter. I had to try and read it a few times before my brain didn’t immediately ‘nope’ out. This is one of those things that I needed to read with the thought that I could implement this in the editing rather than the creation stage, but here’s the jist of the authors advice.

“Everything in the story must work to tell the tale.” Pg 8 Sound advice but this author is talking about making all these decisions upfront and not working on anything that doesn’t fit into your outline. Personally I can’t do that, but it seems rather rigid even for a plotter. To each their own though. She says to brainstorm but when it comes time to write, don’t put things in just because you like them. Again, as a pantser this advice is useless to me until the editing phase when I need to fix things because I’ll have no idea if it advances the story until I’m done with it. For plotters it may make sense to do it this way. I will say that no writing is wasted writing. Even if you can’t use it for what you’re currently writing, save everything because you may find a place for it later. The same goes for research. You took the time to do it so don’t throw it out just because you decided not to use it for one project.

Walk Your Inner Dog

This is basically a summary and example of her advice so far but there are two things that are new.

“While you write a book, it’s art. When you’re finished, it’s business. Never confuse the two.” Pg. 10 In other words, don’t worry about marketability until you’re finished writing. This is a highly contentious subject. Some people will tell you you have to consider marketability from the start, others say that it will destroy what will make your writing stand out. As I’ve never published a book, I don’t have a good opinion, but considering I have an issue with ‘write with the reader in mind’ I’m pretty sure it would break my brain if I was constantly trying to decide if my writing would sell.

From Idea to Page in Four Simple Steps.

“You need to realistically outline and throw out what bogs readers down.” Pg 10 Okay, again, this isn’t something that will work for me in the creation stage but it’s something I need to implement in editing. If you can do it at the onset, it will be less work later, but not everyone can see the story in advance.

Step 1: Always begin with your protagonist. This advice is more about making sure they show up within the first page or so of the story than saying that you have to begin your brainstorming around a specific character. It’s solid advice so that your readers have a character to be invested in at the onset.

Step 2: Establish time and place. This is again for the reader. If they’re wondering where the characters are they can lose focus. I don’t necessarily agree that it’s always necessary but it’s a fair general guideline to follow if you’re unsure.

Step 3: Announce the Stakes. In other words, why should we care? Conflict drives story so the sooner you introduce it, no matter how small, the better in most cases. Not many readers are willing to go through five pages of description before you tell them why any of it matters.

Step 4: Organize. For plotters this happens at the beginning and all the way through. For most pantsers it happens at the end, but eventually it does need to be done.

That’s it for Chapter 1 and I think my thoughts were longer than the actual chapter, so sorry about that. Let me know if this was helpful or if you’d rather I be more succinct.

AO3 Intro Next

Kofi

Tag List

@magica-est-in-aerem @18-fandoms-unite-08 @xxxshinx @whatsupwithjinx @krispydefendorpolice @corabeth11 @claaydoh @dramatic-squirrel @novicevoice @mariae2900 @rebecarojas07

#writing craft #books on writing #writing advice

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risingphoenix761 · 4 years

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2019 Writing Summary and 2020 Resolutions

I'm awake, I'm caffeinated, and I've got time on my hands! I'm also glad I kept track of all this in Docs, as it'll make things so much easier even if having the truth of my failures laid out in black and white was a tad painful

This will get lengthy, so let's throw in a Keep Reading bar...

[[MORE]]

2019 Word Count

This time last year, I set out to write 100,000 words. I think I clocked in around 75k the year before, so I didn't think it would be that much harder to pop out that last 25k. Right? Right?? 😅

Final word count for 2019 was...

*drum roll*

64,014!

So...not quite what I was shooting for, but shit happens. I'd rather struggle to finish something I'm proud of than kill myself meeting the word count and produce garbage, so all's well that ends well.

2019 Writing Challenges

The thrill of victory! The agony of defeat! The satisfaction of learning one's limits and how to take them up a notch!

Annablack1102's Jeffery Dean Morgan Challenge - DEFEAT. I still owe her a John Winchester fic...

Letsby's Freestyle challenge - VICTORY! My Doc says I wrote three fics for this! *Snoopy cheer*

SPN Kink Bingo - 4/25. I'm not gonna sweat my progress on the bingos, as long as I got something on the board

SPN Fluff Bingo - 1/9. ......like I said, not gonna sweat it.

SPN Song Bingo - 2/16. Another two are current (ish) WIPs, so I did my best.

SPN Dark Bingo - 1/16. NOT GONNA SWEAT IT. I BLED FOR THAT ONE SQUARE.

SPN Rare Pair Bingo - 1/25. It is what it is.

SPN Poly Bingo - 0/25. DEFEAT.

Bamby0304’s Fourth Wall Smash - VICTORY!

SPN Trope Celebration - VICTORY! Technically. This was one of those learning experiences, and bless the mods who had to put up with me while I tried to avoid disaster.

Crowley Big Bang - VICTORY! Big fat victory! My favorite event of the year!

SPN Heaven and Hell Bingo - 4/25. A solid effort, all things considered.

Flames-bring-a-ton-of-ash's Negan Warm Weather Challenge - DEFEAT. Not counting this one out, though. I'll finish it come hell or high water.

Sam Winchester Bingo - 1/25. But I've got good prompts for future fics!

SPN ABO Bingo - 0/25. I....don't remember signing up for this...

Dean Winchester Bingo - 1/25. See Sam bingo about prompts!

Crispychrissy's Gif It To Me Challenge - VICTORY! One I'm pretty proud of!

Negan Bingo - 0/9. I've got several WIPs, but Supernatural owned my Muse this year.

SPN Dark Fic Bang - VICTORY! AND BET YOUR ASS IT WAS HARD EARNED!

SPN Swan Song Bingo - 2/15. I chose these prompts. In theory, this should have been easy!

Castiel Bingo - 1/25. More prompts for later?

SPN Classic Bingo - 1/16. It's fine.

Stusbunker's Break My Heart Challenge - DEFEAT. I still like the prompt, so....maybe a late gift fic?

SPN Rare Ship Creations Route 66 Challenge - DRAW. I finished one of my two prompts, but I'm not thrilled with it. The other is a WIP that has potential.

Crowley Bingo - 1/9. See Sam, Dean, and Castiel bingos!

Supernaturalnotcas's Prompt Challenge - DEFEAT. See Break My Heart challenge for good prompt, future fic.

Stu's Bad Smut Sprint - VICTORY! And I didn't see it coming!

Bethyl Smut Week - 0/7. I had honorable intentions, but I didn't even see the event was happening until it was in progress.

1000roughdrafts's Kink Poker - there's no deadline on this one, but I'm going for it this year!

SPN Trope Celebration Thanksgiving mini bang - DEFEAT. There goes one prompt that didn't get to fulfill its destiny...

SPN Trope Celebration Christmas mini bang - DRAW. Two prompts. One went up. The other was so close, and is now getting reworked into a New Year's fic

400 Follower Smut Fest - I took 13 fic ideas for this, and for now I'm not going to post any until they're all written, but that might change depending on circumstances...

2020 Resolutions

Let's pray I can rein in my chaotic impulses and NOT sign up for so much, for one thing. Also...

400 Follower Smut Fest - it WILL happen!

Achieve a bingo - I won't hold my breath for a blackout, but I'll be satisfied with this

Update ALL multi-chapter WIPs - even if it's just one chapter *side-eyes Warrior Shepherds*

WRITE MORE CROWLEY - the only resolution I feel confident keeping, tbh

Happy New Year! Time to write more stuff!

#fic round up on the way!#2019 writing summary #2020 writing resolutions

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joeys-piano · 5 years

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Writing Update - #1

WIP Formally Began: July 18th, 2019 Date of Update: August 31st, 2019 WIP Intro: Here

Current WIP Status: Outline/WIP Bible Current Status W/C: 65,340 W/C Added: ~5,000 words (this week)

Summary Report: My current project, Survive Said The Prophet, has grown significantly in a variety of ways throughout this week. Not only has the outline grown, but the official summary and title were also finalized and the story has been formally introduced to the Tumblr sphere.

~~~~~~~~~

On August 25th (Sunday), my outline for my conspiracy + sci-fi fic, Survive Said The Prophet, surpassed 60,000 words. The last time I had written this much for any story was either last year or two years ago, when I jumped the gun and tried my hand at writing about organized crime for the first time. Since that endeavour and learning from my experience, I’ve found that approaching stories with an extensive outline beforehand gives me a clearer idea of the arc/character progressions threaded throughout the plot. Although the 60k+ words to that organized crime story will not be picked up again, the experience and the sheer endurance that it took to write it has definitely prepared and laid down a foundation of weaknesses and strengths that I can refer to as I continue outlining Survive Said The Prophet. The formatting of the outline may’ve been an important part as to why I’ve written so much, why I still have the drive and energy to come back to this story, and why the story still intrigues me after putting so much of my time into developing it. Perhaps it’s the nature of the mysteries or how I’ve interwoven worldbuilding between canon hallmarks; whichever the case, coming back to this outline and just writing it makes me feel at ease. It’s been a few years since I’ve felt this way about writing, since I’ve felt this comfortable and sure of myself. Curious to know if it’s experience, if it’s a change in my mindset, a combination of both, or the influence of something else. On this same Sunday — mind you, I was writing as much as I could before the first day of the academic semester — I edited and finalized the summary for Survive Said The Prophet. For the past month or so, I’ve been rewriting and editing different summaries that I felt were decent previews to what’s to come. In my original drafts, I wanted to incorporate quotes that were from the story or quotes from the referenced authors in Bungou Stray Dogs. Before Survive Said The Prophet, many of the summaries I’ve written depended and leaned heavily onto quotes to convey whatever premise I was writing about. However, for this story, I couldn’t do that. I wanted my writing to stand on its own, rather than relying on the words of someone else or from a throwaway line that I’ve jotted somewhere in my outline. The most difficult part about this entire process was having to build a summary from scratch. During the past month, I referred back to previous summaries I’ve written and wondered if I could rework those for Survive Said The Prophet. What I quickly realized was that it wasn’t going to work. The summaries I’ve written beforehand, while they featured worldbuilding elements, weren’t for complex or heavily-involved stories. For the first time in months, I had to completely start from scratch. Unused to the experience, I knew I had to start somewhere. From July 28th to August 25th, I wrote close to a dozen new summaries with different directions, starting points, and different vibes on how to convey the premise of Survive Said The Prophet was to be presented. Keep in mind that for the most part, I didn’t know what the premise of the story was. Although I had jotted it down, it was a very pale reflection to what the actual premise was. Stumped at every corner and unsure what to do, I looked to resources on how to tackle this summary. From Goodreads to YouTube and to eventually IMDb, I found a muse of a summary that gave me an inspirational pause. While searching up thriller movies, I encountered Shutter Island. Reading the summary to that movie cleared the jumbled thoughts in my head, and it helped me realize what I wanted my summary to convey. Shutter Island’s summary began by noting the time and the incident that triggers the start of the plot. Out of all the summaries I’ve searched and read, this was the first one that began in this way. If I had only read the first sentence and nothing else from the movie’s blurb, I would still feel intrigued and would want to watch the movie to see what would happen. To me, the hallmark of a brilliant summary is when the first sentence has that kind of effect on the reader. Amazed and inspired, I began to draft what would eventually become the official summary for Survive Said The Prophet. On August 25th at 3:08 p.m., after editing and revising it so that it could within the character limits of AO3’s summary box, I had accomplished one of the most difficult parts of the outline so far. Now when people ask me what Survive Said The Prophet is about, I no longer have to give an abridged telltale version of what I think the premise is. Now, I have a summary that I can show to them and from what I heard from interested peeps and from my lovely brainstorming partner + muse, the official summary captures the essence of what Survive Said The Prophet is and raises more than enough intrigue to prompt a reader to discover for themselves what the story will be.

Between August 26th to August 28th, not very much happened. With this being the beginning of the academic semester, I didn’t have time to work on my main outline. With this in consideration, I decided to update and work on other aspects of Survive Said The Prophet that have nothing to do with writing. Namely, I wanted to create a wip introduction so I could formally show and talk about what I’ve been working on for more than a month now. I already had the summary completed and I had a few ideas in mind on what the story edits would be. I knew I was going to use a combination of Unsplash, Fotor, and Canva to help me make those edits into a reality, but I didn’t realize how difficult it was going to be and how nitpicky I would become as the wip introduction moved onto its later stages. Initially, the wip introduction was going to list the main characters that were in Survive Said The Prophet. However, after gauging how long the introduction was becoming and wanting to keep things concise and easy, I decided to omit the main characters from the final draft. For several reasons: I wanted to those character introductions in a post solely meant for them, I didn’t like how I was initially going to present them, and this main character segment was a real thorn to my backside so omitting cleared away some stress that was on my mind.

On the night of August 29th (Thursday), I completed my wip introduction and formally introduced Survive Said The Prophet to the public. As nerve-wracking as it was to finally do that, it doesn’t trump the stress that overtook my body a few hours prior as I was editing and formatting the images I used from Unsplash for my story edits. Easily, the most difficult part was finding a book cover template from Canva that I could use. Finding one that didn’t obscure the cover image was as easy as finding a blade of grass, half a centimeter shorter than all the rest. Eventually, I gave up on my search for a template and made the cover page on my own. I probably spent two hours, running the story title through dozens of different fonts and positionings until I was satisfied with the end result. Fortunately, I had late classes on the following day so I was able to stay up and work a little longer than I should’ve. But in the end, I finished what I wanted to do and had the introduction ready to be posted.

On August 30th (Friday), having had minimal contact with my main outline for almost the entire week, I spent a few hours of my morning before lunch rereading where I left off and revised/clarified a few things that I had jotted down beforehand. Notably, I revised an entire scene that involved a private exchange between two characters from conflicting organizations. I had noted along the margins that an anonymous tip had alerted law enforcement of what was going on for one of the members of the private exchange was a wanted criminal. Confused on why I added the anonymous tip and with no apparent lead/backstory on who sent it and why was it sent, it made the latter half of the scene play out as a matter of convenience, luck, and the third-cousin almost removed from Chekhov's family of things writers forget to include. Bothered that I included an anonymous tip so haphazardly into the scene, when it’s that anonymous tip that initiates the midpoint turn in the story, I knew I needed to clean things up. Fortunately, I had already begun that beforehand when I reread where I had left off, adding notes of clarification and fleshing out vague details that I had left behind. Now with a better understanding of how this arc progresses, I knew who the anonymous tip came from, why they sent it, and what the anonymous tipper wanted in exchange. Information is power, especially in a wip with psychological thriller vibes, so now I knew the motive and how events prior to this scene made sense and led up to this moment where law enforcement got involved. Afterwards, while still keeping the essence of the original scene’s intent and what happens, I revised how the second-half would follow and have a much clearer idea who and what triggers the midpoint turn in the story. The confrontation with the protagonist and antagonist — I would argue that there is no protagonist or antagonist in this story but for the sake of simplicity, I will refer to these two characters as such — is much stronger and more pivotal now that clarification has been addressed. Makes me really glad I’m taking my time outlining this story because these are the things that wouldn’t cross my mind if I began writing from the get-go.

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #writing update #survive said the prophet

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shesasurvivor · 5 years

Text

I started to do this, got half-way through, then somehow managed to lose the entire thing when my mouse inadvertently clicked through to another page. Needless to say, I was mad. Stupid computer.

At least I got to use a Jemaine gif. I guess my computer is named Steve now. Anyways, let’s try this again.

Tagged by @javistg

Author Name: shesasurvivor

Fandoms You Write For: The Hunger Games, Star Wars, DuckTales/Darkwing Duck.

Where You Post: AO3, FFN, Tumblr