#I have written FIVE NOVELS worth of books!? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

typhin-hoofbun · 4 months

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A Milestone

I kinda forgot Tumblr existed for a few weeks, so I forgot to post here to celebrate, but on January 16th, I hit a milestone. Two years of writing.

In that two years, I wrote over half a million words. In 73 chapters across three series. It's been a wild ride. My first story is still going, I haven't finished "Princess Tells Her Story" yet. (I probably will with Book 3, I can't think of anything I can really throw at the duo to challenge them after they've defeated a broken, insane god.)

I've had a pretty small following, but a loyal and supportive one, and I am eternally grateful for that. I can't wait to see where I'll be next year, or the year after that, or the year after that, and so on. ^_^

After Princess Book 3 is done, my next project is probably going to be rewriting Princess Book 1 to be better. It's a little bit of a mess, since each chapter, I didn't know if it would be the last thing I ever posted. So I tried to end it in a way that didn't leave active hanging threads, sort of a "We'll be okay" vibe, in case I couldn't continue. That made it very episodic in nature, since I didn't want to end on a cliffhanger, just in case. I also started a lot of threads that I never properly followed up on (looking at you, Brotherhood of Shadows) because I got distracted. I was very much winging it without any plan. Well, a little bit of a plan, there was quite a bit of "laying groundwork for things planned in Book 2" going on... ^_~ But still, I want to do it better, make it more cohesive, strip the "recap" bits, etc. Handle Princess's backstory better, too. Without properly planning it, it just sorta feels rough around the edges. But it'll be a while yet, I'm barely a third of the way through Book 3.

One of those readers sent me a gift for my anniversary. A box of oranges, from an orchard in Florida. They are absolutely delicious and wonderful and I love them. That reader is none other than my own mother, so of course she knows I love oranges. (You just can't get oranges that good elsewhere.) I just wanted to gush because I'm still giddy about it.

I do still kind of want to publish my work some day. It'd be nice to be able to bring in some extra income, but it'd also just be amazing to see my books on store shelves. To know someone is gonna wander those aisles like I did, look through all the covers, and a stack of paper printed with words is gonna be one filled with words I put together. Of course, anyone who picks up my stuff is probably gonna be doing the same thing I did: grabbing anything with a non-human protagonist on the cover, hoping desperately someone can put words to the feeling of "This human body is Not Me" so they feel less like they're going insane. Even if they aren't conscious of it, like I wasn't. While internet publishing like an e-book via Amazon lacks that feeling of awe, I might still do it anyway. (Would have to get together money to commission cover art, though. I'd love to get "Cover Art" stuff for each book anyway, even if I don't publish, because it'd be cool. ^_^ )

Really, I'm happy with anyone who enjoys my stuff, regardless of their reason. It's just the scenario I come up with in my head, Kid Me surrounded by endless books and trying to find one that lets me see someone else Being Different, and lets me feel it. ^_^;;

I should probably try to post on sites other than FurAffinity. I started to post to Royal Road, but I dunno, something about it just kinda grates on me, I guess. Don't know what. If people have suggestions for sites I should post to, I'd love to hear it. It's been a while since I posted a link to my stuff, so in case anyone reading this hasn't taken a look, here you go.

It's always interesting to see how some people will only follow one story, and some people will follow all three. Vayryn gets the most attention, people love yinglets. Princess gets almost as much as Vayryn, people love dragons but there's so many dragons that it's easy to get lost in the flood. Flopsy doesn't get much attention, she doesn't have people that go looking specifically for hoofbuns. I love writing all three, though. (In the latest Vayryn chapter, she attends a convention and runs into Valsalia himself. The real-life Valsalia said I did "a pretty spot-on impression", which I think is awesome. I tried to capture his friendly, approachable vibe, and I'm glad it came across. ^_^ )

Anyway, I'm going to end this here, because it's already insanely long. Love you all, I'm going to bed! (It's 5:19 AM now...)

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tac-the-unseen · 16 days

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What the Lost boys think about vampire related media

Fluff, x reader but just barely

•While making conversation with your four Vampire lovers you were suddenly plagued with a question.

“How do you guys feel about vampire related media?”

-That question was an immediate head turner. The cave goes dead quite before Dwayne speaks up, “Well…vampires are in hiding so…”

-This sparks a conversation about how media representation of vampires may not be accurate, but that's a good thing. “If a book or movie comes out and it is shockingly accurate to what being a vampire is really like, the creator isn't going to last long.” David explained

-That's because there's a set of rules vampires have to follow and one of those rules is to never publicly reveal your double life identity

-”If something like that comes out, that means a vampire has broken that rule OR somebody knows vampires very closely and is creating media they know shouldn't exist.”

-Turns out if a vampire breaks that rule it's basically open season to kill and destroy their creations.

•You turn the conversation and begin to ask how they, specifically, feel about certain vampire representation

•Bram Stoker's Dracula

-Dwayne is the first to buy in his opinion.

-Dwayne feels that while it is a cult classic and well written, The characters are exceedingly dumb.

-”Johnathan spends a ridiculous amount of time talking about other characters ‘Breasts’ and trying to figure out why his host climbs walls ‘like a lizard's.”

-David is the next one to speak up

-David thinks it's not really worth the read

-”Unless you're trying to brag to people there's no point in reading it.”

-”Also why was Mina talking to that old sailor so much?”

-Paul laughs as he remembers “how fucking crazy he wrote Dracula to be”

-”I'm pretty sure the real Dracula thinks it's a heinous crime against him”

-Paul hasn't read it but have heard enough about it to know even the more obscure references

-Marko comments on the graceful writing style and the beautiful descriptions

-”I've only read it because Dwayne thought I would like it"

-Marko also loves how oblivious Jonathan and most of the other characters are

-All of them think the movie adaptation is hilarious and love the shitty special effects

•Interview with a vampire

-Paul chimes in immediately

-”God it's so homo erotic it hurts…in a good way.”

-Paul thinks its a nice horror novel mixed with a weird cozy atmosphere

-Dwayne thinks it's another well written classic and He actually begins to rave about all the themes involved within Anne Rice’s work

-”It's a beautiful Gothic thriller with a deep, sadly comedic energy.”

-He even offers to read it too you sometime

-Marko chimes in quickly about “Claudia’s rebellious behavior and persona”

-”imagine watching your family choose somebody else over you. It's so deeply upsetting but to an understandable level.”

-”I would have hated to turn so young. I look like a teenager and other people can respect that to a certain point. But being five years old with the mind of an adult, No one would respect you.”

-Marko relates to Claudia on an internal level and loves unraveling her character. When you ask why he quickly responds "Some people call me a cherub... You think I enjoy that?"

-David says he doesn't have much to say other than it was a decent read (That's his version of a compliments)

•Twilight

-All of them agree that it's laughably horrendous

-Almost immediately at the same time they say “This is the skin of a killer Bella”

-This leads to banshee like laughter

David speaks up immediately

-”Why do you humans want us to sparkle so bad?”

-”I personally hate the idea of being a walking disco ball, but to each their own.”

-Marko chimes in quickly

-”Would you like it if we sparkled?” He asked while leans on you affectionately

-Marko thinks the only reason to read it is to have a nice laugh

-”Why did Edward have such a violent reaction of Bella standing by a fan? That makes no sense…like I have mates and I enjoy the smell of you guys but…I'm not nearly clawing off my face at your smell”

-”Yeah yeah, I get he's trying not to overreact but running out of class to get away is crazy.”

-Paul even adds that even thought it's very dumb even he can appreciate the message it's trying to said.

-”something something, coming over adversary, something something, love wins, something something..”

-”Also that Jacob imprinting on Bella's infant daughter is super fucking creepy.”

-when you asked Dwayne about his feels he scoffed and said It's insulting at best and borderline sexual harassment at worst.

-He refused to go into depth

•You thank them for humoring you and they tell you that it's no problem

-David kisses the side of your head in an uncharacteristically soft way “We don't ever mind answering your vampire related question.” He tells you

-Marko turns to you “But seriously do you want us to sparkle?”

-”I think I have some roll on body glitter somewhere..” Paul says while getting up to look for it

Thanks for reading <3

#the lost boys x reader #david the lost boys #dwayne the lost boys #paul the lost boys #marko the lost boys #reader #the lost boys #vampire #fluff #books #lovers

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dduane · 1 year

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I have only finished writing the first draft of my first novel so I'm nowhere near considering the legal side of writing yet but I'm curious, so if you don't mind me asking I got two questions:

1) Do laws forbidding writers from reading fanfic of their work go over to other mediums, like visual novels for example? Or let's say I wrote a script and was lucky enough to get it produced as an animated short, would these laws still pertain to it? Or do stories outside the written medium have a completely different set of laws pertaining to them?

2) If an author writes a standalone and reads fanfic of said standalone, then goes on to write a series completely separate from their previous work with a different world and cast can the fanfic author still sue if they detect similarities? Even if their fanfic is attached to a completely different story?

Sorry if these questions are weird and rambly, it's 1 AM over here.

Let me clarify this. These aren't laws that I've been following: they're self-designed rules, based on the current legal realities obtaining in the markets where my IP is known and on offer.

Re 1): Written or not written—drawn, sung, or performed as interpretive dance for all I care—work created with consent in one's own universe must have come about with underlying binding written agreements in place. Without such agreements existing, viewing work in any format that's based in one's own universe will inevitably expose one legally. If I write a graphic novel and people write fanfic based on it, I will not read their fanfic because it could expose me legally to claims that further work done in my IP was based on their fic. Ditto if I write a script and it gets produced, and people see it and write fanfic about it, I won't read that fanfic either. The medium doesn't matter.

Re 2): If I write what for the time being is a standalone novel and read fanfic based on it, and then write a completely different series per your description, can a fanfic author still sue me if they detect similarities? Even if their fanfic is attached to a completely different story?

Well, if they've got the money, and depending on where they're located (for national laws differ), sure they can. The suit may well be sourced in confusion, or malice, or both, but they can. And the suit may in due time be lost or thrown out of court for being frivolous, but no matter how the cards fall, it's going to wind up costing you, the writer, a fair bit of money to get shut of it. A year's worth of your earnings? Two years' worth? Five? And what will be left of your career at that point?

The whole situation is better avoided by not reading any fanfic based on your work. In any format. Any time, any place. Period.

What's workable, and legal, and safe, is the following approach to derivative works from the IP owner's point of view.

Let's say that (for example) a producer or playwright approaches me and wants to adapt So You Want To Be A Wizard as a stage play. If that happens I have them get in touch with my agent, my agent proposes a license fee for allowing them to do this, and draws up a contract with that person essentially stating that they have my permission to adapt my book. Once that contract's in force (meaning it's been signed and money's changed hands), it's perfectly safe for me to look at those people's material written in my universe, because we're both bound by a concrete agreement on how the creative process will go forward and how the results will be used.

Or alternately: Let's say that some writers I know think it would be fun to write Young Wizards stories, and when I hear about this, I say "Okay, let's do a YW anthology." And I talk it over with my agent and then we call in a crowd of writers whose talents I trust and whom I think would be interested in taking part. Those interested all sign contracts with me that say they've got my permission to create those works using my IP / in my universe, and to get paid for them. My side of those contracts stipulates (as seems fair) that, if they invent something particularly cool while working in my universe, I retain the right to use and expand on that concept or language at a later date if I like. (If they have a problem with that, that's their call: they don't have to sign the contract or be in the anthology.) And I can obviously now read all this work and have it, legally speaking, be perfectly safe for me.

But let's try looking at the situation from a different direction. I open my ask box one morning and find that someone's stuffed the idea for a Young Wizards short story into it, also saying, "And I'd like to publish this as fanfic, if it's okay with you." Without an agreement in place, without my permission, this person has forced me to look at material which potentially infringes my copyright. But that doesn't matter in terms of my immediate legal options, because fanfic is also conditionally protected by copyright. (This is a complex situation, but this article deals with some of it, and links to more discussion.)

My first urge is to simply delete the thing and pretend I never saw it. But unfortunately Tumblr's records of my web accesses will now contain proof that someone logging into my account, from my computer (or iPad, or phone...) has opened and viewed that ask. Should I ever wind up in court with this person, their lawyers will have demanded that data from Tumblr and will use it to prove that I had access to their client's idea.

So now—assuming they've actually gone ahead and done this writing and publishing—I have to get hold of my lawyer and have them contact Tumblr and get that person's identity and contact info from them, so that they can be sent a cease-and-desist letter. I hate having to do this, but evidence that you have not been defending your copyright can be used against you.

Now let me be blunt. Like most writers, I'm not wealthy. And the simple business described in the paragraph above could cost me a month's income or more in billings from the lawyer. What am I supposed to eat, next month, while I'm trying to write? ...It's a good thing I like ramen.

...Though if I was wealthy, things could get much worse.

Let's say that in an access of utter pre-caffeine idiocy, and a weary desire to be nice to a clueless innocent, I just tell that person in the ask box, "Okay, fine, knock yourself out... just don't make money from it and don't do it where I'll see it." And they say "Of course, I'd never want to cause you trouble, your fiction has meant so much to me..." And then some kind of gloriously indescribable series of events occurs that somehow or other raises the Young Wizards series' profile way higher than it is at the moment, and makes its originator even a little bit rich and famous.*

youtube

...And a year or two or five later, in these increasingly litigious times, that person from the ask box who was so nice and said they'd never want to cause me trouble... suddenly starts having second thoughts. ...After all, I've got all this money now, and without their contribution, maybe it would never have happened, right? Don't they have a right to some of that? It's only fair!

You can just hear the thought processes, because we've seen this play out elsewhere before now. "Come on, she'll never miss it. She's probably got a castle in Ireland with solid gold toilets by now. She's got a TV series in the works, and when that comes out she'll have lots more money. She'll never miss a few thousand [ / few tens of thousands / few hundred thousand...] out of that!" And shortly they're on the phone to some lawyers, and the tabloids, and Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, with claims that the Young Wizards series in the works is based on their idea. In fact, they can prove I not only read it, I gave them permission to write in my universe!

...And suddenly Hulu/HBO/RandoStartupStreamingNetwork has stopped taking my agent's calls.

(sigh) So, as I said above: just don't read fanfic based in your own universe, mmkay? You'll thank me later.

*Without the universe's originator then suffering some kind of toxic ethical shift after the fact. (shrug) Stranger things have happened.

#fanfic #profic #and their intersection

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copperbadge · 8 months

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Royals/Ramblers is DONE. I split the difference and made two epilogues from the five, and one of them just looks like it's part of another chapter. I am devious in my ways.

I'm letting it marinate for the rest of the day; I'll give it a quick pass tomorrow, then let go of it for a few days so when I come back I'll be ready for slightly deeper editing. Aiming to post it perhaps October or November, we'll see how life goes.

It meant I could finalize a lot of dates in the timeline that I've been building. I've had to shift some things around, so now the trick is to figure out timing for the stories now in the pipeline, based on my notes. There's ten, more or less, and whether I end up writing them all is dubious; it reminds me of plotting out Laocoon's Children, an extremely ambitious task, but unlike Laocoon's Children, I control the canon and I don't have to deal with anyone's stupidity but my own. And I'm really only focused on five of the ten right now. Which, given I wrote four of these books in fifteen months, plus three books' worth (Royals/Ramblers) for a total of "seven" books in less than two years....I guess we'll find out. Might take a break at some point to write something more literary, that's up to the ADHD I think.

Anyway, it's not necessarily the order in which I'd like to write the stories, but I've been holding off on some of these for a year already, they'll keep. I think the slate coming up is:

2023 Autumn - The Football Novel, which is already 2/3 written; it will run through spring 2024.

2024 Spring - The Chicken Salad Wars, Simon's novel, pushed out from this year to next; it has to end in August, because of Plot.

2024 Autumn - The Roman Ruin story, aka Classics Nerds In Love; this has to come relatively soon because it's prior to Jerry finalizing the dissolution of his estate. There's no set ending for this one, but it will likely need to cover at least until late spring 2025.

2025 Spring - The Let's Legalize Psychedelic Davzda story. Not ideal to push this one so far, but it's possible when I get there I could swap it with the Roman Ruin story, though that could make certain plotlines awkward.

2025 Summer - Ofelia's story, which culminates in Galian elections in early fall.

Fortunately most of them should be less work and words than Royals/Ramblers, which is a bit of a sweeping familial epic. Those five are all more-or-less unrelated to the royals directly.

The rest of them are either barely conceptions or can be set at any time (like the Quaker Whaler novel that happens in the past anyway). Which is kind of nice; I now have both a specific agenda for the immediate future and resources that I can build out once I get closer to the end of that agenda.

Phew. What a ride, and I'm still in the middle of it.

(I'd post a bit of story from Royals/Ramblers but for the last 4-5 chapters it's all spoilery.)

#shivadhverse

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starful02 · 3 months

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Life is wild sometimes. I made a small decision almost a year ago, based on a recommendation of one of the most positive individuals to ever grace my life so far, and I firmly believe that it has changed the course of my life. The decision was to sign up for a class about fantasy writing and publishing that my university was offering, which is the exact genre I so desperately want to have a career in (I want to be a writer you see). That fall I took the 8 week class and it happened to be taught by none other than the absolutely wonderful, utterly amazing fantasy author Alex Rowland (aka @ariaste). If you asked myself or any of my peers, we will happily tell you that this class was one of the comfiest, kindest, most encouraging academic experiences we have ever had and that it has changed our lives. Anyone who has taken at least one creative writing class in their life will tell you of the horrors that ruthlessly plague them and all sorts of traumatic incidents endured. This class was a soothing balm to a disheartened soul with trampled ambitions. You might be wondering where I'm going with this? Well, when you take a class with an author, they tend to gush rather happily about their work. It did not take long for me to know in my heart of hearts that I NEEDED to get my hands on Alex's latest book, A Taste of Gold and Iron (aka ATOGAI). And when I finally got the perfect chance to read it a little over a month ago, when I tell you, it was chapter five when I became undeniably aware that this book had snatched my heart and I would gladly let it have it for the rest of my life. If I hadn't already bought all of Alex's books on a strong hunch that I would absolutely, completely and utterly fall in love with ATOGAI, I would have definitely right after I finished that chapter. This is inarguably one of the best books I have ever read, checking all my boxes (including ones I didn't even know I had). I don't think it's possible to praise it enough because it deserves it all. The wait I endured before I could read it was so worth it and I will be forever grateful for the sheer chance that it and it's author entered into my life. It shattered my high expectations and I will never be the same and couldn't be happier about it. Now, I still have to read the other books that Alex has written (and I will savor them like a piece of the finest of desserts and I haven't the slightest doubt, despite that I tend to be more on the quiet side, I will be absolutely mouthing off about them to anyone who will listen), but I want to specifically highlight their upcoming book, Running Close to the Wind (aka RCW). Because I was in their class and a part of their Discord, I have been treated to several chapters of the book and I can very firmly tell you that you need this in your life. It's terribly funny, utterly vibrant, very queer, full of gremlin chaos and pirate shenanigans, all good and wonderful things, right? I knew I needed it in my life half way through Alex reading chapter two to us. It comes out in June of this year and I so highly recommend you give it a look see. You can read an excerpt in the link below!

And if you too decide that you need this book in your life, go preorder it and then come join a Discord full of awesome queer pocket people that are also terribly excited for this book to be in our hands! I will also be posting fanart of ATOGAI and RCW if you also want to keep an eye on this little habitat of mine. :) Either way, best wishes and happy reading!

#a taste of gold and iron #running close to the wind #chantiverse #alexandra rowland #queer pirates #queer novel #queer author #fantasy #queer fantasy #blorbo #sorry I'm thinking about them again #morons with sauce #book #upcoming book #ATOGAI #RCW #gold and iron #tadek and the princess

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crimeronan · 26 days

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i've gained quite a few followers seemingly out of nowhere & there's a small handful of people climbing up the rb chain to directly reblog my addition to that post about magical exhaustion/illness from a few days ago, which is how i learned that that addition now has several thousand (??) rbs. VERY cool given that i desperately desperately Desperately want more stories about magic as chronic illness. also if you're here from that and are curious about my original work, i'm pleased to inform you i have a quartet of desperately ill OCs from a novel i have not managed to finish in five years, and i love talking about them as though i actually have written the novel. it's a really good book you'd all love it if you read it. definitely worth 5 stars on goodreads and a bunch of edgy web weaving poetry edits. ask me about the blorbos from my brain....

#going to sleep now but. you can also glean info in their individual tags #which i will add now for convenience #devin #sol #nova #ruby #original fiction #autoimmune tag #now snzzz. glad u like my horror concepting bullshit.

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yellowocaballero · 1 year

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Styles of Storytelling Structure

OK love of God I'm so embarrassed that every post I make gets insane long. I tried to match this explanation up with the previous ask but it got so long, so this elaboration gets its own post. For reference, these tags are referencing this post. Read that one first if you want.

I hope I can find a way to explain this succinctly and non-judgmentally. I do mean it extremely nonjudgmentally. I write both kinds and they both have their own merits.

For me, there's two kinds of fanfic writing. I call 'em Fic Style and Novel Style. This isn't about tropes or content, but about how the author composes the story.

Novel style is the 'traditional' way of writing a story. It has a three act structure, rising action/climax/falling action, tight pacing, every scene does five plot/character/theme related things. It reads like a published short story or a book.

Fic style is often reliant on the source material to make complete sense, and its plot or characterization is usually scaffolded onto the main material. For many of these stories you use the pre-existing canon structure. The story isn't as structured or tightly written, scenes are more likely to be there for vibes, and there tends to be more worldbuilding and a slower pace in general. It's worth noting that fic style can often really resemble soap opera, comic books, long-running manga, Dr Who, etc. Anything serialized, meant to continue on for a long time with no definite end point.

(If you're a frequent flier, to give you some idea: New Wave and Good Luck Jake were novel style, Hope Etc and Listen 2 Ur Heart were fic style. Twilight on Owl Creek Bridge was novel/short story style, reel to reel was fic style.)

Neither is better or worse than the other. They can be both equally enjoyable. One of my favorite fics is 'a simple thing' by iridan and it's fic style. Case fics are more likely to be novel style [I suck at case fics]. Shortly, fic style is easier to write, more likely to be enjoyable, and harder to make very good. Novel style is really hard to write. Super hard.

This is because novel-style writing just requires more skills. You need to lock down story structure, plotting, tension, connecting physical/emotional/plot/theme, pairing story beats with character beats, and dealing with a lot of different plot threads at once. I think of it as braiding, kind of: weaving three character arcs, a plot arc, growth of character relationships, and development of the themes and messaging. A scene should ideally do all of these things at once. Everything needs to be perfectly matched together so it all moves as one. The longer the story is, the more content of all of this you have to deal with, and the more difficult it is to do well. You're just juggling more balls. I had to write one bad 100k story and another mediocre 100k story before I got to a kinda-good 100k story. Forget about how long it took me to get to a decent freaking 60k story. I wrote really enjoyable 60k fic style stories before an actually good 60k novel style story.

This is why skills have to scaffold. I think a lot of beginner writers are constantly trying to fight those level 60 boss fights at level 20 and they get frustrated when they lose. You have to figure out how to write decent dialogue and decent prose before putting together a good scene. Then you have to figure out how to string a series of scenes together in a way that makes sense. Then you have to figure out how to put those scenes in the right order to make some kind of coherent and interesting story with conflict and character arcs. Then you start tossing one ball in the air and figure out how to write those 20k short stories. Then you add more and more balls as your stories get longer and more complex. You have to develop a lot of different skills individually to put together a well-structured final product that's fun to read.

Stop getting so frustrated when you can't beat out a 60k story that's Barnes & Nobles worthy when you're a beginning writer! Stop dreaming big! I know how frustrating it is not being able to put what's in your head down on paper. It's not going to be perfect. Of course you're having issues writing longer things, you're still figuring out how to put longer things together.

Pick something to work on. Figure out what skills you still need to develop. Figure out how stories work and what makes a good story, and then try and build it yourself. You do not need to write a traditional novel style story to develop your skills in dialogue, prose, characterization, tone, tension, POV, etc. You can get that stuff down first. If you're interested in working on story structure and pacing you'll have to practice doing things traditionally. No, you're not going to be happy with it. Be proud of yourself that you improved and developed a skill. Be proud of yourself that you're writing. Writing is hard. It's fun, but hard. If you aren't having fun then you're just left with the hard.

Writing isn't about the finished product. It's not about if you wrote something that people enjoyed or said was good. It's about enjoying writing. Everything else happens naturally from there.

#i am kind of speaking assuming that you're really invested in skill development and not just vibing and fucking around #the ppl fucking around are more valid than i am tbh #they're the geniuses here.#writing #writing advice #I guess.#i think it's hard to understand that skills need to scaffold if you haven't sat down and parsed out how stories work #so maybe that's step 0?

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electronickingdomfox · 5 months

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"Vulcan!" review

A novel by Kathleen Sky, from 1978. This one was bad, bad, BAD. I'd say it's the worst I've read so far, and I really hope it doesn't get any worse than this. The characters, in particular Spock and McCoy, are sometimes unrecognizable, the barebones plot barely makes any sense, and the (self-insert?) character is really unlikable. At least it's short, so through sheer masochism willpower, I got to read it in record time, to forget it as soon as possible.

Spoilers under the cut:

The Romulan border is shifting, since the magnetic fields that determine the Neutral Zone are being affected by ion storms. Soon, the system of the planet Arachnae will fall under Romulan territory. I mean, it will be rightfully Romulan, simply because of the shifting nature of borders as they're defined. Is Starfleet going to accept this, just as the Romulans would have to accept a natural expansion of the Federation, if it came to happen? Nah! Prime Directive be damned! They send the Enterprise to investigate if there's intelligent life in Arachnae that may be worth to keep in the Federation. (And if there is, then what? Do they start a war? On what basis? Whatever.)

In order to determine if the Arachnae inhabitants (some sort of giant ants) are intelligent or not, they need the help of Dr. Mary Sue Katalya Tremain. A biologist who is so, so brilliant, that Starfleet invented new medals just for her, and whose intelligence surpasses even Spock's. As soon as they learn she's coming aboard, Spock and McCoy start competing for her affection (yes, Spock too) by filling her cabin with gifts and flowers and whatnot. But when she beams aboard, it turns out that Dr. Tremain is actually an insufferable bigot who hates Vulcans, and can't even work with them. She's also a major crybaby that resorts to faking hysteria whenever she can't get her way. One has to wonder why Starfleet even allows such a person to be part of its ranks (well, maybe the fact that she's sleeping with a Commodore explains why). We don't see much of her legendary brilliance either, but we learn that she has big boobs. And yes, this book was written by a woman. Obnoxious as she is, she's still a Mary Sue. So everyone has to turn a blind eye to behaviors that would be otherwise unacceptable, and make sure the little princess is comfortable. After all, there must be some good reason for this woman's bigotry (there isn't, but whatever), since she's too wonderful to simply being an asshole. McCoy gets into full "I'm a lover, not a doctor" mode right after seeing her. And five minutes later, he's hitting hard on her, though he seems more of a lecherous creep, rather than a charming, southern gentleman. Ah, yes, he helps her unpack her things, which gives him a chance to paw the sexy lingerie inside the luggage (didn't you know? sexy lingerie is fundamental when going to explore a giant ant planet).

The first half of the book is just a really boring Freudian psychoanalysis of Tremain, only to determine again that, yes, she hates Vulcans, for some undisclosed reason. Meanwhile, McCoy can't decide whether he wants to be professional or horny. He switches back and forth more times than I cared to count. Two days later, he's fallen completely in love with this horrible person who mistreats one of his best friends. Anyway, Tremain friend-zones him soon, so he gets nothing but a little kiss on the forehead. Not that I felt bad about him; McCoy is an asshole in this book.

The second half of the novel gets a bit better, as Spock and Tremain beam down to the planet to meet the Arachneans. McCoy misses the beam down because he was busy chasing after some alien cat in the veterinary section. Yes, the horniness made him stupid or something. So when the giant ants attack the landing party, a lot of people die, and they don't even have a doctor. Kirk can't beam them up because Romulans have appeared to claim the planet, and he can't lower the shields. And that's what Kirk does for the rest of the novel: absolutely nothing. Meanwhile, Tremain and Spock have to work together in order to survive, so she's marginally more professional now. It's Spock's turn to be stupid, though, as he starts to make lewd comments about her, and spying her while she undresses. The reason being!? I don't know, something about proving she hates Vulcans (yeah, I knew that already).

In the end, Spock is attacked by the poisonous ants. And he mind-melds with one, to discover they're not, in fact, intelligent, so it's okay to leave the planet to the Romulans. The mind-meld, however, leaves him insane, and believing he's one of the ants. To restore his sanity, Tremain has to mind-meld with Spock, which is probably the best scene in the book. Then, while exploring her subconscious, it's finally revealed why she hates Vulcans so much. The reason is... she felt an unrequited love for her former Vulcan captain (gasp! I wasn't expecting something like that, no, not at all). Kirk finally decides to do something, and lowers the shields to beam them up, before Spock dies of poisoning, Romulans or not withstanding. He could have done so hours ago, though, before so many people died. Sigh...

Spirk Meter: 2/10*. Kirk stands firmly on Spock's side against Tremain's bigotry, and he's the only one who doesn't tolerate any of her bullshit, just like Chapel (you know, the two persons who love Spock the most). There's also a line about McCoy liking Spock, but not in the same way that Kirk likes him. Though, on the other hand, Kirk's very stubborn about following Starfleet's orders, even if it costs Spock his life, so I don't know... Characterization is hardly coherent.

There may be some Spones too. Tremain says that she can't really love McCoy, because she doesn't feel for him all the things that McCoy feels for Spock, which in her opinion, is love (she's quick to clarify it's not the same kind of love, but still...). McCoy also becomes quite hysterical when Spock's dying on the planet, while Kirk keeps calm. Apart from this, Tremain (who hates Vulcans because of an unrequited crush on one) functions as some sort of placeholder for McCoy himself. It's insisted upon how alike they are, and how they share the same hobbies. Spock calls her "Doctor" all the time, and his banter with her reminds a lot to that with McCoy. In fact, when Spock is being a perv towards Tremain to anger her, he compares his enjoyment of it to the one he gets from riling McCoy. It's rather telling how the author is taking everything from Spock and McCoy's dynamic, while using a woman substitute as a no-homo screen.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

#star trek tos #star trek novels #novel review #k/s #spirk #spones

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peachdues · 3 months

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Okay!!

So, I've heard REALLY good thing about The Haunting of Adeline and the sequel The Hunting of Adeline. I haven't read it, but its supposed to be good. Lots of TWs though.

I read The Never King series, and it was bad, but in a fun way. Peter Pan retelling, and while the MC was WAY too horny, and I wish there was more plot, a few of the characters were completely *chefs kiss*. Again, I'll preface that I like the idea of this series more than what was actually written, but I thought the characters were fun and unique, but I wanted more more character interactions as opposed to overly horny MC. But, the author is making a spin off book with another fun character who I'm VERY curious about so it should be fun. It's also a Reverse Harem series. Again, I'll say it again, this series has a fun concept, but not executed the best.

So far I'm REALLY enjoying The Bonds that Tie, series. It's a complete 6 book series, that's a Reverse Harem and it's fun. Some of it is a bit cheesy, but that's kind of expected with most romance novels. Basically some of the population has super powers, called gifts. And in the "gifted community" people with have Bonds (basically fated mates). There's a central bond and they'll have multiple people bonded to them. And the MC has five Bonds, and omg. All of them have great distinct personalities, and it's a bit of a slow burn, I don't think any sexy times happen until the second book, but the spice is TOP TIER and it's a really fun universe. I'm kind of addicted to this one, tbh, and the idea is fun enough that writing fanfiction in this world could be really cool.

All of these books are free on kindle unlimited, so it's worth checking out.

okay I’ve heard so many things about haunting Adeline — is it a modern setting or fantasy?? I’ve been more on a fantasy kick lately but I’m open to modern settings!

Peter Pan is quite literally one of my favorite childhood tales and it’s something I’ve considered pursuing as a fic retelling — so I know you said it’s laughably bad but now I’m curious 👀👀

OKAY THE BONDS THAT TIE IS ON MY TBR!! I LOVE reverse harems, so thank you, lovely!

#going to my Amazon cart rn

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sharpestasp · 3 months

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Black Fire, a Star Trek Novel

1. I am certain I read this before as a kid. 2. It was a minimum of 35 years ago, maybe more. 3. I remember NOTHING.

So I am counting it as a new book.

Okay, the foreword, by none other than Theodore Sturgeon, about the author? Moved me to tears. I loved that man.

Opening with Scotty and a full on horror in progress is a bold move, Ms. Cooper. Putting so many senior officers in peril, and injuring our beloved Enterprise all in the first pages? WOW.

And Spock is SO Spock. Also, the need for blood donors? The crew having to share quarters? Knowing it was an act of sabotage? This book is very much off with a bang!

Literally.

We have a conspiracy, we have a court martial, we have PIRATES!, we have Spock with an ear ring, we have Spock among Romulans...

The pacing of this one is fast. As in the denouement is all in like the last five pages. Every chapter, every section in each chapter FLIES. The voices are impeccable. Well, I have issue with Scott's accent being written out, but that's a frequent complaint.

Well worth reading, very Star Trek Original Flavor shenanigans and adventures.

#star trek #st: tos #spock #pirates #sonni cooper #black fire #pocket books

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ijustreadthisbook · 9 months

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Top Five Books I've Read (so far) In 2023:

5. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (Audiobook): One of the more unique novels I've read in a while, this book bounces around in time and place slowly weaving each dispirate story together around the fictitious ancient greek story of Cloud Cuckoo Land. Each character is so well created, and the slow thrill of putting the pieces together was so satisfying. The ending made me stare at the wall for a few moments before I could come back to earth.

Read if you like: Ted Chiang short stories, The Birds by Aristophanes, Margaret Atwood sci-fi

4. Truth of the Divine by Lindsay Ellis (Physical book): The sequel to her debut novel, Axiom's End, this book takes the monster fucking story to a whole new level exploring the concepts of attraction, loyalty, love, and humanity. The world building is incredible, the main character doesn't have that awful trait that a lot of sci-fi audience inserts have where they cannot possibly make logical connections and answer questions themselves. Cora is smart, and Ellis assumes you are smart too. Plus the recreation of 2007 era America is fucking perfect.

Read if you like: Early 2000's nostalgia, Jeff VanderMeer books, Axiom's End, 90s alien movies like Contact, Independence Day, Aliens

3. The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegmund-Broka (Physical book): I've read a bunch of romance this year, and this was one of my absolute favorites. Certainly not the spiciest I've read, but the interplay between the two points of view creates a romantic, sexual, and professional tension that is so palpable and delicious. I loved the meta narrative of two people writing a book together about two people writing a book together, and the exploration of what making art together means and the intimacy required to do it. It's a little predictable, but that's what you want from a romance novel. This was a fun book with just enough stakes and just enough stress to make the payoff so worth it.

Read if you like: Emily Henry books, movies like You've Got Mail, Something's Gotta Give, Always Be My Maybe

2. The It Girl by Ruth Ware (audiobook): I love Ruth ware. I love her. I have read everything she has written so far and will read anything she puts out. I selected this one for my list because I love the setting of a close knit school campus, a shining bright young woman with a dark secret, and the real time unravelling of a murder mystery through the eyes of someone on the ground. This book explores the idea of how little we can know about the people we are closest to, and how easy it is to blind ourselves to the truth because of what we want to be true. It's a captivating read, easily finished in a day or two.

Read if you like: One by One by Ruth Ware, Gossip Girl, Jennifer's Body

1. The Secret History by Donna Tart (physical book): I cannot believe how long it took me to read this book. It was one of those books that kept getting recommended to me, but I was worried it was over hyped and would be awful. I tried to read it about two years ago and couldn't even get through the first chapter. And yet, somehow, I picked this book up and did not put it down for a week and a half. It's incredible. An absolute masterclass on Dark Academia, tension building, atmospheric storytelling, all the things I love the most about literature with all the modern trappings of an aesthetic I have also come to love. Rich kids in a private school testing the boundaries of privilege through the POV of an outsider desperate to be accepted is one of my favorite tropes and this book is the definition of how to do it right. It's dark, its academic, it's murdery, it's the 90s, it's excellent. I'll be reading this one again.

Read if you like: A Separate Peace, Brideshead Revisited, Gentlemen and Players, The Talented Mr Ripley

#books and reading #my favorite books so far #the secret history #the it girl #truth of the divine #the roughest draft #cloud cuckoo land #anthony doerr #donna tart #lindsay ellis #ruth ware #emily wibberley #austin siegmund-broka #book recommendations #book review #book reviews #i just read this book

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yandere-collections · 1 year

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First Time Meeting Angela Scenario (Bookworm!Reader)

Man, this is such bullshit, Angela thought. She glanced around the library trying to figure out where she could even begin to look.

“I don’t even need this class, it’s just some stupid gen ed credit,” she muttered to herself. She glanced around to make sure no one “English Lit is such bullshit.”

She scowled down at her phone, trying her best to search the library’s online catalog for a suitable pair of books for her class project. Yep. It was only the first week of classes and already her professor assigned the entire class a semester long project worth over half her grade. You know, the kind of assignment almost everyone puts off doing until they have to make a mad scramble the week(end) before, or maybe even the night before for the true unlucky procrastinators. But Angela figured she would be responsible for the first week of classes when everything was easy and she would at least find the two books she could at least try to read.

What proved even more annoying was that she didn’t even get to choose her own genre. Instead, the professor had passed around a hat with scraps of paper in it that all had a different kind of book written on it. So too bad if you decided to skip the first day or join class later in the week. At least she got “dystopia”, something she at least sort of recognized (she had at least seen The Hunger Games movies). Some unlucky guy had gotten “western boddice rippers”. The assignment was to compare one classic (read: old) novel of the genre and one contemporary. She didn’t know why they couldn’t just pick their own genres so they could at least get books they actually wanted to read.

But then, the professor just had to throw another spanner in the works. Not only did they assign a project, it was a presentation. A group presentation. So she had to coordinate with the other students who also drew dystopia from the hat and then they would also have to compare your two books with their books. And yeah, if you think eight books is a lot to fit into a class presentation, you would be right. Each student would have to give a mini presentation halfway through the semester in a video submitted online about their two books to the professor and their group members.

She glared at the group chat her three classmates had made. One of them, Xavier, already claimed two books, both of which Angela didn’t recognize either of the titles or the authors. She sighed and glanced up at the entry way, contemplating whether or not she should just leave. She was only in the lobby anyhow, it’s not like very many people had seen her yet. The only other person in view was you, who had just entered. You stopped at the display in the middle of the room, browsing through the librarian’s choices of the week.

You ultimately left without taking one off the podium and walked over to the drop off bin. She noticed the large tote bag by your side with a rectangular imprint. You pull out a stack of books, depositing them one by one in the slot. She subtly counted five books and two dvds. Walking past her, you made brief eye contact, both of you scanning the other. Cute, was her first thought. Deep down she had always had a little bit of a thing for nerdy types.

You walked past and Angela had to catch her breath. 1, 2, 3,4, she counted just like when she did breathing exercises before a game. She waited a few more beats and then turned the corner to follow you. She crept through the stacks behind you, staying just out of your line of sight. You seemed to care more about the book instead of your surroundings. Your fingers stroked to book spines, causing Angela to shiver as she imagined her spine in their place. Sure, maybe not her proudest moment but she couldn’t help herself. Besides, the way you moved with such confidence was so enticing; you were clearly comfortable in this place, your domain. She wondered whether your demeanor would transfer over outside the library or if you needed someone (her) to take control.

But she was getting ahead of herself. First she needed to approach you, get you talking. She waited until you ended up at the back corner, unoccupied and dimly lit. She cleared her throat behind you, waiting for you to face her. You turned, taking a step back at her closeness your back hitting the shelf behind you and clutched your stack of books to your chest. She was quite a tall woman, over six feet at least (she’s 6’3”/190 cm).

“Can I… help you?”

Her smile remained frozen on her face, hiding the fact her heart was beating over time. What was she doing? Swallowing her nerves was tough but she needed help. And if she got said help from a cutie like you, all the better. Now all she needed was to be able to talk to you and not look like a complete idiot.

“I hope so. You read a lot, yeah?”

Your brow furrowed. “...Yes? I come here fairly regularly.”

“Good! Good. Well, I… don’t.” She cringed as you raised an eyebrow at her. “And I kind of need some help finding books for a class project.” She hoped she wasn’t imagining you looking more relaxed at that. Maybe she could make a connection with you over this.

“And you want me to help?”

Her eyes lit up. “Really? Hell yeah, let’s go!”

Your lips turned up at her enthusiasm, giving an awkward yet still genuine smile. You beckoned her to follow and lead her back into a private corner of the library. It contained a cozy little reading nook tucked away behind a wall out of sight from the other patrons. There were a few oversized leather chairs and couches, each with a side table with its own lamp and two large coffee tables. The best part was that it was entirely empty, giving you two complete privacy. You lead her to one of the couches

She made sure to sit next to you on the couch, close enough for you to smell her perfume. Slinging an arm across behind your shoulders, close enough that leaning back would cause you two to touch. You didn’t seem to notice, chatting about the books you recommended.

“Of course, if you’re looking for classic dystopia then I highly recommend 1984. It’s one of my favorites. The themes of conformity and surveillance which are later reinforced through the ending is heartbreaking after everything Winston goes through. But you could also read Brave New World. It has some similar themes like government control.”

She flashed a smile at you, glad to have an opening. “Oh yeah, someone in my group already said they were going to read that.”

“So you can’t choose that one then… And you said you’ve read Hunger Games? That’s a good choice.”

“Does watching the movie count?” she laughed.

You breathed out a chuckle, stopping her heart once again. “I mean, it’s basically the same story but I don’t know if your professor would let you get away with that.”

It took a second for her brain to restart. Never mind hookups, never mind dating, she was going to become your wife. So precious, she would do anything keep you by her side.

“So,” she said, slapping her knee and standing up. “1984 and Hunger Games. You wanna help a girl out?”

“Sure. They’re fairly common books so they should at least have a copy available. Otherwise, you can put them on hold or go somewhere else. Let’s go look them up on the catalog.”

You lead her to the pair of computers by the checkout desk. Angela trailed behind you, making sure to use that time to drink in your appearance, appreciative of the view. You leaned over, typing into the search bar. She left you too it and pulled out her phone, shooting a text off to her group members about her choices while you located the books for her. You seemed to understand what the numbers assigned to each went and walked off, not even checking to see if she was following. Within five minutes, she had both in hand and you showed her how to use her school ID to check them out, checking yours out at the same time.

She walked you to the entrance, blushing as she tried to steel herself once more for the question she had to ask you.

“Could I get your number? We could talk more about books if you wanted. I’ll probably need some help understanding them anyways.”

You tilted your head at her, eyes soft. “I think you’d be fine. But sure, why not?”

“Great! Let’s trade phones!”

You each put your number into the other’s phone. After, she watched you walk away, phone clutched to her chest as if the warmth from your fingers would transfer over from the device. First step completed. Now that she had your number she was on her way to making you fall in love. Next was to find a way to see you more often without relying on chance. She looked forward to the long night of stalking your socials ahead of her.

#yes i made you like 1984 because i think that book is a fuckin banger #also i wrote over 1500 words!!!!#proud of myself #may make list of spicy fantasies for angela later #i’ll also make a first meeting with sabine later on #yandere jock x reader #yandere jock #female yandere #my oc angela #yandere oc x reader #female jock #yandere scenario #gender neutral reader #yandere x reader #my writing

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chronicallydragons · 12 days

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Tag Game: OC interaction

I'm finally catching up on tag games! Thanks both @tildeathiwillwrite and @illarian-rambling for the tags! I'll do both here if that's okay!

Rules: Provide a short description of your oc, then using the description given by the person who tagged you, describe how you think the two of them would interact.

@tildeathiwillwrite's oc: Hector Epsilona is Caenum's resident Watcher (which is a detective/bodyguard/mercenary-type job). He knows the law (and its loopholes) very well, and uses both extensively, and enjoys a small amount of freedom to operate outside the law if he sees fit. He is extremely protective of and attached to those he cares about, especially his apprentice, Luc. He is generally polite, if a bit stern, and is always looking for a way to turn something into a lesson. I used the Wheel again (it's a brilliant idea!) and got Sophie from my MG werewolf WIP

My OC: Sophie Beatrice Larsen is a 12 years old and is a sixth grader at Forest Hills Elementary. She's 100% in her "weird 12 year old" phase and embracing and loving every second of that. She firmly believes mythological creatures are real and will go to the ends of the earth to prove they actually exist. She's delightfully weird, incredibly passionate, and super curious. She's naturally good at tracking and investigating and looking for clues and asking questions. She's also got a large amount of sass for such a tiny human and won't just standby in the face of injustice. How I think they'd interact: Sophie would probably idolize Hector, tbh. I mean, he's a detective??? She's absolutely taking notes and copying every single thing he does so she can be a better detective too. Whether or not Hector is chill about this, I have no clue XD ---

@illarian-rambling's oc: OC: Elsind is a 20 year old changeling whose true form looks like a mannequin wrapped in raw meat with five fins ringing its face, and who can transition between a solid and liquid state. They change their disguise frequently (they can only do people, not animals) and use the pronouns of whatever face they’re wearing. As a person, Elsind is anxious, easily flustered, cries a lot, and is overall very kind-hearted, despite working as an assassin for a rebel cell. She ended up in that line of work because she wants revenge for what the nobility of her home put her through - kidnapping her at thirteen to serve as a court freak. He thinks if he can assassinate his target, he can earn his courage back and be more than another discarded toy of the ruling class, even if the idea of killing someone makes him sick. Indeed, classism is where Elsind gets very passionate, as well as talking about romance novels. They long for love, even if they think no one would accept a changeling without a disguise. I would also say she’s chronically unlucky. If anyone is going to slip in the mud in his nice new dress, it’s Elsind. All I have written down on their character notes is “eager to please, easily overwhelmed, great combo of traits,” which is pretty much Elsind’s deal. The Wheel has chosen Lizzie--also from my MG werewolf WIP. I suppose it's appropriate that the best friends get chosen together (though for what it's worth, Sophie would be FASCINATED by Elsind and would beg for them to change their face and show her what his true form is and would 100% love her true form) My OC: Elizabeth Page (Lizzie) is also a 12 year old 6th grader at Forest Hills Elementary. She has pretty debilitating POTS symptoms and is often dizzy, fatigued, and in pain. She's incredibly loyal, loving, and kind. She really sees the best in people. She's also a werewolf. Because werewolves are so often depicted as monsters and were nearly hunted to extinction in the 1500s, it's against werewolf law to let nonwerewolves know to keep them safe. Lizzie adores Sophie and wants to help with the investigations but she's not allowed to tell and she spends the first chunk of the book terrified that Sophie won't accept her if she finds out the truth. How I think they'd interact: Listen. A huge proportion of my characters are shapeshifters in someway, so it's no surprise I got a shapeshifter when I pulled a character at random. But I think the fact the wheel pulled Lizzie to meet Elsind is a really good match. Lizzie's also incredibly anxious, kindhearted, and ALSO ready to seek revenge. A big plot point is that Sophie and Lizzie find a new kid who was just recently turned into a werewolf (Lizzie was born into a werewolf family), and Lizzie's ready to square up with whoever it was that attacked a 12 year old boy. So I think Lizzie and Elsind would probably definitely get along.

I'm nervous to tag people because I'm going to try to get through the rest of the tag games and I only have like 3 or 4 people I know are okay with tags and I don't really want to spam tag anyone, so... open tag?? (if you want to be tagged, please let me know!)

#tag game #writing tag game #writblr #OC interactions #other people's OCs #my OCs #disability rep #MG Werewolf WIP

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thatonebirdwrites · 15 days

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6 & 15 :)

6. Show us a bit of a WIP! The Rojarias fic:

“What do you read?” Sam pulled up the LIDAR program and keyed a command to send to the drone. She needed a few test runs before she plugged in trajectories for the drones to focus upon. Lena had drilled that into her. Best to find mechanical issues before the arduous mapping project started. A fault like that could ruin a scan easily.

Andrea shrugged with one shoulder and settled in the dirt next to Sam's makeshift desk. A waft of her fruity perfume drifted between them.

“Likely far beyond your reading level.” When Sam shot her a glare, Andrea smirked. “Archeology and biographies. What did you think I read?”

“I don’t know, historical romance?” Sam said, her nose wrinkled in irrritation. “Or the Great Gasby or something.”

“Boring.” Andrea flicked her fingers. “Prefer a good shooter to that.”

“What do you have against romance?” Sam didn’t mind reading it. If she was honest, she was a bit of a romantic herself. Dreaming of meeting her soulmate, where they’d live happily ever after. She'd written many a poem about it, ones that will never see the light of day.

“Fools fall in love,” Andrea said with a disdainful sniff. “And the pointless tropes. A dog could write better fiction.”

Sam turned back to her drone and keyed in another command. It flew higher and began to move along Sam’s ordered trajectories. How could someone dislike romance? Sam thought of Lena and how she fell in love with Kara. Lena definitely wasn't a fool, but it didn't seem worth contesting Andrea's wild claim.

“I happen to like all sorts of books,” Sam said as calmly as she could. “Even romance. Love, unlike most emotions, requires work to keep it alive and healthy. Sharing that tale? Dwelling in such vulnerability? That's gorgeous." Sam smiled as she thought of what it'd be like to have that bond with someone. "Everyone has a story, you know? And that’s beautiful in a way.”

Andrea stared at her for a long moment.

Sam kept her gaze on her laptop, though she did check her periphery when the seconds changed to minutes. Seemed her tactic was working. Killing her with kindness.

“What are we looking at?” she said finally, while gesturing to Sam’s work.

15. Have you noticed your style change over time?

I suppose it has after decades. When I wrote my first novels in high school, my prose was riddled with adverbs and far too much purple prose. I was pulling a Tolkien, but my descriptions didn't hold enough of the five senses.

I learned that trick when I was in college. It was the one good thing I got out of the creative writing course I took. Though I never continued in the writing program at my university because they had a vendetta against science fiction, and that was literally all I wrote (well, I did dabble in pure fantasy sometimes).

So then I found some writing communities online (one I remember fondly was LookingGlass, but after it died in 2009, I found Legendfire, and the admins/mods there became my chosen family. We still game together every Thursday). They taught me how to properly critique a work, but with kindness and encouragement while digging into the meat of it. This helped me better understand how to edit my own works. I suspect that also influenced my style.

So although I still write novels -- my Korrasami fanfiction is over a million words spread out over several "books" and my Supercorp fanfic is already past 200,000 words -- I have found a better way to immerse the reader. Engaging all the senses when appropriate, digging into specific POVs, being consistent on whose POVs I detail, and doing intense research became more my approach.

That's filtered into my style I think. I've had people say they are impressed with my immersion and world-building, which is a lovely compliment and makes me feel like I'm on the right track.

Perhaps someday my original fiction will be published, but until then, I'll keep experimenting and growing through the fanfiction I write.

Thanks for asking! :D

#ask game #my writing #rojarias #fazedlight

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theseventhoffrostfall · 7 months

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So I'm making my way through Through Struggle, The Stars slowly, because it's exceptionally dry so far. And you guys know me, half my all time favorite books are slow, boring weird sci-fi that consist of people walking around weird locations and sitting in rooms. The characters are all very grounded, which is good normally, but in this case they're so grounded they're like the sort of people that get three lines in another person's story, now recast as the main characters. They're like an entire military made of the impressions you get of people interviewing them for five minutes for the press.

The biggest conflict thus far (that the characters are involved in, humankind's first interstellar war is happening elsewhere and the protagonists are kinda watching at the fringes) is this guy getting caught in the tense interservice rivalry between the military and civilian intelligence service; and remember, the author was a reporter involved with reporting on the CIA at some point, so this is coming straight from the tap of gritty real life intrigue. Which, yeah, I 100% believe that in real life it mostly boils down to petty passive-aggressiveness and the greatest danger is that crossing that line carelessly can slightly hinder your career at some point.

I've become convinced that the book was written exclusively for the sort of people the author associates with, that being boring political legacy people who've never read a science fiction book in their lives and probably were adjacent to the military for most of their lives but never served. It would explain why it's quite near-future with shitty little starships and mentions of a blue-water naval war on earth, in a world where we have artificial wormholes and fusion drives but no fusion power; it was probably considered creativity past the point of bursting the audience's frontal lobes that a political (America has gone from sole superpower to third place) and military (starships and lasers) paradigm shift has occurred. It would also explain why concepts from panspermia and parallel evolution to deceleration burns and even faster-than-light travel and terraforming, basic concepts to anyone who's even brushed past a sci-fi novel in the library, are defined extensively and repetitively.

As a sidenote, the book's blurb proclaimed it to have "the most scientifically-realistic space combat ever put to page" or something to that effect. Now, I've never read Honor Harrington, because nothing I've ever read of David Weber's gives me any hope that it's worth even one novel of my time, let alone 576 or whatever, but that's a pretty influential series that features ships having some weird analogue to force fields and hyperspace drives and shit. It's also the only one that springs to mind that both features that and can reasonably be called military science fiction, and it's decades old. Maybe I look in the wrong places but every modern milsci series I know of is grounded in fusion torches and physical armor and waves of missiles, usually to the detriment of making the battle actually engaging. With most of the few examples of series featuring them at all being on average military-adjacent, I actually can't think of a modern milsci series with space naval combat as a focus where the captain ordered the crew to power up the shields and fire full ahead on the reactionless drive. I'm not saying one's better than the other, it's just an odd boast to have about a book these days. They're only exceptionally "realistic" in that they're exceptionally shitty, and can manage like .03 G's of acceleration in a genre where 2 G's is a leisurely cruise for most ships in most settings.

I'm not dropping it just yet, because I've been doing that too much recently and I feel like I should reserve it for shit that's vile and intolerable instead of just kinda lame, but I'm losing hope it's gonna get much better

#books

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elamimax · 1 year

Text

Writeblr Introduction

Hey hi hello, I’m Ela, Ela Maxima or Ela Bambust (my real name isn’t a secret). I’m a refugee from twitter, though I was technically on twitter ten years ago. The passwords to those accounts have been lost, like tears in rain.

I’m a writer of queer and trans fiction, often with a very heavy emphasis on affirmation, leaving “queer suffering” narratives for others to tell. I’m here for the trans superheroes, the lesbian witches and nonbinary monsterfuckers. I try to keep the genres in which I write broad, because I like to pretend that it keeps me sharp or something, so I’ve written stuff from children’s picture books and YA novels to explicit erotica and hardcore body horror.

Other than that: I’m a European national, spent some time in the US, I use she/they if you know me and she/her if I don’t, I currently live with two clingy cats, my biggest literary influences are <modem dialup noise>* and I’m a sucker for Food, both in practice and in concept. Oh, and I’ve written 18 novels and novellas, which I’m all gradually getting published to amazon.

I’d like to try to get to know writing tumblr a bit, see what’s up, and then we can go from there!

Current WIPs

On Verdant Wings: Part two of the commissioned Verdant trilogy and sequel to Through Verdant Mirrors, Wings is the story of an orphaned “boy” become princess become queen. In the five years since she’s ascended the throne, Vera has become nigh obsessed with magic and the idea of finding others, those trapped in the wrong bodies, like her. The fact that there is a nymph living in her head who can do actual magic makes this a lot more manageable. But when she and her lovely husband Clarus go on a political visit to the neighbouring nation of Raasland, things start going spectacularly wrong. This one has a dragon in it.

Penumbra Redshift: Also a sequel (and also about someone with a creature in their head. It’s a running theme), Redshift is the sequel to Penumbra. In the first one, the Symbiote Penumbra (Penny to their friends) bonded with the incredibly depressed Maxine Powers, gradually teaching her that asking for help is allowed. It was an examination of depression and self-worth that just happened to star a transgender superhero. Redshift, then, is a spin-off featuring a new protagonist (Eric McCarthy) and a new Symbiote, Amaranth (Amy, of course). Together they will discover the meaning of antifascist action through the power of friendship and rioting.

Flipping Out: 6 kids all grow up together in Fuckoff Nowhere, Who Cares, all trapped in their own way. When one day they find a coin that lets them turn into anyone they can think of, the possibilities for hijinks and nonsense are endless. When fifteen years later they meet again at a swanky wedding, the six take a long hard look back at the road behind them, and the various adventures and betrayals that led them down that path.

Parasite: What if Penumbra (or Venom, if you like) was unrepentantly evil and cruel. An exploration of body horror and extreme discomfort. This one is not for publication nor is it really for a specific audience. This is the literary equivalent of picking at a mental scar and seeing what’s under there.

So yeah! Feel free to say hi, I’m basically always writing.

*I don’t cite my literary influences and heroes because people get extremely weird about those.

#writblr #writebrl #writeblr intro #writeblr introduction #wip intro #wip #my writing #writing #queer lit #trans literature

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