arcanumofthorns

[arcanumofthorns]

Michael Aristides

Art for Celtic fantasy series Arcanum of Thorns © S.K. Lumen

#blog #michael aristides #art #drawings

[arcanumofthorns]

Being a writer is like [blankly stares at laptop screen of manuscript for 30 min but is actually dreaming up next scenes] [creates playlist for specific scene] [watches movie/show and gets 2916382 ideas for plotline] [tries to write but too burnt out so ends up messing up next scene and then deleting it and questioning entire life choices] [starts writing midday and comes out of frenzy at 4 AM with another 2k words written but having forgotten how to human] [fingers ink-stained from brainstorming ideas for book] [gets 10 new book ideas and can’t decide which to focus on so ends up not writing either] [rereads draft and cracks up at own jokes] [rereads draft and yells at characters for being foolish] [rereads draft and cringes] [rereads draft and feels proud and accomplished] [wants to share writing with the whole world because it’s a piece of own soul] [mortified at sharing writing with the whole world because it’s a piece of own soul]

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #writer problems #relatable #writer's life #writer's block #writers on writing #blog #thoughts on writing #writer #writers of tumblr #writing #behind the scenes #lumen writing #writer humour

[arcanumofthorns]

“It was an eerie sensation. Her astral chord had just been severed and she was left floating in this suspended twilight, a world between worlds, where night was past and the sunrise an unreachable breath away. The heights mesmerized her into a bliss that only arcane knowledge could induce; but liberated as she was from strings, she was equally free to plunge into the vast depths before her.”

— © S.K. Lumen, “Arcanum of Thorns”

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[arcanumofthorns]

“The moment I stop running, it all rushes back.”

Photography and fragment from Celtic fantasy series Arcanum of Thorns © S.K. Lumen

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[arcanumofthorns]

They say the children of Danu, descendants of Source, had arrived to the Human World in a cloud of green mist. Over a thousand years later they returned to their homeland in the Otherworld, disheartened but not defeated, learning from their misplaced trust by locking themselves off from the foolish world of mortals.

From Celtic fantasy novel Arcanum of Thorns © S.K. Lumen

#blog

[arcanumofthorns]

why are cyberpunk tabletop things so obsessed with decency and personhood being tied to how many surgeries you haven’t had

#cyberpunk #discourse #externalpost #blog

[arcanumofthorns]

After so many years I feel like I've finally mastered my writer workflow, but if anyone so much as mentions a civilized sleeping schedule, buddy you're out of luck I can't help you.

Wake up at 5 AM routines for high productivity? Can't relate, I'm genetically engineered to write 2k words in two hours at 3 AM and then spend the following day in a daze only cured by multiple mugs of heavily steeped black tea.

The muse wants what she wants and her will must be upheld, I don't make the rules.

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #writer humour #relatable #writers of tumblr #writing community #amwriting #writing problems #writing memes #writer struggles #on writing #writer process #behind the scenes #lumen's diary #blog

[arcanumofthorns]

So my outlines are like 1000-2000 words with only a vague description of what’s happening and for some reason when I read my outlines it’s just like the story is at 3x speed and it’s so fast I can’t hear what they’re saying but I know the basic idea of what’s happening. And then I have to interpret this into a cohesive story.

#behind the scenes #from my writer sideblog #blog

[arcanumofthorns]

every writer: i love my characters so much, they're my babies & i would do anything for them, absolute sweethearts also every writer: that one dies, and that one goes through fire and brimstone, and that one gets abandoned and lives through his worst nightmares, and that one loses everything he's ever loved, and-

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #relatable #writerslife #writers on writing #blog #writing problems #writing memes #writer's community #writers of tumblr #writers #amwriting #(spoiler alert? maybe? 👀 who knows it's a mystery #)

[arcanumofthorns]

Kaodhan wrote this.

lookin for my twin flame. hmu if we’ve meet 1000s of years ago & have hung out every subsequent lifetime since. missing you

#reblog #kaodhan #blog #externalpost

[arcanumofthorns]

Reblog if you’d like to have 3 questions put in your inbox for one of your characters to answer!

To get back into writeblr, but also to meet new and old original characters alike, I have a long list of interview-style questions at the ready! They should be friendly for fantasy, science-fiction, or real(ish) world characters, so feel free to participate as long as you have original characters to be asked–writers and artists alike!

Answer as your character would: will they tell the truth? How much will they reveal? Will the question get them emotional, or will they refuse to answer at all?

(Be aware Tumblr only allows about 10 asks per hour sent from a single person, so please be patient! I’ll be doing this until the 12th or so~)

#chat #ohh this sounds like fun! #blog #externalpost

[arcanumofthorns]

“This was the land of mist and magic, the land of freedom. Here, anything was possible. All one had to do was believe they could do it, and the magic in their blood would ignite to weave dream into reality.”

Photography & fragment from Celtic fantasy novel Arcanum of Thorns © S.K. Lumen

#blog #fav #i love these photos and excerpt so much

[arcanumofthorns]

Currently working on Book 2 for Arcanum of Thorns, am only halfway through the manuscript and already have 100k words in,,,,

There's a 99.9% chance my future self tasked with editing the whole draft will have Regrets™️, but right now I have absolutely none. 😂

#writers on tumblr #writeblr #writer community #writer's life #relatable #writer problems #behind the scenes #blog #lumen writing #writing log #part II #original fiction #scifi #fantasy #celtic #mythology #celtic books #fantasy books #ulysses app #book 2

[arcanumofthorns]

What I do for AOT is establish the ending, and 2-3 main arcs in the story. From then on I just reverse-engineer the outline by having a clear chapter guide with keywords on each chapter to make sure I'm on track.

Beyond that, I also like to keep a folder of chats, lengthy scenes, and general snippets - so that every idea that pops up is jotted down in the moment and I don't forget about it. When it's time to use those snippets, I weave them into the storyline until all the strings are tightly woven in so to speak.

When there's too much planning and I feel constricted by them, I just brainstorm or challenge myself to try a different approach for the upcoming scenes. Tackle a fresh angle, use another theme, etc. Whatever keeps the creative juices flowing.

And when there's not enough planning, and inspiration and drive is there but I'm concerned about the direction (nothing worse than just writing in vain with no message or direction in mind = irrelevant progress), I sit down and figure out what I actually want for the story. In other words, it's a little balance of everything.

-Lumen

I’m looking for any advice on doing longer fics? I wanna look to doing more and do longer things but I have a lot of difficulty. Outlines aren’t really a thing that work a lot for me and I have this itch to do something longer and was wondering what other people did for longer fics and how they keep themselves motivated to keep it up. Any advice from anyone?

–

I can’t plan a fic to save my life, but I do enjoy writing multi-chaptered works. My longest is 75K, but they’re usually in the 20-40K range.

The way I do it is to think of a fairly simple plot (for example, Characters A and B are best friends. They’re in this situation. Events unfold to turn them into lovers.) and keep that throughline in mind. They’re friends and they’re going to end up in love. This is the setting.

The events that transpire to get them there might need some planning, but as long as I keep my end point in mind, the route that I take to get there can be anything at all.

I’m also really bad at taking notes about my fics, so the way I keep it all straight in my head is to just tell myself the story over and over again. I replay the story and the various scenes in my head, often deciding what happens next. Then, since I’ve thought about it so much, I can remember the details I need to reference in later chapters, and all of my daydreaming means that I have a solid idea of what that next scene is going to look like.

This method is almost certainly not for everyone, but it’s what works for me and my brain. Let’s see how other people go about it, shall we?

#comment #discourse #writing #blog #behind the scenes #externalpost

[arcanumofthorns]

“‘He would recognize her anywhere, even in Lilith’s underworld. He would recognize the bruising moons under her eyes when she did not dream, the feathery, ghost-like voice, and the words – always raw, always vulnerable to the bone. She had never feared imperfection.”

— © S.K. Lumen, Moonrose fantasy series

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[arcanumofthorns]

Aether & Earth (Astral Union) Char and Kaodhan. Oil and acrylics on canvas.

“We will meet in dreams, as we always have, and always will.”

From Celtic fantasy books Arcanum of Thorns © S.K. Lumen

#blog

[arcanumofthorns]

Dear new writers,

Before you continue your exciting journey as a writer, remember this: you are a creator, an artist. You are the sole and exclusive owner of the boundless fictional world of your own making. That is your ability, to weave worlds out of thin air, like magic. You may decide to follow a traditional publishing route, or you may choose indie publishing; but before and until you make that choice, you have all the rights to that world, to create, reuse, distribute and so on as you wish.

What I’m trying to say is this. You are the one in power here. You bring something new to the world, granted you make it with heart. Do your research, be smart and savvy, know what you want, and learn the best ways to get it.

Don’t be afraid to set solid boundaries for yourself, to set a value for your art and stand by it. It is your baby, your hard work of perhaps months, years, decades. Know your value as an artist and make decisions accordingly.

Remember, you’re in control… and you’ve got this.

#blog