clairelsonao3

[clairelsonao3]

@squarebracket-trickster :blushes furiously: You're too kind!!! 🥰

When I read a fanfic I like, the author becomes a mini celebrity to me. So when an author with a work I like kudos’ or comments on my own fanfic I just-

[clairelsonao3]

Fuck your word count!

༺𖤐๋࣭ ⭑🕸🦇🕸๋࣭ ⭑๋࣭ 𖤐༻

"Focus on your word count," "Write 2,500 words a day," "Real writers set monthly word goals."

SHUT UP! Your word count doesn't matter. You're just stressing yourself out.

It doesn't matter if you write one word today or 10,000! At least you wrote something! Focus on that.

Quality and sanity of quantity.

#i have never not once set a word count goal #ever #and my current wip is over 200k words so it seems to be working #writeblr #writing process

[clairelsonao3]

Blood Garnet - WIP Intro

it's a working title leave me alone

Aka: WIP Wednesday / Vaguely Summarized WIP / I'm Desperately Trying to Get This Dumb Story Out of My System

DISCLAIMER: this stupid story is a silly, self-indulgent mess that would require a lot of hard work to make it, um, fit for human consumption. It was my little brain break between finishing The Queen of Lies and restarting The Court of Rogues. It may not ever get finished. 🤷‍♀️ So, uh, you're forewarned. 😇

OPEN TAG for WIP Wednesday, Vaguely Summarized Plot, or both 😊- there's a lot of nonsense in here so I feel bad subjecting even more people to it 😂

Let's use this cheeky lil post for some recent WIP Wednesday tags: Thank you @kaylinalexanderbooks and @sleepywriter00 for the tags! Posts here and here (same post chain).

Rules: Pick a WIP. Post something about it. On a Wednesday. Or whenever! It can be literally anything! 😊 (It does NOT need to be extra as this😅.)

Mood Board

don't anyone say anything about how there isn't a single gemstone on this mood board

What's It About?

Take a drink every time you see an element Kate's used before in other stories. 😅

Evyn, a schoolteacher, impulsively embarks on a journey in an effort to escape the chokehold of her small village, overbearing uncle, and inevitable (and unwanted) fate as someone’s happy little wife. It’s risky, of course: wild animals roam the woods, and she still doesn’t know the source of the mysterious lights that gleam through the darkness at night. However, she gets more than she bargained for—the forest is not what it seems, nor are those mystical yellow lights.

The Fae, creatures of legend, are real.

And they’re coming for her.

Vaguely Summarized Plot

Also using up another tag here! Thank you @mysticstarlightduck for this one! Posts here and here. The tag is kind of perfect for this seeing as I don't know much of the plot myself, so I have no choice but to be vague. :)

Rules: Summarize your WIP in 15 2-5 word bullet points (as if you were trying to summarize it in 15 seconds). (I didn't stick to the limit at all.)

✨ “So the forest's been kind of glowing lately? And no one but me seems to have noticed? Ok. Coolcoolcool.”

✨ “Get married? Me? Never!” Evyn Edition: Simply Not Interested But I Must Be Lying Because All Women Want to Get Married, Amirite?

✨ “Get married? Me? Never!” Jonathan Edition: Very Not Straight But Try Telling That To My Religious Zealot of a Father

�� Jealous twin will NOT let his sister win control of their clan like she wins everything else, damn it (footnote 1)

✨ Emo loner who can’t go home (on pain of death) just wants these weird dreams about some random-ass human to please STOP (footnote 2)

✨ “I’m going to pursue independence! In another town! On a time crunch! By walking through the woods! At night! I’m a schoolteacher with no survival experience! This Is A Good Idea!”

✨ Grumpy grandma re: pesky human: What is her deal?

✨ “Hello yes hi I’m the emo loner. I’m unrealistically attractive. I saved you for reasons I won’t explain. But also I don’t talk to humans. Or Fae, really. Or. Like. Anyone. Not often anyway. What’s talking again?”

✨ “So, like, you're kind of hot … but you’re, uh, my enemy?? But I haven't figured that out yet?? And also, do we, like, have weird sexual tension, haha, or is it just me? Hahahaha! … But seriously, do we?”

✨ "Hey I know you have breathing issues or whatever, so you don’t like dusty or dirty or humid places, but … wanna take a shortcut through this super duper cool underground cave system?”

✨ “Haha, what? No?! There’s no reason I’m avoiding this area of the forest! Nope! No reason at all!”

✨ YOU get a betrayal! And YOU get a betrayal! And YOU get a—

✨ “Who is the monster and who is the man?” (footnote 3)

✨ This asylum makes the one in TQOL look like a vacation! (footnote 4)

✨ Sexy villainess gets to emotionally torture one MC and then physically torture another. AND psychologically torture them both! Hell, maybe she’ll even kill one of ’em too! Fun for the whole family!

Footnotes

(1) IT’S NOTHING LIKE ZUKO AND AZULA SHUT UP

(2) IT’S NOTHING LIKE RHYSAND AND FEYRE SHUT UP

(3) IT’S NOTHING LIKE QUASIMODO AND FROLLO SHUT—oh who am I kidding 🎶

(4) Technically the whole asylum thing happened in this story first, like, 2 or 3 years ago. That version just lives in a purple notebook that will never be seen by any eyes but mine. So, really, TQOL stole the asylum setting from BG, not the other way around.

Character Vibes

Evyn, human, orphaned as a child and raised by her aunt and uncle. Now a schoolteacher who sees yellow lights no one else can see.

“My heart cannot be captured. I intend to die an old maid, surrounded by papers and books. Good afternoon!”

Jonathan, human. Evyn's cousin, a clerk. Just truckin' on through a life he finds endlessly tedious and unsatisfying.

“Cecil’s a soggy piece of tree bark in a hat,” he said before he could stop himself.

Ah, Jonathan Garnet. A man who gained a single speck of favour with his impossible-to-please father…and promptly hurled it into the wind.

Dharan, Fae. Exiled from his clan years ago for murdering another Fae.

The Fae leapt up, standing straight and bending his knees as if to run—or perhaps pounce. One hand hovered over the stolen knife on his belt; the other, he extended to her.

He looked away from his foe to meet her gaze, uttering a single word:

“Run.”

Rennith, Fae. Heir to his clan but competing for the title against his twin sister.

He was a man, it seemed, but those eyes bespoke something much more ancient—of man, but not man himself. Silver hair, an impossible shade, framed a face sculpted into sharp angles, as cold and pale as if it were made of ice.

A Fae creature forged in primordial fire, carved from gold, silver, and mother-of-pearl.

For the Whump People Here:

Whumpy Things I've Managed to Squeeze into the First 13,000 words

Humiliation/embarrassment (minor)

Hyperventilation, dyspnea

Angst (minor)

Grabbed in the dark

Abducted

Restrained (but make it magic)

Magically forced to obey commands

Chin grab

Whumpy Things I've Got Planned But Haven't Written

Angst (major)

Stabbed

Various fight-related injuries I won't know till I write them

Betrayed by someone you trust

Drugged/knocked out

Humiliation/embarrassment (major)

Imprisoned

Taunted by the antagonist

More magic restraints (but turn it up to eleven)

Tortured (but make it magic)

Desperation, hitting rock bottom

A death fakeout or two or three

If you made it this far, you deserve a medal. 🥇

#yay for silly stories!!! #you've been alluding to this for a while and i was super curious about it #and now i'm overloaded with so much amazing info i can't parse it 🤣 #there's fae and teachers and magic and whumpy stuff??? #sounds good to me #lps blood garnet #your writing #writeblr

[clairelsonao3]

hello writeblr! I'm relatively new to the community (mainly lurking in the shadows but ready to contribute!). my name is Karina and I love writing YA romance, but I occasionally write a smutty scene, though they typically live in my notes app lol

here's some things about me:

- I've written many fanfics (most of which you can find on Wattpad under insane-but-ur-bby)

- my current WIP is Your Average Fangirl, an original story following an anxious fmc that goes on tour with her favorite music artist (coming soon to AO3)

- I enjoy binge watching shows like 9-1-1, not dead yet, MasterChef, and is it cake?

- my favorite season is autumn

- lately have been obsessed with acotar

- currently reading: throne of glass series

I'm excited to be a part of the community and to make more mutuals! feel free to tag me in any tag games and ask me anything :)

#welcome #always good to meet a fellow romance writer/fan -- smut or no smut lol #your WIP sounds cool and i'm glad to see you're posting it on Ao3 #your writing #writeblr intro

[clairelsonao3]

13. Have you ever felt insecure because you enjoy whump? How did you overcome that insecurity?

14. What are your least favorite whump tropes?

Thanks for the ask!

13. I used to when I was a kid! I felt really out of place amongst my peers because I liked darker topics. I tried to write a fucked up story from the POV of an obsessive serial killer when I was like 14 (very unhinged, I know). I scrapped it after a few entries because I was paranoid that someone would find it, read it, and then “have a word” with me. I totally forgot about that until this question came along, though lol.

I actually stopped writing altogether for over a decade because every time I sat down to write something, I would turn to heavy themes, and I carried a lot of shame around that.

But as an adult (and after finding the whump community), I’m pretty shameless about it because it’s simply just another form of entertainment to me (although it is my favorite). As simple as this is, separating my fictional preferences from what I don’t condone irl has probably single-handedly been the biggest lightbulb moment that allowed me to shake the guilt I once had. A big part of the allure for me is that it isn’t real.

14. This is a great question because I really had to think about it since I’m pretty open to just about anything!

However, I don’t care for completely helpless characters (especially Whumpees) to the point where they are full-on infantilized and don’t move on past that. I’m not talking about a low point, or moments of weakness, or something like PTSD scenarios where a character most definitely needs some help. I’m talking about straight-up no character growth—just a weird adult-baby for eternity. Furthermore, I’m not too fond of prolonged coddling and characters that enable adult-baby behavior.

#lol at “weird adult baby” #i feel exactly the same #the whump community is amazing for overcoming shame #💕 #asked and answered #ask game #your writing #whump #writeblr

[clairelsonao3]

i love when sibling characters are fucked up from the same event but in opposite ways

#writing thoughts #siblings #writing process #characters

[clairelsonao3]

u r disgusting kys

Thanks, anon! No idea what your exact problem is with me, but it's nice to know I've made an impact. 😳

#anon #anon hate #not writing #asked and answered

[clairelsonao3]

For a couple years now, I've had people asking me about how and where to post original fiction online, and I've ALWAYS told them to post on Ao3 and avoid Wattpad.

This usually confuses people, because Wattpad is technically geared toward original fiction and Ao3 is technically geared toward fanfic, but that's a smokescreen. The fact is that Ao3 is perfectly accepting of original fiction, it's nonprofit, it's uncensored, there's no algorithm, the search filters are amazing, and it's just a better site in virtually every aspect.

Most importantly, readers are 100 percent MORE likely to find your work on Ao3 than they are on Wattpad, which suppresses and/or censors everything even remotely interesting and makes good work impossible to find, even if you search for it.

Needless to say, I can't help but feel a bit smug right now. 😅 But seriously, forget about Wattpad and post your work on Ao3, particularly your original work, because the more good original work gets posted there, the more people will come there to look for it, and we'll all benefit! You won't regret it.

This is what happened when a fanfic site is profit driven. Wattpad sucks 😞

The email from Wattpad is so condescending imagine pressuring writers to update and work while they are doing it for free and fun. Also the discovery? Algorithm? Of Wattpad looks like a stressful popularity contest 😑

#ao3 #wattpad #writeblr #original fiction

[clairelsonao3]

Writeblrs who play tag games: How do you interact with the writeblrs/posts that YOU tagged/invited?

Twin poll: How do you interact with posts/writing that tagged YOU?

I’m asking specifically about writer tag games—Last Line, Heads Up Seven Up, OC in Fifteen, etc.

Assumptions of this poll:

#1: They tagged you in their post (“I was tagged by...”). You saw the notification and are aware that the person 'took' your tag to participate in the game.

#2: “Reblogs” include instant and queued reblogs.

#3: For the purposes of this poll, organizational tags like #other WIPs or #your writing count as the ‘no tags’ option even though they are, in fact, tags. (If it’s only those, not accompanied by comments on what the person wrote.)

Thanks for helping to sate my curiosity!

#always try to reblog and comment #poll

[clairelsonao3]

Writeblrs who play tag games: How do you interact with the writeblr/post that tagged you?

Twin poll: How do you interact with posts/writing that result from YOU tagging others?

I’m asking specifically about writer tag games—Last Line, Heads Up Seven Up, OC in Fifteen, etc.

Assumptions of this poll:

#1: You saw the tag and you DO want to play/participate/pass it on.

#2: You DO tag the person in your post (“I was tagged by @/so-and-so…”)

#3: “Reblogs” include instant and queued reblogs.

#4: For the purposes of this poll, organizational tags like #other WIPs or #your writing count as the ‘no tags’ option even though they are, in fact, tags. (If it’s only those, not accompanied by comments on what the person wrote.)

An 'Other/Explain' example might be: You reblog their post, adding your participation to create a reblog chain. Some folks acknowledge the writing of their tagger in comments or tags; some do not.

Thanks for helping to sate my curiosity!

#usually stick to just a like unless something really jumps out at me #i always want to acknowledge it in some way even if it I can't get to it immediately #poll #writeblr

[clairelsonao3]

Do You Like Spicy Whumpy New Adult Dystopian Forbidden Romance Books? Beta Readers Needed for a Trilogy!

I keep telling myself it's too early for this -- after all, what if I get hit by a bus before I can post the last chapter 🤣 -- but in reality, there are 4 (actually, possibly only 3!) chapters left, and I want to give myself and my betas plenty of time! 😊

I will be posting this elsewhere, but I'm starting by reaching out to my Tumblr writing community!

Please note that this form is mainly aimed at those who are NOT already reading the story on A03.

If you ARE reading the story, I 🩷 you! And that doesn't necessarily mean you're excluded from my beta team. But just know that this call for betas is not necessarily directed at you. (I discuss that more on the form).

Also, please keep in mind that all of my Ao3 readers will automatically qualify for a free ARC when that time comes! 🩷

This also won't be your last chance. I'll be posting it again as I get closer. I'm also open to swaps (details on form).

Whether you're interested or not, please help me out by reblogging and sharing, including with people off Tumblr!

Thank you so much for your help and interest!

#beta #beta reads #beta readers #call for betas #betas #whump #romance #wip #writeblr #beta reading

[clairelsonao3]

You know what I'm a slut for? When a character visibly drops a ruse. Like, the way their face changes the moment they give up a facade and reveal themselves.

This applies to revealing love, apathy, anger, evil intent. I mcfuckin love it.

#writing process #writeblr #writing thoughts #i have a lot of fun with this sometimes

[clairelsonao3]

I'M FREAKING OUT

And I'm freaking out because I'm literally sitting here on a park bench on a beautiful day under a lovely tree full of Spanish moss, trying to figure out what that spoilery G-word you mentioned is without going back to the chapter and checking 🤣🤣🤣

You'd think I'd know right away considering I've thought about nothing but this chapter for like 3 days straight

Oh well 💕🤣

#gsnbtr #gsnbtr chapter 36 #my writing

[clairelsonao3]

If you had to chose one of your villains/antagonists to give a Disney villain song to, who would it be and why?

Hahaha, thanks for the ask.

That's too easy.

Gaston for... Gaston, from Undeserved.

(And yes, I named him after that Disney Villain. Though, honestly, I'm not a big fan of the song. None of my villains is disturbing in just the right way to use the best one, Hellfire. Clayton has lots of issues, but attraction is not one of them.)

#lol #too easy but i love it #❤️ #your writing

[clairelsonao3]

#lol I prefer happy endings but calling myself an optimist would be somewhat generous #or maybe I am and just don't want to admit it #🤣 #poll #writeblr

[clairelsonao3]

Happy STS! What's the most nuanced relationship you've written so far?

Happy (late) STS!

This might be a controversial choice: Resi and Jake from GSNBTR.

I'll provide a snippet so you can decide for yourself.

It's below the cut for spoilers, but anyone who's read up to Ch. 25 should be fine.

Think about it: They're siblings. They understand each other intimately. They helped each other survive a shared history of horrific abuse to grow up to become successful adults, and they still hold each other above everyone else in their lives to the extent that they would do absolutely anything for each other. Sounds great, right?

Maybe, if one of them weren't a homicidal sociopath.

Read on:

"We found ways to keep in touch, but every time we spoke, I saw how all of her messages grow more and more bitter, more spiteful, more twisted, as my father continued to hurt her. And I got angry because I was worse than useless. And as soon as I could, I came back, and you know the story after that, but it couldn’t make up for what she went through. Nothing could. And I blamed myself, of course.” Sounded familiar. “And you’ve been trying to atone for it ever since.”

...

“Anyway, like I said, I’m under no illusions about her. I know she’s capable of dishonesty. You’ve seen that. But not about this.” To his shock, there was actual, genuine determination on this man’s face. Determination for atonement, and for winning back some of what they’d lost, before slavery fucked them over, as it fucked over absolutely everyone and everything associated with it. And that was a powerful thing. Powerful enough to be worth deluding yourself for, certainly. 

#gsnbtr #my writing #ask game #asked and answered

[clairelsonao3]

OC in Fifteen

Thank you @mysticstarlightduck for the tag! Post here.

Gently tagging (no pressure): @spitefulbull, @cirianne + open tag

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!

From The Prince of Thieves:

Will Wardrew

“Technically, you told me to wake up, and I’ve done that now. So, thank you. Also, fuck off.”

“I’m just a very kind, helpful, gallant, incredibly handsome stranger. Who, uh, thought you might need some help.”

“I didn’t just walk into that asshole’s knife on purpose, you know.”

“But I’m sorry, too. For making you worry. Causing trouble. Again. Like always.”

“And no matter what—fuck them all—I’m not gonna tell them anything.”

“Please. Don’t fuck yourself over. Like you did today. Not for me.”

“Gonna run right to your ma and tell her how mean we been, huh?”

“You’re gonna get me in more trouble, saying stuff like that. I been working real hard on my reputation in here. Big, scary, dangerous criminal and . . . all that.”

“If you’re calling me an idiot, then I guess you know something about me, at least.”

“If I thought I was getting out of here, I’d offer to kick his ass for you.”

“I’d spend it, well, outside, I guess. Walking in the woods. I wouldn’t stop moving. I’d just keep going until sunset.”

“I’m here.”

“I don’t care anymore what you do to me. But if you hurt them, if you hurt my friends, I’m going to fucking rip you apart. All of you.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not the first person to ever tell me [I'm annoying].”

#thanks for reminding me with these how funny sweet and clever Will is #yeah some other characters may not think so #but I do🥰 #lps the prince of thieves #your writing