skonnaris

[skonnaris]

BEST BOOKS 2023

The 272

A Day in the Life of Abed Salama

A Living Remedy

Above Ground

Absolution

After Sappho

After the Funeral

All Souls

All the Sinners Bleed

Anansi's Gold

August Blue

The Bee Sting

Big Swiss

Biography of X

Birnam Wood

Blackouts

Chrome Valley

The Covenant of Water

Crook Manifesto

The Deadline

Desertion

Doppelganger

Dyscalculia

The End of Drum-Time

Fair Play

Family Lore

Fire Weather

From From

The Future

Ghost Music

The Good Life

The Great Reclamation

The Great White Bard

Greek Lessons

The Guest

The Half Known Life

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store

Hello Beautiful

The Hive and the Honey

Holding Pattern

Holler, Child

How Not to Kill Yourself

How to Say Babylon

I Am Still With You

I Do Everything I'm Told

I Have Some Questions For You

The Iliad

I Love Russia

Kairos

King: A Life

Let Us Descend

Let's Go Let's Go Let's Go

Liliana’s Invincible Summer

Lone Women

The Male Gazed

Master Slave Husband Wife

Mobility

Mott Street

My Name Is Barbra

None of the Above

North Woods

Nothing Special

Our Migrant Souls

Our Share of Night

Owner of a Lonely Heart

Pageboy

Pineapple Street

The Postcard

Poverty, by America

The Rachel Incident

Red Memory

Ripe

River Sing Me Home

Some People Need Killing

Spare

The Talk

Temple Folk

Terrace Story

Thin Skin

This Other Eden

The Three of Us

Thunderclap

To Free the Captives

Tom Lake

Tremor

The Vaster Wilds

The Vegan

Vengeance Is Mine

Victory City

The Wager

Waiting to Be Arrested at Night

Wandering Souls

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library

When Crack Was King

The Wren, the Wren

Y/N

Yellowface

You Could Make This Place Beautiful

The Young Man

[skonnaris]

Movies

Hi, Barbie.

Barbie

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Goncharov

Nimona

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Red, White, and Royal Blue

Lord of the Rings -3

Black Panther +24

The Addams Family

The Super Mario Bros. Movie -4

Knives Out

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish

Oppenheimer

The Hunger Games

Avatar: The Way of Water

Guardians of the Galaxy

Shrek

The Little Mermaid +15

Scream -1

Top Gun: Maverick -1

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Everything Everywhere All At Once +7

Saw +14

Twilight -13

Wendell & Wild

Howl’s Moving Castle -6

The Hobbit -3

Five Nights at Freddy’s

Enola Holmes

My Policeman

Deadpool -8

How to Train Your Dragon +12

Beauty and the Beast +16

Avatar

Scream VI

Bottoms

Mean Girls +6

Megamind -4

Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar

Spirited Away -10

The Batman -38

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Venom -34

Les Misérables

Encanto -44

Iron Lung

Coraline

The Thing

John Wick

Strange Way of Life

Blue Beetle

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Legally Blonde

Frozen -14

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Ghosted

American Psycho -7

Princess Mononoke

Dune -49

The Princess Bride

Teen Wolf: The Movie

Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith -21

Pacific Rim

Renfield

Shrek 2

Saw X

The Old Guard -29

Nope -47

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse

Night at the Museum

Soul -26

The Mummy

The Nightmare Before Christmas

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

Hellraiser

The Lost Boys

The Marvels

Emesis Blue

The Shape of Water

The Menu

My Neighbor Totoro

Shazam -40

Sonic the Hedgehog -66

Pirates of the Caribbean -48

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Elemental

Lilo & Stitch

Fight Club

The Dark Knight

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

The Princess Diaries

The Incredibles

Halloween Ends

The Lorax

10 Things I Hate About You

Heathers

Kung Fu Panda

The Devil Wears Prada

Rise of the Guardians

Birds of Prey

The number in italics indicates how many spots a title moved up or down from the previous year. Bolded titles weren’t on the list last year.

[skonnaris]

#xmas list

[skonnaris]

Sands Ring Tea Finger Food Menu (May, 2023)

1.     Bottled Iced tea - sweetened (15-18) On ice.

2.     Bottled iced tea - unsweetened (15-18) On ice

3.     Bottled water (12)

4.     Scones

5.     Finger Sandwiches (some with meat, some without meat)

6.     Mini Tarts

7.     Lemon Bars

8.     Mini eclairs and mini cream puffs

9.     Mixed berries: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries

10.   Savory quiche

11.   Petit Fours (little cakes)

12.   Mini caprese salad bites

13.   Pasta Salad

14.   Small platers, forks (if necessary), clear drink cups.

[skonnaris]

Sad plot ideas besides killing characters

Here are 14 sad plot ideas that don’t require character deaths

1. Having to give up an item of huge emotional importance 2. A leader being abandoned by their own people

3. Redemption arc that comes just a little too late 4. Making a mistake that’s too big to be forgiven for

5. Unrequited love with a childhood best friend 6. Betrayal by a sibling, parent or child

7. Realizing who they truly love when it’s too late 8. Not being believed by those closest to them when it really matters

9. A character who’s completely at peace with their tragic destiny 10. Relapsing on an addiction after doing so well

11. Making an honest mistake that leads to horrible consequences and endangers people they love 12. Trying so hard time and time again, and still not achieving any results

13. Having to watch a friend or family get tortured without being able to stop it 14. Realizing someone they love is in danger, but they’re the ones who sent them into it

Want fully customizable templates for your writing? Character sheets, outlines, chapter treatments, world-building, questionnaires and more?

Grab our 3 E-books for writers! They each come with 40 pages of easy theory and resources.

The Plotter’s Almanac

The Character Bible

The World Builder’s Chronicle

Grab it through the [link here] or below!

[skonnaris]

WEBSITES FOR WRITERS {masterpost}

E.A. Deverell - FREE worksheets (characters, world building, narrator, etc.) and paid courses;

Hiveword - Helps to research any topic to write about (has other resources, too);

BetaBooks - Share your draft with your beta reader (can be more than one), and see where they stopped reading, their comments, etc.;

Charlotte Dillon - Research links;

Writing realistic injuries - The title is pretty self-explanatory: while writing about an injury, take a look at this useful website;

One Stop for Writers - You guys... this website has literally everything we need: a) Description thesaurus collection, b) Character builder, c) Story maps, d) Scene maps & timelines, e) World building surveys, f) Worksheets, f) Tutorials, and much more! Although it has a paid plan ($90/year | $50/6 months | $9/month), you can still get a 2-week FREE trial;

One Stop for Writers Roadmap - It has many tips for you, divided into three different topics: a) How to plan a story, b) How to write a story, c) How to revise a story. The best thing about this? It's FREE!

Story Structure Database - The Story Structure Database is an archive of books and movies, recording all their major plot points;

National Centre for Writing - FREE worksheets and writing courses. Has also paid courses;

Penguin Random House - Has some writing contests and great opportunities;

Crime Reads - Get inspired before writing a crime scene;

The Creative Academy for Writers - "Writers helping writers along every step of the path to publication." It's FREE and has ZOOM writing rooms;

Reedsy - "A trusted place to learn how to successfully publish your book" It has many tips, and tools (generators), contests, prompts lists, etc. FREE;

QueryTracker - Find agents for your books (personally, I've never used this before, but I thought I should feature it here);

Pacemaker - Track your goals (example: Write 50K words - then, everytime you write, you track the number of the words, and it will make a graphic for you with your progress). It's FREE but has a paid plan;

Save the Cat! - The blog of the most known storytelling method. You can find posts, sheets, a software (student discount - 70%), and other things;

I hope this is helpful for you!

(Also, check my blog if you want to!)

[skonnaris]

[skonnaris]

Types of Sleeves

[skonnaris]

ADVERBS: When to Avoid them

This post is about when to not use adverbs. However, adverbs are not all evil. There are tons of places where they strengthen your writing. I’ll cover that in a future post!

Adverbs are commonly used to modify a verb. Typically, this is done by adding an “-ly” to an adjective. 

He danced swiftly.  She cried loudly. He said angrily.

Instead of inserting an adverb here, you might consider going into more detail on the action. Show us how he dances swiftly:

He was light on his feet, empty in his mind. He let the music guide him. His movements reminded us of a feather caught in the ocean’s breeze.

Adverbs in dialogue tags

• A bad example of adverb usage in a speech tag:

“Don’t do that.” He said angrily.

• We can make this sentence stronger by showing his anger in an action, rather than telling it through the adverb “angrily.”

He shoved the boy with a snarl. “Don’t do that.”

• We can also adjust the dialogue itself, making the anger present in the character’s voice.

“Stop! Don’t do that. You’re pissing me off.” He said.

Adverbs being used unnecessarily

“He was so tired that he would eventually fall to the ground.” “After crying all night, Sarah finally fell asleep.” “The cat was very cute.”

These types of adverbs can slow down the pace and add an extra word that isn’t needed. The sentence is more direct and stronger without it.

“He was so tired that he would fall to the ground.” “After crying all night, Sarah fell asleep.” “The cat was adorable.” 

Adverbs that take away the urgency

If used in the wrong place, or too often, adverbs such as suddenly, immediately, and abruptly can slow down an action that is meant to happen quickly. The more wordy your sentence is, the less clear and concise it is. 

“It was quiet until suddenly a loud noise erupted.” “It was quiet until a loud noise erupted.”

“The red truck abruptly slammed into my car.” “The red truck slammed into my car.”

Instagram: coffeebeanwriting

📖 ☕ Official Blog: www.byzoemay.com

[skonnaris]

WEBSITES FOR WRITERS {masterpost}

E.A. Deverell - FREE worksheets (characters, world building, narrator, etc.) and paid courses;

Hiveword - Helps to research any topic to write about (has other resources, too);

BetaBooks - Share your draft with your beta reader (can be more than one), and see where they stopped reading, their comments, etc.;

Charlotte Dillon - Research links;

Writing realistic injuries - The title is pretty self-explanatory: while writing about an injury, take a look at this useful website;

One Stop for Writers - You guys... this website has literally everything we need: a) Description thesaurus collection, b) Character builder, c) Story maps, d) Scene maps & timelines, e) World building surveys, f) Worksheets, f) Tutorials, and much more! Although it has a paid plan ($90/year | $50/6 months | $9/month), you can still get a 2-week FREE trial;

One Stop for Writers Roadmap - It has many tips for you, divided into three different topics: a) How to plan a story, b) How to write a story, c) How to revise a story. The best thing about this? It's FREE!

Story Structure Database - The Story Structure Database is an archive of books and movies, recording all their major plot points;

National Centre for Writing - FREE worksheets and writing courses. Has also paid courses;

Penguin Random House - Has some writing contests and great opportunities;

Crime Reads - Get inspired before writing a crime scene;

The Creative Academy for Writers - "Writers helping writers along every step of the path to publication." It's FREE and has ZOOM writing rooms;

Reedsy - "A trusted place to learn how to successfully publish your book" It has many tips, and tools (generators), contests, prompts lists, etc. FREE;

QueryTracker - Find agents for your books (personally, I've never used this before, but I thought I should feature it here);

Pacemaker - Track your goals (example: Write 50K words - then, everytime you write, you track the number of the words, and it will make a graphic for you with your progress). It's FREE but has a paid plan;

Save the Cat! - The blog of the most known storytelling method. You can find posts, sheets, a software (student discount - 70%), and other things;

I hope this is helpful for you!

(Also, check my blog if you want to!)

[skonnaris]

Sigh List

If I had no obstacles and could live the life I want to live:

1.  I wouldn’t feel obligated to do anything for anybody but myself. I would remove people who are mean to me from my thoughts and interactions.

2.  I would put the health of my body and my mind as my number one priority. And  I would wear beautiful clothes because I would be thinner and have more money to spend on quality.

3.  I would travel both all over the world and do road trips in the US to National Parks. I’d spend 6 months in Paris and learn the language instead keeping up my “streak” on Duolingo. While there, I’d take a Parisian pastry course. 

4.  I would have a beautiful house with acreage (3-5) in a location where I have people.  I’d buy a farm table to write at and put it in a room with a natural view to look out on.  I’d have flowers everywhere, and a special rose garden of every David Austin rose, labeled (and I would have the Autins Tea Party every summer for all to view). I’d have a library in my home with lots of shelves and books and a rolling ladder. I’d own a horse and a pickup truck. I’d have a security system installed. And I’d hire a cleaning lady.

5. I’d finish my novel and do everything it takes to get it published.

6. I’d spend a month in a beach house every year, writing and walking on the beach with my dogs.

7. I’d have lots of small dinner parties for my friends.

8. I’d take guitar lessons, learn photography, go to film festivals, have subscriptions to all the performing and fine art institutions in New York City. I’d have a studio apartment there too (since money is no obstacle).

[skonnaris]

[skonnaris]

[skonnaris]

The Midnight Library

Author of six published novels

Bassoonist with the New York Philharmonic

Tea Shop Owner

Horse Rancher in Montana

Book Collector with a multi-story library

Fast reader with a strong memory to retain lines from books I've read

Bread Baker of all kinds and with the right equipment for baking

Photographer of mostly nature and people around the world

Classical guitarist

CEO/Founder of a philanthropic foundation that gives money to struggling people, they can be struggling with anything.

Wearer of fine fashion, high quality, mostly neutral colors

Vineyard Owner/Wine Maker

Resident of Scotland - where most of my people come from

Leader of a classic film club

Owner of an apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan

Physically fit person in good health

Afternoon Tea Connoisseur

Contractor/Builder who knows how to do it all

Owner of dogs, cats, birds, alpacas, horses, chickens, sheep, goats, and rabbits

Iowa Farmer with John Deere equipment

Chef but not in a restaurant rather just trained in the art of French cooking

World traveler

Cottage Garden cultivator with hedges, definitely privet hedges

Best selling author whose novel rights were purchased by Stephen Spielberg and it is soon to be a major motion picture. It wins the Academy Award for best picture.

[skonnaris]

TO DO:

Write

Appointments

Baking

Calls

Duolingo French

Cleaning

Cooking

Day Trip

Dining Out

Dogs

Exercise

Family History

Films

Finance

Gardening

Hiking

Laundry

List Making

Projects

Purge

Read

Repair

Tea

Travel OS

Tutoring

Visiting My Children

Walk

Weekend Getaway

Weight Loss

Write

[skonnaris]

[skonnaris]

~ THEY'RE DATING ~ RELATIONSHIP PROMPTS

requested by: anonymous

Feel free to use and reblog!

constant physical touch to feel safe

being an expert in teasing the other

seeking eye contact

understanding each other without words

recognising the sound of their steps

moulding perfectly into each other's arms

knowing their answer before they say anything

kisses on the cheek when they leave the room

arguing about minor disagreements

having a fight with just looks

being annoyed by the tiniest things

being unable to be mad for a long time

feeling more at ease when the other is by their side

always talking about their s/o in front of others

watching their oblivious s/o lovingly

trying to fulfil their wishes

holding hands when sitting next to each other

brushing through the other's hair while talking

trying to make them laugh

absurd terms of endearment

developing own terms for everything

cancelling their schedule just to spend time with them

sharing tasks

letting out their anger in front of them

feeding each other their food

making a mental list of everything that happened over the day that they want to share with them

kissing to make them stop talking

gifts as an apology

doing something silly to cheer them up

accepting & living with their quirks

always pointing out certain annoying behaviour

adopting some of their manners

knowing where they're most ticklish

asking them for advice/help

'your problem is my problem'

feeling bad when the other is having a hard time

kissing them goodbye in the morning

craving their company after a stressful day

snuggling up to them at night

not wanting to leave their embrace