#no fear nano 2020

[dandelion-wings]

1, 12, and 15?

Thank you for the ask! <3

1. what's the fic youre most proud of?

There's a handful of contenders, but honestly, overall, probably An Open Hand. I managed to accomplish multiple things with it that I wanted to do and hadn't pulled off before, and it's the first fic of that length I've seen to completion (the longest I'd written and edited to posting-level satisfaction before that was 45k). Also it's an "everything and the kitchen sink" of elements and tropes I just plain like.

12. What’s your perfect environment to create/write?

One that doesn't have a lot of other inputs! I struggle with distractions a lot, and fare best when I have a large chunk of time ahead of me (so I don't have to fear getting really into my work and then being pulled abruptly out) and minimal distractions. At home I try to create that by working on my laptop instead of my big computer (the new laptop is not as helpful as the old one in this respect because it can actually have more than one program and/or two tabs open at a time, but the trade-off is it doesn't take 15-20 minutes to open a program or new tab), down in the sunroom where the only potential physical distraction is the cat. I also tend to write quite a lot when traveling because travel naturally creates those conditions for me--plane rides, spurts of not-driving on road trips, boring hotel rooms, etc.

A mug of tea helps a lot regardless of location and circumstance, of course. :>

15. How do you think your writing as improved over time?

Hmmm. I mean, over time in general, it's improved in a lot of ways. Over the last couple of years (a.k.a. the time I've been in the Genshin fandom), I think I've done a lot of improvements on plotting and pacing, though for anyone who hasn't seen my original/older work then those improvements may not be obvious? Fanfic turns out to be a good low-stress space to play with that stuff. (One of the reasons I am so proud of An Open Hand is that I tried a lot of things around pacing in revisions, not just writing, that taught me new tricks, and I was able to bring those into play in the year following as I revised an original novel I'm working on.)

I don't think my prose has improved that much in the sentence level, and in fact I have a number of what I consider Known Bugs in my fanfic prose at present that I'm not putting effort into fixing when I write or revise because I, honestly, like my current prose flow even if it isn't ideal, and so that's the sort of killing-my-darlings I only worry about with my original work. I like purple prose, both reading and writing, and fanfic is where I can just do what's fun instead of what's Good.

But yeah, from a personal perspective, my pacing and to a lesser extent my plot flows have leveled up a fair bit from where I was in early 2020! As an example, I have a novel I wrote the first draft of as my 2020 Nano and obviously a first draft is going to be rough and a Nano one very much so, but I can hold it up against my current longfic and even with the WIPs, sheerly on the planning levels, I can see where I know more and have more of a toolbox than I did when I was slamming that out.

#asked and answered #why not meme i guess

[nanowrimo]

My First NaNo Experience

As Camp NaNoWriMo is drawing to an end, author and NaNoWriMo winner, MenteMelan, reflects upon her first NaNo experience, and gives some tips to people who might not have joined this time, but plan to in the future. 

Excitement. Joy. Fear. Apprehension.

These are some of the numerous emotions I experienced a few days before the 2021 NaNoWriMo began. After weeks of prewriting, seminars, and strategizing, I eagerly sharpened my pencils and cleared my workspace as I awaited the beginning of the 50,000-word challenge.

I first heard about NaNoWriMo during the pandemic in 2020. Before then, I had participated in several writing challenges, written a few short stories, and produced the first draft of a novel. I was psyched by the challenge the NaNoWriMo proposed. 

Since I stumbled upon the creative writing challenge several days after it began, I decided to bid my time and participate in 2021. However, I never anticipated any of the things that occurred in the months preceding the NaNoWriMo.

As the lockdown restrictions gradually eased last year, the world slowly tried to heal from the turbulence which occurred in 2020. Like many others, I struggled to adjust for several months and was forced to come to terms with the fact that the world could never be the same. 

I have never been a big fan of change, so as you can imagine, I battled with so many emotions, never finding the right avenue to vent everything I’d been feeling. For me, the 2021 NaNoWriMo was highly therapeutic. I can still remember how I picked up my laptop on the first day and poured out all the pent-up emotions I had experienced during the year into the different characters I had crafted. 

By the end of the first day, I’d written about 3000 words, albeit with several typos and sentences that eventually needed fine tuning. However, none of that mattered. For the first time in months, I felt relieved. The moment I updated my profile and earned my first badge, it felt like I’d just won a million bucks!

Each day came with a different challenge and every second of it was fantastic. The goal wasn’t to create the perfect novel in 30 days but was to create an undiluted first draft, knowing I would still refine it all at the end. As I unlock each badge, I felt fulfilled and excited, waiting to see how long it would take to finally hit my goal. 

On the last day of the NaNoWriMo, I finally hit 50K words and unlocked my winner’s badge. I can honestly say no words can describe how amazing I felt that day.

Experiencing the joy that comes with being able to meet a challenge head-on is something I believe everyone deserves to feel during their lifetime. Although, there will be moments where the thrill of the chase might fade, and your characters might not speak to you as frequently as they used to. 

To overcome this, my advice would be to surround yourself with fellow writers who share the same goal and vision. If you can’t think of anyone who might be interested in the journey, then you’re welcome to join any of the NaNo regions. You’d receive a lot of support and encouragement from fellow writers and get chances to vet your work.

Finally, always remember you can edit it later. It’s your first draft, so it’s not meant to be perfect. It’s pretty easy to edit the first draft but impossible to edit what you’ve never written.

Enjoy every second of the challenge and take pride in what you’re doing. By deciding to participate in the NaNo, you’re already a winner. So, my fellow writers, sharpen your pencils, raise your pens, clean your typewriters, charge your laptops, and let the creative juices flow!

MenteMelan is a diverse award-winning African writer who believes in communicating her views and perspectives of the world through her books. It helps her foster connections with people across the world, create communities with kindred souls, and spread awareness about mental health.

Link to books: Imprisoned by Secrets: https://www.wattpad.com/story/236039980 The Prophecy of The Black Day: https://www.wattpad.com/story/247485109 The Last Supper: https://www.wattpad.com/story/245502550 Social Media: Instagram: @mentemelan Wattpad: @MenteMelan

Photo by Ilya Pavlov on Unsplash  

#camp nano #by nano guest #writing #nanowrimo #mentemelan #nanowrimo experience

[ofstormsandfire]

9 & 10 for the ask game?

9: do you have any vague ideas for fics you might want to start in the future?

I have too many ideas for fics I might want to start in the future. all things considered I think my new years resolution is going to be to actually finish some of the ones I've already started.

send help. (or a fandom I'm into, if you want me to drop some actual ideas-)

10: how long have you been working on your current wip?

...which one. I have Multiple.

the main one at the moment is probably there's blood on your lies, a pokemon fanfic featuring cynthia punted a few hundred years into the past into the plot of pokemon legends arceus, which I've been working on since like... last? february? yeah according to ao3 that's when I posted the first chapter so. close enough. it's an absolute monster of a fic by multiple metrics.

the other fic I'm actively working on currently is called no one ever mentions fear, it was supposed to be my nanowrimo project, I hit 50k and wasn't done and I know from experience that if I just stop writing at the end of nano I just. won't ever bother to finish the fic.

that one's a fanfic for legend of zelda breath of the wild, in which I bonked my blorbo bird (blorbird, if you will) with the "amnesia," "character development," and "tragic backstory" sticks in no particular order. technically I only started writing that one at the beginning of november, but I was planning quite extensively for it during most of october, and it's a fic that I got the idea for a very long time ago and never actually wrote until much more recently.

I. am not actually sure exactly how long ago I got the idea for that fic, but I can tell you it has definitely been years. probably three. I remember thinking about it when I was visiting my stepfather and I haven't spoken to that man willingly in over a year, never mind set foot in the same state as him.

another wip I have, which I haven't done too much with in an embarrassingly long time but am co-writing with @thegreatandpowerfulversy, is a series of fics called Under a Broken Moon, which started when I realized that mantle in v7 of rwby in that first establishing shot really reminded me of warframe fortuna, and we consequently came up with backstories for rwby versions of all the fortuna characters, and from there it's just expanded into multiple main fics including such fun things like vox faunus in lieu of vox solaris, sienna khan cheating death with great glee, and the grineer causing Problems in vacuo.

that one, I can pinpoint when it started, because I still have the original prologue saved that never actually made it onto ao3. Vox Faunus was the first fic written in that series, back before I ended up bouncing so many ideas off of kira there that she eventually became an outright co-author. and that was originally written back in january of 2020.

anyway, those are the main wips I have at the moment, unless I'm forgetting something. I really hope I'm not forgetting something because three wips is a little much and I really, really want to get it down to two sooner rather than later.

girl help.

the relevant ask game, if you're curious?

#ask game #ask meme #writing things #kira if you are reading this #one of these days we will finish ttq and wotr #and it will be Great #and I cannot wait :P #fanfiction

[raevenlywrites]

Instead of Spotify wrapped I’m doing a tumblr wrapped lol I've received 161,880 notes

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[sallowhillshq]

.✾. ═  welcome to sallow hills.  enjoy your stay.

i see we have a new member to our town.  welcome, welcome JONATHAN SIMS.  we truly hope you enjoy your stay.  please feel free to head over to bevin & cecil’s until you’re settled.  i know it might be difficult right now and you might be missing your home.  sasha from fandom is already here though, so you won’t have to be alone.

 ══ nano we’re so excited to have your FIFTEENTH muse in sallow hills!  you can re-find the welcome package in the source link & if you are using side blogs, make sure we know where your character is going.  

╔═.✾. ═ LOG *** : jonathan sims | cisman, he/him | 30 years old.

Just spotted JONATHAN SIMS around town. Our records show that they remember [some things] from their source : the magnus archives (canon). They were first spotted in april 2020 and our best guess is that their last memory is the scotland safehouse. Archivists watching them state that they still have the the smell of coffee lingering on his shirts, messy hair, bags under his eyes, stuttered words & shaking hands vibe about them.

━ from Armes E. Sallow’s personal archives. ═.✾. ═╝↳・゜dev patel . ↳・゜nano.

↳・゜Jonathan is a very complex individual. He is closed off due to his sensitive nature. He likes to pretend that he can handle criticism and people being brutally honest but the truth is.. he can’t. He has a very straightforward and blunt personality which can rub people the wrong way. He tries his best to talk to people and form lasting friendships but after everything he’s gone through it’s almost impossible for him to actually let anyone in due to the deep fear of either disappointing them, getting them hurt or both. Jonathan will fit in perfectly due to the fact that he is very used to the paranormal. He is of course going to work as an archivist and will due to how everything was back home.. have somewhat of an attitude.

#sallow hills (accepted) #magnus archives rp

[indexuniverse-eu]

[kyle1]

"Contempt"

That was my main account you cuntnuggets! @staff. You nuked my main account without even an appeal?! And for what? Reblogging a critical deconstruction of the global covid 19 psyop of 2020?? (Is it because its ongoing and theres a conflict of fiscal insterest? >.>)

. . .

You killed my Combat Veteran blog.

You killed my art history blog.

You killed my yearning blog.

You killed my Swiftie blog.

You killed my poetry blog.

You killed my music blog.

You killed my anime blog.

You killed my kink blog.

You killed my dog blog. . .

You killed my CHRISTMAS blog!

(Wtaf is wrong with you??)

. . .

But those were just blogs..

What you've really killed is my faith in your platfrom..

...And I'm telling everyone.

👏

"When you cut out a man's tongue, you only prove the truth you fear in what he has to say."

And oh hey-! Lets talk about them covid shots and the weird little aluminum nano-organisms in them.. i wonder if all those 5G towers they built could somehow resonate sympathetically with said organisms that proliferate throughout the body post-injection..

But no thats impossible.. unless..

What if the tower frequencies could make them vibrate at such a frequency that it could cause anything from a mild itch, to a full on body-being-microwaved feeling.. or worse yet.. become acutely focused around the heart or other organs to induce symptoms of actual distress, even fatal responses..??

(What if they've invested more money into this technology than those biolabs ever even hoped to see..??)

What if everyone who got even one of these shots is in mortal danger from the day 'they' decide to fry you and your loved ones from the inside out, and claim your burial taxes in modest respect for your roasted corpse??

Indeed.. more likely than you think..

~And censoring what I have to say just makes you equally culpable as the rest when they come to exact justice for enablers and co-conspirators in these mass cullings. I would advise you cease and desist you infringments on my equal opportunity to free speech on an otherwise public forum of exchange, or else be held in contempt for your role in this flagrant 1st amendment bigotry..

I earned my right to speak to my fellow man. Likely even more so than many on this site ever have. . . And you would deny me ?

Careful [tumblr] .. you were on thin ice to begin with.

[homesteadchronicles]

Welcome, one and all to the first day of “No Fear NaNoWriMo” - a daily mission to send a message of encouragement to all those participating in National Novel Writing Month for November 2020! ___

Today’s Encouragement: The stage is set, the actors are in place, and the show is just about to begin. The curtain has, at last, risen on the opening act - and our literary performance begins.

But it’s not a show, now is it? Others may cheer you on, but they are fellow participants in this activity, not judges determining your worth from the sidelines. There may be days when your performance is subpar and others when it soars above expectation. But unlike in acting, there is no risk of upsetting or impressing anyone. No one but yourself - and you deserve to be so kind to yourself.

Remember that, no matter the successes or struggles that await you in the month to come, none of them make you any more or less of a writer. I do truly hope you achieve your goals. But if you don’t? Another chance awaits you one day, and for now, you will still have grown from the triumphs and failures alike.

___

Want to join in on the “No Fear NaNoWriMo” project? ➵ Follow the tag “#no fear nano 2020″! ➵ Follow this blog, @homesteadchronicles​, for daily updates! ➵ Share this post, and all those to come, with all your fellow participants! ➵ Join our Discord server of like-minded creatives striving to complete another year of Nano! For the invite link, please respond through comments/reblogs/DM ➵ Spread the positivity on your own blog with encouraging messages to your followers!

#nanowrimo #nano 2020 #nano2020 #national novel writing month #writeblr #writing positivity #writeblr positivity #writing inspiration #writers of tumblr #writers on tumblr #writing #writer #writers #write #no fear nano 2020

[evilwriterbrain]

Evil Writer Brain: Medi Medi Medi Medi Medi

Me: Yes?

Evil Writer Brain: It's NaNoWriMo time. Time to write story.

Me: Yes, time to write story.

Evil Writer Brain: Time to have people read story.

Me: Wait, hold on. I haven't posted writing on Tumblr yet. I don't think it'll be that good.

Evil Writer Brain: Time to post writing.

Me: But what if that shows off what an idiot I am?

Evil Writer Brain: Suffer.

Me: Okay--

#evil writer brain #writing problems #writing memes #nanowrimo meme #nanowrimo 2020 #I like feedback #But I feel the big fear #Should I post my story and Nano progress on Tumblr? #It's about 3 friends that die and their reincarnations have to reunite with each other and use the power of teamwork to stop an apocalypse-- #I'm serious I want your opinions

[serpentarii]

A   { R E } I N T R O D U C T I O N ; by @serpentarii 

hi hi, i’m pris, they/she, eighteen, intp, and this is the third time i’m introducing myself because it’s been almost a year since my last reintro. i write primarily fantasy with a lot of folkloric influences, but that could change who knows. i’m also a member of the wtw network ! 

i didn’t feel like bombarding people with a bunch of wip intros, so below the cut i’ve given a brief synopsis for each of my projects as well as some info on where they’re sitting at. 

P R O J E C T S 

starborne ; epic dark fantasy . adventure . romance . tragedy . adult 

as the newly accoladed knight imperial, ser vauquelin is tasked with accompanying his liege on a sacred quest through the holy angelan empire to the inferni-ravaged darkwood. but when an imposter wearing prince imperial luciano’s face threatens his claim to the throne, it falls to vauquelin to hunt down the pretender. 

{ introduction } . { tag }

status ; redrafting . this is my oldest and main wip, and it was sitting at around 40k before i decided to scrap it all and start a new draft 0. i intend it to be a trilogy, as it’s the most dense out of all my wips, and my final wc goal for it is about 90-95k. a lot of the content i’ve made for it on this blog is now out of date since i’ve updated the worldbuilding doc, so i’ll try to make up for those eventually, but i’m mostly focusing on finishing the draft rn. 

mordlust ; gaslamp fantasy . swan maiden retelling . young adult 

aleksander fox has found his fortune when he sells the enchanted feather cloak of a cigne, a legendary race able to transfigure themselves into swans. the assassin voir vératre receives her most difficult mission yet when tasked with claiming the life of the helemar, leader of the faith and object of their worship. whispers of a war begin to brew and the swan queen searches for her missing son as an infection known as the dornenheit spreads throughout the lands. 

{ introduction } . { tag }

status ; reoutlining . i originally started this as a nano project for 2020 and tried to rush through a lot of it. the first draft was very bad, it was just 10k of a world and characters i knew nothing about. it’s also gone through a couple title changes, but the outline is putting it back on track towards a more swan maiden meets sleeping beauty type beat. this one should be getting reintroed the soonest. 

the tale of ryuurei ; magical realism . coming of age . young adult 

autumn island, built on the left horn of a dead dragon god, will know it’s first summer in over a decade. with it comes a girl half-mad with grief, ruining any chance sakuma shizu had at a normal senior year. but the island is sinking, residents have begun to fear the nighttime, and shizu seems to be the only one in the know. everyone has their secrets, but how long can shizu keep his before they grow an extra mouth? 

{ introduction } . { tag }

status ; on-hold . i got a good amount written of this for janowrimo and camp nano, however the structure is what’s really throwing me off. trying to juggle all these plot threads and characters in roughly 20k, what was i thinking. it’s not that i don’t know what to do with this project, just that it’s not currently my top priority. v sorry :( 

a hymn for serpents ; heroic high fantasy . adventure . romance . new adult 

accused of using witchcraft to awaken the serpent prince from his eternal rest, maude liebreich is set to be executed. her life is vouched for and spared only under the promise that she is able to restore him to slumber. kept under watch as the new head of the once-lost seventh great order, maude works to discover not only the true nature of the serpent prince’s return but of her own birth. 

{ introduction } . { tag }

status ; planning . y’all i’m actually super excited for this project. it’s also the only other series i’m working on, which i only have rough ideas for. ahfs will probably stay in the planning/practice prose stage for a while longer because i don’t want to hit a block later down in the road or worldbuild myself into a corner. this is also like,,,,,,,the only wip with multiple female leads. 

{ carrd } . { projects } . { creations } . { twitter } . { wattpad }  

T A G L I S T 

{ send an ask to be +/- } 

@lascalaveras | @cheshawrites | @veneritia | @amaradesantis | @lyingfig | @sourrcandy | @basilelestrange | @ikilledmyocs | @kazino | @larkmonteverdi | @wavemakermommy | @vitrichor

#writeblr #writeblr introduction #wip introduction #wtwcommunity #sunsetdistrict&starfallisland #soleirnaviary #unsuperhumans #w.writeblr #w.intro #w.starborne #w.mordlust #w.ttor #w.ahfs #m.edit #w.mine #u know that taglist is also a free follow list #sexy days we're in folks

[harrowingwords]

2020 Nano WIP intro

Genre ;; High fantasy, post-apocalypse Content Warnings ;; Death, violence, manipulation, abuse Tropes & Themes ;; forgotten deity, revenge and forgiveness, secrets and guilt, redemption arc

The end of the world began not far from the Northern Selkie’s home. It began as disease and sickness that became death that became an un-death. Where the refugees of the village fled, they were met with disbelief that became fear and understanding as they, too, were faced with their rising dead. Soon, all life on the continents were crowded together in pockets of safety, and any sign of illness was met with quick exile.

Sigrun carries a secret with her along with her pelt; she was the one that woke the forgotten goddess’s champion that marched at the head of their death. Now faced with the apocalypse, she feels it only right that it should be her hand that ends this. But how is an immortal champion of the Goddess of Death supposed to be stopped?

And what is she supposed to do when it increasingly seems the Goddess is right in her anger?

Taglist ;; (ask to be added/removed!) @livvywrites @gideonshay @sprigofbasil @ofinscriptions @incipientdream @emrowene @lasbrumas @akindofmagictoo

#nanowrimo #writeblr #wip intro #wtwcommunity #wwaystation #my writing #wip; death forgotten #I am 100% pantsing this for nano #but I am excited about it nonetheless

[nanowrimo]

How NaNo Got Me Back in the Writing Groove!

Have you ever lost your writing momentum, only to have an idea sparked by something random that sweeps you up in a story? Today, NaNoWriMo participant Paola M. shares how she got her writing spark back after a five-year break:

The first time I wrote 50,000 words in 30 days, I was 18 years old. I had attempted to write a “novel” for almost an entire year, and as I found out, I did not have the tools or resources a writer needs to be “good.” So I subscribed to a newsletter that would send writing advice and prompts weekly or biweekly, and I was reading a lot of fanfiction whose writers would share their own personal writing advice and the resources that worked for them. I was a sponge, soaking up all of this information from the last few months of 2012 and most of 2013 to craft my characters and outline for my first ever NaNoWriMo project. 

Since I didn’t keep a journal back then, I have no way of knowing if what I’m about to say is true, but I remember that I flew through that novel. I kept an Excel document to track my word count before I updated my NaNo profile, I was naming chapters, I was meeting my word count goal every day and on some good days, even exceeding it. It was amazing!

The last time I took part in a NaNo-related challenge was in July 2015. I won Camp NaNoWriMo, having written 81,389 words of my 80,000 word count goal. I swear that if it weren’t for my account, I would not even remember having written this many words in 30 days. Then college took over my life and I didn’t have time to even think of original stories I wanted to tell. I was stressed and overworked.

By the time I was done with college I had read over 100 books and was active on the bookish corner of the internet. I was following readers and writers and watching their NaNoWriMo vlogs, green with envy because I wanted to do that. I wanted to be back in the writing groove, to feel like I could come up with things worth of people’s time and attention. But, try as I might, I couldn’t come up with a plot or a character or even a world I could have fun writing about. Then, for some strange reason, the creative bells in my head started ringing when I watched RuPaul's Drag Race Holi-slay Spectacular on Netflix. 

With no plans of joining NaNoWriMo this year, I sat down and wrote an outline. And then, the strangest thing happened. I outlined another novel, also based on drag queens. I was excited and scared. Scared because I was so rusty from all those years of not having written a single word. But excited because this was the first time in 5 years where I finally felt like I was ready to write again.

As soon as I finished that second outline, I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo 2020 and see where it would take me. And low and behold, I won! I wrote 50,000 words in 30 days all because I let that fear go. I was no longer scared of other people reading my work, because it’s NaNoWriMo, dammit! It’s only the first draft. It’s supposed to suck. 

So let all your worries go and write! Only then will you have a manuscript to edit and revise, and hopefully get to publish one day.

Paola M. is a Mexican morenita who loves books and musical theater. She is currently an editorial intern at Entangled Publishing and a marketing assistant at Caffeine Book Tours. She runs a book club called Accidentally in Love, dedicated to reading adult romance books by marginalized authors. She is also the organizer of LHM Book Fest, a month-long event dedicated to uplifting Latinx voices in literature. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!

Top photo by Eric Murray on Unsplash

#nanowrimo #now what? #writing #amwriting #by nano guest #paola m. #writing inspiration #nanowrimo experience

[inherhouseshewaitsdreaming]

NaNo Prep Week #2 - Create Complex Characters

NaNo Prep is a series of blog posts covering the NaNo Prep 101 curriculum which is a good outline of the things you want to do to get ready for NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month.

Its week #2 and we’re now looking at characters. In the character-plot-setting triad this is definitely my weakest area. I have a terrible tendency to create characters I don’t like. I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently and I think its because I don’t seem to make them proactive enough. I really hate passive characters. So much. Mention Tess of the D’Urbervilles too me and you get instant rage. I read that book at 17 so I’ve known about that for a long time, yet I still seem to create characters that fall into that trap. This week is the one I am going to put particular effort into.

Resources

Once again, there are some resources on the NaNo website and I started there. There’s another generator, but its nowhere near as much fun. Some other resources I found especially useful:

The lectures on Character that form part of Brandon Sanderson’s BYU lectures on Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy (the entire 2020 course is online). I strongly recommend watching these as they give you lots of tools to analyse your characters and lots of examples to see how the theory translates in to practice. There are three lectures - part 1, part 2 and the Q&A.

Writing Excuses 11.37 - Casting Your Book with Gama Martinez had some good practical ideas. I’m going to go into detail on this one because I used it a lot.

The most interesting characters are the ones in the most pain.

Your characters will exist on multiple scales of power/privilege. The recommendation from the hosts is to explore this by flipping their status on some of these axis to help you explore your character. The particular axis identified were role, race/ethnicity, age, orientation/sexuality, ability, class/education and gender. Its important to try and avoid problematic tropes while doing this.

As well as the axis flipping, another idea was to write job interviews with different types of characters.

There are lots of other episodes of Writing Excuses on character.

I enjoyed “I JUST DIDN’T CONNECT WITH THE MAIN CHARACTER” | How to Write Characters Readers Will Love from Michelle Schusterman. In particular, she talks about the concept of character postulates - deeply held beliefs - and how you use those. Building on that, and on the idea of the compulsion (the key postulate) I found Creating SATISFYING Character Growth in a Cozy Mystery from Jane Kalmes useful, framing the difference between the plot and the character arc as the Acute Issue and Chronic Issue.

This is a useful post on Jungian Archetypes. When I have struggled in the past, I’ve tried mapping a character onto an archetype. This helped give me a driving desire or show me when a desire isn’t right. Its not a template, but more a way of interrogating the character you’ve created. I had a character who was a bit all over the place. Her biggest fear was being trapped into what her parents wanted. Looking at the Archetypes I realised I wanted her to be an Explorer and this helped me to flesh her out more when I was struggling.

How I used them

My focus here has been on my protagonist. I’ve been trying to create a character who I don’t hate and who I can give a solid arc that ties into the plot. She is an expert on cults who has focused largely on academic work. Early in her career she tried some field work - support for a cult member who had recently left a cult - and it failed terribly. She has watched as her family have fallen into various cultic organisations and felt paralysed to help them in any way because of her failure. Her relationships with them have been on the decline. This is her chronic issue.

I had a go at writing some postulates:

She believes that if she tries to help members of cults and cultic organisations, she has a substantial chance of making things worse. The main plot offers her a way to potentially overcome this by targeting the cult rather than the individual.

She believes strongly in the dangers posed by cultic groups like some conspiracy theory groups, right wing militias and multi-level marketing organisations. She feels that the dangers posed by these groups are consistently underestimated by the mainstream media and authorities.

She does not believe in any kind of supernatural phenomena and has criticised cultic groups that profess to have abilities. In fact, she spent a while debunking a medium who had a cultic following.

Using the scales Brandon Sanderson suggests, she’s high on the competence scale re: her knowledge of cults, but low on practical application of it, and of other skills she needs in her new role. She’s been through a rough time, which hopefully will make her sympathetic and thus at least partway up the likability scale. She will start low on the proactivity scale, but accelerate up it as the plot progresses. Because, another thing I have realised as I went through this process, is that a little bit of passivity early on is okay. As long as it doesn’t last for the entire book and lead to their own death!

In terms of Jungian archetypes, she is a mix of the Sage and the Magician. This was interesting and made me think about the character a bit. Should her inability to act be motivated by the fear of unintended consequences, or is it just academic paralysis? If she has elements of the magician, does that mean she also has elements of a cult leader? The Magician is certainly the archetype that a cult leader would follow. These presented me with two different ideas I could explore if I feel I need something more or if something doesn’t work.

#NaNoPrep #NaNoWriMo #writing #characters #outlining

[yeoldontknow]

🖊writerly conversation tag

tagged by @j-pping to do this amazing interview/reflections tag. of course she put together one of the most amazing tags ever because she is brilliant. thank you for tagging me angel! 

questions below the cut!

2020

what was the most challenging part of writing this year?

gosh...i think for me the hardest bit was staying both motivated and inspired. a lot of my inspiration comes from being out in the world. im an introvert but i enjoy being out in the city around the noise and the people and the buildings on my own. the majority of my writing used to be done while riding the subway or on a weekend after id gone out somewhere. a lot of my fics are inspired by locations, and experiences within those locations. being inside for the majority of the year made it hard for me to remember how...people interact with or relate to the spaces around them. so i felt like a lot of the time staying inspired was coming from places within just me that felt inauthentic. i think my writing benefits from my ability to see multiple perspectives, so i felt like a lot of dialogue or writing itself was suffering just coming from me alone. it took a lot of work to ensure that it wasnt like that. 

and then, motivation was also so hard. the internet and the news and everything about america, the planet, the everything was unrelenting and draining. we as people were privy to so much trauma this year, to the collapse and fracture of communities, lives, governments. there were several weeks at the end of may and into june where i just...couldnt. i had no energy for anything. it happened again in november after the election and the windfall of it. energetic tensions were so high it just felt so hard to push out words when things were breaking everywhere. like there were more important things i needed to focus on, and healing was one of them.

what was the most enjoyable/rewarding part of writing this year?

i enjoyed the new community of writers/friends i found by writing for bts again. they challenged me and pushed me to better myself. @jamaisjoons is so inspirational in the way she generates community and encourages relationships between storytellers. doing the summer bucket list pushed me out of my hermit hole for camp nano, and i cranked out molotov cocktail and felt so proud of it. it mattered so much to me because it was the first long thing id written after a period of feeling deceased, and it was so enjoyable because there was a sense of community around it. its easy to forget how essential having a support system in your creative community is.

what piece has left the most impact on you and why?

probably ciperion. words cannot express how proud i am of that story and the direction its going in. i read it back sometimes and i realize that my writing was elevated because of that piece. tbh molotov was responsible for that lift, but ciperion was just a whole other tier. ive also never written anything like that story before and it felt so good exploring the themes of seafaring and pirates. 

what have you learned about yourself through the process of writing in the past year?

that i absolutely am someone who took for granted how inspiring the world is even if i see it as a stressor. but also that writing isnt necessarily about being inspired. its about pushing on when its hard. some of my best pieces came from that kind of push this year. 2020 felt like...a slog through most of it, but i kept pushing myself to write even when i was low and tired. i realized that some of my best writing comes from that push, when its not easy and when its difficult and i have to think harder. thats where i grow. 

how has your writing changed in the past year? how have you grown?

i think im more syntax and detailed focused than i used to be. lately ive been experimenting with making the act of reading feel like pleasure. my favourite books are the ones where i read a sentence, and im moved because it felt nice to read or it felt powerful. the sentence itself had power, not the image it was trying to convey. somehow separate, if that makes sense. theres a lot i need to learn before i could go off comfortably and try to write a book, and this is what ive been trying to master. my attention to detail has grown, and sometimes i think thats a detriment. i think sometimes im too detailed and i dont leave my reader enough power on their own. im still finding that balance, but i think im pleased right now with what im trying to push myself to master.

2021

ignoring your wips for a second, if you had all the time and energy in the world to write your magnum opus piece, what would it be about? why is that the dream story you’d write, all other things controlled for?

ive had two books in my mind forever. one was originally being written as a fanfic in a different fandom before i stopped and realized its too big and so much more important, and is worth being a book id like to write. if i wrote an opus like this it would actually be a book id submit to publishers but ~

- hundreds of years in the future, society has learned how to cure most diseases. for those we cannot, the sick person can be cryogenically frozen for a period of time until a cure is found. there is, however, a limit to the length of time they are frozen. no one has ever been frozen for over 100 years, and the main character is a scientist embarking on the experiment to do just that. it is, effectively, time travel. the main character is rash, selfish, sarcastic - not a very nice person; invested in their work and science and little else. they freeze themselves and wake up in the future. during their time in rehab they have to confront the horror theyve made of themselves, the horror people have made of the future, learn to be vulnerable. they end up falling in love with another scientist etc etc. theres so much more to this story and the world is enormous. one day ill revisit it

- a fictional play on orpheus in the underworld where a female main character’s brother was sold by their mother to the goddess of the underworld (helena instead of hades) for eternal youth. the gods all live in a hotel (the concept of this main thing is being used in elysian fields but its not remotely the same) after they were removed from the heavens. main character (ophelia) must gather several totems from the gods to prove her worth and survive her trip into the underworld to rescue him. id like to not focus on a woman finding romance, and instead a woman finding herself, her strength, her devotion to family, her power, and connecting with her history.

how do you want to grow in your writing this year?

this year id like to find balance, like i mentioned above, with my need for detail and my trust in my readers. the balance between detail and dialogue. i want to try to condense my writing again so not everything is a goddamn series. the ideas i have are huge and thats great but i need to remember how to parse things again, while still maintaining impact.

what’s one thing you’d wish to see in the fan-writing community this year?

i want more community, in general. as a multi fan, i see pockets in the kpop fandom where it exists and im well and truly aware that its recently become incredibly hard to foster on the exo side. ill just say that. maybe i dont witness it or its happening amongst blogs i havent found or have not found me. i want to see less dialogue about ‘popular blogs,’ whatever that means; less focus on notes; less worries about statistics. i want people to remember that fandom is not about numbers, and the moment you make it about that is the moment you stop having fun. i want less fear from writers regarding sharing work they read and liked, less shame around it. i want to see more vocal communication for the things people like and don’t like, more engagement and more interaction. the concept of popular blogs is so ridiculous to me, because no one has any control over the metrics. no one has control over who follows them or reads their work except the person doing the actual reading. i want people to realize they hold so much power - a person with 10k notes has as much power as a person with 2 notes because sharing is what fosters community. i want this fandom to remember to share again.

name one new thing you want to try doing in your writing this year.

gosh i really love postmodernism in writing. think like mark z danielewski, who plays with the shapes of words or the act of holding a book - the physicality of it. id like to maybe write a choose your own adventure, or do something that encompasses multiple platforms. or even, more importantly, finish as still as sound and time runner. those are more reasonable goals. time runner actually is done, i just need to stop pressuring myself about it and edit it to get it up. asas, too, is largely done i just need to get my ass together. i have so many other ideas no one has ever seen i need to finish what ive started. thats a real goal.

tagging: @yehet-me-up @jamaisjoons @kyungseokie @jenmyeons @luffles424 @yoonia @shadowsremedy @chillingkoo @onherwings @inkedtae @ninibears-erigom @imdifferentshadesofpurple @readyplayerhobi @ditzymax @sugaurora @snackhobi @yeojaa @sahmfanficbts @xjoonchildx @johobi and anyone else who wants to do this. as always please only do so if comfortable or you want to!

#writer conversation tag

[buttsonthebeach]

HI FRIENDS

I haven't posted in ages so I figured I would. I know I have been off Tumblr a lot in 2020 because a) I work in a healthcare-related field so the pandemic has been... fun b) I am making a smol Beach and apparently that takes a lot of energy?? Who knew??

Anyway, just wanted to say I am not dead, I am still in Solavellan Hell, I am currently reading Tevinter Nights and I miss you allllll

Some other misc. updates:

- I miss taking commissions but I don't know if I will open them again in 2020 at this point. I want to try and do NaNo to work on my original novel so November is out, and then there will be a Smol Beach and no writing will happen at all. But commissions will come back someday, I hope!

- I really love Tevinter Nights?? All the stories set in Minrathous make me miss writing about Lucius and Claudia and Dorian so much.

- I haven't seen the latest video for DA4 because I know it will be 100000 years before they give us another morsel so I am holding off watching it as long as I can

- Smol Beach has caused me to think about what if Solas and Ellana had a son instead of Ashara and I have decided literally nothing changes lol. Still in love with Lucius and/or Laurence, still a big-hearted, too-kind, too naive bean who makes a lot of mistakes. But Solas probably fears/frets a lot more about a son turning out like him and is maybe has more angst about that than he did with Ashara? Probably?

...that's all, have a good Monday, stay safe <3

#beach rambles #about beach

[skippyv20]

SANDRINGHAM ANON 🍁🍁🌳🌳🍁🍁AND PG.

Sandringham Anon and PG💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

SANDRINGHAM ANON 🍁🍁🌳🌳🍁🍁AND PG. ………“ When the tape appears inform my office “ ……” yes ma’am” ……… 💭💭💭Mmm , so those two skallywags are in cahoots “ BACK AT HIMSELFS APARTMENTS … “ quick thinking visiting security Sydney “ ……“I wiped the offending footage sir” ……”top-ho old chum’ I think a bonus is afoot Sydney “ …“ gratefully anticipated sir” … “ is that security” …” yes your Majesty “ …😱 “ install nano cameras in both off-roads with a secure feed to my phone” … “straight away ma’am.”

Thank you😊❤️❤️❤️❤️

Thursday October 22/20

🍁🍁🌳🌳🍁🍁⛄️⛄️⛄️❄️❄️❄️THANK YOU DEAR SANDRINGHAM ANON 🍁🍁🌳🌳🍁🍁⛄️⛄️⛄️❄️❄️❄️

I FORGOT TO NUMBER YESTERDAY’S VIGNETTE IT WAS #18

October 23/2020

VIGNETTE #19

Continuing on from yesterday, her Majesty is speaking with Caldecott and Charters, in the security room. They are the security officers meant to ensure SECURITY and the recorded 🎥 🎞 videos! Herself is very! very!😡 upset with these two lads AND THE OTHER TWO ‘LADS’😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣.These two lads for not doing their job and in trusting Sydney, whose job is valet NOT security, all for a cuppa ☕️. Herself states,  in a very stern manner, when the tape appears inform my office immediately! Both  officers are so befuddled stressed and fearing for their jobs now, both utter a very interruptive yes Ma’am, yes Ma’am, yes Ma’am. They say it one too many times and she turns round,  👀 looks each one in the eye 👁, stony face without saying another word and turns around and exits the office! Herself leaving the security booth is 😤 seething!!😡 Each step she takes she gets more and more riled up! She decides to take a walk around the grounds 🌲 🌳🍁🍁🍂🍂🍃🍃🍀🍀🎄🎄🎄🌳🌳🌲🌲🌱🌱🌷🌷🌷🌹🌹🌹🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍂🍂🍂🍂🍄🍄🍄🐇🐇🐇🕊🕊🕊🦆🦆🦆🦅🦅🦅🦉🦉🦉🦉🐶🐶🐶to think things over and to get the steam out of her engine so to speak🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂. Oh those two! Continual castigation gives One a constant headache!!! MEANWHILE BACK AT THE RANCH, AS THEY USED TO SAY🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂, IN THIS CASE IT IS HIMSELF’S APARTMENTS. Himself is quite chuffed and fully convinced that he had his cake 🎂 and pudding too, as the saying goes.😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣 He had his fun driving the Discovery 🚙 and got out  Herself 😉 finding out. Himself is fully convinced Herself is attending to her duties. Little does he nor Sydney know where she is and has been!!😮😮😮Himself, crediting Sydney, says quick thinking visiting security Sydney!! 🎥 🎞 Sydney, quite proud of his own initiative and success of the task replies I wiped the offending footage Sir! Himself, full of hot air now, we have another saying here but l will not use it but it goes full of p*** and vinegar🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂as he taps his tummy with both index and middle fingers, as he does,🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂 says to Sydney, top-ho old chum’ I think a bonus is afoot Sydney! Ok , now that is the SECOND bonus promised in the last few days along with a major pay raise. $$$$$$€€€€€€££££££Hmmmmmmmm l wonder……🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂Sydney , having no clue what is really happening, says, gratefully anticipated  Sir. MEANWHILE BACK WITH HER MAJESTY IN HER APARTMENTS……Her walk and think time resulted in new ideas! She picks up the telephone ☎️, rings a number, it is answered and she says, is that security? Caldecott replies, yes your Majesty😱😱😱😱😱😱😱. She gives them new instructions, install nano cameras in both off-roads with a secure feed to my phone📱 !!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂So both the Lone Ranger 🚗 and the Discovery 🚙 are now under her watch 24=7!!! 😁😁😁😁😁😁Caldecott replies, straight away Ma’am!! Great move your Majesty, One might add, do NOT TEL HIMSELF NOR SYDNEY😁😁😁😁😁😁……to be continued………

DONE WITH THE GREATEST LOVE AND RESPECT FOR HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN AND HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE PHILIP THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH 

GSTQAOBC  🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇦🇺 🇳🇿

Entertainment Purposes

Thank you...very entertaining....😊💜💜💜💜😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

#Ask Skippy #submission