thehollowworldofficial

[thehollowworldofficial]

We live in a simulated universe, and it is completely impossible to escape said universe. However, it is possible to hack into the simulator’s software using arcane dance moves which lead to overflows and exceptions in the simulating code, which then lets you enter a sort of god-mode or execute your own arbitrary code to change reality.

Historical witches knew about this and called it “magic”, but their arts were lost when the program defended itself by instigating witch burnings.

Now you, a celebrated archeologist, have recovered one of their lost spellbooks; it contains the equivalent of a modern Java-for-dummies progamming course. 

#writing

[thehollowworldofficial]

“Shh, it’s alright,” the villain said. “You’re doing beautifully and I’m so proud of you. But that’s enough now. It was cruel of them to make you fight me - you could never have won. It’s not your fault.”

#writing prompts #writing

[thehollowworldofficial]

9/12/18

I just wrote the plot down for book 2.

Holy shit.

holy SHIT

I mean

HOLY SHIT

#update

[thehollowworldofficial]

So, let me guess— you just started a new book, right? And you’re stumped. You have no idea how much an AK47 goes for nowadays. I get ya, cousin. Tough world we live in. A writer’s gotta know, but them NSA hounds are after ya 24/7. I know, cousin, I know. If there was only a way to find out all of this rather edgy information without getting yourself in trouble…

You’re in luck, cousin. I have just the thing for ya.

It’s called Havocscope. It’s got information and prices for all sorts of edgy information. Ever wondered how much cocaine costs by the gram, or how much a kidney sells for, or (worst of all) how much it costs to hire an assassin?

I got your back, cousin. Just head over to Havocscope.

((PS: In case you’re wondering, Havocscope is a database full of information regarding the criminal underworld. The information you will find there has been taken from newspapers and police reports. It’s perfectly legal, no need to worry about the NSA hounds, cousin ;p))

Want more writerly content? Follow maxkirin.tumblr.com!

#writing #writing prompts #writing tips

[thehollowworldofficial]

27.11.18

Started work again. Cut like 10,000 words by eliminating some very unnecessary chapters. Story still works I think.

I've been thinking about the setting of THW a lot. Because it's meant to be an alternate dimension where nothing is as it seems, entirely controlled by the wizard....but it's basically just a forest.

A monochrome forest with some weird fungus, but idk I feel like it needs to be more 'out there' and strange, because at the moment it's starting to feel a little bland.

This is short because I'm tired

#update

[thehollowworldofficial]

It has become a law to hibernate during the winter with the help of a machine, but there is a glitch, and you wake up halfway through winter and find the reason why the government made hibernation mandatory

#writing prompts #tips

[thehollowworldofficial]

1/11/18

Fucking hell it's been a while.

I started uni, which has been a whirlwind of social anxiety, work anxiety, and general HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO EVEN SURVIVE ON THIS COURSE feelings. It's It's a tough course and it's making me low key hate something I love (making costumes, props, and theatre in general) and the amount of work they've given us is hard to keep up with.

I haven't written in four months, and it's sucking the life out of me. Today I wrote about apologetic email to a teacher about how I missed lessons because I was sick (oh yeah, another thing, my health has been fucking awful), and it was the first time I had crafted something written in a long time. And just writing that dumb email restarted the itch to write, to create, and to go back into my Hollow World.

I just wish I had time.

I also didn't get into Pitchwars, which is fine. At 146,000 words for a debut YA fantasy....i didn't really expect to get in. I hope the reason was the word count rather than a huge writing error on my part.

But yeah....there's a lot of stuff I want to fix in THW right now...and I know what I need to do I just don't have time?! And it breaks my heart and makes me want to be sick that I'm sacrificing my love of my book and my love of writing for this course. I love theatre and costume etc as well, but it's always been more of a hobby, but with writing it's different. When I write I feel like I could eat the words up and fasten them to my soul. I feel like I'm a spinster weaving a thousand threads together, and joining up the dots on a pinboard until I find the answer. It's the only thing I've ever been naturally good at, and it physically pains me now not being able to do it. I always thought I would have time in between uni work to shove some words in, but I don't, and it makes me feel like shit.

Not writing hurts like hell. It hurts like a heart ache right now, as pathetic as that sounds.

The funny thing is, with costume and cosplay, I can live without it. I love to do it, but when I haven't sewn something or crafted something for months, I'm fine! But not writing makes me feel like a distant longing...like I'm wasting time and letting my book go to waste.

I miss it as if it were a person.

I've been spending more time trying to think through the plot and characters. Mags got back to me about my book, and she mentioned some of the characters being a little uninteresting. Or at least there were too many. And I really feel that myself. And the first part of the book needs a major look at. I want to get it down in lengths so bad.

Another task is finding proper beta readers. I could try instagram because I have a decent following there, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to find committed readers.

I'm sure it'll get back into writing again, I just wish I could write as much as I did over summer! :(

This was my angsty post about writing. Maybe I'll read this later on in life and laugh at my own teenage whining. But for now, I'm going to enjoy being able to moan!!! It makes me feel better!

#update

[thehollowworldofficial]

@classicnet test 1 — get to know the members

Hecate,  Goddess of Witchcraft, the Night, the Moon, Magic, Ghosts, and Necromancy.

#ashe

[thehollowworldofficial]

Good stuff.

[thehollowworldofficial]

“If you’ve been brutally broken but still have the courage to be gentle, then you’re a badass with the heart of an angel.”

— Keanu Reeves

#Fox #ashe #fox and ashe

[thehollowworldofficial]

Alita: Battle Angel (2018) dir. Robert Rodriguez

This is just a body. It’s not bad or good. That part is up to you.

#ashe

[thehollowworldofficial]

Alex Danvers Appreciation: 101/?

#fox

[thehollowworldofficial]

Warning to writers

While you are worrying about whether beta readers will steal your ideas, there is a more genuine threat on the horizon.

When offered a publishing contract, please do all your research before you sign. There are a number of fakes and scammers out there, as well as good-intentioned amateurs that don’t know how to get your work to a wide audience. I won’t tell the heartbreaking stories here - there are too many.

Being published badly is worse than being never published.

It can destroy your career and your dreams.

The quick check is to google the publishing house name + scam or warning.

But, to be sure, check with these places first. They aren’t infallible (nothing is) but they can help you protect yourself. They are written and maintained by expereinced writers, editors, publishers and legal folks.

Absolute Write: Bewares and Background Checks

Preditors and editors

Writer Beware

and the WRITER BEWARE blog

Keep yourself and your work safe.

This is really important, so if you are a writer or have writer friends, or you are a writing blog, please reblog it.

[thehollowworldofficial]

Weak Trope: Having a character’s driving motivation be REVENGE up until the last second when they pull the “revenge won’t bring my wife/sister/town/three-eared dog back” and leave the bastard they’ve been hunting down alive.

Strong Trope: Hello! My Name! Is Inigo Montoya! You Killed My Father! Prepare! TO! DIE! *corners count rugen* Beg for your life *slashes cheek* Offer me anything I want in the world!  *slashes other cheek* I WANT MY FATHER BACK, YOU SON OF A BITCH. *stabs count rugen to death*

[thehollowworldofficial]

Elise’s Pitch Wars Welcome!

Hello! My name is Elise Longden, and I’m writing this little introduction because I have written a manuscript and I’m planning to submit it to Pitch Wars, the mentoring programme!

Whilst this little blog is where I record my thoughts about my writing, I’ve never really introduced myself - mostly because I believed I would never let anyone see it. However, the Pitch Wars form has room for a website, and I would rather link this blog as opposed to my Twitter (which is inactive) or my Instagram (which is just full of cosplay and dog photos). 

To clarify, I have written a book called “The Hollow World”. 

Okay so, here’s some stuff about me:

Submission related stuff that potential mentors may be interested in:

In 2017 I won the UK National Flash Fiction Competition run by the University of Chester and was published in an anthology that had also once featured Margaret Atwood (SQUEE!). My piece entitled “Flotsam” can be found here:

 http://www.chester.ac.uk/sites/files/chester/Longden%20Elise%20-%20Flotsam%20FINAL.pdf

I got an A* A-Level grade (It’s not to big myself up...just in case anyone not British doesn’t know what that means!!!!) in Creative Writing, and my coursework, which was 70% of my grade, was the first 30,000 words of my Pitch Wars manuscript.

The idea for “The Hollow World” came to me in a Film Studies class at college. After trying /(and failing) to come up for an idea to base a project around, my teacher gave me an exercise to generate some ideas. She took a few traits typical of Hollywood films, and told me to flip them on their head. Thus, “The Hollow World”, or at least a basis for it, was born, and three (ish) years later, I still can’t get it out of my head. 

Basically the idea of Ashe came from my bizarre urge to see a tiny little girl violently killing things in a film. I thought I was being super original, but the film Logan beat me to it. I can’t even be mad, because Dafne Keen is so incredible?!

The reason why I’m submitting to Pitch Wars, is because I need help. That’s the bottom line. I have edited my manucript the best I can, but I need someone who can take what I’ve written and look at it from a fresh, and new perspective. I am new to the idea of getting my manucript published (though I have always dreamed I would), and navigating the crazy world of publishing and agents and general make-your-writing-an-actual-book stuff....is scary. And I really, really, need your help. I need someone who is honest who can tell me what needs to be done. I’ve done the best I can, and now I need someone who is better than me.

I draw, so here’s some pictures of the characters from the “The Hollow World”, that may hopefully pique your interest:

ASHE 

MAGPIE

NADIA

CASSIDY

SOME FACES

SOME MORE FACES

Whilst these were drawn about a year ago and aren’t my best work, I’m hoping they entice potential mentors, just a ‘lil bit more! :)

Some general stuff about me:

I am a pretty happy and positive person, who loves to work hard. If I have a task or idea inside my head, I will hyperfixate on it until it’s done. For example...this manuscript was unfinished (by about 20,000 words) on the 1st of August. It was my first draft that I hadn’t read through, it was unformatted, it was riddled with errors and inconsistancies, but after meeting the lovely Tomi Adeyemi and talking to her about Pitch Wars, I decided to enter. So I took my jumbled mess, I put my butt into gear, and I spent day after day writing, writing, writing, until I felt happy enought to submit it. I also had to learn what I query letter was, because I am a publishing term noob. My point is, I am willing to push myself, and go all out at 110% percent, if that somehow helps me achieve what I want to achieve.

I am 19 and I live in the UK (specifically near Liverpool). 

I cosplay as well! I’ve been Rey, Leia, and a generic Jedi from Star Wars, Margaery Tyrell and Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones, Pirate King Elizabeth Swann from Pirates of the Caribbean, and I spend 70% of my time in my 13th Doctor costume.

I love Hamilton, and can rap all of it. I love musicals in general tbh.

I have an unhealthy obsession with Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes.

Have I mentioned that the 13th Doctor is the best thing ever to happen to me?

I have a dinosaur hat that I wear whenever I’m sad, because it’s pretty impossible to be sad with a giant T-Rex on your head. And by “hat” I mean this thing:

Pretty majestic, right?

ANYWAY

I’m ace/aro, which is why my book features no romance.

I love my dog Rocky more than anything. He looks like this: 

As well as a mentor who can teach me writer-y things, I’m also looking for a friend, so here’s some stuff I like:

TV Shows: 

Merlin (the love of my life, tbh, and it broke my heart), DOCTOR WHO (especially the 13th Doctor, even though she hasn’t aired yet), Hannibal, Orphan Black, Sense 8, iZombie, TOP GEAR (Yes, the car show. I’m obsessed), Game of Thrones, Parks and Recreation, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Jessica Jones/any Netflix Marvel show, the 100 (early seasons because Lexa), RuPauls Drag Race, Queer Eye, Brooklyn 99, Stranger Things, Sherlock, Agent Carter...I’ve watched a lot okay?

Movies: 

My ultimate favourite movie of all time is What We Do in the Shadows. Even if you’re not going to choose me as a mentee, then please what this dumb film. I love it. I LOVE IT. It’s dark comedy genius, and a real gem. 

Other favourite films are: Wonder Woman, Ghostbusters (2017 version), Ocean’s 8 (will Cate Blanchett adopt me as her ace/aro child?), Marvel Films (particulary Thor: Ragnarok), Star Wars Films, Kingsman Films, John Wick Films, Pirates of the Carribbean Films, Harry Potter Films,Mad Max: Fury Road, Peter Pan Goes Wrong (if you pick me I’ll force you to watch it at some point, sorry), Disney Films (Mulan, Up!, and Hercules are my faves).

Books: 

Some that don’t need an explanation: Harry Potter, A Song of Ice and Fire, His Dark Materials, Lord of the Rings. Anything by Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, or Stephen King.

My favourite series, and arguably my “Harry Potter” is the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy. I’ve met Derek multiple times, and his books are just hilarious, soul-destorying, and MAGIC. I love them.

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers - Seriously, this Sci-Fi book is one of the most striking books I’ve ever read, mostly because it surprised me with it’s tender story, honest representations of real people, and general WOW-ness. I love it, and its flashbacks heavily influenced my own manuscript. You know when you love a book so much that you wish you could eat it? This is that book for me.

Moriarty by Antony Horowitz. My favourite villain of all time in a book that blew my mind? Yes please.

The Girl in 6E by A.R.Torre. I picked up this book for a quid in the supermarket, and it utterly suprised me. It’s about a sex-worker murder-obsessed cam girl who is asked to act out something on camera that’s a little too disturbing, so she tracks down the man who asked her in order to save a little girl from a vile act. Think Maestra meets The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It’s not the most sophisticated reading with all of the bizarre sexual stuff, but the wit and exasperation of the main character makes up for it. I love anything that surprises me, and this book was something I'd never seen before.

Anything (memoir or fiction) by Carrie Fisher. As a Star Wars nerd I knew I would love her work, but when I read them I was blown away by how poignant, poetic, and wonderous Carrie Fisher’s writing is. She seems to find the perfect balance between humour and emotion, and reading them was a genuine joy. Each funny sentence makes me laugh out loud, but each serious sentence is heavy, poised, and so amazingly crafted and emotional. 

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. I was lucky enough to meet Tomi on her UK tour, and I gave her my very long letter and a portfolio of art. I love the book, and I love even more what it stands for, and there’s not much else I can really say.

Other books I loved in no order: The Power by Naomi Alderman, The Cursed Prince by Holly Black, The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness, the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas, The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, the Gone series by Michael Grant, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, The Martian and Artemis by Andy Weir, Lost Stars by Claudia Gray, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Room by Emma Donoghue, Wicked by Gregory Maguire....and a helluva lot more....

And just so you know, here’s what I look like:

(I’m the human dressed as the 13th Doctor)

Hopefully this gives you an idea about me and my personality! I’m sorry this is so long, I just wanted to make sure I came across in an okay way! If any potential mentors are reading this, thank you for taking the time to! 

If you want to read the notes/journal entries I kept on this blog when I was writing and editing my manucript, just search the tag #update! 

My Twitter is: https://twitter.com/EliseLongden 

My Instagram is:  instagram.com/elise.longden/ (here you will find a lot of cosplay and dog pictures, and I’m not sorry)

If you have any questions or anything else you want to know, please feel free to shoot me an ask! Or just say hi!

#pitch wars #personal #elise's pitch wars welcome

[thehollowworldofficial]

24.08.18

Okay so I think I finished all the stuff I want to do for pitch wars

I've picked my mentors I think but I'm kind of nervous because my book is in the YA category but it's fairly long at 146k? It's not RIDICULOUSLY HUGE (someone on Twitter said they had 250k debut YA to submit and I was like wheeze) but I'm worried it will go against me? I hope the writing is concise enough to justify my 146k word limit...

I mean I could fail at any other of the things too that aren't necessarily bad writing and I'm going to list them for when/if I don't become a mentee:

Query is bad. Comps are awkward and and it doesn't sell my novel

synopsis is not good and doest explain the plot in an enticing enough way

I submitted to the wrong people by mistake

I submitted to people who don't like dark (ish) books

I was just unlucky

It's just not meant to happen

Idk

I'd love to get in for the accomplishment but also because I REALLY NEED IT!? I'm good with editing line stuff but if there's a problem in my plot like it drags or whatever, I need someone to kick my ass and say "cut it". I've been doing my best editing on my own but I need help so bad like I don't know where to go next

My chances of getting in are slim but NOTHING VENTURED NOTHING GAINED

And to be fair to myself I did only decided to submit my then unfinished first draft (I DIDNT EVEN KNOW HOW F DIED WHATTTTTT MADNESS) a month ago and I've been working at least 6 hours a day on it since then?

I'm exhausted and I also have a wedding in two days so that's fun (tho I'm acearo as heck so yay I get to doubt myself!)

Um yeah

I'm tired. I'm gonna sleep.

But yay I finished everything!

#update

[thehollowworldofficial]

being a writer is buckwild because one day you realize a bunch of things you could improve in your writing and then you start hating it and never wanting to read anything you’ve written ever again but then a couple days later you go back and actually read something of yours and it isn’t awful and somehow that is a very genuine surprise to you