tiesa-reale

[tiesa-reale]

FINALLY 👏 SOMEONE 👏 SAID 👏 IT. 👏 ALL OF IT.  👏ALL AT ONCE. 👏

(Thank you @fallingawkwardly​ for bringing this to my attention.)

[tiesa-reale]

characters and world-building

kkennnicolee said:I really find your work inspiring. When I find myself in a writer’s block, my favorite book to re-read is Clockwork Princess. That passage about Tessa, Will and Jem? *Chefs kiss* What was your creative process for creating such a detailed world and well-rounded characters? I’ve done so many different outlines, I get lost in the process of it all and find it hard to actually translate it onto paper. 🖤

* * *

Whee, writing questions. I enjoy them! OK, so, a couple of things: No one kind of writing process is going to work for everyone. It isn’t a one size fits all type of thing. You have to find out what works for you.

I can certainly talk a little about how I do things. I am a relentless outliner — as I’ve mentioned before, my outline for Chain of Iron is a horrifying 60,000 words. Part of that is that my publishing schedule necessitates that I write quickly, and outlining is one way to make that possible.

That said, I often notice that for a lot of people starting out writing, outlining is where they get bogged down. They fill notebooks with thousands of words about their characters and their world, and they wind up stuck in the process of making notes about character and world building without ever writing any actual story. It’s easy to wind up there because outlining can expand and expand, as can the process of adding endless details about your world (what kind of lamps do they use? Who’s on the money?) or magic system. 

So you get lost in the maze, but the thing about a maze is that you find out whether its solvable by running someone through it. In this case, you find out if your characters work and your world works by writing story. Only actually writing your characters interacting with each other and the plot will present you with the questions you need answered. You may not need to know what’s on the money but you may (as I have had to do for Sword Catcher) need to learn a lot about how armies work, or unusual details about crocodiles. But you likely won’t know that starting out. Put your characters in situations that pull the best and worst out of them; that’s how you’ll get to know them.

Clockwork Angel had about six different beginnings I threw away before I figured out who these characters were and how they worked. But I never would have figured those things out without those starts. So don’t think But if I start writing and don’t use what I write, it will be wasted effort. That effort isn’t wasted; that effort teaches you what you need to know and therefore, where you’re going.

🖤

[tiesa-reale]

[tiesa-reale]

Can you hear your characters?

I have a whole lot of trouble making my dialogue sound natural if I don’t know what my characters sound like. Having a strong sense of their voice can help distinguish your characters from each other, show their personalities, and make them more engaging to readers. 

Here’s some details to think over if you’re trying to nail down a character’s voice:

Speed

Pitch

Volume

Accent

Vocabulary

Amount spoken

Willingness to speak

Stutters

Hesitations

Repetitions

Quirks 

Common phrases 

Other questions to ask:

Do their voices or the way they talk change depending on who they’re talking to or the situation they’re in? 

How can their personality come through their voice? Their sarcasm, empathy, awkwardness, etc. 

What in their backstory contributes to the way they talk? 

When they make a statement, how often does it come off as unsure or questioning, versus confident and factual? 

How does their voice relate or coexist with their body language? 

[tiesa-reale]

Tiesa? Accidentally giving away information of extreme importance.

Luna? Literally anything she does on a daily basis. She's a political bull in a china shop.

Bellva? Ignoring people when she doesn't want to associate with them even though she has to.

Pen? Nothing. He's a perfect angel.

What would your OC get cancelled for?

[tiesa-reale]

I found your writing muslim characters post and found it very helpful. I hope you'll indulge a question. I know that Muslim's pray 5x a day but what happens in cases where you cannot? For various reasons which could include a must attend social gathering? Or ya know, saving friends from the bad guys? Would she skip that time? Do the prayer as soon as possible?

i am… going to try my best on this one and tell you what i have been taught. some muslims may beg to differ, but this is based on what was taught to me.

at the must-attend social gathering, if your character can pray, they must pray on time. at parties and things, i’ve gone to hosts, told them i need a quiet space to pray, and they have provided me with such a quiet space, usually a bedroom or something. if it’s a more public place and there is no quiet space to go, they might just find a corner or a table or something. if it’s not possible to pray on the floor, they can pray in a chair. i’ve prayed like that in airports or conventions.

if your character genuinely completely forgot about prayer, entirely lost track of time, dozed off and missed it while they were sleeping, etc., it’s okay, it’s forgiven, and they should make up the missed prayer as soon as possible. 

if your character is entirely preoccupied on a mission, i believe the same rule would apply. if they get a chance to pray on time, they should, but if it isn’t safe to let their guard down for prayer, i think it would make sense that they wait. survival is definitely more important. if your character is with people they trust and they have time to pause for prayer, your character should set down their weapons and everything and pray while the others stand guard and protect them. if your character cannot trust the others not to abandon them or shoot them in the back while they’re praying, i would again advise them to wait.

[tiesa-reale]

Hi, I have some questions regarding a story. I plan on writing a story about a muslim woman who starts having conflicts with her spirituality when she falls in love with her best friend (female). It is based on a situation I saw in a forum and I have yet to decide if both women should be muslim or only the main character. What are your thoughts? What could I add or develop? Is it offensive in a way? It is an issue I want to address after all but if it isn’t proper then I wouldn’t do it.

okay i think you’re asking about conflict between spirituality/sexuality? i’m going to go for that angle, but if you meant something else, please feel free to come back and clarify!

i think it could work. it makes sense and it’s definitely a real situation, and probably more common than people think. you will face backlash for this, especially if you aren’t muslim yourself. it’ll come mostly from deeply “traditional” people who’d consider it offensive to portray a lgbtqia+ muslim character. unfortunately there’s a very big idea that you can’t be muslim and also lgbtqia+ which is totally false but it is an extremely common mindset in the muslim community. we’ve got a long way to go, but portraying a muslim wlw isn’t too different from portraying a christian wlw, regarding considering spirituality/sexuality together. be careful not to have her renounce her religion because of this. ultimately i can’t tell you what to do but i strongly advise you to have her find a way to reconcile between religion/sexuality. it’s going to be difficult. you’re going to have to be very careful with this and you need to be really familiar with islamic culture and beliefs, but it definitely has the potential to be beautiful 

[tiesa-reale]

relatable muslim things (sort of a sequel to this post):

ladies in the masjid who clap their hands and hiss at people to be quiet

small children running back and forth between the men and womens’ prayer halls to hug their parents

people passing out baklava and other sweets between taraweeh prayers

so many water bottles

people setting up camp in the prayer halls with pillows and blankets to stay the night on laylat al-qadr

when you’re praying and a kid sits down in front of you but you have to go down for sujood and now you have to decide if you’re gonna veer to the side or curl up real small

when you’re wearing long clothes and trip in prayer cause they keep catching under your feet/knees when you’re trying to stand up

when people start weeping during duas

being mesmerized when the quran is recited by an especially beautiful voice

when your feet hurt from standing so long in taraweeh prayers but you don’t care because you’re so happy to be there

henna/mehendi parties before eid

when you have henna on your hands but you’re starving and someone has to feed you

kids who beg to try henna even though you warn them they can’t handle it and then they can’t keep their hands flat and end up ruining even the simplest designs

the days after ramadan when you keep forgetting to eat or drink because you forget you’re not fasting

iftar parties

hijabi girls who have to touch every scarf they see

when parents say “in sha Allah” but they mean “no”

halalifying your outfits with jackets and leggings

the glee of finding halal marshmallows that don’t taste like bubblegum

when merely the word ‘alcohol’ elicits actual scandalized gasps from older people

hijabis, how many scarves do you have in the colors black and gold?

[tiesa-reale]

more on writing muslim characters from a hijabi muslim girl

- hijabis get really excited over pretty scarves - they also like to collect pins and brooches - we get asked a lot of questions and it can be annoying or it can be amusing, just depends on our mood and personality and how the question is phrased - common questions include: - “not even water?” (referring to fasting) - hijabis hear a lot of “do you sleep in that?” (we don’t) and “where is your hair?” (in a bun or a braid, usually) - “is it mooze-slim or mozzlem?” (the answer is neither, it’s muslim, with a soft s and accent on the first syllable) - “ee-slam or iz-lamb?” (it’s iss-laam, accent on the first syllable) - “hee-job?” (heh-jahb, accent on the second syllable)

- “kor-an?” (no. quran. say it like koor-annn, accent on the second syllable) - people tend to mess up our names really badly and you just get a sigh and a resigned nod or an awkward smile, maybe a nickname instead - long hair is easy to hide, short hair is harder to wrap up - hijab isn’t just covering hair, it’s also showing as little skin as possible with the exception of face, hands, and feet, and not wearing tight/sheer clothing - that applies to men too, people just don’t like to mention it ( i wonder why) - henna/mehendi isn’t just for special occasions, you’ll see people wearing it for fun - henna/mehendi isn’t just for muslims, either, it’s not a religious thing - henna/mehendi is not just for women, men also wear it, especially on their weddings - there are big mehendi parties in the couple of nights before eid where people (usually just women and kids) gather and do each other’s mehendi, usually just hands and feet - five daily prayers - most muslim kids can stutter through a couple verses of quran in the original arabic text by the age of seven or eight, it does not matter where they live or where they’re from or what language they speak natively - muslim families tend to have multiple copies of the quran - there are no “versions” of the quran, there has only ever been one. all muslims follow the exact same book - muslims have no concept of taking God’s name in vain, we call on God at every little inconvenience - don’t use islamic phrases if you don’t know what they mean or how to use them. we use them often, inside and outside of religious settings. in islam, it is encouraged to mention God often and we say these things very casually, but we take them very seriously - Allahu Akbar means “God is Greatest” (often said when something shocks or surprises us, or if we’re scared or daunted, or when something amazing happens, whether it be good or bad; it’s like saying “oh my god”) - Subhan Allah means “Glory be to God” (i say subhan Allah at the sky, at babies, at trees, whatever strikes me as pleasant, especially if it’s in nature) - Bismillah means “in the name of God” and it’s just something you say before you start something like eating or doing your homework - In Shaa Allah means “if God wills” (example: you’ll be famous, in shaa Allah) (it’s a reminder that the future is in God’s hands, so be humble and be hopeful)

- Astaghfirullah means “i seek forgiveness from Allah” and it’s like “god forgive me” - Alhamdulillah means “all thanks and praise belong to God” and it’s just a little bit more serious than saying “thank god” (example: i passed my exams, alhamdulillah; i made it home okay, alhamdulillah) - when i say we use them casually, i really mean it - teacher forgot to assign homework? Alhamdulillah - our version of “amen” is “ameen” - muslims greet each other with “assalamu alaikum” which just means “peace be on you” and it’s like saying hi - the proper response is “walaikum assalam” which means “and on you be peace” and it’s like saying “you too”

[tiesa-reale]

Muslim Character Questions Round-Up!

Here is a helpful list of all of our posts about Muslim characters (up to date as of April 14, 2015). 

Muslim Woman Apocalypse Wear: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/116312637875/what-would-be-acceptable-for-a-muslim-woman-to

Muslim Vampires: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/114694169750/so-i-wanted-to-ask-about-a-post-where-you-talked

Muslim Werewolf Boy & Jewish Girl Friendship: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/114521564100/i-want-to-write-a-friendship-between-a-werewolf

Muslim Character Wants to be Hafiza: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/113708866808/i-have-a-little-somali-american-muslim-girl-in

Non-Muslim Veils/Desert Dwellers: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/113358823313/im-writing-a-story-with-a-princess-woc-and-as-she

Magic-Using Middle Eastern Character: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/113004084556/hi-i-love-your-blog-and-it-has-made-me-open-my

Muslim Female Protag; Studying Abroad with Demons: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/112723493574/hi-so-in-my-novel-my-mc-is-a-muslim-girl-who-was

Muslim Smuggler Character: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/111987712278/muslim-smuggler-character

Saudi Arabian Djinn Character: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/110474368852/saudi-arabian-genie

99 Attributes of God: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/110466080472/the-99-attributes-of-god

Wearing Scarf to Honor Heritage: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/110286554183/set-in-canada-one-of-my-characters-in-my-book-is

BONUS! Follow-up Part I: Can My Muslim Character Speak For Me II (Muslims and Extra-Marital Sex): http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/109823853373/can-my-muslim-character-speak-for-me-take-two

BONUS! Follow-up Part II: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/109924826212/to-kaye-your-response-regarding-making-a-muslim

Muslim Superheroes: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/109503121737/muslim-superheroes

White/Pale Characters with Arabic/Jewish Names: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/109426818420/pale-characters-with-arabic-or-jewish-name

Indian Muslim Names: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/109316938702/i-have-an-indian-character-with-a-muslim

Muslim Djinn and Rewriting A Religion: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/109238705204/muslim-genies-rewriting-a-religion

Malay Muslim Customs: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/109229126357/hey-first-off-i-just-wanted-to-say-that-i-love

Yiddish, Mizrahi, Palestinian Names: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/108463835614/how-to-find-yiddish-mizrahi-and-palestinian

Arab Women Characters, Tropes to Avoid: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/109132959194/arab-women-characters-tropes-to-avoid

Reading Holy Books to Gain Perspective on a Character (from a Muslim and Jewish perspective): http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/108191176667/if-one-or-several-of-my-characters-especially

Muslim Magical Girls: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/108200195494/is-a-muslim-magical-girl-offensive

Muslims in China: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/107909113346/on-one-hand-im-definitely-not-chinese-so-perhaps

BONUS! Follow-up (aka Don’t Speak Over Marginalized People): http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/108100437380/on-speaking-over-marginalized-people

Naming Muslim Woman After Hindu God: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/106922167611/hi-ive-been-recommended-to-come-speak-to-you-i

Racism in France (not an ask specifically about Muslims, but there is a discussion on Islamophobic sentiment and laws in France): http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/106441489097/hello-first-of-all-i-wanted-to-thank-you-for-all

Muslim Woman and Non-Muslim Man Relationship: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/106012101432/google-only-gives-me-islamphobic-answers-when-i

Muslim Pakistani-American Woman and ESL: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/105626540245/pakistani-american-and-esl

Gay Muslim Character: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/105194780612/hi-there-so-my-main-character-is-muslim-and-gay

Headscarves With No Religious Significance: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/103329046487/headscarves-with-no-religious-significance

Speaking Arabic and English: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/102731441673/esl-speaking-arabic-and-english

Indicating Muslim or Jewish Characters (Advice on “coding” your religious characters): http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/102650448564/indicating-muslim-and-or-jewish-characters

Arabia-Inspired Fantasy: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/101126591465/writing-an-arab-inspired-fantasy

Female Muslim Scientist Character: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/100332593723/female-muslim-scientist-characters

How Does a Hijab Work?: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/100258713669/the-workings-of-hijabs

BONUS! Follow-up Part I: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/100248585186/muslim-characteristics-and-the-purpose-of-the

BONUS! Follow-up Part II: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/100351197938/muslim-characteristics-and-the-hijab-commentary

Islam & Alcohol: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/100193047899/islam-alcohol

BONUS! Follow-up: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/100252265706/islam-alcohol

Remarriage in Islam: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/100095329304/remarriage-in-islam

POC Profile: Muslim Pakistani London-er: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/98342412513/muslim-pakistani-london-er

Tokenized Muslim Character: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/97410784764/hey-so-youve-often-mentioned-that-if-a-character

Arab Stereotypes (The Myth of Arab = Muslim): http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/95149270852/arabian-stereotypes

[tiesa-reale]

*curtsies* So, I really, REALLY don't want to offend anyone, Duke, but a question has been bothering me for a really long time and I was afraid to ask it because I didn't want to piss off anyone and since you're really eloquent and knowledgeable, I thought I'd ask you. So here it goes: you always say that arts and sciences are equally important, but how can analysing Chaucer or ecopoetics or anything similar compare to biomedicine or engineering in improving human lives? I'm genuinely curious!

*Curtsies* All right. Let me tell you a story: 

When I lived in London, I shared a flat with a guy who was 26 years old, getting his PhD in theoretical physics. Let’s call him Ron. Ron could not for the life of him figure out why I was wasting my time with an MA in Shakespeare studies or why my chosen method of providing for myself was writing fiction. Furthermore, it was utterly beyond him why I should take offense to someone whose field literally has the word “theoretical” in the title ridiculing the practical inefficacy of art. My pointing out that he spent his free time listening to music, watching television, and sketching famous sculptures in his notebook somehow didn’t convince him that art is a necessary part of a healthy human existence. 

Three other things that happened with Ron: 

I came home late one night and he asked where I’d been. When I told him I’d been at a friend’s flat for a Hanukkah celebration, he said, “What’s Hanukkah?” I thought he was joking. He was not.

A few weeks later, I came downstairs holding a book. He asked what I was reading and when I said, “John Keats,” he (and the three other science grad students in the room) did not know who that was. This would be like me not knowing who Thomas Edison is.

One night we got into an argument about the issue of gay marriage, and at one point he actually said, “It doesn’t affect me so I don’t see why I should care about it.”

Now: If Ron had ever read Number the Stars, or heard Ode to a Nightingale, or been to a performance of The Laramie Project, do you think he ever would have asked any of these questions? 

Obviously this is an extreme example. This guy was amazingly ignorant, but he was also the walking embodiment of the questions you’re asking. What does art matter compared with something like science, that saves people’s lives? Here’s the thing: There’s a flaw in the question, because art saves lives, too. Maybe not in the same “Eureka, we’ve cured cancer!” kind of way, but that doesn’t make it any less important. Sometimes the impact of art is relatively small, even invisible to the naked eye. For example: as a young teenager I was (no exaggeration) suicidally unhappy. Learning to write is what kept me (literally and figuratively) off the ledge. But I was one nameless teenager; in the greater scheme of things, who cares? Fair enough. Let’s talk big picture. Let’s talk about George Orwell. George Orwell wrote books, the two most famous of which are Animal Farm and 1984. You probably read at least one of those in high school. Why do these books matter? Because they’re cautionary tales about limiting the power of oppressive governments, and their influence is so pervasive that the term “Big Brother,” which refers to the omniscient government agency which watches its citizens’ every move in 1984, has become common parlance to refer to any abuse of power and invasion of privacy by a governmental body. Another interesting fact, and the reason I chose this example: sales of 1984 fucking skyrocketed in 2017, Donald Trump’s first year in office. Why? Well, people are terrified. People are re-reading that cautionary tale, looking for the warning signs. 

Art, as Shakespeare taught us, “holds a mirror up to nature.” Art is a form of self-examination. Art forces us to confront our own mortality. (Consider Hamlet. Consider Dylan Thomas.) Art forces us to confront inequality. (Consider Oliver Twist. Consider Audre Lorde. Consider A Raisin in the Sun. Consider Greta Gerwig getting snubbed at the Golden Globes.) Art forces us to confront our own power structures. (Consider Fahrenheit 451. Consider “We Shall Overcome.” Consider All the President’s Men. Consider “Cat Person.”) Art reminds us of our own history, and keeps us from repeating the same tragic mistakes. (Consider The Things They Carried. Consider Schindler’s List. Consider Hamilton.) Art forces us to make sense of ourselves. (Consider Fun House. Consider Growing Up Absurd.) Art forces us to stop and ask not just whether we can do something but whether we should. (Consider Brave New World. Consider Cat’s Cradle.) You’re curious about ecopoetics? The whole point is to call attention to human impact on the environment. Some of our scientific advances are poisoning our planet, and the ecopoetics of people like the Beats and the popular musicians of the 20th century led to greater environmental awareness and the first Earth Day in 1970 . Art inspires change–political, social, environmental, you name it. Moreover, art encourages empathy. Without books and movies and music, we would all be stumbling around like Ron, completely ignorant of every other culture, every social, political, or historical experience except our own. Since we have such faith in science: science has proved that art makes us better people. Science has proved that people who read fiction not only improve their own mental health but become proportionally more empathetic. (Really. I wrote an article about this when I was working for a health and wellness magazine in 2012.) If you want a more specific example: science has proved that kids who read Harry Potter growing up are less bigoted. (Here’s an article from Scientific American, so you don’t have to take my word for it.) That is a big fucking deal. Increased empathy can make a life-or-death difference for marginalized people.

But the Defense of Arts and Humanities is about more than empirical data, precisely because you can’t quantify it, unlike a scientific experiment. Art is–in my opinion–literally what makes life worth living. What the fuck is the point of being healthier and living longer and doing all those wonderful things science enables us to do if we don’t have Michelangelo’s David or Rimbaud’s poetry or the Taj Mahal or Cirque de Soleil or fucking Jimi Hendrix playing “All Along the Watchtower” to remind us how fucking amazing it is to be alive and to be human despite all the terrible shit in this world? Art doesn’t just “improve human lives.” Art makes human life bearable.

I hope this answers your question. 

To it I would like to add: Please remember that just because you don’t see the value in something doesn’t mean it is not valuable. Please remember that the importance of science does not negate or diminish the importance of the arts, despite what every Republican politician would like you to believe. And above all, please remember that artists are every bit as serious about what they do as astronomers and mathematicians and doctors, and what they do is every bit as vital to humanity, if in a different way. Belittling their work by questioning its importance, or relegating it to a category of lesser endeavors because it isn’t going to cure a disease, or even just making jokes about how poor they’re going to be when they graduate is insensitive, ignorant, humiliating, and, yes,  offensive. And believe me: they’ve heard it before. They don’t need to hear it again. We know exactly how frivolous and childish and idealistic and unimportant everyone thinks we are. Working in the arts is a constant battle against the prevailing idea that what you do is useless. But it’s bad enough that the government is doing its best to sacrifice all arts and humanities on the altar of STEM–we don’t need to be reminded on a regular basis that ordinary people think our work is a waste of time and money, too. 

Artists are exhausted. They’re sick and tired of being made to justify their work and prove the validity of what they do. Nobody else in the world is made to do that the way artists are. That’s why these questions upset them. That’s why it exasperates me. I have to answer some version of this question every goddamn day, and I am so, so tired. But I’ve taken the effort to answer it here, again, in the hopes that maybe a couple fewer people will ask it in the future. But even if you’re not convinced by everything I’ve just said, please try to find some of that empathy, and just keep it to yourself. 

[tiesa-reale]

dark academia gatherings:  where you and your friends head to the library to pick up some classics, sit on the grass at dusk reciting poetry, step on crunchy leaves on cloudy autumn day, drink black coffee while listening to classic music and hear the rain touch gently the window from your appartment.

[tiesa-reale]

Playgirl: Chapter 1

Previous

Venice had been living in that large white house for almost six years now, with no way to tell if those six years would be a very short time in her life, or just six measly years in a normal human lifespan. She had stopped asking herself these questions long ago since answers would never come, nor were they welcome.

Keep reading

[tiesa-reale]

For reference, this is what she’s talking about :

In conclusion: Fanfic is important, there’s nothing wrong with writing or enjoying it and the cast and crew of Good Omens are a gift.

[tiesa-reale]

calling all writeblrs!

i’m looking for new writeblrs to follow! just like and reblog this post and i’ll be sure to check out your blog and drop a follow.

being an upcoming writeblr myself, i’d really appreciate a follow back, but you don’t have to! 

[tiesa-reale]

writer wip asks✨

❤️: what’s the working title? 🧡: what were previous working titles/ideas? 💛: what is the title based on? 💚: how long have you been working on it? 💙: how has the idea changed between starting it and where it is now? 💜: where are you in the writing process? 🖤: what are your MC names? 💔: give a brief character bio of your 3-5 MCs ❣️: which scene has been hardest to write so far? 💕: what has your favorite scene been? 💞: which future scene are you looking forward to writing? 💓: is it part of a series or standalone? 💗: what genre is it in? 💖: are you planning on publishing it? if so, how? 💘: give us a huge spoiler 💝: who has your favorite character arch? give a brief summary 💟: how is your style different in this work compared to previous ones? has it more shifted for the story or just developed in general?

[tiesa-reale]

I've decided to write Bellva first. She's a lot of fun, but she's also really good at getting into long-term bad situations.

I've started referring to working on the story as "digging Bellva a hole."

So if I'm trying to tell my family that I'm going to be writing, I'll say, "hey, I'm gonna dig Bellva a hole now, please don't bug me."