touchingmadness

[touchingmadness]

Star Trek Femslash Week will be held from the 3rd-9th September 2024. 1 week left to fill out the interest survey!

#reblogging it here bc i have more active followers on this blog ✌️ #signal boost #writing event

[touchingmadness]

♡ interact with this post if you're a writeblr and want to be tagged in tag games ♡

#yeah i don't always respond very quickly #but i enjoy engaging with them when i have the opportunity

[touchingmadness]

#yeah i'm not a worldbuilder by any stretch #i spend a lot more time on characters than anything else

[touchingmadness]

Tap here for a poll about whether or not writers mimic other writers’ writing styles and/or take inspiration from other writers’ works

*this poll was submitted to us and we simply posted it so people could vote and discuss their opinions on the matter. if you’d like for us to ask the internet a question for you, feel free to drop the poll of your choice in our inbox and we’ll post them anonymously (for more info, please check our pinned post)

#this is literally how developing your own style works #you take what you like from other people #try to see if you can do it #make little changes that make you happier with the style #and do that a thousand times with a thousand writers #until it all comes together into something that is what you want it to be #whether you do it on purpose or not #we all do it #i'd never begrudge someone else thar part of their journey #hell i'd be flattered

[touchingmadness]

Become an Advance Reader for Duck Prints Press!

Reviews are essential for showing prospective readers that we’re publishing awesome books that they want to buy and read. We’re looking to recruit an active group of people who post reviews of our work, and to do that we need your help! For the first time, we’re offering Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) of one of our projects: Aether Beyond the Binary, our most recent anthology, featuring 17 stories of characters outside the gender binary exploring modern-esque aetherpunk worlds.

How it works: You see this post. You think, oh, I love reading! I love leaving reviews! I want to join the Duck Prints Press Reviewer Program! Then, you go and read the rules for our Reviewer Program. And, if everything there sounds like something you can do, you fill out the form, and – we’ll be in touch! Even better: this program isn’t only for Aether Beyond the Binary, and isn’t only for “advance” titles. Our reviewers are encouraged to claim titles that are currently released, too, to help build up a robust collection of reviews of Duck Prints Press titles!

Requirements:

You must be over 18 years old.

You must be prepared to post reviews on Goodreads and/or Storygraph.

You must also post the review on the appropriate listing on the Duck Prints Press webstore (for advance titles, you’ll have to wait ’til we list them there).

Upon acceptance to the program, you must join the Duck Prints Press Book Lover’s Server.

Reviews must be at least 100 words long must and engage with the actual content of the work being reviewed.

Reviews must be left within 6 months of claiming a title, or you will be removed from the program.

What isn’t Required:

That the reviews be positive. Reviews are for readers. We require that reviews be honest to your own experience of the work, not that they be glowing.

That you post the reviews to social media. Doing so is definitely a bonus, but you don’t have to.

That you associate yourself publicly with the review-leaving (beyond using a valid Goodreads and/or Storygraph account). As in, you don’t have to say, “I, (your name here), reviewed this book” or link your book website accounts with your existing social media presence or anything like that, nor do we request any demographic information beyond confirmation of your age.

That you purchase anything. Absolutely no purchase necessary!

What You Get:

A e-book copy (ePub and/or PDF) of the work you’re reviewing. We do not provide physical ARCs.

After you post your first review, you’ll get a coupon for 10% off a purchase from the Duck Prints Press webstore!

For every ten reviews you post, you can claim a freebie sticker from among our sticker offerings, if you want. (You’ll have to provide a snail mail address to get this, of course.)

A community of fun book-lovers to hang out with! (You can get that even without joining the ARC program, though – our Book Lover’s Discord is open to everyone.)

We’re accepting applicants for claiming Aether Beyond the Binary ARCs through April 10th, 2024. On the 11th, we’ll randomly select 25 of applicants to receive ARC copies of Aether Beyond the Binary. Everyone else will still be entirely welcome in the program and invited to start with a different, back-catalog book or story to review. We’ll make another pool of Aether Beyond the Binary ARCs available in May.

So… those are the basics. Interested? Go read the full rules, then apply to be a Duck Prints Press ARC reader TODAY!

#oooh i should definitely apply 👀 #i just have goodreads #but that doesn't seem to be a problem here #i'll fill out the form later today #signal boost

[touchingmadness]

Camp Nano Progress Update #1

The first week of Camp Nano is complete, and I'm actually really happy with my progress! I expected this month to be a little rough for me, since I'm usually pretty active in the (currently shut down for good reason) Nano forums and tend to use the energy of other writers to bolster me through the event. And yeah, I'm writing a lot less than I would be under those conditions. But I'm still writing, and I'm still enjoying what I'm writing, and that's what really matters to me.

Excerpt:

You spend the rest of the day loitering around a city that would be far more beautiful if it wasn’t smack dab in the middle of tourist season. Instead, the streets and beaches are teeming with well-off people getting away from their well-off lives and generally spoiling the atmosphere with their existence. You can’t help but feel bad for the people who live here, even if you’re sure they make a pretty penny off of these people. And so will you, it seems, when Soren nudges you with a smirk and proceeds to nick the coin purse right off of a wealthy man’s belt. It takes everything in you not to gape at him, but you do cast around your gaze discreetly. The menace is subtle and slick, good with his fingers and anything that requires him to be quiet and look innocent, but this is something entirely different than what you’re used to from him. Sure, he’ll pilfer anything left unattended for too long, but pickpocketing is a whole other game. You have no objections – these people could do with lighter pockets – but it’s not going to be good for either of you if he gets himself caught. “Watch yourself,” you sign as he shoves the pouch into his bag. He sticks his tongue out like a child, fingers flying. “Watch me yourself.”

Statistics and reflection under the cut.

Just the Numbers

I've added 6,302 words to Let the Light In in the past week, bringing the total count for the project up to 23,611 words. Most of these new words have been in Chapter 3, although a few were used to round out Chapter 2 at a healthy 7,942 words. I've written on 5 out of 8 days, with my highest wordcount day occurring on April 8th, with 2,132 words written.

Notable Scenes

Group cuddles. I cannot stress this enough. Group cuddles!!!

A thieving contest started by the savior of the universe. Hell yeah.

Lounging in the ropes on a boat. Showing off like a cat.

First kiss (angst edition). Not quite to first kiss (soft edition) yet.

Making Big Decisions

I've already stated that I'm quite happy with what I've written, and while that's true, I have had some decisions to make. There was one scene I got myself especially tripped up over. I wanted to use it to develop the dynamic between my POV character and a member of the party, but I recognized that the pretense under which I had them sit down for a conversation didn't ring true for either of them. I wrote a good chunk of it, and it's still in my draft, but I know for a fact that it's going to be scrapped. I'll replace it with something more naturalistic later.

Based on where I'm at in Chapter 3 and how much I have left to cover, this one's going to be a lengthy one. That being said, I'm standing by my decision to segment the first three chapters (which span over the first act of Dragon Quest XI) the way that I do. Narrative cohesiveness is more important to me than content balance, especially when I know that Chapter 4 is going to be an absolute baby chapter, since it only encapsulates a short story that happens in the game's interlude.

A decision I still need to make is where I'm going to start the narrative for Act II in Chapter 5. This is more about the logistics of the source material and the fact that the player character is not my POV character for this fic. Basically, at the beginning of Act II in DQXI, you have to regather your party members. If you follow the story, you regain my POV character fourth, but you can get him third if you decide to wander. I haven't decided how I'm handling this in the fic yet, because there are benefits and drawbacks to both, but I think I'm going to write it as though he's acquired third and remove/edit scenes later if I decide to go in the other direction. Final decision will likely come down to how good those scenes end up being and how well they integrate with the rest of the chapter.

Moving Forward

The rest of Chapter 3 is going to be mostly relationship development for the main pairing and the party as a whole, which I am so excited for! I have a lot of funny, goofy little ideas planned to really cement all these Fools™️ together, though the thieving contest scene and its aftermath will likely remain my favorite. It's nice to have this downtime with them before the plot and angst pick back up again. I don't anticipate finishing Chapter 3 this week, as there's some lengthier scenes I have planned, but I'm perfectly content to linger in these moments, especially since that's why I'm writing this.

I hope everyone else's writing journeys are going just as great! My inbox is open if you want to infodump or chat! 💖

#writeblr #writing community #camp nano april 2024 #nanowrimo #amwriting #wip: ltli #not tagging the fandom bc i already have to restrain myself from flooding the tag with memes on my main each time i write a new scene lol #this is more about the writing process than the project's contents anyway #other than the excerpt #soren the gremlin my beloved 💜

[touchingmadness]

characters whose philosophy is “if i cannot be wanted, i will be needed and if i cannot be needed, let me be used until there’s nothing left of me.” thank you for everyone’s attention. falls off stage and dies

#tch: eris

[touchingmadness]

#black kitty paw!!!

[touchingmadness]

Oh I am going to ABUSE this boop thing on random Writeblrs later today 😼

[touchingmadness]

Camp Nanowrimo April 2024 Announcement!!!

I'm committing to writing 30k words in April for Camp Nanowrimo. While my primary project will be my in-progress Dragon Quest XI fanfiction, "Let the Light In," I'm giving myself leeway to count any words added to any creative project in the month of April. This will likely include continuing work on my eternal WIP "Touched," as well as a number of short stories, fanfics, and essays. I've been a lot more lenient with myself in jumping between projects the last few months, and my creative energy and enjoyment have benefited a lot from that approach.

I'm also setting some Writeblr engagement goals for the month, just because I haven't been very active on here and would like to be again. These goals include:

Find more active Writeblrs to follow

Join more active taglists

Leaves asks at least 5 times per week

Reblog at least 1 ask game per week

Actually leave writing updates

Maybe update my intro and desktop theme

Also, if anyone else is doing Camp this month, please let me know here or if you're comfortable, drop me a DM! I'll be suffering from lack of forums this year - Nano has always worked for me because it's highly directed and highly social - so I'd love to have chat buddies. I'm also willing to hand out my Discord handle if that's preferred! 😉

#writer community #writeblr #amwriting #writers on tumblr #camp nanowrimo #also setting this goal gives me an incentive to take breaks to play the game the fic is based on #so i hopefully won't be bogging myself down #the real goals this month: being kind to myself in ways i can carry on after the month is over

[touchingmadness]

WTW PRESENTS OUR 40TH EVENT!

CALLING ALL THOSE WHO ARE FEELING SLIGHTLY MAD! JOIN US IN WONDERLAND FROM APRIL 1ST

It’s time to fall down the rabbit hole. While you find your way around the strange yet beautiful world that is Wonderland, meet an array of new friends - and a menagerie of new enemies. Your quest: fulfil the prophecy and slay the Jabberwocky! Do you have what it takes to be the best Alice of them all? Our Oraculum is telling us that it could be you…but who knows what is real and what is a dream, right? Eat the upelkuchen, drink the pishsalver, and take on the wrath of the Red Queen! Make sure to imagine six impossible things before breakfast. Ready to have the best adventure of your life? Come join us at WTW (Welcome to Wonderland) and get yourself ready. Starting APRIL 1ST, it’s up to you to write as many words for Camp Nano as you can! Ready to have the best adventure of your life? Come join us at WTW (Welcome to Wonderland) and get yourself ready. Starting APRIL 1ST, it’s up to you to write as many words for Camp Nano as you can!

EVENT RULES AND DETAILS

With our upcoming event we have had many people join our Discord server. This is the perfect time for us to release our FAQ about how we deal with events and such inside of them. If you are participating, please read through this!

THE SERVER

We have a leveling system in our server. The more you talk, the more you level up. We will kick people from the event if you have yet to reach CROOK aka LVL 5 as it is extremely easy to reach. All you have to do is talk. This is non-negotiable. CROOK is reachable within a day.

You must also give yourself roles from the role menu when you join! If you need help just ask a leader or mod. You will be also be kicked if you do not do this. We only require AGE and PRONOUNS. Other roles beside these DO NOT COUNT! Please do not join and not give yourself roles!

JOINING ONCE THE EVENT HAS STARTED

Please try and join before APRIL 1ST. Anyone who joins a week late (APRIL 8TH) will not be accepted into the event. You must be active. We will be more lenient with the level rule if you have just joined but if you continue to not be active and haven’t reached common within a week you will likely be kicked from the event.

HOW IT WORKS

Most of the information is contained within the document accessible within the server's event channels. Rather than word count, the leaderboard will be based upon the PERCENTAGE of how close you get to your word goal. Anyone who reaches their word count before the final few days will be asked to increase their goal to make it fair for slower writers. Please do not hesitate to speak or join the server. We are extremely welcoming and active, but if you cannot respect our rules then you cannot participate in our events.

HOW IS A RAVEN LIKE A WRITING DESK? JOIN OUR SERVER HERE! (discord.gg/earlgrey)

[touchingmadness]

Me: "LTLI is just a cute little missing scenes romance fic about my favorite pairing from my favorite video game."

Me, a month and a half later: "Actually, LTLI is about accepting that people care about you even when you don't care about yourself. It's about coming to terms with the fact that people do love you and want to be around you even when you feel like you don't deserve it. It's about learning to value yourself when you're used to being told you're worth nothing."

#i mean it's both obviously #it's found family and campfire cuddles and play fighting and flower crowns #it's destiny and doubt and shadows of your past #it's so fucking much #wip: ltli #god idk why but this project is so healing #i feel like i'm getting back to my toss the plot out of the window and peel back the curtains on characters instead roots #god why did i stop doing that? #why did i convince myself my work needed to be more tangible? #gotta get back to character driven introspective shit where the world and more concrete events just sort of hover in the background #it's more true to me #amwriting #writeblr

[touchingmadness]

forget who’s the top or bottom, which one of you is nursing a fresh bite-sized wound and which one of you is licking the blood off your teeth

#well neither of them actually #kade wants eris's teeth in his neck so fucking bad #but girlfriend is barely keyed into normal affection let alone his desire to carry her with him #tch: erikade #wip: touched

[touchingmadness]

When guys have soft fluffy hair and pronouns

#tch: kade

[touchingmadness]

*blowing dust off my wip like it was an ancient book* we back baby

#me with #wip: touched #every few months

[touchingmadness]

🌸CHAY'S ART COMMISSIONS🌸

hiiii please pay me to draw something for you <3

I WILL DRAW:

OCs

humans and most humanoid creatures (elves, orcs, tieflings, etc)-- if you're not sure don't hesitate to ask!

I WILL NOT DRAW:

animals or non-humanoid creatures (i am simply not comfortable with my skill level for those yet)

anything NSFW, including nudity and gore

ADDITIONAL INFO

each drawing comes with a simple background (ex.: a solid colour, gradient, simple shape or simple pattern).

each additional character included in the same drawing will be charged an extra 50% of the original price.

please have photo references ready for facial features, colours, outfits, accessories, poses, etc.

i may charge extra for more complicated requests (complex armour or accessories, for example).

i reserve the right to refuse any request at my discretion.

payment upfront through paypal.

TO ORDER: DM me and i will send you a link to a Google Form to fill in info for your request.

for more examples of my art, visit my art tag or my instagram

reblogs are appreciated! <3 you can also support me on ko-fi!

transcription of prices below

FLAT COLOURS

Portrait: 36$

Half body: 45$

Full body: 54$

SHADED COLOURS

Portrait: 54$

Half body: 68$

Full body: 81$

*all prices are in CAD

#signal boost

[touchingmadness]

Silly little writing hack that I learned works for me that might be worth sharing in case it helps others: if you find yourself struggling to incorporate you character's thought into or to slow down any given scene, switch to second person present tense.

This combination is pretty much the most inherently internal and grounded in the moment that you can get by necessity, and it's a good way to dig yourself out of the hole before going back and editing the POV and tense to match the rest of your piece.

#writing tips #writeblr #amwriting #writing community #writers on tumblr #not every tip works for everyone #but it's always worth sharing in case it works for even one other person! #i actually started doing this bc i'm writing a more experimental fanfic piece in this pov and tense #and i noticed i get stuck less #so when i got stuck on other projects #i started pulling this for a few paragraphs #and it really does seem to help me