trashplanetsandmagicforests

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

Omg

Japanese legend: you have the face of who you loved most in a past life

#inspiration #kathtorok

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

What do you mean "what age is my book targeted at" what are you on?? It's targeted for me and any other depressed goblin out there with a broken humour and a roulette wheel for a moral compass, age has nothing to do with this.

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

Some Tips on Best Friends to Lovers

Anonymous asked: Hey Ellie! I need some tips on writing a best friends to lovers type of relationship. Thanks!

Hi there, anon! Writing best friends to lovers can definitely be tricky, especially if sometimes the line between romance and platonic can be blurred if the friends are really close. But from what I’ve seen, most relationships come in phases, so here are some things to include and some things to watch out for:

Phase 1: The Realization

At this stage, everything appears normal for our two lover pals. Things continue as usual, but usually with this trope, one person realizes their feelings first, and sometimes doesn’t know how to act on those feelings. 

All this starts with a realization. I’d say the best way to orchestrate this (in a way that’s impactful towards the reader and romantic, that is) is to put extra effort to set the mood for this scene. Your characters are your own, and only you know how they’d go about a relationship, but I’ll use an example from a show I just finished (It’s called Skam, you all should give it a try!) to explain a little bit about the realization phase.

In the show, two characters which ultimately end up together share a scene where they’re both at a party with other people. During one scene, however, while they’re both kissing their partners, they share continuous eye contact for about a solid minute. It’s in this scene when the two characters realize they have feelings for each other.

Cinematically it was artistic, but since we can’t do this in writing, the drama in your writing will have to carry the scene through. Making your characters’ moment of realization impactful will set the tone for the rest of their relationship.

Phase 2: The Pinning

Since we’re talking about best friends to lovers here, pinning might be a bit difficult since it’s not always clear what’s pinning, and what’s them just being friends, so during this stage, it’s important to really look at your characters and decide what would be uncharacteristically romantic of them so that your readers get a clear picture of what’s normal and what’s not for them.

Personally, I find that the best way to do this is to use tropes or symbols that you’ve already established and bring them back, but this time with a different context. Things like sharing clothing, calling each other pet names, and eating each others’ food are done by both best friends and lovers, so by using that, it bridges the gap between friend and lover as kind of connective tissue.

(By the way, something else I always like to see for friends to lovers tropes is how the other people in the novel react to the pinning. I’m not sure about your characters, but I think having a wingman or wingwoman for your hopeless romantics is always cute!)

Phase 3: The Relationship

This goes without saying, but obviously if you’re talking about a friends to lovers trope, there’s going to be a relationship at the end. Friends to lovers is particularly interesting because since all the groundwork for the relationship is laid, the couple often thinks “alright, sure… but haven’t we been doing this the whole time?”

The adjustment period is different for every couple, but typically I see not much change in their relationship other than more open physical and romantic affection. 

This is absolutely my opinion, but I think that there’s actually very little that separates a romantic relationship from a strong platonic one, and they both have the same depth and value. But adding little things to your romantic relationship to set it apart from your platonic one is the best way to ensure that the message comes across to your reader.

~

I hope this helped, and good luck with your characters!

#advice #writingadvice

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

𝖈𝖆𝖗𝖕𝖊 𝖓𝖔𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖒   -   𝖈𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝖗𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖆𝖑

good evening fellow writers, i would like to share with you the cover for carpe noctem!! i made it on canva and had help from a few friends to make sure it was all nice and neat and i’m quite proud to share this! 

during my time breaking from working on CN i have been building up my ideas  for my next project ;) which will be revealed ~soon~ but in the meantime, i will begin working on CN again and I hope to have the whole thing finished by 2021!

as usual, taglist under the cut, thank you so much for sharing this journey with me!! <3

Keep reading

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

quick update on Occulan Rising:

- i now hav a hero and an anti hero timeline. The anti hero will be my OC Josef who is also Finn’s best friend.

- I am currently deep into plotting and building my magic system which I have called “Via”. The supernatural beings able to use it are called “dae” and “seras”. Humans using via will be called “oculi”. yes i am using the little latin i learned at school 10 years ago

- my plot now feels more “high quality” but is still lacking. also some of my ocs feel kinda stereotypical? but i am trying to not think about that too much and just let myself get carried by the story and how it reveals itself to me

#writing #writeblr #kathtorok

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

Writing when you have a day job

It’s hard to make money as a writer. For most of us, it takes a while to hone our skills. It took me five years to get my work to a place where I would even show people, and I am still constantly learning and growing (check out Ira Glass’s The Gap if you need some encouragement there).

But bills don’t go away just because you are following your passion. If anything, expenses usually go up as you’re paying for classes, writing competitions, software, etc.

Day jobs are necessary to survive. They can be supportive and fun if you find something flexible that allows you to still create on the side.

However, they can also be absolutely exhausting.

I was a personal assistant for two and a half years. After long days of running errands and trying to remember a list too long for two people, I would come home completely drained. I worked for a very nice couple (and am extremely lucky in that regard), but it didn’t always leave much mental space for creativity.

That being said, I still had to find a way to write. Here are a few tips for how I got through it:

1. Work on one thing at a time. I feel the need to do a million things at once, too. But you’re not doing yourself every favors. Pick one project to focus on. It’s great if you have lots of ideas, but write them down somewhere and shelve them for later. It is always easier to start projects than finish them.

*Sometimes your focus can change. If you know at a deep level that there is a different project that needs your attention, then pause and focus on that first. If you feel the need to switch again, then maybe it is time to investigate why and where you start to get hung up.

2. Utilize the “dead space” with things that inspire you. Listen to a podcast about writing as you drive to work. Listen to a YA book on Audible as you cook dinner or clean your house. Read an article while you wait for an email. Watch a short film while you wait in line for your to-go order. Or simply pay more attention to the people that come into your work and write down some notes for character inspiration.

You don’t always need to fill every moment with something, but in my own journey, I realized that I would use driving as a time to check out and disengage. When I started filling that time with content and actively listening, I noticed I felt more inspired when I sat down to write. Plus, I had new wealth of knowledge to draw from.

3. Write things down when they come up! As you fill your time with more things that inspire you, you’ll probably find yourself having more ideas. Great! With a day job you might not always be in a place to dive deeper, so write down the thought and save it for later. I once heard a writer say she emails herself every time she gets an idea and puts them into a folder. For me, I keep notes in my phone. I probably have around 400 that list out everything from soft outlines for novels to descriptive words to themes that feel important to me.

4. Using one or two hours effectively is more important than a whole day of forced productivity. You only have the time you have to work on your projects. As someone who has spent both two hours extremely productive and entire days writing nothing but a few sentences, I promise you that it is not always about total time spent. I would always prefer an effective amount of time over a lot of time. Use what you have to the best of your ability. Sit down and see what you can accomplish in even just twenty minutes with no distractions.

5. Write with someone else if that helps you stay accountable. Scheduled writing sessions with another person are a great way to commit to your work. Whether you’re actually writing on the same project together, or just working side by side, it is more difficult to bail when you’re meeting someone else. Plus, you get some social time, too!

6. Find a writer’s group. I am part of two all-women writing groups that I absolutely adore. Prior to COVID, one of the groups met monthly to share work. Getting feedback in realtime, as well as hearing what other people are working on, always leaves me feeling inspired. Now, we still meet on Zoom occasionally to check-in. The other group is more panel and event focused, while just as valuable. Surrounding yourself with what you care about, and with people who care about the same things, is a great way to stay on track.

7. Take breaks. We can’t be on all the time (as much as I try to tell myself I should be). Self-care and actually living your life is equally important. I often find that productivity flows so much better after I take a bit of time off. Suddenly, “the grind” feels like less of a grind and I find myself actually wanting to write.

8. But do make time. Start distinguishing what is important and what you can skip out on. You don’t have to go to every social engagement. You don’t have to say yes to helping your friend move. Sometimes, it is okay to say no and carve out a whole day for your writing. I think your true friends will always understand and support you as you strive to make a career doing what you love.

#advice #writingadvice

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

character development

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

eight random writing tips

–or things that i’ve found work for me. disclaimer: these may not work for you. take these as only suggestions.

don’t let yourself hit backspace. even though you might think what you just wrote is complete trash, it’s still something you wrote. you never know how helpful it might just be - maybe it’ll further your story, maybe it’s some character building tidbit, or maybe it’s just pointless fluff. whatever it is, you can save hitting backspace for editing.

if you can write using background music, write to your favorite movie soundtrack! or, use one of the million bgm music videos on youtube. personally, i like to write to “in love with a ghost,” “biosphere,” or “snail’s house” since they have some really calming songs. that, or the stardew valley ost! it might help you tune out everything going on around you.

try writing in a new place. the feeling of novelty might help refresh your mind. maybe it’s just another place in your room, or another table at the coffee shop you always go to. who knows?

don’t forget to take a break. burnout can creep on you and take as long as a year to get out of. things to do on a break: listen to music, go for a walk, play video game, or literally anything else!

rotate wips! of course, this depends on whether or not you want to have multiple wips. i’ve found that by rotating wips, i’m able to avoid straight burnout and keep writing, although with a different story in mind. it gives me a break from what i was focusing on, but also doesn’t let me forget how to string words together in nice sentences.

set small goals for yourself. whenever i hit a slump, or get burned out, i tell myself i’ll write 100 words and then go play a little bit of a video game or read a book. of course, that means i usually end up writing less than i wanted to, but it’s progress towards the goal of climbing out of the slump. usually, i up the amount of words as i grow more comfortable with writing again. i go from 100 words to 150, to 300, and so on.

talk to someone about your wip! i ramble to some of my friends about it and it helps me figure things out. sometimes, i fix a plot hole. other times, i figure out what to do with a character or where i should go next. they can give you some really great input, or just help you along the way.

you don’t need to actually write out the part that you’re stuck on. use placeholders! every time i feel stuck, usually i just put a [summary of what is supposed to happen, or what features of the scene i know i want to include] before moving on. it tells me that, when i’m editing, that i need to go back and fill this out. it stops me from burning out as quickly, or losing my momentum.

#writing advice #advice

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

ahh i am like never online here atm and this is mainly because I try to be rly active on our new writing discord server “Plots And Pages”. Btw if you want to join, just shoot me a pn for the link! we are having regular hangouts, discussion rounds, word sprints and even google docs for sharing advice and tips. Our next hangout is going to take place this saturday!

#writing #writeblr #discord #server

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

What if instead of editing – and hear me out on this one – I lay facedown on the floor and do nothing

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

dynamics where the villain is the only person giving the hero the affection they crave are superior. there is just something about having to fight the only person who has ever tried to make you feel comfortable and safe that hits different. it's so painful and awful to turn down power and safety for a cause that doesn't love you back and doesn't really see you as a person, against someone who would love you as you are forever

#inspiration

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

my OCs when I first started planning my WIP

My OCs now after I reworked their stories and they realize what I am about to do to them

#kathtorok #writeblr #writing

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

some fucking resources for all ur writing fuckin needs

* body language masterlist

* a translator that doesn’t eat ass like google translate does

* a reverse dictionary for when ur brain freezes

* 550 words to say instead of fuckin said

* 638 character traits for when ur brain freezes again

* some more body language help

(hope this helps some ppl)

#advice #writingadvice

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

Writing fantasy is just crying on top of a pile of ideas that all require slightly different levels of suspension of disbelief, stages of technological development, positions on the hard-soft fantasy spectrum, and magic systems

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

my favourite part of writing is daydreaming about my story and the characters and everything else is just exhausting

[trashplanetsandmagicforests]

also a lil writing update: i am currently writing biographies/profiles of my OCs and I want them to be on point since the story is very character driven. I am reading a lot of stuff about psychology and trauma to make sense of why each character is the way they are. I love each of them and want to give them proper justice by making them multi layered and realistic. They all seem to represent a part of me and that makes the process more painful, but they say write what you know, don’t they?

#writeblr #writing #kathtorok