ardaaman

[ardaaman]

witch

wander not where the ivy blooms, for thorns lie waiting to coil themselves around the heart of another fool.

[ardaaman]

Oh my gosh. I just found this website that walks you though creating a believable society. It breaks each facet down into individual questions and makes it so simple! It seems really helpful for worldbuilding!

[ardaaman]

I feel like there’s needs to be, like, handbook for authors who post on Ao3 for effective metatext.

By metatext I mean like tagging, summary, and authors notes (especially initial authors notes at the beginning of a fic). The means by which we communicate to our readers what they’re getting into.

Because we kind of all have to learn it by osmosis and there are conventions but nobody’s really taught them at the start, so there’s inconsistencies and misunderstandings or people just not knowing things through no fault of their own.

This ends up breeding frustration and confusion and in the worst cases resentment, hurt, and aggression.

I’m severely tempted to make such a handbook and get it circulating.

I think it would do fandom a lot of good.

[ardaaman]

i’ve decided. embarrassing parts of books are a million times worse than embarrassing parts of movies because you can’t look away or cover your face until it’s over you have no choice but to pay attention and endure that secondhand embarrassment with them.

[ardaaman]

Hi! I’ve been here for a couple years, I just drift from this blog to one of a few purely rp blogs every so often, and I’m thinking I’ll stick around here for a bit right now.

I’ve got this epic high fantasy series that I like tinkering with called the Arda’aman Chronicles -- Arda’aman being the world/universe it’s set in. It’s based around the classical elements: fire, air, water, earth, and a fifth one that was added later called Aether or Spirit.

the problem with writeblr is a lot of blogs end up being used for a few weeks or months, only for their owners to disappear forever back into the abyss of reality, leaving yet another inactive void on my following list.

i've been here since 2010. sometimes i take short periods of leave because i don't feel like being online, but i always come back. tumblr just satisfies the weird niche social media urge i get every now and then.

if you're a writer looking to gain a chill mutual who will be around for years to come, just like or reblog this post, and tell me something about yourself or your wips if you want! i love interacting with the community on here, and want to do what i can to keep my dash from feeling like a ghost town.

thanks for reading!

[ardaaman]

Decided to do a spring cleaning of my following….but alas I have dwindled it down to almost nothing. Cue the obligatory need-new-people-to-follow post.

Reblog or like if you are:

a writeblr

write fantasy/sci-fi

into new adult fiction (purposefully trying to stay away from YA, nothing against the genre, just a personal preference)

18 or older (again because my target audience is older and I’m trying to find like-minded people that are close to my age, I’m 22 btw)

- viridis-writes

[ardaaman]

Tips for Writing a Difficult Scene

Every writer inevitably gets to that scene that just doesn't want to work. It doesn't flow, no matter how hard you try. Well, here are some things to try to get out of that rut:

1. Change the weather

I know this doesn't sound like it'll make much of a difference, but trust me when I say it does.

Every single time I've tried this, it worked and the scene flowed magically.

2. Change the POV

If your book has multiple POV characters, it might be a good idea to switch the scene to another character's perspective.

9/10 times, this will make the scene flow better.

3. Start the scene earlier/later

Oftentimes, a scene just doesn't work because you're not starting in the right place.

Perhaps you're starting too late and giving too little context. Perhaps some description or character introspection is needed before you dive in.

Alternatively, you may be taking too long to get to the actual point of the scene. Would it help to dive straight into the action without much ado?

4. Write only the dialogue

If your scene involves dialogue, it can help immensely to write only the spoken words the first time round.

It's even better if you highlight different characters' speech in different colors.

Then, later on, you can go back and fill in the dialogue tags, description etc.

5. Fuck it and use a placeholder

If nothing works, it's time to move on.

Rather than perpetually getting stuck on that one scene, use a placeholder. Something like: [they escape somehow] or [big emotional talk].

And then continue with the draft.

This'll help you keep momentum and, maybe, make the scene easier to write later on once you have a better grasp on the plot and characters.

Trust me, I do this all the time.

It can take some practice to get past your Type A brain screaming at you, but it's worth it.

So, those are some things to try when a scene is being difficult. I hope that these tips help :)

Reblog if you found this post useful. Comment with your own tips. Follow me for similar content.

[ardaaman]

walkerofwastes​:

There was terror in Rino’s look of fear. Not just his own, but Gideon’s as well. Terror that he would be rejected, that it was all a mistake. A terrible lie he had told himself. Or worse, that his magic had somehow influenced this. Had he wished hard enough that he made Rino feel this way? Was his magic truly so powerful? The subject was frightful. He didn’t want to question it.

When Rino came back to his embrace all trace of fear vanished. He spun, pushing the other man against the scroll rack. Hardly the most comfortable place to kiss, but somehow fitting. Two men obsessed with knowledge, embracing in passion in a place where knowledge was sacred. No space could be more perfect in his mind.

Yet something felt wrong. How could he give himself, entirely, to Rino if he was lying? How could he open his heart, and share his body, if there was part of him that was hidden? So he broke the kiss, panting and letting his forehead rest against his lovers. 

“Wait,“ he whispered, a hand gently tracing the other man’s jaw. “I… I need you to know me. Know who I am.“

He stepped back, hand holding Rino for as long as possible. It was time he shared his past, the truth of who he was. Why he knew things no modern man had any right to know. Rino knew of the tale of the Lost Sage of the Blood. The mad king who had nearly destroyed Azlant, until the priests stopped him by locking him away forever. 

“More than two thousand years ago, I stood in this room with men and women I trusted, told them I intended to do battle with a corrupt church. I moved into the city,“ he stepped to a window, overlooking what was little more than a field of ruined stone, lost to time. “I told the people, my people, that I would defend them to the death. For the next five years, I waged war. A warrior king, though I had long since set aside any notion of a crown.“

He held out his hand, and the air shimmered as a perfect specimen of Azlanti artistry appeared, called from his family vault. The crown of Azlant, more than lost to legend. “They called me heretic. Foul blooded. An evil king, seeking to unseat the gods. The Lost Sage of the Blood. But I am not that myth! I fought for my people, I sacrificed everything for them.” He was shaking, with rage or sorrow he couldn’t know. “They could not stop me. I died a dozen or more deaths, suffered for my people. And now, I am the last son of Azlant. My kingdom, my people, gone and turned to dust.”

As Gideon pulled away, a soft whine of protest escaped Rino’s throat. Gods, when did I get so needy? he thought to himself. Because he desperately wanted for this moment to never end. Something deep within him --- some tiny little feeling in that specific part of his gut that never stopped thinking about Ridei --- was terrified there would be a catch, and he didn’t want to pause for long enough to find it. 

And here it came. All his instincts screamed at him to catch Gideon’s hand before it could leave his skin, to pull him back in and silence whatever Gideon was about to say. But his own damned curiosity held him back, or perhaps his terror of commitment. 

His first thought when Gideon began his speech was one of triumph: that particular, sharp surge of elation that came with being proven right. He’d known there was something more to Gideon’s knowledge of ancient Azlant than simple scholarly inquiry. It had been foolish of him to set aside that suspicion for even a second.

Then he summoned the crown, and Rino’s heart grew cold. Somehow he knew, instantly, what Gideon would say next. Gideon’s particular magical skillset, his knowledge of the Azlanti royal dialect... it all pointed to one thing:

The Lost Sage of the Blood. And Gideon admitted it.

How much of the legend was true? How much was propaganda circulated by the victors’ pen, and how much was warped through retelling over the eons? Worse, with Gideon the self-proclaimed only living witness to that time, how much of his word on the matter could Rino trust? 

A part of him saw Gideon’s obvious distress and longed to reach out to him, to comfort him, but that part was buried under all the thoughts and questions flying wildly around the inside of his head. He realized suddenly that he hadn’t responded, hadn’t given so much of a nod or shake of his head. 

“How---” He cleared his throat and began again, keeping his voice carefully neutral. “How did you survive this long?”

Best to stick to purely dispassionate questions while he gathered his emotions together well enough to understand how he felt about this.

[ardaaman]

Fire burning inside of a tree due to a lightning strike

[ardaaman]

I did that thing where I was checking out a wip I haven’t touched in a long while, and before I knew it I was really sucked in and just reading it and enjoying it, and then it just fucking ended abruptly during a good scene and I nearly started screaming, and then I remembered it’s my own fucking wip and that means I have to be the one to fix this and finish it and I really really nearly started screaming and just asdfghjkl

[ardaaman]

for every "🌹" received in my inbox i'll post one random sentence of a random WIP i'm currently writing

[ardaaman]

Compass with sundial in shape of a pocket watch, perfect to carry it in the coat and to check the course from time to time, by Wolfgang Hager 1650-1700, Germany

[ardaaman]

I always found the 7 act structure helped me a lot more than the 3 acts.

Link right here

[ardaaman]

i feel like no one really talks about the loneliness of writing original fiction. sharing your work is hard. believing that people like it is so hard. explaining yourself to people who don’t write feels messy and the mild exasperation when you say you’re working on something new (again? another one) like you’re inconveniencing them by sharing, even if they don’t feel that way, like you have to beg people to love this world that you create and the fear that they don’t or the fear that they are pretending, that they are putting up with your writing talk.

to be creative is to be chaotic and confusing and obsessed, and sometimes it feels like too much, too often, too all-encompassing. i don’t know how to be less.

[ardaaman]

[ardaaman]

🌺 Tell me a preconeption/headcanon you have for one of my characters... 🌺

And I’ll rate how accurate it is on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being way off and 10 being basically canon!

[ardaaman]

WELCOME TO WRITEBLR’S FIFTH EVENT IS STARTING SOON! we have decided to do another prompt event! this time, our theme is based on planets and what they loosely represent. it will run from AUGUST 23RD to AUGUST 31ST! Please join us by creating whatever it is your heart desires! You’re welcome to do absolutely anything for the prompt of the day, whether it be a drawing, an excerpt, a playlist or a mood-board. This event is aimed to get everyone involved and we will accept all submissions!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

choose one prompt for each day

tag your creations as #WTWEVENT and #WTWCOMMUNITY

format the posts like this: WTW PLANET PROMPTS - DAY # PLANET NAME: CHOSEN PROMPT

wait for them to be added to our queue!

nsfw/inappropriate submissions will not be accepted. please try to keep them PG!

OPTIONAL: join our discord server if you would like to ensure your post makes it onto the blog! tumblr’s tagging system can be unreliable and we want to make sure everyone’s creations are shared.

TRANSCRIPT OF IMAGE

mercury - locations or travel

venus - relationships (romantic, familial, or platonic)

earth - nature or politics

mars - war, conflicts, antagonists

jupiter - religion or luxury orwork

saturn - death or weather or food

uranus - history or lore or science

neptune - inspirations, themes

pluto - wild card! pick any prompt from any day