#it’s giving indie novel cover HAHA

[doctorsiren]

Day 7 of Sirentober / Doctober

Fading / Noir

Okay I know the first image isn’t fitting the prompts but I have more versions (and an art explanation) under the cut that actually fit them :))

Okay I wanna talk about this piece bc I’m really happy with it. It’s not at all the original concept I had for today’s prompts, but I really like how it turned out.

Notable things in no particular order:

The dahlia is blue (a reference to a noir film titled “The Blue Dahlia)

Both “Fall of the Cards” and “Sevens Rule” are poker terms. I chose the first term because it sounded like a noir film title, and I added the second title because of how significant the number 7 is to Ace Attorney 4. Also!! It was coincidentally for day 7!!

The shape of the tie knot lining up with Beanix and Feenie’s respective necklaces 💥

The 4 versions share colour palettes. The blue from Beanix’s beanie is the blue of the glass bottle, the dahlia, and DDnix’s vest. The two attorney Phoenixes share the same colour suit jacket, which is also the colour of their eyes, and same colour tie (which is the colour of Edgeworth’s suit). Phoenix’s hair is the same colour as Beanix’s hoodie and the center of the sunflower. The gold of the attorney’s badge, the hat pin, the sunflower, the glass necklace, and both locket chains are the same. The pink of Feenie’s sweater is the same colour as the “papa” on Beanix’s hat. Finally, the red of Feenie’s scarf and the heart on his sweater matches the red of the background.

The lighting on the left side is blue, corresponding with it being the past (OG Trilogy Phoenix + Feenie) and also the blue dahlia on that side. The lighting on the right side is orange, corresponding with it being the present (Beanix + DDnix) and also the golden sunflower on that side. These both correspond with the MASON system from AA4, with the past being blue and being to the left, and the present being orange and being to the right.

If you couldn’t tell I absolutely LOVE symbolism and stuff like that in art. I have an upcoming prompt drawing that is SUPER symbol heavy and has symbols in common with this one!

Here are the other versions of the piece (added are B/W and vintage effects to get it to actually fit the prompt lmao)

[the-travelling-witch]

guess who's alive? exactly, me!! :D *slumps down and never gets up* (sorry in advance this will be quite the long ask >_<)

i get the feeling of fried brain, my session just finished ;-; #neveragain (wish i could say it for real tho) it's not a problem if you can't add much ahah, really, so don't worry :3

i feel you, my rbf isn't of any help but luckily those who receive my love know it and about the rest i don't care °v° and as i said (i think) as long as you're genuine i don't think that's a problem, honestly is what matters ^u^

yeah i noticed the game and noticed only now i forgot to ask you a question but now head is empty so whatever 🫠 if you say so then brb gonna go buy pencils for xiao and you so you can fill each other's skin with drawings and writings eheh~

me too honestly, i just need to relax, eat good food and sleep for hours trapping the indigo menace in a cuddling hug >:3 for movies i'm down bad for pixar but indie and artsy sounds good too 👀 and slow dancing at night is just something sooo cute and sosksiskdjsjskwj i'm down bad pt2

we can agree that villainous fictional men >>>>>>>>> goody two-shoes hero, but morally grey characters deserve a mention of honor, a whole hall just for them @^@

NOW, ONTO THE NEW MODERN SERIES FIC FUCK I'M SO EIDJWKSNDKWJWOSJSIHS

childe you cocky little menace with that shit-eating grin 🤺 i love this type of grin it sends me on cloud nine but also actives my fighting spirit lmao

i loved every word and the implicit mention of scara's partner and childe's being colleagues, what a chaos putting those two in the same room because of their lovers (saw the other asks, died of laughter)

it had me going 👀 when reader went "one coffee for the mystery man" LIKE MAN THE AUDACITY i would have prayed the universe to swallow me especially after ginger's reply folsdoodsj so good really

also, a curiosity: since you mentioned yanqing (my son <3) does this mean that gi and hsr men will interact more often, being in the same universe? tbh knowing some characters either they will get along well or a big fight would start the moment they see each other pfft-

anyway, i think that i covered everything so that's all! as always, take care, drink water and coffee, eat healthy and sleep well at night, you can do this! and good luck with uni :3

bye bye~

— ❄️

hii great to see you back and good job on surviving!! i’ll put the answer under a cut for brevity’s sake haha

well i hope i sound and look genuine bc sometimes i feel like i don’t and if i try to sound more excited, people would probably think i’m faking it; but yeah my friends probably know by now how i act so i think i should be good :>

don’t force yourself to participate if you can’t come up with something, i promise i still have enough material to go through (me, typing a novel for a moot’s entry /aff); whenever i doodle on my arm i normally just use ball point pens or eyeliners but i also saw people using like actual colours for painting/body paint and i really want to try that; having someone drag a brush and paint over your back must be such a funny feeling <3

i’m not watching a lot of films right now, so i can’t say what my favourite genre is but i do love a good animation (i still need to see the new spiderman aaahhh); speaking of going to the cinema: there’s sth so special about going there during daytime and coming back out when it’s dark outside; imagine walking home after the film with your fave, he gives you his jacket against the chill of the evening and you laugh and joke as you discuss the film you just saw until he gently grabs your hand and starts twirling you around under the light of a street lamp… *sigh* what a dream (frantically scribbles into my notes for the modern au hshsh)

i just think villains and morally grey characters just are much more fun to explore; would i want hazbin hotel’s alastor to be real or would i like him if i met him? no because he is/was a serial killer, but in fiction? fascinating, intriguing, fun to explore; fiction just gives us the means to explore these morally not so cool actions and mindsets without most of the consequences, and i love that (also it really is sexy if a bad guy drops everything for their love; who wouldn’t want to be their partner’s priority; also also, villains with their own set of moral code, like ‘sure i’ll burn down a city but hit a woman? i would never’)

childe activates my fighting spirit in general, like come over here and let’s bicker, you gorgeous idiot, and maybe i’ll kiss you afterwards <3 and also yes that grin… it might be here bc of the writer’s bias…

i just had to make them colleagues!! please just imagine them gossiping about their bfs after work or during the double date the readers are just talking the night away whereas childe and scara just have this icy atmosphere around them, but the second their partners look over they melt bc they’re just so in love dorks, all of them

and omg yes, thank you for mentioning it, i’ve been dying for someone to point it out: it’s official, it’s a genshin/honkai shared au!! it’ll be mostly genshin with some hsr characters but yes!! they’re sharing the same universe, they will be interacting (now we wait for someone to mention the company vizion is signed under… i wonder who works there… /silly)

thank you, make sure to take care of yourself as well!! <3

[desperatecheesecubes]

Still on my 'putting the covers directly on the bingo sheet' bullshit, but here's February's wrap up for @batmanisagatewaydrug's reading challenge. Didn't get a bingo this month either haha. Once again a few things didn't make the bingo card- 'In Which Winnie Halifax Is Utterly Ruined' by Alexandra Vasti, 'The Last Hope School For Magical Delinquents' by Nicki Pau Preto, and 'Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc.' Vol 6 by Sekka Iwata and Yu Aoki. Hopefully all the covers are still readable, some of the images were pretty crunchy when I grabbed em.

If anyone's curious I also made a bingo card for everything I've read so far this year under the cut.

No bingo here either yet, but I'm very close.

Took me a minute to decide where everything should go I cannot lie to you. I think I probably should have put the second Halifax Hellion book in where I put 'Winnie' since I read it first but thats an arbitrary rule I self imposed so it's fine. This Gilded Abyss might very well be the only horror or even horror adjacent novel I read this year so I bumped it to that square and replaced it with Iron Widow (which is more scifi heavy anyway). Amateur Naturalist and This Gilded Abyss are both Indie Published so either could work on that square, additionally Amateur Naturalist takes place in 1840's France so it would have counted to historical and a country I've never visited. Lady Charlotte got the romance novel slot by being a full length novel. Similarly I'll probably kick the Halifax Hellions books off this bingo card when I read more full length historical novels. Lotus Shoes stayed where it is because I no longer recall if I have any other 2025 debuts preordered or not (I'm not counting memoirs for that square due to completely arbitrary reasons lol.)

I think at this point I should probably admit I'm not actually sure I know what literary fiction actually is as a genre either. 'Character Driven' is the definition google gives me but that could mean literally anything. I guess I'll just continue to die on the hill that Ten Thousand Doors of January counts. (Or I'll check a list of 'best literary fiction' and read one IDK).

[itsanidiom]

Hello hello!!! Hope your having a wonderful day!! I have a very serious question, I'm thinking about writing things that like aren't just fanfictions, I've been thinking about it For a LONG while!! I just don't know WHAT the hell to do, how to do it, and figured I could maaaybe ask you!! since you are the only other writer I'm following who published books besides Neil Gaimen... I just thought you could give some tips and basic things, like do I need to go to school for this? Can I open the gates and zoom right into it?? Can I make illustrated novels? How do or would I publish?? Overall everything?? Also again hope your having a nice day! Hope the weathers good in your area!!!

Hello! Thank you! Yes! Writing advice! That I can offer!

Wow! Me and Neil Gaiman, huh? That’s a really honoured place to be 🤣👌 Honestly his advice has always been my fave: Just write.

If you have a good idea just write it out. Hell, it doesn’t even need to be a good idea. You can edit it later! Just write! Get it out of your head and you’re already most of the way there!

If you’ve only written fan fiction and you’re nervous about the transition to original work, I recommend thinking of original stories as AU fic with renamed character as a starting point. Almost all the biggest writers today basically started in fanfic (ever heard of 50 Shades 🙈 worst example but HEY it’s true)

So yeah you’re in a good place when it comes to practicing the craft since you’ve been writing fanfic!

I never went to school for writing. I studied linguistics and German in uni 😂 So you definitely don’t need to go to school for writing. From what I’ve seen you can gain good connections in writing programs, but the academic programs at universities tend to focus on more “lit” genres. So if you’re writing like Murakami/Kafka or planning to be the next Atwood/Hemingway, writing programs can be good.

I’m published with an LGBT+ indie publisher, NineStar Press. They’re not one of the big conglomerate of publishing houses obviously, but they offer wider distribution than self publishing AND they do all the work, apart from making the suggested edits obviously. The process of submission to publishing with them takes about 9 months. With traditional publishing it can take years.

I found I learned a lot working with my editor so that was an important part of my development process. I definitely recommend finding an editor once your story/manuscript is nearing a final draft stage. If you publish traditional or indie your lit agent or editor will help with that. If you self-publish you’d have to pay an editor usually.

Which brings us to the open the gates and jump right in part: Self publishing! It’s fun. It’s easy. Its instant. It’s free! You can put it out there for free or make a few bucks, a lot if you’re lucky and your book goes viral! You can do ebook and or print and illustration as well as far as I know! My favourite thing about self publishing is that it really closely mimics fan fiction. You can basically self publish anything on KDP as long as it doesn’t go against their guidelines.

I’ve really enjoy self publishing for my shorter (smuttier) work, but I probably wouldn’t have jumped into it without a friend showing me the ropes and the experience of having published with NineStar first because I learned a lot through that process. The nice thing about self pub is you can publish any length so it’s great for things that are shorter and don’t fit regular publishers’ criteria. For example two of my self-pub stories (Whisky and Pearls / His General’s Gambit) are only around 10-20k words. That’s barely novella size. Most publishers want 50k at least.

Last but most important: publishing should NOT cost you anything. It might not make you rich, but it definitely shouldn’t cost a penny. If you’re self-pub you might choose to pay for marketing or an editor or a cover (I make my own covers and trade off editing projects with a friend so that saves money haha). But if you’re working with someone and they offer to publish you for a fee…RUN. That’s not legit. Publishers need writers, writers don’t need publishers.

My bestie @inaseaofmidnightblue went to school for writing and is publishing her first book traditionally next year so when she’s less busy (she’s VERY busy getting married right now 😂) she might be able to add more context around the traditional publishing perspective.

But yeah that’s what I’ve got! Happy to follow up if you have any other questions! Happy writing!

[dreaming-of-assclass]

3-E Bedroom Aesthetic Headcanons Part 1

I’m simply bored rn so why not?

Fuwa

It’s very obvious she’s into mangas/anime’s lmao

Has a lot of merch and posters all around, as well as cute plushies

Likes to keep it dark most of the time so she can watch/play on her TV. If she wants to read or write, she can just turn on her lamp.

Bed is a standard size, but filled with a ton of pillows and blankets so she’s comfy while doing whatever. It’s also perfect for building blanket forts or starting pillow fights with friends

Looks like this but maybe less intense haha

Nakamura

Has a fairly spacious room that she loves

Prefers sunlight so she keeps her curtain open for as long as she can

Has a few posters of singers that she really likes

Her room overall has a pretty indie vibe. It’s super chill though

Literally never makes her bed. Ever.

Has a desk but she likes to do homework on the floor for some reason

Looks like this but a lot messier

Isogai

He has the smallest bedroom in his house, and he completely offered to take it.

It’s very cramped :( He only fits his bed, desk, and dresser inside there.

Doesn’t spend a lot of time in his room though because of his very busy schedule

Cant fit a bookshelf so he keeps his textbooks and such under his desk.

His room is tidy for the most part but it’s probably just because he’s barely there

The lighting is pretty awful. He once saved up some of his money to buy a proper lamp that would be better for studying

Sugaya

I know y’all weren’t expecting him to be a plant mom lmao, but listen: his parents are into artisan crafts, his sister travels, they are an artsy family ok?

So his room has a lot of greenery inside, and he takes care of all his plants UwU

His room is very much a reflection of himself and all his rebellious energy. So he’s painted his walls, put up posters or quotes he resonates with, etc.

His bed is minimalistic because he’s barely in it tbh. Whenever he wants to chill or draw, he has a mini sofa. It’s also seating for whenever he brings friends over.

Room’s kinda cramped but he prefers it that way

Looks like this

Okuda

Her room is very minimalistic but has a sweet vibe to it

Likes open-lighting but has a habit of leaving the curtains closed even after finishing her experiments

Has a view plants that she takes care of very responsibly

Doesn’t like having a boring white room, so she’s put up flower images and art around, just to give it more life.

Her desk area is kind of a mess filled with papers and such haha. Despite that, she still makes room for when she wants to carry out another spontaneous experiment

Her lab equipment is all in a spare room in the house, solely for her use. So there’s not much in her room but you might see a vial of poison randomly somewhere lol

Looks like this

Muramatsu

Has one of the smaller rooms in his family’s apartment above the restaurant and it annoys him sometimes

At least he doesn’t have to share with his brother anymore though....

Anyways yeah. It’s pretty minimalistic. He doesn’t use a desk, and instead works on the floor or in the living room. Usually studies with his friends.

His clothes take up most of the room lmao, boy cares about his wardrobe a lot

Bed is always messy but he tries not to leave piles of clothing around, or leaving any dirty dishes.

Full-length mirror so he can check out his outfits every morning and take selfies

Leaves tissues, a few graphic novels, cookbooks by his bed, as well as some other things on his lil makeshift nightstand

Sleeps with a fox plushie. Will deny that its his vehemently, even if it’s right there in front of you.

Hara

Gets the best room bc she’s the eldest and the only girl hehehe

Her room is honestly the definition of cozy

A very soft rug covers most of the floor, and it’s great to just lay on tbh

Always has very warm lighting because she prefers that vibe. Sometimes lights up candles if she’s feeling it

Has a lot of storage space so her room is never really cramped or full. Also keeps it very tidy all the time.

Hides her private stuff away from her little brothers, who snoop around a lot

If no one else is home, sometimes she clears her floor and tries out wrestling moves or fitness stuff on her rug.

Mimura

HE HAS A FILM PROJECTOR!!!

Keeps a very huge extensive collection of all his fav movies in a corner of the room, stored in a box

His room is medium-sized but he has so much shit that he hasn’t organized yet, it’s a bit tight

His desk is near his bookshelf, and he prefers to study during the day. Then at night, he can chill with some movies and snacks

He has a lava lamp and he loves it. It was a gift from Fuwa for his birthday actually

Tries to be tidy but he just doesn’t have the energy to go through all his stuff and organize it

Doesn’t have a rug and he really wants one bc it’s hell every morning, to step onto the freezing wooden floor and yelp loudly at 6am

Bonus:

Kanzaki’s gaming corner

[ericbrandonrp]

//(For the Bibliophile Ask) 1, 3, 4, 11, 12, 13, 16, 18, 19, 25

Questions for bibliophiles!

@youngprofessorx

1 - What’s your favourite book(s)?

// Night Train to Lisbon! Took me a while to finish but it always kept dragging me in.

3 - Name one of your favourite book characters and the reason why they’re your favourite!

// Harry Hole. I don't even know why lol I guess I'm just drawn to broken characters? And god, is Harry broken! Never before have I feared about a fictional book character's life so much salkfasdf (also Francis Dolarhyde but ssshhh)

4 - Do you have a favourite quote from a book? Which one?

// Not one that I'd recall right now, sorry! Though...do poems count? Cause then I'd quote Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe ^^

11 - Do you have a goal set on how many books you want to read each year?

// Yes! This year it's 20, and I've actually already read 11 lol

12 - How many books do you own?

// I guess around 400, but I'm not sure, they are all over the place (in boxes, under the bed, in the attic...you know, once I get my little library, I might actually count them).

13 - Do you give them away after you’ve finished them, or do you keep them?

// Hell no! I can't give books away, they're my babies...though if it's one that really really sucks, I might give it away. That has happened like twice in my life so far lol

16 - What is selling a book to you instantly? Cover, story, author, …?

// Often the author; if I know it's a good one, I will buy almost anything from them. The cover lures me in, of course, but if the story sounds boring, I will put it back down. I often search for books online and read the first few pages to see if I like the book - and then try to find one with a nice cover.

18 - What do you use as bookmarks?

// I used to put anything in the books that I could find, but now I have so many bookmarks...I have these cute plastic sharks (*wink wink*), some Harry Potter ones...but currently I use Instax photos as bookmarks haha I also often make bookmarks specifically for the books myself.

19 - Talk about a book you are currently reading!

// I finished an Austrian crime novel today which was...well, I had expected more. Right now I'm reading another Indiana Jones adventure (something about an unicorn) because those books are actually quite light and easy to read without having to pay much attention lol Indy is in his 20s in that book, I think, and so far he hasn't done much in the book haha

25 - What book would you love to be made into a movie? Who would you cast?

// Ooooh there are so many...but right now I'd love to see Night Boat to Tangier? The book was quite good, even though not much is happening. But gosh. So many dialogues and it's based around two guys and I NEED THOSE TWO GUYS TO BE PLAYED BY MICHAEL FASSBENDER AND RALPH FIENNES PLEASE AND THANK YOU *sobs*

[larrysballetslippers]

Thank you @justalarryblog for tagging me!!

✨ Tag 9 people to learn more about their interests!

I'm tagging: @bluewinnerangel @isleoflewis @idontknowwhatitshouldbecalled @zouaylorgf @louismylouve @chaoticbutvanilla @larry-hiatus @acaricatureofcontentment @theyareloudandproud

Music

Fav genre? Rock/Pop, Singer-songwriter(is that a genre?)

Fav artist? Louis Tomlinson

Fav song? I can never choose, but today it's Too Young by Louis Tomlinson

Most listened song recently? Too Young by Louis Tomlinson

Song currently stuck in your head? Caroline by Måneskin

5 fav lyrics?

"My eyes want you more than a melody." Sunflower vol.6 by Harry Styles

"Stars don't disappear, they keep blazing, even when the night is over, that's how I find the light." Stargazing by Kygo

"To learn to forgive all my sins, because even the angels, at times, are afraid of death." Torna A Casa by Måneskin

"My mind whispers into nighttime, voices always keeping me up, telling me that I should give up." Sad Forever by Lauv

"I'm not asking for much, just wanna be loved by you." Defenceless by Louis Tomlinson

radio or your own playlist | solo artists or bands | pop or indie | loud or silent volume I slow or fast songs | music video or lyrics video | speakers or headset | riding a bus in silence or while listening to music | driving in silence or with radio on

Books

Fav book genre? I haven't read a lot of physical books for a long time. I guess romance, I also like detectives and historical books.

Fav writer? Jane Austin

Fav book? Pride and Prejudice

Fav book series? I don't really read series. Geronimo Stilton, I guess. That was a long time ago, hehe.

Comfort book? All my books are really comforting for me. Idk, maybe so slice of life webtoons, haha.

Fav book to read on a rainy day? A nice detective, haven't read those in a long time.

Fav character? Watson from Sherlock Holmes

5 quotes from your favorite book that you know from heart? I really don't know. I used to read many books, but stops when I went on the internet. I read many light novels and comics(manga) and now a lot of fan fiction. So the book category is a little empty.

hardcover or paperback | buy or rent | standalone novels or book series | ebook or physical copy | reading at night or during the day | reading at home or in nature | listening to music while reading or reading in silence | reading in order or reading the ending first | reliable or unreliable narrator | realism or fantasy | one or multiple POVS | judging by the covers or by the summary | rereading or reading just once

Tv and Movies

Fav tv/movie genre? Romcoms, detectives. Same as books basically. Also Musicals.

Fav movie? Notting Hill

Comfort movie? Notting Hill (did I mention I like Notting Hill, I watched it like twenty times)

Movie you watch every year? The greatest showman

Fav tv show? Victoria

Comfort tv show? Gilmore Girls, but only the first season.

Most rewatched tv show? Does anime count? Haikyuu!

Ultimate otp? KageHina, my babies.

5 fav characters?

Pote from Queen of the south

Kei Thukishima from Haikyuu!

Prince Ernst from Victoria

Lord Alfred from Victoria (his syoty is so so sad)

Christina Yang from Grey's Anatomy

Just just realized Inonly did tv show, whatever, haha.

tv shows or movies | short seasons (8-13 episodes) or full seasons (22 episodes or more) | one episode a week or binging | one season or multiple seasons | one part or saga | half hour or one hour long episodes | subtitles on or off | rewatching!!!! or watching just once | downloads or watches online

[sundaynightnovels]

10 Questions Tag

I’ve been tagged by @apollonkondric​ (have i been gone for a while that i didn’t realise your name change??)! anyway! it’s as usual for my wip like all things out of season, so here it goes: 1) How did you come up with your WIP’s title? What does it mean in relation to the story? i actually gave a pretty long answer to this here! feel free to give it a read (or yknow, take it as if it’s just to be poetic) 2. Do you title your chapters? If so, what’s your favorite? yes i do chapter titles! i remember making a post quite a while back about some of my chapter titles, and i remember some people commenting on how they sounded like fall out boy songs HAHA which is actually. very true. they can be quite long and unlike @apollonkondric​ ‘s, very rarely straightforward, if ever. but they kinda do make sense if you think about it, and lets you know as a whole what the chapter is going to revolve around (which, yknow, is the point of chapter titles tbh) ANYWAY. hm. i think my favourite is still, the world is a different place when you know what the world is. makes sense, doesn’t it? (also i just realised how massively long my chapters are oops) 3. What’s a recent line you really like? hmm.

it’s not particularly recent, but idk. i like it.

4. Are there any writing-related quotes you really like?

hm. not that i can think of right now, no.

5. Do you have an idea for cover design for your story? i’m not super sure yet, but... if you know how chinese novel covers look like (not those... wuxia novels or the romance novels but more contemporary ones), i feel like maybe something like that?? pretty minimalist and aesthetic and of course, a lot of nature-ish elements.  let me see if i can google something.

not exactly these but yknow, these sort of really minimalist, simple designs. yup! 6. What sort of AU can you imagine your story being? all sorts. college AU mainly. 7. Which OC would be the most angry with you as the writer? uhhh. i’m thinking yu(f) or jia, because i break down their walls and make them vulnerable and they don’t like that. 8. If you had to tell the story from a different POV, which character would you choose?

my story has multiple POV! though i’d love to imagine it in some sort of god-like, lemony-snicket-style voice. that’ll be fun. i actually do wanna write that sort of story some day. i think i could be a pretty funny narrator voice if i tried haha 9. What would be your OC’s taste in music if they lived in our world?

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. this is a tough one. shou would like classical music tbh, though he’d somehow find beauty in all music forms eventually (after perhaps griping about some of them) zhen would... actually, as someone who loves to listen to music a lot, it’s kinda disappointing to me if one of my characters doesn’t really care that much about music, and that character would be zhen. really. lu would listen to those typical 2000s boys like girls-esque pop music. let him be! he’s a kid! and that music is fun . ren... hmm. hm. probs people like ed sheeran, and he does enjoy the new music that justin bieber puts out. teng likes taylor swift, beyonce, all the really addictive pop songs that you can dance and vibe to! he doesn’t listen to musicals because he’s not really exposed to them, but if he does, he’ll love them.  jun would listen to anything, but maybe something a little indie as well. that sorta vibes. yu(f) doesn’t listen either, or if she does, maybe something like studio ghibli soundtrack while she works. yu(m) hmm. soul. r&b.  jia would be something fun! anything fun tbh. reggaeton. electronic. clubbing music. 10. What’s one personal goal you want to achieve by the end of the story? same tbh. finish my second draft by end of march (not really sure if i can get it done by then tbh, but... there’s a chance) and yknow, edit it and all. just get a complete novel done! tagging @bahay-kubo​ @insearchof-solace​  @stardustscribes​ @kidsarentallwrite​ @cookiecutterwrites​ @tenacious-scripturient​

[project-pectin]

Day 46-51 - Yup. Still here!

3rd January 2019

Hellooo! My 2018 finale was what felt like the Golden Boy swimming scene... Dear diary, a retrospect and my current thoughts on the development! xux

During December I had to pause posting here because I shifted my focus on university related stuff. I could not spend a lot of time on the production of the game after the 10th of December. From my personal diary I counted 5 days on which I saw to the project in order to edit the music I already finished (but art is never finished, right?) and the script of the game. These were the 12th, 14th, 18th, 19th and 22th of December. Altogether that’s 51 days I spent hours working on the game since its beginning. I like positive numbers and documenting progress, so I didn’t want to stop counting haha. But I can only give a summary as such. The last weeks were intense considering my overall workload so I didn’t spend much time describing my life in my private diary. Except for pain. A lot of written pain. e-e

About the visual novel Mirrorboy though...At this point the first introductory chapter is almost complete. The most important parts are finished. There is polishing work left to do, to make it a beautiful game I’d be proud enough to release into the world. :3

HOWEVER. I had a little chat with a friend who told me that my initial plan on how to release the game might not be the best move in terms of finances. And to be honest, I wouldn’t care about profits if graduating wouldn’t leave me in ruins. :’> Germany’s financial support system for students is excellent but I barely survived by working part-time when the support money was cut...when I lay down my “student” status things will suddenly get more expensive. My part-time job wouldn’t be enough to cover rent, insurance, etc.. And I planned to make indie games for now instead of finding a full-time job, soooo, I have more than a right to say that I want to pay my living with the work I do, I guess.

For Mirrorboy, this means that I still have to figure out how exactly I want to bring it on the market and I need time to research methods, as well as figuring out what I can possibly realize with Ren’Py (you know, all the ugly monetization schemes of mobile games (งಠ_ಠ)ง)).

Anyhow, I hope to be able to show more in the future, as an indie dev and as an artist uwu

[garrettauthor]

Hello, Writer, and welcome back to my life.

It's Writer Wednesday, the day where I give you my tips and advice on the art and the business of writing, and tell you how I do what I do as an indie author.

Today's question comes to us from patron Kristen Stevens, who asks:

How do you find a cover artist that you like?

That's it. That's the question.

We've been answering a lot of questions like this recently—questions about people to work with. There's been questions about editors, review teams, and beta readers. I hope that means the Writer Wednesday community is growing up, and we're finding the people we need in order to actually take our books to a done. I hope that's the case with you. Feel free to let me know.

All right. How do you find a cover artist that you like?

This is, again, one of those important ones. Your cover is the number one thing that sells your book.

It's a hackneyed joke in the indie publishing community that "Everybody says you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but everybody does, haha."

It's 100% true. That's why people design book covers. If people didn't judge books by their cover, every single book would just be white paper.

Before you even begin the search for your cover artist, you need to make several important decisions about your cover. And first you have to decide: what KIND of cover is it going to be?

I've talked about how you need to write what's important to you. You need to write something, not because you think it's going to be the biggest moneymaker, not because you think it's the hot genre right now—that will lead you to a career of misery—but because you WANT to write it, because you are passionate about it.

And it has to be in a genre that you truly love, or a combination of genres, if you're mixing and matching things a bit. That's fine.

Either way, it needs to be something that is important to you—WHEN YOU'RE WRITING YOUR BOOK.

But when it comes to cover design, you need to throw that whole viewpoint away completely.

Every artist, every author, and particularly every indie author, has to be able to switch between the art and the business side of things. When you are working on your book, you wear your artist hat. You with your passion, your tools, and your creativity.

When it comes to your book cover, you need to take off your artist hat and put it far away, where it is not going to influence your decisions in the slightest. And then you need to pull on your business hat and strap it under your chin.

Because if you make cover design decisions based off of the whims of your heart, you just won't sell any books.

Cover design is the number one part of indie publishing where you must be absolutely 100% market-driven in order to get the best results.

Before anybody misunderstands, obviously you still have to be honest. Honesty IS market-driven. Dishonest people don't last long. Don't ever design a cover to "sell a lot of books," but which isn't REPRESENTATIVE of your book.

Theoretically, you could design a cover that looked just like a Jack Reacher novel. They're simple: a textured background with a target symbol.

Shoppers might assume it was a Jack Reacher cover and buy it for that reason. And then they would be very pissed off at you, because you're not Lee Child and it's not actually a Jack Reacher book.

Never do that. That's not being market-driven, that's being dishonest and criminal.

Designing a market-driven cover means finding out what sells well in your market and doing that in a way that is representative of your book.

I think of book cover designs in three broad categories.

THE GRAPHIC COVER

The graphic cover doesn't usually contain illustration. It rarely depicts characters. It's about symbolism.

This is the only one of my books that has a graphical cover. It's a simple symbol, designed to perfectly encapsulate what the reader will find in this literary book.

And graphic covers are primarily seen on literary books, including YA lit, such as John Green's The Fault in Our Stars:

Graphic cover. One of the best graphic covers out there.

And while we're talking about the Green brothers, the cover of Hank Green's new book was just released:

Another graphic cover. No real image, just a simple design communicating a lot of meaning.

In addition to literary and YA lit, nonfiction often features graphic covers.

THE PHOTOSHOPPED COVER

The next broad category is photoshopped covers. That's what I call them. There might be a better name, but you understand me.

Mark Dawson's books are perfect examples. A man on the run, usually with a gun, on a city background. I'd guess that two or three stock images are combined in each of these, in a very artistic way.

But photoshopped covers CAN get much more complicated.

This is the second edition cover of Nightblade, the one I had before my current cover. It's all Photoshop. About fifteen images from stock photo sites, combined to create this image.

Photoshop covers are also massively popular in romance. Two very attractive people, representative of the main characters of your story.

Photoshopped covers are also very popular in urban fantasy, and then there are some very good ones in military sci-fi and other sci-fi. You can definitely do photoshopped covers for genre, it's just more applicable to CERTAIN genres.

THE ILLUSTRATED COVER

The final broad category is the fully Illustrated cover, where every single pixel on the cover (except for the lettering) is hand-drawn by an artist.

These covers can be complex or simple. My individual books have one character on the front, and then for the bigger volumes, I have multiple characters from an iconic scene.

Illustrated covers are immensely popular in epic fantasy. They're the go-to standard. But illustrated covers are also very popular in sci-fi, particularly space opera—to the point that space opera covers can look a little bit samey.

Similar images of a planet in the background and a tiny little ship flying past it. They're great, but I do like some variation from that very common theme.

So the first big decision that you have to make is: what kind of cover are you going to get? And that is entirely dependent on your genre.

If you are writing epic fantasy, I firmly believe that you must do an illustrated cover. The one prominent exception that I can think of is George R.R. Martin and the Song of Ice and Fire books, which LOOK like photoshopped covers. And I'm not even sure about that. They're simple elements on a textured background. They could be illustrated, or they could just be heavily photoshopped.

If you're writing space opera, I think you should have an illustrated book cover, though I haven't done full market research on that. If the biggest space opera books of all time haven't had illustrated covers, don't feel obligated to do so.

If you're writing urban fantasy, paranormal romance, thriller, or regular romance, you almost certainly want a photoshopped cover. That's the standard. That's what your readers are looking for.

And if you're writing YA or literary fiction, consider a graphic cover.

But you have to make this decision first. It does no good to find an amazing Photoshop cover artist if you're writing epic fantasy. It doesn't matter how amazing they are. That's not what your genre demands.

While we're on the subject, because I can just see somebody bringing this up: The Name of the Wind has a photoshopped cover.

It's also an awful cover. It's one of the worst covers I've ever seen come out of traditional publishing.

I'm sorry. It's one of my favorite fantasy books. The cover is just not great. It is anti-great.

(And I can say that because it's not MY cover artist. Looking at you, Terry Goodkind.)

Moving on.

So you've determined what kind of cover that you need, based on your genre. Now comes an even harder part. Now you have to find the right person.

Not just the right person, but the right person who you can easily communicate and work with.

Not just the right person who you can easily communicate and work with, but the right person who you can easily communicate and work with, and who you can afford.

And I have no easy solution for you. I looked for a very, very, very long time before I found my current three cover artists, and I tried lots of covers before them that didn't work out, for one reason or another.

I have designed entire covers that were taken to full completion—and of course I paid for them—and I didn't use them, because the vision was not executed correctly. It was executed WELL, but that artist and I didn't jive on what we were going for.

That's the thing. It doesn't mean that that artist was bad. It just means that we aren't in sync enough to work together as author and cover artist.

I know they can turn out great work. I looked at their portfolio before I hired them.

But people can have compatibility issues, as I have discussed before. You can find a really good editor who YOU cannot work with. That doesn't mean they're a bad editor.

So you've got to do the grind, walk the beat. You have to look at art websites. Spend a lot of time on deviantart, if you need an illustrated cover. (There's good Photoshop work on deviantart as well.)

Talk to other authors. Find out who they used. Find covers from your contemporaries and ask where they got them.

Talk to a bunch of artists. Find out how their process works. Find out how much they charge.

You might go through five artists who you don't work well with—who would be perfect, and their art is very good, but something's off. You don't work well with them, or you can't afford them.

And then, finally, you'll find the person. You work well together, you're in sync, and you can afford them.

I can make a couple of recommendations. These are people I know and have worked with in one capacity or another over the years.

My three cover artists for illustrated covers for the Underrealm books are Sutthiwat Dechakamphu, Sarayu Ruangvesh, and Miguel Mercado. Their names are linked to their artist accounts.

If you're looking for illustrated covers, you should absolutely hire them. I don't generate enough work to keep them working full time, and they deserve stunning careers as artists.

If you're looking for Photoshop covers, Domi over at Inspired Cover Designs designs my text templates, and she does a lot of Photoshopped cover work for indie authors.

For more graphical covers, the best person I can think of is Risa Rodil. I've never commissioned a book cover from Risa, but she is an amazing graphical artist who has done lots of work with the vlogbrothers (and with me) for merch.

You've seen my "Have I Mentioned I Write Books?" t-shirt. That's a Risa piece of artwork. If I had a book named Have I Mentioned I Write Books? (maybe one day) I would totally take that piece of artwork and slap it on the cover.

Again, all these artists are amazing people. They're easy for me to work with, they're super flexible, and I have had a great experience with them every single time.

They might not work for YOU, because some people just don't work together. So if you do happen to reach out to one of these people, and it doesn't work out for whatever reason, it doesn't mean they're bad. It doesn't mean you're bad. It just means you need to keep searching until you find the people you click with.

That has been what I feel like was a very, very long answer. Thank you so much for the question, Kristen. I hope that you and others found the answer helpful.

A reminder to everybody else watching this video that my $5 patrons on Patreon, like Kristen, are the only people who get to ask questions for Writer Wednesday, and they get these videos two weeks ahead of everybody else. If that sounds interesting to you, check out my Patreon.

Thank you so much, and I will see you next Wednesday. Bye!

[misskaao]

Simone Snaith: Interview

Simone Snaith has a lot of books written and they are wonderful (I have written reviews on them all: Faireville Woods Series, The Indigo Stone, and Into the Drawing).

All of the books can be found at Amazon and I recommend buying them if you have not already.

**I was really happy and excited that Ms. Snaith had taken me up on answering a few questions for the blog. They are wonderful responses, and I want to thank her for taking time out to do so.

                                         Q & A

You have written a few books, one being a companion series (From the Ashes and Through the Eyes: Faireville Woods) and the rest standalones. Which are your favorites to do; series or one book a piece?

I prefer both writing and reading stand-alone books, most of the time. I like the idea of leaving the reader to imagine his/her own version of what else might happen in that particular fictional world. And I like having that freedom myself after finishing reading a book. There are some exceptions though; I eagerly read all of A Song of Ice and Fire and the Harry Potter books.

If I recall, there is not many/if any love triangles in your books. Do you hate them/love them or consider them unnecessary?

I absolutely hate love triangles! I think they are widely overused as a plot device and also, they’re not even very realistic. I’ve never been in love with two people at the same time, and neither has any of my close friends or family members...

Do you have a favorite book that you wrote?

I think my favorite is “The Indigo Stone.” I love a good, fish-out-of-water adventure story with a romantic subplot, and I feel like I achieved that with that novel. “In The Drawing” is the most personal, however; Genevieve is loosely based on a younger version of myself.

Do you have a favorite character from your books? What made you love that character?

It might be a tie between Eine from “The Indigo Stone” - because she is a tough survivor, but in a matter-of-fact, unshowy way – and Lundy from “From The Ashes,” for her kind heart, and her love of books and music.

How did you come up with the idea for your books?

They often spring from images that pop up in my head, or just scraps of ideas. “From The Ashes” was a very old story idea of mine, but one of the first images I had was of Harlan in Lundy’s window. I had a dream about the spinning contraption that Eine is strapped into by Indigo, and “In The Drawing” definitely started out as just the idea of vines growing over a building overnight.

Can you give us a hint to what we should be expecting in your next book?

“Between The Water & The Woods” is scheduled to be published by Holiday House in the spring! It’s a YA Fantasy that involves monsters, magic, and machines. 😉

Where do you like to write?

I usually write at my desk at home, but I also write on my Kindle Fire when I’m out and about.

Do you decide character traits before you sit down to write the book, or as you go along?

There are usually some that I know beforehand, but others that develop as I go. That’s one of the exciting parts for me.

If you could give a young writer any tip, what would it be?

Keep going until you finish the first draft, and THEN go back and edit. Don’t keep stopping and second-guessing things. A lot of the writers I know have trouble finishing even that first draft.

If you weren’t writing, what would you want to be doing for a living? What are some of your other passions in life?

My other passion is music, so I would be focusing more on that if I wasn’t also a writer. I currently sing and write songs in a band that plays locally in L.A.

What do you love about being an indie author?

I love the fact that many indie publishers accept unsolicited manuscripts! While literary agents are obviously amazing, they are also gatekeepers, in a sense. If you can’t find one who is excited about your current book, then you’re stuck, because the major publishers will only accept submissions through them. With my self-published books, I liked having control over the book cover and design, and also receiving the sales notifications directly in my inbox.  

What is the oddest thing you’ve found yourself researching for your books (if any)?

The most recent (unpublished) novel that I wrote is about a girl whose parents work in the space program, and who starts dreaming that aliens are contacting her. So I went on a tour of the Jet Propulsion Lab here in L.A., read about the Cassini spacecraft and Mars Rover online, and talked to a family friend who works for NASA! I had to figure out how my main character and her friend could do something technically minor that would alter her parents’ spacecraft mission.

Any tidbits you wish to share for inspiring or other indie authors?

If you truly love writing, then keep pursuing it forever and ever. There are many routes to publishing now and you can keep trying them all.

                                RANDOM Q & A

Which would you pick- (fame, money, happiness, or easy inspiration)?

Happiness, which would give me plenty of inspiration!

How many drafts from first to final?

For myself, usually only 2 or 3, but their have already been more than that for “Between The Water & The Woods.” I’m still in the editing stage with Holiday House.

Do you fit any author stereotypes (Cat owner? Coffee/tea Addict? Messy handwriting? Recluse? Late night writer? OCD spelling/grammer (i.e. hate others who don’t use it properly or even yourself)?

Haha, I fit all of those except for “recluse” and “late night writer!” I prefer to write in the morning, although I certainly don’t get up early, and I do like to get out often. I have a 21-year-old cat who is my true love, and I’m definitely a coffee addict and spelling/grammer Nazi. My handwriting only gets worse as I get older...

What is your biggest pet peeve?

Probably when people are unjustifiably rude. I work in retail, so I see this often, unfortunately. I’m a stickler for basic manners.

What is one thing you love and could not live without?

Rock ‘n roll. <3

****Those answers are wonderful, amazing and the tidbits for writers is a must read! Always helpful to add insight for others. I love the NASA information and I bet it was really cool to do. Manners are a must for me as well, sad to think we are losing some of that. I don't know about you readers, but I'm going to be checking out Ms. Snaith's music now and reviewing it up. Love that she writes music as well!

[casscutting]

Author Interview: David Viergutz

I had the pleasure of meeting David (online) by complete chance. I was mindlessly scrolling through my Instagram feed one night and came across a post from a writer that I follow. He had just finished reading this book with one of the most beautiful covers I’d seen in a while. I read the caption then immediately went to Goodreads to see what this book was about. I was HOOKED from the synopsis and added it to my “Want To Read” list.

I went back and commented on that post, gushing over the cover and saying how I needed to read this book. Sometime after I get a message request from this guy, David Viergutz, I am shit with names until I get to know someone (online and in-person) so it never dawned on me who it was.

But I opened the message and he was saying how he saw my post and offered to send me an e-book in exchange for an honest review and I JUMPED at the chance and I am glad I did. I knew from the first page of his book I was going to love it and I did. I also hoped that he would be down for an interview and I was elated when he said yes.

David is an amazing writer and author and I look forward to seeing his career take off because I know it will. I encourage every one of you to go and get a copy of his books you won’t regret it.

Why don’t we start off with an easy question, why do you tell us who you are and a little about yourself?

So, I’m a bit of an oddball in the writing community, or so I feel. I’m a father of two (15 and 2, yeah…I know…) and a Law Enforcement Officer. I joined the Army straight out of high school and became a LEO shortly after. I had ZERO idea I wanted to be a writer. It wasn’t until my wife came around, about 10 years later, who convinced me I COULD be a writer. It was interesting, she looked at me and said, “Write the damn book!” after we had discussed how I had wanted to write one since I was 12. Like so many others, writing fell to the wayside as work took over.

Besides work, and writing, I’m a personal trainer and have my own business, and I recently dove head-in to leatherwork. I’m still learning, but it’s fun.

My wife is also a LEO and a medical student. I’m just counting down until residency so I can retire at 32 and write full-time, haha.

You are the author of The Box And The Bird a novella that came out in October 2019 as well as The Demonic Compendium a wonderful novel that I've had the pleasure of reading. Can you tell my readers a little about these books?

The Demonic Compendium is my flagship into the world I am writing. I never set out to write a book, I set out to create a universe. Most of my favorite series end so soon and I wish there was more. In writing epic-fantasy, I wanted to make sure this wasn’t an issue for my readers. That being said,

The Box and the Bird is a taste of The Demonic Compendium Universe, also known as The Darkenverse. (Think Marvel Cinematic Universe or the Star Wars Expanded Universe). This book is a fast-paced intense read that follows Samantha Lawson as her husband Richard returns home from a business trip with something terrible. This book ties into the main universe, but is not considered on the main timeline. I offer it free on my website davidviergutz.com.

The Demonic Compendium is my bread and butter and the first of many in the series. While it is epic fantasy, I bring in some elements that I think set it apart. Anti-heros, doom-and-gloom, dread, epic-battles and a fully immersive world. One reader said he felt like he wasn’t just in the story, he was also watching my main character Shaw cast wild demonic-magic and tromp through the castle.

The Demonic Compendium takes place in the wake of a terrible tragedy that has befallen a budding kingdom. We follow Shaw as he is forced to make terrible decisions for the greater good, and hopefully, find his purpose in the process. Not to give too much away, but there’s a reason my personal mantra for writing is:

“The hero doesn’t always win. The good guy doesn’t always get the girl. Things are going to get a lot worse.”

What was your inspiration for these stories, where did the original spark come from?

Well, I truly wrote the book I wanted to read. I thought back to a few captivating moments from what I’ve read and seen in movies and wanted my readers to get chills as they read the epic moments. Think about when Gandalf stands on the bridge with his infamous line. Or King Leonidas when he boots the emissary into the hole. Or when the Red Ranger screams “Tyrannosaurs!” I wanted a book FILLED with those moments, so I focused on those big events, and built a world to fit it.

The Demonic Compendium is the first book in your debut series, how many books do you have planned for the series altogether?

It’s hard to say. I’ve purchased covers for three additional books, as well as a novella from the same timeline following another lead character. As long as my readers love it, I’ll keep writing it. That said, I have a new series flagship releasing this year in the urban-fantasy genre.

Steering away from the book related questions. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I spoke above about my wife giving me inspiration to write this particular book, and get to the end of it, but my overall spark came when I was about 10 years old. I carried a black notebook with a home-made floppy-disk holder on the inside cover. I’d write my story paragraphs out, then read them to my friends and transfer them to the floppy disk.

This was my art, because I had failed art…I couldn’t connect two dots, I would have just eaten the crayon because I thought the assignment was stupid. I find my ability to write is a carry over from my ability to speak, so I stuck with what I was good at.

From idea to publication about how long does it take you to write a book?

Planning and plotting are about a solid two weeks (part time, a few hours a night). After that, my pace is a steady 1000 words an hour. On a good day (I’m married with kids remember) I can pump out 10k if I’m left alone. Most of my books are planned and plotted for 100k, minus the novellas. So, math aside, I’d say 30 days. I wouldn’t say a month, because life likes to drop a dragon in my living room. Now that I have my business processes down, 30 days is an accurate guess. When writing TDC, I had to learn the business, hire a cover artist, formatter, etc, so that delayed my process.

Both of your current books are indie published why did you choose to go this route and not the traditional one?

I love working for myself, and as I see my books as my art, I am reluctant to give that up. I’m very much a self-made-man, and I feel when my writing is loved and only my own efforts are responsible, it’s just that much sweeter when I make a single sale.

Which authors inspired you to write?

This is a tough one, as a lot of authors I enjoy have a lot of overlap. I prefer their methods instead of just their stories so I’ll mention those. From Dean Koontz, I loved The Husband for the mind-bending twist. Michael Crichton for the adventures in Jurassic Park, and Garth Nix for his epic magic in The Abhorsen Series.

What is the best writing advice you’ve heard?

Write the story you want to read. You don’t need to please everyone; you just need to please your fans.

Can you tell us about your writing process? What’s a typical writing day for you?

I’m a musically motivated to write. When I sit down at my desk, I make sure the music I’m listening to matches what’s happening in the story. There cannot be any words however, it must feel like I’ve got my own theme-song as I narrate on paper what I’m seeing in my mind.

My process is that of a plotter. I start with my epic moments, then think about who I want to be a part of them, then build in my what-if statements.

What-if a dragon lands in my living room? What-if it looks terrifying?

Now, I’m forced to answer my own questions with more plotting.

And then it seems to be entirely confused. And then it has crippling self-esteem issues.

I then arrange these series of thoughts into an outline, expand on them, and use that to write pages.

If the perfected productive writing day existed what would it look like for you?

I’m an easy fellow. 5:00 AM-6:59 AM workout. 7:00 AM-7:59 AM post-workout shake, shower, get ready, chores at home. 8:00 AM-11:59 AM in the office with hot coffee. 12:00-12:44 PM break to warm up meals and walk around neighborhood. 12:45-3:45, edit what I just wrote 4:00PM-5:00 PM, marketing, social media and business functions. 5:01-8:00 PM family time to include dinner. 8:01-11:00 PM, read, more writing or hobbies.

Why do you write?

Because I can’t afford to pay an author to write books exactly how I want to read them. I love my own stories.

What is the hardest thing about being a writer?

Okay besides the usual gripe that I hear/read people hear/write about, self-esteem, doubt, anxiety, introverts, socially awkward etc.…

How about the fact that we’re trying to make money on a commodity that has fallen to social media, instant gratification, and the digital age? The average e-book sells for $2.99. That’s a lot of books to sell just to fill the gas-tank.

What are you currently working on?

Book Two of The Demonic Compendium: The Queen of Duska Cereal of Third City: A novella from the TDC series timeline

The Bullet Board: An action packed urban-fantasy heist.

Lastly, what is the best advice you can offer someone who dreams of one day being an author?

Fake it until you make it. Undoubtedly you know something I don’t about writing, even if you’ve only written a Facebook post. You are the expert of YOUR stories. Stop looking for validation from others on how THEY would change YOUR story. 

If they don’t like your story, they can write their own. Give yourself some credit and when you’ve finish something, anything, show it off, and be proud, it’s your art.

Author Links: Website Instagram Twitter Goodreads Facebook

Book Links: Goodreads Amazon

Question of the day:

If you could ask your favorite author a question what would it be?