#like i love purple prose but with that for me comes a certain need to perform with my writing so. idk

[the-kipsabian]

i think 1,6k in about an hour is good enough considering how i feel physically. plus i lost my groove so

time to slip back to bed for a nap and daydream how to continue this fic lmao

i havent slept at all so obviously the right choice is to get up and write, right?

[ceilidho]

Do you have any writing tips?? Like you write so GOOD

you could write shakespeare but could shakespeare write a great cod fic? I doubt it

first of all.....i am going to scream........second of all thnx u........

hmm i have some tips but tbh a lot of writing is just trial and error, like doing a bad job for a very long time until suddenly it's good. and these are just tips/rules that i follow; i don't think they're objectively the best tips in the world and they work for the way i like to write, but plenty of people have different styles and would maybe disagree with me, which is perfectly fine!

i really enjoy writing vivid sensory experiences, but i think to write a really immersive environment, you almost have to use words that seem unnatural. it's really difficult to evoke specific qualia in people so you have to do it in a roundabout way. this is really hard to describe and i'm doing a poor job here, but like for instance, here's something i wrote about a girl having trouble sleeping:

a bit of a play-by-play is fine (like "she went downstairs to get breakfast and went to the fridge and pulled out a carton of milk and then set it on the table" sort of thing), but it takes way too long to use that kind of narration all the time and it's not needed. if you find yourself describing the texture of like, their cereal, and it's not actually relevant to the plot, it's just extra writing for nothing.

this is work, but i think you really need to fall in love with words. learn new words, write down their definitions, group words together by their sounds so you know what sounds nice together, don't choose a word simply because it describes the thing you're talking about but also because the word itself feels dry/wet/elongated/or otherwise mirrors the content of what you're writing.

if you struggle with finishing things or get overwhelmed by long projects, set limits for yourself. only 500-1000 words a day or something like that, and then don't touch it after you hit your limit. it gives you some control over your anxiety imo but it also allows you to slowly chip away at your project.

read a lot. read so much. i have learned soooo much from reading other people's work and actually deeply respecting and appreciating how they write. this isn't the most recent thing i've learned but i've come to looooooooveeeee seeing something like ["Sure," he lied] in a story like OOOHHH it's so thrilling to be in on something that other characters aren't in on.

don't feel confined to a specific style of writing. some fics might call for a sparser style because it suits the tone of the story, but some fics might call for more purple prose, you know? and that's fine! you can play around with your writing and try different things. i feel like i have a pretty specific style, but even i eschew it sometimes when the mood feels right, like how superstore is NOT the same kind of fic as saltwater - saltwater was meant to be more introspective and lush, so the style reflects that, whereas superstore is supposed to be more direct and put you a little on edge.

anyway, just some thoughts!!! the thing to also remember is that nobody's doing it perfectly because everyone has a different style and a different way they want to tell stories. sometimes i'll find a really good writer and feel like briefly consumed by jealousy, but i can also write certain stories that they can't and vice versa. so don't beat yourself up while you're learning!!

[ladamedusoif]

It might be the cold meds talking, but I feel like I need to have a ramble about writing - partly because I’ve seen a few “you write for YOU and whatever you WANT” posts over the last few days, some of which have been spot on and some not so much.

To clarify: this post isn’t about me. Or at least, it’s MOSTLY not about me. It’s just some observations about fic.

This is a lovely and important message. Ultimately, we do all write for ourselves. Of course we do.

But saying “write for you and only for you!” is easier when you’re someone who routinely gets hundreds of notes on a fic within the first couple of hours. Or when you’ve got a massive audience already. Or when you write something that seems to get more attention than anything else in terms of popular characters and tropes (ahem Joel age gap smut ahem).

Trends come and go in literature of all kinds, whether properly published works or fics. That’s par for the course.

But the problem is when it feels like only a certain kind of story gets any attention. When stories with real heart and love and care and feeling seem to be routinely ignored because they don’t fit the bill: they’re slow burns, they don’t involve popular tropes, but they’re proper stories that could exist without any connection to the fandom they’ve been written for.

And, worse, when the people writing those stories start to feel deeply disheartened and as if it’s just not worth it.

We talk a lot about anon hate (spoiler: don’t do it) and nine times out of ten that seems to be based on the idea of people writing potentially triggering or taboo topics saying they’ve received “hate”. (Sometimes this is actual hate and sometimes it’s genuine, considerate questioning around warnings etc.)

Thing is: the people writing the ‘unpopular’ stories get hate - genuine, real, nasty hate - too. This post isn’t really about me, but as an example: I’ve not turned on anon asks in months, because of the last shitfest. And I’m not alone, because I know what people have had sent into their inbox in response to the most inoffensive, sweet stories. It baffles me.

All this is to say - I wish people would be a little bit more open in what they want to read, and would recognise that “anon hate” isn’t just about puritanical prudes trying to “tell people what to write” as seems to be the general assumption. People keep trying to put a bit more diversity out there in the fic buffet, to write loving and carefully crafted stories, and for all the “write it for you” posts it still feels like it doesn’t matter. Like no one wants it. And that’s when writers start to think they’re awful, their ideas are bad, their style is weak.

Worse? They get shitty, mean-spirited asks and comments. (Even if it’s not “hate”. I’m still baffled by the people who say they couldn’t finish a one-shot of mine because there wasn’t a significant age gap between the Reader and the male character… but I don’t think that’s strictly hate, as such. Dispiriting, though.)

And what happens then? They stop writing. The stories cease. And the fic buffet becomes more and more one-note, more and more dictated by prevailing winds and a particular kind of purple prose style. And the readers - who might have found those stories if more people had engaged with them and reposted and shared them - wonder why no one seems to write for them.

A while back I wrote a tag that was something like “there’s room for everything”. Unfortunately, that “everything” remains a little limited, at least in terms of what actually seems to get picked up and gain traction. And “there’s room for everything” doesn’t mean that all writers are above reproach, either.

Try something new, people. Give a soft story a go. Who knows, you might like it.

[ripeteeth]

for the book asks--15 please! and also 20 if you don't mind a double ask <3

15: recommend and review a book.

Okay, so you KNOW what book you're gonna get for this lmao.

TO EVERYONE OUT THERE, PLEASE READ FRANKENSTEIN BY MARY SHELLEY.

I swear, that book UNHINGED me. I will never be the same. God, fuck, I can't believe I lost my 48-tweet love song to Frankenstein and why everyone should read it, but I cannot believe that at all of 19 years old, she could pack so much pathos and humanity in only 250 pages. It's everything. It's a spoiled terrified young twink brat only just realizing what he has brought into this world, that this squirming, naked, needy thing is his alone. His responsibility. And he flees into the night, a terrified new mother, desperate to pretend it never happened. I cannot ever stop thinking about the fact that she wrote this at 19 years old, all of about 18 months after losing her firstborn infant, who died during the night while Mary slept. How much of herself did Mary see in Victor? In the Creature? I lose my mind at the way Victor and the Creature are seen in popular culture, as this mad old scientist and his lumbering dumb awkward creation, when in reality Victor is all of about 22 at MOST when reanimates the Creature, all up there in his weird creepy attic apartment lab. He's a college dropout. An obsessive mess. And he abandons his child in his son's moment of need.

And the Creature! He's so passionate and eloquent, haunting and wounded. This should be the man who dogs our steps and keeps us up at night. This preternaturally strong man, who is largely impervious to cold and is wicked fast, who had each of his body parts chosen for their special beauty by Victor, but there is something about him, a living corpse with crepey skin and watery eyes, lips as dark as a dead man's, that terrifies everyone he comes in contact with.

And this is the thing!!!! He is not a monster. Look at him, turned out, born into that accursed attic with nothing. He could not yet see. He did not know language or how to defend himself, feed himself, warm himself, care for himself. He was left to die. But he stumbled along, covering himself with a coat he stole from the attic as he fled, naked and cold, and learned to start a fire, to feed himself on berries and plants, he taught himself to speak, read, and write simply by observing - and he observed humans from afar and yearned only to be loved and accepted. To be one of them.

It's such a fundamental, heartbreaking story. It shatters me. It compels me. I can't ever get them out of my head. Two men who damned each other, Victor by denying his creation the very real care and comfort and humanity that he owed to someone he brought into the world, and the Creature who sought to reduce Victor to that same state by killing everyone he loved, so that Victor would be like him, isolated and miserable. Alone.

And yet, even in the end, they're entwined. Victor's death ends the purpose of the Creature's life and he mourns his father-creator, even after all of it. It's such a complicated story of parent-child relationships, of the exploration of new boundary-pushing science, of pseudo-incestuous themes and tones between two men who have knotted themselves up so well into such a perfect tangle, that they can never be picked apart.

20. what are things you look for in a book?

Hmm. Good question.

I like to be fascinated. I love beautiful prose, but I'm particular about it and am not generally fond of it being too precious or purple. I love things with a bit of monstrosity that get into the gross and horrible details of life, like J.G. Ballard's Crash and John Gardner's Grendel, two absolute favorites. I love books that fuck with narrative structure and keep me guessing, like Italo Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler and Julio Cortázar's Hopscotch. I love a certain sense of interiority and confessional voice, like Jeanette Winterson's Written on the Body, Olga Tokarczuk's Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead, and Ocean Vuong's On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. I love things that make my skin crawl but have a certain compelling beauty, like Patrick Süskind's Perfume: Story of a Murderer. I love a sense of awe and hope and hushed connection, the way Susanna Clarke's Piranesi left me.

[perpetual-stories]

idk if this is just me but, how do you make your works more...wordy? like you know how certain pieces of literature has a beautiful way of explaining things like love, hurt, remorse, etc. do I really need to pull out a dictionary to reach this?

Advice Incoming

Hi! Thank you for sending in your question and apologies for the delay!

I would say, don’t worry about this till you’ve at least finished your first draft! I always say the first draft is to write down your ideas and make sure they are coherent enough. Once you’ve completed the first draft you can go over and elaborate on your sentences.

As far as how to create eloquent phrasings and sentences; I think it just comes with practice and definitely having a broad vocabulary range, but even then, it’s not always the greatest to add flourish and pizzaz to your writing if it’s not necessarily or hard to understand.

I’ve seen some writers try and be a bit over the top with their their phrasing to the point where I don’t understand what it is they are trying to say anymore. I call this frou-frou writing or purple prose, as some call it.

Sometimes less is more!

But if you do want to write beautiful prose, you should

a). practice! Practice makes perfect as I always say.

b). keep a dictionary or thesaurus near by, as it will definitely help!

c). don’t overstress. If you can’t find the right word or phrasing you want that’s okay! Sometimes saying a simple, “I love you” is far more effective than, “I will trudge and storm through the ends of the earth and pull the seas apart and lower the stars so that everyday when you see the…” blah, I don’t even know what I was trying to say but it was supposed to mean, “I love you.”

d). workshop you’re writing. It’s best to get feedback from peers and they can provide advice or let you know exactly what you need or need to adjust.

I just hope in the end you’re having fun and having the right amount of stress for your story!

I hope this helps and answers your question!

[kiame-sama]

Lovie; But how do you come up with things to write?

Well, I'm glad you asked!

My process is usually this;

1. Have a general vibe about something, maybe a random line of text or a location.

2. Build on that; who would say it? In what context? How did we get to that point? What will others in the scene do in reaction? Will they bone? Are they already together? By choice or force?

3. Add in details. Use that purple prose and fuck whoever told you not to! Set the scene, put yourself in the middle and tell me what it looks like from your eyes. What memories or sensations does it evoke? Put me in your world and setting. Tell me the story as if I know only what the character looks like- kinda- and explain their character through actions, words are flat without an emotion charging behind them.

4. Remember you can tell it through the eyes of any of the characters and you can even tell it from a complete outsider point of view. Tell it as you would want to read it. Do you like clumps of dialogue or details after every sentence? Are you going to tell the reader what they don't know or leave them guessing from context? Hate certain things? Don't write 'em! Love other things? Put them EVERYWHERE! You are the author, you don't have to stick with present voice or passive, you don't even need punctuation, capitalization, or anything else if you don't want it! Authors who use not an ounce of punctuation are considered visionaries of their time- ie. The Road- so who is anyone to tell you how you want to write style choices? Do consider feedback and incorporate it if you feel you want to.

~~~~~~~

My brain normally is these three.

Moxxie: Lots of fancy words, lofty explanation, emotional point.

Blitzø: Pansexual, good at pulling things together in ideas, keeps the base idea in mind.

Asmodeus: make it graphic! Give me details! Don't shy away from the depravity of it!

[amberlide]

20 Questions for Writers

I miss tag games so much! I still have few on my other blog XD Thanks to the lovely @oceangirl24 for the tag!

If anyone is in tag games (or want to promote their work, let me know! I have more tag games coming :) )

❣️How many works do you have on AO3?

Currently 5: 2 WIPs in progress and 3 one shots But I'm planning to add many more as I just started writing on AO3

❣️What is your total AO3 word count?

155K (in barely over 5 months, so I hope to get to 500K in the whole year ;) )

❣️What fandoms do you write for?

Only Hogwarts Legacy for now, but I may reach out to others in the future. Depends on my crazy creativity XD

❣️What are your top five fics by kudos?

Well, I only have 5 works XD I'm quite proud of my work. I only write minor ship with OC x Canon, so I'm keeping my expectation quite low in terms of kudos.

❣️Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! Always! They made my day :) I have few followers who are enjoying my work, so it's nice to interact with them.

❣️What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hexed will have quite a troublesome ending, but... revenge, sweet revenge <3

❣️What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

My main Fanfic will have a wholesome, cute ending! Also the wolf fiction will also have a fluffy nice one :)

❣️Do you get hate on your fic?

No, I'm happy people don't read my stuff, so I won't get hate U.U

❣️Do you write smut?

Yes! I love writing it when I'm in the mood :)

❣️Do you write crossovers?

No, I prefer to keep my fictions canon compliant so people do not get confused

❣️Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No, who in their right mind would stole silly my fiction? :O

❣️Have you ever had a fic translated?

I will! My mother is pestering me that she wants to read my fiction, because it's unfair that she've read everything else and not this one. So I'm going to translate it for her :)

❣️Have you ever co-written a fic?

No, but I'm beta and alpha reading regularly for friends. Does it count?

❣️What's your all-time favorite ship?

Garreth x Penelope, my OC. I just love them... and cannot get enough of writing them.

❣️What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

It's not a fanfic, but it's an original one. Echos in cosmos. It's just too troublesome to write :(

❣️What are your writing strengths?

Characterization 100% , dialogues and I'm proud of how I manage to put funny bits in my writing, breaking the tension with small, simple funny jokes.

❣️What are your writing weaknesses?

Maybe descriptions? I don't like purple prose, but sometime you need it if you want to evoke certain feeling in the reader.

❣️Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I don't mind writing dialogue in my own language, I'm ESL. So no issues, but if I have to do it in something I'm not familiar with, I won't

❣️First fandom you wrote for?

Hunger games. Didn't know it was a fiction until I wrote it and discovered there was a website for them XD One day I will translate it and put up in my AO3

❣️Favorite fic you've ever written?

My current WIP, I love and adore it!

I don't know who is in tag games in this fandom or of the people who follow me... please let me know!

List of questions:

❣️How many works do you have on AO3?

❣️What is your total AO3 word count?

❣️What fandoms do you write for?

❣️What are your top five fics by kudos?

❣️Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

❣️What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

❣️What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

❣️Do you get hate on your fic?

❣️Do you write smut?

❣️Do you write crossovers?

❣️Have you ever had a fic stolen?

❣️Have you ever had a fic translated?

❣️Have you ever co-written a fic?

❣️What's your all-time favorite ship?

❣️What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

❣️What are your writing strengths?

❣️What are your writing weaknesses?

❣️Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

❣️First fandom you wrote for?

❣️Favorite fic you've ever written?

[bluedalahorse]

I wanted to share a little more about my writing process. Today I wanted to focus on… the supplies! Who doesn’t love fun writing supplies.

Here are my pencil case and my current notebook:

My pencil case features Jane Austen. My notebook features a catchphrase from a show you all may have heard of. Most of my first drafts happen by hand before I type them up, so I try to take my notebook everywhere I go. I’ve gotten better at grabbing 10 minute stretches of time to jot down some ideas/dialogue/description/whatever.

Now let’s see what’s inside…

First of all, you need to be proud that I put stickers inside and outside my notebook. I have such neurodivergent fear of commitment when it comes to stickers, so it was a big deal for me to actually use them! (They were a holiday present from @heliza24 of course.)

Second, please observe the peak level of grandiosity with which I approach my collection of colored pens and highlighters. Any actual fic prose I write tends to be in black ink (right now a Papermate Flair is my current black ink source) but all the accompanying text is color-coded like so:

Wilhelm-related content is coded in blue, because it’s one color of the Swedish flag.

Simon-related content is coded in gold/yellow, because it’s the other color of the Swedish flag. I recognize that I’m going to have to pay a fandom fine for not coding him purple.

Sara-related content is coded in pale pink, because it makes me think of her poetry sweatshirt.

August-related content is coded in green, because it is the color of envy.

Felice-related content is coded in lavender because it’s sapphic and I say so.

Other characters and themes get other colors just based on whatever else I have.

The colored pens function for pre-writing notes and marginal notes. I write down a lot of questions to myself and reminders as I go. What is this character’s motivation? Should there be a literary reference here? What details do I have to plant for later? Usually a section is dominated by certain characters, so you’ll see a lot of that color surrounding black text.

The highlighters are one of my favorite discoveries when it comes to my writing process. I struggle a lot with perfectionism in first drafts, so I need a way to deal with that and let my work be messy until revision time. If there’s a phrase I’m not sure of? I highlight it. Not sure if a paragraph is in the right place? I’ll swipe a highlighter down the margin next to the paragraph. It’s my way of saying to myself “I don’t like this part yet, but this is also a problem for Later Blue to fix when she’s typing up the next draft.” The highlighters help me to honor the drafting process by making it pretty, rather than monotonous.

Changing colors a lot also gives me a sense of novelty when I’m writing, and novelty equals dopamine and motivation. I can also find a section tied to a particular character later.

Of course, the final writing supply is tea. Preferably iced tea, for me, because I do not like waiting for my tea to cool. Someone was nice enough to get me some lemongrass tea this morning…

Why, thank you, Plush Sara! You are so kind and generous.

What about everyone else? Are you notebook writers or do you prefer to draft on your computer or tablet or phone? Does anyone use dictation software? I’d love to hear what people do as part of their writing routine; it’s always fun having a window into other people’s processes.

[barbierpt]

do you have any rp pet peeves?

i have a few, actually!! just note that these are from my experiences so i get not everyone might feel the same.

quantity vs. quality. kudos to you novella writers who can do that all day every day, but if i'm getting a 4-8+ paragraph reply that's all description, internal monologuing, purple prose, character background, etc. and there's very little to nothing external for my character to work with or continue pushing the thread forward... kills me. i'm all for my partners writing as much or as little as they need to so long as there's a substantial back and forth.

passive replies. my tolerance for this has gotten so damn low lol. rping is a collaborative experience –– a thread shouldn't be one person doing all the work to keep things interesting and move the scene along while the other just sits there and reacts for the entire ride. yeah, i can forgive this sometimes where it seems right for the character in certain circumstances, but there's a limit to it before i just drop the thread because i'm sick of pulling all the weight on it.

insta-shipping / face chasing. i answered an ask about this the other day that pretty much says it all but reiterating cause it's a pretty big peeve of mine. can't stand people who insta-ship for whatever reason. it's one thing if there's a whole background developed and players still write out the build up into it compared to first thread on the dash and they are already/have become a couple. and even worse when it's because of fc purely and not because of chemistry. i'm so sus about people who come to me wanting to thread or plot because they love my face claim and not my character.

godmodding / power playing / metagaming. i feel like everyone can relate to these. don't write my character's reaction for me. don't try to cheat in a combat or other scenario with my character. and don't assume your character knows something that's ooc knowledge with either a half-assed explanation that makes no sense or no reasoning behind it, especially without asking me first.

i'm sure there's a few more but those are the biggest ones right off the top of my head. what about you anon and tags?? anyone have any rp peeves they want to share??

[aphroditestummyrolls]

🦜🦅🦃💕

Hello friend! ❤️

The first one is from “horse girl? More like SAD girl”, and I’m not really sure how poetic it is, I just loved the way the moment flowed. It felt right.

The second is from (shock of shocks) Between Hope and Desperation, and it’s from a wayyy later chapter than chapter 2 😅 but, I write scenes as they come to me, I guess.

The third is (like horse girl fic) in the engagement series, part of a five plus one story. It’s a little moment where Jes and Inej get to be best friends. He gives her someone to lean on when she needs to feel safe, and she gives him a moment to be a little vulnerable— because while Jesper falls a little in love with everyone he sleeps with/tries to be with, actual romantic feelings are rare. But he thinks he might really want something with a certain demo man 👀

🦜 a pretty quote (you like the prose, or symbolism, or it's poetic, or you just like how it feels/the word choice!)

Wylan rolled his eyes even as he smiled, still a touch breathless from the walk and the plan he’d set in motion that morning. His socked feet, at least, were thankfully dry, padding quietly over the rug to his boyfriend’s— betrothed’s— side.

Sprawled in the seat at the head of the table, an empty plate in front of him and a fresh cup of coffee to his side, he looked every inch the decadent merch spouse that Wylan wanted him to be able to be. Still in soft, loose pajamas with a garishly printed dressing gown draped over his shoulders. Wylan only wished he could be this comfortable all the time. He grinned, leaning over Jesper’s throne to greet him properly.

Tragically scarfless, Jes had to settle for reeling Wylan in by his wrist. He couldn’t help the happy curl of his lips against Jesper’s perfect ones— he tasted like the unadulterated sugary sweetness of apple syrup, the bitter edge of coffee on his tongue. The little noise of protest made him chuckle, relishing the little shiver against him as he used his cold, rain-damp hand to cup Jesper’s warm, dry jaw.

🦅 an angsty quote (something PAINFUL!! ouch ouch ouch!)

It had been a long time since Jesper looked at his boyfriend and thought of the word helpless. But, in the glowing half light of the cellar, it may as well have been a blinking sign above his head.

Strung up by his shackled hands to the pulley in the ceiling, his toes only just brushed the stone floor. His long, elegant fingers were going purple at the tips, wrists rubbed raw by the iron. His auburn curls were wild, falling over his forehead and making it harder to tell where they ended and the bloodstains from his temples to his soaked shirt collar began. He couldn’t tell how much his head had bled. What was the damage?

🦃 a big, meaty quote (JUST A BIG OL PARAGRAPH YOU WANNA SHARE)

She felt nothing when Mogen’s body hit the ground. Inej was already letting her silent feet carry her back to the door, out to the alleyway where she could slip into the rapidly falling night. The sound of her knives slicing through that man’s arteries didn’t echo in her mind.

It was like any other time— she said a prayer. She disappeared up the alley walls and across the gabled rooftops of the Barrel, and she didn’t think about it.

The others would be waiting for her at the Slat.

At least we don’t have to spend another night at Black Veil, she sighed, blowing an errant lock of hair out of her eyes. Or, at least she tried to— the constant moody drizzle of Ketterdam weighed it down to her forehead. She had to push the hair away herself.

Her hand was not trembling as she did.

The Slat was nothing more than a crumbling square block of a building by the Harbour— the brick was practically gravel in her last foothold, and her expert feet slipped as she dropped down to the sill. The window was stuck open, too, a haphazard inch that didn’t go up easily or quietly.

It wasn’t her usual entry, that’s for sure.

“Hello Inej.” The rasp was familiar, but she immediately knew it was an impression. It was not Kaz’s brand of familiar. She could hear the grin in the words. It was buoyant, mischievous— the shock of not being alone was smothered by the immediate comfort of it.

Jesper was leaning in the shadow of a dilapidated old wardrobe. His coat and hat were already hung on the tarnished brass bed post, and his gun belt had been slipped from his waist, still in his hands as he paused to look at her. The smile on his face was just what she knew it would be, but his eyes went sharp as he took her in, and she knew they were thinking the same things.

How had Inej not cased the room and seen him in there? And did he really just manage to surprise the Wraith?

“That wasn’t your usual style and grace on the landing there.”

Those incongruous grey eyes were fixed on her, studying, and she remembered quite suddenly that her friend was smarter than he was credited with.

Thanks for asking! ❤️❤️❤️

[missmvrder]

get to know the author!

name : tati

pronouns :  she/they

preference of communication : discord. tumblr IM are so unreliable ( like everything else from tumblr ). i do tend to run low on social battery at times so i can be slower to reply to DMs at time but i eventually get there! i love talking about our characters so never hesitate to come to me about them!

most active muse :  right now i'm writing beatriz and elena in two different threads each but it's not so much the muse that makes me more active but the plots with others. i have a lot of muse for many of my currently unwritten characters, they just need to find the perfect plot and opposite!

experience / how many years : i’ve started roleplaying on tumblr in 2011, so way too long ago. i did some on myspace around 2009, so 14 years in total. i discovered roleplaying late in life, like in my early 20′s, which seems unlike many others who started as teenagers. 

best experience : i don’t think i’ve had one experience that stood from the rest and had me go all, this is my best rp experience, but i’ve had many great moments and memories over the years. group wise, i currently really miss retaliationrp because there was so much more to do with the plots and characters. but this run as indie is my best one yet. i feel like i’ve found my people, i have amazing plots and they are all very diverse. the balance i have right now makes it really perfect.

rp pet peeves : over-formatting. it’s cool if that’s your thing, but it’s not mine and it makes it hard for me to get into it. the many spaces, the random use of italic or bold, it’s not for me. overly purple prose too, it makes me not get into what the other is writing. i think we tend to over cancel faceclaims too, we interpret what people we don’t know mean and form some very strong and black and white opinions on that. this doesn’t apply for the people who have done actual shitty and disgusting things, but we nitpick too much what stranger say. also, blogs that are all cis het white woman because that’s what they knew and they want to write what they know and yet, they’re all actress/singers/models/vampires/etc. at least be honest about what it’s about.

fluff, angst, or smut : angst all the way. i can do fluff only so long, generally with the intent of having a lot of angst after. smut can be fun once in a while but not if there’s nothing established behind it. if we’re having a strong plot that has been develop and you want to try some smut, i’m open to it but not without it serving the plot and characters. i live for the angst.

plots or memes : plots. i like having a direction and sometimes things are plotted as we go and develop but there need to be a little something when the thread starts. from there, memes are fine, because it can serve to develop more. i find myself less and less interested in open starters unless we plot something before replying or we talk about the characters a little to see where it could go.

long or short replies : both, with a tendency toward longer. i like to had context and backstory to the thread which also means i can be slower to reply because sometimes these take a lot more out of me. i do like the shorter replies too and sometimes wish i had more but i tend to ruin that by then rambling.

time to write : late in the evening, after 9pm and sometimes during the day. i do a lot of replying planning in my head during the day. i’m currently on sick leave so i often draft during the day, but usually, it’s work, motherhood and then whatever time is life to write.

are you like your muses : i think i would like some parts of me to be more like certain muses and some will use my sense of humour or view on things but outside of that, i enjoy trying to create entirely new personas and characters. i think we all put some little parts of ourselves in our characters but none are ‘self-inserts’.

tagged by: @atlatsofstories ❤️

tagging: @autumnwritcs, @fearhidden, @mocnlighted, @pristinaluna, @twistxdtales, @thewolfruns, and everyone else who want to do this!

[nevergonnasimpyoumikey]

👁👄👁 omg

I really like using second person POV in shorter character study fics, like the Tracey fic I wrote some time ago, but I probably wouldn't write a longer fic using it. Head hopping is something I avoid in my own writing because to me, it's most exciting to read something when I don't know everything. For example, I just read Pride and Prejudice (yes, I know, took me long enough) and the focalization shifted onto different characters so fast that I was just NOOOOOO I DON'T WANNA KNOW THIS :"D I'd rather be guessing characters' motivations to do something than know for sure, and that's what I do in my fics, too.

Beige prose I sometimes use as a literary device to kinda drive in a harsher situation (usually at the end of the fic if I'm doing a twist) or draw attention to a certain action. But all in all, I prefer reading and writing beige prose to purple; as a non-visual person (thanks aphantasia) I don't need visual descriptions, I'm more interested in feelings and actions. That's why my style is very simple and probably not that interesting to someone who needs a lot of visual descriptions of things and places. :"D I don't think I've ever tried purple prose, it wouldn't come naturally to me, and reading it can sometimes be very difficult to me.

I've seen footnotes used in scifi (I still haven't read all of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy but I'm pretty sure I remember Douglas Adams doing those). It could be really fun to try it sometimes but idk if it'd suit my fic style :DD Same with digressions, Adams is a master of those and I love it in that context, but if I just wanna read about my blorbos kissing, Id rather have it simple and a bit mysterious, not knowing everything :D

Here's a potentially fun one:

[mediaevalmusereads]

O Caledonia. By Elspeth Barker. Scribner, 1991.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Genre: literary fiction

Series: N/A

Summary: Janet lies murdered beneath the castle stairs, attired in her mother’s black lace wedding dress, lamented only by her pet jackdaw…

​Author Elspeth Barker masterfully evokes the harsh climate of Scotland in this atmospheric gothic tale that has been compared to the works of the Brontës, Edgar Allan Poe, and Edward Gorey. Immersed in a world of isolation and loneliness, Barker’s ill-fated young heroine Janet turns to literature, nature, and her Aunt Lila, who offers brief flashes of respite in an otherwise foreboding life. People, birds, and beasts move through the background in a tale that is as rich and atmospheric as it is witty and mordant. The family’s motto—Moriens sed Invictus (Dying but Unconquered)—is a well-suited epitaph for wild and courageous Janet, whose fierce determination to remain steadfastly herself makes her one of the most unforgettable protagonists in contemporary literature.

***Full review below.***

CONTENT WARNINGS: animal death, attempted sexual assault

OVERVIEW: I saw this book on a list of "Gothic fiction," but after picking it up, I don't know if I'd describe it that way. Though it does have Gothic elements, this book is (more than anything) a story about a solitary girl, misunderstood and unloved by everyone except the natural world in the wilds of Scotland. So while I went in with certain expectations, I wasn't disappointed by what I found. Barker's lush prose and atmospheric descriptions are so masterfully worked that it's difficult not to admire the craft of this novel, so for those reasons (plus my love for the protagonist), this book gets 4 stars from me.

WRITING: As I mentioned above, Barker's prose is superb. It's lush and lyrical, well-crafted in a way that betrays a love for language, and I didn't find it to be purple or overly dense. Instead, I felt the literary mode was incredibly effective at creating atmosphere; Barker's Scotland is wild and mysterious, and there was a lot about the prose that echoed the mood of the novel as a whole.

PLOT: The plot of this book follows the life of a girl named Janet from birth until her murder at roughly 18 years old. As a result, it reads like a coming-of-age novel, though the ending is bleak and depressing.

To be clear, this novel is not a mystery. Barker is wholly uninterested in the "whodunit" of Janet's murder. Instead, this book is an in-depth exploration of Janet's psyche: her loneliness, her refusal to change in the face of opposition, her love of books and classics, the companionship she finds in animals, her love of the natural world. In that, there's something melancholy yet sympathetic about Janet's story. I felt a kinship towards her, though that may be in part due to my own weird interest in the classics and romantic books. Above all, readers may adore this story for the way Janet struggles against expectations; not only is she a disappointment to her family, but she struggles to make friends and finds no pleasure in the things that signify "adulthood" or even "womanhood."

Still, some readers may struggle with this narrative, as it moves rather slowly and isn't necessarily trying to be an action-driven novel. Personally, I found it advanced at just the right pace, and I adored all the descriptions of the world and of Janet's reactions to it. The only thing I can't quite figure out if I like or not is the ending; though we know from the very first page that Janet will die, the manner of her death feels rather abrupt, and I neither felt hollow nor satisfied by it.

CHARACTERS: Janet, our protagonist, is rather easy to like because she is rendered so complexly. From the narration, we get a very clear view of Janet's personality, her interests, her shortcomings - everything we would possibly need to know. This in-depth look at a single character was satisfying, and I liked watching how Janet changed (or stayed the same) through different phases of her life.

Supporting characters were similarly complex and oftentimes eccentric. I particularly liked Lila, Janet's father's cousin, who lives in a room alone with her cat and a collection of fungi. Lila and Janet have a bond that stems from the two of them being outcasts, and I liked watching the two interact. Janet's parents seem rather ordinary, but through Janet's eyes, they are cold and unsupportive of their daughter in all the ways that matter.

TL;DR: O Caledonia is a masterful coming-of-age novel, filled with evocative prose that details one girl's short life as a social outcast who finds solace in books and nature.

[miniminimermaid]

Some frequently asked questions answered in case you were wondering. Updated as needed.

What are your tags?

fic: [fic name] - posts about a fic o muse!: [member name] - tag for each member o muse!: on writing - writing inspo, advice, tips; anything about writing in general o muse!: aesthetics - fanart, pics, general/fic-specific moodboards o muse!: the playlist - what I'm listening to, song recs, and fic playlists siren says - personal posts or just me yapping lmao purple prose - my writing purple peeks - writing updates/snippets

How did you come up with your username?

I love alliteration, I love water, I'm a pisces, I am incredibly fond of yoonmin, and I’m also short, so lo and behold: miniminimermaid ✨

What/Who will you post about?

This is a BTS-centric blog, so I will only be posting BTS. I mainly reblog pics and gifs but I write sometimes. I only write about BTS, and I will most likely write a lot of Yoongi content.

Do you take requests?

I do not take requests. It stresses me out. Also I hate being told what to write because then I don’t want to do it anymore.

Do you have a writing schedule?

Nope! I write when I can, but life moves outside of tumblr. As much as I wish I could work on my fics every hour of every day, I have a part-time job alongside being a full-time student, so I find time where I can. Even then, I also only write when I have an idea that intrigues me and is substantial enough for a full fic.

When will you release [fic/chapter]?

Since I don’t have a writing schedule, I can’t guarantee when certain chapters will be released. However, you can check my “purple peeks” tag for any writing updates and/or snippets. 

Where else can I find you?

Tumblr is my only form of social media, mainly because I’m a bit nervous when it comes to being on other platforms, but also because I’m not really interested in them. That may change in the future, but for right now, that’s where I stand. That said, please feel free to DM me or send asks, or engage with me on my main blog too. I’m a little shy at first but I promise I would love to talk to you.

[one-true-houselight]

The Angel and the Demon on My Shoulders are Married

There’s an angel on one shoulder, and a demon on the other. Opposites, two sides of a coin, a constant push and pull against what I want and what I should.

Or not. Sometimes they’re there, but sometimes they fuck off to the Ritz, or they both sit on one side. The demon sleeps a lot, mussing up his red hair, or sometimes her red hair, or their, or, or, or-

The angel likes it any way.

They’re not opposites, not really, but they help me still, when they aren’t bickering about what they ate that one time in Germany before it was called Germany.

What should I do in life? I ask

What is good, says the angel.

What you love, says the demon.

Make them the same thing then, the angel says with a smile. The demon calls him a sap, but he loves the good so, so much, so it doesn’t sting.

Make sure you eat well, and eat things you enjoy

Get enough sleep. Sometimes you need to just pass out, and look at things again in the morning.

Gender is fake, the demon explains, pulling her hair into a bun.

But so is justice, and mercy, and weekends, says the angel, so pick the things that work for you and that you want to see in the world.

Steal all the genders, agrees the demon.

That Is Not What I Meant You Know That-

It’s too late, I’ve nicked another, and the demon holds their hand out and offers me chipped nail polish, or an abandoned suit jacket, or just the feeling of children loudly asking their parents what I am on a crowded subway.

The angel rolls his eyes. We create the world we want to live in, he says, and we are of that world, so we create ourselves. And just the same, in loving ourselves as we are, we love the world as it can be.

You’ve been reading too many poetry books, said the demon.

Maybe he has been, but I appreciate that sometimes straight up prose cannot contain the things I feel in the universe, and so I dip into the well of pretty purple prose and use it to punch holes into new perspectives.

I want to make sure the people I care about know I love them, I say. My therapist had me take the Love Language quiz.

The angel and the demon laugh. Five? asks the demon. Are there only five colors when you paint?

Only five elements to make up the universe? asked the angel.

Of course you bring up chemistry, angel, mutters the demon.

The point stands.

I suppose it does, I say.

The demon sighs. You show love by being there when you’re needed, she says. And by not being there when what’s needed is distance.

Love is stored in looks, and laughs, and slowing down your car when I scream, even if it’s only a little, says the angel. The demon laughs, xer eyes glinting mischievously.

Love is touch, is holding doors, is sending funny pictures at 2am. It is inside laughter, tears, screams, groans, and sighs.

Sometimes, love is a tartan thermos of certain death and last, desperate chances at protection. It’s knowing when you need to slow down, and when you need to speed up, says the angel.

Even if it changes, even if there’s hard times, or breaks and cracks, it endures. It fights back when people try to tear it from your grasp, it destroys barriers that keep you apart, and therefore keep you back, away from you.

It can’t always be snogging at St. James Park, says the demon.

The angel raises the eyebrows. Do you want to snog at St. James Park?

Absolutely not, not my scene, says the demon. Besides, wouldn’t want the ducks to see me like that.

Oh good, that’s not my scene either. Remembering I’m there, the angel adds, That’s love too. Knowing it comes in all shapes and sizes and actions. There is no one thing that must be present, no one way to show or do or experience it.

I ask that we stop talking about snogging, as it’s not my scene either. They agree.

I know I see the world differently, I know I want different things from myself and others. And I know it’s ok, and I know I have people. But sometimes, it feels like I’ll still end up by myself, a stray thought wondering what I was up to before being forgotten again.

Well, says the demon thoughtfully, you’ll always have us. And the other characters you drag from the shows and weave into the tapestry that is you.

I believe the term is Bebop from my shows says the angel.

It absolutely is not. Stop guessing what bebop is, angel.

Whatever we are, you’ll have others too. Every time you live as you want to, every time you tell people how you love, how you see the world, you carve out more space for you and people like you. And people who insist differently, that there are only certain ways to structure your life, they are missing out.

Believe me, says the demon. You will not be forgotten by anyone who knows you. You are colorful, you are movement and words and humanity. Formed from stardust, and the things you and the people you love are doing are going to make a supernova, from which a new world can and will be born.

Now who’s read too many poetry books, says the angel.

The demon shrugs and points at me. I am the one writing them into a poem, so, fair.

You’re doing good, says the angel.

Keep giving them hell, the good kind, says the demon.

Love fiercely, love often, we are a love story and so are you, they say.

I smile. I say thank you.

And I ask the demon to stop gluing pennies to my shoulder.

This is a poem I wrote about queer angels and demons, what they and the show mean to me as a nonbinary, aroace person, and how media gets folded into who we are. It's weird and personal, the format is fucky. I just wanted to get it out there. cheers!

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

i cant remember if someone asked you your opinions on the pomefiore members but uh- thoughts pls? ^^;

Before we start, a note: when I share my opinions on characters, I like to think of them from two different perspectives: that of a content creator and that of a casual fan. As such, I’ll be speaking on both what I think of writing each boy, as well as what I think of each boy on a personal level outside of writing.

Let’s begin!

👑 Vil 👑

This may come as a shock, but I would actually say I like writing Vil more than writing Rook 😂 Vil has a certain maturity about him that helps him command whatever scene he’s in. It makes it easier for me to write dialogue if someone like Vil is the focal point, the one guiding discussion. He comes off as regal and stern—a powerful person you don’t want to cross. It’s a delight when a character’s bite matches their bark.

The way Vil speaks and composes himself fits very well with my writing style. I also happen to have an interest in beauty, so I have the vocabulary to make Vil ramble about fashion, skincare, etc. His dialogue comes so naturally to me that sometimes I space out, and by the time I’ve drifted back, I’ve typed up a whole speech for Vil. Channeling that “tough love” energy of his is strangely cathartic—and the drive and self-assuredness that Vil exudes makes me feel more confident in myself when I write him.

All that being said, I don’t really care for Vil as a character. I admire his willingness to work hard to achieve his goals and that he challenges traditional gender roles. I definitely find his inner turmoil fascinating, and it’s interesting that he’s one of the... nicer dorm leaders, but my love for him stops there. I don’t mind that he’s strict (because in a cast as big as TWST’s, we’re bound to have some sticklers), but nothing about what Vil is appeals to me.

He’s... conventionally attractive, I guess????? But I’ve never liked his looks (especially not his purple Kool-aid dyed hair) nor have I considered him to be “fairest of them all”. I think most of his looks are just too severe for me, too bold of an eye look or too much with the hair 😔 and his vanity (because he does have it) isn’t an appealing trait either. His career is a big deterrent as well; I nope away from celebrities of all kinds because being one inherently puts the spotlight on him (and I have a strong preference for characters that work “in the shadows”, so to speak, over ones that have eyes on them at all times).

I also just disagree with some of his teaching; I get that Vil has good intentions, but I feel that, at times, he goes too far with his methods and imposes unrealistic expectations onto others. This is excused by TWST as “Vil is a celebrity, so he holds others to high standards as well”, but I feel that Vil needs to step back, take his own advice to take “context” into consideration, and think about others’ limitations and how to adapt to them instead of continuously pushing his own views with little regard for those limitations. In chapter 5, I totally get that he was blinded by envy and personal ambitions, but Vil overall is less like a character I’d enjoy and more like a tiger parent I’d want to keep away from.

🏹 Rook 🏹

Rook’s a joy for me to write (I love his positive attitude!), but I’ll be the first to admit that he isn’t easy. He often speaks in long, (unnecessarily) flowery sentences, which makes it a nightmare to arrange in a manner that makes sense but also reads well. You don’t want to throw in too many words or else it seems redundant or confuses the reader, but you don’t want to throw in too few because it wouldn’t be close enough to Rook’s poetic prose.

The occasional French phrases that he sprinkles in also trip me up 💦 I don’t know how to add those funky accent marks on letters, so I need to open a new tab and go out of my way to search for them... Sometimes I can’t quite remember certain nicknames or exclamations that Rook says, so I need to have 1-2 separate tabs open to cross reference the appropriate resources. When I’ve actually written all his dialogue out, then I go back and double check to make sure everything flows well and that the French is correct.

A unique challenge that comes with writing Rook is describing things from his perspective. Every scene is a work of art, and every possible negative thing is somehow spun to be positive. I have to sit there in my chair and have a good, long think sometimes before I can properly pour all my energy into a pure sensory overload of a description, or to find something good to say about something bad 😂 I feel like I’m never fully doing Rook justice, but I try my best with what I’ve got....!

Anyway~ It should be pretty clear from the multitude of thirst posts that Rook is my favorite from Pomefiore! I just like reading his superfluous way of speaking and how it weirds out everyone around him, but that he’s also very sharp-witted and observant if you look past that silly exterior. You don’t think he would backstab you until it’s way too late, so you definitely don’t want him as an enemy (like damn, this man can determine a LOT of your personal details just from looking at you; he’s TWST’s Sherlock Holmes) 😳 But when he’s on your side, he can be your greatest cheerleader. Rook’s just the kind of friend supporting me!

It’s also very admirable that Rook can stay so positive and see the beauty in even the worse of things and situations; that kind of optimism is such a rarity that it’s refreshing to me. No one could write a whole ass poem dedicated to how wonderful Crowley is BUT Rook. No one would long for the taste of poison and coo about how beautifully deadly an OB is BUT Rook. Admittedly, I sometimes experience intense second hand embarrassment at the cornier things Rook says 😂 He is cringe, but at least he is free............................

🍎 Epel 🍎

Epel is, hands down, my least favorite of the Pomefiore trio (this goes for both writing and for personal appeal). Compared to the other characters, Epel has a pretty passive and indistinctive way of talking in most of his dialogue. This frustrates me because when I read back what I’ve written for him, I constantly worry that he sounds too generic or that it’s difficult to distinguish his voice from the other characters’ voices. I have to contain my efforts to make it “be more Epel-y”, because otherwise every other sentence would be about apples, and “apples” is most certainly not his entire personality.

When his accent comes out, the situation somehow gets worse 😔 It’s very difficult to “translate” Epel’s dialect into English, but I usually default to the what can be considered a “southern drawl” in the United States (which I can’t write very well). This leads me to smashing together letters to make close approximations of other words or straight up using country-isms to replace more commonly spoken phrases. It tends to result in a big, confusing mess that reads very clunkily and hurts my eyes to look at 😷

The timing of when his accent comes out also confuses me. During chapter 5, it seems that the accent makes itself known only when Epel is angry or loses composure, but we’ve seen in a lot of recent vignettes that he can also casually switch between the two as long as Vil’s not around. I had to switch my writing up to adapt to the new lore. Writing Epel’s “accent” dialogue offends me—

I’ve often seen people describe Pomefiore as a “found family” dynamic, in which Vil and Rook are the parents and Epel is their rebellious child. Honestly, I’ve found that that’s my preferred way to digest Epel content (or really, any Epel interaction with other characters works) because I find him way too boring on his own. Sure, he’s cute with his looks and his shyness (when he’s putting on an act), but cuteness alone doesn’t endear me to a character and his politeness feels generic. Meanwhile, Epel’s wild child side comes off as very... one-note to me? It’s usually played for laughs (like “no one can understand him”) and he quickly goes back to his “polite” way of speaking right after, so it feels like a gimmick despite being told it’s an integral part of his identity. I only really felt that was true when we finally got to visit Harveston and learn more about its culture, but I feel that we shouldn’t need a whole event to significantly expand a character; Epel should be able to stand on his own as someone interesting, and he just... doesn’t to me.

It definitely doesn’t help that his character arc in chapter 5 seemed kind of rushed. I get that they were trying to show us Epel’s views on gender roles were regressive and how he changed for the better, but I really don’t think he should have made a 180 as quickly as he did; it paints an unrealistic view of how fast we should expect people to change their toxic opinions in the real world. Chapter 5 could have had Epel beginning to open his heart to change, not completely changing in the span of like a month.