#opening chapters

[wandering-the-fae-wyldes]

Lost and Alone (Initial rewrite for the opening, when Jacwyn first finds himself in the Fae Wyldes. Feedback is welcome)

The world is strange sometimes, one minute a young man is running from home, determined to prove himself and make his way in the world, the next the world becomes a swirl of chaos. Screaming voices surround them, guards rushing to and fro ordering everyone to get behind them or run, and then with a shadow looming over him, the world silent save for the moaning of the dying the world suddenly becomes a swirl of colors.

One moment Jacwyn Silverquill was the youngest child and only son to the Archmage of High Eternus, born to wealth and prestige and the next he was fleeing to the East in search of adventure and a means of making a man of himself only to run afoul of bandits and an unknown mage less than a day's ride from the city's walls. Now he slowly opened his eyes to see the world around him, he'd expected a wagon, maybe a cage and shackles, he'd expected to awaken as a captive, instead what he found was an idylic glade in the middle of an unknown forest.

He carefully stood, checking himself for injuries, making sure he still had everything, and while he didn't have his travel bag that he'd taken with him when he'd fled the city meaning he'd lost his papers of identification and his money, he still had his clothes a pocket knife and was unharmed except for a few minor cuts and bruises.

"How did- where am I?"

The last thing he remembered was a shadowy silhouete standing over him on the road, a caravan in flames and glowing eyes looking down upon him, but none of that explained this. He took a deep breath and shook his head, deciding his first step should be to check his surroundings, first for a road. If he could find a road, then that meant he could find civilization. From there he could try to find some guards, tell them what happened, and maybe regain his lost property. If he couldn't find the road, then his next step would be to find food, water, and shelter. After all, if he couldn't find the road then that meant he had no clue where he was, and there was no telling how long he'd be out here for.

So it was with that in mind that he set out, slowly and carefully exploring around his clearing. In his exploration he learned a few things, this forest was old, trees stretching far above, the tops reaching beyond his sight as they extended up towards the sky, he learned too that if there was a road nearby then he wasn't going to find it. The only light under the trees came from bioluminescent foiliage, mushrooms and strange plants that grew despite the stiff competition for sunlight and water that the environement created, yet despite the thick canopy and the impenitrable foiliage, he never found himself wanting for a path. Wherever he walked it was as if the forest cleared a way for him. He was never at risk of stepping through bushes, having to go around thorn patches, it was as though the forest was aware of him and was actively allowing him to explore through it.

With the realization that he was well and truly lost in an unknown forest Jacwyn was forced to scavenge for food, luckily, he always was an attentive student. He knew most of the beneficial and safe herbs to eat within Elven lands, and while many of the plants he found were alien to him he was able to find enough food to tide himself over for the day. Water was far easier, the glade he found himself in contained a freshwater spring, and he had enough magic at least to cast the spell Prestidigitation, one of the few that he could. With the water and the simple cantrip he was able to light a small campfire for warmth and remain hydrated. After several hours of exploration and foraging, Jacwyn sat under the shade of the canopy, looking out to the forest around him, the world around him slowly darkening.

"Well, I guess this is kind of what I wanted. A grand adventure, away from my family. I guess I'd just hoped it would be more on my own terms."

He looked up to the canopy, glimpsing the sky as it changed colors with the setting Sun and as he did, he wondered if he'd made the right choice in leaving home. Was he going to be ok, would he ever find his way back to civilization, had anyone even noticed that he was gone yet? It was with these questions running through his mind that Jacwyn shook his head and laid down, sticking close to the fire for warmth, and praying to whatever gods might be listening that no creatures would find him in the night.

[fwoosh-prompts]

Oh this looks like a nice list of writing sources! Gotta remember to check out the listed stories too at some point

The Author Speaks:  All My Original Writing Content

For your convenience, a masterpost of all (or most) of my original posts so far.  It will obviously be updated as I create and add more!

Enjoy, and thank you for reading!  <3

The Basics:  Plotting, Descriptions, and More

The Dos and Don’ts of Beginning a Novel (9/27/2017)

How to Write Good Dialogue (7/27/2017)

Notes on Chapters (7/5/2020)

My Top Tips for Sticking to That Damn WIP (8/13/2020)

How to Avoid Purple Prose (7/14/2017)

The Objective Correlative (4/10/2019)

Tips for Visual Thinkers (6/29/2017)

5 Ways to Name Your Novel (8/11/2018)

Romance

How to Write a Kiss Scene (9/17/2017)

How to Write a (Healthy) Romance (6/17/2017)

Mythology 

Irish Mythology Resources (4/4/2019)

Academia

Masterpost for Writing Academic Essays (9/25/2020)

Horror

My #1 Tip For Writing Horror (5/17/2019)

Monster of the Week

Werewolves (10/19/2020)

Vampires (10/7/2020)

The Undead (10/23/2020)

Characterization

How to Get to Know Your Characters (6/17/2017)

Male Protagonists to Avoid in Your Writing (5/28/2017)

Female Protagonists to Avoid in Your Writing (6/7/2017)

More Female Protagonists to Avoid in Your Writing (6/5/2019)

The Importance of Antiheroes (6/22/2020)

How to Write Strong Female Characters (3/24/2018)

The Many Faces of the Strong Female Character (7/10/2019)

The Traits of a Likable Hero (7/19/2017)

The Secret to a Relatable Villain (3/11/2018)

Types of Unreliable Narrators (7/1/2019)

How to Write (or Avoid) Abusive Parents (8/2/2017)

The Dos and Don’ts of Writing Smart Characters (1/20/2020)

Reference Masterposts

Depicting Deaf, Blind, or Mute Characters (4/21/18 but often updated with new resources that my followers recommend)

Depicting Amputees (10/21/18)

Depicting Wheelchair Users (8/7/2020)

Depicting Jewish Characters (9/17/2018)

Depicting Black Characters (9/22/2018)

Depicting ADHD (5/11/2019)

Depicting Autism (1/1/2020)

Depicting Trans Women (9/15/2020)

Depicting Trans Men (9/29/2020)

Depicting Nonbinary and Genderfluid Characters (10/16/2019)

Depicting Asexual Characters (10/11/2019) 

Depicting Drug Addiction (10/23/2018)

Depicting Eating Disorders (1/19/2020)

Depicting Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (7/5/2019)

Depicting Schizophrenia (7/13/2020)

Worldbuilding Masterpost (7/3/2018)

Publishing Resources:

Places to Post Original Fiction (10/29/2019)

Marketing Masterpost (8/12/2018)

My Published Fiction:

Gentlefolk - A timid woman faces her deepest fears in order to try and reclaim her stolen child from charismatic local Nature Gods. Only to discover that everything she’s been taught about them might be wrong. Published August 10, 2020.

The New Gods - Society is populated by gods, new and old. Some are more frightening than others. Published February 11, 2020.

Gunpowder Sigil - In a windblown Western town, a young girl conducts a summoning ritual for a spectral gunslinger. Magical realism meets the Western. Published August 4, 2019.

The Undertaker’s Apprentice - A lovesick undertaker in training goes on a disastrous first date, with a corpse as a third wheel. Published December 6, 2018.

The Young Immortal - A relatively youthful member of the immortal community reflects on his first century of life and his relationship with his oft-reincarnated soulmate. Published December 21, 2018.

The Bear - An anxiety-ridden young man with a talent for avoiding his problems decides not to acknowledge the grizzly bear trapped in his bedroom during a busy a day. Published October 1, 2018.

Stitches - Featured in Volume Blue of the anthology series Dark Cheer: Cryptids Emerging. A son comes finds purpose outside of his father’s legacy.  Published December 28, 2021.

Nemesis - The third story featured in the anthology, Things Improbable.  A lovesick supervillain is confronted by what they will do for their beloved superhero. Publishing February 28, 2023.

Strange New Worlds Anthology - A compilation of my short fiction, including previously published and previously unseen works.  Release date to be determined.

Happy writing, everybody!

[goomyloid]

real dialogue from the game

[hinamie]

morning glory

[blueboyluca]

“When I first heard it, from a dog trainer who knew her behavioral science, it was a stunning moment. I remember where I was standing, what block of Brooklyn’s streets. It was like holding a piece of polished obsidian in the hand, feeling its weight and irreducibility. And its fathomless blackness. Punishment is reinforcing to the punisher. Of course. It fit the science, and it also fit the hidden memories stored in a deeply buried, rusty lockbox inside me. The people who walked down the street arbitrarily compressing their dogs’ tracheas, to which the poor beasts could only submit in uncomprehending misery; the parents who slapped their crying toddlers for the crime of being tired or hungry: These were not aberrantly malevolent villains. They were not doing what they did because they thought it was right, or even because it worked very well. They were simply caught in the same feedback loop in which all behavior is made. Their spasms of delivering small torments relieved their frustration and gave the impression of momentum toward a solution. Most potently, it immediately stopped the behavior. No matter that the effect probably won’t last: the reinforcer—the silence or the cessation of the annoyance—was exquisitely timed. Now. Boy does that feel good.”

— Melissa Holbrook Pierson, The Secret History of Kindness (2015)

[author-a-holmes]

@moryann-stolen-stories Stolen, Stella, Opening Chapter.

when people die early in a story but their death sets the tone for the whole story and to an extent sets everything in motion even if the story isn’t about their death… that’s good shit right there!

[rozmorris]

What makes a great story? Lessons from judging the Amazon Kindle Storyteller Award 2023

Holy allsorts, I’ve been judging this prestigious prize! It’s an interesting assignment to read a bunch of books and not have to fix them. So I’m writing this post in celebration, to consider exactly what a good storyteller does. Actually, you already know what a good storyteller does. They gobble your hours and insist you stay for one more scene, even if you’re past your bedtime or about to…

[lilybug-02]

Pain is a great motivator…

Part 26 || First || Previous || Next

—Full Series—

Meanwhile Toriel:

(Loud noises don't wake her up usually.)

Artist note: I’m so proud of this :))) I know it’s a lot of dialogue and reading, but dialogue is grueling work for me. I’m glad with the art and for the amount of pages I made in such a relatively short time span -w- page 5 was super fun to work on. A lot of blood, sweat, and hours here... :) The backgrounds were a big bore tbh, but I finished them! Yippie!

[sentinens]

My piece for @klapollo-minibang from the first chapter of my partner @smolgirlowo's awesome fic, Breaking up Is Hard to (Un)Do, linked here! The first chapter is up so go check it out :]] (plsplspls you will enjoy it so much)

I'll be posting more pieces accompanying the next chapters in the following weeks ^^

[cloudabserk]

daniel molloy you FREAK!!!

[joy-girl]

One Piece 1130 // Loki and Monkey D. Luffy

[maesonc-artistic-adventures]

Based on Chapt 13 of @cutebutalsostabby ‘s fanfic “Big Oof 2022, aka Whumptober”

“‘You,’ Hyrule declared furiously, ‘are an absolute, complete dumbass.’

Lying prone on the ground with a deeply pissed-off mage looming above his head, it was rather difficult for Warriors to argue the point. He gave a weak thumbs up and croaked back, ‘Yep.’

Hyrule shook his head disbelievingly and announced, ‘You and Legend give me shit for this all the time, but you’re both equally as bad.’

Warriors nodded. ‘Very true,’ he rasped peaceably. ‘Be sure to learn from our bad examples.’”

————————————

Hyrule and Warrior’s dynamic is so excellent and few do it as well as this fic!

[shadowednavi]

it's been awhile since I've worked on this project! I've had this verse finished for months but didn't want to post it on its own, and instead wait until the whole thing is strung together to show the final result all at once. But I'm tired of holding onto it, so here is one section of my deltarune animation! My art tag has other clips if anyone is interested in seeing more~

(song: "The Hymn of Axciom" by Vienna Teng)

[s-aint-elmo]

Falin has been nearsighted since she was little, and has a habit of squinting when she's looking at things. —Delicious in Dungeon World Guide: The Adventurer's Bible

she should have been at the optometrist's

(ID in alt text)

[psychlocke]

DUNMESHI CHAPTER 84 MANGA SPOILERS !!!!

why is he using the kabru charm on laios

[eatingmarkerz]

another redraw

i didnt put as much effort into this one as much as the original ;;

old one vvv

been exactly one year

this is the original but its cropped cuz the backgrounds kinda ugli...