#realised only as I was writing the image description that I’d forgotten the word ‘a’ in the third line. sad :(

[tragedykery]

[ID: the prophecy from percy jackson and the lightning thief transcribed into tengwar, tolkien’s elvish script. the prophecy reads:

you shall go west and face the god who has turned / you shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned / you shall be betrayed by one who calls you [a] friend / and you shall fail to save what matters most in the end.

/end ID]

ipa transcription + rambling under the cut!

this was originally practice for my phonemic english tengwar mode with inherent vowel schwa but it got. a bit out of hand lol. tenchnically the mode’s still under construction but that’s mostly bc I’m running into issues with the guide I wrote for it (mainly font & accessibility issues)

both the ipa and the tengwar transcripts are based on how I personally would pronounce the prophecy if I were to read it aloud slowly & carefully. which is to say I don’t sound that much like a stuck up ass irl lmao. the ipa is mostly based on geoff lindsey’s transcription guidelines for standard southern british, with a few adjustments. also I didn’t use stress markers in monosyllabic words bc I’m lazy

ipa (so warning for screenreaders):

jʉw ʃal gəw wɛst and fejs ðə gɔd hʉw has təːnd | jʉw ʃal fɑjnd wɔt wɔs stə́wlən and sij ɪt séjflij rɪtə́ːnd | jʉw ʃal bij bətréjd bɑj wʌn hʉw koːlz jʉw frɛnd | and jʉw ʃal fejl tʉw sejv wɔt mátəz məwst ɪn ðij ɛnd

[writingeastmidlands]

How difficult is it?

Two words: Short story

A description, but also a succinct instruction manual. So why is it so difficult for me to stick to the plan?

Short: In my head a short story is somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 words. That’s not a hard rule, more of a guide.

Story: A narrative telling of an event or a series of inter-related events.

I struggled with my writing in 2021: I started a novella, and put it aside after 8,000 words. I started a novel, the second in a planned series, and set that aside after 70,000 words because there was something fundamentally flawed with the structure.

That wasn’t a fun moment.

I tried splitting the novel into two separate novels and then started work on the first of those. I got 36,000 words into that work before setting it aside. Are you starting to see a pattern here?

I needed to try something different. I chose a subject which fascinated me and a genre I adore. A ghost story set in an abandoned London Underground station, surely that couldn’t possibly go wrong? And yet I paused that novella shortly after I passed 7,000 words. I was beginning to fear I’d forgotten how to write, or perhaps more accurately, I’d forgotten how to keep writing. I’d lost the skill necessary to write a story through to the finish.

Which was where my short story came in. In December trawled through the notes of story ideas and fragments of sentences and paragraphs which I keep, looking for inspiration. I found an idea for a short story so I set started writing.

And reader, I finished. Except the short story I had birthed came in at 8,392 words. Still, it was the only piece of original writing I managed to complete. Flushed with success, I dipped back into my notes. 4,863 words later I finished a second short story. Still a little on the long side, and I wasn’t sure how well the story stood up on its own, but at least I’d finished. This was starting to look positive.

I returned to the font of my story ideas and went fishing again. This time it was not something I’d jotted down in the past, but a new idea based on an image of a parochial library with a couple of glass cases displaying locally discovered artefacts.

Off I went, scribbling away. At times it was like trying to drag a tractor tyre through a field of mud. Backwards. In bare feet. I pulled words like they had thorns, and laid them on the screen. A number of times I knew I needed to abandon it: I had an image but no story, characters but no life. Still I persevered. I stared at the screen. I stared through the screen.

Finally, 9,837 words later, it is finished.

It is definitely not short. I’m not convinced even charitably it could be described as a story. Really it’s a hot mess, but by the time I neared the end I finally realised what the story was supposed to be.

Maybe someday I will go back and edit it. For now, I’m just relieved I’ve been able to complete a piece of fiction, however terrible it might be. Maybe that was all I ever needed from this story: A chance to finish something.

[coppicefics]

Masked Omens: Week Three

New chapter here, or read from the start here!

(Right click picture and select ‘View Image’ or ‘Open Image In New Tab’ for hi-res version.)

[Image Description: Image 1 - A simple rendition of the Masked Singer UK logo, a golden mask with colourful fragments flying off of it. The mask has a golden halo and a golden devil tail protruding from either side. Below, gold text reads ‘Masked Omens’.

Image 2 - A page from the Entertainment section of the Capital Herald, dated Saturday, 9th January, 2021. Full image description and transcript below the cut. End ID.]

The Capital Herald - Saturday, 9th January, 2021 Entertainment

Main story: SECOND SABLE BRAND AMBASSADOR ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL Stunned fans phone in to save the day as model collapses during charity fundraising challenge Model and social media influencer Adam Mann, 29, was rushed to hospital on Friday night after he collapsed during a live webstream. Worried fans alerted the authorities and an ambulance was dispatched to Mann's Kensington home at approximately 8pm last night. Mann's representatives have yet to release a statement, but a source close to him told The Capital Herald that Mann had been feeling unwell for some time. “He's been out of sorts for ages,” she admitted, “and when I looked up the symptoms online, it said it was probably malnutrition. I told him, it's that diet he's on. But Adam wouldn't listen.” Mann is a brand ambassador for Dr Raven Sable's diet and lifestyle products. Earlier this month, another Sable ambassador, Lilith Root, checked into an in-patient facility to begin treatment for an eating disorder. Sable's representatives have so far declined to comment on either incident, despite repeated invitations to do so. Mann is a  dedicated charity campaigner, often urging his peers in the modelling industry to raise awareness and funds using the wry social media hashtag #NotJustAPrettyFace. In the few years since he rose to prominence, he has supported hundreds of charities ranging from local foodbank initiatives to global human rights and animal welfare concerns. “It‘s so like Adam,” our source told us, “to literally collapse in the middle of trying to help someone else. He always puts himself last. I really, really hope he’s OK.” It’s a sentiment that’s been echoed in Twitter threads and on message boards across the internet - including in the comments of Mann’s most recent Instagram post, which was uploaded just an hour before the livestream started. “Ready to take some questions, have some fun and raise some cash for a great cause,” said the caption. “Please Adam, look after yourself and get well soon. You’re so thin in this photo :( xxxx” replied a user  with the handle @adamfann95, three hours later. Similar messages soon followed as news of Mann’s condition spread. At the time of Mann’s collapse, his charity livestream had raised over £15,000 for Lionheart, a charity dedicated to the care and protection of lions and other wild animals who’ve been illegally kept as pets. Since then, fans have continued to make donations in his name, and the charity is now set to receive over £38,000. “We wish Adam a very speedy recovery, and we hope he knows he’s  always welcome to visit us at the Lionheart Sanctuary,” said Noah Shipman, the charity’s founder and chairman. “Thank you to all those who’ve donated; we firmly believe that these animals belong outside, not cooped up between four walls or in someone’s garden. Just like us, they like to roam! Thank you for helping us to save those poor creatures who’ve been put in a horrible position through no fault of their own.” At time of writing, there has been no update on Mann’s condition. MARY HODGES. [Image Description: a close-up of biblical Adam biting the apple, taken from the Good Omens TV show. End ID.] TAKEN ILL: Adam Mann, pictured above in an ad campaign for Dr Raven Sable’s CHOW nutritional lifestyle regime, was admitted to hospital on Friday evening (Image: QuiteUnlikely.net)

Centre left: Memory Lane: Tip from the Top The gunge plunge was a child's idea of justice, but it worked. They don't make children's telly like they used to. Before Peppa Pig and Shaun the Sheep, there was Superted and Maid Marian and Her Merry Men. Those shows have had their time, changed the genre for the better, and been consigned to history – and there's certainly an argument for reviving them. But one children's show that's going to be hard to replace is my old favourite, Tip from the Top. Hosted by Blue Peter alum Pat Maputi, the show was based on a simple, winning format; kids competed to score points, win prizes, and ultimately get the opportunity to drop their least favourite parent, guardian, teacher, or other adult into a pool of gunge and goo. Named for the chair that tilted forward and dislodged the unfortunate adult seated on it, the show might have been nothing more than a simple gameshow curiosity, but its concept of offering redress for the many perceived slights inflicted on kids by grown-ups made it a real treasure. To children of my generation, it was like a little revolution; when we were sent to our rooms unjustly, when we were kept behind after class, when we were made – horror of all horrors – to tidy our rooms, Tip from the Top offered the tantalising prospect of justice. Of course, all the adults on the show had agreed to be there, accepting the risk of being plunged into a thick layer of green slime. Pat Maputi was in league with the detention-givers and the room-senders all along. But as children, we didn't realise that; to us, Tip from the Top was the highest possible Court of Appeal. And for that, it will always be remembered fondly. Sadly, Tip from the Top was cancelled in 2000, a new millennium bringing a new wave of children's television to our screens. The focus of children’s programming began to shift towards a more fiction-heavy schedule, and some undoubtedly excellent shows came out of it. But perhaps, even after all these years, a reboot might not be too much to hope for – after all, children these days must have just as many complaints about their adult overlords as we did, back then. Clearly, somebody needs to give Pat a call and set the wheels of justice in motion once more. SARAH JEUNE. Memory Lane is our regular feature, looking back at the books, shows and films of yesteryear through a nostalgic lens. Do you miss something you’d like to see featured? Just send the show name (plus channel and airdates if you know them) in an email to: memorylane@capitalherald.co.uk - your prayers might just be answered!

Centre right: The Masked Singer Continues Did I really have a life before the live shows? It's only week three of The Masked Singer UK's first ever live series, and already I've forgotten what I used to do with my Saturday nights before it was on. Is it just me, or is anybody else having funny turns on the Tube, squinting suspiciously at strangers and wondering, “could it be you?” Of course, the likelihood of running into Apple, Axolotl, Black Cat, Bonfire, Goose, Pony, Snake, Squid, Sword or Teapot on my morning commute is vanishingly small, and they'd be unlikely to give themselves away if I did see them. But after a Saturday night spent hunting for the slightest clues and rummaging through my own brain for names, it's hard to turn those instincts off come Monday morning. Everybody seems to have a theory, of course, even at this early stage. My postman claims Apple has to be a tech mogul, my colleagues have a betting pool on which character turns out to be a former member of Blazin' Squad, and my dentist waited until she'd got the little mirror in my mouth to ask me if I thought Pony walked like a minister, whatever that means. Me? I have a few wild guesses, but I'd prefer to keep them to myself until we have a little more to go on. Many of our readers, I'm delighted to report, have far more faith in their own guessing ability, and we've collected some of the most interesting responses from the comments section of our website on the page opposite. Give it a read and tell us what you think – your comment might be featured next week! In the meantime, let me recap what we do know. Bell was unmasked in the first week, and turned out to be Sergeant Shadwell, a former soldier turned YouTuber. I am assured by my more online colleagues that he's known for debunking conspiracy theories, whatever urban exploration is, and occasionally looking for ghosts. Then, last week, we met and said goodbye to Ninja, who turned out to be none other than Esther James, England women's rugby captain. I never would have guessed, and I'm quite keen on rugby; identifying someone by their singing voice alone is much harder than it seems! I may not know who this year's contestants are, but I know I'll be on the edge of my seat all night waiting to find out. I'll be tuning in tonight for  another live show; if you join me, don't forget to get in touch and tell us your best theories! EDWARD BIGGS. The Masked Singer UK will air live tonight at 7pm on ITV. Contact us via our website or at: entertainment@capitalherald.com to share your thoughts and guesses. Ad (bottom third of the page): [Image Description: A banner ad with a black background. On the right is a photograph of Agnes Nutter as seen in Good Omens, demonstrating some serious side-eye. Overlaid is Agnes Nutter’s signature, followed by the words ‘DS member & Author’. On the left, bright yellow-green figures demonstrating various exercises - a football goalie making a save, a gymnast balancing on their hands, and a weightlifter - surround the main text. End ID.] Have you been skipping leg day? Come on down to DIVINATION STATION [the words ‘Divination Station’ are a graffiti-style logo] where fitness is fun! www.divinationstation.com

[deeplyshalllow]

1, 4, and 11 for the writing ask :)

1) Give short descriptions of all your current WIPs

Oh gosh, so many, some of which might not make it.

In terms of long fics:

Your hands ain’t clean I’ve seen your fingerprints

The premise of this fic is my theory that if JD had gone after Heather Duke rather than Veronica the two girls are similar enough that Heathers would have been pretty much the same except they’d have swapped roles. Obviously, this is not what happens in the fic or it would be very boring - but it’s about a jealous power hungry Veronica, free from the guilt of Heather Chandlers murder using her death to gain power and to get revenge on Heather Duke for stealing the cute new guy she had her eye on in the caf, blissfully unaware that such actions may be putting a target on her own back...

The Road to Hell

This is just a little fun, not too serious idea which I’d like to play with between all the dark shit I write. The premise is that JD is a demon sent to make sure Veronica’s soul is corrupted and then to send her to hell, meanwhile Heather Chandler is an angel (with somewhat questionable morals and a 6000 year old grudge against JD) trying to stop him. However, both get more than they bargained for when they start to fall for Veronica...

Nanowrimo fic

So I finished nanowrimo this year with this fic, so I have 50,000 words but they’re not sparking joy at the moment, so I might try and rework it. But the basic premise is that an adult Veronica returns to Sherwood and suddenly a bunch of “suicides” that look suspiciously like the ones she and JD committed start happening, and Veronica realises that she’s the only one with who knows enough to solve the crime. It forces her to face what she’s run away from and try and find else who knows about her secret (and question whether JD is really dead)...

I’ve also got a few other oneshots in the works: a vampire JD pov version of It’s a Sin with No Name - which should be out in the next couple of days, the prize fics for @alexandra-dautriche and Purple_Stapler - which I’m really excited about, and a weird ghosty supernatural Jdonica thing which has been in the works for ages but I really do want to finish.

4) What does it take for your to be proud of something you’ve written

I guess it’s rereadability. There’s some fics, especially my older stuff, that I can barely read because of the cringe, and there’s other stuff that I reread and enjoy as a reader too. If there’s been a bit of distance between when I wrote and reread I’ve forgotten the specifics so it’s always good to know I like what I wrote. Ultimately, I write what I want to read so it’s good to know I have succeeded in that!

11) Give three songs or images that fit [WIP]

Technically The Deadliest Game is finished now, but it’s what I’ve thought about the most so:

Dangerous Game - Linked this in the appendix but this is where the fic got its name from and I think it’s a good summary of the Jdonica dynamic in the fic

The Past is Another Land - This is a slightly odd one, as it’s about slavery in the context of the musical, but I think it does a good job of Veronica’s mindset and loss as she is controlled by the Capitol

Titanium (Cover) - I love this cover so much, it takes an otherwise upbeat song and makes it very vulnerable, and I think it does a good job of summarising Veronica towards the end of the fic

[kululumoya-blog]

If you are not a blogger it’s possible you may not know what bloggers do exactly. If you are a blogger, that’s equally possible. (Or is that just me?) There’s one thing I’ve noticed that seems to be the common trend amongst my fellow blog people, is that we all want to learn more about this invisible world and very few are where they would like to be but most are passionate about what they do and just about all are very supportive of one another.

Spurred on by a generous helping of my fellow bloggers with a side dish of personal angst I am starting a new series of interviews with other bloggers on what it means to be SUCCESSFUL. Success means a million different things to everyone and in the blogging world one may be tempted to measured by numbers (stats, followers, income). While analysing data in order to strategise your business marketing budget is wise, numbers are not a true measure of your blog’s worth.

It’s a bad idea to draw comparisons and become disheartened by what others seem to have achieved, what’s more important is to determine the reason why you blog, what your goals are for the future and what you need to learn/improve on in order to achieve them.

Some bloggers write simply because they love it or they wish to inspire and encourage others, some are authors who are blogging to showcase their books, others blog as a full time occupation and earn an income from their work. What makes each individual get up every morning and want to write? Every interviewee will be different and as we catch a glimpse of the person behind the image I hope you will be inspired by their stories.

The aim of  this series is to help you re-evaluate why you do what you do, teach you some new tips as well as motivate you to focus on your own goals. Because we could all do with a bit of help now and then!

If you’d like to be featured in this series, please feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you, don’t be shy! 🙂

So, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, I’d love you to put your hands together and welcome my first guest:

Debbie Stansil

It’s my mission to show women who feel stuck in a rut that it’s not too late to chase the dream. I want to show them that they CAN succeed, no matter how little confidence they may have right now.

Through my helpful guides and motivational posts, my readers will come to see that they DO deserve success, they ARE good enough and they WILL make it

How do you define a ‘successful’ blogger?

For me, a successful blogger is someone who knows what they want from their blogs, and how to get it, whatever it might be. It doesn’t necessarily mean a lot of money or fame – it could be just knowing that one post helped one person.

What were your reasons for setting up a blog? 

I’d been toying with the idea for a while. I mainly jumped in because I wanted to develop my writing style and put my words out there because I wanted to write a novel and my writing was rusty to say the least.

Initially, I planned on blogging for a few weeks and then closing it down. Two and a half years later, I’m still blogging and now I just can’t imagine not blogging.

What is the purpose of your blog now?

Although I talk about a wide range of subjects on my blog, my main focus is showing other people that they can live their dream.

For a long time, I wanted to be a writer, and last October, I quit my day job to become a full time writer. It wasn’t until after I was making a good, full time income from writing, that I learned it’s “impossible” to write for a living successfully.

It made me see that nothing is impossible if you’re willing to put the work in, and I want to share that with others. It frustrates me that people are being put off following their dreams because of other people’s negativity.

All of the people you see saying it’s impossible? They haven’t put the work in.

Debbie’s Blogging Journey

I started my blog in March 2015, although it was a fair few months before I got serious about it. I didn’t even have a Twitter account for the first month!

Once I realised how much blogging had grabbed me, I made the decision to go self-hosted and I made the leap in November 2015. Since then, my blog has been re-branded and become more focused.

I still wouldn’t like to label myself as a one category only blog – although many people blog successfully in a really tight niche, it’s not me. I know I would get bored only ever talking about one thing, and if I’m bored, then surely my readers would be too.

The way I see it, my blog’s niche is me, my voice, my take on things, and everyone is their own blog’s niche.

Blogging is a steep learning curve and I’ve made more than a few mistakes along the way:

I once decided to play with my blog’s CSS code with no idea what I was doing. I lost posts, images and the layout was awful. I hadn’t thought to back up anything, or even take a screen shot of what the code looked like before I changed it. It took me a long time and a lot of curse words to get it back to normal, but those posts where lost forever.

I once submitted my blog for a review. Amongst other things, the main feedback was “good strong writing but the theming is awful”. Rather than focusing on the good, because the writing is surely what it’s all about, I fixated on the awful theming. I almost shut the blog down, thinking I wasn’t cut out for it. I calmed down and saw that actually, that comment was spot on. My theming at the time had a very cartoonish feel about it and it wasn’t right for the things I was talking about. It turned out to be the best thing anyone could have said to me and I rebranded everything.

Something I’ve always struggled with, and still do, is that I can’t go “all in” on my blog. I would love to be able to dedicate the thirty plus hours a week it deserves to it, but it’s just not going to happen. I have bills to pay and although I do write for a living, my main income doesn’t come from my blog and I’m not sure I’d ever want it to. I have to prioritise, and writing my novels is always going to come first. I’ve made my peace with that for the most part, but sometimes I still get frustrated about it.

But the good by far outweighs the struggles. Some high points for me have been:

Hitting one hundred Twitter followers. I don’t think it matters how many followers I have now, or will have in the future, the feeling of hitting that first goal was out of this world.

The moment I held a physical copy of my first novel in my hands. I’ve now got six books out and each one makes me excited, but again, nothing beats that feeling that came from the very first one.

Writing controversial posts and just waiting for the backlash, only to find that the vast majority of people commenting either agreed with me, or voiced their different opinions in a civil manner. I’m happy to debate things, I enjoy seeing the other side of arguments, but when it degenerates into name calling and all of that ridiculousness, I just can’t be bothered with it.

I know it sounds cheesy, but blogging has truly changed my life. I can say with 100% certainty, that without starting my blog, I would still be stuck working for someone else in a job I liked but didn’t love.

Instead, because of my blog, I am writing for a living. My blog gave me the confidence to put myself out there with both my own books and as a freelance ghost writer.

I have a definite five-year plan – there are lots of little milestones along the way, but the main goal for me is to be making a good income from my own books to the extent that I can concentrate fully on my own projects and step away from the freelancing.

So there you have it; living your dream is possible – I’m the living proof of that. Work hard, and keep going through the low points and the rejections. It will all be worth it in the end.

Debbie has kindly shared a helpful post on her blog on growing a following on Facebook: Grow Your Facebook Page: 4 Simple Steps to Go from 0-1000 Followers in 4 Weeks.

Debbie’s Bio:

Born in 1982 in North East England, Debbie knew from an early age she wanted to be a writer. Life got in the way, and the dream was put on the back burner, although never forgotten. She am now a full time author and freelance writer and writes her own blog, My Random Musings. She has published two novels, two short story collections, a non-fiction book and a collection of funny poems.

Links: Blog   Twitter  Facebook  Instagram  Amazon Author Page

  Don’t forget to e-mail me with your story now 🙂 !

The Successful Blogger Series If you are not a blogger it's possible you may not know what bloggers do exactly. If you…