#there’s a simile about puzzle pieces somewhere in there

[banditblvd]

warrior cats au is awesomeeeeee..... did u ever read wings of fire? cause. i may have a wof pd au.....ur warrior cats made me remember it lol

Dudee I only read the first book but oh my goodness that’s wicked

We can hold hands and jump in a circle and think about our critter aus together

[spar-kie]

I'm posting this on Tumblr just to have somewhere that isn't a google doc to post this. But recently I went through and made a full set of Disco Elysium style skills for Audrey Mondale (pictured below in art done by the wonderful @honnojis), my Pokemon Rejuvenation OC, and on account of really liking how it turned out, I wanted to share it with the world under the cut. Hope you enjoy!

Intellect

Analysis - Solve puzzles. Put the pieces together.

Cool for: Braniacs. Intellectuals. Problem solvers.

Analysis is your basic problem solving skills. Looking at a situation, taking in the facts, and then proceeding from there. It searches for the disparate pieces of the puzzle, and tries to fit them together from there. Be it a computer on the fritz or a string of murders, Analysis won’t rest until every piece of the puzzle is put in place, and it all makes sense.

At high levels Analysis will help you put together any puzzle, so long as you know you have all the pieces. But if a clue is out of place, it may be determined to ignore its absence. Without it however, you will be hard pressed to put even the most basic of pieces together, assuming you can find them.

Recall - Comb through your brain. Remember things.

Cool for: Trivia buffs. Book readers. Those without amnesia.

Recall is your ability to dredge thoughts and memories up from the depths of your mind. From facts as simple as your name, age, and basic nature of reality, to as complex as a list of error codes and their meanings off the top of your head. It also provides far more esoteric and out there knowledge at times, some of it coming in handy.

At high levels Recall will fill your mind with memories and factoids to an overwhelming degree, many of which may be completely irrelevant to the matter at hand, making it hard to focus. However at low levels basic facts may slip your mind, and you will have no background knowledge to support you in your endeavors.

Real Talk - Cut through the bullshit. Find the heart of the matter.

Cool for: The honest. Simple folk. Assholes.

Real Talk is your skill for being completely straightforward in your thoughts and actions. It’s you putting aside your pride and machinations to be honest with the people you are talking to, and it enables you to get people to do the same with you. It’s useful for pulling yourself, and others, out of spiraling thoughts, and keeping you grounded in what’s real.

At high levels Real Talk may have you dispense your simple wisdom at the drop of a hat, to whoever you may feel needs to hear it. You will be unable to fathom anything that doesn’t fit into your view of the world, or anything slightly fantastical. At low levels however you will find yourself thinking in circles, unable to defend your ideas from yourself or others

Wit - Trade verbal barbs. Get the final word in.

Cool for: The insubordinate. Those “too smart”. Snarky jackasses.

Wit is your ability to complain about anything and everything while still having people listen to you, and to take those who don’t want to put up with your whining to task in the arena of words. Wit allows you to sew together the perfect tapestry of insults, simile, swear words, and observations about the current situation into something that will make your displeasure with the now known.

At high levels, Wit will have you constantly making snide comments about the current situation, even when it isn’t that bad. Refusing to let anyone else get a word in edgewise. At low levels however, you will be unable to respond to anyone who comes after you with any amount of grace.

Questioning - Search for answers. Solve mysteries.

Cool for: Detectives. Interrogators. Investigators.

Questioning is the part of you that always looks for answers. That will not rest until all the puzzle pieces are in place. It allows you to poke holes in people’s arguments, find inconsistencies in their stories, and unravel them into tapestries that tell the full story. It enables you to double check yourself, make sure that you have not missed anything.

At high levels Questioning will make you relentless, making you hound people for the smallest of perceived inconsistencies that will hide nothing at all, or a secret you were not looking for. At low levels however, you will be oblivious to even the most blatant lies.

Mind's Eye - Envision scenarios. See what you have not.

Cool for: Artists. Theorists. The Bored.

Mind’s Eye is what allows you to think critically and creatively. It lets you answer “what if?” questions. It allows you to devine just what happened in a scenario when you only arrived to see the aftermath and tie together seemingly disparate concepts into one great big ball of meaning, be that in reality, or in a piece of art. It also enables you to see the beauty in the world and art, if you just take a second.

At high levels your Mind’s Eye will have you daydreaming various hypotheticals and analyzing the last novel you’d read at the expense of your perception of the world in front of you. But at low levels, your Mind’s Eye will be completely shut, you will be stuck only seeing what is in front of you and be unable to imagine anything more.

Psyche

Stability - Keep calm. Stay positive

Cool for: The well adjusted. The sane. The normal

Stability is the voice in your head that tells you not to freak out. That tells you others are doing their best and so are you. No need to be too harsh on either. It’s your grounding rock. Stability is one that will keep you sane. The one that prevents you from drinking yourself to death with cheap wine in the cafeteria. The one that prevents you from trying to murder someone just to get out.

At high levels Stability will keep you normal, when the situation you are in isn't. You can’t get funky, weird, or freaked out if you try. At low levels you’ll lose your mind at the slightest incident, unable to keep yourself composed through the smallest of challenges.

Sixth Sense - Subconscious thought. Feel for just one more thing.

Cool for: The superstitious. The suspicious. The wise.

Sixth Sense is gut feeling. Your subconscious putting something together before your conscious. Honed exclusively through a course at the University of Hard Knocks, taught by professor Life, it is the ability to sense when something is off. It’s your sense of Deja Vu. It’s knowing something before you should know it. The ability of your gut to solve the puzzle while your brain is still tying its shoes.

At high levels Sixth Sense will feel the slightest disturbance, have more hunches and possible leads than you could hope to follow up on, and come up with fantastic explanations for the mundane. At low levels, you’ll be ignorant of anything not directly in front of you, and have a hard time fathoming anything out of the ordinary. 

Commisery - Feel your pain. Feel others’ pain.

Cool For: The lonely. The miserable. Their companions.

Commisery is processing your misery through others, and processing others’ misery through yourself. It lets you open up and talk about your feelings, and be tender with people. It helps people be open with you, making them feel like they can share their problems and anxieties with you.

At high levels Commisery will attempt to shoulder the burden of the misery of everyone trapped in the same circumstances as you, and in turn you will share your sorrows with the world. At lower levels you will be unable to get anyone to be open with you, even yourself.

Hearts On Fire - Force of will. Refusal to give up.

Cool for: The passionate. The stubborn. Hot heads.

Hearts on Fire is your self respect. Your drive. Your emotional heart. Your will to see any task through no matter how impossible it may seem. It provides the motivation to keep pushing in a completely hopeless situation. It enables you to see through the doubts of both yourself and others to the light on the other side. It makes sure you don’t take any shit from anyone, and you get the respect you deserve.

At high levels Hearts on Fire will turn you into a creature of pure, unrefined emotion. You will jump head first into challenges you have no chance of succeeding at, perceiving any doubt as an attack against you. Your temper will be unleashed onto the world at full force, with no regard for who’s on the receiving end. At low levels you will be unremarkable. People will walk all over you, and you will have no spark to drive yourself forward.

Savoir Faire - Who’s who. What’s what.

Cool for: The superior. Those who wish to be. Those who used to be

Savoir Faire tells you how those in positions of power act. Their culture, their lifestyle, their motives. What the people behind the curtains think, how they pull the strings, and why. What is in, and what is out. Who’s on the shitlist, and who’s up for promotion. What pleases them, and what enrages them. It tells you the story of the fallen. Who flew too close to the sun, and what burned them up.

At high levels Savoir Faire will give you designs above your station, alienating you from your peers and be seen as a pretender by those above. You’ll lose the here and now fantasizing where you could be. At low levels you’ll be flying blind at the whims of those who you cannot see.

Charm - Make yourself beloved. Implant suggestions.

Cool for: Friends. Lovers. Manipulators.

Charm is the skill of talking nicely. Showing people that you’re fun to be around, and that you can be a friend. It allows you to build a rapport with people. It enables you to convince them through emotional appeals rather than cold hard facts. In turn, it will make people more liable to trust you with information they might otherwise wish to hide.

At high levels Charm makes it so you will always be wearing a mask, one you cannot take off lest your entire social life come crumbling down. Your whole life will be a lie, and the only one who knows will be you. Though at low levels, you will have no one to talk to, and will find it impossible to make any connection with anyone.

Physique

Vitality - Grin and bear it. Push forward.

Cool for: The fit. The enduring. The unconquerable.

Vitality is just how many hits you can take before you get knocked down. Vitality is the one that will keep you going. It also determines how much power you can put out in return. It doesn’t matter if your big mouth gets you into trouble if you can take the punishment that comes with it.

At high levels Vitality will keep you going strong when you’re being pushed down, and allow you to push right back. But will leave you giving little quarter for those who can’t take or put out as much punishment as you. At low levels you’ll be able to be pushed around, no matter what, unable to take the smallest of hits.

Tenacity - Get knocked down. Get back up again.

Cool for: The unstoppable. Masochists. Those who don’t know when to quit.

Tenacity is for when you get knocked on your ass. When it hurts like a bitch. When your muscles ache and your body burns. When your mind is screaming and tears are streaming down your face. Its your resolve to get back on your feet and carry on. Both physically and mentally.

At high levels Tenacity will actively have you seek out seriously dangerous situations, put yourself in jeopardy to feel that rush of overcoming the odds, and nearly losing it all in doing so. However, at low levels, you won’t be able to come back from anything. When you’re down, you’re out.

Contortion - Squeeze into small spaces. Hold awkward positions.

Cool for: Gymnasts. Maintenance workers. Those going where they shouldn’t.

Contortion is being able to manipulate your body into places it otherwise wouldn’t fit. It’s being able to make yourself small, and hold a position you hastily took to avoid being spotted. It’s your ability to sneak around, and get where you should not be by unconventional means.

At high levels, Contortion will get you to where others can not follow, at least not easily. And you will be frustrated when they can’t, or unpleasantly surprised when they can depending on the situation. At low levels you’ll find yourself having a hard time manipulating your body, feeling rigid as a board

Bon Vivant - Live a little. Enjoy yourself.

Cool For: Thrill seekers. Love makers. The irresponsible.

Bon Vivant encourages you to enjoy the finer things in life. That glass of wine, that dress that shows just the right amount of skin, that sexy thing across the room who can’t keep their eyes off you. It gives you the knowledge and the stomach to engage in the scandalous matters that lurk below the surface of high society. Everyone has their vices. Bon Vivant lets you indulge yours, hide them, and find others’.

At high levels Bon Vivant will make you unrepentant in your enjoyment of your pleasures, and desperately hiding how much of a hedonist you are from others. At low levels you’ll be unable to let loose, and won’t have the stomach to engage in lurid matters.

Soul - Know yourself. Know the world.

Cool for: Self seekers. Star gazers. World wanderers.

Soul is the invisible force that connects everyone. It is what you feel atop a building on a starry night, in somewhere once thought abandoned so long ago, seeing the same stars you have seen no matter where you went. The same stars everyone sees. The stars billions are looking up at. That shared experience among so many so different. Occasionally that shared experience will leave you with a realization you could have gotten nowhere else.

At high levels, Soul will leave you innately in tune with itself, making you look mad to the outsiders when you listen to your Soul and ignore them, regardless of how it turns out. At low levels you will be cut off from this connection completely, only able to rely on yourself.

Hair Raising - Don’t get caught off guard. Trust your instincts.

Cool for: The anxious. Survivors. Scared children.

Hair Raising is your other sixth sense. The one that can tell when things are about to go down and soon you will be in trouble. Either verbally or physically, Hair Raising can feel it in the air and is ready to pump you full of adrenaline so you’re ready to deal with it in kind. It helps you focus your outbursts into putting the fear of god into others.

At high levels Hair Raising will be ultra sensitive, with even the slightest shift in mood being cause for alarm, and enough to tell your brain to pre-empt them, before it’s too late. But at low levels the alarm will not be raised at all, leaving you blindsided by any outbursts, and unable to control your own.

Motorics

Fine Motor Skills - Hands steady. Stay coordinated.

Cool for: IT Workers. Doctors. Mechanics

Fine Motor Skills is your hand/eye coordination. It’s what enables you to get down and dirty with wiring and not wreck everything as you do so. You can tell at a glance the make and model of any part inside a computer, as well as some other machinery, thanks to the experience gained working with Fine Motor Skills.

At high levels Fine Motor Skills will let you finesse any repairs or bypasses you have to do with ease, so long as it’s hardware, but may leave you overconfident, and too absorbed in your work to notice what’s going on around you. But at low levels, you best hope the issues are in software. If not you’re liable to just wreck things more.

Senses - Sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Take it all in.

Cool for: Trainers. Scavengers. The romantic.

Senses are the lenses through which you experience the world. They let you stay vigilant for the things others might miss. Or give you a deeper appreciation of the things others might take for granted. The soft breeze on a summer night. The slight burning smell that beholds an inferno in its infancy, the slight pooling of blood outside a door leading to the discovery of a murder. Whatever it is, your Senses will lead you to it.

At high levels, your Senses take in everything that surrounds you, not taking care to filter out the unimportant because everything is important, enough to completely overstimulate you if you’re not careful. At low levels however, keep those glasses on or you’re at risk of missing everything.

Think Fast - Dodge and weave. Don’t let them touch you.

Cool for: Boxers. Brawlers. Men of action.

Think Fast is your ability to stay on your toes. It’s what determines how fast your brain and body will react to any given situation. It is what lets you dodge punches, knives, and whatever else is thrown at you. Additionally, it works to keep your thoughts moving quickly too, making sure you’ll never be left behind in any conversations or battles of wits.

At high levels Think Fast will have you reacting before anything has even happened, making you jumpy and twitchy. You might just jump at the wrong thing and make things worse than if you’d just let it happen. At low levels you’ll be slow on the uptake, and will have a hard time keeping up. And forget about reacting in time to anything coming at you.

Light Feet - Float by. Wait for when the time is right.

Cool for: Cat burglars. Dancers. Stealth operatives.

Light Feet is your ability to be quick, and go unnoticed until just the right moment. This skill isn’t about hitting someone hard, though that certainly helps, it’s about hitting when someone least expects it. Assuming you want to hit them at all. This skill will give you all the smooth moves you need to float by without needing to swing at anyone.

At high levels Light Feet will make you able to sneak on by without so much as a sound, remaining unnoticed wherever you go. But you will still go unnoticed when you need to be seen. However at low levels you will be unable to go anywhere without causing a ruckus.

Technics - Interface with computers. Dive into the digital world.

Cool for: Typists. Office Workers. Hackers.

Technics is your ability to work with computers on a technical, software level. Any issues that come after the computer is turned on are most likely in this area of expertise. It also allows you to gain access to things you should not have, so long as they are stored digitally. With Technics, the digital world will be at your fingertips, with limitless possibilities.

At high levels Technics will leave any information that could possibly be gleaned from digital data ripe for the taking, and deal with any technical issues easily. But it will leave you isolated, why do you need to talk to people for information when you can find it digitally? At low levels however, you will be completely cut off from the digital world.

Self Control - Calm down. Don’t let them get under your skin.

Cool for: The calm. The collected. The cool.

Self Control is the thing working to keep you calm. It’s what lets you put on a brave expression and face the world. It won’t do you any good if you fly off the handle at the slightest inconvenience, and Self Control is what keeps it from happening. It also helps keep unpleasant memories out of your head, making sure they don’t bubble up at unpleasant times. It keeps your emotions in check, and in turn can sense when others are starting to crack.

At high levels your Self Control will never let you show any emotions that aren’t mild amusement or slight disappointment. Even when you’re all alone. You will feel it welling up inside, but there will never be any release. Anything unpleasant that hurts to remember may be completely repressed. But at low levels, you will crack incredibly easily, flying into rage and making yourself an easy target for tormentors.

Items

Hair Tie

+1 Fine Motor Skills: Hair out of your face

- 1 Hair Raising: Tied down.

Prescription Specs

+2 Senses: I can see!

-1 Senses: Out of date prescription. 

+1 Third Eye: The prescription helps it too.

(Pre-Demotion)

Alolan Shirt

+1 Charm: Charmingly casual!

+1 Hearts on Fire: Breaking the dress code.

+2 Real Talk: Talking by the beach at night. 

-1 Real Talk: Just in spirit. 

Worn-Under Tank Top

+1 Fine Motor Skills: Easy to maneuver in.

+1 Bon Vivant: A tasteful amount of skin.

Cargo Shorts

+1 Light Feet: Comfortable and easy to wear!

-1 Bon Vivant: Dude.

Sandals With Socks

+1 Hearts on Fire: Don’t care what anyone says.

-2 Bon Vivant: Dude.

(Post-Demotion)

Team Xen Uniform Vest

+1 Tenacity: It is armor, after all.

+1 Commisery: Same as everyone else.

-1 Hearts on Fire: Following the dress code.

Team Xen Jumpsuit

+1 Bon Vivant: Tight in all the right places! 

-1 Contortion: And all the wrong ones too.

Team Xen Gloves

+1 Fine Motor Skills: Insulated gloves.

-1 Technics: Fat Fingering the keyboard.

Team Xen Uniform Shorts

+1 Hair Raising: Your ass is on the line.

Team Xen Work Boots

+1 Think Fast: On your toes.

-1 Light Feet: These boots are made for stomping.

[h-e-l-l-b-r-o-k-e]

Can you give us any tips on writing? You are brilliant!!

Y’all don’ know how freakin’ flattered I was (still am!) receiving this!! Gosh… I wish I could you guys a step-by-step guide into my writing process but I honestly don’t have one, though I really wish I could help. Writing, for me, has just always sort of come naturally. Probably because I’ve always had a hyper-active imagination, which I began applying to writing in first grade (around age 6). I still have that first notebook I scribbled many little stories in as a child. I was daydreamin’ a whole lot back then and I’m still daydreamin’ now. It’s sort of ridiculous how much I miss out on because I practically live inside my head. It’s quite bad in some aspects. Anyways, I’ll try my best to give you some tips, even though I’m a horrible teacher!

1) Prep!!!! If you’re not already inspired by whatever thought or idea has been floating in your head, you need to beckon your mind into finding and holding on to that inspiration. Or, in the words of Troy Bolton, “Get’cha head in the game.”

Some things that help me:

Create playlists: Find music that you enjoy, but that doesn’t hold too many personal memories (though there could be exceptions). Playlists should stay consistent in tone (even when you don’t know what to write about yet), and overall consistent in ambience. Creating such playlists help to create another world in your head. A world in which you can visit and revisit in between writing projects. Wanna take a break from project #2 and return to project #1? No problem, just go back to its respective playlist and it’s like you never even left. It sounds crazy, but it works for me. You begin to associate everything about your story with the playlist you created for it, and your story will act like personal memories associated with that playlist. Don’t rush yourself in creating these playlists. Sometimes it literally take me days to craft the perfect jumbo of songs.

Revisit your past experiences: Think about the crazy things you’ve been through. The bad. The good. The ugly. All of it. But, don’t hurt yourself doing this. These memories often spark something in me, even if it’s just the tail end of some aspect of an idea (could be a certain tone for what you want to write, an object, a protagonist/antagonist or even just a minor character, or even a blurry situation—these are all things that your imagination will have to expand upon afterwards). Even if you don’t revisit your past, your brain will usually incorporate aspects of yourself and your experiences into your characters and story, and sometimes you won’t even realize it until much later. Trust me, I know.

Study strangers and people you know: Just, please, don’t be a creep about it lol. Well-played characters from movies and TV shows work perfectly fine as well. Study how people speak—or if your studying a film/show, study their lines. Study behavior, why people do the things they do, why people say the things they say, and so forth. By understanding behavioral patterns makes it easier to create genuine characters who feel real. There’s a lot of psychology at hand.

2) Write. Really. That’s it. Just do it. It’s such a blunt piece of advice, but it’s so true. You can’t get any writing down if you don’t just write. It may be complete crap, but it’s okay because a first draft is meant to be tweaked, revised, and polished. And, make as many drafts as you want to polish that sucker up.

Here’s a few things I like to do and things to keep in mind:

Take a break. After finishing that first draft, relax for a couple of hours or days, or weeks, to freshen your mind. When you return to make the second draft, you’re more keen to mistakes, such as grammar, phrasing, and disruptions of flow.

Details have to serve a purpose. When writing a story, almost everything in it has to have some sort of purpose (small, big, or somewhere in between). Whatever it is, does it enhance your character’s personality, their motives? Does it enhance the plot? Will it make it easier for your readers to empathize with said character? If you mention some thing about your character, make it serve a purpose even if it’s minor. Storytelling is like a puzzle for you to figure out.

Defamiliarize! One of my creative writing professors based her whole course around defamiliarizing clichés and it is honestly the best advice I’d ever learned from someone else. This challenges you and pushes your creativity further. Give your readers something they won’t really expect, and that will leave a lasting impression. However, this is not necessary whatsoever but it is great.

Show don’t tell. Gee, how many times have you hear that one? I heavily believe in this piece of advice, or rule of thumb if you will. However, remember to mix things up. Sometimes it’s okay to tell instead of show. Though, show ratio should outnumber the tell. Showing is great for building suspense and tension.

Include different sentence structures and rhetorical strategies; don’t always start with pronouns. You don’t want to have a robotic voice that makes it seem like an instructions manual. Metaphors and similes are fun strategies to include. Plus they always come from within your prowess.

Ever heard of method acting? Become a “method writer.” Immerse yourself in the world you built for your story. Become one with your protagonist (know that fucker well lmao). Feel what it is your characters are feeling. Act it out. Research the living hell of whatever it is you’re writing about. It makes it easier to have a genuine narrative. It also makes it easier to write it out.

Expand the world your narrative is set in. I love doing this, and I always receive positive feedback on the little details I include in my stories because it makes them feel authentic and realistic. The real world isn’t flat, and your story’s world shouldn’t be either.

Delete any subject pronouns feeling, seeing, hearing, etc. stuff. For example: He saw the bird flapping its wings. Change it to: The bird flapped its wings. Sometimes they can flow well within the narrative, but most of the time its highly unnecessary.

Don’t ramble. Don’t info-dump. I have trouble with this, and I usually have to reel myself away from doing this. It’s a habit, and just like how I love to hear myself talk, I love to see myself write. Rambling takes away what’s at hand in the story and info-dumping overwhelms the readers. Instead, slowly ease your reader into that important information. Sprinkle the knowledge throughout your writing like breadcrumbs.

And, most importantly…. Everyone’s writing style is different because everyone is influenced by different novels they read, different music they listen to, different films they watch, and the different lives they live. Don’t feel like you need to imitate someone else’s writing style to be considered “good.” Instead, stick with what feels natural to you but that doesn’t mean you can’t….

Experiment with styles! It’s fun and you can learn a little bit more about your own unique style through this.

[wintersongstress]

(Anon who always asks you for writing tips because she wants to get better... HI💜) I was literally gonna send you an ask somewhere along the lines of the reblog you just did about writing an idea that you have, but not being sure that you'll do it any justice. Like I have this idea for a fic and I haven't seen anyone do it yet, but I know that my skill level isn't where it needs to be for it to be something great & detailed & all around captivating/interesting.

Ah. The Gap™. It’s something all writers are familiar with and a common symptom of the Self Doubt Syndrome.

Every time I sit down to write something new, I encounter it. I finish a first draft, step back, put my hand on my chin and observe it. It’s ugly and I hate it. What I see is a thousand piece puzzle with many many pieces missing. At first, there’s crippling discouragement. But as I continue to look, I see the shapes of what I need to make everything fit, and I start anew, afresh, ambition sparked alight. 

Or maybe, I can’t see anything. Maybe it’s all a fog. In that case, I ask another pair of eyes to take a look or I take a break. And gradually, piece by piece, the puzzle gets completed. Through many drafts, rewrites, pots of coffee, and breaks, maybe, just maybe, I’ll get there someday, or some year… 

Throughout this whole process, you gain experience that adds to your skill set. The problem is you’re starting to write something you’ve never done before, you don’t know how to go about anything and you’re stumbling around, lost. You WILL find your way. The key is in recognizing what it is you don’t know and seeing those missing puzzle pieces. You at least know there is a gap between what’s in your head and what’s on the page. Or maybe you know what you need help with and what you need to fix. It’s a journey of self-discovery in how you manage to get the words to flow and the story in your head to flower. 

I think of it as chipping away at a block. There’s alot of work to be done. A lot a lot. More than anyone will ever know, in fact. But when you finally finish something, even the barest skeleton of it, the next time you sit down to write something it gets easier. The Gap™ starts to close, little by little, inch by inch. You start to see all of the flaws and tweak them. But the flaws have to be there to begin with. You’ll get nowhere with your ideas if you write nothing. 

The best thing you can do to get better is always try new things and always try to finish them. Keep working at it. Write poetry, write nonfiction and vignettes and short stories. Write different types of characters, explore new themes, come up with new similes and play around with all the toys in the great box of writing. 

It’s a hard pill to swallow that it’s your skill that matters, not your idea. But really, the best way to build your skills is to read and keep writing. Challenging yourself will reward you with experience that builds with each sentence you write. You have to accept that what you’re going to first start out with isn’t going to be what you want. Plenty of times I’ve put my ideas on the backburner because I don’t think I have the skillset to attempt such a grand, fantastical idea with the words I’m capable of writing. You have to accept that what you create isn’t perfect and nowhere near what’s in your head, but with the more work you do the clearer the image will become. Be patient with yourself♥ It’s better to have written your idea terribly, than not at all. 

Hopefully, this helped you and wasn’t just nonsense. I sincerely wish you the best of luck with your writing and I am never annoyed with your asks. I’m always here to listen♥

[readbookywooks]

The last wisps of magic, now somewhat slowed, were disappearing into the ceiling. 'To the Great Hall!' The stairs were much wider here, and better lit. Panting and pineapple-flavoured, the fitter wizards got to the top by the time the fireball had reached the middle of the huge draughty chamber that was the University's main hall. It hung motionless, except for the occasional small prominence that arched and spluttered across its surface. Wizards smoke, as everyone knows. That probably explained the chorus of coffin coughs and sawtooth wheezes that erupted behind Galder as he stood appraising the situation and wondering if he dare look for somewhere to hide. He grabbed a frightened student. 'Get me seers, farseers, scryers and withinlookmen!' he barked. 'I want this studied!' Something was taking shape inside the fireball. Galder shielded his eyes and peered at the shape forming in front of him. There was no mistaking it. It was the universe. He was quite sure of this, because he had a model of it in his study and it was generally agreed to be far more impressive than the real thing. Faced with the possibilities offered by seed pearls and silver filigree, the Creator had been at a complete loss. But the tiny universe inside the fireball was uncannily – well, real. The only thing missing was colour. It was all in translucent misty white. There was Great A'Tuin, and the four elephants, and the Disc itself. From this angle Galder couldn't see the surface very well, but he knew with cold certainty that it would be absolutely accurately modelled. He could, though, just make out a miniature replica of Cori Celesti, upon whose utter peak the world's quarrelsome and somewhat bourgeois gods lived in a palace of marble, alabaster and uncut moquette three-piece suites they had chosen to call Dunmanifestin. It was always a considerable annoyance to any Disc citizen with pretensions to culture that they were ruled by gods whose idea of an uplifting artistic experience was a musical doorbell. The little embryo universe began to move slowly, tilting . . . Galder tried to shout, but his voice refused to come out. Gently, but with the unstoppable force of an explosion, the shape expanded. He watched in horror, and then in astonishment, as it passed through him as lightly as a thought. He held out a hand and watched the pale ghosts of rock strata stream through his fingers in busy silence. Great A'Tuin had already sunk peacefully below floor level, larger than a house. The wizards behind Galder were waist deep in seas. A boat smaller than a thimble caught Galder's eye for a oment before the rush carried it through the walls and away. To the roof!' he managed, pointing a shaking finger skywards. Those wizards with enough marbles left to think with and enough breath to run followed him, running through continents that sleeted smoothly through the solid stone. It was a still night, tinted with the promise of dawn. A crescent moon was just setting. Ankh-Morpork, largest city in the lands around the Circle Sea, slept. That statement is not really true. On the one hand, those parts of the city which normally concerned themselves with, for example, selling vegetables, shoeing horses, carving exquisite small jade ornaments, changing money and making tables, on the whole, slept. Unless they had insomnia. Or had got up in the night. as it might be, to go to the lavatory. On the other hand, many of the less law-abiding citizens were wide awake and, for instance, climbing through windows that didn't, t belong to them, slitting throats, mugging one another, listening to loud music in smoky cellars and gener,erally having a lot more fun. But most of the animals were asleep, except for the rats. And the bats, too, of course. As far as the insects were concerned . . . The point is that descriptive writing is very rarely entireliy accurate and during the reign of Olaf Quimby II is Patrician of Ankh some legislation was passed in a determined attempt to put a stop to this sort of thing and introduce some honesty into reporting. Thus, if a legend said of a notable hero that 'all men spoke of his prowess' any bard who valued his life would add hastily 'except for a couple of people in his home village who thought he was a liar, and quite a lot of other people who had never really heard of him.' Poetic simile was strictly limited to statements like 'his mighty steed was as fleet as the wind n a fairly calm day, say about Force Three,' and any loose talk about a beloved having a face that launched a thousand ships would have to be backed by evidence that the object of desire did indeed look like a bottle of champagne. Quimby was eventually killed by a disgruntled poet during an experiment conducted in the palace grounds to prove the disputed accuracy of the proverb The pen is mightier than the sword,' and in his memory it was amended to include the phrase 'only if the sword is very small and the pen is very sharp.' So. Approximately sixty-seven, maybe sixty-eight per cent, of the city slept. Not that the other citizens creeping about on their generally unlawful occasions noticed the pale tide streaming through the streets. Only the wizards, used to seeing the invisible, watched it foam across the distant fields. The Disc, being flat, has no real horizon. Any adventurous sailors who got funny ideas from staring at eggs and oranges for too long and set out for the antipodes soon learned that the reason why distant ships sometimes looked as though they were disappearing over the edge of the world was that they were disappearing over the edge of the world. But there was still a limit even to Galder's vision in the mist-swirled, dust-filled air. He looked up. Looming high over the University was the grim and ancient Tower of Art, said to be the oldest building on the Disc, with its famous spiral staircase of eight thousand, eight hundred and eighty-eight steps. From its crenelated roof, the haunt of ravens and disconcertingly alert gargoyles, a wizard might see to the very edge of the Disc. After spending ten minutes or so coughing horribly, of course. 'Sod that,' he muttered. 'What's the good of being a wizard, after all? Avyento, thessalousl I would fly! To me, spirits of air and darkness!' He spread a gnarled hand and pointed to a piece of crumbling parapet. Octarine fire sprouted from under his nicotine-stained nails and burst against the otting stone far above. It fell. By a finely calculated exchange of velocities Ga.cer rose, nightshirt flapping around his bony legs. Higher and higher he soared, hurtling through the pale night like a, like a – all right, like an elderly but powerful wizard being propelled upwards by an expertly judged thumb on the scales of the universe. He landed in a litter of old nests, caught his balance, and stared down at the vertiginous view of a Disc dawn. At this time of the long year the Circle Sea was almost on the sunset side of Cori Celesti, and as the daylight sloshed down into the lands around Ankh-Morpork the shadow of the mountain scythed across the landscape like the gnomon of God's sundial. But nightwards, racing the slow light towards the edge of the world, a line of white mist surged on. There was a crackling of dry twigs behind him. He turned to see Ymper Trymon, second in command of the Order, who had been the only other wizard able to keep up. Galder ignored him for the moment, taking care only to keep a firm grip on the stonework and strengthen his personal spells of protection. Promotion was slow in a profession that traditionally bestowed long life, and it was accepted that younger wizards would frequently seek advancement via dead men's curly shoes, having previosly emptied them of their occupants. Besides, there was something disquieting about young Trymon. He didn't smoke, only drank boiled water, and Galder had the nasty suspicion that he was clever. He didn't smile often enough, and he liked figures and the sort of organisation charts that show lots of squares with arrows pointing :o other squares. In short, he was the sort of man who could use the word 'personnel' and mean it. The whole of the visible Disc was now covered with a shmmering white skin that fitted it perfectly. Galder looked down at his own hands and saw them covered with a pale network of shining threads that ollowed every movement. He recognised this kind of spell. He'd used them himself. But his had been smaller – much smaller. 'It's a Change spell,' said Trymon. The whole world is being changed.' Some people, thought Galder grimly, would have had the decency to put an exclamation mark on the end of a statement like that. There was the faintest of pure sounds, high and sharp, like the breaking of a mouse's heart. 'What was that?' he said. Trymon cocked his head. 'C sharp, I think,' he said. Galder said nothing. The white shimmer had vanished, and the.first sounds of the waking city began to filter up to the two wizards. Everything seemed exactly the same as it had before. All that, just to make things stay the same? He patted his nightshirt pockets distractedly and finally found what he was looking for lodged behind his ear. He put the soggy dogend in his mouth, called up mystical fire from between his fingers, and dragged hard on the wretched rollup until little blue lights flashed in front of his eyes. He coughed once or twice. He was thinking very hard indeed. He was trying to remember if any gods owed him any favours. In fact the Gods were as puzzled by all this as the wizards were, but they were powerless to do anything and in any case were engaged in an eons-old battle with the Ice Giants, who had refused to return the lawnmower. But some clue as to what actually had happened might be found in the fact that Rincewind, whose past life had just got up to a quite interesting bit when he was fifteen, suddenly found himself not dying after all but hanging upside down in a pine tree. He got down easily by dropping uncontrollably from branch to branch until he landed on his head in a pile of pine needles, where he lay gasping for breath and wishing he d been a better person. Somewhere, he knew, there had to be a perfectly logical connection. One minute one happens to be dying, having dropped off the rim of the world, and the next one is upside down in a tree. As always happened at times like this, the Spell rose up in his mind. Rincewind had been generally reckoned by his tutors to be a natural wizard in the same way that fish are natural mountaineers. He probably would have been thrown out of Unseen University anyway – he couldn't remember spells and smoking made him feel ill – but what had really caused trouble was all that stupid business about sneaking into the room where the Octavo was chained and opening it. And what made the trouble even worse was that no-one could figure out why all the locks had temporarily become unlocked. The spell wasn|t;sa demanding lodger. It just sat there like an old toad at the bottom of a pond. But whenever Rincewind was feeling really tired or very afraid it tried to get itself said. No-one:knew what would happen if one of the Eight Great Spells was said by itself, but the general Agreement was that the best place from which to watch the effects would be the next universe. It was a weird thought to have, lying on a heap of pine needles after just falling off the edge of the world, but Rincewind had a feeling that the spell wanted to keep him alive. 'Suits me,' he thought. He sat up and looked at the trees. Rincewind was a city wizard and, although he was aware that there were various differences among types of tree by which their nearest and dearest could tell them apart, the only thing he knew for certain was that the end without the leaves on fitted nto the ground. There were far too many of them, arranged with absolutely no sense of order. The place hadn't been swept for ages.