#wdpdatwe

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Writeblr challenge: day 7

Introduce a second wip!

So my other favourite project is What Do People Do After The World Ends? which is a zombie apocalypse novel that’s going to be written in sort of short story type style, all told by the same narrator— a sociologist named Harper who’s studying, well, the title.

Each chapter will focus on a different survivor or group of survivors and how they’re reacting to the new environment and their new problems.

@chazzawrites

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Check out!!! Carol!!!!!!!! And commission my sister

Jeremiah is from a video game I’m working on with my brother, @maxgraybooks, and the character Carol belongs to him. Characters Angel and Riley are from Sanders Sides fanfiction he’s been working on (Angel changed from Virgil, Riley changed from Deceit).

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WIP Introduction: What Do People Do After The World Ends?

A woman named Harper is conducting a research study in the zombie apocalypse. She wants to know what people do after the world ends, how they continue their lives, and why. Some people strive to turn the world back to how it was, some people want to build a brand new world, and some people just want to survive.

WDPDATWE is going to be written almost like a short story collection, and a research study. Each chapter will focus on a different group of survivors and show how they decided to proceed after the world ends.

Genre: Post apocalyptic Status: Thought dumping/Idea phase POV: Third person omniscient (probably)

CHARACTERS

Harper:

Harper is the narrator of the book. She’s a sociologist, and probably chaotic neutral. That’s all I know about her so far.

Carol:

Carol is a trans woman and the leader of a thriving group of survivors. She’s part of the chapter Carol’s Home For Little Survivors.

After adopting a group of triplets who had recently lost their parents, and then later taking a little girl off the hands of her terrified parents, word spreads around of her generosity. Carol’s little cottage becomes too small of a space for all of the orphans she finds herself taking in, so she goes out to look for a new home, and finds an abandoned college campus. With the help of a few parents and some of the older kids, they section off a part of the campus and turn it into an orphanage.

Melody:

Melody (Carol’s Home For Little Survivors) is the first kid to be dropped off by her parents. She grows up to be a doctor and a teacher.

Abril:

Abril is one of the triplets that Carol found. They’re an amab enby (they/them) and grow up to be a scavenger, a huntress, and one of the most capable fighters in Carol’s Home. They have a prosthetic arm, because during a run, they were attacked and shot in an artery. By the time they got back home, they had lost so much blood that the arm had to be amputated.

Noa:

Noa is another one of the triplets that Carol found. She grows up to be a teacher, and the leader of a mission to 1) transport the contents of a nearby library to the safety of Carol’s Home, and 2) write a whole new textbook to teach children growing up in the apocalypse information that would be useful for them.

Josefina:

Josefina is the last of the triplets Carol adopted. She grows up to be an artist, primarily a sculptor, and uses her talents to plan out all of the new buildings in Carol’s Home.

The DND group:

This is VERY underdeveloped, but there’s one group that, before the apocalypse, used to get together every Friday night to play Dungeons & Dragons together. They now travel around the United States, personified as their characters, and save anybody they come across who needs help.

EXCERPT

Taken from the letter Carol writes to Harper: “It started out as a place just for orphans, but people heard about us and their parents came to me. They were scared, and said they knew they were going to die out there, and couldn’t bear letting their kids die with them. So I took in all kinds of children. Then, eventually, I got sick of separating them, of sending good, selfless people back out there... So I opened a new wing, one for families and for parents. The parents work to help me watch and take care of the kids, tend to the farms... There’s plenty of work to go around and the parents are all too grateful to help.”

Zombies tag list:

@nemowritesstuff​ @sidhewrites​ 

Writing updates tag list:

@impossiblelibrary​ @writinginslowmotion​ @lucifer-in-my-head​ @alcego-writes​ @devan-faye-art​

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Fact #1 (LLS) - this story was inspired by my love of Belinda & Ikuisuus and wishing I could make them a couple without it being weird lollita bs. So I made an AU where Iku actually looks her age and is human. Thus LLS. Fact #2 (The Magic Jeweler) this story started on an old blog and I am still in love with the concept and main character, Chip. Fact #3 (Glimmer Like the Stars) - this story was inspired by a teacher from middle school that helped me survive my mother's suicide. ^_^ dark, sorry.

I don’t have enough context to totally understand those first two, but they still sound cool! And no need to apologize for things getting dark, that sounds like a really strong story.

Fact #1 (Plant Life): I actually want to use the world I’m building for Plant Life for... Many many stories to come. I can really see that story helping me explore my voice as a writer.

Fact #2 (Untitled Zombie Trilogy): This is kind of like my comfort wip. It’s developed enough that I don’t have to think too hard to think about it, and it’s inspired by so many of my favourite things.

Fact #3 (What Do People Do After The World Ends?): After writing the actual book, I’d also like to write a T.V. script for it. I think it’d made a really cool T.V. show!

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Hello Max! Do you mind if I ask about your writing/OCs? I love your bio!

Thanks so much!!

So I’ve been hyperfixating on zombies pretty hardcore lately, so I have 4 zombie wips, all in just the idea stage. You can find some of them under the tags #zombies wip, #zombie apocalypse collection, and #wdpdatwe

I’m gonna talk about those last two!

The zombie apocalypse collection is a short story collection following queer teenagers/young adults as they cope with the end of the world. One specific idea I have is a transguy who’s trying to find ways to lessen his dysphoria in a world where he can no longer bind.

I have a bunch of lil story ideas for that, but I’ll leave it there

What Do People Do After The World Ends? is similar. It’s a novel, but it reads like a short story collection, and is exactly what it sounds like: It’s about what people do after the world ends. It follows a ton of different groups and the build-up (and sometimes fall) of settlements.

My favourite story in wdpdatwe so far is Carol’s Home for Little Survivors, about a transwoman who adopts a set of orphaned triplets, and it has a domino effect from there, until she finds herself the leader of an entire community based around an orphanage. She’s a mother at heart and the strongest, most compassionate character I’ve ever created.

I’m largely a comtemporary writer, so I have a lot of those ideas, but post apocalyptia has stolen my heart so I’m just running w it lmao

Your turn!! Tell me about your ocs and wips

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In your zombie wip, what’s the origin of the zombies? Like how they came about and all that. What’s your personal favorite origin for zombies? Mine is a mutation of the cordyceps fungus personally

In one of my wips, it was engineered purposfully. In the short story collection, so far it doesn’t really matter, and I haven’t nailed it down for the last wip.

I watched ZMZ reloaded’s theory on how the virus came about in The Walking Dead, and that was SUPER interesting

I don’t think I’ve actually heard that before! Could you explain it to me?

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Ahhhhhhh!!!! I know it’s all I talk about lately but oh! my! god! I’m so excited for my zombie stories! I just came up w some new ideas for What do people do after the world ends? and!!!!!! It’s gonna be so cool!!!!!!!!!!!

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Mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce ~writinginslowmotion

Trigger warnings for: parent death mention, post apocalyptic settings

Mashed Potatoes: Tell me about your favorite original character

Right now I am OBSESSED with Carol from What Do People Do After The World Ends? !!!!! I CANNOT stop thinking about her and her story and community. Carol is a transwoman who, early into the apocalypse, ran across a young set of triplets who’s parents recently died. She took them in, and it caused a domino effect. There’s a whole lot of in between bits, but long story short, she ended up opening an orphanage called Carol’s Home for Little Survivors and it is the COOLEST settlement I’ve ever thought of.

She’s so strong, and so compassionate, and her heart is just the biggest. She’d do anything for these kids and their families and if anyone tries to tell her that what she’s doing is meaningless she will not have it. She’ll rebuild the entire world with her bare hands if she has to.

Cranberry Sauce: How have you improved as a writer in the past year?

My creativity. I’ve struggled so, SO goddamn much with getting ideas and figuring out plots, and while I still struggle with that sometimes, ideas have been coming to me over and over again and I’m so excited for all of them. I’m genuinely proud of all of my ideas and I can’t wait to bring them to life.

@writinginslowmotion thanks so much for the asks!!

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October Writing Update

October has been a really busy month for me, not just writing wise, and since I’ve rejoined the writeblr community and have become mutuals with a few really awesome writers, I want to start doing monthly updates! Let me know if you want to be on the tag list 💞

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Fanfiction & NaNoWriMo

All month I’ve been working hard as hell to prepare my fic for NaNoWriMo. It’s a Sanders Sides fic, so if you’re not interested in that, go ahead and skip to the next section.

Here’s the synopsis:

When Virgil is granted the power to control shadows, he decides to use it to protect kids being abused like him. His dad and over enthusiastic boyfriend, Remus, have other ideas. As Virgil slowly finds himself becoming a supervillain and diving deeper into his own anger, Patton, Roman, and Logan make it their responsibilities to stop him.

As you can tell, it’s a superhero au. It’s pretty different from anything I’ve ever written, bc almost all of my fics are high school aus. It also has quite a lot of fight scenes, something I’ve... Never written. It’s a little scary.

There were more than a couple points in outlining this story that I realized how in over my head I am, and questioned whether I’m ready to write such a plot driven story. And honestly, I still don’t really know. But I’m excited to give it a try and I’m really proud of some of the things in this fic.

I’ve worked harder on getting this fic ready than I have worked on anything in years, honestly.

I finished the outline on the 28th, I think. I should technically be giving it a final read through, to check for discrepancies and shit, but... My outline is 119 pages long. I don’t fucking feel like it lmao

Zombies

Rejoining the writeblr community has done a lot for my motivation and excitement, which has thus done a lot for my creativity, which... Decided to manifest itself in the form of zombies.

I’m not complaining.

I’ve had so many zombie apocalypse short story ideas that I’m gonna be creating a collection, mostly just about queer teenagers/young adults surviving in the apocalypse. I’m super excited for the little ideas I have so far!

I also have a new novel idea, which I don’t want to talk about too much because I think the idea is actually really original and cool, and I have an irrational fear that people will steal it. Once I develop the idea more and make it more detailed and in depth, I’ll talk about it some.

It’ll probably read similar to a short story collection, and this is gonna different than anything I’ve ever written before, including the superhero au. I’m gonna have to research proper etiquette for conducting a research study... So if you have any good sources on that, send them my way xD

Short Stories

I also got a couple short story ideas that were more contemporary! I’m not as excited for these, so they’ll be put on the back burner, but it’s honestly just nice getting ideas again.

One of them is about a young transguy starting to open up to the idea of coming out getting advice from a grown-up queer couple, and the other that I’m really excited about is about a young traveller road-tripping to see the beach for the first time and picking up a hitchhiker. Both are young adult.

Before closing this out, I HAVE to thank @writinginslowmotion! If they never reached out to me, I wouldn’t have all these ideas and motivation and general excitement about original ideas again. It means the world that you interact with me and try to make me feel included. I hope I do the same for you! 🖤

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Turkey, Mac and Cheese, Gravy 😜🤗

Trigger warnings for: Abuse/Parental abuse mentions, post apocalyptic settings

Turkey: What are your current works in progress?

My nano project, which is a Sanders Sides fanfiction called Superkids. Here’s the synopsis:

When Virgil is granted the power to control shadows, he decides to use it to protect kids being abused like him. His dad and over enthusiastic boyfriend, Remus, have other ideas. As Virgil slowly finds himself becoming a supervillain and diving deeper into his own anger, Patton, Roman, and Logan make it their responsibilities to stop him.

This is in its drafting stage

I also have a zombie apocalypse novel idea titled What Do People Do After The World Ends? I’m considering just shortening it to After The End Of The World, which is still a mouthful but whatever. I don’t want to say much about it yet, but it’s exactly what it sounds like, it focuses on at least thirty years worth of what people do after the world ends. From building settlements, to losing all inhibition, to trying to wipe the world of the threat, and about a million things in between.

This is in the idea phase

I’m also writing a short story collection about queer kids trying to cope with the end of the world, set in the zombie apocalypse. This is also in the idea phase

I got another zombie apoc idea today, while developing Carol’s Home for Little Survivors, where I’m going to create a textbook on how to survive the zombie apocalypse. It’s gonna be so much fun.

And, then, finally, one more zombie apoc story, which doesn’t have a title or even a main plot yet because I fucked up, but it’s halfway in an idea phase and halfway in an outlining phase, and has themes of abandonment.

Macaroni and Cheese: Share a character aesthetic

Here’s Carol from wdpdateotw

Gravy: What excites you most about your story?

ZOMBIES!!! There’s finally someone- ME! -writing stories set in the zombie apocalypse and actually putting real actual effort into it!!! I have a lot to say about the zombie genre being treated as a pump and dump, but no one’s interested in that, so instead I’m going to say:

My ideas are so unique and exciting and I really believe they’re going to interest and resonate with people. The Walking Dead brought the zombie genre back into pop culture, and I’m going to keep it there.

Thanks so much for the asks!!

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Bloop bloop bloop!!

:D 

1) The triplets Carol from wdpdatwe rescues grow up to be a teacher, an artist, and a scavenger/huntress.

2) The “boy” out of the set of triplets Carol rescues grows up to be nonbinary

3) The narrator in that story is a character, and her name is Harper. She’s a sociologist.

Thanks so much! <3

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I just talked my sister’s ear off about a lot of my ideas for WDPDATWE and she loves them, she got me so excited

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1 & 6 for the writing ask meme :)

1. Tell us about your WIP!

Hm... I’ll go with What Do People Do After The World Ends? It’s a fictional novel written like a nonfiction research study, conducted by our narrator, a woman named Harper, who’s telling various stories of what people do after the zombie apocalypse has began. I have a few story ideas already and I’m hyped!!

6. Favourite character you’ve ever written?

Collectively Darrel and Shane from The Finest Trick! It’s a book I wrote when I was 13, something I’ll never pick up again, but these two remain in my heart. They were both very angry, and very depressed, and they loved each other so fucking much. I loved writing them and their relationship and their banter and they were just great. It actually got to a point where if the scene didn’t have one of them in it, I didn’t want to write it.

Thanks!!

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Happy STS! What’s your favorite thing about writing?

Happy sts!

I would have to say the thinking? That may sound dumb but like. My favourite part about writing is when I’m developing the ideas in my head and I’m at the point where it’s all I ever think about... I mentioned this already but rn I’m at that point with a concept I have in wdpdatwe. I pretty much spent the entirety of work just thinking about Carol and her kids and her settlement. SUPER excited!!!

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Prompt Pals Tag Game

I want to get to know the writers in our discord group, and in my pp group!

Rules: Answer these questions

1. What kind of prompts do you want? (Phrases, specific situations, themes, etc)

Specific situations or a challenge! (a challenge like ‘describe your mc’s bedroom’ or ‘write what would happen if these characters met’)

For drawing, prompts that are super simple since I’m still a beginner

2. What genres do you write, and what’s your favorite?

Almost exclusively contemporary, but my favourite wips currently are all zombie apocalypse fiction.

3. What’s your favorite thing to write?

In longer pieces, fluff. I love writing characters loving and supporting each other lol. For shorter pieces, hurt/comfort.

4. What things do you need to work on? (Dialogue, fight scenes, setting the scene, etc)

Fight scenes and pacing.

5. What are your strengths?

Dialogue and I think my exposition is alright, too.

6. Tell us about your current wip/s! (Feel free to link intro posts)

Here’s an intro post to What Do People Do When The World Ends?

I’m currently in the drafting phase of a chaptered fanfic (Sanders Sides). I’m on page 157! There’s some info about that in this post.

7. Tell us about your mcs and favorite characters!

I talk about some characters in the intro post to wdpdatwe!

8. Tag the writers in your prompt pals group, or other writers you’re trying to get to know.

@writings-from-the-hart @idkhowtoread @dawnoftheagez @wineandpensareallineed @amazonprimebox @abalonetea @writinginslowmotion

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Finally posting on the right day!

Accomplishments:

Wrote 1523 words (yikes)

Applied for eight receptionist jobs

Made a cover letter template and resume specifically for receptionist jobs

Drafted February’s blog post

Edited and posted the video I’ve been working on

Chose February’s goals

Created a tag game for prompt pals

Transferred and organized wdpdatwe’s information into a document

Decided which project I’m working on next

Worked on the outline for a short story (barely)

Took worldbuilding notes on naming places

Worked on a DND campaign

Goal Review:

Write 400 words a day. Definitely didn’t do this.

Play around with some other writing projects. I did this. I pretty much knew from the start that I wanted to work on WDPDATWE, and that confirmed it.

Draft February’s blog post. Done.

Practice driving. I did this.

Post video. Done!

Choose February goals. Done.

Clean Jinx and Patton’s cages. I plan on doing it today, so technically fail.

Study how to start a home bakery. I could have done this a bit more, but I did it a little bit, so it’s done.

Apply for receptionist jobs. Done.

Work on DND campaign. Yep, done. 

8/10! Cool.

Goals:

Write 400 every day.

Work on DND campaign.

Practice driving.

Study how to start a home bakery.

Apply for 8 receptionist jobs.

Writing updates tag list:

@impossiblelibrary​ @writinginslowmotion​ @lucifer-in-my-head​ @alcego-writes​ @devan-faye-art​ @viragosouls​ @lyssthewriter​