#writeblr events

[tryingtimi]

Final WC: 16,059 | @the-wip-project

Oh man, the event eneded and I couldn’t post my last what, three weeks accountability post because of hectic life stuff. But hey, gotta cram everything into this one here then, right?

So, we’ve started off strong and steady, and even though many things got in my schedule’s way, we’ve ended on a nice note. During the event, I realised that I’m probably writing the Heroine’s Journey (a structure that the event introduced me to), which is very helpful on the technical side, and although I already let go of stuffing my stories into structures, esp the Hero’s Journey, it still helped me to have something to reach for if I get a bit lost where to go next.

Also, what I realised was that the core of my story will revolve around the hardships of understanding each other. There are many themes I will explore, but at the core, it will be about people being hurt and broken by each other’s choices but learning to see why the other did what they did, and even if not forgiving it, then just having some kind of an understanding at the end. Familial relationships are in the centre too, and I have a lot of fun exploring them.

Besides all that, my characters became a bit more clearer. Their motivations and how to handle situations. I did the homework post on their themes, desires, whatever, but they still changed a bit since then haha. Not much though. Either way, they’re forming into their authentic self which I am in love with, especially because they give me a lot of challenges.

Sasin was a piece that I wanted to write to purely for myself from the beginning, yet as it develops I see what the true values of this story bill be.

On the prose and all that note, the exploration helped me realise that I will probably lean a bit more into litfic voice territory sometimes, because even though I’m mostly writing fantasy, litfic is my go-to and I think it shows. Which is a relief because sometimes my insecurities peeked out a little bit when I found that my style and way of handling some thing did not match the usual fantasy idk beats/voices/styles. As much as I love the plot and the world, the characters’ internal conflicts, the complications and intricacies of their relationships will be at the front.

I also joined a lovely little writing group around the time the event started, and that also taught me a lot already. About myself and how I handle comments, how should I approach sharing my babies, when to do it, and how to look at others’s stuff as well. It’s a blast and I’ll be forever grateful and lucky to have been able to be a part of that. Just like these events, haha.

Anyway, this thing became rambly, and I could still say a lot lol. So I’ll end it here. Hope everyone had as much of a fun as I, and will browse through the tag to see how others did when I get a lil break.

Take care and hydrate y’all. ❤️

[druidx]

just thought of this randomly and now im curious; is there a unique mini event for thursday? like wip wednesday, fanfic friday...

i've seen these writing based mini-events for nearly every day but definitely not thursday (to my memory)

So, according to this weekly event list I rb'd 8 months ago, Thursday is 'Thirsty Thursday' and all about relationships (not just romantic, but others too).

But this also designates Saturday as 'Sit-Down' rather than 'Storyteller', so... grain of salt.

I also feel like there used to be an 'Author Thursday'? (it might have been Tuesday instead...) That was about asking others their about their writing process, style, inspos, etc, because Storyteller Sat was more about what you were up to.

The thing to bear in mind is there are so many completing things, for example some people do 'Worldbuilding Wednesday' (when you ask specifically about stuff going on in someone's world) vs WIP Weds, that really you could just make up your own thing to do. For example, @tracle0 started doing 'Snippet Sunday' which is getting a lot of traction.

Another thing to bear in mind is that, as far as I have observed, the whole thing is in constant flux anyway 😅️ What was going on 6 months ago might not be a thing anymore, and nothing is 'official' anyway.

Sorry this got a bit rambly (needs more coffee), but hopefully contained some of the answers sought?

Happy wording! ✒️

(OFC if OOMFs knows any different to me or can give a better answer, please do!)

[peepos-prose]

Countdown to Writing November! What are we all planning to work on over the month?

I’m gonna get a draft down of The House on Dearmad, have a good plan and hoping for the best this time around. Estimating 45,000-50,000 words but knowing my verbose ass, it’ll prolly be 60 plus.

[pluttskutt]

It's August so I want to remind y'all I'll be holding the "Trick or Treat" event during the last weekend of October! It's the third year and I'm looking forward to it.

I'll talk about it more in September so keep your eyes peeled 👀

[world-of-fire-and-flight]

Trick or Treat? 🦇

The wheel chose treat!

The first chapter of Fire & Flight was initially supposed to be from Nyla's POV but then I wrote Cedric's chapters (aka the Virtue Chapters™️) and after a lot of consideration, I realized that Charity needed to come before 1. The Girl with Silver Hair, and so the opening paragraph of Fire & Flight is:

(CW: blood reference, reference to past violence, reference to murder)

“Go on then, kill me!” The challenge echoed in Cedric’s mind as he battled against the nightmare’s hold. Blankets bound his limbs together, twisting around him like the strongest rope. The last thing he saw was a blinding flash of scarlet energy and silver hair splayed across the courtyard’s pavers. Her lips were speckled with crimson.

[forthesanityofstorytellers]

Trick or Treat! 🎃🍬

Hmm...

Treat! 🍬

Have a bit of Abracadabra, where my chaos gremlin of a man is being obnoxious to what appears to be the ghost of a haunted sword.

It smiled at me then, and I freely admit I shivered because of it. “I’ve watched over her since the moment I was placed in her hands. All from the sword. All with awareness.” It reached down and plucked the sword from the floor, holding it effortlessly and pointing the blade at me in a sudden direct stance, sharp and careless at the same time. “Why else do you think the blade glows as it does?” “Enchantment,” I answered. “Or some kind of chemical reaction. Maybe some sort of electroluminescent or chemiluminescent properties facilitated by certain light wav—“ I cut myself off and quickly shook my head. “Point is pseudo-sentience wasn’t on my list. Are you something trapped in the sword? Or is the sword some kind of link to a consciousness that belongs to a body somewhere else?” "Neither," it sighed. "I am the sword.” “In a physical sense or…?” It laughed, the noise light and almost musical. “Silly chattering monkey. Be careful of the branches on which you swing.” It moved in a blur and the blade was suddenly pressing itself under my jaw. “It can easily be cut off.” “Cut off but regrown just as fast,” I said, narrowing my gaze. “I’m a hydra. Kill me and two more come up.” It hesitated, glancing me over. I grinned. “In principle, anyway. Point is, death threats don’t scare me much, pointy.”

[ink-fireplace-coffee]

Trick or Treat?

Rose!!! How are you?? Thanks for asking!

Treat for you! Here is a few lines of ITBT? (canon question mark cause i'm still debating): (fire tw)

"We need to go, Princess," Caro's voice cut the moment, cold as the snow that was falling and mixing with the ash. All Isadora could see were colours and blurs, her vision unclear from her tears. "I cannot leave like this," she tried to speak as if her throat wasn't burning and everything she knew was burning, but it was obvious how miserable she was with just one glance. Her tights were getting soaked at the contact of her knees to the snow on the ground and her hands were cold and she was shivering. The thought was almost ironic, how she was freezing cold and it was snowing, yet Clay River was surrounded by flames, the house slowly meeting its end to the fire.

[yvesdot]

NANOWRIMO 2023 STREAM SCHEDULE

First Hour Stream

Tuesday, October 31st, 11:45 PM-1:00 AM PDT

Official OHHOW Stream

Friday, November 10th, 11:00 AM-1:00* PM PST

Assorted Bonus Streams

Usually Fridays, More-Or-Less Morning, PST

My official NaNoWriMo streaming schedule is out, for the foreseeable future! Any other surprise streams will be announced here if and when they arise. Come by and write with me on Twitch!

EDIT: Friday, November 10th's stream only goes until 1:00 PM! Just letting everyone know.

[writeblrbattleroyale]

Hello! The second round is just around the corner. There's just one thing left. There are 11 winner, so someone needs to get a new one. Now it's your choice.

[anoelleart]

Song Saturday! Protolith Excerpt

She sang: “From the space between the stars  came a force to cleave Earth and soul.  There bore two lovers  Destined. Lover’s voice is clear as wind: Swallow from sky, betwixt land and water, from what is  bound to our Earth, and I may be anew.”  Charlotte shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m a terrible singer.” “A hauntingly beautiful lullaby,” Byron said. She smiled. “It is. When I was a child, I loved to believe that we would all find our partner, born from the same star – from the same soul, even.” “And now?” “I would think myself silly to believe in souls.”

[The Protolith, Chapter 26]

[moondust-bard]

JOIN US THE WEEK OF MARCH 26TH FOR MOON+SERAPH PITCH WEEK

An event brought to writeblr by myself and the incomparable @saintedseraph

See our informational post here!

During this six-day event, tumblr’s writers will have the opportunity to pitch their unpublished, in-progress sci-fi and fantasy stories. Each day is dedicated to a different theme— for details, see the above schedule. If your writing project is in a stage of drafting, worldbuilding, outlining, or revisions, this event is for you!

Unlike Twitter's pitch events, which focus on writers who are actively in search of publishing connections, this event is solely for writers in search of writer-friends and in-progress WIPs to support.

So, will you be joining us?

[aquadestinyswriting]

Storyteller Saturday- Open Ask

Happy Saturday folks. Hope everyone is well. Here's a question for you all:

Do you make a specific timeline for your wips? Or do you just go with the flow and fix up any inconsistencies in your wip while editing?

Personally I try to keep a timeline in mind, but I am terrible at keeping to it and have to edit stuff later. This is why I'm now writing my stories as a series rather than one, huge work. It's a lot easier to remember which stories go in order in a list.

Looking forward to seeing your responses.

Tagging: @blind-the-winds, @druidx, @asher-orion-writes, @mariahwritesstuff and anyone else who wishes to answer

[world-of-fire-and-flight]

Trick or treat!

My handy dandy spinner chose Treat!

Okay let's see......

Ooooh here's a snippet from my reader magnet, Hell's Eyes🦇 It's set in the same universe as my Heirs of Tenebris trilogy, but has absolutely no bearing on the main storyline whatsoever (I really just wanted an excuse to try my hand at a slightly different genre😅 It has a very gothic kind of psychological suspense vibe to it and was a lot of fun to write—and perfect for Halloween!)

A shadow flickered at the top of the stair. Elliot ground to a halt. Dread slithered into his veins like an icy chill. His breaths came in short, rapid gasps. In time with his pounding heart, one long-clawed forepaw landed on the floorboards of the top landing. Elliot’s breath caught as a wet snout nosed its way past the corner of the doorjamb. The creature. It was there. A low growl penetrated the air, raising the fine hairs on the back of Elliot’s neck and along his arms and legs. An unshakeable certainty came over Elliot. The creature was waiting for him, lurking just around the corner. The creature, with its onyx-colored eyes that held a raging fire—a fire that consumed the mind and taunted its prey with paralyzing visions of their deepest, darkest, most formidable fears. A hellish fiend, the hound was not—could not—be of this world. Of all the creatures in Tenebris, this was one most unnatural. “It is not real,” Elliot muttered under his breath. Miss Hyacinth’s words from the night before came to him. “I will not let it consume me.” But still he could not—would not—take another step.

[forthesanityofstorytellers]

Writeblr Battle Royale - Ametrine Versus Lyra! (Lyra POV)

Yes! That's right! Round 2 of the event @writeblrbattleroyale put on by @your-absent-father! This time my alien elf Lyra is going up against the ghost-fighting Ametrine (OC that belongs to @moonluringfrost)! And this time she actually does fight! You can read Lyra's round 1 here and Ametrine's round 1 here! Thanks, enjoy, and remember you can follow all the action here OR by following #writeblrbattleroyale !

Follow some awesome fellow authors and watch our OCs beat the shit out of each other (when they behave and do what they're supposed to do instead of things like trying to escape or have a pleasant conversation)

WC: 1,240 Tw: death

“And now the round 1 has ended. Unfortunately for me, some of you players tried to go against me, but I give you the benefit of the doubt. I haven’t introduced myself. People call me M. I don’t know if it’s my real name. I really don’t remember anything. I once was a full person that was cursed to roam the world, without being able to go beyond. I do have two goals I remember: I am the bringer of entertainment, and I am a bringer of death. This place really is the tight combination of both. You are my freak show now that my own freak was taken for me. I just need to make sure now you don’t try to escape.” 

A woman appears in the middle of the arena in clothes that are almost stereotypical of a fortune teller. She’s south American, with a beautiful straight nose and eyes that seem to know everything you deeply want to know. “I am so sorry.” She points at Lyra and the new opponent, and the world shifted.

Flashes of her home. Devastated. Crushed and burnt plant matter, the giant carved pillars now broken and laying at her feet. Someone far away was laughing among the eerie quiet. A flash of dark and Lyra was running. Heading to the laughing. She emerged into the light and blinked. Her home, the island of her parents…it was all gone. Broken. Destroyed.

“Hail the queen!” A voice from beyond sight called.

Bodies began to move under the rubble, and Lyra glanced down. She was wearing the outfit of the highest noble. Queen. The stone fragments of all the clans were embedded into the leather wrapped around her wrist. A mark of what was never supposed to be.

“Queen of all!!” someone called. “Death-bringer!!”

The bodies revealed themselves, and turned to her with faces of shame, fear, anger and hopelessness.

“Queen of Elkien, conqueror and destroyer of the lands!!”

“My fancy little crew here are all my helpers whose soul is in their own little dimension. I won’t mind putting you with my little collection. So, now it’s time for round 2”.

Lyra blinked back into reality standing in an arena, a cold sweat covering every inch of her skin. That…so that wasn’t real, then. It was one of her greatest fears…and it had been brought to her mind by this ‘M’ character.

She wanted to draw an arrow and shoot it directly into the sky, directly to the place where M had been moments ago. But the sounds of people shuffling around, starting to murmur and talk and shout all distracted her. She pinned her ears to her head, giving it a shake. Focused on her opponent.

The sooner she could finish this, the sooner she could get to M and make him pay. For this game of death, for making them participate…for making her live the nightmare that haunted her like a shadow.

She took a breath to steady herself, facing the one opposite her. Pale skin, light hair, blue eyes. Petit build. But she knew enough to know that a size and shape were only minor factors in a fight. She couldn’t afford to take her opponent lightly.

Even so, she did not want to fight if she did not have to.

Taking a deep breath, Lyra called out, “Adversary! I don’t want to fight you. How much do you want to fight me?”

The response came. “Depends on if fighting will get me home faster than not.” The woman began walking towards Lyra, causing her back to stiffen just a bit. She began backing away. Keep the same distance between them. She didn’t know what her opponent could do and didn’t want to find out by letting her get too close.

“I don’t know if fighting will get us home. But I do know it will end with one of us dead.” The woman didn’t seem to change based on words alone, continuing to advance. Lyra let out a breath and fired a warning shot directly into her path, the arrow digging into the ground at her feet. “I don’t want to fight…but I will if I must.”

The woman across from her sighed as Lyra knocked another arrow into place. She seemed tired, and Lyra couldn’t blame her. “I have to try,” she called back. “There’s something I need to do. I’m sorry.”

She reached down and plucked Lyra’s arrow from the ground, keeping it with her as she began advancing faster.

Lyra grit her teeth. “Then I’m sorry as well. Good luck, adversary.”

The woman increased her speed to a near-run, Lyra keeping her arrow tight as she began to back up faster. Lyra tried to track her, but the woman’s evasive movements made for little opening. Eventually Lyra had to lower her arrow and focus on moving, on keeping up the distance and matching her speed to her opponent’s.

This was the best tactic Lyra had at the moment, not wanting to use her earth magic unless it was absolutely needed. The cost was high, and while she’d used it on the last little one it was simply because it seemed an easier way to end the fight than blood. From the way this new opponent moved, she would have to be more careful with her magic…something she was not prepared to do. Not yet.

And her reward was a sudden change in tactic, the woman suddenly changing course and speed, charging directly at Lyra. Lyra moved until her back was against the wall, waited until her opponent was nearly on top of her before stretching out her wings and flying into the air. Feet now against the wall, Lyra kept herself aloft while pushing off.

She looked.

Aimed.

Fired.

She tucked her wings and tucked herself into a ball as she landed, rolling with momentum and getting her feet under her as fast as possible, leaping into a crouch and spinning around to identify where her opponent was.

A body was collapsed by the wall.

Lyra waited for movement as the crowd around her seemed to hold their breath. A few began talking. Whispers among the specters watching. Then…

Cheering.

Lyra risked a glance up at the ones in the stands. A few looked genuinely shocked. A few looked genuinely pleased. Several looked as if they were forced into cheering, like puppets but ones that she could not spot the strings.

Standing, Lyra walked cautiously over to the body. The woman, her adversary, was dead. She rolled the body onto her back, removed the arrow, and closed her eyes, making a gesture that marked blessings for the dead. “I am sorry you did not complete what you needed to do,” she said softly. “But, if you have a next life, I hope you are able to find peace in it.”She stood and turned to face M. Took a deep breath and yelled up, “mxmuzacimo!!!” You are a bag of dicks!! before stalking back to her original spot. He was going to pay for making her – for making them – participate. She wasn’t sure how yet, not as well versed in life and death magic from her home and unsure if it would work in this place. But she was going to make sure she tried if she won her way to the top. And if not? She was going to try before she was taken out.

[ink-fireplace-coffee]

TRICK OR TREAT!

—@italiangothicwriteblr

Joy!! How are you?? TRICK for you!!

[yvesdot]

QUEER INDIE-PUB BOOK TALK & Q&A!

Thursday, October 12th, 6:30-8:00 PM at the Santa Cruz Diversity Center

I am having a physical, in-person event in Santa Cruz for anyone interested in hearing about the queer self-/indie-publishing journey! I'll be talking about making queer-as-in-very-strange art, financing art as the deplorable "side hustle," and not losing your mind while publishing. Also, reading aloud from Something's Not Right! RSVP on Eventbrite!

If you're seeing this and you're not Californian, do me a favor—share this post to your network! Let's get this to the weird queer artists in the area. (And, hey, let me know if you'd like me to come to your town! We'll see what I can do ^__^)