thebookwormslair

[thebookwormslair]

I seek a love that bends the heavens for me, a soul entwined with mine in fierce devotion that embraces my fire, my thunder, and holds my voice above all others, as if it were the only truth that ever mattered.

[thebookwormslair]

sometimes you need dialogue tags and don't want to use the same four

[thebookwormslair]

Thank you to everyone who got me to 100 likes!

[thebookwormslair]

you talk like a book.

[thebookwormslair]

When your Character...

Gets into: A Fight ⚜ ...Another Fight ⚜ ...Yet Another Fight

Hates Someone ⚜ Kisses Someone ⚜ Falls in Love

Calls Someone they Love ⚜ Dies / Cheats Death ⚜ Drowns

is...

A Child ⚜ Interacting with a Baby/Child ⚜ A Genius ⚜ A Lawyer

Beautiful ⚜ Dangerous ⚜ Drunk ⚜ Injured ⚜ Shy

needs...

A Magical Item ⚜ An Aphrodisiac ⚜ A Fictional Poison

To be Killed Off ⚜ To Become Likable ⚜ To Clean a Wound

To Find the Right Word, but Can't ⚜ To Say No ⚜ A Drink

loves...

Astronomy ⚜ Baking ⚜ Cooking ⚜ Cocktails ⚜ Food ⚜ Oils

Dancing ⚜ Fashion ⚜ Gems ⚜ Mythology ⚜ Numbers

Roses ⚜ Sweets ⚜ To Fight ⚜ Wine ⚜ Wine-Tasting ⚜ Yoga

has/experiences...

Allergies ⚜ Amnesia ⚜ Bereavement ⚜ Bites & Stings ⚜ Bruises

Caffeine ⚜ CO Poisoning ⚜ Color Blindness ⚜ Food Poisoning

Injuries ⚜ Jet Lag ⚜ Mutism ⚜ Pain ⚜ Poisoning

More Pain & Violence ⚜ Viruses ⚜ Wounds

[these are just quick references. more research may be needed to write your story...]

[thebookwormslair]

me as a writer

[thebookwormslair]

like the first rule of cooking is to have fun and be yourself and the first rule of baking is to stay calm because the dough can sense fear

[thebookwormslair]

there's no greater betrayal than finally starting to read a book you've had sitting for months on your shelf or your desk or your nightstand and then finding out it's bad. like. i gave you a fucking home.

[thebookwormslair]

[thebookwormslair]

Sleepy fella 🌷☁️

[thebookwormslair]

Could you give me some ideas for currencies and the measurement of time, preferably both in a more dark fantasy setting involved with nature?

Currency and Time Measurement in a Dark Fantasy Setting

-> feel free to edit as you see fit.

Currencies

Leaf Coins: Thin, pressed coins made from the leaves of sacred trees. The type of leaf determines the coin's value, with rarer leaves being more valuable.

Bloodstones: A currency made from dark red gemstones that are said to be formed from the blood of fallen warriors.

Shadowshards: Small, dark crystals that absorb light and shimmer with a ghostly glow. They are collected at dusk and are traded as currency, often used in shadowy dealings. The more shadow a shard absorbs, the higher its worth.

Grave Dirt: A unique form of currency, this is literally dirt taken from sacred burial grounds. It is believed to contain the power of the dead. Merchants trade small pouches of it, and its value increases based on how many souls it has been touched by.

Wyrm Scales: Scales from mythical serpents that once roamed the land. Each scale has a distinct pattern and is highly valued due to its rarity and the protective magic it is said to bestow upon its holder.

Fungal Credits: Small, luminescent fungi that can be harvested at certain times of the year. Their glow indicates their value.

Measurement of Time

Moon Phases: Time is measured in moon phases, with each cycle representing a month. Each phase is associated with different rituals and events in nature, such as the “Blood Moon” for harvest and the “Waning Moon” for reflection and atonement.

Nightfall Cycles: Instead of days, time is counted in cycles of nightfall, where each cycle is divided into periods marked by darkness and light. A cycle may last for varying lengths of time based on seasonal changes, with longer nights in winter.

Sundrop Hours: Each hour is marked by the position of a special sundial that has been enchanted to reflect the essence of the sun. During certain times, the sundial emits a soft glow, indicating a magical time when rituals can be performed.

Eclipses: Significant events are measured by the number of eclipses that have occurred since a pivotal moment in history.

Blood Seasons: Time is divided into seasons based on nature’s cycles and the harvesting of life. For example, “Bloomspring,” “Darksummer,” “Crimsonfall,” and “Frostbite,” with each season lasting as long as it takes for specific plants to grow or animals to thrive.

Night’s Breath: This measures time through the cycles of natural events, such as the sounds of nocturnal creatures or the rustling of leaves in the wind. Each breath is a period marked by significant changes in the environment, like the blooming of nocturnal flowers.

[thebookwormslair]

How To Write A Plot Twist

1. Lay the Groundwork (Set Up the Twist)

• Plant clues: Leave subtle hints that seem insignificant at first but gain importance in hindsight. These are “breadcrumbs” for the audience.

• Establish expectations: Lead the audience down a path of assumptions. Use misdirection to make the twist feel unexpected but not out of nowhere.

• Avoid obvious tropes: Be aware of overused twists (e.g., “It was all a dream”) and either subvert them or build upon them uniquely.

2. Build the Tension

• Create stakes: Make the audience care deeply about the characters or the situation. When the twist comes, it should feel like a significant shift in those stakes.

• Add foreshadowing: Subtle hints or recurring motifs make the twist feel earned. For example, if a character turns out to be a villain, tiny actions or dialogue could subtly reflect their true nature.

• Play with timing: A twist often works best at a moment of high tension, where it either resolves or exacerbates the conflict.

3. Deliver the Twist

• Surprise and clarity: The twist should shock the audience but also make them say, “Of course, that makes sense!” upon reflection.

• Keep it believable: Even if surprising, the twist must fit within the story’s internal logic. If it feels random, it risks alienating readers.

• Reveal it organically: Use character actions, dialogue, or key events to unveil the twist naturally rather than outright explaining it.

4. Deepen the Story

• Shift the stakes: A great twist doesn’t just shock—it recontextualizes everything that came before it. It might make readers see previous events in a new light.

• Challenge characters: Show how the twist changes their motivations, relationships, or trajectory.

• Keep momentum: The story shouldn’t lose energy after the twist. Instead, it should propel the narrative into a new and exciting direction.

Types of Plot Twists

1. Identity Reveal: A character isn’t who they seem (e.g., a friend is the villain).

2. False Assumptions: The audience and/or characters misunderstood an event or situation.

3. Reversal of Fortune: Something unexpected dramatically alters the protagonist’s circumstances.

4. Unreliable Narrator: The perspective we’ve trusted turns out to be false or misleading.

5. Hidden Connections: Two seemingly unrelated elements turn out to be connected.

6. Misdirection: A red herring diverts attention away from the true twist.

Examples of Great Plot Twists

1. The Sixth Sense (Identity reveal): The protagonist is dead the whole time.

2. Gone Girl (False assumptions): The missing wife orchestrated her own disappearance.

3. Fight Club (Unreliable narrator): The protagonist and his enemy are the same person.

4. The Others (Reversal of fortune): The protagonists are ghosts, not the haunted.

5. Shutter Island (Hidden connections): The protagonist is a patient in the asylum he’s investigating.

Pitfalls to Avoid

• Predictability: If the twist is too obvious, it loses impact.

• Lack of setup: A twist without groundwork feels unearned.

• Twist for twist’s sake: Don’t add a twist just to shock; it must serve the story.

[thebookwormslair]

The 16th Day of Writemas ✍️👩‍💻

Yay another day of Writemas! Thank you @agirlandherquill for this tag game/writing prompt/writing challenge! If you'd like to know the rules and join, you can check out this invitation post to get notified.

Today for Day 16 I picked the stirring of darkness. I had a few struggles tonight so this is shorter than what I've done before, mostly narration. It is a scene from The Blood Cleaners that might not make much sense out of context, I know, though I liked improving it by expanding on the night setting. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask. I'm more motivated than ever to get this story written and out there for the world to enjoy.❤️🤍💚

_________________________________________________________

Before Justin answered, a flashlight beam lit across the open hole. He and Joselyn simultaneously morphed. They heard voices and footsteps above them. The stirring in the darkness came closer. A light shined down on them. The light went off. If the puddle versions of Justin and Joselyn were seen, the voice thought they were puddles of mud. The light disappeared and the voice went quiet. Justin and Joselyn waited before the noise in the darkness lost all trace. 

Joselyn and Justin returned to human form. One couldn’t see the other even inches away in the darkness. Joselyn whispered as quietly as possible, “Home?”

Justin whispered in the softest he could audibly place his voice, “Same.”

He returned to his liquid form just as she transformed. He climbed out of the hole and sped in the direction to the next tunnel entrance while she directed her way to the farm. Justin kept his attention to any sound or ray of light from another stirring in the dark. Justin sped across Corpa’s terrain, down the roads following the lights of Urbia through the darkness. Going so far while morphed risked morphing sickness, but he had no other way without getting caught like he was at the train tracks.

He was bummed that the figures in the dark interrupted them just before he could finally tell Joselyn about the mysterious note he kept all these years. Now he couldn’t fathom a way to tell her. In any other part of Corpa, they ran the risk that an enforcer would eavesdrop and hear Justin break his oaths by revealing secrets in the Steel. There had to be another nook somewhere. Someplace to hide without suspicion. 

 Justin had the feeling that his vows to secrecy were not so much to protect confidential information, but to keep the people of Corpa from knowing what their leaders had that they didn’t. Even the highest ranking surfacers would be jealous. Considering that the Steel blood cleaners knew the secrets of the Fists, it was no wonder why the message said to pursue a Steel enforcer for answers. He still wondered why the message said, “Find him, or all hope for us is lost.” Were the Fists so bad that they would cause Corpa to dwindle and die? If Justin were to have any hope for his future and that of his mamá, sister, Joselyn, and Clarice, he’d have to find answers. 

____________________________________________________________

Tagging!

@sleepyrxsetea @edstoriesblog @thecomfywriter @pen-for-sword @toribookworm22

@sunflowerrosy @furrywrit3r @wyked-ao3 @selenekallanwriter @drchenquill

@revenantlore @whatwewrotepodcast @jay-avian @constellationandcompendium @olivescales3

@ryns-ramblings @primroseprime2019 @illarian-rambling @kaylinalexanderbooks @kitty-is-writing

@kitkins13 @buffythevampirelover @willtheweaver @poethill @acmartin

@apolline-lucy @elizaellwrites @gioiaalbanoart @orphanheirs @pluppsauthor

@cowboybrunch @leahnardo-da-veggie @dandelion-jester @aalinaaaaaa @faeriecinna

@brynwrites @somethingclevermahogony @rickie-the-storyteller @raevenlywrites @winterandwords

@happypup-kitcat24 @the-golden-comet @ddgraywrites @autism-purgatory @mxxnwishes

@tildeathiwillwrite @screamingatanemptyroom @kbwritesstuff @spookyceph @pluto-murphy-writes

@talesofsorrowandofruin @kaylark @sleepywriter00 @americanfemcel @fairy-tales-of-yesterday

@inkednotebook @the-letterbox-archives @laureleavess @simonnebethel @forthesanityofsome

@melpomene-grey @creatrackers @stephtuckerauthor @theink-stainedfolk

@g0ttest0d @infinnative @little-peril-stories @lyneidas @late-to-the-fandom

and open!

[thebookwormslair]

When your Character...

Gets into: A Fight ⚜ ...Another Fight ⚜ ...Yet Another Fight

Hates Someone ⚜ Kisses Someone ⚜ Falls in Love

Calls Someone they Love ⚜ Dies / Cheats Death ⚜ Drowns

is...

A Child ⚜ Interacting with a Baby/Child ⚜ A Genius ⚜ A Lawyer

Beautiful ⚜ Dangerous ⚜ Drunk ⚜ Injured ⚜ Shy

needs...

A Magical Item ⚜ An Aphrodisiac ⚜ A Fictional Poison

To be Killed Off ⚜ To Become Likable ⚜ To Clean a Wound

To Find the Right Word, but Can't ⚜ To Say No ⚜ A Drink

loves...

Astronomy ⚜ Baking ⚜ Cooking ⚜ Cocktails ⚜ Food ⚜ Oils

Dancing ⚜ Fashion ⚜ Gems ⚜ Mythology ⚜ Numbers

Roses ⚜ Sweets ⚜ To Fight ⚜ Wine ⚜ Wine-Tasting ⚜ Yoga

has/experiences...

Allergies ⚜ Amnesia ⚜ Bereavement ⚜ Bites & Stings ⚜ Bruises

Caffeine ⚜ CO Poisoning ⚜ Color Blindness ⚜ Food Poisoning

Injuries ⚜ Jet Lag ⚜ Mutism ⚜ Pain ⚜ Poisoning

More Pain & Violence ⚜ Viruses ⚜ Wounds

[these are just quick references. more research may be needed to write your story...]

[thebookwormslair]

[thebookwormslair]

feeling called out today

credit: _ADWills

[thebookwormslair]

Bound by Shadows: Part Four

Lila couldn’t shake the encounter. Kain’s words clung to her like smoke, his voice echoing in her mind. *You intrigue me.* That wasn’t a reason—it was a trap.

She had spent the better part of the day trying to focus on Elara’s work, grinding herbs into powders and organizing tinctures, but the tension in her chest refused to loosen. Even as night fell, bringing a chill that seeped into the city’s bones, she felt no relief.

So, she decided to do the one thing that always cleared her head.

She went hunting.

---

The darkened streets of the merchant quarter were quieter at this hour, the usual throng of thieves and beggars thinned by the biting cold. Lila moved with purpose, her knives tucked into their hidden sheaths, her senses on high alert. There was a small-time smuggler she’d been meaning to track down—nothing major, just someone skimming too much off the top and drawing attention to a neighborhood that didn’t need more heat.

It was supposed to be a simple job. Quick, clean, and forgettable.

But as she approached the smuggler’s hideout, a flicker of movement in the corner of her eye made her pause.

She turned sharply, her hand going to her blade.

“Kain,” she said flatly, recognizing his silhouette even in the dim light.

He stepped out of the shadows, his gray eyes glinting like polished steel. “You’re predictable, Lila. A blessing and a curse.”

“Is following me your full-time job now?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “Don’t you have an empire to run?”

“I delegate,” he said smoothly, taking another step closer. “And you make for much more interesting work.”

“I should have known you’d show up,” she muttered, turning away from him.

“Come now,” he called after her, his voice carrying that infuriating blend of amusement and challenge. “Are you really going to pretend you don’t want my help?”

“I don’t *need* your help,” she snapped, spinning to face him.

Kain tilted his head, studying her like she was some kind of riddle. “No, but you don’t mind having it, do you?”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she shot back, but the words rang hollow even to her.

He smirked, but the humor didn’t reach his eyes. “Then let’s test that theory. Who are you after tonight, Lila? And how long until I save you from another mess?”

She bristled. “I don’t get into messes.”

“Of course not,” he said mockingly. “The knife wounds you’ve come to me with were just... casual inconveniences.”

Lila’s jaw tightened. She hated that he wasn’t wrong.

---

When she finally made it to the smuggler’s lair—a crumbling warehouse at the edge of the district—she half-expected Kain to vanish, but he stayed close, moving silently beside her.

“Don’t get in my way,” she warned, crouching low as they approached the back entrance.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he murmured, though the glint in his eye suggested otherwise.

The warehouse was quiet, save for the faint shuffle of footsteps inside. Lila slipped through the door, her blade drawn, while Kain followed without a sound.

She spotted the smuggler easily enough—a wiry man in a tattered coat, counting stacks of stolen coin at a makeshift table. His guards were lazy, their weapons resting carelessly at their sides.

Lila felt a small surge of satisfaction. This would be easy.

Or so she thought.

As she crept closer, one of the guards shifted, his eyes darting toward her hiding spot. He froze for a second, then shouted, “Intruders!”

The quiet dissolved into chaos.

Lila lunged forward, taking down the nearest guard with a quick slash of her blade. Kain moved beside her, a blur of speed and precision. He disarmed two men in seconds, his movements almost elegant, like a deadly dance.

“I told you to stay out of my way!” Lila hissed as she ducked a swing and countered with a jab to the ribs.

“And I told you I’m here to help,” Kain replied, his tone maddeningly calm as he knocked out another guard.

The smuggler bolted for the door, his stash forgotten.

“Don’t let him get away!” Lila shouted, already chasing after him.

Kain was faster. He caught the man just as he reached the exit, slamming him against the wall with one hand around his throat.

“You have something that doesn’t belong to you,” Kain said, his voice cold and dangerous. “Let’s discuss terms.”

The smuggler stammered, his eyes wide with terror, but Lila stepped in before Kain could go further.

“That’s enough,” she said sharply.

Kain glanced at her, his grip loosening slightly. “You’re going soft, Lila.”

“Not soft. Smart,” she shot back, grabbing the smuggler by the collar. “You’re going to return what you took and get out of this district. If I see you here again, I won’t be so kind.”

The man nodded frantically, his words tumbling out in a flood of promises.

Lila let him go, watching as he scrambled out the door and into the night.

Kain leaned against the wall, his expression unreadable. “Efficient. I’ll give you that.”

“Don’t start,” she muttered, brushing past him.

But as she walked away, she felt his gaze lingering on her, heavy and unrelenting.

“You’re wasting your potential,” he said softly.

She stopped but didn’t turn around. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You could do so much more,” he said, his voice low and almost... wistful. “If you stopped running.”

Lila’s chest tightened. She didn’t trust his words, didn’t trust *him.* For now, she told herself, he was just another enemy she could afford to keep at arm’s length.

But deep down, in the place she hated to acknowledge, Lila couldn’t help but wonder if Kain was right—if there was a part of her that wasn’t just running from him but toward something she couldn’t yet name.