you-are-my-neverland

[you-are-my-neverland]

writing tip: searching "[place of origin]ish names" will get you a lot of stuff and nonsense made up by baby bloggers.

searching "[place] census [year]" will get you lists of real names of real people who lived in that place.

[you-are-my-neverland]

when the moon hits your eye

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there’s wip (active development) and wip (stuck in development hell) and wip (oh you’re not even getting funding for this one)

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“can i read your draft?” can you survive secondhand embarrassment?

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me writing the worst paragraph of my life knowing that a sexier, more hydrated version of me will fix it later

[you-are-my-neverland]

Author Ask Tag

Thank you so much for the tag @aalinaaaaaa, and @tc-doherty ! Love these tags.

What is the main lesson of your story? Why did you choose it?

I’m really bad at determining a lesson, so most of the times I just… don’t, lol. I write because I have stories I want to tell, and although the characters learn valuable lessons, I don’t approach the story with a clear one I want to “teach” with it. I hope people take away something from it, but more like their own interpretations than my ideals and values.

But, if I squint, maybe Sasin’s lesson can be that you can’t be your best self for someone else. Which comes from a a relfection of some of my, the author’s, personal experiences. As all stories do imo. And a reason why I would choose it (if I could choose it instead of just putting it in instinctively, and unkowingly first) is because I hope people can resonate with it, and have an impact on their life even if a tiny one. Realise something about themselves and find solace in it or motivate them to grow.

2. What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding?

Mostly Korean mythology, shamanism, the Roaring Twenties, martial art movies/series/books and real-life mafia documentaries/ fictional gang wars and family sagas (prime example: Peaky Blinders). Although the ‘20s thing is just for the aesthetic and to establish the level of technological advancements (i.e.: no phones, no computers, lots of smoking, drinking and glitter and pompousness).

I basically combied everything I ever loved and was intrigued by since I was 12.

Plus I was always drawn to the brutal world of underworld workings where honour and “you have my word” still seemed to mean something. Where there was a kind of unspoken code they followed, yet they themselves weren’t heroes, nor necessarily good for anyone. Casual violance also attracted me as well, as being a naturally withdrawn, careful person in a fairly conservative enviroment who always longed to shout and punch her anger out rather than repressing it. It is in a sense a self-fulfillment fantasy, although none of the characters are similar to me lmfao.

3. What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness or help the reader grow as a person?

Liahn’s basic motivator is to perfect: others, her clan, the world and most harshly, herself. Nothing is good enough, nothing is just enough. She confronts everything and everyone to make her clan better. She firmly believes that mistakes equal failures. And failures are the warmbeds of incompetency. So she does everything to prove that notion wrong, and tries to fight her mother to change the clan, to make it better, safer, more just. She strives to perfect (reform) the system, make it so her people are not forced to risk their lives just to have a say in the clan’s future. In their future. Family bonds and romantic love are also key elements because Liahn’s idea of perfection does not include feelings. She may love her siblings, or the girl of her life, but she would never let herself admit it. She can’t. She’d die for them, and she want to reform for them, but she would rather sacrifice herself for the greater good than confront feelings. Feelings that cloud decisions and make every picture disordered, imperfect.

So, I mostly want to inspire people by her to soften their grip on the idea of perfection. To let themselves feel, and make mistakes without killing their own soul bit by bit. Be a little more gentle on themselves. To prove that perfection is found in imperfection. And that true harmony comes, when they can face that.

4. How many chapters is your story going to have?

I have only a rough estimation, but around 30.

5. Is it fan fiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

Original content, althought it started as a fanfiction to my friend lmao. And I’m almost certain I won’t want to publish this. Maybe somewhere online one day, when other stuffs are finished. We’ll see. But I mostly write this to have something finally finished, so as the first book I will complete, I wouldn’t truly be comfortable sharing it with a big audience yet. Keeping it to myself and friends for now. (Trying to write it for myself haha)

6. When did you start writing?

The very first version of this story was created in 2021, which is wild. I got to 19 chapters before I completely re-plotted and re-outlined it, lol. Plus when I decided to not continue it as a fanfic. It also sat in the backburner for 2-3 years, before I picked it up again. Since then I re-plotted it again a few times, although not to the extent when I first did it. It’s in a fairly alright state right now, and I intend to write the whole thing through.

7. Do you have any words of encouragement for fellow writers of writeblr? What other writers do you follow?

Write what you love, and write it because you love it. That’s the only single reason that matters and what I re-discover time after time. We all fall into the traps of the desire to please others, to listen to every external little voice and let ours hide in the back corner, quiet and forgotten. But it’s there, waiting for us to listen again. So sharpen your ears, and let it emerge. Listen to yourself, and let yourself love what you create. You can worry about what others will think, marketablity, wodcount, publishing, or simply just the accuracy of the content later. Have fun. Put all the silly weird shit in it. Go wild. Just do it and love it.

The talented, lovely bunch I follow, and aware that are writeblr (no pressure tagging, plus an open invitation for anyone who want to join): @bloodlessheirbyjacques, @barbex, @the-void-writes, @cee-grice, @did-i-do-this-write, @wildswrites, @indigowriting, @erensattacktitancock, @odysseywritings, @sodaliteskullwrites, @the-letterbox-archives, @thegoddesswater, @goldfinchwrites, @mthollowell-writes, @thewritingcoroner, @ryns-ramblings, @you-are-my-neverland, @astarlightmonbebe, @forthesanityofstorytellers, @mjparkerwriting, @asher-writes, @dyrewrites, @jgmartin, @inkingfireplace, @kainablue, @withlovelunette, @jadefyre, @muddshadow, @1legitconnor, @dogmomwrites, @italiangothicwriteblr, @jessica-writes22, @depressedenglishmajor, @magefaery, @moonscribbler, @circa-specturgia, @aohendo, @bebewrites, @maguayans, @keyboardandquill, @daughter-of-inklings, @friendlyneighborhood-writer, @author-a-holmes, @approximately20blorbos, @wip-nook, @kjscottwrites, @missryorinechan, @sleepyowlwrites

[you-are-my-neverland]

Writers,

Note that this isn’t talking about whether or not the characters get a happy ending, but about whether the WIP reflects a positive or negative outlook on people, society, and the world.

An example of a pessimistic book series is Remembrance of Earth’s Past by Cixin Liu.

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fake idgafer. i saw tht haunted look in ur eyes

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wait. rene, dimi, naying dream team of amnesiacs?

[you-are-my-neverland]

“You know, everyone else thinks you’ve lost your mind because of grief, But I know you better than that, and I know that whatever’s going on with you is more than whatever happened to your dad. The person in front of me, that’s not you. And I don’t know where the fuck she is, but I hope the real Naying Yue wakes up soon.”

NAYING YUE'S life has been on a downward spiral ever since her father disappeared three years ago. Expelled from university and alone after violently stabbing her friend in the eye, she believes her twenty first birthday is as good as any day to die, only for her suicide to be interrupted by an attack by monstrous beings. Saved by strangers who call themselves Outsiders, she is told her life as she knows it is a lie: Her father did not save her life as a child, but instead kidnapped her from the powerful Yue family. Thrown headfirst into the dangerous World of Outsiders, where humans endowed with a magical current are hunted ruthlessly by the eldritch beings known as the seraph and the power plays between factions shed just as much blood, Naying finds herself pulled by opposite powers and desires. Forced to play in games she does not fully understand and plagued by unexplained blackouts and boughts of violence, Naying must fight herself and the world to stay alive. But all she really wants is to find her father.

GODHOOD is the conceptual title for a prospective trilogy that follows Naying Yue as she reclaims her destiny. Set in a universe where magic runs parallel to the ordinary world in the form of a current. Those that possess the current are called Outsiders, endowed with extraordinary abilities and able to perceive the truth of the world, responsible for maintaining equilibrium. As Naying embraces the changes within herself, a young monk searches for an answer that has haunted him his whole life, and a skater must confront a part of herself she has tried to turn away from. A boy sits catatonic in a wheelchair in the garden, and a pair of twins are forced to chose between the past and the future. Their stories intertwine with one another's while overlapping with that of various other characters across the Godhood Universe.

Status. Drafting book one

Genre. Urban fantasy with wuxia and mythic elements

Themes & Tropes. destiny, the problem of free will, humanity, the trolley problem, the abuse and cycle of power (how we play into and uphold the systems that hurt and oppress us), individual identity & internal conflict, ambition & power, who we choose as a family, parent/child relationships (specifically father/daughter), balance

Tag: wip: godhood

More information available on the ppt intro of this wip!! I'm always open to asks about specific characters and worldbuilding, though I don't know when I'll be making an actual post about it. I mostly post small snippets here and there :)

Taglist (currently tagging those who expressed interest before, please reach out to be added or removed)

@lena-rambles @ink-flavored @vacantgodling @dirtcatty

Extra excerpt beneath cut!

“You don’t believe I’m her, do you?” she asked softly. “Naying Yue. The dead one.” “Dead, or missing?” Lien murmured in response. “Or found?” He stepped down into her space, so they were toe to toe, too crushingly close to stand on her own. She fought against stepping back, holding herself taut to prevent her body from swaying backwards without her control.  “Your bet,” she said, staring up at him. His eyes were dark. She could see a sliver of the moon in them at this distance. The last, and only, guy she had been this physically close to was Frey. “I bet you’re going to ruin something,” Lien said in a low voice. “Real or not.” Naying swallowed, then let herself smile. “How much are you willing to bet on that?” “Why?” Lien asked, boredom sweeping over his features. He took a step back. “Planning on providing a payout?” “I doubt it would be that hard,” Naying replied, following his step. “I don’t play nice.” Lien shook his head with a rueful grin. “I can see that much.” He paused. “So what’s your bet, then?” “My bet?” Naying echoed curiously. “Real, or fake?”  “Well,” Naying said. “It’s probably the same as yours, isn’t it? I’m a fake who is pretending to be the real thing, or I’m the real deal still putting on a facade. Either way, I’m going to fuck things up, aren’t I?” “There’s no odds if they’re in both of our favor,” Lien replied.

[you-are-my-neverland]

“You know, everyone else thinks you’ve lost your mind because of grief, But I know you better than that, and I know that whatever’s going on with you is more than whatever happened to your dad. The person in front of me, that’s not you. And I don’t know where the fuck she is, but I hope the real Naying Yue wakes up soon.”

NAYING YUE'S life has been on a downward spiral ever since her father disappeared three years ago. Expelled from university and alone after violently stabbing her friend in the eye, she believes her twenty first birthday is as good as any day to die, only for her suicide to be interrupted by an attack by monstrous beings. Saved by strangers who call themselves Outsiders, she is told her life as she knows it is a lie: Her father did not save her life as a child, but instead kidnapped her from the powerful Yue family. Thrown headfirst into the dangerous World of Outsiders, where humans endowed with a magical current are hunted ruthlessly by the eldritch beings known as the seraph and the power plays between factions shed just as much blood, Naying finds herself pulled by opposite powers and desires. Forced to play in games she does not fully understand and plagued by unexplained blackouts and boughts of violence, Naying must fight herself and the world to stay alive. But all she really wants is to find her father.

GODHOOD is the conceptual title for a prospective trilogy that follows Naying Yue as she reclaims her destiny. Set in a universe where magic runs parallel to the ordinary world in the form of a current. Those that possess the current are called Outsiders, endowed with extraordinary abilities and able to perceive the truth of the world, responsible for maintaining equilibrium. As Naying embraces the changes within herself, a young monk searches for an answer that has haunted him his whole life, and a skater must confront a part of herself she has tried to turn away from. A boy sits catatonic in a wheelchair in the garden, and a pair of twins are forced to chose between the past and the future. Their stories intertwine with one another's while overlapping with that of various other characters across the Godhood Universe.

Status. Drafting book one

Genre. Urban fantasy with wuxia and mythic elements

Themes & Tropes. destiny, the problem of free will, humanity, the trolley problem, the abuse and cycle of power (how we play into and uphold the systems that hurt and oppress us), individual identity & internal conflict, ambition & power, who we choose as a family, parent/child relationships (specifically father/daughter), balance

Tag: wip: godhood

More information available on the ppt intro of this wip!! I'm always open to asks about specific characters and worldbuilding, though I don't know when I'll be making an actual post about it. I mostly post small snippets here and there :)

Taglist (currently tagging those who expressed interest before, please reach out to be added or removed)

@lena-rambles @ink-flavored @vacantgodling @dirtcatty

Extra excerpt beneath cut!

“You don’t believe I’m her, do you?” she asked softly. “Naying Yue. The dead one.” “Dead, or missing?” Lien murmured in response. “Or found?” He stepped down into her space, so they were toe to toe, too crushingly close to stand on her own. She fought against stepping back, holding herself taut to prevent her body from swaying backwards without her control.  “Your bet,” she said, staring up at him. His eyes were dark. She could see a sliver of the moon in them at this distance. The last, and only, guy she had been this physically close to was Frey. “I bet you’re going to ruin something,” Lien said in a low voice. “Real or not.” Naying swallowed, then let herself smile. “How much are you willing to bet on that?” “Why?” Lien asked, boredom sweeping over his features. He took a step back. “Planning on providing a payout?” “I doubt it would be that hard,” Naying replied, following his step. “I don’t play nice.” Lien shook his head with a rueful grin. “I can see that much.” He paused. “So what’s your bet, then?” “My bet?” Naying echoed curiously. “Real, or fake?”  “Well,” Naying said. “It’s probably the same as yours, isn’t it? I’m a fake who is pretending to be the real thing, or I’m the real deal still putting on a facade. Either way, I’m going to fuck things up, aren’t I?” “There’s no odds if they’re in both of our favor,” Lien replied.

[you-are-my-neverland]

2024 Writer Wrapped!

THIS YEAR I...

STARTED 1 WIP

SHELVED 1 WIP

CONCEPTUALIZED 16 IDEAS (roughly)

ABANDONED...a fair amount of them

okay it looks kind of depressing. let's get into the real details.

highlights from the year:

spent jan-apr writing a little bit here and there on pirates without much success

in early jan i thought i would revise tmotl and decided to reread first, but that quickly fell off :/

in april, moved over to planning godhood

started the actual wip for godhood in mid-may after the spring semester finished

worked on godhood throughout the summer (including my study abroad - had some good writing, but i was also very busy a lot of the time)

continued to work on godhood throughout the fall, making some good progress late in the year as the semester wrapped up, including hitting 50k

conceptualized a couple ideas throughout the year, mostly inspired by whatever media i was into at the time (sports one because i was reading windbreaker (again), the phosphene phenomenon because i watched a tw drama and then it made a comeback because i was in taiwan lol, two separate mystery ideas that stemmed from different ideas but involved murder and trying to fix broken relationships from the past (i like these ideas and hopefully actually figure something out with them sometime), a fantastical historical xuanhuan based one because fof realtered my perception of the world (still mulling this one! it has a lot i like and will maybe become something), and recently another vigilante one because batman media on ao3 keeps giving. sorry if you read all of this and have no idea what i'm talking about)

in total i wrote about 90k this year on various actual documents, give or take 15k of my random ideas doc where things just exist in a lot of lists

almost 60k of that was from godhood, yay! not that i am not that far into the plot but we'll take the wins when we can

the semesters are always extremely draining, and writing is often the last thing i do in the day. i'm committed to daily writing, but most of the time it's only 100-200 words with the odd 400-500 and sometimes, very rarely, 1k+, and that's like a blue moon. it makes me mad sometimes because i know if i sat and concentrated and pushed myself more i would make a lot more progress, but currently i just kind of go with the flow and time.

started the year with pirates but got kind of sick of that quick, even though the idea itself is honestly cool. the part i was writing was not what i wanted to be writing to be real, and even though i could just, yknow, not write chronologically (actually can't do that i need to write chronologically haven't broken that barrier yet), i think i felt like i needed to write that part to move on, and when it wasn't working out and my other idea was better, i finally just moved on. didn't have an actual wip for a while since i spent all of april finishing up planning and plotting for godhood, but starting it was very exciting! i definitely feel very invigorated with that wip, and there's a lot i want to write. since i actually plotted it, what happens is pretty clear in my head. there is a lot of wordiness and unnecessary scenes, but i've been able to keep moving forward.

haven't made any goals for 2025, maybe finishing godhood and at least plotting the second book, but who knows! spring will be my last semester for undergrad, and i will probably be a free turning wheel come summer, so i've got to figure that out (applied to some grad schools but whooo knows if you feel me).

cheers to my fellow writers!

[you-are-my-neverland]

rumor has it that a brand new actual godhood wip intro might be coming to a blog near you...soon...

[you-are-my-neverland]

me when the character has a uniquely fucked mindset. me when the character's fundamental views of how the world works lead to them being hurt and/or hurting others and not seeing the problem with this. me when the character is a little freak who does weird shit because their beliefs, inspired entirely by their environment, are fuckeddddd

[you-are-my-neverland]

4 & 9 for the end of the year writeblr asks?

4. what is your favorite line you wrote this year?

i don't have a singular line, though i do have several scenes i really enjoyed. here's a few of my favorite lines from one of them:

He turned his head, faint streetlights catching on the line of a jawline. Naying was tempted, for a moment, if only to sate some cavernous feeling inside of her, but she crushed it with a ruthless fist. There was nothing there.  Don’t chase emptiness, the voice said, but when Naying listened, it warped into a running of chase it, chase it, chase it. At the end of emptiness is feeling.

9. create a meme or moodboard that captures your past-writing year!

collection of writing memes for this one because writing is devestating in more ways that one. both in trying to create and constantly feeling unmotivated, like i have no time, and stressed out because of work/school (my vibe for a good nine months of every year), but then also being so into it i go crazy.

[you-are-my-neverland]

5, 7, 10, and 15 for the writeblr ask? if it's not too much. (from you-are-my-neverland <3)

@you-are-my-neverland thanks for the ask star!!! putting this under the cut because it got long

5. what is your favourite book/story/poem you read this year?

oh, hands down she who became the sun by shelly parker-chan! it reinvigorated my passion for original writing, and it's just a banger all around (admittedly, i'm weak for the yuan/ming era and chinese historical fiction, but that's neither here nor there). the prose is dense and gorgeous and the themes that run throughout the novel are so well-executed. it's a heavy novel in some ways, but i would fully recommend it as long as you read a content warnings list so you know what you're getting in for.

7. what are three songs you put on your WIP-playlist this year?

i don't actually have wip playlists (i've been so so busy!!!!) but i definitely have songs that i listen to a lot while writing my wips! for birchlorn i've been listening to a lot of AlicebanD and a too sweet (hozier) fem cover by rainaeiry.

10. which character(s) turned out differently from what you had planned? how so?

oh god okay i don't want to spoil things but the pov character of birchlorn has changed SO MUCH. not in terms of goals, mind you, but there's a secret thing that her entire character is predicated on now that she absolutely was not before. it's the same story, but it's also a radically different story now, you feel me? (if you want full spoilers you can dm me and i'll tell you but i don't want to talk about it on my blog just yet)

15. time for shameless self-promotion! answer with a piece of writing you want others to see/read! (if you have nothing posted/published this year, any other year is fine too ^^)

hmmmmm i'll give an excerpt for all three of my wips!

from r&r:

When she arrives at the Peng manor, though, as the servant girl had predicted, no one is willing to let her enter. "I really only want to ask about the goat," Yu Xiyan promises, trying to ignore the heavy scent of goat stew she can smell wafting in from the kitchens. "I'm afraid that it might somehow have been taken from a friend—" The housekeeper glares at her. "How could our manor have your friend's goat?" he says. "No, no, you can't come in. The family is in mourning for Master Peng's death, the last thing they need to think about is a goat." With that, he closes the doors in her face, and Yu Xiyan is left, demoralised, standing outside.

-- the goat is important i promise :)

from birchlorn:

Then someone's rushing forward to reach out to her, calling out, "Guniang, are you alright?" and the horse's hooves are rising and it's stepping away, ears pinned back and nostrils flaring, and Bai Hua finds herself being helped up by a man in a richly-embroidered blue outfit and a fur-collared cloak. "Mm," Bai Hua murmurs, still somewhat dazed by the events of mere moments before. She blinks a couple times. "What's an immortal like guniang doing in this city?" the man asks, and reaches into his breast to pull out a handkerchief and offers it to her. It takes Bai Hua a moment to realise that he's offering it to her so she can brush away the dirt and snow in her hair and on her chest. "Perhaps this humble young master can offer his help?"

-- this has a secret meaning to it but you won't find that out until later :) or maybe never, who knows! but i know :)

from orioles:

Tally, who's moved to stand over her shoulder, says, "What sort of weird was this interference, exactly? You didn't mention." "You'll see," Bismah says, distractedly, and finally pulls the relevant frequency up. Suddenly, the terminal whirs, and the communications array's screen lights up, showing the searching symbol. Then, the readout information pops up, and, at the same moment, a breathy voice cries out, Orioles fluttering, cicada leaps! For a moment, Tally stares unblinkingly as her mind tries to parse the language—the accent is unfamiliar, and the wording is archaic, and she only recognises it because one of her mothers had had an amateur interest in the remaining scraps of the Old Texts. "Huh," she says. "I…have no idea what that means."

-- which means nothing, i'm sure! (lying)

[you-are-my-neverland]

I hope every writer who sees this writes LOADS the next few months. Like freetime opens up, no writers block, the ability to focus, etc etc you're able to write loads & make lots of progress <3