Why Is It That The First Thing I Thought At The Sight Of This Was "Is That An Underland Chronicles Reference?"

Have created a new novel-writing approach for myself that I am calling Very Gentle Writing. Very Gentle Writing is an approach for people who live nearly every waking second in self-castigation and actually need peaceful slowness to unleash their creativity. 

Very Gentle Writing does not set staggering word count goals and then feel bad about it. No! Very Gentle Writing for me sets an extremely low word count and then feels magnificently productive when the low bar is exceeded (which is easy…it’s a low bar, I mean really low). 

Very Gentle Writing is about saying hey yo maybe I just want to listen to a chill playlist for a while and feel one sentence spill out. Go me! 

Very Gentle Writing is kind of about realizing I have a really limited amount of time to write in between work, and adulting, and taking care of a thousand life responsibilities, and trying to heal&deal from trauma in 2020. So I want that writing time to be….just…..nice. 

Very Gentle Writing means I have a goal of enjoying every single time I sit down to write. Really. I use all the fun words first. 

Very Gentle Writing came to me as an idea when I started to think about how as someone actively trying to recover from a lot of lifelong trauma, the usual word harder!! Work harder!! mantras in the world of “people doing hard things” didn’t motivate me at all, they only hurt me. I truly need a voice saying work less hard, personally.

Relistening to Gregor the Overlander (cuz Libby doesn't have what I want)

Why is Henry so good?!

Why do I like him?!

So, a brief expansion on this because this has always been lurking in the background of my mind:

-Version of the Underland called the Wild Woods (yes very original name I know), creepy, forest-covered, Transylvania-like place

-Only accessible via paths hidden deep within big forests across the planet, no other way in (or out)

-No day, only night

-Populated by vampires (underlanders), werewolves (gnawers), maybe Arachne-like spider-monsters (spinners), and so on and so on

-Various possibilities for Gregor: Fallen angel, Wendigo, Monster-hunter who switches sides, paranormal investigator, just a confused kid who stumbled down the wrong path with his sister while walking in the forest, etc

-Dire wolf Bane? But a bigger dire wolf? Like, elephant-sized?

-Ragers could be people cursed by some kind of blood frenzy, or maybe possession by some kind of demon/ghost

-Possibly throw in some oracle-magic for Nerissa and Sandwhich

So yeah, pretty much all I have down for this weird folklore-ish au of the Underland Chronicles. Thoughts?

*whispers* werewolf!gregor au

according to the rat himself? no

RATSCALING: Could Ripred beat prime Bane in a fight?

Show Don't Tell - Symptoms vs. the Affliction

              Another way to think of show don’t tell is to describe the symptoms rather than tell the affliction. You could say someone was close to fainting—or you could describe their symptoms and trust the readers to understand what they mean: the world swirled around her head, her ears beginning to hum lowly, then louder, increasing into a high-pitched ring. She took a deep breath, her stomach turning over itself. Etc.

              Symptoms can also mean the lump in your throat as a “symptom” of being sad enough to cry, or the warmth of your face as a “symptom” of embarrassment.

              That might sound a bit silly, but I find it really helpful when I’m reading over mine or others work and looking for those places where showing would be better than telling. Have you described the symptoms, or just told the affliction?

              Here’s a short list of “afflictions” and their associated “symptoms” to get you started (but make sure to explore how different characters express different afflictions, even in more odd or unusual ways!)

Any symptoms I missed?            

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I Will Edit and Give Feedback on Your Writing For Free

Hello all! As many of you know, I’m a part-time editor of non-fiction and writer of all things fiction, but I would love to get more experi

Like from a year ago but I never finished so I’m posting it now! Based on that one classical painting where the guy is getting enchanted by the faerie princess. I don’t remember it now, she’s on a horse.

aw hell hell yeah. fuck em ai bros

This machine kills AI

doomed lovers? tragic, sure. but doomed siblings? the same blood is running through our veins, but the differences between us feel insurmountable. i love you. i hate you. sometimes i think i would’ve died without you. you drive me insane. i would take a bullet for you. i’d kill someone for you. i know you better than myself. i feel like i don’t know you at all. our parents failed us. you left me. i left you. you taught me how to love. you taught me how to be loved. i’m sorry. i miss you. i never want to see you again. i only ever wanted you to stay.

The one kind of dragon no bard will fuck.

Use tax dollars to feed children/students who, by law, have to attend schools.

With vampiric underlanders

*whispers* werewolf!gregor au