Hey, everyone! Figured it was time to update my intro.
Call me Hendo, she/her, early twenties. I write fantasy, science-fiction, and sometimes horror, all with an emphasis on characterization over plot. In my longer manuscripts, there are always dragons, a casually queer cast, and at least one explosion.
I'm happy to do beta swaps under 15k, or honestly even longer depending on what my work schedule is that week. Said work schedule varies between "I'm basically on paid vacation for the next month" to "oh shit oh shit oh shit" without much warning, so, uh, yeah.
Tag and ask games are always welcome. If you ever just want to pop by and chat, maybe to say hi, maybe to work out a sticky plot thread, maybe to talk characters or editing, I'm here for it!
My WIPs
Let me know if you'd like to be added to the taglist for anything.
A young special ops soldier sets out to find and kill the shareholders who murdered her family, but revenge becomes complicated when she discovers her brother imprisoned in a facility universally infamous for its mental reprogramming.
found-family/family as a choice, introspective narration, stoicism, revenge, space roombas
WIP intro | tag: attenuate/reverberate
Prince for Hire | new-adult | draft 3, 110k | doing a paper edit
A prophetic con-artist is tricked into becoming a prince and entering a conquering empress' Competition to rule the region.
rags-to-riches, learning to forgive, first steps of romance/learning to trust, magic causes more problems than it solves
Thanks for tagging me @space-writes! (And I hope the arm is healing tolerably!)
I'll tag @aalinaaaaaa, @tabswrites, @avrablake, and open tag as always!
New word is: FROST
B:
Blotches of colour blotted his vision, dizzying, disorienting.
O:
Of all things, George thought cookies would save Jack from malnutrition. Cookies!
L:
'Like hell,' Mack scoffed. 'Sufferin' you two's bad enough here.'
D:
'Don't touch me!'
ASM taglist (let me know if you want to be added or removed!): @inkspellangel, @oh-no-another-idea, @cee-grice, @owlsandwich, @bodoramzap, @space-writes
After a lot of overhauls which took about 2 years longer than I expected, Prince for Hire is finally ready for beta readers!
Title: Prince for Hire
Genre: High Fantasy
WC: 107k
The Short Version:
A con artist whose prophecies create fate poses as a prince in an invading empire's hostage court for the chance to undo the prophecy which kills his adoptive parent.
If you like The Goblin Emperor (Addison), Witch King (Wells), and a hint, like La Croix, of BBC's Merlin, you might like this.
Longer blurb under the cut.
Promised longer blurb:
Kiris is a horrible Prophet. He is an excellent con artist.
Supposedly exalted as the True Prophet, whose reality-creating Prophecies are meant to unite the fractured Avgor principalities, Kiris is loathed instead. To date, his "great" Prophecies have caused: nineteen famines, seventeen blights, three avalanches, an empire's invasion, and the imminent death of Prince Thaav, the only one who could have stopped the invasion.
When the empire demands a prince from every principality to compete for the right to rule Avgor on the empress' behalf, it's the last thing Kiris wants to deal with. If he can reach Prince Thaav before Prophecy kills them, together, they might be able to halt the empire. Even if Prince Thaav imprisons him for his Prophecies after.
But Kiris is a penniless fugitive. He needs cash to reach Prince Thaav in time, and fast. So when a nobleman recognizes him as the landless Prince Yphant na Suem--one of Kiris' least-favorite identities--Kiris rolls with it. If Kiris agrees to intimidate the local prince on the nobility's behalf, the nobleman will fund all the travel Kiris can dream of.
The local prince is not amused. If she doesn't offer herself or another prince to the empire's competition, the empire will destroy her principality. Fortunately for her, the landless Prince na Suem has just waltzed into her castle. Unfortunately for Kiris, Prince na Suem is imminently adoptable.
CWs:
referenced child abuse, religious trauma, massacre-type violence, temporary animal death
Not-Really-A-Spoiler: the Boots didn't make the cut (they disappeared circa draft 4 and we're on 7, depending how you count). It got... a little more serious than I was intending.
Ye Olde Taglist + a few people who've put up with Prince for ages now (I know it's been a bit):
@on-noon @houndsofcorduff @stuffaboutwriting @shrunkupthejams @whimsyqueen @eccaiia @avrablake
You've heard of "passage princess" and "pillow princess"
but what about "copilot princess?"
She sits there looking all pretty, calling out targets, operating your ECM suite, and performing electronic warfare counter measures. Most importantly, after a confirmed kill, she showers your with compliments and proclaims, "great job hun!"
If you follow me on Instagram, you know I'm doing a giveaway there as well. These are two separate giveaways, meaning I am giving away two ebooks. You may enter both giveaways, but you can only win oncce :)
If you want to reblog but don't want to enter the giveaway, just say so in the tags.
I'm a fantasy enjoyer about to graduate from university with a degree in editing. In addition to writing, I like to draw/paint and play the piano. Also interested in linguistics and bookbinding
What You Write:
What genres do you write in? What age ranges do you write for?
Fantasy and Sci-Fi. Young and New Adult, Adult.
What genre would you write in for the rest of your life, if you could? What about that genre appeals to you?
I love specfic in general, fantasy in particular (but the line between fantasy and scifi is blurrier than one might think). I particularly like the potential of alternate worlds to set up situations and character dynamics that simply couldn't exist in a historical or contemporary novel
What genre/s will you not write unless you HAVE to? What about that genre turns you off?
I don't read or write smut/erotica but other than that everything else is potentially on the table. I couldn't see myself doing straight historical fiction, either, honestly, just because I probably wouldn't be able to resist adding some specfic elements and/or unanchoring it from time (Fantasy is freedom to me, whereas historical accuracy is something extra to adhere to.)
Who is your target audience? Do you think anyone outside of that would get anything out of your works?
You mean other than myself?? Ok but actually it's pretty broadly just people who like fantasy. I have one wip that's technically YA just based on the age of the characters, but it could definitely be enjoyed by adults. My other wip is adult/NA but could also definitely be enjoyed by teenagers.
What kind of themes do you tend to focus on? What kinds of tropes? What about them appeals to you?
hmmm….something about the juxtaposition of violence and tenderness? Guilt/responsibility and free will/predestination a la the Chosen One trope. Memory loss trope (so juicy)
What themes or tropes can you not stand? What about them turn you off?
I personally am not a fan of immortal love interests. sorry everyone.
What are you currently working on? How long have you been working on it?
My current main wip is called Deep and Dark, Beautiful and Bright. I started it in November 2020. I also have a back burner project called Fear Me, which has been ship-of-Theseus-ing since I was like 10 lol. And I'm working on two short stories that are being more trouble than they're worth
How long have you been writing? What do you think first drew you to it?
I've been making up stories since I knew what stories were. Mostly started out playing elaborate pretend games with my sister. In second grade my best friend suggested we "write a book" together since our teacher would give out blank spiral-bound paper packets. (I think she was mostly interested in my illustration abilities tbh) Anyway we created a series centered around a character named Natalie (who was basically a ripoff of Ramona/Junie B. Jones.) But anyway I think around then is when I actually became interested in writing books as an outlet for making up stories. I didn't actually do a ton of writing as a kid, but I always collected story ideas and had a ton of ocs that I would draw in my secret sketchbook.
Where do you get your inspiration from? Is that how you got your inspiration for your current project? If not, where did the inspiration come from?
Honestly I get inspiration from everywhere. My brain is a very productive idea factory (but not a productive draft finisher, sadly). Other media (for example taking one specific concept or plot point form a move and running in the opposite direction with it), dreams, songs, historical events, offhand comments from friends, etc. Sometimes justt out of nowhere I swear.
Have you published anything? Do you want to?
Not yet and yes eventually
What part of the publishing process most appeals to you? What part least appeals to you?
I want my projects to have a final form and I want other people to read them. I don't want anyone I know irl (or anyone else for that matter) to psychoanalyze me about them. I'm not looking forward to anything to do with marketing, writing to market, tight deadlines, adhering to standardized formats/lengths, etc. but so it goes…
What part of the writing process most appeals to you? What part is least appealing?
I love coming up with ideas and characters and scenes. I love rambling in my notes doc. I love drafting in the rare moments when I actually do it. I really struggle with getting all the pieces of my plot to fit together. I like editing (I'm literally an editor). I cannot do project management to save my life.
Do you have a writing process? Do you have an ideal setup? Do you write in pure chaos? Talk about your process a bit.
Right now what's working fro me is to have three distinct documents. One goes strictly in order. Another is to put all of the scenes I want to write that don't fit into that order yet. The third one is for me to yell about it all (notes). When I'm lucky, scenes form the chaos doc (scene bank) eventually find their way into the order doc.
Your Thoughts on Writeblr:
How long have you been a writeblr? What inspired you to join the community?
I joined tumblr predominantly for the writeblr community in 2018 (don't remember the specifics but I remember seeing writing posts on pinterest and was like hm well might as well go directly to the source)
Shout out some of your favorite writeblrs. How did you find them and what made you want to follow them?
in no particular order and not an exclusive list: @aohendo @mecharose @scarvenartist @woodhousejay @baroquesse @tracle0 @klywrites @garthcelyn @incandescent-creativity @zmwrites @ashen-crest @ambiguouspuzuma @ettawritesnstudies @megarywrites @magic-is-something-we-create @pinespittinink @isherwoodj just a few of the many excellent people here
What is your favorite part about writeblr?
I just love the community aspect of interacting with other writers, or even just seeing what everyone's working on and how it's going. Even if someone's wip isn't my exact cup of tea I still like seeing posts about their work and people encouraging each other.
What do you think writeblr could improve on? How do you think we can go about doing so?
A lot of people say that interaction is dead etc. but I don't really think that's true. I think focusing less on reblogs and more on comments/asks as a form of interaction would strengthen the feeling of community. Not everyone is obligated to reblog everything and comments and asks can be more personal anyway. I like knowing other people are seeing what I put out there, and I especially love getting comments on my work, but that doesn't mean I need everyone to share it. I'd rather have 5 followers that interact with me than 1000 who don't. Quality over quantity, you know?
How do you contribute to the writeblr community? Do you think you could be doing more?
Of course everyone could always be doing more. I like to read other's snippets when I'm in the headspace for it, but sometimes I'm just here to mindlessly scroll and that's okay too. If I read something and I think it's cool or interesting or well-written or anything I try to either leave a reply or reblog with something in the tags. If I can't think of anything to say just quoting a line that I liked will suffice (I like when people do that to me). I do want to try sending more asks to people—I try to always send one when I see someone's reblogged an ask game, but I think everyone would appreciate some out-of-the-blue asks as well :)
What kinds of posts do you most like to interact with?
All kinds but I am most likely to interact with shorter posts about peoples' process or something about their characters. @klywrites will post about tiny interactions between her characters and I literally love them just from seeing tiny scenes on my dash every so often. I really like to read longer snippets and short stories too (there's some amazing writers here y'all) but I'm more likely to scroll past those if I can't spare the focus. Also I love seeing art! even from people who don't consider themselves artists like aww you drew your little guy and I love them now
What kind of posts do you most like to make?
idk I end up just vagueposting about my process most of the time. I love to infodump about my characters/worldbuilding but I don't do it too often. I also like to post about writing things in general, but I don't consider myself an expert or anything so I'm not putting out a ton of advice—just what works for me
I'll tag @inkspellangel, @aohendo, @on-noon, and open tag as always!
Ben shuffled his feet uncomfortably. 'Sir, it's awful kind of you—truly. And, for Alice, I would love to accept, but, you see...'
'What now?'
'Well, I did try calling our doctor, but he's busy. He can't see her until the weekend.'
Henry spat a savage curse in Spanish. Ben flinched back; clearly he still didn't quite believe his luck.
'Call him anyway,' Henry said. 'If nothing else, it'll give your wife some relief. I'll ask a friend of mine—he has connections—perhaps he knows of someone who can be here sooner.'
Jack may be at odds with him, but Henry was certain he wouldn't sit by and let a woman suffer because of it. It went against everything he knew about him.
Ben's eyes began to water, the relief across his face tugging at Henry's heart. 'Thank you,' he whispered. 'Thank you, kind sir. Alice will be so relieved. How can we ever repay you?'
'You can stop calling me "sir",' Henry muttered.
Taglist (let me know if you want to be added or removed!): @inkspellangel, @oh-no-another-idea, @cee-grice, @owlsandwich, @bodoramzap
This is a fragment from Crystal Spring Valley, as I'm now re-reading it. Trying to use the work-free month to make progress on two stories at the same time. Oi.
Building the new gangway took them four long-days. There was very little growth at the bottom of the gully, so at least that didn’t slow the construction, but they needed solid wood, and a lot of it. Initially only about twenty people were able to do the job. Then, as some of the less severely wounded were up to the task, the work went faster.
Luka was on the mend, at least physically. He was getting stronger every day and by the time the gangway was ready, he was able to walk to it on his own two feet. When it came to crossing it, though, he froze. The bridge didn’t seem solid – it shook and swayed as people walked on it, one by one. It was narrow too, and only had a railing – crooked and uneven – on the right side. The one where Luka was missing a hand.
“Come on.” Priya tried to goad him into taking a step forward. “I’ll help you, okay. I’ll hold the railing and you will hold onto my arm. Or I you can walk backwards. I’ll be in front of you, guiding you.”
But Luka shook his head.
“It’s best if I just-- If I just walk away.” His voice was rough and tone stubborn. “I’ll go down into the Valley. I don’t know. I’m not needed there.” He gestured at the walls rising on the other side of the gully. “You don’t need me.”
“I do need you, Luka,” Priya said, but she wasn’t sure how to convince him. “Your sword arm is your left arm anyway,” she blurted out, against her better judgment. “You can still fight.” It was the wrong argument, and she knew it even before she spoke.
He gave her a glare and just like that, turned away and started walking down the borough and the remnants of their encampment.
“Luka, wait!”
Priya wanted to run after him, but it was Julia who changed his mind. She stepped in front of him and said something in a quiet voice, for his ears only. Luka stopped, looked at her, tried to shake his head, but she grabbed his face and spoke again, words Priya couldn’t hear, couldn’t read from the movement of Julia’s lips. Words she envied her so much. Those words convinced Luka to come back to the edge of the gully, to fight his fear and his helplessness. To cross to the other side and enter Fir Grove.
Priya was envious, but she was also very, very grateful to Julia for keeping Luka with them. And, hopefully, for giving him an incentive to fight for his health and for his future.
The weather today is that sort of grey, tree-rustling almost rain wind, and the urge to burrito in blankets despite the temperature and write instead of going places is high.
Fingers crossed for a thunderstorm when I'm near a window to see it :)
Amount Deleted: 8k? thereabouts (1 half-formed chapter + 1/3rd of the following chapter, + most of another chapter which'll probably get added back in but was in the wrong spot and I haven't determined if there's a right spot yet)
Reason for Deleting: the deleted chapter could be condensed into a few paragraphs and the information, overall, completely redistributed and better integrated into the story. The third of the following chapter was then covered by the newly integrated stuff. That following chapter also received major rearrangement due to the focus being completely scattered.
Ways to fix: cut and paste, cut and paste, delete. Really: determine scene-level focus, then chapter-level focus, restructure this storyline's mini-arc (to include rearranging chapters), and combine/condense to keep the plot moving.
Excerpt length: 487
Context: Kiris needs to eliminate one of Prince Thaav's enemies, and thinks sending Iiriok at him is the best way about it (he's not wrong...)
Taglist (please let me know if you'd like to be added/removed!): @whimsyqueen @on-noon @houndsofcorduff @stuffaboutwriting @shrunkupthejams
“Nelovskevouk,” Kiris said, loud enough he was sure ni Musyr could overhear. Verosa refilled his tea. A different type, this time: lavender. “What would you do if you discovered a prince had sinned?”
Nelovskevouk nearly choked on his next sip of coffee. He hid it by clearing his throat—which is to say, not at all—and by taking another large sip to clear the crud. His brow slowly rose.
Innocently, Kiris rolled his mug between his palms. Ni Musyr glowered at them. At him.
“Why do you ask?” Nelovskevouk eventually said, when Kiris wasn’t forthcoming with more information, too preoccupied with not making eye contact with ni Musyr. It was all consuming. Whatever he’d done to piss her off—or whatever Nazvili had done—he wasn’t even sure he wanted to know. “Yphant?”
“Answer him, vakon,” ni Musyr ordered.
Kiris wished he couldn’t feel the blood draining from his face. The collective of princes was easier to face than her. Even the inquisitors—at least he knew why they hated him. “I… may or may not have overheard another prince—” it was like being ground by a glacier—“doing things?”
“Really?” Her eyes narrowed, and she leant forwards, and Kiris, again, leant back. Not so far that he tilted over his chair this time. “What sorts of things?”
This wasn’t his plan. Her involvement was not in his plans, except as witness. Nelovskevouk’s, yes. Let him eliminate Tevez for a prince’s sin. He was reliable, Kiris and Nelovskevouk’s younger sister, Kuthri, the only exceptions Kiris knew of. But ni Musyr? He didn’t know her. He didn’t know what she would do.
It was almost thrilling.
“Desiccation,” Kiris lied.
Nelovskevouk spun in his seat, and Kiris found himself quite suddenly bearing the brunt of the entirety of his attention. He had lovely eyes. This was already turning into a very tiring day.
“Who?” Nelovskevouk demanded.
For some reason, Kiris didn’t particularly want to look away from him. Ni Musyr was like being ground down, pummeled and pulverized, an unrelenting pressure. Nelovskevouk… wasn’t.
Prince Thaav would die soon.
Kiris glanced at Tevez.
“One of Prince Thaav’s enemies,” ni Musyr said. Smiled. “One of your allies, Pretty Boy. Curious.”
Nelovskevouk ignored her. He leant into Kiris’ space, and Kiris resisted the urge to pull away, too many people, too close to his space, easy to grab, this was fine, it’d be fine—
“You’re certain?” Nelovskevouk whispered. “First Prince Tevez has never been anything but decent and wise, in all the years I’ve known him. Did you… did you mishear?”
He smelled like flowers. Soaps, not the sharp scent of perfume. Sweat, too: those two weeks Kiris had spent in the Dargoulvga palace, helping Nelovskevouk with Kuthri, every morning he’d practiced on the training grounds; perhaps it did the same here. Weapons—yes—but sometimes, dance.
Filling out an old one from the wonderful @outpost51 today -- thanks, friend!
With the steam obscuring him, filling the small room in the cheap hotel they’re holed up in, he can almost imagine it all away, even for selfish reasons. The water beats down on him, painful where it hits the cuts healing on his back.
Gentle tags for @sentfromwolves @dontjudgemeimawriter @aohendo @revenantlore @aether-wasteland-s and anyone else who'd like to share a line or two <3
Reason for Deleting: was working on setting up the kidnapped sorcerers thing (relevant with Batar's story-line and then a bit later with a recurring inquisitor who would make a fantastic drinking buddy), but this is still first half. Focus needs to remain on Prince Thaav, rather than the chaos that Kiris is resolutely ignoring.
Ways to fix: continue emphasizing Kiris' blinding loyalty to Prince Thaav, and continue deleting or winnowing those bits which don't support that. Other plot points should be hinted at and set up, but not emphasized.
Excerpt length: 343
Context: It's Kiris' first night in the Turre's Tesendi fortress - his first night surrounded by legit enemies - and while working out his plan to save Prince Thaav, he gets distracted by torn-out confession journal pages, which contain the last remnants of their owners' souls.
I'll be getting around to updating the WIP intro in a short eventually, so keep an eye out.
As for taglist: since it has been a hot minute since I was last actively posting, please let me know if you'd like to be added or removed to/from the taglist. @whimsyqueen @on-noon @houndsofcorduff @stuffaboutwriting @shrunkupthejams
Kiris was sure that if he were within Prince Thaav’s quarters, he would find the old prince snoring loudly enough to shake Tesendi’s walls. As it was, he could only hear their snapping soul, see it in flickers of sunshine yellow through the haze of ryd, and imagine its warmth. He knew where they were. He didn't know about the journals’ owners. Kiris listened behind him for the guards and found them safely distributed between their chambers and the living quarters, and braced himself against his desk. The pages fluttered like slaughtered things beneath him.
Carefully, Mahehv as a fluttering, scarlet anchor, he lead the realms thinner. Beyond and before Prince Thaav: their fellow princes, servants, and guards. Walls. Turre dead—long dead. Servants like Verosa hustling about in oddly narrow halls.
Farther.
Prince Ysiik, awake. In her quarters, however, and not near Prince Thaav’s: no concern tonight. Those other Prince Thaav-irritated princes, asleep.
Farther.
Ta Ritasa in his quarters, with company. Kiris moved by swiftly.
‘L Tuola in hers, the same dead soul which covered her quiver in crystalline clarity next to her bedside. Within her bed, Kiris corrected, and then moved even faster from her. Downwards.
Aathriok’s parent, weeping on the unyielding floor of the dining hall. Weeping, pulling towards Empathy and singing of dolorous bells, tolling and crying and—
Mahehv twitched against his neck.
—farther.
The green sanctuary goddess, barely existing under the Currents’ skies. Somehow surviving. Her hunger was like cracking ice, her desperation like drums, her—
Farther.
Here.
Polarized fear.
Studies, and restraints.
His people.
When Kiris withdrew from ryd, it beat into his body and collapsed him under his desk, Prophecy pounding for release and promising relief. When he could feel Mahehv’s claws again over his own pain; when he could hear it chirping and its feathers rustling over the lives of countless people and innumerable things; when he could open his eyes and see solid outline; when he could think again, he realized by choosing not to be oblivious, he’d taken a bathtub to his ‘save Prince Thaav’ plan.
