official daine visual archive
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Kiana Khansmith
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
EXPECTATIONS
Doug Jones
izzy's playlists!
if i look back, i am lost
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
bliss lane
Keni
Love Begins
cherry valley forever
ellievsbear
Interview Vampire Daily
š
Origami Around
NASA
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from Pakistan
seen from CĆ“te dāIvoire
seen from Bangladesh
seen from TĆ¼rkiye
seen from Bangladesh
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Trinidad & Tobago
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United Arab Emirates
@buildingwithwritersblocks
Writing Playlist
Gary Clark Jr is on my writing playlist not because the lyrics or sound fit with the tone of the novel or the rest of my playlist, but because I cannot get enough of his music. I forgot it was on there and now Iām incredibly happy.
FIRST DRAFTS ARE FUN *CRYING*
Iām far past this stage (maybe?) but. This is what writing looks like. my approach is love your ugly babies and maybe puberty and merciless knives of editing will treat them kindlyĀ
THINGS WHICH MAKE WRITERS ANXIOUS:
not writing
writing
people reading their stories
people not reading their stories
yorkshire_puddingĀ
why are star wars planets more boring than earth and our solar system like sure weāve seen desert, snow, diff types of forest, beach, lava, rain, but likeā¦Ā
rainbow mountains (peru)
red soil (canada/PEI)
rings (saturnās if they were on earth)Ā
bioluminescent waves
northern lights (canada)
salt flats (bolivia, where they filmed crait but did NOTHING COOL WITH IT except red dust?? like??? come ON)
and cool fauna like the touch me not or like, you know, the venus flytrap.. and donāt get me started on BUGS likeā¦ we have bugs cooler than sw aliens
BASICALLY like???? come on star wars you had one (1) job where are the cool alien species
I KNOW!! I did a report on filming locations in Star Wars last year and just made a list of places that looked so surreal they could make a convincing other planet. You covered some on my list but if I could just add a couple more:
Tsingy di Bemaraha, Madagascar
Zhangye Danxia, China (similar to the Rainbow Mountains in terms of appearance)
Chocolate Hills, Philippines
Giantās Causeway, Northern Ireland
So many missed opportunities with cool ass things on Earth, Lucasfilms smhā¦
Earth is effing amazing!
Quebrada de Humahuaca, Argentina
Lake Retba, Senegal
Tepui, Venezuela
Tianzi Mountains, China
these would make amazing Star Wars planets OR fantasy material:
Tsingy du Bemaraha, Madagascar again (but a different part)
(those are razor-sharp, if you were wondering. very little of this area has been explored because YIKES)
Lake Natron, Tanzania
(looks cool, but is alkaline enough to Kill Your Shit)
Lake Baikal, Russia
(the deepest lake in the world, seriously)
and Iāll wrap it up with Son Doong Cave, Vietnam, the largest cave in the entire world.
it puts anything Dagobah has to offer to absolute shame:
(seriously, the largest chamber is 660 feet high. you could jam a fucking skyscraper in there and still lose it)Ā
anyway I really like caves thanks for coming to my ted talk
Just in case anyone out there needs an excuse to include cool geology in their storiesā¦ (And yes, the vast majority of these are due to geology. Which is why I love geology, because rocks are so cool.) So if youāre looking for inspiration for fictional worlds, start by taking a look around our own planet.
(If anyone wants info on how/why these landscapes and formations occur, just ask! If thereās somewhere I donāt know about, Iād be excited to research it.)
Happy world-building! Mod Terra
I was reading my writing today, and let me tell you, it may not be good, plot is not the best, and characters are a bit stereotypical, but boy do I have fun writing it
This is such a good mindset to have. There is positive energy in this post
Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self. - Cyril Connolly
Another side character who was just supposed to add some life and depth to part of the story decided he actually has plans. Awesome. Also hasnāt decided to fill me in on said plans. Just made my MC owe him a favor (which is a big cultural deal) yay.
Me: Iām going to write today. Iām going to do it. I AM GOING TO FINALLY DO SOME WRITING
Me:
Idk if this is the right blog to ask this on but, Iām trying to write a story thatās magical but also has elements of science(āHybridsā as theyāre called are experimented on with modern medicine and so forth) are there any sub genres relating to that? Iām really stuck on how to classify this. Thank you!!! (Sorry if this makes no sense )
I think Iāve said this before, but to me it seems a bit backwards to be worrying about what to call your genre before youāve got your book written. Genre, in general, is used to figure out what to do with your book once itās complete and polished ā to find the right agent or to figure out how to market your story.
It can be helpful to have an idea of the genre that youāre working in so that you can read stories that occupy that same genre and get a good solid foundational knowledge of the common tropes and themes that show up in that genre. I do want to stress that the point of being familiar with texts in your genre is so that you can write with nuance and awareness of what/ how things have already been done, notĀ because you should feel the need to shoehorn elements into your story toĀ āmake it fitā.
Now, as to what genre youāre possibly working in, itās going to depend on the way you use your science fiction and fantasy elements, and the way they are presented within the narrative, as well as on the overall shape of your story. Itās a little difficult to parse out exact guidelines (because tbh there arenāt many exactĀ guidelines, thatās why theyāre guidelines), so I will give examples for the sub-genres.
The super-genre, Speculative Fiction: This is the big one, the big ole umbrella that covers just about everything that isnāt that most fickle of oh-Iām-not-a-genre-genresĀ āliterary fictionā. The meaning is right there on the tin, these are stories that contain elements of speculation, they hinge on aĀ āwhat ifā: what if there really is a monster eating kids in the sewer? What if the prince falls in love with his valet? What if aliens have been here all along? What if the government accidentally gives us all superpowers?
Horror, fantasy, SciFi, Romance, etc, they all fit under the larger umbrella of speculative fiction.
Genre: Science Fiction: This generally presents itself as a genre which is concerned with The Future, there will probably be a focus on future societies and idealism, technology, and how we might overcome issues that seem insurmountable in our current culture. Star Trek is a classic scifi series. While it has itās specifics, Science Fiction can also act as an umbrella for many related subgenres.
Genre: Fantasy: Much like Science Fiction, Fantasy often deals with tough concepts to do with society and culture, but more often with a focus on the past, reimagining history and incorporatingĀ āfantasticalā elements such as magic, strange creatures, and so on. It does not have to be set in theĀ āreal worldā as fantasy stories can inhabitĀ āsecondaryā worlds (worlds created for the story). The BBC series Merlin uses a historical setting, while any of Tamora Pierceās series are a good example of secondary world fantasy.
Sub-genre: Space Opera: Could also be called Space Fantasy, thereās science and spaceships, but itās all kind of thrown together in a way that seems more like magic, the narrative focus is on a large scale conflict, often with a large cast of characters. Star Wars is your classic example.
Sub-genre: Epic Fantasy: Also called High Fantasy, there are probably wizards and dragons, great big quests, clashes of mighty kingdoms, possibly a few created languages and multiple races (your classic men/ elves/ dwarves setup). The Lord of the Rings is probably the codifier of this sub-genre.
Sub-genre: 20 minutes into the future: Remember all those 80s films about how grotesque society in the year 2000 would be? Thatās this, all of societies current ills are cranked up to eleven, and some dubious technological stuff is thrown into the grinder. Stephen Kingās The Running Man is a good example here (the book, definitely not the movie, which is just an action film tbh).
Sub-genre: Urban Fantasy: Also sometimes referred to as Low Fantasy (in contrast with high fantasy). Rather than a big magical setting, in urban or low fantasy, magic intrudes into normality, taking your average person next door and pitting them against an evil fairy in the 7/11 parking lot. Holly Blackās TitheĀ is a great example.
Sub-genre: Superheroes: In an ordinary world there are people with metahuman abilities, which allow them to perform heroic feats. Many many comics, or George R.R. Martinās Wild Cards anthologies.
Sub-genre: Magical Realism: The strange offspring of Fantasy and Literary fiction, features magical elements incorporated into a realist setting, often the magic serves as a metaphor for a social or cultural focus. Often postcolonial stories. Example: Fish Hair Woman by Merlinda Bobis, or Like Water for ChocolateĀ byĀ Laura Esquivel.
Sub-genre: Steampunk: Usually set in the Victorian era, featuring unlikely technological advance from the mindset of the industrial revolution, steam powered everything, cogs in strange places. LeviathanĀ by Scott Westerfield is a good example.
Sub-genre: Cyberpunk: Similar to 20 minutes into the future, with an emphasis on digital technology and counterculture. Neuromancer by William Gibson.
And there are probably dozens more that I could list if I had the time.
But you see what I mean? There are so many genres, and thereās always the option of genre-mash, that is sayingĀ āwell my book has elements of genre x and genre yā, or, you could simply say it isĀ āscifi/ fantasyā orĀ āfantasy with scifi elementsā or however you think it works best.
I hope that helps!
#magical realism is weird#and I still donāt understand what makes it different from urban fantasy#except that magical realism is āāliteraryāā which is a Whole Nother Can of Worms#as far as āāwhat does that even meanāāĀ @panismightier I hope you donāt mind me answering this ^^
āLiteraryā fiction is a genre which focuses on stylistic elements over content elements. It is usually seen as moreĀ ārestrainedā thanĀ āgenreā fiction, in that it focuses labouriously onĀ ārealismā (ie. not speculative fiction!!) and is generally moreĀ āseriousā. While literary fiction can be a great vehicle for social commentary or depictions of someoneās lived experiences, bad literary fiction can really give the impression that it is an out of touchĀ āivory towerā kind of writing, which is unfortunate.
Magical Realismās literary elements are often stylistic: Magical realism will incorporate a naturalistic, realist setting, and aĀ āliteraryā style (focusing on language and word use and structure over action etc), and theĀ āmagicā element is often highly restricted. This is not a world where magic abounds: magic is extremely narrowly focussed and related to a specific metaphor or thematic element. It is often not even remarked on as magic, but as an unexplained thing that happens in response to something in the story.
Using an example from one of the stories I mentioned above: inĀ Fish Hair WomanĀ the titular womanās power comes from never having cut her long hair. When her countrymen are murdered and thrown in the river by a military coup, she is able to use her hair to pull their bodies from the water and give them some measure of peace.
Urban fantasy/ low fantasy, however, is speculative fiction, magic functions in a way resembling that of epic fantasy, but in a modern setting. You might have a witch selling potions at the weekend street markets, or the protagonist getting cursed and having to spend a lot of uncomfortable time waiting for an appointment with a wizard to get the curse broken.
The example above TitheĀ features a protagonist who is a fairy who has been raised by a human mother in the human world. She can shape-shift and travel between dimensions, but sheād rather hang out at an abandoned amusement park and smoke while her best friend reads gay manga.
It might help to think of it this way:Ā
In Urban fantasy, magic is intrinsic, it is usually incorporated into the setting as some kind of established and understandable force, myths are mundane, they walk among us.Ā āWizards are real and one beat me up and took my lunch money and Iām going to learn hexes just to get back at him and oops now Iām in a rivalry with a fairy.ā
In Magical realism, magic is extrinsic, it is something strange that occurs because events in the story reach the emotional height where the rules of reality as laid out by the conventions of literary fiction must buckle, magic in magical realism, emphasises extremes of experience, the mundane becomes mythology.Ā āThe military junta has murdered so many innocents and thrown them in the river that the river itself is ill, and will rebel in defence of the people who live along its banks.ā
I hope that makes some kind of sense!
@garrettauthor this the post you were talking about?
Yes! Thank you!
A nice kind adult: I am a good person who will look after the Baudelaires because I like them and want to protect them.
Lemony Snicket: A phrase that here means ādeadā.
Name a conspiracy theory superior in raw power to āthere are no actual forests on Earth"
imma need some context on that cause WHAT?
āforestsā = minuscule form of what trees on Earth can be, basically saplings āmesasā = not landforms, but petrified ancient tree trunks IIRC the theory goes that all forests on Earth were destroyed ages ago and it takes them ridiculous times to regrow, with those giant mammoth redwood trees just being the oldest ones that have grown the most
evidence 1:
This conspiracy theory is absolutely wild and includes the assertion that all rocks are left over remnants of plants/trees from aĀ āsilicon eraā.Ā Although itās obviously.. not true.. they really have some amazing photos that feed your imagination of a fantasy world, iāve compiled their best:
do you think giant trees would have proportionally giant branhes or would they just be like furry green spears? LOL
I love how the implication is that the flat tops of mesas were caused by something equally enormous CUTTING THEM DOWN
Paul Bunyan
whereās that video of the naked crackhead literally running the speed of a moving car and I use the term literally literally he was deadass keeping up with the car
Hi! Humans donāt have an eye shine, so thatās not a person!
šØ
SKINWALKER
Oh.
@black-sheep-blues I remember a conversation similar to this
Eulagisca gigantea, the giant polynoid worm, is a species of marine Polychaete worm belonging to the family Polynoidae, the scale worms. This species is found on the seabed in the Antarctic Ocean. It grows to around eight inches long, and judging by the jaws, it is a predator, but little is known about its diet or behavior.
The area that appears to be the head is actually a retractable pharynx; the last photo shows what it looks like when the pharynx is retracted. (xĀ x)
so remember that worldbuilding website, notebook.ai, that was goin around and everyone was so excited, but it turned out you had to pay a (frankly outrageous) subscription to access any of the best tools?Ā
well i have exciting news: World Anvil.Ā
hereās what you get for free:Ā
yeah. all of them. double what notebook.ai offers for pay. yeah baby.
iāve only been using this site for like half an hour, but i am in LOVE. please check it out and consider supporting the creators if you can!Ā
For artists who have problems with perspective (furniture etc.) in indoor scenes like me - thereās an online programm called roomsketcher where you can design a house/roon and snap pictures of it using different perspectives.
Itās got an almost endless range of furniture, doors, windows, stairs etc and is easy to use. In addition to that, you donāt have to install anything and if you create an account (which is free) you can save and return to your houses.
Examples (all done by me):
Hereās an example for how you can use it
Great find, thanks!
OMG HEAVEN!!
Bless you!!!!
Very nice resource for those looking to improve their perspective, composition, and background rendering skills!
Can probably be used for writing too.
Planning It Out: The Series
Iām writing a series. This is no secret. Recently, I read a great post about organizing a large series and it got me thinking that some visual aids might be helpful. This is how I personally organize my 10 book series. (What on Earth have I gotten myself into?)
So, when I began the process of getting all my thoughts down for the Newborn City Series I didnāt know about Evernote, or any other program like it. I was writing everything down in notebooks and on tiny scraps of paper while at work and my stuff was a mess. A mess I tell you! Thankfully I did find Evernote, thanks to it already being on my phone, and it has helped immensely. This is how I keep track of everything that needs to happen in each book, for each character, and in the series as a whole.
Step One: I created aĀ ānotebookā for the series.
You can see here that I called it Newborn City Novels and that each book has its own set of notes. Thereās also notes for the villain Roger and plot drivers for each book in a separate section. Because I like working in order, I numbered the notes for the books. However, numbering something 10 put it as the top, so Rise from the Wraith is after plot drivers.
P.S. You can now see all the titles for the future books! Oh my!
Each books set of notes opens up to this, with a few differences once Iāve started working on something. For example, Burn the Bone has a section called Appearance change scene and forward. This is when inspiration grabbed me and I have to write the scene down before I forgot it. Each book has itās own outline, which you can see above except for what I had to erase because spoilers. There are also rough synopses and detailed character studies in each chapter. Those are talked about in this post. I also create text for the back of the book, or a āblurb,ā which can be adjusted later.
This is what each of the notes look like in order.
I also have a sort of miscellaneous section which includesĀ āhelpful notesā and well as creatures I want to incorporate into the world.Ā
When you look at the rough ploy synopses they are mostly focused on the characters arc and who they are in the story.
I also made sure I had a basic plot driver, McGuffin, which gets the story going for each novel.
And of course there is a section just for my bad guy! I needed to understand him too and I needed to keep track of what I was going to reveal about him in each book.
Well, I hope that gave yāall some inspiration when it comes to organizing a series. Feel free to ask me any questions about the process, these books, or anything else on your mind!
