dirt enthusiast
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda
will byers stan first human second
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
taylor price
Xuebing Du
Show & Tell
pixel skylines
No title available
Sade Olutola
Not today Justin
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
Sweet Seals For You, Always
DEAR READER
YOU ARE THE REASON
Mike Driver
Love Begins
Janaina Medeiros
tannertan36
Three Goblin Art
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@elizabethlux
To all my lovely readers who completed my challenge of following me on social media and adding my blog books to their library:
Thanks so much!!!!
If you would like me to send you the special excerpt from the “Forgotten Time” and the run down of the fandoms they visit during this time, I need your email!
So comment below your email or the name you used to subscribe to my newsletter on elizabethlux.com so I can get you the insider info 😉
Love you guys!
Elizabeth Lux
Seed by Athena-Erocith
Dear younger artists,
I’m so proud of you for starting your journey. You’re going to do great things. Whether it is a hobby, a coping mechanism, or a future career, your skills are going to bring you so much joy in the future.
I’m not going to lie, it’s a hard road. People are going to scoff; people are going to try and take advantage of you. People are going to tell you you’re not good enough. You will meet artists younger than you who are better with little practice. You will meet older artists that are not always kind to those who are new.
Art is suffering. It’s spending hours on a hand until you give up. It’s looking at your work and feeling like you’re going nowhere. It comes and goes in waves, and sometimes you stare at a blank canvas for hours.
But don’t let this deter you.
Art is a beautiful, rewarding skill. It can take you to far off places, dive into your psyche, or make others appreciate life. It can make you appreciate life. It can keep you alive and sane.
It will make you friends. Friends that are learning along with you. Friends that will support you, even if you don’t support yourself. They may not be popular, and they may not be “good enough,” but they’re yours. Treasure them.
Your art may be clunky. Maybe you don’t have good pen pressure yet. Maybe you look at others and feel like you want to quit. But let me remind you: they were once beginners too. They are a lot further on their journey than you are.
Besides, skill is not measured by how long you’ve been practicing. Every artist grows and gets better on their own time. What takes you months to learn might take someone a few weeks, and that’s okay. You learn at your pace. You grow at your own pace. You enjoy creating at your own pace.
You’re going to do great things one day!
.:: Motivation ::.
Ambient sounds for writers
Find the right place to write your novel…
Nature
Arctic ocean
Blizzard in village
Blizzard in pine forest
Blizzard from cave
Blizzard in road
Beach
Cave
Ocean storm
Ocean rocks with rain
River campfire
Forest in the morning
Forest at night
Forest creek
Rainforest creek
Rain on roof window
Rain on tarp tent
Rain on metal roof
Rain on window
Rain on pool
Rain on car at night
Seaside storm
Swamp at night
Sandstorm
Thunderstorm
Underwater
Wasteland
Winter creek
Winter wind
Winter wind in forest
Howling wind
Places
Barn with rain
Coffee shop
Restaurant with costumers
Restaurant with few costumers
Factory
Highway
Garden
Garden with pond and waterfall
Fireplace in log living room
Office
Call center
Street market
Study room from victorian house with rain
Trailer with rain
Tent with rain
Jacuzzi with rain
Temple
Temple in afternoon
Server room
Fishing dock
Windmill
War
Fictional places
Chloe’s room (Life is Strange)
Blackwell dorm (Life is Strange)
Two Whales Diner (Life is Strange)
Star Wars apartment (Star Wars)
Star Wars penthouse (Star Wars)
Tatooine (Star Wars)
Coruscant with rain (Star Wars)
Yoda’s hut with rain ( Star Wars)
Luke’s home (Star Wars)
Death Star hangar (Star wars)
Blade Runner city (Blade Runner)
Askaban prison (Harry Potter)
Hogwarts library with rain (Harry Potter)
Ravenclaw tower (Harry Potter)
Hufflepuff common room (Harry Potter)
Slytherin common room (Harry Potter)
Gryffindor common room (Harry Potter)
Hagrid’s hut (Harry Potter)
Hobbit-hole house (The Hobbit)
Diamond City (Fallout 4)
Cloud City beach (Bioshock)
Founding Fathers Garden (Bioshock)
Things
Dishwasher
Washing machine
Fireplace
Transportation
Boat engine room
Cruising boat
Train ride
Train ride in the rain
Train station
Plane trip
Private jet cabin
Airplane cabin
Airport lobby
First class jet
Sailboat
Submarine
Historical
Fireplace in medieval tavern
Medieval town
Medieval docks
Medieval city
Pirate ship in tropical port
Ship on rough sea
Ship cabin
Ship sleeping quarter
Titanic first class dining room
Old west saloon
Sci-fi
Spaceship bedroom
Space station
Cyberpunk tearoom
Cyberpunk street with rain
Futuristic server room
Futuristic apartment with typing
Futuristic rooftop garden
Steampunk balcony rain
Post-apocalyptic
Harbor with rain
City with rain
City ruins turned swamp
Rusty sewers
Train station
Lighthouse
Horror
Haunted mansion
Haunted road to tavern
Halloween
Stormy night
Asylum
Creepy forest
Cornfield
World
New York
Paris
Paris bistro
Tokyo street
Chinese hotel lobby
Asian street at nightfall
Asian night market
Cantonese restaurant
Coffee shop in Japan
Coffee shop in Paris
Coffee shop in Korea
British library
Trips, rides and walkings
Trondheim - Bodø
Amsterdam - Brussels
Glasgow - Edinburgh
Oxford - Marylebone
Seoul - Busan
Gangneung - Yeongju
Hiroshima
Tokyo metro
Osaka - Kyoto
Osaka - Kobe
London
São Paulo
Seoul
Tokyo
Bangkok
Ho Chi Minh (Saigon)
Alps
New York
Hong Kong
Taipei
Beautiful
@icanneverbesatisfied @maybe-mikala I HAVE FOUND THE ULTIMATE RESOURCE
I LOVE YOU FOR THIS
HONESTLY I CAN DIE HAPPY NOW
*puts on headphones*
Mynoise.net is also a wonderful resource.
One night you realise you can continue dreams from previous nights. You start building your perfect life but in your obsession you start neglecting reality.
*writers laughing in the distance followed by crying*
Sunlord in white cloak - Speedpainting Exercise by mohn-blume
Odd Prompts for Odd Stories
Text: I spent one year as a crow, for work experience.
*SQWAK*
George, what are you doing on top of the telephone pole?
*SQWAK*
You know this can’t actually go on your resumé right?
*drops button on his head*
*SQWAK*
works127 (detail) by Song Nan Li
[suggested by @wearepaladin]
I am obsessed with this. It is a near perfect representation of one of my future characters
Either explain it or don’t.
When authors include things that don’t fit within the real world–magic, time travel, anachronisms–there is an impulse to explain how it works. Which can be fantastic for worldbuilding, but if you don’t know what you’re talking about, it can make more problems than it solves.
Stephenie Meyer tried to explain some bizarre thing about chromosomes, and it made the biology of vampires and werewolves make no sense. Suspending disbelief worked better in that case before she tried to ground it in the real world.
Lemony Snicket, on the other hand, just has random anachronisms that are never explained, but because there’s nothing even close to resembling an attempt at an explanation, we can just shrug and go, okay, that’s how it works. The magic in Harry Potter seems to basically not be grounded in anything, but we can believe it within the context of the story because she doesn’t try to ground it in anything.
In Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera, on the other hand, he goes into a lot of magic theory, and it gives us a strong feeling of worldbuilding. There’s enough logically coherent explanation for it to feel grounded within itself.
It is possible to go too far (see: Orson Scott Card’s Xenocide and Children of the Mind) where the plot ends up so tied in the reader understanding intricately detailed scientific and pseudo-scientific minutiae that the story is incomprehensible without it.
Generally, though, if you’re going to make something up, either say it exists and leave it at that, or entirely figure out how it works. Halfway is always less believable than nothing at all.
#I have sometimes heard this distinction referred to as ‘hard’ vs ‘soft’ magic #by analogy with hard vs soft sci-fi #in hard sci-fi you spend an entire chapter explaining how dyson spheres work #in soft sci-fi spock does some technobabble and then suddenly reveals that vulcans have extra eyelids #similarly hard magic is when harry potter knows 10 spells with very specific effects #and soft magic is when gandalf appears and shines some weird light in the sky that drives the nazgûl away #I think hard magic is useful for having characters overcome obstacles in interesting ways #because we (the readers) get to see how the pieces work and then how they’re used to solve problems #whereas having the main characters solve problems with soft magic feels like a cop out #like if frodo suddenly revealed that hobbits have extra eyelids that can melt cursed gold #and just straight-up wrecked the ring right then and there #but soft magic is fine if the obstacles aren’t the main focus of the story #e.g. star trek TOS is more about the crew and the scenarios than it is about the science #so it’s still a good story even if the actual conflict resolution was largely technobabble #and I think it’s also really useful for conveying a sense of how big and complex a world is #like we learn a lot of specific things that hermione harry and ron can do #which is hard magic #but we also see dumbledore and voldemort dueling using things we know nothing about #which is soft magic and serves to underline how much the kids don’t understand #similarly frodo’s magic sword and lembas bread are hard magic #because they have well-defined rules for how they work #but gandalf running around doing crazy things underscores how much bigger the world is than frodo will ever be able to know #and thus gives the world a sense of enormity that it wouldn’t have if we understood all the magic in it #tag rants #sort of #magic (sufficientlylargen)
Every first draft is perfect, because all a first draft has to do is exist.”
Jane Smiley (via inspired-to-write)
Somehow this is the most inspiring thing I’ve read in a long time. I’m going to go write now.
(via joleebindo)
A Guide to Writing: Making New Cultures
Cultures, like anything, take time to build. They are what define a people and what make their customs. It’s complicated and integrated into their society. It changes as the people change but the fundamentals often remain unchanged even centuries and millennia into the future.
When creating new worlds, if it’s not set in the world that we know, then the people, while being similar, will be different. What they hold as value will be different. That’s where new cultures come in. countries will be define by something and way out of the way towns will have things that are connected to them. Making new cultures can be a messy process, and I am by no way an expert, but there are at least five things that define a culture and should be present and known.
Customs
Customs are a traditional ways of doing something specify to a set of people or place. If you can’t think of any, think of some traditions that are from where you’re from. For example, in America and many other countries, it’s traditional to put up a tree for the winter holidays.
If the story you’re writing centers around a new culture, then the customs of its people is something that should come into play, even it’s something small. Maybe it’s someone coming of age. Maybe it’s someone passing away. Whatever the case, customs are a personal thing that people share. Be sure to not overlook them.
Arts
Art is a way people share their thoughts that are hard to convey. A way to pass on knowledge and to capture the emotions. Perhaps they capture their history in tapestries and artisans make paintings for a living.
Not only that, body art is an important part of many cultures. Maybe tattoos mean something at a certain age or it’s something like a brand. Perhaps they’re just decorative and meant to look flashy.
Social Institution
A social institution is a group of people who are together for a common purpose such as economy and government. These institutions are a part of the social order of society and they govern behavior and expectations of individuals.
For example, a charities and other nonprofit organizations fall under this category. In this culture you’re writing about, how do they feel about such organizations? Are the promoted? Frowned upon? Not only that, but this includes the education system, cultural groups, how families are defined, health care, market values, politics, and religions.
Each of these things may not hold equal value, or perhaps they all have the same weight. Are the church (in this instance used only to refer to religion) and state separate or together? Is the market, trading goods and services, more important than anything else? What’s the health of the people like and what methods do they use for healing?
Achievements
Achievements, in this case, are defined as things the people have done to better and further themselves. What are some of the things these people have done since they became a people? Was something medical? Was it something that benefited not only them, but the people around the as well?
However, the achievements don’t always have to grand. It could be something small like finding an easier way to make paint or a way to make their weapons. Achievements are things that are well earned and come from something small like inconvenience or big like a fight.
And not all that glitters is gold. An achievement can benefit the majority, but what about everyone else? Is it useful to everyone? Does it need to be? More importantly, what was the reason? It doesn’t always need to be known in detail, but things happen for a reason. As the writer, you, are the very least, need to know.
Behavior Characteristic
We all know that there are somethings that are frowned upon in modern culture. Things like people with breasts going around topless or anyone walking pants-less through the streets. There are certain things people just don’t do because of the consequences and the culture.
What are some of the things that are okay for people to do? What are things that are harmless yet frowned upon? There are things that are widely accepted and if these normal things are challenged then it should be explain if it’s not something carried over from a real culture.
If there are things that are carried over from real cultures, then that’s a tricky ground to walk on if you don’t know anything. Research and asking are an important part of this process if you want to do this. Carrying over form real cultures is fine as long as it’s not a bastardization of it.
Of course, like I said in the beginning of this, I’m not an expert. I don’t really know everything there is to know but this is what I’ve realized when making new cultures myself.
See ya, kiddos
10 outline techniques for writers
With this post I listed 10 outline techniques to help writes move their story from a basic idea to a complete set of arcs, plots, sequences and/or scenes. Or to simply expand whatever you have in hands right now.
If you have a vague story idea or a detailed one, this post is for you to both discover and organize. A few technique will work perfectly. A few won’t. Your mission is to find the one that works best for you. That said, I advice you to try out as many techniques as possible.
So, are you ready? Open your notebook, or your digital document, and let’s start.
1. Snowflake method: Start with a one-sentence description of the novel. Then, develop this simple phrase into a paragraph. Your next step is to write a one-page summary based on the paragraph, you can write about characters, motivations, goals, plots, options, whatever you feel like. From this point on, you can either start your book or expand the one-page summary into four pages. And, at last, four pages into a brief description of known sequences of scenes. Your goal is to make the story more and more complex as you add information, much like a forming snowflake.
2. Chapter by chapter: List ten to twenty chapters, give each chapter a tittle and a brief description of what should happen. Then, break each chapter into three to five basic sequences of scenes. Give each sequence a title, a brief description and a short list of possibilities (possibilities of dialogues, scenarios, outcomes, moods, feelings… just play around with possibilities). From this point on, you can either create the scenes of sequences with a one-sentence description for each or jump straight to writing. Your goal is to shift from the big picture to a detail-oriented point of view.
3. Script: This might sound crazy, but, with this technique, you will write the screenplay of your story as if it’s a movie. No strings attached to creative writing, just plain actions and dialogues with basic information. Writing a script will take time, maybe months, but it will also enlighten your project like no other technique. Your goal is to create a cinematic view of your story. How to write a script here.
4. Free writing: No rules, no format, no step, just grab a pen or prepare your fingers to write down whatever idea that comes up. Think of possibilities, characters, places, quests, journeys, evolutions, symbolisms, fears, good moments, bad moments, clothing, appearances. Complete five to ten pages. Or even more. The more you write, the more you will unravel. You can even doodle, or paste images. Your mission is to explore freely.
5. Tag: This technique is ideal if you have just a vague idea of the story. Start by listing ten to fifteen tags related to the story. Under each tag, create possible plots. And, under each plot, create possible scenes. Grab a red felt pen and circle plots and scenes that sparkle your interest.
6. Eight-point arc: With this technique you will divide your story into eight stages. They are Stasis, Trigger, Quest, Surprise, Critical Choice, Climax, Reversal and Resolution. The Stasis is the every-day-life of your main character. Trigger is an event that will change the every-day-life of your character (for better or for worse). Quest is a period of your main characters trying to find a new balance, a new every-day-life (because we all love a good routine). Surprise will take your character away from their new found every-day-life. Critical Choice is a point of no return, a dilemma, your character will have to make the hardest decision out of two outcomes, both equally important. Climax is the critical choice put to practice. Reversal is the consequence of the climax, or how the characters evolved. Resolution is the return to a new (or old) every-day-life, a (maybe everlasting) balance.
7. Reverse: Write down a description of how your story ends, what happens to your characters and to those around them. Make it as detailed as possible. Then, move up to the climax, write a short scenario for the highest point of your story. From there, build all the way back to the beginning.
8. Zigzag: Draw a zigzag with as many up and downs as you want. Every up represents your main character moving closer to their goal. Every down represents your main character moving further from their goal. Fill in your zigzag with sequences that will take your character closer and farther from the goal.
9. Listing: The focus of this technique is exploring new ideas when your story feels empty, short or stagnated. You’ll, basically make lists. Make a long list of plot ideas. Make another list of places and settings. Make a list of elements. And a list of possible characters. Maybe a list of book titles. Or a list of interesting scenes. A list of bad things that could happen inside this universe. A list of good things. A list of symbolism. A list of visual inspiration. A list of absurd ideas you’ll probably never use. Then, gather all this material and circle the good items. Try to organize them into a timeline.
10. Character-driven: Create a character. Don’t worry about anything else. Just think of a character, their appearance and style. Give them a name. Give them a basic personality. Give them a backstory. Develop their personality based on the backstory. Now, give this character a story that mirrors their backstory (maybe a way to overcome the past, or to grow, or to revenge, or to restore). Based on your character’s personality, come up with a few scenes to drive their story from beginning to end. Now, do the same thing for the antagonist and secondary characters.
So, when is it time to stop outlining and start writing?
This is your call. Some writers need as many details as they can get, some need just an basic plot to use as a North. Just remember, an outline is not a strict format, you can and you will improvise along the way. The most important is being comfortable with your story, exploring new ideas, expanding old concepts and, maybe, changing your mind many times. There’s no right or wrong, just follow your intuition.
Reblogging for future reference for myself as well as anyone else who needs it :)
Another great idea that I got from Jenna Moreci is to take some index cards and write down any plot point down on one. One point gets one card. Then you get a large space (floor, dinning table, etc) and take all your cards out and put them in order. It is HUGELY helpful. I have done it before and it immediately solved a huge hole in my story. It is really good for getting the broad picture and seeing where you need to go. Here is a link to her video about it:
https://youtu.be/Hwv2SKayUPo
This is a more recent video where she uses a slightly different system with sticky notes instead, but the basic premis is the same
Prompt
He caught her wrist, stopping the dagger just inches above his chest.
“Wow, you’ve already broken my heart, and now you’re trying to stab me in it. Seems a little bit overkill, sweetheart, don’t you think?” He smirked, amusement gleaming in his eyes.
Her lips twisted in a sour smile. “Sorry, darling. It’s nothing personal.”
“With you, it’s always personal.”
The five types of writers block
Inspirationless: where you have the motivation but just can't think of anything good to write.
Motivation Deprived: you have the idea, but just, don't really wanna.
Pooped: Basically you have no ideas and don't really feel like writing anyways.
Procrastination: Where you are SO PUMPED TO GET THIS THING DONE!! But, there's that other thing, and, your show is on, and, you'll just do it tomorrow.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-
By Sara Kipin
An Actual Writing Tip From An Actual Author
Wow holy shit I’m gonna actually give you guys an actual writing tip, being a published and award winning author and all.
Anyways, a great way to work in TOTALLY UNRELATED little details about your setting or what have you that may or may not be relevant later on is through the use of metaphors, euphemisms, etc. in character dialogue.
“This cold is terrible! I’m wearing more layers than an Aenirian bride!”
Congratulations, you now know something about Aenirian marriage customs. You might not even know what exactly an Aenirian is, but you know that their brides wear lots of layers.
See where I’m going with this?
also even though it seems like common sense little details add so much depth and flavour to a story even and maybe especially when those details aren’t plot relevant
not everything in the real world connects neatly and seamlessly with everything else; there are TONS of loose ends in real life because there’s an entire world that keeps going regardless of one particular person or group’s drama
having proof of a world outside of and utterly unconcerned with the main conflict is such a nice touch and a really quick way to breathe life into dialogue
Excellent addition!
The trick is when you do this to a) write all this down and b) have a sounding board, even if its’ only your cat. Or your stuffed animal. Or your rubber duck, she said staring balefully at her inner computer programmer. Because if you have a sounding board you can go take a few minutes and add another few sentences about, say, an Aenirian bride wears lots of layers to show off her family’s wealth, whereas an Aenirian groom wears a fancy trouser and nothing else to show off his physical prowess and this goes back to when they were mountain basin nomads but nobody does that anymore really…
Just make sure you DO go back to the core story and don’t get too distracted. Like, set an egg timer or something.
And you never know when a line like this might provide the hook for a future installment! Maybe you get a bunch of cool ideas about Aeniria that wouldn’t fit into the book you’re currently writing, so you stick them in a file somewhere and a few years down the line, write another book that’s set there! Speaking as a lifelong lover of epic fantasies and worldbuilding, I can’t get enough of it when authors do that.
YA fans are some of the most dedicated readers on the planet: they buy tons of books...and worship the couples that earn their adoration. Whether you’re writing a fairy tale retelling, fantasy, or contemporary, here are some strategies for writing a romance that’s truly one in a million.
Cool it with all the physical description.
Avoid the oh-so-quirky factor.
Make your characters imperfect.
Dial back the physical beauty.
NO instalove.
Cut out the tired phrasing.
Make it awkward.
Hold back on the “Happily Ever After”
