dreams and nightmares alike

Magnus/Gerard. 26. Writer, occasionally. Wattpad: ceaseless-watchr. Icon and header by @piyawrites!

[glitterandstarshine]

THESE MONSTROUS WAVES——a WIP

Ailis Lockheed has grown up on the ocean. Ten years ago, the waters began to rise, erasing the shoreline and forcing the citizens of their tiny coastal town to become isolated in houses built on stilts, rising above the waves. For ten years, the people of Terrow, South Carolina have lived been alone in a world of water.

When Ailis’ older brother Maverick spots something unusual through the lens of his telescope, it’s Ailis who convinces him to tell the leaders of their small community. Maverick thinks what he saw is something long thought impossible, so he isn’t believed—but Ailis believes him. It believes that Maverick really did something dangerous and strange.

And if those sea monsters are coming for Terrow, they’ll all need to be ready

A post-apocalyptic oceanfaring fantasy horror exploring life alone above the waters, the importance of community, and what happens when that community is threatened by eldritch deep sea beasts.

AKA—mags really likes sea monsters and the ocean!

STARRING—

Ailis (ay-lish) Lockheed, 17 years old, they/it. Ailis barely remembers the shoreline that their home was originally built on, but they hold what they do recall dear.

Maverick Lockheed, 20 years old, he/him. Ailis’ older brother. Loved outer space as a child, and as such is the only person in Terrow to own a telescope.

Devroux LaChance, 48 years old, he/they. MaryLynn Drake, 42 years old, she/her. Luka Brown, 36 years old, he/him. Community leaders in Terrow, well-respected and listened to, though the leadership is informal.

And more!

Art credit: Shipping in a Storm by Jean-Antoine Théodore Gudin

[aeonwynter-offical]

Day 16

[skeletomez]

[starpains]

on “the blond,” “the older man,” and other crimes against third-person limited

You know that thing where a story is written in tight third person limited — we’re meant to be inside someone’s head, seeing the world through their thoughts — and then suddenly the narration says “the blond frowned” or “the shorter woman sighed” about a person the POV character knows really well?

That’s called antonomasia — using a descriptive label instead of a name. And it’s fine when we’re talking about strangers: “the cashier handed her the receipt,” “the tall guy blocked the door.” The POV character doesn’t know their names, and we just need a quick way to tell people apart.

But the moment it’s used for someone the POV character already knows, it breaks immersion. Because that’s not how our minds work. We don’t think “the older man smiled at me.” We think “Mark smiled.” Or maybe “my boss” if that relationship matters in the moment.

Third person limited means the narration sits inside someone’s perception. Their inner monologue is the story’s voice. So when you switch from “Mark smiled” to “the blond smiled,” you’ve pulled the camera away from their mind and turned it into an outside shot.

If you want to create distance or irritation, you can do it on purpose —

“The idiot from accounting emailed again.”

That’s character voice. That’s judgment. That works.

But otherwise?

As soon as your POV character knows someone’s name, use it. While we do tend to worry about repetitions, names rarely register as such to the readers.

If you need variety for rhythm, use relational or emotional identifiers that make sense in their head: her friend, his partner, their teacher, the person they loved.

Because inside someone’s thoughts, there are no “blonds” or “brunettes.”

There are only people they know.

[space-writes]

the Writer Mood™ when you've got the shadow of a concept of a scene and a couple lines of dialogue bouncing around in your head like a screensaver and you have to be like buddy, come back when you're something coherent. i can't do anything with this.

[writingdose]

how to write, a step-by-step guide from my personal experience

open your draft

stare at the screen

cry

[aemelia]

I love writing. Would love to do it again someday

[solarsthoughts]

listen i may take 4 weeks to write a 3k word chapter, and i may take 45 minutes to decide whether i should use “laugh” or “chuckle”, but at least i don’t use ai and whatever you’re getting is pure chaos from a human brain

[charbroiledchicken-deactivated2]

if it's good enough for you, then it deserves to be made. don't let anyone else decide if your story is worth it or not.

[librarycards]

writing badly and cringily is actually an essential part of the writing process, both in terms of individual projects and in gaining voice and confidence as a writer in the long term. there is no way around the cringe. there's no way around the work.

[roach-works]

speculative fiction writers i am going to give you a really urgent piece of advice: don't say numbers. don't give your readers any numbers. how heavy is the sword? lots. how old is that city? plenty. how big is the fort? massive. how fast is the spaceship? not very, it's secondhand.

the minute you say a number your readers can check your math and you cannot do math better than your most autistic critic. i guarantee. don't let your readers do any math. when did something happen? awhile ago. how many bullets can that gun fire? trick question, it shoots lasers, and it shoots em HARD.

you are lying to people for fun. if you let them do math at you the lie collapses and it's no fun anymore.

[roach-works]

YOU GET IT

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

[rayne143]

writing affirmations for 2026:

at least you didn’t use AI

at least you didn’t use AI

at least you didn’t use AI

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

[bambistjames]

non-writers will never understand the mental illness of writing an entire conversation in your head while doing dishes and then forgetting every word the second you open a blank doc

[alonelystargazer]

writing goals for 2026 ✨

to write

[pheita]

Memo to everybody :

Never be afraid to recycle an idea you had for a WIP you abandoned. Sometimes the idea needs a different set of characters or a different setting.

[indecisive-behaviors]

An addition:

Never be afraid to recycle an idea you had for a project you already completed. Sometimes ideas really are just that good and deserve to be used more than once.