Ilona Thomas Writes

Writing, Memes and other fun themes.

[ilonathomas20]

Day 9 of #WritingCommunityChallenge I’ve changed up the first line of ‘An Affinity for Hope’ many times. The first line sets the scene for the first character and introduce us to the first place. So for now, the first line of my WIP is: ‘The heat of an August in Merrisk was an experience Tessa would never become accustomed to, nor could she ever forget.’ . I considered a prologue for some time but the decision on that will probably come during editing. The first line of that would have been: 'What is the exact value of your life?' Is that better? . . . . . . . #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #writing #writerscommunity #writersnetwork #indiewritersoftheworld #writingprompts #authorsofinstagram #authorssupportingauthors #writingfantasy #fantasywriter #writingfiction #writingromance #writinghistoricalfiction #writingsociety #writingchallenge #writingcommunityofinstagram #writerscorner #writergram #fictionwriter #indieauthorsofinstagram #indieauthorsupport #writingchallenge #fictionwriters #writinganovel #writingabook #writergram #WritingCommunityChallenge https://www.instagram.com/p/CE61WE3A3WU/?igshid=xt9wa6kc6ind

[ilonathomas20]

So vision boards are hard! It’s not something I’ve used before but I really enjoyed doing this one today for my MC ‘Tessa Finch’. She’s in her late 20s, a research assistant by profession and an adventurer at heart. I recently completed a cute Twitter challenge to give characteristics about Tessa using her name, I ended up with: T- Turbulent E- Earnest S- Striking S- Subtle A- Adventurous So a combination of many aspects. Much of this mood board is about Tessa’s journey through ‘An Affinity for Hope’ but it reflects a decent amount of her too. What vibe do you get from this?? Good? Bad? . . . . . . . . . . . . #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #writing #writerscommunity #writersnetwork #indiewritersoftheworld #writingprompts #authorsofinstagram #authorssupportingauthors #writingfantasy #fantasywriter #writingfiction #writingromance #writinghistoricalfiction #writingsociety #writingchallenge #writingcommunityofinstagram #writerscorner #writergram #fictionwriter #indieauthorsofinstagram #indieauthorsupport #writingchallenge #fictionwriters #writinganovel #writingabook #writergram #WritingCommunityChallenge https://www.instagram.com/p/CE11G-0AEx4/?igshid=1vqf6u7ihsyx

[ilonathomas20]

Productive procrastination through almost phallic acrylic paint pours today. Kind of happy. My favourite is the red green one, but my partners is the blue. Your favourite? Thanks to @safiyany for the inspiration from her YouTube video. . . . . . . . #art #paintpouring #paint #productiveprocrastination (at Bath, Somerset) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEy0yH0Av0K/?igshid=14k4zm61zwey6

[ilonathomas20]

Instead of my bio being the 'Death knell of plants' I am now a 'Curious companion to plants' I have now become a collector of little plants! They are only £1.50 at the local shop and I have become obsessed. . . . . . #plants #plantstand #writingcompanion #grow! (at Bath, Somerset) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEugKOiAtRt/?igshid=1peavm08wt1r6

[ilonathomas20]

Day 4 ‘Self Promotion’ Seeing all the #PitMad pitches yesterday has given me more confidence in being able to talk about myself, I find self-promotion very difficult. In part because I’m still working on my ‘WIP’ ‘An Affinity for Hope’ and so right now all I have is the bare bones of something to be proud of. Yet sometimes I catch myself and remind myself that what I’ve written is actually pretty good. I excel at emotional scenes and they are always what I am most proud of, and everything else I can work on. So a little bit of self-promotion comes in the form of what my Pitch would have been yesterday, should I have been finished with my manuscript (maybe next year). “A young research assistant is thrown into a dark world of races unknown that will redefine her understanding of the flow of time through the universe. There she must trust in her flourishing new love to solve a murder, traverse the deeply ingrained prejudices of society and challenge the limits of a person’s time on this earth and even death himself.” In 80K-100K Words and a decent amount more time, I hope for this to come life, word by word, line by line. . . . . . . . . #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #writing #writerscommunity #writersnetwork #indiewritersoftheworld #writingprompts #authorsofinstagram #authorssupportingauthors #writingfantasy #fantasywriter #writingfiction #writingromance #writinghistoricalfiction #writingsociety #writingchallenge #writingcommunityofinstagram #writerscorner #writergram #fictionwriter #indieauthorsofinstagram #indieauthorsupport #writingchallenge #fictionwriters #writinganovel #writingabook #writergram #WritingCommunityChallenge https://www.instagram.com/p/CEt-TelALBq/?igshid=14xxwjrw2bfqx

[ilonathomas20]

Day 3 of #WritingCommunityChallenge 'Motivations' The motivation for my character was actually one of the biggest hills I had to climb. I put my WIP down for almost 7 months because I didn’t like her motivation. She started being motivated by the actions that happened around her, rather than of her own volition. During that time, I decided to curate a list of reasons that a person has for going on an adventure, for doing anything in a fantasy novel. This was my list. Eventually I decided on a combined motivation to solve a mystery that was deeply personal to her and within this her actions to seem self-orientated but with a manipulative hand at play, something I hope to show in the end portion of my WIP (A LONG WAY OFF). . . . . . . . . . . #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #writing #writerscommunity #writersnetwork #indiewritersoftheworld #writingprompts #authorsofinstagram #authorssupportingauthors #writingfantasy #fantasywriter #writingfiction #writingromance #writinghistoricalfiction #writingsociety #writingchallenge #writingcommunityofinstagram #writerscorner #writergram #fictionwriter #indieauthorsofinstagram #indieauthorsupport #writingchallenge #fictionwriters #writinganovel #writingabook #writergram #WritingCommunityChallenge https://www.instagram.com/p/CErR_02guJX/?igshid=1vdm1b7ufu5kc

[ilonathomas20]

A descriptive snippet of my #WIP, ‘An Affinity for Hope’ . Descriptive writing is a particular favourite of mine, but it tends to be tied more to description of emotion that of places. . This is one area that is part of a conversation about the heritage of a colleague. . “They say it is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Towering spindles of lime stone and wooden structures extend from the earth, hundreds and sometimes thousands of meters into the air, I’ve even heard that some of the cities you can hardly see the ground. I can’t imagine why Liam ever left an airborne paradise like that.” . . . . . #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #writing #writerscommunity #writersnetwork #indiewritersoftheworld #writingprompts #authorsofinstagram #authorssupportingauthors #writingfantasy #fantasywriter #writingfiction #writingromance #writinghistoricalfiction #writingsociety #writingchallenge #writingcommunityofinstagram #writerscorner #writergram #fictionwriter #indieauthorsofinstagram #indieauthorsupport #writingchallenge #fictionwriters #writinganovel #writingabook #writergram #WritingCommunityChallenge https://www.instagram.com/p/CEo4tkbg7oR/?igshid=fcevims3sqdn

[ilonathomas20]

New Horizons for a new month. Very excited to join the September Edition of #WritingCommunityChallenge . A beautiful view at Weston Super Mare to see us into the bank holiday and onward into September. I look forward to seeing you all there! . . . . #amwriting #SeptemberWritingGoals #writingprocess #writer #writerchat #writerslife #authorlife #writing #fictionwriter #fantasywriter #romancewriter #fantasy #romance #writinginspo #womeninsff #womenwriters #workinprogress #authorchat #writerssupportingwriters #WritingCommunity (at Weston Super Mare Grand Pier) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEiA46XAzCn/?igshid=wkwwo5orcd3e

[ilonathomas20]

My landlords cut down the tree outside my writing room, I cried a lot, it sucks. But I reclaimed the space and swapped storage rooms and writing rooms, and now I have blue skies. . It's not perfect, but it is better. #amwriting #writingcommunity #writerssupportingwriters #nature (at Bath, Somerset) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEg6XgAAefn/?igshid=10edn5nerhoon

[ilonathomas20]

Day 28: A snippet of story. My WIP ‘An Affinity for Hope’ deals with grief as a key, but not all consuming emotion that my MC ‘Tessa Finch’ must navigate. This particular quote is contained in the aftermath of grief as she resurfaces above the waves for a short glimpse of time. . Comments welcome! . "The days that followed weren’t days themselves, instead they were mockeries of minutes that transcended all measurable time. Disarray followed in Tessa’s wake, unkempt and untied, Tessa and her home fell into pieces. Julian and Liam visited throughout new year’s, but Tessa refused to move forward in time." . . . . . . #amwriting #AugustWritingGoals #writingprocess #writer #writerchat #writerslife #authorlife #writing #fictionwriter #fantasywriter #romancewriter #fantasy #romance #writinginspo #womeninsff #womenwriters #workinprogress #authorchat #writerssupportingwriters #WritingCommunity   https://www.instagram.com/p/CEcpOYkAYwz/?igshid=rw3b65385dpb

[ilonathomas20]

Been dealing with a lot of being knocked down this week, and last week, and a little of the week before. But I am starting to find my feet again, and I’m proud of myself for the little things. One of those things is that I’ve managed to write 20,000 words of what will be a roughly 80,000-100,000 word book. So I’m either ¼ or 1/5 of the way through, I’d like to just think that I’m through. Hoping to re join in with the Writing Community Challenge because as my self confidence dipped, as did my desire to do anything. But both are building. Sometimes motivation is like a tower of Jenga, after a while, taking parts of you out might build progress, but without a reset every once and a while, the tower will forever decrease in stability. . So I fell, and that’s alright, the foundations are feeling stronger, even at just 2ft tall. . . . . . . #amwriting #AugustWritingGoals #writingprocess #writer #writerchat #writerslife #authorlife #writing #fictionwriter #fantasywriter #romancewriter #fantasy #romance #writinginspo #womeninsff #womenwriters #workinprogress #authorchat #writerssupportingwriters #WritingCommunity (at Bath, Somerset) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEU8GVXg3og/?igshid=2hoek12m9mc7

[ilonathomas20]

New video up on Literary Landscapes! A Youtube Channel for all things writing, this week, creating art from art. I decided to paint watercolour artwork of my favourite bits of writing. It's good to be proud of yourself and fight against writing struggles. #productiveprocrastination . . . . . . . . #amwriting #writingprocess #writer #writerchat #writerslife #authorlife #writing #fictionwriter #fantasywriter #romancewriter #fantasy #romance #writinginspo #womeninsff #womenwriters #workinprogress #authorchat #writerssupportingwriters #WritingCommunity (at Bath, Somerset) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEFA-kOpmhk/?igshid=1a0a0zcvq8gj7

[ilonathomas20]

In the eye of the hurricane, there is writing! Decided to outline my #struggles with writing, a lot of it is the noise and motivation struggles that comes with trying to concentrate on writing when other parts of your life leak into where they aren’t supposed to be. #WritingCommunity #amwriting . . . . . . . . #AugustWritingGoals #WritingCommunityChallenge #amwriting #writingprocess #writer #writerchat #writerslife #authorlife #writing #fictionwriter #fantasywriter #romancewriter #fantasy #romance #writinginspo #womeninsff #womenwriters #workinprogress #authorchat #writerssupportingwriters #WritingCommunity https://www.instagram.com/p/CEE3nv-pI6e/?igshid=1oor0qvpqfsnp

[ilonathomas20]

Filming a new video this weekend for Literary Landscapes, it has more artsy vibes as I create art from my favourite quotes in my WIP. (To give myself a little boost) . Rate my precarious as hell filming set up. . New video up on Literary Landscapes tomorrow (Wednesday) and then an incredible interview with up and coming author @kntuckerwrites this Friday. . . Quotes: "They had been falling slowly, dancing around tender moments of youth for more than a decade before she left. Never quite lovers, never only friends." . "Snow had begun to stick to every frozen surface, a blank canvas to host a piece of Tessa's memory in stark contrast." . "You. Your life, everyone's life, is finite. I should have chosen to spend my finite life with you." . "The days that followed weren't days themselves, instead they were mockeries of minutes that transcended all measurable time." . "It was late January before Tessa resurfaced from beneath the waves of grief, like a hatched bird in the winter storm, her chances unlikely, yet she remained alive." . . . . . . . . #amwriting #WritingCommunity #writingprocess #writerslife #romance #fantasy #writer #authorlife #fictionwriter #womenwriters #workinprogress (at Bath, Somerset) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEC_O9igo6E/?igshid=2v7g1zuhqs6y

[ilonathomas20]

I’d like to introduce my MC, Tessa Finch. A young university researcher, back from the foreign sandscape of Merrisk. Grandchild of an ethnic minority within the Fantasy world of ‘An Affinity for Hope’, evidenced by her Asheer marks scattered across her body and face. Excerpt from ‘An Affinity for Hope’ "Her grandfather had been Asheer by birth, a race of people born into darkness that existed entirely on a nocturnal time scale, pale in complexion, they originated from a mountainside heritage. They were one of the more abstract races that walked this earth, smattered across their skin were strikes of chard white marks, like sparks from a flame imprinted on skin. In the darkness these sparks would glow like embers of fire. Some thought them to be beautiful, a rare exhibition of reactive biology that changed as the sunlight set and the darkness descended. Yet not all appreciated the threats that the Asheer faced, this adaptation to the darkness came at a cost and was realised in a violent display.  Should an Asheer step into the sunlight, their skin would alight in flame, burning out to leave a coal black scar, and to be consumed by this scar would ultimately lead to their untimely death. Tessa’s exhibition of this biology came in the smattering of pale marks, much like small burns across her body and face, scattered prettily enough, they weren’t nearly as reactive as her grandfathers, instead just sensitive to the light and prone to burning, even under the weakest sun, of which the rays of Merrisk were not. This was one of the reasons Tessa wore face coverings and long sleeved garbs to coat her arms and legs, but the reason she obscured her Asheer marks from onlookers in the darkened streets of Merrisk was far more depressing." . . A large part of Tessa’s biology plays a key element in the novel and will become an advancing and limiting theme throughout the book. . . . . . . . #AugustWritingGoals #WritingCommunityChallenge #amwriting #writingprocess #writer #writerchat #writerslife #authorlife #writing #fictionwriter #fantasywriter #romancewriter #fantasy #romance #writinginspo #womeninsff #womenwriters #workinprogress #authorchat #writers (at Bath, Somerset) https://www.instagram.com/p/CD_6Lg0AHAT/?igshid=1f292gzqd6235

[ilonathomas20]

New Project Announcement! Youtube Channel: Literary Landscapes, is now live! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbHqsxerMP0 Join us as we give a voice to debut authors and up and coming writers across the world. Channel intro is currently up, new videos Wed & Fri. Author Interviews and more to come! . . . . . . #amwriting #writingprocess #writer #writerchat #writerslife #authorlife #writing #fictionwriter #fantasywriter #romancewriter #fantasy #romance #writinginspo #womeninsff #womenwriters #workinprogress #authorchat #writerssupportingwriters #WritingCommunity #AugustWritingGoals   (at Bath, Somerset) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDzAguugetp/?igshid=1fh2aclcyueyu

[ilonathomas20]

Day 9 of the Writing Community Challenge ‘How I got started in writing’ I’d like to say that I started writing as a young child, and honestly I sort of did. I mean if you like reading about rabbits and frogs doing literally nothing other than what rabbits and frogs regularly do, then sure, it was writing. . I’ve always enjoyed reading though, I read a lot through primary school (Ages 5-11) but I really hit my stride in Secondary School (Ages 11-18), that was where I really poured through books. I was a library assistant at my school, (and there wasn’t even a scheme for that, I literally just volunteered (Was I a sad child?)) . I particularly remember English lessons where we were reading the play Dracula, I have never read the play Dracula, instead I read a four-part series on Mermaids, (I was 11). . As for writing though, realistically I didn’t actually start writing properly until 2017 when I was about 21 and even then it was sporadic. I am glad to say that 2020 has been a great year for writing for me, even if it hasn’t been a great year personally. (Just a lot of cancelled stuff.) . . . . . . . . #AugustWritingGoals #WritingCommunityChallenge #amwriting #writingprocess #writer #writerchat #writerslife #authorlife #writing #fictionwriter #fantasywriter #romancewriter #fantasy #romance #writinginspo #womeninsff #womenwriters #workinprogress #authorchat #writerssupportingwriters #WritingCommunity (at Bath, Somerset) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDqxnGcDh7k/?igshid=1k6arlvz7nips