Writer from the Oblivion

"Travel Beyond the Pages" - Me Hello there! I'm Kathleen Lyons, a self-published author since 2023 and a writer since I was in high school. I write paranormal dark fantasy and immersive fiction. I love the details that make you seem you're in the story. You can find my books on my website along with goodies like stickers and buttons!

[sxptember-s-deactivated20230222]

To my fellow writers.

You're allowed to call yourself a writer, regardless of how good you are at writing. You're allowed to reach for the stars, to dream of becoming the next big thing. You're allowed to write just for the heck of it.

You're allowed to call yourself a writer, regardless of why you're writing. Regardless of how insignificant you believe your writing to be, because your writing is not insignificant. Nothing that brings you joy will ever be insignificant.

[kathleen-lyons-the-writer]

SHOP PROMO!

I'm going to be at Foothills Festival (September 11 + 12) and Foothills Bookfest (October 10th). I've got books, merch boxes, stickers and keychains!

If you can't wait for either event, feel free to go to the link for my store!

Whether you buy early or buy in person, I can't wait to see everyone!

[witchesversuspatriarchy]

Yes, Crystal power

[from-the-quill]

Random Character Flaws

Interpersonal

Chronic people-pleaser who quietly resents everyone they've pleased

Can't apologize without immediately over-explaining or justifying

Confuses control for care (over-plans other people's lives "for their own good")

Ghosts conflict instead of having the conversation

Weaponizes humor to deflect anything real

Self-perception

Preemptively self-deprecating so no one else gets the chance

Secretly competitive with people they claim to admire

Can't accept help without feeling indebted

Mistakes stubbornness for integrity

Needs to be the one who "figured it out first"

Practical/Behavioral

Hoards small grudges but forgets big ones

Terrible at endings — leaves things (relationships, jobs, books) unfinished rather than face closure

Compulsive over-preparer who panics without a plan B, C, and D

Says yes to everything, then quietly sabotages the thing they didn't want to do

Nostalgic to a fault — idealizes the past to avoid dealing with the present

Sharper/nastier ones

Enjoys being needed more than being loved

Tests people's loyalty in ways they never admit to

Generous publicly, stingy privately

Believes their own myth a little too much

Lily 🌸

[theaawalker]

Alternatives to "Heard"

ᚑ      ᚑ

When the sound is sudden or startling:

Flinched at Started at Jolted at Was met with Was struck by Was greeted by Recoiled at Winced at Was interrupted by Was jarred by

When they're listening carefully:

Listened to Focused on Hung on Attended to Tuned into Followed Tracked Strained to hear Zeroed in on Locked onto

When the sound is confusing or uncertain:

Thought they heard Could've sworn they heard Believed they heard Mistook Half-heard Barely caught Couldn't quite make out Failed to catch Wasn't sure they heard Wondered if they'd heard

When they're eavesdropping:

Overheard Caught Listened in on Eavesdropped on Picked up Managed to hear Listened through the wall Caught snippets of Made out Secretly listened to

When they're emotionally affected by the sound:

Absorbed Took in Froze at Processed Balked at Recoiled from Welcomed Clung to Hung on every word of Sat with

When the sound is overwhelming:

Was bombarded by Was engulfed by Was surrounded by Was drowned in Endured Sat through Couldn't escape Was assaulted by Was consumed by Was overwhelmed by

ᚑ      ᚑ

Follow me if this was helpful :)

[theaawalker]

Alternatives to "Touched"

ᚑ      ᚑ

When the touch is gentle:

»-♡→ Brushed »-♡→ Grazed »-♡→ Caressed »-♡→ Stroked »-♡→ Patted »-♡→ Cradled »-♡→ Rested against »-♡→ Smoothed »-♡→ Trailed along »-♡→ Glided over

...or comforting:

➺ Squeezed ➺ Held ➺ Embraced ➺ Wrapped around ➺ Clasped ➺ Pressed gently against ➺ Rubbed ➺ Supported ➺ Steadied ➺ Cupped

...or affectionate:

➵ Ruffled ➵ Nuzzled ➵ Kissed ➵ Linked arms with ➵ Nestled against ➵ Curled around ➵ Leaned into ➵ Rested a hand on ➵ Laced fingers with ➵ Pulled close

...or romantic:

̗̀➛ Traced ̗̀➛ Ghosted across ̗̀➛ Brushed against ̗̀➛ Skimmed over ̗̀➛ Lingeringly stroked ̗̀➛ Ran a thumb along ̗̀➛ Tilted their chin ̗̀➛ Tucked a strand of hair behind their ear ̗̀➛ Pressed their forehead against ̗̀➛ Intertwined fingers

ᚑ      ᚑ

Follow me if this was helpful :)

[kathleen-lyons-the-writer]

When you're doing research on green forest cobra (yes, cobras can be green, apparently) mating rituals, and you learn that males are nervous and skittish by nature, which makes the behavior of your forest cobra snake hybrid character a lot more believable than you originally intended it to be 😆 🤣

[kathleen-lyons-the-writer]

Anyone else have that urge to write on a new project when you already have a list of projects to complete???

-- ✋🏻 yeah... that's the life of a writer with ADHD.

[becbishopbooks]

I am seven projects rotating on a lazy susan in a trench coat

[kathleen-lyons-the-writer]

I have [approx.] 20 other manuscripts I'm supposed to be doing... and I'm 9 chapters into a new one.

[kathleen-lyons-the-writer]

Anyone else have that urge to write on a new project when you already have a list of projects to complete???

-- ✋🏻 yeah... that's the life of a writer with ADHD.

[bythelynx]

being a writer is feeling everything your characters feel...

and then trying to compress that into:

something readable

something controlled

something that still carries the weight without falling apart

[crystallizedtwilight]

People I met for a few moments that live in my head forever.

[biocrafthero]

Babe are you okay? You reblogged crystallizedtwilight’s Strangers that live with me forever. again

[meetmeinperdition]

Filler words

I'm doing some edits on my novel and noticed a lot of filler words. Her's some of my biggest culprits as well as others recommended to watch out for. They can likely just be cut altogether or be a good starting place to watch for in grammatical errors, show vs tell, wonky imagery, repetition, and other issues.

that

just

so

very

really

some

like

seem

think

feel

almost

here

there

now

then

pretty (much)

quite

rather

stuff

thing(s)

maybe

back

down

again

turn

look

walk

all

sudden(ly)

a little/but/lot

[orangelizardtattoo]

Hello lovelies! Find these words using the find feature and then ask yourself "does this need to be here? do I actually mean another word? If I cut this, will the sentence feel the same? can this word BE replaced? Is there anything wrong with it being here? do I like it? I do like it?! Then why do I like it?"

Hey, if it passes all these tests, it's not filler anymore, my dear! I love love love this list! Yes! And! Always think firstly of your art when taking writing advice.

And thanks to OP for providing this list. I see some here that aren't usually listed. So helpful my dear!

[nolaplantdaddy]

I love when people ask "how did you learn this skill?" I just started, there's no secret. that's it. a vast majority of the time the only thing holding you back is your trepidation to start.

[noegrets]

[alanaisalive]

You don't get better at things by avoiding the things. You have to do them.

[memequeen-official]

[difty-dift]

[genericalosers]

[lizbukchoy]

[sophisticatedoyster]

[asteroidtroglodyte]

This web site is a Collaborative effort fersure

[deliverancefromfear]

[marxistmandalorian]

Lessons from the 90s that children today need

[livelaughwriteit]

Flirty one liners

Here are a few one liners that I think have a slightly flirty undertone in the right context but can be used in a lot of different scenarios. Feel free to use these for your own writing!

You’re annoying in a strangely impressive way

Careful, I might start liking having you around

You look good when you loose

Loosing looks good on you

You’re hard to compete with when you cheat

Why do you look like you’ve already won?

[modernbluem]

don’t you hate when real life keeps interrupting your extremely serious commitments like your wip, your fanfics, and the emotional support music group you’ve been hyperfixating on for the past three months.