Kristen Acres

Writer, blogger, and future editor

[kristenacres]

Intro To My Project! | Day 1 | PREPTOBER VLOG 📝

Hello everyone! I’m posting the first video of my Preptober vlog here! 

In this video, I introduce you all to my current project: Seventh

As the seventh in line, Elian Vale was never meant to be king. After his entire family perishes in a fire, he's left with a kingdom he doesn't know how to rule, a fiancé he doesn't know how to love, and a mystery he doesn't know how to solve.

When Elian Vale is thrust into kingship, he has no idea what's in store for him. Between navigating the royal council's decisions and hedging his way around a woman he doesn't love, but is expected to marry, one wrong move could send the whole country into war.

A month before his dreaded wedding, he stumbles upon a nefarious plot that may have caused the death of his family; but trying to find out who's responsible may raise more questions than it answers. If it doesn't kill him first, that is.

If you want to see more in the series, be sure to check me out on social media or subscribe to my YouTube channel! I’ll be posting videos all throughout October and Novermber in preparation for NaNoWriMo!

[kristenacres]

What’s this?

One of those Nano vlogs?

Heck yeah. And this time, I'm doing it while going to school for Creative Writing, too.

That's right. 

I've done NaNoWriMo a few times before (under a different name) and won it once. This time, since I'm locked away in my tower due to quarantine, I figure I might as well invite the internet to watch me do it. 

Even though I come from a science background, I’ve recently gone back to school for English/Creative Writing, so we’ll see if that has any sort of effect  (◉v◉)

This is far from my first written work, but it's the first one I plan to publish.

This means that once it's run through the editing process a couple of times, you'll get the chance to read it! 

What can you expect from these bad boys? 

Here's what I've got planned for the next few months!

Preptober: Twice-Weekly October Prep Vlogs

Planning, outlining, tips-and-tricks, and more!

NaNo Check-ins: Twice-Weekly NaNoWriMo Vlogs

Keep up with my journey (and watch the madness unfold)

December Wrap-Up: Q&A after NaNo is over 

Might be a video, but it could also be a livestream if there's enough people interested.

What I’m writing

I've got a great story planned for this year! It's a dark fantasy novel with a strong murder mystery plot threaded through it. If you like:

Kings, queens, knights, and castles

Backstabbing and treachery

Uncovering conspiracies and assassination plots

Wholesome but misguided characters

Then keep checking in to find out more! 

To keep in touch, you can follow me (on Twitter, Instagram, or this blog), subscribe to my YouTube channel, or even get on my monthly mailing list for updates!

I’ll also be updating my website with my word-counts!

[kristenacres]

Heyoo, it’s my very first authortube video!

I started with the iWriterly Authortube Newbie Tag to introduce myself

(Today I’ll also be working on my Preptober vlogs! So keep an eye out for that, too! I’ve got great things planed for my NaNoWriMo vlogs!) 

I hope you all enjoy!

[lunacyiero]

anyone else ever daydream for 6 hours straight and then after ur just like nah let’s scrap that and do it all again but slightly to the left

[astudyingreer]

my brain: *out of breath* Was that good?!

Me in a beret, taking a long draft from a cigarette and leaning back in my director’s chair: once again, from the top, this time with feeling

[leave-her-a-tome]

“For The Plot,” I whisper, deleting a rad detail that no longer works as tears fall from my eyes

[wrangletangle]

Don’t delete it!

Take the detail and put it in a cut scene file. Less anguish + can be used again if needed later. Recycling!

Brought to you by: I never used to be merciless enough as an editor because losing bits made me sad. Now that I know I can bring them back for a sequel or even post cut scenes separately, I am so much more vicious, and my writing is better for it.

[dieofthatroar]

Instead of killing your darlings, I’ve called it cryogenically freezing your darlings

[killhitleragain]

I just found an amazing website for writers.

While I was searching today for some prices of things in the 80s, I found this website:

As you can see, it is full of info about prices of things and of wages in the past (In the U.S. mostly, but it has a few lists of prices in other countries). This is so much more useful than simply an inflation calculator, which doesn’t account for the supply and demand of goods and services, and is often inaccurate.

Some information that you can find here:

- Cost of groceries.

- Cost of a meal at a restaurant.

- Rent prices.

- Cost to buy a house.

- Cost to mail letters.

- Gas prices.

- Bus fares.

…And much more.

For example, here is the price of a pound of ground beef in the Midwest in 1984:

And not only do they list the prices of things and the general average wage, they also provide average wages for specific jobs.

For instance, how much did social workers in Los Angeles make in 1945?

Approximately $2k dollars a year, it seems. (That was $1 an hour!)

So, yeah! I just thought I’d share. Warning, though, it is pretty hard to navigate on mobile. I’d suggest using your computer if you can.

[kristenacres]

Hey, I know you’ve done a post on getting shot, but I was wondering, could you use a tourniquet in that scenario, or is it better to just pack it??

Yes! Tourniquets are wonderful and beautiful things and they can definetly be used on extremities to stop bleeding.

A few things to note about using tourniquets:

They can only be used for a few hours before causing damage to the limb. This is why there is a special place on tourniquets just for writing the time you applied it. With improvised tourniquets, it is strongly encouraged to write the time on the person's forehead. This is so paramedics and doctors can see how long the tourniquet has been on and take steps accordingly.

They can only be used on extremities. If your character was shot in the abdomen, neck, head (yes, there are certain places in the head you can be shot and survive. Yes, it is extremely rare), or even too close to the hip or shoulder joints, it will be impossible to use a tourniquet to help.

This is because a tourniquet works by stopping the floe of blood into the affected area (like pinching a straw) so the blood can't all be lost through the wound, keeping the blood PRESSURE in the rest of the body at a pumpable level

[thehonestauthor]

That half-realized character just trotting through your story like:

[bethkerring]

… okay I would have pictured just the top half but this is WAY more accurate. XD

(That character’s gonna be a shiny beauty when they’re done, though.)

[kiramartinauthor]

how do i know when to use -, –, or —? i know the short one is for between words (like twenty-two) but i’m not sure how to know which length to use when writing it into the sentence (i hope i phrased that right??). are there rules? does it matter?

You’re going to be able to find a lot more in depth answer here. But the short of it is:

- : This is a hyphen.

– : This is an en-dash.

— : This is an em-dash.

The hyphen is used to connect words, like you say. Ex: Twenty-two, ex-boyfriend.

The en-dash is used in the context of a span of time. Ex: 1996–2018, February–March.

The em-dash is used when inserting a thought. Ex: He wouldn't—couldn't—go home.

Good question! Hope this helps 😊

[shaelinwrites]

Hi Shaelin, do you have tips for coming up with powerful similes and metaphors?

Sure, I’ll give it a shot! Though fyi, I don’t really use any kind of process for coming up with similes. Coming up with metaphors and similes is very easy for me, whereas other writers have other strengths. I actually often rely too much on simile in my writing because they’re very natural,  I don’t really think about them, but I use so many. Too many. Once I used 50 similes in one story. Yeahhh. 

And I do think a lot of use of imagery is just that: natural. It just flows out, there’s no process for it and I don’t think you really can create a process for it. I wouldn’t force yourself to pepper your writing with similes and metaphors just to make it sound prettier. I mean, I’m over here trying to cut down to as few as possible because they were a crutch for me, but they can still be very effective. There are many other ways to make your writing effective and beautiful.

Also, 9/10 I lean for a simile rather than a metaphor, because I think metaphors are a lot more melodramatic. Think “My heart beats like a trapped bird.” vs “My heart is a trapped bird.” Simile wins. They’re both pretty melodramatic, but the metaphor going it is this thing got the melodrama going on.

Here are a few things to consider:

1. Be observant. In your day to day life, take notice of the world around you. A lot of the time I’m just out living my life and I see something and notice it looks like something else, and just save it in the back of my mind. I remember once I was walking home at dusk, and I noticed the branches in the bare trees all spindly over the sky looked like veins, dwindling out to fine capillaries, the trunks as arteries. So, I saved that one. 

2. Don’t force the simile. Like I said, similes are often a crutch for me. While a well timed simile is great, using too many, especially if they’re not that interesting, just clogs the writing. So if you’re sitting there scratching your head, asking yourself for a simile, it might be better to ask yourself “why do I want to place a simile here?” 

3. Do the thinking thing. I legit do this weird mystical thing. Sometimes I feel like there’s a good simile on the tip of my tongue but I can’t quite place it. So I just close my eyes and let my mind wander, let my mind make its associations. See what images roll into my brain. 

4. Remember what a simile is. It’s a comparison of two unlike things via their one like trait. One common simile pitfall is comparing things that are already obviously alike. The joy is in the surprise. 

5. Use similes that are in the tone, voice, and atmosphere. A quirky funny simile a la Heather O’Neill style is awesome, but only if it’s in tone. Think of the associations your character would be making, one that suits the emotion you’re trying to get across. That trees as veins simile I mentioned would be really weird in a happy or romantic scene. But, I used it in a scene where the main character was being hunted by a pack of wolves, so it fit. It was grim, eerie, and bodily, just like the scene. 

6. Think about all the senses. Similes are often only used for visuals, when I think the other senses can make for very powerful and visceral similes. 

7. Don’t compare to something abstract. This would be saying something like “She cried like a loss of freedom.” Uhhh. Abstract concepts are 1. melodramatic, and 2. have no concrete sensory appearance or tactility, so you’re just comparing something to a void. You want to compare to something concrete, specific, and tactile. 

[jennamoreci-deactivated20260404]

Friendly reminder👆🏼 #quote #quotes #writequotes #writerquotes https://www.instagram.com/p/BpMKniontTo/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=147r4pctmb4ru

[writeworld-blog]

This Is a Towel: Character Questionnaires

Character Development Questions for Writers (113 questions; geared toward supernatural narratives)

30 Character Questions (30 questions; very basic)

The Mother of All Character Questionnaires (382 questions; extremely in-depth and geared toward tabletop role-players)

Character Questionnaire (50 questions; pretty generic)

Character Questionnaire One (18 questions; interesting questions)

Character Questionnaire Two (33 questions; pretty basic)

Character Survey Questions (29 questions; pretty basic)

Character Outlines (107 questions; Yeah Write is very thorough)

Adult Character Questionnaire (32 questions; pretty basic)

Child Character Questionnaire (40 questions; pretty basic but very useful)

Additional Questions for the Character Questionnaire (15 questions; useful appendage)

HUGE Character Sheet for Fiction Writers (extremely thorough)

Checklist for Character Development  (interesting checklist to go by while creating a character)

Character Profile Form (very thorough; submitted by self-fulfilling-prophet)

Character Traits Meme (great checklist of character traits from pichu4850)

Masterlist of Character Development Questions Inspired By Different Fandoms (benedicthelps)

Character Sheets and character creation (thatfrenchhelper)

Writing a Character: Questionnaire (firstwordsoftheprologue)

The Most Epic Character Chart Ever

Story Questionnaire

Got another one for us? Link us to it through our submit box!

-C

DON’T PANIC

[kristenacres]

Book Tag - Little Birds

That’s right, it’s book tag time! I’ve got a question tag for Little Birds by Hannah Kidder. (Links at the bottom) 

For those of you who don’t know, I’m on the street team for this collection, so I’ve been able to read it over before its release date. You should definitely check it out!

What’s your favorite story?

I think my favorite is Dear Emma. It’s the first story in the collection and it’s so sad, but so good. It really hit me where I didn’t expect it to. 

What character did you relate the most to and why?

Laini from An Envelope. Probably because I, too, tend to read into things very deeply.

What’s your favorite line?

“Hard to tell if ashes have been opened or not.”

I would tell you which story it’s from, but unfortunately #spoilers, so you’ll just have to read it yourself ;)

Did you cry/how long did it take you to cry?

I actually didn’t cry, which is REALLY surprising, because I am a soft, squishy person when it comes to sad things, and this collection had some really sad stories in it. Hannah Kidder has a way of making you care about a person in less than a page and making their emotions and circumstances feel important and real.

I think the reason I didn’t cry is because for the most part, they always had a thread of hope to them. They always had an element of someone moving on or trying to make things work.

What’s your favorite title?

What Remains. I think it really encompasses the story well, but I also like the play on words with “Remains”. I think the dual definitions of “what is left behind when something is gone” and “corpse/dead thing” really tie neatly into the story.

Describe Little Birds in 3 words.

Bittersweet

Melancholy

Nostalgic

If you could give it a subtitle, what would it be?

Little Birds - Sad stories for every occasion

What image stuck with you the most?

I feel like it changes depending on my mood. Right now I’d say it’s probably the scene in Cane Sprouts where the grandkids are messing around with a old busy games. The grandfather is asleep in his chair and the grandmother is in the kitchen making lunch, and the cousins are just sitting around, catching up, playing around with the puzzle games they used to play as kids. I don’t know, man, it’s just really nostalgic and I really resonate with it.

Who would you recommend this book to and why?

I would recommend Little Birds to anyone that loves contemporary fiction and angst. The book has a very melancholy feel overall, but it’s done in such a way that it always feels soft and poetic. I’d also recommend for fans of first-person stories, as the majority are written in that style.

Hannah Kidder’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/HannieHee

Little Birds on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41216866-little-birds

Little Birds on Amazon: [X]

[sassy-un-classy-blog]

When the scene isn’t turning out like it’s supposed to but at least you’re writing

[hanniepee]

Little Birds is available for pre-order!

Don’t forget to enter the pre-sale giveaway! 

[kristenacres]

I think you could also maintain the bloody-palm cliche by just having the character hold something hard/sharp in their hand? Like, I read a pretty cool Batman comic where Two-Face caught his coin as soon as he heard some bad news, then the next panel showed his palm all bloody.

True! 

And just think of all of the opportunities for symbolism and foreshadowing with whatever the character is holding!

I think sharp would be the way to go with that. You’d probably need a little bit of super-strength to cut your palm with a coin.

But! A cool thing about this idea is that, while fingernails are blunt, holding something sharp could add a whole new level of realism to the character-didn’t-realize-until-they-look-down cliché. If you’ve got something super sharp like a shard of shattered glass, it’s entirely possible you could end up with an edge sharp enough to cut into your skin without causing any initial pain.

I know from personal experience dealing with glass clean-up that sometimes it feels like you just spontaneously start bleeding while picking up bits of glass because of how incredibly sharp the shards are. But then, of course, a few minutes later it actually starts hurting like you’d expect it to.

Really great addition! Thank you! :D

[kristenacres]

Hey about your bullet post. Wouldn't there be a chance of lead poisoning if the lead bullet is left in there?

The short answer to your question is:

Yes, but not right now.

The long answer is:

Deaths that occur immediately after being shot are due to either damage to organs or blood loss. A few days later, you might have to worry about potentially fatal infections as well. Much, much later, you might have to worry about lead poisoning.  

Lead poisoning from bullets or fragments left inside of a wound is a real thing [x]. Fortunately, however, lead poisoning from gunshot wounds is not something that occurs immediately or often.

When a foreign body (such as a bullet or bullet fragment) enters the body, it has a high chance of becoming encapsulated. This means that your body forms a shell of avascular tissue around the bullet or fragments, which can stop lead from leaching out of it into your body [x]. (You may have heard of this happening to people with medical implants.) Because of this, many people with remaining bullet fragments don’t experience lead poisoning from their injury.

If you do experience it however, it won’t be immediate. On the quick end, you might present with symptoms of lead poisoning within weeks or months of being shot [x]. On the longer end, however, you might not see symptoms for years or even decades after being shot [x][x].

The original post [x] was about writing what to do immediately after a potentially fatal gunshot wound, especially outside of hospital settings by people with no medical training. In that case, future potential problems are not your main concern, the hemorrhage is.

Basically, if someone is bleeding out in front of you, your main goal is to help them live long enough to worry about lead poisoning.

In a few weeks, months, or years, you (or your protagonist, since we’re mainly focused on writing here) can wander into a doctor’s office and book an appointment to try and get the bullet removed. But only if they survive until then.

Hope this answered your question!