☆ LADY ASHLIE WRITES ☆

Without words, there are no stories, and without stories there is no soul. This blog is home to my writing, the fetuses, the inspiration, the images, and the dreams that bring them to life. I primarily write for YA contemporary but I have a tendency towards fantasy and paranormal as well. I like the strength of girls found not in punches but the punches they can take, the tears that they shed, and what it takes to break. I love girls fumbling through life, discovering themselves, and tripping on love and friendship.

[ladyashlie]

Yeah, funny story. We stayed up all night on our first date talking, I had to work the next morning so he offered to let me stay the night, I declined. (I didn't have extra clothes with me, &I already liked him so much I was worried about doing something I would regret) So he asked me to come back the next day after work, I did. I spent the night &I've stayed every night since. We have talked about marriage, & I would like him to ask, but the wait is killing me. Like, how does a woman propose?

I'm legit the worst at replying in a timely manner, I'm really sorry. BUT I WAS TOTALLY THINKING ABOUT YOUR RESPONSE WHILE I WAS IN THE SHOWER (That sounds creepy; sorry! I was just reminding myself I need to respond!) and GOSH THAT SOUNDS SO CUTE!!!!! Have you guys talked about moving in together? (Unless it's just not an option right now!) Cos man it sounds like you guys are so cutely happy together and THAT MAKES ME SO HAPPY!!!! :3 ESPECIALLY THAT FROM THE FIRST DATE YOU ALREADY LIKED HIM SO MUCH!!!!! like literally that just makes me so freaking happy when people just INSTANTLY CLICK with someone and you can see all that potential and the blossoming hope and aljfdklajf :333 oh man!!!!

I MEAN!!! I never did the proposing myself but surely just the same way as a guy ;D I mean I guess it depends on what kind of proposal you want to go with! If you want to be traditional and ask him to marry you or something cute as heck all "I want you to be my husband" HHAHAHAHAA I JUST STARTED GIGGLING TO MYSELF ABOUT THAT awwwwwww. Or you could just be very serious about it and tell him what you've told me - that you know he's the one and you want to spend forever with him, that you've known and every time you're together you just want to ask him! :3

[ladyashlie]

I am, in fact. We have been together for almost 5 months and we have clicked from the start. I've never been so sure about anything in my entire life. He's the most amazing person I've ever met and I am pretty sure he is going to ask me sometime soon, but I am impatient and I have to keep myself from proposing to him every 5 seconds. :3

Sorry for not getting this replied to sooner! I meant to yesterday but it was not a good day, my bad ;___________;

(Also you want a funny but short story? I had missed that this was sent to my writing tumblr and i spent a whole day and a half wondering wtf happened to my poor ask and then WHEN YOU MESSAGED ME AGAIN I WAS LIKE HOW DID NONNY SEE MY RESPONSE BUT I NEVER DID?! And finally I realized it was my WRITING blog it was funny I promise.)

ANYWAY AWWWWWWWW THAT SOUNDS SO CUTE!!!!! Have you guys been dating or have you started to live together? I WILL DEFINITELY ADVISE PERHAPS TRYING TO LIVE TOGETHER FIRST IF YOU DON'T YET because you learn a lot about a person when you live together and when you have to converge your spaces. It's totally one thing to be in love with a person and have you own place but once you guys live together and you don't have hidey holes all the time, it's a totally new thing. (Which is not to say that once you live together you CAN'T have alone time, but just that it's so largely different.)

I think it's so cute that you feel impatient about it!!! Are you very traditional? Would you rather wait for him to ask? (Even though I don't totally consider myself traditional, I still wanted Dustin to be the one to ask. Even long after we'd been talking about "when we get married" and the such and it was commonly ASSUMED we would, I wanted HIM to be the one to ask lmao) BUT GOSH THAT SOUNDS SO CUTE!!!! I love it :333 I really hope that you guys are able to stay together forever. :3 I think for some people it takes more time but sometimes I do believe that if it feels right, then there's no reason it can't work out if you both work on it, you know? Like, it gets hard, it really does! But when you love someone that much, it's pretty much worth it, if this is what you want.

BUT GOSH YOU GUYS SOUND SO CUTE AWWWWW MAN!!! Have you guys talked about marriage at all? :3

[ladyashlie]

How long after dating your husband, did you know he was "the one".

Oh no this is a really embarrassing question lmao actually because.... and this sounds so silly I think but.... we'd been dating only about six months when I realized we were going to get married.

Like okay so idk how long you've been around nonny or what you know but basically I dated Dustin all through sophomore year of college - from November onward. And my family moved to Iowa after I finished that year and told me that if Dustin wanted to come with, he could. (I mean I had the choice to stay behind but no job, no money, I had to go with \o/)

So, it's been like, six months, from November to May and Dustin decides that, yes, he's going to pack up all his stuff, leave his family in Oklahoma, and come with me to Iowa so we could stay together. And I didn't COGNITIVELY know, exactly, that it was going to be marriage but... I guess when a guy packs up everything and moves across the country and leaves his family to be with you, he's pretty into you. And when you move in and stay together that way, you sort of start to realize he's "the one".

I mean I wish I could say it was something more magical, like, you know, one day I had this revelation or something. The best I can give you is that there was a time when I was wondering if we were going to work out in the longest run cos neither of us had careers and we were still living in my parent's basement and I had a lot of ideas about where I was supposed to be at 23 and I wasn't exactly there, but then he told me he was thinking of joining the military, and I almost cried and that's lmao basically the best moment that I can offer up in terms of "I knew then" because I suddenly couldn't imagine what life without him would be like or what I'd do if something happened.

And thus we got engaged and a year-ish (year and a half???) later we got married. :3

ARE YOU DATING SOMEONE YOU THINK IS THE ONE~~ or are you just curious? :3

[nimblesnotebook-blog]

BASICS:

Genres:

Alternate World: A setting that is not our world, but may be similar. This includes “portal fantasies” in which characters find an alternative world through their own. An example would be The Chronicles of Narnia.

Arabian: Fantasy that is based on the Middle East and North Africa.

Arthurian: Set in Camelot and deals with Arthurian mythology and legends.

Bangsian: Set in the afterlife or deals heavily with the afterlife. It most often deals with famous and historical people as characters. An example could be The Lovely Bones.

Celtic: Fantasy that is based on the Celtic people, most often the Irish.

Christian: This genre has Christian themes and elements.

Classical: Based on Roman and Greek myths.

Contemporary: This genre takes place in modern society in which paranormal and magical creatures live among us. An example would be the Harry Potter series.

Dark: This genre combines fantasy and horror elements. The tone or feel of dark fantasy is often gloomy, bleak, and gothic.

Epic: This genre is long and, as the name says, epic. Epic is similar to high fantasy, but has more importance, meaning, or depth. Epic fantasy is most often in a medieval setting.

Gaslamp: Also known as gaslight, this genre has a Victorian or Edwardian setting.

Gunpowder: Gunpowder crosses epic or high fantasy with “rifles and railroads”, but the technology remains realistic unlike the similar genre of steampunk.

Heroic: Centers on one or more heroes who start out as humble, unlikely heroes thrown into a plot that challenges them.

High: This is considered the “classic” fantasy genre. High fantasy contains the general fantasy elements and is set in a fictional world.

Historical: The setting in this genre is any time period within our world that has fantasy elements added.

Medieval: Set between ancient times and the industrial era. Often set in Europe and involves knights. (medieval references)

Mythic: Fantasy involving or based on myths, folklore, and fairy tales.

Portal: Involves a portal, doorway, or other entryway that leads the protagonist from the “normal world” to the “magical world”.

Quest: As the name suggests, the protagonist in this genre sets out on a quest. The protagonist most frequently searches for an object of importance and returns home with it.

Sword and Sorcery: Pseudomedieval settings in which the characters use swords and engage in action-packed plots. Magic is also an element, as is romance.

Urban: Has a modern or urban setting in which magic and paranormal creatures exist, often in secret.

Wuxia: A genre in which the protagonist learns a martial art and follows a code. This genre is popular in Chinese speaking areas.

Word Counts:

Word counts for fantasy are longer than other genres because of the need for world building. Even in fantasy that takes place in our world, there is a need for the introduction of the fantasy aspect.

Word counts for established authors with a fan base can run higher because publishers are willing to take a higher chance on those authors. First-time authors (who have little to no fan base) will most likely not publish a longer book through traditional publishing. Established authors may also have better luck with publishing a novel far shorter than that genre’s expected or desired word count, though first-time authors may achieve this as well.

A general rule of thumb for first-time authors is to stay under 100k and probably under 110k for fantasy.

Other exceptions to word count guidelines would be for short fiction (novellas, novelettes, short stories, etc.) and that one great author who shows up every few years with a perfect 200k manuscript.

But why are there word count guidelines? For young readers, it’s pretty obvious why books should be shorter. For other age groups, it comes down to the editor’s preference, shelf space in book stores, and the cost of publishing a book. The bigger the book, the more expensive it is to publish.

General Fantasy: 75k - 110k

Epic Fantasy: 90k - 120k

Contemporary Fantasy: 90k - 120k

Urban Fantasy: 80k - 100k

Middle Grade: 45k - 70k

YA: 75k - 120k (depending on sub-genre)

Adult: 80k - 120k (depending on sub-genre)

WORLD BUILDING:

A pseudo-European medieval setting is fine, but it’s overdone. And it’s always full of white men and white women in disguise as white men because around 85% (ignore my guess/exaggeration, I only put it there for emphasis) of fantasy writers seem to have trouble letting go of patriarchal societies. 

Guys. It’s fantasy. You can do whatever you want. You can write a fantasy that takes place in a jungle. Or in a desert. Or in a prairie. The people can be extremely diverse in one region and less diverse in another. The cultures should differ. Different voices should be heard. Queer people exist. People of color exist. Not everyone has two arms or two legs or the ability to hear.

As for the fantasy elements, you also make up the rules. Don’t go searching around about how a certain magic spell is done, just make it up. Magic can be whatever color you want. It can be no color at all. You can use as much or as little magic as you want.

Keep track of what you put into your world and stick to the rules. There should be limits, laws, cultures, climates, disputes, and everything else that exists in our world. However, you don’t have to go over every subject when writing your story.

World Building:

Fantasy World Building Questionnaire

Magical World Builder’s Guide

Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds

Creating Religions

Quick and Dirty World Building

World Building Links

Fantasy World Building Questions

The Seed of Government (2)

Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy

Fantasy Worlds and Race

Water Geography

Alternate Medieval Fantasy Story

Writing Magic

Types of Magic

When Magic Goes Wrong

Magic-Like Psychic Abilities

Science and Magic

Creative Uses of Magic

Thoughts on Creating Magic Systems

Defining the Sources, Effects, and Costs of Magic

World Building Basics

Mythology Master Post

Fantasy Religions

Setting the Fantastic in the Everyday World

Making Histories

Matching Your Money to Your World

Building a Better Beast

A Man in Beast’s Clothing

Creating and Using Fictional Languages

Creating a Language

Creating Fictional Holidays

Creating Holidays

Weather and World Building 101

Describing Fantastic Creatures

Medieval Technology

Music For Your Fantasy World

A heterogeneous World

Articles on World Building

Cliches:

Grand List of Fantasy Cliches (most of this can be debated)

Fantasy Cliches Discussion

Ten Fantasy Cliches That Should Be Put to Rest

Seven Fantasy Cliches That Need to Disappear

Avoiding Fantasy Cliches 101

Avoiding Fantasy Cliches

Fantasy Cliches

Fantasy Cliche Meter: The Bad Guys

Fantasy Novelist’s Exam

Mary Sue Race Test

Note: Species (like elves and dwarves) are not cliches. The way they are executed are cliches.

CHARACTERS

Read More

[pathfinder-fan-page-blog]

All of this could be VERY VERY useful to some of the DMs out there.

[carthagian-chronicle]

Well when the editor and chief of paizo reblogs it you know it’s probably worth posting up

[fictionwritingtips]

Injuries Reference List

If you’re writing anything where your characters are getting injured a lot, it might be helpful to have an injuries reference list on hand. WELL, DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT BECAUSE I CREATED ONE. This is mostly the result of me having to look up something every time a character was gravely injured/being a lifeguard for seven years. I have some knowledge of first aid and how it might apply to the characters in your story.

Simple scrapes/cuts: There’s usually not much to worry about besides MAYBE an infection, which can be avoided with rubbing alcohol or peroxide. Remember, peroxide usually doesn’t burn or sting, but rubbing alcohol probably will.  These injuries will bleed for a short amount of time, but it shouldn’t last too long.

Bruising: These occur when the blood vessels break under the skin, forming discoloration of the skin. The colors can vary, but they are usually purplish, bluish, or yellow. Again, this injury is usually not serious if it’s a result of a bump or cut, but if there’s significant bruising over a large area of the body there might be a serious problem. Usually time heals bruising.

Sprains: A sprain is torn or stretched ligament, but it is NOT a break. It is very common for someone to sprain an ankle or a wrist and it usually doesn’t require serious medical attention. The area might swell and should be iced. Sprains are usually treated with rest and a device that compresses the area—such as a sling or a bandage.

Broken bones (arms, fingers, legs, toes): Breaks can be serious, especially if they have to be set back into place. A person will most likely not be able to put pressure on a broken bone until it is healed (which could take weeks). A broken bone is REALLY serious when it fractures or breaks through the skin completely. If you write a character in this sort of situation, they will need to worry about infection and they might have to wait until the swelling goes down before splitting or covering.

Burns: Obviously, there are different degrees of burns, but simple burns will most likely be treated the same. Even the smallest burns will probably sting like hell, so it can be hard to function with an untreated burn. SERIOUS burns might require amputation (I’m talking about maybe 3rd to 4th degree burns). As a 1st degree burn is healing, it might itch—think how sunburn starts to itch after a while.

Broken back: A broken back can lead to paralysis, so you need to be very careful with how you treat someone. Your characters shouldn’t be throwing anyone over their shoulders with a back injury because it will only lead to more serious problems. If you suspect that someone has broken or injured their back, you need to keep them still until there is a way to safely move them.

Amputation: This happens when the removal of a body part because necessary to someone’s survival.If someone has a bad infection or there’s no way to stop the bleeding (you’ve applied a tourniquet, which will most likely end up causing an amputation later), a character might have to amputate in a serious situation.

Dislocated limb: If a bone “pops” out of its socket, a character might have to put it back into place. A dislocated limb restricts movement, so your character might not be able to go forward until the situation is resolved. Arms and fingers are commonly dislocated and there will probably be pain when they’re set back into place. Those limbs should be rested and iced to prevent swelling.

Jammed fingers: If you get your finger caught in a door, for example, and it doesn’t break; you might have a jammed finger. I’ve had a few of these in my life, which usually causes bruising and some pain, but it heals on its own. These types of injuries can be from jamming your fingers against something hard and you might lose a finger nail. They will most likely hurt for a while until they are healed.

Stab wounds: These are usually deep cuts by a knife or a sword or another sharp object. They need to be treated, as they are prone to infection, and they should be bandaged. If the bleeding is excessively bad, a common way to stop the bleeding is to get stitches or cauterize the wound. Cauterization is the process of burning the wound in order to seal it up. Think of lightsabers in Star Wars. No one bleeds when they’re cut because the “blade” of the lightsaber cauterizes the wound as it cuts. Your characters might have to stitch someone or cauterize someone in an emergency situation.

Gunshot wounds: Getting shot is a serious/life threatening situation, so your characters would need immediate medical attention.In an emergency situation, the bullet might have to be dug out and the wound cauterized if the bleeding is severe. If the bullet goes in and out, you might just have to worry about infection and covering the wound. A gunshot wound will be painful and will take a while to heal. If someone is shot in the leg, they will have trouble walking. The limbs will need time to heal.

Poisoning: This is a wide topic that could include food poisoning to being poisoned by another character, but they will probably feel very sick. Symptoms will include vomiting, dehydration, diarrhea, etc. Your character might get severe stomach aches and will not be able to function.  Being poisoned can be deadly and can happen quickly. A medicine called Ipecac will induce vomiting in order to get the poisons out of someone’s symptoms, but will not work for EVERYTHING. Further treatment might be necessary.

Stomach wound: A person with a stomach wound will not last very long without addressing it. If it is deep enough, it will kill off your character unless the bleeding and infection can be stopped. Infection is usually what kills people with stomach wounds or gunshot wounds.

This is a list to be used for WRITING purposes only. Obviously you should call a doctor or get emergency treatment if something is serious. I also wrote this list assuming that your characters don’t have access to medical professionals, so keep that in mind. Hope this helps!

-Kris Noel

[ladyashlie]

Deux Brunes, Une Rogue

Noel and Sophie Corner team up with Fabian Pruitt to bring to life a kind of simple sound. With vocals lead by Sophie, there's a sort of raw riot-girl power - except for the male instrumentals, of course! Started on a whim for fun, they're not a stellar, overly talented show, but they're fun and sound good enough. With Sophie's raw voice and the simplistic instrumentals, they manage to deliver an energetic and powerful performance every time.  [cameo]

Guitar Noel Corner Bass Sophie Corner Drums Fabian Pruitt Vocals Sophie Corner

[ladyashlie]

Paisley & Plaid

Paisley and Pascale have a way with their voices and this duo delivers a folky, indie acoustic sound that is both groovy and mellow. Great for studying or focusing. Very sweet voices and harmonies. Their lyrics sometimes carry a melancholic sound, but their favorites to deliver are sweet and hopeful tunes.

Guitar Pascale Delorentos Bass Paisley [someone or other]

[ladyashlie]

Last Week's Rejects

Immensely popular not only with the students of "[SOME ART SCHOOL]" and the surrounding town, but have also cultivated an online following. Founded by Friday Lewenski who started the group initially for fun for a play, they're a group of relatively popular kids with an intense and dancey power-pop sound.

Lead Guitar Wesley Wexon Bass Friday Lewenski Drummer Sunghyun Song [name to change] Vocals Nattie O'Shea Vocals Wesley Wexon Vocals Friday Lewenski Keyboard --- someone do I need this? idk idk

[ladyashlie]

Art School Fetus

After a disastrous break-up from a distracting relationship that nearly cost her her scholarship to "[SOME ART SCHOOL]", Libby West has sworn off dating. No more boys, she tells herself. No more dates, no more late-night rendezvous, and definitely no more class-time flirting. She's on the road to success and can do without romantic attachments holding her back, thank you very much. She enters "[SOME ART SCHOOL]" under the applied arts department and, for the first time in a year, she is free to fully focus on her true calling: sculpting.

Things never go according to plan, though. For starters, there's Wesley Wexonfrom the theater department. Friendly, outgoing, laid back, and good looking, Wes is everybody's best friend, and everybody's crush. That he's plays guitar in the wildly popular band, Last Week's Rejects and sings back up really doesn't help Libby's situation. Wes has made it obvious he's set his sights on her.

Too bad she's on a strict no-boys-diet.

With Wes's smooth (see: disastrous) attempts to woo Libby garnering her attention, she's on a fast track through the social ladder and is taken in by his group of friends. All she really wants to do is perfect her art and spend time turning blocks of clay into works of art. As she spends more time with her new friends, though, she's learning that clay isn't the only thing with untapped potential.

For instance, Yuri Song, who takes Libby under her wing and makes Libby feel things she's never felt before. But Libby most definitely, absolutely, certainly isn't developing a crush on her. Most definitely not...

Wow such a clever title. idk this is a new fetus project I'm kind of playing with and you know the deal: I just have a concept but lack a PLOT yet haha whoops. Also that's a really long synopsis thing hmmm. Anyway, you know, gonna be playing with this. Need a school name. And a town.

....and a title.

BUT HEY LOOK I'M WORKING ON THINGS! :D And it's got lady love! How exciting!

[woodendreams]

(by Ah Bee Panda)

[electroheart]

[envyxo-blog]

[albertkelmeckis]

[herstarringrole]

[ladyashlie]

I'm sorry.

Pardon me?

[h4ilsham]

Season of Light (by _Jezza_)

[allthingseurope]

Haarlem, Netherlands (by Matthijs Liethof)