my little crazed pen

a depository for my thoughts on writing and everything analysable

[mylittlecrazedpen]

Is there anyone who has both seen and read The Essex Serpent?

Book or Series? Both or Neither?

Tell me your thoughts. Personally, I feel like the series strips the story of its nuance. And I hate how they change things like the way Luke's hand gets butchered.

[mylittlecrazedpen]

When I read Genesis adaptations, somehow I always end up identifying with Satan...

[mylittlecrazedpen]

One OC started to talk about his childhood and family to me and now I wanna cry

[mylittlecrazedpen]

"I certainly have not the talent which some people possess of conversing easily with those I have never seen before. I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done."

[mylittlecrazedpen]

"My dear, I have two small favours to request. First, that you will allow me the free use of my understanding on the present occasion; and secondly, of my room. I shall be glad to have the library to myself as soon as may be."

[mylittlecrazedpen]

Have been feeling quite angry lately which apparently called out an OC to bang her head against mine.

Well hi dear, sure, welcome 😅

[nondelphic]

i love when people say "i’d read your book!" like girl me too unfortunately i haven’t written it yet because i am trapped in a cycle of procrastination and the feeling of impending doom

[mylittlecrazedpen]

Emily Dickinson

Dear March—Come in—

How glad I am—

I hoped for you before—

Put down your Hat—

You must have walked—

How out of Breath you are—

Dear March, how are you, and the Rest—

Did you leave Nature well—

Oh March, Come right upstairs with me—

I have so much to tell—

I got your Letter, and the Birds—

The Maples never knew that you were coming—

I declare - how Red their Faces grew—

But March, forgive me—

And all those Hills you left for me to Hue—

There was no Purple suitable—

You took it all with you—

Who knocks? That April—

Lock the Door—

I will not be pursued—

He stayed away a Year to call

When I am occupied—

But trifles look so trivial

As soon as you have come

That blame is just as dear as Praise

And Praise as mere as Blame—

Dear March—Come in—(1320)

Dear March - Come in -

[writerswritecompany]

Suggested reading: Impostor Syndrome – What It Is And How To Get Over It

[mylittlecrazedpen]

Pov: writing a scene with depressed, tired-ass OC makes you absorb all this blue energy

[mylittlecrazedpen]

Oh how I love it when plot holes randomly show their faces to me... :')

[mylittlecrazedpen]

Nothing

I sort of feel like crying

can you tell me why

I'd rather simply tell you

and not just write-around

the cringe of in-betweenness

beats constant yet within

well here's a singy-song

to stand in place of

things

[hoseoch]

“what are you gonna do, cry about it?” yes . the fuck

[ghost-kings-court-jester]

Saw this frame on a different reblog by @thatssroughbuddy but why does it look like Iroh is using his phone to take a photo of his nephew at a landmark

[sokkastyles]

"Uncle, make sure you get that glowy light in the picture and send it to my dad to let him know I'm about to capture the Avatar!"

[late-draft]

This was so cute I had to draw it

and of course Iroh is doing what-

[sokkastyles]

!!!!!!

Iroh posts it on social media with some caption like "look at my beautiful nephew" and Zhao comments like "is that the Avatar in the background?"

And Iroh responds, "no, it's the northern lights."

[late-draft]

This is insanely funny to me and now:

[atlaheritageposts]

atla heritage post

[writingwithfolklore]

Writing Resources to use instead of AI

For coming up with character names:

Behind the name (my absolute fav)

Allows you to choose the origin of where you want the name to be from, whether you want a more feminine vs masculine vs androgenous name (as voted by users), random surname generator, and clicking on the name gives you important info like if there are any famous people with the same name, where it’s from, how common it is, and how people tend to see it, etc.

You can also search their name database by letter or meaning or origin, so if you know you want a character who has a name/surname that starts with an A from Ireland, there’s a whole list for you to choose from.

Census sites

Especially useful if you’re looking for a name from a specific place and/or time period. Just search “(country) census (year)” and you’ll find a database of real people who lived in that place at that time. No one can ever call your names unrealistic again.

For coming up with place names:

Fantasy name generator

This site can basically come up with any name for any person, place, or thing you might ever need. There are also specific generators for different fandoms if you’re looking to make an OC in an established world.

For finding that one word on the tip of your tongue:

One Look Thesaurus

This is my go-to. Not only can you find synonyms like a regular thesaurus, but you can also describe words like “unhappy smile” or “quiet laugh” to find the more specific word you’re looking for.

For coming up with ideas:

Word cloud

When I need to inspire a new idea, I write down all the things I’m interested in (hauntings, academia, lesbians, etc.) and put them into a word cloud to shuffle them next to each other. Sometimes seeing a concept in a new context can spark new ideas!

WWF Discord

This is my discord channel (shameless plug) for when you need to brainstorm off other people but don’t have anyone irl to talk to. We’re also happy to read and give feedback on writing, answer writing questions, or just chat!

For visualizing places and characters:

Pinterest

Pinterest can at times be a bit too sterile for my tastes, but if you use the right words, you can find more realistic photos of places. For example, adding “aesthetic” after basically any word will bring up a more broad collection of photos to help you flesh out places.

This is also a great way to find photos of people and fashion to help visualize characters. I’m bad at describing clothes, so I usually collect photos of outfits to help me know what my characters are wearing. Searching up “character inspiration” will collect more interesting photos and drawings of people who might not exactly be of our world.

(However, to make Pinterest not show you AI results, you have to go into your settings and check the “reduce AI” box. Luckily, it does mostly work.)

Death to Stock

Like pinterest but completely AI free (hooray!) Only drawback is that you have to pay a monthly subscription (about $20 CAD).

Cosmos

Very similar to pinterest but slightly more "artsy". I'm not super familiar with this one but I believe all the photos are human and you can save them and create collections with a free account.

Dupe Photos

Royalty-free stock image site with very Pinterest-core photos!

Minecraft

If you haven’t built your entire fictional city in Minecraft instead of writing, why not? It’s fun.

The Sims

This one is dual purpose because you can not only create your characters in Create a Sim, but you can design their houses. If you really want to go for it, you can bulldoze all the lots in your town and build your world from scratch.

For checking grammar:

Grammar Girl

Easy to follow definitions and examples, and if you learn better by listening, every article comes with a podcast to follow along with instead.

Grammar Monster

This one is my favourite for checking grammar rules because there’s tons of examples in graphics that helps for any situation.

Reedsy

Among other things, reedsy can connect you to professional editors within your budget.

For writing advice:

One Stop for Writers

This one was recommended from my discord channel and has all sorts of tutorials and resources for the writing craft.

My Blog Directory

Another shameless plug, but if you need writing advice on something specific, you can search through my directory to see if it’s there. If it isn’t, you can always send me an ask about it!

For an alternative to Google Docs:

Ellipsus

Think google docs but without AI. Yay!

(will update this list with any more suggestions or resources I discover 😊)

[mylittlecrazedpen]

What do we feel about hugging books?

[mylittlecrazedpen]

Please, please, please tell me if anybody has read Tea for Ghosts by Chris Vuklisevic, I wanna talk about it