I'm Nat, she/her, a 26 year old writer from the UK, and I love horror and fantasy! I would love to make some writing friends and get to nerd out about writing.
This blog is mainly to collect inspiration and advice for stories, and a place where I can talk nonstop about writing and books.
Fun facts:
ADHD and dyslexia
Graduated with a First in Creative Writing
Unhealthily obsessed with video games
Learning Japanese
Loves ducks
My favourite books:
Dracula, Bram Stoker
Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller
Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen
The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien
We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson
Lapvona, Ottessa Moshfegh
The Last House on Needless Street, Catriona Ward
Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
Some of my WIPs to get to know me:
“VAMPIRE PLAGUE”: A community of passive vampires start to run out of their source of blood as the human doctor stops visiting them.
Genre: horror, thriller
Format: 3rd person POV, multiple perspectives, linear story
Themes: vampires, humanity, love and friendship, found family, mental health, plague & apocalypse
Inspirations: Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Bloodborne (video game), Van Helsing (film), The Walking Dead (tv & video game)
Progress: first draft (current project)
“BLIND HORROR”: A guardsman suspects trouble in his town at nighttime, but investigating the scattered screams leads him to the heart of the horror. Barely surviving an attack, he wakes up blind and must protect his town without his ability to see.
Genre: horror, thriller
Format: 1st person POV, single perspective, linear story
Inspirations: Josh Malerman's Bird Box (book), Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See (book), Ottessa Moshfegh's Lapvona
Progress: first draft (hiatus)
Scionicide: An assassination attempt on the royal family throws the kingdom into chaos, desperate to find the killer and the missing prince. Age-old secrets are reawakened, and the nation’s religion is put on trial.
Genre: fantasy, adventure, minor horror, minor mystery
Format: 3rd person POV, multiple perspectives, somewhat linear story
Themes: Religion, fantasy, found family, adventure
Inspirations: A general love for fantasy books, but a few things that feel especially important vibe wise; George R. R. Martin's A Game of Throne (book & tv), The Legend of Zelda (mainly Twilight Princess, but I love so many of the games that I have to include the series as a whole) (video games), Dungeon’s & Dragons (ttrpg)
u ever notice when a celeb dies some sicko goes in and changes their wiki picture from them looking old and normal in 2019 to them looking cherubic and mystical in 1973
What's also worse is the list of actors on prime video movies and tv shows. Do you gotta bathe their picture in a bloody red tinge as though they were freshly killed by some mob boss just to get the point across that they probably won't appear in the sequel?
So many writing advice books and articles offer this one, infuriating bit of advice: "write at the same time everyday!"
I work in hospitality. One day I'm in at 11am, the next I'm leaving as late as 11pm. Some days, I work 12 hours. The only consistent time I can write is 2am. No matter how much I have searched, I rarely see voices from people who work these irregular hours. I don't torment myself for skipping days or not meeting my daily word count goal, but does anyone else who works irregular hours have a method to wrestle in a "writing time"?
I have a tip from a habit planner. To establish a habit, you need to set a trigger, but here's the kicker: it doesn't have to be time! It can be a thing. The special cup of tea or coffee, or the notepad ready at the table with a special pen. It can be "ten minutes after taking off my shoes, for ten minutes".
And the daily writing thing does not work for most people anyway, especially with a day job.
If you can only establish regular writing every Tuesday and Thursday, that's fine! If you can only write for 15 minutes every other day, that's fine too!
Every book, any book, can be written in just 15 minutes every other day.
okay please give me advice: what do you think about posting your original writing online? I'd love to post snippets of my projects, but I'm terrified of people stealing it. Is that even a thing???
I have short stories that are collecting dust in a folder... I don't want to even publish them, I just want them to be seen by whoever they interest
You do have several options for publishing on your own, once you let go of the fear of people stealing your ideas. AI scrapers have and continue to steal all our writing, so I think that ship has pretty much sailed. Even if you think about individuals plagiarizing you (which still happens and you'll have options of fighting that), your biggest hurdle is obscurity, not piracy.
That out of the way, you can:
publish on tumblr or similar social media for (a little, very little) community interaction
publish on your own website, announcing and advertising it on social media. Problem: nobody knows you, even less interaction
start your own newsletter, (https://www.beehiiv.com/newsletter-platform for instance, I would avoid substack but it is more popular), you'll have to advertise it again but you can grow a loyal following that way
AO3 allows original fiction under the Original Works fandom (https://archiveofourown.org/tags/original%20work/works). If you tag well and truthfully, people may find your story, but, as with everything, you'll also have to tell people on social media that you're doing this
publish on commercial platforms:
- RoyalRoad (https://www.royalroad.com/home) long running home for webnovels with a lively community
- Ream (https://reamstories.com/), platform for authors to offer (paid) subscriptions to stories
- Campfire (https://www.campfirewriting.com/explore), still new, based around the writing platform, to sell books
- Self publishing on KDP and other book platforms, you can always put out a short story collection as a regular book
Those are the options I can think of, maybe others have ideas too. It really depends on what you want to achieve and how much work you're willing to do.
Thank you so much for the advice! Self publishing is currently a bit beyond me, but I do like the idea of creating a website! Also, great point on the AI... I lived in a fantasy world for a moment and forgot that AI is eating all of our content and churning it out 😵💫 it makes me feel more confident to put my stuff out there for free! thank you again!
if anyone feels bad that their fic might contain medical inaccuracies, be comforted to know that whatever creative liberties you take with your medical scenes can never be worse than the one I just read. where one character tries to stop the bleeding on their friend's head wound by putting a tourniquet around their neck
Really random advice for enjoying reading more and improving your writing in the background: reading with a journal and a handful of sticky tabs.
My ADHD and dyslexia makes reading nearly impossible, because every page I read a line that makes me think of something else and then I'm lost.
Whenever that happens, I stop, mark it with a sticky tab and write down my thought. Mostly, I write things that inspire me, make me think of a character, stuff I dislike or a line that was especially well written. Even if I start to lose interest, I stop, put a sticky tab and write about it. What about that section made my mind wander? How would I improve it if I could rewrite this scene?
It genuinely has helped so much. My brain feels light!! I have finished so many books since doing this! Stopping and addressing what I like and dislike about certain aspects has helped define how I want to write. By the end of a book, I come away with stronger characters, ideas for plots, just through stopping and analysing how my brain reacts to certains scenes.
Other Words for "Look" + With meanings | List for writers
Many people create lists of synonyms for the word 'said,' but what about the word 'look'? Here are some synonyms that I enjoy using in my writing, along with their meanings for your reference. While all these words relate to 'look,' they each carry distinct meanings and nuances, so I thought it would be helpful to provide meanings for each one.
Gaze - To look steadily and intently, especially in admiration or thought.
Glance - A brief or hurried look.
Peek - A quick and typically secretive look.
Peer - To look with difficulty or concentration.
Scan - To look over quickly but thoroughly.
Observe - To watch carefully and attentively.
Inspect - To look at closely in order to assess condition or quality.
Stare - To look fixedly or vacantly at someone or something.
Glimpse - To see or perceive briefly or partially.
Eye - To look or stare at intently.
Peruse - To read or examine something with great care.
Scrutinize - To examine or inspect closely and thoroughly.
Behold - To see or observe a thing or person, especially a remarkable one.
Witness - To see something happen, typically a significant event.
Spot - To see, notice, or recognize someone or something.
Contemplate - To look thoughtfully for a long time at.
Sight - To suddenly or unexpectedly see something or someone.
Ogle - To stare at in a lecherous manner.
Leer - To look or gaze in an unpleasant, malicious way.
Gawk - To stare openly and stupidly.
Gape - To stare with one's mouth open wide, in amazement.
Squint - To look with eyes partially closed.
Regard - To consider or think of in a specified way.
Admire - To regard with pleasure, wonder, and approval.
Skim - To look through quickly to gain superficial knowledge.
Reconnoiter - To make a military observation of a region.
Flick - To look or move the eyes quickly.
Rake - To look through something rapidly and unsystematically.
Glare - To look angrily or fiercely.
Peep - To look quickly and secretly through an opening.
Focus - To concentrate one's visual effort on.
Discover - To find or realize something not clear before.
Spot-check - To examine something briefly or at random.
Devour - To look over with eager enthusiasm.
Examine - To inspect in detail to determine condition.
Feast one's eyes - To look at something with great enjoyment.
Catch sight of - To suddenly or unexpectedly see.
Clap eyes on - To suddenly see someone or something.
Set eyes on - To look at, especially for the first time.
Take a dekko - Colloquial for taking a look.
Leer at - To look or gaze in a suggestive manner.
Rubberneck - To stare at something in a foolish way.
Make out - To manage to see or read with difficulty.
Lay eyes on - To see or look at.
Pore over - To look at or read something intently.
Ogle at - To look at in a lecherous or predatory way.
Pry - To look or inquire into something in a determined manner.
Dart - To look quickly or furtively.
Drink in - To look at with great enjoyment or fascination.
Bask in - To look at or enjoy something for a period of time.
Calling all aspiring storytellers with hearts full of whimsy! Get ready to sprinkle a touch of enchantment into your scenes with my Scene Wo
683 members, 435 posts about #creative writing #creative writers #helping writers • Guiding Writers to New Heights
okay please give me advice: what do you think about posting your original writing online? I'd love to post snippets of my projects, but I'm terrified of people stealing it. Is that even a thing???
I have short stories that are collecting dust in a folder... I don't want to even publish them, I just want them to be seen by whoever they interest
So many writing advice books and articles offer this one, infuriating bit of advice: "write at the same time everyday!"
I work in hospitality. One day I'm in at 11am, the next I'm leaving as late as 11pm. Some days, I work 12 hours. The only consistent time I can write is 2am. No matter how much I have searched, I rarely see voices from people who work these irregular hours. I don't torment myself for skipping days or not meeting my daily word count goal, but does anyone else who works irregular hours have a method to wrestle in a "writing time"?
Some of the biggest fantasy worldbuilding fails that I see, in no particular order
Gods without religion. The Gods are real and a known historical fact, but virtually nobody is religious.
Cultural racism/discrimination without structural racism/discrimination. Discrimination that exists only in microagressions or mean comments, without existing in any sort of structural way.
Secret history with no clear reason for it to be secret and no clear method for maintaining that secrecy. Major parts of the world's history are kept entirely secret, even though there's not an obvious reason to do so and even when history has shown this is virtually impossible to enforce (especially in a world with any movement or communication across borders).
Large, homogeneous countries. Even without immigration, virtually no country larger than the Vatican will be fully homogeneous in terms of culture, dialect, beliefs, traditions, etc., much less a large one with limited communication technology as is often seen in fantasy. The Planet of Hats problem.
Effective horror is not easy to write. Horror and comedy are very similar in how they are executed however written horror can be far harder to land than written comedy.
In theory they both work in the same way:
Set up: a situation occurs in which the reader needs to begin to feel an emotion.
Tension: that feeling is held and elongated until youre ready to pay off those emotions.
Punchline: something big happens in which the reader feels the fullest extent of the emotion intended. This is the section where written horror will always suffer.
With comedy you can easily make a reader audibly laugh, with horror in a written form you will not be able to make a reader jump with fear. Writers cant rely on jump scares and a consistent ambient soundtrack like you can with a horror game.
So to write good horror you need to turn elsewhere, as you are rarely going to “scare” a reader. I learned this while running horror tabletop roleplaying games, specifically Call of Cthulhu, as players and readers are very similar concepts.
To scare a reader, your goal is to unnerve them and make them remember something that made them uncomfortable, uneasy, or anxious. They arent going to jump and scream, instead theyre going to second guess themself the next time they see a shadow move in their room.
To set up good horror I follow 3 simple steps:
Change your voice: the moment I begin to set up a scare I change my authorial voice, I use shorter more visceral words replacing “she wandered down the hall, her eyes drifting from place to place” with “she walked, quickly. Her legs shaking, her eyes running around the shadows”. This change tells the reader that something is amiss and they will unconsciously notice it.
Darkening word choice: this ones rather simple, I change my descriptions from standard to uneasy. “The couch was burgundy leather with pillows at each arm” to “the couch was a red leather, dark as blood”
Remember your theme: whatever the main monster, killer, or general spooky of your text is needs to be given credence in every scare. This drills the pattern of fear forward. If your killer uses a knife, describe the glint of moonlight as blade like. If your monster eats flesh, describe food in detail and relate your characters emotions to grotesque foods.
Remember, you arent going to get a scream. Your goal is to make your reader anxious, uncomfortable, and make them look at their day to day life differently
After all
Meat is Meat
If you want some examples, check out my horror rp blog @research-duck
joining the war on kids reading any book they want on the side of kids reading any book they want. simply you will be fine. it's even good to be confronted with things you don't understand and even find upsetting, uncomfortable and difficult. it's a surprise tool that will help you later.
