the inkwell symposium

[olis-inkwell-symposium]

Oli’s Inkwell Pinned Post

Welcome to Oli’s Inkwell Symposium!

Here, we help stories take shape, worlds come alive, and characters leap off the page. Whether you’re here for writing advice, world-building tips, or to dive deeper into character development, you’ve come to the right place.

My goal is to help you harness your creativity and bring your ideas to life, regardless of your writing journey. From crafting complex relationships to building immersive settings, I’m here to guide you through every storytelling aspect.

For a glimpse of my writing in action, head over to @oliolioxenfreewrites.

[jibunbosh]

I think one of the best things you can do as any kind of creative is to draw more inspiration from things completely outside of your artistic medium

[jibunbosh]

(with the enthusiasm of a sigma grindset guy telling you to get a side hustle) you gotta be waking up and saying stuff like "this chinese shadow puppet play really makes me want to write a ttrpg"

[ariaste]

If you're a writer trying to learn about the craft, I highly recommend Benjamin Zander's classical music masterclasses on youtube. Yes they are for professional-level musicians. That does not matter. You will learn things about tension and emotional control and communication with the audience. Do it.

[brainstreams]

Ways That Fear Can Show Up (Without Saying “Fear”)

When it creeps: • Foreboding — the air feels wrong before anything actually happens. • Ominousness — silence that feels almost... purposeful. • Misgiving — your instincts tugging at your sleeve, whispering, "Don't."

When it hits fast: • Shock — your brain blanks • Startled— your heart slams, you inhale • Panic — thoughts fracture; your instincts beg for escape

When it lingers: • Tension — jaw locked, shoulders up near your ears. • Anxiety — background noise that lingers in every thought • Dread — knowing something bad is coming and having to wait for it.

When it turns physical: • Shivers — cold crawling up the spine. • Sweat, dilated pupils, skin gone pale — your own body betrays you. • Weakness — knees like jelly, grip unreliable.

When it overwhelms: • Terror — too big to think around. • Horror — something has gone wrong. • Paralysis — body refusing orders.

When it distorts reality: • Paranoia — patterns where there are none. • Suspicion — every sound feels intentional. • Unease — the sense of being watched without proof.

If you liked this, a small Ko-fi tip would mean a lot. No pressure!

[olis-inkwell-symposium]

I have a book I wrote, I’d love to hear your opinions on it. I already have it edited and published, but it would be great if I got another persons opinion without bias.

message my dms, let’s talk more!

[olis-inkwell-symposium]

What Writing Taught Me About Dealing With Grief

Grief isn’t poetic. It doesn’t arrive in neat metaphors or with a sorrowful violin humming in the background. It crashes in like an avalanche, sudden and all-consuming, stripping everything bare, leaving behind a silence so loud it drowns out the rest of the world.

For a long time, I avoided confronting my grief. I buried it beneath distractions, hoping that by creating a distance between myself and the weight of my emotions, I could suffocate it beneath the noise. However, grief doesn’t remain buried; it waits, lingering in the pause between breaths and the hollow feeling of a familiar place missing a familiar presence. It transforms absence into something alive, something with teeth. Writing didn’t exactly "rescue me;" it didn't dissolve that ache or provide closure in some revelatory conclusion...

It simply offered me a means to confront my grief on my own terms, allowing me to express all the words I had suppressed and lay them out openly. Writing enabled me to say, “Not today,” and on some days, that was enough.

Grief Demands to Be Heard

Now if you don't know, grief isn’t a patient process. It doesn’t fade away like some old wound; it shatters your world, breaks you down, and intrudes abruptly into the midst of our 'carefully constructed' lives. It never cares about the timing or whether you have things to attend, responsibilities to fulfill, or if you believe you’ve already found peace with it.

I spent years trying to drown out the pain by filling my days with the usual suspects; trying to numb the edges with distractions, hoping that if I kept moving fast enough, it wouldn’t catch up. However, writing forced me to come to a halt. People often talk about “processing” grief as if it’s a tidy, linear process, like filing paperwork in a system designed to manage emotions effectively. But writing grief is not like that. It’s not some elegant unraveling of pain that leads to understanding. Instead, it’s more like sitting across from it at a table, staring into something vast and untamed, and asking, “What do you want from me?”

Writing doesn’t diminish grief or soften its sharpness. However, it provides it with a tangible form—something I can grasp, scrutinize, and illuminate. And occasionally, making it visible becomes sufficient to prevent it from consuming me entirely.

You Can’t Control Grief—Or the Words

Grief is a spectrum of unpredictable, unstructured emotions that forgo common simplifications. This isn't about refining chaos; it’s about giving it a space to exist beyond your own mind. If you don’t allow it to do so, it will continue to grow and consume you. And the worst part? Grief does these things in a way that mirror your own; it's when I put those words on the page, I regain some of my power. I can see grief for what it really is—distorted reflections of my pain, not my reality.

Which is why through my characters, I hope to challenge this idea. I wanna write individuals who have been shattered yet rise above their struggles. I want to portray people who grieve, rage, and fall apart, yet they endure and don’t succumb to the overwhelming weight of their sorrow. By writing about their survival, I hope to find solace in remembering my own resilience.

Writing about your grief is an act of defiance. It's standing in the aftermath of something intended to shatter you and asserting, “I am still here.” Serving as a testament that grief does not have the final say in the narrative’s conclusion.

Grief lies, but writing tells my truth.

There’s No Moving On—Only Moving Forward

No one ever tells you that closure is a myth. It’s a comforting notion people utter to make grief appear manageable, a concept with a clear beginning and end. However, grief doesn’t simply fade away. It doesn’t transform into a faint echo in the distance. Instead, it undergoes transformations, adopting new forms, yet it never truly vanishes. This realization has taught me that the objective isn’t to “move on.” Instead, it’s to keep moving forward.

Grief isn’t a temporary phase; it’s a lasting chapter that shapes the rest of your life. You don’t simply leave it behind; you learn to carry it with you. And that’s not a sign of failure; it’s a testament to survival. Writing gives the weight of my grief a purpose. It transforms what would otherwise feel heavy, directionless, and overwhelming into something tangible. It doesn’t erase the loss, but it transforms it into something that doesn’t merely hold me back; it propels me forward.

A Letter to Grief

If you’ve never done it, try writing a letter to your grief. Not the polite kind, but the raw and unfiltered one. Express your anger, your exhaustion, and your sorrow. Even acknowledge the reluctant gratitude, even though you don’t want to. Because here’s the truth: grief doesn’t get to dictate the outcome. You do.

Writing Is Defiance

Grief is relentless. It seeps into the spaces left behind, into the places where something once was, and it dares you to believe there is nothing left worth salvaging. But every time you write, you push back. You reclaim a part of yourself from the silence. Writing about grief isn’t about solving it.

It’s about revealing what’s real—that grief will be quite unbearable, yet within that, it's still survivable. That it's something you carry, not something that defines you. Writing itself didn’t heal me, no, but it gave me clarity. It reminded me that even in thosr moments when your grief is the loudest thing in the room; there is impact amongst our encounters as human and we're left to express what our predecessors couldn't say.

So write your grief. Let it be raw, untamed, unfiltered. Spill it onto the page without worrying about making it neat. And when you’re done, step back and remember this: You are still here. You are still standing. Grief doesn’t get to take over you.

[olyolyoxenfreewrites]

There’s a certain cruelty in how the heart keeps going, even when we don’t want it to. Not out of love. Not out of grief. Just out of.. pure function.

I wrote Four Chambers on a day where I felt disconnected from every version of myself that used to feel… anything really—when I realized the only part of me still moving was the part that never asked why. It doesn’t care if you’re heartbroken or hollow or wildly in love with someone who’s already moved on; your heart, the muscle–it just…beats. Steadily. Indifferently. Beautifully indifferent. I found something almost sacred in that apathy.

The heart is often over-romanticized—tied up in metaphors of passion and allusions of grandeur—but at its core (no pun intended), it’s just a muscle obeying its programming. And maybe that’s why it hurts more. Because while the rest of us falls apart, that one part of us continues without question. A quiet betrayal dressed as resilience.

[olyolyoxenfreewrites]

had a bit of a time getting these two design ideas of mine to the point of them being distinctly different in aesthetic yet compelling banners for the chronicles of novaxiom!

i’m having a hard time deciding whether to leave it with the original more serious and vintage undertones (the right) vs. the pastel toned, dynamic, and casual looking design (the left)

which is better?

left

right

Voting ended onFeb 12, 2025

[writing-in-the-grave]

ATTENTION WRITERS

Google BetaBooks. Do it now. It’s the best damn thing EVER.

You just upload your manuscript, write out some questions for your beta readers to answer in each chapter, and invite readers to check out your book!

It’s SO easy!

You can even track your readers! It tells you when they last read, and what chapter they read!

Your beta readers can even highlight and react to the text!!!

There’s also this thing where you can search the website for available readers best suited for YOUR book!

Seriously guys, BetaBooks is the most useful website in the whole world when it comes to beta reading, and… IT’S FREE.

[shinningstarz]

HEY! BECAUSE OF OP, THEY CREATED A SPECIAL WELCOME IF YOUR FOUND THEM THRU A TUMBLR WELCOME, ITS A YOUTUBE VIDEO.

[writing-in-the-grave]

They also sent me this; which was super cool

[writingonjupiter]

*slams reblog button*

[cianmars]

@findingtallahassee holy shit! This is cool!

[lalalandlala123-deactivated2021]

“Authors retain all rights to works posted on BetaBooks, and can add or remove content at their discretion. BetaBooks makes no claim to any of the work posted on the site.”

Incase anyone was wondering

[twiggytoast]

@buck–y ???

[lsama]

Okay, so there are a couple of things I need to bring to your attention in regards to this.  1.) You can’t just randomly go and browse this site to read people’s stories.  You have to be given an invitation link to an individual’s book. This is not AO3. 2.) There is a free version, but it allows you 1 book, with only 3 different beta readers for that book. The end. This is not AO3. 3.) This is not really for fanfiction. This is for serious writers, looking for serious beta-readers who have a good grasp of grammar/writing theory. I’m not saying not anyone can use it, but this is not a place to go and post your fanfiction and get accolades. This is not AO3. 4.) This is not AO3.

[betabooks-andrew]

^^ That’s a good summary, thank you! Have tried to be crystal clear about this but I know some people still had the wrong impression. Thanks for your note!

Also, we’re strongly considering introducing a new entry-level price tier for casual users. BetaBooks is a hobby project we self-fund so we can’t really afford to support a big free user base, but we would love to help more people who are just getting serious about their writing career if we can. :)

-Andrew

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Worksheets: The Antagonist

Worksheets & Templates Antagonist; Villain; Fighting

ANTAGONIST

Treat your antagonist as a real person. Their sole reason for existing should not be to act as a foil to your protagonist.

It is the framework of your story that sets the antagonist in opposition. What happens when the antagonist becomes the protagonist?

Have you imbued your antagonist with some of your own good & bad characteristics?

Use a real-life antagonist for inspiration, and give them some love too.

My antagonist wants:

Why they want it:

They will sacrifice these to get what they want:

Others judge them too harshly because:

But they act like this because:

I can sympathise with my antagonist because:

They could change if:

They can't change because:

They are good at:

They are bad at:

Who else loves/loved your antagonist?

Why do/did they love your antagonist?

Antagonist - works against the goals.

Villain - a “bad guy” in the story, often working for evil purposes to destroy a heroic protagonist

While there can be villainous protagonists, villains are antagonists when they’re not the main character of the story, but instead the main source of conflict for the main characters.

VILLAIN

Defining characteristics:

General mood/disposition/outlook:

Motivation/s:

Do they consider themselves a villain?

Do they feel mistreated?

Who or what do they blame?

What is their aim?

How do they plan to achieve it?

How does this cause conflict with the protagonist?

Why does the protagonist dislike them?

Why do they dislike the protagonist?

What advantages do they have?

Are they isolated?

Do they have henchmen?

Do they change? Do they succeed?

How do they...

Treat their subordinates?

Unnerve others?

Try to manipulate others?

Try to hurt others?

Try to antagonise others?

Pursue their victims or wait for them?

Create a contrast with the protagonist?

Change the course of the story?

Create drama and suspense?

What made them a villain? Was it...

An event?

A person?

A belief or world view?

Their environment?

Something else?

FIGHTING

Who gets involved in the fight?

Why do they start fighting? Who starts?

What is at stake for each party?

What is the aim of the fight for each party?

Do all parties fight fair?

Why couldn't the problem be solved without fighting?

Are there any onlookers or arbiters?

Is the fight pre-planned or spontaneous?

Does anyone try to flee? Why or why not?

How does the fight end? Is there a clear winner?

What do they do after the fight? How do they feel?

Does the fight end the conflict between them?

Physical Elements

Do they have weapons?

How does the method or choice of weapon influence the fight?

Is the fight part of a ritual or rite of passage?

Where do they fight?

Does the fighting ground play a role in the outcome?

Is anyone injured or killed?

Are they evenly matched in skill? In strength and stamina? In resources?

Do any other factors come into play?

How does the fight play out?

Sources: 1 2 ⚜ More: Worksheets & Templates ⚜ Writing Exercises: Antagonist Fight Scene ⚜ Hate ⚜ Word List: Fighting ⚜ Morally Grey Characters

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Worksheet: Protagonist & Antagonist

Antagonists are more difficult to deal with (and therefore more real and engaging) if they share some similarities with the protagonist.

Antagonists are the protagonists of their own story.

However, not every antagonist will feel antagonism towards the protagonist.

Positive characteristics they don’t share:

Negative characteristics they don’t share:

Conflict caused by their differences: Specific examples of conflict:

Positive characteristics they share:

Negative characteristics they share:

Conflict caused by their similarities: Specific examples of conflict:

Source ⚜ Writing Worksheets & Templates ⚜ Villain ⚜ Morally Grey Characters

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Templates: Character Sketch & Character Bible

Character sketches - the characters’ biography or CV.

Thanks to these sketches, your characters will have no secrets.

You’ll be clear about their appearance, behavior, past, and above all, about the way they must react under different circumstances.

They can take many forms, but they are usually divided into 2 groups according to their purpose:

Short Sketches: These contain the most basic information about the character. They are perfect for describing minor characters and can also be used as writing prompts. You can store them in a folder and resort to them when you are in need of inspiration. Georges Simenon used to choose two characters (a man and a woman, for example) and ask himself what would take them to the limit. The answer to that question was the beginning of a story.

Character Bible: This document contains a lot of information about each of the protagonists and their relationships with other characters. It’s used during the prewriting stage.

WRITING TEMPLATE: Character Sketch

Short character sketches can be used as writing prompts or as a prewriting strategy. Don’t be too exhaustive; it’s enough to just jot down a few general notes on your characters in order to know at a glance what is unique about each of them.

1. Sketch Number

Organize your sketches by number and add their creation date.

Make note of what story they belong (or could belong) to.

2. Character’s Name or Nickname

3. Type of Character

Role they play in the story (protagonist, antagonist, mentor...). 

When a character isn’t part of any story yet, it is not that easy to assign him (or her) to a role.

To solve this problem, ask yourself these questions:

Does (s)he meet the requirements to be classified as a protagonist (or antagonist)?

Should (s)he play a minor role?

Is (s)he a hero or an anti-hero?

There are many possible combinations.

4. General Information

Gender, age, date and place of birth, place of residence, etc.

5. Appearance

In this section, it’s not necessary to go into too much detail.

You just have to consider the features that make a character different from the everyone else (a scar, a limp, unique physique...).

Characters’ height, eye color, and hair color.

6. Personality

Try to focus on what makes each of your characters special.

Is he or she a home-loving introvert or a rather independent and sociable adventurer?

Choose adjectives that best define your characters’ personality.

Take into account their main virtues and shortcomings as well as their hobbies, fears, dreams, and goals (which can be important to define their motivations in the story).

7. Profession/Studies

What do your characters do for a living?

Explain the characters’ frustrated vocations.

The things they have given up can also define them.

Unless your characters are animals/fantastic creatures.

8. Family, Friends, and Acquaintances

Specify the kind of relationship your characters have with their family, friends, and acquaintances.

Who are the most important people in their lives?

9. Personal Motto

A personal motto, slogan, or catchphrase is a sentence or concept that sums up a character’s philosophy and values.

It’s not compulsory to invent it.

You can always use sayings such as “you live and learn” or “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” etc.

You can also use quotes by famous philosophers.

10. Notes

Leave a blank space for other relevant information such as my characters’ biography, a funny anecdote, etc.

Anything that helps you visualize them in more detail will come in handy when you start writing your story.

WRITING TEMPLATE: Character Bible

This must be as detailed as possible. In this way, you’ll be clear about your characters’ appearance, peculiarities, virtues, shortcomings, customs, relationships, etc. Think about actors and actresses who must be very familiar with the characters they play in order to make a good performance. A writer who gathers information about a character faces a similar job.

Feel free to create the type of character sketch that best suits you. If you don’t know where to start, you can use the character sketch outline that I use for my stories. This document covers the most important points of a sketch.

1. General Features

Organize your sketches by number and add their creation date.

Make note of what story they belong to.

Character’s name or nickname (with origin and meaning).

Character’s role in the story (protagonist, antagonist, mentor...); specify in which part of the plot (s)he participates.

Gender, age, marital status, studies, occupation, residence.

2. Appearance

Write about the character’s appearance:

Physical features, clothes, gestures, manners, etc.

Pay attention to the features that make a character different from everyone else (a scar on the face, wears glasses, etc.).

3. Personality

Information about their character traits.

Adjectives that best define your character and the way (s)he sees himself/herself; the way others describe him or her.

Hobbies, fears, phobias, fixations, dreams, and goals.

4. Family and Friends

Information about the parents of each characters (names, jobs, ages, and type of relationship with their son or daughter).

Hobbies or events that marked them deeply.

If your main character has siblings, a partner, children, or other intimate acquaintances (name, age, and relationship with the main character, etc.)

5. Biography

6. Relationships and Other Notes

Include the rest of the characters and state how they met your main character, the type of relationship (s)he has with them, and how it affects their life and their actions.

Leave blank space for random notes and observations.

Source ⚜ More: Writing Worksheets & Templates 600+ Personality Traits ⚜ 100 Sensory Words ⚜ Goals & Motivations

[deception-united]

Writing Tips Master Post

Edit: Some posts may be deleted

Character writing/development:

Character Arcs

Making Character Profiles

Character Development

Comic Relief Arc

Internal Conflict

Character Voices

Creating Distinct Characters

Creating Likeable Characters

Writing Strong Female Characters

Writing POC Characters

Building Tension

Writing Grumpy x Sunshine Tropes

Plot devices/development:

Intrigue in Storytelling

Enemies to Lovers

Alternatives to Killing Characters

Worldbuilding

Misdirection

Consider Before Killing Characters

Foreshadowing

Narrative:

Emphasising the Stakes

Avoid Info-Dumping

Writing Without Dialogue

1st vs. 2nd vs. 3rd Perspective

Fight Scenes (+ More)

Transitions

Pacing

Writing Prologues

Dialogue Tips

Writing War

Writing Cheating

Worldbuilding:

Worldbuilding: Questions to Consider

Creating Laws/Rules in Fantasy Worlds

Book writing:

Connected vs. Stand-Alone Series

A & B Stories

Writer resources:

Writing YouTube Channels, Podcasts, & Blogs

Online Writing Resources

Outlining/Writing/Editing Software

Writer help:

Losing Passion/Burnout

Overcoming Writer's Block

Fantasy terms:

How To Name Fantasy Races (Step-by-Step)

Naming Elemental Races

Naming Fire-Related Races

How To Name Fantasy Places

Ask games:

Character Ask Game #1

Character Ask Game #2

Character Ask Game #3

Miscellaneous:

1000 Follower Post

2000 Follower Poll

Writing Fantasy

[ni4lovesu]

school events to script ₊˚⊹ᰔ

⊹ ࣪ student hosted ˖ ʚɞ.

— back to school party : each year an epic party is thrown 1 week before school starts at a student’s house

— halloween party : weekend before halloween, everyone dresses up in their costumes and it’s extremely chaotic and hype

⊹ ࣪ faculty hosted ˖ ʚɞ.

— spring festival : takes place on spring equinox, right before the start of the spring break. essentially a day for students to cut class, destress and have fun! rose petals littered everywhere, flower mazes, bouncy castles, school wide egg hunt, picnics while watching the sunset, school wide bonfire after sunset, school dance in the evening, large picnic area with seasonal foods and drinks, flower crown making etc.

— summer solstice picnic : students relax on blankets, playing a ton of fun board and card games. buffet section with snacks and drinks

— summer festival : outdoor games include watermelon eating contest, slip and slides, bouncy castles, basketball shootout, ring toss, orbeeze fun shootout, and DIY bracelets etc. and refreshments include cotton candy machines, ice creams, popsicles, slushies served in frozen fruit, juice stalls, fruit stalls, bbq chicken skewers, pizza, tacos, frozen yoghurt cup, wraps, hotdogs, corn on a cob, doughnuts, churros, french fries, fried carrot cake etc.

— fall festival : takes place annually on the fall equinox and includes activities such as apple and pumpkin picking, apple bobbing, pumpkin carving, outdoor harvest feast, pie eating contest, cornmaze, in season food and beverages, bake off etc.

— christmas festival : a day where we do a bunch of christmas activities such as gingerbread house contest, ice skating, snowman building competition, making diy ornaments and going to fun christmas booths selling small goodies, at night there is a christmas concert consisting of songs, dances, plays by students and one performance by some teachers

— winter festival : a day where we do a bunch of winter activities such as ice skating, ice fishing, snowboarding, building snowmen, building igloos, snowball fights, stargazing. in between these activités we can go to nearby towns and drink hot choco and eat chocolate muffins, pancakes etc.

— new years gala : held annually on new years eve. guests gather out in the school square to celebrate the final hours of the year, culminating in a stunning fireworks display and light show as the new year begins. the evening is simple yet elegant, featuring champagne or sparkling cider, an array of delicious finger foods to start, followed by a buffet dinner with exquisite dishes. guests can enjoy dancing, warm company and festive touches like sparklers, small safe firecrackers, party poppers etc. for added fun. attire is unofficially cocktail attire, and music goes from smooth jazz to upbeat and lively tunes as the night progresses

— valentine’s ball : masquerade ball held annually in february in celebration of this romantic month. the venue is adorned with roses, hearts, and soft lighting, creating a dreamy atmosphere. tables are filled with themed foods and sweets with secret messages hidden within its wrappers. waiters also double as letter carriers, allowing students to send anonymous messages to one another throughout the event

— halloween ball : held annually on halloween day, the venue is transformed into a spook show, adorned with eery decoration fitting the season. students can dance, mingle, enjoy themed foods lining the tables, and explore adjoining rooms and hallways designed as haunted corridors filled with jumpscares, riddles, and puzzles to go through in exchange for candy. scare actors also roam the school, ready to give unsuspecting students a great fright.

— lantern festival : the celebration begins with a school wide picnic but as night falls, the focus shifts to designing lanterns and releasing them into the sky. other activities include lion and dragon dances, fireworks display, and rice ball eating competitions

— ice cream socials : buffet full of a wide array of ice cream flavors, a toppings bar, cookies and brownies for crafting personalized ice cream sandwiches, a float station, as well as specialty gelato, sorbet, and frozen yogurt stations. people can relax on provided picnic blankets spread out on a field while partaking in a myriad of activities like slip 'n slides, live band performances, photobooths, ice cream eating contests and even water balloon fights

— storybook carnival : making the school a magical world of stories by decorating the classrooms as different books, having haunted houses, cosy hangout areas around the school, book sale + donations, special book-themed foods etc.

— basket auction : people place bids on baskets filled with food to win the opportunity to have a picnic with the basket owner and its contents

— workshop day : students can learn skills such as woodwork, sewing, gardening, or cooking from local experts

— creations week : art exhibitions, fashion show, game development club’s game exhibition, robotics club’s robots, ceramic crafts, music student’s musical artworks, poetry by literature students

— bonfire : late night bonfire by the beach roasting marshmallows, stargazing and talking

— prom : fun dresses, great music, dancing all night, hype band, air conditioned room, good food, cute date

— overseas trips : ski trips in switzerland, london, greece, hawaii, italy, tokyo, bali, etc.

— learning journeys : science museum, zoo, aquarium, butterfly sanctuary, national gallery, art gallery, farm, planterium, petting zoo, historical landmarks, theatre, industry tours, adventure park, laser tag, bowling, amusement parks, escape rooms etc.

— school wide sleepover : games, movie, pizza, endless amount of beverages and snacks, etc.

— arcade night : the school rents arcade games and puts it all around the gym

— school assemblies : w/ school performances that are hype asf, some even by teachers

— school wide paintball fight, annual barbecue day, founders day, volunteer day, sports festival, pyjama day, no bag day, picture day, talent show, cultural fair, science fair, school play, book fair, movie night, trivia night

[jeanjwould]

i cannot stress this enough truly one of the best ways to improve your writing is to ignore any and all advice that circulates online, like forget literally EVERYTHING people are saying you should be doing, and READ BOOKS!!!!!! READ THINGS THAT YOU LIKE!!!!!!!!! READ THINGS IN THE GENRE YOU WANT TO WRITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is my new favorite method

[olyolyoxenfreewrites]

Finding Beauty in Darkness

darkness, to me, isn’t just a setting or a mood; it’s a crucible where truths are unveiled and the weight of pain strips away pretenses, exposing what truly matters. my stories don’t shy away from this space; i embrace the grief, fear, and anger because it’s in these moments of raw vulnerability that i discover glimmers of resilience, defiance, and hope.

pain isn’t a destination in my works; it’s a journey. loss isn’t a void; it’s a transformation. in Tenebraethia, when the triplets face their mother’s death, their mourning isn’t despair; it’s growth. each triplet copes differently: Eirynia channels it into determination, Eiryls into introspection, and Eivey into justice. their pain binds them, reshapes them, and propels them forward.

beauty in darkness emerges through contrast. a barren battlefield, scarred by war, becomes a canvas for unexpected acts of kindness—a soldier shielding an enemy child, a forgotten hymn rising from the lips of the dying. these moments are not saccharine; they are hard-won, emerging from the stark reality of suffering. they remind me that even in the most harrowing conditions, humanity persists.

the shadows in my worlds aren’t simply voids; they’re rich with texture and meaning. they were created to test faith, forge courage, and redefine love.

consider the local blacksmith of Tenebraethia, who crafts weapons to honor her fallen family. every blade carries her grief and hope that they’ll protect others from her fate. in the dimly lit workshop, she hammers away at the metal, infusing each weapon with a piece of her soul. the swords and shields she creates are not just tools for battle; they are symbols of her strength and resilience. as the sun sets and the shadows grow longer, the blacksmith's creations stand as a testament to the power of love and sacrifice in the face of darkness.

through this lens, darkness becomes a source of strength for my writing! it serves as a proving ground where all my characters—and myself—discover our true capabilities. my stories don’t ask to ignore or diminish pain; instead, they challenge us to confront it. and within that, i hope we all find the seeds of something worth fighting for.

even in the deepest shadows, there is beauty to be found—not despite the darkness, but because of it.

[olyolyoxenfreewrites]

one of my biggest struggles as a writer is crafting intimate or romantically rich scenes. i’ve never experienced either *insert world’s smallest violin* but it’s hard for me to place myself in that mindset even for my characters!!

any advice on how to not be cheesy and covey intimacy and romanticism with my fantasy worlds?

i’ll be doing an extensible research into this aspect of my writing so i’ll develop a toolkit of sort and post it to @olis-inkwell-symposium you can also check out my other guides and articles to help. doing content for 5 well rounded writing blogs PLUS the drafting of my own stories that are all very interesting and complex in their own rights…. i’m having a great time 🥹

[olis-inkwell-symposium]

Essay/Blurb on Enhancing Fantasy Stories Through Slice of Life Writing

Fantasy thrives on spectacle—the clash of swords, the weight of prophecies, the kind of magic that cracks mountains and reshapes worlds. It’s exciting, sure, but what keeps me coming back to a story isn’t the grandeur. It’s the small things. The quiet moments. The way a warrior looks at their battered boots after a day of marching through wet fields, or how a mage sighs in frustration as their spell fails for the fourth time that morning. These aren’t the moments most people come to fantasy for, but for me, they’re the ones that stay.

I’m talking about slice-of-life writing. The parts of a story where the world slows down and the characters just exist. No urgent plot points, no apocalyptic stakes—just people living their lives in a world that feels real because it’s full of those tiny, human details. Slice-of-life writing isn’t about undercutting the epic. It’s about making it matter. If I don’t care about a character during their quiet moments, why would I care about them when they’re in the middle of a fight for their life?

Take the image of a sorceress kneeling on the floor of her workshop, scrubbing soot off the wood after a spell went sideways. Her cat, impervious to the chaos she’s created, bats at a stray piece of parchment. She’s muttering to herself, not in ancient, arcane tongues, but in frustration because she’s ruined another expensive candle and the stain won’t come out of the floorboards. That’s the moment I want to see—not just because it’s relatable, but because it gives me a reason to see her as more than her title or her power.

For me, slice-of-life writing is where a world stops being a backdrop and starts becoming a place. A marketplace isn’t just “bustling.” It’s full of mismatched voices yelling over each other, the smell of something spiced and slightly burnt wafting from a stall, and the metallic clang of someone hammering out horseshoes nearby. It’s a child tugging on their parent’s hand, begging for something shiny that they’ll probably lose by the end of the day. I don’t want a world that feels polished and pristine—I want one where I can practically feel the grime under my fingernails and hear the complaints of the merchant who’s been on their feet since dawn.

These small details are what ground a story. They don’t slow it down; they give it weight. A warrior isn’t just a weapon—he’s someone who spends fifteen minutes trying to scrape mud off his boots so he doesn’t track it into the inn. A healer isn’t just a symbol of kindness—they’re someone who stares at their herb supply, calculating whether they can afford to save another life without losing their own. These aren’t plot points—they’re anchors. They give the extraordinary a foundation, something to stand on when the story starts to tip toward the unbelievable.

There’s a scene I’ve imagined more than once: a mage crouched over a torn robe, trying to stitch it back together. Their hands aren’t steady—magic has never required precision, not like this. The needle pricks their thumb, and they swear quietly, not because of the pain but because the thread has slipped loose again. There’s a pile of spell components shoved to the side of the table, forgotten for now, because even the most powerful magic-user has to fix their own clothes sometimes. It’s such a small thing, but it tells me everything I need to know about who they are.

I don’t need every moment in a story to be this slow, quiet thing. Big battles, high stakes, massive consequences—I love those, too. But when everything is dialed up to eleven, I start to feel numb. I lose my connection to the characters, to the stakes, to the world itself. Slice-of-life writing is what keeps me tethered. It’s the chance to pause, to breathe, to see the people behind the actions.

Even in the most fantastical settings, slice-of-life makes the world feel lived in. A healer crouching in a hidden garden, tending to plants that glow faintly in the dark, isn’t just performing a task. She’s inhabiting the world, shaping it with her small rituals. I can feel the damp soil against her hands, hear the soft hum of an insect passing by, see the way the leaves shift as she moves. It’s these details that make me believe in the world, that make me want to stay in it just a little longer.

And slice-of-life isn’t just for worldbuilding—it’s for the characters, too. A protagonist at a village festival, standing just outside the crowd, drink in hand, is a different person than the one charging into battle. Maybe they notice the blacksmith wiping soot-streaked hands on her apron before joining a group of friends. Maybe they overhear a merchant arguing over a charm’s price, both of them pretending not to laugh. These moments tell me about who the protagonist is when they’re not “the hero.” They give me a reason to care.

Writing slice-of-life is also where I feel most free to explore my characters. What do they do when no one is watching? How do they hold themselves in the quiet moments, when they don’t have an audience? A young apprentice practicing spells late into the night, their breath fogging in the cold air, tells me more about their courage than any grand speech ever could. These scenes aren’t distractions—they’re where the heart of the story lives.

It’s not just about what happens in these moments—it’s about how they happen. Slice-of-life thrives on specificity. It’s not “a bustling inn”; it’s the creak of floorboards under a barmaid’s hurried steps, the faint smell of spilled ale clinging to the air, the muttered complaint of someone who’s been nursing the same drink for hours. It’s not “a lone traveler at dawn”; it’s the way the frost clings to the edges of their cloak, the crackle of the fire they’re trying to rekindle, the hissed curse as they burn their fingers on the kettle. These details make the world tangible.

Fantasy doesn’t have to be all or nothing. There’s room for both the epic and the intimate. The key is knowing when to let the world slow down, when to let the characters breathe. Slice-of-life isn’t about filling time—it’s about filling the world. It’s about giving every sword swing, every spell, every desperate act of heroism something to stand on.

The moments that stick with me aren’t always the big ones. It’s the sorceress scrubbing soot off the floor. The warrior muttering about damp boots. The healer brushing dirt from their hands after an hour in the garden. These are the moments that make the extraordinary feel worth it. These are the moments that remind me why I fell in love with fantasy in the first place.

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