#tchd

[whosectype]

Oh yeah I tried to do one of those screenshot edits

keyword: tried

[howdywrites]

WIP Inspirations (tag game)

Thank you to the lovely @chayscribbles for tagging me!! ❤️

rules: list the top three inspirations for the wip of your choice.

I believe I’ve already done  this with Sisterhood of Blood, so I’ll do the wip I haven’t talked about in a while They Called Her Delilah -

1. The movie Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Did I like this movie? Eehh... not really? It felt misogynistic without being outwardly misogynistic. Plus I’m not a huge fan of the director and I felt like this movie was boring. However, the aesthetics? Off the charts. It made me want to write a story set in the same time period + area (hollywood/california in 1969). The scene where the stunt double dude goes to the Manson family’s pad, which was also an old wild west set, was the only part of the movie that sent chills down my spine. I want to capture that in this WIP.

2. Cults. In general. Like most prolific true crime cases, cults have fascinated me for a long time. While the Manson family is the one that specifically inspired this WIP, the cult in my story is its own entity. I don’t want to create a watered down ‘totally-not-the-manson-family manson family’ if that makes sense??

3. The chaos that was the summer of ‘69. When you put it into perspective, so much shit went down that year. The civil rights movement, cult murders, serial killers running rampant, the riot at the Stonewall Inn, the moon landing and woodstock. It’s an era ripe for chaos in a WIP, especially with a cast in their early to mid-20s.

-

Tagging (no pressure!!): @harehearts @hazard-writes @northernrosewritings @thechapelscrow @lordfenric @lordkingsmith @aspenscribbles @aetherwrites and anyone who sees this and wants to do it!

[howdywrites]

[ Story Concept: They Called Her Delilah ]

 *disclaimer: this concept mentions death, murder, drugs and cults. Also, this is all still just concepts - anything could be changed before it’s outlined/written.

> Genre(s): historical fiction (1969), thriller/suspense, crime fiction

> Category: New Adult, Adult

> Theme(s): cults be crazy, found family, LGBTQ+ characters, missing person, starving artists, men in the 60s/70s be serial killing, don’t do drugs kids, old hollywood, tv westerns

Synopsis: Three starving artists struggle to make ends meet in their tiny LA apartment with their day jobs working as background characters on a dying western television show. When their fourth roommate, Kathleen, disappears they're left to pick up the pieces of her troubled life. With no help from the police, the three decide to search for her on their own. Along the way, they discover just how dangerous a life Kathleen had been living The trail she leaves behind is twisted and unsettling. It's uncertain if she's even alive.

Characters -

Lucille (22): former child star, loves pink, struggling getting acting jobs after a messy breakup. Discovering herself.

Velma (19/20): smart as a whip, could probably invent a weapon of mass destruction, traveled with a band until they abandoned her.

Thomas (23): from a small Utah town, left home and his religion because they wouldn’t accept his sexuality, likes to paint.

Kathleen (19...allegedly): Daddy Issues™, easily swayed by sweet words and gifts, currently missing. Might be dead or in a cult.

Taglist: @sybil-writes @draculinawrites (I wasn’t sure if you wanted to be tagged in EVERYTHING lol but here we are) @vesaeris-writes

🌱 Concept Garden 🌱

Click here to find drabbles for TCHD!

[howdywrites]

They Called Her Delilah  main cast

Made using this picrew!

*disclaimer: not an official character intro post*

Thomas Wheeler (top left): Painter, the quiet one, level headed, the glue that keeps their little family together, very gay

Velma Nelson (top right): Wants to be in a band, bisexual, could invent a weapon of mass destruction if she wanted to

Lucille Bennett (bottom left): Former child star, can’t find acting jobs anymore thanks to a messy public breakup with a hollywood producer, living her best life, carer of small animals

Kathleen [Surname TBA] (bottom right): Currently missing, has some issues, very secretive past, can be easily swayed with kind words and gifts, just wants love and attention

[ TCHD concept post ]  [ Thomas drabble ]  [ Velma drabble ]

TCHD taglist: @celestialbunnistories @sybil-writes @draculinawrites @sapphcon-ic @alcego-writes @thoughtbloom @phantom-stargazer @mshelleys @ditzysworld  @writingpostmidnight @writerwaage @redwritesreads @aslanwrites @donovyn--nox

Reply/Comment if you would like to be added! ❤️

[howdywrites]

Apollo

A drabble for my WIP They Called Her Delilah

[ Intro post ]

After a late night drive, I managed to break free from the severe writer’s block I was experiencing and sat down to write this. I’m still trying to get a grasp on Thomas’ character, so this is the first time I’ve centered a drabble on him. Hope you enjoy!

Length: 1,046

Warnings: One singular curse word

Comment or message me if you’d like to be added to the taglist!

        Wet acrylic filled Thomas’ senses. His hand flicked, adding purposeful strokes of cool tan to brighten the shadows of his partially finished portrait. The room was quiet save for the soft smearing of brushes on canvas. He paused, dragging his gaze away from his work to look up at the model.

        A man near his age, though no older than thirty he suspected. Dark chocolate curls that shagged around his ears and neck. A strong jaw darkened with stubble and a distinct nose that he filled several pages with in his sketchbook trying to get it just right. ‘Dan’ they called him, a law student who volunteered to pose for them after unending badgering on their instructor’s part. He stood proudly on the small raised platform, white fabric bunched and draped over his body to give him a Grecian aesthetic.

        Thomas silently cursed their instructor for posing him the way she did. Facing him directly so every time he studied him - or rather stole a bashful glance - their eyes would meet. He could see every emotion reflected in those olive green eyes. Power. Certainty. Humor, though he couldn’t be sure why.

        The same humor they possessed right in that moment as they stared each other down. The corner of his full lips pulled upwards, smirking and dimpling the space between his mouth and cheek. Yet another small detail he missed during his quick glances. Dan rolled his shoulders back some, his collarbone peeking out from the draped fabric. How often did he work out? Thomas trailed his eyes over his chest and arms, how they tensed with his small movements. The Apollo Belvedere alive and breathing. 

        Dan dipped his head a bit. Towards him, he realized in horror. Something wet and cold plopped on top of his foot, making him jump out of his stool. Through the leather straps of his sandals, cool tan smudged over his pale foot. Heat bloomed in his cheeks and he cleared his throat. Every eye bore into him, even the ones not directly looking at him. Trying to be cool about it, he simply wiped the mess on the back of his calf. The cold paint smeared. A problem for future Thomas to deal with when he didn’t have captivating olive eyes staring him down.

        Clenching his jaw, he poured himself into his work. Commanding his hand to refrain from trembling as he worked on the details of Dan’s face. That angular jaw. He imagined trailing his fingers over the rough, unshaven state of it. Cheekbones that could cut through his paper thin heart if he wasn’t careful. 

        No shade of green Thomas mixed captured the essence of this man. The first two were too cold, another too warm. He needed a green that could seep into his soul and settle there like soft spring moss. Again and again he mixed and scraped his palette until he settled on something that could pass.

        Like a skittish rabbit, Thomas alternated between his work and Dan. Each time their eyes met those soft lips would curl again and send his brush twitching between his aching fingers. After today’s session, he would no longer be tortured by the sight of him. Both a blessing and a curse.

        “That’s all the time we have today.” The instructor’s bored voice piped up. The room still and the group took a collective breath and broke out into soft chatter. But not Thomas. He stood frozen in front of his easel and realized he no longer had a portrait of Apollo as the assignment dictated.

         He painted Dan the law student. Dimple and all.

         Shit.

        “Here.” A deep voice offered, a figure appearing out of the corner of his eye. Dan stood so close Thomas’ breath hitched in his throat. His head spun as if he were near a god himself. He offered him a blue and white bandana he plucked from his pocket from under his makeshift toga.

        “Thanks-” Thomas’ voice grew weak, his mouth dry. He set his brushes down and stooped down to brush the dried paint off of his tan sandal. He began to spill his guts without thinking. “I’m sorry I got your eye color wrong. I tried about six different shades and it didn’t quite work, and I-”

        “You got my dimple.” Dan chuckled. Thomas snapped his head up at the man, his heart drumming behind his ribs. Those soft lips smirked again. Amusement danced behind those eyes he had battled the entire three hour block. “Got a good eye for detail. Will you be in the figure drawing class next week?”

        “Oh… yeah I think it’s on my schedule.” Thomas didn’t know how he was speaking properly. His tongue always got twisted when an attractive man offered even the smallest interest in him. Dan’s eyes sparkled as he stood up, winking and taking a moment to give him a once-over.

        “See you then.”

        Stunned, Thomas stood there like a deer in headlights. His fingers clutched at the paint smeared bandana that Dan left behind and he watched as he picked his things up by the door and slipped out without another word. His body floated in a void, putting his portrait up to dry and washing his brushes to take back to the apartment. If the portrait class nearly turned him into a puddle, the figure class would surely end him.

-

        Velma looked up from her 4th bowl of cornflakes as the front door to their apartment unlatched and swung open. Thomas stood in the doorway like a ghoul, his face a mix of awe and horror. “You okay, dude?” she asked between bites. She raised a brow at the stained blue bandana tied around his neck in a stylish ascot.

        “I think I need to lie down. Velma, do you think a smile can kill a man?” He asked, shutting the door with his foot and tossing his bags on the ground. She hopped off his couch and sat on the arm. Thomas flopped down, his face buried in the ugly green throw pillows they stole from the dumpster behind a local furniture mart. 

        “No. Why?” Velma spooned the last of her cereal into her mouth.

        “Because I think I met Apollo himself. And I think he might be at my figure class next week.”

        Velma snorted. “That’s rough, buddy.”

--

They Called Her Delilah taglist: @celestialbunnistories @sybil-writes @draculinawrites @sapphcon-ic  @thoughtbloom @phantom-stargazer @mshelleys @ditzysworld  @writingpostmidnight @writerwaage @redwritesreads @aslanwrites @donovyn--nox

[howdywrites]

Loud

A drabble for my WIP They Called Her Delilah

[ Intro Post ]

This came from an idea I got late at night about Lucille having an affinity for raccoons that hang out on their apartment balcony/porch sometimes. Lo and behold I got inspired to write and flesh out their characters a little more.

Length: 621 words

Warnings: None! Well, maybe some light cursing

Calloused fingertips trailed over the strings of a 1960’s fiesta red stratocaster. Velma lounged against an obscene amount of pillows and blankets pushed up against her headboard. She strummed a mindless repetitive chord, lost in thought. Even when she was home with time on her hands, everything was loud. The couple yelling on the other side of the wall, Thomas’ Beatles record that he played every time he painted, even her own thoughts. 

Velma lazily dropped her head on a stuffed giraffe and gazed out the large window of her shared bedroom. Between lacy white curtains, the city came to life. Friday nights should’ve been the day to go out drinking and partying - maybe even catch a gig at a comedy club. But with only $2.00 to her name, she had nowhere else to go. She watched the headlights of cars like lightning bugs navigate the streets down below the cliff their apartment building perched on.

Then she heard it. 

The pitter-patter of tiny feet and the scuffling of something rotten from their patio. One of the plastic chairs scrapped against the concrete by a force unseen from her place in the bedroom.

“Fucking raccoons!” Velma groaned, tossing her guitar next to her on the bed. Flying off the throne of pillows, she jammed her feet into her heavy combat boots and draped her leather jacket over her flimsy top. She threw open the bedroom door, making Thomas jump five feet into the air. His paintbrush teetering precariously close to his nearly finished canvas. “The heck-” He stammered, fumbling with his brush. “What are you stomping around for?”

“Raccoons!” Velma grabbed the floral print curtains that covered their glass sliding door and pulled them open. Four of them. Little ears twitching and tiny noses sniffling about the sparsely decorated balcony. They froze. Both human and animal stuck in a staring contest. Daring each other to make the first move. “I’m gonna kick your tiny fluffy asses-”

“NO!” A high pitched voice screamed across the room. Lucille came running in a flurry of pink silk and hair rollers. “Don’t you dare lay a finger on their perfect little heads!” Despite the woman’s petite build and apparent fragility, she elbowed Velma out of the way with enough strength to make her stumble backwards.

“Don’t tell me you’re fucking feeding them, Luce, I swear to god.”

“They’re hungry!” Lucille flashed her an Oscar winning pout. Her pink lipstick emphasized it. Puppy eyes to boot. “You wouldn’t like it if someone terrorized you for being hungry. They leave right after they eat, have a heart, Velma.”

Blowing out hot air, Velma retreated to the couch, or rather Thomas’ bed and plopped down. He offered her a sympathetic smile, knowing full well the antics of their stylish roommate. Lucille shuffled around the kitchenette, looking for her food scoop. She piled the cat food high in the mystery mug. None of them knew where it came from. She wrapped her most expensive fur around herself - something imported from France - and carefully squeezed herself through the back door. Opening it just enough for herself for fear the raccoons would run in.

“Hello, my little darlings.” Velma heard her coo in that velvety soft voice of hers, muffled by the glass door. Lucille propped herself up on the edge of a plastic porch chair and took care to scatter the food in four separate sections so that the vermin wouldn’t kill each other over competition.

Sitting there among her friends, with the Beatles playing in one corner and the motherly oohs and aahs in the other, Velma realized her thoughts weren’t so loud anymore. Like a sea settling after a storm, she felt like she was home.

---

They Called Her Delilah taglist: @celestialbunnistories​ @sybil-writes​ @draculinawrites​ @sapphcon-ic​ @stardustscribes​ @thoughtbloom​ @phantom-stargazer​ @mshelleys​ @ditzysworld​  @writingpostmidnight​ @writerwaage​ @redwritesreads​ @aslanwrites​

Reply or message me to be added to the taglist for this WIP!

[howdywrites]

Novel Prep Tag

This is another one I’ve been tagged in countless times since January, so I’m very sorry if I missed anyone. Thank you to @rhiannonleewriting​

I’ll be doing this for my newest WIP concept They Called Her Delilah. 

[Intro Post]

First Look

1. Describe your novel in 1-2 sentences

Three starving artists are thrown into a world of madness, cults and violence when their fourth roommate goes missing under mysterious circumstances. What kind of life was Kathleen living and is she still alive?

2. How long do you plan for your novel to be?

I have no earthly idea. I’m thinking somewhere between 60k and 80k, nothing too drastically long!

3. What’s your novel’s aesthetic?

1969 California, summer time, sunsets, oranges, teals, pinks and purples. Old cars, old hollywood and cults.

4. What other stories have inspired your novel?

Specifically that one scene in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood when Cliff meets the Manson family. It’s a well shot scene and gave me goosebumps because of how tense it was. Also, I really enjoyed the idea of using the set of a dying western television show like the characters in that movie. (I’m not going to get started on my meh feelings about the director or how they didn’t give Robbie’s character.... anything, really.)

5. Three images that get the feel of your novel

Main Characters

6. Who is your protagonist?

Roommate A: Lucille, a child star fallen from grace who’s life as a C list actress has just begun. The newspapers slander her, but she’s happy to be free of the controlling mother and producer who made her life miserable.

Roommate B: Velma, a booksmart rebel who went feral after not getting accepted into her dream university. After joining a band, and promptly getting abandoned by them, she plays music on the side to help mellow her anger.

Roommate C: Thomas, growing up as a gay kid in suburban Utah he didn’t feel like his life began until he packed up and moved out west. He’s an avid painter who can’t get work anywhere, but has his heart set on doing it full time one day.

7. Who is their closest ally?

Really, just each other! I’d say Kathleen, but she’s the one they’re trying to find.

8. Who is their enemy?

I haven’t fully fleshed out my antagonist for the story, but the cult their roommate Kathleen falls into are the enemy.

9. What do they want more than anything?

To bring their friend home, but individually...

Lucille: A quiet, yet still glamorous life.

Velma: to sing.

Thomas: to paint.

10. Why can’t they have it?

They’ve been abandoned by society or their families. They’ve all lost their sense of self in one way or another.

11. What do they wrongly believe about themselves?

I haven’t figured this out yet.

12. Draw your character.

No thanks!

13. What is the worst thing that could happen to your protagonist?

To Kathleen? Death. Or maybe living a life of being controlled and used.

Lucille: Ending up in the same position as Kathleen.

Velma: Never succeeding in anything.

Thomas: A hate crime. (this will NOT happen in my story I guarantee )

14. What secret will be revealed that changes the course of the story?

REDACTED

15. Do you know how it ends?

Still piecing it together, but vaguely yes.

16. What is the theme?

Found family is stronger than blood family. The people you create a family with will love you and protect you even when other won’t.

17. What is a recurring symbol?

Sunsets, butterflies/wings, rejection.

18. Where is the story set?

Summer of 1969 in California

19. Do you have images and scenes in mind already?

Yep. 

20. What excited you about this story?

Mostly the setting and characters. This is one of the first times I’m not doing any kind of romantic plot/subplot. This is solely focused on finding one’s family and the thrilling adventure of toeing the line between light and dark.

21. What is your usual writing method?

I’m a plantser! So I do a bare bones outline for what I want to write and then write it. I tend to do linear writing, so I start from the beginning and truck my way through to the end. If my outlines are too rigid I start to not like what I’m writing - I need the wiggle room!

Tagging: @celestialbunnistories​ @sybil-writes​ @hannahs-creations​ @thelittlestspider​ and anyone else who would like to do this!

[howdywrites]

Character Theme Tag

So I know for sure I was tagged by more than one person, but thank you to all of you! Including @thewalkingnerdx and @sybil-writes and @writing-with-melon !

Rules: Select a theme song for your characters. (click on titles for links)

Sisterhood of Blood characters:

Rosalind: Fall To Pieces by Patsy Cline

Eliza: Caroline by Colter Wall

Clementine: Daydream Land by Jewel

Caleb: Ain’t No Grave by Johnny Cash

Lucinda: Wicked Ones by Dorothy

Ruth: Front Porch by Joy Williams

Charlie: Love Me Tender by Elvis Presley 

Anna: Love Letter by The Wild Reeds

[ Find full character playlists here! ]

Feast of Bones characters:

Juliet: Breath Out, Breath In by Cecilia Ebba

The Creature: It Will Come Back by Hozier

[ Find the full spotify playlist here! ]

They Called Her Delilah characters:

Lucille: I’m Nobody’s Baby Now by Reparata and The Delrons

Velma: Wild Thing by The Troggs

Thomas: A Hard Day’s Night by The Beatles

Kathleen: Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison

[ Playlists coming soon! ]

Tagging: @tea-and-pirates @mayvinwrites @alcego-writes @emdop @tabbykatwrites @farrradays @stardustscribes @lordfenric @lordkingsmith (please feel free to ignore!!)