I can’t tell if i want this story to be a romance or a tragedy yet. i have a scene in mind. Elliot leans in towards matthew. matthew opens his mouth for a moment, and Eli says “shh. don’t break the facade.”
Matt says, “what facade?”
“This facade that you love me, and I love you, and we’re going to have a happy ending. Don’t ruin that right now. Can’t we just enjoy each other’s company for now?”
And then Matthew either says “Okay.” or he says, “Who said it was a facade? If you’re lying here, then you’re only one who’s lying.”
so far—main character one is in the hospital, his sister was in a car accident, he’s waiting to hear from the doctor. idk if shes gna die dskjdsjk but hes gonna meet mc2 there
i think i want to start a writing project thats just like. start from scratch and see how much i can write within a full week. does anyone think this could be a good idea and/or would like to try this with me?
my goals so far are: try to get as many words written as possible, get a full, well rounded story out and push myself to leave my perfectionism behind. what do yall think
if i did it i’d totally release it for yall to read lol
hiya, i’m hayden, i like writing and here’s a rundown of my wip.
edit: i forgot to say like… what it’s about. so hi, ghfty is about a home and specifically a group of kids that live there who have unnatural powers and use them to fight off unnatural creatures. ronnie movies in and ends up falling for one of the boys in the group and is trying to figure out what they’re even doing.
geraldine’s home for troubled youth (working title, subject to change)
characters:
geraldine: runs the home with her husband, richard. put the group together and finds people for them to help. 35
richard: a lawyer, not home much. 41
annie: their legally adopted daughter. 13
ronnie/mikey: new to the home, 18, gay, a sex worker, leaving an abusive home, mean and closed off but softer underneath that exterior. mixed. possibly has a gift like the group’s.
callie: a background character so far. ronnie’s best friend. he left her behind in her own abusive situation for the home. does not live at the home. 17
jared: pansexual, cis and white. a big jerk. only interested in sex and what he deems his (aka ronnie). does not live at the home. 19
the group™:
brian: trans boy, soft, he’s an energy-based telekinetic, but he’s admittedly not very good at it (yet?). 17
silhouette/sil: brian’s best friend. she’s a lesbian (or feminine-attracted) and she likes knives. she can turn invisible. she’d been going by sil before she realized she could turn invisible, but isaac started calling her silhouette when he found out, so she uses it as a nickname for silhouette. 18.
kelly: agender kiddo, has a Big Fat Crush™ on sil. they’re a mega empath, to the point where it affects them negatively sometimes, but they’re good at tracking and recognizing energy paths because of it. 17 (they/she, either is cool)
isaac: leader of the group and has been there longest of all of them. he’s psychic and uninterested in anything but his power, the group and helping people. 19
adam: kelly’s best friend. he’s a pyromancer. hetero trans boy. he, ironically, calms everyone down whenever they’re angry.
the sun was setting. aster’s excitement was buzzing through the room—quite literally; mika had to reset the circuit breakers twice because aster got so excited, he shut off the electricity. getting his powers back was both a blessing and a curse. a blessing, because mika didn’t have to hear him whine about how he might as well be human at this point, and a curse because aster kept underestimating his power. he said it felt like it was leaking out of him, and mika told him that sounded disgusting.
now, aster was practically bouncing as he helped mika dress. this was stupid. mika said as much, and he was ignored.
“you know,” mika said as aster tossed a white cape his way. “this started as a pagan holiday. if you want to be traditional, we should really go find a crop to harvest.” he said dryly.
aster rolled his eyes. “put on the cape. i’ll help with the halo.” ah, yes. the matching costumes were aster’s idea. he thought it was ironic. mika thought they were completely unnecessary, but deep down, he thought they were a cute sentiment. he begrudgingly tied the white cape around his neck, making a little bowtie. aster had complained, vaguely, when he bought the costume, that it wasn’t anything like what real angels dressed in, but it’d have to do.
once he got the cape on, aster walked over with the halo; really, it was just a bunch of glowsticks that aster had done… something to. suddenly, he regretted showing aster the children’s toy. aster had somehow figured out how to keep them lit, seemingly forever, and mika was forced to keep a neon green bracelet on him at all times. on second thought, the way aster’s face lit up while playing with glowsticks wasn’t something he’d trade. tonight, though, they’d swapped the neon green bracelet for a white one. he had to match.
“how come ike doesn’t have to dress up?” mika whined, gesturing towards the girl laying on their couch, a blow pop in her mouth. aster mumbled something under his breath about the candy being for the children.
“because i’m not whipped, mika. and, you know, if anyone has an issue with it, i could do this.” she said, her eyes suddenly completely black, as if filled in with a sharpie.
aster grimaced. “no, no, there will be none of that. you can’t scare the kids. and stop eating their candy!” he sighed, turning back to mika. “ike doesn’t have to wear a costume because ike isn’t giving out candy. she’s going to sit on the couch and watch horror movies for the rest of the year. we, on the other hand, have to look good.” he spoke as he lifted his hands. he had to stretch a bit to reach over mika’s head to place the halo in the right place. a few seconds later, and mika could swear the glowsticks were burning brighter, and they were floating in midair above his head. he stepped to the side to test it out; the halo followed.
“how do you do that?” he asked, incredulous.
“angel powers. now back to my costume.” he said, turning towards the mirror. he shoved a headband with devil horns onto his head, holding the wild hair in place.
“why not just use your real horns, angel boy?” mika had teased the first time aster put them on.
“we’re wearing costumes for a reason. it’s halloween, nothing’s supposed to be real.” aster had sighed back.
now, mika just watched as his boyfriend turned halfway to grab the tail hanging from his belt loop. he curved the tail, stuck the pointy end in the air, and a few seconds later, it stayed put on it’s own.
“now,” he said, “we’re ready for the kids!”
a riveting four hours later, the last child finally left their doorstep. she was a three, maybe four year old, dressed as a mumble bee, and she’d ran up to mika and, without warning, slapped his thigh as hard as she could. mika hadn’t realized before that moment just how strong toddlers were. proudly, the girl announced that she’d stung him, and she wanted her candy. he dropped a few pieces of candy into her plastic pumpkin, and flinched when she moved. she thought it was hilarious.
aster couldn’t contain his laughter as they went inside. “you got beat up by a toddler.”
“i did not!” mika exclaimed. “she attacked me! i think i have a bruise forming!” he said, through his own giggles.
aster, still giggling, moved in for a hug, which mika gladly gave. while his arms were wrapped around aster’s waist, he could feel the angel reach up to grab the halo above mika’s head. he pulled it down, and tossed it on the carpeted floor.
“i must say,” mika hesitated only slightly. “she was kinda cute. maybe i wouldn’t mind a bumblebee or two around. you know, eventually.”
“gross,” ike called from the couch, three feet away. she was scrunching her face, and the small pile of candy they’d left her with was now a pile of wrappers. “i’m gonna go before you two start making that bumblebee. i’ll see you tomorrow.” she said, shaking her head.
aster never did respond to the bumblebee comment; mika thought it was for the best. they weren’t exactly ready to have that conversation, and they had eternity to decide. the thought alone brought a smile to the demon’s face. maybe he didn’t mind celebrating this stupid holiday, after all.
“i hope you know we’re celebrating christmas, too.” aster mumbled into mika’s chest.
mika took a step back. “but— christianity isn’t even real!” he whined. aster just laughed. they both knew, in two months, they’d be hanging stockings and kissing in the snow. but it was nice to pretend to put up a fight.
reading eliza and her monsters has given me some much-needed inspiration for my wip. here goes nothing let’s try for the millionth time to get somewhere with my writing
Emery’s favorite nightmares were the ones that didn’t know they were nightmares. They shuffled along on ungainly limbs like puppies learning to walk, urged forward by a treat, oblivious to the waking world around them. As they became more corporeal, they bumped into lamp posts and mailboxes, stumbled over their own feet, even sometimes made little hiccupping noises of surprise. Some barfed blood or sang horrible banshee songs or accidentally queued up in line at the ATM.
a handful of (probably) unpopular opinions on writing:
a kiss scene doesn’t have to lead to sex. it can, ofc, but it doesn’t have to. your characters can kiss for the sake of kissing and nothing more. kissing is hella enjoyable in and of itself, so it doesn’t always have to be a means to an end
a story doesn’t have to be steeped, marinated, and executed with tragedy to be a Real Story. obviously you can and should put your characters through the wringer, but if you don’t tell a story with hope and happiness it’s not really a story worth telling. be brutal but don’t be 100% dismal and bleak
a fantasy doesn’t have to be centered on a war, especially if you don’t feel fully capable of writing about war. they’re tricky and unruly beasts, and if you aren’t willing to give them the proper treatment (read: not romanticizing them), you’re better off not writing about war in the first place
your royal character can be fine with arranged marriages. they don’t always have to run away to escape them only to fall in love with the betrothed they were running from in the first place
on the note of romances, your story A. doesn’t need a romance if it doesn’t fit and B. doesn’t necessitate every character getting into a relationship by the end. for some people, romance isn’t their idea of a happily ever after, so you don’t have to force that into your book
perhaps the most unpopular, but it needs to be said: your female character should not slap your male character. ofc there are times when a slap is warranted, but if he’s just being a dick he doesn’t need to be slapped. that’s physical assault and abuse, which should never be acceptable, even if it makes some people laugh (it shouldn’t and yet it always does 🙄)
your female character A. doesn’t have to be thin, B. doesn’t have to be a Strong Female Character, and C. doesn’t have to go through nauseating hardships (read: sexual assault or physical abuse) for her story to be worth telling
these are all i can think of off the top of my head. feel free to add on if you think of any!
just because a story has “literary merit” doesn’t mean it’s actually good. there are no superior genres.
just like fantasy doesn’t need to be centered on war, it also doesn’t need to be centered on medieval england. fantasy can happen at any time in any region of the world with any level of technology.
traditionally feminine values/traits in characters of all genders doesn’t mean they’re an inferior or weak character.
a female character can want power or have a desire to rule and not be evil.
poc and lgbtq+ characters deserve to be in genre fiction, and there doesn’t need to be a “reason” to justify their existence.
facts to know before u read this: aster is an angel who was sent 2 earth cause he’s a lil asshole and he needs to learn empathy. he’s also an insomniac.
[ they don’t know who we are, so we can both pretend. ]
there was a time when asteraoth despised the night. he couldn’t sleep, and it seemed like every star in the sky was mocking him. he found himself, most nights, leaned against the window in his bedroom, staring at the cars as they drive by. these people are heading home after a long day. they’ll come home to wives and husbands and children; or they’re heading to work, and leaving those things there, to return to in eight hours. it filled aster with a feeling he couldn’t begin to describe. they were going home to wives and husbands and dinners and baths, and he never would. if he did go home, he was going home to orders and diplomacies. if he called this place home, he was going back to an unmade bed and tv dinners. to a sky that mocks, and a god that has cast him from his home.
- the “camera” moves
- a new character shows up
- someone speaks
- someone else speaks
- a new idea, subject, or topic is introduced
- time passes or reverts to an earlier point
- the setting changes
- the mood shifts
- you want to create dramatic effect
List of gender neutral names with meanings and origins:
So, I was going to send this as a message to @oabuckvu, but instead I thought I’d post this here since others may also find it helpful!
A:
Addison- child of Adam- English
Adina- slender- Hebrew
Alby- from Alba- Latin
Ally- friend- English
Ash- ash tree clearing- English
Azra- pure- Israeli
Asa- physician- Hebrew
Arin- enlightened- Hebrew
Arlo- army, hill- old English or barberry tree- Spanish
Avery- elf ruler- English
Alex- defender of mankind- Greek
Arlen- promise, oath- Irish
Ambrose- immortal- Latin
Aspen- tree- English
August- dignity, vulnerable- German
B:
Blaine- yellow- Scottish
Blake- blonde, dark- English
Bryce- swift- Celtic
Brooklyn- broken land- English
Bradley- clearing in a woods- English
Bailey- bailiff- English
Beck- brook, stream- Norse
C:
Chyler- beloved- English
Cody- child of cuidightheach- English
Charlie- charles- English
Chris- christ- English
Coby- supplanter- Latin
Casey- brave- Gaelic
Corin- spear bearer- Irish
Cameron- crooked nose- Scottish
Colby- town, dark- Norse
D:
Dakota- friend- Native American
Devon- poet- Irish
Delaney- descendent of the challenger- Irish
Drew- manly- English
Denham- habitation- English
Dael- knowledge of God- Hebrew
Danny- God has judged- Scottish
E:
Ellis- Jehova is God- Greek
Ellery- from the elder tree island- English
Evan- youth warrior- Irish
Emery- brave, powerful- German
Eden- delight- Hebrew
Ellison- child of elder- English
F:
Farron- iron grey- Anglo Saxon
Freddie- peaceful ruler- German
Frankie- free one- French
Fynn- river in Ghana- African
Finch- bird- English
Flynn- child of red hair- Irish
G:
Gene- well born- English
Gale- cheerful, pleasant- English
Glade- shining- English
Glen- valley- Gaelic
H:
Hollis- Holly tree dweller- English
Harlow- rock, army, hill- English
Halley- lived near a grove- English
Hadley- Heather field- English
I:
Isa- devoted to God- Teutonic
Ives- archers bow- English
Iggy- firey one- English
J:
Juniper- youth producing, evergreen- Latin
Jesse- gift- Hebrew
Jo- God is gracious- English/German/French
Joey- may Jehova add- Hebrew
Jordan- river flow- Macedonian
Jet- black gemstone- German
K:
Kellam- at the ridges- Norse
Kelsey- from the ships island- English
Kendall- royal valley- English
Kai- sea- Hawaii
L:
Logan- hollow- Scottish
Leslie- garden of holly- Scottish
Lee- dweller near the wood- English
Lane- path- English
Luca- bringer of light- Italy
Lirit- poetic- Hebrew
Lex- defender- Greek
Lakota- friends- Siouan
M:
Mattie- strength in battle- German
Morgan- sea defender- English
Misha- God live- Russia
Max- greatest- Latin
Mattise- gift of god- French
Monroe- from the mouth of the river Roe- Irish
N:
Newlyn- from the new spring- Celtic
Noel- Christmas- French
Nicky- victory- English
Nat- gift of god- English
Nova- chases butterfly- Native American
O:
Oakley- from the oak tree meadow- English
Oak- tree- English
P:
Perry- dwells by the pear tree- English
Piper- one who plays the pipe- Scandinavian
Pema- lotus- Tibetan
Puck- unknown meaning- Dutch
Parker- park keeper- English
Q:
Quinn- fifth- Irish
Quinta- fifth- Spanish
R:
Reese- firey- Welsh
Rey- king- Spanish
Reed- red, clearing- English
Rune- secret- Norse
Rue- herb, regret- English
Rain- blessings- American
Riley- dweller by the Rye field- English
River- river- English
Rowan- red- Gaelic
Rory- red king- Gaelic
Ronson- child of ron- English
S:
Sawyer- cuts timber- Celtic
Stevie- crown- English
Shiloh- owner- Hebrew
Sage- wise one- French
Saxon- knife- Teutonic
Sammy- bright sun- Finnish
Scout- to listen- French
Shane- gift from God- Irish
T:
Tex- texas- American
Toni- worthy of praise- Latin
Theo- God given- Greek
Taylor- to cut- French
Tyne- a river in england- English
Tyler- maker of tiles- English
Terry- powerful ruler- English
U:
Umber- shade- French
W:
Wyatt- guide- English
Willow- graceful- English
Wynne- fair- English
Wren- song bird- English
“I should really take notes while I write,” I grumble as I search through the entire first half of my manuscript, trying to find a single mention of the time lapse between two random events in history.
“I should really take notes while I write,” I command myself as I search through every scene which includes a certain side character, attempting to find the descriptor I used for their skin tone.
“I SHOULD REALLY TAKE NOTES WHILE I WRITE,” I scream while pounding my head into my keyboard, hoping desperately that somehow I will magically stumble upon that one scene where a side character mentioned the full name of someone who doesn’t even appear until the third book.
“Taking notes while writing has helped me so much,” I never ever say, because I never actually do it.
kianamaiart
dededos
jacobvanloon
turnnoffyourmind
germansingergirl
snowghoul
discoholicmusic
andulkaphoto
