Your gateway to endless inspiration
I recently picked up Chris Baty's book, No Plot? No Problem! and have decided to make March the month in which I try to write a 50k novel! Anyone here interested in joining?
I have a few irl friends who are participating (some with modified challenges) but I wanted to offer it up on here as well. If you're interested, interact with this post in any way or send me an ask/DM! More info below the cut :)
(and a very important vote for those who'd like to participate)
So the whole premise of the challenge is that, in giving yourself a one-month deadline to crank out a full, 50k novel, your attention ends up being placed on quantity over quality, which helps drown out the internal critic that makes you hesitate when you write (or edit something twelve million times before moving on, or never start writing in the first place)
I highly recommend renting the book from your local library for more details on the thought process behind the challenge and other helpful tips (and if you have a library card but transportation difficulty, a friend of mine recently showed me the Libby app, which could be of help!)
I'm aiming for the full 50 thousand words, but my artist friend is adapting the challenge to dedicate a certain amount of hours towards making a comic, and my mom lowered the wc for herself because she's always wanted to write a short story (and doesn't have a ton of interest in writing a novel lol). So if 50k sounds too overwhelming for you or novels aren't exactly your thing, but something else is, feel free to go with whatever floats your boat!
I'm not sure how many people this will reach/ how many would want to play along, but community is a great way to keep each other motivated while also holding each other accountable, so what do you think would be the best method for coordinating that?
Option 1- through tumblr! i could organize writing sprints, word count/progress sharing posts, and some motivational things all under the same tag for easy find-ability (all with a tag-list so everyone is notified when these posts come out and so everyone on the list can interact with each other) Option 2- through discord! theoretically, i can figure out how to make one of these so that there can be a lot more freedom of chatting/sharing etc and writing sprints can be organized on there as well, with extra, optional channels for people to talk about the specifics of their projects or anything else you might want (but absolutely no pressure on the details-sharing front if that'll bring your inner critic back to life) Option 3- tumblr communities! i am not 100% sure how this function works, but if it's smth you guys are into or think would be good, i can absolutely make one Option 4- nuance/something else! if you have a suggestion for a better way to do this, i am all ears
poll duration is only a week, so if there's a lot of interest i will re-cast the poll again in the beginning of february
(and if you like one of the options but have suggestions for things you'd like to see or ways to best organize it, just lmk!)
Thanks for the prompts! I chose #4 and it felt so good to get into the flow of writing without worrying about how what I write would fit into a full piece. (im experiencing mega writers block with sfg atm)
So seriously, thank you OP
Anyways, here's what I came up with:
“Stargazing,” Kal observed, leaning heavily on her new spear. Jonathan had done good work with it, and the small inscription near its base was, surprisingly, left intact. Loren took a moment to admire the sleek, plated metal Jon had chosen to resuscitate that damn spear from its rightful place in the refuse pile, then turned his attention back toward the mottled patchwork of stars above them. “Is that what you do when you’re not killing people?” she pressed mirthfully. Loren frowned. The battle had been long and laborious and not really worth the sore wrist he’d been massaging for the past half hour, Ilium’s abrasive voice still rattling around in his skull. Kal sighed, lowering herself into a crouch beside Loren’s head. “Fight’s over, Twig. No need to be so serious.”
Loren tilted his head the slightest bit towards his companion, eyes flashing in the dark. “Me? Serious?” he asked. Kal’s attention flitted over Loren’s face, a smile slowly stretching over her face when he offered her the slightest scrunch of his nose. The expression looked somehow sweeter on her, with dried blood crusted over her teeth, than it had in the palace where they’d first met. “The Stone-Faced Twig, telling a joke,” she laughed. “No one’ll believe me.” “You’d share our special moment?” Loren continued mildly. “I’m gutted, Kal. Now what’ll I do with the ring I bought you?” Kal lightly shoved his arm, earning a soft huff that was drowned beneath her own delighted cackling. Loren wasn’t sure, exactly, when the grief had worked its way up her throat alongside the joy. Just that one moment he had told a joke- a good one, it seemed- and the next, Kal was shuddering with her spear gripped too tightly in one hand, its tip digging mercilessly into the grassy hilltop. Not a drop of blood on either one of them in any place that Kal could see. Loren supposed she didn’t really need to see, though, for the blood to linger. With a quiet curse, Loren raised his abandoned staff from the grass beside him and waved it loosely in her direction, easing her grip from the spear, knuckle by white-clenched knuckle, until he was certain she wouldn’t damage the new plating. Loren swallowed the sour taste in his mouth as he poked through Kal’s memories, searching for something gentle. Back and back and back he weaved, as he always did with soldiers, until the Kal in his mind’s eye was so small as to be hardly recognizable. But this Kal was warm, covered head-to-toe in a half-finished, puke green blanket while another, smaller version of someone Loren might have known in another life cheered and clapped and pretended to be struck low by the Kal-monster. “You don’t need to do that, you know,” Kal whispered at half her normal volume. Soothed by Loren’s efforts. Loren flinched. Kal’s hand quickly sought out his in the semi-dark, squeezing tightly when he attempted to shuffle away from her. Her grip bordered on painful. “I won’t tell the others,” she promised. Earnestly, by the sound of it. But sound was a liar that Loren knew well. “I know some of the others appreciate…it,” she continued haltingly. “What you...do for them.” Loren grit his teeth. “Only because they don’t know,” he reminded her stiffly. Kal sniffed and tilted her head, studying Loren in exactly the way he’d been trying to avoid ever since he’d been conscripted. Ever since he set foot in that damn palace. Ever since he lost- “Loren-”
Wet with tears, her eyes reflected the moonlight. “My mother’s name was Moon,” Loren suddenly confessed. Kal’s smile wobbled, eyes travelling uncertainly to the sky. “And my uncle’s name was Butter.” Loren sighed. “Are we naming the donkey, too?” Kal asked lightly. “Because we can do it if it’ll make you feel better, Twig, but one day Truth will catch you by the throat and it won't be pretty.” Loren pulled his hand away again and Kal let him. Still, Loren didn’t rise to his feet like he’d intended to. He dug his fingers into the grass at his sides, digging up the scent of dirt and mulch. The wind changed and Loren thought he could smell the stew, too. He took a deep breath and let it wash over him, blocking out the muted murmurs of their company in the distance. “What happened to 'Loren'?” he asked her without opening his eyes. Kal’s hand fell companionably to his shoulder. Her temple against his own was quick to follow. “Moment of weakness, Twig.” Loren chuckled sharply, slowly peeling his eyes open to peer up at the moon that watched over him, thinking of the Moon that did not. “You’ve known the whole time?” he ventured carefully. Loren felt Kal shrug against him. “Kind of easy to spot, you know? Your type never need much muscle to do the heavy-lifting, do they?” “Twig,” Loren realized. Kal hummed, gently shoving him over as she climbed to her feet and reclaimed her spear, idly testing out the balance as she dithered. “Everyone’s wondering where you went to,” she said with forced casualness, poking at imaginary enemies. “So. Unless you want me spilling your dirty, stargazing secret…” Kal’s attention drifted to Loren, then, and her restless hands slowly lowered to her hips. A wide, conspiring smile crept over her features. “You better beat me back to that damn campsite.” Loren frowned. “Beat you-?” “Go!” Kal shouted, tearing down the hill with her spear and her smile and the blood in her teeth. For a moment, all Loren could do was watch her go. The he cursed and grabbed his staff, rushing down after her with a grumbled complaint, something heavy still caught in his chest. But, somehow, lighter than it was before.
One day, the stars disappeared from the sky, like a blanket over the earth.
"I think the stars are getting bigger."
The stars shift in the sky, and whisper messages into the ears of every child.
"Stargazing... is this what you do when you're not killing people?"
Stars have ears.
"I love the stars, because they love me."
What if the stars were gods?
"Watch the stars as you die, and they'll take you with them."
That’s a really fun self-Pavlov lol
trying to find the time/energy to write now that the semester has started up again is not going to be as easy peasy as i thought lol
writers, pls reblog with your fav writing rituals/habits! i love getting inspired by seeing what works for other people :)
The setting and style of Forest Fire has been fighting me a little, and I think I might be able to fix that if I lean more into the style of gothic fiction. I don’t know if the whole genre of my piece will shift as I write it out more, but it’s certainly a fun place to take inspiration from!
I set out to write at least a little bit every day in December and I managed to complete 27/31 days! I think this challenge really helped me identify some of my weaknesses and strengths as a writer and I’m proud of the work I put in
Hopefully I’ll be able to share a lot more of my writing with you all in 2025! Happy new year everyone <3
I want to write at least a little bit every day in December so I’ve decided to keep a log and post it here to keep myself accountable! I’ll list whether it’s a fic or original, what it’s about, and a few of my thoughts about each project. posted weekly, I think :)
Hey, hey! Happy Monday! Hopefully everyone had a wonderful weekend and we’re all ready to tackle the week as strong people!
Sometimes, I forget If I’ve quickly covered something on this blog before.. I feel like I’ve done irony before but it’s probably me just imagining…
Let’s begin!
The definition of irony as a literary device is a situation in which there is a contrast between expectation and reality
For example, the difference between what something appears to mean versus its literal meaning.
Irony is associated with both tragedy and humor.
Dramatic Irony: Also known as tragic irony, this is when a writer lets their reader know something that a character does not. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, each young lover takes the poison, thinking the other is already dead—the dramatic irony comes from the audience wanting them to know the whole story before taking this final action. Similarly, in Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello trusts Iago—but the audience knows better.
Comic irony. This is when irony is used to comedic effect—such as in satire. Jane Austen was a master of irony and dialogue. Her preoccupation with social divisions, and the witty and insightful tone with which she revealed hypocrisy and parodied people contributed heavily to her voice. Austen opens Pride and Prejudice with a famous line implying that men are the ones who hunt for a wife; however, she makes it clear throughout the narrative that it is actually the other way around.
Situational Irony. This is at play when an expected outcome is subverted. For example, in O. Henry’s classic tale, The Gift of the Magi, a wife cuts off her long hair to sell it in order to buy her husband a chain for his prized watch. Meanwhile, the husband has sold his watch in order to buy his wife a comb for her hair. The situational irony comes from each person not expecting to have their gift be undercut by the other’s actions.
Verbal irony. This is a statement in which the speaker means something very different from what he or she is saying. Think of the knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail: with both his arms sliced off, he says, nonchalantly: “It’s just a flesh wound.” He is ironically (and comically) underplaying the severity of his injury.
Sarcasm is a conversational device characterized by saying the opposite of what one means.
The key difference between irony and sarcasm is that sarcasm characterizes someone’s speech. Irony can additionally describe situations or circumstances. There are some cases in which someone could say something that is considered both ironic and sarcastic, but sarcasm is not a literary device.
Pay attention. As you read and watch movies, think critically about what is ironic, and why. For example, in the film The Wizard of Oz, the great and powerful Oz turns out to be just a regular man, while Dorothy, who has been desperately seeking his help so that she can get home, has had the power to return home all along. Think about ways in which you can incorporate situations like this into your writing, where you subvert the expectations of your characters, your readers—or both.
Use an omniscient point of view. Many novels written in the nineteenth century are told from an omniscient point of view. When a reader knows more than the character, as in Bram Stoker's Dracula, it generates suspense, because your reader waits for the character to learn what they already know. But you might want to invert that balance of knowledge and make the narrator a character in the story that knows more than the reader. Agatha Christie used this first-person strategy to create narrative irony.
Have a clear point of view strategy. Point of view strategy is deeply bound up with what story you want to tell and will guide how that story unspools. No matter where you are in the drafting process, devote some time to thinking through the risks and rewards of different point-of-view strategies and consider who in your story may be best suited to hold the narrative reins.
Use the “meanwhile” device. If you are using an omniscient narrative point of view strategy, your narrator may recount a parallel event happening simultaneously in another place using the “meanwhile” device (e.g., “Meanwhile, across town...”). Because this device lets the reader in on happenings that one character has no knowledge of, it is a great tool for generating dramatic irony.
Use a flashback sequence. When your narrative or characters recall a long memory from a time before the story began, you may want to pull the reader back into a past scene. This is called a flashback. It important to mark the beginning and end of a flashback to make your time jumps clear to the reader, which you can do using past perfect tense to introduce the change—e.g. “he had gone to the marina.” Past perfect tense uses the verb “to have” with the past participle of another verb (in this case “gone”). After a few lines of this, transition into simple past tense—e.g. “he climbed onto the boat.” Generally speaking, using past perfect for a long section of text is jarring for most readers. It’s enough to use it only at the start of the flashback before switching to simple past tense. At the flashback’s end, use a reminder that the reader is back in the current scene.
Questions to help develop your otp. Pt2
How would they prefer to spend time when out and about?
What signal do they give when they need some space ?
In which setting do they best play off each other ?
What is a moment when each character is vulnerable?
How does each character react to the other being vulnerable?
How do they communicate reciprocated feelings?
What do they disagree on and how did they deal with differing opinions ?
What sort of things do they get into fights over ?
How do they reconcile after arguments ?
How do they each show affection?
At what time do they usually/ mostly have their conversations ?
How honest are they with each other?
How open are they about their current feelings ?
How do they compromise?
In what ways are they in tune with the other's feelings?
How do they show sympathy?
In what ways do they pressure the other or consciously avoid applying pressure?
What topics are the most painful to each other ?
What topics always leads to a fight ?
Is one character too sensitive about something?
What do they want to be resolved the most ?
How do they hold each other accountable?
How do they react in times when they can't cheer the other up ?
What are their plans for the future ?
What plans have they built together ?
If any, what's the biggest threat to their relationship? Are they aware it exists ?
Do they want to have children? If so, how many? Do they agree about this? What gender do they most want ?
Have they discussed the future? Why or why not ?
Where would their dream be located?
Where do they think they'll be in the future together?
How does each want their dream home to be like?
How do they behave or act when they're upset or angry with each other ?
How would each character want to better themselves for the other ?
What would each character appreciate the other doing for them ?
What little things remind them of each other ?
How do they think the other is unique ?
What negative traits do they see in the other and how do they deal with it ?
What might they like to change about the other?
What would each be willing to change in him/ herself for the other and what wouldn't they change?
How did each character come to trust the other ?
What are their shared background experiences ?
What are the differences in their backgrounds ?
What was one moment when one side was weak and the other had to be strong for both ?
When are they jealous for the other ?
When have they let the other down ?
When have they betrayed each other ?
What are the most difficult situations they've faced together so far? How did they overcome them ?
What are their best memories together? What are their worst ?
What's one moment one character felt proud of the other?
What were their first impressions?
When did they realize they were attracted to the other and how did they deal with it?
When was the first temptation to kiss?
When they actually kiss ?
At what point did they realize they might be in love ?
At what point in the story do they most depend on the other?
What are their mannerisms when walking side by side ?
How do they sit when they talk?
How do they respond to physical closeness?
How do they each act ( physically)when confronted with conflicts?
What secrets does each character have? and what secrets would they hate for anyone to discover?