Me Decaying In Bed Writing My Wip In Front Of The Fan In Summer, August.

We're all stuck in the perpetual hell of creating wips and then never writing them

First drafts are fun, easy, as long as I don’t extensively read what I’ve written. I’ve been sitting in libraries. Yesterday I had my first ever chai tea latte.

they hadn’t prepared us for this. they left us with nothing left worth fighting for.

that is, until we found each other.

we were living through what scientists had called the worst case scenario, and we were doing it alone.

| worst-case scenario: a wip intro |

the floods, the fires, the wailing, the radio static.

there was nothing left to salvage. except for maybe the kid, and that one dog. a van that stuttered more than it moved, a pink blanket tucked inside a fathers jacket. the notebook filled with silly drawings and the notes passed between them in the dark.

GENRE: science fiction, dystopian, adventure, thriller, surrealism

POV: third/omnipient

PROGRESS: first drafting

MOOD: dark, wistful, painfully nostalgic, uneasy, cautiously hopeful

SETTING: the year is 2336, Earth. but it’s nothing like anyone had imagined.

WARNINGS: multiple deaths, biological ware fare, drowning, weapons, display of mental illness(es), end of the world scenario, not so natural disasters, alcoholism, manipulation, nothing is right, there is no normal.

VAGUE PLOT: [they] were fed up with how their lives were treated on this planet, and decided to leave. they left behind their final words, etched into the grounds they tore apart and whispered into the waves that came crashing down. the people meant to protect them all had given up, had betrayed them. but they couldn’t be blamed, they had tried to warn the world to no avail. now [we] were on our own, with a scattering of the earths population, to make this place a home again.

[they] are the scientists who had tried their hardest to keep this world alive.

[we] were five people undeserving of this hell.

[[ wip tag: wip; wcs ]]

i don't know who needs to hear this, but 'perfect' writing is a trap. all writing is subjective. what we create today, we may see as flawed tomorrow. what we see as flawed today, we may see as perfect tomorrow.

writing is the act of transmuting the human experience through words. and the human experience? it's a messy, chaotic thing filled with rough edges and uneven lines and mistakes and failures. you can erase all of that. you can. but then you're left with something sterile and artificial. you've effectively squeezed the soul out of your work, and i can think of nothing less appealing.

this isn't to say don't edit your work. please do. but keep it within reason, and make sure you're moving forward and not backward. momentum is key.

don't sit on an idea for three decades waiting for that dance with inspiration, or that dynamite first line, or that eureka plot twist, or the words to flow like magic from your fingertips. because it won't happen. and if it does, it'll strike like lightning and disappear twice as fast. the only surefire way to finish a story is to start.

so write. for the love of god, just write.

along the way, things will fall in line. i promise. and if they don't? then they already have. the magic of art is that everything we create is a snapshot of who we are at the time of creation. it's like a time capsule of human experience, and there's a beauty in that authenticity-- in the mistakes we make and the wrong turns we take. don't run from them. embrace them.

let their lessons flow through you and channel them into something tangible. if it's hard, then start with one word and keep going. don't erase it. don't start over. don't let yourself believe your story isn't worth telling because if you don't tell it, then no one else will. and that'd be a damn shame.

so one word a day. one sentence a week.

whatever it takes.

it might be tough letting go of the idea of perfect. silencing your inner editor. your inner critic. it might be tough realizing that your story will never meet your standards, not completely, but it won't be half as tough as looking back and wondering where all the days, weeks, and years went; that in the pursuit of perfection, you forgot to ever write a story at all.

so leave perfect behind. readers don't want it. why would they? they can't possibly relate to perfect-- none of us can.

instead, give readers a window to your imagination, stormclouds and all. you'll be surprised by how many stick around for the rain, how many relish the sound of your thunder, and how many cherish the worlds that only you could bring to life.

Happy WBW! ^^ If you could bring one thing/person/place/etc. from your wip into the real world, which one would it be and why?

Probably Mr. Sinclair, the talking locust from Liquor and Locusts, because although he’s very nihilistic, we’d have a good time drinking brandy and being self-indulgently cynical together.

thank you for the follow! just wanted to say hi since im a bit newer to the non fanfic side of writers on tumblr, and also that all your wips sound super interesting but especially yellow houses. in my brain it's giving little miss sunshine/moonrise kingdom/fantastic mr fox vibes but like slightly spookier

Thank you! That’s very kind of you.

Yellow Houses does have that type of whimsical vibe, so that’s a very cool connection. The project is currently shelved while I revise my current project, but I’ll get back to YH eventually. It was a neat little book. It’s been years though, so I don’t imagine I’ll be happy with it now.

Posting a link to my veryyy old wip intro for Yellow Houses below in case anyone is interested in reading what it’s about. It’s like a dark comedy/mystery set in a uni town with a bunch of art kids™

Tumblr

Wip Intro: Yellow Houses

I should start by saying that this project is shelved. I’m currently too busy to devote it the time it deserves while juggling uni and anoth

It’s been some days. What have I been doing—ha! actually writing! How relieving. The weather’s cold and I’m enjoying scenic walks to my local cafe, strapped w my laptop and headphones.

A bit early perhaps, but is anyone doing NaNo this year??

All your wips are so interesting! Please add me to your taglist :)))

Hi, my name’s Deau! Welcome to subtlefires, my writeblr!

Introduction

I’m nineteen years old [twenty on 27 Dec!]. I’m nonbinary [they/them], Black, and bisexual. I’ve been lurking in the writeblr community for six-ish months now, and I’ve decided to start my own! I haven’t written much in the way of prose since I was fourteen, so this blog will also [hopefully] get me back into that.

I am mostly into reading and writing fantasy of any kind - especially that which deals with godhood, traumatized characters, found family, and some criminal activity [especially when screwing with the government]. I very much enjoy complex relationships between any set of characters. Parent and child? Lovers? Best friends? Enemies??? *chef’s kiss*

Almost all of my wips are in some form of disrepair, either lacking in worldbuilding, plot, or characters, so I don’t have intro posts for them yet! But I’m finding myself pretty motivated these days so keep a look out!*

Trust and believe, I love to talk, so feel free to send an ask in or message me or whatever! I’m in desperate need of more mutuals to gush over so… *eyes emoji*

My Wips

A Cacophony of Mirrors

A surreal fantasy story set in the fictional town of Farley, Massachusetts.

Erica Bennett, who has been missing for the past ten years, suddenly reappears bloody and unconscious in the woods, mirror shards spread in a perfect circle around her body. Ayla Hughes, your local gas station attendant, just wants to get her degree and move far, far away. She wants forget all about missing girls and mysterious notes left behind and terrible dreams, but something is holding her back. Is it the town? Erica’s unsolved disappearance? Or something a bit more… fantastical?

trigger warnings: emotionally abusive parents, dysphoria, blurring reality and fantasy

WIP Tag | WIP Page

The Legend of the Crow

A high fantasy novel set in the world of Rusaris, after the first war between the Gods. 

This story centers around one of four sacrifices made to the Betrayer God during the First War. We witness them crawl from their early grave alongside the others after one hundred years asleep. The All Mother, the Goddess of Creation, descends to grant the sacrifices immortality and the status of Saints, if they agree to live in her service to prevent another war amongst the Gods. We follow Asphodel the Crow as they search for the lover they lost and save the fallen kingdom of Vysteria.

trigger warnings: violence, light gore

WIP Tag | WIP Page

Psychic Nights

An adult-oriented mid-fantasy novel set in the world of Vesuvia.

Caralise Tryvern is in her final year of schooling to become a High Priestess, the highest rank a witch can achieve, when she discovers a magical conspiracy amongst the very witches she seeks to join. Now on the run from the government, Caralise and her partner, Tobiah, traverse the world searching for anyone they can trust to help them out of the mess they’ve found themselves in.

trigger warnings: none as far as I’m aware, feel free to ask me to tag anything in the future!

WIP Tag | WIP Page

The SS Pavona

A science-fiction story set in the Quisari Solar System.

This story follows the crew of the SS Pavona as they are finally able to take a deep breath after escaping from Blackstorm, a maximum security prison on the outskirts of the solar system. These five strangers have just risked their lives for one another, for their freedom - but they don’t know each other, really. In fact, they don’t know much at all; not about each other, not about themselves, not even the reasons they were sent to Blackstorm in the first place… We follow the crew of the SS Pavona as their collective and individual pasts come back to haunt them. Are they truly willing to risk their lives for one another again?

trigger warnings: none as far as I’m aware, feel free to ask me to tag anything in the future!

WIP Tag | WIP Page

Other Stuff

Here’s my Wattpad, where I may or may not be drafting and posting chapters of the above wips, poetry, or concept pieces. Here is my writing tag as well, on the off chance I decide to post excerpts and things of that sort on tumblr, too. Also, my project page which lists all of my current wips with links to their individual pages.

Thanks for reading this far! I know this intro is long, haha. Here’s some of the blogs that inspired me to do this in the first place: @vitrichor | @sprigofbasil | @alicewestwater | @elaichichais | @heartwarning

* this post will be changed and updated in the future as I, undoubtedly, change my mind about things, add/remove trigger warnings, or generally add other bits of information! 

Last Line Tag #1🍨

Thank you @alicewestwater for the tag! :))) Lil excerpt from my new novel where Amber gets annoyed at Raisa’s ghost while waiting for the bus. you know, just some relatable content ;p

     Raisa laid in a rectangle of grey sunlight under the window, tranquilized by rum and spiraling dust bunnies. Hands folded over her belly, bulging with chocolate covered almonds, eyes shifting like marbles under the orange juice pulp of her lids. Dreaming of cities without people or cars, the houses, puffs of cotton candy with gumdrop path lights and woolly archways.

     I wanted to plug her mouth with the heel of my hand, but to passersby I’d only be cupping air, squinting at concrete. I didn’t want to start off another Tuesday, an unhinged street performer.

tagging: @noteaboy @oceancold @emdrabbles @aelenko @fluoresensitive @writeremma @purgatorydotexe and ofc, anyone else who’d like to do this challenge! 

WIP Intro:

LAST RITES

tw: disease/pandemic, gore, violence, psychological abuse, detailed medical imagery,

About

MEXICAN GOTHIC X DRACULA X THE STORY OF BURKE & HARE

A queer Gothic Historical Horror set in Victorian Edinburgh ft. mushrooms, cults, the cutting edge of medical science, spooky manors and bodysnatchers.

Synopsis

Dr Ernest Mayweather is the only patient he can't treat. He's dying, and he's looking desperately to find a way to stop it. When a colleague of his at the prestigious University of Edinburgh Medical College discusses the avant-garde idea of using a disease to cure another, he begins a pursuit of the thing that will save his life. It leads him to a strange illness wherein strange flowers and funghi grow within the body. Curious, and keen to study it, he visits Auchindrain House, a sanctuary for the illness run by two mysterious aristocrats and their Italian acquaintance. When the horrifying nature of the house and its occupants come to light, Ernest must soon choose between accepting a quick and quiet death or chasing something potentially endless, with all the blood and horror that might come with it. What will Ernest's conscience allow him to do to survive?

Snippet

Status

It currently stands at around 69k, though by the end of this draft I think we'll be looking closer to 120k.

As of October 2023 I'm currently working on the second draft! I did a detailed re-outline after the first draft which I completed in April 2021 for Camp, and now I'm filling in all the extra scenes I need before I rewrite the novel again following the comprehensive developmental editing plan I've made, focussing on adding extra detail and coherence, especially in terms of the plot. I was initially hoping to finish this by the end of October, but at this rate, it's looking like that's not going to happen, so I'll probably pick this up again in February. (One thing you have to know, is that each month I shift projects to another one of those in rotation. I aim to always have one new project, one dev edit project and one later-stage project in rotation at all times to reduce fatigue!)