Angels And Pomegranates

my 10 holy grail pieces of writing advice for beginners

from an indie author who's published 4 books and written 20+, as well as 400k in fanfiction (who is also a professional beta reader who encounters the same issues in my clients' books over and over)

show don't tell is every bit as important as they say it is, no matter how sick you are of hearing about it. "the floor shifted beneath her feet" hits harder than "she felt sick with shock."

no head hopping. if you want to change pov mid scene, put a scene break. you can change it multiple times in the same scene! just put a break so your readers know you've changed pov.

if you have to infodump, do it through dialogue instead of exposition. your reader will feel like they're learning alongside the character, and it will flow naturally into your story.

never open your book with an exposition dump. instead, your opening scene should drop into the heart of the action with little to no context. raise questions to the reader and sprinkle in the answers bit by bit. let your reader discover the context slowly instead of holding their hand from the start. trust your reader; donn't overexplain the details. this is how you create a perfect hook.

every chapter should end on a cliffhanger. doesn't have to be major, can be as simple as ending a chapter mid conversation and picking it up immediately on the next one. tease your reader and make them need to turn the page.

every scene should subvert the character's expectations, as big as a plot twist or as small as a conversation having a surprising outcome. scenes that meet the character's expectations, such as a boring supply run, should be summarized.

arrive late and leave early to every scene. if you're character's at a party, open with them mid conversation instead of describing how they got dressed, left their house, arrived at the party, (because those things don't subvert their expectations). and when you're done with the reason for the scene is there, i.e. an important conversation, end it. once you've shown what you needed to show, get out, instead of describing your character commuting home (because it doesn't subvert expectations!)

epithets are the devil. "the blond man smiled--" you've lost me. use their name. use it often. don't be afraid of it. the reader won't get tired of it. it will serve you far better than epithets, especially if you have two people of the same pronouns interacting.

your character should always be working towards a goal, internal or external (i.e learning to love themself/killing the villain.) try to establish that goal as soon as possible in the reader's mind. the goal can change, the goal can evolve. as long as the reader knows the character isn't floating aimlessly through the world around them with no agency and no desire. that gets boring fast.

plan scenes that you know you'll have fun writing, instead of scenes that might seem cool in your head but you know you'll loathe every second of. besides the fact that your top priority in writing should be writing for only yourself and having fun, if you're just dragging through a scene you really hate, the scene will suffer for it, and readers can tell. the scenes i get the most praise on are always the scenes i had the most fun writing. an ideal outline shouldn't have parts that make you groan to look at. you'll thank yourself later.

happy writing :)

The point of this painting is mostly that anyone who tags my creepy angel beings as gender are extremely valid and correct

Please tell us about the desert.

So like. The desert is freezing at night and boiling at day. The elements are just about as savage as they can be and as a result it looks like a whole lot of nothing but dead, unforgiving, hostile emptiness. But that couldn’t be further from the truth, deserts have a biodiversity matched only by rainforests and much like rainforest most of it is unique to that specific desert. Most deserts formed from ancient lakes or oceans that dried out, leaving the remaining creatures to adapt to a rapidly changing and ever more hostile environment. It’s similar to those endothermic vents miles under the water any niche you can fill or make in a desert is extremely valuable but you can like, realistically go there. A desert is so very alive, despite looking as it does, despite everyone thinking otherwise. If you have never heard all the calls and sounds fill the cooling air as the sun sets as if to say ‘I’m here, despite everything, I’m still here and I’m alive’ it’s an S tier experience.

Art by jocelin carmes

apples trees in winter snow

More writers should consider just not telling their readers all of shit. Just don’t tell them stuff. What’s that monster? Fuck if you’ll find out. How did that weird as hell landscape marker come to be? Wouldn’t you like to know. How does the magic work? Just believe it does, motherfucker.

Readers don’t need to know everything. In fact, I absolutely advocate for not telling them certain stuff. If the characters don’t know, neither do they. If the narrator is omniscient? Lol no they aren’t.

Is this necessary for every story? Probably not. There’s plenty of good stories you could write while explaining all of it. But leaving those gaps, leaving those holes, can bring a story to life. Sometimes things happen in life that just… happen. Fucked if anyone knows why. Sometimes information gets lost. Sometimes information is hidden. But even beyond that, it expands the narrative.

If you explain when and why and how the murder monster became a murder monster, well… that’s forever set in stone now. Now they know. But if you leave it blank, absent of explanation, any explanation… it becomes an unknown. It forces your audience to wonder. Makes them think. That, more than you might think, makes a story get into your audience’s head, and once you’re there, you can make some real impacts.

So yeah, tell a story. But sometimes? Don’t tell your readers something. Make them fill in the blanks themselves.

Classifications of Magic Users

I thought I’d share with you my own system of magic and how to classify how powerful a witch is. Fair warning there’s 12 I use so this will be long

For starters Witch is the umbrella term. If you use magic you’re a witch or thaumaturge if you prefer a term without a specific gender.

1) Magicians: Magic of the spells. The lowest rank of witch and most common. Magicians can only ever really master one spell. There exists one magician for every spell in existence. It may seem kinda sad but every magician can always perform their spell perfectly and successfully. Always. In a direct comparison no other witch will ever be able to cast the same spell as flawlessly as the magician who’s mastered it.

2) Mages: Magic of the elements. These witches can only ever master one type of magic. Be it fire magic, mental magic, cleaning magic, etc. like magicians they are also the most skilled at the magic they specialize in. Different from magicians in the sense that there are more than one mage who masters a type of magic.

3) Alchemists/Witch Doctors: Magic of objects. studious witches who specialize in potion making, magical item crafting and charm making. They create the magical artifacts that all kinds of witches can use...for a price. Any craft made by an alchemist, or potion brewed is guaranteed to work. They invented brooms, wands, charms, etc. Some prefer the term witch doctor.

4) Wizards: Magic of space. Wizards deal with magic from other worlds, be it the realms of the gods, the faerie realm, or something else entirely. They draw their power from the secret places of the secret worlds and pluck power from between the stars. Their secrets are guarded zealously and due to their unearthly magic it is quite difficult to overcome.

5) Warlocks: Magic of the dark. Warlocks know all the dark magics and are particularly gifted at curses, jinxes, hexes, and all manner or malevolent magic. Unsurprisingly they are often sought out for wars or as soldiers or for revenge. Their dark magic is the best. Their power level is equal to Wizard ranking witches

6) Sorcerers: Magic of the mind. this rank is often looked to for guidance and wisdom. Sorcerers and sorceresses posses great psychic power. Often having multiple extra sensory abilities. The most powerful among them can know the future, hear thoughts, sense emotions, know the past and astral project. It is extremely difficult to surprise a sorcerer/ess or keep news from them.

7) Shamans/druids: Magic of the people. one of the most respected and revered rank of witch. A shaman or druid is deeply connected to the magic of their culture and environment. Similar to sorcerers and wizards there is little these witches do not know about their people and the power that fuels them. It is whispered they can directly commune with the deities that watch over their people and that they can even make contact with the spirits of ancestors, former leaders, and the spirits of nature. They have particularly strong connections with local animals.

8) Soothsayers: Magic of the voice. All soothsayers cast spells or work magic vocally. They are particularly feared since they are not bound to strict incantation rules. Some say that whatever a soothsayer says is bound to happen. Be it a prediction, a command or even an alteration in reality. Incidently no two soothsayers cast spells the same, one might rhyme, anither sing, and a third uses another language. (Like backwards speech for example ;).

9) Sages: Magic through science. Sages are perhaps the most crucial rank to witchcraft. Sages and scientists and inventors. Because of their genius they are slways advancing magic and creating new spells, formulas, potion ingredients, blueprints, etc. They are also one of three ranks able to perform magic of every kind. Without them magic would stop progressing.

10) Shades: Magic through chaos. Shades have the ability to command dark magic energy itself. The very fabric of curses and hexes they weave and cut like greecian fates. Dark magic bows to their whim.

11) Enchanters/esses: Magic through craft. Enchanters And Enchantresses are considered to be the most versatile witches. They control pure magic energy. The very essense of witchcraft. They dont adhere to any of the laws of magic because magic adheres to them. They make their own laws.

12) Necromancers: Magic in life: Necromancers are the most powerful of all witches. The rarest rank of all. Elusive and mysterious these witches have mastered the powers over life and death. Toying with the balance as thet see fit. Strong potential for destruction or salvation. It is rumored they are immortal and that there is never more than 7 on earth at a time. Some say they’re gods, others claim they are cursed by the gods.

(Zee is a soothsayer, John is an alchemist or maybe wizard, swamp thing is a shaman, Boston and Black Orchid or Mages, Xanadu is a sorceress, Circe is an enchantress, June Moone and Klarion are Shades in my opinion lol but i consider this system separate from the dc canon)

oyster mushrooms!!!