Definitely Doing This One

Definitely doing this one

One can easily distinguish a true veteran adventurer from the masses, for one doesn’t fear those who show to the start of a dungeon with gleaming weapons and polished armor, but those who show up wearing casual clothing, looking like they just got done shopping in town not 5 minutes earlier.

Worldbuilding a completely random, and unrelated part of my world that I can ramble on about for 2 hours at a later date.

Writers on Tumblr, what is the biggest source of inspiration when feeling stuck?

I’m taking a break right now, but I’ll be back soon!

I’m writing an original dark-fantasy novel focusing on living with immortality, grief, and fear. I used to post weekly updates for a few months, so there’s plenty of lore you can read up on. I will resume these weekly update either this week, or next week Tuesday.

Hiiii… Active writeblrs?

hi there. just curious about what u guys are writing about. u can link ur work here if u wanna. tell me about the new character, the plot, the vibes. go ahead :) reblog if u like (I also wanna follow some active writeblrs, go ahead and like this/reblog if ur doing ur thing)

Alterra Update!

This week! HELL,

A few weeks ago, I posted a world map of Alterra. If you looked closely, you may have noticed some orange dots in various places. Those “dots” are actually giant pits that lead directly into Hell, specifically the wrath ring. You can Imagine the world of Alterra being similar to Terraria, where Hell is directly under the normal world.

My version of Hell is kind of a mix between the Hell from Hazbin Hotel / Helluva Boss, the Hell from Terraria, the Hell from Doom, and my own interpretations of the Greek Underworld.

The wrath ring is the unyielding armies of Hell that slowly conquer and consume worlds and realities, much like in Doom. Many other worlds have been taken over by these demonic hordes, but Alterra is in a somewhat equilibrium. Most demons under the surface still do not dare head to the surface due to an ancient race of powerful monsters called the Firath. Even though the Firath went extinct from an unknown cause over a thousand years ago, most demons still believe it to be far too great of a risk to invade the surface. This is mainly due to a great warrior dawning a massive suit of armor of Firath design that occasionally appears in Hell to slaughter untold amounts of their numbers. Whether or not this entity is a Firath is unconfirmed, though it’s use of their tech is. Any attempts of invading the surface while the warrior is in Hell results in immediate death by ancient Firath war machines.

Some of the demons have begun to worship this creature, calling it the Second Slayer. The lord of the ring of wrath is very much against this practice and comparison.

Whenever a mortal being dies, the god of death has no choice but to send it to the rings of Hell, as the afterlife was destroyed along with the gods. What the rings of hell decide to do with the souls is practically random, either becoming a mindless demon the demonic hordes, or turning into a natural-born person of Hell named an unholy. Unholy species have no memory of the life their soul used to belong to, and are entirely their own person.

This is where the Hazbin Hotel inspiration comes into play. There are several different types of unholy depending on which ring the manifest in.

Unholy born in the Lust ring are either a succubus(female) or an incubus(male), and are freely able to leave Hell. Since Lust it the highest Ring apart from Wrath, it’s where most of the souls end up, and is home to large cities to accommodate almost every denizen of Hell. Despite popular belief, they are not just purely embodiments of lust, and are almost entirely like mortal people. They tend to have light skin tones of pink, red, or very rarely a shade of purple, smooth black / red horns that arch backwards, and thin tails of the same color that end in a heart shape. Both succubi and incubi possess the natural magic ability to charm or seduce people, though this only works on certain people. If a person is resistant to psychic attacks in any capacity, seduction will not work. Meanwhile, if a succubus / incubus attempts to seduce someone who is not one to engage in such activities, such as aromatics or asexuals, it will achieve the opposite effect, and put the victim in a bezerker-type rage.

Lust unholy rarely use seductive magic without consent, but that doesn’t stop the heavy discrimination against them. Very few Lust unholy actually ever leave Hell, due to the fact that they are often captured as slaves. There is a massive underground slave market across the whole universe for succubi and incubi due to the fact that each of their “fluids” function as very potent anti-depressants. Their horns can also be ground up and mixed with mineral water to make “love potions”. Due to this, most of them hide their true species or choose to stay in the Lust ring, though hunting parties that delve into Lust still ensure that being a succubus or incubus a very dangerous thing.

The ring of gluttony is actually the agricultural sector of Hell. Home to a species called “The Kappa,” which are based on creatures called Kappas from Japanese folklore. In the original folklore, they are water demons with incredibly elastic arms that attract people to their pools to drown them. In my interpretation, they instead use their water magic and incredibly strong and stretchy arms to farm crops. Gluttony provides the food for every Ring of Hell except for Wrath. Despite the general suspicion of anything that comes from Hell, there are still plenty of commonly used commodities that originate from Gluttony, such as wheat, pigs, and of course pomegranates.

The Ring of Pride is the entertainment industry of Hell. It is law to visit the Pride for at least 6 hours per week to incentivize creativity and decrease the suicide rates. Writings from Pride occasionally find their way outside of Hell, and are often the basis for entire religions in the mortal world. The Unholy have been taught to write in a text that automatically translates into whatever the reader understands, but this only applies while in Hell. If a piece of Hellish writing leaves the underworld, the time it is read will cause it to magically translate one final time before losing it’s properties.

The Ring of Envy is kind of like the jungle of the underworld. If a soul gets sent to this Ring, it becomes either part of the vast plant-life, or a non-sentient creature of Hell. The creatures of Envy are almost entirely docile, only attacking if harmed or heavily provoked. This Ring was created by the Goddess of Unholy to produce “pets” for the inhabitants of Hell in response to the vast amount of denizens with severe depression.

The Ring of Greed is very interesting due to the fact that it isn’t actually a Ring at all. It’s actually a central station where Unholy can travel between the different Rings or leave Hell entirely. This is also the only direct way into any of the Rings of Hell apart from Wrath. Unholy cannot enter the Ring of Wrath, nor can Demons from Wrath enter the Ring of Greed. This was a direct decision from the God of Death and his wife, the Goddess of Unholy, both of whom live in a separate Ring called Limbo or the underworld.

Limbo is a very strange part of Hell, inaccessible to all but the gods. The strangest part is its similarity to the Greek’s interpretation of the underworld. It’s an endless garden surrounding a single castle with 5 rivers flowing away from it. These rivers are liquefied embodiments of sentience and consist of almost pure energy. The first river is Memory, it’s waters glow pure white and it is said that every soul must first pass through these waters to be cleansed of their former lives. The second is Perspective, a golden stream that provide souls with the ability to discern and judge your surroundings, and is often confused for anger. The third is Identity, a blood red river that grants the souls with their base personalities. The forth is Feeling, a river of flame which allows the soul to feel the world around them. And the last is Emotion, a clear blue river that completes the identity of the soul, making it ready to be recycled into a new creature.

If an Unholy dies, it’s soul immediately joins the demonic hordes of Wrath as an unthinking soldier. While having, on average, a higher lifespan than mortals, they still die of old age eventually, unless the Goddess of Unholy decides their life is essentially to the happiness of Hell. No known religion has an accurate depiction of the Goddess of Unholy, but the closest interpretation is Persephone, Greek Goddess of the underworld. She liked the name so much, she took it for herself, having no true name previously. Persephone is in charge of managing all of the Unholy in Hell, due to her husband being to busy harvesting souls.

This is my interpretation of Hell for my novel, I’d be happy to hear you thoughts on it!

Ending your Novel

When ending your novel, there are a few things to consider.

You’ll want to build up tension during the climax, and wrap things up during the resolution. Don’t forget to conclude your main storyline and finish up your subplots as well.

There should be some room left for readers to interrupt things on their own, such as the fate of certain characters.

Not only is it important that your ending makes sense, but it should also evoke emotion.

Knowing how your novel will end sooner than later will help guide you to its finish without wandering too much on pointless scenes.

📚 Here are some endings you can consider:

1) The Classic Cliff Hanger

Done wrong, this can leave readers unsatisfied. But if it’s done carefully, it can leave your audience yearning for more. Your protagonist’s main quest/goal should be concluded by the end of your novel, but leaving questions unanswered or a problem unresolved can be an intriguing cliffhanger. Cliff hangers don’t have to be groundbreaking, they can be small.

For example, Katniss survives The Hunger Games (concluding her main goal) but by tricking the Gamemakers into allowing two victors, we are left wondering what the consequences will be. Not only that, but we question what will come of her relationship with Peeta as he painfully realizes all of Katniss’s affection towards him was simply for the cameras.

2) End where you started

In a symbolic circle of events, you could potentially end your story in the location where it began. However, now the protagonist has newfound strengths or knowledge and can reflect on how they started. This cyclical ending can also work with a mirrored scene (ex. starting and ending with a sword fight). 

3) The What-If Ending

Instead of a direct cliffhanger, this conclusion focuses on leaving the ending up to the reader’s imagination. In The Giver, Jonas successfully leaves behind his town and approaches Elsewhere on a speeding sled. He is barely holding onto consciousness and we are left wondering if he will make it there alive—and if it’s even a real place to begin with.

4) The Twist

An unexpected (but planned) ending that can excite and surprise your reader. While a twist should be unexpected, when a reader goes back, there should be breadcrumbs and hints that make it intentional.

5) Simply… Resolved.

There are no open-ended questions or cliffhangers. Everything is wrapped up neatly in a satisfying way for your readers.

Instagram: coffeebeanwriting

We are on strike. I wish it wasn't happening, wish that the producers would negotiate in good faith, and support the strike 100%.

wgacontract2023.org

WGA on Strike

We have not reached an agreement with the studios and streamers. We will be on strike after the contract expires at midnight.