Aspiring Author - Tumblr Posts

Novel Moodboards 📚

Allow me to guide you into my character's worlds, one image at a time.

🔖Edge of Being - YA Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, LGBTQ+ Romance. (Standalone Novella)

🔖Cloaked in Dusk - Fantasy, Romance with LGBTQ+ Rep. (Standalone)

🔖Lies Beyond the Bluff - Urban Fantasy/Paranormal, Mystery, elements of Platonic Romance. (Standalone)

🔖Exiled Sanctum - Japan-inspired Cyberpunk, Sci-Fi Fantasy, Dystopian, LGBTQ+ Romance implied but not the primary focus. (Duology possible)

I hope you enjoyed the peak into my inspirations for them! Let me know of which ones caught your eye the most!

Writer Things Bingo 📖

Inspired by @serenanymph at here! The rules are to click on this link to generate a board (feel free to click it again if you want a different one!) and then to fill it in. If you want to join in, go ahead!

Missed checking off Indie Published – I have a poem appearing in Indie Earth Publishing's upcoming anthology The Spell Jar: Book of Shadows vol. 2. Highly recommend that you visit them over on Insta!

10 Songs Tag

Thanks for tagging me, @dyrewrites!

Rules: Use your WIP playlist and put it on shuffle. Write the first 10 songs that come up and quote your favorite lyrics from each song and/or the lyrics that fit your WIP best (they might be the same lyrics), then tag 10 people.

Tagging gently: @thepitflower @worldsfromhoney @unmellowyellowfellow @iloveanimalsmorethanhumans @enne-uni and any others.

Since I only have a playlist for Cloaked in Dusk, thus that's the WIP I'm working with for this! This is a WIP I haven't mentioned much yet. Some lyrics may link/hint to the story in some way too, but that's another reason why I love them!

Capture the wild things and bring them in line

Ashes - The Longest Johns

And own what was never your right to confine

The lives and the loves and the songs are what matters

I'll tend to the flame, you can worship the ashes

Where I go, will you still follow?

Thus Always to Thryants - The Oh Hellos

Will you leave your shaded hollow?

Will you greet the daylight looming?

Learn to love without consuming?

Rage against the waking dawn

Battle Cry - The Family Crest

Take the seconds of this life

And pull them through your palms

And we'll be drinking through memories, and laughing with enemies

So Close To Magic - Aquilo

We made back when we were so young

Pain is what you desire

Start a War - Klergy

The pen is mightier than the sword

Home to Me - Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

How dare you love me like you never known fear

You've got more troubles than minutes in a year

Never let them take the light behind your eyes

The Light Behind Your Eyes - My Chemical Romance

I failed and lost this fight

Never fade in the dark

Every word I say is kindling

Curses - The Crane Wives

But the smoke clears when you're around

All the living are dead and the dead are living

In Our Bedroom After The War - Stars

The war is over and we are beginning

So why are they pointed at my head?

Liar - The Arcadian Wood

All have been lead astray

We've all fallen short in some way

Storyteller Saturday/Sunday: Would you rather be the villain or the hero in your current writing project?

Definitely the hero(es) for Exiled Sanctum! They're quick-witted and know their way around the underbelly of the conflict, to a degree anyway until a sudden curve is thrown their way 😅. Even if their kind of advocating towards a government reform is a bit skeptical in some instances, it overall betters the vast majority of Qredo's civilians for the long run.

That's probably the most I can say (for now) without spoiling any major peices of information as to why I choose to be the hero 🌸

Meet the Writer Tag 🔖

Thank you @rickie-the-storyteller for tagging me!

This is me:

(Picrew used found here)

Favorite Season:

Autumn/fall without a doubt. The season in itself gives me ample writing inspiration for paranormal stories, going to pumpkin patches and other festive activities– plus my birthday follows directly after Halloween!

Continent where I live:

I live in the United States.

How do I spend my free time?

Writing

Networking with other writers and authors on a variety of social platforms

Drawing/painting artwork for friends or working on graphic designs

Reading

Visiting state parks and elsewhere

Watching Netflix, YouTube videos, and anime series.

Studying different languages and cultures

Volunteering within my community

Are you published?

Sort of. I haven't had the chance to self-publish my poetry chapbooks or finish my novel drafts yet to start sending queries, but my writing does appear in an magnitude of literary journals as well as from a few publishing company's anthologies! Most recently in Indie Earth Publishing's anthology, The Spell Jar: Book of Shadows vol 2.

Introvert or extrovert?

Introverted completely. I do pretty well on my own, but do enjoy the company of close friends and meeting new people on occurrence who have similiar interests as me.

Favorite meal?

I don't especially have a favorite, however I greatly lean towards Asian and Scandinavian cuisines.

Tagging:

Anyone who'd like to partake in this! I'm still fairly new to the writeblr community and unsure who hasn't done this tag yet. Open to whoever is interested!

Colorblock Interlude - Novelette/Novella WIP ⏳️

Genre: MLM Romance, Time Travel, Action & Adventure

Stage: Drafting/plotting (More info to come)

Playlist

Cover reveal below!

Cover made by mgsdesiigns

A humble question for my followers…?

Would any of you be interested in me posting some of my original writing…? Should I do a synopsis post for some of my novel oc’s…? Would you all like me to design them in Artbreeder…?

I just have a lot of ideas while I consider self-publishing and I’d just like to know if anyone might enjoy it if I shared my work 😁

Or should I perhaps open a separate blog dedicated solely to that and drop a link for it…???

Who am I?

Aster Norwood ...

Hello everyone, I'm an aspiring author with aims of writing multicultural sci fi, fantasy, weird fiction, and folk horror novels and short stories. This account bears my pen name.

Yep. Lately everything is clean but my book is collecting dust...

Me: I desperately want to finish writing my book. More than anything. More than I want coffee, sleep, food, or socializing.

Them: shouldn't you be working on it then?

Me *pausing while reorganizing my fridge*: how dare you!

The urge to start a whole new wip after reading a few books in a new genre...

The most frustrating experience as a writer is having a clear vision in your mind of the story you want to tell but being too afraid to put pen to paper for fear of failing to do the story justice. I’m so scared that my actual execution will fail to meet my expectations that I’m paralysed to even start.

Me when I need a reminder self worth isn't tied to achievements and there can still be hope/love even in the hard times: I'm going to write a book where the characters learn this. That'll be a great way to explore this in more depth.

Me when I am sad and go to write but I have to start at the beginning and the characters have barely started their arcs so they refuse to let themselves be happy cause "they don't deserve it": oh. This is really sad and I don't wanna.

I guess thats the downside to having my characters start the story in dire need of growth. Sigh.

I love this

Also let's not underestimate how many people might relate to the parts that feel like a self insert. They are part of our humanity. Let them be seen sometimes. Let others see and realise they are not alone.

"The rest came from you too, didn't it? You're carving up your soul to make this story; don't be ashamed you're leaving part of it a little more intact."

This ^

Writing is often a form of expression and way to explore ideas. So let's enjoy it and stop worring if little peices of yourself slip through into your art. It's still beautiful. In fact it can be better for it.

Original Fiction writers be like "Is this a self insert? Am I writing a self insert? Am I committing writing's greatest sin?"

First off, self-inserts aren't even in the top ten sins of writing. Unless you really drop the ball with it, it's not even as bad as forgetting Oxie. Take a note from the fanfic book and don't worry about it.

Second of all, as an original fiction writer you're not "inserting" anything into anything. The rest of this came from you too, didn't it? You're carving up your soul to make this story; don't be ashamed you're leaving part of it a little more intact.

While I'm at it don't be afraid to write in other people either. Fen has a Chesterton analog in his book, and the way he's explained it it's not very subtle either. Write in your mom. No one will notice, and the ones who do won't mind.

Wondering if the fact I struggle to write found family despite really wanting to is because I haven't found mine irl yet.

My book (dystopian-ish) is about a young woman raised to be perfect using her acting and observation skills to investigate the crime world. Naturally this starts when her gap year turned undercover military assignment leaves her investigating a guy her age with way too much trouble on his hands and no way out.

Attesa is just trying to earn her mother's love and approval by avoiding all vulnerability. The mission is a chance to prove herself and get away from the constant survalence for a few months.

Ethan is just trying to protect what's left of his family. (Mum and lil sister) Unfortunately he works for his dad's old "Boss" and is in way over his head safety wise. He's managing on the keep family safe front though, which is great!

But perhaps this new girl (surprise she's a military detective! Hence the casual stalking) investigating him and his family will be a way out. Regardless, not cooperating will cause far more trouble than it's worth if more important military powers look into his situation.

It's got undercover work, spy shenanigans, a black market and crime world with FAR too much freedom, no police or uncorrupt legal systems, and quite possibly some forced teamwork/fake dating as a cover story that leads into trusting someone to help them for the first time in....well....let's just say a long time.

Oh but it's not published. Sorry folks. I'm working it!

talk about your book!!!

reply to or reblog this post discussing your book even if it’s published or not! feel free to share anything you want about it. this is a safe space and a way to get an audience for your book!! reminder: there is no judgment here.

i’ll start!!

my debut novel, she knows is a dark thriller set in a rural british town where a serial killer is stalking the streets. sylvie garcia, the daughter of a medical examiner takes the investigation into her own hands after the police’s leads go cold. despite their beliefs, sylvie’s convinced the killer is a woman. she then enlists her friend group to aid her in the investigation. unknowingly, the murderer is her childhood best friend and her concealed longing. With an innocent facade, florence has deceived everyone including sylvie, who remains deeply attached to her despite the growing darkness around them even after the truth is revealed.

Deciding stuff it all I need a vibey epic fantasy wip for when my brain isn't working and I need an escape.

So far I have a mum friend capable cowgirl adventurer and her stray sunshine guy who's coming along for the ride because why not.

And just cause romance is hard and friendship is beautiful I've decided they are not going to have a romance subplot. So bestie/sibling closeness shenanigans commence!

Also I get horses and powers and stunning landscapes and interesting strangers and places and this is going to be a fun little braindump thing because why the heck not.

writers be like; anyone gonna write this story? and then not wait for an answer. and then not write it either

“you’re a writer, can you explain your process?” yes. first, i panic. then i procrastinate. then, in a fit of productivity at 3 a.m., i create chaos.

Can’t figure out why this scene still isn’t working?

You’ve written and rewritten the same scene five times and convinced yourself to move on to fix it later but it’s still there, still broken, and you can’t put a finger on what the problem is.

You’re in the wrong POV (if applicable)

Your narrator isn’t the best choice here, maybe they’re overshadowing a more important character or their commentary on what’s happening isn’t compelling enough by nature of their relationship with the story.

Your refuse to kill your darlings

You’ve worked so damn hard trying to fit a square peg of this really cool idea in isolation into the round hole that your narrative became. No matter how hard you shove or how many angles you try, it’s not going to work. Delete it, or move it.

This scene occurs at the wrong time

Maybe it’s a revelation that hits too early or too late, either in the physical timeline or within a character’s arc. Maybe it messes up the pacing, leaving characters either rushing or waiting around for the next scene to hit because the placement of your story beats has left clumps and gaps of action.

This scene throws somebody OOC

It might be a darling that needs sacrifice. Maybe it’s the wrong character to have that monologue or to say that cool quip you thought of, or they’re weirdly passionate about a thing that shouldn’t matter to them/nonplussed about something that should be very important to them. It’s something X would never do but you wrote anyway for the sake of the plot.

—

Or some combination of these. My deleted scenes for ENNS’s sequel is officially longer than the existing manuscript purely due to trial and error with my plot.

hi hello STS for you! what can you tell me about your vibey fantasy wip? (the vibes sound *excellent* honestly) are we just roadtripping about it or do they have a Quest going on?

Thanks for asking!

Yes, so I'm thinking it'll be a fairly episodic story with them taking various shepherd type jobs transporting heards of stock across long distances. This'll be cows, sheep, maybe horses or deer ect that you'd find around the globe. But I'm planning to play around with slightly magical or fantasy versions as well.

Think deer with antlers that grow valuable plants and are a sought after material when they naturally shed each year, or your more typical Pegasus.

The vibes I'm going for are high fantasy with a focus on exploring the world and its natural wonder rather than having to save it from some great catastrophe or do war. If that makes sense.

I'm more of a character driven person when it comes to writing, so I've given myself Reya Teran (26f) and her friend/younger brother figure Syon Klau (21m) to explore the world through. Neither of them have a home by this point, and both are fairly happy wandering from place to place so long as they get a bit of adventure along the way. They'll both probably also have some type of powers.

But yeah, it's mostly characters taking once off remote cattle driving jobs with whoever needs some extra hands, visiting small towns, and exploring the land.

I'm having fun with the worldbuilding and plan to play around with the common language being similar to our sign language, with dialect or accent differences depending on your occupation. For example, busy shops in the main parts of town have rapid and small movements to keep up with the noise and pace of their work, while the faming jobs in large open plains or in high wind/bad weather have big clear motions to be understood when shouting is tiresome or can't be heard.

That's most of what I have at the moment, but it's been a heap of fun to brainstorm and worldbuild for even though I haven't worked on it much or had it in mind for very long!