Writing Games - Tumblr Posts

Thanks for the tag, and great line, @moonandris ! Gonna share something from my debut book, The Tengu And The Angel, which is being released in two weeks' time!

I put my hand on his thigh. "Angel, I'm gonna take you straight to Heaven."

Tagging @villemel and @lady-grace-pens !

No Context WIP Tag Game

Share a line from a WIP with no context. 💗

Thank you so much for the tag @deanwax I really needed a lil nudgie nudge because I've been stuck with writers block and I've been dying to hop into my writing again in any capacity. Tag games always help with that. It's also a bit more than a line, my bad. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I shall also give a little nudgie nudge (absolutely no pressure) to @shadow-of-tea-and-tea @kalihellwillhopefullywrites @alinacapellabooks @spamfromlee @the-ethereal-lorestar

Raine knew from the moment he was slapped awake to a dark holding cell, hands cuffed behind his back, a bucket of ice water dumped over his head: this time he had seriously fucked up.

11/11 Tag!

WOW I was tagged by the amazing @fictionshewrote to do the 11/11 challenge. Here are her great questions and my v average answers: 

1. What do you want to see more of in the book world? (more rep, more of a specific genre, etc) More modern/urban fantasy! I want magic in the big city, not just in Victorian England, damn it. 

2. What time of day are you most productive writing-wise? Back in like high school/college I used to be all about writing at night (like post-midnight) but now I feel more productive and focused in the mornings. 8-11am is like peak writing time. 

3. Do you have a designated space where you write? Yes! It’s probably not the most professional or productive but I do my best writing on the couch in front of the TV. I watch a lot of Bravo and Netflix while I write haha. I do have a home office but I usually use it for my real job so I like to have a separate space for writing so I can get out of that work mindset and more into a creative/writing mindset. 

4. What kind of platforms/programs/tools do you use to write? (Word, notebooks, Google Docs, Scrivener, etc) I use Google Drive mostly so I can work on my WIPs from anywhere. I’ve heard great things about Scrivener but never tried it! Maybe I should look into it. 

5. Hardcover or paperback? My heart says hardcover but my bank account says paperback. 

6. What’s your favorite story trope? Are you using it in your wip(s)? Ooh probably people who initially hate each other being forced into becoming reluctant partners/eventual friends haha. I just always love that kind of character development. I have a little bit of it going on in Dust between Cara and as-yet-unnamed-lead-guy and somewhat in Magic between Ren and as-yet-unnamed-major-female-character. 

7. If you had to send your favorite OC on a blind date with a character from someone else’s book, who would that character be and why? Ohhh I would probably send as-yet-unnamed-lead-guy from Dust out with, like, Hermione Granger so she can show him up and put him in his place. 

8. Do you write scenes in order or out of order? In order! Sometimes I do think it holds me back because I’ll open up my WIP and be like “ugh not this again” but usually I think it helps me focus and keep things consistent. I would rather go ahead and plow through the hard parts than save them all until the end and then have to figure out how to string it all together. Also, I think it helps to have multiple WIPs because if I do open one and thing “ugh not this again” I can shelve it and go work on a different one until I’m ready to tackle it again. 

9. If your favorite OC was a superhero, what would their superpower be? (assuming, of course, they aren’t a superhero to begin with!) Ooh yikes well several of them actually do have powers (which I won’t get into for the sake of not giving away spoilers) so I guess Brynn (Dust) would want to have... super strength? Or maybe the ability to read minds to help ease her insecurity issues. 

10. Describe your ideal writing session. Early morning as the sun is coming up and the sky is getting bright, peace and quiet, all the iced vanilla lattes I can drink. I know I said earlier that I write with the TV on a lot but I focus better in absolute dead silence - which is maybe why I don’t have much done yet on any of my WIPs lol. 

11. What do you think would turn your protagonist into a villain? I think well-developed villains still think of themselves as being protagonists/on the right side so it’s all relative, but if anything could make them turn, I think it would be the need for revenge. And that’s probably true in some way for all my OCs. 

Okay, I hardly know anyone here at all so I’ll just tag YOU, yes, you, the one who read this all the way through to the end! Bless your heart. Here are my 11 questions:  1. Which of your main characters is your least favorite?  2. Which WIP is the hardest for you to write and why do you think so?  3. What’s a character dynamic that interests you but that you’ve never used?  4. What does your writing space look like? 5. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?  6. Which WIP would you want to be a character in?  7. Which character do you most identify with?  8. What’s your favorite music to write to?  9. Do you feel like any of your WIPs or characters have a “theme song”? 10. Would you ever want your work to be adapted into a movie/TV show? Why or why not? 11. Which books, if any, do you feel have most influenced your WIP?

Have fun!

for every "🌹" received in my inbox i'll post one random sentence of a random WIP i'm currently writing

I’ll play this game again and you guys are so encouraging :)

OC Description Tag!

I was tagged by @tabswrites and @writernopal for this one! Thanks for the tag, friends!

Rules: Share an excerpt from your WIP that describes one of your OCs.

Here goes a snippet from The Last Wrath (context, this is the first time Luciya has seen her brother Fabian in almost five years, since he became an Imperial Hunter, when he arrives at the Capital. When this happens, Luciya still believes that her brother abandoned and betrayed her for glory and riches.)

[...] Luciya peered over the marble parapet, leaning upon the tips of her toes to see the scene below. Ceremonial horns rang in the air, echoing along with the scraping of metal, as the heavy gold-engraved gates painstakingly rolled upwards.

The Hunters had arrived.

In the past, Luciya would have cringed at the thought of being so close to those troops. But now, she was fixed on the spot, anticipating, fiery eyes searching - after all, she was no longer a foreigner kid watching from the alleyways, as yet another patrol barged into a backwater village. No, she was in the Imperial City, waiting for the return of someone direly specific. The one who was responsible for her golden cage.

The clanking of armor filled the air as the silver-clad soldiers rolled into the street below. It would be a majestic sight, had she not known the truth about the blood that stains their swords, and the price her people paid for it. One by one, she saw them, the familiar flags of the Radiant Temple held high as they returned victorious.

And that's when she spotted him. Her traitor, her jailer. The man she'd once called brother. For the first time in five years. Her nails dug into the stone, anger flooding her but managing to appear unfazed.

Fabian Anynth, proudly mounted upon a winged horse, silver armor shining on the early morning sun, rode into the city. In one hand, he had the Commander's blade at his side, while the other, covered by a glove, held the reins. The crowds on the street went wild, and he lifted his sword high, gold-plated runes glowing like the sun, taking in their applause with a shining smirk. As if they had ever cared about him when he was only a lowly thief, but no one talks about that, now do they? Luciya scoffed. He was their damn storybook hero now - a paragon of Imperial valor against the "threat of the Free Realms".

But she saw right through it. She knew the truth. Fabian was nothing more than Emperor Aerich's favorite little war hound. An obedient puppy.

Fabian didn't look up, even as he strode right past her - but she knew him well enough to know he had seen her. Fitting, Luciya thought. Still, she couldn't help but note how much he had changed since that on the steps of Lady Avaline's fortress.

His once wild brown curls were tamed and cut, tied into a tight ponytail, and what skin wasn't covered in armor was littered with scars, big and small. His cloak looked like the most expensive thing she'd seen in her life, and she wondered how one could even fight in it. She couldn't see his eyes, but it startled her how much he looked older, world-weary, definitely not quite the twenty-two-year-old he should be now. Luciya tried not to think how much the traitor looked like the soldiers whom they used to run from as kids. She definitely tried not to think how much he looked like Aerich himself, in this light.

"Who is he? You look like you want to snap that parapet into two, though I'd highly advise against it."

The familiar, matter-of-fact voice cut through her musings like a blade, a glint of gold earrings sparkled on the edge of her vision. Luciya peered over her shoulder, seeing her friend, Quinn, standing right beside her, his eyes studying the procession below, emotionlessly. Had her anger really been this noticeable?

Luciya mused on those words for a moment, trying to find what could possibly answer that question. She went with the truth.

"No one, anymore." [...]

Tagging: @lassiesandiego @gummybugg, @sm-writes-chaos, @unstablewifiaccess, @lassiesandiego, @cabbojage, @the-mindless, @clairelsonao3, @rickie-the-storyteller, @oh-no-another-idea and @elshells

Trick or treat!

Thanks for the tag!

Trick and treat! 🎃

You can share something of your own, and choose/let me know in the post what you want me to share from my WIPs (which I'll then post in the next reblog)!

Happy Halloween!

would you like to be tagged in writing tag games?

I did this a few months ago, but it seems there are a bunch of new writers floating around, so I’d like to build a new list!

If you’d like for me to tag you in writeblr tag games, like Find the Word/Word Search, picrews, snippet-sharing/last line, etc- please like, reply, or rb this post!

You can also specify if you like or don’t like a particular game, and I’ll make a note of that in my little list. Having a list makes sure I’m not tagging the same three people in all my games. :)

Awkward first post

So, I decided to make a tumblr and therefore I'm prepared for the first couple of posts and experiences to be messy and awkward, since I've never really used this platform before. Yet, this is another place where writers and fans of writers live. Since I am both of those things, it's better late than never!

Right now, I'm just sharing things I do on my website, namely the Character Scenario posts. I'm pretty sure my friend that first introduced me to these exercises found them on Tumblr, but I've yet to rediscover them, so I'm making my own and sharing them here!

I hope anyone that finds them or me has fun!

More info:

N. K. Valek: Author

Character Scenarios

Character Scenarios is a really great way to practice character development, defeat writer’s block, or simply have fun with your characters.

Character Scenarios: Prom (10 characters)

Here is my first post for the character scenario game! Wheeeee! Please leave a comment or whatever if you or your characters loved or hated this event. XD

N. K. Valek: Author

Character Scenarios—Prom

Welcome to Prom! I hope everyone is ready for a fun-filled evening! Cool cars, gorgeous dresses, and punch bowls await you and whoever you w