Talya Writes

No idea what Flash Fiction Friday means? Let us tell you!

So what is FlashFictionFriday on our blog all about? It’s a fun writer-event that’s meant to inspire, share and connect writings of all genres and writers of all ages. It’s designed to make people want to write, especially if they’re feeling blocked. Everyone and everything is welcome! We always do our very best to keep the prompts genre open, entertaining, positive and encouraging.

Write between 100-1000 words. It also can be a fan fiction or poetry entry. Just tag fan fiction and 18+ stories accordingly. Use this Friday’s theme in your text. Any way you see fit. Post on your Tumblr blog and remember to tag us at @flashfictionfridayofficial!! So we’ll see it, read it and reblog it!! Deadline is 24 hours after the prompt has been issued on Saturday at 12pm CET And then next Friday we’ll mention your work in a showcase post on our main blog before the next prompt drops. If you have a question, check out or super brand new FAQ page! If your question isn’t on there, don’t hesitate to ask! <3 You don’t need to ask for permission or need to get added to a list. Just write, have fun and don’t forget to tag us. Please post your entries as regular post and don’t screenshot them. We try to keep things as accessible as possible and screenshots don’t work for some people. And most of all: Have fun with it. You just heard of Flash Fic Friday and want to see the previous prompts to kick-start your writing? You are welcome, we released a list with all prompts of previous weeks. You can use them on your own will but we won’t reblog anything that wasn’t a missed entry from the previous week or are posts for the actual week. Anyway you are always welcome to share them in our sharing room on our Discord Server. If you’re bored and want to read splendid previous pieces, here is the link to the FFF library in this Google Docs document you can access freely at any time.

If you want to be closer to the epicenter, you can come chat on our open discord (we don’t bite! …usually!) And it is a good way to find more of other writers who participate.

We do not condone fiction, asks or comments that contain: direct hostility, unconstructive critique, LGBTQIA+ hate, slurs, racism and/or general no-no behaviors.

Grease your old brains and stretch your hands, here is the new prompt.

[Picture ID A blurred banner with a blue ball gown and female hands resting on the lap saying: FFF95 DanceA the Night Away End ID] So who dances the night away? Is it a personal thing for a couple? Or a big event? Does someone want to forget what happens the next day? Let us know!

The Collective⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡

The following is a collection of every single prompt created by FFF!

Feel free to use them for your writing endeavors, however please note that we won’t be able to reblog your works once that prompt’s week is over. We gather all flash fics for these prompts in the monthly masterpost of the antique prompts which will be posted at the beginning of the following month. 

Now go make some magic! (Prompts under the cut)

Introductions:

Novel Intro 

Character Intros:

Titania | Edana | Gael | 

Snippets:

Stretch your fingers! Get that writer blood pumping! It’s time to get ready to write again!!

✨✨ You’re new around here and don’t know how it works?

No need to be, stranger! Let us tell you what FlashFictionFriday on our blog is all about!

It’s a fun writer-event that’s meant to inspire, share and connect writings of all genres and writers of all ages. It’s designed to make people want to write, especially if they’re feeling blocked. Everyone and everything is welcome!

We always do our very best to keep the prompts genre open, entertaining, positive and encouraging.

✨✨ So here is how you participate!

Write between 100-1000 words. It can be any genre, in any text format and 18+ is fine by us, just please tag accordingly.    

Use this Friday’s theme in your text. Any way you see fit.

Post on your Tumblr blog and remember to tag us at @flashfictionfridayofficial​!! So we’ll see it, read it and reblog it!!

Deadline is 24 hours after the prompt has been issued (12pm CET).

And then next Friday we’ll mention your work in a showcase post on our main blog before the next prompt drops.

You don’t need to ask for permission or need to get added to a list. Just write, have fun and don’t forget to tag us!

If you have a question, check out or super brand new     FAQ page! If your question isn’t on there, don’t hesitate to ask! <3

Please post your entries as regular posts, not screenshots – or provide the text as a regular post as well. Let’s keep everything as accessible as possible!

We do not condone fiction, asks or comments that contain: direct hostility, unconstructive critique, LGBTQIA+ hate, slurs, racism and/or general no-no behaviors.

If you’re bored and want to read splendid pieces, here is the link to the FFF library:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/14Hye9OfpPaGlBm9UlgIBurIbUvnVHdN2XQUW9t8biZA/edit?usp=sharing

If you want to be closer to the epicenter, you can come chat on our open discord (we don’t bite! …usually!):https://discord.gg/5eqdycX

 ✨✨ Let’s have a look at the amazing pieces you created last week!

Thank you all once again for your wonderful contributions! It was a pleasure to read them! If we missed your entry, please let us know! Also, consider to check out your fellows’ pieces and hit that like button to make a writer happy!

Every Night Is Quiet If You Ignore The Noise by @stories-by-rie​

Another New World by @pheita​

in the silence of a summer night by @soul-write​

bin security by @writingamongthecoloredroses​

cold object by @miriamandvictoria​

is it cold outside by @shortlittlestorythings​

‘A Selkie’s Home’ Snow Day! by @waterfallwritings​

 Cold Object by @ifonlyicouldwrite​

a story about you by @writingcuredmyfrown​

cold object or a frozen heart by @littlefireflylove​ 

cold object by @genodous​

the sword of kings by @elycwinters​

a whole of the world’s tears by @itsokaytobefreak​

fantasy locked by @fantasy-shadows​

key to the cold by @meteor-writes​

cold hands, warm hearts by @borealwrites​

growing cold by @inexorableblob​

cold objects by @thelandoflittlecubesandtea​

cold object by @rhikasa​

cold object by @linariouswrites​

cold object by @mischiefiswritten​

careful what you touch by @starklyscifi​

to senior year by @starlightswitch​

A PSA FROM THE GUARDIAN OF THE M27 by @houser-of-stories​

coldobj by @cawolters​

cold object by @some-dam-french-fries​

the craft of love by @onceuponanaromantic​

✨✨ And now, what you all waited for! This week’s prompt!

[#fff 49 mesmerizing blade]

A mesmerizing blade? What makes it so special? For what is it used? Is it actually a blade or maybe a name or idiom of a strange language? Who knows! Not us! So get writing and let us know! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!

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Seven days have passed once more and Friday is knocking at your door! Are you ready to show us what you’ve got? Then let’s get ready!!

✨✨ You’re new around here and don’t know how it works?

No need to be, stranger! Let us tell you what FlashFictionFriday on our blog is all about!

It’s a fun writer-event that’s meant to inspire, share and connect writings of all genres and writers of all ages. It’s designed to make people want to write, especially if they’re feeling blocked. Everyone and everything is welcome!

We always do our very best to keep the prompts genre open, entertaining, positive and encouraging.

✨✨ So here is how you participate!

Write between 100-1000 words. It can be any genre, in any text format and 18+ is fine by us, just please tag accordingly.    

Use this Friday’s theme in your text. Any way you see fit.

Post on your Tumblr blog and remember to tag us at     @flashfictionfridayofficial​!! So we’ll see it, read it and reblog it!!

Deadline is 24 hours after the prompt has been issued (12pm CET).

And then next Friday we’ll mention your work in a showcase post on our main blog before the next prompt drops.

You don’t need to ask for permission or need to get added to a list. Just write, have fun and don’t forget to tag us!

If you have a question, check out or super brand new     FAQ page! If your question isn’t on there, don’t hesitate to ask! <3

Please post your entries as regular posts, not screenshots – or provide the text as a regular post as well. Let’s keep everything as accessible as possible!

We do not condone fiction, asks or comments that contain: direct hostility, unconstructive critique, LGBTQIA+ hate, slurs, racism and/or general no-no behaviors.

If you’re bored and want to read splendid pieces, here is the link to the FFF library:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/14Hye9OfpPaGlBm9UlgIBurIbUvnVHdN2XQUW9t8biZA/edit?usp=sharing

If you want to be closer to the epicenter, you can come chat on our open discord (we don’t bite! …usually!):https://discord.gg/5eqdycX

 ✨✨ Let’s have a look at the amazing pieces you created last week!

Thank you all once again for your wonderful contributions! It was a pleasure to read them! If we missed your entry, please let us know! Also, consider to check out your fellows’ pieces and hit that like button to make a writer happy!

Don’t Take My Heart by @writingamongthecoloredroses​

Don’t Take My Heart by @pheita​

Invisible Love by @fields-of-ink​ 

Don’t Take My Heart by @bookswriting

Don’t Take My Heart by @ravenjeralt​

Don’t Take My Heart by @wildswrites​

You Fall in Love Every Time by @sundaynightnovels​

Don’t Take My Heart by @fantasy-shadows​ 

Don’t Take My Heart by @thelandoflittlecubesandtea​

Popo by @writingcuredmyfrown​

Don’t Take My Heart by @catharticallysarcastic​

Don’t Take My Heart by @merielxwritings​

Don’t Take My Heart by @miriamandvictoria​

Don’t Take My Heart by @goldlikealexander​

Don’t Take My Heart by @kentwrites​

Don’t Take My Heart by @the-great-teller-of-tales​

Don’t Take My Heart by @littlefireflylove​ 

Hymn To Surrender by @wolfishwrites​

Don’t Take My Heart by @random-chaos-thoughts​

Green Hearts by @stories-by-rie​

Don’t Go by @corav1a​

A Witch’s Heart Is Worth A High Price by @meteor-writes​

Don’t Take My Heart by @rhikasa​

If I Only Knew by @itsokaytobefreak​

When It Was Over by @starlightswitch​

Don’t Take My Heart by @booksnotbookies​

You Are My Sunshine by @borealwrites​

Don’t Take My Heart by @bisexual-in-progress​ 

Don’t Take My Heart by @peggydreadful​

The Heart Breaks by @elycwinters​ 

Petrichor In The Morning by @starklyscifi​

Don’t Take My Heart by @pendingwriter​

To My Own Heart, Which I Broke by @shoefaced-gemini​

The Heart Untaken by @inexorableblob​

Don’t Take My Heart by @houser-of-stories​

Don’t Take My Heart by @somealienquill​

The Winding of The Twins by @onceuponanaromantic​

Broken by @inscrutable-shadow​

✨✨ And now, what you all waited for! This week’s prompt!

[#FFF 48 Cold Object]

Is it that stone cold heart? The metal of the weapon pointed at the other’s throat? Or maybe it is just simply snowing? Who knows! Not us! So get writing and let us know! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!

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✨ New to FFF? Let us fill you in!

FlashFictionFriday is a fun writer-event that’s meant to inspire, share and connect writings of all genres and writers of all ages. It’s designed to make people want to write, especially if they’re feeling blocked. Everyone and everything is welcome!

We always do our very best to keep the prompt’s genre open, entertaining, positive and encouraging.

Write between 100-1000 words. It can be any genre, in any text format and 18+ is fine by us, just please tag accordingly.

Use this Friday’s theme in your text. Any way you see fit.

Post on your Tumblr blog and remember to tag us at @flashfictionfridayofficial​!! So we’ll see it, read it and reblog it!!

Deadline is 24 hours after the prompt has been issued (SAT 12pm CET).

And then next Friday we’ll mention your work in a showcase post on our main blog before the next prompt drops.

Please post your entries as regular posts, not screenshots – or provide the text as a regular post as well. Let’s keep everything as accessible as possible!

You don’t need to ask for permission or need to get added to a list. Just write, have fun and don’t forget to tag us!

We do not condone fiction, asks or comments that contain: direct hostility, unconstructive critique, LGBTQIA+ hate, slurs, racism and/or general no-no behaviors.

If you want to be closer to the epicenter, you can come chat on our open discord: https://discord.gg/gA6sJMB

✨ And now, all the beautiful pieces you wrote last week!

Muffins of Desperation by @soul-write

Date by @writingamongthecoloredroses

Of Ambition and Baked Goods by @elycwinters

Muffins of Desperation by @the-great-teller-of-tales 

Muffins of Desperation by @dragonsblowingoutbirthdaycandles

Muffins in the Morning by @snow-rosie

Muffins of Desperation by @offbrandlacroix

Desperate Times Make Out… by @inexorableblob

A Final Kindness by @meteor-writes

When in Doubt by @starklyscifi

Muffins of Desperation by @booksnotbookies

Escaping from Time’s Gravity by @onceuponanaromantic

A Perfect Kind of Normal by @wolfishwrites

Muffins of Desperation by @houser-of-stories

Muffins of Desperation by @some-dam-french-fries​

Thank you for all your wonderful pieces! If we missed your entry please let us know. 

✨ Finally, the new prompt!

[#FFF47 Don’t Take My Heart]

Unrequited love? A relationship gone wrong? Enemies to lovers? Lovers to enemies? Are you trying to stop the villain from literally cutting it from your chest?

We want to know! So get writing and give us the angst, the drama, those beautiful stories, all of it!!

Writers can use these 12 Archetypes to create characters

The 12 Common Archetypes by Carl Golden

The twelve archetypes are divided into ego types, self types, and soul types. 

1) The Four Ego Types   1. The Innocent Motto: Free to be you and me Core desire: to get to paradise Goal: to be happy Greatest fear: to be punished for doing something bad or wrong Strategy: to do things right Weakness: boring for all their naive innocence Talent: faith and optimism The Innocent is also known as: Utopian, traditionalist, naive, mystic, saint, romantic, dreamer.   2. The Orphan/Regular Guy or Gal Motto: All men and women are created equal Core Desire: connecting with others Goal: to belong Greatest fear: to be left out or to stand out from the crowd Strategy: develop ordinary solid virtues, be down to earth, the common touch Weakness: losing one’s own self in an effort to blend in or for the sake of superficial relationships Talent: realism, empathy, lack of pretence The Regular Person is also known as: The good old boy, everyman, the person next door, the realist, the working stiff, the solid citizen, the good neighbour, the silent majority.   3. The Hero Motto: Where there’s a will, there’s a way Core desire: to prove one’s worth through courageous acts Goal: expert mastery in a way that improves the world Greatest fear: weakness, vulnerability, being a “chicken” Strategy: to be as strong and competent as possible Weakness: arrogance, always needing another battle to fight Talent: competence and courage The Hero is also known as: The warrior, crusader, rescuer, superhero, the soldier, dragon slayer, the winner and the team player.   4. The Caregiver Motto: Love your neighbour as yourself Core desire: to protect and care for others Goal: to help others Greatest fear: selfishness and ingratitude Strategy: doing things for others Weakness: martyrdom and being exploited Talent: compassion, generosity The Caregiver is also known as: The saint, altruist, parent, helper, supporter.   2) The Four Soul Types           5. The Explorer Motto: Don’t fence me in Core desire: the freedom to find out who you are through exploring the world Goal: to experience a better, more authentic, more fulfilling life Biggest fear: getting trapped, conformity, and inner emptiness Strategy: journey, seeking out and experiencing new things, escape from boredom Weakness: aimless wandering, becoming a misfit Talent: autonomy, ambition, being true to one’s soul The explorer is also known as: The seeker, iconoclast, wanderer, individualist, pilgrim.   6. The Rebel Motto: Rules are made to be broken Core desire: revenge or revolution Goal: to overturn what isn’t working Greatest fear: to be powerless or ineffectual Strategy: disrupt, destroy, or shock Weakness: crossing over to the dark side, crime Talent: outrageousness, radical freedom The Outlaw is also known as: The rebel, revolutionary, wild man, the misfit, or iconoclast.   7. The Lover Motto: You’re the only one Core desire: intimacy and experience Goal: being in a relationship with the people, work and surroundings they love Greatest fear: being alone, a wallflower, unwanted, unloved Strategy: to become more and more physically and emotionally attractive Weakness: outward-directed desire to please others at risk of losing own identity Talent: passion, gratitude, appreciation, and commitment The Lover is also known as: The partner, friend, intimate, enthusiast, sensualist, spouse, team-builder.   8. The Creator Motto: If you can imagine it, it can be done Core desire: to create things of enduring value Goal: to realize a vision Greatest fear: mediocre vision or execution Strategy: develop artistic control and skill Task: to create culture, express own vision Weakness: perfectionism, bad solutions Talent: creativity and imagination The Creator is also known as: The artist, inventor, innovator, musician, writer or dreamer.   3) The Four Self Types   9. The Jester Motto: You only live once Core desire: to live in the moment with full enjoyment Goal: to have a great time and lighten up the world Greatest fear: being bored or boring others Strategy: play, make jokes, be funny Weakness: frivolity, wasting time Talent: joy The Jester is also known as: The fool, trickster, joker, practical joker or comedian.   10. The Sage Motto: The truth will set you free Core desire: to find the truth. Goal: to use intelligence and analysis to understand the world. Biggest fear: being duped, misled—or ignorance. Strategy: seeking out information and knowledge; self-reflection and understanding thought processes. Weakness: can study details forever and never act. Talent: wisdom, intelligence. The Sage is also known as: The expert, scholar, detective, advisor, thinker, philosopher, academic, researcher, thinker, planner, professional, mentor, teacher, contemplative.   11. The Magician Motto: I make things happen. Core desire: understanding the fundamental laws of the universe Goal: to make dreams come true Greatest fear: unintended negative consequences Strategy: develop a vision and live by it Weakness: becoming manipulative Talent: finding win-win solutions The Magician is also known as: The visionary, catalyst, inventor, charismatic leader, shaman, healer, medicine man.   12. The Ruler Motto: Power isn’t everything, it’s the only thing. Core desire: control Goal: create a prosperous, successful family or community Strategy: exercise power Greatest fear: chaos, being overthrown Weakness: being authoritarian, unable to delegate Talent: responsibility, leadership The Ruler is also known as: The boss, leader, aristocrat, king, queen, politician, role model, manager or administrator.

Note: There are four cardinal orientations: freedom, social, ego, order. The types have a place on these orientations.

A blacksmith is a generalist, a person who uses tools and fire to work iron.  Some blacksmiths work more specifically, so you get, say, an architectural blacksmith, who focuses more or less exclusively on things like gates, rails, fences, or an artist blacksmith, who makes wacky sculptures or what have you.  These days, though, that’s a pretty blurry line.  ‘Blacksmith’ is a pretty damn broad term, but it’s nowhere near broad enough to cover everything encompassed in ‘metalworker’, which is how I often see it used.  There are a LOT of different skills for working metal, and no one knows them all.  Some other terms:

A farrier shoes horses.  They may make the shoes, or they may buy them and then size them, but they actually do the shoeing.  Unless the blacksmith is also a farrier, they don’t know shit about horses’ hooves and are not qualified to deal with them and probably don’t want to.

A blacksmith works IRON, usually almost exclusively.  They might work with bronze or do a bit of brazing, but those are really separate skillsets.  If you work, say, tin and/or pewter, you are in fact a whitesmith.  You could also be a silversmith or a coppersmith, and so on.

Knifemakers and swordsmiths have their own highly specialized and fairly complex specialties, and usually a blacksmith wouldn’t mess with that unless they want to pick up a new skillset or if they’re really the only game going for a long way around.  By the same token, a swordsmith might never have learned the more general blacksmithing skills.  They’re not the same thing is what I’m trying to say here.  Likewise armorers.  There’s overlap but it’s not the same thing.

If you make metal items via molds and casting, you work at a foundry and are a foundryman.

In fantasy, though, it’s all different.  Tolkien’s dwarves have an average lifespan of 250, so they have much longer to pick up skills (and live in an environment where probably it’s much easier and encouraged for them to do so: they live in cities that are concentrated on providing made items and skills to other species: they aren’t a generalist society, very unlike any human institution I can think of.)  They also ‘make mighty spells’ so very unlike real medieval blacksmiths, they are probably working metal with enchantment as well as tongs. 

We don’t know about their gender role situation, but I don’t think there’s anything in canon to say that the women aren’t making things (and even if there was, there are loads of dwarf cities that last for thousands of years, so no doubt there’s variation between them). 

Let’s talk first about the name!  Historically Smith would mean metal worker and the color would tell you what type of metal. Black is the designation for iron (because of the color it takes after being heated and cooled several times.)  Today Smith more generally means maker, but is still most commonly applied to metal workers.

And, as the OP said, if you need a tinker (tinsmith, also works pewter), silversmith (whitesmith), goldsmith (white- or yellow- smith), or coppersmith (red-, brown-, or green- smith), that’s a different discipline.  Not that a blacksmith has no idea how to work those metals, but his knowledge will likely be limited to how it applies to his general discipline.  For example, weapons and armor made for nobility might have precious metals used to decorate them.  (Aside: The techniques for iron vs copper are complete opposites and one of my favorite modern blacksmithing proverbs is about brass, an alloy made with copper and zinc.  It runs, “Brass, brass, what a pain in the… brain.” )

One of my choice historical bits is talking about medieval blacksmithing in England. This is something we actually have records of because of the guild structure. There were so many blacksmiths in urbanized areas that your permit to open a shop would permit you to make only a specific set of items. Pin drawers, chain makers, armorers, swordsmiths, farm tools, nails, wainwright (hoops for wagon wheels or barrels), farriers (horse shoeing)… all of those might be different shops.  And that isn’t even a complete list!  (Naturally there was a lot of overlap on high-demand items.) 

But even better, Yorkshire records that show us that women were regularly involved in the trade!  It was still male-dominated BUT several of the disciplines (nails, pins, chains) were almost exclusively women!  Women owned blacksmith shops, took apprentices, worked the forge - all of the things that mark them as “real” blacksmiths.  One of my favorite anecdotes is from William Hutton’s History of Birmingham; he encountered a nailer’s shop in which he noted “one or more females, stripped of their upper garments, and not overcharged with the lower, wielding the hammer with all the grace of the sex.”

Come yell at me about blacksmithing!  I want to learn what you know and I’d love to answer any of your questions!  I have a lot of prepared lecture snippets on a variety of smithing details:

Technological setbacks due to loss of historic metallurgical discoveries.

Why “damascus” swords are supposed to be the best.

Cultural and historical reasons for large, slow, strokes with a heavy hammer (like you see in video games) vs. small, quick strokes with a smaller hammer (like you see on YouTube).

Blacksmithing terms in modern English.  (”Keep your temper” being the most common.)

How settling America changed the Western picture to males-only generalized blacksmithing

Economic comparisons of the cost to hire a blacksmith

Apprentice vs. Journeyman vs. Master

More about female blacksmiths

What to wear in the forge (modern or historical reenactment)

How-to on a variety of subjects

Blacksmithing in movies

Why Forged in Fire doesn’t give you an accurate picture of blacksmithing or the skills of the contestants

Metallurgy (the science of metals)

Eastern vs. Western blacksmithing (Surprise!  Japan and Europe are wildly different!)

What kitchen knives do you need?  And how do you keep them sharp?

“Our people must come first. Their safety must come before our comfort.” 

WIP: Darkness Reborn

Race: Gnome

House: N/A

Parents: Geonosa, Dragon and Mother of the Earth

Myers Briggs: ISFJ - The Defender

Alignment: Lawful Good

AtLA Element: Earth

Background:

He was sung from marble by Geonosa herself. Just like the first of the Gnomes were created, the Mother of the Earth wove together the words of creation and of magic and of song to build him. She sang words of strength and beauty and grace as she shaped him, and those that watched knew that he would be different than all who came before him. 

When he was finished, cut from the strongest and purest marble, Geonosa blessed him, called him the child of a Dragon: Dragonborn. With being like an Elder, Gael’s magic is stronger than all of his brethren’s. They can mold rock to their will based on song and melody. He can simply hum and the stone will do as he wishes. 

Gael knows as he grows up that he is different. He masters the stone almost instantly when it took his brethren years of training and memorization to accomplish. He races quickly through his studies, and when it is time for him to choose an apprenticeship, it is chosen for him. 

When he finishes his apprenticeship, he settles into the life of an Elder and leader of the Gnomic Race. He wants a quiet life - one where he knows he is remarkable but doesn’t need to do anything about it.

He is the Chosen One on the back-burner because no one knows what he’s chosen for. 

A threat is approaching, and Gael’s purpose becomes clearer with each step the enemy takes. Will he sacrifice his life of quiet for the survival of his people?

—–

You can find the Master Post with all of my other Character Introductions and my WIP intro HERE 

Please let me know what you think! Constructive Criticisms and questions are most appreciated! Also, if you want to be added to my taglist, let me know! 

Thank you so much for reading! 

Talya

Taglist is under the break:

“I will find you, Titania. I will get to you. Even if I have to kill the Throne itself, I will bring you home.”

WIP: Darkness Reborn

Race: Avani

House:  Temyra 

Parents: Aezer and Elia of Acrine

Myers Briggs: ISTJ - The Logistician 

Alignment: True Neutral

AtLA Element: Fire

Background:

Edana swore an oath to her parents the day her sister was born: protect Titania. When the soldiers came for them all, she failed. They both were torn from their parents, and Titania was torn from her. Thrown into a metal carriage like a rag doll, Edana fumed. 

She should have fought harder to get free from the soldiers. She should have fought harder to get to her baby sister.

She swears to every deity she knows that she will escape - even if it takes her entire life. 

Someone up high seems to have heard. She is taken into the care of a man with great influence and he offers her what she seeks the most: power and strength. With it, nothing will stand in her way - nothing will stop her from keeping the oath she swore all those years ago. 

To what lengths will a simple peasant girl of Acrine go secure the power she needs?

——

You can find the Master Post of Darkness Reborn and all of my posts on it |here|

Thank you so much for reading!

Talya

Taglist is under the break:

“This place holds nothing for me … or I would have stayed Elianor, …”

WIP: Darkness Reborn 

Race: Avani

House: Myrkur

Parents: Lord Orcus Myrkur and Lady Maelle Myrkur

Myers Briggs: ENFP - The Champion

Alignment: Neutral Good

AtLA Element: Air 

Background:

Elianor has lived as the Shrouded Heiress for as long as she can remember. A physical deformity has kept a layer between her and the rest of the world. It’s a cage - a pretty, satin cage for a pretty, poised Lady. But she has always done as she has been told because she is the perfect heiress.

She wants nothing more than to be free.

So when a voice calls to her in the night and whispers promises of a sky unbound and a freedom from everything Elianor hates, she wants to accept more than anything in the world. There is only one thing. The voice calls to her by a different name: Titania.

It rings deep within Elianor, as if scratching an itch that can’t be reached.

Genre: High Fantasy

Main* Characters: Edana, Titania, Gael, Rhonan, Skai, Aven, Eanrin

Synopsis:

Elianor Myrkur, Heiress of the House Myrkur, has lived all of her life as the daughter and Heir of the Myrkur Family - one of the High Families who helped the Throne gain its power. But a dream, too vivid to just be made up in her own mind, threatens what she knows. A girl calls to her, promising of escape. Titania, the other calls her. Is she really the daughter of the Myrkur? The voice that whispers to her both in her waking moments and her sleeping ones says otherwise. It calls from the depths of the Manor she has always known. If the girl from her dream won’t free her, maybe this new voice will. 

winking

clenching

pulsing

fluttering

contracting

twitching

sucking

quivering

pulsating

throbbing

beating

thumping

thudding

pounding

humming

palpitate

vibrate

grinding

crushing

hammering

lashing

knocking

driving

thrusting

pushing

force

injecting

filling

dilate

stretching

lingering

expanding

bouncing

reaming

elongate

enlarge

unfolding

yielding

sternly

firmly

tightly 

harshly

thoroughly

consistently

precision

accuracy

carefully

demanding

strictly

restriction

meticulously

scrupulously

rigorously

rim

edge

lip

circle

band

encircling

enclosing

surrounding

piercing

curl

lock

twist

coil

spiral

whorl

dip

wet

soak

madly

wildly

noisily

rowdily

rambunctiously

decadent

degenerate

immoral

indulgent

accept

take

invite

nook

indentation

niche

depression

indent

depress

delay

tossing

writhing

flailing

squirming

rolling

wriggling

wiggling

thrashing

struggling

grappling

striving

Arouse -  agitate, awaken, electrify, enliven, excite, entice, foment, goad, incite, inflame, instigate, kindle, provoke, rally, rouse, spark, stimulate, stir, thrill, waken, warm, whet, attract, charm, coax, fire up, fuel, heat up, lure, produce, stir up, tantalize, tease, tempt, thrum, torment, wind up, work up

With everything that’s been going on over the past several weeks, staying focused has been frustratingly difficult for me. There’s a lot to be anxious about – the numbers on the news going up, the government briefings getting more and more uncomfortable. The increased cognitive load wreaks havoc on any type of deep work that I need to do – writing, reading, programming.

Instead, I’m always looking for the refresh button, eagerly awaiting the next bite-sized news item that always ends up being another speculation at best. I’m well aware that I’m not getting any value from reading those live updates — reading War and Peace backwards would probably have about the same effect. But why is it so difficult to step back?

In this post, I’d like to share the strategies that I’ve been using to combat these viral bouts of procrastination. If I got anything done since the lockdown started, I was because I used one or more of these hacks.

(1) Time Your Sessions

This is an old trick but a good one.

Set a timer for however long you wish you wish to write and write away. You’re not allowed to do anything else until it rings.

You can use a time tracker like Toggl or one of the apps that block certain websites until the time is up to ensure compliance. I like using the Forest app on my phone.

(2) Track your words

Timing your writing sessions is great, but what if you don’t feel motivated enough to even schedule one?

I’m a big fan of tracking your writing – how many words you write and when. Just like tracking calories or workouts, the simple act of recording them will result in a change of behaviour. By tracking what you wrote, you’re also tracking how much time you’ve wasted – if you haven’t written anything for weeks, you’ll have a clear record of that.

That’s what does it for me – seeing all opportunities to get words done that I’ve missed. I start questioning whether I should be pursuing writing in the first place when I’m clearly not doing it, and that gets me back on track.

I built an app for this called Writing Analytics which I can thoroughly recommend 😄. It’s also free until the end of May 2020!

(3) Build a streak

Another way to stay motivated is to build streaks. Whether you’re developing a new writing habit or maintaining an existing one, ticking a box every day can be a surprisingly powerful way to stay on track.

The more days you have on your streak, the more you’ll want to keep going. For me, the key to streaks is to make the criteria for ticking that box as easy as possible – like reading 5 pages or writing 200 words.

On busy days, I might bang out 200 words on my phone while queuing at the supermarket. On good days, those 200 words are just enough to get me to the flow of a writing session. Low expectations are the key.

You can use a grid printout. The Streaks iPhone app works pretty well, and Writing Analytics also supports streaks.

(4) Get Accountability

A few things are better to spark a fire under your ass than external accountability. You have several options here – from posting your daily word counts on social media to sharing your goals with friends or writing group.

Having to explain your repeated failures to write anything to another person can be very uncomfortable. That really is the point – it becomes easier to write than face the embarrassment.

Some writers find a writing coach or accountability partner and check in with them regularly to make sure both are getting their writing done. When all else fails, it might be a sign that you need one.

(5) Match time spent reading the news with writing

Checking out social media and reading the news is the first thing many people do every day. It’s also a huge mistake. You’re barely awake and already distracted.

What if you could only check social media and read the news for as long as you’ve spent writing that day? Wanna see if the world is still on fire? Write for 15 minutes and you earn 15 minutes on Twitter.

Staying off the news and social media may be unrealistic, but you can make sure that you strike the right balance of consumption and creativity by putting your writing first.

Final Thoughts

These were some of the hacks that I use to focus on my writing. Normally, I will combine at least two or three and switch them up depending on how much support I need at a given time.

I hope that they’ll help you be a more productive writer at least until we figure a way out of this pandemic.

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Past Editions

#137: How to Create a Writing Routine for Life, April 2020

#136: The Words Will Add Up, March 2020

#135: Quarantine Survival for Writers, March 2020

#134: Focusing on the Right Metrics, March 2020