the secret library.

These are Inspired by @droideplane’ dividers here

I thought they were so gorgeous and they are absolutely perfect for a fic I’m writing on my main account and I couldn’t find more like them so i just made them myself :)

hello love! and yes of course!! I had to add in some coffee bean dividers too because I think they just look so cute 🤭 I hope you like them! ♥️

in lieu of tumblr's new reblog feature. let's continue to support creators on this platform and keep this place as safe as possible. please consider giving feedback here. credit not needed. recoloring welcomed. feel free to edit as you need! *credits to a dear friend of mine for this idea.

for your next poem/story

Alnath - the first star in the horns of Aries, whence the first mansion of the moon takes its name

Apricate - to bask in the sun

Arbeset - a strawberry tree

Brandy bottles - the flowers of the yellow water-lily

Death's hearb - nightshade

Defoulings - the marks made by a deer's feet in wet soil

Dotterel - a bird said to be so foolishly fond of imitation as to be easily caught

Druve - a muddy river

Gaincope - to go across a field the nearest way; to meet with something

Kissing-comfits - sugar-plums perfumed, for sweetening the breath

Leite - light; lightning

Mel-silvestre - honeysuckle

Mock shadow - twilight

Nubilated - clouded

Rillet - a small stream or rivulet

Shaad - a meadow

Stickle - the current below a waterfall

Sucre roseth - sugar of roses

Tainct - a kind of red-coloured spider very common in the summertime

Well-stream - a spring; a fountain

Ancient Egyptian Names!!

Writing Notes: Gothic Horror & Gothic Erotica

GOTHIC HORROR

A subgenre of horror novels that focus specifically on death.

Originated in the 18th century.

Exemplified by the author Edgar Allan Poe.

Also known as gothic fiction.

It is a literary genre characterized by elements of:

mystery,

horror, and

the supernatural.

Features of Gothic Horror

These are a few of the distinctive features of Gothic Horror:

Complex heroes: In Gothic tales, writers portray the protagonist as an anti-hero—someone with a complex personality that reveals elements of good and evil. As an outcast of society, the protagonist usually has monotonous features, which appear physically or emotionally. For example, the hero may have an uncontrollable rage. Thus, the troubled and doomed anti-hero is a Gothic motif that has influenced the literary canon.

Damsel in distress: A damsel in distress—typically an innocent, young woman—is a classic, Gothic trope used across stories. Often a supernatural being has held the helpless woman in captivity, locking her away in an isolated tower or castle. In Gothic romance, the damsel in distress often falls in love with the anti-hero, who has a seductive and charming personality combined with a dark side, such as a violent temper.

Existential themes: Explores existential themes to dramatize the plot. Gothic writers examine and question morality, reality, religion, and philosophy to match the ominous setting.

Extreme emotions: The idea of emotional extremes is another creative tool used in Gothic fiction to dramatize the story. Characters experience an internal torment that can assume a variety of different forms. Tragic and ominous plot points, such as the death of a loved one or an unsolved murder mystery, often send the protagonist into a spiral or raging catharsis.

Ominous setting: An eerie and spooky setting is a pillar of the Gothic novel, invoking suspense into the narrative. Common locations in Gothic fiction include Medieval ruins, haunted houses, and dilapidated monasteries. These types of ominous spaces often have secret hallways, trapdoors, and mysterious rooms that conjure fear and curiosity in the reader.

Supernatural elements: Supernatural elements—such as the use of ghosts, vampires, monsters, and demons—are another defining feature of Gothic fiction. Gothic writers employ these spooky elements to explore paranormal activity, embed terror into the plotline, and evoke fear within the reader.

Inspired by the aesthetic and architecture of the Middle Ages, Gothic literature gets its name from the Gothic castles, churches, ruins, and abandoned estates it uses as a setting for the haunting storyline.

Writers combine dark imagery with suspenseful narrative to reflect the decayed and battered state of the architecture, fusing terror with pleasure.

Romance often plays a role in Gothic fiction literature, as writers interweave the element of death into romantic relationships to build tension and capture the reader’s emotions.

Gothic Horror is one of the oldest of the horror genres.

Darker, edgier and on the Romanticism end of Romanticism Versus Enlightenment (in fact, it quite literally emerged alongside the Romantic movement in the late 18th century as a reaction against the values of the Enlightenment), it tends to play on both the thrill and the fear of the unknown and places a great importance on atmosphere.

It's usually heavily symbolic, sometimes even dreamlike.

In addition to being important to the horror genre, the first Science Fiction, Mystery Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Thriller, and Adventure authors drew inspiration from Gothic horror, so it's sometimes considered the parent of all modern genre fiction.

Gothic fiction is usually used as a synonym or is the name given to Gothic horror stories that are saturated with the above mentioned sci-fi, fantasy, romance, mystery, or adventure elements.

As new writers contributed to the Gothic genre, numerous subgenres developed, such as the Southern Gothic, Gothic romance, Gothic ghost story, and modern Gothic, all of which fuse aspects of the supernatural into the story.

While the popularity of the Gothic novel soared during the late 18th century, it peaked during the Victorian era.

Today, Gothic fiction continues to inspire the themes and styles of thriller and horror novels.

Modern writers that use Gothic elements in their stories include Toni Morrison, Shirley Jackson, Susan Hill, and Stephen King.

If you’re looking for a basic answer for what makes up gothic horror, some of the hallmarks are:

Haunted and decayed settings (castles, homes, etc.)

Supernatural elements (especially ghosts)

Themes of isolation and/or confinement (both physical and mental)

Emotional and psychological overwhelm (characters doubting their reality, facing emotional turmoil like grief and loss, etc.)

Morally ambiguous characters (these characters engage the reader’s thinking on a deeper level)

Discussions of religion or philosophy (often tied to the morally ambiguous character)

Terror vs. horror (terror is when authors use suspense to build unease, and horror is when the promise of that terror is delivered)

Examples

Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897). A gothic horror novel about a vampire who wants to spread the undead curse to as many people as possible.

Frankenstein (1818): Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is one of the most well-known works of Gothic fiction. In this classic Gothic novel, Shelley explores the ramifications of science, as protagonist Victor Frankenstein attempts to create life from a corpse. Shelley’s image of a monster sewn together from human body parts has become a famous symbol associated with Gothic literature and horror.

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891): Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray is a Gothic horror story that uses a portrait as a base for entering the supernatural world. Wilde examines morality in the text, as the protagonist chooses to sell his soul in the pursuit of sin.

GOTHIC EROTICA

Criminal Sentences, Vol. 37

(Sentences from various sources for criminals and/or dangerous muses. Adjust phrasing where needed)

"I'm going to ask you a question. How you answer it will determine how this night ends."

"I've paid for the sins of my past. What about you? Can you say the same?"

"I will teach you to lie so well that people thank you when you stab them in the back."

"I go by several names. I doubt any of them are your concern."

"You can catch a devil, but you can't hold him long."

"Behind that that hard, criminal mind is a soft teddy bear, but I promise not to tell anyone."

"You mistake me for someone who takes orders rather than gives them."

"How does it feel to go around town with a psychopath?"

"I should have killed you the first time we met."

"I don't take orders from you."

"Remorse? Oh, I did away with that a long time ago."

"I have a very odd feeling that you're taking advantage of me."

"Some day, I hope you'll realise that you and I are actually on the same side."

"This business is based on trust. I don't trust you."

"I want you to find the men who did this and bring them to me."

"If I want to immobilise someone and I've already shot him in the leg, he's kind of stuck in situ while I shoot him in the other one, so I might as well do it!"

"Where I come from, men like you die pretty easily."

"If I was going to kill you, I'd have done it when you walked to the car this morning and would have been gone by the time you hit the sidewalk."

"You have to be careful fighting monsters or you might turn into one yourself."

"If you're looking for a reason not to kill me, I don't really have one."

"Have you heard about these bank robberies?"

"If you make someone rich, you can get away with just about anything in this country."

"You know, you talk like we're not going to get away with this."

"If you disappoint me, you can be so easily discarded."

"You are literally the worst shot I've ever seen!"

"I've got a short fuse, so don't strike matches."

"Can't you feel anything?"

"I don't kill boring people."

"On the rare occasion when I tell someone who I am, they tend to be frightened of me."

"I could give someone a bad name just by standing next to them."

"I'm going to kill you, you know."

"I am not what you think I am."

Literary theme - the main idea or underlying meaning a writer explores in a novel, short story, or other literary work.

The theme of a story can be conveyed using characters, setting, dialogue, plot, or a combination of all of these elements.

In simpler stories, the theme may be a moral or message: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

In more complex stories, the central theme is typically a more open-ended exploration of some fundamental aspect of society or humanity.

Common Themes in Literature

The best literary themes explore human nature on a universal level. It’s no surprise, then, that multiple books may share the same central idea. Each of the following popular theme examples reveals the human condition and offers readers food for thought long after the story is finished.

Good vs. evil

Love

Redemption

Courage and perseverance

Coming of age

Revenge

Ways to Create Literary Themes in Your Writing

Incorporating a solid literary theme into your work won’t happen by accident, but it doesn’t have to be incredibly difficult, either. Whether you’re composing short stories, writing a novel, or working on a screenplay, incorporate the following literary devices to better convey the theme of your story. As you layer them in, they should be as subtle as the theme itself.

Put your characters in conflict with one another. Most themes center on controversial ideas that are a source of conflict for human beings. By putting your characters in conflict, you’ll create more opportunities for actions, choices, and conversations that enable them, and your readers, to tackle your theme head on.

Reinforce your theme with motifs. A motif is a recurring image or detail that highlights the central ideas in a story through repetition. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, for example, Gatsby’s constant, lavish parties emphasize the theme of excess, materialism, and the pursuit of the American dream. Use motif to shed additional light on the theme and also give readers a reminder of its existence.

Represent your theme with symbols. Symbols are objects, characters, or settings that are used to represent something else (while, again, supporting the theme). A symbol may appear one time, or be present throughout the story. In The Great Gatsby, a green light symbolizes Gatsby’s dream for a better life with Daisy. In the beginning of the book, he reaches toward it; in the end, it seems unreachable.

Literary Theme: Good vs. Evil

Detective Sentences, Vol. 34

(Sentences from various sources for detectives and/or muses that like to solve mysteries. Adjust phrasing where needed)

"It's been a while. How's life as a civilian?"

"We're not on holiday! We're conducting an investigation!"

"Sorry I'm late; I found a body!"

"What does it take to be a good detective anyway?"

"You are a good detective, but nobody is too good for this job."

"He killed and ate a guy!"

"You don't use your analytical brain. This is very bad for a policeman."

"Oh, brilliant! We're looking for a tall, dark stranger who's been dead for a hundred years!"

"Is there any chance you'll find who really did it?"

"You are literally the worst shot I've ever seen!"

"He got away with it. He got away with murder, and he's out there somewhere now, laughing at us."

"What if something else is going on? Some other agenda we don't know about?"

"Would you mind terribly if I got back to my investigation?"

"Don't you need a warrant?"

"Am I the only one here who knows how a police officer is supposed to behave?"

"I don't believe in laws. I am the law."

"Police work can get kind of heavy. Have you got anyone at home?"

"You've been paying more attention to these murderers than you ever did to me!"

"Have you ever thought that maybe there's a different way of doing this job?"

"I'm going to walk you through collecting the evidence. You do exactly as I say."

"You're a great cop, and you'll make a terrific detective."

"Look around. Remember that crime scenes a three dimensional. Floors, walls, and ceilings."

"Me helping the police with their inquiries? I don't think so."

"Now, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but something's going on!"

"Something doesn't add up about any of this, does it?"

"You were supposed to be tying up loose ends, not finding new ones!"

"You haven't got anything, have you? I know because if you had, you wouldn't be trying to coerce me into confessing."

"I expressly told you to drop this case!"

Keep learning because there are those who dread you getting smarter. Keep learning because there are those who need guidance. Keep learning because it literally keeps your brain healthy. Be kind, but be smart. Ask questions, but also question answers.

It doesn't have to be a full pause to describe the scene in excruciating detail, but a smell, a sight, a sound, a sensation, something will help to ground the scene and avoid having everything happen on an empty stage.