a budding author

“Tch. It’s not my fault keyboards don’t work anymore.”

“Who’s to say it isn’t?” Kara’s murmur was nearly too quiet to hear, but the meaning of it caused Frankie to start with a jolt, turning on their colleague with shock. She received their gaze with a cold neutrality. “It is rather curious that the suspected cause has attached itself to your phone.”

Because it’s been awhile since I last posted about this wip, here’s some links~

WIP INTRO || GENERAL TAG || EXCERPTS

Anyways, onto the excerpt! Right after this scene comes a major revelation that massively changes the main crew’s choices. c;

Context: Kellowaught City has been without electricity for an entire month. No communications, no generators–not even batteries work. After little luck and many failures, the special ops team formed from the wreckage has finally determined the source: a dangerous alien has somehow hidden itself inside one of the agents’ phones.

 RECORD - a 571 word excerpt from CIRCUIT

Words: 11934

Chapters: 1/1

SUMMARY

“The handholding, Hajime! Whenever the main couple is angry at each other they hold hands and then they aren’t angry anymore! Um… how did they say it? I think it was that they were, um, joined so the anger flowed out of them. Or something.”

Tooru keeps going on about the show, but Hajime’s face is so hot he can’t focus on whatever he’s saying.

“C—couple? What you trying to say, Tooru?”

“I’m saying—” Tooru sighs— “we should hold hands because we fight all the time! I’m angry at you and I want to go back to playing so we should hold hands!”

-

Anchored Souls — side cast name meanings 

“It’s not an insult if it’s true. It’s an observation,” Martínez retorted, tipping their head back as if correcting a child’s mistake. “But I understand why you would say that, considering you’re a moron.”

“I think of it ‘s more of a nickname.” Solarin set her hands to her hips, cocking her head. “Somethin’ she only calls people she likes.” Martínez winced, cheeks rapidly reddening.

“SHUT UP, IDIOT. I DON’T… hhnnrrhhh I don’t like you…” Solarin’s smirk somehow widened further. She narrowed her eyes.

“… Izzit love, th–oof!” Her stomach, as that was as high as they could reach, abruptly became the target for an onslaught of tiny siren fists.

“SHUT. YOUR. FACE.” Solarin half-heartedly attempted to defend herself, a genuine challenge amidst the fit of giggling shaking her sides.

Check under the cut for transcriptions!

↳ a wip introduction by @wordsofpaintandsmoke

GENRE › new adult contemporary fiction TYPE › standalone novel STATUS › first draft POV › 3rd person limited. multiple. SETTING › 21st Century Europe THEMES & TROPES› found family, disabled lead, poc in leading roles (Afro-Hispanic lead, Asian lead, Filipino lead), bi and ace rep, romantic subplot, friends to lovers, not so platonic bed sharing, religion & identity, race, sexuality & identity, family drama, self acceptance as an adult.

SUMMARY

“Being gifted doesn’t always mean being happy, sometimes it just means your happiness depends on other people’s approval.”

This last summer with his best friends was supposed to be extraordinary, but that was before Simon was forced to take his half-sister with him to Paris. He barely knows her, but he can’t help how much he hates her and he doesn’t do much to hide it. His only goals this summer were to have fun and figure out a way to tell his dad he was dropping out of college to become an artist. Now he also has to deal with this girl he can’t call sister and the drama she brings, all while driving his friends across Europe for the summer.

CHARACTERS

SIMON, a twenty year old former gifted athlete, with rich and overbearing parents. Currently making his own “fortune” by making art on the internet.

MALIA, a twenty year old black girl who used to be seen as a “genius kid” now at peace with the idea of being average, but only on the surface.

KENZIE, a twenty year old plus size asian girl who’s spent all her academic career pretending to know absolutely nothing because she was too lazy to try… or too afraid to fail.

DAVID, a twenty year old engineering major who might be a little too addicted to caffeine and too obsessed with dinosaurs, but still manages to be a better functioning adult than most of the people in this group.

ZEYNA, a twenty year old performing arts student forced to spend the summer with her half-brother. She doesn’t mind it as much as he does, though.

ADDITIONAL LINKS

wip page

playlist

pinterest board

This was initially intended to be for when I hit my follower milestone but since I’m not so sure when that will actually be hit (and I’ve wanted to do this for a hot minute) I thought I’d go ahead and follow through with offering some neat free art of your characters but first, the rules:

You must be following this dog to participate (and while I actually can’t stop you, I’d ask kindly that you don’t just follow for the art then unfollow once you’ve gotten yours)!

There’s only one request per person.

Send in the requested information or else I won’t be able to acurately doodle your characters, if you send me a request without what I’ve asked for, I’ll have to decline it.

There are about 8 slots open for these and they’re first come first served so if you send your request post the slots being filled, I won’t be able to fulfill it. 

There are two styles of art that I am offering: 1) A simplistic chibi (is that what they’re called?) and 2) A sketched & fully colored chibi head. 

In your request, please include: 1) The style you want. 2) Specific/keynote details about your character as these are simplistic doodles and lean heavily on what makes your character noticeable to you (such as, do they have fluffy hair? a prominent scar? do they wear a cowboy hat? etc). 3) Describe their personality (for expression purposes). 4) Describe their interests! (1-2 interests is nice but forewarning, this is mostly for the chibi full body, so feel free to tell me “draw them with a whale mug” or “they have a cat” so I’ll draw a lil cat beside them or something of equal simplicity). 5) If you choose a fully colored option, I kindly request you send me a reference to their hair/skin color whether that be in picrew form or otherwise. 6) *optional* If they have it, send me some art/a face claim for them! 

Anchored Souls — main cast name meanings

“He… knew ye?” The tears were coming back. I used my sleeve to scrub them away, my words calmer despite the choking sob at the back of my throat.

“‘Little Cloud’. That’s what he called me. That’s a finling name.” I paused, eye locking tightly closed against my crying. I continued far quieter, unable to muster up any more sound than a hoarse whisper. “That was my name.”

Check under the cut for transcriptions!

I’m really productive today, huh…

David stepped out of the building, hair tied back in some messy bun and sunglasses resting against his t-shirt. Malia bit her lower lip at the way nervously played with the strings of his hoodie — who wears a hoodie in summer anyway? — Her fist collided with Simon’s right arm before she could stop herself and she sunk into her seat, mumbling like a lovesick teen. They were trying to murder her.

I love pining Malia, but it’s too early in the story for her to behave that way… I’m watering this down later, but I still wanted to share~

taglist (send an ask to be added/removed)

A prosey prologue I wrote!!!!

Transcript:

PROLOGUE

Somewhere not quite here or there

If you were to look beyond the barriers of this world, past the sky and the stars and all of the things you think you know, you would find a number of things.

You would find yourself in something that is not quite space, your stomach dropping so swiftly you would believe you were falling save for the stillness all around you. For just a moment, time would not exist, and you would feel the humming of presence all around you, at once vibrantly eager and impossibly patient. All you would see, for what could very well be forever, would be worlds upon worlds, glittering and twinkling in a mostly inviting manner. Some would be connected by tiny strings, like beads on a necklace, and others would be surrounded by dark, shadowy clouds. All of them strange, all of them new, except maybe that one world that’s familiar in the way that only home is.

A choice would be presented to you in the guise of a feeling, then, much like being pulled in every direction all at once. If you knew where you needed to go, the choice was a simple one; it was just a matter of following the right direction, reaching out for the right choice. But if you didn’t know your destination, you might end up hopping between worlds, each time hoping for something that feels like the right choice.

Either way, you would leave this strange place behind, and you would find yourself somewhere else. And if you were lucky, you’d find something to make it all worth it.

Why are you switching then

Why are you switching to who you’re switching to (particularly if you have >2 POVs)

What new information is provided by having a new POV

What information is hidden by having a new POV

How evenly are you distributing your story, POV-wise

Is a character getting more POV time because they have the more important story to tell or because you don’t know what to write for other people

How does the POV shift impact your pacing

Is it immediately clear where the POV character is/what they’re doing

A little writeblr reintroduction!

Right okay! I think I introduced myself way back when I was a baby writeblr, but since I’ve hit 800 followers (which is a lot????? holy cow thank you!) I figured I’d do a little reintroduction of sorts, so here I am!

About Me!

Anyway, hi! I’m Piya! I’m an Indian-American writeblr just kind of doing my thing on here. I have one main wip (and a back burner wip, but I haven’t posted about that in a while) and I also post some prose! I love sci-fi and fantasy, especially anything with found family, and I’m also into messing around with graphic design and also music. Asks are always open, so come scream at me if you like!

The Stronger!

Oh, I have a pretty neat main WIP! The Stronger is a YA sci-fi fantasy wip centering around six teenagers racing to stop the end of the universe. There’s three books set to happen, one of which I’ve already drafted, though I am currently reworking pretty much the whole thing! I’ll probably reintroduce it once it’s all shiny and polished and stuff! You can find the WIP page here though!

And that’s about it! Feel free to tell me about yourself/your wips in the notes of this post :)

How to Write a Realistic Argument

Everyone argues.

Whether it be with a friend, sibling, parent, or coworker—arguments usually break out whenever there’s a stark contrast in opinion over certain things, which can happen a lot.

There are a variety of different kinds of arguments involving a wide range of people with different tempers. Because of this, writing arguments can be a bit difficult, but fear not, for this post is here to help!

1. Know The Writing Style of an Argument

For a very serious argument, the characters probably won’t stop and listen to what their opponent has to say.

It’s quick, choppy, and broken—each character shoving their emotions at one another and trying to get their point across without bothering to understand the other side’s opinions.

There should be a lot of em-dashes and italicized words for emphasis, and if it’s between two people, you want as few speech tags as possible; because there’s going to be a lot of back and forth, speech tags can serve to trip up the flow of the argument rather than help them.

When you do want speech tags or if there are multiple people arguing at once here’s some examples you can use:

Roared

Screamed

Yelled

Bellowed

Barked

Hissed

Shouted

Accused

Interrupted

Growled

Snarled

Spat

Screeched

Shrilled

But you also must know that your characters won’t just be standing stock still and yelling at one another; they’re going to be moving around, so here are some things you can describe your character doing during an argument

Expression contorting

Eyes narrowing

Speaking through clenched teeth

Baring their teeth

Lips twisting (into a sneer/into a snarl)

Hands balling into fists

Trembling

Breaking things/knocking stuff over

Pointing accusingly

Shoving

Spittle flying from their mouth

Stamping their feet

Face getting hot

Vein in forehead popping

Blood roaring in their ears/heart pounding

And if you want, to build tension you can put it in a dangerous place, like at the edge of a cliff or something—so you know fully well that if one of them goes too far it may end up with the other’s accidental death.

Thank you @writingamongthecoloredroses and @wordsofpaintandsmoke for tagging me!!!

Rules: Thank the blogger that nominated you. Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you. Nominate 11 bloggers. Ask your nominees 11 questions. Notify your 11 nominees. Let’s go!

1. What are some of the songs you play while writing?

I think it depends on mood? I use a lot of different songs depending on scenes and characters, but generally when working on plot/worldbuilding I’ll have some dramatic or upbeat songs to motivate me! Big artists for me include Bastille, Cavetown, Alan Walker, and Of Monsters and Men :)

2. What are your favorite tropes to write?

Oooh, I have lot! I love bed sharing and the found family trope an unhealthy amount, sweetheart characters who can be feral, and generally just writing scenes that would look really cool cinematically!

3. If your WIP was being made into a movie/tv show, who would you want to play your characters?

To be honest, I don’t really pay attention to actors, so I don’t really have faceclaims for anyone? Either way, I would hate for my characters to be whitewashed or aged up, so I think I’d just want actors close to the right age ranges and of the right ethnicities.

4. What’s an incident from childhood that would be hard to believe today?

I think up until third grade, I thought I was half mermaid. I very distinctly remember trying to breathe underwater multiple times and I think I at one point considered doing a mermaid spell so I could grow a tail?? I watched a lot of H20 Just Add Water as a kid.

5. What’s the story you haven’t gotten a chance to talk about yet?

I’ve promised myself I would not TOUCH this idea until I finished The Stronger, but. I do have a concept sort of planned out??? Basically, I wanted to write a super chaotic main, and now I have a morally gray fool in an ambiguous setting and no plot. Either way, should be a cool project once I finish this one!

6. Do you use any symbolism when creating your characters?

I mean,, sort of?? I think as I develop the plot more themes and symbolism show up as I go along, so it just kind of is built in there and I realize after I’ve fleshed everyone out!

7. Do you have a goal of words to write each day, or you just write what you can?

During nano I have a goal, but generally I write what I can. I think goals end up stressing me out most of the time.

8. What fandoms are you in?

Not many? I mean, not active I suppose. I do love a lot of books though, like The Raven Cycle, Six of Crows, and a bunch of others!

9. Do you have a favorite recipe to make?

I am not a particularly great cook but I like to think I’m pretty good at burritos? Also soup and some thai food, and a couple of Indian recipes (although my rotli is more square than circle)!

10. Do you have a routine when you write?

Usually I just sit down with my playlist on and my docs open! I do sometimes have to use a focus app (Plantie is a cute one) so I don’t get distracted though!!

11. What are your dreams when it comes to your WIP? Do you just want to publish it, or do you dream of doing more than just that?

I would LOVE to publish honestly! I think I’d be content with that, but I want to aim for a #1 bestseller if I can! Maybe produced into a movie or show?

12. What are some favorite articles of clothing that make you happy to wear?

Ooh okay!! I have this jumpsuit that I like because it makes me feel ~fancy~. I also love my one leather jacket, these funky open end (?) jeans and this moodboard looking shirt. Also my flannels, naturally.

13. Is music a must and even if not, please share a few songs that are just Writing Mood anyway?

Yes and no!! I think it depends on the music and the scene. Either way, some go-to bops include:

American Money - BØRNS

Ophelia - The Lumineers

Runaways - Lowell

14. What’s the first step of planning a project for you?

I think I start with concepts?? Just a general aesthetic to slap on the whole thing. That or characters, and then the plot kind of gets figured out from there based on what the characters are doing!

15. Do you talk in inanimate objects and if so, is it because you like to hear your thoughts outside of your head?

I mean, yes and no. I mostly bounce ideas off my brother, but sometimes I might mutter to myself or talk to my stuffed animals!

16. You can bring one book with you and you’re guaranteed to get questions about it - what’s the book?

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern!

17. Are there any genres that you’d probably never write for?

Probably sports fiction and contemporary romance? I’m painfully unathletic and too unexperienced to write romance as the main plot of something :p

18. Do you prefer to lurk around your favorite writeblrs or reblog anything they post? (either answer is FINE and you don’t have to say who)

I try to reblog content as much as I can, but sometimes I just scroll through people’s blogs and spam them with likes/reblogs!

19. When did you realize you wanted to write?

I think around third or fourth grade?? so eight or nine years old for me!

20. If you could drabble into another medium (screenplay, stained glass, video game, etc) to tell a story, what would it be?

I’d love to be able to do comics! That would be really cool! Screenplay would also be awesome!

21. What’s something positive you’ve learned about yourself or your writing this year?

I have learned that I’m actually surprisingly good at third person?? And I think I’m actually pretty good at outlining when I put my mind to it!

22. Without much thought, give us a writing prompt, regardless of sense or importance.

The world around you is far too large, and you don’t remember how it got that way.

And now for my questions!!

Do you work on multiple wips at a time or can you only work on one?

What themes do you find yourself using a lot in your writing?

Would you want your WIP(s) to be adapted to TV/movie?

What do you consider the biggest inspirations when you’re writing?

Name some writeblrs you admire.

What songs are part of your WIP soundtrack?

What do you consider a defining moment of your childhood?

Do you intend for your writing to have a deeper meaning or to just keep things light?

Out of your characters, who would it hurt you the most to kill off?

Which season is your personal favorite? Why?

Do you keep snacks and drink on hand while writing?