bleed your magic out

stylin’

How can I let you know? I’m more than the dress and the voice?

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, love, if you want, I can get you out of this dungeon right now and back home by morning.”

The dungeon went deathly silent. Through the high ceiling of stone and steel, she could hear the sound of the goblins marching.

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“But the chains—”

There was a silken hiss like falling sand. All that was left of the shackle was the angry, red welt around her ankle.

She stared. She said: “They have my sister—”

“Not to worry, dear,” said the old woman. “I can get her on our way out.”

“But the goblins—”

“Can’t do a thing about it. I do whatever I want – they all hate it, but they can’t stop me.”

“I signed a contract—”

“Oh, love, listen to me: I don’t care about contracts. I don’t care about quests or bargains or deals or wishes or riddles. If you want me to get you out of this story, then you’re out, no strings attached.”

There was a trickle of rainwater somewhere in the dungeon. Every drip echoed through the gloom.

She narrowed her eyes. “I’m sorry, but I don’t believe you.”

“You’re very wise.”

“What do you get out of this?”

The old woman sighed and shuffled back to sit against the stone wall. “Peace of mind, maybe,” she said. “A story is a terrible thing to bear for some.”

“How many people have you done this for?”

“Hundreds.”

“That’s a lot.”

“No, dear. Not nearly enough.”

“No strings attached?”

She heard the rainwater again, a distant, dark and echoing drip… drip…

And then – “Only one,” said the old woman. “There is a chance that someday, you’ll look back and realize that you’ll never know if you could’ve done it.”

She nearly laughed. “That’s all?” she said – and then she caught the look in the old woman’s eye.

There was something there that chilled her.

Drip… drip…

She pulled her knees up to her chest. “That doesn’t sound too bad,” she said quietly.

“And for some it isn’t,” said the old woman. It sounded like a very careful answer.

Drip… drip…

“If,” she said. “If I say no – what happens?”

“Then you save your sister and defeat the goblins,” said the old woman. “You become an unlikely heroine, and your story becomes the stuff of legends – or you die and your sister is lost forever. But no matter what, for the rest of your life, no matter how long that may be, you will know exactly how you did.

E.A. Deverell - FREE worksheets (characters, world building, narrator, etc.) and paid courses;

Hiveword - Helps to research any topic to write about (has other resources, too);

BetaBooks - Share your draft with your beta reader (can be more than one), and see where they stopped reading, their comments, etc.;

Charlotte Dillon - Research links;

Writing realistic injuries - The title is pretty self-explanatory: while writing about an injury, take a look at this useful website;

One Stop for Writers - You guys... this website has literally everything we need: a) Description thesaurus collection, b) Character builder, c) Story maps, d) Scene maps & timelines, e) World building surveys, f) Worksheets, f) Tutorials, and much more! Although it has a paid plan ($90/year | $50/6 months | $9/month), you can still get a 2-week FREE trial;

One Stop for Writers Roadmap - It has many tips for you, divided into three different topics: a) How to plan a story, b) How to write a story, c) How to revise a story. The best thing about this? It's FREE!

Story Structure Database - The Story Structure Database is an archive of books and movies, recording all their major plot points;

National Centre for Writing - FREE worksheets and writing courses. Has also paid courses;

Penguin Random House - Has some writing contests and great opportunities;

Crime Reads - Get inspired before writing a crime scene;

The Creative Academy for Writers - "Writers helping writers along every step of the path to publication." It's FREE and has ZOOM writing rooms;

Reedsy - "A trusted place to learn how to successfully publish your book" It has many tips, and tools (generators), contests, prompts lists, etc. FREE;

QueryTracker - Find agents for your books (personally, I've never used this before, but I thought I should feature it here);

Pacemaker - Track your goals (example: Write 50K words - then, everytime you write, you track the number of the words, and it will make a graphic for you with your progress). It's FREE but has a paid plan;

Save the Cat! - The blog of the most known storytelling method. You can find posts, sheets, a software (student discount - 70%), and other things;

I hope this is helpful for you!

The world tilts. A shiver starts in the pit of your stomach. She knows. She knows. She knows, but— What does she know?

Does she know that the person laughing over wine and fries isn’t your entirety? There is a patchwork of eldritch horror sewn tightly to the backside of your skin, a kaleidoscope of little evils that you must guard from escaping. The crumpled side of a silver sedan and the deep abyss of blood. The choked wheeze of one too many last breaths and the smell of salted asphalt. The heat of your own selfish tears and the chill of that small hand in yours.

How the fuck does she know? You smile and drink your wine. She doesn’t know that, she can’t know that so—

Maybe she knows you are a liar when you call yourself an optimist. Maybe she sees through you to that awful hunger that dying leaves behind in the living. Maybe she knows that your breaks are jagged. You are not sea glass, not pretty and collectible. You are a beer bottle smashed against the shore, waiting to rip open vulnerable feet. Maybe she knows—

You force yourself to speak. “How so?”

“In the best way,” she assures. Her eyes sparkle. “All the best people are broken.”

Your soul screams, I am not a good person. There is a crevasse inside of me that I am falling into, never to be seen again. I will hurt you in the end. Evils do not always announce themselves. There are mundane ones and I am one of them.

“I like to think of it as being creative,” you say.

“To being artists then,” she says and raises her glass for a toast.