@xolaanii

yes hi it's me again

hello I'm Vall, I was a member of the writeblr community for a while until for several reasons I stopped being active on here and just have been having the worst writer's block known to creature kind since. i'm an archeologist who is almost done with her masters and thanks to my best friend i decided to give this a go again (also check out her writblr as well please she's amazing @writingmargo) and hopefully now that I'm almost free of academic constraints I will also be free of the shackles of writer's block.

what do i write?

well mostly fantasy since it is by far my favorite genre but i have also dabbled in some sci-fi on the side, even had fanfiction as an appetizer but as it turns out those were dishes i wouldn't have anybody else taste so yeah usually fantasy with a lot of queer characters, magic and me doing the most to shoehorn dragons everywhere i can.

my once and future wips

A CURSE MOST FOUL: Five stories. Some new, some old, some older. Tales of friendship and destruction, of family and revenge. And of pain, so much pain, and death and love amidst it all. Stories that have just begun and stories that have already come to an end but still live on. Let me tell you about a world filled with dangerous magic, terrible curses, talking dragons and sirens who bite, nobles turned pirates, farmers turned war heroes and ordinary people turned legends but at a price.

fantasy

multiple povs, third person

very mental health focused

this one came to me in the haze of several mental breakdowns

some coming of age, some romance, a bit dark in places

a bunch of people are told 'hey this is how your life is gonna go and they go 'no :)'

AMA AND THE PAINTED WORLD: Long ago there was a girl and her painted world, a place full of magic and whimsy that, at first, existed just in her mind. 

Long ago there was a girl and her painted world, and with each gentle brush stroke it came to life. 

Long ago there was a girl and her painted world, in which darkness cut like a knife.

fantasy

one, third person pov

so much whimsy, all the whimsy but oh now watch out!

there's these cute little creatures made of ink blots and look i made them and i want to pet them

ama is straight up having a TimeTM

a study on what happens when you correlate your value as a person with your usefulness and where that leads

yes hi it's me again

hello I'm Vall, I was a member of the writeblr community for a while until for several reasons I stopped being active on here and just have been having the worst writer's block known to creature kind since. i'm an archeologist who is almost done with her masters and thanks to my best friend i decided to give this a go again (also check out her writblr as well please she's amazing @writingmargo) and hopefully now that I'm almost free of academic constraints I will also be free of the shackles of writer's block.

what do i write?

well mostly fantasy since it is by far my favorite genre but i have also dabbled in some sci-fi on the side, even had fanfiction as an appetizer but as it turns out those were dishes i wouldn't have anybody else taste so yeah usually fantasy with a lot of queer characters, magic and me doing the most to shoehorn dragons everywhere i can.

my once and future wips

A CURSE MOST FOUL: Five stories. Some new, some old, some older. Tales of friendship and destruction, of family and revenge. And of pain, so much pain, and death and love amidst it all. Stories that have just begun and stories that have already come to an end but still live on. Let me tell you about a world filled with dangerous magic, terrible curses, talking dragons and sirens who bite, nobles turned pirates, farmers turned war heroes and ordinary people turned legends but at a price.

fantasy

multiple povs, third person

very mental health focused

this one came to me in the haze of several mental breakdowns

some coming of age, some romance, a bit dark in places

a bunch of people are told 'hey this is how your life is gonna go and they go 'no :)'

AMA AND THE PAINTED WORLD: Long ago there was a girl and her painted world, a place full of magic and whimsy that, at first, existed just in her mind. 

Long ago there was a girl and her painted world, and with each gentle brush stroke it came to life. 

Long ago there was a girl and her painted world, in which darkness cut like a knife.

fantasy

one, third person pov

so much whimsy, all the whimsy but oh now watch out!

there's these cute little creatures made of ink blots and look i made them and i want to pet them

ama is straight up having a TimeTM

a study on what happens when you correlate your value as a person with your usefulness and where that leads

Literary devices make stories more enjoyable. They take a simple concept and make it compelling. Symbolism is one of those devices, but sometimes new writers don’t know how to use it purposefully. It’s easy to take credit when readers assume something had more meaning when we didn’t really write it that way for any specific reason.

This is everything you should know about symbolism so you can plan your literary devices with confidence.

What Is Symbolism?

Symbolism is the act of using one thing to represent another thing. It often sets or reaffirms the tone of a scene. Symbols can also act as foreshadowing.

Most often, writers use symbolism to thread their theme through a plot. It makes it easier to tell how a theme is influencing or being shown in a scene.

Types of Symbolism

Colors

Writers use colors to apply meaning to scenes or characters because they’re easy to associate with emotions. It’s also a historical real-world use of symbolism. If you see a white flag, that symbolizes surrender. A movie featuring a woman in a red dress often symbolizes her sexuality.

Examples: yellow means caution, brown means grounded earthiness, and black means mourning.

Objects

Sometimes object symbolism is blunt or obvious. Other times, it’s subtle because the writer reveals the meaning of it later in the story.

In the Divergent series, Tris can’t look in a mirror because it’s of cultural significance in her faction. As a storytelling tool, it symbolizes her inability to recognize her own identity because she hasn’t had her coming-of-age experiences yet.

Examples: water means rebirth or creating life, an apple represents sin or someone up to no good, and a clock can mean change is coming (which is also foreshadowing).

Tips for Writing Symbolism 

1. Understand Your Plot

You need to know where your story is going and what theme you’re writing about to effectively create symbols. If your protagonist sees a dove in the first chapter, it’s just a bird unless obtaining peace is a key component of your protagonist’s character arc later on.

2. Pick One Symbol

Stories filled with symbolism can come across as pretentious or too dense. It’s better to start with one symbol that connects at least two parts of your story or relates to your theme. Readers will get that intriguing chill down their spine if they recognize a hidden symbol rather than get reminded about it over and over again.

3. Remember to Use Foreshadowing

Symbols often foreshadow future plot events. These are also called omens. Your protagonist might break a mirror in the first chapter, which people often relate to the start of bad luck. Maybe a crow sits by them on a park bench because you want to symbolize a future death in your plot.

Foreshadowing can give your symbols meaning if you’re unsure how to connect them with your theme. It’s an easy way to practice creating symbols so you’re more comfortable with them in long-form stories and other uses.

-----