erinwriting reblogged
rekztirp
I want to taste dark water and see crackling trees and wild winds.
Egon Schiele (via yidan)
erinwriting reblogged
Helpful things for action writers to remember
- Sticking a landing will royally fuck up your joints and possibly shatter your ankles, depending on how high you’re jumping/falling from. There’s a very good reason free-runners dive and roll.
- Hand-to-hand fights usually only last a matter of seconds, sometimes a few minutes. It’s exhausting work and unless you have a lot of training and history with hand-to-hand combat, you’re going to tire out really fast.
- Arrows are very effective and you can’t just yank them out without doing a lot of damage. Most of the time the head of the arrow will break off inside the body if you try pulling it out, and arrows are built to pierce deep. An arrow wound demands medical attention.
- Throwing your opponent across the room is really not all that smart. You’re giving them the chance to get up and run away. Unless you’re trying to put distance between you so you can shoot them or something, don’t throw them.
- Everyone has something called a “flinch response” when they fight. This is pretty much the brain’s way of telling you “get the fuck out of here or we’re gonna die.” Experienced fighters have trained to suppress this. Think about how long your character has been fighting. A character in a fist fight for the first time is going to take a few hits before their survival instinct kicks in and they start hitting back. A character in a fist fight for the eighth time that week is going to respond a little differently.
- ADRENALINE WORKS AGAINST YOU WHEN YOU FIGHT. THIS IS IMPORTANT. A lot of times people think that adrenaline will kick in and give you some badass fighting skills, but it’s actually the opposite. Adrenaline is what tires you out in a battle and it also affects the fighter’s efficacy - meaning it makes them shaky and inaccurate, and overall they lose about 60% of their fighting skill because their brain is focusing on not dying. Adrenaline keeps you alive, it doesn’t give you the skill to pull off a perfect roundhouse kick to the opponent’s face.
- Swords WILL bend or break if you hit something hard enough. They also dull easily and take a lot of maintenance. In reality, someone who fights with a sword would have to have to repair or replace it constantly.
- Fights get messy. There’s blood and sweat everywhere, and that will make it hard to hold your weapon or get a good grip on someone.
- A serious battle also smells horrible. There’s lots of sweat, but also the smell of urine and feces. After someone dies, their bowels and bladder empty. There might also be some questionable things on the ground which can be very psychologically traumatizing. Remember to think about all of the character’s senses when they’re in a fight. Everything WILL affect them in some way.
- If your sword is sharpened down to a fine edge, the rest of the blade can’t go through the cut you make. You’ll just end up putting a tiny, shallow scratch in the surface of whatever you strike, and you could probably break your sword.
- ARCHERS ARE STRONG TOO. Have you ever drawn a bow? It takes a lot of strength, especially when you’re shooting a bow with a higher draw weight. Draw weight basically means “the amount of force you have to use to pull this sucker back enough to fire it.” To give you an idea of how that works, here’s a helpful link to tell you about finding bow sizes and draw weights for your characters. (CLICK ME)
- If an archer has to use a bow they’re not used to, it will probably throw them off a little until they’ve done a few practice shots with it and figured out its draw weight and stability.
- People bleed. If they get punched in the face, they’ll probably get a bloody nose. If they get stabbed or cut somehow, they’ll bleed accordingly. And if they’ve been fighting for a while, they’ve got a LOT of blood rushing around to provide them with oxygen. They’re going to bleed a lot.
- Here’s a link to a chart to show you how much blood a person can lose without dying. (CLICK ME)
- If you want a more in-depth medical chart, try this one. (CLICK ME)
Hopefully this helps someone out there. If you reblog, feel free to add more tips for writers or correct anything I’ve gotten wrong here.
How to apply Writing techniques for action scenes:
- Short sentences. Choppy. One action, then another. When there’s a lull in the fight, take a moment, using longer phrases to analyze the situation–then dive back in. Snap, snap, snap. - Same thing with words - short, simple, and strong in the thick of battle. Save the longer syllables for elsewhere. - Characters do not dwell on things when they are in the heat of the moment. They will get punched in the face. Focus on actions, not thoughts. - Go back and cut out as many adverbs as possible. - No seriously, if there’s ever a time to use the strongest verbs in your vocabulary - Bellow, thrash, heave, shriek, snarl, splinter, bolt, hurtle, crumble, shatter, charge, raze - it’s now. - Don’t forget your other senses. People might not even be sure what they saw during a fight, but they always know how they felt. - Taste: Dry mouth, salt from sweat, copper tang from blood, etc - Smell: OP nailed it - Touch: Headache, sore muscles, tense muscles, exhaustion, blood pounding. Bruised knuckles/bowstring fingers. Injuries that ache and pulse, sting and flare white hot with pain. - Pain will stay with a character. Even if it’s minor. - Sound and sight might blur or sharpen depending on the character and their experience/exhaustion. Colors and quick movements will catch the eye. Loud sounds or noises from behind may serve as a fighter’s only alert before an attack. - If something unexpected happens, shifting the character’s whole attention to that thing will shift the Audience’s attention, too. - Aftermath. This is where the details resurface, the characters pick up things they cast aside during the fight, both literally and metaphorically. Fights are chaotic, fast paced, and self-centered. Characters know only their self, their goals, what’s in their way, and the quickest way around those threats. The aftermath is when people can regain their emotions, their relationships, their rationality/introspection, and anything else they couldn’t afford to think or feel while their lives were on the line.
Do everything you can to keep the fight here and now. Maximize the physical, minimize the theoretical. Keep things immediate - no theories or what ifs.
If writing a strategist, who needs to think ahead, try this: keep strategy to before-and-after fights. Lay out plans in calm periods, try to guess what enemies are thinking or what they will do. During combat, however, the character should think about his options, enemies, and terrain in immediate terms; that is, in shapes and direction. (Large enemy rushing me; dive left, circle around / Scaffolding on fire, pool below me / two foes helping each other, separate them.)
Lastly, after writing, read it aloud. Anyplace your tongue catches up on a fast moving scene, edit. Smooth action scenes rarely come on the first try.
erinwriting reblogged
ATTENTION WRITERS
Google BetaBooks. Do it now. It’s the best damn thing EVER.
You just upload your manuscript, write out some questions for your beta readers to answer in each chapter, and invite readers to check out your book!
It’s SO easy!
You can even track your readers! It tells you when they last read, and what chapter they read!
Your beta readers can even highlight and react to the text!!!
There’s also this thing where you can search the website for available readers best suited for YOUR book!
Seriously guys, BetaBooks is the most useful website in the whole world when it comes to beta reading, and… IT’S FREE.
erinwriting reblogged
Art is how we decorate space, music is how we decorate time.
Jean-Michel Basquiat (via wnq-art)
Source: wnq-art
erinwriting reblogged
Common Animal Associations in Witchcraft
Ants - Patience, stamina, planning, perseverance, organization, self-discipline, teamwork, energy, and patience.
Bats - Rebirth, accessing past lives, new ideas, transition, initiation, changes for the better, moon magic, understanding grief, and the ability to observe unseen.
Bears - Introspection, healing and inner knowledge, wisdom, defense, revenge, change, death and rebirth, communication with spirit, solitude, power, mother cunning, healer, gentle strength, transformation, astral travel, strength, unconscious mind, grounding, inner energy of the soul, earth magic, and facing fears.
Beavers - Building, gathering, persistence, shaping, and structure. Bees - Female warrior energy, reincarnation, communication with the dead, service, gathering, community, connection to the Goddess Diana, helping earth-bound spirits move on to their proper place, concentration, and prosperity.
Birds - Associated with death and transitions, unity, freedom, and individuality.
Butterflies/Caterpillars - Transformation, reincarnation, balance, grace.
Cats - Wholeness, guardians, independence, seeing the unseen, cleverness, a balancing of energies, moon magic, mystic powers, grace, understanding mystery, cleansing, and purification.
Chickens - Power of voice, language, seeking answers, sunrise magick, Protection of family and community, Hearing your inner voice.
Chipmunks - Gathering, mobility, frugal living, and the ability to see both light and shadow.
Cows - Economy, connection to the earth, wealth and prosperity, and patience.
Deer - Gentleness, body awareness, kindness, gracefulness, sensitivity, peace, unconditional love, alertness, recognition of outside influences, innocence and earth magic.
Dogs - Family, wisdom, loyalty, protection, companionship, faithfulness, warnings, and earth and moon magic.
Donkeys - Stubbornness, ability to make decisions, intuition.
Ducks - Water energy and logic.
Elks - Stamina, strength, pride, power, majesty, agility, freedom, and nobility.
Ferrets - Information, seeing truth behind the facade.
Fish - Abundance, fertility, children, harmony, regeneration, love, and mind/emotion balance.
Foxes - Elusiveness, cleverness, feminine courage, subtlety, discretion, agility, cunning, slyness, fire magic, and intelligence.
Frogs - Healing, transformation, cleansing, understanding emotions, and connection with water element.
Goats - Independence, confidence, tenacity, diligence, flexibility, healing and sun magic, abundance, and agility.
Horses - Power, stability and courage, Astral travel, protection, freedom, power, travel, and earth and moon magic.
Mice - Scrutiny, innocence, faith, trust, shyness, quietness, details, and earth magic.
Owls - Deception, wisdom, truth, patience, insight, darkness, and air magic.
Pigs - Truth, earth magick, past life knowledge, intelligence, and cunning.
Rabbits - Fear, faith, alertness, nurturing, conquering fear, safety, innocence, fertility, movement, sensitivity, luck, and moon magic.
Rats - Abundant reproduction, shrewdness, adaptability, success, social, restlessness, earth magic, stealth, and defense.
Sheep - Balance, confidence, fertility, courage, new beginnings, abundance, and assurance.
Snails - Perseverance and Determination.
Snakes - Transmutation, primitive or elemental energy, power, sexual potency. sensuality, shrewdness, and transformation.
Spiders - Shape-shifting, wisdom, creativity, divine inspiration, fate, illusion, feminine energy, and industry.
Squirrels - Discovery, change, trust, resourcefulness, balance in giving and receiving, awareness, sociability, playfulness, preparation, activity, energy, and earth magic.
Wolves - Wisdom, protection, shadow work, guidance, instinct, intelligence, success, perseverance, stability, loyalty, independence, spirit, freedom, guardianship, and earth and moon magic.
erinwriting reblogged
1000storyideas
Ambient sounds for writers
Find the right place to write your novel…
Nature
Places
Fictional places
Chloe’s room (Life is Strange)
Blackwell dorm (Life is Strange)
Two Whales Diner (Life is Strange)
Star Wars apartment (Star Wars)
Star Wars penthouse (Star Wars)
Tatooine (Star Wars)
Coruscant with rain (Star Wars)
Yoda’s hut with rain ( Star Wars)
Luke’s home (Star Wars)
Death Star hangar (Star wars)
Blade Runner city (Blade Runner)
Askaban prison (Harry Potter)
Hogwarts library with rain (Harry Potter)
Ravenclaw tower (Harry Potter)
Hufflepuff common room (Harry Potter)
Slytherin common room (Harry Potter)
Gryffindor common room (Harry Potter)
Hagrid’s hut (Harry Potter)
Hobbit-hole house (The Hobbit)
Founding Fathers Garden (Bioshock)
Things
Transportation
Historical
Sci-fi
Post-apocalyptic
Horror
World
Trips, rides and walkings
Beautiful
queerenbian
@icanneverbesatisfied @maybe-mikala I HAVE FOUND THE ULTIMATE RESOURCE
I LOVE YOU FOR THIS
queerenbian
HONESTLY I CAN DIE HAPPY NOW
sketchbookthingz
ivi-the-witch
Also super helpful for meditation
peachescreamandspice
So good for astral travelling !!
erinwriting reblogged
Active Blogs:
likes, follows, asks, and comments show up as this blog, but it’s because I’m using the two blogs above
Perhaps I am stronger than I think.
Thomas Merton
Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.
Thomas Merton
erinwriting reblogged
200 words that describe light
Source: linestorm
erinwriting reblogged
A Proper Playlist for a Proper Thief
68 & counting songs featuring artists like X ambassadors, Kaleo, Royal Deluxe, The Black Keys, Johnny Cash, Fever Ray, and many more. Let a unique blend of alt rock and folksy blues accompany you on the Heist of a lifetime. Several of these songs were even added to the Official Six of Crows Spotify Playlist.
‘Proper Thieves’ has been listened to over 1,000 times
I made this!!
erinwriting reblogged
ultimately i think kindness is the most radical thing you can do with your pain and your anger. it’s like, you take everything awful that’s ever been done to you, and you throw it back in the world’s teeth, and you say no, fuck you, i’m not going to take this. you say this is unacceptable. you say that shit stops with me.
humans are fucking terrible and this awful world we live in will fucking kill you but if you are kind, if you are brave and clever and try really hard, you can defy it. you can impose on this bleak and monstrous structure something beautiful. even if it’s temporary. even if it doesn’t heal anything inside you that’s been hurt.
i’m gonna sleep and i’m gonna wake up and i swear by everything in this deadly horrible universe i’m gonna make someone happy.
i’ve seen a number of comments and tags where people feel that they must swallow or repress their anger in order to engage in kindness. that is not at all what i am recommending here. radical kindness is an expression of anger. it is not passive. it is not repressive. it does not require you, in any way, to forgive those that have fucked you up. it does not require you to be quiet.
it just requires that you be kind. viciously. vengefully. you fight back. you plant flowers. give to charity. play games. pet someone’s dog. scream into the dark. paint and write and dance, tell jokes, sing songs, bake cookies. you have been hurt and you don’t have to deny that hurt. you just have to recognize it in other people, and take their hand, and say: no more. enough. fuck this. no more.
have a cookie.
i will say this again: we are all going to die. the universe is enormous and almost entirely empty. to be kind to each other is the most incredible act of defiance against the dark that i can imagine.
it just requires that you be kind. viciously. vengefully.
Bolding for emphasis. Because I am angry at the state of the world right now, so very angry. And I am trying to channel that anger into helpful, kind actions.
erinwriting reblogged
What is your all time favorite quote & your sign? I’m curious. 🤔💌
coldbloodcapricorn
Capricorn sun, Leo moon
I thoroughly enjoy compiling lists of words, excerpts and quotes. These are just a few of my favourites quotes:
- “I overcame myself, the sufferer; I carried my own ashes to the mountains; I invented a brighter flame for myself.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
- “You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” -C.G. Jung
- “The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.” -Albert Einstein
- “True elegance for me is the manifestation of an independent mind.” -Isabella Rossellini
- “She is liquid star-shine; the cosmos melts at the sight of her.”
- “I bite down upon heaven, lick blood from my lips; this is the queen’s rise.”
- “She held her pose like an ancient masterpiece: grandiose, fascinating, beautiful and slowly falling apart.”
- “Does the emerald lose its beauty for lack of admiration? Does gold, or ivory, or purple? A lyre or a dagger, a rosebud or a sapling?” -Marcus Aurelius
- “The slogan of Hell: Eat or be eaten. The slogan of Heaven: Eat and be eaten.” -W.H. Auden
- “We are the creatures that love and slaughter.” -Stephen Dobyns
- “A kiss is the beginning of cannibalism.” -Georges Bataille
- “I am the magician’s girl who does not flinch.” -Sylvia Plath
- “It is too much—I am but flesh and blood, and I must sleep.” -Edna St. Vincent Millay
- “I am only responsible for my own heart, you offered yours up for the smashing my darling. Only a fool would give out such a vital organ.” -Anaïs Nin
- I am at best a mirage; at worst a massacre” -Scherezade Siobhan
- “Satyr of fallen stars / with flaming tongues” - Federico García Lorca
- “Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart.”
- “If you’re asking me if I like your company, the answer is yes. If on the other hand, you’re asking me if I could live without you, the answer is also yes.” -Paulo Coelho
- “Living is like licking honey off a thorn.” -Louis Adamic
- “I will either find a way or make one.”
- “… I am talking about evil. It blooms. It eats. It grins.” -Anne Carson
- “The rose’s rarest essence lives in the thorns.” -Rumi
- “Because she competes with no one, no one can compete with her.” -Lao Tzu
- “The moral of the story is; I will gut you if I need to. I will carve my way out with only my teeth.” -Brenna Twohy
- “At least devils danced. All the angels ever seemed to do was cry.”
erinwriting reblogged
going through my microsoft word archives is great fun because i always find the wildest shit in there and by “the wildest shit” i mean the time i tried to rewrite the entire bible from scratch at the age of eleven and a half
punkfaery
“And so Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, and Eve turned to Adam and said, 'Nice going, loser.‘”
iconic
punkfaery
whilst you were listening to avril lavigne, i learned the way of the Lord
spiderladyceo
I’m dying
erinwriting reblogged
i. He’s no angel.
ii. All those galaxies in his eyes that you once wrote about are not there, and there is no electricity in his fingertips. He is just a boy. Nothing more.
iii. There is no sun that reflects in his smile; yes, you used to orbit him, but can’t you see you were simply a moth trapped in pursuit of a flame?
iv. He is fire, and though he glows bright, he burns. He is just a boy, remember: all he wants to do is find a girl who will lay down on his funeral pyre and go up in smoke with him.
v. He is afraid of being alone, he is afraid of death, he told you that much. So when his days come to a close and his bright blue eyes dim, he needs someone to lose everything alongside him so he can feel brave.
vi. He is not as happy nor as kind as he seems. During the days, yes, he lives life as it comes and laughs with you and you make faces at each other across the room and you held hands once at the beach. But the night comes, and he is full of mortality and laughs at you and he keeps trying to pick the best flower for himself so he uproots all the other blooms in the garden just to leave them laying broken on the ground and you are a daisy but he wants a rose.
v. He’s just a boy, and even though you’ve always loved blue eyes because they reminded you of the strength of your father and joy of your sister and the warmth of your brother and the ocean and the sky, now all you see in them is him.
vi. You never believed in love at first sight but when he smiled at you, you thought that all the joy in him was all you could want your entire life. Ironic: you didn’t believe in love at first right before this boy, and you don’t believe in love after him.
vii. Darling, he catches girls like fireflies in a jar so he can be entranced with the light only to try and pick the one shining brightest to call his own.
viii. Do not fall into his eyes; you will want to swim in them, but you will drown. They are like tar: once in, never out. You can find a graveyard filled with the bones of the other girls who carelessly fell in love, who carelessly fell into those eyes, lying beneath the blue.
ix. He’s no angel.
x. Run before he steals your wings.
noddingpeonies (via wnq-writers)
Source: wnq-writers.com
Active Blogs:
@luxnovalibra and @falling-for-the-winchesters likes, follows, asks, and comments show up as this blog, but it's because I'm using the two blogs above