Remember: Writing Has Guidelines Not Rules.

I don't think many people realize how much they've been turned into a bunch of casually cynical jerks.

Someone may come to their parents and say "I want to write a book" and their parents will say "it's really hard to get published".

Someone might confide in their sibling and say "I want to sell my art on "x" platform" and that sibling will say "do you know how many people you'd be competing with? Do you know how many shops are even on that platform?"

I know a kid who once told his best friend "I think I wanna start a dnd podcast" and the friend was like "do you know what the word "oversaturation" means?"

Personally, I don't know why any of that matters? And even if it did, perhaps your response should be "Do it! Do it and see where it goes!"

# rotting with ambivalence

i don't write poetry often, so this is likely not written well; and i have an unusual speech pattern, so this may not flow well aside from in my own reading; enjoy

i look at you and all i know is fading

my sense of couth lost, as im found desperately trying to reach it

all im bound to find is despair.

but you know that right?

youll tear me down to shame, night by night;

"my heart is not for the taking"

though this bruise feels all too loving

and so do my words.

another crack is left on my lips

i beg for you to think about me just once

to think about me in the sense of family.

we both know youll never get there

instead ill look for whats left of you;

i see you in the swans, their beauty suddenly ruined

i sit and watch as they deceive their admirers;

ill never blame them.

Just realized I have more dialogue written for a 'wip' that I'm not even focusing on right now. I need to get my groove on and write more for my main

one time i stopped writing in the middle of noting down a wip idea i had and i havent been the same since. it literally stops mid-sentence at "and". AND WHAT ????

Song of lost secrets (wip intro)

They sat in silence for a while. This time though, the words seemed to flow more smoothly. Tilting his head, he begins, "Did you know I was afraid of the ocean before we met ?"

General:

Genres; romance, fantasy, YA

setting; a small pirate town in the early 1720s

themes of; death, lgbt relationships, forbidden love, manipulation, courage, late redemption

POV; 3; third person limited

status; planning, character development

target length; novel

tag; #wip: song of lost secrets

CW's; torture, mild homophobia, mental/childhood abuse, kidnapping (none mentioned in summary)

Masterlist

I'm incredibly bad at writing summaries, so bear with me.

Summary:

Sols follow two teen boys; a siren, Hesperus, and a human, Salem. Salem was raised to think sirens are dangerous liars, but after their initial encounter, curiosity leads him to secret meetings with Hesperus. Over time they grow to like one another, but they cant openly be together due to the human society's toxicity towards merfolk; putting Salem at risk if the word gets out. Salem also has to deal with the decision to pursue his mothers dreams or to stay in Khirgurum with his family, best friend, lover, and home. Their secret encounters strain Salem's relationships, thus testing his priorities as well as his honesty. Nasira, another siren, has dissaproved from the start; doing all she can to stop them from seeing one another.

Characters:

salem

hesperus

nasira

emene

Silvia

Evan

Rayen

This will be updated as I see fit, and character profiles will be linked once posted.

# Character profile: Salem grey

Picrew used, full credit to Naylissah. (moodboard here)

Role: protagonist

Name; Salem

age; 17

birthday; 14/8/1704

species; human

sexuality; gay

height; 5'10

"I didn't wanna end up like this. I'd have gone so far, I know I would've."

motivations; desire to be seen, freedom,

mannerisms; fast paced speaking, lots of questions, loud, nose scrunching, big movements, tilting his head, skipping letters

fears: drowning & dissapointment

hobbies: knife throwing, sailing, drink tasting

Criminal record:

aggravated assault

disturbing the peace

extortion

open container

underage drinking

arson

theft

is whump the new term for angst or what ?? im starting to see writers use whump a lot nowadays, are they the same thing ?

I am not a waste for needing extra time to heal from the things no one saved me from.

– me at 1am

specific tropes in romance that always heal something in me that it never broke

like, forehead kisses, soft love confessions, peppering kisses all over the lover's face. promises that are kept, hands those are held with a gentle love, and hugs that engulf the heart too.

or when they rest their head on your chest, or lean on you for support.

"your tears kill me," kinda thing. or when a sunshine character finally cries and bawls their entire life's hurt out into their comfort grumpy character (plus point, if the grump feels guilty thinking if they had done something to trigger this emotional outburst)

communication. no matter hard the topic is, how big your differences are.

listening to the other person yap

admiring their facial features and seeing not just the outer structure but the person that they really are.

them getting angry on ur behalf

cradling each other in hugs basically

feeling emotional walls break when you're with that one person particularly

gentle communication. yearning to do more for your lover (!!!!)

affectionate smiles and eyes crinkling with a smile that's directed specially at you.

finding their laugh contagious.

the feeling of being accepted, despite flaws and all

silent domestic acts like being in the kitchen together, dressing up together, them drying ur hair while u sit between their legs

occasionally stolen kisses

or one deep kiss that just lights your world and fulfills your soul and heart.

sleepily nuzzling into each other!!

reaching for each other despite being asleep, with mumbled endearments and whispers of need!!!

laughter coming easily by their side, like happiness is just another day to day thing (this can also be about self love. when u truly love urself and prioritize your own rights and cherish the fact that you're you. happiness becomes beautiful even in solitude)

their fingers buried deep in yo- OOPS.?! :)

My fave & least favorite things about being a writer

Yay I'm a writer:

perceiving books differently than non writers

finishing a piece

designing characters

choosing chapter titles

finally figuring out how to fix a plot hole

when writing just becomes so smooth and rolls from your brain like an old film strip

writing romantic scenes of my fave ship

sharing my writing with people

those random top tier ideas you have to jot down before they go away in 10 seconds

thinking about people loving your story in the future

developing villains

making playlists & moodboards for my wips

writing desperation (for some reason ??)

Please never again:

describe the setting correctly

coming up with a cover

the first draft.

"so which ending would make the most sense'

share my writing with people

killing my fave character (i do it anyways)

trying to remember a word i cant even describe

make the side character parents well rounded

that one super cool idea you get 3/4 way through the story that doesn't actually fit anywhere

actually having to fix plot holes

writing.