4 Years Of Hope

4 Years of Hope

Hi there! We're 4 Years of Hope, aiming to bring you a mission of creativity, community and a little light in the darkness throughout whatever the next 4 years brings you. We know things are looking to be hard for a lot of folks right now, and we want to help a little in our own small, creative ways.

What will we be doing?

Each year, we'll be publishing an eZine featuring writing and art from around the globe in this wonderful writing community we've forged, aiming to help folks out there appreciate the joy of creativity. Each project will have a different theme specifically relating to hope. There will also be voluntary donations towards a charity supporting causes close to our heart in these difficult times.

Who are we?

We're run by a small team of community artists, just hoping to make a little bit of a difference.

Via is an author, theatre maker and workshop leader who supports folks to be the most creative version of themselves. They aim to inspire, empower and enfranchise through their work, and love to explore challenging and educational themes. They love cats, and if they could be any kitchen implement they would be a spatula.

Alex is a Canadian artist, musician, and YA author. When they’re not at the keyboard, you can find them hosting tabletop game night, working on illustrations, or at their other keyboard composing music. Their life’s work is to connect with queer youth who feel as lost and hopeless as they once did and provide a little bit of hope for the future, be that through writing, music, or comedy.

Em is a poet, parent, and artist specializing in sculptures. She loves to see what beauty comes from creativity and community and has a non-trivial obsession with turtles.

What's next?

We're still getting things set up on our end, but please keep an eye out over the next few weeks for announcements about our first Zine theme, and our first charity!

HEY, Romance Writers!

A few followers have asked for tips on writing romance into their stories or as the basis of their stories. Here’s a masterlist of sources (below cut) that may help.

General Romance:

What Defines Romantic Love?

How to Plot a Romance Novel

Slowburn Romance

When Friends Fall for Each Other (ask)

Tips for Writing a Character Who Has a Crush

Tips on Writing Unrequited Love

Writing Healthy Couples in Fiction

An Antidote to “Love at First Sight”

How Attractive Should Your Characters Be?

3 Great Ways to Show That Your Character Is In Love

6 Ways to Get Your Readers Shipping Like Crazy

Six Steps to Stronger Character Arcs in Romances

Seven Great Sources of Conflict for Romances

9 Romance Writing Mistakes to Avoid

20 Tips for Writing Lovable Romance Novel Heroes

How to Write a Kissing Scene in a Romance Novel

Types of Kisses and Kissing + This Post Is All About Kisses

List of Ideas to Keep Romantic Tension High

100 Questions for Character Couples

How Do I Make the Relationship Development Realistic?

How Do I Know If Two People Are Compatible?

Healthy Relationships Can Include Teasing

How to Write a YA Romance Without Cliché

Intercultural Romance:

How do I write an interracial couple accurately? (ask)

15 Common Stereotypes About Intercultural Relationships

Cross Cultural Relationships

14 Experiences in a Cross-Cultural Relationship

Things to Avoid When Writing Interracial Romance

writingwithcolor: Interracial Relationships (w/ links)

Bad Romance:

Things to Keep Out of Your Healthy Relationships!

Removing the Creeps From Romance

Why The Surprise Kiss Must Go

Possessiveness 101

10 Signs You May Be in an Emotionally Abusive Relationship

Edward & Bella Are In An Abusive Relationship

Red Flags, Verbal Abuse, Stalking… | Script Shrink

5 Huge Mistakes Ruining the Romantic Relationships in Your Book

How do you write a [bad] relationship without romanticising it? (ask)

General Tips for Writing Characters Love Interests:

How to Write from a Guy’s POV

Writing Awesome Male Characters: What You’re Doing Wrong

7 Point-of-View Basics Every Writer Should Know

How Do You Describe a Character?

4 Ways to Make Readers Instantly Loathe Your Character Descriptions

3 Signs Your Story’s Characters Are Too Perfect

Is a Quirk Just What Your Character Needs?

Six Types of Character Flaws

Is Your Character Optimistic Or Pessimistic?

5 Ways to Keep Characters Consistent

9 Simple and Powerful Ways to Write Body Language

10 Body Language Tricks for Deeper Characterization

Describing People Part Three: Gestures, Expressions, and Mannerisms

33 Ways To Write Stronger Characters

Conveying Character Emotion

Distinguishing Characters in Dialogue

How to Make Readers Love an Unlikable Character…

Characters: Likability Is Overrated

Relationships in General:

How to Create Powerful Character Combos

8 Secrets To Writing Strong Character Relationships

Character Relationships: 6 Tips for Crafting Real Connections

Writing Relationships: Hate to Love

Stereotypes, Archetypes, & Tropes:

Five Signs Your Story Is Sexist: Part 1, Part 2

Five Signs Your Story Is Sexist – Against Men

Always Female vs Always Male

Born Sexy Yesterday & Manic Pixie Dream Girl

7 (Overused) Female Love Interests

Other Resource Lists

Resources For Romance Writers

thewritershelpers FAQ (romance, kissing, sexuality, etc)

#romance | WordsnStuff

#romance | Hey, Writers!

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19K notes View Post

ajkiranwrites

4 weeks ago

Moral Dilemmas That Will Mess Up Your Character

» They witness a crime but helping the victim means exposing a secret that could ruin someone they love.

» They could save someone’s life… but only by hurting someone else.

» They’re offered everything they’ve ever wanted, by the worst person they know.

» They have to lie to protect someone, but the lie costs someone else dearly.

» They can bring justice, but only by breaking a promise.

» They’re given power, but to keep it, they have to become what they hate.

» They have the chance to take revenge, and it would be so easy. So satisfying.

» They’re the only one who knows the truth, but telling it would destroy someone’s faith.

» They could protect the many, by sacrificing the one. And the one matters to them.

» They promised not to get involved, but walking away would haunt them forever.

» They were wrong and admitting it now will shatter their credibility.

» They’re asked to forgive, and they know the person doesn’t deserve it.

» They have to pick a side, but both sides are flawed. Both will cost them something.

» They want to help, but they’re not sure it’s their place.

» They said they’d never become their parent and now they’re staring in the mirror, wondering if they already have.

» They catch their friend doing something terrible, but they owe them everything.

» They can’t tell if they’re protecting someone, or controlling them.

» They get what they want, but someone else suffers for it.

» They promised to keep a secret, but now someone innocent is getting hurt.

» They fall in love and realize it compromises everything they believe in.

5K notes View Post

ajkiranwrites

9 months ago

Your drunk father burnt down your house when you were a little girl. You cough up dollhouse plastic from time to time. It smells like your mother's garden where she is buried. When you chase down a bottle of Jack, smoke roils in your lungs. It still smells like your mother's garden.

sometimes you need dialogue tags and don't want to use the same four

A colour wheel divided into sections with dialogue tags fitting the categories 'complains', 'agrees', 'cries', 'whines', 'shouts', and 'cheers'

A colour wheel divided into sections with dialogue tags fitting the categories 'asks', 'responds', 'states', 'whispers', 'argues', and 'thinks'

163K notes View Post

ajkiranwrites

2 years ago

So much thoughts, too less time... I've got so many vignettes in my head alreadyyy

30 Days Writing Challenge

Write about a first kiss

Write a scene without any dialogue

Use the words: kitchen, date, music

Write about your MCs personal style

Write 100 words today

Write about a blackout

Use the words: small town, bar, jukebox

Write about finding a new hobby

Write about a heated debate

Use the title: Promises made, promises kept

Write about two characters dancing together

Explain your MCs motivation

Write 10 sentences about the last item you bought

Write about regret

Write about a girl's night

Write about a "thank you"

Write about a car ride

Use the title of the last song you've listened to

Write a summary for a book you would love to read

Write a new piece of lore for your WIP

Write something angsty

Write for 15 minutes without deleting anything

Write about dreaming

Use the woords: crown, dance, smile

Write a scene that describes your MC well

Use the title: Like waves in the ocean

Write an ending without a beginning

Write only the dialogue for a scene

Write about your MCs nicknames

Write about a concert

EXHIBITION

Silver payals wrap around ankles

Jingling with every step of a dance

Every verse in a hymn rung in a temple’s door

One, two, three, four

Practicing the rhythm with suns on your feet

Larkstone bright, henna deep rich and tucked in a drawer

One, two, three, four, five, six

Lemon, turmeric, and curd with chickpea flour mixed

Apply until the sun drips from your skin

One, two, three, four

Cameras flash like a thousand suns

Scalding heat until your breath constricts

The stage is bigger than your parents’ bed

You look so cultural; I have to take a photo.

Exhale for six seconds again.

hot artists don't gatekeep

I've been resource gathering for YEARS so now I am going to share my dragons hoard

Floorplanner. Design and furnish a house for you to use for having a consistent background in your comic or anything! Free, you need an account, easy to use, and you can save multiple houses.

Comparing Heights. Input the heights of characters to see what the different is between them. Great for keeping consistency. Free.

Magma. Draw online with friends in real time. Great for practice or hanging out. Free, paid plan available, account preferred.

Smithsonian Open Access. Loads of free images. Free.

SketchDaily. Lots of pose references, massive library, is set on a timer so you can practice quick figure drawing. Free.

SculptGL. A sculpting tool which I am yet to master, but you should be able to make whatever 3d object you like with it. free.

Pexels. Free stock images. And the search engine is actually pretty good at pulling up what you want.

Figurosity. Great pose references, diverse body types, lots of "how to draw" videos directly on the site, the models are 3d and you can rotate the angle, but you can't make custom poses or edit body proportions. Free, account option, paid plans available.

Line of Action. More drawing references, this one also has a focus on expressions, hands/feet, animals, landscapes. Free.

Animal Photo. You pose a 3d skull model and select an animal species, and they give you a bunch of photo references for that animal at that angle. Super handy. Free.

Height Weight Chart. You ever see an OC listed as having a certain weight but then they look Wildly different than the number suggests? Well here's a site to avoid that! It shows real people at different weights and heights to give you a better idea of what these abstract numbers all look like. Free to use.

313K notes View Post

ajkiranwrites

3 months ago