WIP Intro:

Hello friend, it’s been a while. I completed the first draft of my adult thriller novel, which I’m currently referring to as Project Istanbul, so I wanted to share my mood board for this project and some excerpts with you.

a little about me/the blog™

I’m a Turkish-Kurdish English student living in Canada

I’m very introverted

I mostly write literary fiction

This blog is a nook for my novels and short fiction wips. I also share works I adore from my fellow writerblrs

a little about Project Istanbul

Set in Istanbul, Turkey (obviously) during the early 2000s

Story features a morally ambiguous journalist, unethical stalking, controversial therapy methods, too many expresso shots, glamourous outfits, and murder

Vague aesthetic inspos: Despair by Vladamir Nabokov, The Bell Jar by Slyvia Plath, The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Rear Window (1952)

TW: my novel explores mental illnesses including PD and NPD

random excerpts just because

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plz add me to your taglist, this is awesome!!! :oooo

BLUEBEARD by Yah Yah Scholfield / the shining ( dir. stanley kubrick ) / crimson peak ( dir. guillermo del torro ) / revenge horror / about 4.3k words

Wait, but I think this is actually one of the spiciest, most interesting short stories I’ve done! It’s a very tasty commission for @janeaustenwlw, and I’m super happy to have been given a chance to write it!

The plot is simple—a woman is confronted by a ghost; the ghost gives her a task. I really can’t say much else without spoiling the story for you all, and I desperately want you all to enjoy this!

Inspirations for this piece include; Crimson Peak, The Shining ( specifically the character of Wendy Torrance), and the entire genre of revenge-horror films I suppose.

NOW AVAILABLE TO READ ON MY WEBSITE!

general tag list under the cut! if you’d like to be on my tag list, just dm me!

Keep reading

All your wips are so interesting! Please add me to your taglist :)))

Hi, my name’s Deau! Welcome to subtlefires, my writeblr!

Introduction

I’m nineteen years old [twenty on 27 Dec!]. I’m nonbinary [they/them], Black, and bisexual. I’ve been lurking in the writeblr community for six-ish months now, and I’ve decided to start my own! I haven’t written much in the way of prose since I was fourteen, so this blog will also [hopefully] get me back into that.

I am mostly into reading and writing fantasy of any kind - especially that which deals with godhood, traumatized characters, found family, and some criminal activity [especially when screwing with the government]. I very much enjoy complex relationships between any set of characters. Parent and child? Lovers? Best friends? Enemies??? *chef’s kiss*

Almost all of my wips are in some form of disrepair, either lacking in worldbuilding, plot, or characters, so I don’t have intro posts for them yet! But I’m finding myself pretty motivated these days so keep a look out!*

Trust and believe, I love to talk, so feel free to send an ask in or message me or whatever! I’m in desperate need of more mutuals to gush over so… *eyes emoji*

My Wips

A Cacophony of Mirrors

A surreal fantasy story set in the fictional town of Farley, Massachusetts.

Erica Bennett, who has been missing for the past ten years, suddenly reappears bloody and unconscious in the woods, mirror shards spread in a perfect circle around her body. Ayla Hughes, your local gas station attendant, just wants to get her degree and move far, far away. She wants forget all about missing girls and mysterious notes left behind and terrible dreams, but something is holding her back. Is it the town? Erica’s unsolved disappearance? Or something a bit more… fantastical?

trigger warnings: emotionally abusive parents, dysphoria, blurring reality and fantasy

WIP Tag | WIP Page

The Legend of the Crow

A high fantasy novel set in the world of Rusaris, after the first war between the Gods. 

This story centers around one of four sacrifices made to the Betrayer God during the First War. We witness them crawl from their early grave alongside the others after one hundred years asleep. The All Mother, the Goddess of Creation, descends to grant the sacrifices immortality and the status of Saints, if they agree to live in her service to prevent another war amongst the Gods. We follow Asphodel the Crow as they search for the lover they lost and save the fallen kingdom of Vysteria.

trigger warnings: violence, light gore

WIP Tag | WIP Page

Psychic Nights

An adult-oriented mid-fantasy novel set in the world of Vesuvia.

Caralise Tryvern is in her final year of schooling to become a High Priestess, the highest rank a witch can achieve, when she discovers a magical conspiracy amongst the very witches she seeks to join. Now on the run from the government, Caralise and her partner, Tobiah, traverse the world searching for anyone they can trust to help them out of the mess they’ve found themselves in.

trigger warnings: none as far as I’m aware, feel free to ask me to tag anything in the future!

WIP Tag | WIP Page

The SS Pavona

A science-fiction story set in the Quisari Solar System.

This story follows the crew of the SS Pavona as they are finally able to take a deep breath after escaping from Blackstorm, a maximum security prison on the outskirts of the solar system. These five strangers have just risked their lives for one another, for their freedom - but they don’t know each other, really. In fact, they don’t know much at all; not about each other, not about themselves, not even the reasons they were sent to Blackstorm in the first place… We follow the crew of the SS Pavona as their collective and individual pasts come back to haunt them. Are they truly willing to risk their lives for one another again?

trigger warnings: none as far as I’m aware, feel free to ask me to tag anything in the future!

WIP Tag | WIP Page

Other Stuff

Here’s my Wattpad, where I may or may not be drafting and posting chapters of the above wips, poetry, or concept pieces. Here is my writing tag as well, on the off chance I decide to post excerpts and things of that sort on tumblr, too. Also, my project page which lists all of my current wips with links to their individual pages.

Thanks for reading this far! I know this intro is long, haha. Here’s some of the blogs that inspired me to do this in the first place: @vitrichor | @sprigofbasil | @alicewestwater | @elaichichais | @heartwarning

* this post will be changed and updated in the future as I, undoubtedly, change my mind about things, add/remove trigger warnings, or generally add other bits of information! 

What's your short story writing process?? I love your works <3!

hello anon + thank you so much!! it mainly happens in three stages. i’ll try and break this up so that it’s easy to read, i’d also recommend checking out this post where i talked about my titling process as that’s something that also plays into the way i write my short story.

NOTE: i’m a pantser and i pants all my work. this process is super intuitive and tends to differ slightly for each story. for me i learn more about the story as i go and i’m just as in the dark as the characters.

1. THE IDEA. this comes from literally anywhere, and can be of any form: the main concept, theme, or aesthetic, maybe an integral image or aesthetic, maybe a specific title or lexicon. i’ll be exampling here to make it make more sense:

for saltwater, the story came first. i’d had this initial idea of a couple drowning in the ocean after one of them drives them both into it.

for it’s gene magic and/or turpentine, it was a vague concept that formed the idea although it has zero impact on the plot since i veered away from said concept.

for geometry of the holy moon (1 am), it was the aesthetic, the setting and the lexicon [specifically the word ”yearning”]. i was inspired by a conversation i had about desi mythology and singing to the moon.

for cranium, i wanted to write something in second-person and wrote the first line, ten followed though with my instinct.

for helium throat [although this doesn't really count considering that this is a revamp of an older story] it was the exploration of a character relationship + dynamic.

getting the idea for me is very intuitive, and it happens at a pace i can't fully keep up with so for most of the time when i get an idea i put it into my ideas’ doc and save it for later. i’ve talked about this before but having an ideas’ doc is a lifesaver because you will have inspiration ready at hand and it can be super organised too! [mine is divided into plot, pov, form, theme, character, titles, verbs, concepts, etc.]

2. THE FIRST LINE / PARAGRAPH. once i get the idea, and i choose to draft the story immediately, i write out the first excerpt / line. this can be a hit or miss. sometimes [like with helium throat and gene magic], the first paragraph lets me understand the voice + tone, and i’m able to draft the rest of the story in it. sometimes, like with gothm, the first line doesn't fully explain it [this may be because it isn't where the story’s meant to start, sometimes because it just feels wrong] and in this case i either scrap the paragraph and start over, or i keep it to add to the story at a later point. this first excerpt is important to me as it helps determine how the rest of the story’s going to go, helps me get a slightly better understanding of the aesthetic and the voice, and at how rich / sparse the prose style will be. [so for gothm, i knew it would be a very thick and dreamy prose style while with gene magic it would end up being short and punchy]

3. THE DRAFTING. this one’s going to get so vague, but basically i then just,,, draft the story! i always keep a notebox kind of thing for each one where i put in anything related to the story [so scene ideas, the wordbank, particular aesthetics, etc]. i refer to this as i go on drafting. when i’m at the beginning, i still don’t fully know what the story will be about but the more i draft the clearer this becomes. most of the time, the ending clicks for me first, and then the rest of the writing process involves me building the gaps between the current scene and the final one. sometimes, i’ll get a scene idea that will completely shift the story from the point it was going. a lot of times, i’d start adding in a specific detail which i’d end up making much more plot relevant later on. i always refer to my general ideas’ list while drafting as sometimes a random, seemingly unrelated concept or word can help me in uncovering the short story. my drafting process is hard to pin down as it’s rather different for each short story but it usually involves me stumbling around a bit and trying to make out more of the story until something clicks or becomes clear and i finish the rest with an exact understanding in mind.

and this is the gist of how i write the first drafts of my short stories! i’ve only just started editing them, and in that department i have no insight [and i’m suffering there too yikes]. but i hope this was able to help!!

This is so interesting, please add me to your taglist! :o)

To find but morsels of what the world used to be spurs an odd feeling of nostalgia deep within your core; it surpasses your hard shell, delving until it tickles something gleaming, innocent, and something some would dare say is childish – hope. Hope for a future crafted with compassion but founded on destruction.

Funny, to experience nostalgia for a past that isn’t your own.

You live in Angelwood; a city like many others, yanked by the leash that is MERCY. You know about MERCY. Magnificent Emergency Relief and Care for Yourself, it stands for. It rose from the ashes of a worldwide epidemic of organ failures, constructing artificial organs which would ultimately save pockets of humanity from extinction – at a price. With the devastated economy and government, MERCY’s growing finances and following, MERCY soared to power. Then came the monopolisation of medical services – even if it was under a different name, you knew it was collared and walked by MERCY – and the subtle lacing of bodily modifications, or “augmentations”, into contemporary fashion and style. For those who still suffer from breakouts of organ failures, or for those who feel the stroke of MERCY’s marketing and manipulation warm on their cheek, they can pursue avenues paved by MERCY. Oh, but for those who cannot afford such grandiose costs? Well, need not worry, they offer simple contractual signups where you can pay back in smaller instalments. While this all seems lovely and altruistic when spoken with the honey-lathered words of MERCY agents, you know all too well that should someone miss one too many instalments, they’ll pay for it in more than just their money.

Will you conform and live a life that is shadowed by MERCY? Or will you fight? Both sides have their positives and negatives, yet death lurks at either door. Do you want to go out swinging, or go out plodding?  ―  THE ORGAN OPERA

OVERVIEW.

GENRE  ―  sci-fi (cyberpunk);  queer romance.

DEMOGRAPHIC  ―  (new) adult.

NARRATION  ―  third person;  past tense.

THEMES  ―  capitalism;  fascism;  anticapitalism + antifascism;  body augmentation;  human experimentation;  dystopian earth but struggling to make a better future.

STAGE  ―  revamping and plotting;  worldbuilding.

SUMMARY  ―  Years ago, a manmade virus raked its teeth against humanity  -  an epidemic of organ failures swept nations, devastating economies and governments alike. From the ashes of millions, select few megacorporations loomed over those who remained with malicious intent. Many of these megacorporations now control particular districts. Angelwood is controlled by the medical monster that is MERCY and is currently facing its latest threat  -  yet another uprising. And this time, they’re not going to stop until they burn MERCY to the ground.

MAIN CHARACTERS.

LEONARDO SONG  ―  Often referred to by his nickname of ‘Leo’, Leo is of mixed Korean and Filipino descent. He is the originator of the latest wave of rebellion against MERCY and his fire is something that can’t be quelled. He’s suffered severe facial disfiguration at the hands of a MERCY agent but wears it with mixed pride and anger.

CYRUS MERCER  ―  A black man who was one of many orphaned and taken underneath MERCY’s wing  -  under the condition that he partook in their PERSON program. On the surface, it seemed benevolent and altruistic… But MERCY never does anything nice without later ripping it to shreds. He’s now immune to the virus and wields more power than anyone in MERCY could’ve anticipated.

COCO DOOLEY  ―  A trans woman and close friend of Leo, she partakes in the uprising against MERCY and their control over Angelwood. She’s an expert hacker and has been steadily building her pool of information of and against MERCY.

MURDOCH MURRAY  ―  A trans man and close friend of Leo, like Coco, he too is part of the uprising against MERCY’s control over Angelwood. While Leo is fiery, Murdoch wields the cool charisma and allure akin to that of a skilled conman. He’s often the first to go into a situation, to procure or to defuse.

TAGLIST. if you’d liked to be added to the list, let me know via message, ask, or reblog! @mxxnwrites

I want to read this :oo

[TRANSCRIPT/TAGLIST AT END OF POST]

W.I.P. (re)Introduction:

TINY FLEA

[OLD INTRO]

GENRE/S: Speculative, horror, dystopian pandemic, soft elements of sci-fi & supernatural.

SETTING: The fictitous town of Tiny Flea, New South Wales, Australia; 2024.

AUDIENCE: Adult.

POV/TENSE: Third person limited (multi POV), past tense.

STATUS: First draft.

CONTENT WARNINGS: Horror themes (incl. psychological&body horror); violence and gore; bugs/parasites; murder/death; alcoholism/smoking; unreality; paranoia; religious themes; portrayals of bigoted beliefs; discussions/mentions of abuse; references to grooming & coercion. (Note: may be updated later).

CONCEPT: In the year 2024, a parasitic disease breaks out in Tiny Flea, a fictitious town in NSW, Australia. In an attempt to control the spread of the parasite, the town is closed off from the rest of the country. The story follows several perspectives, showcasing how each person deals with their newfound circumstance. Some band together in order to survive, to try and restore order and to discover the true nature of the parasite. Others, however, have more sinister intentions...

SYNOPSIS:

Returning to his hometown of Tiny Flea after serving a twelve-year prison sentence, thirty-six year old Gavin DeRossi is eager to redeem himself. However, any hopes Gavin had of going back to a normal life are dashed when he finds his hometown in the grips of a parasitic pandemic. Worse still, both of his parents, the people he considered to be his only allies left in the world, are dead—killed by the mysterious brain parasite which plagues the town.

Banding together with a ragtag group of survivors, Gavin is determined to save the town of Tiny Flea by learning more about the true nature of the parasite. The answers he finds, however, are far more bizarre than he ever could have anticipated...

TRANSCRIPT 1: In the eyes of Gavin DeRossi, Tiny Flea had been aptly named. Hovering somewhere between being classified as a town or a city, the place he had grown up was a blood-swollen parasite. It had latched onto the surface of his youth, sucking dry his aspirations and potential, leaving him nothing but a bloodless, lifeless host for the countless memories it had left him with. But oh, how he’d missed it.

TRANSCRIPT 2: Gregory wasn’t entirely sure what Graham’s condition was. Lying on his back on top of the bedcovers, he didn’t look obviously unwell. He wasn’t injured. He hadn’t thrown up. His face, however, was contorted in pain. He struggled and thrashed about in a pathetic sort of manner, like a weakened animal making a last-ditch effort to fight off its attackers. It was his eyes, however, which told Gregory that his father-in-law’s death was at hand. His eyes, normally a lively grey, were dull, staring lifelessly ahead at nothing. His body protested against his fate, but Gregory recognised that his eyes belonged to someone who knew that they were facing death head-on. He had seen those eyes once before.

TRANSCRIPT 3: He checked his wound one last time before going to sleep, and was satisfied. It no longer looked inflamed. Without a doubt, it would heal without much trouble at all. But the wound had already done its damage, regardless of whether it was infected or not, regardless of whether it healed cleanly or left a ragged scar. Unbeknownst to Craig, the larvae had already begun to move beneath the skin.

TAGLIST (ask to be added or removed): @aetherwrites @ljscrawls @chloeswords @avi-burton-writing @kitblogsthings @ravens-and-rivers @writerlywonders @alicewestwater @bookpacking @theelectricfactory @ryns-ramblings @alexsidereus @kowlazovdi @ezrathings @sunwornpages @bijouxs @pamsdrabbles @melpomeny @peepos-prose

Not really, I’ll be writing but not 50K this time around. However, I’ve been part of the NaNo community since 2014—back when I was 14 if you can believe it, haha and it’s really motivating to connect with other writers during November. I’m looking forward to it!

who is doing nanowrimo this year? how prepared are we feeling?

These all sound amazing and I'm in loveeee with the titles you chose :ooo

So let’s talk about poems | Poetry Update #2

Hello!! I have successfully finished (1) semester in a poetry stream and am officially calling myself a ~poet, so let’s chat about some of the poems I’ve written recently! TW: A lot of my poems deal with difficult subject matter, such as suicide, animal abuse, death, sexism, murder, and captivity, so please tread with caution if these are sensitive topics for you.

1. the birds

About: After a woman’s suicide, birds flood from her neck.

I wrote this poem for a class, where our prof gave us 20 different prompts, and each line of the poem had to follow each prompt. In that order. You can read the prompts HERE if you’re so inclined to actually do this! This poem was originally called “Blessing of the Bird”, but in revisions, got knocked down to “the birds”. I actually prefer the original for its imagery, but it overall, was a horrific poem lol, and this version is certainly much better! It is a bit quirkier than the original, but I do like it!

Publication status: Currently seeking

2. TRANSCRIPT: orca’s coffin birth kills a man (2002)

About: An orca whale posthumously testifies on a recorded transcript, defending her innocence in the accidental killing of a man after she gave a coffin birth.

I also wrote this for my poetry class, and I really went wild on the concept! This poem arose quite bizarrely, but it is probably my favourite poem I’ve written to date. It is an incredibly sad, and I would say, disturbing poem, but it was fascinating writing a speaker who can’t possibly exist, but who feels so real at the same time. This poem was difficult because of the content, but I wrote it quickly because I was on a deadline. I think this poem has some of my favourite line breaks from my collection of work.

Publication status: Currently seeking

3. the drive-up microphone at burger king

About: A group of friends orders food at an underwater Burger King drive-thru with the body of a person they’ve (sort of?) murdered in the backseat.

This poem is so weird. :) I don’t even know what this poem is, but I love it. :) I wrote this in a night for a magazine’s very fast approaching deadline. I’m so happy I had that opportunity because this poem was born, and it’s so delightfully strange. I can’t wait for everyone to be able to read it!

Publication status: This poem is forthcoming in the next issue of carte blanche (I am SO excited and grateful)! Will post on here when it drops.

4. my body in the mirror of a gas station water bottle

About: A speaker watches her body in the reflection of a gas station mirror as it is scrutinized by men.

I started this poem back in July but didn’t finish it until November or so. It’s more lyrical in style, which is interesting to compare to my other work!

Publication status: Currently seeking

5. The last time I screamed I said water

About: A woman is held captive and bonds with her captor by eating salt.

I wrote this poem in 5-minutes in a desperate break from a really… boring take-home exam lol. It’s obviously very dark in content, but focuses really on this “salt ritual”, and is actually the name of the chapbook I am working on! This chapbook contains all of the poems I’ve written recently, including ones that have been published (at Grain and Augur ! <3) which means it’s very chaotic and varied but that’s how I roll! This poem actually stemmed from the title, which I’d had lying around in a document for a few weeks, and easily materialized from there!

6. we drink.

About: Champagne, the patriarchy, some murder & cannibalism vibes

I truly don’t know what this poem is about! But I wrote it tonight in 5-minute fashion like I apparently now do with poems! :) I actually really like it and wish I could explain what it is actually about but I :) do not know :) ! It’s very short, my shortest poem yet, but I really love her! Definitely works particularly with “the last time I screamed” !

Publication status: Currently seeking

That’s it for this update! When I write more poems, I will be back!

–Rachel

🍟 @/aetherwrites

Share a gif that represents your wip. What Mr. Sinclair sees in the checkered corridor in his nightmare in Bug Box. (gif is from The Wall, 1982)

🍿?

Share an out-of-context line from your wip. (this one’s from Yellow Houses!)

We didn’t have any pictures of him so they were all I had to stare at, which was rare, but when I did, I imagined him on a ferry crossing the Marmara Sea, nibbling on simit, dark hair flattened against his forehead from the breeze, contemplating the mess he’d made and regretting it immensely.