@acotarnet Event 8: Alternate Covers

Illustrations of Lepidoptera taken from ‘Rhopalocera Exotica’ by Henley Grose Smith, W. F. Kirby.

Published 1887 by Gurney & Jackson.

Smithsonian Libraries.

archive.org

@faenet event: -> Alternate Covers Throne of Glass books 1-6 [Image courtesy: Pinterest, edited on Snapseed]

🕯 𝘏𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴 🕯

@faenet event: alternate covers

To the stars who listen and the dreams that are answered.

Researching for WIPs : A Collection

Patreon || Ko-Fi || Masterlist || Work In Progress

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Historical Fiction

Resources For Writing (Global) Period Pieces : High Middle Ages & Renaissance

Resources For Writing (Global) Period Pieces : 1600s

Resources For Writing (Global) Period Pieces : 1700s

Resources For Writing (Global) Period Pieces : 1800s

Resources For Writing (Global) Period Pieces : 1900-1939

Resources For Writing (Global) Period Pieces : 1940-1969

Resources For Writing (Global) Period Pieces : 1970-1999

Resources For Writing Royalty

Procedural/Scientific

Resources For Crime/Mystery/Thriller Writers

Resources For Writing Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic Stories

Resources For Writing Sketchy Topics

Resources For Writing The Mafia

Resources For Writing Injuries

By Genre

Resources For Fantasy/Mythology Writers

Resources For Writing Science Fiction

Resources For Romance Writers

Other

Resources For Plot Development

Resources For Describing Physical Things

Resources For Describing Characters

Resources For Creating Characters

Resources For Worldbuilding

Resources For Describing Emotion

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Masterlist | WIP Blog

If you enjoy my blog and wish for it to continue being updated frequently and for me to continue putting my energy toward answering your questions, please consider Buying Me A Coffee, or pledging your support on Patreon, where I offer early access and exclusive benefits for only $5/month.

Shoutout to my $15+ patron, Douglas S.!

Overcoming Writer’s Block

- Write 50 words of whatever it is you’re working on. That’s about 3 sentences — not too much of a commitment, but still requires some creative thought. It’s likely you’ll end up writing more, because once you’ve started, you naturally keep going. Even if not, if you do this a few times a day, you’ll at least be making progress.

- When you finish writing a section, stop mid-sentence. Sounds weird, I know, but it worked for Hemingway. After finishing the scene/chapter/etc. that you’re working on, write the first few lines of the next one, then stop part way through a sentence. This almost always makes it easy to start again when you keep writing later.

- Without actually writing, imagine yourself in a character’s position and go through the scene in your head. I find this especially effective when walking (either actually going for an outside walk or just pacing around aimlessly). This way, you’ll get a better sense of what you want to happen in the scene you’re trying to write, in more detail than is probably in your outline, without the pressure of having to think through things like word choice and sentence structure. Once you’ve essentially written the scene in your mind, it should be easier to write.

- Pick an important attribute about a character and focus on showing that in your scene. This not only helps direct your writing if you’re unsure what to do for a scene, but also benefits character development. I find this is particularly useful for scenes or chapters I’m struggling with because no big/dramatic events take place.

- Pick a random, slightly obscure word and try to use it in your scene or chapter. It forces you to think creatively as well as takes the focus slightly off whatever it is you’re struggling to write. By focussing instead on how to use the word, you’ll form the scene around it without overthinking as much about it or getting so caught up in thinking about how to write it that you don’t actually write it.

- Maybe don’t procrastinate by writing Tumblr posts about overcoming writer’s block…

Sarah J. Maas Book Cover Redesigns

If people want them, I can make these into mobile/desktop wallpapers for patrons. See below for Patreon link.

Recently, it was revealed that Maas’ ACOTAR book covers got a redesign. 

No offense to the designer - because I try not to go out of my way to publicly bash someone’s design work that they spent time on - but I’m not alone in saying that those covers aren’t the greatest. 

From a design standpoint, the colors clash too heavily with the tone of the stories. While bright colors can be fun, they don’t match the books they represent. (Not to mention the color combo on the grey hardback covers is almost hard to read because they appear less bright and look washed out.) 

Maas seems to lean more on Eastern-esque art influences for reprints lately, and it’s honestly very confusing. Given the settings and characters, these do not work for the stories inside. If these covers had an updated color palette and were used for an Asian-inspired story, I think they’d be better because the illustrations are beautiful. But they’re just not ACOTAR. 

I’ve made my own minimalist book covers for A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Mist and Fury. 

Yes I have my watermark on them. No I won’t remove them. 

The original designer attempted to do a minimal look, but they didn’t take advantage of the iconography and setting these books offered for a truly illustrative and still minimal set of covers. 

Stay tuned for when I do ACOWAR and ACOFAS next!

Interested in seeing more of my design work? Join my Patreon where I create mobile and desktop wallpaper sets throughout the month for all $3 patrons. Right now, it’s Animal Crossing inspired. :)

“Perhaps the failure of metaphysics lies in the caution and timidity of metaphysicians, who seem ostensibly so brave. They have sought for rest — which they describe as the highest boon. Whereas they should have valued more than anything restlessness, aimlessness, even purposelessness.”

— Lev Shestov, All Things Are Possible