ajmonarch

[ajmonarch]

Sat down to plan a narrative arc. Five seconds later: ended up creating cursed flora, haunted cliffs, sentient trauma-born foxes, and whispering corpse flowers like “Oh yeah. Totally on track... just a little side detail.” ✨️

[ajmonarch]

"Some truths were never meant for mortal ears. And yet, here you are... listening."

[ajmonarch]

"She prayed to the wrong god, and he answered anyway."

[ajmonarch]

I was just talking to my boyfriend about my exes... and he said:

'I'm so glad you've retired from charity work.'

I'm wheezing. I'm cackling. Someone come resuscitate me because I am deceased.

This man has stolen my heart and now my oxygen

[ajmonarch]

People and their opinions.

You say you will "die on this hill", but why won't you realise that you wouldn't be so alone on it if you properly explained your opinions instead of rushing to defend them.

Lower the darn draw bridge.

Stop shouting from behind the gate.

Not everything has to be a fight.

(Besides, I have no interest in laying siege to your little castle of self-righteousness)

[ajmonarch]

Writing is a liberation. Not a battle.

[ajmonarch]

Dear writers,

Stop making yourself suffer like your characters. You're creating a new world, you can leave the rules of this one behind.

Lovingly,

Another writer x

[ajmonarch]

I just saw a post titled:

How many drafts should you go through before deciding your novel is ready?

And it basically said: 'There's no official number, but to create a foundation that ensures you don't burn out quickly, overwork yourself, and get tired of your work, I'll say four. That's the number I use for my students as they have other engagements outside writing that take up a lot of time.'

😅 Right... firstly, I hold no malice to this post. Secondly, I recognise they said there is no official amount. Thirdly, their comment section said replies were deleted and restricted, so I didn't comment, repost or tag them since I'm assuming they don't want direct discussion.

Finally... I want to hold the writing community's hand when I say this cause some of you need to hear it:

Your book is done when you decide it is done.

You could do 2 drafts or 100 and you'd still find things to change. Burnout is NOT measured by the amount of drafts you do, and you can get tired of YOUR story before you finish draft number one if your heart isn't in it.

Burnout wise... Guys, from an (ex) psychologist and wellbeing consultant here. Literally someone could look at you funny tomorrow and you burn out. It's an accumulation of stress and pressure that causes physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. 1 draft on top of other stressers could burn you out. The number of drafts doesn't directly correlate to burn out.

You are building a world, creating from YOUR mind. Build your process to suit YOU.

One agent may support your book as it is, another won't. One reader may love it as is, another won't—it doesn't matter. What matters is your experience with YOUR story and YOUR process. Literally, your beta readers and/or editor will still find typos after you've scanned it 50 times—your brain will blank them out. It's natural.

You're trying to squeeze your personal process into a one size fits all. Lovely, no one else is YOU or can create exactly like YOU.

Okay, so I'm here ranting, but what about me, right? How do I know this? Why should you even consider what I'm saying?

Me & my process:

I wrote my first book. It's a dark fantasy epic with 170k words for the 1st draft.

~ Finished writing it 2 months—I wasn't rushing, I'm just in love with my story (seriously, I'm smiling just thinking about it).

~ Got my beta reader feedback and polished it.

~ Submitted my 2nd draft to agents.

I didn't limit myself to 'my first draft should be unreadable or bad'—I wrote the way that felt right to me. I didn't focus on the amount of drafts I should have. Believe me, I tried at the very start to plan it all out based on what other people were doing, but it stressed me out.

Being a psychologist, conducting research and consulting 100s has taught me many things. One is: individual differences. We can't plaster our research results on everyone because everyone has differences in processing, feeling, learning, creating.

Anyway, in the end, I loved every single step of the process without following someone else's plan. Let me say that again:

I loved every... single... step of writing & refining my book. I'm in love with writing.

I have the next 4 outlined already as proof, even took a break from this story to outline a new 4 book series. Why? Because I wasn't concerned about if I was doing it right by someone else's standards. I'm having fun! And you can too!!

We need to stop limiting ourselves and our process based on outside guidance and external validation. And we wonder why we get stuck or creative block?!

So basically in one line:

Follow what feels right to you, YOU have the POWER.

And one more shake for good measure:

Stop making yourself suffer like your characters. You're creating a new world, leave the rules of this one behind 😊

End of rant, lovelies. Run free and create 🧡✨️ Have faith in yourselves

[ajmonarch]

Today on 'Things my beta readers have said about my book that have me wheezing':

No.3: 'This is cinematic. This is rich. This is exactly what dark fantasy should feel like.

This is it. This is perfect. Send it. Publish it. Make people suffer beautifully.'

☺️ I'm swooning over my feedback in case you can't tell 😂 I have 5 beta readers at the moment that I saved my favourite lines from. They make me so happy to read, so I'm sharing them all.

Since my beta readers are obviously in deep, I asked them to describe my book. One said this (with a few creative polishes from myself):

It's an epic dark fantasy, where:

~ betrayal cuts deeper than blades,

~ desires burn brighter than flames,

~ and the weight of destiny threatens to crush gods and mortals alike.

It's not just a story—it's an invitation to lose yourself in the shadows, to fall, to rise, and to find what you're willing to sacrifice for power, love, and survival.

[ajmonarch]

Reminder...

Loving them doesn't mean you have to tolerate the choices that hurt or dismiss you...

We all need this reminder now and then.

[ajmonarch]

Today on 'Things people have said about my art and writing that has me wheezing':

No. 2:

'Not to be too forward, but I want to walk through your mind and admire the inspiration flooding in like a Catholic admiring stained glass windows while beams of sunlight filter through them.'

Like... excuse me.

What are we?

Receipt below: Imagine if we all gave thoughtful compliments like this.

No, but seriously... when's our wedding? I can do next Tuesday.

[ajmonarch]

Me outside: *silently writes a twist into a story*

Me inside: 'Let chaos reign supreme!!'

*manic internal cackling*

[ajmonarch]

Me earlier: ah yes, a nice semi early night. Look at me, #adulting.

Me now: outlined 4 books for a new series, arguing with a bird outside my window because I haven't slept yet.

I would ask why I do this to myself, but I know the answer 😅

[ajmonarch]

AHHH... I CAME UP WITH A NEW STORY IDEA... AND IT'S GOOD!!

*Screams like a terradactyl*

[ajmonarch]

You don't only live rent-free in my head... you have the penthouse suite

~ me thinking about my books, characters, and writing

[ajmonarch]

Today on 'Things my beta readers said that had me wheezing'... no. 1:

I’d remortgage my soul for this book in a heartbeat. Hell, I’ll even mortgage yours if it comes to that.

No regrets, no refunds.

Since my beta reader is obviously in deep, I asked him to describe my book (with a few creative polishes from myself):

It's an epic dark fantasy, where:

~ betrayal cuts deeper than blades,

~ desires burn brighter than flames,

~ and the weight of destiny threatens to crush gods and mortals alike.

It's not just a story—it's an invitation to lose yourself in the shadows, to fall, to rise, and to find what you're willing to sacrifice for power, love, and survival.

[ajmonarch]

I just got this comment on my art on tiktok this morning:

"I wish I could be a little mouse in your corner and watch you creating" ✨️

I thought I'd start sharing my favourite feedback that I've had about my art and my writing because some of them are so poetic, and I want to save them.