aschenink - Tumblr blog

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Not to be a huge pain in the ass about this but I’m honestly not sure when/if I’ll be actively back on Tumblr, buuuut y’all can find me elsewhere

Twitter @ aschenink

NaNo @ inkberry

NaNo forums - same account as above, but the NaNo sites aren’t cohesively linked up yet, so this is for convenience

Pinterest @aschenink

I do have a blog, but I’ll probably be changing the url at some point in the near future-ish, so if you want to follow that maybe sign up for emails? I promise not to spam!

Y’all can also DM me if there’s anything specific going on/you wanna connect elsewhere! I’ll check in sporadically, I’m sure 💖

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Tag me in all of these, obviously please!!! Other than my unending love for THT/TBK and the Book of Enosh, I am in love with your other WIPs already, omg. 

Hey y'all it’s been awhile and most of the people on my old taglist are dead have ghosted. Comment on this post if you would like to be tagged on anything related to these wips (and which wips you would like to be tagged in)

The Hawthorn Throne/The Bear King

The myth of King Arthur re-imagined as Historical Fantasy told through four unexpected points of view. First, in The Hawthorn Throne, Riona a bi (same & other) poly woman who has lived most of her life as a social outcast because of her unnatural healing/divination abilities. Also in THT, Aidan: A non-binary Druid who is on the run from their past on a virtual treadmill. What’s else in it? The slowest of slowburn romances, wlw, ace characters, aro characters, characters of color, Jewish characters, disabled characters, plague, etc. Second, in The Bear King, we are told the story via Mordred (the conventional antagonist of Arthuriana, twist!) and Ghada (a woman from Aksum - now Ethiopia- who becomes a knight). What else is included? Gay characters, ace characters, disabled characters, characters of color, healthy relationships, Saxon Berserkers, etc.  Adult.

The Book of Enosh

Not a whole lot being done on this one atm BUT, another historical fantasy about North America during the ice age. Enosh has just been made chief of his tribe when a wasting disease takes most of the herd they rely on for food throughout the harshest parts of winter. He must lead his tribe south to new food sources and in the meantime suss out the mystery of his delivery via owl to his parents and confront the wolf god that killed his best friend. Features a trans MC and a disabled character as a love-interest. Adult.

Otherworld

Again not a whole lot going on with this right now. THT/TBK are kind of dominating my time. Anyways. Zoe is shipped off to an uncle she’s never met when her Mom’s ovarian cancer hospitalizes her. Cesar, Zoe’s Uncle, is a proffessor of Literature at a small college in a rural town and beyond a shared love of books and Judaism the two newfound relatives struggle to connect with one another. When Zoe is lured into The Otherworld by a tricksy Pooka she must not only confront the demons of her trauma, anxiet, and depression, but the literal monsters of the world of folklore. Middle-Reader.

This is not a Space Western

Hey Rachel, how about you write something fun? Ok. Fine. Here’s a currently untitled WIP that has nothing but the barest of plots, an aesthetic, and a playlist. What is it going to be? Imagine if Han Solo were a lesbian (who makes the galaxy’s best Moonshine) forever in love with a bad ass bi woman named “big boss” who runs a casino. The two are reunited under dubious circumstances and I won’t spoil the rest but it’s going to be great and fun and NOT SAD OK. SHEESH. Adult.

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what was heavy and tender and alive

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Which wip are you working on atm? Also love you so so much💝💝💝

💖💖 Love you too!! 💖💖

Right now I’m focused entirely on The Devil Weed’s first draft, which has gone ALARMINGLY well. Like. ??. I’ve put serious thought into this for all of 15 days but the first draft is already at 25K and shows no signs of stopping, and like… I actually know what’s happening? On a first draft??? Unheard of. I love it. I am super duper optimistically planning on having this draft done on or before Halloween so that, come NaNo, I can focus on another project (The Noose of a Loving Embrace)… but my last (!!!) year of college starts next week, so we’ll see :’))

The 25K thing is true but I’m fairly certain everything that happens in it can be summed up in this brief, very very rough excerpt.

And yes this is saved as this_is_the_entire_novel.png because this truly is a complete synopsis.

Btw:  I’ve been stalking NaNo’s new site and obsessively refreshing my goal tracker there!! I’ll probably never close my NaNo tab again (at least until January) so hmu if you’re doing NaNo and/or wanna chat!!

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Hope you're doing well!!

Aww, thanks anon! Sorry for being MIA, I had a lot going on IRL for a few days and then had a huge burst of writing productivity so I was just offline to capitalize on that while I could 💖💖💖 I hope you’re doing well too!!

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when people say shit like “no one is talking about this bc it’s not happening in america” im like oh ok u think tumblr is a news site

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Full offense but your writing style is for you and nobody else. Use the words you want to use; play with language, experiment, use said, use adverbs, use “unrealistic” writing patterns, slap words you don’t even know are words on the page. Language is a sandbox and you, as the author, are at liberty to shape it however you wish. Build castles. Build a hovel. Build a mountain on a mountain or make a tiny cottage on a hill. Whatever it is you want to do. Write.

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this is what it’s like being a writer

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That’s right!! The Songbird’s Refrain is available for purchase right now!!

A captive girl fights for freedom against a sadistic witch’s curse.

Get that sweet, sweet instant gratification and download my novel The Songbird’s Refrain from the retailer of your choice. I’ll also be announcing the winner of the presale giveaway today! Thanks to everyone who participated.

The Songbird’s Refrain is a YA Supernatural Suspense novel perfect for lovers of:

body horror

mysteries

character arcs about finding your own power

wlw

weird dreams

lots of lady characters

ominous fortunes

Trigger warnings include aforementioned body horror, child abuse (mentioned, not shown onscreen), character death, themes of consent and lack thereof (in a nonsexual context, but the parallels can be drawn).

If this book sounds like something you’d enjoy, pick up a copy today!

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˗ˏˋprime lines tagˎˊ˗

“share your favorite piece of Dialogue, Description and Out of Context Line that you’ve written lately.”

tagged by proxy by @madsaialik! this is a really cool tag game;; I’m choosing from the upcoming chapter of Bloodlines which introduces one of my favorite minor characters.

Dialogue

“The working warrior,” Phaedron chides. He is cleaning and oiling a longsword, still wearing his silk robe. “What brought you so in search of distraction?”

Description

All she wants is to forget the dreams. They flooded her as she floated in the dark water of the Plunge, spinning through her head as much as she tried to ignore them. She tried to douse them out, yet they proved as resilient as oil-lit flames. They even chased her as she jogged along the track outside Mhorlina; she can rid herself of their presence no more than a cow can rid itself of a fly.

Out of Context

They sit at the fountain in silence for a long time, son of strife and the Successor.

Tagging: @49thriot, @ink-whiskey-seats, @kaatiba, @bookenders, @the-real-rg, @viciousvenganza, @clockworkstars, @aschenink

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Kingdom Come: Writing Excerpt (Royan and Oeden - The Tunnels)

Hello, everyone! It’s been a long while since last I posted a writing excerpt, and I thought I ought to share a scene I’ve actually been excited about fleshing out. As two of our protagonists - Royan and Oeden - trek through the tunnels on the way to the Seven-Sealed Vault, a new mystery arises that slows their progress.

WIP: Kingdom Come Characters: Royan Godewine, Oeden Halflife Word Count: 650

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The Vault’s invisible presence proved too feeble a shield against the tunnels’ palpable darkness. Somewhere below the living world lay the grave of their God, but Oeden worried whether they too would be buried. The corridors gave his nerves no condolence. Each stretched on further than before, a labyrinth for those allured by the treasure within.

Royan strode ahead with the heedless confidence of one who regarded the underground as an old friend. Whether he knew the way or not, he greeted each rock and ore with a point and a nod. Even the crystals that loomed overhead like ancient chandeliers seemed to twinkle in acknowledgement. Figures, Oeden mused, even the earth bows to Royan.

Had Oeden any doubt that Royan knew where to take them, his prince’s humming silenced the uncertainty. Oeden never even heard the first note. The recognition of a tune came in tandem with the subtle unease bubbling in the pit of his stomach. Try as he might, the lyrics remained indiscernible. Yet, the deeper down the path they traveled, the more the music seemed to surround them.

“Only you would burst into song in the middle of trespassing,” Oeden said. “At least you’re confident enough in your directions to do so.”

Royan turned his head, brow wrinkled in a confusion Oeden could only hope was unrelated to their destination. “What song?”

“You’d think, with how loud you’re humming it, I might be able to tell.”

Royan slowed until his footsteps ceased, spun towards Oeden with an unannounced suddenness, and stared. No movement, no speech. Just empty eyes and held breath.

Still, the song went on.

Keep reading

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sorry if its been asked before but i cant seem to find it; nightmares are mentioned a lot in this blog, and i was wondering what kind of nightmares are believable? straight up reliving of the incident; things vaguely related to what happened; a glimpse of good times until the incident, whatever it is, comes and ruins it, etc? i realize some of those sound a bit cliche so i wanted to know if they're grounded in reality. thank you!

In general I find ‘straight up reliving’ nightmares to be…. on the rarer side. I didn’t know many folks who dealt with that, though it definitely did happen.

More frequently nightmares looked sort of like the following:

- Realistically Could Happen Lead Up Events to the abuse.  So, if a messy kitchen sometimes starts arguments that lead to the abuse? That character might have nightmares of coming home to find that the kitchen is a never ending mess and no matter what they do they can’t fix it. There’s always more.

- Non-scary dreams of an abuser. There’s nothing actually happening in this nightmare. They’re having dinner or going to a play or driving in the car. This one has two flavors, where even in the dream there’s a feel of ‘everything is about to go wrong’ or where the aftereffects is the focus. The dreamer is left feeling guilty or like maybe they made it up.

-Non-abuser being abusive/yelling/being violent. Sometimes this is ‘this person did something that sort of vaguely reminded me of when x happened and now my brain is spinning out of control’, sometimes this is ‘brain being scared of trusting people/assuming abuse is inevitable.’

- Nothing. The character can’t remember anything but wakes up knowing something bad has occured while they slept. Feeling gross and unsettled and being unable to place why.

-Non-abusive but tense/scary/out of control dreams. Not necessarily just a PTSD thing, some of y’all might have had the whole ‘trying to drive from the passenger/back seat’ dream as well. But things like that.

Hope that helps a bit, 

TS

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My dash is officially dead!

What I’m looking for (like/reblog if):

Writeblrs that post about their original work not just reblog advice/other writeblrs (no offense meant at all, I just don’t need more of the same stuff).

Booklrs that post things other than aesthetics and engage with the community

Witchblrs that are heavy into Tarot and Kithen Witchyness. Bonus points if you’re a jewish witch.

History blogs that post a lot of art/neat stuff!

I’m a writeblr/booklr/witchblr/aesthetic blog which means I post mostly art.

Just like/reblog this and I’ll check you out I dunno!

Please boost!

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Many of you know that I have an online store to sell my own works, but you may not be aware that it’s always been my dream to open a bookstore that focuses on works by independent authors!

Now, I’m taking the next step toward making that a reality~

📚 You can now submit your independently published eBook to be distributed on our site! 📚

In just the few years I’ve been active in this community, I’ve read so many wonderful books. I want to do all I can to support the talented indie author community! I’m really excited to read even more amazing books, and I hope that opening distribution on our site helps your books reach a wider audience!

I am only accepting eBook submissions right now but someday hope to expand to physical copies as well!

Thank you all very much for allowing me to pursue my dream~!! ✨

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“The sea is emotion incarnate. It loves, hates, and weeps. It defies all attempts to capture it with words and rejects all shackles. No matter what you say about it, there is always that which you can’t.” 

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1. Thank you for the responses y’all, I really appreciate it!!

2. I literally never spent any amount of time thinking about this until the other day when I saw someone on twitter ask about it and at the time I didn’t think about it but since then I have been Plagued By Doubt

3. The plague was useful because I will definitely have to rename some characters but also feel more confident about keeping some of the others! 💖

What’s y’all’s stance on character names starting with the same first letter? Does it make it confusing to keep track of when reading? Is it only a problem if they sound similar? What about characters that are related, i.e. siblings? 

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I LOVE that you have a specific portion of the alphabet that you do this with because I’m definitely drawn to the L-O portion and thought I was crazy for it, so thank you omg. But it’s also really helpful to know that people will auto-fill... bleh, it’s definitely sounding like I’m going to have to do some renaming. 

What’s y’all’s stance on character names starting with the same first letter? Does it make it confusing to keep track of when reading? Is it only a problem if they sound similar? What about characters that are related, i.e. siblings?