buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs

[buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs]

Another thing I love in fiction is when dialogue immediately echoes the same phrasing used in the narration. It can be startling and funny.

Ex.:

As they made their way back to the car, Farad felt the prickle of eyes upon him. He looked around and spotted the culprits—perched on the roof of a van, a gaggle of dour-faced teenagers was watching them judgmentally.

“Don’t look now,” he whispered to his companion, “But a gaggle of dour-faced teenagers is watching us judgementally.”

[buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs]

05.10.2019 | quiet evening with probably the last of this year’s blackberries. looking forward to whatever fruit autumn will bring ☾

[buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs]

3:40 pm, 09.25.2019 / having a productive afternoon. this is my favorite little coffee shop. happy wednesday!

[buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs]

Writing Block

SO, I have had a few very busy and stressful days and no matter how much energy and motivation I try to muster, I can’t bring myself to write.  I’ve tried to give myself the best Slytherin pep talk I can, but it isn’t working.  

I’m really buckling down tomorrow, but I do need to give my brain time to rest.  I won’t write well if I’m already tired and upset, right?  

[buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs]

“coming of age” books and movies are so stupid like being a teenager isn’t about having sex and going to parties it’s about staring out your car window after hanging out with your old best friends who you haven’t seen in months and realizing that you aren’t actually friends anymore and that your childhood has been well and truly dead since you were thirteen

[buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs]

Writing Block Days Ten, Eleven, Twelve

worked on: Spooky Boarding School and Girl WIth One Eye

I posted about drawing and sketching out the floorplan for some rooms, so I’ll leave that out for now.  Basically, if you’re stuck on how a room looks or with what to do in a room, sit down to draw it out.  It will give you a concrete idea of how the setting is and you’ll think of things for your characters to do as you’re visualizing the room.  

But, I have a new updated.  I had to get up early this morning because I was going to do some yoga before I went into work.  But while I was showering, I figured out some solutions for problems I’ve been having with my play.  I finished getting ready and then I started to write down all the dialogue ideas I’d had.  I spent at least forty minutes this morning writing and it made me feel so good.  I started my day having already done something productive-- and it was something I like to do as well!   I killed two birds with one stone!  I’m going to try to write in the morning for the rest of the week (both weekdays and weekend days) to see if I can feasibly do that or if I need to go back to nights.  But it’s nice to start my day with something I really enjoy: I feel more energized and ready to adult and pay taxes!

Do you prefer to write in the morning or afternoon?  Let me know!

overall success: I’m going to say a 10!  Though it may not have been a lot on the page, the work I did is very useful and will help me a lot in the future!

drinking: Pumpkin Spice coffee Happy Spooky Season, bitches!

watching/listening to: Crimson Peak bc I am obsessed with these characters and Lovesong by Adele

[buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs]

I spent at least twenty minutes drawing out two rooms in my newest project. I was trying to work on a scene, but was having the worst time visualizing both of them. So, I drew them out so I would have a clear idea in my head.

It’s also a spooky story, so I moved my candles around so I could write by mostly candlelight. I think it helped me amp up the spook a little bit :)

Do you ever encounter a problem like this? I do quite a lot and it often helps to either find a floor plan to go from or to draw out my own! How else do you work through this issue?

[buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs]

250 words = 1 book page

OUT: I wrote only 1,000 words today :/

IN: I wrote FOUR whole pages of my book! ♡

[buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs]

Writing Block Days Eight and Nine

worked on: a post about Showing vs. Telling and Spooky Boarding School 

I wrote last night, but I was too tired to actually post about it.  I had a long day of extroverting and, even though I took a three-hour nap, I was exhausted by the time nine-thirty came around.  I did, however, have the wherewithal to start a post about description: I’ve mentioned that it isn’t my forte, but I thought that if I were able to write about what an author should do, I would be able to better replicate it.  

I say “should do”, but I firmly believe there are no real rules when it comes to writing.  There are accepted formats and ways to write that I think all beginning writers should work with and think of as a default, but once you’ve been writing for a while there are no rules.  Experienced writers can adjust dialogue, chapters, point of views: they can toy with the stereotypical to create something compelling. But you have to familiarize yourself with the rules to know how to break them.  

I also continued to work on my boarding school story and began to put the romance part onto paper.  I, myself, am a queer woman, and I want to write a queer romance in here.  I’m very excited to focus on developing that relationship, but I’ve hit a crossroad: as much as I want to write an obvious queer romance, I love when those plotlines are so subtle that they nearly go unpercieved.  I’m caught between wanting my characters to be honest with their feelings and wanting layers and layers and layers of subtext.  Do you prefer one?  Of have a way to decide between two dueling ideas?  

Don’t forget to use the hashtag Writing Block if you’d like to join me in this endeavor!! 

overall success: both are about an eight!  probably a Dark World on my Loki scale!

drinking: Carnivor Cabernet Sauvignon *chef’s kiss*

watching: Crimson Peak listen to me when I tell you that Edith is unbelievably iconic and Lucille is incredibly evil and also incredibly beautiful!!! oh, and Thomas isn’t too bad for a charming, blue eyed, Victorian gentleman

[buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs]

Writing Block Day Seven

worked on: Spooky Boarding School 

I spent half my time trying to write something and then deleting it. But, I quickly shifted gears and decided to edit what I had already written for a previous text.  I added quite a bit to it, and what I added was actually good and fairly beneficial.  Though it didn’t help me really set the scene (it may have talked up the spook factor too much) it gave me a better understanding of my character and how she reacts to things.  I also tried to balance the inner narrative and descriptions: the new stuff does a really good job of this, so I can’t wait to carry that throughout.  

Maybe that’s what I should do on my second drafts?  The first one is for describing everything and getting a clear idea of what’s happening, and the second draft is for narration.  Once I know what’s happening, I can focus on how everyone’s feeling and reacting.  

What do you focus on in your second draft?  Do you even do a second draft?

overall success: n/a

munching on/drinking: Magistrate Cabernet Sauvignon 

listening to: Thor: Ragnarok (the second-best Thor movie, imho) 

[buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs]

Writing Block Day Six

worked on: Persephone Absolves

I went on a hiatus for, like, two days.  The day before yesterday, I was helping my friend with paperwork and technicalities for an organization at our college and I spent so long at her house that when I nearly fell asleep on the way home.  And yesterday I got home and was in such a bad mood, so I went and tried to nap.  Not only did I not fall all the way asleep, but I dreamed about work and laid there for an extra hour.  Oh, and woke up with a headache.  So, I took a break.  

And I missed writing!  I do a lot, but I had really come to enjoy the time that I spent writing over the past five days.  It was my little ritual and let me gather myself at the end of a long day.  It was nice to take a break and I don’t regret doing it, but I was happy to get back to writing today.  

So, I spent my fifteen minutes working on poetry.  I just recently started writing poetry and it isn’t very good, but I really like it.  I like succinct writing and it really makes me focus on my word choice, which I’m not always conscious of.  It has translated into my prose as well, but I didn’t even get a page down today because I spent so long trying to tie what I had together and making sure I was finding the best words I could.  I even mimed stroking someone’s arm for about  a minute to think of a new word for stroking.  But there’s something about it that feels centering?  I don’t think I’m writing or contributing anything new with my work right now, but it relaxes me.  

Do you take breaks from your writing?  Or, is writing your break from everything else?  I know people that write for an hour every day, and other people that write for ten hours once every other week.  What’s your system?  

overall success: 5/10: I’m not great at poetry and I was paying attention to what I was writing, but it was mainly about getting words on the page.  And poetry takes me forever.

munching on/drinking: Bailey’s and Coffee bc I’m crazy and want coffee all the time

listening to: Hadestown Original Broadway Cast Recording PLEASE LISTEN IT’S ICONIC AND AMAZING I CAN’T ARTICULATE HOW MUCH I LOVE AMBER GRAY

[buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs]

Writing Block Day Six

worked on: Girl With One Eye and 1950′s play

Tonight was pretty dismal.  Which is fine: you aren’t going to churn out good work 100% of the time.  Probably not even 50% of the time.  I just hit a point with a scene where I thought “I don’t need this”.  And then I hit another point where I thought “I’m not doing what I set out to do when I started writing this”.  So, yeah, not a great night.  But I got some stuff planned for the 1950′s play about my family, so yay!  

On a similar note: would you like a post about playwrighting?  Making a playlist for a story/text?  Some specific aspect of creative writing?  I would love to write one, but I want to write something people will think is useful.  Let me know what you would be interested in learning more about!

overall success: Solid 3.  Yeah, not a great night.  

munching on/drinking: Water, again bc I’m a sleepy lady!

listening to: Bourbon Street by Jeff Tuohy and Fever by Peggy Lee

[buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs]

obsessed with those stone stairs and archways in the middle of the woods that remain standing after the rest of the building has fallen to ruin

[buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs]

some of my favorite rural typography / hand lettering examples ive collected over the past couple years

[buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs]

9 ways to create hygge while studying

Hygge is the Danish concept of coziness, simplicity, happiness, and well-being. I like to think of it as the feeling of curling up with a good book by a fireplace with a big cup of your favorite hot tea.

I’ve recently been really fascinated by the concept of hygge, and I’ve been incorporating it more into my daily life. Since school is starting soon (and for many of you it already has started!), I wanted to make a nice list of some ways we can incorporate this wonderful concept of hygge into our lives as students!

Set the lighting. Candles and string lights are very hygge, but sometimes they aren’t enough light to study by. Dimmer and warmer lighting is best, but make sure it’s not so dim that it strains your eyes! Natural light can also be pretty good for hygge if you’re studying during the day!

Put a throw blanket on the back of your chair. If it’s chilly, you could also have an extra blanket on your lap to really add to the coziness

Have a warm drink close by. I really like un-caffeinated herbal tea! Hot cocoa is also a great choice!

Turn on some relaxing instrumental music (if you like to listen to music while studying). I really like the music by Paul Cardall in particular!

Wear comfortable clothes. Pajamas are not always the best for studying since they can subconsciously make you more tired, so wearing some more comfortable clothes that aren’t just your pajamas is the best choice!

Wear some cozy socks or slippers! I especially love wearing fuzzy socks while studying

Have some snacks ready. Baked goods are very hygge, but anything that you love eating can work just as well!

Use your favorite stationery! It can make such a difference to actually use your favorite things, and it can make studying a lot more enjoyable

Work alongside a friend or a pet, if possible. A major aspect of hygge is friendship and family, and studying feels way more fun if you’re sharing it with someone. Alternatively, cuddling with a pet can be very relaxing and cozy

[buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs]

To protect myself from monsters

I became one

[buildingpalacesoutofparagraphs]

The best kind of morning