cc-morgan

[cc-morgan]

In an underground post-scarcity civilization, elites justify their excesses through their public service commitments.

A river-cut canyon cradles a sprawling metropolis, a sparkling mosaic of sight and sound.

An enormous geode houses a dazzling city that prizes art and knowledge, suspended in its heart.

A nuclear fusion reactor brings warmth and light to vibrant rural communities and their crops of moss.

And they whisper about all this and more, in the hidden city of the fearless, the restless, and the lost.

This world has everything, but it lost the sky long ago.                And now this world has you.                                 Will you journey to the surface?                                                    Will you help them regain the stars?

In Darkness Buried Deep is an 18+ worldbuilding- and puzzle-focused panfandom RP group for the neurodivergent community and its allies. Thank you for checking us out!

      —  Home || Plot & Lore || Rules  —

[cc-morgan]

So I’ve been super quiet on here lately! I’ve been focusing on tumblr r.oleplay, & I’ll be back here more regularly once I shift focus onto a WIP.

But speaking of tumblr r.oleplay, I’ve been working on a r.oleplay group that opens September 1st. If any of you would be interested in writing your protags (or other worthy blorbos) in a group setting, please reach out & I’ll share the info with you!!

[cc-morgan]

i came to a realization today.

we as writer will beat ourselves up because “oh i only wrote 300 words today.” but whenever i talk to my non writing friends/family and i tell them how many words i wrote that day/week/month they are always impressed. no matter how inadequate i feel about it.

everyone is always impressed that i wrote 200/300/500/1000 words of a story i created and you know what? we all should be impressed with ourselves.

we’re creating whole worlds and it doesn’t matter if you wrote 5 or 50 or 500 or 5000 words today. you created something and you need to be proud of yourself.

i know i’m proud of you

[cc-morgan]

if you're writing your first draft—

👏 quantity 👏 over 👏 quality 👏 !

I don't care what your English teacher tells you. get words on a page, and I don't care either how bad it is. as long as you have something—absolutely anything at all, even a "once upon a time", it is the first step to writing.

write now, edit later. you can't edit if you have nothing to edit.

[cc-morgan]

Unpopular writing opinion: sometimes, telling is okay. Sometimes authors try so hard to show instead of telling that the writing becomes convoluted and difficult to understand. Sometimes, simplicity is all you need.

[cc-morgan]

Was talking with some people a while ago about how the publishing industry really emphasizes the young ages of some writers, but then I came to the realization that:

a) Most of my favorite books that I read within the past year were written by writers in their 30s-40s-50s+. 

b) Most of the books I read that made me think “eh, this one wasn’t ready, this one could’ve cooked a little longer”… were written by people in their early 20s.

c) I have all the time in the world. We all do. 

Moral of the story? Don’t rush. Take your time. Build your skills. Breathe.

[cc-morgan]

1, 2, 18, 28?

*** Pls don’t reblog!

Where do you typically get your ideas?

My Painting World story comes out of finding a rich and many-layered tragedy that spoke to me immensely in D.ark S.ouls 3, but the game only hinted at it from the pov of a player character with no story at all who came in at the end to axe murder everybody involved for a fetch quest item. I have higher ambitions than thoughtlessly retelling a story that already exists, and I've found lots of ways to make the Painting World story my own, but that's the kernel of why I had to write something.

I came up with the idea for Black Hole Holiday after looking through the scifi book selection on Audible, knowing exactly what I wanted to read but not finding something written by somebody else that felt like that. It's the mythical thing I was hungry for while I was standing in front of the fridge. I had also semi-recently read D.une, & I wanted "more like that, but not like that."

My M.andalorian fanfic idea came from wanting more of the show and wanting to have fun in that world. The writers of the show said they wanted to make a story that felt like something you'd play out with S.tar W.ars figures, and it completely feels like that. I got a S.tar W.ars figure of Din & like, I'm too old to actually play with that, but just having it felt like permission and an invitation to be creative and do something fun. Then when I started writing, I'm like, oh, I can use this to talk about how you can never truly 'mask' all of yourself. You will leave traces of yourself, always.

Writing is more of an organic way that I like to be in the world than a Process of Manufacturing a Product. When I find something that can keep me happily creatively occupied, it's like oh thank god, fuel for the tank. I can use this for stress relief, self-expression, sense of purpose, etc. So I'm just always looking for stuff, and it doesn't feel right when I have nothing to write about, and I'm going to want to find a replacement thing as soon as I can if that's the case.

2. When you’re writing a new story, what is the one thing you need to know before you can start?

That metaphorical, "Does this feel like what I want to eat when I'm looking in the fridge," is always a good sign.

18. What is your best piece of advice for writing comedy scenes?

I love when a story throws you random details & then later those details become important in a way that's funny once you piece it all together. Like idk first there's mention of a crew putting in a new sidewalk, then there's some kind of chase scene through the neighborhood, then a scene set years later mentions a sidewalk with footprints in it? Stuff like that is so, so good & I wish I saw it more often. Hmm, comedy is so varied and subjective that it's hard to come up with broad advice.

28. How do you make sure your plot points are there while also making them blend in with the story?

(Answered in previous!)

[cc-morgan]

25-30 for the Author Asks 💕

*** Pls don’t reblog! 

25. How do you create an original character?

Sometimes I’ll start with a character I like and try to create something new out of the elements that resonated with me so much. Other times I’ll need a character to fill a role and ask myself what kind of person might be in that role. But all I really need is to assemble some traits, decide that this is a valid and meaningful character because I said so, and refine from there as I learn more about what the story needs to be and what the story needs from that character. 

26. How do you go about world building?

Questions like:

What would be really cool, fun, or interesting? (There’s a plant in the Painting World that makes cricket sounds at night, & there are no actual crickets) 

What logically follows from what I already have? (People would collect these things as houseplants for ASMR purposes) 

What supports the story I want to tell? (It isn’t very easy to leave the Painting World and escape to reality, otherwise an apocalypse wouldn’t have high stakes & it would be much easier for Sparrow to escape)

What would be scary or horrible because I’m evil? (A sleepwalking god can be seen haunting the land any time the world starts to fall into decay. The Painter never painted them)

What would be really cool, fun, or interesting FOR ME? (Morgan has a human form, but they can also be a wolf-centaur or just a wolf, bc I like wolves)

Can I come up with a detailed explanation for why something works just so and how things fit together, for no particular reason other than the joy of creating little working systems? (There’s wet water and dry water in the Painting World. Wet water is real water and feels wet. Dry water is painted water and is experienced as water but doesn’t feel wet. If you create real fire with magic, congratulations, you’re a paper doll who lives in a coloring book and you’ve made something that destroys the fabric of reality)

27. Do you try to do most of your research ahead of writing (when research is necessary) or do you do it as things come up?

Both, definitely. I really enjoyed listening to an audiobook about the Middle Ages, & that’s informed a lot about how I think about the story with the Painting World. When I need to research something that comes up, already having at least a vague idea about the subject makes it a lot easier to interpret and understand the context of the new info I learn.

28. How do you make sure your plot points are there while also making them blend in with the story?

I really thought carefully about plot points and structure for my Painting World WIP, but for Black Hole Holiday & the fanfic I’m working on, I’m doing a more low key pantsing thing. Pantsing can have this really beautiful process where you start writing the first half of the story, and then the second half of the story shakes out of the first half like oh god, yeah, of *course* that happened next, of *course* this is what it all means. With the more structured approach, I really like that guarantee like. “Follow this template and you WILL have a story that flows well and makes sense.” 

If a plot point doesn’t flow naturally, I’d consider either manipulating some characters & finding the right motive to make them do what I want, or changing the story so letting the characters have their way doesn’t bring down the whole Jenga tower. This is actually a big thing in rp writing because above all else, you have to write a story about characters who are motivated to interact with each other and participate in the plot. On my end, I can actively work to come up with reasons for why my character is going to find this other person’s character more interesting to talk to than all of the random strangers they might have passed that day. But not every pair of characters (or writers for that matter lol) will be compatible.

29. How do you plot your stories?

Daydream while doing something else! 

30. How do you edit your stories?

Go over it until I can’t find anything I want to change. Spend some time away to clear my thoughts. I need more practice with editing tbh. 

[cc-morgan]

It’s full of messy, unapologetic queerness, it’s full of eyes, and sharp teeth, gore hanging from gaping mouths. It’s full of queer anger and rage, betrayal and sadness, and most of all, horror.

via Goodreads

This book is proof that LGBT horror can be messy. It can be dark. But it is such because it is about people. And LGBT people are just that: people, with all their fears, all their hopes, all their dreams, and all their horrors. 

via Goodreads

This book makes me proud to be queer.

via Goodreads

The Book of Queer Saints is available now via Amazon or by request through your local library or favorite book retailer. 

[cc-morgan]

Author Asks

Where do you typically get your ideas?

When you’re writing a new story, what is the one thing you need to know before you can start?

How do you know when a scene is “done”?

How do you know when a chapter is “done”?

How do you know when a story is “done”?

Where do your titles come from?

How do you feel about prologues?

How do you feel about epilogues?

Do you tend to have an external narrator or use one of the characters?

Does your narrator move from character to character? 

What punctuation do you love too much?

What punctuation do you hate with a passion?

What grammar tends to cause problems when you’re writing?

What’s the one word you can never spell/use properly, no matter how hard you try?

How do you write a really good metaphor?

What is your best piece of advice for writing angst scenes?

What is your best piece of advice for writing hurt/comfort scenes?

What is your best piece of advice for writing comedy scenes?

What is your best piece of advice for writing action scenes?

What is your best piece of advice for writing smut scenes?

What is your best piece of advice for writing romance scenes?

What is your best piece of advice for writing fluff scenes?

How do you balance your characters in an ensemble story?

How do you balance your characters when there are only a two or three in a story?

How do you create an original character?

How do you go about world building?

Do you try to do most of your research ahead of writing (when research is necessary) or do you do it as things come up?

How do you make sure your plot points are there while also making them blend in with the story?

How do you plot your stories?

How do you edit your stories?

[cc-morgan]

yes… YES… the paperback is OUT!! inside of this bad boy you can find some bonus character playlists, as well as, of course:

ABBA’s “Take a Chance on Me,” but ominous

a rickroll, somewhere

a country crock margarine tub filled with teeth

a large gas station soda cup filled with teeth

a butch lesbian werewolf

a chronic illness support group discord chat

the power of friendship. it doesn’t fix things but it does makes everything worthwhile 

light stabbing

intimate head shaving

New Jersey’s hottest garage band, Big Little Fries

here’s the link again, xoxo etc etc - buying through Bookshop.org allows you to support your local independent bookseller!

image description under the cut:

Keep reading

[cc-morgan]

hello writeblr and welcome to the WIP Nook, a cozy corner for writers to connect to each other through our WIPs

i’m @mr-writes and currently i am the only mod. if it gets overwhelming for me (a great problem to have!)) i may look for some people to help me out.

the purpose of this blog is to reblog everyone’s WIP posts (whatever you want others to see — intros, snippets, even writeblr intros) so we can all get to know each other and find writers we might not have otherwise

i will be tracking #wipnook you can also @ me in your post or message/submit/send an ask with the link. whatever you prefer

i am also working on a directory of WIPs so everything is in one centralized location. watch this space for information on that later.

can’t wait to get to know you all!

- meg

[cc-morgan]

there are no aspiring writers. if you write, you’re a writer. period.

[cc-morgan]

[ID: a dark gray banner. The image on the left is of the “This is Fine” dog, staring off into space with flames in the background. The text on the right reads “Self-Publishing Thoughts (from a newbie).” end ID]

Self-Publishing Thoughts #1: Intro!

Hello, and welcome to this series I just made up today on a whim!

Since there were a few folks interested in this, I figured I would make occasional posts talking about what I’m learning as I get into self-publishing. The hope is that other folks also wading into this can learn from my inevitable mistakes, and I can ease some of your researching burden.

A couple caveats:

I’m not a publishing veteran! I’m just a person who’s doing research, learning a lot as I go, and hoping to help others.

I realize everyone here is at vastly different budgets, abilities, and goals. I’ll try to accommodate my posts to fit different needs by providing alternate tips & resources.

I’m based in the US, so my research is US-skewed. I don’t know much about international markets.

If you’re experienced in self-publishing- I’d love it if you could chime in on my posts, if you have the time/energy!

My first post will be a resource-dump of free and low-cost resources I’ve used so far. If you want to be notified when I make posts like this, let me know and I’ll add you to the taglist!

Current Self-Pub Thoughts taglist below the cut:

Keep reading

[cc-morgan]

Some hard to swallow truths of reading:

Not every book is written for you.

Just because you don’t enjoy a story doesn’t make it bad or worthless.

Just because you don’t enjoy a certain writing style does not make it bad or worthless.

It is not your duty to directly tell a writer you didn’t enjoy their work if they didn’t ask you for your feedback.

It is your duty to do you best to understand whether or not a story has been written for you and review it appropriately.

[cc-morgan]

the best feeling is reading through your draft and thinking “you know, this is actually kinda good”

[cc-morgan]

Kudos to fanfiction writers for writing about all the trauma and emotional and mental turmoil that the original content creators dont acknowledge when putting characters through hell