elisephoenix

[elisephoenix]

The healthiest meal I’ve had in a whole year I’m sure! Usually I eat cheeseburgers and pizza and chips etc etc 

[elisephoenix]

Hey, guys! If you get the chance, you should totally follow me on Instagram!

[elisephoenix]

Well, let’s see now. My name is Hazel and I’m 23 years-old. I would LOVE to be a successful author but to achieve that I first need to stop procrastinating! Otherwise, a primary school teacher will suffice. *sigh*

I made this tumblr as a way to help me become a better version of me. Like … you...

[elisephoenix]

HEY WRITERS OF ALL KINDS AND AGES AND MAYBE EVEN DNDERS OR TABLETOP GAMERS ARE YOU READY FOR SOMETHING SUPER RAD? I HOPE SO ‘CAUSE 

RANDOM

MAP

GENERATOR

WITH

EDITING FEATURES AVAILABLE

IT DOESN’T REALLY DO LAND MASSES OR ANYTHING BUT IT SURE AS HELL WILL MAP THAT CITY/VILLAGE/SHIP/DUNGEON/WHATEVER THAT YOU’VE BEEN MEANING TO MAP OUT FOR YOU

SO FUCKING GO WILD

[elisephoenix]

Write to write. Write because you need to write. Write to settle the rage within you. Write with an internal purpose. Write about something or someone that means so much to you, that you don’t care what others think.

Nick Miller (via ablogwithaview)

[elisephoenix]

Write from the heart, what has meaning to you personally; have the patience and discipline to sit down and do it every day whether you’re feeling inspired or not; never be afraid to take chances, in fact, make sure you take chances. As soon as you become complacent, you become boring … . Read as much as possible, not simply in the genre, or what you think you’re interested in, but other things as well.

Charles de Lint (via writingquotes)

[elisephoenix]

I adore the way fan fiction writers engage with and critique source texts, but manipulating them and breaking their rules. Some of it is straight-up homage, but a lot of [fan fiction] is really aggressive towards the source text. One tends to think of it as written by total fanboys and fangirls as a kind of worshipful act, but a lot of times you’ll read these stories and it’ll be like ‘What if Star Trek had an openly gay character on the bridge?’ And of course the point is that they don’t, and they wouldn’t, because they don’t have the balls, or they are beholden to their advertisers, or whatever. There’s a powerful critique, almost punk-like anger, being expressed there—which I find fascinating and interesting and cool.

Lev Grossman (via mycrofts)

[elisephoenix]

1. William Faulkner

2. Susan Sontag

3. J.K. Rowling

4. Anne Sexton

5. John Steinbeck

6. Jack Kerouac

7. George Orwell

8. George Bernard Shaw

9. Stephen King

10. Maya Angelou

[elisephoenix]

I'm from North Wales and never in my life have I used or heard anyone else use the phrase "tag" around here. We all call/called it "TICK" so even "Tig" is wrong where I'm at.

"What do you call the playground chasing game?" - asked at UK children

[elisephoenix]

If you are a writer, and you have a novel idea that you are excited about writing, write it. Don’t go on message boards and ask random Internet denizens whether or not something is allowed. … Who is the writer here? YOU ARE. Whose book is it? YOUR BOOK. There are no writing police. No one is going to arrest you if you write a teen vampire novel post Twilight. No one is going to send you off to a desert island to live a wretched life of worm eating and regret because your book includes things that could be seen as cliché. If you have a book that you want to write, just write the damn thing. Don’t worry about selling it; that comes later. Instead, worry about making your book good. Worry about the best way to order your scenes to create maximum tension, worry about if your character’s actions are actually in character; worry about your grammar. DON’T worry about which of your stylistic choices some potential future editor will use to reject you, and for the love of My Little Ponies don’t worry about trends. Trying to catching a trend is like trying to catch a falling knife—dangerous, foolhardy, and often ending in tears, usually yours. I’m not saying you shouldn’t pay attention to what’s getting published; keeping an eye on what’s going on in your market is part of being a smart and savvy writer. But remember that every book you see hitting the shelves today was sold over a year ago, maybe two. Even if you do hit a trend, there’s no guarantee the world won’t be totally different by the time that book comes out. The only certainty you have is your own enthusiasm and love for your work. … If your YA urban fantasy features fairies, vampires, and selkies and you decide halfway through that the vampires are over-complicating the plot, that is an appropriate time to ax the bloodsuckers. If you decide to cut them because you’re worried there are too many vampire books out right now, then you are betraying yourself, your dreams, and your art. If you’re like pretty much every other author in the world, you became a writer because you had stories you wanted to tell. Those are your stories, and no one can tell them better than you can. So write your stories, and then edit your stories until you have something you can be proud of. Write the stories that excite you, stories you can’t wait to share with the world because they’re just so amazing. If you want to write Murder She Wrote in space with anime-style mecha driven by cats, go for it. Nothing is off limits unless you do it badly. And if you must obsess over something, obsess over stuff like tension and pacing and creating believable characters. You know, the shit that matters. There are no writing police. This is your story, no one else’s. Tell it like you want to.

Rachel Aaron (via relatedworlds)

[elisephoenix]

Good characters need to do something other than ‘not be mean’ in order for me to like them. If you have to make the rest of your world terrible in order for your very average and un-special heroine to stand out, that makes for a pretty shitty book.

readingwithavengeance.tumblr.com (post)

[elisephoenix]

Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it’s a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it’s a way of making contact with someone else’s imagination after a day that’s all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss.

Nora Ephron (via afternoon-tea-and-books)

[elisephoenix]

Plot is people. Human emotions and desires founded on the realities of life, working at cross purposes, getting hotter and fiercer as they strike against each other until finally there’s an explosion—that’s Plot.

Leigh Brackett (via writersrelief)

[elisephoenix]

“I am in fact a Hobbit in all but size. I like gardens, trees, and unmechanized farmlands; I smoke a pipe, and like good plain food (unrefrigerated), but detest French cooking; I like, and even dare to wear in these dull days, ornamental waistcoats. I am fond of mushrooms (out of a field); have a very simple sense of humor (which even my appreciative critics find tiresome); I go to bed late and get up late (when possible). I do not travel much.”

[elisephoenix]

Dromedea is located far south on the map and was largely inspired by Antarctica. Made using Photoshop CS6. Brushes:http://starraven.deviantart.com/art/Sketchy-Cartography-Brushes-198264358 Tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOWi1s8rpemUTCZbuZ96WqA

[elisephoenix]

Fantasy Map Making Tutorial (4 of 5) by Jessica Khoury

[elisephoenix]

Fantasy Map Making Tutorial (3 of 5) by Jessica Khoury