kaylinalexanderbooks

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

WIP Intro Post

Learning to Look Back

So I've mentioned my unnamed short story on here before but this has turned into a novelette. It has a title now!

Basics

LTLB is a speculative novelette with elements related to time.

Small cast, focus on two characters

Installment of potential stories of similar length

POC and female representation

Third person, mixed with past and present tense

Themes of learning from experiences and relying on others

About

Ranjana is a chronosian, an inorganic sentient cosmic being who exists in a pocket dimension outside of time. Some members of her people monitor time to ensure the timeline remains healthy and on track.

Tiffany Isaac is a human scientist working on her own time machine that inadvertently begins to poison time, so Ranjana enters the timeline in order to prevent the disaster.

The two must work together in order to stop time from unraveling.

LTLB is primarily a drama.

Where Am I?

I'm almost done with the first draft! I have a better sense of where the story is going and plan to make this draft focus on character work and themes, which I kind of just improvised.

I have an old draft from high school that functions as a prequel. I may adapt it later.

I hope to make installments set in this universe in the future.

Tags

I will be tagging related posts as #learning to look back #ltlb and even for funzies #little b cause that's kinda what the acronym looks like

To monitor updates I will tag related posts as #ltlb update and excerpts will be #ltlb excerpt

All characters have their own tags

Ask to be added to or removed from the tag list! @thepeculiarbird @mrbexwrites

@diabolical-blue and @oh-no-another-idea have all expressed interest (this is not officially adding you to the tag list) so notifying y'all about it!

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

9 lines, 9 people

Tagged by @indigowriting here , by @kaylinalexanderbooks here and @finickyfelix got me here (I have been procrastinating and letting the ol' tag- backlog grow again!)

Rules: Nine Lines Nine People: share nine sentences from your WIP! Then tag nine people

Passing the tag onto: @queen-tashie @cowboybrunch @arowanaprincess @museandquill @surroundedbypearls @sarahlizziewrites @cain-e-brookman @minamaybe @the-golden-comet & open tag for anyone to accept :)

Lupine is on the case!

"Did you and Mina have an argument before she left?" I interrupted. Mrs Levesque squimed in her seat, hugging the cardigan even tighter to her chest. Auggie and I sat in silence, waiting for her to answer. "We'd had a slight disagreement." "About what?" Auggie's brow creased. "I didn't like her working so late," Mrs Levesque's face crumpled. "But she said we needed the money, otherwise, we'd get evicted from here too. I've been working hard, cleaning all the holiday houses, but with the tourist season being over, and my back…" "…And the alcohol…?" I'd smelled it as soon as we stepped into the house. The stale, sickly sweet smell that leeched from her pores. Alcoholics smelled distinctive to a nose as sensitive as mine. "I was drinking less, okay! I was cutting down!" She snarled. "It helps me relax! You don't know how much pain I'm in!"

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Out of context line/ last line tag

Tagged by @winterandwords Taking an open tag from @kaylinalexanderbooks cheers!

From Wings of Twilight:

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“Don’t worry. It’s all clean here. Nothing dirty or unwholesome, rest assured.”

————————————————————

Tagging @storycraftcafe @space-writes @late-to-the-fandom @zmwrites @gaslightwestern

@kcscribbler @thebadphilosopher @indecentpause @did-i-do-this-write @kingragnarok-writes and open tag

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Last line

Thanks to @oh-no-another-idea here!

Rules: post the last line you wrote!

Alright so here's a line from the Untitled Short Story That's Turning Into a Novelette I'm working on!

“Sorry.”

That's technically the last line! My work here is done.

Alright I'll cheat:

“This is really fascinating! It also may have something to do with your time travel studies, or potentially even just me making too much of an impact in your path that you cannot forget me!” “Don’t flatter yourself.” Ranjana wasn’t trying to, but she decided not to argue her point. “Sorry.”

Alright.

Can't wait for this to have a title

Tagging @illarian-rambling @mk-writes-stuff @thepeculiarbird @rjcopeseethemald @mysticstarlightduck + ANYONE ELSE

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

[image ID: screenshot of the following text:

"MAIOLO!" went the hard voice of Taino, rounding the corner with his entourage. All of them were armed now, the others with rifles, and himself sporting a shorter gun with a curved magazine sticking out of the top. Maiolo swiveled towards him from a moment with Kalena, releasing her hands, and began to back away as the anarchist leader beelined for him. "Don't you run from me, boy!" he barked, marching up to him until they were face-to-face. "I might've been able to forgive you running scared those two years ago, but now? I'd have half a mind to accuse you of being a spy if the enemy wasn't sitting right there! he pointed to the ships. "You know what happens now that they've found this place!? Do you!? Mark my words, they're gonna come back in force and choke it out until its people surrender it back to their system! The greatest revolutionary stronghold our people have ever seen, conquered by the forces of empire because you didn't know where to park your damned boat!"

/end ID]

Writing Share Tag

I remembered my Tumblr password! Thanks to @oh-no-another-idea for the tag, and here's a tense moment before the final battle of Atomancers where experienced revolutionary Taino Ekaia lambasts Maiolo's opsec... (spoilers below, as this is nearing the end of the book)

I challenge you to name which two fictional characters most inspired Taino, by the way. Hint: They are both from pieces of media which released after 2010.

Gently passing this one on to @sarandipitywrites, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @charlesjosephwrites, @melpomene-grey, and leaving it open!

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Writing update :

Technically, I should've made that post yesterday.

I first organised all my scenes and chapters, everything seems tidier and makes more sense now lol. Though, I think I need more scenes to tie it all together (for pacing reasons).

I then reworked chapter 2 with 3rd person and added some words, I'll have to check it again because yesterday I was getting tired around the end of the chap so I'll have to change some stuff. But I went from 1,3k words to almost 2k so I'm happy about that !

I also added new chapters with... a certain POV 👀 I'm really excited about that !

Wraithorchid Taglist (ask to be +/-) : @athenaspeculiardaughter @kaylinalexanderbooks @raiden-makoto2 @sarandipitywrites

@jaelink @aalinaaaaaa @lyutenw @buffythevampirelover

@nettleandthorne @finxi-writes @arwenschepers @corruptedbread

@whimsical-blood-fairy @unrepentantcheeseaddict @kidukami @ryns-ramblings

@rowenas-my-fave-child @mysticstarlightduck @thelovelymachinery

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Writing Share

This isn't from a tag but i felt like I could share something that I really like !

His mother, a lady in her mature years but nevertheless a young mom, stands in the doorway, a cigarette between her index and middle fingers. She rests it against her lips as a cloud of smoke escapes from her nostrils. Noe pinches his nose; this crap gives him terrible headaches, and the smell lingers in every room of the house.

Tell me what you think and if I should maybe change something like some words !

I really feel like I've improved a lot since I first started writing this book and seeing my progress is honestly one of the best part of this journey <3

Wraithorchid Taglist (ask to be +/-) : @athenaspeculiardaughter @kaylinalexanderbooks @raiden-makoto2 @sarandipitywrites

@jaelink @aalinaaaaaa @lyutenw @buffythevampirelover

@nettleandthorne @finxi-writes @arwenschepers @corruptedbread

@whimsical-blood-fairy @unrepentantcheeseaddict @kidukami @ryns-ramblings

@rowenas-my-fave-child @mysticstarlightduck @thelovelymachinery

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Writing Update

While I haven't written much of my main WIPs, I've done a lot of behind the scenes work and am actually writing a new project!

Let's go through these.

The Secret Portal

Well what I'm currently doing is sprucing up my planning documents. I have far too many and I'm in the process of cleaning up the mess. More specifically, I'm organizing all the notes for each character into sub-headings to make navigation easier for myself, and am going through an old document that still uses some characters' previous names and transferring any information that I didn't write down somewhere. Sounds more complicated than it is probably hahaha.... I'm just not naturally organized but I crave organization. Almost done with it though. Afterwards I'll read through @diabolical-blue's beta reading comments and revise/make notes for later depending on the comment. Looking forward to it honestly.

School of the Legends

Reading through fairy tales for inspiration. Simultaneously it's awesome and sucks ass. Fairy tales are low-key kind of boring with the most insane concepts ever. It's part of why I find fairy tale retellings and expansions so fascinating. I am enjoying it, honestly, and I'm almost done with the anthology I'm currently reading through. After that I'm not sure what I'll do. Probably compile the notes I took? Maybe I'll take a mini-break or I'll be ready to write the sixth chapter of SOTL. Who knows? I certainly don't.

It Was All Just a Dream

I have been very very slowly making notes of different types of symbolism I can use in dreams. Mainly I'm trying to figure out the format for this book. It's coming together, forming the layers and settings of the dreamscape, and I really like it. It's exciting to have this story feel alive.

Also, I know I've said there's only going to be four key characters, but I accidentally made a fifth key character and a handful of secondary characters. I don't think I got too carried away, but I just had so many ideas for Kyla's life!

New short story???

Despite not actually WRITING my current novel WIPs, I still craved writing, and somehow I'm now experimenting with writing a short story! I haven't figured out a title yet so no idea how to talk about it. It is based on the same concept of a short story with the temp title The Chronosians that I wrote in high school, but it's like a sequel of sorts. Feel free to ask me questions about it if you want to hear more about it!

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

@literarynecromancy @honeybewrites @the-golden-comet @corinnes-old-blog

SOTL intro

SOTL tag list (ask to be +/-): @illarian-rambling @katwritesshit @wyked-ao3

IWAJAD intro

IWAJAD tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @mrbexwrites @drchenquill

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

heads up seven up

tagged by @aintgonnatakethis here

tagging @ahungeringknife, @reininginthefirewriting, @digital-chance, @aintgonnatakethis, @oh-no-another-idea, @winterandwords and @kaylinalexanderbooks

Want to be tagged? Want to not be tagged? Tell me here.

The blond jerk scoffed and kicked aside his now empty cup that lay on the floor. “I might look for a handkerchief once you’ve apologized.” “For what? I’m the one with sugar disguised as coffee all over me.”  “For…what?” Blonde boy’s eyes narrowed and I swear to god he said “Do you know who I am?”  “Not any more than you know who I am, other than one of us was brought up with manners.” I shot back. “I feel sorry for whoever raised you.”  “You degenerate piece of–” “Hey Jedd!” I looked over Jedd’s shoulder to see Todd jumping up the last few steps in the stairwell to get between us. “Hey bud, this is the new girl. Whatever happened, Sash and I can tell her how to avoid it in the future.”  Sasha came up behind Todd, took in the scene, and covered her mouth as her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. Who exactly was this guy?

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Seven Sentence Sunday

Thanks for the tag @justabigoldnerd @pippinoftheshire

From Snow on the Pines:

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As soon as all the candidates had finished speaking and responding to questions, messengers and speakers were dispatched to the outposts so that those who could not return to the village could understand what went on before casting their votes. Back in Fernstan, the voting booths had been set up, and the foxes all queued up. It took about half a day before everyone had made their decisions. Afterwards, the iron pots were tipped over and the tokens were sorted. This took the remainder of the day, and much of the night. By the time it was all done, those dispatched to the outposts had returned, and their results were added to the overall tally. At dawn the villagers were summoned to hear the final results.

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Tagging @magic-is-something-we-create @mysticstarlightduck @poethill @heytheredeann @sarandipitywrites

@kaylinalexanderbooks @winterandwords @somethingclevermahogony @an-indecisive-nerd @darkandstormydolls and open tag

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Find the Word tag game

Thanks to @kaylinalexanderbooks for the tag!

Rules: Post excerpts from your WIP containing the words provided.

My words: look, hear, smell, feel

Your words: struggle, sense, smirk, steal

No pressure tagging: @leahnardo-da-veggie @finickyfelix @michellekarnold @tabswrites @lesleymoonwriter

Though I’ve done this tag game many times for Ambrosia Heights, this will be my first Find the Word tag game for Unfathomable! (Still hoping to get this WIP ready for beta reading soon...may just need one more edit first? I’m not sure yet.)

— 🌊 —

Look

Horrified, Marlo looked over his shoulder. Keeley was gone. His classmates were gone. The sub was gone. He whirled around with agonizing slowness, flailing limbs dragging through the water as he came to grips with the nightmare unfolding around him. His worst fear. He was floating on the edge of the shelf, suspended above the unfathomable depths, and he was all alone. Well…not completely alone. He didn’t want to look. But once again, something compelled him to turn his head and gaze into the void.

Hear

He snatched up the radio receiver and pressed the button. “Keeley? Are you there now?” Every second of silence was agonizing. He didn’t have time for this. Mom and Dad were waiting for him. Why wasn’t Keeley picking up? Couldn’t she tell something weird was going on? Was she really that mad at him? “Listen, I’m sorry about what I said yesterday,” Marlo said, keeping his voice down so his parents wouldn’t hear in the next room. “Really, I am. I know you probably don’t want to talk to me right now, but this is serious. Please answer if you’re there.”

Smell

Something nearby smelled familiar. Engine oil. The sounds of Tinker’s Alley were familiar too – the clicking ratchets, the clank of metal, the whir of the engines. Everywhere he looked was some sort of workshop or machine shop or garage or moonpool. He was surrounded by a million things that reminded him of Keeley, and without anything else to focus on, it was getting harder and harder to ignore.

Feel

“Hey, Evie, it’s alright,” he tried to say reassuringly. His voice came out a little higher-pitched than he’d like. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, remember? Your dad’s place is just up ahead. You can walk that far, can’t you?” Evie shook her head quickly. Marlo sighed. It had occurred to him that his cousin might not be feeling so scared right now if not for the fearful behavior she’d observed from him, and he felt terrible about that. “Alright. Come on. I’ll carry you.” He knelt down and hoisted Evie on his hip. Without a word, she threw her arms around his neck and clung to him for dear life.

— 🌊 —

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

We all find our writing styles somehow! Congratulations!

Writing Update :

Hey so I'm pretty sure it's been a while (as always) and I'm coming back with some news ; my writing process is so messy that I just decided to write in 3rd person instead of 1st person ????

The idea came when I wrote a blurb (for volume 3 of course) and randomly wrote in 3rd person, it sounded nice and I thought I could try writing my first chapter like that just to see how it looks/sounds

Well I discovered two things : 1) it's really fun to be able to describe more things, it's not so limiting anymore 2) I somehow wrote almost 1k word in addition of what I had wrote with 1st person just by writing in 3rd and that without adding any new scenes ???

So I think i'm gonna write in 3rd person from now on haha

(I have over 40k words now, and wow, I just don't have the words)

Wraithorchid Taglist (ask to be +/-) : @athenaspeculiardaughter @kaylinalexanderbooks @raiden-makoto2 @sarandipitywrites @jaelink @aalinaaaaaa @lyutenw @buffythevampirelover @nettleandthorne @finxi-writes @arwenschepers @corruptedbread @whimsical-blood-fairy @unrepentantcheeseaddict @kidukami @ryns-ramblings@rowenas-my-fave-child @mysticstarlightduck @thelovelymachinery

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Find the word

Thanks @winterandwords here!

Rules: post excerpts from your WIP containing the words provided

My words: hand, eye, neck, head

Your words: look, hear, smell, feel

Using The Secret Portal Part One

Hand - Lexi POV

“How was your birthday?” I asked as I spun my lock. “You feeling better?” “It was alright, and I am,” Ash answered, spinning her lock again. “God, I hate this thing. In band, Mr. Taylor had everyone play ‘Happy Birthday.’ He had a score and everything.” She pulled up on the handle. When the locker didn’t open, she pulled in rapid succession. She swore under her breath and set her binder on the ground. She used her now-free hand to push against the locker and began to input the combination again.

Eye - Lexi POV

“It seems weird,” I said, almost walking backwards to keep an eye on her as I turned around the corner of the school. “Like—ah!” My boot got caught on the grass, causing my feet to slip. I tumbled onto the ground and dropped my violin, the “oof!” that followed indicating Ash tripped over the sturdy case. It was eerily quiet and the smell of the exhaust was gone. I became hyper-aware of the grass I lay in and shot up to a seated position, jumping when I realized nothing was in sight but a dizzyingly-clear horizon.

Neck - Maddie POV

My tongue scraped my braces as I willed Noelle to stir. I caught a glimpse of Kelsey holding her neck, likely in pain from the ticking that had been aggravated. Still scratching my tongue, squeezing Wilfredo with my right hand, I placed the other one on Kelsey’s shoulder and squeezed it. She put her free hand on mine.

Head - Lexi POV

It was a bit far-fetched, but no further than being an alien. I felt human. Or Ceter. Or whatever. At least I thought I felt human. My original theory about hitting my head on the concrete was holding more weight.

Tagging @paeliae-occasionally @mk-writes-stuff @diabolical-blue @atelierwriting @she-who-fights-and-writes

+ ANYONE ELSE

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

@literarynecromancy @honeybewrites @the-golden-comet @corinnes-old-blog

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

✍🏼 Word find tag (entertain, effort, eager, escape)

Thanks to @oh-no-another-idea for the tag!

📝 Search for the given words in your story. If your story doesn't have a word, you can use a variation on it or a word with a similar meaning.

These are from Name From Nowhere...

ENTERTAIN

This is an opportunity for entertainment on a level I don’t get very often, and it might come in useful for future work and recreational activities. <- it's Gillen talking here, and he's referring to murder by mind control

EFFORT

This is a meeting that could have been literally any form of lower-effort communication.

EAGER ENTHUSIASTIC

Gillen managed an offensively unenthusiastic shrug, then skulked off to get ready for later.

ESCAPE

It’s the day after Zola’s procedure and she’s sitting on my couch, wrapped around herself like some part of her might try to escape if she lets go.

Tagging @kaylinalexanderbooks, @romances-not-tragedies, @sergeantnarwhalwrites and @somethingclevermahogony if you'd like to do it, with an open tag for anyone else who wants to join in.

The words to search your story for are hand, eye, head, and neck 🩷

Reblogs, replies etc on my tag posts are always welcome, but if you're doing this tag yourself, please make your own post instead of using mine to start a reblog chain.

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Character voice

tagged by @kaylinalexanderbooks here to rewrite “Don't panic, it's just me.”

tagging @dyrewrites, @blind-the-winds, @harleyacoincidence, @sharkblizzardblogs, @squarebracket-trickster, @nacricissa, @winterandwords, @bellascarousel

y'all will be rewriting: "Do you know who I am?"

Want to be tagged? Want to not be tagged? Tell me here.

From Illuminatum Academy:

Valentina: "Who were you expecting to be here?"

Sasha: "Omg! Did I spook you? It's just little old me."

Todd: "Whoa--easy there, killer."

Jedd: "Ah, I see my presence has sent your heart racing."

Kit: "Someone call tech support?"

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Shout out to @diabolical-blue for being the second person outside of IRL folks to have completed TSP! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and thank you again for dedicating your time!

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

@literarynecromancy @honeybewrites @the-golden-comet @corinnes-old-blog

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Shout out to @diabolical-blue for being the second person outside of IRL folks to have completed TSP! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and thank you again for dedicating your time!

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

@literarynecromancy @honeybewrites @the-golden-comet @corinnes-old-blog