#mm.writingadvice

[missmonsters2]

Any advice on how to write sensual kisses? I’m sort of stuck on that part and I don’t want it to be to corny. Was wondering if you could help a fellow writer out Van? You see I want it to be sweet, but also toe curling? My main characters just realized her best friend is in love with her. It’s sort of a realization moment.

I think this definitely depends on the situation between the best friends and the vibe you're trying to set. Sensual kisses can be very different depending on the context.

I've also been writing a sensual kiss scene in Mirror, Mirror currently and the vibe I have going on is an accumulation of all the waiting, jealousy, and hope! The inital is shy and tentative before growing into something bold.

I often don't overstate what's happening about the kiss itself. I talk about the lips and any tongue as an afterthought. I focus on the sensation of the kiss and how that might affect other parts of the body.

Ex: "Her lips were soft against my own, tasting faintly like honey from her tea. She moved slowly, almost shyly, and it stole my breath away. My heart thudded against my ribcage and I couldn't hear anything except the blood pounding in my ears."

You might talk about things like you can smell.

Ex: "The distance seemed to become nonexistence between us. Her perfume and conditioner wafted around me, and I felt like I was drowning in vanilla and citrus."

Ultimately, you definitely want to describe how your characters are feeling to build the scene and add to the act of kissing.

Hope this helps! :)

[missmonsters2]

writing tactics for writing a deeply closeted Narcissist character 🙏🏻🙏🏻 I BEG YOU GIRL!! 😭😭 this character is making me look so unprofessional…😑

I think the closest would be a covert narcissist, an overt narcissist's personality can't hide it.

The idea of a a covert narcissist is that they're more emotionally fragile and sensitive, allowing them to better hide their problematic behaviour/thoughts. In relationships, they seem shy/reserved and often self-deprecating, judging or comparing themselves to others (other people's happiness, possessions, and relationships).

Sense of inferiority but also grandiose desires

On the outside, they seem uncertain and have self-doubt. They might even let other people make important choices for them because they're indecisive or scared they'll make a mistake with their choice and don't want to be the blame for it. They keep comparing themselves to others like friends, family, coworkers, etc but deep down, they still feel they're better than everyone else.

They're often alone because no one can live up to their standards

Manipulation

They're still self-absorbed, so they only care about what's good for them and how they can get it. They still lack empathy and only see people as what they can offer or do for them. To achieve their goal, they're emotionally manipulate with guilting, gaslighting, threats of violence or other forms for coercion and they don't care at all and not interesting in caring.

They're often moody and create environments that are super uncomfortable. Because they're constantly comparing and can't take any criticism, they're always stressed and anxious about what's next. It'll lead to them exploding with rage if anyone tries to confront them about what their beliefs are. They'll take it out on others or themselves.

They'll swing back and forth from feeling superior to never being satisfied and jealous. They feel like they can't rely on others (even if to use them) which can lead to 💀 ideation (which they may also use to coerce others around them into doing what they want).

Always envious with never-ending goals

chronically focused on what other people have and what they, themselves, don't. Constantly focus on what they're lacking.

Even if they end up getting what other people have, they'll just want more and more, and never appreciate anything.

Things they can be envious of: any physical attributes, wealth, possessions, family status (marriage/children/born rich etc), power/influence (employment, how popular they are at work, within friends, community, etc)

I hope this helps! :)

[missmonsters2]

Hey Van!!! How is your Wednesday treating you? Very well I hope. I saw your writing advise and I was wondering if you could give me some pointers. I know your probably busy so answer this on your time. My story’s setting is a very high end posh all girls boarding school. My main character’s family has major and integral ties to the school unknown to her since she was basically raised by her mothers parents (her father is the son of the headmaster) and the school is funded by the “government”. All the parents say that there child had loved the school and curriculum, only every girl that walked out of the school changed. There behavior, there thoughts, there morals…all changed. They became more isolated and more withdrawn. I say this because the school actually trains the young girls to be assassins. They believe cultivating young minds is crucial. The facade of the school is well done so much so that admission is a long and tedious process. They start recruiting slow. They have a group of young girls who have been through the process scout out for young girls they think would make a good fit. It’s the setting and overall feeling I’m having trouble writing. The school at first should seem like a dream. The school is set in this wonderful eighteen century like building with beautiful grounds and various rooms and various chambers. The new students board in a different wing than the young girls who are in training. It’s all very hush hush. I want it to be scary, riveting, keep you on your toes. What are some techniques you use to write unsettling atmospheres?? I want it to be unsettling. Like you know somethings wrong but you can’t put your finger on it. It’s dark and mysterious and fearful. The teachers are in on it as well. So i it gives “lamb to the slaughter vibes”. The girls who are part of the training and are the leaders are mean and cruel, they like to scare the recruits, make life hell for them. They’ve gone through a lot of trauma and are emotionally broken. Do you have any advice for writing the girls? I want them to come of menacing, but also have a odd sense of sympathy and pity for the girls. Because they know first hand how it will be. This project is proving harder to write 😂😂 I was about to give up on the whole thing but I figured I would ask my favorite author for help first. You are a life saver Van.

hiiii! wednesday was pretty swell 👍🏻hope you had a good day too!

this sounds like a YA mystery/thriller novel i'd definitely read lsdjflskdfj

Unsettling Atmopshere:

A big part about writing unsettling atmopshere is writing about liminal spaces. You can think of liminal space like an "in-between" place that can be psychological or even a physical location. It's a huge part of the plot because it's the turning point from one point to another.

You have to choose a good time to space it out though because once you start writing it, you can't turn back. It's like in a book, you read an immensely unsettling scene but the next scene after can't be all handy-dandy. Once you're character realizes something unsettling, they can't turn back and keep diving further into the unknown.

In the context of your book, the psychological liminal space of your character is being between thinking she's crazy or there's something very seriously wrong at the school

Physical Locations:

empty classrooms

dark hallways

footsteps leading somewhere

an empty dorm room that is never filled

secret passageways

Another big part is "show, don't tell." For example, if you're character is caught in a situation where she can't be caught by someone or she'll die, don't just write "She was scared." Describe her fear. The blood pounding her ears. Her fingers were going numb. Something was crawling up her throat, the desperation to keep her breathing quiet, etc. Use adjectives to describe her sight, smell, sounds.

A big part of unsettling scenes is about anticipation!

Do you have any advice for writing the girls?

In my opinion, the only way to garner sympathy for the antagonist is you have to show/explain what they've gone through. For me, the only way I could see myself being empathetic to these girls who have risen to a leadership position and being cruel to the new trainees is if I understand what their personal experience was and the fact that they have no choice in the matter.

Be special to become a leader or suffer like how regular trainees do and however they will live out their lives. So, they're extra harsh to new trainees to weed out some that will survive and become a leader. They may not be able to save them all, but some is better than none, right? You have to differentiate how regular assassins are and how their life is vs being a leader/teacher. I would have to assume being a regular trainee who makes it to become an assassin live very, very hard lives.

A big part of this is also writing about how indoctrined these leaders have been as well. They cannot really conceptualize anything beyond this life or escaping.

I find it's a small things that make me see how they can be tough but sympathetic. It could be cruel, but sound advice. Covering for the girls if something goes wrong (or making sure the punishment is less severe), etc. Essentially actions that show it's still super shitty, but not as bad as it could've been.

Hope this helps! :)

[missmonsters2]

Hey Van!! Hope your having a good Monday! I understand if this question is out of your knowledge when it comes to writing. You see I have a character who is a cult leader. I’ve researched a ton for the cult aspect of it. The question I have that I’m hoping you could help me out on or just your thoughts in general are how do you write manipulation? My character that is a cult leader has massive unresolved trauma and often seeks out others who are fragile or are weak minded. She manipulates them and deceives them. Gives them a false sense of security. I’ve also read that they can have narcissistic tendencies. Is there any tricks you yourself have used when it comes to writing or showing manipulation in writing? Any tendencies you can think of? I keep thinking of the sang “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” but putting the ideas down and showing it is sort of the big conundrum. Thanks I’m advance Van!

happy monday 🫠

I think cult leaders tend to be very charasmatic people, which is why they have such a big following. My perspectve on cult leader is that they're really good at making friends with people, which allows them to influence them.

These are tactic I think could be used:

seem interested in others by asking questions about their life and listening (they may be the only person in someone's life to do that)

often saying the other person's name (people like to hear their own name)

encouraging the person to talk about themselves (this makes them feel important)

they discover what the person wants/needs/desires and make it seem like they are the only person who can help them achieve it

Gives them tasks, something only that person can do, which gives the person a sense of belonging/important

tells a person "i can only trust you with this" which can be a task or a "secret"

given lots of praise and appreciating early

they often will help a person achieve what they want or solve their smaller problems so that the person will rely on them and believe the cult leader is the only person who can help them

hope this helps :)

[missmonsters2]

hey van! So I have a question I was hoping you could help me with. My character has powers, there genetic and no one in her family has them. My character is very shy, she works in a museum (giving tours and such) she’s very much a kind her one business doesn’t speak unless spoken to girl. She’s 18, and her mother passed from a mysterious illness leaving her with her father (he’s a good dad just busy a lot being the mayor of the town) her powers have been manifesting in certain ways. Like a vampire tried using compulsion on her, and she was able to break hold of it due to her magic in her blood awakening. But I want to have a moment with her finally realizing she has powers. I just don’t want it to seem far fetched. Or too tacky. I’ve been working on this for months and can’t seem to figure it out. Are there any suggestions?

her powers are similar to Wanda’s in the sense that she has telekinesis, everything else is quite different. Her powers come of as a radiating deep blue. I like to describe it as crippling electric energy, it terms of how it feels and sounds to others. It’s from a bloodline in her ancestry. So it’s not like spells or incantations or anything. Hope your doing good Van!

I'm going to answer these together because I feel like you gotta be the same person and if not, well, LOL. Answering the magic question for both of you.

Realization of powers: I feel like I'd think about more if your characters has suspected something was going on with herself for a long time now or if she thought it was just coincidences. Also question whether she wants these powers or not. Depending on those things, it'll be easier to write about what it will be like for her to realize she has these powers. What does it mean to her that she has them? What will she want to do with them? What exactly made her realize that she has powers? It also depends on the environment/situation she's in when she's realizing. Is she alone and something happened? Is she alone and it was just a quiet moment of realization as she thought about it? Or was she with someone and something happened. Did someone else make her realize something.

Physical manifestations of powers: I would use the senses as much as I can to describe magic.

Touch: what does it feel like as this power is coming up? Does it feel like something flowing through her veins, vibrating just underneath her skin? Does it feel like it's ripping through her, aggressively wanting its way out? Does it make the hairs on her body stand? Does it feel hot or cold? Does it feel so natural that it actually just feels like nothing, like she might as well be breathing.

Sight: There's more ways than just describing blue. Try to use metaphors. Deep blue like a dark ocean, waves of magic that ripples and is ready to pull you in. Or electric blue, like getting to stare at lightening, the blinding of it at its core. Things like that. Think about what kind of blue you're see and what it reminds you of.

Smell: This may seem strange but think scent is important. A headcanon of mine is that reader from Between the Lines can tell when it's Tatyana because she can smell her magic and it reminds her of the night she saved Tatyana while out picking flowers and herbs for her spells. If it's electric blue, maybe it smells like something hot and nearly burnt.

Sound: does your magic make noise and what kind. Can you physically hear it and can others? Or is it just something in your head.

Proprioception: This is body awareness. Like when you close your eyes and you know where your nose is. Is the magic like that? Can you always tells where you've casted your magic?

Tension: found in your muscles and your brain monitors the tension in your muscles. Does casting magic cause tension?

Nociception: Pain receptors. Do you feel pain in your skin, muscles/joints/bones, or any organs.

there are more senses than 5, check out this link and see if any can apply to using magic.

Hope this helps!

[missmonsters2]

hey Van. Sooo….I come seeking advice. I am writing a new character in my book. She’s fairly young, eighteen. She’s adopted (her father is the main villain in my story, he’s a evil evil man, a vampire from the medieval ages) she was given to another family at birth for reasons unknown. She’s half human half vampire. Only her vampirism doesn’t activate till another vampire bites her, activating her own venom. She’s got abilities though. She’s a mind reader, can’t go too in-depth with it, especially if it’s a person that she deeply cares about. It’s surface level at most. Her only other power is the power of discernment. She can sense when someone is telling the truth or not. She’s clever, but quiet. She’s a bookworm. Works in the town library. This is where you come in van. I’m a deep admirer of BTL, and all it entails. Especially the writing. There’s a part in the story where she wakes up freaking out because she feels something uncomfortable peeking out of her gums. It’s her fangs. How would you describe vampire attributes in this sense? It’s all new and scary for her. Also her father who I mentioned is evil and only really cares about himself is able to send visions to his children (he has many) but he finds that his daughter abilities is far more powerful. He basically uses her to get the main character who possesses magnificent power. His daughter and the main character are best friends. It’s a very deep betrayal. My questions are when you describe vampirism in your story it seems so natural, any tips for that? And how would you tackle a relationship between a estranged love seeking daughter and a unemotional unattached faking father? Owe you big Van.

hiyaa! Sounds very interesting!!

Keep in mind, this is how I describe vampires in my silly little head 🤪

How would you describe vampire attributes in this sense?

there's a lot of things I think i'd consider about vampirism like: fangs, thirst, sensitivities, etc especially for a half-vampire.

I imagine this is very disorientating for her. I think you need to decide if this activation induces a violent reaction or not.

I picture the fangs forming to be uncomfortable, maybe painful

maybe suddenly more sensitive to the sunlight. Her eyes hurt. (what happens in the sun?)

the thirst for blood, burning in her throat.

Maybe she's so disoriented, she stumbles, knocking over furniture but she's suddenly strong, she breaks something.

heightened emotions?

Does she see her own reflection and she looks slightly different now

My questions are when you describe vampirism in your story it seems so natural, any tips for that?

i think it appears natural because I make the vampires in my story more human.

Blood still pumps in their body along with venom and as long as blood pumps, they can still do human functions even if they don't have to.

you have to come up with a lot of lore for however you're building your vampires

how does their venom work? their blood intake? aging/immortality, the change, powers. Really, whatever you come up with, just ask yourself 'why is it like that?' and you can figure out more lore that way.

also how do they conteract certrain traits so they can survive in the world.

how would you tackle a relationship between a estranged love seeking daughter and a unemotional unattached faking father?

i mean, i think this is also more of a why question. Why are they emotionally estranged. Why is her father the way he is?

It sounds like she still loves him and wants him to love her, so I would describe that she tries to be the perfect daughter, or a daughter she thinks he will approve of.

I imagine her attempts to get closer to him/show her accomplishments are usually shot down or his responses is cold/icy.

Then he obviously needs to change his behaviour if he wants to use her.

So, how does he show that? Does he spend more time with her?

Does he give her praises? Give her gifts, etc

This might be easier to demonstrate interaction to interaction, analyzing what kind of behaviour would show per interaction rather than trying to categorize everything now.

hope this helps~

[missmonsters2]

thanks for taking the the time to answer my question Van! I realize I might have been vague about my main characters so I’ll try to sum it up that way you can understand it better. You see in my book there is a prophecy that talks about “the child of the ancient ones” which is the main character in my story, it takes place in modern time. The ancestor (who is a vampire/witch hybrid) was born during the 17th century and inherited the powers and gifts, leading the leaders of the time to believe that she was the child of the ancient ones, long story short, the powers have sort of there own mind and can understand the hearts of those they posses, they know wether the person is truly good hearted and have morals. Only then can the prophecy of the child of the ancient ones come true, and the main character can reach there full potential. The ancestor had these gifts centuries ago, but she wasted them and because selfish and immoral, therefore she did not complete the prophecy. For me there is a sense of hatred between the 17th century ancestor because she doesn’t feel worthy enough, she knows she’s done wrong but she’s too prideful to realize. She pities herself, sees herself as the victim. The girl who could have been but wasn’t. Instead of seeing what you did was wrong therefore you don’t get the gifts.

the main character meets her and it’s very odd because they have exactly the same powers, only 17th century ancestor has mastered hers and knows how they work, knows how to control them. The deep hate between them stems from the fact that 17th century ancestor is consumed with jealousy, hence the birthright. There is also a resemblance between the main character and 17th century ancestors sister (as the main character comes from her line) which causes great pain for 17th century ancestor who due to her powers had to vanish from her family, and when she came back they all had died from swine flu. She’s got a bit of emotional traumas if you can tell. 😂 she also was not able to save her childhood sweetheart from the grave as she was told by the leaders of the time that she once she fulfilled the prophecy she would have the power to rise the living back, so you can imagine the deep seeded resentments she Carries.

she believes that her birthright was to become the child in the prophecy, and it’s eating her up. The main character’s hatred stems from the fact that 17th century ancestor is an immoral person and she’s no longer the girl she’s been told about. The years of living have changed her. My main character on the other hand goal is to get 17th century ancestors help because there is a war that is coming soon and she needs to fulfill the prophecy to win it. I hope this helps sun it up, thanks for the feedback also! It helped immensely. If you feel the need to add anything please do Van! Your writing advice is such a help.

hiyaaaa part 2

Thanks for the extra context clues.

the main character meets her and it’s very odd because they have exactly the same powers, only 17th century ancestor has mastered hers and knows how they work, knows how to control them.

I still find your plot points conflicting as in part 1, you talk about how the ancestor didn't master the powers but here, she has 😭 so I'm not sure exactly what makes the powers special or how it's differentiated between the two people who can wield it.

At this point, I get the general idea that your MC needs the help of the ancestor to teach them how to use their power but the ancestor doesn't want to because she wants to be the one the prophecy to be talking about. Or, your MC wants the ancestor to use what powers they have to fight alongside them in the war. At this point, I wouldn't say that the ancestor is your MC's main villain if there's an upcoming war and they need to help each other. This leads to:

The main character’s hatred stems from the fact that 17th century ancestor is an immoral person and she’s no longer the girl she’s been told about.

I'm going to be honest bestie and say that unfortunately, for me, I don't find this a compelling reason for MC to hate the ancestor 🥺This more just feels like when you meet your idol and they turn out to be a let down. You're disasppointed and maybe disengaged towards them but you don't hate them.

In my opinion, you need a more compelling reason for MC to hate the ancestor because there's no actual feelings of betrayal here. To feel betrayed, there must've been mutual trust. The person you trust must have harmed you by their action that were intentional or by omission, which usually results in trauma.

(her ancestor’s sister had the very same yet was to selfish to master them) // The ancestor had these gifts centuries ago, but she wasted them and because selfish and immoral, therefore she did not complete the prophecy.

she also was not able to save her childhood sweetheart from the grave as she was told by the leaders of the time that she once she fulfilled the prophecy she would have the power to rise the living back, so you can imagine the deep seeded resentments she Carries.

I also find these to be conflicting. It doesn't make sense for the ancestor to have a childhood sweetheart that i'm assuming she cared for deeply (which is why she wanted to bring them back from the grave) and to not try to complete the prophecy due to being selfish/immoral.

I think it'd be helpful to think about the character of the ancestor more in depth because only being selfish/immoral is not a convincing reason. Even selfish people have reasons for what they do. The most interesting villains are those who aren't born that way but made.

There are more of the 5W questions to ask yoruself.

why does the ancestor feel not worthy

who made her feel that way

what gives her a sense of pride/ego

what makes her selfish

why is it the ancestor's fault for being unable to master the job when the prophecy was actually never about her.

I feel like you had something here:

The betrayal, even though it was the villains fault for not mastering the job.

But it just needs to be further delevoped.

My biggest advice would be to:

do a deeper character study of all your characters.

answering more who, what, when, where, why, & how questions to fill in the gaps.

I hope this helps!

[missmonsters2]

Hey van, I've loved ur work for so long now you're one of the reasons why I started writing fics on here in the first place cuz I'm a sucker for angst, fluff and the spice, I was just wondering if you have any advice for feeling like ur work isnt good enough like how a series/oneshot you've worked rlly hard on and it's not getting barley any attention? Idk I know we shouldn't focus on the notes and all but it's hard not to like I love getting feedback/attention on my work! Especially when it's nice comments and those comments that tell u which part they liked the most. Idk. I still have fun w creating things as I always do but I hate when I let those feelings get to me. Do u have any advice on how to deal with that? As someone who's been a writer on tumblr for many years? Hope it's ok to ask this <33

Hiiii!

Thank you so much for supporting my work! :)

Honestly, this is very hard for me to give advice on because I also struggle with it a lot. I've more or less have come to accept that posting on tumblr is just very hit or miss because:

you have to rely on being in the tags or more reblogs for new people to see

more notes means you have a higher chance of making it to the top posts in that tag

Your post has to have the correct formatting or you need to know how to post correctly to make it to the latest post page in the tags.

You need to know the trend of your tumblr & tags (i.e. when are your followers most active? What time do you see the most notes at, on avg when do you see the tags most active, etc)

I also don't only post on tumblr. I have an AO3 account that I prefer posting on at times because their search, tag, and, filter system is waaaay more superior to Tumblr's.

Another thing is that while I do write things I'm interested in, I also look at what tropes or topics are trending in the fandom to incorporate into my work and put them in the summary or funny lil warning tags. You only really have a few seconds to grab a reader's attention with your summary + warning tags.

I know it's hard to not focus on the notes, but you have to also accept that the amount of notes doesn't reflect the amount of effort you've put into your work. It's not a reflection if it's 'good' or 'bad'.

Sometimes, I'll spend weeks/months writing something just for it to do poorly. Sometimes I'll spend 30 mins on the toilet writing smth and posting without even editing and it'll blow up.

Posting on tumblr is like 10% consistency 90% luck unfortunately.

[missmonsters2]

I hope your doing well on this fine Monday Van (I absolutely loathe mondays myself) 😂 I have sent you this message in hopes that you can help me with a problem I cannot seem to solve. You see I really enjoyed the dynamic between your own Tatyana (I’m not a crazy fan of her or anything but I do agree she is a fascinating character with a unique backstory. Kudos to you Van for the terrific storyline with her) the relationship or dynamic she has with Wanda intrigues me. You see I’m working on my own story where my main characters villain is her 10th great grandmothers sister, it’s a very supernatural story that has its roots in medieval folklore and so on. The whole idea of “my blood runs through your very veins yet you steal my birthright and have my very privilege at your feet” vibes. The main character has certain gifts (her ancestor’s sister had the very same yet was to selfish to master them) so it’s a very hateful, toxic relationship between the two. Tatyana and Wanda don’t interact too much yet when they do it is very interesting to see there dynamic. My question is how to I make the relationship between my main character and her ancestor villain feel real and tangible? I want to make the pain feel real and the anger between them both feel true. The betrayal, even though it was the villains fault for not mastering the job. The hate that the villain feels for this person who is there blood but to them as done some unthinkable crime against them. The way you write Tatyana’s emotions is truly amazing, any pointers? I hope this made any sense at all Van 😂 and hopefully you got an answer.

hiyaaaa! Mondays are actually pretty okay for me! hope it went well for you :)

I think I am having trouble understanding what the turmoil is betweeen your MC and villain is. I know you talk about them having the same powers and they're supposed to master them but why are they supposed to master their power? What is the job? Why is that a contention point?

The whole idea of “my blood runs through your very veins yet you steal my birthright and have my very privilege at your feet” vibes.

The hate that the villain feels for this person who is there blood but to them as done some unthinkable crime against them.

The betrayal, even though it was the villains fault for not mastering the job.

These are are conflicting points to me. The first two sound like the MC has stolen the ancestor's powers and some sort of "job/birth right". But the last point makes it sound like because the ancestor didn't master their powers, the MC is unwillingly stuck doing their job.

Once again, I don't have the full grasp of the details, so it's unclear to me specifically why they have hatred towards each other.

In BTL, Tatyana and Wanda are opposing forces because they're both vying for the same person and it's not about their magical powers.

Within Tatyana's character, she is egotistical and therefore sees Wanda as an inferior version of herself despite being her descendant. This is because it's hinted that Tatyana doesn't hold any familial ties even before she met reader. And what is inferior doesn't bother her.

But on top of that, Tatyana also feels that Wanda is kind of like an extension of her because they're related. It's why she feels more threatened by Nat than by Wanda. Tatyana can almost reason that reader "choosing" wanda is almost like choosing her.

Tatyana is more experienced about their magic and she has see something in Wanda that Wanda doesn't realize yet (which is being the scarlet witch) but it's not something Tatyana desires because she knows she can't become the scarlet witch.

Therefore, all their drama centers around who Reader wants to be with. Tatyana can see that reader has feelings for Wanda (and nat) but in her mind, it's all circumstancial. In her head, it's "she loves Wanda and Nat because I wasn't there for her to love. If we had just lived in peace—if what happened between us didn't happen, then we'd still be together and she would've never looked at anyone else."

I created Tatyana with her entire purpose being she wanted to love and be loved by reader due to the shared history between them. Tatyana had only ever gone against the humans because they were inteferring with her peaceful life with reader. She had only wanted to accumlate more power for reader. This history and background context creates a deeper turmoil between Tatyana and reader and also creates the hate Tatyana feels towards Nat/Wanda.

So, I think you need to decide in more depth the 'why' for your antagonist and MC. Why does the ancestor and MC want (or not want) this birthright/power? There has to be more background context for there to have deeper emotion.

Hope that helps!

[missmonsters2]

I figured since your not into the writing mood lately maybe you could help me out. I’m writing a modern supernatural/history writing project. It’s basically has Soucriants (which is a synonym for vampire) it’s not used much which is why I used it. My main character is a witch, but more like her powers are genetic and passed down. Not spells or any thing. It’s dna activated. It’s set in Salem Massachusetts, mostly because of the history. But I saw this gorgeous stone and I immediately wanted to add it. I tried thinking of what I could do for weeks now with no such luck. The young witch’s ‘duo’ you could say is two other Soucriants, one has the power to sense emotions, the other is great at elements (which include Alchemy). I thought since I became boggled with it I would ask you Van. After all you are the one who inspired me with your BTL series. What could this stone do? Most stones help boost powers but I’m wanting to do something different. Maybe you could a fellow writer out?

tbh I haven't used props or anything in my stories so I wouldn't be too sure what you could use the stone for. Maybe consider if it's something like the stones from the Avengers and has such powers?

Another thing is you could have it as a family heirloom?

I think you have to consider if the stone is just prop for your character or if it's a part of the plot with its own arc.

I've seen stones used as magic gates/portals to other places if there's another stone there.

I'd definitely try googling magic stones and see what comes up LOL

[missmonsters2]

First of Van I want to start of by saying that I am an avid and regular reader when it comes to your brilliantly amazing writing. I’ve loved every single pieces of your work to death, there is nothing like coming home after a stressful day and reading BTL, even though I myself am a Tatyana lover. I always tend to fall for the character with a tragic past, I was a book nerd when I was young and let’s just say that when I read many series it always pained me to see my favorite character die. In tayna’s case it has to be done…all I ask is it’s done amazingly…which it will be because it’s you writing it Van. The reason why I’m writing this ridiculously long thought is because I am writing a story myself. My story deals very much with the Salem Witch Trials and different Era’s in history. In fact if I hadn’t stumbled upon BTL months ago I wouldn’t have come up with my idea. So thank you Van for inspiring me. I’ve been having trouble writing the magic part of it. I don’t want to lay it on to thick that it’s the stereotypical she has magic powers we read about in almost every book now. The way you write the vampires and Wanda and Tatyana’s powers is pretty much the vibe I’m going for. From a writer to a writer what helps you write those type of sections? You see my main character has powers much like Wanda’s (hers are genetic and come from an ancestor from Salem) but I’m not sure how I would write her using them for the first time. You see she doesn’t know she has them, but I’ve already written certain parts where she “thinks” she’s seen her eyes turn crimson or her hands begin to feel like pins and needles as her powers are present but not activated. My character is very steady and cool headed, I imagine her freaking out a bit when she realizes she has these “gifts”. Is there any tips you could lend a fellow writer when it comes to writing magical witch bloodlines?? I would really really appreciate it Van.

ohmygosh! Thank you so much for the kind words and support. I'm so flattered that I could inspire you to write a story <3 Tragic characters also have me in a chokehold so I get the attraction. I will do my best to do right by Tatyana and the ending I have in mind I think will suit her :)

Writing advice under the cut !

If I'm completely honest, I sometimes feel cringe about my world building LOL I can't take too much credit because for Wanda for the most part, I am following MCU/Comic lore.

I think you need to decide what type of witch your MC is.

For example: Wanda's powers are very closely tied to her emotions. MCU really shows it physically very...wispy and lots of tendrils. Wanda doesn't operate by spells or runes because she doesn't need to. I think the knowledge of it enhances her magic but it's not really necessary. It's very chaotic. MCU talks about how Wanda is the scarlet witch due to conditions being met like being exposed to a powerful source (mind stone) and extreme trauma.

Tatyana, on the other hand, has to run by spells and runes. A very classic telling of a witch. She's very logical in terms of using her magic. She breaks down the formulas of spell, rune by rune, using them to try to create new spells. I would classify that Tatyana's magic is sharper, tangier, precise in everything. She comes from a line of powerful witches. My lore would be the being in a coven can enhance your powers with shared knowledge and magic.

Deciding what kind of witch your MC is, it can really change how this magic manifests. Does extreme trauma bring out their true power or do they stumble upon understand how to use spells and runes. Is there a certain kind of magic that only they can use because of which bloodline they come from. Things like that are good to consider.

I think I would need a little more clarification on exactly what kind of tips you're looking for regarding writing magical witches with a bloodline. I'm not too sure if you're looking for advice on how it would manifest, what it could look like when something triggers hints of magic, or if you're looking for something for world-building around bloodlines.

I hope this helps though! Of course, feel free to send additional messages :)

[missmonsters2]

Do you have any tips for when you start to loose inspiration or motivation to even write anymore? I run a blog myself but lately I'm just losing motivation yet I have so many ideas and fics I wanna outline eventually but writing is just hdjsjsjsj do you perhaps have any tips to get back into writing again? I hope that's okay to ask I'm just struggling w motivation or to care about it which I do since I love writing a lot more than I had expected

LMAO feel bad you're asking me this when I'm also going through the same thing bestie.

The way I have 3 writing blogs and 4-5 stories that I need to be writing and I've done nothing lately is r o u g h LOL

To be honest, for me, I only gain motivation in a few ways.

Listening to music that makes me feel some type of way that I'm inspired to write something.

Inspired by the works of others: i.e. you're reading a lot, either from published books or other fanfic writers. You need to be careful you're not plagiarizing anything though. Be on the safe side if you read a work of another fanfic writer and get inspired by something you think might be similar—ask them.

Motivated by others: this can be anything from your followers/readers hyping you up or your mutuals/friends. I personally like discussing my fics (upcoming/ideas/etc) with a really close knit circle of moots/friends. Unfortunately I've learned the hard way when discussing my ideas too publicly that they can be swiped very quickly from me and I've had my fair share of plagiarism of my posted fics as well.

Set small goals. You don't just run a marathon without any practice, so you shouldn't worry too much about writing a whole ass book right then and there. Set a goal of 500 words a day, 1k a week, whatever works for you and your lifestyle.

Writing with others. In a group, it's easy to get motivated because you all have similar goals and there's a level of accountability. I have some great upcoming news regarding this because I'll be hosting a NaNoWriMo Camp in the month of November!! It takes a lot of planning which is why I need a month to get it ready LMAO

hope this helped 💘

[missmonsters2]

Hi! I really love your works, the way you write angst hits so hard, I LOVE IT! I was wondering how do you actually start writing a fic? Ive been thinking of writing but I dont exactly know how to start :/

Thank you so much ! 💘

Sounds awesome you wanna start!

Please check out my writing resource tag

Here is another writing resource I’ve found very intensive and helpful!

[missmonsters2]

Hey van!! I just found your page and your fics are so awesome (haven't read them all yet but I've read almost most if the series and I love it it keeps me company lol) do you perhaps have any writing tips on starting out with a new fandom writing blog? I wanna write my own fics since I have ideas always coming to me and I write them down so I don't forget. Do you also have any tips on how to stick to a series? If that makes sense. Like keeping the series together and on going and interesting and engaging to the readers etc. I hope this isn't annoying to ask you can ignore this if it is. I hope you're having a good day/night 💗

Not a worry! :) 

Well first thing first, I would check out my tag here. I’ve answered loads of writing tips: https://missmonsters2.tumblr.com/tagged/mm.writingadvice

The first thing when writing a series and having some kind of general start to finish draft. You’ll be more motivated to finish a series when you know there is an end. You don’t need every single detailed plan, but it’s good to have an idea of big plot points. 

Everyone is different in how they write. For myself, I am a chronological writer. I can only write fics from start to finish in order. Other people are able to write at different plot points and tie the transitioning together.

But the thing we all have in common is that we have an idea of big and little plot points. It will give you something to look forward to writing. This also keeps you from having too many filler moments and chapters that don’t help you get to the next plot point—which can get boring and cause readers to stray or skip because you aren’t plot-focused enough. 

Personally, I spend a lot of time thinking about what kind of series I’m writing. All my series are romantic based but Drive Me Crazy was all suspense. The Color of You was action and angst and About You was just angst. Between the lines is a little bit of a mix.

I think about the tone I’m setting for my series and that sets the pace of how I write because I don’t want to discombobulate my readers when I’m trying to move through different emotions. Series are different because it takes longer to get from one place to another (that’s also the beauty of it. You can take your time). You have to remember what you wrote in chapter 2 when you're at chapter 12. 

For instance, in The Color of You, the overall tone was melancholy and dark. Even in scenes that were happy, it wasn’t the same as fluffy happiness. It was like there was something dark just looming over your head. And by the end when there’s true happiness, you can appreciate it so much more when you know what you had to go through to achieve it. What you experienced in part 10 made part 7 worth it. 

Hope that helps! 💘

[missmonsters2]

Hi! I'm such a big fan of your fics and you're one of the authors I look up to. Can I ask for advise on how to start writing here in tumblr and on AO3? Like what should I post first? Because my drafts is currently filled with fics but I feel like I should post something first before I post my fics?

Hi there!

I can’t quite help you with AO3 as I literally use it to fic dump. Like straight copying and pasting from here to there without any care LOL (they way this rhymed--sorry)

As for your first post, I’m not sure what you mean by needing to post something first?

Personally for myself when I started, I did dialogue prompt requests for the first while because I hadn’t written any fics beforehand. 

If you already have fics, you could also just post them. You can always put something as an author’s note. 

I believe some people’s first post is to introduce themselves and state what fandom they write for and which characters/pairings they write for. 

Don’t overthink it, it’s gonna go great :)

[missmonsters2]

Hey sorry to bother u but I'm thinking of challenging my self into writing a poly fic between the reader and Natasha and wanda, do you have any tips or advice? Its my first try lol so I don't know what to expect just yet... I'm just gonna have fun with it lol love between the lines! Good work on that :)

I honestly don’t know if I’m the right person to be asking this as I’ve only just started my own poly fic and I’m honestly doing my best as I go LOL

Here are my thoughts personally: 

I think it depends on what the established relationship is. 

Is it all three people are single and coming together.

Is it Person A & Person B are together and Person C is being added into their relationship? 

I think those kind of things will change on what the dynamic will look like and what the dialogue may be.

But I think the most important thing is that you show the dynamic between all characters. 

What is it like between Person A and Person B. What is it like between Person A and Person C, and then also Person B and Person C. And of course, what is the dynamic when it’s Person A + Person B + Person C all together?

I've spoken to people who are polyamorous, and some describe that they get different things fulfilled by their different partners, but they’re all equally important to them. So, I think no matter how you go about it, it’s important to show that one person is not loved more over another. 

Hope that helps!