#samplewriting

[flowerprose]

Nine Lines, Nine People

tyvm for the tag, @sarahlizziewrites! it has probably been a full rotation around the sun since i last participated in a tag game, so thanks for the friendly welcome!

excerpt taken from eiros, a faerie portal fantasy in which the main character seeks to return to her homeland in order to preserve the last of her kind's dying botany. deals heavily with refugees and displacement, extinction and magic as a climate pollutant, monarchies and their dysfunction, and ofc lots of very rotten characters doing very rotten things to each other. some of my usual game paired with some very ambitious challenges.

The manor of Adrienne Van der Leif sat upon the end of a private gravel road, the grounds bisected by a hymning brook and embraced by a legion of coniferous trees, standing tall as titans, their branches bowed beneath snow in winter, ornamented by squirrel kits and flowering pinecones come spring. At dusk, the trees devoured the dwindling light, as if determined to shadow your path and entrap you in the arms of the forest forevermore. I had explored the fringe of this wood in countless adventures with the local children, until my unearthliness had warded them off like all monsters do. Aunt Adrienne had desired a cabin-style dwelling but settled for baroque at the behest of the Sanctuary’s council. European designs often reminded them of home: gilded facades and domed ceilings, brocaded silk upholstery and pastoral tapestries, dramatic windows with curved archways that invited passage, like the portals they had danced through in their youth centuries ago. We wanted our grandeur strangled in ivy and wisteria, marred by murmuring mushrooms and walls that pulsed from bee hives and bird's nests. A palace surrendered to the whims of nature: that was a faerie's home. Northern dwellings could only host blooms for a small window of spring and a splash of summer each year; then they were entrenched in a merciless clutch of snow and magic hibernated along with it, but not mine. Only I could make winter cower when it reached the threshold of the garden walls, leaving a moat of frost around the manor like a delicate membrane.

tagging some beloveds and new faces (but no pressure if tag games aren't your thing!): @bebewrites, @samplewriting, @ivorygrace, @theskeletonprior, @imbrisvastatio, @megarywrites, @lycaens, @narastories, and @transman-badass

[charlesjosephwrites]

Find the Word Tag

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

My words were welcome, wander, wish, and will!

Without any further ado, here are some snippets from The Snap That Changed Everything!

welcome [Bianca's pov]

The town of Snickerdale greeted Bianca with an unholy combination of sweltering July heat and blindingly sparkly Christmas decorations the moment she drove past the Welcome to Snickerdale sign. She navigated around so many tinsel-covered street light poles and giant gingerbread figurines on her way to the motel she was starting to question whether coming here was going to take a tole on her sanity, but she knew better than to question her father’s orders.

wander [Cam's pov]

Cam bounced down the sidewalk with her attention locked on her phone and a golden brown Australian Shepard following closely at her heels. She hummed a cheerful tune to herself as she scrolled through camera filters, looking for the one that gave her blue eyes just a hint of sparkle. The dog barked, drawing Cam’s attention away from her phone just as she was about to wander mindlessly into the street. “Thank you, Churro.” She scratched the top of the dog’s head. “You’re such a good girl.”

wish [Cam's pov]

“Sweetheart.” Margot sighed. “I wish there was something more I could do for you, but I’ve given you all the time the bank policy allows.” “But the fundraising is finally starting to take off,” Cam protested. “And the festival should make it go even faster. With any luck, it should only take a couple more days.” Margot frowned. “I’m sorry, but luck isn’t exactly a sound financial plan.” “Please.”

will [Cam's pov]

“You at least confirmed that she’s actually into women, right?” Darren asked. Cam shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “I mean… she seems really interested in getting to know me.” “Do you want a repeat of what happened with that biker lady?” Cam slapped the arm of the couch. “I didn’t know straight women did their nails like that!” Darren held up his hands in surrender. “I just want to make sure you don’t get too ahead of yourself.” "I will be fine," Cam insisted.

I will tag @vsnotresponding, @space-writes, @samplewriting, @rivenantiqnerd, @rjcopeseethemald, and anyone else who sees this and wants an excuse to share some snippets from their WIPs.

Your words are dream, funny, wrong, and feel.

[orphanheirs]

9 Books to Read in 2025!

Tagged by @transthadymacdermot! Ty!!!

Here are 9 of the titles I want to read/finish reading for research related to my story! I only included books I already own here, as I have a looot more I want to read for this purpose that I have yet to acquire. Included are books on regency-era social history, history of folk magic, mythology, and demonology.

Side note: if anyone knows of any other good titles in any of these subject areas lmk!!

Tagging: @bardic-tales, @samplewriting, @gaslightwestern, @theink-stainedfolk, @words-after-midnight, and @toribookworm22 !

[albatris]

🌹🌹🌹 from @samplewriting

thank you for the ask!!

So you’ve become a vampire. What next? There’s so much misinformation out there, it can be difficult to tell fact from fiction when it comes to understanding your new condition. This handy guide will help you through the basics!

[bebewrites]

7 snippets, 7 people

tysm for the tag @andromedaexists!! 💖

one

Everly watched him as he walked through the orchard back to the castle, the afternoon sun highlighting strands of gold in his hair. She hated that she noticed such things. Hated that, all at once, her heart could be thundering wings and the softest of feathers.

two

“You do know you’re not the only monster here, right?” Vega says. “Sometimes I think you forget that.”

three

“You can’t command my men,” he shouts. “I outrank you.” “Arden, please,” Asher begs. He’s not above begging for this. “No,” she says, firm as a rock. “If you’re going to try to save our kingdom, then I’m coming with you.”

four

“Ugh!” Daelyn says when she finally glances up at Vega. “How do you look like that after the Clearing?” She turns to Everly with a deep frown. “How is it she can always look like that after the Clearing?”

five

Her brown eyes pierced him. Then she surprised him by lifting her other hand to his cheek, and Asher went still. Her expression softened, and he wondered if she’d expected him to flinch away from a hand that had sprouted flames.

six

Asher tried to hold onto his consciousness as long as he could, just so he could make sure he was actually seeing the firebird with his own eyes, hearing it with his own ears as the creature released an agonizing cry.

seven

Everly took the little crown of twisting gold leaves and tiny diamonds. “You’re not allowed in my room anymore.” “That’s fine. Your clothes are about a century out of style anyway,” Vega said with a toss of her hair and a wink, and Everly actually laughed.

tagging (no pressure!): @flowerprose @samplewriting @pinespittinink @authoralexharvey @legiomiam

@garthcelyn @kaatiba @00pbz @galactic-mystics-writes @thoughpoppiesblow

[awritingcaitlin]

Last Line Tag/Seven Sentences

Thank you @theprissythumbelina for the tag!

Here's some of the latest stuff I'm working on in Heist!

It's seven(ish) sentences.

“You okay?” Em asked, not letting her voice get too loud or letting her mouth move too much. She wouldn’t have asked aloud at all if it wouldn’t clutter up the telepathy loop too much. “Just fine,” Verity said. There was a grin in her eyes, though she didn’t let it get down to her mouth. “Gonna talk to him before he starts playing?” Em asked. Verity shook her head. “Let him get a couple songs in, appease the crowd, then I’ll go up and bother him.” He just needed to be busy.

Tagging: @kaylinalexanderbooks, @samplewriting, @isabellebissonrouthier, @turnips-creates, and @kae-luna

[theboarsbride]

🎀 and 💖 for upon her bloody horn from @samplewriting

Thank you for the ask!!!

🎀 How many named characters are in this WIP? How many do get a POV?

So far there are 9 named characters! Juniper the unicorn, Garadd the hunter, Princess Wynnfrid, Prince Elgryd, Queen Hildengarde, King Eardwylff, "The Badger," and two servant girls who become tentative allies to Juniper Ida and Cyneburg. Juniper is the main POV but there are some chapters from Garadd's POV!!

💖 What is your favorite moment in this WIP?

The scene where Juniper is shot by a hunter and Garadd tends to her..... I call it the "If anyone is going to kill you it's going to be me" scene...

[zmwrites]

From @samplewriting 's main

I know you've mentioned being busy with life stuff but are there any characters you're constantly thinking about at the moment? Like the ones who won't leave your brain alone?

I'm thinking about my DND character Miruna and how she's going to get her memories back

Hello Emma! Thank you for the question! Sorry for taking a few days to reply - please see the aforementioned life stuff that continues to kick my butt.

Recently I've been thinking about a lot of characters, as my brain always does when I have no time or energy to write, but I keep going back to the OGs: Violet and Kaden and everyone else from Indigo Wars. There's something about not having any time that makes me finally want to edit the project to perfection, get it out to my last round of critiquers/beta readers (I think I'm on delta readers lol).

I especially want to explore the character arcs in the next two books, which I can't do until I know what the finalized arcs are for book 1.

Miruna sounds like she has some big character moments coming up!! I hope you have a lot of fun exploring them!

[briannaswriter]

tagged by @samplewriting. Thank you! It’s been ages since I’ve gotten to do one of these. My words are branch, shiver, clear, and behind. I’m tagging anyone who wants to do it because I’m not very active anymore and don’t know who would like to do it. Please tag me so I can tag you in the future!

Your words are: soft, thought, crack, world

Branch: Overgrown trees tangled over each other like lovers, their branches lashing against the side of the building like a thousand pounding fists.

Shiver: Another shiver worked through her and she pushed her weeping body into action, one wooden step after another.

Clear: The sky was a vivid shade of blue hidden behind a thick layer of coiling gray clouds while the water below was crystal clear beyond the gushing waves.

Behind: They taught Poppy how to read the environment, how to navigate the stars, and how to spot tracks. How to make it so that she left nothing behind, lest they disturb the nature which was nurturing them too much to share it.

[flowerprose]

OC explain tag: frost mage edition

tagged by @space-writes, thanks!

Rules: Pick an OC and post a song you relate to them, an image that represents them in some way (aesthetic, picrew, art, etc), and a quote of dialogue or narration from them. Totally feel free to expand and explain!

Song: slut! by taylor swift. i tried really, really hard not to pick a taylor song but. it's absolutely a taylor song.

Got lovestruck, went straight to my head Got lovesick, all over my bed Love to think you'll never forget Handprints in wet cement Adorned with smoke on my clothes Lovelorn and nobody knows Love thorns all over this rose I'll pay the price, you won't

RUNA BLAZEVALE, FROST MAGE AND MAGISTRATE OF THE SNOWSPRING

Excerpt:

Runa prided herself for not being compelled to slaughter. She believed in the effects of rehabilitation and enjoyed rousing prisoners from their tombs far more than their sentencing. Introducing them to a timeline new and unfamiliar, preparing them for their journey to the capitol where they would find work and start over, cleared of their crimes and debts. In this way, she felt almost like a healer. She was what compelled mercy in these halls, turning away needless death.

tagging: @samplewriting, @bebewrites, @theskeletonprior, and @cream-and-tea!

[orphanheirs]

Thanks for the tag, @gioia-writes-and-others !!

Rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your wip folder, regardless of how non descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have wips.

I did this a while ago but I think I have a couple new docs since then.

Crispy Cris

Events Lambswool

Gist of Trist

Historic Linguistics

Prose Drafting

More Character Questions

Research

Tristanisms

Trisintro

Tagging: @writingamongther0ses, @vesanal, @theink-stainedfolk,

@inadequatecowboy, @armentas, @samplewriting, @talesofsorrowandofruin,

@spideronthesun and @wildgeraniumwrites !

Fanfic WIP ask game

Rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your wip folder, regardless of how non descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have wips.

Tagged by @deadheaddaisy. Thank you!

Current WIPs excluding some stuff for my eyes only that I don’t intend to publish:

A Thousand Ways to Say I Love You (StVoy) (in process of posting)

Intertwined (StVoy)

Blood of the Ancients (SG1)

In Time of Need (SG1)

After Workforce fic (StVoy)

Nefarious artifact (SG1)

The Price of Diplomacy (SG1)

Ocean story (SG1)

I’ll tag @agent-troi @autistic-crypt1d @ten-cent-sleuth @stargazerley @insanewaykathy @brigitoshaughnessy @babischlong-six @enigmatic-mystery-777

No pressure!

[orphanheirs]

I'd love to hear more about both Events Lambswool and Gist of Trist!

From @samplewriting

Ty for asking @samplewriting !! From this game.

Events Lambswool is just as it sounds, a document compiling a list of all the potential events I've come up with so far for Lambswool, in a vaguely chronological order. It's an attempt to begin something that will eventually turn into an outline/plotline. Included are happenings such as:

Tristan sees repeated apparition/dream of dead wet peasant woman

Tristan tries on girl’s clothes and gets in trouble

Tristan tries out brother’s hunting gun

Tristan gets various servants and nannies/governesses fired and/or scares them off

Tristan’s decoy dies in his bed

Tristan and the demon go to a tavern

Tristan lures multiple people to demon

Tristan mocks prisoners of demon being tortured

Tristan chases Crispin through the woods

and

Crispin sets Tristan on fire

Gist of Trist is a long document consisting of a character development questionnaire, which is filled out here for Trist(an). Here's a part of my response to the "self esteem" section that gives a peek beneath the hood of this kid:

Has the sense of entitlement and superiority that comes with being raised with wealth and rank and of course with being raised male. At the same time, his childhood was also lonely and loveless; he was rejected/ignored by his family and hated by the servants (even if they did have to wait on him and indulge his every whim), and he feels his difference from everyone else in his household profoundly. He noticed their perception of him as being odd and fearfulness around him as a child supposedly with one foot in the grave from a very early age. He leans into this and fulfills, then exceeds, expectations, intentionally creeping out and terrifying hapless servants with his bizarre behavior and lashing out in other ways so that, even though he’s decidedly the bottom of the food chain in his family, he’s still getting attention, even if it’s negative—and he’s controlling the perception, and also getting his revenge. But this is all rooted in his own pain, as is his bullying and grandiosity, his desire to commit evil acts and be generally destructive once he gets out in the world as well. All this being a roundabout way of saying that on some level he thinks of himself as a contemptible creature, so he acts like one, and on some level he feels powerless, so he tries to feel powerful, and if he valued himself all that much, he wouldn’t be throwing himself at a demon to be its slave. He believes himself to be unlovable so he doesn’t try to make true connections with others, instead using, manipulating, dominating, hurting them. He can’t imagine someone being affectionate towards him, so he doesn't set himself up for disappointment and is a terror right away.

And for "what do people think of him?":

The very perceptive see clearly that he’s up to no good. The less perceptive can be charmed by him even as something in them recoils. The gut warning signal can be overrode by a very convincing performance of innocence and/or his cute appearance.

[josephinegerardywriter]

Last Line Tag

I was tagged eons ago by the lovelies @zmlorenz, @samplewriting, and @vellichor-virgo for this! So sorry for the wait, and thank you so much for the tags!!

This will be taken from my wip, Puppet Kingdom, as usual. :)

-----

My smile lingers before I lower my voice. “Just what are all those books for?”

“I’m sure you guessed that they’re spell books,” he says, “Each contains spells of specific branches of magic, and, as you can see, there’s quite a collection. August is a tremendously talented mage,” his eyes briefly shoot over at Cirillo as he whispers, “Though some people like to take advantage of that.”

Cirillo, who has been softly speaking to August, goes rigid.

“But,” Royal continues, “I like to think they’ll come through and help him in his time of need, if ever there is one.”

“You think so?”

“It’s nice to hope,” he mutters with a sad smile, moving to stand by August.

-----

I shall tag (with no pressure!) @the-orangeauthor, @author-a-holmes, and @akindofmagictoo, as well as whoever would like to do this!

[bebewrites]

tagged by @mjjune to make my characters with this picrew! ty for the tag <333 did all my girls & theys from tnv! ✨

tagging (no pressure!): @flowerprose @samplewriting @pinespittinink @authoralexharvey @legiomiam

@garthcelyn @kaatiba @00pbz @galactic-mystics-writes @thoughpoppiesblow

[flowerprose]

thank you, cj!! just a gentle note that my main blog, @peresephones, was included, but i prefer that any writeblr-related content is directed over to my sideblog, @flowerprose :)

for recs, @theskeletonprior, @bishopofblack, @andromedaexists, @bebewrites, @pinespittinink, @afoolandathief, @sam-glade, @samplewriting, @aninkwellofnectar, @authoralexharvey, @muddshadow, @sentfromwolves, @megarywrites, @nvjackwrites, @rydykg, @tananaphone, @mjjune, @bloodlessheirbyjacques, @asher-orion-writes, @magic-is-something-we-create, @kjscottwrites, @broodparasitism, @coffeexafterxmidnight, @moonluringfrost, @catchingbigfish, @theboarsbride, @starlitpage, @queenslayerbee, and @magefaery are also great accounts!

HEY, YOU! WRITEBLR USER! PLEASE RECOMMEND ME SOME WRITERS AND BLOGS TO FOLLOW, AND DON'T BE AFRAID TO INCLUDE YOUR OWN!

[awritingcaitlin]

🎻Find the Word

Another tag from @kaylinalexanderbooks - thank you!

My words are: air, space, line, write

Tagging: @aowna, @atomatowriter, @samplewriting, @isabellebissonrouthier, and @turnips-creates

Your words are: play, night, decide, remember, trick

Snippets from Heist under the cut!

🎶AIR

She began to play, and the crowd began to sing. Em fell into the notes, songs she’d learned by rote, having learned to play well before she’d taught herself to read music. Those around her sang vigorously and rambunctiously. As they should for a shanty about old laws of the sea meshing with new laws of the land. Then the song about looking to the stars and working with the sea and sky. It was so easy to get lost in the songs herself, forget her troubles, forget everything she was running away from, forget who she was running from. Music was her chosen life, and she didn’t want that to ever change. But there was a tension in the air she didn’t like, too much like an over-tuned string. More requests came in and Em listened to them all. She eventually got ‘Down the Well’ in, right after ‘Mere’s Song’, which was an upbeat song to begin with until the last verse where Mere dies in battle. The crowd still sang every word, albeit drunkenly.

🍸SPACE

There were two weeks until the gala. Between Seamus Finn and Ronan, they had every diagram and schematic they could have asked for. They knew where every fire escape, crawl space, and crystal was. Not to mention they had the schedules for all the staff and security. Jacques had been able to replicate a case for Em and Vinny to practice on. No one could replicate the enchantments on the case in order for Lelia to practice, but she had extensive spell diagrams to study. There was a part of Em who wanted to have someone on the inside, who would be working at the museum the night of the gala. But she Lelia’s intimate knowledge of the museum was certainly welcome in lieu of that.

🏫LINE

“So, as a kid,” she began. “The school I went to introduced us to several of the gods on the pantheon, because our lunches were provided by various nearby Temples. But I didn’t pay too much attention to one more than another until I was an adult and felt a pull to Seamus Finn in specific. It was the performance aspect, I think.” Not to mention he had held up his end of the bargain when she’d asked. She then decided she didn’t want to think too much harder about it. Because where did the line between worship end and indebted to begin?

🎻WRITE

Lelia hadn’t done any improvisation since a small group in college. But she agreed readily to the prospect. And so that’s what they did, with him on his guitar and her on her violin. The trick was to not overthink it, to just go with the flow and play. Lelia felt the music she played feeding of the music he played. When they finally came to an end, she could help grinning. “You’ll be writing music of your own in no time,” Ronan laughed. Which required her to remember anything she’d played. “Well,” she ventured, her voice feeling a bit stronger after its rest. “Maybe you can write it down once we’ve both got violins.” “Oh that’s a great idea,” he said.