#tcstu

[emilyelizabethfowl]

As some of you might have already known, @tcstu‘s competition has come to a close after whole 47 months of running! And what a load of fun it’s been while it was active <3

Gotta admit to something here - ever since I’ve started joining this contest back in January 2019, I’ve kept track of all my entries. And if you know me, you would guess that quickly escalated to keeping track of every morsel of publicly-available data regarding this contest 😂 So, when I heard the competition was going to end, i thought to myself: would I really let all that data I’ve kept go to waste? The answer was no.

After a number of conversations with TCSTU and other artists and writers who have participated in this event over the years, I have created the infographic you can see above. Let me assure you, it is much prettier than the spreadsheet with raw data xD

So! To the artists who left the biggest impressions - @mnstrcndy, @hydraart, @mienar, @4threset - and the 37 others who’ve joined us once; to all the 60 writers who have ever participated, and especially those whose words landed them on the charts - @evanthenerd83, @daalseth, @moonlightchess, @winterrose42, @coppercreationcreator, @to-kill-a-procrastinator, @vanrambling, @the-art-of-honormancy - and, most importantly, to @tcstu: 

Thank you for taking your part in this and bringing us all joy via this amazing contest!  💙 

If you’d like to see the art pieces included in their full glory, I’m including the links right below:

By @mnstrcndy : “Bake-kujira” in May 2021

By @hydraart: “Scientia” in December 2021, “Hide and seek” in January 2021, “They are coming back to life” in January 2020, “Nightmare fuel” in May 2019 and “It wasn’t that long ago, apparently” in January 2019

By @mienar: “Reaching for the stars” in June 2020 and “Getaway” in May 2018

By @4threset: “But Maybe, One day, You might be able to move on. Just Maybe” in March 2020 and “And I Am Breathing in a Sinking Room” in March 2018 

(make sure to check them all out, but especially the ones by the last two artists - the originals are animated!)

[incandescent-creativity]

@tcstu replied to your post “Introducing my novel: Satan’s Secretary”...

It sounds like an intriguing premise!

Thank you! Would you believe that most of the world and plot sprang into my head fully formed a few years ago? 

[brynprocrastinates]

tcstu mentioned you on a post “tcstu: Remember, you don’t have to participate in NaNo to be a...”

@brynprocrastinates​ Those are excellent points! I think a lot of people get intimidated by the 50K word goal. All that really matters is that you get inspired to write!

Yes! Honestly, I’ll never write 50k words in a month. Many professional authors won’t even write at that speed -- but they still do have are habits for writing on a certain schedule, so they know how much they can get done every week and can stick to that no matter if they have inspiration or not. 

And nano is really good for that, because it gives you an open opportunity to go to your writer friends and be like “hey I want to write this many words on these particular days, so can you encourage me to do that, and I’ll encourage you in return?”

[halfbloodlycan]

@tlbodine

Ekphrastic Fiction Contest (September 2018)

The artistic piece for this month’s contest is an untitled digital art piece that was created by @palxeye. Please visit this page (https://palxeye.tumblr.com/) to see more incredible work by this artist!

Basic Directions: Create an original fictitious piece based on the artwork above.

Length: Your entry does not have to be long! It can be as short as one sentence or one paragraph. Entries must be shorter than 500 words.

Deadline: All entries must be received before September 25th. The winner will be announced September 30th.

How do I submit my writing?  Once you have written your Ekphrastic Fiction piece, you can enter this contest either of these ways:

    1. Fill out this form to enter the contest.

    2. Reblog this post with your story attached.

You can do either one of these to enter the contest. You do not need to do both.

What will the winner receive? I will feature the winning piece on my blog and link directly to the writer’s page in order to promote his/her/their work. The winning piece will also have a permanent spot on my contest page. This gives writers a chance to have their work shared and seen by others. Sorry, but at this time I am broke, so no cash prizes will be given.

WTF is Ekphrastic Fiction? Ekphrastic Fiction pieces are short fictitious pieces inspired by a work of art. To see some of my Ekphrastic Fiction pieces, click here.

Will there be any future contests? Yes! As long as there is enough interest, there will be a new contest, and a new piece of art work, posted every month. Check out my page on the 1st of each month to see the new contest.

I am an artist. How can my work get used for these contests? If you have art work that you would like used for this contest, you can read my post for artists here, and fill out this form.

I can’t wait to read your submissions!

@bookbreak   @lady-redshield-waits @marigoldwritesthings @raiswanson @taskuhecate @mbovettwrites @twoplumsandapeach @burningemberjade @brynprocrastinates @drawingpuddle @wemitodd @madeofinkk @create-and-procrastinate @miistical @writerlyclaire @dreamsofbooksandmonsters

[dissidia-writeblr]

Submissions for March 2021!

Partially because of a post-collaboration-sadness, partially because I know I’m overdue for the next event, I’m opening character submissions for March 2021! Here, here, and here are posts that explain more about the event and the world and characters, but I will be posting about the timeline and other info in this post as well! Also, I’ll put this in bold because it is highly recommended, but I made a Discord for this because I felt it would be a better place for collaboration! The Discord would be for planning and collaborating for the prompts and asking questions, if that is what you would like, but it is not required for the event. If you are interested in joining the Discord, please let me know, and I’ll send you a link! I’m also planning on making it easier to collaborate in general, but I’ll explain more later on in the post. 

Tagging (those who have shown interest in the past): @tcstu, @ratracechronicler, @incandescent-creativity, @rhikasa, @austrohungarianwriteblr, @perringwrites, @adie-dee, @leave-her-a-tome, @hannahs-creations, @onmywaytobe, @maple-writes, and @sheabutterskyes!

The event will start on Monday, March 1. The recommended deadline for submitting characters is Thursday, February 25, however I will take submissions until 10:00 pm Central time on Sunday, February 28. The recommended deadline is because I would like to send unique questions about the submitted characters as asks before the event to help everyone to get to know the characters better! Please submit characters by reblogging this post, sending the characters to this blog as an ask, or by messaging this blog. For submitting characters, a maximum of two characters can be submitted. Please tell me their names, their genders, their magic if they have any, their abilities, and what continent you would like them to start on at least. The continents they can start on have narrowed to Tethoris, Feyre, and Rafe, both because of in-world reasons and to help characters have more of a chance to encounter each other. 

 On Mondays, I will post a prompt for the characters who were summoned to the world, and participants have a week to write a response. If a participant is busy, they can send me what their character will do, and I can write a summary as a response. I will also be trying to add characterization questions to the prompts as well, trying to give the characters a chance to interact with each other outside of the main action, if possible. I am hoping this will help encourage collaboration and also learning more about the characters. 

This event will go for five weeks, and at the end, I will post a finale summary, and the participants can write one last piece about the finale! I am trying to figure out how to make this a better event, so please, have patience with me as I try new things!

If you have any questions, please message me! Thank you so much!

[wildler]

The last few months have been a bit up and down for me personally... but in amongst all that, my blog turned 1 and I turned 29! 🎉Well worth celebrating! So, as a belated blog-versary, I’ve put together a list of wonderful creators who have inspired me this last year! 

If you’re looking for more writing content on your dash... see the list below! 🔥

First off are my must-follow Prompt Blogs:

(I gotta give them a shout out because prompts and flash are my life!!)

@alexprompts – My number 1!! Run by the lovely @alexwillow. This blog has been my main source of flash inspiration this past year.  Amazing prompts of all kinds (picture, quickprompts, monthly) and Alex’s feedback is always so wonderfully encouraging!  Also, a wonderful way to get your work out to a larger audience! I discovered some of my favourite writeblrs by reading their work here.

@tcstu– monthly picture prompt competition. Again, a wonderful host with wonderful feedback! These prompts are all so unique—each coming from a featured artist getting a chance to spotlight their work! I was lucky to win the February round with this piece.

@flashfictionfridayofficial – I’ve been too time poor to participate in this one so far, but I LOVE reading the works that come from this each week! If you’re looking for more original writing content on your dash, then follow, follow, follow 😊

 Flash/short story writers I adore:

@sulfurousdreamscapes – one of the first writeblrs I stumbled across and one of my all-time favourites.  Rahul’s talent is insane! His ability to craft entire worlds in very few words and his flexibility with POVs and themes always leaves me awed and incredibly jealous! Each day brings a new story that is vivid, well-crafted and totally unlike the one before. I would have a lot of trouble picking a favourite from Rahul’s work (as they are all so good!) but two that have still stuck with me (even after reading them over a year ago) can be found here and here. If all this wasn’t enough, his Mirrorscapes blog is incredibly supportive of other writers and is a showcase of others amazing and inspiring work.

@pied-piper-of-hamlet fits both the flash and WIP section’s here. I am in love with their OC Maya from Burying Deceit, this piece is a tiny example of what a badass she is! (blood and violence tw). PLUS their flash work is amazing too, I still think about this piece often!

@hyba —Ohhhhh where to begin!! Writing advice, flash fics, amazing WIPs AND a podcast—Hyba has it all! Not to mention a wonderful side blog @writeblrcabinetofwonders that showcases other writers’ amazing works! Every piece that comes from with writer is well worth the read, but a couple that have stuck with me can be found here and here.

@alexwillow —As if hosting an amazing prompt page wasn’t enough, Alex also writes incredible flash! Two of my favourites in particular can be found here and here.

@projecthypershort​ —These tiny stories pack a punch! A new hyper-short piece is posted each day—each one rich in worldbuilding and story telling, whilst being economical on words. Amazing writing! One of my absolute faves is this one.

 WIPs I worship & Wattpad recommended reads:

@kd-holloman​ —anyone that follows this blog would know I have an obsession with kd’s WIPs. Every snippet of The Traveller’s Gift and The Reaper’s Curse that I have read is full of immersive, vivid details and imbued with such strong characterisation. I’m completely invested in Louis and Slater’s journey and can’t wait to read both works in full one day! 😊 ❤️ One of my favourite snippets from The Reaper’s Curse can be found here and another scene (which I know is a POV switch—but still sticks with me) can be found here.

@cirianne​ —Chasing Demons on Wattpad // Chasing Demons on Tumblr —my newest obsession!! I’m totally in awe of Sara’s writing, Chasing Demons is the perfect urban fantasy work—full of action, mystery, sassy dialogue and tangible characters. I’ve been sucked into Anna’s world and am loving it!

@aelenko​ —Sound Carries on Wattpad  I am so impressed by (and jealous of) Abby’s ability to continuously create amazing works! The prose in Sound Carries is so incredibly immersive and the characters/plot so intriguing, that there is no helping getting wrapped up in the secrets of the Conolly Institute. Amazing read!

@the-scum-initiative​ —The S.C.U.M Initiative 01 on Wattpad Kfyaris has built a rich and intriguing post-apocalyptic world that is too easy to get absorbed into! TSI01′s large cast is full of solid characterisation, with diverse and compelling backgrounds driving strong motivations and palpable tension. The high-stakes action makes it tough to stop reading—such amazing writing! 🔥

There are so many more writeblrs that I would like to add to this list (I might have to make a second one when I have a little more time!)—and I’m so excited to find more wonderful writers to follow and support this next year! Thanks so much to all the lovely peeps that have read and supported my work this year! Every reblog, comment and ❤️ means so much!  🎉

[lizziethereader]

books with ‘complete’ in the title seem to be favorites with this question

Weekly Bookish Question #133 (June 16th - June 22nd):

What’s the heaviest book you own? 

[5-falsehoods-phonated]

WIP title tag game (Repost, do not reblog)

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and I’ll post a little snippet or tell you something about it! Then tag as many people as you have WiPs.

Thanks for the tag @ace-in-a-shopping-cart

*Rocks back and forth slowly* So uh....all of them huh? Okie dokie:

Witch djkv

Ghosting

Masterlist rework

You're the apple pie of my eye

Tcstu con may

Working dlamp

Working anxciet

1000 yr origin

Mociet week

Lociet week

Dukexiety

Measured steps

The dragons tome official outline

Memories

Overflow

The champions ballad

Chosen hero

Flying high

The aid of the mighty

A new hope

A successful hiest

Lightning strikes against you

DLS Ch 6

Dee Little Snake plot

On the wings of a sailor

Overgrown metal lore

Black licorice

Drumbeat

So it goes

Pretend to hurt

Trees are shit

Catch and release

Safe

Close

To support and comfort

Stress enough

Fear will be your enemy

Space to breathe

Cereal ghosts

Dadciet may

Dragon may

I....do not want to tag 41. 41 people- I garentee- do not want me to tag them. So if you guys want: @atlasistryingherbest @a-ghostlight-for-roman @vindicatedvirgil @edupunkn00b and whoever else would like to ^-^

[bettflaher]

What’s your favorite thing about writing your WIP(s)?

When I actually get somewhere. Really anywhere. In high school my final project for my creative writing glass what I believe the first 16 chapters of a story I was writing. I haven't written a concrete chapter since. So, when something clicks and it's nice (and also a distraction from like the amount of shows that hate their queer audience) it feels really rewarding. Writing my piece for the monthly writing prompt thing held by @tcstu was a joy and the fact that it was so queer and it won? Gosh I love that.

[weminence]

No One There

~ Preface: this wold have been my submission for @tcstu ‘s Ekphrastic Fiction Contest in March if I have finished it in time. (This Post.) In actuality I took like three months to finish it, but when I was finished I was really proud of it so here it is. ~ 

Alice Wilde lived on the corner of Average Avenue on the first floor in the farthest apartment from the street. It was often that they came and went but rarely did they bring anyone for a visit. Loneliness wasn’t something that would bother them - it hadn’t even before. 

Most days, when Alice wasn’t out, they sat on the floor in her bedroom, staring into the mirror on her closet’s doors. Nothing stared back, nothing had in a year. 

See, the Alice Wilde that owned those mirrors and this room and the Alice Wilde that now sat in this room staring at those mirrors weren’t the same person. The real Alice had been gone for quite awhile. And something had to fill her space. 

[tcstu]

@emilyelizabethfowl - Thank you so much for putting this together! I’m honored that someone cared enough about my contest to do this! 😊

As some of you might have already known, @tcstu‘s competition has come to a close after whole 47 months of running! And what a load of fun it’s been while it was active <3

Gotta admit to something here - ever since I’ve started joining this contest back in January 2019, I’ve kept track of all my entries. And if you know me, you would guess that quickly escalated to keeping track of every morsel of publicly-available data regarding this contest 😂 So, when I heard the competition was going to end, i thought to myself: would I really let all that data I’ve kept go to waste? The answer was no.

After a number of conversations with TCSTU and other artists and writers who have participated in this event over the years, I have created the infographic you can see above. Let me assure you, it is much prettier than the spreadsheet with raw data xD

So! To the artists who left the biggest impressions - @mnstrcndy, @hydraart, @mienar, @4threset - and the 37 others who’ve joined us once; to all the 60 writers who have ever participated, and especially those whose words landed them on the charts - @evanthenerd83, @daalseth, @moonlightchess, @winterrose42, @coppercreationcreator, @to-kill-a-procrastinator, @vanrambling, @the-art-of-honormancy - and, most importantly, to @tcstu: 

Thank you for taking your part in this and bringing us all joy via this amazing contest!  💙 

If you’d like to see the art pieces included in their full glory, I’m including the links right below:

By @mnstrcndy : “Bake-kujira” in May 2021

By @hydraart: “Scientia” in December 2021, “Hide and seek” in January 2021, “They are coming back to life” in January 2020, “Nightmare fuel” in May 2019 and “It wasn’t that long ago, apparently” in January 2019

By @mienar: “Reaching for the stars” in June 2020 and “Getaway” in May 2018

By @4threset: “But Maybe, One day, You might be able to move on. Just Maybe” in March 2020 and “And I Am Breathing in a Sinking Room” in March 2018 

(make sure to check them all out, but especially the ones by the last two artists - the originals are animated!)

[dissidia-writeblr]

Dissidia Writeblr March 2021 Week 2!

Here’s the second prompt! Please tag me in your responses so I can make sure I see them! Please have your responses posted by next Monday at noon central time! 

Tagging: @tcstu and @ratracechronicler!

@maple-writes and @onmywaytobe: As Sichoris walks in front of Warren and Leo, he turns back with a smile. “You were summoned to this world from your worlds. But it’s only temporary. Normally, people who are summoned here are returned in a few weeks. This world is facing a crisis. The magic in this world has gone out of control and is randomly changing people into beings of light or darkness who prey on humans. Some people want to find a way to change the beings back, but Ritania has faced the bitter truth that once changed, no one can change back. So, we are trying to find a solution to the problem that caused all this. Someone performed the summoning spell, and the leader I work for wants to see if the people who have been summoned have anything that can help us fight the beings. You’ll be meeting him soon.”

He leads them into the big city. The soldiers standing guard watch them, but they don’t say anything. There are not many people walking on the streets. Sichoris looks back at Warren and Leo. “Ritania is actually at war at the moment, so that’s why there are so many soldiers around.”

Sichoris leads them to a large building that looks like it holds offices. He leads them to one of the doors, knocks on it, and opens it for them. Warren and Leo walk in, and they are met with a man with short, black hair and pale gray eyes. He also has angel wings, one black and one white. He smiles at them and bows slightly. 

“My name is Tidis, and I am a humble servant of Ritania. You two must have been summoned here, correct? I can help you. If you will just come with me and answer a few questions, I can heal any ailments you have and let you return to your normal lives.” He holds out his hand to shake. “Will you come with me?”

What will Leo and Warren do? Also, do they talk at all while they’re walking through Ritania?

@kiljoytrout: Zerith leads Lindy to her captain’s quarters, and she helps clean and bandage his arm. She laughs when she’s done. “You’ve got guts, kid. I’ll give you that. But what possessed you to try and steal an airship?” After Lindy answers or doesn’t, she sighs. “This isn’t your world, kid. You have been summoned here by a weird spell. Supposedly, someone cast that spell when the magic of my world went out of control and turned random people into beings that prey on humans. We don’t know how to kill them, and we don’t know how to turn them back, so we’re screwed at the moment. But these people with angel wings seem to know more than anyone else, and they have requested that anyone who was summoned here go to them. And, since you so graciously ran up on my airship and tried to harm my crew, you’ll be going to them.” Her smile is sinister again. “Sorry, kid.”

What will Lindy do? 

@alannaofroses and @perringwrites: Aura, Cinder, and Oliver walk over to the building that the people went into. It’s actually empty besides the two people who walked in and something that has a human-like shape but is pure darkness. When they walk in, Aura, Cinder, and Oliver hear a shout to stop, but then they are sucked into visions of their greatest fears. They are incapacitated by that until the two people come up and put some kind of devices on their heads. 

The woman and man are standing in front of them with concerned expressions. The woman has a prosthetic right arm, and she is short with short, dark red hair and dark brown eyes. The man has a prosthetic left arm, and he is tall with long, dark brown hair with a white streak and dark brown eyes.

The woman speaks up. “I am so sorry about that. These devices will keep that from happening again. Are you okay?” She waits for them to respond and then continues. “I promise she is not going to hurt you.” She gestures back at the humanoid figure. “She...was a good friend before she was turned. We can’t leave her to get killed by Ritania.” She grimaced. “By the way, my name is Setza and this is Richter. We are looking for a way to bring her back. And you three were summoned here, weren’t you? You don’t seem to know what’s going on. We can explain, if you’d like, but we don’t have a lot of time, so it would have to be while we’re walking. Would you like to accompany us?”

What will Aura, Cinder, and Oliver do? Also, do they talk as they walk over to the building? 

[evanthenerd83]

I’m sorry for not posting things as much lately. I’ve been busy with writing This Magical Girl Isn’t A Hero. And I was worried that, if I maintained my usual rate of horror, then I wouldn’t stay in the comedy mindset.

Obviously, I’ve started writing horror again. But it won’t be frequent, like before. It is something that I feel is necessary.

Please understand. I haven’t abandoned this blog. I will still participate in the monthly Ekphrastic Fiction Contest hosted by @tcstu. I will also post some new content, as well as more chapters of story series.

Thank you.

[coutelier]

Last Line Tag Game

Tagged by @maple-writes

So the last line I edited in my novel:

Every creature in this forest - every leaf, animal, insect - it was all being changed, bent and twisted to the will of just one individual; Titania.

Tagging @toboldlywrite , @lady-redshield-writes, @tcstu

[spoldhamauthor]

Word that makes you cringe when you read/hear it?

For me, it is ‘unfurl.’ Unless related to a flag or a fern, it tends to be shoehorned into verse more often than not. Makes me want to bite my knuckles! What’s your pet hate when it comes to misused - or otherwise - words?

@rehnwriter​ @theoddcatlady​ @pippinacious​ @unsettlingstories​ @mareebrittenford​ @evanthenerd83​ @spookyspaghettisundae​ @sulfurousdreamscapes​ @idreamtofmanderleyagain​ @pagingdrsleep​ @the960writers​ @tcstu​ @k-l-neidecker​ @xavea​ @spoldhamindieauthor​ @theouterdark​ @in-defense-of-the-horror​ @ghost-possum @niftywriter​ @imintheunderworld​ @illthdar​ @unisom-nightmares​ @theweewritinglassie​ @rehnwriter​ @tcstu​ @stephrawlingwrites​ @halfbloodlycan​ @theouterdark

[5-falsehoods-phonated]

"Storied souls"

Once upon a time, there lived a prince with bright eyes and a brighter mind, book stacks surrounding him taller than he could stand. Stories full of history and fantasy alike stood as something he could base his own stories from, weaving fantastical tales for those who would listen, which in the end were a small bunch.

He didn't mind though, talkative as he was. Adults humored them for as long as he was small, but as he grew, the royal parents smiles of amusement changed to brows furrowed with concern.

Fantastical books were replaced with the kingdoms dull history, fae history with business and etiquette. But his mind would not be quelled, seeking out his favorites in the dark of night when his suppressors were asleep.

One day, a fairy visited the castle. Tall and tanned their wings shimmered against dull stone walls. He stood before them in nervous awe, ignoring the grim smile upon their lips in favor of admiring the iridescent hair.

"Fix him!" The king cried and the fae bowed, catching the prince's eyes while lowering their staff.

He didn't understand what happened until everytime he snuck a forbidden book a snout grew out and out until he couldn't hold them close enough to see anymore and advisors had to read the dull literature to him instead.

He began isolating, holing up in his room, uninterested in royal and family affairs. The queen tried in vain to console him, snapping finally at his lies of being fine and taking her leave.

"Fix him!" The queen cried the next day. The fae bowed mournfully to bestow another curse, making a scale appear for every lie he told thereafter until he refused to speak at all, yet another thing taken from him.

"Fix him!" They both cried as they tired of him hiding beneath his sheets all day, mirrors destroyed as his adolescence was ripped from him peice by piece. Shining talons appeared to keep him from the comfort, scales soaking up the cold of the floor every night as they seemed satisfied at last in his uncomfortable conformity.

One night, he called desperately for the fae, tears running down hardened cheeks as he awaited their return. They landed on the sill quietly, an apologetic look of understanding on their face.

"Fix me." He whispers. A pair of powerful wings unfold from his back and he flaps gratefully, carving through the sky like his stories of so long ago as he left the kingdom and all it stood on behind.

For years he tried to find a friend, but his monstrous appearance failed him each time. Eventually the fae took pity and his wings became book covers, trapping his soul in storied pages to be brought alive one day with a kind enough soul.

A lonely young boy sat back in awe as a dragon arose from the well worn pages, smiling as he held his hand out to the beast. In the darkness they both stepped forward.

The first writing I've posted in almost two months and it's not even Sanders Sides XD I'm working on them still but was quite proud of this so have.

This was actually written for an ekphrastic fiction contest and is only the second I've written like this. If you're interested in participating yourself go to @ tcstu (without the space of course I didnt want to bother them with that tag) and enter the current contest. It's a lot of fun!