#young writers program

[nanowrimo]

Four Realistic Ways to Generate Ideas For Your Novel

Coming up with ideas can be pretty hard! With November right around the corner, YWP Participant Sahasra Nistala has some practical advice for writers looking for more material!

A long time ago, I decided I wanted to write a book. So I searched up “how to come up with a novel idea” and was immediately buried under piles of plot generators, mile-long lists of prompts, and creative flow frameworks I didn’t understand. When I went to my fellow writers for help, their advice usually went something like this: sit down and write anything. You’ll start writing something good eventually. But as we Wrimos know, there’s nothing more daunting than staring at a blank page, especially with the clock ticking down to the end of the month. Plus, we’re really busy—we don’t have time to write just anything.

Years later, after three false starts and long periods of “writer’s block,” I finally came up with an idea I couldn’t imagine letting go of. Here are some tried-and-true, realistic ways to come up with ideas for your next novel.

1. Think tropes. Write down a list of your favorite tropes and think of ways you can make them fresh and interesting. What if the Chosen One had overprotective parents and a bunch of jealous siblings? What if the person organizing the gala was actually in on the big heist? When you’re finished with your list, take whichever ones seem interesting and find a way to connect them.   2. Brainstorm elements. In a notebook, doc, or something else you won’t lose, write down a list of random elements and scenes you want in your novel. Want your MC to have an epic battle at sunset with their hair billowing in the wind? Write it down. Want your MC’s hoodie to be green? Write it down! Don’t worry about connecting these things to your decided trope—you can do that later. For now, just write down things you’d love to see in a novel and make sure to include them in yours.

3. Record things your way. When I first started to write for fun, lots of people told me to get a diary and write everything from my feelings to my “observations.” That way, I would have an endless supply of ideas whenever I wanted. Needless to say, I didn’t keep it up for very long. Things got better when I stopped trying to write daily entries and switched to something that was satisfying to create — comics! With two years of my life laid out in a simple narrative, it became easier for me to notice the differences in people’s habits and personalities. This inspired some characters. For the rest of Preptober, try recording your life in different ways, from voice memos to full-on essays analyzing your family members’ choice of breakfast. Trust me, you’ll find something that works for you. 4. Expand as much as possible. Once you begin to get a general idea of where you want to go, expand on that as much as possible. If you’re a pantster, that might mean creating a Pinterest board or playlist to match your novel-to-be’s atmosphere. If you’re a plotter, you might want to think of major plot points that incorporate the scenes you already have in mind. 

Doing these four things really helped me come up with a great idea I’m definitely going to write come November (okay, maybe I’ve already written a little!). There is no cure for writer’s block, but having an idea before you start writing definitely helps. Good luck and have a great rest of Preptober!

Sahasra Nistala is a sophomore in high school. Her interests include writing (isn’t that crazy?), speech and debate, incessantly sampling new books in hopes of finding the perfect one, and making comics. During NaNoWriMo, you can find her fiddling around with title generators, filling entire pages with just dialogue, or doodling in her notebook. Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

[shadelorde]

we (the ywp users) MADE the ‘anti nanowrimo’ tag. we were the ones who really used it. but guess no one cares until it’s about a hot button issue that everyone can jump in on and not “ew icky grooming makes me uncomfortable :( “

[angela-yuriko-smith]

Horror Writers Association Scholarships

Horror Writers Association Scholarships are open!

🟢💲 From Authortunities · The Horror Writers Association Scholarships are open to all horror writers from June 1-Aug 1 with a variety of scholarships to assist writers looking to pursue a career as a writer of horror fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. They also offer one endowment to libraries to expand their young adult reading programs. HWA membership is not a requirement. The available…

[austinbutlerslovers]

Feyd Fantasy

Label mature 18+

Pleasure & Pain

Summary

The destiny guiding Bene Gesserits select you to marry Feyd Rautha. The nephew to the Baron of the great house Harkonnen.

You will secure an heir for their selective genetics program to try again for an all powerful being. A Kwisatz Haderach with the ability to see through all space and time, past, present, and future.

Feyd was set to be married with an Atredies female to secure the birth of the Kwisatz Haderach but the plan failed when House Atredies birthed a male. Now the Bene Gesserits must salvage Feyd Rauthas genetics through your impregnation for another chance.

Feyd Rautha Harkonnen however is psychotic, sadistic and sick. On your wedding night he tortures and breeds you mercilessly to procure his heir.

Established relationship new wife

Starts off heavy Sci Fi Dune Ends with sexual insanity

⚠️ Hardcore Smut ⚠️

Sexual torture•manhandling•male dominance •restraints•shibari•ownership•humiliation•knife play sex toys•nipple play•mentions of blood •mentions of being stabbed•mentions of bodily fluids•vaginal vasodilation •overstretching•overstimulation•orgasm denial•clit play•oral sex on female•squirting• multiple orgasms•cum eating•ovulation sex•sex in heat• size kink•breeding kink•multiple cream pies

⚠️Pure Feyd Rautha breeding smut ⚠️ ✍🏼 Proof-writer @faegoddessog

Part 1 •Part 2 •Part 3• Part 4 •Part 5• Part 6

⏳Extreme Dune Inaccuracies⌛️. UPDATE: confirmed it’s pretty Dune accurate with the Bene Gesserit Breeding program 🏆 💝Not for my softies🆕 Skip to Austins Bath ➡️

Inspo: ⚔️Multiple anonymous requests combined: -unsuspecting female -mysteriously drawn to him -merged houses/marriage -female of nobility -ovulating female in heat -Feyd Pain Dom -Feyd Pleasure Dom -Knife play no gore - Feyds cock description -Oral sex squirting on Feyds tongue -Brutal breeding sex -Womb Implantation

✍🏼 written & corrected with @faegoddessog 👑

Pleasure & Pain

The Bene Gesserit breeding program failed when house Atreides birthed a male instead of a female. After centuries of breeding to join House Harkonnen and house Atreides to create a Kwisatz Haderach all seemed nearly lost.

The Kwisatz Haderach would be an all powerful being able to see through time, space, past, present, and future to control destiny. With the Atreides male assumed dead the Bene Gesserit order take a desperate measure to ensure they can try for a Kwisatz Haderach again. They will salvage the desirable genetics of the young Harkonnen heir, Feyd Rautha for the next generation.

When you are called to see your leader the reverend mother you are not expecting to be the female chosen to carry the genetics for the future Kwisatz Haderach.

You are a devoted young Bene Gesserit with the proper bloodline from noble houses. You will be impregnated by Feyd Rautha and continue his lineage salvaging their Genetics program.

The decision has already been made with an arranged marriage to be held on his planet, Giedi Prime. Everything must be done hastily before anything unexpected happens to the body of Feyd Rautha. Should he die they will lose their chance.

They arrange the wedding before his upcoming fight in the arena to kill his 100th gladiator. They can not risk the error if he is slaughtered.

Not only are you to be impregnated with his heir to secure the future Kwisatz Haderach, you must also bind his mind with a physiological fail safe using the prana-bindu phrases of your Bene Gesserit training.

The reverend mother believes they are sending you like an innocent to be defiled. Your training is not complete, your sight is barely awakened and your pain tolerance is underdeveloped.

You have not gone through the proper training crucial for long term survival with a psychopath such as Feyd. However your genetic line, with the ability to control your ovulation and select the gender of your unborn, will salvage their breeding program entirely. That is the final deciding factor.

Harkonnen Fortress Giedi Prime

Feyd Rautha’s excessive ambitions for power made him seem deranged. He would do anything to secure the throne as Baron.

He had been groomed from childhood to become the next reigning by his detestable Uncle, the current Baron. Feyd Rautha had lethal finesse and extremely seductive charm, the skills of an excellent leader.

However due to his disastrous upbringing by his lecherous uncle he was now primed to be a ruthless killing machine and sexual deviant without restraint.

He was able to suppress his blood lust and sexual debauchery from the public eye, but behind closed doors he was a bloodthirsty, pain-inflicting sadist.

Agreeing to an arranged marriage was a simple task to Feyd. It would mean the furtherance of his greater goal; becoming the Baron and perhaps, he thought, the next Emperor.

As he and his uncle sat in the meeting hall to discuss his future obligations, Feyd sat spread across his throne. His knees were parted wide, his elbows on the armrest, his back is laid low against his seat. He played with his knife inflicting pain on his finger to the point of piercing it without a change of expression.

When his uncle brought up the betrothal, Feyd Rautha didn't pay much attention. When it was decided that he would ascend to the throne, Feyd sheathed his knife and sat up listening with more intent to what his marital duties might be.

He knew that he would have to take a female with a compatible bloodline. He was in no way bound to actually care for her. The marriage would be political and aside from initial customary meetings, he didn't have to spend any time with her at all.

The first few days after the wedding they were certain to share a bed. The first night being of the utmost importance in consummating an heir. After that it would be like any other political marriage; loveless and distant.

These facts didn't bother Feyd Rautha Harkonnen, it was all part of his duty as the next Baron.

Weeks Later: Giedi Prime

You were arriving on Giedi Prime the night before your wedding day. Compared to your home world it was colder, darker, and dirtier. The buildings were enormous, gray and industrial. Heavy clouds filled the sky.

Having seen a portrait of Feyd you found his looks mysterious yet strikingly handsome. You were made aware of his sexual debauchery and brutal upbringing from several trusted sources.

They had shown concern, but were not sure the full extent of his degradation. What they did know is he was raised to be a ruthless killer and sexual deviant. He had his choice of pleasure slaves and was confirmed to be psychotic and depraved in nature.

He, however, is completely unaware of your true intentions.

His uncle was led to believe you would marry his sadistic, bloodthirsty nephew Feyd and save his bloodline which would guarantee a future for the Harkonnen dynasty.

He eagerly joined your two houses, securing his depraved psychotic nephew an heir and increasing the validity of his status simultaneously.

In reality you were sent on a mission to salvage Feyd Rauthas genetics for the Bene Gesserit breeding program which only selected the ancestral lines of great houses such as the Harkonnens for centuries.

When the deed is done you are to whisper the prana-bindu phrases in his ear as he sleeps to bend him and hypno-ligatiate his psyche. With the utterance of one specific word it would be used to weaken him to the point of complete muscle paralysis. This would be used if he ever became a threat to the Bene Gesserit plans.

With his sperm implanted in your womb you would secure the future Kwisatz Haderach for the Bene Gesserit Order.

Being part of this secret order gave you extremely special abilities. You gained control over your own biology and were able to ovulate and choose the gender of your unborn at conception.

Once Feyd penetrates you he would become addicted to your sex, and you could seduce him even further to do what the Order desired.

Wedding Ceremony

The entire courtship was hastened due to his impending gladiatorial fight and increased his risk of death. When you finally see Feyd it is in the great hall on opposite ends of the vast stage for the wedding ceremony.

As you wait for the festivities to commence you take your first long look at him waiting on the other side of the stage

He is stoic and imposing, tall and handsome. Almost in complete contrast to his repulsive uncle. The only resemblances are the pale whiteness of his skin and complete lack of hair.

Not even eyebrows frame his hunter’s eyes. He was hauntingly beautiful in this way, his high cheekbones accentuating his deep set blue eyes. His perfectly angular nose drawing your eyes to his plump full lips and defined jawline.

You had an immense attraction to him. He was regal, wearing black ceremonial garments made of elaborate fabrics showing his status and wealth.

Feeling your gaze, he turns his attention and lays eyes on you for the first time. He is astonished by your beauty.

He had no initial interest in seeing your appearance. Now with his sights on you he is fascinated. You have defiant, piercing eyes and beautiful features without ornament. He feels something stir in him, though he was stripped of his emotions long ago. What remained now was a ruthless fighter and soon to be Baron.

You wore a white hooded gown, though he could still see your healthy radiant hairline. The vibrance of your face and hands, the only skin visible to him, is soft and delicate. The shape of your body in the tightness of the form fitting gown impresses him greatly.

He is very pleased you will belong to him. Though he tries to hide it a maniacal smile forms across his lips. He will defile you in so many ways on the wedding night, training your body to obey him or be punished. A perfect pet he thought, unsuspecting, of high-born status, and far prettier than his others.

You are both called together to join on stage in front of his uncle the Baron. Tens of thousands of the populous cheer in the Great hall as you embrace Feyd for the first time.

You both stand together and offer your arms to the Baron’s Lord in waiting. He locks each of your wrists to the end of an indestructible chain and bestows the key to Feyd Rautha. You face the crowd holding your hands up together making the chain taught.

"Like the unbreakable chain our everlasting union" Feyd yells and the crowd erupts into even bigger cheers. You gaze into each other's eyes full of passionate promise to each other.

"I will make Feyd the new emperor!" The Baron yells to the crowd caught in the fervor of seeing his nephew and protege increase in status before his eyes.

Feyd pulls out his ceremonial sword from his hip looking into the crowd as he lifts it in the air. "And I will slay my 100th warrior in the gladiator arena in dedication to the Future Baroness," he yells his strongest.

The crowd erupts into loud chants for Feyd. It is customary for him to fight in the arena to show his valor. He and his uncle used the grand display of fights to their advantage, gaining favor with the populous. The Baron would always tip the odds in favor of Feyd to win.

Later that evening you return to your chambers after the wedding banquet. The elaborate affair was full of entertainment crowded with the Harkonnen inner circle. With conversations, food, and several cheers of congratulations, you and Feyd only caught glimpses of each other throughout the entire event. It was now time to prepare for the wedding night

You were bathed and styled by two servants and wore a sheer white sleeved gown. You are completely bare underneath. The thinness of the shimmering fabric is near invisible, showing your breasts and bare genitalia.

Once the slaves leave your chamber it allows you a moment to collect your thoughts and begin your mission.

You call upon your Bene Gesserit blood with intuition of your inner workings in your mind, seeking out and triggering your ovulation to start. With controlled precision, you will the fluids in the rest of your body to comply.

It was done, you are primed and ready for impregnation.

You leave your bed chamber and the servants place a black cloak over your shoulders clasping it in the front to cover your modesty.

Feyds Chamber

The fortress is massive, you walk through several passages and corridors until you reach Feyds quarters. It is a large two story section with a grand staircase leading down to a courtyard. An accompanying servant presses an alert at the base of the stairs. They both bow and hastily leave your presence.

After a moment of waiting you see Feyd-Rautha come to the banister above. He gazes down at you enraptured. Even fully covered in a black cloak the excitement builds inside of him for what you look like underneath.

He wears a sleeveless black tunic tied loosely at his waist. His strong chest and abs are prominent above his black fabric slacks. In the moonlight his ivory skin is glowing making him look ethereal. He gestures with his hand for you to come. You lift the hem of your gown and climb the stairs as he watches.

Once you reach the landing he invites you inside to follow him through the large floor to ceiling double doors. When you enter he pulls them shut behind you with a resounding thud. He secures a bolt down locking you both in. You assume it's for his safety but little warnings in your mind tell you otherwise. His chamber is enormous, everything is muted gray and black, void of all color.

There is a large black open frame canopy bed in the center of his chamber. The sheets are gray with black tied curtains at each post, the headboard is padded.

Just beyond his bed is a spacious balcony overlooking the front courtyard of the fortress. There is a long table at the foot of his bed frame. An assortment of peculiar metallic devices and a coil of black rope are organized on its surface.

Two large display cases are spaced on each side of his bed which strangely face out to the balcony. There is also a second table there with a collection of more odd looking dangerous items.

He has no decor or plants or art just a dark, still, lifeless room that gives you the chills.

His eyes never left you as you entered his chamber. You turn to face him, remembering your mission. He pulls his tunic open revealing his extremely muscled physique.

You stare at his pale chiseled chest and powerful muscular arms. Your eyes linger on his hard abs and small waist as he lets his tunic fall to the floor. You are attracted to him, you can't fight your physical urges.

He comes to stand in front of you shirtless in low black fabric slacks, an empty knife holster rests on his waist.

His body is pure muscled alabaster perfection. You want to touch him everywhere.

Everything he does is so elaborate and unpredictable you can't even begin to figure out what he wants.

You start by pulling your cloak from your shoulders letting it drop to the floor revealing yourself to him.

His piercing gaze studies your form, loving the way you are physically shaped, your beautiful curves accentuated in the sheer white transparent gown.

He seductively stares at your perfect nipples already wanting to pinch them, he sees the curves beneath he's been dying to touch. He sucks his teeth, making a clicking sound, when he sees your bare genitalia, increasing his sexual urges.

Sensing he is pleased, you break the long silence, "What would you like, will you show me?" you ask and gently take his wrist. You pull his hand just shy of your body, leaving the choice to him.

His primed sadistic mentality already wants to knock your innocent confidence. He reaches his hand and places it delicately around your soft throat pressing his thumb up and down your larynx watching your reaction.

You look up into his eyes and can't form a single thought as the fear creeps in. His psychotic gaze immediately instills his dominance over you. His strength and imposing size makes you feel timid.

His squeeze on your neck begins slowly, testing when you’ll make him stop.

You instinctively reach your hands up and grab his wrist when you begin to panic. He smiles at you and slowly returns to caressing your throat gently.

"Such a delicate little pet.” he says with a grin revealing his black teeth. You are at a loss for words as you stare at him realizing everything they say about him is true.

He gazes into your soft pretty eyes and he knows you'll be different. The way your eyes plead with him, even putting up resistance holding his wrist. He smiles at your efforts trying to resist him.

Everything is in his control.

He looks over your curvature wondering how good you will feel sheathed on his cock. His eyes begin to wander over your body thinking of other ways he wants to derive his pleasure out of you.

What will agonize you the most for his sexual gratification. His eyes suddenly pause between your thighs, already wet from him. He tilts his head to the side in curiosity.

He grips your dress up at the waist and reaches his hand between your legs. He slips his fingers through your wet folds. Your body tenses, then relaxes when he knows exactly how to touch you that has your body craving it. He feels how wet you are and stops. He removes his fingers collecting what he wanted.

“Your body is so responsive to me and I haven't even begun to touch you yet,” he lifts his hand to your face showing you his glistening fingers covered in your slick wetness for him.

You've gone mute, so aroused and so terrified of him forgetting all of your training.

Seeing you can't even form words due to shock he pushes his wet fingers between your parted lips, gesturing you to suck. He abruptly snatches them out when you do and dives his lips onto yours, licking the arousal off of your tongue before the taste disappears. His breathy moan against your mouth as he enjoys it makes you go weak for him.

He's terrifying, yet beautiful as he presses his soft full lips on yours. You find yourself pining for more encouraging him to give it to you. You press your breasts against his chest and pull his small waist to yours, loving the feel of his strong muscled form against your body.

You eagerly push your mouth onto his as he kisses you. His wide tongue begins enveloping your small mouth, he gently flicks his tip against yours like a snake.

You let out a sound of pleasure from the feeling which makes him stop. He pulls back and grins. You are stunned as he leaves you where you stand and heads to the table at the foot of his giant bed. He picks up the length of black rope.

He returns to you motioning you to put your wrists out. He looms over you and binds them tightly with intricate knots. Each pull on the rope rocks your body. He works to ensure they are perfect like a work of art.

He wants them taught, to see the marks you will make as you struggle to free your wrists against the bindings. The thought of the marks he'll leave on your body to remind you of your training start to make him hard. He shakes the thought from his mind, more excited about the next part of his plan.

Sexual Torture

He smiles looking up at you. He walks backwards never breaking his gaze as he lets out a measure of rope between you two.

"Come pet" he commands and yanks you forward like an animal. You have no choice but to follow and obey.

He walks you entirely past his giant bed leading you instead out to the arch way of his balcony. Confusion forms in your mind why he would lead you here as the chill of the night air hits your body.

He looks up and loops the rope through an eye hook bolt purposefully embedded in the archway above him. He's calm and focused as he pulls the rope through the large eye, forcing you to walk closer and closer to him until your arms are being lifted directly over your head.

He bends down on one knee staring at your feet as he pulls the rope higher until your heels begin to lift up. Once you are balancing on your toes, he secures the rope to another anchor hook on the frame of the balcony.

He stands tall in front of you to check his work pulling down on your trapped wrists checking that the rope is taught. He glides his hands down your arms and over your breasts. With the night air hardening your nipples he can't resist touching them.

He pinches them and you gasp. He slowly pulls them up until you begin standing higher on your toes, the pain becoming unbearable as he nearly lifts you from the ground. "FEYD Please!" you cry out for mercy, he instantly releases them back to your body.

“Such a spoiled pet I will change that" he coos. His eyes are intense and terrifying as he stares into your soft, beautiful, panic stricken ones.

He knows he is going to mentally and physically break you into complete obedience tonight. You aren’t even able to withstand his simplest tests of endurance.

He smiles knowing you belong to him you are his spoiled little pet now. Kept perfect and beautiful, always getting her way before him. Now he will ruin you for his pleasure.

He turns from you back into his chamber, leaving you strung up in the archway. You watch his movements inside. He is physically dominanting in strength and size, a perfect killing machine. All the muscles show prominently beneath his porcelain skin.

You desperately hope he shows gentleness when he breeds you, but your instincts tell you he will only know how to be brutal. A shiver runs down your spine at the thought.

Everything he does fills you with such strong hits of fear, but there are brief moments when he looks at you, kisses you, and touches you that are so soft you are internally begging for more.

Even with his depravity your core is throbbing for him. your body is covered in chills needing to be touched by his hands, you want him.

Your Bene Gesserit training working perfectly. You are ovulating and ready to mate. You hope his torturous game ends soon and he takes you in his warm bed to consummate the marriage and this nightmare is over.

You look to your left studying the table covered with an assortment of items there. Some phallic shaped, some glowing. You hear the click sound drawing your attention back inside to him. He unlocks his display case facing the balcony. Seeing inside once he hinges both large doors open makes your heart jump as a cold fear wracks your body.

Glinting within the display case, is an assortment of his knives. Each row looks more threatening and painful than the next.

Your eyes lose focus, feeling dizzy. You can't bear the idea of being cut or stabbed on your beautiful skin. You fidget your wrists together above your head to relieve some of the anxiety, but it only makes you feel more confined to your situation.

He carefully inspects each knife, wanting to pair the perfect one with you. He smiles as he pulls out a rare beautiful irredentist white handled one.

You watch as he takes the blade up to his tongue and slowly licks down the edge testing its sharpness. He's psychotic.

When he returns standing in front of you wielding the blade you close your eyes.

You let out a choked off whine when you feel the cold steel press against your throat. Your eyes fly open in fear. Feyd yanks your head back by the hair to expose your throat even more. He trails the knife against your most vulnerable spot.

"Feyd please, please..." you beg him for mercy. You twist your hands in vain trying to slip your wrists through the restraints, you are completely trapped.

You focus on your mission to be bred by him and beg even more. "Please I'll do everything you ask, just let me touch you, I want you, I will give myself to you, please not like this."

Upon hearing your words he slowly releases your hair. You look back into his cold dark eyes as yours softly plead with him. He removes the knife from your throat.

With perfect precision, he slices down your dress kneeling as the knife glides through the fabric without a sound. He stands back up and begins cutting off your sleeves. The cloths fall to the floor leaving you hanging trembling and completely naked.

He wanted to climax watching your blood spill on him, but your voice stirred something deep inside of his mind.

You watch as he heads back to his blade showcase. As he searches in it, you hope he is done with his knife. Instead he sheaths it at his hip.

Collecting what he wanted he returns with a ball gag. You resist holding your lips closed and he grabs your jaw hinging your mouth open. He pushes the ball inside strapping it on your mouth. "MMMFF" you yell against the ball as it absorbs your cries.

He stands behind you securing the buckle tight. He grabs a fistful of your hair and tugs your head back to rasp against your ear. "Now I can fully enjoy this pretty body without that mouth.”

The things you say are making him feel things he doesn't like to feel, and think things he doesn't want to think. You willingly wanting to give yourself to him is softening his resolve.

He is not soft, he wants to use you and dominate your body, getting off on your pain. He cups and squeezes your breasts from behind, pinching your nipples hard to distract himself back to the physical.

His touch is painful but you moan and arc your back to press against his cock. You want him inside of you not even able to think about torturing you anymore.

He falters and gives into his sexual urges sliding his hands down to your waist and pushing himself back against you. His eyes close as soon as he feels the heat between your legs warming his cock. It hardens his length making him want to breed with you.

He quickly pulls the knife from his hip trying to change the satisfaction of his urges. He brings the blade inches from your neck and presses his lips to your ear.

"Hold still for me pet" he whispers. He bites your lobe with his black teeth, you’ve aroused him so much his hand slips.

You feel the cold sharp point of his knife lightly scrape against your neck where he plans to cut you. You completely panic trying to move away from him. You yank your wrists against the restraints wanting to be freed. Your screams begging him not to hurt you muffled by the gag. He sheaths his knife seeing your defiance.

"Let's see how many times I need to make you cum until you obey me then,” he says finding your hopeless defiance amusing. It's the sign of someone who has never been broken before and he savors it.

He goes to the table on the balcony searching and pulling a large, metal, cylindrical shaped pill into one hand and a phallic shaped one in the other. He kneels down in front of you and brings the pill between your legs. He rests it at your entrance, making you tense.

"You'll cum only on my command," he instructs as he stares into your eyes.

You nod relieved it will be pleasurable. He pushes the shiny metal pill high inside of you with two fingers until it stops at your cervix. His fingers feel so good you clench as he slips them out.

As soon as the pill warms to your body temperature and detects your heartbeat, it begins to pulse and vibrate your entire pelvis.

Your abs constrict with each pulse and you immediately let out sounds of pleasure feeling the vibrations deep in your core. He presses the phallus on your clit and it hums as he wands it between your folds and back up to your clit again.

You moan into the gag, chest heaving as you toss your head back in ecstasy. The pill increasing in intensity with your body.

One clicking set of pulses on the inside as he wands over your clit on the outside has you curl your abdomen due to sexual overstimulation. You lift your knees up trying to relieve the intensity but he pushes your legs back down with his hand and presses the vibrating phallus into your clit even harder making your mind goes weak. The pleasure is immeasurable you fight your physical urges to cum as long as you can.

He moves the phallus to your entrance pushing it inside as the pill vibrates its strongest. Your moans are unending. You squeeze your legs together as he holds the phallus inside of you and you immediately fail. You orgasm moaning so loudly your teeth vibrate against the ball gag. Wave after wave of euphoria crashes through your entire body.

You feel a huge surge of endorphins as the pill stops. He slips the phallus out as you come down. Your breaths are heaving. Your head is bowed low, chills cover the expanse of your body. It was too pleasurable.

You hear him click his tongue in disapproval. "I didn't say you could cum, now we have to start over." He stares at you, waiting until you finally tilt your head up and nod. Your reactions are delayed the orgasm demolished you.

He puts on a ring that matches the pill and gently reaches two fingers inside of you. The pill slides down to connect with his ring and he pulls it out of your wetness. It makes you moan, you feel empty again.

Your sounds of pleasure excite him. He places the tip of the phallus under your chin tilting your face up to meet his gaze. "I enjoyed watching you cum, you make the prettiest sounds. I'll give you more, but this time, you'll cum on my command or I will punish you." He says inflecting his words deliberately at the end

You quickly nod, wanting to be good for him and avoid any pain. The pleasure he gives you is so addicting your body already craves more.

He puts his pill and phallus aside and picks up a vial of glowing liquid coating his fingers with it as he stands in front of you.

He reaches between your legs, covering your folds inside and out. His slippery fingers explore over all the flesh between your legs, spreading the liquid around liberally.

It feels so warm, and good, and pleasurable. You close your eyes, nipples hardening as you enjoy suddenly feeling more sensitive to his touch. It amuses him, he uses this arousal fluid on his most depraved pleasure slaves to make them cum.

He smiles to himself admiring how beautiful your face is in pleasure. He rewards you with a soft pinch to your clit, releasing a pretty moan from your lips. He might make you his favorite pet after his training tonight.

He slowly pushes his middle and index fingers into you, spreading the fluid inside and then holding them still as he waits. This time you fully feel the effect of the substance as it relaxes your walls and the blood begins coursing to your softening core. You feel an intense throbbing inside and out, especially on your clit.

You struggle to keep your eyes focused on his face, the feeling extreme. Your head tilts downward as your abs tighten. You endure wave after wave of powerful pulsing and intense throbbing between your legs. Your eyes close as you moan softly into the gag. Your entire body relaxes, floating in mental ecstasy.

He smiles knowing the effects are taking over. He starts to scissor his fingers inside of you, opening you up. The feeling is so good and intense, you moan and drool on the gag as your core tightens. He loves seeing you so aroused getting a high from it.

He shoves his fingers in and out of you until you are on the verge of another orgasm. The arousal fluid working so well he can push his third finger inside of you. You begin to whimper and whine as he shoves it in with the other two stretching you out and stuffing you full.

He scissors all three making a wave of pleasure swell inside of your core triggering your climax. You moan in euphoria losing tears and drool as your body constricts around his fingers.

"Does my little pet want to cum?" he asks. You nod and moan against the ball gag, tears fall from your eyes as you clench inside ready to orgasm. "You'll cum when I say" he smirks darkly making you endure more.

You whine at his denial.

He pushes his fingers up, spreading them wide, and curls them back down inside of you. If the gag wasn't in your mouth you would be high-pitched moaning so loudly everyone in the courtyard would hear it.

His cock twitches from the sound. He's beginning to enjoy pleasing you more than inflicting pain on you.

The feeling is so euphoric as he spreads you open. Your walls begin rhythmically expanding and contracting on his fingers. You don't even recognize the animalistic sounds escaping your throat as you erupt into an orgasm.

You release so much pleasure and liquid from your core it renders your body completely listless. The gag vibrates in your mouth as you deeply moan in aftershock.

Your wrists go limp in the restraints as you struggle to recover. The throbbing subsides leaving you weak and brainless as you leak arousal all over his fingers and his hand.

You whine against your drool covered gag remembering you weren't supposed to cum. He pulls his wet fingers out leaving you empty.

He brings his hand up to his mouth and slides his long tongue out. He licks his hand entirely clean enjoying the taste of your sweet cum. The slick clear texture of your ovulation makes him urge to have thick ropes of his seed coating your walls. It softens his crueler intentions

He squeezes your face by the jaw to look up at him. "I wanted to reward you and take off your restraints but you came again without my permission and now you will be punished" He watches you shiver before he continues. "I will do it lightly. I want to pleasure you and taste that sweet cum you make for me again," his voice sounds gentler as he releases your jaw.

A chill runs down your spine wondering what he considers a light punishment. He begins to pull your rope from the anchor hook back down into his hands.

As your arms lower you feel the blood begin flowing to your limbs again giving you relief. He releases the ball gag from your mouth relaxing your even more. He wipes your tears and chin clean. He looks you over, still so beautiful to him. Your wrists bright red with dots of blood, pupils blown wide from shock.

He's pleasured you brainless now he wants to fuck you boneless.

The Atonement

He suddenly yanks the rope pulling your wrists. "Come get your punishment pet," he watches the look of surprise returning some vitality to your washed out eyes.

You feel the knots in your stomach thinking of what torture he has in store. He has already defragmented your mind to pieces, you will do anything he asks. He pulls you along until he reaches his table at the foot of the bed. He looses the rope and steps down on it making you kneel to the floor bowing down at his feet.

He sifts through the items on the table finding what he wants and yanks you up by your rope to kneel. He brings a dainty silver chain in front of you in his hands. At first you think its a necklace until he clamps one end on your right nipple and the other end on your left.

Your body constricts as you try to get used to the feeling. Your nipples become extremely hard in the clamps, it is pleasurable yet painful at the same time sending chills across your body.

"You are such a soft pet, so I will only punish you lightly," he says and begins pulling the chain up it sharpens the pinch of the metal on your nipples making you cry out.

He lifts the chain higher beckoning you to stand. You struggle to lift from kneeling with your hands tied in front of you. He never releases his tight hold on the chain as you try to get up. You finally gain your footing and stand in front of him.

Your body jolts when he tugs your nipple chain pulling you into him. He begins kissing your throat and with the way he licks and sucks onto your neck it makes you give in to him completely.

He takes his time and sucks loving bruises across the entire front of your neck making a collar. Your moans and whimpers sound so good close to his ear. They are his new favorite sounds and he wants more.

He reaches his hand up cupping your jaw kissing your lips passionately. As he kisses you he begins to savor every touch of your lips together.

The feeling is foreign to him, not having the urge to cause you pain to get aroused. His cock is growing hard between his legs just knowing he's giving you pleasure. You finally touch him, rubbing your bound hands on the hard length of his growing cock. It entices a deep moan out of him.

He parts from you and pulls his knife. You whimper in fear, remaining completely still; trembling yet obedient. He brings the knife down to your wrists cutting each knot on your restraints one by one.

Your freed wrists are incredibly bruised and red with blood. He inspects them remembering how much you struggled when you were tied.

Instead of arousal he feels something else inside that he thinks is remorse. The thought strikes him, you are his baroness his wife and he can never mark on you this way again. He rubs his thumbs across the marks thinking of how he can atone.

He removes his knife and holster from his waist and sets them on the table. He picks up another metallic phallus and pill knowing what you like. He pulls you onto the bed making you lay in the middle.

You look up and see a mirror on his ceiling. You watch in the reflection as he settles between your legs with his face instead of his body.

He softly pushes the pill deep inside of you and removes his fingers. As it detects your vitals and begins to pulse. He taps the phallus on and presses it to your clit. You let out a pleasurable sound that he likes and he smiles.

He presses the humming phallus to your entrance and you spread your legs wider inviting him in. He enjoys it and grazes his black teeth against your soft inner thighs biting and sucking equal bruises on each side.

The pill pulses slowly inside of your body making you softly moan. He presses the phallus to your clit again and looks into your eyes. He enjoys watching your face get softer and softer from the pleasure building inside of you.

The pill starts vibrating deeply against your cervix making you want to cum. He pushes the phallus all the way in and snakes his hand up your navel pulling your nipple chain and holding it taught. All three stimuli at once make you strongly orgasm, moaning into the air.

He removes the phallus and grabs your thighs pulling them wider lowering his face between your legs. You watch as he slowly unfurls his long tongue and presses the flat wide part on your clit and laps up the clear slick cum of your orgasm. Your core tightens as you begin to moan his name and praise him repeatedly.

He smiles darkly against your folds. Your praises sound so good to him encouraging him to do more. He begins to lick and suck harder, spreading his mouth all over between your legs. He ravishes you until your body is covered in chills trembling in ecstasy.

You look up into the mirror on the ceiling seeing your face blissed out in euphoria. You watch Feyds pale muscular back flexing as he holds your thighs open and devours you between your legs.

Your core begins pounding as you moan louder watching him ravage you in the reflection. As Feyd continues to lick and suck the pill powerfully hums increasing its intensity until you are at your peak.

Your body tenses and then relents into ecstasy. You have a cataclysmic orgasm squirting liquid from your core directly into Feyds wanting mouth.

He moans deeply in pleasure as he drinks it out of you swallowing and lapping up every last drop before tonguing deep inside of you wanting more. His cock hardens completely solid.

You shiver involuntarily as you come down from your orgasm and let out a breathy moan. He begins licking you clean between your legs like an animal. His beast-like vulgarity overwhelms all of your senses.

Feyd climbs over you looking into your wrecked out eyes. He unclamps your nipples one at a time, another wave of relief washes through your body. He delicately inserts his ring finger into you, retrieving the now wet pill. He sits up to put all of the items back on the table.

You watch as he removes his black slacks, his entire body is chiseled like a perfect white marble statue. You are over come with arousal as you stare at the length firm standing between his muscular thighs.

His cock is long and hard, it bounces as he kneels back on the bed naked infront of you. He's completely hairless, his testes soft pink, his thick shaft alabaster white, his tip glowing red from arousal. Seeing his length and size you wonder how it will fit but you are craving to be impregnated by it.

You slowly sit up shakily at first then, turn over getting on your hands and knees. You crawl away from him climbing up the bed using all of your strength. He tilts his head wondering what your plan is.

You have to complete your mission from the Bene Gesserits, you need to be impregnated by his seed and you need it deep.

Brutal Breeding

You grab the headboard and arc your back down. With your knees parted wide you reach your hand between your legs and spread your wet pussy lips open for him.

You peek over your shoulder watching his reaction. His breathing becomes ragged, his eyes go dark as they fixate between your legs. His movements turn almost animalistic like he is stalking as he crawls to you. The urge to breed and soak his cock overwhelming all of his senses.

He kneels behind you placing one hand on your waist and the other around the base of his shaft. He rubs his thick heavy cock between your legs coating his tip and length in the slick arousal of your folds. His tip is throbbing as he presses it to your entrance sending a shiver up your spine.

You brace yourself, as he shifts on his knees and grips your waists preparing to breed you. With one powerful thrust he spears the tip of his cock into you. Your head knocks back against his shoulder as a desperate cry escapes your throat.

You pant heavily trying to adjust. With only the tip in, he pulls his hips back until it slips out. He grabs your legs, and spreads them wider to accommodate his size.

He rests his tip to your entrance a second time. You brace again as he powerfully thrusts his hips forward smacking against you. This time his cock plows directly into your cervix as his hips meet the backs of your thighs.

You gasp in shock before wailing. His first several thrusts are quite painful you arch your back and cry out in distress. He stretches you wide around his thick cock. His thrusts are brutal like he's he's stabbing you between the legs. After several pushes of his cock your vulva finally splits around his size. You become extremely wet. You cry out as he begins to thrust into you fully.

His soaked cock begins gliding in and out of your tight walls. The agony and pain soon turns into the reward of pleasure. You get accustomed to the feel of being stretched around his large size and finally begin to praise him and moan his name as you enjoy it.

The way your walls grip him is unlike any other he is instantly addicted to your sex.

"That's it pet ...take my cock," he breathes as he plows directly into your cervix with every single thrust. He begins to fuck you harder until you are both panting like you are running out of air. The slapping sounds of his skin against yours increases with his stamina. Your walls throb in pleasure as your moans fill the air

He finally pulls his hips back as he catches his breath, his cock is twitching wanting to cum. He holds your waist tighter and thrusts himself fully back into your tight hole repeatedly.

The head of his cock presses directly into your cervix as his shaft finally spasms. You feel the hotness filling you up as he bursts rope after rope of his thick cum into your open cervix.

Feyd lets out a loud choked off moan feeling one of the greatest pleasures in his life. Your walls clenching and releasing on him rhythmiclly trying to milk his cock of every drop.

He lets out a range of deep moans from the feeling and continues to thrust into you still hard. Shocks of pleasure begin racing up your spine from the overwhelming sensation. His thrusts never stop as he fucks his cum deeper inside of you.

You let out a string of high-pitched moans unable to contain your arousal as he pounds into you from behind. He grabs you around the back of your neck as he feels his second climax begin.

His cock gets even harder and seems to swell stretching you to another level of fullness. You cry out as you climax

He feels your orgasm milk his cock again with your tights walls and he deeply moans in pleasure. You are like a drug to him now. He fully sheaths himself inside of you, his cock twitches as he groans releasing a second load of cum deep into your womb.

He falls forward holding the headboard with you. Chest heaving cock throbbing as he thrusts every last drop into your core.

His hips slow to a still as he tries to catch his breath. He brings one arm down and wraps it around your torso holding you tightly to him.

He wants to remain one with you as long as possible, he doesn't want to pull out he wants his heir. His breathing slows as he finally softens.

He shakily straightens up behind you and pulls his hips back until his heavy tip slips out of you.

Only a few drops of his silver cum leak from you and he kneels behind you in worship, licking them back up and pushing them inside of you with his tongue.

He feels weak like the very life force was taken from him as he collapses back on to the bed.

He is unable to move a muscle as he slowly falls unconscious.

You come down from holding the head board to check him. His eyes are shut tight as he softly breathes. You stare down his pale white body to his now soft cock resting on his thigh. You are astonished he can cum more than once.

With his breathing slowed you think he must be in deep sleep dreaming so you can begin the prana-bindu phrases. You kneel over his ear and begin to chant them but he twitches violently in his sleep and turns on his side startling you.

Without thinking you quickly put your hand on his shoulder holding him steady to calm him. You will have to wait until he's fully asleep to whisper the phrases to bind him. You lift his head and slide your thigh under it.

You grab his muscular white arm by the wrist and drape it around your waist to hold you.

He looks so soft and beautiful without his cold piercing eyes. You wonder how he would've tuned out with the proper upbringing.

You can't help but show him affection wondering how cruel his life must've been with the Baron. You stroke his temple lovingly.

Suddenly you feel a twinge of pain in your uterus and press your hand on it. Using your mind to control your body you will the selection of the gender. The pain travels up your fallopian tube to your ovary and dissipates. You are pregnant with Feyds unborn.

You hope he has enough humanity left in him for your future child's sake. The severity hits you suddenly as you look down at his sleeping face.

You still have a mission. You need his breathing to be heavier. He needs to be in deep sleep with his eyelids moving while he's dreaming before you whisper the phrases this time.

You caress his shoulders and his neck and ears before it dawns on you. Maybe he has nothing to dream about. You know he craves being praised and begin to speak softly over his ear as you caress him.

"Feyd Rautha is so handsome, he is so brave and he will conquer every fighter in the gladiator arena in his upcoming fight."

His shoulder twitches and his face slightly warms into a wicked smile before returning back.

You think harder

"Feyd, your wife is pregnant with your unborn, soon you will be Baron and have your heir."

His arm squeezes firmer around your waist hugging onto you. You intertwine your fingers with his and softly rest your hand on his head. You watch as his lips part and his breathing becomes heavier. His eyelids finally shift as he begins to dream.

You quickly whisper prana-bindu phases into his ear binding him and watch as his eyelids open a sliver, showing the whites of his eyes and then close. It is done.

You lift his head and gently rest it back to the bed pulling the blanket to cover him. You will go back to your chambers now that the deed is done. He can do what he wants and you will remain obedient enough that he doesn't discard you or kill you. You will await further orders from the Bene Gesserits.

When you step from the bed you wince in pain as a dull ache begins to form between your legs. He's bred you so brutally you can barely walk.

You will think of ways to make him gentler now that he enjoys giving you pleasure. You rest your hand against the banister of his bed before you can take another step.

You check your body. Your wrists and inner thighs are covered with bruises, you reach your hand to your neck remembering he sucked there across the entire front. Finally you reach between your legs and wince from the tenderness. You look back at Feyd still sleeping soundly. You slowly walk to collect your cloak and escape.

You find it at the entrance in the darkened room on the floor and clasp it back on. You get to his large bedroom doors and see the bolt resting across. You are almost completely out of strength as you try to push the bolt up. It lifts and falls back too quickly making a loud click sound as it settles.

Feyd is already up when he hears the familiar sound.

He comes and strips your cloak off of your body and picks you up over his shoulder carrying you back to his bed. He looks you over as he lays you down.

"Are you going to stay or do I have to tie you up?" his voice sounds very tired.

"I'll stay," you say knowing he would tie you up if you said otherwise.

He goes to re-secure the door before climbing back into bed with you.

He nudges you with his hands making you go higher and higher up the bed until your back is resting against his head board. He settles between your legs laying his head on your thigh.

His muscular shoulders are prominent in your lap as he wraps his arms around your hips hugging you. His affectionate embrace shocks you.

He tugs at your wrist, wanting your hand on his head. You wonder if he remembered this in his sleep as you begin to stroke behind his ear and down his neck.

He is addicted to the way you comfort him, feeling love and affection softens him completely for you. His hand creeps from around you to rest over your navel.

He stares at it like he is imagining his baby growing inside and gently caresses your womb.

Your ears tingle wondering if he realizes. When he kisses you at the exact place above your unborn, you understand somehow he must already know.

Your eyes grow weary, your body begins completely shutting down from shock and stress. You slowly fall unconscious resting your head back to the headboard.

When your hand stops caressing him he tugs it once then looks up realizing you are asleep. He sits up and cradles your head in his hands as he brings you down from the headboard to lay in his bed.

You are completely out. He looks at your sleeping face feeling a mix of pain for hurting you and happiness that you are his. The new emotions are overwhelming to him he tries to block them out.

Laying down with you he covers you both. He pulls you onto his chest placing your hand across his shoulder to hold him. He closes his eyes and slowly drifts into a deep sleep dreaming he is Baron of Giedi Prime with his Baroness and his heir.

~*END*~To Be Continued

UPDATE: Part 2 Now Available ✍🏼

🏷️ @burnthheparaphilia @elvismylove04 @lindszeppelin @obsessedvibee @abswifey @austiebuttbutt @jessica987 @oh-my-front-door @slowsweetlove @purejasmine @hardcoredisneynerd @i5uckersblog @phil2135561 @steph-speaks @maloribarnes1999 @austinswhitewolf @berlinalv

[novashelby]

The Nanny Conundrum~A Tommy Shelby Smut

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x Nanny!Reader (3rd person)

Warnings: Male masterbation, voyeurism. Meant to be kind of funny. A little cringe and embarrassing.

Prompt 93

Word Count: 2,791

Summary: Tommy Shelby just got a new nanny for Charlie. She's a sweet, delicate girl, but learns quite a thing or two about men while hiding for a game of hide n seek.

Please enjoy. I appreciate reblogs and comments. Likes are kind and thoughtful, and I appreciate you reading my work. However, reblogs really help writers out. So, please, considering rebloging.

Tommy was only delicate and proper with a select few people, and she was one of them, but he couldn’t help himself. Not even Satan himself could give her a rough handling. She was delicate looking, sounding, and acting. Like a daisy, really. And on top of it, she was so, so good with Charlie. Just two years old, losing his mother a few short months before. He was hesitant at first, not wanting to go through a whole hiring process. And so, he convinced Mary and Francis to take on the extra duty. Though, two aging women, their patience was waning. Enough was enough, Mr. Shelby was getting a nanny for the poor boy. 

It was difficult for Mr. Shelby to find employees as many were aware of his antics. There were a few applicants…none did anything for him. They were old. Had no energy with a sharp tongue. Mr. Shelby didn’t want anyone with a sharp tongue. Then there was a quiet time with weeks in between; no applicants had walked through the door. 

Until one day, someone did. It was a Sunday, too. Which got a work motivated man like himself excited. Mary had knocked on the door and he grumbled for her to enter. Behind her was a girl, not too tall and with a young face. He couldn’t make out her age, but her cheeks were round and blushed with youth. He noticed how when she smiled, her eyes would as well and she’d let out this delicate laugh. 

It was right then that he knew. Unlike the others, he immediately slid back his chair and stood, straightening his blue white lined vest. Mary was surprised at the soft smile that tugged at his usually stiff lips. His stress lines seemed to ease, but most of all he turned gentle. Mary watched aghast how he waltzed around his mahogany desk and rushed over to her. Never had he ever shook a woman’s hand as such; both hands gently holding her right. “I’m Mr. Shelby,” he said, and Mary couldn’t take anymore. She gave her employer a pursed look, brow raised, and he mouthed what. 

“I will take my leave, Mr. Shelby,” she said. “I must go to the kitchens and yell at the staff.” The young girl frowned a bit and turned to watch the woman leave. 

“Is she alright?” she asked, turning her attention back to the man who was still holding her hand. 

He was quick to nod and offer a smile. “Yes, yes! She’s fine. Don’t worry about her, eh? I think all women get a certain edge to them when they hit about seventy-”

“And men,” she giggled, putting a finger out. 

Kindly, he chuckled back. “I think we develop that a bit younger. Anyway! Come! Take a seat, eh?” He walked her over to the desk, hand resting politely on her mid-back. “So, are you looking for a nanny position?” They sat across from one another and she handed over CV paperclipped together. His eyes quickly scanned it, grinning. “Nanny program in London, worked for the same family for 2 years, twenty years old, born in Boston to English parents, and the second oldest of six children.” He put it down and pushed it over to her. “You understand this is a live in position, love?” Love. A red rosy tint fell on her face and she had to look away shyly. She could not lie. Of course, Mr. Shelby was a handsome man smooth with his words. “You’d be here Monday to Sunday. Of course, you will have free time and vacation time. Sundays off.” 

“The pay?” she asked. “A family in London has offered me six pounds.”

Six bloody fuckin’ pounds, Mr. Shelby thought to himself, a bit stunted. But nonetheless, he said, “I can offer ten, plus you’ll have a room, food, and free roam of the property. I’ll allow leave for all holidays, Sunday’s off, and early leave on Wednesdays. You’ll be allowed three sick days a calendar year-”

“I can start today,” she said, abruptly, far too eager to work for him. The benefits were like nothing she’d even been offered. He paused, smile dropping a bit, not used to people being so…interested. She coughed a bit and fixed herself in the chair. “Sorry,” she said, clearing her throat. “I can start today. If you would have me, of course.”

He nodded, “not today. Tomorrow. You’ll start tomorrow.” 

Everyone liked her. She was like a breath of fresh air. A positive influence on everyone. Francis and Mary seemed more at ease and talked with less grouch. The kitchen danced when she waltzed in. The other maids enjoyed how she was incredibly courteous of the messes Charlie would make. Even John and Arthur started to look forward to coming to Arrow house. Despite their miserable to be around brother who did nothing, but demand this and that from them. 

And Mr. Shelby, well...he found himself smiling a tad more when he saw her with Charlie. 

She was a wonderful nanny. On top of the normal tasks, she actually played with Charlie and helped with his coloring and motor tasks. She’d sing to him and dance with him. And unlike most girls her age, she wasn’t opposed to rolling around in the grass with him. They’d sleep in the grass and dance in the rain with their shoes off. Charlie was in love with her! Mr. Shelby would watch from the window, feeling this pool of warmth within him when they’d run around in circles. 

“Ah, look at her,” Francis sighed, putting the tea tray on his desk. “Her frocks are always stained with grass.” 

Mr. Shelby flicked closed the blinds and sat at his desk, making up his tea with just a tad of sugar and milk. He enjoyed some honey as well those days. “It’ll rain soon, suppose they’ll come inside. She’s been reading to him a lot.” 

Francis smiled. “Very good. Will you be heading to the stables? Should I prepare-”

“No, no,” he said. “I’m just going to enjoy my cuppa, eh? And you should take a rest.” A rest. That was also something new. Mr. Shelby was allowing staff to have much more rest since she came. 

He finished his tea and went off to the stables when the two were coming in from their adventures from outside. After clean up time and a book, Charlie was still restless, wanting to run around and play. She pouted and poked his nose, “Charlie, I got a game for you!” His eyes widened and he giggled in excitement. She leaned in as if it was something special. “HIde n’ seek! I will hide. Okay? Has Charlie remembered his numbers?”

“One…two..three..eight…four…six…nine…five,” he counted off and she chuckled, telling him it was just fine enough. She picked him up and placed him facing the wall, explaining that he had to count to ten slowly and not move.

“I will hide somewhere, Charlie, on the first floor, okay?” she smiled, ruffling his hair before skipping out. She giggled as she heard his cute counting before opening and closing each door, unsure of where to hide before he stopped counting. She slipped into Mr. Shelby’s office, not seeing the harm when he wasn’t around. Under the desk, she crammed herself in a ball and waited. 

She heard Charlie call for her in a laugh, running around the hallway. She could tell that he checked the bathroom first then her room before going back to his room. She waited and waited before the office door opened, and she grinned, getting ready to say you win! When Mr. Shelby coughed. Wincing, she wondered if she should climb out and explain that they were playing hide and seek or wait for him to leave, but to her annoyance, he took a seat at his desk. At first, he fumbled around with some papers before cursing under his breath, seeming frustrated. She was sucking in her lips to hold back any loud breathing. But what he did next was…shocking. There were no other words to explain it. Shocking. To her, at least. A young twenty year old girl who surprisingly lived a very modest and conservative life. Never had she even held hands with a boy, nevermind witness what she was about to witness. His hands went to his belt clasp and fumbled with the golden hoop before easily undoing his trousers. Peeking out was a pair of men’s white underwear. Maybe he’s just getting comfortable, she told herself, but was quickly proven wrong when he let out a soft groan and slipped under the waistband of his underwear. She watched, frozen. He rubbed himself a bit under his underwear, grinding his hips up at his hand. Soft groans and eager curses filled the room in a hushed manner. As if he was ashamed of doing such a thing in his own home. It was all new to her, and she watched equally horrified and curious while kicking herself for being so stupid. A million hiding spots and she chose the very one he had to wank in. Peculiarly, a small wet spot formed where the tip was. Stupidly, she wanted to just reach up and touch it, but the thought lodged to the back of her head when he pulled it out. There was nothing she could compare it to, being the first cock she’d ever seen. But her cunt ached in an almost fear-like response seeing the shape and length. The tip was glistening with a sticky substance that he didn’t hesitate rubbing his thumb against. “Fuck,” he let out, leaning back slightly. Between his thumb and index, he rubbed it before giving his cock three good tugs. How it dripped out in a long string before pooling a little tiny dot onto the floor next to her. Swallowing, she looked down at it…just a little dab. A droplet. For a split second, she considered touching it. Mimicking how he rolled it between his fingers just to see what it felt like. But she couldn’t do it. It felt grotesque…dirty. Sinister? That’s when she heard him spit on his hand, drawing her attention from the precum and back to his twitching cock. His spit ran down the shaft, wetting the chair.

“Oh, fuck,” he grunted, his hand wrapping around himself, twisting around. He moved slowly up and down, teasing the sensation. It’d been such a long time since he last rubbed one out. Though loving a good fuck, self pleasure was never something he needed to ease an urge. But he felt it that day. His cock consistently throbbed at the seams of his trousers. Not even a smoke and a drink calmed him. And so, he resorted to a good old school wank. Admittedly, it was quite nice. Alone in his element, just feeling himself. “Shit.” His started to roll upward, fucking his hand. 

Alone…except for the sweet nanny under his desk, trapped in quite a predicament she wasn’t quite sure she liked. His hand started to move a bit faster with a better rhythm. He was flowing a stream of grunts, curses, groans, moans, and inaudible sentences. “Baby,” he cried, head rolled back, eyes closed. “Fuck me, c’mon-shit!” He hummed, running a hand over his face. She swallowed and panicked that maybe he knew she was there. Did he? Who was he talking to? But she didn’t move. She hardly even breathed scared he’d hear her. “Mmmmhm.” Pausing, he spit on his hand again before rubbing it all over. Just as he resumed his speed, he said something she could hardly believe. Her name. Followed by a, “just like that…good fuckin’ girl.” In shock, her eyes widened and her hands instantly covered her mouth. “Bounce up and down, right on my cock. Ride my fuckin’ cock!” His breaths became jagged while his hips twitched and jolted. He was close…so fucking close. 

Meanwhile, the poor girl tried to block it out. But how could she? So close to a man jerking his cock, calling her name. Her fucking name? Imagining her bouncing on it. She couldn’t help, but wonder if this was his first time thinking of her like this. She hated to admit it, but her thighs were struggling to stay still. So, so tempted to rub them together to ease a surprise heat growing between her legs. “That’s good, baby, keep doing that….Ugh! Fuck!” He paused, edging himself. She noticed when he stopped, his hands clenched around it harder, shaking. Then he slowly went back to tugging and rubbing, easing back into the lost rhythm. “I bet you are so fuckin’ tight.” One hand slowly went between her legs to cup her aching pussy as she suppressed a whine. “Fuck, I want to corrupt that little fuckin’ cunt….Make you into a dirty little fuckin’ slut. My dirty slut…fuck!” He jolted upward, other hand gripping a chair arm before easing back into speed. 

Make you into a dirty little fuckin’ slut. My dirty slut. Those words imprinted themselves in her head. His words were disgusting, filthy, and humiliating, but so fucking erotic. His possessiveness was like honey. It took so much effort to not ease her curiosities and reach her hand up to touch his cock. So, she had to just watch. Watching was so hot, but so torturous. When he started to get sloppy with his movements, she prepared for him to stop again, but he didn’t. “F-fuck!” He cried out, tugging one last time before a stream of white came from his cock. She was expecting it to be like the sticky clear mess, but no, his cum shot.

In fact, it shot at her…on her face. Frozen, feeling the warmth that landed over her eyelids and dripped down her face and over her lips. Appalled and embarrassed, how was she going to face him after that? With his excrement painting her face. He let out one last, “fuck,” before tiredly tucking himself away and buckling his belt. He took the handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his hands. Sliding back in his chair and standing, she was sure that he was going to leave, but no. He kneeled down to clean up wherever the cum landed, coming face to face with her…wearing it.

Never had he ever been so mortified, looking at the girl who seemed as if she saw death. His cum was right there…teasing at her lips. His nanny….Had she watched the whole thing? Heard every word? Of course. She had to. He swallowed, and said, “Um…this isn’t a great napping spot-”

“Mr. Shelby,” she stuttered out, tongue darting out almost instinctively, accidentally swiping the cum off. She winced as it tasted salty. His eyes flickered down to her quivering lips, widening. There was a bit of silence before she continued. “I was playing hide n seek-”

“In my office?” he asked, not exactly mad. More stunned and quiet than anything. He felt as if he was a young man again, ashamed of rubbing one out. 

“I’m competitive. I didn’t think he’d look in here,” she responded with the same tone. He nodded slowly, reaching out to clean her face, but she took the rag and did it herself before going to hand it back. 

“Keep it,” he said, slowly standing and grabbing for his whiskey. He didn’t even bother pouring it in a glass as he swigged it from the bottle. She crawled out from under the desk watching him gulp it like water. “Fuckin’ ‘ell,” he cursed, putting it down and turning to her. “Did you-”

“Yes,” she said before he could finish the quest. Nervously, she averted her attention off to the side, playing with her dress. His eyes skimmed over her, heart rate through the roof. His head was swarming with a whole bunch of conflictions. “Should I pack my things?” Mr. Shelby licked at his bottom lip and itched the arch of his nose. “Um…well, I think it is alright. You’re not the first woman to look at it. Probably not the last unless I drop dead right now…which is fuckin’ possible.” She bowed and tried to slowly back away when he looked over at her. “C’mere. I’m not done with you. As much as I’d like to jump out this fuckin’ window, you’re still my employee and you were in my office without permission. Why don’t you take a seat-no, no. Right here.” She nervously looked at where his hand was pointing. It was the desk. “C’mere,” he patted. “Sit on the desk like a good girl.” The words played back in her head and she did so…like a fuckin’ good girl.

[neil-gaiman]

Hey Neil! I know I’m just a random teenager you’ve never even met so it’s completely fine if you don’t respond or anything. I’m a novice writer who’s been working on a story for YoungArts, a program dedicated to helping young artists try and get there footing in the world of creativity. Getting to my point, I was wondering if you might be able to read the first chapter and give some advice? I live in a small town so it’s about impossible to get anything other than, that’s good. I want some actual critiques and who better to ask than the guy that wrote Good Omens with Terry Pratchett? (Favorite series ever by the way) Once again you don’t know me, so no need to respond. I merely thought that in my quest for advice I’d start with my favorite author. Thanks!

I wish I had the time to read everything everyone wants me to read. I don't, but perhaps some nice people in the notes would volunteer.

[red-riding-wood]

PSA - Community Predator

Over a series of months, myself and other Tumblr users -- fic writers, gif makers, fans of created content -- have been victimised by @mrkdvidal1989, who has extensively lied about who he is, preyed on multiple women and denied involvement -- therefore ruining friendships, reputations and feelings, and promised me life-saving medical treatment that he never followed through on.

More information including mine and their stories under the cut.

The reason I am going public with this is twofold:

A) To protect others from being hurt. He is known to reach out to many tumblr users, especially young women in the Cillian Murphy fandom -- but he may have a wider reach beyond this circle. B) Since his "disappearance" three weeks ago and the unravelling of his lies, this man has ruined my life and the only hope I had of obtaining treatment for a condition that has been plaguing me for four years.

Killian Vidal is the name he has chosen to give us, and has claimed to be both a officer commander and general in the mobility troop in the SAS (the general rank does not even exist), has beaten cancer a while ago (but said to another mutual that his "time was running out" and he is currently struggling with it), and a plethora of other life experiences and general knowledge about him that varies in consistency when talking to different people and is questionable in its validity. He has also shared pictures of "himself" that when reverse image searched, belong to different people.

I got to know Kill when he reblogged one of my fanfics (as the story seems to start with a lot of his victims) and he reached out via DMs. We quickly became close friends who called nearly every day on Discord and when I told him about my health issues, he immediately offered to pay for my medical treatment wherever I could find willing doctors.

I was hesitant to believe this at first since all of this seemed too good to be true (and was). He claimed to be very wealthy, enough to afford private jets like it was nothing and to rent me an apartment in the UK in the same building as him. Over time, I grew to trust him because he felt like such a genuine person and friend, which was made all the more believable by the fact that he has such a huge following on Tumblr and was, at the time, part of a vast social network of fans and friends (one of which he even claimed to know IRL -- who will remain anonymous unless they decide to speak out). I decided to ignore the little red flags because I was so desperate to receive this treatment that for me would be life-saving.

For four years, I have been plagued by an array of (mostly) undiagnosed digestive issues that have made my life almost unbearable and have on numerous occasions nearly killed me due to malnutrition. I've spent months in hospital, endured years of malpractice and misdiagnoses, undergone heart surgery, and have tried absolutely everything I can to get better. In the winter of 2023, I was told by my doctor that I was refused in the TPN program (a treatment that may have slowed or stopped my weight loss) and that with or without it, I was looking at mortality. Refusing to stop fighting but having exhausted the public health care system in Canada, I went into 2024 not really having much hope of anything anymore.

So, when Kill came along, that changed. He promised -- and I mean, from the bottom of his heart, promised -- that he would help me get treatment, that he would get me out of my abusive home and fly me to the UK, that he would be there for me as my friend, etc. I was beyond grateful, and as my trust with him built, so did my hope.

The travel plans kept getting put off; originally, he would fly me out as soon as the apartment became available, which was the 11th of Feb, 2024. He kept finding excuses to not book the jet. Finally, it seemed as if around the 15th/16th I would be flying. My health had been declining rapidly and the situation was becoming all the more urgent, and he said he was in contact with a pilot and would send the ticket soon and call me.

That was the last I heard from him. The 16th.

Initially thinking he had ended his life (he had discussed thoughts of suicide with me prior to this), I was beside myself with worry not only thinking one of my closest friends was gone but also that my chance at life was. I reached out to his other friends, and I made several calls to the UK authorities and emergency services and ended up requesting a welfare check be made to see if he was even alive.

They reported that no one under the name Killian Vidal was in the records of the building name he gave me -- the same building that I was meant to live in within that week.

After reaching out to my now beloved friend @kittenonpluto (A.K.A., Cas) on Tumblr, I learned that Kill was in fact alive, and had told her that he was in hospital for digestive issues in Indianopolis, United States (though again, no record of his name in their medical system). He still wouldn't talk to me, but told her to tell me that he would reach out when he was out of hospital.

Cas and I compared information he'd told us (her story will be attached to this post) and looked into the mystery more. He constantly dodged confrontation and questions about the fake photos and information he'd sent her, and seemed to use his completely fabricated hospitalisation as an excuse to not fulfil his promises to myself and her, as well as a means to garner sympathy.

It was quite obvious that he didn't know how the American medical system worked, and he even incorporated elements of my actual story and used them in his. When asked about his treatments, he responded with medically false information. He reported digestive issues, reflux, and having both an NG tube and TPN -- both of which I have experience with -- and let me say, I am beyond disgusted and infuriated that my real life trauma was used as a ploy in all this.

How do we know for a fact this is false? I checked the police case for his welfare check again, and they said that they confirmed him being in the UK at the same time he had told Cas he was in hospital in the States.

After a final confrontation from both Cas and myself (and a desperate final plea for the medical aid he promised me), he was never heard from again from either of us or our friend circles.

I'm now having to pick up the pieces he's left me in and to be honest, I have little to no idea of what the hell to do or how to save myself. The fact that he strung me along for a month and built up my hope that I was going to live only to abandon me without even a word is deplorable to me.

And mine isn't the only story. I've heard from four women on Tumblr (who, again, will remain anonymous unless they choose to speak out) who he has been romantic or sexually involved with (and lied about his involvement, made them out to seem insane or toxic, created rifts in our friendships, toyed with their emotions, and made false promises to of relationships, marriage, and finances).

And that's not including the ex-wife who came back to Tumblr to claim that her and Kill had never met nor married. She was promptly silenced by a "lawyer threat" that we have strong reason to believe was a bluff.

At the end of the day, there are so many lies, half-truths, inconsistencies, etc. this man has wrapped himself in and we don't know for the life of us what his motives are, but from the information that we do know is false, he isn't genuine. He toys with people. He hurts them. Myself and the others that have been affected by this want that to stop.

And at any point, he has the ability to make a new account, and take on a new persona, pretend to be someone else. Tumblr is a wonderful place and I have met so many cool people on here, but please be careful about who you interact with and what you share, because aside from making this post, it is beyond my power to stop him from doing what he does. But after what he did to me, I could not remain silent.

Other Stories

If you have an experience or story with Killian that you would like heard, please reblog it on this thread or make a post. With your consent, I can include a link to it below.

kittenonpluto's story

aurorag98's story

everyoneisawhore's story

your-nanas-house's story

hllywdwhre's story

Final Note

Lastly, if you have read this far, thank you.

If you want to reach out to me about this issue -- whether it's to anonymously share your experience, ask questions, ask for evidence (of which I can back up these statements with), or anything at all --, please do not hesitate to do so. <3

For those who may be worried about the potential legality of this post, everything that I have stated as fact is fact and it is not my intention to slander or spread false information.

[leeknow-thoughts]

୨୧ SKZ X GREEK GODS MAKNAE LINE M.LIST

୨୧ a collection of my skz x (children of) Greek gods!AU series!! All works have smut so please mdni!!

୨୧ QUARTER NOTES

𝝑𝝔 son of Apollo!Han Jisung x Mortal!Fem!Bandmate!Reader

𝝑𝝔 synopsis : you'd known Jisung since college, now you were in his studio writing music with him. You lived together since junior year of college. So what happens when Jisung's father pays a visit and tells Jisung what the Fates have said about his destiny? What if his destiny is being with you? You didn't need the Fates to tell you what his destiny was, you had always known you were going to be apart of it.

𝝑𝝔 cw : angst if you squint, fluff, smut, Sub!Han Jisung, Dom!Reader, more smut warnings on actual story!

𝝑𝝔 Coming out : June 28-29!

୨୧ THE THING ABOUT TULIPS

𝝑𝝔 son of Demeter!flower shop owner!Felix x mortal!new hire!Reader

𝝑𝝔 synopsis : you loved flowers, ever since you were young. You were in college, studying botany, and your internship program was just about to start. No shop had asked you to intern yet, but to your luck, Felix asked you. How can you avoid developing feelings for your hot boss who can also control plants? (You can't.)

𝝑𝝔 cw : Persephone cameo + Demeter cameo, fluff, fluffy smut, he fell first reader fell harder trope, tons of pet names, Switch!Felix, Switch!Reader, more smut warnings on actual story!

𝝑𝝔 Coming out : June 29-30!

୨୧ FULL MOON

𝝑𝝔 son of Nyx!Seungmin x mortal!fem!reader

𝝑𝝔 synopsis : you were everything to Seungmin, even if you didn't know it, and even if he didn't tell you. He'd watch over you every night until one day (well technically night) you woke up early, seeing him in your room rightfully leads to you questioning the man. What happens when each night you talk to him instead of sleep? And what happens when Seungmin confesses as to why he only watches over you and nobody else?

𝝑𝝔 cw : tsundre!Seungmin, kind of breaking and entering???, fluff, smut, Sub!Seungmin, Dom!Reader, more smut warnings on actual story!

𝝑𝝔 Coming out : July 1-2!

୨୧ THE TORTURED WRITERS DEPARTMENT

𝝑𝝔 son of Erato!Professor!Jeongin x literature major!college student! fem!reader

𝝑𝝔 synopsis : Every girl in school would try to take Professor Yang's literature and poetry classes just so they could stare at the hot professor while he taught, except for you. You actually loved literature, it was your whole soul, your whole being. Jeongin knows it is wrong, falling for his cute student who was 10 years younger than him. Jeongin just can't help but ask you to be his teaching assistant after reading your phenomenal literary works. You humbly accept his offer, and do your best to not fall for him. One day you find out his godly secret, and instead of it driving you away, it intrigues you beyond comparison.

𝝑𝝔 cw : reader has a negative self image, age gap (Jeongin is in his early 30s, reader is 21), smut with feelings, Mean!Condescending!Dom!Jeongin, Sub!Reader, more smut warnings on actual story!

𝝑𝝔 Coming out : July 2-3!

[nanowrimo]

Read the YWP Novel Excerpt Contest Grand Prize Winner (13 and Under Age Group)!

In February, we challenged you to submit a 400-word excerpt from your NaNoWriMo novels. From over 650 fantastic entries, we chose two Grand Prize Winners and four Runners-Ups. We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we did! (For more excerpts, check out this forum thread.)

A Kingdom of Embers and Ash by Hannah G.

I slip there unnoticed, and sure enough, Willow slumps against the fence. Her arm is through the hole, beads of blood glinting on the metal where it bit into her skin. She clutches at the twisted metal as though it is a portal to a better place.

And maybe... maybe it is.

But maybe it isn’t. And that’s what’s kept us from running for all these years.

"Hey, Wil," I whisper, sliding to the ground beside my sister, my anger forgotten, the pain in my cheek and my heart pushed into a place where I can’t feel it. My sister… she's more important than any of that, than anything. "What's going on?"

Willow turns to me suddenly, her face red and blotchy, streaked with tears. Her eyes are like that of a wild animal: cornered and desperate and terrified. It scares me.

"Sage, I can't!” she wails. “I can't stop it! I can't do it! I can't not do it!" Her voice is pitched with distress, a hysterical edge to it that scares me.

I look at her with concern creasing my brow, coating my voice. "Willow?"

But suddenly, it isn't Willow I'm looking at. It’s a fox, white as the first snow of winter, with oddly human, intelligent, pleading eyes.

Willow's eyes.

I freeze in shock, staring at the fox that is Willow.

At Willow, who is a fox.

At my whole life, my whole world, being upended before my eyes.

And then — my sister is back.

I can't stop the stories we've been told about the creatures outside the fence, magical and evil, from flashing through my mind. The stories that have always been applied to us. And even as I look at Willow, my Willow, who I have known and loved all my life, a small part of me can't help but wonder if they’re true, if we are what they say we are.

Witches. Demons. Monsters.

But then, with a twist of revulsion aimed at myself, at the thing that just went through my mind, at Oke Darm and everyone living in it for conditioning me to think that way, I banish the unfaithful thought from my head. Because this is Willow, my Willow–no matter what form she takes.

But I know I'm the only one who will see it that way.

"Wil," I whisper. "Willow... We have to run. Now."

Guest author judge Sarah Suk had this to say about A Kingdom of Embers and Ash:

"In just this short passage, I was able to get a sense of the world, the stakes, and the bond between the characters in a way that made me instantly root for them (protect them at all costs!). Impressively told with a voice that shines."

Hannah Gumpert is in 8th grade, and admittedly spends way too much time absorbed in a book. When she isn’t reading, you can usually find her with her family, at a coffee shop with her friends, or writing and/or imagining her latest story, completely deaf to the world because she's living in another. Hannah wants to be a writer when she grows up — but she's not going to wait around until then.

[shadelorde]

like. if it’s the AI that’s making you quit nano and not when we talked about being groomed I genuinely don’t know what to fucking tell you except for what the fuck.

[ausetkmt]

Pharmacist Lunsford Richardson made Vicks a household name throughout the nation, but his popular product did not do the same for him.

Even in his native North Carolina, where his most celebrated of chemical concoctions has been right under our stuffy noses and on our congested chests for generations, the mention of Richardson’s name elicits blank stares from all but those who study and cherish history.

Richardson’s salve, Vicks VapoRub, helped the world breathe easier during the devastating influenza pandemic of 1918 and during the countless colds and flus of our childhoods, yet most of us couldn’t pick Lunsford Richardson out of a one-man police lineup, much less a who’s who of medical pioneers.

Why didn’t Richardson — by all accounts a creative inventor and smart businessman — ever become as famous as those vapors packed into the familiar squat blue jar?

Because his name wouldn’t fit on the jar.

That’s one version of the story. According to company and family lore, Richardson initially dubbed his promising new product Richardson’s Croup and Pneumonia Cure Salve. Realizing that this name didn’t exactly roll off the tongue nor fit when printed on a small medicine jar, Richardson changed the name to honor his brother-in-law, Dr. Joshua Vick. Another account suggests the inventive druggist plucked the name from a seed catalog he’d been perusing that listed the Vick Seed Co.

The truth may never be known. What is known, though, is that Lunsford Richardson created a medicinal marvel for the ages, the likes of which may never be equaled.

Croupy beginnings

A Johnston County native born in 1854, Richardson loved chemistry and hoped to study it at Davidson College. The college’s chemistry program at the time wasn’t as strong as he’d hoped it would be, so he studied Latin instead, graduating with honors in three years. He returned to Johnston County and taught school, but it wasn’t long before the young man’s love of chemistry got the best of him. In 1880, he moved to Selma to work with his physician brother-in-law, Dr. Vick. It was not uncommon in those days for doctors to dispense drugs themselves, but Vick was so busy seeing patients that he teamed up with Richardson, allowing him to handle the pharmacy duties for him. Richardson relied on his knowledge of Latin to help him learn the chemical compounds required to become a pharmacist, and that’s when he began to experiment with recipes for the product that would become Vicks VapoRub.

It wasn’t until Richardson moved to his wife’s hometown of Greensboro in 1890 that his magical salve and other products he created began to take off.

“He was a man of great intellect and talent,” says Linda Evans, community historian for the Greensboro Historical Museum, which has an exhibit devoted to Richardson and Vicks.

“Druggists at the time fashioned their own remedies a lot, and he created a number of remedies, in addition to his magic salve, that he sold under the name of Vick’s Family Remedies. He was obviously a man of such creativity.”

In Greensboro, working out of a downtown drugstore he purchased (where he once employed a teenaged William Sydney Porter, the future short story writer O. Henry), Richardson patented some 21 medicines. The wide variety of pills, liquids, ointments, and assorted other medicinal concoctions included the likes of Vick’s Chill Tonic, Vick’s Turtle Oil Liniment, Vick’s Little Liver Pills and Little Laxative Pills, Vick’s Tar Heel Sarsaparilla, Vick’s Yellow Pine Tar Cough Syrup, and Vick’s Grippe Knockers (aimed at knocking out la grippe, an old-timey phrase for the flu).

These products sold with varying degrees of success, but the best seller in the lineup of Richardson’s remedies was Vick’s Magic Croup Salve, which he introduced in 1894. And by all accounts, necessity was the key to its success.

“He had what they referred to as a croupy baby — a baby with a lot of coughing and congestion,” explains Richardson’s great-grandson, Britt Preyer of Greensboro. “So as a pharmacist, he began experimenting with menthols from Japan and some other ingredients, and he came up with this salve that really worked. That’s how it all started.”

Another version of the story suggests that all three of the Richardson children caught bad colds at the same time, and Richardson, dissatisfied with the traditional treatment of the day, which included poultices and a vapor lamp, spent hours at his pharmacy developing his own treatment.

Richardson’s salve — a strong-smelling ointment combining menthol, camphor, oil of eucalyptus, and several other oils, blended in a base of petroleum jelly — was a chest-soothing, cough-suppressing, head-clearing sensation. When the salve was rubbed on the patient’s chest, his or her body heat vaporized the menthol, releasing a wave of soothing, medicated vapors that the patient breathed directly into the lungs.

Vicks in the mailbox

In 1911, Richardson’s son Smith, by now a successful salesman for his father’s company, recommended discontinuing all of the company’s products except for Vick’s Magic Croup Salve. He believed the salve could sell even better if the company stopped investing time and money in the other, less successful remedies. He also suggested renaming the salve Vicks VapoRub, according to the company’s history timeline, to “help dramatize the product’s performance.” Richardson agreed, and a century later, the name’s still the same.

Meanwhile, Richardson intensified his marketing efforts by providing free goods to druggists who placed large orders and publishing coupons for free samples in newspapers. He also advertised on billboards and sent promotional mailings to post office boxes, addressed to Boxholder rather than the individual’s name, thus earning him the distinction of being the father of junk mail.

In 1925, Vicks even published a children’s book to help promote the product. The book told the story of two elves, Blix and Blee, who rescued a frazzled mother whose sick child refused to take nasty-tasting medicines. Their solution, of course, was the salve known as Vicks VapoRub.

Expanding and experimenting

As successful as the marketing campaign was, nothing sold Vicks VapoRub like the deadly Spanish flu outbreak that ravaged the nation in 1918 and 1919, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans. Loyal Vicks customers and new customers stocked up on the medicine to stave off or fight the disease.

According to the company’s history timeline, VapoRub sales skyrocketed from $900,000 to $2.9 million in a single year because of the pandemic. The Vicks plant in Greensboro operated around the clock, and salesmen were pulled off the road to help at the manufacturing facility in an effort to keep up with demand.

As the flu spread across the nation, Richardson grew ill with pneumonia in 1919 and died. Smith took over the company. Vicks continued to grow, buying other companies until Procter & Gamble bought it in the 1980s. Through the years, Vicks continued adding new products to its arsenal of cold remedies: cough drops, nose drops, inhalers, cough syrup, nasal spray, Formula 44, NyQuil. And whatever success those products attained, they got there standing on the broad shoulders of Richardson.

Richardson will never be a household name, but his salve has held that status for more than a century — and may do so for the next hundred years. And for Richardson, were he still around, that ought to be enough to clear his head.

A cure-all salve

Vicks users have claimed the salve can cure and heal many maladies. Even though Vicks doesn’t say the salve works for these problems, people still believe.

Toenail fungus: Rub the salve on your toenails, cover with socks, and sleep your fungus problems away. Cough: For a similar fix to a nagging cough, some believe rubbing Vicks on the soles of your feet can fix the problem. Dandruff: Rub Vicks directly on the scalp, and your flakes may just disappear. Chapped lips: Petroleum jelly is one of the ingredients in Vicks, and some say the ointment can help heal cracked lips. Mosquito bites: If you smooth Vicks on the red bumps on your legs and arms, it can supposedly take the itch right out. Warts: Dab Vicks on the wart, cover with duct tape, and it may fall off in a few days.

Greensboro Historical Museum 130 Summit Avenue Greensboro, N.C. 27401 (336) 373-2043 greensborohistory.org

See historical Vicks VapoRub bottles and learn about Lunsford Richardson.

[nnon0]

JJH fic recs #3

previous fic recs : 1. 2.

note: hey yall ik it’s been a while ive been busy with life and truth be told, it’s been getting pretty hard to find good fics to recommend cuz i feel like ive read them all 😭😭😭 anyway jaehyun’s SOLO REVIVED ME SO IM BACK 😜 but im prob just gonna keep updating and adding to this post with fics and not make anymore posts so everytime yall come back there’s gonna be new fics AND PLS RECOMMEND SOME FICS AS WELL

(🫀) - personal faves

summer of seven years @lebrookestore

WC:30k

summer!au writer!jaehyun

Coming back home was hard for both you and Jaehyun, but when you realize both of you are back in the same place again, feelings from three years ago rise to the surface, and you start to realize that the things you thought you knew when you were younger never quite played out.

(🫀)His love, Her force @anashins

WC:28k

Undercover detective!jaehyun x ballerina!reader , fake marriage au, slow burn

Fleeing from a ruthless stalker, you are forced to participate in a witness protection program at the other side of the world, pretending to be the wife of a taciturn undercover detective from now on. Despite all differences, you slowly start to settle with your new life as a married couple - until your newfound happiness is stripped away from you all over again.

(🫀) BAD HABITS @jaedore

WC:21k

Boxer!jaehyun

You were never really good at saying ‘no’ to people, always a people pleaser, listening to your teachers, parents, to authority. Jung Jaehyun is a professional boxer attempting to make it to the top with the help of your father, who used to be a well known boxer. Being in a friends with benefits relationship with Jaehyun would be the last thing you’d find yourself in-you’re always focused on finishing college, studying hard, and sticking to yourself. With you pushing your feelings down for him and him focused on other things, you’re already in too deep to pull out of this complication. When will it be too much? When is your breaking point?

(🫀) cynosure - a focal point of admiration @drquinzelharleen

WC:20.4k

surgeon!jaehyun , enemies-to-lovers

When the young hot shot doctor, Jung Jaehyun, has been solicited to your hospital. He is to become the new Chief of Surgery. Your excitement and curiosity are soon to be washed away by his cocky disposition.

no guidance @yutaholic

WC:20k

knocked up, smut, pregnancy au

You insist on keeping things casual with Jaehyun, even though he wants something more serious, but then you miss a period and in an instant, your lives are turned completely upside down.

happy now? @hwaflms

wc: 19.9k

ex!jaehyun, fake dating au

your family has been pressuring you for months to bring your boyfriend, jaehyun, over for dinner, and you think it’s really sweet that they like him so much. the only problem is that your “boyfriend” jaehyun, hates you.

(🫀) ordinary people @ppangjae

WC: 18.3k

friends-to-lovers, fake dating!au, ceo!jaehyun

Jaehyun’s parents are coming home for Christmas and he may have made the biggest mistake of telling them he has a ‘girlfriend’. Insert you, his best friend, who so happens to be the only girl he knows and trusts. You, on the other hand, would have never expected Jaehyun to show up at your door at two in the morning with nothing but a proposition; to be his fake girlfriend. And man, are you in big trouble.

(🫀)ethereal @celestialmark

WC: 16.7k

fluff, life lessons

(note: shed a tear reading this it was so beautiful i highly highly recommend)

Jaehyun was indeed way more than his good looks. Jaehyun was gentle, honest and sincere, you felt it all in the way he smiled, the way he talked and in the way he kissed you. He was the living definition of ethereal, and his beauty shone the most on the inside

(🫀)SUN&MOON @ppangjae

WC:14.6k

enemies-to-lovers, fake dating

Asking Jeong Jaehyun to accompany you to your family’s 1-week Christmas vacation as your boyfriend has its consequences. One can surely get through 1 week of pretending to be in love with an enemy, right?

(🫀) chasing stars, losing you @prodbymaui

WC: 14k

exes to lovers, ceo!jaehyun x model!reader

When your relationship got announced, it made noises louder that anyone could've imagined. Of course it will, a pair containing a supermodel and a CEO of one of the most successful enterprise that made a name in both the fashion and business industry. But soon enough, everyone witnessed how the perfect relationship they had been envying crumbled down into tiny pieces until there's nothing left to pick up.

(🫀) if we were a movie @sehunniepotwrites

WC:14k

childhood friends to lovers!au , college au , theatre/drama au

For someone who was always the understudy and never the lead, scoring this role was huge for you. All you had to do was pretend to be in love with your best friend. No big deal, right? Wrong. It was the biggest deal because, for the past four years, you had been hiding your feelings for Jung Jaehyun.

If this were a movie, he would be your perfect match and the story would end happily with the credits rolling to a perfectly timed soundtrack. Too bad this wasn’t a movie— this was real life and life came with complications.

oops, baby (i love you) @prodbymaui

WC:12.5k+

modern royalty au, arranged marriage

you had been living your life as a rebellious and controversial crown princess, now you must face the consequence of purifying your tainted image; marrying the gentle and infamous crown prince of South Korea.

deadly kiss @slightlymore

WC: 12k+

chief architect jaehyun x chief engineer fem reader

office au, enemies? to lovers, dom x dom and trying to force each other to sub, romance, smut, fluff

in your court @boymeetsweevil

WC:10.8k

basketball player!jaehyun , bff!haechan

Two idiots in love, oc is scary when mad, hyuck is crafty always, jae is a bit intense but he’s just trying his best, gratuitous descriptions of dimples, a kiss!!! sfw!

coparenting @eleganzadellarosa

wc: 10.3k

angst, fluff smut

babydaddy!Jaehyun x fem!reader

(🫀)SEVEN LETTERS @ppangjae

WC: 10.1k+

soulmate!au , childhood friends-to-lovers , slight fake dating

On a camping trip, you find a message in a bottle that’s been washed up the shore, only to find out that it’s a message from you in the future. Your message tells you three things:

1. You must make Jeong Jaehyun fall in love with you because,

2. He’s your soulmate and

3. Because of your future self’s mistake, he ended up falling in love with someone else.

one more time @moondustis

WC:9.4k

smut, friends to lovers

Maybe this right here is a story about growing up and finding yourself, or about finding love and being vulnerable. But it definitely is a story about friendship, skating, pancakes and Jung Jaehyun learning how to deal with his feelings.

(🫀) rose bud @hazyhae

WC:9.2k

stoner!fuckboy!jaehyun , smut

friday nights are party nights, and it's here that your feet always seem to lead you to your favorite stoner. you know the sweet words that leave jaehyun's mouth don't belong just to you, but something about him leaves you wanting more.

baby @moonctzeny

wc:9.1k

college au, fake dating!au

When Yuta breaks your heart for the millionth time, you meet Jaehyun, freshly broken up and looking for revenge. You decide to start fake dating to get back on your exes, but your plan takes an unexpected turn. You fall in love.”

when fratboy falls @gyeomsweetgyeom

WC: 8.9k

fratboy!jaehyun x tutor!reader

Jaehyun is a fratboy with a notorious reputation for being a playboy, you have never heard of him. surely, he can use tutoring as an excuse to get close to you, right?

hello again, my sunshine @alluringjae

WC:8.5k

high school reunion!au, business lawyer!jaehyun, fashion designer!reader, high school best friends to strangers to lovers!au

there’s no more running away when you’re thriving in the fashion industry, yet it’s exactly what you want to do when you encounter your first love after a decade in your high school reunion.

(🫀) The lies of apollo @jaevie

WC:8k

Spy!jaehyun x spy!reader , forbidden love , smut , enemies to lovers

As powerful corporations seek to sun privatization, two spies find themselves falling in love and discovering the wonders of physical affection.

Head over Broomsticks @sehunniepotwrites

WC: 3.5k

Hogwarts!au Sports!au Quidditch!au Gryffindor!jaehyun

When your friends are tired of watching you and your crush go around in circles, they take matters into their own hands. Putting their Advanced Potions skills to the test, Donghyuck and Chenle conjure up a powerful truth serum and slip it in your drink right before a Quidditch game, which leads to a few inappropriate comments about No. 77, Jeong Jaehyun, of Gryffindor’s Quidditch team. This would’ve been fine if you were just a regular spectator but you are much more than that--you’re the Announcer and everyone is subjected to hear your unfiltered thoughts. Just great.

SERIES

(🫀) when icarus falls @baobaojng

college athlete!au , crush!au

(note: this series genuinely brought me to tears btw I HIGHLY RECOMMEND )

some tragic story of you sharing one class with your long time college crush jaehyun who never notices you until he accidentally reads your work and he gets curious— oh, and he uses lame excuses to get to talk to you.

[airplanned]

Frequently Asked Questions from the last two days:

There have been a lot of questions shot my way lately, and I'm a little overwhelmed. Sorry if I've missed anything.

Recurring things:

"I was going to do NaNo this year, but now I guess I won't!" NO! Writing is great! Just don't use their website! There are other online trackers if you don't feel like using excel. There are other online writing communities. I recommend 4theWords. I recommend finding out what your former ML is doing or asking your local library/bookstore if they're hosting anything.

"I didn't know there was an organization. What did they even do?" They had a website that tracked your progress and hosted an online forum of writers also doing NaNo. They also hosted the Young Writer's Program, which mostly ran out of schools and had more direction than the adult version. They also supported the MLs, who hosted in person write-ins, kick off parties, and occasionally a pot luck Thanksgiving dinner. Also, the sponsors of NaNoWriMo would often give discounts to winners. This is how everyone I know in real life affords Scrivner.

"Why is this time stamped from July?" A NaNoWriMo timeline of events: In 2023, there was a grooming scandal. It was ignored for months and then handled poorly. Later that year (*correction: it was in 2024), in response to the grooming scandal, they offered the MLs (Municipal Liaisons) new contracts that required them to moderate their regional forums, accept all liability for behavior at their in-person write-ins and their regional forums, and threw in an anti-defamation clause for good measure. In July of 2024, they posted on tumblr about "Ethical Ways to use AI." My screenshots result from that debacle. In September, they put out their official AI policy, and here we are.

"Why are you canceling them now and not over the grooming scandal?" My history with NaNoWriMo: I started doing NaNo in 2009. I stopped using the site in 2019, when the website was so glitchy that it wouldn't keep track of my word count, but I kept doing the challenge without them. I deleted my account in 2023 when the ML scandal broke. I forgot to unfollow them on Tumblr, because they don't post much. When I saw their July AI post, I commented "Boooo!" and unfollowed them. They promptly slid into my DMs.

[leandra-winchester]

The Tommy timeline is making me insane

We know the 911 writers are REALLY crap about timelines. I mean, just within the Eddie Begins episode there are several dates that just don't add up. I love those writers, but they can't even count to 10, lol.

Tommy was never supposed to come back, so him being in his late 20s-ish in 2005 when Chim joins the 118 was of no consequence, but now that Tommy is back, that makes it really difficult to say how old he really is.

Some people have speculated that he's 45, but I find that too old. Lou was born in Nov 1984, which makes him 39 currently. I could see Tommy being 1-2 years older than that AT MOST.

So let's say Tommy was born in early 1983 and go from there.

He would have started school at 6.5 and finished HS at 18 years old in 2001. Which means he could have joined the army that year and started training to be a helicopter pilot.

There's a program called "From Street to Seat", also sometimes called "High school to Flight School", so that is a possibility. Training would have been around 2 - 2.5 years until he'd achieved the rank of Warranty Officer and be a fully trained helicopter pilot in late 2003. After that, you have to enlist for TEN years at minimum to repay them getting you through flight school.

At that point, the US had entered the war in Afghanistan and just started the one in Iraq.

Tommy could have been stationed anywhere in the US, or been deployed to one of those countries, or at first, as a still very young officer, been deployed to an allied country like Germany. In the early 2000s, there were many bases in Germany where US soldiers were stationed, only serving short missions in Afghanistan or Iraq. So that's an option if we don't want him to be permanently stationed inside a war zone.

Now, how did young Tommy leave the army early so he ended up being a firefighter just two years later?

Well, there's always medical discharge, but if it was for any injury, him already being a member of the team (and by the looks of it no longer a probie) in 2005 is a bit tight. He'd have to recover from his injury, then apply, then be accepted, do the basic training at the academy (18 weeks) and his probie year... so yeah, that's really a very tight timeline.

Another option would have been Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Back then, army members could not be actively asked if they're gay and therefore fired for it, but if they voluntarily disclosed/confirmed it, they would be kicked out.

If he was lucky (and probably the version I'm going for in my fic), and had a very lenient superior officer, he might be offered medical discharge for depression. Usually, that can get you out of the army pretty quickly.

So, to recap:

Born between Jan/June 1983

Finished high school summer 2001, joined the army

Finished flight school in fall 2003, was deployed somewhere or in service in the US

Found out/discharged in early 2004

Started LAFD academy in summer/fall 2004

Started his probie year end of 2004

Just finished it when Chimney joined in (should be late) 2005, at now 22 years old.

Still an incredibly tight timeline, and I wish Chim joining had been more like 2007 or so, but alas. It works.

You are welcome.

And I need to lie down. God I hate inconsistent timelines, lol.

Oh and I just looked it up, and apparently you're only a probie for 6 months at the LAFD, so I guess that makes it a little easier.

I mean, if you shift things around a little, you could even make him only 40 now, born in summer 1983 instead of early. Maybe he was initially gifted and able to enroll in school at just barely 6 years old.

[hallowedmistress]

stardew sexuality hcs!

bachelors + bachelorettes

alex

definitely gay

grew up in a homophobic, religious family

first time he saw gay people was on tv on a news program about same-sex marriage being legalised

george immediately turned it off in disdain and evelyn distracted him with some food, but the thought lingered at the back of his mind

as he grows up, he collects sports magazines. more often with lean, muscular men on the covers than not

he suppresses it for years but it comes to a head when the cute new farmer moves in

and the rest is history

elliott

homoflexible

knew he was into men since he was very young

his family wasn't pleased to say the least. their only son, gay and a writer? the blasphemy.

didn't dare confess to any of his childhood crushes because he grew up in a pretty old fashioned area

instead wrote letters and stuffed them into used cans and threw them into the sea

lived in zuzu city for a short while before moving to stardew valley, had a relatively unhealthy lifestyle of drinking and hookups and no sleep. the cabin on the beach helped with his insomnia

very rarely attracted to women; usually into the type of women who mistake him for a lesbian

sam

unlabelled

leans more towards men

vincent called him weird at first but wrapped his head around it pretty quick

jodi doesn't talk about it but she just wants him to be happy and not hide any part of himself

kent absolutely flips when sam brings the farmer, his boyfriend, over

they make it work. kent warms up to the farmer, and the strict military rules drilled into his head slowly come undone

he reluctantly tells sebastian he likes guys at the saloon one night while abigail isn't around. sebastian just says 'huh', and beats him at pool.

sebastian

queer, on the aromantic spectrum

never really thought about romance. he has enough to deal with by himself, why should he want someone else?

has a little crush on sam when they're kids

only realises it was romantic when sam tells him that he likes guys. and sebastian realises oh, i can do that.

he doesn't really tell anyone but he blurts it out to his mother one afternoon

robin is supportive, and curious at first

demetrius... doesn't say much.

after kissing sam for a dare, he huddles inside a blanket with a red face for a whole day

harvey

heteroflexible

he likes women, but likes the occasional buff man

he's vocal with his support of the community, and pins up a pride flag on the clinic's wall

he lost a trans girlfriend to suicide back in the city. it sticks with him, and he makes sure to respectfully inquire about all his patients' mental health and if they need anything

he likes the farmer for their cool, confident demeanor regardless of their gender.

shane

straight

never thought about his sexuality

kissed a few of his homies back in college before he dropped out

hasn't really "fallen" for anyone before the farmer

abigail

bisexual

this girl is so, so bi

she definitely read manga on sites named stuff like yaoiparadiseheaven growing up

always shipped the protagonist and rival in pokemon games

has a few bi pride pins. pierre hates it and wants her to tone it down, but she refuses. loud and proud

caroline chides her, but is secretly proud of her and even buys her some sapphic movie dvds

haley

lesbian

it's complicated. she knows she has some sort of comphet, and she hates it

she wants to be out to the whole town just to prove a point, but she wants to present as straight at the same time just to feel more accepted

she flirts with guys and then feels like throwing up

she tries to flirt with girls and ends up insulting them

she and abigail have some sort of sapphic jealousy thing going on

when the farmer comes to town, abigail knows she's head-over-heels for the butch immediately despite her previous insistence that she only likes femme women

leah

definitely a lesbian

chill about it. she doesn't tell anyone, but she doesn't hide it

she has a vase painted the lesbian colours

her ex from the city is non-binary

she doesn't expect to fall for the farmer at all, but ends up yearning for months

boldly sculpts a messy piece of two women kissing

she and male!farmer would talk about women together

penny

her labels keep changing

she's into women, and into pretty guys.

she used to always keep an eye out for the woman who worked the jojamart counter

pam catches her reading a lesbian romance once, and penny fears the worst

instead, pam just nods and mentions she went out with some women herself and penny just stops in her tracks wide-eyed

when she first meets the farmer, she can't stop blushing around them

maru

she never really fathomed being attracted to men in the first and doesn't get why demetrius is so against her having male friends

demetrius is obnoxiously supportive once he finds out. the farmer sighs every time they walk in on an overly large display of support

he celebrates her coming-out anniversary every year

lesbian in stem

she's also on the asexual spectrum. something like demisexual, maybe. she doesn't have it figured out yet

emily

pansexual, and open about it

every time someone asks if she has a boyfriend, she corrects them to 'significant other'.

romance doesn't work like 'normal' to her

every friendship has a little romance, and every romance has a lot of friendship. isn't that the best way to live?

she's very affectionate. with friends, family, s/o's, anyone.

[writingquestionsanswered]

I've got young kids, work full time, went back to school to get my degree and my spouse is also in a degree program. Finding the time to write feels impossible. There's no way I can write daily.

I feel like maybe my dream to be an author is out of reach. When should you really ask yourself if you truly want to be an author? Forget an author.. do you really want to be a writer? 

Author Dream Feels Out of Reach

You've come to the right place. ♥

First, I want to tell you that what you're feeling right now is totally normal. So, so many of us go through it. I promise you're in good company.

Second, I submit that this isn't really about whether or not you want to be a writer/author. You wouldn't be here if some part of you didn't want to be a writer/author... you wouldn't be reaching for a dream you didn't have...

Third, I further submit that rather than questioning your intentions, you may just need to consider what you want to get out of writing, what your goals would be as an author, and then create realistic goals to help you get there. That's where I come in...

1 - I'm here to tell you that you don't have to write every day. I spent a long, long, embarrassingly long time parroting back the traditional "advice" that one must write every single day in order to be a successful writer and reach your author dreams. Head, meet desk! In the intervening years, I've learned that writing every day simply isn't realistic for the vast majority of people. Why? Because we're not all independently wealthy bachelors who retired in our 40s, who spend our days fishing and our evenings partying with our eccentric creative friends, and then burning the midnight oil on our latest manuscript while we sip brandy and puff on a fine cigar. If only! (minus the cigar part... yuck...) Instead, we're members of family units, friend groups, and communities. We're parents and grandparents and guardians and caregivers. We're students, we have jobs and roles and responsibilities. We're anxious, tired, and stretched so unbelievably thin. The world is falling down around us. And it's... a lot...

2 - But... that's why we write... ALL OF THAT, I say, gesturing broadly at everything, is why we write. We write to tell the stories of the eccentric brandy-sipping writers, the stressed-out-stretched-thin-parents, the overworked-and-underpaid teachers, the exhausted caregivers who feel their dreams slipping between their fingers, and still hopeful dreamers who cling to the stars with the dust of the crumbling world in their eyes. We write to tell their stories, and we write to give them stories. We write because the world needs our stories. ALL of them. The good, the bad, the clean, the spicy, the angsty, the swoony, the cringey, the comforting, the excessively long, the absurdly short, the plainly written, the purple prosey... all of it matters. All of it serves a purpose.

3 - So, why did you start writing in the first place? You don't have to answer this for me, just for yourself... many of us would answer by saying things like, "because I have story ideas that demand to be written," or "because it's something I do for fun and escape, it's self-care," or "because I love to explore human stories." Getting to the heart of why you write, outside of any goals or future plans, can help ground you in the storm.

4 - What are your author goals? Now, if time, energy, and other considerations were no object... if you could spend as much time writing as you wanted and there were no obstacles to any author goal you had, and no limit to achieving your dreams, what would your author goals be? Do you want to share your stories on Wattpad or a similar platform? If so, do you have any goals related to views/reads/comments, and how often you hope to post a new story? If you want to pursue traditional publishing, are you happy being reasonably popular within your niche, or do you want to be a big time best-seller with your books made into movies? If you want to be an indie author, is there a certain number of books you want to get out each year? Is there a certain number of sales you want to hit for each book? A certain income level you want to aim for? Figuring out exactly what your goals are is important if you want to map a reasonable path toward getting there.

5 - What's a reasonable path to get there? Imagine "reasonable" lit up with lights here, because it's so, so important. Really, the biggest reason writers get overwhelmed and give up is because we have unreasonable expectations and are trying to meet arbitrary goals that sound great, but are just not possible to meet. If you can only muster maybe three hours to write on a good week, and you can write 26 words a minute on a good writing session, if your goal is to write 10,000 words per week, guess what... that's more than TWICE the number of words it's even possible for you to write in a good week, so you're going to fall far, far short most weeks. It's an unrealistic goal.

If you're averaging roughly 11,000 words per month and your goal is to write a novel in six months and have it revised, edited, and published (or revised, edited, and sent off with queries), guess what... your manuscript is sitting at 66,000 words at the six month mark without a single second for revision, editing, or anything else. Once again, it's an unrealistic goal.

One of the best ways to figure out a realistic goal is to take an honest look at your schedule. My favorite way to do this is by the month, using a calendar I can write on. Now, I'll go through and cross out all the days I know I won't be able to write... like, maybe I never write on Sundays because they're too busy, so I cross those off. Maybe I'm going on vacation for four days mid-month, and I know I won't write the day before or after, so I cross those six days off, too. My days tend to fall apart if I have an appointment or other unusual event, so I will usually block off those days as well. Finally, I know I will probably lose at least three days a month to not feeling well or having to attend to a family member who isn't feeling well, and another three days to run-of-the-mill nonsense, so I'll cross off the last six days in the calendar. What I'm left with is a reasonable estimate for the number of days I'll be able to write that month.

Now, let's say I'm left with 17 potential writing days. And let's say I'm fairly certain I'll be able to commit about twenty to thirty minutes to writing on each of those days. And... let's say I know I generally write about 26 words per minute during the average writing session. Twenty minutes across 17 days is 340 total minutes, times 26 wpm, nets me about 8,840 words for the month... and that's not frickin' bad! In fact, at that rate you could potentially have a first draft done in six to eight months! And that's in just twenty minutes a day three or four times a week.

It isn't about time spent, it's about setting reasonable goals.

If you create reasonable goals that you can actually meet, you start building forward momentum. You're not exhausted from fighting with your schedule and failing to squeeze writing in on days when it isn't possible. You're not beaten down from disappointing yourself over and over again. You're actually getting somewhere, and you're excited about it!

So, that's it. Before you get all philosophical about whether or not you really want to be an author or want to be a writer... before you start tossing your dreams out the window or feeling like your dreams are out of reach, try this. Be realistic. Be patient with yourself. Take support where you can get it. And don't be afraid to fiercely guard whatever writing time you do have.

I'm here for support, and there a million wonderful writing communities out there filled with other supportive writers if you have some time to look for them and spend some time getting to know them.

All the best! You've got this... TRULY! ♥

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I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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