witch-hazels-musings - Tumblr blog

[witch-hazels-musings]

hazel!!!!!!!! i finally return to tumblr and omg i see uve finished ur books second draft!!!!!!!!!! so many pages and words AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!! im sure its wonderful, as ur work always is ! :D and i hope life has been treating u well <3

-kyra

(ps ur xiao bday fic made me melt <333 happy xiao day!!!!!!)

Yeah!! I did it - after a bunch of tears lol, it's done -- it makes me nervous to share it with you all because it's different from these works on Tumblr. I can be more poetic and flowy here, in my book I have to explain things lol 😆

Also I just love writing from the perspective of the genshin men, ugh, I can't wait to do that with my main MC

Hope things are going well for you too lovely! Happy to hear from you again (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)⁠❤

[witch-hazels-musings]

I never liked dreaming

warning -> none, sfw, fluff <3 | happy birthday little, yaksha

xiao x gn reader | Anthology

I never liked dreaming

Xiao opened his eyes and the light shined in. through the breaks in the leaves and swaying branches, through the passing clouds, and in between the birds that soared without him. he watched as they went with their flock, haloed in gold.

he turned his head to the cliff edge, one leg dangling absently as his hand unfurled to catch a falling petal from a perilously clinging tree. its roots deep and mingled with the falling stone. the color reminded him of the gentle images that had slowly taken over the dark of his mind. the hue that, bit by bit, tore down his torment and replaced it with a warmth he'd left behind eons ago.

you called his name, and he fell to meet you.

Xiao reappeared on the other side of the fog and found you standing there, arms held out and holding a small box. It was tradition. Every year on the same day, the same day Morax first beckoned him into breath, you were there to offer him some mortal trinket. He stopped trying to convince you to let the day go by like any other before it, and all the ones after. You never backed down. Though he never cared much for the item you gave him, he had grown desperately attached to how you looked at him when he opened it.

your smile.

your laugh.

your eyes.

He had seen mortals fall so many times he lost count, each blurred into the next like ripples in a stream. But you floated, drifted, and flourished in his gaze. A testament to what was possible, what humanity could give.

a being haunted by a tainted soul shouldn't be allowed so close.

"What do you want to do next?" you asked him as if the world was in the palm of your hands and, if it were within his power, he'd put it there.

Xiao mulled over the question, pondered on an answer. It didn't matter as long as - he dropped his head and tried to speak clearly. "May I lay on your lap?"

He peered at you with sharp eyes and felt his chest ignite at your expression. Perhaps it was too much of a request - he shouldn't be touching you anyway, it wasn't safe.

You didn't reply with your voice, instead, you sat on the ground, legs bent, and held your hand to him. He breathed and moved to rest against you.

Your warmth seeped into his skin. The back of his neck burned at the contact. Swallowing, he adjusted until the grass below him lay flat until his fingers relaxed against his chest and - only slightly - dug into his clothes.

"Comfortable?" you asked as your fingers brushed his bangs. Gentle, slow strokes that lulled his eyes heavy. He nodded and you continued to trail featherlight fingers across his brow, through his hair. He turned into the familiar. into the safety of you.

His eyes closed and the colors bloomed so brightly the darkness receded until the shape of you remained.

I never liked dreaming.

"Happy birthday, Xiao."

until now,

until it was you

I kept seeing

[witch-hazels-musings]

I check ur acc once a week and im so glad u seem to be doing well! Good luck with the novel!

aw, that's sweet of you - i don't deserve you

.･ﾟﾟ･(／ω＼)･ﾟﾟ･.

[witch-hazels-musings]

Hello Hazel. 🎱 Anon here.

Glad your draft is finished. Actually impressive you got to nearly 400 pages. Can't wait to see your book in Barnes and Noble.

As for being away a while, had to pick up a second job. Not a lot of time for reading. But I'm making do.

As for the short stories you still gift us, truly a kindness. Thank you.

Right!? I didn't mean to but it just happened that way. 🫣

I hope one day it'll be there too - it'll definitely be in the adult fantasy section because the characters are in their late 20s, and while no deep spice, there is some spice and dark themes / images

I hope your other job is going well! I know that's a lot of extra weight to carry 🥺

[witch-hazels-musings]

OMG i logged onto to tumblr for the first time in a while and saw ur account and got hit with a BUNCH of memories HAHA!! hi hazel!!! it's been a while teehee (congrats on your second draft of ur book by the way!!) hope you are doing well!!! - firsts

Hello there! <⁠(⁠￣⁠︶⁠￣⁠)⁠>

Must have sent out waves into the universe lol - I do check Tumblr on the regular to try and answer any messages I get (somehow I missed a few booo)

It's always nice to hear from you all - we've been chatting for so long, firsts! Like wow 😮

Things are going well here! Distracting myself from working on the draft until it's read, and partying hard with Dragons Dogma 2 lol

[witch-hazels-musings]

HAZEL MY BELOVED I'VE MISSED UUUUUUUUU

congrats on ur first draft for your book! I am vibrating with excitement for you!! :DDD

(⁠ʘ⁠ᴗ⁠ʘ⁠✿⁠)(⁠ʘ⁠ᴗ⁠ʘ⁠✿⁠)(⁠ʘ⁠ᴗ⁠ʘ⁠✿⁠)

Peep peep! I did it 🥹😭

[witch-hazels-musings]

Hi Hazel!

I'm just hopping in to say I am SO PROUD OF YOU! LOOK AT YOU GO! AAAAAA! -cheers you on - That's incredible about your book and being on the 2nd draft. My question to you is, once it's published, will there be a site where we can purchase it? I'd definitely want to read it :3

-Rebby

(⁠｡⁠ŏ⁠﹏⁠ŏ⁠)

Thank youuu - I'm hoping it'll be easy for people to purchase of course! My big goal is to traditionally publish, but I also know they might have a lot of control over the story and change parts of it so I'll have to consider that when the time comes!

I'll keep you all updated as I go of course! <⁠(⁠￣⁠︶⁠￣⁠)⁠>

[witch-hazels-musings]

hello hazel! hope you’ve been well <3 i have an idea for a book i’m interested in pursuing but i’m not sure how to begin.. if you don’t mind me asking, how did you start? did you begin with in-depth planning or just kinda wrote and revised after? thank you!

woo! so excited to hear this!! ＼(≧▽≦)／

i learned A LOT through this process - beneath the cut, I wrote out my recommendations with some examples of what I meant where it was useful -- it's a bit long ><

if I were to start over from the beginning, here are some things I'd do:

character build - know everything there is about the character(s) you want in your story -- the story is based on the CHARACTER and how they move through the events of the story, they will change (for good or worse)

Character name: Selina | Age: 24 | Occupation: artifact collector | Special skills: deep diving, historical knowledge, speaks 4 languages, rock climbing, general combat skills | personality: determined, over-excitable, easily swayed, vigilant

world build - it's VITAL to understand your world, its rules, its customs - what makes it good and what makes it bad - start small to big and answer questions as they come (there's no structure here, just think, plan, and write it down!)

milestone -- from here you should have major answers about the characters and the world they live in - things should be as clear and thought-out as possible

WORLD BUILDING IS WRITING YOUR STORY!

3. plot - find a plot structure and plan out the major events in your story. start with the big stuff on a general timeline:

begins with Selina swimming in the underwater city searching for ancient artifacts --- midpoint with Selina finding the lost orb --- end Selina destroys orb

4. plot - plan out the minor events that happen in between the major events, consider sub-plots, character arcs

begins with Selina swimming in the underwater city searching for ancient artifacts --- plot point she meets a mysterious stranger when selling the items, they tell her of an orb of great power --- plot point she joins the group on the adventure (introduce three other characters) --- midpoint with Selina finding the lost orb --- plot point Selina and Bastila fall in love --- plot point the orb kills people but can also change the world --- end Selina destroys orb

5. plot! - as best you can, go chapter by chapter and write out some of the things you want to have happen in said chapter - the more information you know, the easier it'll be to write said chapter

milestone -- from here, you have an idea of what going to happen, who is involved, what questions you need to answer and if you need to backtrack before moving forward

PLOTTING IS WRITING YOUR STORY!

6. write - start at the beginning, follow your plot and plot structure as you go

7. write - avoid giving all the information right at the beginning - you don't need to explain seven years of back story in the first chapter; learn to pepper in the world information, the character information, terms, and ideas as you write -- readers are SMART they learn through context

"Selina searched through her storage chest for the flunkle. The cold metal sent a shiver down her spine when she wrapped her fingers around it and tugged it from the bottom of the box. She rushed to her table and pried open the flunkle's three legs, adjusted its height until the thick glass in the center hovered just enough over the stone tablet that she could read the inscription without straining her eyes."

^ i didn't need to define what a Flunkle was, the reader can assume, based on context, that it's a magnifying glass

8. write - write write write, even when it sucks, even when you hate it, keep going - plot ideas will change, characters will break your story and you should LET THEM - remember: avoid trying to write the final draft, you're just writing a rough idea of your overall story. the first version will SUCK and that's what it's supposed to do

5% of those who start writing a book actually finish, your goal isn't to write the book first, it is to write the draft - the draft's only purpose is to exist :)

9. go at your own pace, you are not racing anyone else - you'll reach the end when you reach it

10. have fun, take breaks, find someone to talk to about it, join a writing community or discord if you have to - just keep going

-----

you got this! i'm rooting for you :D

write your book, tell your story - only you can!

[witch-hazels-musings]

WOAH DRAFT 2 COMPLETED??? THAT'S SUPER COOL!!!

CONGRATS HAZEL THIS IS SUPER DUPER HYPER AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!

every day it feels a little bit closer! when I went to pick up my print at the store yesterday I cried being able to hold it and see it -- it's a bit bigger than it should be (we didn't think to check the font size lol) but its so cool to be able to physically hold so many hours worth of work

even if this doesn't get places, i still feel accomplished :D

[witch-hazels-musings]

Gone again, but I had a reason 😭

Draft 2 is done, look at this beast !!

152k words

433 pages

I'll be taking a break while my alpha reader looks it over, so I'm going to poke at some stuff here to curb my need to look at the dang thing - harbinger diluc, I'll finish you yet

[witch-hazels-musings]

tip from big sis Hazel

If you are going out to march today

wear sunscreen

bring water

leave belongings at home

mask up

stay safe!

If you are able - let your voice be heard

NOT IN OUR LIFETIME 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

[witch-hazels-musings]

If you are able - let your voice be heard

NOT IN OUR LIFETIME 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

[witch-hazels-musings]

AHHJKHFDJHGLSGFGESDAK I logged into Tumblr, and the first thing I see is a notification about you writing a book. CONGRATS! This calls for a celebration. We're all proud of you for writing your first draft!! Keep going!! You deserve good things❣️

Waaaaa I can't believe it!!!

Thank you for celebrating with me!! One day I hope to reveal it to you all - it's, of course, a romance because I couldn't resist so lots of love and maybe a new book boyfriend for each of you!!

[witch-hazels-musings]

So happy to see you doing well! I'm very excited read your book once it comes out. Till then, I'm rooting for you! Sending you virtual motivation

-Sucrose

(⁠｡⁠ŏ⁠﹏⁠ŏ⁠)

Thank youuu - I am also excited for you to read it!! My goal is to give it to my beta reader by March and then I'll do some celebratory somethings here to thank you all for being patient and encouraging me!

[witch-hazels-musings]

Congrats on finishing your first draft!

Thank you!!

[witch-hazels-musings]

Hello, Hazel! It is I, Sucrose anon! My semester just ended so I have some free time to catch up on genshin and on Tumblr. (I had disappeared for an entire year and a half) How are you doing? I hope everything is going well.

-Love, sucrose anon

Hello Sucrose! Congratulations on making it through another semester 💪💪

Get that knowledge -- ra ra ra

I'm doing good! I actuallllllly just finished writing the first draft of my book!! 🫣🫣🫣🫣 Spent most of my morning editing sections of it to prepare it for a beta read

So things are going over here, hehe

[witch-hazels-musings]

wahh hazel it's so amazing that you finished your first draft!! i'm so proud of you <33 i can't wait to see more about your book!

(⁠｡⁠ŏ⁠﹏⁠ŏ⁠)

Thank you lovely. I was able to do it because of you all and your love from my works! And I was away for so long so I could bring it to you - I don't want to let you down 😭

I can't wait to show you more too!