wrenarrior

[wrenarrior]

Under the Night Sky ‘20

For those who don’t know already, I ran an event called “Under the Night Sky” last year back when Wattpad had their version of community forums on Discourse. Given the unfortunate removal of said forums, I had to find a new place to host my event. Fortunately, the community rose up and this past summer, a new writing forum known as Wacky Writers was born.

Long story short, I ran my event there and did the scavenger hunt and nomination for titles similarly to my event from last year. As I did last year, I’ll be sharing the winners again this year. (For those who are curious about the posts from last year, you can find them by clicking here and here.) Now, without further ado, I present to you the winners from this year’s UTNS event!

For the scavenger hunt this year, users were tasked to find the following:

Link to a completed sci-fi novel on Wattpad

Link to a poetry book with under 1k reads on Wattpad

Link to a literary fiction novel with under 5k reads on Wattpad

Link to a 2020 Watty Winning Story

Link to your favorite blog post from the Wacky Writers blog

Before a full hour was even up, I had heard back from all three winners. I was honestly impressed by how fast everyone was with finding answers. Round of applause to all! I’ll be announcing the winners before sharing their answers. If you click on their Wacky Writers username, you’ll be taken to their given link.

Drumroll, please.

In third place, we have...

...

...

...

W.L.Ink!

In second place, we have...

...

...

...

Theora!

In first place, we have...

...

...

...

JJJ000YYY!

As promised, here are the answers I’ve received from all of the winners:

1. Link to a completed sci-fi novel on Wattpad

https://www.wattpad.com/story/167056357-wisdom-of-the-ancients

https://www.wattpad.com/story/112739000-formulated-love-%E2%80%A2book-1-completed

https://www.wattpad.com/story/19000117-d%27spayr-a-knight-in-the-withered-land

2. Link to a poetry book with under 1k reads on Wattpad

https://www.wattpad.com/story/243490811-under-the-magnolia

https://www.wattpad.com/story/157967238-pyromaniac

https://www.wattpad.com/story/230961963-free-falling-through-life

3. Link to a literary fiction novel with under 5k reads on Wattpad

https://www.wattpad.com/story/240473864-vanishing-acts-nanowrimo-2020

https://www.wattpad.com/story/153078396-the-codex-lacrimae-part-3-the-book-of-tears

4. Link to a 2020 Watty Winning Story

https://www.wattpad.com/story/238052692-we-are-never-getting-back-together

https://www.wattpad.com/story/99343757-how-to-be-the-best-third-wheel-%E2%9C%94

https://www.wattpad.com/story/195414946-in-the-arms-of-my-enemy-completed-book-1

5. Link to your favorite blog post from the Wacky Writers blog

https://wackywriters.com/tip-cauldron-1/

https://wackywriters.com/wacky-pumpkin-winners/

https://wackywriters.com/the-tip-cauldron-3-subplots-writers-block-and-british-vs-american-grammar/

Last but not least, it’s time for us to recognize our special nomination winners. Compared to last year, I’ve narrowed down the titles and I’ve also added new ones to accommodate the uniqueness that is the Wacky Writers community. It may be a few months old but it has already become such a wonderful place.

Similarly, to the scavenger hunt winners above, I’ve also allowed each nomination title winner to share a link to a platform they would like shared. Last year, everyone had their Wattpad account shared since the event was hosted in the Wattpad forums. However, this year, I gave users involved more choice.

Best Aesthetics Curator: eggqueenluli

Best Established Writer: LacySheridan

Best Undiscovered Writer: alcoholandcaffeine

Gif Usage Pro: greekmyth

Most Friendly User: TheMidnightAssasin

Most Helpful User: astrophile (me, basically)

Most Inspirational User: CJtheSiteWizard (creator of Wacky Writers!!)

Most Likely to Revive Raza: Theora

Social Media Maven: JCRohrer

Wisp’s Biggest Fan: Honeybubbles05

Thanks for making it all the way to the bottom of this post. Running UTNS has always been a huge undertaking for me but it’s always been rewarding to watch as the writing community engages positively and boosts each other up.

Hope you all have a wonderful 2021!

[wrenarrior]

i just finshed reading not my type and i loved it! do you plan on writing more about koa or anything related?

Sorry for the late reply! I’ve been so scatterbrained lately. Anyways, THANK YOU SO MUCH for reading Not My Type. I’m so happy you enjoyed reading about Koa’s journey. I really and truly mean it. 🥺😭 As for if I’ll write more about those characters, it’s a no for now. I may do some bonus short stories about them in the future since they were all so much fun to write about. If I do, I’ll likely post those up on this Tumblr for people to enjoy. ♡

[wrenarrior]

In celebration of finishing your novella, “Not My Type” I drew a sleeping Koa~ I hope you like it~

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OH MY GOSH! THANK YOU SO MUCH! 🥺😭

[wrenarrior]

I always found the 7 act structure helped me a lot more than the 3 acts.

Link right here

[wrenarrior]

Hello! I'm glad you're not dead and I can't wait to read more of your work. Also congrats on finishing the academic year. Happy writing!

I have no idea how I just saw this but hello again! I literally have no excuse this time for why I took so long to reply, so oops. (For posterity, I’m answering this basically a month late.) I’ve been too busy gaming and thus, I forgot I also double as a writer.

I did manage to write, like, one chapter lately. It’s hard being at home all the time and I still haven’t figured out a routine that works for me yet. I have Not My Type fully outlined, so it’s just a matter of sitting and writing it out. And once that’s done, I can move on to my next project.

Anyways, this answer ended up much longer than I expected it to be but thanks for checking on me! ✨

[wrenarrior]

I’m not dead!

I have no idea if people still check this page, but just in case, hello! I am not dead. I’ve been busy with adjusting to online learning and just life in general. But now that the academic year is officially over, I hope to be a bit more active here. (Or as active as I can be.) I’m not sure what my writing schedule will be like but I hope to ease back into it, so I can at least finish Not My Type this decade. If you’ve got any questions, send them in. Don’t be shy! ✨

[wrenarrior]

What where did you go, what happened to your old stories??

I’m still around — though not posting much due to both university classes and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. My old stories can be found here. If you have difficulty accessing any of them, please let me know and I’ll try to fix it. I’m hoping to be more active with my writing once I’m done with this academic year, so we’ll see! Though, life always manages to create new challenges all the time.

[wrenarrior]

A Message For Shy Writeblrs

The internet can be a daunting place, and tumblr has a reputation as a cesspit, but to be completely honest with you, you can create your own experience so easily on this site.

Don’t like something? Blocked or blacklisted.

Enjoy content? Followed and liked and passed around ✨

Don’t be afraid to post your work, or reblog anything at all! Writeblr is a very genial community, and you can find a lot of gems. If there’s someone who’s work you admire, 10/10 they would be thrilled to know. We’re all awkward at some point in our lives, but there’s no need to let that overwhelm you here.

[wrenarrior]

“One hour’s happy, productive writing is always going to win out over two hours of grumpy procrastination. Schedule in some time to relax, not just time to write.”

So true!

[wrenarrior]

a list of fantasy/magical words ⚔️✨

crepuscular (adj.) of, resembling, or relating to twilight. divine (adj.) of, from, or like God or a god; excellent and heavenly. orenda (n.) the spiritual power that people and animals inherit from their enviornment. thaumaturgy (n.) the working of wonders or miracles; magic. scintillating (adj.) sparkling, shining brightly or brilliantly clever or skillful. phantasmagoria (n.) a sequence of real or imaginary images like those seen in a dream. numinous (adj.) having a strong religious or spiritual quality; indicating or suggesting the presence of a divinity. supernal (adj.) relating to the sky or the heavens; celestial; of exceptional quality. roué (n.) a person devoted to a life of sensual pleasure.

[wrenarrior]

I fear the writeblrs who are able to find FCs for all of their OCs because 1. how 2. HOW

[wrenarrior]

How old were you when you wrote your first book?

I was 13 when I finished my first short story and 16 when I finished my first novel. :)

[wrenarrior]

Hi! I want kno what ur fav character trope is

I'm super into antiheroes and just the whole morally gray aspect that comes with writing them and just asdfghjkl making them conflicted is so much fun. I will die with this trope. 😂

[wrenarrior]

things i love in books:

imperfect grammar in dialogue - my grammar isn’t always fantastic when I’m talking to someone. sometimes seeing little grammar mistakes in character dialogue makes it feel more real. 

character ticks - characters who have a chronic cough, or who have a bad habit of chewing their nails, or popping their knuckles. It fleshes them out.

characters with actual passions - I love seeing a character get really excited about something they are passionate about. And when another character shuts them down on that subject it’s heart breaking. I can totally relate.

puns and stupid jokes in first person narration - don’t tell me you’ve never made a little joke to yourself and then laughed at it. I think it’s cute. 

random easter eggs in books - an author’s favorite recipe, a trivia fact that they’re throwing in just because, things that may relate to the plot but are also an extra little surprise for the reader. 

newspaper clippings / articles - i just think they’re neat..

surprise handwriting (ex: on a note mentioned in the text or something) - i’ve only seen it in a few books. it makes finding a random note or something easier to imagine. Makes it a little more real. 

platonic character relationships - i just really think they’re neat too. 

[wrenarrior]

howwww do you always leave the best comments on people's works!!! the most i ever come up with is "aaaaahhh writing good" and then some keysmashing and i feel stupid cux i dont know how to intellectually let people know how muxh i love their stuff fjdjdj

Leaving Comments On Writeblr

OKAY SO FIRST OF ALL.

All comments (with few exceptions), no matter how small and no matter how incoherent, are amazing to creators, and I can GUARANTEE that they’ll appreciate it SO much. They’re more than just a reblog or like! They’re a sign that you took some of the time out of your day and some of your energy to show how much you love someone’s work!

Please don’t feel “stupid”. You’re not. Your comments aren’t. They’re lovely and so are you.  

But, if you’re looking for some actual advice? We’ll see what I can do. And as always, remember to only use what helps you—advice is only a suggestion, after all~

Here are some tips and prompts if you’re struggling on what to talk about!

Types of Comments

This post is originally for fic comments, but a lot applies here!

There’s a variety of kinds of comments I’ve seen, all wonderful things to receive! I usually combine a few of these bullets, which is where the length of mine tends to come from! (This is not a comprehensive list in the least.)

Keysmashing

Incoherent yelling about how good it is overall

Taking out pieces you like and focusing on those (can be direct quotes or paraphrasing)

This can be lines of the writing, a particular OC, worldbuilding details, etc.!

How it affected you (Can be good or bad—writers love knowing they’re manipulating your emotions~)

Gif/image reactions

Critical analysis (which is the kind I’ll be talking about later!)

But you know what? There are comments that I don’t like seeing very much, and I find can often be incredibly rude-seeming, even when you mean good. I’d avoid these next types of comments on writeblr, unless people are explicitly asking for them:

Demands to update/requests for more: This… isn’t helpful. It’s okay to have a nice “Can’t wait for more!” with some of the comment types above, but definitely not on its own. (And DEFINITELY not “When are you next updating?” That’s just… plain whiny unless you tread really carefully with how you word it.)

Comparing to another work: “This reminds me of [bestselling story]!” Mm… okay. See, this can seem really nice, and sometimes comes across as nice, but unfortunately it usually reads more like: “This is a completely unoriginal idea! It’s already been done!” Which is… not so nice. Especially if this is the only comment you’re leaving.

Unsolicited (negative/constructive) critique: UNLESS SOMEONE ASKS FOR CRITIQUE, don’t. Don’t. A lot of writeblrs are posting up their content while it’s in its unfinished stage, and are not looking for people to tell them what to change. There are all sorts of reasons why it’s rude to give unsolicited critique, and I’m not going to debate that here.

Tips for Critical Analysis Comments

I suppose having the intrinsic ability to pick up on deeper meanings is developed from experience, but I can certainly give some things to think about, here! And certainly don’t feel required to comment on everything here: pick out a few that stand out to you, or that you really liked the most!

But you know what this sort of comment is like? It’s like a high school essay about what’s effective about a piece. Except it’s about something you actually like, and hopefully it’s something you actually want to write.

Writing style: Does this writer have something consistently unique and original to their writing that you love? Can be part of any of the below, or something else!

Sentence fluency: Does this writing read more slowly to fit the mood, more quickly to fit the action? Is it (purposefully) harsh cut and jagged or smooth and soft? Does it feel nice on the tongue when you read it aloud?

Word choice: More complex vocabulary? Do the connotations of the words well fit the theme and emotion? Does it fit the setting and/or characters?

Characterization: Are all of the characters different and distinct? Are their personalities easy to see in their body language, action, and dialogue? Is what they do fun for you to read?

Environment/Atmosphere: Do you feel like you’re there with the characters? Is the environment described well? Does it set a nice atmosphere or tone for the rest of the writing?

Senses: Sort of goes with the above but… Can you hear the sounds written? Can you feel the cold or heat, or the other senses that the characters have?

Symbolism: This one takes some experience to pick up on, I suppose. But does the writer use images or connotations that symbolize something?

Worldbuilding details: Do you get a good sense of the world and culture of the story? Is it woven in well, so it doesn’t feel like info-dumping?

Anyways, there are so many other tidbits you could pick up on, but there’s some to start you off! Basically, think about why you liked the writing so much! A lot of it can be subconscious, sometimes~

So yeah! That was a lot (and a long post ^^’), but I hope you get something out of that! And remember: keysmashing and picking out parts you liked alone is definitely enough of a comment, but if you’re willing and able to put in the extra effort to leave a more meaningful one, it can do wonders to improve a writer’s confidence and motivation!!!

And if you want more work from a creator, leave a comment about their writing, not one asking for more!

[wrenarrior]

Tropes You can Pry from My Cold, Dead Hands:

Royalty/Bodyguard OTP dynamic

Tough, stoic character who is soft for one(1) person

Enemies to Friends to Lovers

“My job is to protect you!” “Well I’m gonna do the dangerous thing anyway because it’s the right thing to do. If you wanna protect me, you’ll just have to come with me.”

The Power of Friendship

Friend groups that have both a Mom Friend and a Dad Friend (even better if the two are dating/pining)

Characters that are total badasses, but also crack jokes and snark the whole fight

Self-rescuing damsels in distress

When the tough loner character that got hurt protecting the other characters pretends not to be injured

The other characters realizing the tough loner character got hurt protecting them, immediately shouting “You’re hurt!” and rushing to help them

True Love

The super nice/peaceful character that can also whoop your ass

When the super nice/peaceful character utterly DESTROYS the bad guy that hurt/scared their friends

That moment right after the Hero’s Self-Doubt Moment, when they look up at the villain, the music changes, and you KNOW the bad guy is about to get wrecked

The heroes all sitting down for a meal together, talking and laughing and being a family

Found Family Dynamics

When a villain is doing their villain song and they grab the hero and maneuver them through a dance

When the tomboy and the girly girl are actually besties

Awkward love confessions

OTPs being domestic

When the stoic loner character is playing with a bunch of kids, and the character that didn’t like them very much is watching from afar with a smile as they realize they’re not so bad after all

When two characters accidentally get married to each other

When an OTP accidentally confesses their love in the middle of an argument

The character that’s basically the team’s adopted mother/grandmother, and every member of the team will JACK YOU UP if you so much as talk bad about her

When two characters who are pining for each other end up dancing together at a party, and the UST is so thick you could cut it with a knife

The sunshiny optimist character who’s best friend is the grim and cynical character

The grim and cynical character who would die for the sunshiny optimist

When two characters have gotten really close together as they argued and keep glancing to the other character’s mouth because they realized how close they are and really want to kiss them

When a character is desperate to talk to their crush, but has no idea what to actually SAY once they’re together

When the emotionally constipated character waxes poetic about their crush in their head/to their friends, but can only manage to say things like “What’s up asshole” to their crush in person

When the tough stoic character just MELTS when looking at their lover/best friend

Villains who treat their subordinates like friends

When a character who’s jilted lovers and been selfish in the past goes full ride-or-die for the hero they’ve fallen in love with

[wrenarrior]

Guide to Figuring out the Age of an Undated World Map.