| Writers' Abode |

[scmarshtacky]

I am with Tacky (or Zen? Do you have any preference?)

No preference! scmar, and Tacky are my older names because I've been on forum sites as scmarshtacky for years, but my game name is usually Zenthos so I got equally used to people calling me Zen. Then there's the discord folks who have gotten very creative and call me anything from Mars to Tacos to Marty. That's why I say I'm used to responding to anything that kinda sorta resembles my user XD

[Cloudï]

do you prefer to write in first-person or third-person?

My general preference and what I do the most is first person, though I do also like to write in third person from time to time. I guess it depends on what kind of story I'm writing and what I want the focus to be. I usually like writing things where I can really get inside the mc's head, bring out all their emotions and really see and feel what the character is seeing/feeling. I just personally feel more connected when I write first person!

[BlueEyedKite]

i'm new to the writers' abode!

you can call me: Kite or BEK but probably Kite
my pronouns are: she/her
here's a bit about me/ my writing journey: I was that little girl that carried a spiral notebook and was scribbling words down every free moment. I wrote little short stories. Always fantasy. Usually filled the pages with the flavor supernatural being of the week. I told myself, one day, I'd be a published author! Fast forward through life and boy does reality hit you like a ton of bricks. I went through a period of time in my young adulthood where I didn't write at all. I felt jaded, like all my writing was terrible. Why bother, ya know? Then I made some great friends who were passionate about worldbuilding. I had one particular friend that would not leave me alone til I agreed to roleplay with him. When I caved, and began writing again, I rediscovered my love for prose. Eventually, the roleplaying didn't satisfy that hunger to get my character's story out there. I had never participated in the November novel writing challenge, but decided to give it a go with my bare-bones outline. It was a beast of a challenge, but I did complete the month with 50k words. Now I am adding to my project, little by little. I'm not doing the 50k challenge this month, I've learned I can't rush the middle. So, that's where I am currently. My goal is to have a finished manuscript, edit the heck out of it, and then start querying. My novel in progress is a dark fantasy horror queer romance <3 hopefully a trilogy.
anything else? I don't visit this forum enough. I clicked in here looking for another club, but was pleasantly surprised to see a space for us c: I do wish CS carved out a better spot for writers. Where is our writing competition forum? Where is our writing shops forum? Do we get featured writing pieces, nope. The art of writing is underappreciated if you ask me. Stories aren't as easily digestible as an oekaki drawing. Know that I see you! As soon as I post this I am clicking through all the prior posts to read!

[tenor]

i'm new to the writers' abode!

you can call me: Kite or BEK but probably Kite
my pronouns are: she/her
here's a bit about me/ my writing journey: I was that little girl that carried a spiral notebook and was scribbling words down every free moment. I wrote little short stories. Always fantasy. Usually filled the pages with the flavor supernatural being of the week. I told myself, one day, I'd be a published author! Fast forward through life and boy does reality hit you like a ton of bricks. I went through a period of time in my young adulthood where I didn't write at all. I felt jaded, like all my writing was terrible. Why bother, ya know? Then I made some great friends who were passionate about worldbuilding. I had one particular friend that would not leave me alone til I agreed to roleplay with him. When I caved, and began writing again, I rediscovered my love for prose. Eventually, the roleplaying didn't satisfy that hunger to get my character's story out there. I had never participated in the November novel writing challenge, but decided to give it a go with my bare-bones outline. It was a beast of a challenge, but I did complete the month with 50k words. Now I am adding to my project, little by little. I'm not doing the 50k challenge this month, I've learned I can't rush the middle. So, that's where I am currently. My goal is to have a finished manuscript, edit the heck out of it, and then start querying. My novel in progress is a dark fantasy horror queer romance <3 hopefully a trilogy.
anything else? I don't visit this forum enough. I clicked in here looking for another club, but was pleasantly surprised to see a space for us c: I do wish CS carved out a better spot for writers. Where is our writing competition forum? Where is our writing shops forum? Do we get featured writing pieces, nope. The art of writing is underappreciated if you ask me. Stories aren't as easily digestible as an oekaki drawing. Know that I see you! As soon as I post this I am clicking through all the prior posts to read!

EEEE kite ! it is SO NICE to see you joining ! <3
you're such a popular writer on cs i see you all the time on the creative forums <3 and of course you're a bestie of bud !

raaaahhhh your trilogy sounds SO COOL, the variety of genre within intrigues me !! i've never participated in NoNoWriMo (? i keep forgetting the abbreviation) BUT during i think june to august i hammered through and did about 50k words in a short period of time, and they were definitely a scrambled mess. i whole-heartedly agree that rushing the writing of the plot is dangerous :')

im so excited that youve joined, and im excited to hear bits and pieces and more about your trilogy! your writing around the site always leaves me in awe, your descriptive voice is breathtaking :>

i wish we could start a little petition to have a weekly/monthly featured writing on the front page, like there is for featured art. it's way more encouraging to write when you get recognition, or even are just able to collaborate with other passionate writers :>

ANYWAYS, im sorry this response is so short, but i am SO EXCITED to hear more from you, kite, and we are honored to have you in our abode <3

[BlueEyedKite]

@tenor I would have joined sooner if I knew this club existed! Forums, as much as I appreciate them, can bury lovely treasures. Well, better late than never.

raaaahhhh your trilogy sounds SO COOL, the variety of genre within intrigues me !! i've never participated in NoNoWriMo (? i keep forgetting the abbreviation) BUT during i think june to august i hammered through and did about 50k words in a short period of time, and they were definitely a scrambled mess. i whole-heartedly agree that rushing the writing of the plot is dangerous :')

Funny story. My beta readers do not know that the bulk of my word count came from nano. I'll get feedback like "oh... this conversation seems to be going on for a while" or "Odd that we're marinating in this moment, but ok", and the thing is I was trying to make word count people! I was fighting-for-my-life! For me, it meant a lot of fluff to my scenes xD That's okay, more fuel for the word chipper.

im so excited that youve joined, and im excited to hear bits and pieces and more about your trilogy! your writing around the site always leaves me in awe, your descriptive voice is breathtaking :>

I wish there was a writing version of the oekaki. So users could like, follow, and comment on pieces. I had absolutely no idea anyone read what I posted, let alone liked it. To say I am thrilled is an understatement ^^ oh well well <3 As far as hearing more bits and pieces: currently I'm writing a chapter that follows our main character navigating a corridor of converging nightmares, while protecting his crush, and also fulfilling his mission enough to satisfy the crime lords who are waiting in the wings. I get to go ham throwing terrifying scenarios out our cast. I love it!

i wish we could start a little petition to have a weekly/monthly featured writing on the front page, like there is for featured art. it's way more encouraging to write when you get recognition, or even are just able to collaborate with other passionate writers :>

I would 100% support that suggestion. I thrive off of feedback and a community. Writing by myself leads to overthinking.

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going to add the QOTW here:

do you prefer to write in first-person or third-person?

I write third-person limited. I will read first person, occasionally, but in the horror genre. For myself, I need distance between myself and my characters. Just a bit of a barrier. I find it too taxing to be in another headspace for too long. Odd, I know, but there you have it.

[scmarshtacky]

i wish we could start a little petition to have a weekly/monthly featured writing on the front page, like there is for featured art. it's way more encouraging to write when you get recognition, or even are just able to collaborate with other passionate writers :>

I would sign that petition!

I saw a November writing contest was posted by Seasonal I think? I was considering doing that. It would be cool to have steady ones though. I love random writing prompts.

[tenor]

eeee finally im posting this on time :3 hopefully QOTWs will be refreshed on tuesdays! we'll see how well i keep up w that lol also only keeping the 'QOTD' because on special days/holidays i did initially plan to have a special QOTD, so reserving that right. lol sorry if QOTD/QOTW has caused any confusion!

here's the new QOTD/QOTW:

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if you're uncomfortable with me putting your answer on the front page, please say so in your post, and i'll respect your wishes!!

current prompt:

have you utilized beta readers for any of your pieces? if you have, or plan to, how will you go about finding beta readers, and when in your writing process are you comfortable sharing to beta readers?
there's multiple outlets to finding beta readers, such as personally sharing with friends/family, or posting to online platforms. i'm interested to hear when in your writing process, whether it be your first draft or after you've gone through and edited, you're comfortable sharing with beta readers, and how you personally find beta readers!

Code: Select all

[b]have you utilized beta readers for any of your pieces? if you have, or plan to, how will you go about finding beta readers, and when in your writing process are you comfortable sharing to beta readers?[/b]

(answer here)

if you'd like to answer more prompts, you can see some of our previous QOTW's in this post! feel free to answer them even if they're no longer the QOTW!! <3

also if y'all have any questions to ask the group, or any fun recommendations for QOTD/QOTWs, feel free to post them or reach out to me privately ! my pm's are always open <3

[Little Trickster]

have you utilized beta readers for any of your pieces? if you have, or plan to, how will you go about finding beta readers, and when in your writing process are you comfortable sharing to beta readers?

My friends are my unofficial beta readers. Also anyone online who happens to want to read my stuff (idk if I'm allowed to share docs but if I am ill be happy to share my works with yall)

[scmarshtacky]

have you utilized beta readers for any of your pieces? if you have, or plan to, how will you go about finding beta readers, and when in your writing process are you comfortable sharing to beta readers?

I have at a very casual capacity. One of my short stories I entered in a magazine contest, and had one of my co-workers beta it before I sent it in. (It didn't win though and I haven't tried to submit it anywhere else.)

I'd like Fortis to have at least a small handful of betas, but again, it would probably be casual at best where I post it on my Discord server and let people read it at their leisure. If I'm lucky, maybe a couple would finish it and offer constructive criticism. XD

If I wanted a serious Beta, I'd only open my stories up after I'd finished writing, and done at least 2-3 re-reads of the work, editing where I felt it was necessary. Once I had a product that I consider done, I'd let others comb through it and see if they could find things that felt inconsistent or confusing.

I'm actually happy to share stories at any point to anyone who asks to see it, but those who get it before it's done just get a casual read over. I probably wouldn't be accepting criticism at that point since everything's just a rough draft, if it was even completed. If I'm looking specifically for a beta then that means the alpha (my work) is already done to the best of my ability.

[BlueEyedKite]

have you utilized beta readers for any of your pieces? if you have, or plan to, how will you go about finding beta readers, and when in your writing process are you comfortable sharing to beta readers?
I am currently utilizing beta readers for my debut novel project. I found them through my local writers group. There is a handful of us who are young and writing the popular genres: romance, horror, thriller, fantasy etc. I read the first chapter to this group of fine folk and they volunteered to beta read for me. I appreciate that they have experience in the writing process, and they read the genre I will market in. Even though my book isn't finished, their critiques are invaluable. A lot of the feedback I can't directly take, since I won't be making any major changes until the editing phase (when the story is done). But, it's the support that I wouldn't want to lose. They give their thoughts on the latest chapter. They hound me for the next one. The compliments put the wind in my sails. Not to mention, if the majority of them said this story is trash xD I wouldn't waste my time with my idea. Since they are all reading and each is supportive, well my idea can't be all that bad can it? I would say, I would avoid using family or friends as beta readers. Of course share your work with your loved ones! But, wanting chapter by chapter comments can be a lot. Family or friends may not be as passionate about reading in general. Or maybe they have no experience reading in the genre your work is in, so how valuable is the feedback? Don't think your story must be no good if your friends and family never read it when they promise to. Their enthusiasm says nothing about your writing skills, believe me. I say find the writing groups in your area. Libraries usually host writers groups. Find other writers to beta read!

what's your favorite character you've created thus far, and why?

I’m sure it will shock no one that my favorite character is the main character in my debut novel project. Nefarian, well, he had to grow on me. I’m a writer who loves prose: rambling about the color of the curtains and taking my time setting a scene. Nef was not the POV character for that. He would look around the scene, sure, but his eye rarely lingered. I struggled with reigning myself in. I’d get feedback like, “This doesn’t sound like Nef”, gosh I know, that’s me. And another thing, he has a lot of flaws. He acts like rules don’t apply to him (the opposite of me), he has loose morals, he cusses, and he takes forever to stand up for what he believes in. Despite all of that I do love the guy. He is freaking hilarious. I find myself chuckling at his dumb jokes. My beta readers will point out the same lines that had me giggling! I love how brave he is. He’ll be scared of the big bad, who wouldn’t, but that doesn’t stop him. I admire his courage. What can I say, Nef is a charmer. Every time I table read at my writers group I am reminded that my main character does not sound like most. He is his own brand. And I’m all in.

what's your favorite setting to write about, and why?

Fantasy worlds. But more so urban fantasy than the ye oldie days. Matter of fact, my favorite settings are dreams. My debut novel follows dreamwalkers, beings that can enter and manipulate dreams. My favorite chapters are the dream chapters. You can do anything in a dream! If I want the sky to melt and rain on their heads I can. What enemy is coming at them? How about an octopus the size of a building! It gets addicting to play with the scene and see how my characters react. Loads of fun.

bonus: what's your favorite setting to write IN?

I have only ever wrote at my partner’s computer desk. It is one of those desks that can raise up, so you can stand. I only used that novelty feature once btw. Sometimes I feel like I am in writer jail. I stare at the desk ornaments. My fave being the figurines of Gojo and Geto from Jujutsu Kaisen. I stare at them and silently plead they will give me the words. It doesn't help lol.