Hey guys –– Tessa here. Over the past couple of weeks I decided to compile some helpful websites for aspiring authors and writers like myself. Hopefully some of these help you, too… and feel free to add onto the list!
1. Noisli
This one might seem kind of obvious, but this website is basically a noise generator that plays background music to help you stay focused. You can choose a variety of noises –– rain, campfire, thunderstorms, crashing waves, coffee shops, fan noises, etc. – and if you create a free account you can save the mixes you like yourself, so when you come back to writing you’ll already have your favorite noises ready to play.
I’ve seen a ton of fantasy generators floating around the internet, and while some of them are helpful, this one has to be my favorite. The interface is super cool and allows you to pick between four different options –– a fantasy generator, which is a general generator used for creativity, a beast generator, which helps you come up with names for all your goblins and creatures, a spell forge, which gives you examples of spell names and their possible uses, and a land forge (my favorite!) which helps you determine a name for your magical, mythical place. There’s a ton of customizable options (such as keeping certain words and disposing others, etc.) to make it your own.
This one has been talked about in great length here on Tumblr, but I figured I’d reiterate to showcase it’s awesomeness. Basically, you paste (or type) whatever you’re working on and the application reads through your writing and lets you know if there are any difficult to read sentences, uses of the passive voice, how many adverbs you have, and what the reading level is for the specific passage. Of course, take all these edits with a grain of salt –– sometimes the editor doesn’t understand your writing style and will mark a sentence as “hard to read” when it really isn’t, but it’s a great editor for catching small mistakes and giving you useful stats on your piece, such as word count, paragraph length, etc.
This is a very long survey, but it’s 100% worth it once you have your protagonist (or set of protagonists) laid out for your story. It’s even helpful for fan fiction and RPG, so don’t dismiss it entirely if you don’t write anything original. Basically, it’s an assessment to see if your character is a “Mary Sue” (there’s a detailed explanation of what that is on the website as well). Honestly, it’s a long survey, but depending on what type of fiction you’re working with (fanfiction, original fiction, even RPG) it won’t take you very long and it’ll give you an interesting perspective on your character. I highly recommend you take this test especially if you’re an original fiction writer. Having a strong protagonist is as central as an engaging plot!
5 & 6. Behind the Name Generator and Baby Name Voyager
I’ve lumped these two together because they serve the same purpose –– naming a character. The “Behind the Name” Generator presents you with a ton of options to check off and it’ll present you with names that fit those specific criteria, so it’s really helpful if you’re looking for a specific type of name for your character. Similarly, the Baby Name Voyager will show you an interactive chart with popular names from the decade, and if you type a name into the search bar, it’ll tell you when it was most popular (such as the ‘90s) and what names were giving to siblings, which is extremely helpful if you want to make sure your characters’ names are cohesive to the timeline of the story. There’s also a detailed-search option like the Behind the Name generator.
Not so much a website as it is a helpful reference, but this site shows the twelve common human archetypes which is helpful when creating characters and attempting to figure out their external vs. internal motivation. This plays a lot on psychology, but fear not –– if you don’t think your character fits into a certain archetype or prefer not to use these, then don’t!
In addition, here are some awesome writing blogs who have stellar advice. Feel free to message me or any of these wonderful people if you have questions about character development, plot questions, or anything else related to writing!
@authors-haven / @simplewritingtips / @thoughtsfromthewritersdesk / @theticklishpear / @the-writers-nest
Happy writing! ♡
Love this!!!
Category: Uncategorized
how to feel like an angel during the holidays ::
• wear vanilla behind your ears and on your wrists
• light candles in the morning and let them burn throughout the day (don’t forget to blow them out if you leave or go to sleep!!)
• let yourself indulge in treats such as candy canes, marshmallows, and gingerbread
• take your time to brush through your hair
• play instrumentals from ballets such as the nutcracker or sleeping beauty
• apply lotion every night before you sleep
• watch the morning sunrise
• wear the softest clothing you have to keep warm
Tips for writing spells:
If you want to keep something close, bury it in your back yard.
If you want to attract something, bury it under the front door step
If you want to destroy its influence, burn it.
If you want it to move away and sink, throw it in running water
If you want to disperse it to a distance, throw it into a crossroads
If you want to fix its influence, inter it in a five-spot pattern
If you want it to work by means of spirits, bury it in a graveyard
If you want to hide its point of origin, conceal it in a tree
If you want it to work in secret, give it in food or drink
If you want it to work by stealth, hide it in clothing or on objects
If you want its influence to begin or strengthen, throw it East
If you want its influence to end or weaken, throw it West
If you want its influence to rise and fall cyclicly, float it in a tidal estuaryOh, guys. Oh. Guys. This, if you’re ever stuck on how to perform a spell! Handy little guide of awesome.
Ooooh. Not bad. This gives me a lot of ideas for modifying this kind of thing to my own regional situation and practice.
When you give your characters a break from the angst you keep piling on them
There are some people you’ll never see again.
At least, not in the same way
Iain Thomas
(via glassbonespaperskin)
you deserve the love you keep trying to give everyone else
Do not be afraid, in ritual, to be undignified, to be strange, to express what is animal and taboo and shameful in your desires. To express emotion, to be ugly, to get dirty.
Ritual – most especially ecstatic ritual – is about finding and expressing the power of your deepest, rawest, wildest self. That doesn’t look pretty, it is not what society asks us to be, but that is not what witchcraft is about.
American Roadtrip Gothic
You are driving down a highway. To your left is a McDonald’s and a gas station. To your right is a Wendy’s. You exit onto another highway. To your left is a McDonald’s and a gas station. To your right is a Wendy’s. You exit onto another highway. To your left is a McDonald’s and a gas station. To your right is a Wendy’s. You exit onto another highway.
You are driving through the Midwest. All you can see is corn. Occasionally you think you see eyes in the fields, but it’s probably your mind playing tricks on you. Probably. You look down at your watch and notice that it has been three hours. You look up and still, there is corn. Two hours later and still, there is corn. There is nothing but corn. There is only corn.
Your are driving through the South. There are signs everywhere, signs crying “we are all damned” and “hell is upon us.” You do not know if this is normal and are afraid to ask. On every street there is a church. At every house there is an American flag, waving in nonexistent wind. There are mothers working in their gardens. They all turn they’re heads at the sound of your car driving by. All their faces are exactly the same. You stop at a small restaurant before you leave. You ask the waitress for a burger and unsweetened tea. “Unsweetened tea!?” She cries, confused. “Unsweetened tea?” Her voice becomes deeper. “Unsweetened tea.” She intones to the kitchen. When your order arrives, it’s a burger and sweet tea.
You are driving through a city. You notice there seems to be a lot of art students. Many carry canvas bags and backpacks, but all of them have dyed hair. You look around again, and you notice that everyone has dyed hair, ranging from bright reds to deep violets. You cannot find any browns or blondes. They all have colorful hair. They are all art students. You look into your rearview mirror. Your hair is bright blue. “I’m an art student.” You whisper in horror.
You are driving west. You do not know how long you have been driving, only that you are driving west. There is so much traffic. You think you have spent days on the highway, staring at the car in front of you. You can’t be sure. The people are a strange mix of hurried and unbothered. You try to ask for directions, but the answer you receive is in another language, for all you understand it. You ask another person and they explain in a tongue you understand, and they tell you to make a right turn at In-N-Out. You look around you. There are 7 different In-N-Outs just within the radius of your eye sight. You begin to cry.
I made some spooky motivational art to remind you that even though it doesn’t always feel like it, you are going to kick this in the metaphorical ass.
Candlelight-magick 