Prompt #347

I write to give myself strength. I write to be the characters that I am not. I write to explore all the things I’m afraid of.

Joss Whedon  (via dragontameroutofcharacter)

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I try not to post commissions on my main, because I know they aren't writing related, but look at the art my friend did!!

I'm so in love with how it turned out and so excited to run her in this campaign. My poor little, spicy firebender and cute little spark, Aki.

Thank you so, so much. This is my background and it's not changing anytime soon.

Please commission my friend! She's amazing and kind and awesome!

Got the honor of doing this little spicy fireflake for a DnD, ATLA themed. I present, Kyoko and her little fren Aki, from the Fire Nation! Thank you noodle, for supporting me. She was fun and I learned some things.

I still have commission openings if anyone is interested!

Kyoko and Aki belong to @sinedra

Any tips or resources on writing a hitman? I feel lost when I try to search for them by myself.

There are a lot of resources out there.

On Assassin Characters

Resources: Assassins

Assassins and Assassinations 

Clevergirlhelp’s answer

Reference for Writers’ On Assassins

Thewritershelpers’ information on hitman

The life of a hitman

How does one become a hitman if you will?

Interview with a hitman

How to write compelling characters (focus on assassins)

Psychology of Killing

How soldiers deal with the job of killing

The impact of killing

25 methods of killing with your bare hands

Firearms

Gun terms for writers

Getting a handle on guns

Hiding dead bodies

Hope that helps!

Book Review 1: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

I (again) apologize, as I've never done an official review or anything. Since that's out of the way I'll do my best to bring forward a decent amount of points on both ends. If I need to improve, please tell me. On to the review!

I'm a huge fan of the YA fantasy genre, if there isn't some fantasy in it then I'm likely to not even pick it up. Safe to say, Seraphina is fantasy through and through. Rachel Hartman brings in refreshing elements to a subject over-done in every form of media/genre: Dragons.

As a short summary, the story follows the young protagonist: Seraphina. She's delved out of her comfort-zone (and guiltily ignoring her father's wishes) and begun working at the palace. Before she moved in, the crown prince is killed and everyone believes it was the dragons that did it. Seraphina finds herself pulled into the mystery with the help of Lucian Kiggs, captain of the guard and nephew of the killed prince. The treaty between the dragons and humans hangs in the balance.

Without spoiling the plot too much, let's just say that the dragons (who we see mostly in compressed human forms) are a wonderful relief. They definitely don't feel human and don't have a perfect peace with the humans. The tension and distrust is felt from cover-to-cover, it's honestly wonderful because it isn't a stagnant world and its future doesn't depend on the protagonist to fix or cause trouble. For a fantasy world, it come off as extremely realistic.The world itself is a mix of medieval European and fantasy setting that pulls you right in. Nothing felt awkward or out of place.

Seraphina, herself, is also a well rounded character. She's not beautiful, socially exceptional, or even well known. She enjoys being in the background and prefers it. Granted, like most YA protagonists, she certainly could benefit from a few more flaws, but she's a model for many of the Mary-Sue cut outs being sold on the shelves. I'm also not one really for first-person in stories, but I actually enjoyed being in her head.

On the opposing end, the plot is a bit overused. Hero/heroine gets involved when country's peace is threatened and heads off to fix it. I personally felt like I had too many characters thrust at me at the beginning, it was hard to keep track of at first. And there were certainly a few scenes that didn't need to be in the novel at all (sadly they're spoilers so I can't mention them), but they only succeeded in making the novel longer rather than pushing the plot along.

As a final comment, I would certainly recommend it. I love it as a whole, which makes it easy to ignore the bad points. I'm certainly keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel and will probably read it again.

There is this website called Thrift Books and I just got $66.90 worth of books for $19.93 (five books). Shipping was free. You’re welcome.

Erotica vs. Porn.

Warning: this is not my area of expertise and more of an observation. Dime store romance novels get a bad rep, being called “porn for woman”. I disagree but that doesn’t mean I like it. It usually feature the damsel in distress being rescued by the perfectly built hero (who usually is a vigilante or a mysterious stranger). I wouldn’t call them porn, most only have short sex scenes that last for a page or two and are done. Mostly, they’re the same plot with cardboard cut-out characters. Notice the key word? Plot.

Erotica has a plot, a story. No matter how overdone and unoriginal it is story driven. Sex does not fill it cover-to-cover. This doesn’t excuse shoddy writing but it is it’s one saving grace (granted there are some good ones).

Again, don’t be mistaken, erotica is it’s own genre. If you find a book in the fantasy section and it has sex in it, it’s still fantasy. Erotic specifically aims to incorporate sex and sexual tension; it’s the promise of at least one intimate, explicitly detailed (but for the most part tastefully worded), romantic moment between the two main characters. Another key word: romantic.

Porn is not tasteful. Porn is beginning to end sex with hardly any plot, or a horrible plot. There does not need to be any romance. The writing, more often than not, make dime store novels look like a “New York Times Best Seller”.

If you enjoy porn, it’s your life and your choice. I’m not trying to criticize a person’s life, but I bring this up for a few simple reasons: 1) Porn does not need to be video or images, stories can also be porn. 2) Woman in Erotica at least are (for the ones I’ve read) truly loved and are in love. Some are even very independent characters and CAN be likeable. Woman in porn are not like this. They are weak and submissive, bribed or coerced into their relationships. 3) Again, erotica is story driven with a fairly solid (no matter how dull) of a plot. They go through editors and a publishing house to end up on shelves. Porn is written strictly for the sex with little to no imagination put into it. The writing not up to par with erotica. 4) Fifty Shades of Gray is porn and, I admit, the reason for my post.

Sorry if this is overdone, but Fifty Shades of Gray is NOT erotica. It may be published, but it’s all about the sex with no plot. The romance is more of a hoax as Anastasia IS brided back into a relationship with Gray and emotionally blackmailed. And really guys, what other proof do you need than it was a Twilight fanfiction that was even less story and all sex.

This is an appreciation post for the fanfic authors who aren’t included on rec lists

For the fanfic authors who don’t get art of their fics

For the fanfic authors who can’t get to 1000/500/100 hits

For the fanfic authors who don’t get comments/reviews

For the fanfic authors who write for small fandoms

For the fanfic authors who write rarepairs or gen fics

For the fanfic authors who get hate for the ships/characters/fandoms they write

For the fanfic authors who write in English despite it not being their first language

For the fanfic authors who don’t write in English

For the fanfic authors who don’t think anyone reads or likes their work

For the fanfic authors who aren’t big name fans

For the fanfic authors who don’t get requests in their inboxes

For the fanfic authors who can’t write stories that are more than a thousand words

For the fanfic authors who only write one ship

For the fanfic authors who are just starting

For the fanfic authors who have been writing fic for years

For the fanfic authors who use fanfic to practice writing

For the fanfic authors who write self-insert fics

For the fanfic authors who write about their OCs

For the fanfic authors who write to vent or cope

For the fanfic authors who are just waiting for their big break

Keep creating, I love you ❤️

@ all my fellow fic writers, I hope 2019 blesses you with inspiration, motivation and time to write, and your inboxes and messages are flooded with lovely comments and feedback/reviews