Stories (70/0)
On Writing Atmosphere and Archetypes - The Violet Project Diaries - Entry 16
Before my writing session, I had to watch a little Jenna Moreci, a bestselling author who gives wonderful, if not sarcastic, writing advice. My favorite quote from this video: “All fantasy should be based off of medieval Europe because it’s the law.”
By Kris Leliel4 years ago in Journal
Switching From Confidently Editing and Writing Anxiously - The Violet Project Diaries - Entry 13
I have to be honest, I didn’t miss the anxiety that comes with wanting to make sure every word you write is significant. The ideas bursting inside of me while I was editing was really exhilarating. Now I’m back to layering the story down, brick by brick, word by word.
By Kris Leliel4 years ago in Journal
I Want To Tease My Readers The Right Way - The Violet Project Diaries - Entry 12
The day is starting strangely. My head is foggy. When the day starts out like this, I choose not to be too hard on myself, well I try to choose that option (perfectionist habits die hard). The rest time needed for an introvert like me is often several hours or days. I don’t know which amount of time I need today, but because I actually want to be a novelist, I’m going to do my best to keep it at an hour to two hours. Part of that hour is watching authortubers or booktubers. I believe they're great feedback for writers. Here are the videos I watched today.
By Kris Leliel4 years ago in Journal
Do You Read To Death or Read For Sex? On Narration Style - The Violet Project Diaries - Entry 11
Writing my horror short “Autonomy Bleeds Black” was really enlightening regarding my own narration style. I’m pretty poetic, I play around with rhythm, and I love sensory details. There are areas of my story that are rigid, however and I’m glad I caught that.
By Kris Leliel4 years ago in Journal
Panicking Over Fight Scenes and Magic Systems - The Violet Project Diaries - Entry 10
Okay so my day started with a poetry warm up/edit, which is called “Confidence”. Then I expanded upon my new characters through my side character theory from my last post and I’m happy that everything is flowing again. Now, I’m about to enter a chapter with some elaborate fight scenes, which has become my next research topic.
By Kris Leliel4 years ago in Journal
What To Expect During Each Planetary Retrograde
Astronomically, a planet going retrograde means the planet is appearing to be moving backwards because of retrograde motion. Astrologically, a planet going retrograde means that whatever sign or house that planet rules over is going to be strongly affected by that planet’s retrograde motion. The retrograde energy of a planet usually enhances their opposing astrological meanings. In 2020, we are up to our necks in retrogrades turning our personal realities upside down, so I figured it would be helpful to summarize the meaning of each retrograde. Before going into the summaries, you should know ancient astrology only considered the seven classical planets during their time, which were celestial bodies they could see with the naked eye (the moon, Mercury, Venus, The Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn), so the retrograde energy of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto may seem a little ambiguous.
By Kris Leliel4 years ago in Futurism
My Side Characters Kinda Suck, But I Can Fix Them - The Violet Project Diaries - Entry 9
Last year I spent a great deal of time studying Bram Stoker’s writing style, specifically Dracula. In my article “Three Essential Writing Techniques from Stoker's Dracula and the Epistolary Narrative”, there’s a section breaking down the use of distinctive tone in every character’s voice. I feel like this is one of those things that is probably considered obvious to most writers, but I’ve seen writers slip up on this, including myself. I’m in a part of my novel right now where a new group of characters are being introduced and I’m worried. Some voices are distinct, while others replicate characters introduced earlier. So…what to do? Do I just compare and contrast? Be picky about my diction during the dialogue? I’m trying to keep in mind what I wrote before:
By Kris Leliel4 years ago in Journal
Writing Without Historical and Cultural Inaccuracy or Offense- The Violet Project Diaries - Entry 8
Hollywood’s horror industry has been pretty abusive towards ancient and indigenous culture. Shamanic practices from indigenous civilizations (eastern and western) and many other beliefs or customs have been poorly represented in horror media and the most depressing part about this is when ignorant audiences believe the Hollywood representations. It’s this kind of slander in western media that distances and even shames the ethnic roots of people of color. In a previous blog post, I mentioned that I feel neither African or American enough to have any real sense of belonging ethnically. I can research my ancestors, do an AncestryDNA test, or just go visit Africa if I want, but the connection will always be lacking in some way thanks to colonization and the poor, unfair judgments of my ancestors to this day. There are even African American families who cling to the Abrahamic religions to make sure they fit the status quo. So, as a horror and dark fantasy writer myself, I want that to change.
By Kris Leliel4 years ago in Journal
To The Writer Ashamed of Resting - The Violet Project Diaries - Entry 7
One technique I learned in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is talking to yourself as you would a friend when you’re having a rough day. When I gave myself a rest day yesterday, I felt so guilty and ashamed. It felt like I was purposefully being unproductive and negligent of my career. I had to fight myself not to get on the computer and write something or blog something because I knew my cynicism wasn’t speaking truth. Really, I was just bullying myself because I’m used to setting unreachable standards and beating myself up for not reaching them. Too many times that has left me exploited, drained, and just miserable. So I wanted to write a letter to myself and to you, fellow writer, if you have trouble resting like me.
By Kris Leliel4 years ago in Journal