We're All Stuck In The Perpetual Hell Of Creating Wips And Then Never Writing Them

Hello friend, it’s been a while. I completed the first draft of my adult thriller novel, which I’m currently referring to as Project Istanbul, so I wanted to share my mood board for this project and some excerpts with you.

a little about me/the blog™

I’m a Turkish-Kurdish English student living in Canada

I’m very introverted

I mostly write literary fiction

This blog is a nook for my novels and short fiction wips. I also share works I adore from my fellow writerblrs

a little about Project Istanbul

Set in Istanbul, Turkey (obviously) during the early 2000s

Story features a morally ambiguous journalist, unethical stalking, controversial therapy methods, too many expresso shots, glamourous outfits, and murder

Vague aesthetic inspos: Despair by Vladamir Nabokov, The Bell Jar by Slyvia Plath, The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Rear Window (1952)

TW: my novel explores mental illnesses including PD and NPD

random excerpts just because

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🍿?

Share an out-of-context line from your wip. (this one’s from Yellow Houses!)

We didn’t have any pictures of him so they were all I had to stare at, which was rare, but when I did, I imagined him on a ferry crossing the Marmara Sea, nibbling on simit, dark hair flattened against his forehead from the breeze, contemplating the mess he’d made and regretting it immensely. 

they hadn’t prepared us for this. they left us with nothing left worth fighting for.

that is, until we found each other.

we were living through what scientists had called the worst case scenario, and we were doing it alone.

| worst-case scenario: a wip intro |

the floods, the fires, the wailing, the radio static.

there was nothing left to salvage. except for maybe the kid, and that one dog. a van that stuttered more than it moved, a pink blanket tucked inside a fathers jacket. the notebook filled with silly drawings and the notes passed between them in the dark.

GENRE: science fiction, dystopian, adventure, thriller, surrealism

POV: third/omnipient

PROGRESS: first drafting

MOOD: dark, wistful, painfully nostalgic, uneasy, cautiously hopeful

SETTING: the year is 2336, Earth. but it’s nothing like anyone had imagined.

WARNINGS: multiple deaths, biological ware fare, drowning, weapons, display of mental illness(es), end of the world scenario, not so natural disasters, alcoholism, manipulation, nothing is right, there is no normal.

VAGUE PLOT: [they] were fed up with how their lives were treated on this planet, and decided to leave. they left behind their final words, etched into the grounds they tore apart and whispered into the waves that came crashing down. the people meant to protect them all had given up, had betrayed them. but they couldn’t be blamed, they had tried to warn the world to no avail. now [we] were on our own, with a scattering of the earths population, to make this place a home again.

[they] are the scientists who had tried their hardest to keep this world alive.

[we] were five people undeserving of this hell.

[[ wip tag: wip; wcs ]]

yess a bonus vid! 🤩🤩 my question is, as a discovery writer, what signals to you that a chapter isn't working? And do you rework them, store away in a doc--or scrap entirely? much luv, hope you're staying safe :)

Q&A - ask me questions!

Helloooo! I thought I’d do an end of year writing Q&A for a bonus vid in my YouTube channel. If anyone has questions, leave them as a reply on this post or send me an ask (make sure to indicate it’s for the Q&A)!

This is so interesting, please add me to your taglist! :o)

To find but morsels of what the world used to be spurs an odd feeling of nostalgia deep within your core; it surpasses your hard shell, delving until it tickles something gleaming, innocent, and something some would dare say is childish – hope. Hope for a future crafted with compassion but founded on destruction.

Funny, to experience nostalgia for a past that isn’t your own.

You live in Angelwood; a city like many others, yanked by the leash that is MERCY. You know about MERCY. Magnificent Emergency Relief and Care for Yourself, it stands for. It rose from the ashes of a worldwide epidemic of organ failures, constructing artificial organs which would ultimately save pockets of humanity from extinction – at a price. With the devastated economy and government, MERCY’s growing finances and following, MERCY soared to power. Then came the monopolisation of medical services – even if it was under a different name, you knew it was collared and walked by MERCY – and the subtle lacing of bodily modifications, or “augmentations”, into contemporary fashion and style. For those who still suffer from breakouts of organ failures, or for those who feel the stroke of MERCY’s marketing and manipulation warm on their cheek, they can pursue avenues paved by MERCY. Oh, but for those who cannot afford such grandiose costs? Well, need not worry, they offer simple contractual signups where you can pay back in smaller instalments. While this all seems lovely and altruistic when spoken with the honey-lathered words of MERCY agents, you know all too well that should someone miss one too many instalments, they’ll pay for it in more than just their money.

Will you conform and live a life that is shadowed by MERCY? Or will you fight? Both sides have their positives and negatives, yet death lurks at either door. Do you want to go out swinging, or go out plodding?  ―  THE ORGAN OPERA

OVERVIEW.

GENRE  ―  sci-fi (cyberpunk);  queer romance.

DEMOGRAPHIC  ―  (new) adult.

NARRATION  ―  third person;  past tense.

THEMES  ―  capitalism;  fascism;  anticapitalism + antifascism;  body augmentation;  human experimentation;  dystopian earth but struggling to make a better future.

STAGE  ―  revamping and plotting;  worldbuilding.

SUMMARY  ―  Years ago, a manmade virus raked its teeth against humanity  -  an epidemic of organ failures swept nations, devastating economies and governments alike. From the ashes of millions, select few megacorporations loomed over those who remained with malicious intent. Many of these megacorporations now control particular districts. Angelwood is controlled by the medical monster that is MERCY and is currently facing its latest threat  -  yet another uprising. And this time, they’re not going to stop until they burn MERCY to the ground.

MAIN CHARACTERS.

LEONARDO SONG  ―  Often referred to by his nickname of ‘Leo’, Leo is of mixed Korean and Filipino descent. He is the originator of the latest wave of rebellion against MERCY and his fire is something that can’t be quelled. He’s suffered severe facial disfiguration at the hands of a MERCY agent but wears it with mixed pride and anger.

CYRUS MERCER  ―  A black man who was one of many orphaned and taken underneath MERCY’s wing  -  under the condition that he partook in their PERSON program. On the surface, it seemed benevolent and altruistic… But MERCY never does anything nice without later ripping it to shreds. He’s now immune to the virus and wields more power than anyone in MERCY could’ve anticipated.

COCO DOOLEY  ―  A trans woman and close friend of Leo, she partakes in the uprising against MERCY and their control over Angelwood. She’s an expert hacker and has been steadily building her pool of information of and against MERCY.

MURDOCH MURRAY  ―  A trans man and close friend of Leo, like Coco, he too is part of the uprising against MERCY’s control over Angelwood. While Leo is fiery, Murdoch wields the cool charisma and allure akin to that of a skilled conman. He’s often the first to go into a situation, to procure or to defuse.

TAGLIST. if you’d liked to be added to the list, let me know via message, ask, or reblog! @mxxnwrites

This is beautiful, I'm obsessed??!!!!

TABBY | SHORT STORY UPDATES #4

In Tabby, a reclusive man who’d rather exist as a phantom than a human notices the neighbours aren’t feeding their cat, and is sucked into a world that breaks the stillness of his own.

Genre: literary fiction, “soft” noir (??)

POV: 1st person present, very observational and detached for most of the narrative

Setting: late 1940s/early 1950s, unnamed US city but implied to be Los Angeles 

Atmosphere: a summer that’s sickly, orange juice, the smell of paint, shaky hands, peach skies, sunflowers, blood splatter, a cats purr, the gut feeling that something is very, very wrong

Literal Logline: this cat is my friend and he doesn’t judge me over silly little things like the murder i just committed (also i think he might be god??)

Hi I wrote a story about a cat and got way too into it and accidentally made it about murder and now it might be my favourite thing I’ve written! Lets talk about it! cw for murder and blood imagery!

general taglist ; @kowlazovdi​ @avi-burton-writing​ @ryns-ramblings​ @melpomeny​ @kitblogsthings​ @ezrathings​ @aetherwrites​ @bookphobe​ @haldimilks​ @alicewestwater​ @bookpacking​ @shaelinwrites​ @writingamongthecoloredroses​ @harehearts​ @zemnian​ @onlyganymede​ @theelectricfactory​ @write-like-babs​ @oceancold​ @notphilosopherstudentblog​ @veiliza​ @sidhewrites​ @wolf-oak​ @feverdreamwritings​ @oasis-of-you​

Keep reading

What's your short story writing process?? I love your works <3!

hello anon + thank you so much!! it mainly happens in three stages. i’ll try and break this up so that it’s easy to read, i’d also recommend checking out this post where i talked about my titling process as that’s something that also plays into the way i write my short story.

NOTE: i’m a pantser and i pants all my work. this process is super intuitive and tends to differ slightly for each story. for me i learn more about the story as i go and i’m just as in the dark as the characters.

1. THE IDEA. this comes from literally anywhere, and can be of any form: the main concept, theme, or aesthetic, maybe an integral image or aesthetic, maybe a specific title or lexicon. i’ll be exampling here to make it make more sense:

for saltwater, the story came first. i’d had this initial idea of a couple drowning in the ocean after one of them drives them both into it.

for it’s gene magic and/or turpentine, it was a vague concept that formed the idea although it has zero impact on the plot since i veered away from said concept.

for geometry of the holy moon (1 am), it was the aesthetic, the setting and the lexicon [specifically the word ”yearning”]. i was inspired by a conversation i had about desi mythology and singing to the moon.

for cranium, i wanted to write something in second-person and wrote the first line, ten followed though with my instinct.

for helium throat [although this doesn't really count considering that this is a revamp of an older story] it was the exploration of a character relationship + dynamic.

getting the idea for me is very intuitive, and it happens at a pace i can't fully keep up with so for most of the time when i get an idea i put it into my ideas’ doc and save it for later. i’ve talked about this before but having an ideas’ doc is a lifesaver because you will have inspiration ready at hand and it can be super organised too! [mine is divided into plot, pov, form, theme, character, titles, verbs, concepts, etc.]

2. THE FIRST LINE / PARAGRAPH. once i get the idea, and i choose to draft the story immediately, i write out the first excerpt / line. this can be a hit or miss. sometimes [like with helium throat and gene magic], the first paragraph lets me understand the voice + tone, and i’m able to draft the rest of the story in it. sometimes, like with gothm, the first line doesn't fully explain it [this may be because it isn't where the story’s meant to start, sometimes because it just feels wrong] and in this case i either scrap the paragraph and start over, or i keep it to add to the story at a later point. this first excerpt is important to me as it helps determine how the rest of the story’s going to go, helps me get a slightly better understanding of the aesthetic and the voice, and at how rich / sparse the prose style will be. [so for gothm, i knew it would be a very thick and dreamy prose style while with gene magic it would end up being short and punchy]

3. THE DRAFTING. this one’s going to get so vague, but basically i then just,,, draft the story! i always keep a notebox kind of thing for each one where i put in anything related to the story [so scene ideas, the wordbank, particular aesthetics, etc]. i refer to this as i go on drafting. when i’m at the beginning, i still don’t fully know what the story will be about but the more i draft the clearer this becomes. most of the time, the ending clicks for me first, and then the rest of the writing process involves me building the gaps between the current scene and the final one. sometimes, i’ll get a scene idea that will completely shift the story from the point it was going. a lot of times, i’d start adding in a specific detail which i’d end up making much more plot relevant later on. i always refer to my general ideas’ list while drafting as sometimes a random, seemingly unrelated concept or word can help me in uncovering the short story. my drafting process is hard to pin down as it’s rather different for each short story but it usually involves me stumbling around a bit and trying to make out more of the story until something clicks or becomes clear and i finish the rest with an exact understanding in mind.

and this is the gist of how i write the first drafts of my short stories! i’ve only just started editing them, and in that department i have no insight [and i’m suffering there too yikes]. but i hope this was able to help!!

🍟 @/aetherwrites

Share a gif that represents your wip. What Mr. Sinclair sees in the checkered corridor in his nightmare in Bug Box. (gif is from The Wall, 1982)

mood!! same!!! good luck <333

just submitted to a litmag for the first time….

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski.

Reading this book requires rotating it around, holding it upside down and paging through countless footnotes of fictional references. I'm really enjoying it so far and I strongly reccomend it if you love horror!