Deena Graves

Actual footage of Melania Trump last night coordinating a special assignment.

a young boy is driving a red toy car on a street . ALT: a young boy is driving a red toy car on a street .

Hanging in there! Just did my Positivity Pass for a fellow SF writer. Next up, is a First 5 and query crit!

Um, excuse my finest effing pardon???
What is this?
I must have.
Like, now.
Respectfully.

Ooooooooh! Okay, gotcha. Love this!!

I'm curious. Would you say you write more literary in style then?

I'm firmly commersial and don't have a literay bone in me, it seems. Explosions, ususally someone dies, banter, lots of running and fighting all a la Marvel Universe-esque.
I'm in awe of literary writers. Such lovely words!!!! 🥹

Thank you!!

For real! 😆 Flawless white teeth are infinitely more disturbing.

Bonus: I usually get glimpses of a scene. Usually like a still frame, sometimes a quick series of events. All random. Could come from a song, movie, a conversation, someone cutting me off in traffic.. then, boom! Idea.
Wish I remebered my dreams long enough to document them.

#CRPWizardWasps

HS was actually inspired by Fourth Wing and my love of cult classics (Pacific Rim / Reign of Fire). Had the whole "what if" thing and wanted to know what would happen if I leaned more into a Sci-Fi world with fighter jets and cool Mech tech, but also dragons.
Et voila!

#CRPWizardWasps

a woman is laughing and saying `` me '' while sitting in front of a bookshelf . ALT: a woman is laughing and saying `` me '' while sitting in front of a bookshelf .

I've perished.

snippit of a rough ad-lib scene that reads: “Uh, Nor?” “What now?” I grumble as I flick through files on the holo-screen before me. We’d broken into the absurdly secured wing of R&D not ten minutes ago, and Roane immediately found the wall of weird, insisting on pointing out every oddity like we have all the time in the world. “What the hells is this?” “For the love of…” I know that file is in here if I could— “Yes! Got it!” Turning away from the screen as the file loads onto my mobile unit, I plant my hands on my hips. “What Lieutenant?” But my impatience fades and my hands fall slack once I see what has his attention. “What the hells is that?” I ask, moving to Roane’s side with timid steps. A single dark brow disappears behind the soft curls brushing his forehead as if to say, “Really?” Buoyed between several clear cannisters of varying sizes along the backlit wall of weird is probably the most disturbing thing I’ve ever seen. More so than the yellowed talons the length of my forearm, stained dragon molars, fragments of shimmering onyx scales, and organs all stored in preserving liquid. I lean forward, stretching my neck, but certainly do not get too close. “Is that a rock?” “It is.” “And… teeth? Human teeth?” “Looks like it.” “And zippers?” “For lips.” From the wide grin plastered on the Lieutenant’s face, he’s enjoying this a little too much. “Did you… touch it?” “Fuck no.” he laughs. “I’ve got enough on my plate without adding an obvious curse from that thing.” His grin widens. “We can bring it back for Dion. As a gift.” “I’m not giving some cursed, creepy rock thing with teeth to my best friend, Roane.” “You bet your pasty ass you’re not,” says Dion over the radio earpiece. “And get the hells out of there. You got ‘bout two minutes before we’re all court-martialed.” I grab my mobile unit with the newly added file while Roane pouts, giving the creepy rock thing one last look. Then we run.

Well, isn't this the thing of nightmares. LOLLLLL

Here's my take on it. And, I may just have to keep a version of this... 😏

#CRPWizardWasps

Thank you for your service!!! 💜

That would be my FMC's bestie, Dion, or her "Sister from another Mister" The gut checker, the living BS meter who will lay it out straight for my MC, even if she doesn't want to hear it. Love that about Dion. And my MC loves/hates it, too. 😆 #CRPWizardWasps

We (me, myself, and I) are totally in the figuring it out phase. As a solid, Plantser, I need to tell myself the story first with some handy gutter bumpers, and then I go back and make it make sense. LOL It is what it is.

#CampRevPit #CRPWizardWasps

No feeling dumb!!! Not allowed at camp 😁💜
USAF - US Air Force
More specifically, the badass squads who fly the F-22 Raptors

Central time zone here. Weekends are best for me since Day Job Life and Mom Life take over the weekdays, for the most part.

Hey, y’all! Deena here (or Dee). Will likely be using my WIP (adult HTTYD x USAF x Pacific Rim) as I’m shelving the other for now. Just looking to make new writer pals and hype each other up!
#CRPWizardWasps

a cookie monster eating a cookie with the words nom nom nom behind him Alt: a cookie monster eating a cookie with the words nom nom nom behind him

I’m not a fan of sharing my s’mores. Just sayin.

a cartoon character says hi in a dark room Alt: a cartoon character says hi in a dark room

MEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Thanks! It's a nice wee bit of validation.

May not have survived the #RevPit trenches, but finding out I'm a semi-finalist for a First Page contest is a pretty good buffer.
When one door closes, another door opens, as they say.

#KeepWriting #WritingCommunity

The Teen walks into my office and says, “Hey there.”
To which I respond, 🎶 “Hey there, Delilah…” 🎶 Because I speak in lyrics & movie lines.
He looks at me like I’ve lost my mind (fair) but then tells me, “No, I wouldn’t like to tell you what it’s like in New York City.”

#ParentingWin

No matter what, this has been fun. Keep writing, keep creating, y'all! And remember this quote I saved from author, Marlon James--
"Trust your own voice...You're not gonna be lacking tough critics; you don't have to be your toughest critic. Be your most sympathetic critic."

#RevPit #RevPitWaiting

1️⃣, a ✨huge✨ shout-out to @ambucsaru.bsky.social for these amazing prompts keeping us enganged and at a reasonable[?] anxiety level through this process. You're a 🌟!

2️⃣, these fab editors deserve all the boosting. I canNOT imagine the weight of their job. Kudos to you all!

#RevPit #RevPitWaiting

a boy is hugging a giant cartoon character . Alt: a boy is hugging a giant cartoon character .

Thank you! Same to you!!! 🫶🏼

Honestly, I’ll probably park TSWF and put my focus fully on my WIP. I’m about 60% into HS, and I’m determined to reach The End. My original goal was to complete by EOY, but if I can get a final first draft sooner, that would be 🔥

#RevPit #RevPitWaiting

No worries! It the Save the Cat collection.
The original is Save the Cat by Blake Snyder generally used for screenplays, but can apply toward novels.
Then Jessica Body adapted for STC Wites a Novel and Wites a YA Novel for more bookish specific guides.
There's also a STC Workbook that's pretty cool

Aside from STC books and the "Thesaurus" series/website from Puglisi and Ackerman, I've recently adopted The Storyteller's Weekly Journal from Mary Weber and CJ Redwine. This book has E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G you need to take your story from a spark to The End and so much else.

#RevPit #RevPitWaiting