Dan

Writing Club Tip #84

"Don't be constrained by sprints"

@thedanlines.bsky.social

#writing #writingcommunity #writingtips

Writing Club Tip #184

"If struggling to change a section that is very ‘tell not show’, treat that section as just notes. It isn’t a section of finished writing, it is just a placeholder for you to expand upon and write it as ‘show not tell’"
@thedanlines.bsky.social
#writingcommunity #writingtips

Honestly I read this and thought 'Isn't that what it means?' then had to look it up... so I just learned a new word and that's pretty cool

So I guess... if you were published by one of the big guys in the US, don't assume they registered the copyright for all of your books. Go look your books up and find out:

publicrecords.copyright.gov

A series of three books titled How to Survive Camping by Bonnie Quinn. In order; the man with no shadow, the lady in chains, and the horse-eater.

Been rereading one of my favourite series: How to Survive Camping by @bonniequinn.bsky.social !
Such a good horror series with the inhuman rooted in folklore, and a good sprinkling of dry humour throughout. Highly recommend!

💙📚 #BookSky #WritingCommunity

photo of a fox sleeping on a Skylight

you have been visited by the Skylight Napping Fox and will have good fortune for the rest of the week 🤗

Writing Club Tip #177

"Each chapter should have its own story plot structure internally"

@thedanlines.bsky.social

#writing #writingcommunity #writingtips

Made some good progress on Downdraft tonight! Ploughing ahead with rewrites which I can already tell are for the betterment of the story. Just ready to be done with them now!

And just time in time - starting to get restless about starting some new projects...

#WritingCommunity

Right? It's been a lot of fun to write!

Oeeh that sounds really fun, lots of fun themes to dive into there. Love a bit of mess and tragedy. I'll be eagerly looking out for more info!

Good luck!! Hope it goes well.

Downdraft is my main WIP - fantasy story about a retired adventurer recounting her journey to the birthplace of creation.
Right now working on the frame story of her as a retired adventurer rather than the main plot.

How about you? What project are you working on?

Long week, but now settling in for some weekend writing! The goal is another chapter complete on the frame story for Downdraft.

Anyone else got weekend writing goals?

#WritingCommunity

An image of an eerie wooden hallway with yellow lighting and a vaguely veiny, organic quality to the walls. At the center of the image, the hallway disappears into a swirl of blackness. Text reads: “FOLLOW THE RULES. PAY THE RENT. DON’T ASK QUESTIONS. AN AGENT’S GUIDE TO TENEMENT, A YA DYSTOPIAN MYSTERY.”

TENEMENT moodboard featuring: A window onto a black void A tattered photograph of a woman’s silhouette in a hallway, with the words “Where is Cassie Walker?” typed at the bottom A dark creepy hallway with wooden floors A compass A hand holding a lantern Cramped library shelves stuffed with books Another dark creepy hallway with wooden floors A creepy wooden staircase TEXT: (Top left) "I punched the curtain between my fingers and folded it back... And what I saw was... Nothing " (Top right) "All we knew was we had to keep doing it month after month and not ask questions... Pay the rent or die in the dark." (Center) "No one ever left the Tenement. That was Rule Number One." (Bottom) "I wanted to argue. I wanted to tell him that this whole place was an evil machine designed to stifle every ounce of curiosity and joy out of our souls. I wanted to tell him I felt sorry for him, because the machine had already succeeded in stifling his own soul. And maybe my mother had the right idea-- maybe escaping out a Back Door was better than living like this."

A dimly lit frame with the first four Rules of the Tenement: RULE ONE Under no circumstances shall anyone leave the Tenement. RULE TWO The Front Door is to remain shut and locked at all times. RULE THREE Any windows that appear are to remain closed, with the curtains drawn, and should be avoided until they disappear again. Tenants are forbidden from looking upon the outside. RULE FOUR These Rules, being given to us by our Landlord and passed down unchanged from the founding of the Tenement, shall be inscribed into the heart and mind of every tenant for the wellbeing of all A mysterious photo of a woman in a dark hall and a scrap of paper are tucked into the bottom corner. The paper reads "Where is she?"

HOUSE OF LEAVES x THE GIVER

Inside, the Tenement is an endless maze of halls & doors.

Outside, there is Nothing.

When Noah's mother mysteriously vanishes, it sets him on a journey to uncover the secrets of his surreal world... Even if it means tearing the whole thing down.

#BluePit📖 #W #YA #D #M

A mood board for the book 'Downdraft' . It depicts various fantastical landscapes alongside themes of darkness and fading away.

NAME OF THE WIND x GODKILLER

DOWNDRAFT

Valandra is a legend—the only delver to reach the bottom of the Abyss and return. But few know the costs of such a journey.
Decades later, as new threats form in the shadows, she must retell her story or finally face the consequences.

#Bluepit📖 #A #F #Q

Nothing aside from a few doodles and my partner's attempts!
Unfortunately not quite at that stage, still deep in the editing trenches. I'm probably gonna look at art during proof reading?

Unfortunately it worked so well I'll have to do it again...

Of course! I have four primary characters who form the adventuring party - Valandra (MC, reluctant lead scout), Squall (smug mage), Mistral (upbeat frontliner), and Bora (rookie scout).

Will probably post more about them during BluePit!

I'm disgusted at how well no biscuits worked

I'm at the point of editing where I've finished one major task and need to start another - and even though it'll be super doable when I just do it, the procrastination is taking hold...

So anyway, no biscuits till I do a 15 minute sprint tonight

#WritingCommunity #AmWriting #AmEditing

The secret to half of my writing - forcing myself to think about it even if I don't want to!

And that's the last two chapters edited!! Somehow even before the weekend...

Hoping to get some more work on the frame story done, but then that's it? It's done? Then to obsess iver a different WIP...

#WritingCommunity

Pretty good! Now that I've settled into a rhythm and I know my usual mistakes it's easy to spot them 😅
Hoping to join you in more tangible progress next week!

Congrats!! Hope the progress continues!

I'm back into editing this week—hope to have the final 2 chapters of my WIP done this week

How do you handle writing goals? A little bit each day? Monthly targets? Or just write whenever there's a chance?

I try to set weekly goals to allow for those days where I can't spare even 15 minutes!

#WritingCommunity

Back into a busy week - but I at least have some writing goals!

Two chapters left of Downdraft for line editing. That's the main goal...
Then (if I have time), begin rewriting the last few chapters for the frame story.
Getting closer every week!

#WritingCommunity

Writing tip: As a writer, it's essential to find your voice. Have you tried your jacket pockets? Have you looked in the car? Perhaps it's on the nightstand or the bathroom sink? Have you checked on top of your head?

Listen. The only way you can become a good writer is by being a shitty writer and doing it anyways. You can’t magically become a good writer by having a machine do some of the work for you. That just makes you a fraud.

Turns out a 12km hike (in work clothes) in a yellow heat warning probably isn't the best idea

I'm sweating in places I didn't know it was possible to sweat in

I love the dialogue scenes where the characters just take it away with little effort from me!
I've been lucky enough to have quite a few in my current WIP, but I never get tired of them

Settling in for Sunday editing—hoping to get through one of the longest chapters in Downdraft!

Anyone else working on a WIP today?

#WritingCommunity

I end up folding most of my notes into any outlines I do—so I kind of have a sprawling mess of documents to search when I forget something 😅

Another older tip from my writing club—a simple one that I always forget!

It's always more fun to read something a friend is passionate about rather than trawling through goodreads (though that isn't a high bar...)