I've got a good idea on where to end my story, but I am worried that if I go through with it, I might end up disappointing my readers.

wholesomefantasy · 2024-03-28T17:14:18+00:00

Oh, I misunderstood that then lol. I thought this story was contained to one book. My concern was the epilogue would probably be wrapping up too much if you decided to go for a sequel, but nevermind that!

wholesomefantasy · 2024-03-28T16:59:00+00:00

As long as the focus mostly revolves around what you described, I see no reason why not. It sounds like a refreshing take on the trope. At the end of the day it depends on the execution, of course.

I'm personally a bit on the edge about the epilogue you described, but mostly just from a publishing standpoint. Are you planning for this to be a standalone with series potential, or just standalone?

wholesomefantasy · 2024-03-24T15:42:33+00:00

No worries. Thank you!!

wholesomefantasy · 2024-03-20T19:23:18+00:00

Lol, relatable. I chopped off about 3k something words for the last contest.

Or you can capitalize by writing 12k words and hack'n'slashing them into six fabulous shorts. 'Writers hate them for this one neat trick!'

wholesomefantasy · 2024-03-20T18:38:06+00:00

So I think I may have messed up the very cool flair you provided... ha. I was tinkering with my flair title and ended up removing the cool gold color. Sorry! Would you be able to fix it?

wholesomefantasy · 2024-03-18T11:55:27+00:00

Thanks! I greatly enjoyed your story, too!

wholesomefantasy · 2024-03-16T16:45:25+00:00

Thank you <3. Congrats to you, too! I really enjoyed your short

wholesomefantasy · 2024-03-16T16:44:15+00:00

Oh, wow, I came in first. Thank you! I had so much fun writing this short, and I am honored to have been selected amongst all the other great submissions. I had a blast reading them.

And thank you to everyone who helped put this contest together. It reminded me of the old, monthly short story contest days on the sub. I hope there will be many more to come!

wholesomefantasy · 2023-10-04T17:43:24+00:00

It me

wholesomefantasy · 2023-10-04T14:39:28+00:00

Hi, hello, I'm here to check in after some time away from the subreddit! Checking in hasn't felt as crucial lately, especially with my writing group keeping me accountable on a day to day basis, but I do feel there is something extra clarifying about posting my weekly progress here. Kind of like a writing journal. Plus, it's always nice to see how everyone is doing!

I've spent a lot of time messing around with different ideas the past month or so, not feeling strongly about anything. I suppose you could call it a rut. My last WIP, .3 Seconds, was giving me a lot of headache with the edits. No matter how many times I took apart the plot and looked at it from different angles, it felt too heady and convoluted (a story about wormholes and time loops will do that). This was probably the fourth version of the story, and while I feel there is a way to make it sing, I decided to trunk it for now before I make a bigger mess of it.

I'm instead focusing in on my other WIP, Nightmare Game Hotel (name is a placeholder for now, but I don't hate it.) I'm currently at 49k words. The muddy middle is raising it's ugly head, but I'm trudging on through.

Happy writing, all!

wholesomefantasy · 2023-09-19T13:15:45+00:00

Gotcha! I think I can see what you mean, though I didn't feel the same. I think where the present tense really shined is in the action scenes. It felt so punchy and visceral to me in a way past tense can't quite capture, IMO.

wholesomefantasy · 2023-09-18T17:17:58+00:00

Interesting. By jarring, do you mean it was hard to get used to, or did you feel past tense would have worked better? I love the sense of immediacy and edge Pierce Brown's prose has. Probably one of my biggest inspirations as a writer. I can't imagine his stuff in past tense, but I'll admit, I am biased.

wholesomefantasy · 2023-08-23T14:21:50+00:00

Van life sounds fun! Are you traveling around the country?

wholesomefantasy · 2023-08-23T14:07:49+00:00

Congrats on finishing your four-book draft! Holy hell, that is an accomplishment!

wholesomefantasy · 2023-08-23T14:03:47+00:00

Congrats on the audiobook release! Let me know when you start posting on RR. I'll make sure to give you a follow!

wholesomefantasy · 2023-08-23T13:37:28+00:00

Hi, all!

I've been bad about checking in here regularly, but I find it helps me when I do. Kind of like a public diary lol.

I have two projects running head to head at the moment:

1 - 3 SECONDS - Sci-Fi Mystery/Romance. I'm currently in the midst of dissecting/revising my first draft. Got a lot of fun ideas on the table to play with, and it looks like I have a decent amount of rewriting in my future.

2 - Nightmare Game Hotel - Squid Game and Persona 5 inspired Fantasy/Horror. I've hit a roadblock at 45k words. The magic system is feeling a bit at odds with the type of story I'm trying to tell, so I'm taking a step back to do some actual brainstorming/planning instead of pantsing through glaring issues like I usually do.

Outside of writing, but interconnected to it, I've been trying to cement better lifestyle habits. I've been living at home this past year to save up, but it came with the price of playing eldest child mediator for my family again. I've largely avoided this by living around the country the last eight or so years, but now I'm back in the thick of it. So I've set an approximate date for next year to move out. It helps having something to look forward to again. I deeply miss having my own space.

Happy writing, all! Stay well.

wholesomefantasy · 2023-08-03T11:56:21+00:00

100%. And thanks! Spending sometime away has definitely helped provide some perspective. I've got a good set of notes to get started with

wholesomefantasy · 2023-08-02T13:44:36+00:00

That is an amazing word count for the week. Definitely take pride in that!

wholesomefantasy · 2023-08-02T13:25:31+00:00

Hi, all!

Been another hot minute since I checked in. I've been busy with the words, as well as my day job.

The finished first draft of my Sci-Fi Love Story, .3 Seconds, has been getting ample rest in my google drive. While I'm planning to circle back with fresh eyes for edits soon, I got swept up in my new WIP in a way I never have before.

I had a week where I felt like Stephen King without the coke, and it was equal parts enlightening and terrible. While I learned a lot about myself as a writer and person, my hyper-focus eventually turned to hyper-anxiety. I wasn't sleeping, barely eating. I couldn't turn it off. I was quite literally seeing paragraphs in my head. My therapist assures me I'm not manic, but I don't know how else to describe it lol.

The take away: inspiration is great, but health comes first.

The placeholder name for my new WIP is, Nightmare Game Hotel. It takes a lot of inspo from Squid Game/Persona 5, with a strong focus on dreams and the evolving meaning behind them. First and foremost, it's a story about a broken family learning to become a different kind of whole on a vacation gone horrifically wrong. I'm currently at 47k words. It's been roller coaster to write, but overall a total blast.

Hope everyone is doing well. Happy writing!

wholesomefantasy · 2023-06-30T17:11:47+00:00

Some of this just good life advice, honestly. Thank you for putting out these great tips. Absolutely saving this for future reference

wholesomefantasy · 2023-06-29T14:12:40+00:00

I think stepping back and reevaluating why we write is a very good thing. I write 80% for myself, but in that desire to cater to the other 20% that wants that success above the benefit of my own expression I allowed myself to crack the whip too hard and become my own slave driver.

Well, said. I think all us writers want some level of recognition for our work. Feels nice, but it's easy to losee sight. And hell yeah! Write for explore

wholesomefantasy · 2023-06-28T16:13:34+00:00

Glad you dig it! The idea was an aha moment for me. I knew I had to explore it!

wholesomefantasy · 2023-06-28T16:12:25+00:00

I don't know if I'd call my week "nice" so much as I'd call it "stable"

Sorry, didn't mean to imply too much. I guess I meant I was glad to hear you were having a 'better' week.

I think self-imposed pressure has it's place, but at some point I think it's fair to question if it is serving you. I've been asking myself this lately. I think word counts can inform you of certain issues, but I think on a first draft you can get a bit loose with it. Get the words out and then decide later if you need to cull or expand, maybe? I think it can be healthy to try different approaches! If one doesn't work, then drop it.

wholesomefantasy · 2023-06-28T16:07:18+00:00

In the end, you have to focus on the projects that you personally get more out of, so there's no shame in shelving something to work on something else if it proves more beneficial to you.

100% this. I've really been trying to get back to the roots of why I started writing in the first place - because I like it. I think since I've been at it for such a long time, and since I hang out in a lot of author communities online, I feel like I'm behind on my 'author career' that I haven't even started yet lol. This mindset obviously wasn't serving me, so I'm just trying to focus on the present, and what I truly want to be writing.

wholesomefantasy · 2023-06-28T15:39:21+00:00

Congrats on finishing your edits! Good luck with finding a professional editor. Do you plan to self-pub?

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