March and April Wrap Up Brain Feathers Duology WIP: Developmental Edits Improved World-Building Current Word Count: ~80,000 words of prose (~120,000 words zero/first draft hybrid) Brain Feathers and Blood pHoenix WIPs by Kaywood Oryx

March and April Wrap Up Silence Gorgers Duology WIP: More Character Development Improved World-Building Current word count: ~21,000 words (first draft) Pyrrhuloxia and Athanor WIPs by Kaywood Oryx

March and April Wrap Up Whirligig of Clay WIP: Changed the working title (from Pinwheel) Drafted chapters 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 prog. 12 and 13 Rewrote page 1 and added a new chapter Created a placeholder blurb Current word count: ~29,000 words (~75,000 word goal) Whirligig of Clay WIP by Kaywood Oryx

Day 30 #FantasyIndiesApril
March and April Wrap-Up
Despite travels and sickness, I managed to maintain my writing consistency (with a few bumps here and there). Slow progress, but dedicated. It feels great!
Wrap-up below!
I also wrote "moment" 6 times in 1 paragraph (fixed) and questioned my sanity.

Titus Alone:
4. I favor the first two books.
I felt a deep sadness for the tragedy of this one. There is something profound about reading a novel with the awareness that the author was dying as he wrote it.
The themes and imagery stick with me.

The Works of Fumito Ueda:
3. The book is everything I wanted and more!
I had drawn inspiration from SotC for my WIP. There are also resemblances from ICO and TLG, which I haven’t played.
My WIP has evolved, shedding much of that minimalism. But I'm happy to have those similarities at the core.

The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles:
2. Scientific and comprehensive. Reptiles!
Foreword Excerpt:
“Why do we have difficulty perceiving reptiles as having complex social lives and other behavioral attributes, such as personality, reciprocity, and family?"

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer:
1. I finished it and immediately ordered the sequels. Atmospheric.

The image shows a book stack with the four books I read in March and April. From top to bottom they are: Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles The Works of Fumito Ueda Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake

March and April Reads!

Hello! Hope you're well. I was away on a road-trip and then sick most of the month, so I've got some catching up to do.

I'll put my thoughts on each read in the comments.

#booksky #monthlyreads

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries A novel by Heather Fawcett

Day 21 #FantasyIndiesMarch

Last Read: Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

Current Read: The Magic Mountain (for bookclub),
The Works of Fumito Ueda,
The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles (writing research),
and Titus Alone (continuing the series!)

Next Read: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

I complete 4 writing sprints with yoga in between, and then I make lunch.

My dream writing place is basking in beautiful nature. I’m embarking on a road trip soon and plan to camp and hike, so I may take my journal and try freehand drafting.

7:30am: I open Scrivener on my laptop, load an immersive writing video, and let it run in the background; forest sounds and mood music start to play, and finally, the first countdown timer appears. The bell dings, and I start writing!

This is a photo of my writing assistant taken when he was under a year old. (Oct ‘23) Dr. Couatl (Paleontologist, professional digger) We make a great team! Most days, he assists me from amongst the plants in his home. The photo shows a baby plains hognose snake peeking out of a green, pet-sized tent next to a MacBook.

This is a photo of my writing assistant taken when he was under a year old. (Oct ‘23) Dr. Couatl (Paleontologist). A baby plains hognose snake peeking out from a pet-sized tent.

Day 14 #FantasyIndiesMarch
Free Friday/Where and when do you prefer to write?

I used to sit at a desk in my home office. Now, I’m all about coziness and conserving energy—sustainable habits.

I write while wrapped up in a bundle of blankets in bed!

More in replies….☺️

Find comfort in what works for you, even if it’s undesirable for someone else. You know yourself better than anyone does. Figure out how your brain works and make it work for you. We all have our struggles that affect us differently. Once we acknowledge and accept our flaws, we can learn how to work with them. Even if your hands aren’t perfect; they’re yours. What keeps them typing? “Don’t take anyone’s writing advice too seriously.” -Lev Grossman “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” -W. Somerset Maugham The image shows a hognose snake resting on top of my hand.

Check the alt text for the final fortune!

Don’t wait around the cork bark for inspiration (or a cheeseboi). Show up and write. Hunt. Explore. Do interesting things. Persistence is key. Consistency over time equals progress. The image shows a male hognose snake resting on a cork bark.

Trust that the flaws will get worked out in time. Ignoring a blemish on the page (or in the nostril) is difficult. Don’t be embarrassed. Insecurity is the real "writer’s block"! We can never improve if we are too afraid to put anything on the page because it might be bad writing. You can pick at it, and pick at it, but chances are that pesky scrap might fall out or smooth out on its own if you keep going, keep playing, and keep practicing. “The dirty secret of art is you don’t have to show people your bad writing. That’s what we have the delete key for.” -Robert McKee “It takes a lot of bad writing to get to a little good writing.” -Truman Capote The image shows a male hognose snake’s face peeking over cork bark. He appears to have a piece of plant matter stuck to his nostril.

Put on your best thinking caps! First, that might involve finding where they are. When and where do you do your best thinking? Breaks can be as important as active writing time because a brain needs space to solve problems and work its magic. Walking, sleeping, bathing, relaxing in the sun. The image shows a hognose snake sprouting from the soil and showing off his dirt hat!

Let yourself dangle! Now is not the time to let worries weigh you down. Have fun drafting! Writing first drafts can be a thrilling process if you stop fretting over future chores. Your only job right now is to finish! This is the part only you can do. No one else can tell your story. You can't do much with a blank page. You can always recruit help for the other tasks: editing, formatting, and querying. Focus on what you show up for every day. The writing! The image shows a hognose snake dangling from my hand in front of a drip art painting with sunrise colors.

Day 7 #FantasyIndiesMarch
Free Friday or post some good fortune

Dr. Couatl is here to share some fortunes and encourage us to persevere through those first drafts. 🥠

Check the alt text of each picture!

Shortly after watching this film, these bats appeared in a book I am reading called The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles.
How funny! I am always amused by these coincidences; between reading, writing, playing games, and watching media, there is no shortage of such. I can't be the only one?

The Boxtrolls - LAIKA Studios LAIKA's The Boxtrolls is a magical family adventure about heroes in all shapes and sizes. Starring Isaac Hempstead Wright, Elle Fanning, and Ben Kingsley.

A quote from the movie:
"I present the tastiest cheese known to man. Made from the milk of the male-lactating fruitbats in Borneo.” Say what?!

The Boxtrolls - LAIKA Studios LAIKA's The Boxtrolls is a magical family adventure about heroes in all shapes and sizes. Starring Isaac Hempstead Wright, Elle Fanning, and Ben Kingsley.

Stop-Motion Film #04 of 25
The Boxtrolls
This film was a great case study exhibiting that distinct story-telling style I am trying to dissect. It is clear the magic is born in imagery and absurdity.
Even better, my four-year-old niece had some very amusing commentary!
#25stopmotionfilms

The book Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. The cover is black with an abstract illustration of a wild boar with plants and mushrooms growing out of it. There is a dried yellow rose on each side of the book.

My current read!

Can I say how jealous I am of this cover??
Perfect blend of bizarre and beautiful.

I love the setting. Plants, fungi, subterranean vibes, mystery ✅
And we follow a team of four professionals, all women. Very cool!
What are you reading, watching, or playing right now?
#booksky

I love the graphic!
I will join in on the Friday prompts :)
I might sneak in some others, but we shall see.

Day 28 #FantasyIndiesFebruary
Monthly Wrap-Up

Pinwheel WIP:
-Revised the 2023 outline
-Fleshed out story beats
-Drafted chapter 4, 5, 6, and part of 7

Brain Feathers WIP:
-Started some revisions
-Additional world-building

I enjoyed participating!
Thank you to the hosts! 💛
Great work, everyone ✍️

Day 27 #FantasyIndiesFebruary
MC hobbies
Eclipse loves to explore the tundra’s ghost towns ❄️

A gloved hand holds up a book stack. The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart Season of Migration to the North Heart of a Dog (new favorite) 🐕❤️ The Magus (new favorite) The Magnum Opus

February Reads!
Quick thoughts, Top to bottom:

1. Love the concept and the first half
2. Compelling & well-written, but may take a reread to connect
3. Good doggy fun in ominous circumstances
4. An addicting mind-fuck of a tome!
5. The short outshines it. When in the workshop, it’s magic.
#booksky

Day 26 #FantasyIndiesFebruary
MC Self Image
Due to a compulsive need to simplify things for others, she over-explains things when she isn’t obligated to. It doesn’t come from arrogance but a fear of being misunderstood.
She is aware that her complex struggles affect how she interacts with people.

Pictured here is the Howl’s Moving Castle novel by Diana Wynne Jones. Next to the book is The Collected Works of Hayao Miyazaki on Blu-Ray. A little Calcifer figurine sits in front. He is a fire demon character from the book and the film.

Day 25 #FantasyIndiesFebruary
Book-to-film/TV show adaptations

LOTR, GoT, Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile,
The Last Unicorn

I haven’t seen the new Interview with the Vampire show or The Three Body Problem, but I love the books.

I adore Howl’s Moving Castle! Calcifer is my favorite 🔥

Day 24 #FantasyIndiesFebruary
What words or phrases does your MC say a lot?
Whirligig just flicks his tongue a lot 😛
The plague doctors and stobbins have the distinct catch phrases.
Excluding those I don’t wish to reveal...examples:
reckon, fixin’ to, commode, hogwash/eyewash,
get the leeches!

Pictured are the spring-fed falls I hiked to last year during a trip to see the Total Solar Eclipse. Gorman Falls features a 70-foot waterfall and moss-covered travertine formations.

And I got a new hoodie! I also have the fallen angel version to match Changbin in SKZ 5'clock, but loved the Pegasus, too. I like to have different pieces around that remind me of my writing. Do you collect any story inspiration memorabilia? The hoodie is black with a giant Pegasus on the back wrapped in the letter R. It says Elegance in Motion. A smaller version of the art is on the front.

Day 23 #FantasyIndiesFebruary
Sweet Moment in WIP
Nine is a winged horse. There is a sweet moment when Nine notices Dr. Miri’s anxiety. Assuming she is thirsty, the horse digs up spring water to help. The inspiration for this behavior comes from the Pegasus Hippocrene tale from Greek mythology.

“But emotion plagued us like a phantom appendage. Back then, when I had a brain, I had become familiar with this phenomenon of the somatosensory cortex—not in my brain, to clarify. One amputee after another cried out in terrible distress. What comfort could I give? I could draw blood and confirm they were not going to die. Had I then the affective empathy of today, I might have offered solidarity. Although amputated from corporeal history, our consciousness still wanted to map it out. We would never generate new emotions, but every so often, out of nowhere, ancient pains returned from the crypts putrid as the eve of the black night. Even endless time could not erase all traumas.” Pinwheel: Story of a Hognose WIP by Kaywood Oryx

Day 22 #FantasyIndiesFebruary
Snippet Saturday: Pain
I loved the writing sprints this week ☺️ You?
It was fun to test ideas and explore the possibilities. How might this character experience and process this situation? Memory/emotion...
This snippet was one such experiment.
First Draft/Unpolished

I think the more interesting thing about writing is that it is a lot like sculpting. You take an idea and scrape away at it until it creates something awesome.

It's an awesome experience.

#WritingCommunity

Some color euphemisms/idioms that come to mind: feeling blue, seeing red, pink slip, white lie, black sheep
Making ideas palatable using color?
Can you think of more?

A large hardcover book rests on an end table. Nature’s Palette: A Color System from the Natural World

Day 21 #FantasyIndiesFebruary
Free Friday & Euphemisms

This beautiful resource was based on Werner's Nomenclature 1821, a color system naturalists used in the field. Still an asset, it inspires art and my descriptive writing.

How do you use color?

Now I’m thinking of color euphemisms! See below

Decisions are based on: Morals: Eclipse values goodness above all else. (compass) Logic: Dr. Miri has a doctor brain. Her decisions make sense to her, but can cause difficulty in social interactions. (brain) Emotions: Whirligig, being a snake, has no concept of morals or logic. His reptilian experience differs from the mammalian, but he is still driven by bodily needs, pleasure, safety, excitement, and the avoidance of fear, stress, and pain. (heart)

Day 20 #FantasyIndiesFebruary
Does your MC make decisions based on emotions, morals, or logic?
For the MCs from 3 of my WIPs:

If we’re talking food, bring on the spice! 🌮🌶️🥵🍛