HeliaXyana

HeliaXyana, 7 days ago to writing

#writerscoffeeclub 6 Have you queried agents for traditional publishing?

I stumbled into an agent through a friend of mine last year and got enough of a taste to know traditional publishing is likely not the world for me.

Honestly felt more like he was trying to be my pimp, but that might have just been my aversion to marketing lingo.

Or perhaps I was just a bit overwhelmed. Chatting with you all has really helped me be more confident about my writing. 💜

#writing #writingcommunity

HeliaXyana, 10 days ago to fantasy

#wordweavers 3 Most creative character?

Creativity is hard to measure like that.

What I like is the unexpected creativity. Various characters are raised to be fighters. The men in the kingdom are solely applauded for their martial skills, so I like it when Lazarus writes poetry while commanding an army, Dionysus draws funny animals as he is competing in a tournament, and Sabre, who was raised to be an assassin, uses his shadow magic to illustrate bedtime stories for his daughter.

#fantasy

HeliaXyana, 10 days ago to random

#PennedPossibilities 334 How does your MC handle sadness and depression?

Freya was never taught that the self could be cared for. She cares for others and even explicitly teaches others about self-care, but her own emotions stack up until they overwhelm her. It's after she gets married to Cedric and Sabre that they manage to point that out to her. Cedric helps her set a few rituals and meditations, but she constantly struggles with this, so they keep an eye on her and call it out when needed.

HeliaXyana, 9 days ago to fantasy

#WordWeavers 4 Antagonist POV: is it easy for you to apologize?

The ghost of King Armand:

I am the best at apologizing. I am so incredibly humble, more humble than anyone else. But I am never really wrong on anything, so it doesn't come up too often. But when I do, I express sincerity like no other, and everyone accepts it instantly. I am an expert in managing my own ego. It never gets in the way. My ego is the best ego a person could have. It is very well crafted.

#fantasy

HeliaXyana, 13 days ago to writing

#WritersCoffeeClub 31 Other hashtags

What really inspires me is writing #MagicMageMadness with @strangeseawolf We write the story in alternating toots, and it's really fun to have two captains on a ship in an ocean of absurdities. It forces you to directly see and work with very different approaches.

I've seen most of the hashtags mentioned here already, but last week, I noticed #fridaykiss which gives an insight into how other writers approach romance.

#writing #writingcommunity

HeliaXyana, 13 days ago to writing

#PennedPossibilities 31 Has your MC ever desired a better understanding of themselves?

When we land in the series in book one, Freya has nearly forgotten who she is. She is deep down in a numbing dark void and can not see the colour of the world anymore. She knows she's in there somewhere, in that blank, expressionless face in the mirror. At that point, she's tired of this dark murky limbo and pleads to the self she once had to get her out of it.

#writing #depression

HeliaXyana, 14 days ago to writing

#PennedPossibilities 330 How does your MC go about expressing or not expressing their sexuality?

Any expression of sexuality is largely accidental. Whenever it is on purpose, she's not subtle about it and bluntly drops her clothes mid-conversation.

She accidentally reveals her attraction to Cedric by beating him in combat training and restraining him on his knees with a couple of ghost vines. The mutual blush on their faces was a little too obvious to ignore.

#writing #writingcommunity

HeliaXyana, 14 days ago to writing

#wordweavers 30 Writing from the POV of a child?

It took a little getting used to and some in-depth interviews with my three-year-old nephew (Did you know happiness is made of grandma and pancakes?), but I finally managed to write Freya as a two-year-old, including a train of thought that matches her age.

I'm comfortable with it, but it certainly is not easy. I like child characters to have personalities, but I also dislike it when they're portrayed as adults.

#writing #writingcommunity

HeliaXyana, 14 days ago to writing

#WritersCoffeeClub 30 How do you achieve a sense of wonder in your stories?

Beautifully detailed descriptions of bat-shit crazy creepy absurdities.

#writing #writingcommunity #fantasy

HeliaXyana, 15 days ago to writing

#pennedpossibilities 329 How is your SC typically seen by others?

Pelliniana is small for her age and a kind-looking, adorable teenage girl. She wears dresses and giggles a lot. She's fully aware of the innocence she portrays, and if anyone messes with her family in any way, she literally starts collecting eyeballs. Beneath the surface, she is feral, angry, and unforgiving.

She has a profound capacity for love which is precisely why she is volatile and deadly at times.

#writing #fantasy

HeliaXyana, 16 days ago to writing

#wordweavers 28 Did your MCs have comfort objects they carried as a child?

For Freya's sixth birthday, her brother Lazarus wrote her a story about climbing the highest tree in the world and plucking a few stars from the sky while he was up there. He told her he stuck some of those stars in a peach pit so they could have a nap and gave it to her.

"If you're really quiet, you can hear the little star snore."

She believed him, and on a bad day, she can still hear it snore.

#writing #fantasy

HeliaXyana, 16 days ago to privacy

#WritersCoffeeClub 28 advise

Safeguard the digital sovereignty of your writing.

When using cloud storage, do not rely on companies based in countries you do not trust or know the laws of. These laws might obligate them to break the privacy of your data.

Make a conscious and informed decision on how to handle your data. You put your heart and soul into your writing, so please don't just click accept. 💜

#privacy #writing #author #writingcommunity

HeliaXyana, 17 days ago to writing

#WordWeavers 27 What would your ideal writing group be like?

A group of anonymous, kind, open-minded, encouraging and philosophically inclined mega dorks with obscure passions.

#writing #writingcommunity

HeliaXyana, 18 days ago to fantasy

#PennedPossibilities 326 Favourite places

Freya loves the glass coral reefs that line the coast of the Enta province. They're full of nearly invisible, shiny ghost fish that are equally fascinated by her.

Cedric adores the caves in the Enta celest forest. He loves the echo of his voice in there because it sounds like his twin brother.

Sabre is very fond of the secret spot on the roof of Solitra palace, which he discovered with his cousin, especially at night.

#fantasy #writing

HeliaXyana, 19 days ago to fantasy

#WritersCoffeeClub 25 Cover Art

It's intricately connected and part of the work, so I create it myself. I am slowly inching closer to a unified visual style for the series.

You'd think sticking to silhouettes would make it simpler, but my stars, it's complex to get the essence of a character into just an outline! It's fun, though.

The cover for book one is new. It's Freya using plants as murder-weapons. 🖤

#witch #fantasy #writing #writingcommunity #illustration #art

Ethereal books series. Book three and four. Cover art. Book one is a female silhouette casting lightning magic away from the viewer. Book Four is a group of four witches standing together in a slightly purple light and smoke.
Etherea Book series. Book Five and Six covers. Book six is the silhouette of a curly-haired muscular man directing steam/ smoke as if he's dancing with it. Book seven cover features the three main characters in a silhouette with space and glowing lines behind them.
Ethereal Books series. Cover for books seven and eight. The cover for book seven features a woman in a silhouette surrounded by stars linked together with delicate lines. Plants and a large moon are in the background. The cover for book eight features the silhouettes of two men, one carrying a sword casually. In the background is a tunnel leading out to a glowing three on a misty night.

HeliaXyana, 1 month ago to privacy

In light of World Press Freedom Day, here is a small list of free and open-source software I like that safeguards freedom:

https://www.unesco.org/en/days/press-freedom

• #nextcloud for data storage. Self-hosted or hosted and managed at #thegoodcloud

• #Collabora or #cryptpad for online writing and collaboration.

• #joplin for end-to-end encrypted notes on mobile.

• #protonmail or #tutanota for end2end encrypted mail.

Help expand the list!

#privacy #journalism #opensource #journalists #worldpressfreedomday

HeliaXyana, 1 month ago to vegan

I'm making some #vegan #icecream today. I will never not refer to my ice cream maker as "The Mighty Cauldron of Cold".

Now what is the vegan equivalent of "Eye of Newt"?

#witch

Simpsons characters Patty and Selma dressed as witches stirring a large pot.

HeliaXyana, 1 month ago to random

#PennedPossibilities 300 — How does your MC or SC react to change? Do they struggle to adjust or go with the flow?

Dionysus reacts the most heavily to change, especially when he's younger. He never had much as a child and is aware that he needs the other Rascals to feel that he can take on whatever fates throw his way. If anything in the dynamic changes, he gets uneasy and scared to the point where he gets frustrated and angry until the others notice and find a way to reassure him.

HeliaXyana, 1 month ago to writing

The story so far.

Catch up on the adventure so far in "Something Fishy in Tu-na" a lovely but absurd Mastodon authors D&D style role-play fantasy... Hmm... Thing.. with zero editing Happening in #MagicMageMadness written by myself and the delightfully strange @strangeseawolf
Download or read the PDF here: https://cloud.cumulonimbus.space/s/fAff2gztLLHpySq

Or the e-book: https://cloud.cumulonimbus.space/s/PyDqC8bsRmWLQcF

#TimeTravelAuthors #writing #writingcommunity #fantasy #strange #absurd

HeliaXyana, 1 month ago to feminism

There are billboards lining the city streets telling me that my smile looks good on me and every single time I pass one my brain goes:

#feminism #vampire #smile

HeliaXyana, 1 month ago to paganism

#3GoodThings

• Got my copy of @ashtardeza 's ghost novel. Looking forward to a bit of neo-pagan spookiness!

• Expanded my seashell collection.

• Stirring up some absurd madness at #MagicMageMadness with the brilliantly strange @strangeseawolf 💜

It's a good day. 😀

#seashells #pagan #ghosts #books

Hand holding a paperback novel. Messy background with lots of trinkets and a guitar.

HeliaXyana, 1 month ago to writing

#WordWeavers 27 Who's blaming who in your story?

The wealthy are blaming the re-emerging witch cultures for anything bad as they are a direct threat to societal hierarchy.

Most of the kingdom is getting pretty fed up with the blatant attempt at scapegoating, but there are still large groups who really want to believe it. They're tempted into such a belief by the wealth dangled in front of them like a carrot in front of a donkey.

#writing #fantasy

HeliaXyana, 1 month ago to random

#3GoodThings

• Wrote a nice chapter.
• Found a old ring I thought I lost.
• Doodled some flowers.

HeliaXyana, 1 month ago to random

#PennedPossibilities 292 MC POV: What is your biggest fear?

Being unable to avoid reality from falling apart and so losing everyone and everything I love to the unfeeling void of nothingness as my consciousness lingers on for eternity alone and shapeless until the memory of my loves and life is nothing but a distant faded echo in a language I no longer comprehend. Also evil sockpuppets.