Category: Writing

bookstagram, booktube, tips, Writing

Content Creation – The Pros and Cons of Different Social Media

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books7 Comments on Content Creation – The Pros and Cons of Different Social Media
Content Creation – The Pros and Cons of Different Social Media

Content creation is something that most of you reading this blog will enjoy doing. But it’s also something that can take up a lot of time. With so many different social media platforms out there, it can be hard to decide which will work best for you. There’s no point in wasting all your time and energy doing them all. Especially not if you’re not enjoying doing so.

With that in mind, I decided to write up a little post on the pros and cons of each of the main social media platforms you can use for creating bookish content. You can use these to decide which you might want to try out and which won’t work for you!

Continue reading “Content Creation – The Pros and Cons of Different Social Media” →
roleplay, Writing

The Magic of Storytelling Within Roleplay

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books8 Comments on The Magic of Storytelling Within Roleplay
The Magic of Storytelling Within Roleplay

It’s been a while since I’ve spoken about roleplay, and that’s mostly down to the fact that it’s not something I do much anymore. Evenings that used to be spent on my laptop have now become evenings in bed with a book. Most of the friends I have who I want to rp with don’t have much time or inspiration, so it’s kind of dwindled for now. That’s okay though, and it’s something that I do hope to get back to in the future.

But recently, I’ve gotten into Critical Role, and it’s making me think about rp again. I definitely want to try DnD sometime. I’d even like to try DMing a campaign one day. I already have a world I’d like to set it in of my own making. I also want to get back into my typical form of online rp. But the fact I’m listening to an rp, in general, isn’t why I’m interested again. I’ve become obsessed with these stories and characters, and that’s what I’m thinking about.

Continue reading “The Magic of Storytelling Within Roleplay” →
Update, Writing

Preptober Diary

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger BooksLeave a Comment on Preptober Diary
Preptober Diary

So, I’m starting this a little late in October, but I also decided pretty late that I was going to write something. I’m still doing NaNoWriMo loosely as I’m not registering the fic on the site and I’m not necessarily aiming for 50k. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to prepare though.

I thought it might be a little fun to write up a little mini diary with my preparations. If people like this post, I might do something similar for readathons. It’s more of a traditional blog post for sure, but it’ll be fun.

Continue reading “Preptober Diary” →
Writing

To NaNo or Not to NaNo?

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger BooksLeave a Comment on To NaNo or Not to NaNo?
To NaNo or Not to NaNo?

We’re a fair way through October, and that means that NaNoWriMo is on the horizon. It’s something that I always want to do, but it’s not something that I always have time for. I am working this year, but something might happen that’ll mean I’m not in the mood for writing. But I’m trying to keep positive for now.

Last year I tried and once again failed. I’ve only managed to succeed once and only because I was just finishing something off. I’m kind of tired of just feeling like I can’t complete anything.

Continue reading “To NaNo or Not to NaNo?” →
Writing

Writing Fanfiction

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books5 Comments on Writing Fanfiction

I know I’ve spoken about fanfiction before. I talked about how important it is and how it’s something we should celebrate it. I wanted to do some sort of guide on how it can help writers and I’m still not going to do that. But I do want to talk about how writing fanfiction can affect what I’m reading.

So, I’m in a new fandom now. It’s been a few weeks now, but I’m still catching up on canon and reading fanfiction. It’s been pretty nice and I’m filled with ideas. Weirdly enough, I haven’t slipped into AU territory yet. And that’s kind of what’s affecting my reading.

Continue reading “Writing Fanfiction” →
Writing

Write A Scene Challenge #1

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books2 Comments on Write A Scene Challenge #1
Write A Scene Challenge #1

So this is a new thing that I’m trying out. It’s going to be completely unedited – aside from a quick read through. So please excuse any mistakes. If I do anything with this, it will be fixed later on.

The point of this is that I want to get back into writing. I have loads of ideas, but I’m just not writing them. The fact I don’t want to means they’re just not working for me. The fact I don’t know where to start suggests to me that I need to just…try out some stuff.

So, I posted a few polls on Twitter. And each poll would be a character or a location for a snippet of story. I’ll write a first draft of a scene and post it on the blog. If I’m happy with it, great, could be something to work on. If not then at least I’ve written something.

I’m posting this online so people can actually hold me accountable. I’ll probably do a few idea generation challenges and it should be fun.

Feel free to tell me what you think of the snippet. I don’t really need any constructive criticism as it really will just be a quick first draft to see if I can fall into a story. But I do wanna know if people like the characters or the world. As I could work with that for something…well, something I put more effort into.

The prompts I got this time were assassin, tavern and thief.

Continue reading “Write A Scene Challenge #1” →
Writing

The Faerie Door: What Do I Want to See From Fae Books?

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books1 Comment on The Faerie Door: What Do I Want to See From Fae Books?
The Faerie Door: What Do I Want to See From Fae Books?

It’s no secret that I love reading about the fae. It’s also no secret that I’m so picky about my fae books that I wind up disliking most of those I pick up. This doesn’t mean they’re bad books in my opinion, just that I want more from the fae in them.

And that’s my main problem.

So many of the fae books seem to use the same types of fae and the same sort of world-building. The fae as a species spread across so many different cultures. Yet we always basically see the same things, and honestly, I’m a lot bored.

Rather than just ranting about fae books. Which I honestly could. I thought I’d share a few things I’d like to see in books about the fae. Some of these are things I’ve definitely included in things I’ve started, but it might give you guys some ideas too!

Continue reading “The Faerie Door: What Do I Want to See From Fae Books?” →
Writing

So You Want To Build a World? Worldbuilding Resources and Tips

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger BooksLeave a Comment on So You Want To Build a World? Worldbuilding Resources and Tips
So You Want To Build a World? Worldbuilding Resources and Tips

The moment I decided to write this post, I knew that it was going to be a massive one. I love worldbuilding. It’s probably one of my favourite aspects of both writing and roleplaying! The ability to create an entire world to play in, and then see how other people interact in it or want to help you improve it. From the obvious things like the planet and the countries to the more detailed areas like the people and their cultures, there’s so much that can be done. It’s both overwhelming and exciting.

I’ll admit, worldbuilding is something that comes easy to me. I’m not saying that to show off, but collecting resources for this post made me realise how easy I find it to just sit and daydream about worldbuilding. Then all of a sudden, I have notes upon notes of a whole pantheon of gods. True story. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t need resources or to research or anything like that. Research is so important, as is where you’re getting your inspiration from. And I’m hoping this post can help a little bit with that. We might be building a fictional world, but it’s still informed by what we know of the real world. In a workshop for Wired25 back in 2019, N.K Jemisin said:

Even though we’re telling stories about fiction…we’re trying to get the basic facts of science, the world and people right.”

N.K Jemisin, Wired25 – Full Video Here

And this statement couldn’t be truer. It’s not just that our worlds have to scientifically make sense, which they do, but it’s that the cultures and everything on them has to too. We get so many stories inspired by mythology and ancient cultures, but that makes sense because it means we have a starting point to work on. There’s no harm in that, and I’d even encourage it some extent. Just make sure to colour it with multiple aspects from that culture, not just a few obvious things that everyone knows. It’s also worth speaking to people from that culture too if you’re writing a modern one. You’ll want to avoid offensive and inaccurate tropes whilst making this new culture your own. The research is a necessary evil, but it’s one that can be inspirational too.

Continue reading “So You Want To Build a World? Worldbuilding Resources and Tips” →
Reading, Writing

Let’s Talk About Fanfiction – An Ode To the Wonders of Fanworks

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books4 Comments on Let’s Talk About Fanfiction – An Ode To the Wonders of Fanworks
Let’s Talk About Fanfiction – An Ode To the Wonders of Fanworks

Ironically enough, I actually planned on writing this post before there was all the discussion of fanfiction on Twitter the other day. Shame this post won’t be all that timely with my schedule. But fanfiction is something that I’ve loved reading and writing since I was eight years old and as both a writer and a reader. And its something that I feel like it’s important for me to actually talk about.

Continue reading “Let’s Talk About Fanfiction – An Ode To the Wonders of Fanworks” →
Writing

Why Writers Should Roleplay

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books1 Comment on Why Writers Should Roleplay
Why Writers Should Roleplay

It’s no secret that I love to roleplay. I’ve written posts on it before here and here but consider this a more up to date post. One of the things I’m determined to start blogging about more this year is writing. Not just my own, but tips and places that could help other people too.

For me, one of the things that have helped my writing grow steadily over the years is roleplay. It’s helped me in many different ways and I’ve learned that there are many different forms of roleplay. And I think they can all help in some way.

It’s not just writing every day that’ll help you improve, though that’s one way online roleplaying can help!

Whether you choose to LARP (live-action roleplay for those not in the loop), play DnD or some other form of tabletop campaign or write with friends online, roleplay can be a fun hobby that’s not only a creative way to use your brain but is a fun time-waster too.

Continue reading “Why Writers Should Roleplay” →