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illuminara

Tell stories that leave scars.
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Literature

Numbers

Dear all the important numbers in my life: Social security number, I’ve known you since birth School year, I’m glad I outgrew you Years of my life, You never match the age of my soul Credit score, We’ve had our ups and downs Years I’ve lived under the same roof, Never long enough Library card number, You’re the most important number of all

All

139 deviations
Literature

Numbers

Dear all the important numbers in my life: Social security number, I’ve known you since birth School year, I’m glad I outgrew you Years of my life, You never match the age of my soul Credit score, We’ve had our ups and downs Years I’ve lived under the same roof, Never long enough Library card number, You’re the most important number of all

Featured

97 deviations
Literature

How to Write the Beginning of Your Story

We all know the most important sentence in a story is the very first sentence. It has only one goal: to convince the reader to read the next sentence and then the next until they are fully immersed in your story. The goal is simple, but executing the goal with success is a challenge we’ve all agonized over. It’s easy to obsess over the beginning and wonder if you’ve started in just the right place with the right scene or narration. Maybe it seems perfect to you, but beta readers tell you it’s not a good enough hook and you try to make it bigger and better, flashier and more action-packed. Stop. The opening of a stor

Writing Guides

34 deviations
Literature

I Am

I am the mountain outside my window, an old soul, stable and unmovable. Until there's a rockslide. I am the faint scent of honeysuckle on a warm summer afternoon that reminds you of the fun you had playing in the woods long ago, and you smile. I am the cool air that calms your spinning mind like waves breaking against your ankles and then receding in the sand. Be still. Breathe. In and out, slow and deep. I am an ocean that will never vanish. I am here.

Flash Fiction

43 deviations
Literature

Strong, Not Brave

I still remember learning the difference between bravery and strength. On a quiet night at the Turtle Inn, an old man sat beside me at the bar and began regaling me with stories of his younger days. He’d spent his life exploring the dreamscape, and he’d seen more worlds than I ever would. It was easy to tell he’d lived a hundred lives in his hundred years. He said he’d been pulled into this world by curiosity, and it never let go. Curiosity had led him to strange, dark places as well as places so stunning and full of magic his voice quivered and faltered when he tried to describe them. When I asked how he’d see

Short Stories

9 deviations
Literature

Before You Comment on the Internet

This is a thought guide to commenting on the internet--and also in real life. Before you leave an unsolicited comment or critique, send a note, or post on a forum or chat, ask yourself these three questions: 1) Does this need to be said? Or is it obvious and go without saying? Does it really need to be pointed out? Is it negative, inflammatory, rude, condescending, misinformed, just a guess, invalid, a logical fallacy, unintelligible, irrelevant, or just not worth saying? Then maybe don't say it. Or is it humorous, entertaining, informative, enlightening, encouraging, thought-provoking, or something of the like? Will saying the thing you wa

Personal Philosophies

12 deviations
Dragon Wax Seal

Photography

10 deviations
Bubbles v1

Wallpapers and Web Design

10 deviations
Grammar Stamp

Journal CSS Stamps

8 deviations
Novel Outline Complete!

Scraps

12 deviations