Just spent five hours outlining a pirate vampire sapphic novella. I'm excited for this one.

(Tags: #art #TFTNG #QueerWriters ) Happy new year, friends! Aces are new beginnings in the #tarot suits, and throughout December I finished out the Ace cards in The Healed Thorn and Cursed Thorn tarot decks! Here's the set. Healed:

#SmutCember Since I'm new to sharing my stuff in this corner of the writing world, I've learned that there are a LOT of people who write and enjoy smut and the adjacent categories. There's so much thought and nuance that goes into every relationship pictured. I liked seeing how many of us (1/2)

#SmutCember I have a vampire pirate captain that I'm planning to write a novella for this year. Aurelia Delaney and her navigator, Phoebe Vespertine. Stuck at port in a snowstorm at Christmas, because Phoebe is sick and waiting on a delayed shipment. Some delicious, cozy yearning sapphics.

#SmutCember Porn is straight up sex, no real plot or anything needed. Erotica has a bit of plot to it, but mostly still just focused on the act. Smut has the most emphasis on intimacy involved, rather than just the act.

#SmutCember I tend to mix both anatomical terms and euphemisms together. Too much anatomical terminology makes it feel distant and cold; too much of euphemism or synonym can make the reader roll their eyes and pull them out of the moment. Like most of my prose, I aim for rhythm and poetry.

#SmutCember Sapphic yearning, anyone? CW: breathplay. This is Abyss and Ebony, they play pretty hard. In this scene, Ebony is blindfolded, though it's not mentioned in this snippet.

#SmutCember Oh god. Abyss and Ebony are entirely in tune during intimate situations, but they're very bad at communicating outside of that. They get better throughout their relationship, but it's generally not well. One of the pillars of Corbin's identity is being a good communicator, so he and 1/2

#Smutcember Some characters are planned, some are not. Since a lot of my characters are vampires, for example, their partners tend to have a vampire kink - biting, neck kisses, etc. For the most part they come up organically, though.

#SmutCember my best advice is to keep it natural. Sex can have anxiety, it can have humor. It can also very quickly hit the realm of unbelievable if you try to write it too technically or distance the reader. Lean into poetry and metaphor, let the characters' yearning and need do the talking.

#SmutCember My two best friends and my husband. It's generally been positive, they're all super encouraging. My husband encouraged me to start writing it more, lol. I have a few stories I'm sitting on, I keep going back and forth on publishing them under this pseudonym or under my main author name.

#SmutCember Ooh... I'd probably write something for Esmeralda in The Night Garden series. She runs an alternative and kink lifestyle club. There's a few Witches in the series she's close enough to to sleep with, but it'd probably be with Austin for a short, fun hurt/comfort.

#SmutCember Yes, actually. Corbin is one of Acanthus' fledglings, and in their backstory they were together as lovers when Corbin was still a human. After a series of circumstances, Corbin leaves, but he has really complicated feelings about it. Sometimes he wants to rewind time. When the (1/2)

Anyone in the #writingcommunity, especially #queerwriters, use discord? I'm bad at promoting mine, but I have a small community built around writing, #art, and books, if anyone wants to join. discord.gg/dK7H6htPFt

#SmutCember Not usually, no. I think there's only one instance where I've been blindsided by the characters getting together, and it wasn't in one of my smut stories lol.

#SmutCember Touch! There's so much you can do with a character relying on touch. Shy characters closing their eyes, someone hyper-aware of someone's hands... This is especially fun with Abyss and Ebony, because Ebony tends to be blindfolded at first (Abyss has extreme self esteem issues). (1/2)

#SmutCember Ebony and Abyss are strange because they started with an agreement. Just sex, no strings attached, but Ebony caught strong feelings. So, sex wasn't the changing point for them. Abyss marks their turning point as when she started to come around for more than feeding. Corbin is (1/2)

#SmutCember 16 It depends on whether or not the story is in multiple POVs, I suppose. I mostly stick to one POV for that.

#SmutCember 15 Mostly it hinges on these questions - how established is the relationship? How comfortable are the characters together? What reservations do each involved have? Is romance the focus of this story?

the art of sunstone artbook crowdfunder ends soon. all stretch goals met. book maxed out, and we're wrapping up in 4 days! feels good. here's the link for those still interested www.kickstarter.com/projects/top...

#SmutCember 14! I realize I've only really answered about Ebony and Abyss, even though I mentioned Marcel and Corbin early on. Woops! (I don't have much of their story fleshed out, which may be why.) So, let's start with Ebony and Abyss. Abyss finds Ebony attractive because she is endlessly- 1/7

#SmutCember This is from Ebony and Abyss' story, still untitled. Teeechnically it fits; feeding sources for vampires are strictly monitored by wolves in this universe, and Ebony isn't a registered donor. Also, donors aren't supposed to sleep with the vampire taking from them.

Jessica was the last of the Wild Ones; she had more soul in her pinky finger than most did in their proudest moments. #NotRealOpeners

#SmutCember 12 I think both are great! I think I actually prefer scenes for a new relationship (after a slow burn of course, so I guess they're emotionally well-established in that regard lol). New relationships tend to have a shy, awkward, more exploratory tone that is fun to write.

#SmutCember 11 I love the "grumpy/shunshine" pairing. Also pairings that feel forbidden but work together anyway -- vampire/werewolf, vampire/human, two people from warring sides coming together, etc. Naming both of these because they can stack together :)

#SmutCember 10 Yes, I do struggle to share my smutty writing. Most of what I've written in this vein, I've shared with a few trusted writer friends and that's it. I worry it's too analytical, not something people want to read, etc. Also, this might be my insecurity talking, but I don't want - 1/2

#Smutcember Not to sound unoriginal or anything, but I think it's the buildup for me, too. Since I tend to write slow burns, there's all that delicious yearning reaching a breaking point, and then the freedom of finally acting on feelings that have been simmering for ages. #WritingPrompts

#SmutCember 9 I think buildup and aftercare are both just as fun for me to write. The buildup is fun especially when you lean into the yearning. Think 1992 Dracula level pining. "I have crossed oceans of time to find you." That's my jam! Aftercare because it's a fragile moment that can - (1/2)

I was headachey most of the day yesterday, but I managed to tap a few paragraphs into my sapphic vampire story. I'll call that a win.

#SmutCember 8 Slow burn, all the way. A slow burn allows the feelings to smolder, really build to a place of yearning before something finally happens.

#SmutCember 7 Ebony loves Abyss' eyes. They're icy blue with violet undertones. A byss loves Ebony's lips and her hair - she has black hair, with a totally natural white streak as a result of being piebald. Half of her left eyebrow is also white. Corbin finds most things about his partners- (1/2)

#SmutCember 6 I thought I didn't have anything for this, but I completely forgot about my sapphic vampires' first kiss.

Been a while since I've advertised my art, so here we go. All info on my website, linked in the quoted post. My commissions are wide open. Here's some more examples, all done this year:

#SmutCember 5 Banter. Conversation is where the connection starts - when they get comfortable, it's the glances stolen across the room, the unspoken ways they can read each other, the little things they do without needing to be prompted. Then, it becomes the closeness. Little touches, stolen - 1/2

#SmutCember 4 Yes and no. Most of my writing (smut or not) focuses on the paranormal. Vampires, ghosts, werewolves... Most of what I read is in the fantasy realm, but I tend to write things that are darker and read things that are light and happy. Does that make sense?

#SmutCember 3 (This is Artemis, on my shiny new alt account) I prefer reading it, personally. Writing it, I'm never sure if I'm getting it "right" lol (again, I'm demi, this may be why). I like the slow burn romances that have some spice towards the end, when the emotional connection is deep.

#Smutcember I'm totally fine with spice as a concept. I worked in an adult store for 8 years so it doesn't bother me. However, I find it boring if there's not an emotional connection that's apparent between the characters. Maybe it's because i'm demi, but the connection makes a huge difference.

#Smutcember Hello, y'all! I'm Artemis Quinn and I write dark fantasy and horror! I don't publish most of the smut I write, but there are three characters in The Night Garden universe. Ebony Bone and Abyss Kennedy start to see each other through a feeding arrangement, it's sapphic and kinky. (1/2)

Hello there! Just a queer writer and artist, writing queer romance and drawing. There is a chance spice will show up, so be warned. If you'd like to see some of my not-romance writing, consider following my other account @vampireantihero.com