jk i’m writing another fantasy book + making book moodboards 🌊 writing vlog

moodboards, romantasy and reoutlining my plot for the millionth time -- an update vlog for THE FLOATING HOUSE (my adult fantasy novel).
0:00 we are BACK to fantasy
1:11 tfh context and why i took a break
4:14 is tfh a romantasy
5:26 the contractual obligation of happily ever after
7:46 writing sci fi vs fantasy
8:49 moodboard making 101
10:44 new visuals for tfh
16:44 i need to Just Write
18:51 romantasy "fatigue"
_____
/ about /
i'm kris (she/her), a speculative fiction writer documenting my writing process, ongoing projects and chatting about craft ☀️
/ published work /
SWAY WITH ME UNTIL WE BLEED (sci-fi, cyberpunk):
www.augurmag.com/sway-with-me...
/ where to find me /
💌 newsletter: kmfajardo.substack.com/
website: kmfajardo.com/
twitter: / km_fajardo
instagram: / krismfajardo
tiktok: / krismfajardo
goodreads: / krismfajardo
🎧 music:
The Indie Club - Good Girls - thmatc.co/?l=479C1A2B
Blue Wednesday - Middle School chll.to/ef629850
#authortube #writing #writingvlog

[@laurenct]

i too am a perpetrator of procrastinating on my writing by making moodboards & religiously going back to my notes,,,great vlog as always :)

[@tweegerm]

I feel the same way about scifi being more commentary and concept-heavy and other genres being escapist. Although the longer I write my 'just for fun' projects, the higher chance they have of ending up with bittersweet or sad endings too. Your mood boards inspired me to make my first ones since the tumblr days though, they're so fun.

[@KrisMF]

yes! i truly love a bittersweet ending as a writer 😭

[@rachehester]

am i seeing a touch of filipino culture among the pics for the mood board? 🥹 always a treat watching your vids kris!! i really look forward to watching them 💖

[@bw1183]

omg project night!!!! i rememeber that era so nice too see it revitalized!

[@lynndjung]

top notch video as always!! I am so so hungry to get my hands on tfh (when it's ready ofc) and every detail you share feeds my soul. you clearly put so much thought into every element of your work and I admire that so so much!!

[@KrisMF]

so excited for you to read it!!!!

[@ceclar_b012]

TFH’s vibe sounds and looks divine. Your videos always leave me with questions, so forgive me for asking: What books do you feel inform your writing style, and why? How do you study writers you like? Do you break it down in a notebook?

[@KrisMF]

i have a video about books that have shaped my taste! i should do an updated one lol. prose wise, i am a big fan of flowery stuff like fitzgerald or incisive voices like sylvia plath. in general i like literary leaning stories in the speculative space and anything “genre blendy” (think This is How You Lose the Time War). also cyberpunk that is immersive or weird (william gibson). some fantasy standouts off the top of my head-scott lynch’s series, as well as Babel. studying writers-for me, it’s a lot of annotation and then mimicking it in my own work. there’s no structured process really. just writing and writing until it feels comfortable in my own style, or until i think it doesn’t suit me.

[@biccwuc]

when i tell you i screamed.

[@Lara_Ameen]

I love this vlog! I’m so excited you’re working on your fantasy project! That’s so exciting! I am so intrigued by this. I’m also not one of those artsy types who makes mood boards because I can’t, so I admire that you can do that! Also, I love romantasy! 🥰

[@littlebitofallthat]

Loved this vlog!! I was actually trying to make a moodboard the other day, and I was wondering how you did yours since I loved the Local Heavens one so much -- so this is excellent timing! Happy writing 💚

[@charleeraewrites]

great video! Not even a little bit boring! I enjoyed watching you create your moodboard!

[@BUY_YOUTUB_VIEWS826]

Overflowing with love!

[@siennayaps]

omg im so earlyy!! I absolutely love watching you, to see your progress or to write myself thanks to you i even got one of my fave storylines of all time! also, you and your voice and your videos and just everything about you is just so gorgeous and aesthetic!

[@carolinesromancereads]

I'm going to be submitting one of my stories for the first time to get into a writing conference/workshop thing so I've been watching writing vlogs for motivation!

[@BIPPITYYIPYIP]

I guess I'm different in that I just sit down and write as fast as I can. I never save 99% of what I write, not that it's crappy, it's just that I want to do it as art. These days, there just doesn't seem to be many people that actually read, especially poetry or more complicated themes. If it's not 'catchy', like a 'shiny' - "Oh, look - SHINY!!", then most think they won't enjoy it.

[@mx.yesterday3443]

idk maybe its just me but like bittersweet endings stay with me a lot longer. Like I would actually kill for a ''romantacy'' with a bittersweet ending like these two characters have to move on from each other because being together wasn't good for them in the long run and so and so.

[@KaylaWrites101]

Loved the video! New subscriber

[@mhjmakes3631]

I have no idea why my first thought when hearing you talk about your preference for darker endings was "I wonder if that'll be the case for Local Heavens," as if the ending to Gatsby was sunshine and rainbows. Haha How much romance does a romantic fantasy need to have before its considered one? My criteria's pretty straightforward. If you remove the fantasy elements and have it take place in a modern setting, what genre would you consider it? A romance? If so, then it's a romantic fantasy. If not, it's just fantasy with romance elements.

[@KrisMF]

oh thats a great way of looking at it!!

[@dianemiles2720]

For every project I have a whole Pinterest board with hundreds of images I can peruse when i need to get my head in the vibes again.

[@scoutdarpy4465]

Great vlog! I've been doing rather well with my writing. I'm at 45,000 words (aiming for 100k) and should finish around October. Though, I'm not writing a novel; instead I'm writing a bit of an interpretive commentary on Plato's Symposium through a Christian and transcendentalist perspective. I feel it's free from a lot of the constraints from typical commentaries, and is more mine than Plato's, whereby I use his thought as a springboard. I have three more of these projects for the future: following Aristotle, Spinoza, and Kant.

[@kelleyiswriting]

Omg not me using figma to review our ux designers' mockups LOL hehe this video is so fun. your visuals are so good can you make my moodboard for me LOL hehe

[@KrisMF]

of course!!!!

[@kristine5801]

"romantasy" is definitely trending heavy romance, and some specific styles/tropes. i'd look more into it before thinking of selling, as personally while i like romantic fantasy i haven't liked and do not write "'romantasy" 🤷‍♀

[@KrisMF]

yeah i’ve enjoyed a couple books in this space but i won’t be pitching my work as romantasy. it’s fun to dabble though

[@_lilyofthevalley_]

howfhwq love this vlog

[@jessica_reads]

Whenever I'm stuck on a book I start a new one LOL. It's a terrible habit :(

[@AdamFishkin]

Honestly, Kris, you would know better than I do if it's too early in the "romantasy" trend to call it a thing. But it sounds vague ... even though it *is* specific, the word itself comes with a pop sound that makes it vague. Does that make sense? Sorry.

[@mirimariana]

I get what you mean in the sense that there aren't really any solid features of a 'Romantasy' and while it is portmanteau of 'fantasy' and 'romance', romance is special in a way that it's not as if a fantasy is no longer a fantasy if romance is included. I've seen it described as a typical romance book with a fantasy backdrop, like the fantasy aspect only exists to drive the romantic plot.

[@76kilosofshade81]

I love to procrastinate my plotting by writing 250K word novels... 🤐