A Bit About Me

Who am I and what will this blog be about? My name is Adrianna Benavides. I am an aspiring author who is hoping to make it in the Young Adult and New Adult genre. I mostly write fantasy and cannot wait to share my work with the world! I want to share my experiences both […]

Prompt: 4/5/23

The rain was coming down hard that day, and I just stared at the ceiling from my couch. The sound of the rain on the window calming my mind and pulling my anxiety from within me. The barely open windows let the smell of it drift in. I could feel myself easing off from the […]

Prompt: 4/4/23

“You could lose everything!” “I already have?” The truth of my words brought the room to a suffocating standstill. I felt my skin go from hot and alive to cold and numb looking around me at the blood on the walls. “I am standing right here. I haven’t left you.” Alexi’s words hung between us […]

New Computer New Posts!

I have typed a few times that I wanted to write more, to create more, and things seemed to go extremely slow. I was dealing with a computer that had no memory on it, an older tablet that likes to fight me, and a phone that just is not condusive for the amount of writing […]

Tired Wonder

When the days make you tired, and the noise gets too loud, sometimes you just need a good friend to help you drown it all out. When your heart skips a beat, and your hands shake too hard, and you need that extra breath but you can’t get it down. Sometimes all you need is […]

Prompt: 2/6/23

I wasn’t expecting it, but I wasn’t exactly surprised either. Maybe I’d seen it coming. At the very least I should have seen it coming. There had been signs of course. I should have noticed small things missing in my mind. My memories specifically tying to him had been growing fuzzy with each visit from […]

Prompt: 1/31/23

Are you staying, or are you going? And if you’re going, how do I make you stay? Would it make a difference if I left my mask in place? Would it make a difference if I pretended to care? Should I keep walking through each day as if everything is okay between us? I have […]

Prompt: 1/30/23

What is your favorite season, and what do you love most about it? Fall is easily my favorite! I love that fall feels like a reset for most things. The colors captivate me constantly. I could always use more daylight to stare at the leaves against the sunsets, but I know once November hits that […]

Stuck

There is no way around the word. This is just where I am right now. I have been moving forward on my draft of A Deal with the Devil’s Daughter, but something feels like it is missing. I also feel like sometimes I am way too hard on myself when it comes to my creative […]

Straight From the Mind of Devia!

I wanted to share a little look into A Deal With the Devil’s Daughter! It has been a long wait, and what better way than to let the Devil’s daughter, Devia, tell you a little bit about her life. Enjoy this first look at A Deal With the Devil’s Daughter! -AB

Moving Forward

I have been telling myself time and again that I will blog every day, that I will write every single day, and that I will finish things without panicking and hitting the delete button. It is fair to say that I have not kept up with that. It hasn’t mattered how much I say it […]

Writing and Fear

There are many things I am excited to write. There are many things I am prepared to share. There is one thing holding me back. Fear. It has been creeping into the corners of my mind and holding me back. I want to say everything that is on my mind. I want to share my […]

Where My Writing Started and How far I Have Come

First pieces tend to be a writers facepalm moment. Looking back and asking “What was I thinking?” I had the distinct pleasure and displeasure to try giving my first novel another look. It was chaos… That specific piece will never see the light of day, but bits and pieces of it will. There were just […]

For Yourself Friday

Taking care of yourself is the most important thing. If you don’t take care of yourself how will you take care of everything else in your life? I put everything and everyone else first for so long that I started to fall apart. I got to the point where I couldn’t even write because nothing […]

Prompt: 5/20/21

I said it and I meant it, and I was right. Still, I wish I could take it back, because there’s no way I can make it up to her, no way I can ever make her feel better. The deepness of the betrayal would be felt for years to come. She had tried to […]

Things I Would Love to Study… For Fun!

I never thought hard about the question to, “What would I study for fun?” And yet it was fun and easy to answer. I study mythology all the time on my own, but I never thought to switch it up like this. I found a favorite and have had a hard time switching to something […]

Prompt: 5/19/21

The moon broke through the clouds, and the four of them stood there, frozen, waiting for something to happen. They were in the middle of an open field, and it was as if a spotlight had been trained on them. Suddenly, without warning the moon gets buried behind clouds that were not there moments before. […]

Workspace Must Haves!

1. All of the pens! I have all different colors for writing, editing, and lying to myself about doing work when I really know I am going to do word searches or logic puzzles. 2. All my prep pages and notebooks (outline, character sketch, random scenes, etc.) I tend to write random scenes and have […]

Prompt: 5/18/21

It was like an echo from the past, or a dream that he was only just remembering. He recognized everything about the room, even though he was sure he’d never been there before. He knew the paintings on the walls, could name the artists who’d painted them. The only thing that puzzled him was that […]

My Chaotic Process of Writing

Let me start this by saying there are days where my thought process resembles that of a squirrel at a rave trying to talk to a duck, a pigeon, and a dog about things while dancing to the wrong beat, but it keeps on chugging so there is that. Maybe I should cut back on […]

Prompt: 5/13/21

People pretty much hear what they want to hear, see what they want to see, believe what they want to believe. And I guess I fell into that trap as well. I wanted to believe that everything I had done to get us here was the right thing. I wanted to believe that we would […]

Prompt 5/12/21

I’m not really sure who started it. We think we remember things exactly as they were, but our minds play tricks on us. I can close my eyes and convince myself that the arguments were worth it. Every time things would start getting more and more intense we would fix things by not fixing them […]

The Folk of the Air Trilogy: Book Review

Dynamic characters, intense action, the fine line between love and hate, and a story so amazing that you cannot simply put it down and take a break! That is what Holly Black offers you in this trilogy! From the first time we meet Jude on page we see the darkness she is up against. Her […]

All of the Updates!

I spent last semester pitching my NA Greek Mythology series to my class, and it went amazing! Everyone gave me helpful feedback exactly where I needed it, and my professor was phenomenal! My characters started to flourish with the extra guidance in their own rights, my outline became more than just the bare bones, and […]

Girls of Glass: Book Review

Brianna Labuskes delivers again with Girls of Glass! Her mysteries just keep you guessing beginning to end! I was hooked by the female leads and the intense mystery surrounding the Burke family. When young Ruby Burke is kidnapped the Burke’s world is turned upside down. The press, the police, and the turmoil within comes to […]

Book Reviews Are Back!

I finally found my balance with my Master’s degree and following my chosen path outside of school. I know it took me a little bit, but I am back and ready to read it all and write it all! I am excited to start posting reviews again starting today! School was a lot to adjust […]

Fahrenheit 451: Book Review

I decided to read this piece as a class assignment. Now, I have never read it before. I have heard wonderful things about Ray Bradbury’s classic piece, and I have seen the movie counterpart. I wanted to review it and share my thoughts because I would like to get some other takes on this piece. […]

The First Time I Tried NaNoWriMo

Not to say I flopped the entire process, but I did not get the official wordcount in. I had about 60,000 words typed in my first draft. I only counted in the edited and official words. I hit about 24,000. In total, if I would have slapped the last pages in, I had around 64,000. […]

My First Semester as a Grad Student!

I have gone into my education with my eyes open and fully aware that it would be a lot of work. My Bachelor’s degree was absolutely that. This first semester seems like the perfect way to ease myself into my graduate program. I really enjoy that I get to pick the novels I work with […]

Her Final Words: Book Review

The suspense starts and does not stop in Her Final Words by Brianna Lubuskes. This mystery is looked at from multiple points of view giving the reader all the clues, and yet it never gives away the ending! This book is the true meaning of keeps you guessing. Set in a small Idaho town called […]

First Drafts: What is This Crap?!

Has anyone ever pulled out an old story they never followed through on? I pulled out a first draft from thirteen years ago while I was packing for my move last night. I looked at it and cringed as I read through. The idea was great… the execution… well it almost deserved an execution. Guillotine […]

Works In Progress!

I have a few projects I am working on outside of class. I want to summarize them for you and let you know what is in the works! As things progress and I move forward I will give project updates as well. Eventually I hope to make each project a page of its own! Some […]

Finding the Balance Within My Writing

Writing is kind of like the game Topple I used to play as a kid. Except for I have a passion and love for the writing, and also I don’t want to crush my sibling horribly when I am writing. After balancing out the show and tell of all the background detail there is a […]

From the Inside

Another prompt to short story! I love when things take on a life of their own! I hope you enjoy! -Adrianna From The Inside Ten Years Ago The building was on fire. The screams from outside were making my ears ring. The fire burned from rooms away. The crackle and pop were right behind me. […]

Prompt: 3/28/2020

I always knew he’d find me, eventually. I just didn’t know it would be like this. I didn’t know I would be soaked through and through from the rain, crouched in an old rotted out doorway, my knees to my chest. Whenever I would hug myself tighter, I would wring water out of my torn […]

Prompt: 3/23/2020

The day was scorching hot and bone dry, the air smelled like burnt toast, and everyone’s nerves were on edge. Only Zachariah was calm. He patrolled the perimeter, making jokes about the Eastlanders finding us out here in the tall grass hiding in our small camp. He always tried to make light of the situation […]

Prompts to Stories

I wrote a prompt yesterday that sparked a short story. Well that short story has consumed my time today and has blown up into something other than a short story. I had no idea what type of thing I was walking into with this. This has turned into an entire story set all of its […]

Prompt: 12/21/2019

The darkness was thick and suffocating, like a heavy blanket had been thrown on the world. He had to get over the wall, had to get across the border before the soldiers of Fen caught up with us. We waited until finally we saw a hand come over. The city which had held them all […]

Prompt: 12/19/2019

Until that day, fear had been an idea, a concept. Now it was real: a feeling I would carry inside me for the rest of my life. The day began innocently enough, with a nice breakfast on the porch watching the rain fall over the land my family had owned. The smell of fresh rain […]

Prompt: 12/18/2019

“How did you know?” I asked, not sure I wanted the answer. I thought I had been careful. I thought no one would ever figure out it had been missing. I had been sure to measure it all out and put back the replica in the exact place. No one had been in or out […]

Prompt: 12/17/2019

We took turns guarding the door, neither of us sleeping very much. Ricky looked nervous, and suddenly I felt bad about getting him involved. I shouldn’t have told him who I really am. I shouldn’t have told him anything that put him here in this place with me running and hiding just to stay alive. […]

Prompt: 12/16/2019

Perhaps it was a dream, she thought. Perhaps if she pinched herself, she would wake up. But she didn’t want to wake up. She wanted to stay in this dream world where everything seemed to flow continuously with ease. Nothing was ever hard or hurt. Then she began to wonder if feeling the pain elsewhere […]

The Holidays Are Upon Us

As Thanksgiving week draws to a close and December starts up I have been thinking a lot about what I am truly thankful for. My family- My insanely large and wonderful family, extended family, and friends that have become family over the years. You are all amazing miraculous human beings. You have been there through […]

Forgotten Town

This was a little tidbit that has been sitting in my brain for a while. I have been trying to work on a new aspect of my writing with each piece. This time I wanted to focus on the descriptive pieces and making my dialogue stand out. I wanted to find a different kind of […]

My Weekend of Writing

I will be honest here… I went into the weekend just planning to write a short story for the blog to try and get somewhat on track with my short story a week… instead I had the most magical Saturday. I wrote for about eight and a half hours. It was the best feeling in […]

Courage in Words

This is the piece I submitted for my final story in my writer’s workshop. I wanted to do something completely new and totally different for me. I wanted to challenge myself. I hope everyone enjoys! -Adrianna Courage in Words Aiyana closed her eyes listening to the sound of people clinking glasses, and it was beautiful. […]

Music and Writing

There is something beautiful about the flow that goes from hearing a song and transitioning it onto paper with new words and a new story. There is not just one type of music that anyone should listen to when they write. Everything is going to pull a feeling from somewhere. I have about twenty different […]

Other Lives

I hope you all enjoy this short story! Adrianna Other Lives ​The snow was falling lightly in the village. As the girl looked out through the small window she smiled and listened for the waves of the sea below. Her grandfather was cooking stew in the kitchen for lunch to warm them on the cold […]

I Can Write Here… Or Here… How About Here?

I don’t know how anyone else handles spontaneous ideas, but personally I write on anything if the need arises. I have an embarrassing pile of ideas that have been sorted into each series of notebooks. I have compiled many notebooks (I am serious when I say MANY) from these notes and many stories are just […]

The Fountain in The Garden

This week has been a little rough. I hope you all enjoy. I really did like writing this piece. It just came to me line after line. I haven’t written anything that simply without thinking every little word in a very long time. –Adrianna The Fountain in The Garden Legend has it that in the […]

The Wall Between a Writer and Their Work

That’s right everyone… it is time. Writers Block. It has set in and I have had many feelings about it. I am talking from “it will work itself out” all the way to “let me just throw my computer out of a moving vehicle and see if that prompts some things”. There are many times […]

Glass House

This one was an interesting write for me. I have been working on it over the past week and have debated if this was the route I wanted to take. I had four other endings for it that just didn’t seem to go how I wanted. This one felt like my best fit. I hope […]

Writing and Research

While being a full time student is many things, among them sleepless and half there while clinging to coffee cups, the most important thing is doing the research and putting in the work. I never realized how much I carried my research process over into my writing until the other day. My process is very […]

The Pillars

I hope you all enjoy my story of the week! Thanks for reading! Adrianna The Pillars The wind crept across the earth bringing with it loose, vibrant, red and orange leaves. The crossed the stone path until they stopped at a young woman’s feet. They shone bright against her black mid-calf boots. The red leaves […]

The Voice

I recently submitted this to my school’s online literary website. I have been waiting for news for a little bit, and the story is special to me. It has been my first official submission anywhere, it touches on some very important issues I have dealt with, and it is a piece of work that I […]