Chuck Palahniuk Writing Tips

Shantali Mae Cross, a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Ancient Arts, encounters an impossible phenomenon during her night shift—smoke from the heating vents coalesces into the form of a cobra near ancient Egyptian canopic jars, showing her visions of possible futures. She sees herself accepting a promotion, arguing with a dark-haired man in a hospital, wearing a wedding dress, and standing at a graveside in autumn. Shaken by the experience, Shantali becomes obsessed with understanding what she witnessed, diving into research about serpent smoke divination practices. Her investigation reveals that others throughout history have experienced similar visions at crucial crossroads in their lives, but those who became consumed with interpreting and controlling their prophetic glimpses inevitably destroyed the very relationships and opportunities the visions had shown them. As Shantali spirals deeper into her research, she begins shutting out her boyfriend David, a fellow security guard who loves her deeply. When David witnesses the cobra phenomenon himself, he helps ground her in reality rather than obsession. Through her studies, particularly the warnings left by Dr. Amelia Thorne—a researcher who died alone after chasing similar mysteries—Shantali realizes the cobra's true message: choose love over fear, presence over obsession. The visions weren't warnings of tragedy but glimpses of a life fully lived with all its ordinary struggles and profound connections. When David proposes, Shantali chooses their real relationship over her pursuit of supernatural answers. She completes her research by writing a fictional novel about her experience, transforming obsession into art while helping future cobra witnesses understand that some mysteries are meant to guide rather than be solved. The story explores themes of choice versus destiny, the danger of sacrificing present love for future certainty, and the wisdom of embracing life's uncertainties alongside those who love us.

Aria Vale leads two lives. In one, she’s quiet, focused, invisible—just an intern in a world that barely notices her. In the other, she’s Luna—a rising star in the cam world, masked, magnetic, and in control. Her voice commands, her body obeys... and no one ever gets too close. Until Obsidian. He never asks questions. Never speaks. But he tips like he owns her—and worse, he knows how to use the Lush she keeps tucked inside her. With one anonymous command, he can control everything. And he does. Night after night, she tells herself it’s just fantasy. Until reality cracks. Because Obsidian is watching her even when the camera’s off. He’s Xander Cross. Billionaire. CEO. Her boss. And he’s been waiting for her to make one mistake. When their worlds collide, obsession turns physical, power shifts, and Aria is forced to ask the one question she’s never dared: What happens when control isn’t just something you give... but something he takes?

The sound of glass crashing against a hard surface echoed in the room as I aimed for Ethan’s head, missing by an inch. “Get away from me!” I screamed, but that didn’t seem to do anything as he only rushed towards me before I could grab anything else to chuck at him and hugged me as an attempt to calm me down. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, my husband walked into the room, watching the scene before him, and there was one thing that I knew for sure – he would think I was cheating on him with my ex-husband. ~ Angela Diaz has always dreamed of not just the perfect wedding, but the perfect marriage to her childhood crush – Ethan Ambrose. She always knew that Ethan never liked her back, and he wouldn’t even spare her a glance if she was two feet away from him, but she is shocked when Ethan Ambrose turns around all of a sudden and confesses his hidden feelings for her. Ignoring her parents’ continuous warnings and taking the risk of going from the flamboyant comfort of her parents’ home to Ethan’s family house, Angela is only about to realize that everything about her relationship with Ethan has been a lie, and her “perfect marriage” is nothing but a nightmare in disguise.

Apakah kamu pernah merasakan terjebak masuk ke dalam dunia game pertualangan?. VR Sky Impact adalah permainan virtual reality yang sangat ditunggu-tunggu perilisannya terutama pencinta game online dan anak remaja karena iklan yang disajikan sangat mengesankan menarik minat banyak orang di dunia. Fani dan Fini adalah kembar yang baru saja lulus SMA yang sudah melakukan pre order saat iklan pertama rilis karena ingin mengisi waktu luang sebelum di mulai perkuliahan. Disaat hari pertama rilis, semua orang yang telah mendapat kiriman paket tersebut dan secara hampir bersamaan mencobanya. Saat semua orang memulai permainannya, secara bersamaan semua orang berubah menjadi partikel kecil berwarna putih kemudian menghilang dari dunia nyata, di keesokan harinya menjadi berita viral dunia, dikarenakan banyak beredar rekaman video dari semua konten kreator ternama yang sedang memulai bermain permainan VR Sky Impact perlahan menghilang saat memulai permainan dan berbanding lurus dengan banyaknya laporan dari keluarga yang merasakan kehilangan anggota keluarganya saat terakhir diketahui sedang akan bermain permainan tersebut di kamar atau ruang khusus dirumah mereka, tetapi sang pengembang game tersebut sangat sulit untuk ditemui setelah rilisnya permainan tersebut. Apakah yang terjadi pada Fani dan Fini serta semua orang yang bermain VR Sky Impact? Apa mereka bisa kembali ke dunia asalnya dan bertemu kembali dengan keluarga mereka? Update kemungkinan 3 - 4 minggu sekali, mohon tetap bersabar untuk menunggu kelanjutan ceritanya serta mohon untuk tinggalkan jejak bintang dan komennya juga ya teman-teman, terima kasih. Jika banyak yang baca dan responnya positif membuatku lebih semangat, akan aku usahakan update lebih cepat untuk teman-teman semuanya. Start writing : March 2025 Start publish : September 17, 2025 End publish : _______________

Lyra was never supposed to be the heroine. In the novel she read in her past life, Lyra was just a placeholder—the adopted daughter of a high-society family who dropped her the second their real daughter returned. Then came the humiliation. The neglect. The death that barely registered in the plot. But this Lyra? She’s not following the script. Reincarnated into the story, Lyra remembers everything. She knows where the plot is headed—and she plans to derail it. Step one: make herself indispensable. Step two: change the fate of Ethan, the second male lead who disappeared without resolution. He was brilliant, guarded, and completely overlooked by the original heroine. Lyra—who adored him as a reader—isn’t about to let history repeat itself. She starts small: a business deal, market predictions, power moves. Somewhere in the chaos, they become something more. And when the real daughter returns, sweet on the surface and toxic underneath, Lyra proposes a marriage contract to survive. No feelings. No strings. Just strategy. But love doesn’t follow rules, and neither does fate. As alliances fracture and danger rises, Lyra must fight to stay in a story that was never meant to keep her. She won’t be discarded. She won’t be erased. This time, the side character is writing her own ending.