amywrites256

[amywrites256]

The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky / A Breath of Life, Clarice Lispector / The Testaments, Margaret Atwood / My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Fredrik Backman / Blue Lily, Lily Blue, Maggie Stiefvater / “I Exist I Exist I Exist,” Flatsound / The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath / post, tumblr user @twofigs / “From the Book of Time,” Mary Oliver / “Here Am I,” Anis Mojgani

[amywrites256]

don't want to write I want to think very hard about my fic until it emerges from my head fully formed like athena

[amywrites256]

People will see the most interesting and complex characters of all time and be like is anybody going to just make shit up about them and strip them down to a mere shell of what they are

[amywrites256]

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

[amywrites256]

if anyone needs me. i will be in the corner. contemplating the characters

[amywrites256]

sorry for being indecisive, I haven’t had any prophetic dreams to guide me in a while

[amywrites256]

i think one of the reasons i get mildly annoyed about worldbuilding threads that are 200 tweets of why you should care about where blue dye comes from in your world before saying someone is wearing blue is that so few of them go up to the second level of "and that should impact your characters somehow" - i don't care that blue dye comes from pressing berries that only grow in one kingdom a thousand miles away if people are casually wearing blue

[amywrites256]

idk maybe I’m just jaded and seen my faves go through so much shit but I am very tired of other characters being labelled as cass or damian or lian’s ‘mothers’ or hell even mother figures at this point bc talia, shiva AND jade are very much present in their children’s lives currently and the only reason they ever weren’t is bc of bullshit racist character assassination storylines against them.

I’m not saying we can’t acknowledge other characters as being role models and mentor figures to these kids but too often ‘parental figure’ has just become synonymous with people straight up ignoring talia, shiva and jade as mothers and what happened to them to have them be ostracised from their kids in the first place?

and this isn’t to dismiss the in-world dynamics that have happened that people enjoy (esp in the case of lian where ram v used it as a door to reintroduce jade into lian’s life) but ig I’m just tired of these three being sidelined not just in comics but within fandom as well. they deserve better than to be trapped in a perpetual cycle of stories alienating them from their children while fandom essentially embraces it

[amywrites256]

What To Do About Filler

I am deeply frustrated at the increasing usage of the concept of "filler" in writing, partly because how people are using it is completely separated from what it usually means, and partly because few people explain what they actually mean when a story lacks "filler."

So, in short, when this comes up, what people usually are talking about is:

A lack of subplots. Subplots are essential background to developing your story beyond the main action points. Subplots include romantic storylines, internal journeys (learning to deal with a trauma, for example), plots that are critical for secondary characters, etc.

No room to breathe (aka pacing). Keeping up the tension is a common piece of advice, but if every single scene is filled with tension, you're going to exhaust the reader (and yourself). Quieter moments allow characters to reflect, realize things (like feelings for each other), and give you space to establish worldbuilding and mood.

Rushed or missing character development. Giving your characters space to learn things about themselves, confess or realize feelings, and moments to make decisions and change are essential to a story. Defeating the big bad is important, but usually the inner strength to do so comes from the character changing over the course of the story.

I am losing the battle against using the word filler when you mean a story lacks other things. Other than shaking my fist at the youths, I suggest that if you get feedback about "filler," see if you can get specifics. Is it an issue with pacing? Character developments? Not enough description or worldbuilding? If a romance seemed rushed, at what points does the reader think there should be more interaction? Etc.

A note for fanfic writers: Your goals are often different from someone writing to publish, but hammering down what filler means can still help you as well. Narrowing down the point of your story ("in this drabble, these characters flirt without using words" or "sexy coffeeshop AU") and making sure to ask your beta readers if what you're writing fulfills that goal can help you figure out if your story is making the impact you want.

[amywrites256]

man out of time

marvel text posts 3/?

[amywrites256]

This is your regular reminder that amputees are not to blame for being poorly represented in media. We deserve representation that accurately depicts our disability, and saying things like "amputees with prosthetic don't count as disability rep" is just adding to the misconception that amputees stop being disabled when we get a prosthetic. It's bad enough when that comes from abled people, but it's especially frustrating when that idea is getting pushed by other disabled people and is being given as writing advice to authors. There's a reason why "the perfect prosthetic" is considered a BAD trope. Because it's not a good reflection of actual prosthetics and amputations. The fact that the vast majority of amputee rep uses that trope doesn't mean we should stop considering amputees with prosthetics disability rep, it means we need to push for better rep that doesn't use a harmful trope.

(Btw, this is not an invitation to discuss what media does or doesn't use that trope, or what you think is a good or bad example of amputee representation)

We ARE disabled, our prosthetics aren't cures just because the media treats them as such - irl I'm less independent, less stable, less mobile and overall slower on my prosthetic legs than I am in my wheelchair, even with some of the best prosthetics available to civilians. We are still disabled, even with prosthetics and we still "count" as disability rep. If it's poorly done and uses tropes that make us seem like we're not even disabled, that just makes it poorly done rep.

[amywrites256]

happy hey december guess i'm feeling unmoored to all who celebrate

[amywrites256]

That scene in My Neighbor Totoro except with Batman. And he’s a creature.

[amywrites256]

my favorite kind of character is the kind who deep in their soul is constantly screaming LOVE ME LOVE ME LOVE ME and outwardly expressing literally anything else

[amywrites256]

over-psychoanalyzing blorbos is healthy and needed enrichment for the girlies in order to avoid over-psychoanalyzing themselves. like giving a dog a chew toy in order to redirect chewing on its hind legs

[amywrites256]

Pre-Morrison Brutalia is just so “Wildest Dreams” by Taylor Swift coded

LIKE DONT TELL ME THIS ISNT STANDING IN A NICE DRESS STARING AT THE SUNSET BABE. RED LIPS AND ROSY CHEEKS-

[amywrites256]

There's a difference between "disabled" and "legally recognized as disabled," and I just want to give a shout-out to all the other disabled people who don't have formal diagnoses, who don't have access to benefits of any kind, who don't have the ability to use even the shittiest and least-helpful resources, because the process of getting legal recognition for disability sucks ass.

And another shout-out to all the disabled people who purposely avoid getting diagnosed, because official diagnoses can be used against you, and you're unable or unwilling to risk it.