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sotcwcrp · 8 months

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SECRETS OF THE CLANS, JANUARY OPENING!

In celebration of our January 14th - January 28th opening, we're going to be highlighting each of the clans, to give you a better idea of what they're like / how different they are from the books!

Today's clan is...

Windclan

ART CREDITS: carnationcarnivore on discord!

Among the gorse and heather, you see a dip in the earth, shaped almost as if some starry paw had carved it out of the moor. A great rock stands in its midst, and the figure atop it beckons you forward, into the skies and earth and the warmth of a Clan. Will you follow?

Tread well, traveler; you could very well find your family — your true home — with the breeze-blown cats of the moor.

To be your eyes into Windclan Territory, Shrimpskip a Windclan monarch is here to interview some of his clanmates! Take it away Shrimpskip!

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

"Tell me a bit about WindClan territory!"

“Its big!! And so open, or closed depending where you go- you can see the fields of heather or even some nice ponds. And the tunnels are crazyyyy, there’s so many twists and almost identical places it’s sometimes hard to differentiate. I love that I can always see the stars the most about it though!” - Bluebelldancer

WindClan’s territory is spacious and expansive, not only aboveground, but below it. On the surface, the moors are covered in heather, gorse, and more plants than any one cat could ever expect to learn. The sky overhead is wide and, on finer days, makes it feel as if you could run across the territory and never find its end; at night, the stars shine down bright and close enough to brush against your whiskers. Below ground exists another world, carefully carved out and maintained by the Clan’s tunnelers. These tunnels weave below the surface, opening up into caverns and hideaways and cave systems speckled with the shining light of glowworms.

Whether your paws take you across the moors or into the tunnels, WindClan’s territory is full of beauty and wonder—and a testament to the strength of a Clan that thrives among the elements.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

“What's your favorite spot in WindClan territory? Could you tell me a bit about why?”

“I am partial to the moors, for my heart has chosen the path of a moor runner. However, the glowing trail was where I first found myself with the opportunity of finding a new home and meeting my family. It is a place where the stars never cease to shine. A place of dreams and hopes. It is a cavern with a slow stream singing day and night lit up by the glowing blue stars on the ceiling. Of course I will also add a second favorite place, the hillside watch. A place just beyond the borders of our camp, where heather covers the grounds with a purple tint, and where the wind sings melodies as you watch the stars from the high point before it starts sloping down. Truly a place to gaze at the stars, have a chat with another, or wonder about all the questions that have yet to be solved in your mind.” - Stormweaver

Split between the wide open moorlands and the otherworldly views of the tunnels, Windclan has plenty of interesting views for one to witness. Moor runners and tunnelers often have differing opinions on what they believe to be the best view across all of Windclan, but one thing remains consistent: their love for the territory they call home.

What a variety to pick from, after all. Some spots hold a history of powerful triumph over dark times, such as the deep meadow and echoing cavern. Others whisper of times when twolegs were settled just an arch’s crossing nearby, or even dug underneath the earth just as the tunnelers do. Do you enjoy sheep-watching? Sitting atop Outlook Rock at night to watch Silverpelt gleam overhead? Taking a dip in the underground lake? Even the simple comforts of camp can appeal more than what lies outside of it, from the gentle twinkle of the bells which hang from the grand tree on the camp’s outskirts to the milkscent of the kit den. Windclan is home to many, and the unique ways each Windclanners connects to their home is a thing to take pride in.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

“What's a favorite memory you have that's taken place on WindClan territory?”

"Well y'know about the magpie fight right? Oh, it was awesome! I decked so many of those birds! My friend Fireflycry was there with me too, that day we were unstoppable. Ha! Those birds will never be coming back, I'll be sure of it!" - Auburnridge

Windclan has had a running rivalry with the local magpie population for going on three years irp! It started from Goosepaw [Now goosefang] being chased into camp by an irate bird. Now was the years have passed the fighting has become more and more intense; until recently an entire flock of magpies descended upon Windclan’s territory and camp! The fighting was intense, but in the end Windclan defeated the legion of birds and sent them packing for another year. If history is to be considered, next newleaf or greenleaf we shall see a return of those pesky birds.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

“What's one thing you'd like others to know about WindClan's culture?”

“We have the funnest holidays! The Day of Many Breezes is super cool, we all play games and hang out. We're also always collaborating - I've trained with so many different warriors and it's great to interact with everyone!” - Crabpaw

WindClan's culture is a familial, welcoming one. Many a cat has wandered into the moors and chosen to remain, appreciative of the Clan's hospitality and willingness to care for strangers as if they were one of their own. Outsiders are an important part of the Clan, for it has been Windclan’s willingness to take in strangers and welcome them into its ways that has kept the Clan so open and determined to do right by one another, no matter the differences between them. The openness of the moor and tightness of the tunnels make the close bonds between Clanmates ever more important—who, if not a Clanmate, will literally dig you out of a problem when one occurs? Many a tunneler and moor runner can attest that when something goes wrong, it’s a group effort to fix it. Besides, there are few things better than being welcomed into a "cuddle puddle" of your family, friends, and Clanmates at the end of a long day, when all you want is a warm place to rest your paws.

WindClan's determination is notable, too! Without the shelter of the trees, WindClan cats have learned to persist even in the worst weather conditions, proud of their enviable proximity to the stars each night. And underground, where the territory is littered with rabbit warrens and badger dens, WindClan learned to make use of these features to provide for the Clan and keep it safe and secure, even in the most dire of circumstances. Adaptability and determination have kept Windclan alive through tough times, but what’s just as important is their refusal to back down from helping each other through it.

Where Windclan is weathered and strong-standing, they are also artists. Song and dance are common ways to show deep love, appreciation, or merely something to brighten one’s day. Tunnelers have perfected the art of communicating with song alone, so it isn’t uncommon to hear melodies echoing far underground. Flowers, rocks gathered from deep underground, and even the more recent addition of magpie feathers can be spotted adorning a Clanmate’s pelt, jewelry woven together from pieces of heather or long blades of grass.

Another such art that Windclan holds dear to them is storytelling. Given how frequently wanderers come in and out of Windclan, exchanging tales and legends have become a useful passtime for Clanmates to bond through, learn more about each other, and pass on their ways of life by coming together. Stories from those who once resided beyond the Clan, stories from those who have lived their whole life within it, stories to keep kits and wide-eyed apprentices awake at night. All can be found within Windclan, if you know who to ask and where to look. Perhaps you can share tongues with the elders, or perk your ears up at a Clanmate’s tale of monsters who once roared across the thunderpath when you pass them by. With a Clan that is so tightly-knit, word travels fast.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

“What's your opinion on your council?”

“We have been a cohesive and effective team at leading WindClan through the struggles of life. I wonder, were you expecting to find gossip? You will hear nothing but kind words regarding my fellow healers from me; Beetlenose is our collective mentor, knowledgeable and staunch in her values, the others were all mentored by us, and I shall spare you the time to hear about all five, only that they are all kind and proficient healers I am proud to have taught. As for our leader and deputy, Whisperstar cares greatly for all our clanmates... though the moons have weathered his soul, he keeps up with his duties. Shrikestorm is our deputy, though he will be retiring soon. I thank him for all he has done, he has been a reliable and steadfast presence in our council.” - Morningwatcher

WindClan’s council, for all its shifting in size, has carried its Clan through many downfalls and upswings in the passing seasons. Whisperstar sits at the helm of the Clan, having served as leader ever since he was led to the Clan on a many-moon journey by StarClan itself. Don’t let his scarred surface fool you—there’s a reason many cats see Whisperstar as an additional grandparent, and it isn’t just because he’s rather old. Deputy Shrikestorm, though close to retiring, has used his expertise and wisdom to keep WindClan safe and fed ever since his appointment, moons ago. Whoever steps into his place will no doubt have a worthy legacy to uphold in his place.

The healers, too, have seen WindClan through great strife and great triumph, ensuring the safety of their Clanmates through sickness, wars, and the daily incidents of life on the moors and underground. Their communication with ancestors and those that have departed is essential, even if Windclan’s opinion on the power of Starclan has grown weary over the past few moons. That the entire Council holds great love and appreciation for their Clan is clear—yes, even when the healers are delivering long lectures to unwilling warriors.

#sotcwcrp #wcrp #discord wcrp #warrior cats #windclan #warrior cats rp

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undead-supernova · 7 months

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I wasn't going to contribute but, like... As someone who has recently come into the world of just posting my work on here and has merely the birdiest of a bird's eye view, I am absolutely disheartened by all of the weird accusations and mean girl attitude I have come to learn about.

These communities are supposed to be sacred; fun. Be a place where we can celebrate creativity and uniqueness. And when I walked in here, I really thought that this was true. I felt really safe and welcomed in a way I never have before, even in the English department at college!!! I felt really really accepted and appreciated and so invigorated to learn how to be a better writer and get good feedback!!!

And now I'm really concerned that this section of the ST fandom has become a toxic environment where people are wondering if they're going to be the next target. Even I have that fear and I'm still new here. It feels like people will not come to share their art or try to make friends because it is now an unwelcoming environment. I'm even feeling very discouraged to share my writing or trust anyone anymore.

At the end of the day, we're (mainly) writing about a minor character that died within, what, eight/nine episodes? We're also writing about someone who did NOT tolerate bullying under any circumstances and actually would hate this behavior. Like idk I feel like people are being so hypocritical and contradict the entire person they're writing about. It's so weird to see and I don't even fully understand what is going on or why it's happening.

I'm not the person to say how things should change or what that looks like. Obviously I'm just observing. And I think there are some obvious options, but it's up to everyone to uphold these behaviors and act like the adults that we all are.

Continue to support each other's work and be encouraging. Our creativity and our art is so, so important!!! And so are WE, the writers behind it. Thank you to everyone who is still here fighting for this space to feel welcoming and beautiful and loving. It does not go unnoticed!!! <3

#I don't know if my contribution to this conversation means anything but I felt weird not saying anything at all #august talks #this genuinely hurts me like idk how to explain it but it does #even if it doesn't involve me directly it is going to start involving everyone if this continues to be an issue #and I don't think anyone wants this to continue on and go as far as it has #it felt like it stopped for a little bit and now it's back and I don't know if I can keep hoping things get better #spread hope and love and happiness to one another I implore you #a little bit goes a long way !!!!#I will continue to promote love and peace here as it is necessary to keep going and I want to help continue to bring us back to a fun space #I really hope I don't get shredded for this I'm sorry

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nobito203 · 1 year

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A chapter is about to end

2021, I left a job to get back to the US for a Master Degree in Counseling psychology. I was excited because I feel like the US is still my home and our journey together hadn't ended yet, although feel bittersweet to leave the job I was really enjoying.

This time is Pittsburgh, has to be a city. I deferred my admission at the school I didn't know much about besides what my professor in undergrad was marketing to me. She thought it's a great fit for me, so I applied and give it the benefit of a doubt. And honestly, it's been a fun ride with ups and downs.

Grad school hits different. Very hard to make friends and find a community in an environment where everyone has a lot on their plate. But everyone I met are so empathetic. We share about our experiences and lessons vulnerably which I think it's a beautiful thing. It's where we vibe so well, without filters sometimes. I have had opportunities to chat with lot of them and see their point of view. Everyone has their unique stories, but do have some common similarities. I learn that although having a lot going on, people still can connect deeply when they spend time together to talk about how they see life. Empathy soars when I see different views with its pros and cons. Sometimes, all we need is being listened, no solution needed. I might not agree with how you see live because it's the opposite with what I believe, but I do respect your point of view because we're unique. We still can be friends even when we disagree with one another, but we agree to disagree and accept it's a part of us. It makes humans human. Agree??

I found a community at my internship site. I love all people I met there. They're super supportive. Their personality always amaze me. The empathy and sympathy they have are immense. We might unhappy with what others have done but always approach others with altruism. They challenge my perspectives and encourage me to see thing in different lenses. The kids at the site I met showed me how much emotional tolerance I have for others. They emotionally push me to the limit where sometimes I felt like I can burst off, but somehow I managed to calm myself down and treat them with kindness everytime. They're the future and good education is the only way to have a better future. I look at them in a holistic way to decipher how do they behave the way they do, which increases my sense of empathy. I'm extremely happy that I stay here long enough to see the impact I and my fellow interns have on them. Seeing the good impacts we make is pleasant. I'm gonna miss my fellow interns a lot. We made it so far, some left but some still stay till this moment I'm writing this. I appreciate them, I salute the work they're doing. I wish them the best!

I ended a 3-year relationship on a good term. I was passive on how it ended but I actively learned a lot about it. I learned how to not being harsh on myself. I appreciate my ex was being honest with her feeling and made a decision to break up for her own sake. It's definitely not beneficial for me but the honesty remains a highlight. I embrace it. It's totally fine to let thing go and l let myself to leave someone who didn't match the standard I pursue. It is and will always beneath my standard if I have a relationship with someone who doesn't want to be my teammate and has no capacity and emotional maturity to work and contribute to a relationship. It sucks that it's ended but I constantly remind myself everything happened for a reason. So, allowing myself go through the grieving is a huge learning lesson and I kinda enjoyed tbh. I embrace the process and feel like a new person out of it. No resentment and regret. No love is ever wasted, even when it leads to a heartbreak.

The last 2 years of grad school were an awesome journey ngl ☺️☺️. I have learnt so much more about the world and myself. I met new people whom I vibe with, yet still spent some time to revisit old friends who making effort to know what's going on in my life. Y'all are appreciated. Sometimes, I contemplate the life I have: bouncing between cities, starting a routine in a new city, finding a community at where I'm at, missing other things, goodbye people, etc...; and question myself is it all worth it? Every time, the answer is YES, including this time. Those cities, those people, and the experiences I had are making me who I am today. I have nothing but gratitude and empathy to give back. It's going to be a new fun chapter, thanks for tagging along if you get here hehe.

The End!

-No Name

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regarding-stories · 1 year

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Union versus Identity, Mind versus Soul: "Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki"

So, I've finished the latest installment of Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki available in English. Today is Monday. I read installments 4-9 since Friday, finishing up this morning. And what a ride it is! To sum it up: Volumes 8 and 9 deepen the series considerably. As the series goes on, it takes on a rather mature quality.

This even tracks through the cast - more adults show up. I don't believe this is an accident - this is convenience. As the series starts to tackle the nature of relationships and growing as a person more seriously, it really needed some characters that could say the words that the protagonist needed to hear to "get it." (And so that we do, too.)

But the beauty of this series is that in the end our focus characters also transcend what others told them and discover their own truths.

(Spoilers.)

A true third main character

A surprising development took place. I already liked the character Kikuchi-san, but the way she was introduced had a notion of pulp to it. In pulp fiction, you go the easy route of letting you know about a character. You tell us what a character is. This typically happens with "smart characters" - we're told how fiendishly clever, how perfectly cunning they are. Never mind that anything they do in the story is either stupid, or terribly contrived and for plot convenience. There's always a glaring contradiction visible between what we are told and what actually unfolds.

Kikuchi-san did not start as a character. She was a field of feelings, an invitation to union, a safe space. And given the nature of teenager infatuation, that was alright. You don't really know the person that you fall in love with when you do. And when you are a teenager, you probably project the hardest all your hopes and dreams on them. That doesn't mean Kikuchi-san couldn't exhibit these qualities. But she hadn't owned them yet, either. She was too perfect.

The early series focused on group dynamics, how popularity works, and how to make some basic move in life. This is, in a sense, also true for the author - finding his own legs to stand on. It's in fact surprising how long the series took until ventured into the territory of teenage love. As it did so in volumes 6 and 7, it began to rapidly change. Both love interests - Mimimi and Kikuchi-san - took on more life, became more real. Especially Mimimi's actions took on a sense of urgency as she tried to prevent failing in her own quest for romance, and yet all of it is satisfying and beautifully done.

But as always, falling in love is only the starting line. This is why The Quintessential Quintuplets movie was so anemic. Idolizing the idea of a magical moment can only take you so far. There was no meat on those bones. And you can't add the meat after you let the main story finish, either.

Kikuchi-san, however, comes into full view during volumes 8 and 9 and there's plenty of conflict because of what we learn about our three main characters, about Fumiya Tomozaki, Aoi Hinami, and last but no longer least, Fuuta Kikuchi. But in order to lay that out, I have to step into a different perspective for a moment.

Identity and Union

This perspective isn't uniquely mine - at all. I'm borrowing it because it is very helpful for framing the developments of these books I'm talking about.

Union is the desire to be one with another, to be of service to them, to dissolve boundaries, to experience oneness, to share, to blend into each other, but it can also be about giving in, losing yourself. You could call it Yin, or say it's accepting, depending on how you see the world also female, but it's not limited to that.

But as you get closer, you encounter something that is not its opposite, but its complement: Identity. In a sense it's what makes you you, as a separate person. But it's a tricky thing. Because some part of it may be the core of your personality, and some part of it may be things you've taken on from your environment, like a hedgehog romping through a pile of leaves. Identity is then a combination of self and environment.

You could call this Yang, maybe even male, if you want. But that's not the point. Identity plays a big role in why a self and self conception exists. But it's also what makes you feel lonely. Somehow you need to balance Union and Identity to be together with someone without giving up on your self. It's about striking a balance, and a lot of people find that hard to do.

If you let Volume 9 fully impact you, you will see that Union and Identity are concepts woven into it, deeply and meaningfully.

Take Kikuchi. From Volume 7 onward she takes on more Identity after initially being portrayed as an ideal safe space, a Union transcending what is possible for humans. Tomozaki's angel comes down to Earth, revealing her own motivations and drives, like wanting to live in a world with ideals guiding her. But she also shows she can become anxious, threatened, lonely - showing both her Identity and the weaknesses in it. She's afraid. She becomes erratic. Her balance between Union and Identity is off. She gets hurt and recoils.

Sometimes it's better to look at an extreme to understand a concept. And this extreme is Hinami. Hinami is only Identity, to an insane degree. In fact, this view is confirmed in the book itself:

"What we sensed there was nothing other than madness."

Ashigaru-san and Fumiya take a real look at Hinami, they convey the author's verdict. If Identity completely takes you over, you lose something that is fundamental to being human. Identity of the extreme degree starts to crowd everything else out in the name of overly focused, one could even say one-pointed, reason.

Her extreme driven-ness, her needing a reason for everything, crowds out any impulses she could get from intuition or the heart and supplants them with her abstract goals. More about that in a moment.

And finally on to Fumiya. He has a strong Identity, but pay close attention to the concept of what he "truly wants." As he confronts his fear of being lonely because of his very individualistic nature, he struggles both with his Identity but also his desire for Union. He can be alone. That's not the point - he's off track. But his desire to live life fully participating in it will require for him to balance this Identity with Union. And he's been committed to it since, let's say, Volume 3. Because what he truly wants takes him away from Hinami's control.

[EDIT:] After re-reading the ending of Volume 9 and Fumiya's thoughts about Hinami and Kukuchi-san, I want to add that while Kukuchi-san and Tomozaki have some balance in their Union-Identity setup compared to Hinami, both are lopsided. Fumiya makes this apparent by how he speaks about Kukuchi-san: He thinks she could, if he let her, break down the line (and barriers) between them. This means, he clearly assigns her the role of being Union-biased. He assigns himself the role of being lonely, separate, different, and behind barriers - he indirectly identifies himself as Identity-biased. Such biases are quite common.

Truly balanced people that have the right amount of core identity are rare. They can have strong personalities that still invite people to come closer to them. And by what Fumiya spells out for us it's clear that neither of them is such a personality. What he only partially gets is that love is the propellant that coaxes every human being towards this balance - and usually people draw opposites to themselves to balance things out. Very often this can show as co-dependence, but even in healthier relationships people are often called to change to reach a common ground together. If they fail to do this on too many counts, the relationship dissolves or deteriorates. But to be fair - even our overly smart Tomozaki is too young to know this.

This is played out very well in Volume 8. Kikuchi-san is jealous and insecure because her Identity is underdeveloped. And thankfully she does not simply succumb to the temptation of jealousy by erecting a wall around herself and her beloved just to avoid getting her weakness irritated by the outside world. Fumiya in turn has an overdeveloped Identity, so he is used to be a free-roaming particle with no responsibilities. He has yet to learn about togetherness and further stages of growing a relationship. This is what makes the final chapters of Volume 9 so satisfying. What these two do there is actually way too deep for a simple teenage romance, for a first love. They transcend into a higher level of relationship before they ever exchange their first kiss. A bit much, but that's how the series rolls. I like it.

Who holds the controller?

There's no parity between the three characters, but the cause is not what Kikuchi-san thinks. All of them are human, but only one of them is deeply flawed. And that is Hinami.

The end of Volume 9 drives this home bluntly and hard when Fumiya confronts Aoi. He wants to participate in life instead of watching from the outside - he wants to not only hold a controller and control his life like somebody else's experience, he wants to be in the game of life. It was left unclear for nine books why Minami was guiding him, and the revelation is very fitting and yet also very stunning.

Hinami only cares about being correct. She tries to overcome her inner lack of self-validation by proving to the world in every possible way that she's correct, that her approach to life is best, optimal, correct, validates by cold, hard facts. Correctness becomes her mad replacement for things like being content, happy, lost in the moment - the things that make life enjoyable. She didn't want to give Tomozaki a better life. She wanted to show him that if she took control of his life, if she held the controller, applying her methods, she could validate them as objectively correct. But the only thing that would do is serve her extreme concept of how to deal with a lack of self love.

She doesn't care if that hurts people. She dismissed earlier her own attempt to mess up Tomozaki's relationship by giving horrible advice, and Fumiya told her that he had to limit their contact before he would end up hating her. And when Fumiya lays bare her cold, rational approach devoid of any notion of care for him, the game ends, basically it means he unplugs the controller she used to steer him.

This is the struggle between the ego and the soul, the mind and the higher self. Tomozaki (the soul) takes the reins back because Hinami (the thinking mind) cannot be entrusted with them. His approach to life is too soulful. He acts on hunches, what he truly wants, on impulses from inside, he cares. His desire to participate in life instead of just manipulating himself like a character in a game makes him what he is, a person with a degree of intuition and somebody who truly connects with people. He doesn't figure them out like Minami. People love him because he actually cares inside. And it shows.

This is why you are wrong

Tomozaki thinks it was Hinami who added color to his world. I don't think he could be further from the truth. She is not the cause. Her prodding is a trigger - which is not the same as cause and effect. As soon as Fumiya engaged with the world it took on color. But this is not her doing. You can chill, Kikuchi-san. Both of y'all, Fumiya too. Fundamentally engaging with life is what makes a person grow and become beautiful to others, give them a soulful shine others can see.

Yes, Fumiya was indeed faking it for a while until he was making it. But the people in his life all saw through the fake and found the person behind. He did the work to clear the minimum threshold, but nobody likes him because of a cultivated mask or persona. That's why Mizusawa reminds him to be real, to not go for formalities. He recognizes to some degree that Tomozaki has the potential to be truly himself, and if you pay close attention, Mizusawa is already taking that as an example for leading his own life. Their relationship has changed balance.

But being wrong is what makes for interesting conflicts. Towards the end of the book it seems like we steer towards the inevitable conclusion that Kikuchi and Tomozaki will break up because their beliefs do not align. She wants to be ideal, she wants to be special, she values those things over emotion. Tomozaki, however, seems incapable of giving that.

What follows next goes way beyond teenage romance. Here we see two people fundamentally growing up. Fumiya learns that there are things he can't cut out of his life. Like Mimimi and the bonds of friendship. He's a social animal at heart, he just never realized it. He treasures his friendships. And yet he was daring to be so wrong about it that he would change that to make someone else happy.

Both Mimimi and Fuuta stay his hand. And Kikuchi gets off the high horse of ideals and makes choices for herself, stops being so passive, puts a stop to Fumiya having to enact her values. She choses to honor the emotions that they have for each other even if they are imperfect, she risks being even more vulnerable, she risks everything. She defuses a conflict that seems inevitable by making a true choice concerning her own priorities, the beliefs beneath them, by committing to what's in her heart.

For a long time the story focused on the lower emotions. What you often resort to when you are lonely, hurt, feel weak, exposed, unsure of yourself and the other. Jealousy, fear, running away. But these are not the only emotions that exist. There are lower and higher emotions. We often place the heart below the mind just as in our bodies, but love transcends. Love breaks down barriers. And this is how Kikuchi grows as a person and their relationship with each other deepens.

But let me add another thing. Teen-centric stories often focus on misunderstandings as the driver of conflict, and when they are resolved, the conflict resolves. This makes sense as poor communication drives a lot of human conflict and teenagers have yet to learn the art of relating to others, but Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki takes it to another level. Kikuchi and Tomozaki are still in conflict after having resolved most of their misunderstandings. They have arrived at a certain understanding of themselves and each other. And yet there is conflict. And that is the conflict Kikuchi's choices resolve.

At the end of Volume 9, their relationship has become real. They commit to each other and their feelings, they are vulnerable and trusting. They have navigated a struggle with the carnal underpinnings that accompany love but also exist outside of that. At the end of Volume 9, Fuuta Kikuchi is a character that is also a person, capable of holding contradictions within herself.

Her humanity eclipses that of Hinami, at least in the sense of becoming and being a healthy human. (After all, being flawed is also very human.) There's a real reason why she stands by Tomozaki's side and he by her side, for all their differences. The story has fully embraced the struggles to balance Union and Identity, mind and soul. It rejects the notion of things being fated or a special initial moment being what defines a relationship.

Love is shared experience.

The symbolism makes this very clear as both Fuuta and Fumiya talk about the meaning of those old, notched school badges that they were given. Others imbued them with a legend that being given those gives you a lasting relationship. But what they both realize is that the experience of having been there while these notches and scratches were made, together, is what forges something that lasts. They redefine what is special - and maybe they also let go of the notion of "special" to an extent.

And now I have to wait 6 weeks for another installment. At least that means I can sleep better now instead of holding my breath for what happens next...

#bottom tier character tomozaki #light novels #fuuta kikuchi #kikuchi-san #kikuchi fuuta #union vs identity #mind vs soul

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lostiethoughts · 2 months

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i think the idea of fate and determinism lies not in our "future" (our "destiny") but actually much more in our relationship with our present. the idea of us being creatures of habit is reflected in how we view and put meaning into our past into determine our actions and choices today, and what the consequences of that will be tomorrow. but we do not live in a vacuum so all the choices we make still, as a result, affect others and therefore the choices they make because of that.

but either way the more i think about it the more "our future resembles our past" makes total sense to me, because we as creatures of habit, in our nature, despite our desire to find meaning, are defined by the choices we have made before, which in some way or another dictate a choice we make in the future. it's why the idea of personality exists, a way to categorize the pattern behind the history of our decision making, as a representation of our uniqueness, our soul, who we are in the world. and in the same way humanity has an identity - a personality - of its own, of values we've given name to, a range of good and bad and in between. of greed and companionship and envy and curiosity and love and hate and competition and vengeance and nostalgia and hope and pride and humility. we are diametrically contradictory creatures, hypocrites, prone to extremes in both our need for ourselves (survival) and our need for others. all of these are natural characteristics we have as humans and have put beliefs on, beliefs which are the fundamental idea of behavioral patterns.

but the things we believe result in the choices we make in the world; and in turn the nature of time puts those choices in the axes of cause and effect. the beliefs we hold as humans all of which stem from the past are directly linked to the choices we make in the future; therefore there is no breaking free from the fabric of space time being something that exists with stability rather than instability. i made the choices i have because of who i am; if i would've made any choice from my past differently then i would not be the person i am and have always been. not because i didn't decide to make that choice, but that there is something unique in the person that i am right now and that i have always known myself to be to make the decisions i have, and despite the thought experiment, no idea of parallel universes stemming from different decision making will change who i am fundamentally as a person: and therefore, the decisions i know i have indeed made

it's mostly to say that our inevitability does not lie in the expanse of time, but rather in who we are and the choices we decide to make, every day. sometimes there's luck (in coincidences of the universe), and oftentimes other people's decisions affect our beliefs, and therefore our own. and yet there is still the core truth of free will, of us being able to make whatever decisions we want: and yet those are formed by our experiences and knowledge (which we can only acquire by being curious enough), and do not exist in a vacuum outside of our patterns of behavior, our habits, formulated by our beliefs.

and so, the past resembles the future because for that all we progress in terms of other aspects of our modern lives, one thing remains constant: we are human. we are as human as the ones before us, and we are as human as the ones after us. therefore, of course we will fight. we will kill. we will seek dominance. we will torment and torture. but we will also love and help and be curious and create communities and try to learn the meaning of the world, and why we're here. so through all the suffering of the world, we will still see and love each other through our shared humanity; for all the people who create the pain, there will always be people who wish to heal that pain.

that speaks to the nature of humanity; of past and present; of how we cannot escape our inevitable ends. but our fate is not those ends, but rather the journey we have along the way - a journey that is guided by our decisions, which then in turn is affected by the patterns established from our past, whether as an individual or a community or culture. the future resembles the past because we are as human as we have always been; and just like the chaos in nature and the chaos in ourselves, there is something beautiful about that

#obviously not to romanticize any of the horrors going on in the world right now #because evils are consequential as well #but more to say that the reason we talk about fate is because we put worth into the future #and putting worth in the future usually is as a result of something in our present and our past #because we seek to progress but question the unknown of that progression #rather than understanding that our destiny and our futures are determined by the choices we made yesterday #because they affect the choices we make today #i think that's a pretty realistic explanation of cause and affect #in not just being purely cause and affect #but rather that the affect of one cause can be the cause of another #we cannot reject the circumstances that cause us to make the choices we do #but we are not trapped by them. rather it is up to us to understand that and make the choice to change. Or the choice to not

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footballingreenwich · 5 months

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Football: More Than Just a Game

Interview with Bobby Walker, Jr. by Drew Falla

Bobby Walker Jr, born in Dallas, Texas, grew up around football, and puts his understanding of young minds and athletics to work. Growing up around football, Walker always had a love for the sport. It wasn’t until he turned 12, where he put on a helmet. This decision would change his life forever. He would go on to play college football, and coach after. Starting a young family before moving to Greenwich, CT, was a challenge. However, Walker looked to sports in order to help his kids develop. Working in the education systems across Texas and Connecticut, he learned a lot about the ins and outs of sports and how it ties in with the classroom. Walker, after coaching for some years in Texas as a defensive coordinator and line coach, decided to continue coaching at the youth level in Greenwich. Working for the GYFL as a volunteer coach for kids ages 8-14 has allowed Walker to have very unique views on the game he loves. He believes that, Working in Greenwich actually allowed him to be one of my personal coaches during my time as a young football player. I always looked upon our times together fondly, as he was truly one of the people who helped me fall in love with football. Having such an adept understanding of the game and how kids develop gives what he talks about a unique twist. He talks about football in Greenwich as a whole, as well as its benefits in school and socially. His son, Miles Walker, currently attends Ohio State and plays football there, so his experiences are touched upon a lot in this interview as well.

Q1 [00:00:56] Can you talk about what you think football means to young children and what it, what it helps them develop and stuff like that.

Bobby Walker Jr. [00:01:08] Absolutely. So first of all, I can't tell you the numerous benefits that I believe football holds for kids. And, you know, not only for young kids, but I think it's just about a sport that teaches you a lot about yourself, which teaches you a lot about life. Right? Right. So for young kids, you know, I think, first and foremost, I think football teaches discipline, which I think is really important. Right? The discipline of coming to practice every day, of having all of your gear and learning how to line up on what you think of there are, at the most basic level, it teaches discipline. But when you go further, it begins to teach you about, you know, teamwork and working together and relying on other people and being relied on. And so it teaches you this concept that we're all in this together. And the more we work well together, the better off all of us ultimately are. And then, you know, I can tell you you're going to win all the time. The other thing about you is that sometimes it doesn't go right. Sometimes your goals that you want don't work. And so what do you do then? You can quit. Or you can work a little harder. Or you can change your goal, change your attack, change your approach. And the more you learn that early on, on the field, I think it just applies to everything in school home life, your grades, your job. So I love it there. And it just teaches you I know transport right. It also teaches you just to have pure, unadulterated fun. And I think in today's world, man, we need to teach kids to do that more often.

Q2 [00:02:51] So you touched on school, can you mention a little bit more about how football helps with school? And maybe, you know, why it's important for young kids to not just get into just football, but sports in general and how that can help with their education.

Bobby Walker Jr. [00:03:08] So there are a couple of things, man, that you need to keep in mind. Right. And so some of this unfortunately you did ask the wrong person because I'm also a teacher and an educator. So I do a lot of studies about some of this stuff. Right. So all of those basic level, I think that like I said, it teaches you discipline. So if you're going to play a sport, particularly the older you get, time becomes abstract and you got to learn how to utilize the time. You have to do all the things you watch. So that includes how do I get my school work done, how do I practice, how do I live, how do I train? And so the older you get and the deeper you get with sports, you find yourself working on these schedules and you become really rigid about it. And you learn that I can squeeze everything I want. If I can learn how to manipulate and manage my time well, at least for me, that was one of the best things I learned. Even in high school, I knew that I was going to practice to X amount of time, and I lived pretty far away from home, so I knew I'd get home by this time and then it would take me this much time. So I'd always been thinking about my schedule. And how to, you know, use my schedule to my advantage. But also I'm switching things that I wanted to do, how to go have fun on, how to be with my friends, but also how to make it to the weight room and sometimes everything. So sometimes you know what I mean. So that's part one. But the other part of the number of studies is just talk about the connection between being physically fit and learning about movement and learning. You know, sometimes I know it sounds corny, but like if we had some training to do, instead of focusing on how hard it was and think about a test later that day, and as your body is exercising, you're able to retain a lot of the information that you're trying to cram into your brain a little bit. You know what I'm saying? So that's how I used to do that when we did gases, right? Instead of think about the gases, I try to think about work or I think about a history test, or I think about math problems or something as a way to try to get that deep into my memory.

Q3 [00:05:11] You mentioned being in the, education field and you talk a lot about football. Can you talk about what you do for a living and what, like go into detail about each thing that you've done? I know you've been a coach and I work in the Education Boys and Girls Club. So can you touch on that?

Bobby Walker Jr. [00:05:29] I was fortunate enough to be able to play football in college, but my going to a Division three school, I was able to also play another sport I love. Track and field hockey were shot put, discus and they learned how to put the hammer in college. So sports literally I did sports. You know, you think of weekends on that college 85% of all weekends. I had a competition. And you know, for track and field, you know what I'm saying. So that's how much I love sports. And then when I left college aged 22, I went straight into teaching. So I went back to my hometown in Dallas. And I taught fifth grade humanities at an all boys private school. But I also was forced to be a coach where I did a lot of defensive coordinator stuff. But I also work even with the O-line, the D-line or the linebackers or sometimes all three, you know, just depending on what the team needed and what coaches we had on staff. And so when I left, I worked in Dallas from 95 to 2000. Then I left there and moved to Maryland. So school called McDonough school and then went up the McDonough school. There was a middle school, Dean Ambrose, who taught history as well. So I taught seventh grade and then eighth grade history. They both, were making history, different parts of it. But I was able to coach J.V. football, a little varsity football. And then it also comes fast track. And one year I go out periodically helping the beat. Great football team do whatever they needed to coach for day. So, you know, again, you know, you can see sports always played a role in where it went. We were there from 2000 to 2005 that we moved to Connecticut and in Summer 2005, I became the head of middle school for the middle school principal at Haywood Summer School in Stamford. I was there for nine years and I always worked with the football team. I couldn't do it full time, but I would do it and I would coach, the offensive line and the defensive line. And then every Saturday, I was sort of the spy in the sky, always in the press box, looking down their formations and helping a whole line coach try and identify places. And, you know, any time I do, I would move. And then on the defensive side of the ball, my job was to not only look at those patterns, but were there like any kind of clues that they would give us, like as one team, every time the running back didn't get the ball, he was upright, a two point stance. Every time he got the ball, he was down in the three point stance. You know, that was my job. I was like, find those patterns and then try to lead up to the defensive coordinator. Right? Right. And then, when I go to the Boys and Girls Club in 2014 and not being able to go to school, that's what gave me time to jump to the GSM. I wasn't working at a high school anymore, and so I was able to dedicate my time to helping young people get ready for football. So for the six years that I was at the Boys and Girls Club, you know, I coached, I think I coached at the junior level for four years and then senior level for two, and that was a lot of fun. Then when I moved to Greenwich Academy in 2020, I think that was sort of the end of my coaching career.

Q4 [00:08:52] I was coached by you on the Cos Cob Crushers. Do you have any unique memories from our time together, on the Crushers staff, or Miles this time or anything? Could you just touch on those experiences and what it meant to you?

Bobby Walker Jr. [00:09:13] Where do I start? The first thing I remember. I remember when I first started coaching and I was teaching people. Were you probably I don't know what you guys, we call it one step through it. We literally take one step to make sure you're in good position right? And doing it over and over and over and everybody is like, this is boring, coach, can we do more? And me trying to get you guys to buy into the system that this is going to work. I promise you it's going to work. And then as you guys got older, by the time we got to game time, all of a sudden we realized that it didn't work like that. And just the way in which, you know, you play on a team for two years and for Miles, he's a year older than you are, right? It was cool that every time you all came together, y'all won as bantams and then, you know, the juniors, they didn't win. You guys moved up. The next year we won. After juniors even went to seniors. You guys weren’t there, they didn't win. You guys moved up. And so what I realized was that I had this really unique combination of guys with Miles and Cliff and then you Teddy and Jake, and what it was was by the time you guys got to me, you know, that's what I was trying to do. And that became fun. Y'all saw it y'all again to see what it meant to move people out of the way. All of a sudden we had like the best rushing team around, you know, couple that were really good running backs. That comes from the things going undefeated man. You know Miles’ last year you guys just dominated everybody. So you know guys that were really close right. Right. And this is sort of was like bragging when other coaches came to me to tell me how good the line was. And everybody kept saying it was because you guys were big and y'all were. But the truth is, man, I have another coach who understands football. And he goes, man, you get those guys are really well coached. And that was the biggest thing. That was the biggest compliment to me is that you you guys are big. But I'm a huge fan of big guys too. But they were big. They weren't good. You guys were big. You were good. You were athletic. And y'all worked together as a unit for sure.

Q5 [00:11:29] Can you just talk about the connection between the GYFL, and either Greenwich High School or Brunswick or both, and what it means to each respectfully.

Bobby Walker Jr. [00:12:05] Let me tell you, man. So the GYFL has a lot of respect in particular from the high school level programs in this area. Whether it's Greenwich, it's Brunswick, or Greenwich Country Day. Every time I talk to a coach from there, and I mean, one of my favorite things I loved as a coach was when all those high school football coaches came out. And what it did, man. And you were one of the games where it was like a community event, right? Right. Not so much that it was just a bunch of boys. But then you have the guys that used to play. They come out, you know, guys that, you know, played ten, 15 years ago, come out in their jerseys every once in a while to come watch the teams. Obviously they have their own kids. There's the level of pride that you have there, you know. And that was cool to be there. And so it took a little while. I remember when Miles was in middle school. And, you know, for Brunswick. And so I probably could get in trouble for people who would come to Brunswick. Right. I kept trying to tell the coach from Miles in middle school. I knew him personally. He was a good friend of mine. I'm like, listen man, there is some serious talent on this roster, right? And you need to come check this up. Even if he's not trying to recruit people, at least come watch your Brunswick boys play and see how well they're playing the game and how well they know the game. Right? So it wasn't about recruiting. It was about coming to support those kids who play at Brunswick, who live in Greenwich, who work out there every single weekend, three days a week, you know, practicing. And so I remember the first time, his name was Coach Sean Gerard signed. And when Gerard came over, him being blown away by the level of skill that was out there and what he saw. It was actually really good football. And that was one of the first things he said to me, man, those kids are really well coached. And then all of a sudden I think Brunswick now comes out. And again, it's not always about your support. Take people away from the public school. A lot of people see that's what's going on. It's actually not what it is. A lot of coach, too, to support those boys at Brunswick, because he wants to see, you know, who are we at school? All right. So that was really fun for me, man. And then, you know, I got on the GYFL board. And so being able to sit with those guys, and it was women talking about the program and how we, you know, bigger impacts on boys. That was really cool to me.

Q6 [00:14:30] Can you talk about some moments where you may have seen a challenge in the population of the league or the amount of kids who signed up, or if there were any challenges with rules or, an uproar from the community with any issues that they had or any moments where you might have experienced, some difficulty.

Bobby Walker Jr. [00:14:58] We had some big scares in the league, right? The first one being when the first reports, were being recorded in the NFL anaboutd a connection between CTE and people constantly having head collisions and working those windows and people. A lot of parents, parents and the number of kids dropped to really dangerously low levels to sustain, you know, six teams with three levels each. And so as a team. We have to talk to parents, but be very honest. You know, we weren't going to say, oh, he's not real, right? We're not going to tell falsehoods, but we have to talk about what things were we doing as coaches to try to make sure that we're stable young boys heads. Right. And so, you know, this whole movement went out to cause youth football in general. Coach, you behaved out of the game. And we made it a priority that we retrained all our coaches. How to teach tackling, how to teach, blocking with all modern ways, and not from the, you know, those of us who played in the 80s and 90s where you were taught to be with your head. And so I thought that was actually really cool, not only as a come closer community that we come into that, but you saw the GYFL as a team, try to get everybody to commit to this new way of teaching. And so it became mandatory that if you were a coach, you also had to be certified. And, you know, while I was in youth football, I forgot the name of the, Federation, but we all had to be certified. And if you are certified, you could not get on the sideline. Coach. I thought that was a genius move. I thought it was a great way to to acknowledge the fears that people have and, and and to acknowledge what the studies were revealing. But it was also a way to, let us know that we do have your best interests in mind. And no, we're not going to put him in any kind of, you know, life threatening, life changing situation. So that was one. And then obviously the biggest one recently being just Covid and how that we, you know, how we conduct how we conduct practices during Covid, how we keep kids safe during Covid. You know, that was a big major challenge where like and there was just one of the guidelines were allowed to operate under was the high school and other people doing so? You know, things like that.

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drewfalla · 5 months

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Football: More Than Just a Game

Interview with Bobby Walker, Jr. by Drew Falla

Q1 [00:00:56] Can you talk about what you think football means to young children and what it, what it helps them develop and stuff like that.

Q5 [00:11:29] Can you just talk about the connection between the GYFL, and either Greenwich High School or Brunswick or both, and what it means to each respectfully.

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grandhotelabyss · 7 months

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Excellent Weekly Readings this week, John. It's inspired me to the below thoughts, a systematically intuitive rhapsody (apologies for some of my sloppiest prose):

I think the aim of artistic education (i.e., education of the artist rather than the aesthete) is to systematically expand one’s intuitions. Note *both* words — not merely to expand haphazardly, nor to systematise your imagination, but to take a dedicated approach to expanding the areas that you can feel your way through. Building a structure of similarities and differences, viewed from a hundred different angles, which becomes so natural that your taste can intuitively (usually unconsciously) run through it when you begin to work.

Because art education is extension of this awareness, criticism is central to it, in that it provides an example of/foundation for your own map, which is of course unique, but will coincide in a thousand ways with other people's, and perhaps — if you are a great imaginative poet — differ in a few truly new ways. The construction of your own poetic ancestry, as you keep talking about on the Invisible College, could be seen as one end goal of all this.

I have so far gone fairly deep into this process for music (where I think Kyle Gann might be the only consistent systematic-imaginist, though David Schiff's 'The Ellington Century' and Joseph Kerman's 'Opera As Drama' also qualify) and literature (where you have been a wonderful guide, and we can turn to many others from Aristotle to Shelley to Wilde to Frye to Paglia). I'm trying to start it for visual arts, where there are again a multitude of useful guides — art critics and 'art schools' generally being better, which is why half my friends are visual artists; while attempts in film have been hampered by its youth as an artform (Eisenstein and Deren probably come closest, but their insights were about a quarter of the way through cinema history, and so necessarily limited). I would love to hear other people chime in about other artforms!

But as you say, all of these can only point us towards maps, so above all we must read, listen, watch, gaze, wear, taste, smell and feel our way around the real world of art, guided but unhampered by even the most imaginative of maps. Theatre, for example, has its Virgils too — Aristotle again, Artaud, LeCoq, Mamet — but I have learned more from performing Shakespeare than from any of them. Is my idea of art, then, a mystical-scientific religion? I would say no, for religion is an offspring of art, a boundary-setting around a certain part of this kind of systematic imagination.

One final key point: a systematic intuition is, of course, a contradiction. If it wasn't, we'd be doing science, not art. Without contraries there is no progression!

Thank you, very well said! Sometimes I think the questions I receive about what or how to read are about how to begin this process of expanding intuition. My advice is usually just to jump in anywhere that looks inviting, but you are of course correct that criticism helps us navigate once we're "in." And then there's the Wildean argument that criticism and art are co-extensive, the eras of great art also the eras of great criticism.

(I'm not actually sure about that. The great ages of criticism in English literature are the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries, nestled in the two gaps between the three explosions of the Renaissance, Romanticism, and modernism. The greatest American criticism was arguably written in the middle of the 20th century, between the high periods of modernism and postmodernism. Major criticism seems to happen in the aftermath of great creative periods as an attempt to explain what happened and to point the way forward. Even considering Wilde's own example of "the Greeks," Aristotle was born a century after Sophocles, just as Wilde's contemporary Nietzsche would stress the belatedness of Socrates's critical spirit in relation to the tragedians.)

Re: other art forms, yes, especially the younger ones. Comics has perhaps had its Aristotle in Scott McCloud, but there's much more to do, and the academic absorption of the form has been a been a bit misleading in its essentially literary and sociological preoccupations.

#criticism #literary criticism

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jerzwriter · 2 years

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Hi. I just came to say that I love all your content. You're an amazing writer. And more than that I wanted to tell you that I really admire your view of the world. Every time I read your answers about your story, the logic and thoughts behind DTI and every story you write, I feel like I'm learning something new.

Was I someone who read what DTI was about and thought "wow but T is Ethan's friend" yes I was. But seeing you talk about the real world, how not everything is black and white, that we're humans and we make mistakes and learn, and how you bring that to our beloved pixelated world, it's just amazing.

Actually I was the one who ask you about friends haha because there's one episode when Ross is supposed to be really good at giving speeches at weddings and making people cry, and at the end he's just randomly talking to Monica and she starts crying saying "damn it Ross how the hell do you do it", well that's me when I read your work, in tears because you're just THAT good and kind of proud of me to being able to see the world in a different, and better light.

Hope this ramble isn't to weird lol

I just wanted to say thanks for educating us through your wonderful art. ❤

Ann!

OMG, I had to take a few just to gather myself to respond to this. You have absolutely no idea how much this means to me!

As a writer, hell, as a person, it's nice when someone says they enjoy reading my work. But when I hear "I learned something from it," that's a whole other level. That touches my heart.

The world is not black and white. It's a thousand shades of grey. Our experiences as people are all unique, and none of us are perfect. I wish more people understood that because I think it would lead to less judgment and more understanding - for ourselves and for others. So if I've conveyed that somehow through my writing... OK, I'm all choked up!

When it comes to DTI, you have no idea the amount of hate... not dislike, but bitter, vitriolic hate that came my way because of this story. It was months of terrible anons that still sporadically come in. It has been mentioned on actual hate blogs... and it makes me laugh. Because the story exists to explore our humanity, to show that no one is all good or all bad, and how each of us carries the damage from our past, but that we're all capable of learning, healing, and ultimately forgiving, ourselves and others, to become the best people we can be. So, after all the hate this is brought - to see this from you - and know you garnered the meaning and apply it to real life- WOW. I'm just so touched.

Thank you so, so much for sharing this with me. You have no idea. And I'm laughing at the Friends reference! I remember that episode. I don't think making people cry is a bad thing, as long as the tears are for good reason. YOU made me cry good tears tonight! And you should be SO PROUD of yourself. Whenever we can open our minds and see the world and people through different lenses, it's a good thing! It sounds like it's something easy to do but it's not, so be very, very proud of yourself for doing so.

Dear, you made my night. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. 💕💕💕

#keep forever #thank you #i am so grateful #💕💕💕

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kiingocreative · 3 years

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The Structure of Story is now available! Check it out on Amazon, via the link in our bio, or at https://kiingo.co/book

Every author starting out will know how important reviews are. If you’re yet to be convinced, here are some fun facts about reviews*:

1. 88% of consumers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations.

2. 72% of consumers will take action after reading a positive review.

3. Positive reviews tell Amazon and Google you’re worth ranking and can boost search results for your book by feeding into SEO (reviews account for almost 10% of total search ranking factors).

So reviews aren’t just a nice to have — they’re critical to the success of a book.

Now, amongst the writers community, we talk a lot about receiving reviews, but less so about giving reviews. I enjoy writing book reviews immensely, because it makes me think about what I’m reading on a different level, and forces me to learn how to articulate that opinion. This is actually one of the main reasons why I got into professional BETA reading.

I was asked recently how I structure my book reviews (all of which can be found on my blog), so here you have it: all the secrets to how I go about writing book reviews, along with some concrete examples!

Start With Why.

The most important question to ask yourself before you even start writing a review is this:

Why do people read book reviews?

In essence, they want to know whether the book is good, what it’s about, and — more importantly — whether they should read it. They generally like some context and detail to back the review so that they feel it’s genuine and trustworthy.

If you can keep in mind what people generally want to get out of a book review, this will help you keep your review relevant and useful. It’ll help you figure out what’s worth including and what isn’t. If in doubt, ask yourself what you would want to read about in a review when you’re trying to decide whether or not to buy a book.

Some Key Questions.

Before you start writing, you also need to ponder a few things. It may not always feel natural to reflect on a book on this level of detail — it didn’t for me at first. I either liked a book, or I loved it, or I didn’t, but I rarely spent a lot of time critically thinking about why I did or didn’t like a read.

If you’re also finding this uncomfortable at first, I say stick with it. I found it extremely interesting to make myself think these things through. It’s made my writing so much better, because I’ve developed that objective evaluation muscle that activates even when I’m with my own work. It’s also made me much better at forming and formulating an opinion, which is something I didn’t use to be good at!

Here are some questions to start with before you start on your review:

• Did you like the book?

• What did you like about it?

• What didn’t you like about it?

• Are there any themes that were particularly well handled?

• Were there any characters you liked above others, and why?

• Would you recommend the book to a friend?

These few questions will start shaping your view of what you’ve read and provide the main elements of your review.

To take your critical reading to the next level, you may want to ponder the various elements of the story and the writing as a whole. Think about:

• The plot / storyline — is it strong? Consistent? Original? Enticing? Are there gaps?

• The characters and character arcs — are all characters well developed? Multi-layered? Do they make sense? Are they relatable?

• The key themes — what are some recurring topics through the story? Are they well handled?

• The pace and timeline — is the story progressing at a good pace? Where does it lag? Does the timeline make sense?

• The writing style — how was the writing style? Did it flow well? Did it feel unique or original?

• The dialogues — did they feel natural? Were they believable? Were they engaging? Did they add to the overall story?

• The editing — how was the editing? Were there any typos or formatting errors?

Example Review Outline

Once you’ve spent some time with those initial questions, you’ll find it gives you the best part of your review content. At first, you may want to note down your answers to each of these. With time, you may find you can process these in your mind faster than you did before, and you don’t need so many notes. Whichever way is right for you, once you have this, you’re ready to start structuring your review.

I tend to use the following outline (though, of course, this isn’t the one and only way to write a review!):

1. Star Rating:

It’s most common in this day and age to include a rating in your review. There are talks out there about not leaving a rating on a book, because these can be extremely subjective — someone’s three-star rating may mean they loved the book but for others it’s a negative rating, some people don’t leave five-star reviews out of principle etc.

If you’re reviewing the book on Amazon and Goodreads however, you don’t have a choice but to pick a rating out of five stars. Have a think about how that rating system relates to you. For instance: would you leave five star ratings? What rating do you use for a book you liked versus a book you absolutely loved? What kind of book would warrant a low-rating? etc.

2. Opening:

Start with a short overview of what you thought of the book. This should give the reader a concise view of what you thought of the book, in two or three sentences. The idea is that, if they read only this opening part of the review, they should know your view on the matter.

Here’s an example opening paragraph I wrote for Heart of a Runaway Girl by Trevor Wiltzen:

‘Heart of a Runaway Girl is a breath of fresh air. As far as crime and murder investigation novels go, I only ever read Agatha Christie, so my standard is high. But this book did not disappoint.’

3. Synopsis:

The next section of the review is a short summary of the book, which should give the main elements of the plot. I tend to keep that part really short because I find that, if anyone wants to know the specifics, the book blurb the author so diligently wrote for the back cover is a much better place to learn more about that. Yes, you need to give a sense of what the book’s about, but it shouldn’t be the bulk of the review.

I think this is a matter of personal preference, I’ve seen reviews out there with a much longer synopsis section, but I always find myself skipping those bits to get to the nitty gritty of the review, which is what the person thought. There again, go back to the why — people who read reviews do so to find out whether or not they want to buy a book, so the more valuable pieces to help with that (in my view) are your opinions, more than an in-depth summary which they can find elsewhere.

For instance, when I reviewed Counter Ops by Jessica Scurlock, the second opus in the Pretty Lies series, I kept the synopsis paragraph to:

‘In Counter Ops, we meet a familiar duo, Ivy and Nixon, as they face the aftermath of the Elite Auction, and each endure its painful consequences. We follow their journey as they try to escape their fate and attempt to come to each other’s rescue — in more ways than one.’

4. Highlights:

The next part is what I call the ‘highlights’. This is where you talk about what you liked most about the book, or what you thought the strongest parts of the book were. This can focus on one element of the book (a character, a part of the plot, a theme etc.) or cover multiple elements.

See, for example, the highlights I picked for my review of Age of the Almek by Tara Lake:

‘I loved the author's ability to give every character their own voice and a distinct perspective on the world around them. I loved how involved I became with every character's fate and woes. I loved the precision with which the Almek world has been created, with such minuteness you can picture it down to the finest details.

My favourite part is the portrayal of the many facets of human nature, be it through the reactions of the masses to the barbaric ways of their rulers or the individual views of the protagonists. In every Almek citizen is a piece of the great puzzle that is humanity at large, and the author has a gift for writing it as raw and real as it gets.’

5. Mitigate your view:

Right after the highlights is where you’d add anything that mitigates your view. That’s anything that wasn’t quite as strong as you’d want it to be, or anything you weren’t a fan of.

You can skip this part if there’s nothing you didn’t like about the book — you don’t have to go nitpicking if nothing comes to mind. And it doesn’t have to be a bashing of the author and their work either. Keep it constructive and explain why you felt that way. There’s never a need for insults or expletives, and these wouldn’t enhance the quality of your review anyways. Formulating constructive criticism takes practice, and requires tact and subtlety. It’s a valuable skill to have if you’re willing to invest time in honing it.

Here’s how I phrased that part of the review for Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan:

‘But - and there's a but - my qualm with this book is that, for a story that revolves entirely around Nick and Rachel... There's actually very little Nick and Rachel in it!

Yes it's all 'about' them and it talks 'of' them loads, and we're told theyare happy together and want to be together... But it's all 'tell' and no 'show'. Their intimacy is sorely lacking, so I was left missing that added colour to convince me that they, in fact, do love each other. And I'm not talking saucy passages — I 'm talking about basic things suchas them actually talking to each other and spending time together.’

6. Conclusion:

The final part of the review is a short paragraph with closing remarks, such as a short summary of your view on the book, whether or not you recommend it or some indication of what readers the book may be for (e.g. ‘if you liked… you may like this book’).

When I reviewed Collision by Kristen Granata, I ended the review with:

‘Readers used to intricate, far-fetched romance plots may find this book too straightforward for their liking. In my mind, this is what makes the book's key strength: it's real and honest, it takes the reader through difficult situations and complex emotions beautifully, and that makes it all the more relatable.

A great read overall - and the moment I finished the last page, I was on Amazon ordering the next book in the series!’

How long should a review be?

I don’t think there should be a minimum or maximum word count to a review, though I find that mine end up being around 300 to 500 words. I feel this is a good length because as a reviewer this forces me to be concise and clear in expressing my opinions, and as a reader it’s long enough to give people a sense of the book, but not too long that they’ll drop off before the end.

Final Thoughts: To spoil or not to spoil?

My view on adding spoilers in your review is simple: DON’T.

Try as I might, I can’t fathom what could be gained from adding spoilers to a review. Once again: back to the why. Someone reads a review to find out if they want to read the book themselves. If you ruin the plot for them in that review, what’s the incentive to pick up the book?

It just hurts the author’s chances of making a book sale, and it robs a fellow reader of the joyful rollercoaster of finding out those plot twists at their own pace. Don’t do it, it’s just rude.

*Sources:

www.bookmarketingtools.com

www.searchenginewatch.com

www.dealeron.com

#writingtips #screenwriting #creative writing #writers on tumblr #writers #writing #writerblr #writing advice #writing community #writing resources

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revchainsaw · 3 years

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Buffy: the Vampire Slayer (1997)

Season 1

Hello and Welcome back my creepy congregation! We will be taking todays service from the Big Screen into your living room for our first Personal Devotional. That's Right! We're reviewing full seasons of television series now and what better way to bring the spirit of the genre film to the idiots lantern that with the 90s Television sensation and all around love letter to the horror genre, Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

The Message

Regardless of how one may feel about Mr. Whedon we can't deny how much we love Buffy Summers and the Kids who live and die in Sunnydale! Season one of Buffy was a spin off/reboot of the earlier film and an attempt by Whedon to course correct the franchise by breathing a little charm and attention into the subject matter.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 1) focuses on Buffy Summers, a not so typical California high school student who, due to the events of the movie, has been relocated to Sunnydale High. Buffy is not just a cute, athletic, teenage girl looking to enjoy the prime of her life, though she is those things, she is also the Slayer, an anointed warrior who has been reincarnated throughout the generations to protect our vulnerable weak human world from the forces of evil; particularly Vampires. Buffy is a sort of supernatural Captain America, that is a peak human being, but instead of Nazi Science she was born with her powers.

Joining Buffy are; High School outcasts Willow and Xander (a nerd and a nice guy respectively), The ridiculously sexy librarian Rupert Giles (her mentor, guardian, high school librarian, and all around precious papa bear), Jenny Calendar (a technopagan computer teacher armed with all the mystery an ignorant 90s boomer could attribute to the internet), Angel (Spoiler: He's a Vampire, but he's a good guy. A hunky, broody, good guy vampire love interest), and her loving but entirely oblivious mother. The Scoobies as they have come to be called aid Buffy in her quest to protect Sunnydale from Dark Forces.

And Speaking of those Dark Forces, they are primarily vampires, led by the Master; an ancient vampire who resembles to some degree Nosferatu and a Bat, a look that Guillermo Del Toro would later perfect in his own series the Strain. The Master seeks to fulfill an ancient prophecy that would open the Hellmouth (a portal to hell, exactly what it sounds like) and free him in order that he and his kind should conquer the world.

The first season is fairly short consisting of the following adventures.

1. Welcome to the Hellmouth - Buffy moves to Sunnydale seeking to leave her Vampire ways behind, but the vampires just won't let her catch a break.

2. The Harvest - Vampire Shenanigans continues. Buffy learns of the Master.

3. Witch - A fellow Cheerleader is possessed by her witchy mom.

4. Teachers Pet - Buffy vs Giant Mantis

5. Never Kill a Boy on the First Date - Buffy vs the Anointed One (Not Really)

6. The Pack - Buffy vs Hyena Possessed High School Bullies

7. Angel - Buffy vs Angel but actually Darla

8. I, Robot ... you, Jane - Buffy vs Internet Demon

9. The Puppet Show - Buffy and Sid the Dummy vs Organ Harvesting Demon

10. Nightmares - Buffy has bad dreams

11. Out of Mind, Out of Sight - Buffy vs Invisible Nerd

12. Prophecy Girl - Buffy vs The Master (also Buffy Dies)

Overall the short season, while not allowing for too much world building, kept the show to a format that allowed very little filler. So although we mostly only get vampires as villains, we don't have enough time to really be bored of it. Some of the shows dynamics and cultural concerns definitely date the series but overall Season 1 of Buffy is definitely not a difficult watch, and can be enjoyed over and over again.

Let's get to the Benediction:

Best Character: Slay Girl, Slay!

As far as season one goes the titular Buffy Summers is the best character. Sarah Michelle Gellar is absolutely charismatic in the lead role and though at times she may seem selfish or reckless it makes perfect sense for the character. The character is allowed to be weak, to be selfish, and to be unlikeable. She avoids the foibles of a Luke Skywalker or a Harry Potter. She joins the ranks of primary protagonists who are not constantly outshined by their supporting cast. I believe when Buffy is sad, I believe when she throws a punch, I believe she struggles with her destiny. The only thing I don't believe is how ditsy she let's on.

Best Actor: Head's Up!

Anthony Stewart Head. Head as Giles is just fantastic. His balance of frustration with Buffy and genuinely parental concern is heartwarming and absolutely makes Giles one of the warmest father figures in television history.

Best Episode: A 'Master'ful Finale

It all builds up to Prophecy Girl and for good reason. Television shows often have mini-finale's at the end of their first seasons because the teams behind the series are not sure they will have a chance to tell more of their story. For that reason you can see just the first season of most television series and feel like you've heard the whole deal. I wish this habit was kept up in other seasons as we wouldn't still be wondering what the hell happened to Joel at the end of the Santa Clarita Diet. Buffy is no exception to this phenomenon and therefor attempted to tie up much of it's narrative in Prophecy Girl. While that often means big bads will be dispatched, I think it's a small price to pay for not winding up in a cliff hanger. Buffy and Giles just shine in this episode, Angel is given a more heroic role, Willow finally values herself as she should and Xander stops being a fucking horrible human being for once. This episode really satisfies in all areas.

Best Villain: Sweet, Sweetheart Killer

It's such a shame that Darla was killed so early on in the franchise. She is such a great presence on the screen that she overshadows all the villains that play alongside her, even the Master. I would have loved to have seen an alternate season where she offs the old coot and assumes the role of big bad much like Spike does in Season 2. Lucky for everyone that Darla is featured throughout the show in flashbacks and I hear she is even resurrected in Angel. Also, for Scott Pilgrim fans I feel like she and Envy Adams are very much sympatico. Maybe if they reboot Buffy all my dreams will come true.

I'd also like to take this time to recommend the song Angels and Darlas by Say Hi! It's pretty good.

Best Monster Design: Internet Troll!

While I can't speak for where the money in Season 1 of Buffy went, I can say that at least some decent cash was spent on both the forms of Moloch the Corruptor from the Episode "I, Robot ... You, Jane". Moloch was pretty wicked looking as a machine toward the end of the episode, he looked like a Mortal Kombat villain, but it's the green scales and ram horns the actor is sporting at the beginning of the episode that really catches the eye. In fact, I'm feeling compelled to hunt down any Moloch the Corruptor merch that may be out there on the internet. It's certainly no mystery why the demon's face is featured prominently in the theme song. It just looks great! Good job to the make up department there.

Most WTF moment: "Pack"s a Punch on Principle

While not the greatest episode in season one "the Pack" is certainly worth the watch if for no other reason than the horror is kicked up when a group of high school students under the influence of a malevolent Hyena God, decide that the School Mascot is not enough to satisfy their bloodlust turn on the principal, and yes, THEY EAT HIM. I remember being completely caught of guard the first time I saw that scene, and it kickstarted the running gag of Sunnydale high principles meeting their demise in horrific ways.

Worst Character: No More Mr. Nice Guy

When I was in college I often felt bad for Xander. The funny guy who just had no luck with women. He was sarcastic but had a big heart, and used a horny gimmick to mask his loneliness, or so I thought. But now I am older, I am wiser, I have known the touch of another human being and I have to say that Xander Harris is a really scummy fellow. I don't remember thinking so poorly and I wonder if the character develops a more nuanced view of women as the show goes on. As it stands there's barely a point in the series that Xander does not view the female cast as objects for him to enjoy or be embittered towards for one reason or another. It's not charming, it's foul. Xander Harris of season one is absolutely a terrorist attack waiting to happen, if Buffy had happened today it would be much more concerning to see someone so embittered, horny, and entitled to womens time and energy as Xander Harris. Dude is one step away from pulling an Elliot Rogers. Calm down buddy and maybe actually listen to a woman and you may find you aren't as much of a 'nice guy' as you think.

Worst Episode(s): If you're not first ...

It's a toss up on this one. Season One of Buffy is actually so short and concise that the 'Monster of the Week' episodes will have to be up for grabs as the worst episode by default, but even they are pretty watchable and don't warrant the vitriol a "worst" dub usually entails. I'd say there is not a worst episode of season one, just some episodes that aren't as good as the rest. In that vain, take your pick from "Witch", "Out of Mind, Out of Sight", or "The Puppet Show". However, I'd be doing a disservice to those episodes not to mention that each one of them takes what could just be a basic Buffy Vs (insert Villain), and does something unique and interesting with the idea. The villain of "Witch" actually turns out to be a has been cheerleader actually possessing the body of her innocent daughter to relive her glory years, The Invisible Girl is actually the victim of social cruelty, her peers disinterest in her manifesting in her condition becoming quite literal and she is picked up by the military in the end, then the Puppet show, well, it's just about the stupidest most absurd thing that could possibly happen and it's completely unafraid of that fact.

Summary:

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Season 1) is not the most groundbreaking TV, but it is absolutely evident why the show was such a phenomenon. Season 1 is particularly rewatchable. It does not demand too much investment or attention, but it will get it from you, especially on a first viewing. It's not afraid to take itself absolutely seriously or to plant it's tongue firmly in it's cheeks. It is to a degree a product of it's time, but in many other aspects feels timeless.

Overall Grade: B

#Buffy #Buffy the Vampire Slayer #Vampire #Horror #Television #Series #TV #television series #Grade B #B #90s #1990s #1997 #wilde 1997 #buffy btvs #Moloch #Demon #Monster of the Week #Season 1 #(B)

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kimikotsuki · 3 years

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Fandom discourse and culture has changed a lot over the years and I always try to err on the side of caution whenever possible.

The reasons writers create and share their work are varied and diverse: maybe they're trying to improve their writing and welcome advice, sometimes it's all about the ~ S Q U E E ~ because you loved the show/character and wants them in more situations, sometimes the reason is the ~ R A G E ~ about the direction canon took and you plan to murder it and use it's blood to re-write the story; this is more an illustrative than exhaustive list and sometimes there'll even be multiple reasons at once of course.

And sometimes, those reasons do not match or go well with any type of criticism, even well intentioned, constructive ones.

I saw an post on Tumblr that ilustrated very well another reason why one shouldn't simply assume that con-crit is welcome: if you go watch an amateur performance (in the most literal sense of the word of non-remunarated, regardless of quality of performance), one won't immediately presume afterwards to go to the artist and start critiquing it.

At the same time, I wholeheartedly think that one of the most wonderful, unique possibilities of fandom is the capacity for collaborative work between the authors of a story that is being posted as it's written and it's readers, culminating in an end product with quality that ends up being more refined than otherwise it would've been.

That type of interaction is even sometimes one of the main reasons people write fics, to not only create something, but also to share the act of that creation.

That works almost like making all the readers of a fic into beta-readers and can be a wonderful thing, but the post argued that the work done by betas is analogous to editing in published works, and that such a relationship is based on built trust, so while yeah, that dynamic between writer and all their readers could work, assuming and simply barging in is generally more harmful than productive.

When I adopted that new reasoning, I debated whether or not I should then mark all my bookmarks on AO3 as Private and make them inaccessible to anyone else, but in the end opted not to, mainly because even though I mainly write them for my future self, I also feel other readers can benefit a lot from knowing how the experience of someone who liked a work enough to rec it went, specially if while reading that fic they stumbled upon things they didn't like.

If there's one thing I learned from over 15 years of reading fics is that my tastes change over the years, and sometimes it's not even about the quality of the writing itself or even the progression of how polemic subjects are treated at any given time, but rather the moment that I am in changes how I receive the same work, such that tagging a certain work as one worth reading again later with no contextual information on the vibe I was riding when I did that will inevitably lead to a disappointment that is frankly an overreaction on my part.

That happened somewhat recently with a Frostiron fic I read a long time ago, in a moment where I was squeeing like crazy over the pairing (and it was a work of squee, so we matched really well) and it got on my list, but years later, when I was feeling nostalgic over the pairing and went to read my list of besties, the expectation I had was so great that the dichotomy between my experience back then and the one in the re-read were terribly big, even though it was a well written fic, squee and all, and the only real difference was that *I* wasn't squeeing over the pairing anymore.

And at the same time, I found that, in a way, this managing of expectations I do primarily for myself when I create a rec with the bad points of a fic that I loved can also be helpful for others, because even if it doesn't fit 100% since we're different people, I always thought the best recs I've always found were the ones that stated what were the cons of any given story, because those cons might not be something that bothered me like it bothered them or it even might end up being somewhat bothersome to me, but the pros outweigh them and, because I went in expecting to find those things, there's no disappointment in it, so they end up bothering me a lot less then it could've.

The other reason I eventually settled on not making my bookmarks private was actually because of those authors that seek improvement and welcome constructive criticism from all the readers who are invested in their story and value their thoughts and experiences while reading their work, because while yes, better to err on the side of caution and not go offering advice and opinions were those are not wanted, if we let that completely rule everything we do in fandom there will be a lot of loss in regards of this constructive, dynamic and interactive aspect so characteristic and wonderful to this type of media.

I know authors can have access to the bookmarks made of their fics, but unlike comments, it's not quite a space exclusively dedicated to them or even for interactions between reader/author.

In a lot of aspects, I'd even go as far as saying it's a space primarily for readers: it's not something that will culminate in a email sent to the author's mailbox, it serves mostly for filtering and ordering purposes (like when you're looking for fics to read and apply a filter to show only fics with a certain number of bookmarks or to order the fics shown from the greater to the least number of bookmarks) and also so readers can, reading these bookmarks, have a better idea on what's to expect from a work from different readers with different personalities and world views and ways to pereceive what was written.

And since it's a space the author *can* have access to *if* they want, it's possible for them to look at that place to see that con-crit while, at the same time, not being a place where that con-crit will get shoved in their faces if they *don't want it* and as such it seemed to me to be an overall respectfull and good compromise between those two points that seemed very important to me, and one of the only way I've found of making it known if that type of interaction is welcome, I'd be happy to head over to their comments and talk there.

If I'm marking it as a rec and commenting, I'm doing it because I think that fic absolutely is one of the best stories that I had the pleasure to read; however, the number of characters allowed in a bookmark rec are limited, so if I end up putting into it anything besides an incoherent keyboard smash, those things are going to be whatever points I feel are very important to keep in mind whenever starting to read it so that reading experience is the most enjoyable possible both for my future self who's going to look at that besties list and decide on what to read again as well as first time readers who might have seen the rec and will go in knowing somethings that, by their nature, don't tend to be things we tag for; they will have mostly what amounts to con-crit, so if you welcome this type of interaction or if the rec I made is bothering you in anyway, I urge you to get in contact with me through the fic mail I linked in my AO3 profile.

This post is getting linked there because the profile section doesn't allow enough characters for everything that I had to say about the subject.

As soon as I see the email, I'll either be happy to either tag the bookmark as Private so it won't be visible to anyone but myself if it bothered you or head over to your comments section so we can talk better about the points I raised if this type of interaction is something you welcome.

#fandom discourse #ao3 stuff #fandom culture #bookmarks

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supportforindieauthors · 5 years

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What are all these "author rules" we're supposedly breaking?

It happens at least once a week. I receive a newsletter in my inbox telling me about the top 10 rules I’m accidentally breaking as an author or the top 5 rules I should NEVER break as an author. . .

First of all, I haven’t published a book in 4 years, so I KNOW that I haven’t broken any of these rules recently, but I can’t help but wonder where all these rules are coming from and what’s going to happen if I’ve broken one of them. Is my college professor who ruled over her grammar class like a dictator going to show up and lock me in grammar prison?

Based on all these articles that I continue to receive on a weekly basis and read because I just can’t help myself, I have determined that these rules are nothing more than grammar, punctuation, and plot development suggestions to make publications feel important and needed.

Does that mean that these suggestions are bad? Not at all! In fact, if you find that they help you improve your writing, then that’s fantastic! But let’s not pretend like someone is going to lock away your book for all of eternity if you break one of these “rules.”

All of this being said, Riley and I thought we would review some of these rules and what we think about them as indie authors, and then we would go over a different kind of advice, one that is absolutely important for this day and age.

So let’s get started!

Always be consistent with point of view

Riley: Why is this a rule? I could never understand that. What better way to show two different points of view for differing characters. After all, what your narrator sees is different than your protagonist or antagonist.

Ann: I think this rule is more a reminder to the author to be conscious of how you’re speaking to your readers. Jumping around from first person to second person to even third person can be very jarring. That being said, if you have a creative reason for changing up your point of view, go with it! Let those creative juices flow and have fun with it.

Never start a story with the character waking up

Riley: This is just ridiculous. Our jobs as authors is to connect our characters with our readers. A simple way to do this is to use little actions we all use, like waking up.

Ann: Who are we (or who is anyone really) to tell you how to start your story? Each day we wake up is potentially a new start to something exciting, something traumatic, or something completely life changing. We have no idea. If that’s how you want to begin your work, you have every right to do so. There are a lot of books out there. To say that you have to be fully original in the way you begin you work is a tad ridiculous. Start it the way you want to start it. Be you. Don’t worry about whether or not it’s been “overdone.” Your work is unique to you. As long as you’re not plagiarizing, we won’t judge.

Never use adverbs, and especially not with speech tags

Riley: I get it, too many people use "like" all the time. That doesn't mean you should restrict creative juices. A few are fine, and I believe they enhance your work, as long as you don't carry them too far.

Ann: I think anything in moderation is fine. Honestly, the only reason to consider looking this in depth at your individual sentences and paragraphs is to intensify the action your characters are taking. If your work feel disjointed and a bit passive, then maybe you should look to this as a recommendation. But really, let’s all just calm down, shall we?

Never give main characters names that begin with the same letter

Ann: Sigh...So many of us authors feel the same way about our characters. They name themselves. We’re merely transcribing the story. It’s possible that some people who aren’t carefully reading your work will become confused, but the people who really care will be able to keep track of your characters as long as they’re memorable. I don’t even remember a time when I confused Eowyn with Arwen, even though they’re pretty similar. . .but my husband doesn’t even remember that there were two main female characters in Lord of the Rings. The people who are invested in your work will know the difference.

Riley: I really can't add anything to this. Besides, you should be striving to make your characters individual enough that you could almost name them all the same thing.

Never info dump

Ann: Info dumps can be beneficial. I think it’s important to keep it entertaining and make it pertinent to the plot, but when done well, I fully enjoy being caught up on what I need to know about the world an author has worked so hard to create.

Riley: Aye, exposition used in the correct way can really further your books. Look at how George RR Martin uses sex in his books. There are a ton of plot points dropped in between all the genitalia.

Kill your darlings (crutch phrases)

Riley: Actually I would tell you to do what your story tells you to. You never know when you'll suddenly be struck by an idea. Besides, if you really don't like it, take it out at editing time.

Ann: I think this is from Stephen King’s advice about the written work, but you can look at it from a variety of perspectives. If we’re talking about characters, you’re allowed to kill off any character you like - just have some good reasoning for it if it’s a particular fan favorite. (Looking at you George R.R. Martin) If we’re talking about crutch phrases, I think this is something to keep in mind just to ensure you’re not overusing a phrase. I recently listened to a podcast in which the interviewer used the phrase “100%” at least 30 times. Just be aware of the words you’re using. I don’t think there’s any set limit. Maybe your character has a favorite phrase that she or he uses consistently. Maybe it’s for comedic purposes. Regardless, do what works for your book.

Riley: And thus we see the joy of English. I took that rule literally!

Don’t use passive phrases

Riley: Passive phrasing has been a weakness of mine since I started writing. I don't think I'll ever be able to get over it, as I believe it offers versatility. I could be wrong, but I don't believe I am.

Ann: Why are suggestions often confused with rules? Don’t people realize that authors see the word “Don’t” as a challenge? Should we overuse passive phrases? Probably not as it makes for weak paragraphs and tends to make our readers feel left out of the action. But should we NEVER use it? That seems extreme. An occasional passive phrase isn’t going to sabotage your work.

Never open a book with weather

Riley: Again with the inane rules about how to start your book. Whatever the first words are that get you started and fit the story, they're the correct ones.

Ann: *rolls up sleeves* Is that a challenge? Seriously. DO. WHAT. YOU. WANT. Maybe your character is watching the incoming storm and thinking about how cliche it is that a storm would happen on THIS of ALL nights. As long as you’ve got a good hook, roll with it. A plot device can be used poorly or incredibly well. Just because some people have used it poorly doesn’t mean that you can’t use it to your advantage. I imagine that a lot of real life stories have begun with a turn in the weather.

Never use a verb other than “said” to carry dialogue

& then Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said”

Ann: To quote John Locke, “DON’T TELL ME WHAT I CAN’T DO!” Seriously, let’s find a happy medium, shall we? I feel like I’m just repeating myself with each of these. An argument can be made either way. I try to use a variety of phrases and words and I’ve never felt that my work has suffered as a result of it.

Riley: Besides, I read somewhere that readers skip 90% of your dialogue tags. So what does it matter? Use what you want!

Avoid cliches

Ann: Do you know how many cliches there are out there? And do you know how often we identify with cliches because they are so common? One of my college professors would mark down our grades for any cliches used. She and I did not get along very well. Can cliches be used to your advantage? Yes, yes, absolutely, 100%, yes. Should you attempt to use every single cliche in one work? …. Again, that seems like a challenge...

Riley: Just look at a hero's journey. How many books are based off of this "cliche" idea. Remember, it's all in the eyes of the beholder.

Don’t attempt to use semicolons

Ann: We have so many resources at our disposal. Do your research. Learn to understand, love, and utilize the semicolon. The internet is vast. If my husband can learn to install a toilet via YouTube, you can learn to use the semicolon and have a very successful relationship with it.

Riley: Yes! Use Google, use YouTube, use the resources afforded to us in these modern ages, and work that language.

Show don’t tell

Riley: Why shouldn't I show? What's wrong with painting a clear line that's easy for readers to follow? Not every story has to have a mystery or a twist. Some can be straightforward.

Ann: Sometimes you should show and sometimes you should tell. Only you can decide which is the right course in your particular work. Listen to your beta readers. Listen to your own instincts. Use what feels right to you and what feels right to the words you’re writing. I think that both can be an effective means of communicating to your readers.

Never start your book at the end of the story

Riley: What better way to get the tone for the rest of the book? I mean, there's a lot that can happen between the start and the finish, and some stories change over time. What better way to prepare your readers for the insane ride ahead?

Ann: “The end is only the beginning.” From The Mummy, right? But still true. If you have a reason for doing it, then by all means, stride boldly forward. Be confident in your decision.

Turn off the TV

Riley: Some of my best writing is done with a TV on! The sound of the voices in the background offer just enough of a distraction for my ADD addled brain. It helps me focus in the long run, and inspires me to do better than what I hear and see.

Ann: No, there is no singular right way to write a book. If you’re distracted by the television, radio, etc, then change your setting up. Find what works best for you and stick with that. I listen to music or have movies playing in the background as I work. Sometimes I need distractions because I get lost in my own thoughts and can’t force my fingers to type with all the conflicting plot points. A distraction helps me zone out and move forward. I can edit the dust bunnies out later.

Stay away from sentences that start with the words “there are” or “there is"

Riley: There is something wrong with this rule. There are people who truly believe this, and that makes me sad. English is a flexible language, use it.

Ann: A truly masterful answer, Riley. Enough said.

Write what you know

Riley: How do I expand my point of view then? I have never once done heroin, but people have told me Everyone Dies At The End did a great job of explaining heroin addiction and the demons it causes. Research, and write what you don't know.

Ann: Does no one know how to use the internet? Or a library? Or even discussing with your friends who know about the subject when you don’t? We have some pretty powerful brains. Use the opportunity to learn something new. If you’re determined to write about a topic you know very little about, then you’ll do your due diligence and learn about it in order to write about it. And you’ll be a better person for it in the end. We should all be attempting to expand our horizons with a little research every now and then.

Treat writing as a job

Riley: Maybe you’re lucky, maybe you're in the minority of people and you love your job. Most people don't. I love to write, I wish I had more time to devote to it. I love the freedom it gives me, especially in our modern age where I can literally pick up my phone at any time and start writing. Don't treat writing like a job, treat it like something you love to do.

Ann: Why, so I can hate it? You know what I did when I worked? I wrote. You know what I do now that I’m a stay at home mom who home schools her kiddos and designs websites? I don’t write because I feel like I SHOULD be writing. Find the joy it in it and stick with that. If sitting down at your computer from 9-5 with the sole purpose of writing brings you joy, then do it. But that doesn’t work for me and I refuse to adhere to that.

Focus on quality over quantity

Ann: What are we talking about here? Word count? Published book count? Pseudonym count? It’s so vague. If you’re capable of publishing a book a month and you feel passionate about that, then you go! Should we be working to put our best foot forward? Yes. But only you can decide when you’re ready to publish your book. Don’t let someone tell you that you shouldn’t just because you published a book a mere six months ago and you can’t possibly have completed another book since then that’s worth anyone’s time. Do what you feel led to do. And don’t let anyone shame you for that.

Riley: The most prolific author of our times has an entire religion based around some of his writings. Love him or hate him, L. Ron Hubbard has shown me that less isn't necessarily better. The man wrote in the golden age of pulp fiction, and had grammatical errors throughout his works. And yet, there are millions of people that follow his words to a point of reverence. This is not an endorsement or a chastisement of Scientology. Just something I always think about when people mention quality over quantity.

If you’ve read through all of our answers above, you’ve seen a common theme. A confusion over “rules” versus suggestions given to make us really examine our work prior to publishing. Don’t confuse the two or you’ll end up driving yourself (and everyone around you) completely insane with your constant recitation of grammar and writing rules.

I personally believe that any suggestion that makes you take a second look or a fresh look at your current WIP is helpful. But that doesn’t mean that you should lose sleep over the idea that one might have slipped by you during your editing process.

Sleep well. Write on. And Support Indie Authors!

-Ann Livi Andrews and Riley Amos Westbrook

Looking for more?

Our moderator, Dwayne Fry recently published his thoughts on Self Publishing in a book titled: Things I’ve Learned as an Indie Author. Some of the above rules are addressed as well as a multitude of others. If you’re looking for a fresh perspective on your work, I highly recommend giving it a read. You may see your work in an entirely new light.

#Writing Rules #Indie Author #Rules #Grammar #Punctuation #Mistakes #Author #Dwayne Fry #Riley Amos Westbrook #Ann Livi Andrews #supportindieauthors

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ahsiert-blog · 6 years

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BLOG POST #1

ahsiert.tumblr.com

In today's post, I'll present several benefits of blogging, how does it works and how would I introduce myself in the blogging community.

Let me start on how did I get here. Before our teacher leaves the room he gave us a requirement where we should post something. Some are excited and some are not. What comes into my mind is that "Hey, are we going to post another video, edit a photo or are we going to vlog now?". But what I didn't expect is that we're going to introduce ourselves in the blogging community and use the app called tumblr. Blogging? Tumblr? I haven't tried using tumblr or made a blog before and I was so nervous because I don't know how it works. But when our teacher told us that it is popular and it can help us improve some of our skills and also an opportunity to connect with other people, I searched about the blogging community and tried using Tumblr for the first time.

According to what I have seen on google a blog was more of a personal diary that people shared online, and it goes back to 1994. It is also an opportunity to communicate and share their views on an individual subject. Just like vlogging, blogging can also be an effective tool to improve our creativity, excitement, communication skills, and it also boosts our confidence. It can also develop a better understanding of the environment that surrounds us.

Blogs can focus on a single topic with unique themes and ideas. Majority of the blogs are started by individuals who want to share their ideas and thoughts. Everyone can make a blog. Everyone can share their words and their thoughts in the world with a few clicks in the keyboard and the mouse. It may be free but we should also respect each other's opinion and know our limits.

What I observed about blogging is the simplicity of everyone. Blogs also contains informations and stories and can be anything about the author and what the author wants to be. Basically, a blog is an online journal.

How would I introduce myself? Hey, I'm Treisha. I may be new here in the blogging community, I may only know a few things about blogging, I may not have the best content that can encourage y'all to share your ideas but I just want you to know that we are all free to express our feelings and share our own thoughts. Never let your fears get in your way. Come out of your comfort zone and maybe blogging can also lead you to success.

1. Where do you see myself in 10 years from now? 10 years from now, I see myself as a veterinarian who helps animals on a daily basis and a hard working daughter to fulfill my dreams for my family.

Was my learning in SPUP vital to where I'm leading to? Yes because I know that choosing and entering Saint Paul University Philippines is a great opportunity that will help me reach my goals in life.

2. Was STEM the best choice after all? STEM is the best choice for me because it is aligned to the course that I want to pursue.

3. What course will you take and why? Veterinary medicine course because I cannot stand to see an animal in pain.

4. What topic would you like to learn more in this subject? I want to start a youtube channel or create short films but I don't know how to edit videos that's why I would love to learn more about video and photo editing in this subject.

5. Ask me anything: Sir who's your favorite cartoon character?

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siobhandesignstorytelling · 3 years

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Notes from class/readings/own thoughts

Storytelling

The form in which a narrative is told also seems to matter. “the medium is the message,” and we’ve found this is true neurologically. we cry at sad movies but cry less often when reading a novel.

Stories:

Connect us to each other

Help us learn Lessons

Influence our mental models and therefore our actions

Influences Mental Models

Dramatic arc

This evidence supports the view of some narrative theorists that there is a universal story structure. These scholars claim every engaging story has this structure, called the dramatic arc. It starts with something new and surprising, and increases tension with difficulties that the characters must overcome, often because of some failure or crisis in their past, and then leads to a climax where the characters must look deep inside themselves to overcome the looming crisis, and once this transformation occurs, the story resolves itself.

narrative transportation

Science

Neurochemical | Oxytocin & Cortisol

In one version of this experiment, if we gave participants synthetic oxytocin (in the nose, that will reach the brain in an hour), they donated to 57 percent more of the featured charities and donated 56 percent more money than participants given a placebo. Those who received oxytocin also reported more emotional transportation into the world depicted in the ad. Most importantly, these people said they were less likely to engage in the dangerous behaviors shown in the ads.

So, go see a movie and laugh and cry. It’s good for your brain, and just might motivate you to make positive changes in your life and in others’ lives as well

Note: Behavioural change - storytelling - evolution - oxytocin

The actions we take make us happy - we want to do the 'good thing'

We also tested why stories can motivate us, like the characters in them, to look inside ourselves and make changes to become better people.

Those who donated after watching Ben’s story had more empathic concern of other people and were happier than those who did not donate money. This shows there is a virtuous cycle in which we first engage with others emotionally that leads to helping behaviors, that make us happier. Many philosophical and religious traditions advocate caring for strangers, and our research reveals why these traditions continue to influence us today—they resonate with our evolved brain systems that make social interactions rewarding.

Evolution

Activity | Making toast

exercise in systems thinking

movable links + nodes

Those who see their world as movable nodes + links have an edge

exercise links storytelling and mental models

makes our mental models tangible and visible

Let's make toast

What happened?

We all had different starting points

We're all storytellers - it's something that is innately human

We all had some kind of node and links, some of us used language, some of us included people in our diagrams, some only used the tools needed, some started at the bakery, some started in the kitchen

We all have unique perspectives when telling the story of how we make toast, but ultimately its something that is an everyday activity that we all knew how to do.

This was the exercise that linked storytelling and mental models

All have some kind of node and link - a node for the content or step and the link to show the connection between them

I guess in a way, Mental Models are stories we tell ourselves about the world around us. whether this be through language, or symbols (much like some of the 'Making Toast', exercise examples) Storytelling influences our Mental Models.

In research from Rook (2013) a Mental Model is defined as, "A concentrated, personally constructed, internal conception, of external phenomena (historical, existing or projected), or experience, that affects how a person acts."

The practice of COLLABORATIVE VISUALISATION is simple:

You start with a question

You collect the nodes

You refine the nodes

You do it all over again

You refine again and again

Patterns emerge and the group gains clarity

You answer the question

This exercise helps you get clear, engaged and aligned

Why the brain loves stories

as social creatures who regularly affiliate with strangers, stories are an effective way to transmit important information and values from one individual or community to the next. Stories that are personal and emotionally compelling engage more of the brain, and thus are better remembered, than simply stating a set of facts. (How Stories Change the Brain, 2013)

The readings/videos that we've been given about storytelling, remind me of the concepts discussed by Yuval Noah Harari in his work - I found the quote below that encapsulates his view

“Homo sapiens is a storytelling animal that thinks in stories rather than in numbers or graphs, and believes that the universe itself works like a story, replete with heroes and villains, conflicts and resolutions, climaxes and happy endings. When we look for the meaning of life, we want a story that will explain what reality is all about and what my particular role is in the cosmic drama. This role makes me a part of something bigger than myself, and gives meaning to all my experiences and choices.” (Harari, 2019)

Harari's work discusses concepts around humans relation to storytelling and has largely influenced my personal perspective on the matter prior to this class. In his work he argues that humans are the only species that create and connect around ideas and concepts that don't physically exist – e.g. legal system, politics, organisations and even money. Basically that human civilization is based on storytelling.

Popular tales do far more than entertain, however. Psychologists and neuroscientists have recently become fascinated by the human predilection for storytelling. Why does our brain seem to be wired to enjoy stories? And how do the emotional and cognitive effects of a narrative influence our beliefs and real-world decisions? The answers to these questions seem to be rooted in our history as a social animal. We tell stories about other people and for other people. Stories help us to keep tabs on what is happening in our communities. The safe, imaginary world of a story may be a kind of training ground, where we can practice interacting with others and learn the customs and rules of society. And stories have a unique power to persuade and motivate, because they appeal to our emotions and capacity for empathy.(The Secrets of Storytelling: Why We Love a Good Yarn, 2008)

We discovered that there are two key aspects to an effective story. First, it must capture and hold our attention. The second thing an effective story does is “transport” us into the characters’ world.

NB: Empathy is at play here

We attend to this story because we intuitively understand that we, too, may have to face difficult tasks and we need to learn how to develop our own deep resolve. In the brain, maintaining attention produces signs of arousal: the heart and breathing speed up, stress hormones are released, and our focus is high.

Once a story has sustained our attention long enough, we may begin to emotionally resonate with story’s characters. Narratologists call this “transportation,” and you experience this when your palms sweat as James Bond trades blows with a villain on top of a speeding train.

Transportation is an amazing neural feat. We watch a flickering image that we know is fictional, but evolutionarily old parts of our brain simulate the emotions we intuit James Bond must be feeling. And we begin to feel those emotions, too.

Such a neural mechanism keeps us safe but also allows us to rapidly form relationships with a wider set of members of our species than any other animal does. The ability to quickly form relationships allows humans to engage in the kinds of large-scale cooperation that builds massive bridges and sends humans into space.

By knowing someone’s story—where they came from, what they do, and who you might know in common—relationships with strangers are formed.

We have identified oxytocin as the neurochemical responsible for empathy and narrative transportation.

Storytelling is powerful at communicating ideas. Storytelling:

Stories are vessels for information

Evolution has hardwired the need for stories in our brains

Learning vital survival techniques | those who learn the lessons live longer

Stories create emotional connectiona good story makes our brain simulate what it would be like to live through said events your body can't tell the difference on whether something is real or not, it reacts as it would in real life

Creating and displaying cultural identity - culture can be defined as the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. They are a way of sharing who we are.

Evolution has made one of the most important things in life deeply enjoyable. Survival = Storiesit taps into a raw human desire, and fulfilling it gives a kind of happiness hundreds of thousands of years in the making

If we want to communicate facts or information, stories are powerful way to do so

(Catsnake, 2021)

References

Catsnake. (2021, July 16). The Power of Storytelling, with Sir Ian McKellen [Video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/125383660

Harari, Y. N. (2019). 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (Reprint ed.). Random House.

How Stories Change the Brain. (2013, December 17). Greater Good. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_stories_change_brain

Rook, L. (2013). Mental models: a robust definition. The Learning Organization, 20(1), 38–47. https://doi.org/10.1108/09696471311288519

The Secrets of Storytelling: Why We Love a Good Yarn. (2008, August). Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-secrets-of-storytelling/?error=cookies_not_supported&code=4e69a7a4-beec-49eb-bc00-661da0ca397b

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