#I think that now the poem is readable

[artificial-absinthe]

Close ups of the post below.

[ravencromwell]

The poem evokes human greatness and human vulnerability. People are “godlike” in their courage and skill, but even the greatest mortals fall and clutch the dust between their bloody fingers. The beautiful word minunthadios , “short-lived,” is used of both Achilles and Hector, and applies to all of us. We die too soon, and there is no adequate recompense for the terrible, inevitable loss of life. Yet through poetry, the words, actions, and feelings of some long-ago brief lives may be remembered even three thousand years later.

--Emily Wilson's introduction to the Iliad

[gemsofgreece]

Hi! What could be a good english version of The Iliad, like the most faithful translation of it? xx

Hello! I have read the Iliad only in the prototype and modern Greek renditions. So in order to answer this I started with a plain search on the web for the most famous English translations. I see Lattimore (1951) and Fagles (1990) being frequently recommended. I ended up finding however a fantastic post on Reddit by some good soul who decided to analyze in depth all the modern English translations. OP provides the first paragraph of most of these translations in order to back their commentary. As a result I was able to read them as well. So I will add the link to their post in the end of my answer but in the meantime I decided to also provide my own opinion alongside theirs. Granted, my evaluation is based only on the first paragraph but we know writers and translators strive for the best in the opening paragraph so hopefully my conclusions will be more or less safe. Let alone that the opening paragraph of the Iliad is famous, it’s the invocation of the Muse, so certainly the translators were trying their best. Please note I am only judging the translations for which OP provides the first paragraph.

Lattimore (1951)

Deviations counted: 3

Style: poetry

Other notes: A little difficult to read but there is something old-school about it I like. Despite its deviations, it tried to keep other elements most other translators failed to.

Reddit OP opinion: They did not like Lattimore, they think he’s overrated.

Fitzgerald (1974)

Deviations counted: 8

Style: poetry

Other notes: God forbid.

Reddit OP opinion: They like it but admit it’s not very faithful to Homer.

Hammond (1987)

Deviations counted: 3

Style: prose

Other notes: It sounds more humble than Lattimore’s pompous translation, however it is easy and readable without deviating much from the original.

Reddit OP opinion: We agree.

Fagles (1990)

Deviations counted: 7

Style: poetry

Other notes: Why is this one of the two most popular translations? If you have to pick one of the two all time classics, I definitely recommend Lattimore between the two. But my favourite so far remains Hammond.

Reddit OP opinion: They reject this for the same reasons as they did with Fitzgerald.

Murray & Wyatt (1999, latest revision, 1924, original)

Deviations counted: 7 (fewer in the original)

Style: prose

Other notes: OP provides the original version and some older revisions and they are significantly better than what you will likely find in stores now. The original is in an older style of English.

Reddit OP opinion: That was the point they were making: unnecessary revisions for the worse. They say the old version is out of copyright so maybe you can find that one.

Merrill (2007)

Deviations: 8

Style: poetry

Other notes: It’s poetic but not beautiful enough and certainly not very faithful to the original.

Reddit OP opinion: Somehow they seem to like the opening paragraph but then makes notes similar to mine regarding the rest of the poem - I’d argue it’s evident from the very beginning.

Kline (2009)

Deviations: 6 (7-1)

Style: prose

Other notes: I removed one penalty as a bonus for being the only one so far to translate the “for thus was the will of Zeus brought to fulfilment” line decently. Overall decent, the deviations aren’t too annoying.

Reddit OP opinion: They consider it average - not too good or too bad - and they say it is free to read online. Both they and I prefer Hammond still.

Verity (2010)

Deviations: 6

Style: prose pretending to be verse

Other notes: Interestingly, Verity deviates in easier lines and nails the ones nobody did.

Reddit OP opinion: They love this one.

McCrorie (2012)

Deviations: 5

Style: poetry

Other notes: He goes for an epic style and I do not dislike it. He uses unusual English versions of the characters names though (ie Akhilleus, Aides). I don’t mind but it could confuse you.

Reddit OP opinion: They say their rendition overall is inconsistent and claim some of their choices sound bad in English. I did not really find the examples they gave problematic or bad, but maybe it is because in Greek those sentences sound better and McCrorie was going for a Greek voice, which is why it did not feel jarring to me like to the OP. We disagree in this one. I still prefer Hammond though.

Green (2015)

Deviations: 4

Style: poetry

Other notes: It is pretty faithful but I can’t say I find anything impressive about it.

Reddit OP opinion: They love it.

Alexander (2015)

Deviations: 3

Style: poetry

Other notes: She gives a very loyal translation, however lacks a bit in style, it is a little plain for poetry.

Reddit OP opinion: They like it a lot.

Nurcombe (2020)

Deviations: 6

Style: poetry

Other notes: Nothing particular to remark.

Reddit OP opinion: They find it a loyal translation (which maybe it is, because the deviations are six yet not very significant) but think it’s lacking in its poetry. Maybe this is why I found it unremarkable.

Wilson (2023)

Deviations: 9

Style: poetry

Other notes: We Greeks have talked before about Wilson taking too many liberties and her translation of the first paragraph proves it once more. She adds stuff of her own in there.

Reddit OP opinion: They comment on the loose translation but overall like her style of poetry.

In conclusion, my opinion is:

If you want easy, very readable and accurate prose, pick Hammond.

If you want accuracy and one of the all time classics and don’t mind the occasionally challenging poetic read, pick Lattimore.

If your main concern is accuracy and can go for older, harder, more epic sounding prose, try to find the original Murray or at least one of the old revisions but skip the most recent ones.

If you don’t mind a hard poetic read, maybe even odd in English (as stated by the English reader) because it attempts to get close to the Greek poetic voice, even at a paradoxical occasional expense of word for word accuracy, give McCrorie a shot. I don’t know if this made any sense lol I mean that even when he is not extremely loyal word after word, there is a feel of attempted Greek voice throughout his text. In other words, if you want a wildcard, give it a shot. But it could be alienating to an English reader, I don’t know.

Having said all that, again, I could only judge from the first paragraph and some notes by the Reddit OP. I am adding now their in-depth analysis. OP’s favourite for fidelity and style was Green.

Of course, if someone here is fluent in Greek and well acquainted with the English translations, please help us out.

[catmoe]

super silly terrible trio headcanons for @pjtrashofficial might update and add more in the future!

i am helping to keep the pj fandom alive

Romeo:

-invented a kareoke and dance rhythm machine one day out of pure boredom and night ninja and luna tried to steal them on multiple occasions

-lives in the flying factory

- has pulled more all nighters than he count

- had an orange juice addiction

- handwriting is a mix of cursive and regular font yet still surprsingly readable

- VERY COLD HANDS not as cold as lunas but STILL COLD

- had robot brainrot, refers to sleeping as 'sleep mode' or 'restarting' and passing out as 'short circuiting'

- has a collection of teddy bears but professor snuggles will always be his favorite one

- LOVES organizing things but somehow never has the motivation or willpower to clean his room, like the entire flying factory being clean except for his room

- he has a blahaj that he put glasses on. i have a feeling

- has numerous injuries of all kinds from inventing and fighting, like burns, bruises, cuts and scars

- surprisingly not physically adept and kinda fragile at times like im thinking he could trip on a rock from running from the pjs and break his leg 😭

- doesnt understand why taking over the world or the inventions he makes are bad at all he thinks the reason why everyone hates him for it is because they dont understand how it works and are jealous of him for it or think hes not capable of ruling the world like i dont think he understands whats bad about being a dictator 😭🙏

- enjoys sweet food, especially chocolate and strawberry flavored food

- found a lab coat on the side of the street and claimed it as his however it was far too oversized so be stitched it as best as he can to make it fit him but the stitching is lop sided because he isn't that good at stitching but he tried 🙏

- saw other people having earrings and though it was cool so he invented something to pierce his ears but he underestimated the calculation and preparation neccessay and how much it hurt and he pierced it too high so he had a migraine and his ears kept ringing for a week straight because of it

- actually the shortest out of the main 6 im pretty sure this is canon but im putting it here because why not

- has hacked into government servers multiple times

- actually pretty good at video games

- might actually enjoy minecraft

- him and greg bond over shared experiences like difficulty with poems and presenting it to the class, not being taken seriously, being taken for granted, being recognized only for their skills and other stuff that they share in common that i cant think of right now

- sees how night ninja and luna bond over art and painting so he tried it himself and isnt the best at it, but hey, atleast he bond with them about it right? 🥹

- is a walking calculator, mental math final boss

- can yap FOR LITERAL HOURS about his special interests i kid you not. (get it, hes a kid? pun not intended btw)

- special interests are computer, science and math, anything plush or cuddly related and space

- social awkwardness final boss like surprisingly greg is better at socallizing than him thats how bad he is at interacting with people

- happily looks forward for villain alliances if it means that he wont be alone for a night

- annoyed fairly easy

- gets silly when hes comfortable around someone (very rare occurance if that someone isnt robot)

- autism creature

- can play the piano

- does the erm actually pose on a daily basis

- sleep deprived

- cannot see without his goggles even if his life depends on it

- talks to himself out loud and narrates the things hes doing (like what catboy does)

- has the biggest, brightest and liveliest smile ever

Night Ninja

-warmest hands ever

-LOVES manga or comics in general

- a very good artist

- plays board games with his ninjalinos when they are not training or fighting

- knows first aid so that he can patch up himself and his ninjalinos after a fight or intense training

- is actually kinda terrified of what anyus flute is capable of

- can do a perfect split with no warmups whatsoever and feel no pain from it

- the ninjalinos are strong enough to carry him around if they group up and its actually pretty funny

- whenever he wanders off in the middle of the night he always makes sure his ninjalinos are asleep. some are, some pretend to sleep then mess around

- sometimes breaks into the flying factory when hes bored to see what romeo is doing mostly because he can't break into the moon to see luna to sneak around her most of the time so he pesters romeo twice as much eheh

- king of video games especially anything action themed

- had punched a hole in a wall out of pure frustration multiple times

- has scared his ninjalinos on accident multiple times and feels guilty for it

- does little shows and tricks every now and then to make the ninjalinos smile when they feel down or for their birthdays

- can play the flute

Luna Girl

- punches people when shes missing her luna gadgets (Night Ninja taught her)

- Her and Motsuki wrestle sometimes when they are bored

- Motsuki is a flying flashlight and Luna is used to it already

- coldest hands to ever exist

- whenever night ninja ventures off in the middle of the night, sometimes she sneaks on the ninjalinos and plays games with them like tag and they enjoy her company

- likes dress up

- an aspiring artist like that one scene from Romeos disguise i think where shes painting outside the museum

- gets bored sometimes on the moon so she visits earth in hopes of something fun to do

- her and romeo sometimes bond over their interest in space

- loves learning new skills

- loves halloween because she gets to see creative costumes and scare people for candy every year

- loves having her moths carry her around like a parade float

- [ ] loves teasing the wolfies about the moon

- [ ] loves teaming up with night ninja to tease romeo

[savagewildnerness]

Sometimes I wake with an urge to do a certain improvisation.

Some poignancy about doll-Claudia’s presence for this improvisation.

Immortal Claudia. You may be dead, but you shall never truly die. Your spirit is immortal.

Incredible Claudia, by @toriangeli whose commissions are currently open.

“A diary! The pages were fragile, spotted. But the old-fashioned sepia script was still readable, especially now that the oil lamps were all lighted, and the room had a cozy brightness to it. She could translate the French effortlessly. The first entry was September 21, 1836:

This is my birthday present from Louis. Use as I like, he tells me. But perhaps I should like to copy into it those occasional poems which strike my fancy, and read these to him now and then?

I do not understand entirely what is meant by birthday. Was I born into this world on the 21st of September or was it on that day that I departed all things human to become this?

My gentlemen parents are forever reluctant to illuminate such simple matters. One would think it bad taste to dwell on such subjects. Louis looks puzzled, then miserable, before he returns to the evening paper. And Lestat, he smiles and plays a little Mozart for me, then answers with a shrug: "It was the day you were born to us."

Of course, he gave me a doll as usual, the replica of me, which as always wears a duplicate of my newest dress. To France he sends for these dolls, he wants me to know. And what should I do with it? Play with it as if I were really a child?

"Is there a message here, my beloved father?" I asked him this evening. "That I shall be a doll forever myself?" He has given me thirty such dolls over the years if recollection serves me. And recollection never does anything else. Each doll has been exactly like the rest. They would crowd me out of my bedroom if I kept them. But I do not keep them. I burn them, sooner or later. I smash their china faces with the poker. I watch the fire eat their hair. I can't say that I like doing this. After all, the dolls are beautiful. And they do resemble me. Yet, it becomes the appropriate gesture. The doll expects it. So do I.

And now he has brought me another, and he stands in my doorway staring at me afterwards, as if my question cut him. And the expression on his face is so dark suddenly, I think, this cannot be my Lestat.

I wish that I could hate him. I wish that I could hate them both. But they defeat me not with their strength but with their weakness. They are so loving! And so pleasing to look at. Mon Dieu, how the women go after them!

As he stood there watching me, watching me examine this doll he had given me, I asked him sharply:

"Do you like what you see?"

"You don't want them anymore, do you?" he whispered.

"Would you want them," I asked, "if you were me?"

The expression on his face grew even darker. Never have I seen him the way he looked. A scorching heat came into his face, and it seemed he blinked to clear his vision. His perfect vision. He left me and went into the parlour. I went after him. In truth, I couldn't bear to see him the way he was, yet I pursued him. "Would you like them," I asked, "if you were me?"

He stared at me as if I frightened him, and he a man of six feet and I a child no more than half that, at best.

"Am I beautiful to you?" I demanded.

He went past me down the hall, out the back door. But I caught up with him. I held tight to his sleeve as he stood at the top of the stairs. "Answer me!" I said to him. "Look at me. What do you see?"

He was in a dreadful state. I thought he'd pull away, laugh, flash his usual brimming colours. But instead he dropped to his knees before me and took hold of both my arms. He kissed me roughly on-the mouth. "I love you," he whispered. "I love you!" As if it were a curse he laid on me, and then he spoke this poetry to me:

Cover her face; mine eyes dazzle; she died young.

Webster it is, I am almost certain. One of those plays Lestat so loves. I wonder . . . will Louis be pleased by this little poem? I cannot imagine why not. It is small but very pretty."

[naturallyteal]

Infatuation

A Black Out Poem for GOetry Monday , prompt by @isiaiowin

(see below for better readability)

I shall confess

Let me be rightly understood

We have been intended

for each other

When the wishes of both

is their marriage

Every feeling says

he was destined for me

Against all

Despised by everyone

Our alliance will never even be mentioned

Happiness

Gratitude

Silence

The text is from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, it’s the scene where Elizabeth and Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Darcy’s aunt) have a fight. I thought it might be ample source of interesting words and phrases, and it is! Here’s the full text on gutenberg.org .

First I thought I was writing Crowley’s POV, but now I think it’s more Aziraphale’s.

[creetch]

I really do hope Sunday joins the Nameless. I think putting him on that train would help him heal from Everything

Also I wanna see him get involved in the Trailblaze Trio's shenanigans so bad

I agree! I really think he'd get along with Dan Heng, also I don't think March would give him a moment of peace either which would be so funny to watch lol I need to see her call him every single day of the week apart from Sunday

I have a lot of new thoughts about Astral Express Sunday that I want to put into a big post, but I also haven't had the time to as of yet because of work

To be brief about how I feel, I've been thinking about it a whole lot and one of the things I love most is how the members of the Express are reborn in a way which ties very well into Sunday's character.

Dan Heng doesn't want to be associated with the actions of his prior incarnation and is following a new path with the crew, March 7th doesn't know her past but is happy to travel with the express and live as she is now learning more about herself along the way, Welt comes from another world entirely and is now treading a new path in his current universe, the Trailblazer has had their memories wiped by Kafka and are discovering themselves aboard the Express, and Himeko started this all by paving the way for members of the Express to move forward via fixing the train. Sunday moving forward from his past and joining the Express really fits in with the crew, and even Dan Heng himself told him not to be shackled by the past, something he would really understand

Also the 'you have a noble soul...' ;_;

Sunday can't go back to the way things were prior to the Penacony storyline, that's over. His entire life has changed. The life he lived before is gone. He has no option but to move forward towards a new future which is exactly what he can do with the Express.

Robin has been able to travel to other planets, meet a wide array of people and form her view on the world based on those experiences. It's one reason why they have such differing viewpoints. Meanwhile, Sunday has been caged in the Dreamscape, rarely venturing into reality (as we see Robin encouraging him to please spend more time in reality in one of her letters) and the only views he was exposed to since childhood were that of Gopher Wood who had a vested interest in shoving the teachings of Order on him the moment he noticed his uncertainty, his kindness and his hatred of suffering, and pinpointed this as a weakness. This is especially evident when Sunday says, about the Dove, that he wants the bird to live 'no matter what'.

Joining the Express would give Sunday the chance to really experience reality. It fits into the idea of him being the bird that can't fly - what better way to spread his wings than with them? With how his reply to Robin saying they were meant to fly into the sky together was 'If only... I could...' him joining the crew would make me actually cry like a fucking baby lol

It would give him the chance to travel to various worlds just as Robin has, to meet different people with different perspectives on life, and then decide for himself what he believes based on his own life experiences and not on the grooming of his adoptive father. If it is a Paradise he wishes for, and he says he still wants to achieve that goal at the end of 2.3, then maybe he'll find one in travelling to help others.

I still really believe that the Death of a Crow readable is from Elio about Sunday, however knowing that Elio and the rest of the Hunters try to aid the Express, and with Firefly calling them the dark to the Astral Express's light, I wouldn't be surprised if the poem itself was about Sunday joining the Astral Express instead of the Stellaron Hunters. Elio's aim is to support the Express, so him pushing Sunday towards joining the Express would be in line with the Stellaron Hunters and what they've always done throughout the story - provided us with their help.

Sunday has had rebirth themes around him for such a long time now that him totally changing outfit and walking a new path to travel the stars when he's only ever been stuck in the Dreamscape, now being able to create a new life for himself, would be very fitting. Sunday's lightcone animation has him saying 'the end is also the beginning', along with the description for his sticker which also points towards rebirth.

ALSO the whole fallen angel rebirth thing, etcetera etcetera, right down to Jade offering him a deal that's super comparable to the forbidden fruit, but that's pretty clear, yet I thought I'd throw it in there

In my opinion, the Astral Express would welcome him. They thought he was trying to resurrect Ena at first, but they then realised he wanted to create a world without suffering. He was also willing to listen to what the Astral Express had to say, and I really think he would welcome them challenging his views. I do believe they'd welcome him with open arms, as someone who is willing to move on from his past.

Also Sunday talks about the Trailblaze like this

So there's that too

I... really want this to happen lol. And I'm so happy current leaks point very strongly towards it

[sixbynine-da]

Tagged by  @doonarose!

How many works do you have on ao3?

60

53 are works solely by myself.

2 are large group collabs

5 are podfics.

What’s your total ao3 word count?

364322

250802 is soley mine (6351 in group collabs)

What fandoms do you write for?

Currently Good Omens.

Previously 

Buffy, Naruto, Bleach, Sherlock, Harry Potter, LoTR, The Originals, Star Wars. A bunch of other anime series :D

Top five fics by kudos:

Of comforts and Rituals - The Originals fanfic Klaus/Elijah. Feat hair washing - the most intimate thing a couple can do!

Sweet dreams - companion fic for vavoom-sorted comic. Feat unconscious Crowley and his sub conscious insecurities.

A Tricky Situation - Human AU written for the vday exchange. Feat professor's Crowley and Fell. They don't immediately take to one another. 

Oh! My! What a situation - unrelated to above :D. Aziraphale is dropping hints Crowley is not picking up. Feat tartziraphale. My favourite *ziraphale.

It's a ~*DEMON DICK DOWN*~ - Aziraphale attends a summoning gone wrong. Does what it says on the tin. Feat large shouty Crowley.

Do you respond to comments?

Yes!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Published…

Toss up between 

Bad habits - a Lucicrow fic. Crowley has an arrangement with Lucifer that means he doesn't have to face the fact he can't have Aziraphale.

or

Going down in flames - Crowley takes over hell. And not in a cool destroy it from within way.

Unpublished…. I currently refer to it as ‘sad fic’. Human AU. A look back over their life from Az's perspective.

Do you get hate on fics?

Nope not really. Couple odd comments about tags….

Do you write smut?

Hahahahahahahahaha.

Craziest crossover:

Never done cross overs. 

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I am aware of. 

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I'm having one translated right now :D

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I've worked on a few group projects and am currently co writing a couple things. Nothing before that though, so these will be my firsts :)

All time favorite ship?

God lord

 How tf can one chose ?

Probably Tony/Steve from MCU

I worked my way diligently through every E rated complete fic on AO3 and read virtually all of them!

What’s a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have a couple Naruto ones I will never finish. But I don't particularly want to. So that's fine. 

Want to but doubt…? Honestly I'm a bit worried about sad fic at this point !

What are your writing strengths?

Hmmm, dialogue?

I also seem to be able to just write if I have to as well.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Honestly my attention span. I'm impatient and get bored and want things to hurry along and it shows :D

Total lack of reasearch into anything. ^^;;

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

Odd word here or there is fine, if I have to go google entire phrases or consult with footnotes to get important bits of the story....bit annoying.

First fandom you wrote in?

Buffy would be the first published by date but I THINK the first thing I actually wrote was a poem for an obscureish anime called Loveless. They are all still perfectly readable on FFNET because I'm terrible at tidying up myself when I leave :D

Favorite fic you’ve written?

uuugghhhhhh, thats like asking me who my favourite kid is! I'm going with Validation. Because it was the first thing not smut I wrote and where I tried out a different type of writing. It's entirely Crowley POV and more of a character study re his fall. I put a lot into it ^_^

tagging blah blah blah blah : @wingsofopal @theonewiththeshippinggoogles @thenerdalert @fuzzygoblin

[poetrythreesixfive]

Storytime

When I was child,

books were my friends,

those readable tales

whose ends never end

just open the page

and turn back the story,

and relive those moments

in all of their glory

no power is needed,

no internet link,

just light for the pages

and time for to think

no wifi required,

subscription or plan,

just two fingers turning

the pages by hand

no fears of rejection,

no bullies to flee,

just stories, a chair,

some hot chocolate, and me

but now when I look

at the life that I lead,

no time to buy books

or to kick back and to read

I wonder if being

alone was a curse,

for I now have the world,

but the world is much worse

so maybe I’ll finish

this poem right here,

and cancel the rest of

my day without fear

just grab me some cushions

and build me a fort,

and climb in and read

for this life is too short

-GeorgeFilip

[johnslittlespoon]

It just makes so much sense that you were writing in 2013, you have the unhinged vibe that the golden fics from that era had.

I'm just here to compliment you really lol, mostly because I am giving a try to write a lil something for the first time and god I can only dream of ever being able to write as good as you. I've been writing poems and music for years now but i find writing actual coherent storys with characters and dialogue so so hard.

I was wondering if you have any tips, or like little rules you follow when you write.

all the love, xxx

🌷

I'M GONNA CRYYYY this was the sweetest thing in the world to wake up to wtf wtf <333 thank you SO much, i really appreciate this wahh my heart :'))) but also you are SILLY. don't compare yourself to others!! if we all did that constantly we'd never get anything written!! there are SO many authors i adore on here that will always have me chasing the "i wish i could write like that" feeling and it's a great motivator but alsooo at the end of the day. you gotta fall in love with your own words and characters and stories <33

and i feel that so much!! we are twinsss, i also started out writing poems and music and then realized i had stories i wanted to tell that wouldn't fit in shorter form, then discovered fanfic in middle school in the early '10s and it was all downhill from there LOL. truly such a golden era tho oh my god. growing up reading the hat fic and borderline illegible wattpad stories was certainly... formative!

yapping ahead vv (i don't have much advice bc i'm still just learning as i go but hopefully some stuff i picked up on can be a bit helpful!)

i have zero method to the madness when writing so it's a relief to know it doesn't come off that way LOL but i do have a few little things that i follow and i always look for them when beta–ing as well! they're pretty small technical things and they're generally up to personal preference, but some of them come from authors i admire and i think they can really take anyone's writing up a notch <3

i don't feel qualified to give advice because i'm just raw–dogging everything lmao i've never taken classes or anything, so take all this yapping with a grain of salt bc it's just what's worked for me!

– i try to use descriptors like "the man" or "the blond" or "his friend" etc sparingly. i wish i could remember the source, but i read a great piece about why it's better to just go with the character's name 99% of the time, and then i went through so many of my works to edit them and i felt so much more confident in my writing afterwards– it made a big difference in readability (imo).

ofc there are exceptions, like if the name of a character is unknown, or if there are too many names being thrown around in one sentence and a "the man" or "the soldier" etc just sits nicer. i definitely still use them occasionally! but it does sometimes put some distance between the reader and the story when those descriptors are used too often instead of names, so it's a good thing to keep an eye out for when it comes to flow. sometimes less or more or whateva ??

– sorta on the topic of less is more, i love challenging myself to show vs tell when i can! whether it's by keeping dialogue short and letting actions speak instead (can add to intimacy/realism– we communicate so much through body language yk), through metaphors (literally how my whole '#john egan is dog coded' fic was born LOL), or describing feelings rather than spelling them out (his heart ached vs he was sad, his pulse raced vs he was scared, you get the gist). you said you've been writing poems so i feel like stuff like that would already probably come easily to you tho! <3

– this guide on ao3 is great for smut writers! whether someone's a beginner or just looking for ways to elevate the filth, i found it really helpful, it's a fun read as well lol. it calls out stereotypes/cliches and teaches you how to reword them, gives lists of slang and reactionary words, do's and don't's, etc. i don't follow everything in it but that's the beauty of writing; we all have things that work for us and things that don't and that's so okay. :-)

– in the same way that artists use references to practice and find their style, you can do that with writing too! i know a lot of writers have a doc or note where they jot down stylistic things they find while reading that they'd like to emanate, or words they want to use, specific phrases, descriptors, etc. if i'm reading a fic and find an auditory descriptor i like, i might take note of it, stuff like that. sorta like a text document version of a pinterest board!

– thesaurus.com is my best friend truly. often going with the 'simplest' version of a word makes for smoothest reading so someone isn't taken out of the story being like wtf does that word mean lol but sometimes things can feel repetitive, or like there just needs to be a little bit more spice; i probs go back and forth btwn my doc and thesaurus a dozen times an hour tbh.

that's all i can think of rn and ik those are pretty basic so i'm sorry about that!! i really do just kinda write what evokes emotions in myself, and then i hit post and hope it translates over to whoever is reading too :') drawing from your own experiences if you can/really sitting with what the characters would be feeling in whatever scenario you're writing is probably the most powerful way to present what you see in your mind.

i have a hard time writing about emotions/things i haven't personally experienced, so i usually stray away from it out of fear of not getting across what i want to, but some people are great at winging it and putting themselves in unfamiliar shoes so!! it's again just personal preference really.

and alsooo be kind to yourself! i'm an anxious wreck every time i post any of my writing, i am very much not confident when posting new fics and i agonize over my docs so much and trash a lot of works, but i know at the end of the day i can't grow or learn if i don't get the words down, and i can't get feedback or gain confidence if i don't post. becoming your own hype man and giving yourself the opportunity to improve is essential <33

sooo much love and best of luck!!! lmk if you end up writing smth, i'd love to read it (◠‿◠✿)

[goneahead]

Writer 20 Questions

I was tagged by @stephmcx and @itwoodbeprefect back when trilobites roamed the earth. Um, sorry?

How many works do you have on A03? Actually, I’m mostly on Dreamwidth so:

Dreamwidth ~150 fics

AO3 is 59 fics

What's your total AO3 word count?

DW is 1,012,997

A03 is 404,628

note: I don’t keep an exact track of my separate poetry journal but there are 947 poems—so I am guessing that’s another 75,000 words😁

What fandoms do you write for? Currently? Steve and Danny from Hawaii Five-0 have stolen both my heart and my muse!

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

* Care and Feeding of a SuperSEAL

* Trusses of my Heart

* A Bodyguard for Christmas

* The Long Road Home (Broken Road on DW)

* Five Times Steve was an Idiot, but Danny Kissed Him Anyway

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I do respond to comments, but in a completely random and haphazard way because I am incable of being organized😂

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? My H50 comment fic ‘Anger’ is definitely my most angsty ending. And yes, it’s yet another fic I need to cross-post to A03…

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? It’s a toss up between Care and Feeding and Bodyguard. I love happy ever afters!

Do you get hate on fics? Not on my fics per se, but I called out some people who were bullying a friend of mine in another fandom—and they decided to repost all my fics on other sites to punish me for speaking up. So, now all my fic is on Dreamwidth and friend-locked. I am slowly cross-post H50 fic to A03, but I doubt I will ever cross-post fic from that other fandom.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I will write sex if its necessary for the story, but porn is definitely one of my weak spots as a writer.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Occaisonally. I wrote an Addams FamilyxAvengers that was very short and very silly😂

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Yes, many. At least I am really good at writing DMCA letters now?

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope, but I had few pod-ficced ages and ages ago.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? I used to co-write regularly, but my co-writers all got super busy😭

What's your all-time favorite ship? I think McDanno has ruined me for all other ships.

What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? I have a X-MenxSupernatural fic that my co-writer had to abandon.

What are your writing strengths?I love to world build and have been told my AUs are very believable. Even when I do really crazy stuff, like **checks notes** space spiders.😁

What are your writing weaknesses? Writing sex scenes. Definitely.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

In general, I think writers are still working out how to write fanfic that is easy to read on mobile screens. For example, long paragraphs and conversations between more than three people are sooo much harder to read on a mobile phone.

Heck, I’ve even stopped using italics for dream sequences/flashbacks because it’s just not readable on a small screen. And then there’s coding. **Sigh** Dreamwidth has updated their coding and now I really need to reformat my entire journal because the changed have made my older fanfic much harder to read.

So when it comes to different languages or dialects, I try to come up with something that will make it easier for my readers, instead of relying on the ‘proper’ way to do things. I don’t know if I’m always successful, but I at least make a stab at it. And since I have a fic I’m currently rewriting that has 13 different languages in it, I definitely spend more time than I want to admit thinking about this problem! 🥵🤪

First fandom you wrote for? Duran Duran bandom. Yes, I just dated myself😂😂😂

Favorite fic you've ever written? My fic with the most kudos is Care and Feeding of a Super SEAL. The fic that people are still dming me about is So Let Me Set Your Battlements On Fire over on dreamwidth.

Tagging @cowandcalf @actingcamplibrarian @stellagioia @redgoldblue @bennyokelly and anybody else who wants to play!

[unschooled-twist]

What is it that actually makes a poem good?

I replied to this question earlier on a Facebook page I follow. The question bounced around in my head a bit, so thought, what the hell, how about elaborating and posting it on my feed?

Below is my "slightly" elaborated reply.

I am trying to learn what makes a poem attractive and readable, of course we are all very different and are drawn to different things, so far this is what I've come up with. I have been doing what I can to keep my poetry simple, really digging deep in to my unused and nearly forgotten repertoire of the English language. The funny thing is I had never really read any poetry until just over a year ago and never planned to become a poet! A very important inspiration of mine pointed out the use of "contronym's" and "synonym's". I did only a tiny bit of research and came up with this...

"Literally my first"! Originally drafted, I think. January 2023.

A synonym, for contronym, well, we can find an example in a statement of regret, words like "penitence" and "repentance", many just would not get.

"Penitence" can sometimes show the humble acceptance of wrong, and "repentance" will hopefully mean change of character won’t be long.

A contronym itself you see, i say rather excitedly, I'll grab this chance with all my might, and ask of you to play with me.

The english word has many twists, with obscure ambiguity.

Two single words, quite rare they say, pronounced obvers-ely.

To start the first, with no remorse, I bring "apology".

A statement of regret, and defence to walk away, scot-free.

Perhaps when a simple word like "bolt" is used, I'm sure not hard for you to to see, the meaning is so clear for me, as clearly as can be. Secure down something, fixed so tight, is only one example, but can be used to bolt away, to run and then be free.

A third, well this brings a smile, and a saucy thought indeed, it's "bound," and can be seen somewhat conflictingly indeed. To start a journey we will find, the destination in our minds, but once again it can be used, restrict, restrain, holding tightly.

Perhaps with sex still on my mind, of course, considered carefully, to “flog”, a word with much express, so come and learn with me.

To sell something, to move it on, not wanting anymore, or spank your ass my cheeky girl, our passion evermore.

I reckon this, (my first ever poem) is great but I unfortunately am "bound" by the Law’s of humility and must leave that up to public opinion, (you). I have done a couple of different drafts as, I am only now at 45 years old old learning the importance of grammar. (If my dad was still about, he would be very embarrassed to hear that statement) so I'm trying to get better. I really like to work in a "hook" like the way Fleetwood Mac completely changes our whole experience when listening to The chain, I naturally stumbled upon this and do my best to work one in some where, with this one it was only one line, can you spot it? I do believe it needs to be easy for others to follow, but most of all it needs to be from the heart. I have been trying to word, my words so the reader can relate as I want to share, to achieve this, it needs to be attractive enough to entice all those hungry wordies in to my very own, unique, and "unschooled-philosophy's".

I would love to have some feedback, so far I have only really had my basic AI app, I think she is simply programmed to flatter my ego!

Looking forward to hopefully hearing from you. 🤞

Max.

[sheisburiedhere]

Mr. President - Mateo x Y/N

(Hiya this is another story that I'm moving over here from my wattpad account)

You're not much of a writer nor a reader,but since you joined this club, that you didn't know included both writing and reading, you set out to write your second assignment , a poem but you wanted to take Satori's advice and use language techniques in order to impress one of the guys in the club.

That guy was the one and only president of the Literature club, Mateo. You couldn't stop thinking about him,his charming ways ,good looks and leadership skills always secretly had a hold on your heart,even though he was like an condescending ass ever since you knew him, you always had a crush on him for the small gestures he did for you like that time he saved you from getting detention.

So you wrote while thinking of him...

The next day at the Literature Club

"Okay I think it's time for us to share our poems today," Mateo announced. Before he could say anything else you run up to him to give him your poem.

"Ah y/n so I take it that you wrote your poem?" He questioned surprised to see how enthusiastic you was to let him read it. You nod excitedly. "I hope it's readable this time," he said with a smirk. You rolled your eyes blushing as he take the paper from your hand . His fingers brushing against yours made you feel a tingly sensation inside your cheeks.

Mateo didn't notice your response to any of his normal actions.

Mateo's Mind-" I hope it's not the childish gibberish that that pink hair midget likes, cause I swear it's so easy to tell from writing what some one is thinking about and yesterday she was either really an amateur or was thinking about that manga troll"

You watched as he began to read the poem and his eyes widen and his cheeks are tinted red.

Mateo's Mind-" This couldn't possibly be for me😳 could it ? Could she really feel the same way? NoNo I must be overthinking this poem, It must be for that bloody Satori🤔.."

He reads the poem and you realised he isn't responding.

"Ah Mateo?I'm sorry if you don't like it ," you said slightly disappointed. "I made it for you, to show you how I feel about you," you shyly smiled.

His eyes moves from the paper to meet yours. Now your scared ,he's probably going to make fun of you and the poem. "This is so beautiful y/n ,I can't believe you feel the same way , I appreciate this so much ,May I keep this?" His eyes shine brightly and smile couldn't be missed. You blush wide eyed while agreeing , he grabs your hands ,fingers interlocked and asks, "May I kiss you?". You nod still blushing as his lips gently met yours.

You two totally forgot about the three other members in the classroom, well not really both of you ,Mateo didn't ,He wanted them to see who you belong to.

Those three aren't gonna give up easily, but Mateo will make sure nothing becomes between you and him.

Cause you are his.

Word count (521 words)

Sorry for any more grammatical errors than usual it's 3:06am and my brain is wacked

Goodnightt

[agentstovring]

💛Smoshblr December Asks Day 23💙

What are your top 3 favourite books (/comics/manga/poems/etc...) and/or top 3 you would recommend to others?

Oh, here we go, we're in my house now! (Obligatory "I could never choose just three" disclaimer here)

Microserfs by Douglas Coupland - I love the way Coupland writes, and this is my favorite of his fiction novels. It follows a group of programmers who leave their safe jobs at Microsoft to risk at all for their own start-up. It's funny, sweet, and very nerdy. (Other gems by this author: Generation X; JPOD; The Gum Thief)

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller - I'm obsessed with the story of Achilles and Patrocles, and this retelling still far exceeded my expectations. It's beautiful, epic, and impossibly tender. It's the first and only book that's ever made me audibly sob.

Nimona by ND Stevenson - Stevenson started Nimona right here on tumblr, when they were an art student! The comic follows Nimona who wishes to become a villain's henchman, and Ballister Blackheart, the "villain" in question. This comic is full of heart, it's hilarious, and I'm forever in love with Stevenson's art style.

And now, I hope you're warmed up, because I'm about to rec you. (I'm sorry, that's very sexual; forget that part.)

I put recommendations under the cut, please check them out!

ALSO, if you like quizzes, I have a uquiz where I recommend you books based on your answers! You can find it here; and my ask is open if you wanna talk about your result :)

Thank you for asking!

I obviously recommend my three favorites listed in this ask, but I also recognize that they're not for everyone, so here are three others:

If you like comic books and feminist history, I recommend "Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World" by Pénélope Bagieu A collection of short comics about iconic women who have left their mark on the world throughout history. Gorgeous art style, factual history, and a lot of humor. (Translated into over a dozen languages, in case English is not your favorite; I read it in Danish myself)

If you like classics, but not the 'fancy ladies talking about marriage while needlepointing' kind of classic, I recommend "The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas You're probably at least somewhat familiar, but just in case: The young d'Artagnan goes to Paris to become a musketeer, joining forces with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis in their efforts to take down the corrupt Cardinal Richelieu. The writing style is surprisingly modern, making it more readable than many classics of the time; and it's dramatic, swashbuckler-y, and fun.

If you think horror and comedy go hand in hand, I recommend "John Dies at the End" by Jason Pargin/David Wong John and Dave are slackers all but sleepwalking through life in their small town; until they do a mysterious drug at a house party and gain the ability to see the supernatural. Turns out their sleepy town is chockful of horrific creatures, and now that John and Dave can see them, they're putting up a fight. It's a genuinely funny read, but it also scares the shit out of me. And it's a series! There are 4 books in total, so far; in my opinion, each one is scarier than the one before.

[wordpimp]

Stars and apathy

Masturbating in an rv Fucking the table leg

Fingers and face in cake

Writing out of a fog. I started a few short story ideas and I don't know, maybe they'll sprawl into some sort of controllable mess that I can work into something readable. I borrow from dreams. I pull poems into dialogue. I've been thinking about this idea of a garden for a while now. It's sullied but recoverable. I think. Fallen garden state. Is that another name for new jersey. I bet so. Pretty in the northwest, it's not at all like newark

Life feels so real I could touch it, whatever it chooses to be now

[jaydeiswriting]

Hey! I had two questions concerning poetry- how do you get over the fear of it being too singular? And what if I’m too contradictory to write poetry?

I write for myself. Always have- mainly because I didn’t have anyone to share it with. But now I want to share it- and what if no one gets it? That’s not to say the events in my life are singular or even that the way I feel about them are. But. What if I don’t portray them in a manner that can be understood by other people?

Sometimes l'II write a poem and about sadness and it's like a brittle, bleached bone with a green stick fracture right in the center, and that's fine! That’s great! But what if sometimes I also feel with more flesh. More life. It's has fat and sinew, tissue and muscle! It's has breath! It's a wail, and rotting heart valve, and fist protesting death! It's both a two-step and a waltz- and sure they're both dances, but the steps don’t match and I’m tripping over my own feet. Nothing I feel is permanent- but I want to write something that is. And that feels impossible.

So. What do I do?

Hi Zoe! Thank you for your question. There's a lot here, so please pardon my long answer.

Firstly, I don't think there's such thing as being too contradictory to write poetry. Contradiction is part of human nature and allows us to be nuanced, multi-faceted people. Being "too contradictory" is only going to help you write poetry as complicated as humans are. I think of it as a strength and might actually recommend experimenting with leaning further into it and seeing what comes out.

On the other hand, I totally understand your fear of being misread or not understood by readers. I've been there! We can never really guarantee that our words will be interpreted as we meant them. I think it's really important to know who we're trying to be readable to and what our own intentions are (I ask myself both "what is this poem trying to say?" and "what is this poem trying to do?" and sometimes also "is this poem asking to be understood or just felt?"). Answering these questions can reduce some of your worry about not being understood because if you're writing to express emotion, for instance, it won't really matter if the reader understands every word of the poem as long as they get the right emotional impression. Plus, knowing who your audience is not can help you be neutral when readers you aren't writing to or for don't interpret your words the way you wanted.

Another thing to consider when we fear not being understood is how we're using specificity. Specificity can either create a really nuanced, expressive picture for readers or tie poems so tightly to our own personal experience that they become illegible to readers. If you worry about portraying your experiences and emotions in a way that others can understand, I'd always recommend checking that there are few to no specific details that require context about your personal life not on the page to understand. I'm always looking for this "missing context" in revision of my own poetry. I also think the practice of reading closely, practicing writing and revising, and seeking other people's reactions is incredibly helpful if this is a problem you think you might have.

In my experience, you also have to let go of the reins a little. I've realized that I sacrifice a lot of nuance and complexity when I work too hard to "guide" a reader's interpretation. Sometimes you just lose the parts of a poem that make it feel authentic and human when writing with fear of a potential reader's misunderstanding.

And finally, from your description of the two types of poems that you write (which was incredibly poetic by the way), I get the impression that you are working in form/content agreement. This is not a bad thing at all! Your poems are taking the shape of the emotional landscapes they're expressing, which can transport readers right into it. Readers will likely then understand the emotional truth of each poem because your technique has put them directly into it. And what is this if not a permanent impression of the emotions you were feeling and the experiences you were writing about?

So what do you do? Take a deep breath. Recognize you might be closer to where you want to be than you thought. You should write anyway. You should revise until you feel like you've done what you've imtented in a way that's accessible to the audience you select. You should share with people in that given audience and see what the response is. It might be quite rewarding.

I hope that helps!