#To a young poet

[the-strangest-color]

[exactlyhow]

"You won’t disappoint me,

if you distance yourself from others, and from me.

What doesn’t resemble me is more beautiful."

- To a Young Poet, Mahmoud Darwish.

[d-fatimeh]

Gosh this is exactly what I feel like about reading poetry in these trying times

— To a Young Poet, Mahmoud Darwish (translated by Fady Joudah)

[text ID: A poem in a difficult time / is beautiful flowers in a cemetery.]

[liveandbreathemusicals]

Gay people will be like “this is my comfort show!” And then show you the most emotionally devastating, stress-inducing, tragic piece of media you have ever witnessed

[rheas-chaos-motivation]

Questions to ask beta readers

General:

Were you confused at any point of the story?

What genre would you say this book is?

When did you put the story down?

Is the ending satisfying?

If you had to cut 3 scenes what would they be?

When did you feel like the story really began?

What was the last book you read before this story?

Characters:

Do you get any of the characters names confused?

Which character is your favorite?

If you had to remove a character who would you and why? (you don't have to remove the character, just make sure their role is meaningful)

Which character do you relate to the most?

Which character do you relate to the least?

Do the characters feel real?

Are character relationships believable?

Are the goals clear and influence the plot?

Are the characters distinct (voice, motivations, etc)

Setting:

Which setting was clearest to you?

Which setting was the most memorable?

Am including enough/too much detail?

Plot and conflict:

Are the internal and external conflicts well defined for the main characters?

Are the internal conflicts and the external conflicts organic and believable?

Are there enough stakes?

Are the plot twists believable but still unexpected?

[propussyslayer]

Flight attendant: Please make sure all your small items are secured.

Sirius: Do you feel safe, buddy?

Regulus: I will murder you

[finding-parallels]

The Heart Beats for Two, Fatima Aamer Bilal ( @fatimaamerbilalrbilal ) | A Poem Traveled Down My Arm, Alice Walker ( @randombookquotes ) | Lauren Zuniga ( @beautymyeyes-see ) | To a Young Poet, Mahmoud Darwish tr.  Fady Joudah | Poem Read At Joan Mitchell’s, Frank O'Hara ( @firstfullmoon ) | Upstream, Mary Oliver | (A Poem Is a) Naming Ceremony, Rena Priest

“I learned that the poem was made not just to exist, but to speak—to be company.”

The Heart Beats for Two, Fatima Aamer Bilal ( @fatimaamerbilalrbilal ) | A Poem Traveled Down My Arm, Alice Walker ( @randombookquotes ) | Lauren Zuniga ( @beautymyeyes-see ) | To a Young Poet, Mahmoud Darwish tr.  Fady Joudah | Poem Read At Joan Mitchell’s, Frank O'Hara ( @firstfullmoon ) | Upstream, Mary Oliver | (A Poem Is a) Naming Ceremony, Rena Priest

[camillamaecaulay]

graves grow no green that you can use.

gwendolyn brooks

[leighbaye]

[deeeaahh]

[remusgirlie]

"You wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me"

[ricochetyears]

oh how i hate that headcanon where sirius is a total whore who’s super experienced with sex. like, okay, sure—humor and flirting might be his coping mechanism, but i’m dead convinced the bastard knew as much about sex as a cow knows about discord. fr, growing up in that household? zero sex ed. sex was probably treated as purely for making heirs, and anything about pleasure was seen as shameful. so yeah, sirius might’ve been all talk, shouting about sex like he knew everything, but in reality? no real experience, no real understanding. just vibes and bluster

and that’s exactly why i love wolfstar intimate connection so much. in my mind, remus has a healthy, grounded understanding of sex—like, he actually gets it. he knows that it’s not just a physical thing but something tied to connection and emotion and he definitely understands how to give and receive pleasure

he’s the one who shows sirius what pleasure can actually feel like, how it’s nothing to be ashamed of. he teaches him how to enjoy it, how to feel good both physically and emotionally with someone you care about. remus is the one who shows sirius how to kiss someone when you love them, where and how to touch to make it feel good—no rush, no pressure. just feelings, just connection

[luthienne]

Most experiences are unsayable; they become real to us in a space no word has entered.

Rainer Maria Rilke, from Letters to a Young Poet (tr. Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy)

[metamorphesque]

Rainer Maria Rilke, "Letters to a Young Poet" (translated by M. D. Herter Norton)

[ptimepoet]

[rheas-chaos-motivation]

What you HAVE TO know about your characters

Name:

Appearence:

Age:

Role:

Why the have that role, not based on the plot but based on the characters core beliefs and how that affects the plot:

Beliefs:

Motivations:

Who they were raised to be vs who they are/are becoming:

Plans for the future:

How they feel about themselves and how it affects their behavior:

Why do they even matter: