#WHERE TO BEGIN

[sunugf]

sunwoo ig update (241008)

[thenightblogsuccessioneth]

[otomiyaa]

It's only been 1 day and I'm already drowning in the tickletober stuff I want to consume 🥰😱

[howifeltabouthim]

Where to start? How to stop?

Kate Atkinson, from Death at the Sign of the Rook

[iwanthermidnightz]

the time has come. my sister asked me about kaylor 😭

[letuswaltzforthedead]

it's been more tma and less tea and literature and such on here recently but that's mainly because when i sat down yesterday with chamomile, carrot cake and my second hand copy of Romeo and Juliet, ready to annotate my heart out, i got through about 2 pages before giving up and watching bbc ghosts compilations

[pinolitas]

I need healthy interests and relationships I need to get out of this hole of depression I've made for myself

[majorbaby]

there's a vibey three-line trapper/ginger noir AU microfic on ao3 published in 2012. i am inconsolable.

[a-true-janian-reply]

Can we all just scream for a minute? It won’t help but maybe we won’t go insane with fear and grief ?

[fellshish]

Sorry to bother you again, but do you know what's up with the "good morning" tag?

I wanted sunrise and coffee and breakfast and all I got were half naked people:/

Oh new tumblr user, you’re really in it now :/

[dreadcase]

just got told by some guy that he “likes my skrillex hair”

[fumblebeefae]

Genuinely cannot believe that people this stupid just exist out in the world. Absolutely wild.

People really argue like they’re in an 8th grade debate class.

[lucy-moderatz]

[evaristo-velez]

Where Do I Begin

Most of the time when I write here, I focus on my processes. I hope other writers can learn something, or readers can see how the sausage is made.

But where the H-E-double-hockey-sticks do I get my idears?

A fine question, m'lord.

Inspiration and You

Steal.

But really, just freaking steal something. A piece of advice I wish I had when I was funning around in fifth grade English: Fanfiction is a great way to hone your writing. The sandbox exists and you write the hard part.

Thanks to Van Allen Plexico for that one. Let me pick it apart.

Worldbuilding and such is making a sandbox. Using someone else's sandbox puts you in a position to write without having to establish your setting and character. Those will come with time, and at times fanfic writers will add OC, so you're already developing further from a given starting point.

Another quote relates to this.

Boundaries: free to do anything within the limits.

By giving yourself a sandbox, you have freedom within the scope of said world.

You may be surprised how many great works started as fan fiction...

"Bad artists imitate. Great artists steal."

When you're pushing towards writing for an audience, crossing into the realm of authorship, this will become apparent.

I liken this to my experience as a nuclear technician. We were taught to learn the mechanisms and principles of operation. Most people could regurgitate the neutron lifecycle or a power plant shift after brute memorization. But why are those things important?

(To extend the metaphor) Knowing why you can shut one breaker, and why you open another first, is more important. My supervisor told us, "A monkey can stand switchgear operator. We don't train for when things go right."

Imitating your favorite author may work. Taking what they did, understanding how the dialogue instilled emotion, or how their descriptions made a setting immersive...that's the shit you steal.

Every writer has been inspired by those who came before. Harlan Ellison inspired JMS inspired The Wachowskis, et cetera. Many shows and movies work the same way. Star Wars did what Kurosawa did, and many science fiction works did a lot of Star Wars stuff (I'm so sorry, Gary Larson).

To sum this point, find what you like and make an effort to understand what you like about it. Make it your own.

In the Lab, with a pen and a pad

Maybe I should put some exercises here?

This part is gonna vary. Let me do this section in three parts.

1) Pants

You know what you are. Jesting kindly. You're gonna go for it though, yeah? Do that. If you get stuck, skip to the next part and give yourself a note. If you cannot go further, retrace your steps to an earlier turn.

When I pants, I follow a few axioms: 'but, therefore' and character-driven.

Characterization should be formulated in your noggin enough to let the characters interact. Use b/t to see if the conflict is continuing naturally towards a pinch point or whatever style guide we're using this week.

Draft out short summaries of a story you want to tell. See if that is worth chasing or seeing through.

2) Planners

Theme? Character? Setting? What do I pick first?

Sorry, I cannot tell you. I don't know why you want to tell a story. Once you know why you want to tell your story, then picking one of those three things will inform the rest.

Theme informs character/setting:

A cast should interact and unravel questions arising from your theme. I think you should present more than one (more than two if you're juicing) sides, textually picking at as many points as your narrative can hold without becoming unwieldy. Pack that bish out and shave off a bunch during editing.

Same with setting. Why does this story exploring exploitation of minority groups best set in a western or a romantasy? Theme first will point you in the right direction, as long as you ask the right questions.

Character informs theme/setting:

I've had freaky lil guys pop into my head without setting. If you're gonna explore this character, let's call them Diego, ask yourself some questions. If your autism is advanced like mine, ask Diego! Between the two of youse, there should be a strong sense of theme or setting. Why does Diego need you to write them onto paper? What about Diego can be explored? Where best can we learn about and grow Diego?

Setting informs character/theme:

Sometimes a cool world begins populating your head. Build that world! When the time comes to write, you'll need someone to guide the reader through this world.

Who should we follow? What perspective does this character bring to the world?

These will extend to your themes. How does this setting compare to our reality? What can we learn from being in this location?

In these cases, allow your story to change as you continue. The interaction between theme-character-setting may shift where the story goes. Don't be afraid to let your story stray from a rigid plan.

3) Plantsers

Pick and choose what you like from above.

Read a damn book

You can prewrite anyway you like, but I think reading is one you should try more often. Engaging your mind with an author's will help you grow. I promise.

If you're going to watch a movie to inspire your book, please understand what can be done in different media. Each medium has limitations and benefits (consider again the idea of boundaries).

Keep writing.

[fleshadept]

looking at (vetted) gofundmes for people trying to escape palestine and i don't know how many of you actually click on the gofundme links you reblog but i would like to point out, for what it's worth, just how amazing it is that so many have raised so much money. it may overall feel like a drop in the ocean but the fact that several gofundmes have raised tens of thousands of dollars is amazing. it is so expensive to leave gaza right now, and people still need money after they escape. but regardless of what propaganda the US, UK, canada, and other western nations are trying to pump out, people across the world are doing what they can to help these people survive. many of them are still very far from their goals (like this one and this one and this one) and some of them are very close to high goals (like this one), and some of them have reached almost double their original goal.

and that's not even addressing direct aid or organizations that take continuous donations for distribution of food, menstrual products, etc. the PCRF has raised $16,000,000 of their target goal of $20,000,000 to fund current aid and long-term relief efforts in gaza. ANERA's febuary 13th update discusses the material ways they helped palestinians today:

(ANERA donate link)

my point is, it often feels like the world is turning a blind eye to palestine. but i would like to point out that there is an important difference between "the world" and "western political leaders and media narratives". a breathtaking amount of real people, the people who make up the world, are trying to help. in the face of israel attempting to commit genocide, the world is saying No. These people deserve to live. and literally sending millions of dollars internationally, through the internet connection that israel has desperately been trying to destroy.

it may not feel like it matters in the grand scheme of things. but to the people who get fresh clothes, or a hot meal, or blankets, or the kids who get new toys, or to the people who are able to bring their families to safety, it matters to them. go make someone's day better. i've linked so many options with ways to do that.

[rains-inky-mind]

You know those "if this gets 50k notes I'll xyz"? I don't believe in those. Because I could say something crazy like: if this gets 20k notes, I'll write my next book. And then it'll get zero notes. I do not believe.