#ask-a-thon

[katt-sports]

omg hiii!! r u doing ask a thon still?? if so,, i wanna ask my boo party phil smn/silly

party philll!! i made this for u and your sister!! hope u like ;3

ignore this if the ask a thon is over otherwise thisll be akward asf lmao

(OMG OF COURSE, THE SILLIES!!!)

Phil: ...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—

(That's happy screaming)

[ask-a-thon]

Day 1

What inspired you to start writing?

Have you ever co-written something? Why or why not?

What are some reoccurring themes or tropes in your writing?

[burning-thistles-bt]

Hey Snowpaw! How's your training going? What's your favorite part so far?

"And the other apprentices are SO COOL!!! Aside from Elderpaw and Fernpaw, I never got to really talk to any of them. Ashpaw's so aloof and cool! Thornpaw's all squeaky like a MOUSE but he looks like a LION! And Mistlepaw says Tulippaw screams ALLLL night but I can't hear him, HAHA, so I think he's just kind of there!"

[punemy-spotted]

Hiya, its Athena for Thursday Ask-A-Thon over at @ask-a-thon: How have your experiences in life shaped your writing?

Oh Athena.

Athena.

This question means the world to me, I cannot tell you how much. As usual, I'm going to ramble, because this is absolutely a special interest of mine in writing and fandom and boy howdy do my experiences shape my writing.

As always, answers below the cut, and general content warning for gender-based violence, workplace sexual harassment, and trauma.

My experiences are my writing. Especially as someone who writes Reader-Insert, I'm a big advocate for writers to write their catharsis and their experiences.

While it is certainly appropriate (and polite, in certain circumstances) to write "neutral" Readers who have no defined physical attributes so that the person reading the fic can slot themselves into that blank space, I also constantly encourage writers — especially writers of color; disabled writers; queer, nonbinary, and trans writers; and writers who write for male readers — to write their story too. If we can imagine ourselves as Avengers or loved by them, we can also imagine ourselves immersed in cultures we did not grow up in — it only increases our empathy and understanding of the world outside our "bubble" if we do. For my experience, as a Desi writer, I don't know how to be anything but a Desi writer. My culture is embedded into my bones, there are so many things I do as a Desi-American that non-Desi folk don't do (and vice versa) that sometimes I'm shocked when I talk to folks who have grown up outside of the little Desi Bubble I grew up in (and shocked when I talk to folks who were even more immersed in Desi culture, because the Midwestern United States is not exactly a haven for Dawoodi Bohra Muslims, and that leads to a weird relationship with one's own culture). I am open about the fact that my Readers are generally coded as Desi and always invite non-Desi folk to read the stories to get a glimpse into that life. The body is a shell, and though it may change from writer to writer, the reader is still themselves and their soul can travel dimensions.

As for concrete examples of that, boy howdy, let's take a look at my whole Masterlist, shall we? The Cut is about my experience as an FGM survivor and how FGM completely altered the way I engage with my body as a being able to feel pleasure — and therefore, what it means to be loved, to forgive, and be forgiven. In that same vein, For Blue Skies is a story about facing Ikaris — an Eternal, a being who masqueraded as an ancient god for so many years — and knowing that he could have prevented something like the tradition of FGM but did not, for whatever reason. One of my most popular fic series, The Price you Pay, features a Reader character who, like me, was taken advantage of by a powerful man when she was in a vulnerable position compared to him, upending her career — she and I made very different decisions, but the root of our pain is the same. One of the first ever fics I published on Tumblr, Everything You Stand For, was an exploration of catharsis, of how the repeated denial of justice could lead someone like me to side with someone like Helmut Zemo, because when doing things the right way fails... how far are you willing to go to quell the fire in your chest?

In a way, every fic I have ever written has carried a piece of me. My culture, my language, my pain and pleasures. When I share, I share not just the thing I am passionate about in the form of the story, but the emotional context that drove me to think it up and create the world. So... how have my experiences shaped my writing? They've defined it.

[vsaintsin]

Hello, there! Just stopping by to hear a little about your WIP! What, in your opinion, makes your WIP unique? What makes your WIP stand out?

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate it <3 Tough question, in a way. I saw this ask come through a while ago and spent the better part of my day thinking about the answer. I mean this response with all respect, and with no intentions to be back-handed. Hear me out.

I think part of the premise of Carlisle's circumstances both in the first book that's already out and in the second book that I'm currently working on is that sadly his circumstances aren't unique. Sure, he's set against the back-drop of science fiction, but assuming technology continues to advance and eventually reaches one of the points detailed in the story - life as currency and property, autonomy an infinite question - it might eventually become a form of accidental contemporary fiction, no matter how much I hope it doesn't.

Which isn't the point, and I'm blabbing. Hm. I think I'm trying to say that the premise may not be altogether original - though I don't see it as any one thing's clone - and the characters may be very similar to real people, but that's actually my hope. I put a lot of work into making the characters - particularly Carlisle - into a mirror, where somebody who needs familiarity in some suffering might feel vindicated or allied, even seen. Everything that happens in inspired by real events, but somewhat dramatized to fit the mold of the genre. Even the violence.

If I had to say what makes it unique or stand-out... I would hope it's me. I would hope to say the same of all writers. I see a lot of people struggle with the concept of originality, and some others who've dealt with a college prof who says, in his ancient and bitter way, that everything has been done. It hasn't exactly, though. We all exist together, but very separate. Your perspective exists and is true - even if it's only your truth - and therefore colors everything you write, but also say and do.

There are some cliches and tropes that I do avoid intentionally - I fear they might cheapen the message for some people, and leave the lessons a little hollow. Nothing against the cliches, but I know I have trouble hearing something genuine out of them these days. It's like saying the same word too many times in a row - it starts being noise, with minimal comprehensible meaning.

At the end of the day, I think the answer is "me", for whatever that's worth. I think we all fear we aren't original, and chase this little spark that we're afraid we don't have. But we've got it. And it's just who we are. Bring that to your work, and it should always be unique. I do like and appreciate this question though, because it made me think about my work in a way I hadn't yet. It brought me back to what "unique" was and what I was trying to do when I started writing, and who I was trying to reach. I just hope that anyone who needs somebody finds Carlisle, and that he gives to them everything he gave to me. So maybe, it's him that makes it unique.

I can promise I'll think about this question on and off for a while, so I may have an adapted answer in the future? Who knows.

Thanks for popping in! I appreciate it sincerely. I hope all of that made the gentle sense I intended - it's been a very long day, and I'm very sleepy.

[buggywiththefolkmagic]

Appalachian Folk Magic Ask-a-thon!

To celebrate coming back, I'm opening myself up to any and all questions about Appalachian Folk Magic/AFM. Anything goes! Only thing I will say is be polite, make any assumptions gently and be prepared to be corrected if you do happen to use some sort of stereotype in your question.

[lunarsands]

Hi there its the team at @ask-a-thon . Happy Thursday Ask-A-Thon, what's been your proudest moment in a wip and proudest moment of a character?

Hello! I honestly can’t think of a specific event at the moment, but I feel proud when parts of a plotline that I’ve been piecing together finally come to a resolution that makes sense. Sometimes I don’t have an immediate end goal in mind, just a series of scenes that can fit into one fic, but don’t yet have that final defining connection. It’s a great feeling when the lightbulb comes on and you can say “Yes! THIS is how it all works together!”

As for a character, hmm…I think that would be when the moment arrives when they realize they have a skill that can be used to the benefit of another, either to protect/save another character or provide the solution that no one else had thought of up to that point. For example, in my starlight project, Darrien is content to live quietly in his undercover human life, working as a bus boy in the corner diner in the evening then spending his free time stargazing, with not much concern for doing much else with his life. After he meets Helios, life gets more interesting, and he eventually finds himself in a situation where he has to use his abilities to keep Helios alive – or he could just escape on his own and go back to his mundane life.

In those cases, I have to figure out where the character shifts from how they acted before to their new courses of action, and it’s great when I find the perfect wording to express that.

[inkytealeafwriting]

Happy Sunday Ask-A-Thon, week 4 for @ask-a-thon . What inspires you the most to write, what makes you want to write and what do you treasure most about your writing?

Yeaaaah!! Happy Sunday to you too! :D

What inspires you the most to write: I like to share stories, and if there's someone out there who can relate to the characters, I'll be happy :)

What makes you want to write: I want these stories out of my head, and I'm stubborn, so no matter how long this will take me, and no matter if they'll do good or not (in terms of sales etc~) I'll get them on paper!

What do you treasure most about your writing: The journey I'd say. Like, your start from scratch, then you finish your story, and when you look back, you can see just how much you grew as a writer/got better at it. And I think that's awesome, you can be proud of yourselves :D

[residentdormouse]

Hi there, its Athena for Sunday Ask-A-Thon week 2 at @ask-a-thon: How long have you been writing, how long have you enjoyed being a writer and do you have any pieces of advice for new writers?

HEY 👋

Thank you so much for the ask!!

Honestly, I've had training, but have not really done too much with it until a couple years ago. Elementary school we were required to keep a regular journal, and then I used to write ridiculous ' Scream'-esque horror stories involving my friends when I was in middle school. Long pause of nothing through high school, and then I took a few courses in college. Play writing (because I was trying to take just about everything I could in the theater department), and then Creative Writing (because it was the best of the classes that filled the writing intensive requirements). From Play writing, I wrote a tiny short script. (I was directing a student written piece that was on the shorter end, so I made a companion piece to make it a full length show in total.) Creative writing, though, I didn't have much inspiration for a long story at the time, and ended up sticking mostly on the poetry end of the spectrum. Another long pause from anything as I got hit with life repeatedly, and then two years ago, I started writing fanfiction. I wasn't planning on it; I could always find what I wanted to read in abundance before. Never had to write myself. But now I'm in a smaller fandom (SK's the Stand - specifically the newest 2020 series). There are some amazing stories there, but not a whole lot for my favorite character. Make what you can't find mentality took over. (Even though I was am anxious about posting anything.) Now I'm trying my hand at something original, although it has been slow going.

In regards to what I enjoy, I loved when puzzle pieces came to me. Just listening to music and letting my mind run through the scenes in my head was the absolute best. It kind of helped with missing directing too. I may not be able to do that specifically right now, but I can direct the little characters in my head. I can set design for them, and block the scene. Lighting, sound. Character development, my love. That's my favorite of the bunch. But yeah... I enjoyed that process a lot.

I still feel new (and honestly underqualified) myself, but I can pass along a tip that really worked for me. I was stuck on a scene. It felt like the words were stale, and everything was mechanical. Going through motions. I was asked (by @impuretale - thank you so much again!) if instead of things going like they were, characters saying what they 'should', what if somebody made it worse. That really hit me. Made me realize I was stuck on one track. I saw what I wanted and was forcing the scene in that line, but it wasn't the best option. This prompt broke me off the path and made me look at other options. Helped a lot. Eternally grateful for that advice.

[digital-chance]

Hi there, its Athena for Sunday Ask-A-Thon week 2 at @ask-a-thon: How long have you been writing, how long have you enjoyed being a writer and do you have any pieces of advice for new writers?

Hello again Athena!!

I've been writing ever since I was little, sometime in 2013 but only started writing longer content and novels in 2018. I've been writing off and on ever since then!!

Being a writer hasn't always been the easiest for me, due to me being unable to find the words for some things (descriptions mostly). I also used to get frustrated when I was not able to get my story out fast enough or in the way I'd like. I've always liked being able to tell stories that I created

I only recently picked up writing again so I consider myself a fairly new writer, but I'll offer any advice I can. For me, why I write is because I enjoy it. I like going on adventures with my characters that I customized in the world I created/researched. It's rewarding. Having other people read it is rewarding, too but ultimately that's not guaranteed. Write for yourself first.

[katt-sports]

for ur ask-a-thon :) how would guest d, cristina, kaori, elisa, stéphanie, and araceli react if someone booped them? (aka MEEEEEE) (i expect to get slapped by at least one of them)

Delia: You fucking what now— (boop!) ...I AM NOT 5—

Cristina: Are you serious— (boop!) Oh! ...you WERE serious!

Kaori: A boop? (boop!) ... :>

Elisa: Nope. (WALKS AWAY)

Stéphanie: ? (boop!) ????? (She's confused)

Araceli: :o (boop!) ^^

[ask-a-thon]

A Gentle Warning

I wanted to remind everyone that EVERY type of writer is welcome here. This includes but is not limited to:

NSFW - including but not necessarily erotica/smut/etc.

NSFL - Writers who write "extreme" fiction- gore/etc.

Whump

Smut

LGBT+ and neurodivergent characters that aren't perfect - within reason

Characters that are in various communities that are the bad guys

My take on why these people are included is that: Just because we write some things, or even read them, doesn't mean we think the world should be that way or want it to be. There are plenty of people in this world that want to read things that aren't SFW, SFL, not-whump, have perfect characters, etc. Personally, I don't feel like the bad guy for reading disturbing fiction and being disturbed, that's the whole point!

However, that being said, there are reasonable exceptions that are not allowed to join the ask-thingie here. I think you all reasonably know who you are but if you're confused, please ask and I'll kindly tell you that I won't be adding you to the list.

This is your only gentle reminder. If you attack other tumblrs for writing these things and they report it to me, I will remove you from the ask list and ban you. All writers, within reason, are allowed here at @ask-a-thon and if you don't like how I run this blog or how accommodating I am trying to be, you can make your own as long as you don't claim to be this blog or @asterhaze. This idea is not copyrighted and you have my full permission.

Thank you for being patient with me, for being accepting of all writers, and for helping me boost the community in the only way I know how. Lets be civil people, let's at least pretend to be adults, and lets love writing together--even if we don't like what others write.

[burning-thistles-bt]

Fireheart: my boy, now I shall boop the snoot 😈

"Is this what it feels like to be a kittypet?"

@vixxelle

[pb-dot]

Hiya this is Athena for @ask-a-thon, Thursday edition: How are you, how's the wips going and is there anything you want to ramble about?

Thanks for the ask!

Today has been a good day for writing but not a great day for my wip unfortunately. I've mostly been concentrating my efforts on getting my Film Friday entry for this week done as well as chipping away that the monstrous, ever-growing review of the Barbie Movie that I'm working on. I'm mostly just trying to get all the thoughts about that film out of my system so I can spend some much-needed processing power on actually working on my damn book.

It turns out that my thoughts on the Barbie movie are a bit of a mess because there's so much good craft in that movie, and the main Barbie plot is nothing short of groundbreaking stuff, but I feel like the movie stumbles on a couple of its B-plots and kludges around with them enough that it feels like the fresh exciting barbie film I greatly enjoy is being weighted down by the albatross of corporate-mandated #girlboss stuff. Probably won't be able to hold back on the spoilers much longer, so I'll put in a cut here.

Like it is just about driving me to drink that Will Ferrel's Mattel CEO character at one point states that he values the True Values of Barbie more than the profits from the Kendom Takeover, and we're apparently supposed to take that seriously? This is nothing short of axiomatically impossible. The job of a CEO is by definition to drive and collect profit, and perhaps if they're decent keeping their doings within the realms of the legal. If a CEO does anything outside of the above, they do that as private persons and not as CEOs.

Not Ferrel's character though, he chooses values over profit as a CEO to his board of directors, and he doesn't even receive a glance as pushback. I was mostly reading it as a joke, as it read similarly to his clumsy "wokewashing" of his all-male C-suite for the company about women for girls earlier in the film. But no, that was apparently a line that we were meant to take seriously, at least as a character development moment for the character to show up as Mr. Reasonable Status Quo for the finale. Oh, Mattel will absolutely not stop their consumerism-driving practices and corpo bullshit, and if they're considering letting a woman on the board they're not saying, but they'll market #relatable Barbies. Diversity Win, the doll you bought for your daughters for entirely too much money has depression now.

And that's not getting into the kind of nothing the Ken subplot ends by. To be fair, yes this is a movie primarily about Barbie, and I'm not going to sit on the same side as the chuds of the world who decry how terrible this movie is to men. No, my main concern is that the movie seems almost terminally incurious about what new status quo the story has brought about. Ok, the January 6th insurrection-type takeover of Barbieland by Kens was thwarted, good, great, in favor of that, but the ending essentially goes "and nothing will fundamentally change in Barbieland because of this," which is a bit of a reach to me. Sure, as a more ideal eternal idea realm, it's not like I expected lengthy legal procedures and court hearings or anything, but surely it is pretty bleak to go "Oh, this problem that clearly existed before the current crisis isn't a problem anymore because the crisis is over."

This is veering into Ken apologia, but frankly, I blame Gosling, who adds a surprising amount of pathos to the lost little boy Ken who tries to find himself in a relationship with a woman who just isn't into him like that. Granted, he ends up temporarily finding himself in the role of douchebag manosphere influencer whose sheer masculinity cargo cult influence just about brings about the end of his world, so perhaps some sort of consequence is in order. It could also very well be that some of my frustration is that Ken arguably doesn't suffer any consequences, as I don't count "even after all of that she's not into you dude" as a consequence, it's just a thing that continues to be true.

I could continue. I'm probably going to continue in the review. Check it out if I ever finish that cursed thing.

[vsaintsin]

Hello! Happy Sunday! Just dropping by with a writing question. How do you approach writing relationships? What are your favorite dynamics to write (in general or between specific characters)?

Sorry for the delay here - I got sick (still, from when I first made this account), and the the meds to make me unsick made me much more sick, and now I'm still sick but experiencing a moment of semi-clarity. Thought I'd pop in to say I'm not dead! Pray the clarity lasts through the duration of this reply.

This is a well-timed question, because book two of the series I'm writing - which is also my current WIP - does feature more "romance" you could call it, even though it won't be enough to really land it in that genre. That does mean that Carlisle's life and relationships have been the predominant thought on my mind as of late.

I always look towards people's needs when I'm writing any relationship, though, and how two people's needs can line up to make a complementary pair. Whether that be friendship or romantic.

I'm not exactly caught up with the common terminologies for most relationship pairings (but through stalking everyone on here, I'm learning), so I guess I'll say I favor pairings that feel like comfort or relief. Like "ah, yes... that's my person, things are better now." Cold drink of water on an oppressively hot day sort of thing.

I like writing relationships that shake off the "change x about yourself for me" thing and focus more on the "i want to be better about x for you". A gentle offer, instead of a harsh ultimatum. I like writing any dynamic where they make each other better people, where they introduce safety and peace into each other's lives. Any dynamic that feels a little bit like home.

I keep losing the train of thought here, the clarity isn't lasting...

I guess I also like showing that people who aren't "desirable" in fact are. I like to take people who feel outcast by society - whether it be disability or otherwise - and reinforce that nothing that's "wrong" with them actually is actually WRONG. (Like, yes, something is wrong, but it isn't YOU. (Additionally, stomping on fetishists who sexualize people who are othered for the odd sake of doing so is fun))

As a disabled person and as a trans person, I've faced a lot of crap that makes me feel undesirable, and been told by a few people I thought I could trust that I should give up wholly on the concept of connections like friendship and romance because of said things. I refute that idea entirely. I like to show and prove, with any dynamic at all, that people like me are just as lovable and whole as anyone else. Just because the love might look and behave differently, and just because it comes with a unique road to walk, doesn't mean it isn't equally as valuable. Nobody is settling for the queer or disabled person, only accepting that loving them means loving those parts, too.

So I guess I accidentally dodge the question during ask-a-thon not for the first time and substitute an adjacent answer?

As the most direct answer I can give - people who act like old married couples bring me joy, because you can just tell that bond is deep.

Thanks for the ask! <3 Sorry for the delay. Hope sick brain hasn't made this too goofy.

[yesireadbooks]

Hi there, its Athena. Welcome to my new Thursday Ask-A-Thon where its basically a Thursday version of my Sunday Ask-A-Thon where I ask ya'll about your wips: Has there been any major changes in a character in terms of how you created them, to how they turned out as the wip went on?

Hiya!! Oooh a new ask game (and it's about wips??? oooh) Thank you for the ask!

Uhmm, yes. The MC in a wip I call 'The Star Child', Henry. When thinking Henry up, I thought of a young genius, strong finances, high social status kinda person. But when writing, I felt that in that case, much of Henry's circumstances are inexplicable. So... I still kept the young genius part (he studies Sociology at Manchester), but gave him manageable finances, everyday person social standing and a ton of trauma. He was gonna be the flawless parent, but now he is the highly flawed parent who does it (mostly) right.