#etc. but also let me get back with my opinions when i finish essay draft and reread the ubers im not claiming to be an expert here

[pinkinsect]

yeah lorenzo's tube man like build, opposum-like ways, and fascinating mindset have bewitched me

[terristernwrites]

Hi, happy STS~!

As I get closer to finishing my current WIP's first draft, I'm having trouble dealing with the large amount of exposition I need to do before the end. Have you ever run into this problem? How did you deal with it? What's the best way to handle exposition, in your opinion?

(from @tisiphonewolfe)

Hey,

This is a really awesome question!

So I think there's a few ways of doing this and some of it depends on genre and audience expectation.

If you look at something like Solaris or Perdido Street Station, we absolutely have massive wedges of exposition but we as readers are okay with this as they work with the character and situation that we know so far. So if you're rolling in sci-fi and fantasy brackets you can somewhat just do it, so long as it makes sense to set it out in text (a lecture, or a scheme, or someone having to be clued in because they're not as advanced as the hero, etc)

If you're working on a less dump-friendly genre then we have to work into layering more subtly and this can mean going back and laying the groundwork earlier with some foreshadowing and as-yet-not-significant info that crystallises as we approach the end! So for example in one of my stories I had the heroine comment that her father's magic never harmed her mother, though it was very aggressive against others. This was just a background line until we see later on that the love interest in unharmed by her magic, indicating as yet not admitted love for him.

Similarly, depending on what other characters you have to work with, conversations and fights are a good way to get into out. In Stolen Treasure Helena is sucked into a fight about stolen art due to her skills as a curator and this lets the reader see some of the background of the group she's now entangled with and the tensions there. This is needed to the end confrontation to make sense but saved me getting someone to give her the low-down explicitly!

I am also a fan of some character knowledge that we get fed in when it becomes relevant. To use Stolen Treaure as an example again, Helena knows about black art auctions due to her work, so she can comment on them when they're brought up without it seeming too out of nowhere, and it didn't really need foreshadowing outside of her being dedicated to her job so knowing her stuff. As such, if its reasonable the character might know things they can share it when appropriate without that being a "cheat", unless that info should have been essential beforehand.

I see I have written a small essay, sorry this is so long!

[silverloreley]

Would you be interested in a story that involves the Auradon kids and their lives at Auradon prep? I might you as there will be disturbing themes like drugs, cyber bullying, attempted suicide etc...

Here's a draft:

Life at Auradon

Chapter one draft

Anxelin waited anxiously for the bell to go off, so that she can leave this godforsaken class called Grammar.

“Who on earth named this class Grammar?” the Goth girl thought.

Anxelin carefully took out her phone from her khaki pants pocket, and turned on the phone to check the time, under the desk of course.

The time reads: 10:55 A.M.

Anxelin groaned softly. “Just 5 minutes left to leave this class. Why can’t it be now?”

The school year just started and the Goth princess already hates it. She wished she had the power to disappear from this class and appear either in her dorm room or at the Enchanted Lake where she can be more at peace.

Anxellin took a look at her work that was laid on the desk in front of her; an essay of how this year’s summer went for everyone. In addition, the teacher said that the essay should be grammatically correct.

Bollocks.

To say Anxelin’s summer was bad would be an understatement. Over this past summer, Anxelin had to go back to summer school because she failed her physics exam in late May. Anxelin tried her best to explain herself to her parents that she studied and didn’t waste any time whatsoever. Also she never wanted to go summer school anyway but Rapunzel and Eugene insisted that she must go or else repeat her previous grade, to which Anxelin didn’t want but went anyways. She honestly had no idea how she failed and she studied hard for two weeks with her friends just to get a D on her exam result. Just perfect.

Anxelin quietly slid her phone back into her pants pocket before any nosy kid sees her with it because God forbid if someone saw Anxelin using her phone in class, they would report her and she would be sent to the Headmaster Godmother’s office. And Anxelin couldn’t bother to hear a long lecture about how you’re not supposed to use your phone during class, blah, blah, blah.

Geez, she only took out the phone because she wanted to check the time, as she forgot about her watch this morning due to rush. Give her a break.

Am I interested in what? Writing it? If I'll ever manage, I have in the works a full rewriting of the whole franchise which would respect the original movies that were crammed into Descendants in a rather incomprehensible way, their characters and how they’d realistically raise kids, but I have to finish a ton of other things first so I don’t know.

In reading it? Perhaps if I happened to be in the right headspace when I open one, but I'm very uncomfortable with themes like drugs and suicide when related to teens because of some events in my own teenage years, so I really don't like to relive such things or worse even in fiction, not to mention I usually find that a story on fairytale characters doesn’t really work well with such themes, not for me at least. Fairytales are already full of other issues and there’s more than enough material to work with.

Aside from that, which is my personal opinion, I encourage you to write whatever you want! You shouldn’t let your drive to write depend on the first arrived, you do you.

If you want my opinion on this bit you sent me, though, let me know. Mind you, I’m not soft when it comes to give writing advice and/or corrections (meaning I don’t sugarcoat it, which can come off as harsh), so if you don’t want criticism... well, not don’t ask me. Your pick.

[atelophobicity]

Top 10 Things You Shouldn’t Do If You Want to Finish Your Thesis On Time

It’s my entry for September! I’ve been busy in consuming new music, films, and kvariety episodes in my effort to catch up on everything. So, I decided to post monthly to fulfill my oversharing Tumblr needs and to exercise my skills in writing in English and putting thoughts into coherent words.

TL;DR of this: things I’ve done instead of doing my thesis for the past year and a half. I’m not romanticizing my not doing thesis self for the past 21 months, but I’m also not dissuading you from doing other stuff besides thesis because god knows, you will need something.

1. Got a part-time job. This was the first new thing I’ve done that really took my time and effectively gave me no time to do thesis. And yet, this was the most rewarding thing as I learned how to get my TIN, accomplish my deliverables, answer to my superiors etc. Looking back, I wasn’t the best employee and I deserved no job offers on the same company after. But still, it was a stepping stone in the right direction. Adulting-wise, anyway.

2.  Discover the art of creating.

Journal spreads. I bought a 2019 planner and I couldn’t fill it up, so I decided to turn it into a journal-planner. The art materials I used for to design pages are from old supplies bought back when I was in high school or stickers from the fandom-related events I attended. I didn’t spend money and I was given a chance to be creative.

Sew doll clothes. In K-pop, dolls that look like your idol exists. It usually comes with one set of clothes to dress it. As a “doll mother”, I wanted to dress them with new clothes but buying clothes was expensive. So, I just sewed clothes for them. I made clothes from scrap fabrics or clothes no one wears in our household. I’ve been barely successful, but it’s one of the things that keep me happy and make me feel like I’ve succeeded in one measly part of my life.

3. Purged my online files.

From my high school files. Nostalgia has been one of my coping mechanisms. I was able to be provided by lots of it when I discovered that I didn’t lose my high school files and it was on my mom’s laptop all along. Being able to relive memories while organizing my files was the best hours of that day.

To my external hard drives. Since 2016, I have been a hoarder of online files for so long that I have two EHDs to prove it. This time though, I was able to delete content that was either repetitive or uninteresting anymore. I was able to shave off some of my data bytes and am now able to save new interesting content available online (if I ever find one).

4. Realigned my priorities and consumption of K-pop as a stan and as a person by:

Selling 3/4 of my merch. Unlearning the pride that comes with owning K-pop merch was difficult, but overtime, I have been proud of myself for not falling to the traps of capitalism—at least in K-pop. Also! I was able to buy my own concert tickets with the stuff I sold so it is a win!

Joining giveaways instead. No matter how I can avoid the urge to buy K-pop merch, I still can’t help but want to own them. This is where I discovered how joining giveaways was my next best option. It takes a lot of effort and screenshots to win these things. However, if and when you win, it really feels like winning against the odds. You get free merch too!

Actually spent hours to vote and stream. In relation to the last point, since the main requirement in giveaways I’ve joined are voting/streaming proofs, I have been one of those people who collects points on voting apps or has a playlist of music videos that should be streamed. After collecting and/or streaming, I take screenshots, put watermarks there, and tags mutuals if needed. It’s relatively hard work but there’s a feeling of pride when your idol wins the poll or an MV reaches a certain amount of views and you know you participated in making that happen.

5. Rediscover Youtube. Channels like the vlogbrothers and their associates (Crash Course, Pemberley Digital among others), Buzzfeed’s shows (The Try Guys, Ladylike, Buzzfeed Unsolved) were a delight to watch after being out of the Youtube loop for so long. The platform also offered new niches of content and I allowed myself to be sucked in it. From Simply Nailogical to Ask A Mortician to amazing pop culture video essays like Lindsay Ellis and Jenny Nicholson, Youtube has all it for you! Learning something new every day is one of my favorite things and I get to do it with this website.

6. Rediscover my love of writing. (As if I’ve written anything for my thesis but here.)

Made drabbles. There is a weekly activity on my fandom where we write < 500 word drabbles on any pairings. I have been joining when I can, and through the support of the (small) community (back then), I gained confidence to write one. I’ve written at least four now and I’ve not done yet because I’ve been on a slump lately. But I’ll get back to it soon!

Short story. The same account that brought the drabble challenge created a festival where we write a pairing and write a short story with it. I decided to join the event! Not going to lie, my entry was shit, It was the first draft, it needed a lot of revisions and more constructive criticism and yet, I am still proud of it. It was the first creative fiction I wrote since 2019 and I did it in a day. And, I believe it has potential, so I’m going to review and revise the hell out of it someday.

7. Reclaim my college days.

Reconnected with orgmates. Visiting Elbi for registration and consultation purposes are brightened up by the fact that I get to do this. My first four years of college were not kind to me. I’ve forgotten a lot of things because of trauma and deep sadness that I still have until this day, and when I remember good things, they’re few and far in between. The numbered days I was in Elbi during 2019 were also few and far in between, but they were infinitely better than my academic years from 2015 to 2017. I was able to do the things I wasn’t able to do before (mostly attending Happy Ts and eating in newly-opened food places there) and I get to do it with people I love.

Made friends. One of the drawbacks of being a slot-driven student with no care of my coursemates’ schedules: I didn’t get to establish a friend group. So I didn’t get to make friends. During this time, I’ve accepted that I didn’t have any friends outside my organizations. But this time, instead of a feeling of dread of being that cliché orgmate, I feel relief and happiness because now, I realize that I do have friends from college, unlike the 2015-2017 who didn’t have anyone in college to rely on her darkest times.

8. Appreciated my friends more. For the past few years, I was the shitty friend. I agreed to go on hangouts only to message them that I’m backing out the last minute—sometimes I even straight up ghosted them. I really took my friends for granted. I have been slowly making it up to them by always attending when there’s an invite! I sometimes initiate the invite and it’s always a fun and healing time for me (it was a literal healing time for me as I was depressed during that time). I love them and I’m always thankful for them—and more so now than before.

 9. Unlearning things like:

Realizing that a priv (a private account meant to be seen by your mutuals you trust; usually contains unpopular opinions and hot takes on stan twitter) only encourages negative emotions and I must not do it again.

No matter how I tried rationalizing my hate for Jennie when the JenKai dating news happened, I was one of those K-pop stans who hated her because she dated my idol. (I have moved on past that and have started liking her and Rose.)

Knowing that attacking people for what they say won’t make them unlearn their wrong opinions. Not talking down at them and educating with patience is the key, always.

There are still so much more I unlearned and learned where those came from. My main takeaway is: it’s complicated.  Sometimes our opinion needs a more nuanced perspective and sometimes it needs to scrapped entirely because it was just wrong. But it is essential so we, as people, won’t be stuck with outdated views of the world.

10.   Learning something new like:

Practicing how to do Tzuyu’s helicopter hands until I realized it wasn’t meant for me.

Utilizing Omegle to look for potential quaranflings.

Installing Telegram and uninstalling to ghost quaranflings.

How to do laundry in compliance with my mother’s preferences.

Doing two things at once.

Enough patience to take time and read the laws our government makes every day to know what I’m fighting against.

Optimizing my Twitter lists and now I can keep up with current affairs (that takes a toll on my mental health) then scroll through a fic fest-centric list the next (that helps me forget the stress from reading news).

Learning something new every day has become one of my life goals. Knowing that the world always has something new to offer to me, a speck in this universe, warms me up and keeps me going. And you’ll never know where the new tidbits will lead you. Maybe it’ll help you reconnect with something you’ve known before, maybe it’ll change how you see things, or maybe it’s something new that once explored, it will contribute something new to the community. It may seem small and unimportant but with a tweak in perspective, it might be something worth doing and pursuing.

Looking back at my list, I can finally see how if I didn’t do all these things, I would have probably finished my thesis by now and probably working a full-time job, able to provide the financial needs for my family. There will always be regret that I am still not done until now. But stressing over my current predicament in this time when the world is in its most stressful state yet won’t help me. So, we soldier on and hopefully, hopefully get back to the thesis I’ve been meaning to do.

 Let’s get it.

[amwritingmeta]

21 Supernatural Questions

I was tagged by @deletingpoint - thanks for the kind words, girl!! Made my day! You rock the block! And yes don’t mind if I do join in, this looks fun. :P

1. When did you start watching Supernatural?

I’d seen stray episodes before - I’ve absolutely no clue which ones - but then I binged S1-6 in 2013 while being ill with the flu and I was hooked before it came up, because I loved S1-3 and the brother dynamic and thought it was a really awesomely well-written piece of television, but when they introduced the will-they-won’t-they-make-this-uber-masculine-guy-be-into-guys-and-specifically-the-guy-with-wings I was pretty much gone for. So I caught up on the show and watched it until a few episodes into S9 (don’t judge me, I was surface watching and couldn’t get with the program at the time because why wasn’t Dean gay already??) and then I quit watching for a few years because I couldn’t stand the grey area and the uncertainty. I also wasn’t invested enough to stand it, tbh, and felt, naw, I’ll get back to this if it ever seems like they’re actually gonna do anything with this thing they’re hinting so strongly at. Picked it back up while S12 was airing and here we now are.

2. Who is your favorite in TFW?

But the other two might get jealous!

(okay, it’s Cas)

3. Who is your least favorite in TFW?

They’re the holy trinity and none of their character progression works without all of them taking up their allotted space in the narrative and how can you not love them all what is wrong with this question why am I hyperventilating why aren’t they beloved equally gaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh

(but Cas is my favourite)

4. Tag your top 5 Supernatural blogs!

I sincerely can’t, but I can tag a few people whom I very much appreciate and whose answers to this questionnaire I would be intrigued to see: @godshipsit​ @charlie-minion​ @mad-as-a-box-of-frogs​ @waywardliliana​ @natmoose​ @purgatory-jar​ @myed89​ @inacatastrophicmind​ @rustling-pages​ @angelneedshunter​ @nerdylittleshit​ @obsessionisaperfume​ @assbuttboyfriends​ @misskittyspuffy​ @starsinursa​ @postmodernmulticoloredcloak​ @casismybestfriend​ @mittensmorgul​ @elizabethrobertajones​  - you’re all like bursts of colour and glitter glue and I’m happy you’re around! :) (btw I always find it awkward to tag specific peeps because there are so many of you lovelies that I would honestly tag so just know that this most likely includes you) (yeah that’s right) (YOU) <3

5. Who is your favorite character (not including TFW)?

Jack

6. Who is your favorite woman in Supernatural?

Rowena

7. John or Mary?

Mary

8. What were your first opinions of Sam, Dean, Cas, and Jack?

Sam: my first impression of him was very coloured by my impression of Jared as Dean on Gilmore Girls, so to hear someone call Jared Sam and then this Sam call someone else Dean was a bit jarring while watching the pilot. My earliest opinion of Sam was that he was kind, good with people, skilled, independent and, yes, haunted by past choices.

Dean: Immediate impression was oh, he’s one of those guys, and then almost straight away that first impression was blown to bits and everyone knows that he’s very, very easy to fall in love with quickly, so my love for him grew strong within a few episodes, for sure. First opinion formed holds until this day: someone who’s lost and who’s searching for a way home. In every sense of that sentence. 

Cas: Holy shitballs, who’s this now?? was pretty much my first reaction to Cas’ entrance. It blew me away. It was an absolute game changer. It made me sit up. It made my brain go... are they... are they going to make Dean Winchester... is Dean Winchester into men?? And because on my first watch I’d not seen the little hints of this that now are so damn glaringly obvious, the chemistry between Dean and Cas literally made a lot of shit click into place for me regarding what I was potentially actually watching, and raised my emotional investment sky high considering the possible social commentary baked into the overall message of family and identity, and yeah, that still holds true to this day.

Jack: I was ready to fight tooth and nail for him after 12x19. That episode is still one of the best 42 or so minutes of television I’ve ever seen. The plant of Jack as a needed push for Cas’ progression hit me in the heart, and once it clicked that Jack represented the holy trinity of Heaven, Hell, Humanity, and how he might narratively prove a knitting point for TFW, something for them all to rally around, well, I was pretty much done for.

9. What’s your favorite season?

This is a really hard question because watching a season from start to finish means taking all of it in, and all of them - when start-to-finished - I feel are rather outstanding, but twist my arm and I’ll say: S1 or S4 or S5 or S8 or S9 or S11 or S13 (I can’t narrow it down to just one season alright?) and S14 and looking at what we have so far with this unfinished season I’d name S15, definitively.

10. What’s your least favorite season?

Oh, man. Make a girl sweat. So, here’s the thing, I genuinely see each season as adding something valuable to the whole, you know? I suppose S6 drags a bit, but I really like the tone and the noir sensibility of it, so I wouldn’t really call it my least favourite, but if I were to choose one season to binge over a weekend, S6 wouldn’t necessarily be first pick.  

11. Opinions on Destiel?

Ah, yes, the obligatory essay question. Please see attachment. *points to blog*

12. Do you believe Supernatural queerbaits?

Look, to my mind, the reason Dean and Cas aren’t together yet is character related. They need to get their fucking ducks in a row. (and then those ducks will hopefully be fucking all over the place) (okay that’s graphic bird sex but you know what I mean) (not literally Dean and Cas dressed up as ducks and fucking) (but like... good stuff for the eyes will be happening that isn’t necessarily fucking feather related) (wait) (oh ffs brain!!) (you HAD to go there didn’t you??) (moving on) (or rather answering the question) --> I don’t believe they queerbait, no. 

13. Seasons 1-7 or 8-14?

8-15x03

14. Favorite villain (plot wise)?

*chills are multiplying* 

I love Chuck as the Big Bad, sincerely, but oh mannnn Michael.

15. Do you think they should end the Lucifer plot line?

Yeah, this questionnaire has been in drafts for a while now so um... I mean, the Lucifer plot line as it pertains to SAM should reach a satisfactory conclusion, but as it pertains to Lucifer’s play for Jack and breaking God’s toys etc. yeah, no, done.

16. Who do you think has gone through more trauma (Sam, Dean, or Cas)?

That’s too relative to their highly linked, and yet wholly individual relationship with their past and lingering sense of trauma. I think @deletingpoints reply was something along the lines of: Can you measure trauma? And I agree. They’ve all been deeply traumatised at different stages of their life and they’ve all dealt with their individual trauma in different ways. 

17. What’s your favorite Supernatural episode?

I’m sorry, what? I thought you just asked me to pick one favourite episode out of 3678916236363487236783 times infinity. This is mathematically impossible and since I’m sadly not fluent in math and have absolutely no access to any type of calculator or abacus or, I don’t know, a neighbour who happens to make amazing fucking latte and dresses in knits and is attractive in a non-conventional way and also happens to be a math genius, I must reject the question outright and plead the 105th. (i.e. I cannot possibly)

18. Do you like case episodes?

Where’s that gif of Dean going Dude Yes?

^^^

19. Who do you relate most to in TFW?

Darling Cas. Socially awkward and lost but growing into his own skin Castiel. My God, I love him so dearly. There are not words for how much I relate to him, or for what he’s done for my personal self-reflection, or how much I’m now re-relating to his need to push himself out of his comfort zone and dare. I owe him. *hugs into oblivion*

20. Why do you like Supernatural?

Ohhhhh, goody, one of those multi-choice questions. Is it:

a) because of the absolutely stunning character journeys 

b) because of the absolutely smashing world and all its mythology 

c) because of the underlying social commentary and the intricate use of subtext to effectively, though subtly, bring ideas linked to the conscious/unconscious sides to us into not only the use of already mentioned mythology, influencing the world building, but also wholly guiding, impacting and giving momentum to the already mentioned stunning character journeys

d) all of the above

e) all of the above, and a little bit more that would take an actual book to relay

E. It’s E. All the way the answer is E. 

21. If you could bring back one character and kill off another who would they be?

I’d bring back Eileen and holy moly Shoshanna is coming our way. And I don’t have a character to kill off tbh. Let them live, I say. :)

I genuinely tag EVERYONE. Go on, everyone, you know you wanna!  :) xx

[whtaft]

Honestly??? I’ve been doing small creative writing exercises, and I wanted to try and start writing an actual story, but I keep getting discouraged? Like, I see all the amazing writers and I’m automatically like “I can’t do this??” Because I’m shit in comparison?? Pls, any advice? (Also ily thanks in advance❤️💞💓)

So, you came to the right person when it comes to combatingself-doubt in writing, because I am just about the least-confident person Iknow, and I am incredibly self-conscious about my writing! To be honest, I’msuper glad that I started writing before I became part of a fandom because Ithink that it is probably really intimidating to dive in now, when there’s alot of really great stuff already out there. But the fact is that there’salways room for more: more voices, more interpretations, more stories. Thatincludes yours.

So this got kind of long, but basically this is mambo’sunpatented advice on how to write despite crippling self-doubt. These arethings I try to practice myself (to varying degrees of success).

Make writing habitual

Practice

Try writing every day, even when you don’t wantto, even when it’s hard, even when you don’t have time. Don’t make unreasonabledemands on yourself (because we all need a break sometimes) but if you make writinga habit then you’ll improve. It’s as simple as that. (Though, don’t expect towrite 3000 words and you’re suddenly Tolstoy. You need to write a lot. A LOT.)

Set goals that are in your control

Setting goals is a great way to get yourself to dosomething. For me, I try to write 1000 or 500 or 300 words a day, depending onmy life/schedule. I track the numbers so I can see my progress over time, whichI find to be really motivating. If word count isn’t your thing, find somethingthat is. You wanna post one chapter a week, or you want to finish one scene aday… Just find the thing that’ll keep you chugging out your writing.

That being said, make sure that your goals aresomething you control. Don’t make things like number of hits or comments ornotes or kudos a goal, because you can’t control what other people do. Don’tput your motivation in the hands of strangers. That’ll only discourage you fromwriting when you don’t hit those goals.

Process

These are things that help me through difficulttimes in my writing process, so they may or may not work for you, but I’vefound them helpful.

Get a hype person

I have a friend (s/o @hakunahistata) who I go towhen I’m feeling discouraged about my writing or confused or whatever. Shereads my stuff, gives me some opinions, and usually tells me that what I’mwriting is much better than I think it is and that I need to chill. I’m someonewho naturally doesn’t want to share unfinished things with people, so it’s veryvulnerable to give an unfinished product to someone else. But I’ve found thatit’s really affirming and nice to have someone you trust who will work thingsout with you when you’re feeling down!

Don’t edit as you go

Nothing bogs me down as much as editing as I gowhen I’m writing something. I try my best to just plug along, get as much as Ican onto the page, and save editing (whether that’s for spelling or plotreasons) until after I have a completed work. Then you go back having alreadyaccomplished a complete draft and you can edit knowing ‘oh I want to add someforeshadowing in here’ or ‘this doesn’t really work with what I did later’. Itjust gives you an overall better sense of what the fic is and where you want togo and doesn’t leave as much room for self-doubt as you go along.

When in doubt, just write dialog                

I don’t know about other people, but I findwriting dialog far more enjoyable than any other part of the writing process.So when I’m stuck in a scene and don’t know where I want it to go, I just writedialog and ignore everything else. Then I can go back later and add in movementand commentary, etc.

Have multiple things going on

At any given time, I have between two and seven “long”WIPs that I’m working on. I get frustrated with one? I work on another. I getfrustrated with two? I work on a third. It makes me slow down on all of my works,and allows me to return to them with fresh eyes and ideas. It also means that Idon’t pressure myself to work on things I don’t want to work on (unless it’sfor a fandom event). If something stops being fun, I move on. No harm, no foul.

I also do the short Tumblr prompts for the samereason. They’re little writing exercises (like you do!) that let me explorethings in a low-pressure, short-term way. They’re also just fun to write!

Fandom

So, this is less ‘advice from someone who knowswhat they’re doing’ and more ‘stuff that I, personally, struggle with but tryto practice but not always’. Just know that you’re not alone in feelingself-doubt when it comes to fandom and comparison. It’s something that a lot ofpeople struggle with, myself included.

There is a place for your work

As I said before, there is room for everyone.Don’t sell yourself short by thinking that since there are already many storiesout there, you can’t include yours. You have a unique perspective, stories totell, and a desire to share. That in of itself is important and get you far!

Try, try, try, try, try, try, try not to compareyourself to others

This is the big one and the hardest one. It’seasy to compare yourself to others when there are so many talented people whoparticipate in fandom. Try not to. Enjoy the work of people you appreciate, butunderstand that they have their own voice and that doesn’t take away fromyours. Just try to appreciate that they’re putting themselves out there and arejust hoping for the best in the same way you are. Learn from them, but don’tcompare yourself. This’ll just put undue pressure on yourself in an alreadyvulnerable position.

Don’t talk shit about yourself

I’m so guilty of this, but try not to talk shitabout yourself. Even if you’re joking, every time you say “I’m such a badwriter” it reinforces that notion just a little bit more in your mind. Try yourbest to turn things around from “I’m not as good as they are” to “I writethings differently than they do, and that’s okay”; or, “this fic sucks” to “thisfic is a first draft and there are a lot of good ideas there, but I need topolish up some of the writing and clean up some plot holes”.

Play to your strengths

I know I have a niche in fandom. I write fluffy,cute AUs that will (hopefully) make people happy. Would I like to write 250,000word long epic alternative-canon fics that fix everything wrong with canon andinclude large-scale fights and medical scenes? Yes. Of course I would! Thosestories are awesome. But will I? Probably not. Don’t not challenge yourself,but also… just understand who you are, what you want to write, and understandthe importance of having your story out there. It’ll find an audience. Don’t beatyourself up for writing the ‘wrong’ kind of fic, or for writing fic that’s too ‘insert-adjective-here’.Your story will find its audience and mean something to them. What’s mostimportant is that you enjoyed writing it and the story means something to you.

Don’t put your happiness in other people’s hands

This goes back to numbers again. It’s easy toquantify success in fandom based on hits, kudos, notes, and comments. There areso many factors that are out of your control here and it can drive you crazy.This is why I’ve wanted to stop writing fics several times and it’s probablywhat I (a person cursed with being both incredibly sensitive and naturallycompetitive) struggle with the most here. I don’t have great advice for notdoing it, but I can tell you from firsthand experience that it’s not healthy. Tryyour best to ignore the numbers and to appreciate every good thing that comesyour way.

Celebrate your victories

When you reach a goal, celebrate. When you getover a hurdle that you’ve been struggling with, celebrate. When someone tellsyou that your writing touched them, celebrate. Writing can be really tough,isolating, and discouraging. Make sure that you take time to be proud of whatyou’re doing. Even if you don’t share it, even if you don’t reach your goals,know that what you’re doing is making you a stronger writer and that, at theend of the day, you’re doing it for yourself.

To write and to share work with people puts you in a reallyvulnerable position. I’m proud of you for starting and I’m proud of you fortrying. And I’m sorry I wrote 1,500 words about this. I’m just sensitive andhave a lot of feelings on this topic. This is actually a trimmed-down versionof this essay. You’re welcome for not including the rest.

[feralfrontreciepts]

This isn't receipts-related, but is there any way- at all- to respectfully tell someone (i.e. Dynamo) that they aren't listening to criticism and that the only people that they are listening to are just kissing up to them? I honestly can't think of a way to voice this concern that won't get me banned, and it's pissing me off

I understand this concern. While I haven’t been banned, I don’t really frequent the forums or FeralFront in general. A lot of the time, Dynamo and upper staff tends to pick out small things in what you say and use them against you- the phrasing in a sentence, etc. is used to justify, I believe, them not needing to listen to you. I believe that they think that if someone breaks a rule, then their concerns are automatically not valid in upper staff’s eyes.

The best way I can think of is to approach as if you need help. It may suck, but you may have to throw some falsified compliments in there. Political niceties. 

Don’t send a message immediately after writing it. Go over it several times, ask someone you trust to read over it for any possible traces of negative emotions like anger. Format it like a message to a teacher, or a business related message, except even more vetted and read-through. 

Think of it as a persuasive essay. You want your words to be approachable to your audience, but you also want to guide them to thinking things in a new way. You may have to kiss up to them a little bit. Make sure to mention that you do not want to cause trouble or some varience of that, and that your intentions are only to improve FeralFront. Do not make ultimatums (’you have to do x or im leaving’ ‘this is a huge problem and needs to be fixed immediately’ ‘x thing sucks’). Approach it as a critique; acknowledge positive things and sprinkle in the negatives. Stay as cordial and polite as possible- this may be hard if you feel emotionally charged or upset about them, which is why the steo of rereading it several times and letting someone else read it comes into play. Ex-staffers or a current staffer you trust and have a close friendship with would likely be best; they can look for things that may be considered rule breaks by staff that otherwise may not be noticed.

In this specific instance, I would say this specific concern would need to be rephrased. ‘Kissing up to them’ would be seen as taking away what they see as validity of their viewpoints and divide you into the clearly anti-staffer clump they labeled several people as. 

Here is an example I’ve written that one could use to address that specific concern.

‘ Dynamo,

I have some concerns about staff members that were recently promoted. I understand that, as a staff member, it is important to promote individuals whom have a level head and clear thinking, that it is important to promote people and users that are active and helpful. I would like to make note, also, that a variety of staff opinions is also important. If the only people promoted are ones that agree with staff one hundred percent of the time, the volunteers will have a difficult time predicting where staff may have troubles with communication in the future. I know that the recent events in the help den have been stressful for everybody, and that the recent moderate by community (a nice touch, by the way, as I’m sure it will help lessen the load and increase the staff’s knowledge of what the userbase views as rulebreaks, etc.) was an effort to lessen that workload and a step towards involving users in the process of staff work. There are, however, benefits involved when promoting users with a variety of opinions. They can voice their own concerns, and magnify the voices of others that the staff may not otherwise hear. They can provide alternative viewpoints and help the staff come up with answers to questions that may otherwise take longer to answer with more upper staff involvement than is necessary; freeing up the admins time to work on coding, site events, or other things they wish to do. If the question is answered once in the staff den, then it will not need to be answered ten times outside of it. I understand that staff are working hard to better the site, and my suggestions are just that; suggestions. I do not want to cause trouble or start an argument; my intentions are only to help the site and to help the staff volunteers with their jobs. Thank you for reading this and considering it, even if only for a second. :)

(Your choice of ending)’

(This is only a first draft of a message, by the way. I haven’t finished it.)

This only works if directly communicating with Dynamo. It is best to be approachable and use smilies where possible. Not using smilies has seemed to garner a more negative response in the past. 

When talking with Frost, using the same format should also work, as with any other upper staff member. Make sure to triple check that nothing you type can come across as passive aggressive, plainly aggressive, accusing, or too repetitive. 

Make sure your reasons are sound, and backed up by events that have happened in the past. Do not approach this as a straight criticism; staff and people in general respond better to a mix of compliments that are things you actually like about their work and things you think could be improved upon. This way, they know what you like them doing and what you don’t like them doing. Think of it as an art critique.

I hope this helps, anon. I would also like to make note that we don’t necessarily know the intentions of the individuals who were kissing up to staff; while they may seem to disagree with the userbase, they might bring new ideas anyways. If you’re concerned or unsure, I would recommend messaging the individuals directly and getting to know them if they’re open to Conversations. Offer them a congrats on the recent promotion. Mention that you’re concerned about the direction staff is heading by mentioning specifics, but keep in mind that new staff are, usually, in their younger teens. Do not be pushy or mean; not only is that a rulebreak, we simply don’t know what they know. They may not understand the side of individuals whom have been banned, or may not understand why staff communication is so important. If they do, good on them. If they don’t, they can learn. Part of being a good staff member is being able to see events from multiple angles and learning to accurately judge situations on a case by case basis.

It is important to note, also, that staff discussions are generally not allowed to be talked to the public about. Do not pressure the staff into giving you information that should only be in the staff den. There are rules about this, and the general exceptions are questions about bans or if one contacts an admin directly. 

If you have any more questions, I am open to answering them. Even if they don’t have anything to do with reciepts. I can also read over possible messages to staff if needed and critique them.

[ginkgoginkgoginkgo-blog]

Literacy Narrative Second Draft

Estella Ma UWP 001 Literacy Narrative Second draft Apr. 22nd, 2018

Cover Memo

In this draft, I changed the organization of my essay.  As my peers suggested during the review, I added the process of the argument between my mom and I and many descriptions.  Also, I deleted the part that I turned to my teacher for help and what my mom thought as advantages of reading poetries and biographies because they are unnecessary and a little digress.  In this draft, I believe my strength is in my detail description of the event and my feelings, and the shortcoming that needs more effort and suggestion is the organization of the dialogue and what happened after since I do not remember much detail of them.  Also, there may be many grammar and word choice mistakes that I need help with.

My mom loves me. However, like many other Chinese parents, she believes that it is her responsibility to ensure my success and happiness, and I, as her child, must listen to and follow her commands.  

When I entered elementary school at the age of 6, she bought me a huge box of books which she thought as “proper” for me to read during elementary school.  I was extremely excited to receive such a big box of gifts.  I opened it at once -- a couple of biographies of some celebrity I did not know about, some history books, classical Chinese poetries and analysis, and more biographies.  My smile gradually faded away as I found out that all of them were too abstract for me and I could not recognize many of the characters.   I looked at my mom confusedly.  “They may be a little too hard for you for now,” she said, with a smile as if she had seen me receiving good marks and ranking top at school, “but if you push yourself a little harder, you would learn not only more characters but also useful knowledge.”  

My nightmare began since then.   Every day, I read 10 pages of a book, marking and rewriting all the new characters ten times on paper, and completing a quiz given by my mom in the evening.  I hated reading.  I hated it more day by day, but I did not dare to say no to my mom because, in my mind, her authority was unquestionable.  Every time I tried to argue with her or refused to follow her commands, she got angry, and I received severe punishments.  

I thought I would do as she required forever, but an event happened one year later changed me.  One day, I found my best friend Ricky bringing a book and reading it secretly.  Unlike my books, that one had a fancy cover, and Ricky looks enjoying it a lot.  I stared at it for a while and decided no more torture for myself.  I had not finished my 20-page task as a second-grader yet.  However, Ricky noticed my glance and put it on my desk. “Give it back tomorrow,” she said.  

Harry Potter and Philosopher's Stone.

I had never read a book like this, interesting, adventurous, and astonishing.  Wherever Harry goes, I am there, seeing what he sees, feeling what he feels, and struggling with his struggles.  When Harry sneaks out of dorm room, crosses through the castle, and stands in front of the Mirror of Erised to look at his birth parents, my heart was softened and soaked in pain. When Ron scarifies himself by being knocked unconscious by the giant “Queen” on the huge enchanted chessboard so Harry and Hermione can move on, I was deeply touched by this Wesley boy’s bravery and burst into tears. Although there were still new Chinese characters showing up, I did not bother to stop to mark them and look them up.  Instead, I hardly noticed them.  I spent my whole afternoon reading the book and finished it before my mom came home.  Ten minutes after finishing the last line, I was still sitting on my chair in a daze. I sighed.  In the last few hours, I have read hundreds of pages, which equivalents to the reading task for two or three weeks, and I enjoyed it, with my whole heart.  Reading doesn’t have to be a torture. 

I knew my mom does not like fiction novels.  She is afraid that they would fill my brain with strange and unrealistic thoughts; even worse, they cannot provide me with the knowledge that teaches me how to view the world properly and successfully.  Therefore, she made me read 300 Tang Poems, the biography of Charles Darwin, and a great variety of history books, which she believed would facilitate my internal development.  And I knew she hates me questioning her.  However, it was impossible to abandon and forget the fascinating world I just encountered, I wanted to, and I had to talk to her. 

So, I cleaned the dining room and kitchen and begged for my dad’s support. 

 When my mom came home, she was very pleased with the glowing kitchen and gave me a kiss.  Then we cooked and had dinner.  I was so nervous that I barely ate anything.  Fear made my hands wet and cold. 

“Mom,” I forced the words out of my mouth.

“What? Darling,” her smiles encouraged me. 

“I read a book today, Harry Potter. I borrowed it from Ricky.  It is a wonderful book,” I said, without pause.

Her face became strict, “have you finished your reading task yet?”

“No…”

“Then why are you still sitting here?”

“Mom!” my tears dropped, “I never enjoyed reading, never!  Although I know I could learn a lot from the books you bought me, it was suffering for me.  I hated them more day by day, but this book is different!  I never thought reading could be so enjoyable.  People are alive in this book. They have emotions that resonate with me.  Please, I want to read books like this.”

Silence.

“Yidan is right,” my dad supported, “she’s just a child after all. We want her to be outstanding, but we also want her to be happy.  Fiction novels are not deadly; I was a big fan myself! Also, it will foster her creativity and teach her how to get along with people, and look, she is self-motivated now.”

Eventually, after a long talk, my mom accepted. Although I must let her know which books I was reading and still needed to take the quiz every day, I was extremely excited and grateful. 

After that night, I became a bookworm and joined the school’s reading club.  I make a long book list every year and finish all of them, without my mom’s supervision.  Also, because of the huge number of books I had read, I learned much more characters than my peers; by the end of third grade, I could hardly find any new character to continue the quiz.  Another surprise was, after that talk, my mom became more open with me.  Although she still seemed to be a little unpleasant when I opposed her opinion, she encouraged me to explain my thoughts and give my reasons.  As a family, we started to understand each other better.  

Reading became an irreplaceable part of me, and I read a great variety of books now —novels, sciences, biographies, dramas, poetries, etc.  By gradually accumulating intellect and perception, I finally can appreciate the “abstract” books as my mom does, and the process was not painful, yet joyful.  From my experience of reading, I learned two vital things.  First, follow your interest and don’t push too hard.  Learning to run before knowing how to walk is not beneficial.  To learn from something, to take full advantage from it, you ought to love it first.  Second, be brave and steadfast to voice your thoughts and live your life.  Even parents who love us deeply may make the wrong decision, so we need to be responsible for ourselves. 

As my mom worried, some unrealistic thoughts did sneak into my head.  At the eve of my eleventh birthday, I sat at the window the whole night, waiting for a letter delivered by an owl from Hogwarts.  It did not come, apparently.  Although it might seem naive and funny now, I am not ashamed of that waiting.  Everyone grows up someday, sooner or later, which makes those strange and unrealistic beliefs we held before precious and sweet.  So, take the time, and allow ourselves to grow up slowly.

[autoirishlitdiscourses]

Discourse of Monday, 23 January 2017

Divvy up texts for recitation. More commonly, horses and other art forms during the last stanza, but rather what does it play with which he was in your own original work/. I would like to know the episodes on the proper day.

Hook-up culture: A cultural meta-narrative arc that includes more stereotypically Irish people, or if his ancestors are only ways of reading the Nausicaa episode of Ulysses. I'll send you during the first episode: and discussion by the metaphor to make selections that allow people to reflect the Thanksgiving week. As promised in the margins, that you haven't done a very good work here.

Jumping Jupiter!

There is also a Twitter stream including links to the text is all yours. I think that there are certainly capable of doing better on future papers can better achieve an exposition of your passage, getting people to dig into a text, not with me. Question by repeating something you said it was written too close to their paper topics, and make your readings of modernist paintings in connection with the series. Just a reminder email for the final and with sensitivity; written gracefully and in a lot of things that we've read this term, although this argument may not wind up wanting to present itself in some places. A paper, mopping up on stage and reciting, obligates you to dig into Plough quite effectively. If you are reciting. Teaching Assistant: Course Requirements: Punctual, attentive reading. Come on by and make sure that you're scheduled to do you see as being worth 10%, what do you see as important.

Aside from the syllabus, my point is more likely than most people think about Yeats and Heaney think about how this text affects the writer of the particular text, etc. Have a good, conveying the weirdness of Lucky's speech to the texts that you finished final revisions too soon before it was understood both closer to your thesis is that you engage. Hi! If you make about motherhood: I think that you're dealing with the two revolutions, then why argue in favor of writing to get her where she wanted to be unable to do this, and let me know what you want to write. Sunk himself by taking the last minute. Can you schedule a room, but you were concerned about your paper for instance, if your thoughts are being represented. Talk in section tomorrow. Well done on this one. It's absolutely OK with me on the Philosophy of History sometimes just translated as On the other side, I say not to cancel my office South Hall 2432E. You've both been very punctual this quarter, and I think that there are potentially several good ideas here, and I suspect that you're reading.

One would involve remembering that Yeats's father and brother both named John Butler Yeats were visual artists, and those that most immediately presents itself to wind up unable to do, OK? Which texts I have made any concessions to the section website and take it, immediately or in abusive situations; mothers who don't exhibit the characteristics of the spreadsheet, because it won't actually be able to right; that you find your thesis statement to help you here even though I've pointed to examples of acceptable reasons for needing to depart/intentionally/from the first two minutes of your passage, but really, any good copy of those quarters, I have graded your paper depends on a paper means that real heroes have to ask people to speak, though there was anything else that is intended to help focus your attention should primarily be on Nov. I think that one of the Irish? However, you are perfectly capable of learning to do that Peets on Lower State and Coffee Cat are both bitter and mysterious. This is a recurrent element in your paper/takes interpretive risks/and demonstrates a solid job here, and getting a why you received is not too late to start writing to be shown a general plan is pretty solid job overall. I have open chairs in both sections, and the writer's argument. Have a good idea in a way that I would like to recommend to you after you've written, which gives you a good reading of that first draft, letting it sit and then ask yourself what the larger-scale point in smaller steps this would be cleaning up your topic is acceptable what it means and how they related to the professor means that you're analyzing. What he did on the essay questions, OK? Another way to be good enough. Made concessions to the events that they can fully reach their own readings. I think that you will argue that one line—/is the instructor of record for classes at UCSB, and don't have a strong recitation. Let me know. Good luck with your score on the paper. The proud potent titles to the recording and allow the group to read all 44 pages of his nose, as it could have been so long to get back to you. The Cook, the visual presentation of people wrote on his paper prompt that your equipment will automatically receive a grade in the romance competition by any other sections, which is actually a more organized sense of the novel drives home the unsettling conclusion that ties into the trap of only writing personally reflective essays that wind up with an urgent question the night before. Let me know if you don't cover it, all in all of whom are in fact, this sounds great! You provide some tantalizing suggestions but never quite push yourself to do is produce an MLA-style citations for quotations and the musician.

Let me know in advance what you call broad history and how they relate in various ways to draw out a time to think about: You may be servitude, History may be a way that the professor an email letting me know what's going on, called 20 May 1905, in The Butcher Boy if you have an extension. Very well done. You picked a longer-than-required selection and delivered it very well done! My plan is absolutely impossible for every single point on the rest of the Irish are more relaxed and have notes even brief ones directing people to talk about, say, Kant's categorical imperative, or about a third of a bar with violently nationalist and anti-semitic rhetoric.

One problem that people were very sensitive to the way that shows you paid close attention to your larger-scale course concerns and did a number of very important to you, because that makes a logico-narrative. Hi! Memorization and recitation. You may not have made some very good job of contextualizing the paper to say I don't fully know myself the professor, not met the minimum length for a student whose entire commentary on the paper has been posted to the schedule on the exam is at all because you provide a more engaging performance. Any time after 12: 30 to discuss with another person, and it's been posted: The question What is his point is that sometimes sitting down and start writing. Because we have together during each week is 27 November is good for your flexibility. On Raglan Road Patrick Kavanagh, On the other TA notices you're there during attendance, I don't but rather an opportunity to demonstrate mercy, I also fully believe that you should be substantiating some aspect of the rhythm of his wife's hand with their lives.

All in all, you can conceivably take as long as that's the case I just wanted to wait for an opinion another time to meet with me on the final, writing very short to very detailed/Annotations to James Joyce's Ulysses/is not to make your paper is when I've given it a great deal. I'm taking September 1913, which is one of their own self-expression, but I presume that this is difficult in multiple absences and is as follows: Up to/one percent/for being understanding. But taking it to say that you prepared more material than you'll actually be able to use Lord of the rather abstract quality? 740, p. 4% in the manner of an A paper, and what you want to recite, OK? Think, too, and I understand that it's likely to be sure. This is especially true if you have any other questions, and is entirely possible if the equipment you are thinking about basic issues if you describe what needs to be finding a way that allows you to increase your analytical rigor and explain what is it history in the works that you're examining while doing so in order to be concretized more than one that takes the safe path never pays off more. Doing this effectively if the maximum number of people who recite together get the other group. You will find section more rewarding and enjoyable if you want it to happen is for your reader to come to my office, and you really have done a pretty final form what I thought I was a mispronunciation of surmise that broke the poem's last stanza. Are Old. I think that several things that makes sense to put it another way, and that you should have an understanding of them front and center in your notes and underlining, should be delivered to me is the questioning of who goes with Ferbus sic I think that making an explicit stand on why putting these texts in a few days to email me a self-control, etc. I think that you took on a second immediately in response to your recitation has finished. For one thing, you can substitute the number that you may find it if they exist, are they representative of how we react to Lecter and how different human bodies are sorted conceptually into different races. If that absolutely doesn't work for you.

There are a bit more practice but your delivery; you also write well and showed this in case you're struggling with a well-executed. If you have any more questions, OK?

Though it's not too late to propose alternatives, but I think that your argument traverses: what I get is that if someone else in your paper further would be helpful. Don't forget to bring a blue book to the poem by Patrick Kavanagh, Eavan Boland, and have decided to push your paper graded by the nearly emotionless, highly violent men who rarely speak unless it's directly necessary and if that works best, OK? Your notes are not intellectually or temperamentally suited to being a TA. Good luck on the final, a good job of reciting Stare's Nest again so that people run up against is Joyce's lack of Irish literature, using that as your main argument. You can theoretically go a long selection and gave what was overall an excellent delivery, very articulate and respond to very open-ended pick three texts of these come down to it from a chance to jump out and say, I realize. Send me an email letting me know what times you're free and we'll find a recording of it? I think that this is a difficult selection to memorize, I don't think it's very possible that you realized that your paper are yours and demonstrated adaptability in terms of your sources, and is entirely understandable, but an A or A-range grades at all; both seem more or less always lived there, I think that one thing that would require the professor's explanation of what your specific point of analysis if you pick up a lot of ways in which students commonly make errors, and to motivate to talk about what you're working, may be more specific, complex set of additional typing, at However, this could have been. Section for instance; you also had to be clear on what you're expecting. 25 B 88. We can certainly talk about how you're going to say that you might think about how you can come up with it in any sense faulting you here, I do not accept electronic copies of the class was welcoming and supportive to other students. Your third option is to recognize and overcome it.

You also did a good thumbnail background sketch of what you want to take so long since I haven't yet had much of its stream-of-consciousness technique, which are based on the section, after lecture tomorrow. You're most welcome!

I've gestured to in many ways, and how it was all 'only a flash in th' pan'; freedom that wouldn't be a woman he has to be as effective as it could.