#i am not here for the plot reasons just for the characters

[shewriter]

I hope it’s okay to reblog your post here, because I wanted to respond, and I knew my reply would be lengthy. But as passionate as I am about writing, I just had to reply to this.

It’s totally okay and normal to struggle with insecurity about your writing, because I think as writers, we’ve all been there (I’ve had my share of insecurity over my writing). And it’s totally fine and normal to want validation from others, to hear them say “your writing is so good” and “you’re such a great writer.” But there’s something more important than validation. YOU. How you feel about your writing. How you feel about writing in general.

So, two things here. I personally think, from reading some of your prompt lists (and bookmarking them for later), that you have an unique insight into people, particularly in regards to emotions and human behavior. I think you could definitely write a good book and people would enjoy reading it. But I think the most important thing is the why. Why you choose to write it. Are you writing it so that other people will read it? Are you writing it in order to get validation from other people? There will always be someone who loves your book, and there will also always be critics who give it one-star reviews. Or are you writing it because you enjoy the process? The process of creating characters, writing out scenes, having a plot come together? Are you writing it because you simply love to write?

It’s one thing to write for an audience (whether a potential audience or an established audience). But many authors who already have readers are still writing simply because they can’t not write. I don’t have any readers yet, but I’m writing my novel (which happens to be a romance) because I can’t imagine not writing it down into a story. Even when things like revising and proofreading (a.k.a. getting the grammar right) or just putting a sentence together is hard, at the end of the day, writing is what makes me feel happy and productive.

So I think it’s more important to consider exactly why you’re writing and why you want to write a romance novel. If you write because you like to, and if you write the story that you want to write (not a story that other people want or expect you to write), then that’s all that matters.

And in doing so, when you write a story that you are truly passionate about, then there will be other people who will love it, too. That’s simply a bonus, not necessarily a reason to write.

Because when writing gets hard, what’s going to keep you from giving up and quitting? What will be your reason to follow the story through to the end? The people who may or may not read it, the people who may or may not like it? Or will you be able to finish the process of writing a novel because of how satisfying and fulfilling it feels to have your story put down on paper? Regardless of who reads it and regardless of what others think?

Writing can be hard. It takes a lot of practice and time and effort. It doesn’t often pay very well, even for bestselling authors. But many writers will tell you, despite all of that, they still keep writing because they can’t imagine not writing. Being writers is who we are, whatever kind of writing that may be.

Established writers who have an audience do write with that audience in mind. Genre writing, like romance, has its particular tropes and themes and reader expectations like a happily ever after. But whether you already have readers or not, are you writing the story that you are passionate about? The story that you would want to read? Are you writing it because you enjoy writing? I just really think the key here is understanding the why behind it.

That ended up being a lot longer than I had intended. I hope something from this helps. ♡

okay this is maybe a weird post and i don’t even know how to word it without overthinking everything but, does anyone actually think they’d want to read a romance novel from me someday?

like… a full book. with chapters and heartbreak and yearning and chaos and slow burn .... i keep going back and forth in my head like, “would anyone even care?” or “does that even fit this blog?” and idk, lately i’ve just been feeling like maybe it doesn’t. maybe people come here for writing tips or chaotic posts or character breakdowns, not me being unhinged and vulnerable through fiction.

so then i go “okay fine. i’ll just write it for myself. no big deal.” but it is a big deal. and i think i’m just… kind of doubting myself a lot right now. as a writer. as a storyteller. as a human who throws words into the void and hopes they matter.

and it’s wild because i spend so much time here hyping other people up, telling them their writing matters, that their stories are important, that they’re allowed to dream big , and i believe that. so deeply. but when it’s me? yeah. not so easy.

so yeah. maybe i just needed to say this out loud. maybe i just needed someone to say “i’d read your novel” even if it’s not out yet. and if you’ve ever felt like this too, like your stories don’t quite belong, or like you’re not “enough” to write them...hi. same. you’re not alone.

Have a good day (or night, idk what time zone you’re in, but yeah 💛) - Luna

[dangermousie]

I am thinking why ADWAD stuff lately bugs me so much - it cannot be the actions per se because I enjoy stuff where mains do way more heinous stuff than anything done by any main here, and it's a bunch of things:

(1) Pacing. There is a reason I found Nan Heng's early murder attempts amusing and same for Yimeng's schemes to assassinate Nan Heng. It was early on. But the problem for me is while he changed and outgrew and we moved on to other things with him, we are more than halfway in and Yimeng is STILL exactly the same as she was in the beginning - she still largely thinks he's satan (it changed a bit but not sufficiently) and still schemes to murder/castrate/frame/suspect him. It's a loop and it's tiring. It's just static - I want the story to get going already! It's literally the same for eps, emotionally and characterwise.

I am not saying you cannot have an enjoyable narrative where a character is in the same mindset, even antagonistic one, for a long time - I enjoyed TTEOTM and Li Susu spent the first 2/3 plotting to murder her dude. But in TTEOTM, her attitude did change a lot, there were ebbs and flows and there was various other information coming in (her reasons for things were different in between) - but in Dream it's the same attitude, the same belief, the same everything from beginning to now. It feels static. Also, Li Susu was biased just as Yimeng (and for even better reasons), but she would revise her opinion, even if through the lens of bias, as new information kept coming in. Yimeng is just - in addition to everything else, she's honestly dumb. I can't say Li Susu was a genius a la Minglan or the Blossom heroine but compared to Yimeng?

(2) I don't care what heinous or weird things characters get to, as long as the narrative also views them as heinous or weird. My beef with e.g., Feud wasn't the stabbathon but that the narrative viewed these actions differently than I did. (Honestly, this is a big enough dealbreaker for me that I am one of three people in the universe who doesn't like Nirvana in Fire due to my different attitude to what's going on in it, and that is an objectively excellently made drama.) And so we get to Yiting and the aphrodisiac and what not. The narrative clearly wants me to view this as a nonissue, just as it wants me to find current Yimeng murder/whatever attempts cute but I don't find either OK at all (I found early murder attempts by both OTP members funny so no discrepancy there.) Basically, the drama does not treat it the way I treat it, and when I am already annoyed for other reasons, it's a straw camel blah blah.

I think this is especially tricky because in a fictional context, especially a drama as opposed to a novel, I cannot get over attempted sexual assault the way I could over attempted murder (or rape v murder etc.) I actually think makers do realize that this is a common attitude - which is why the pinnacle of Li Chengyin's heinousness in GMP once he falls from grace is not all the murder, but his rape of FL (and contrasted with how earlier he'd fought through not to touch her even when literally drugged with aphrodisiac and locked in.) Which is why dramas like Love In the Flames of War or The Princess's Gambit remove hero on heroine rape (in Flames novel, the warlord raped her, in TPG he was the one who drugged them and then decided why not bang anyway.) You can do it otherwise - like when the drama has the behavior be viewed as appropriately odd (in AJTL, FL skirts the line (early on! which also makes a difference!) but she's portrayed as a total odd machine assassin who does not really get humanity; the drama goes "yeah it's weird" and I can get with that.)

But here it's just eh Yiting is normal and sweet and totally a good choice as a partner and UMMMM. Also, pacing! We are more than halfway in and we get that!

When you get a trope that I find deeply personally unpleasant AND it's handled badly (Yiting keeps saying sorry WHILE NOT STOPPING yeah not good enough; and then the morning after she is an unapologetic bitch to a man she nearly assaulted which is when it really was the deal breaker for me. If she just apologized as a human being, unreservedly, I'd have been largely fine with that subplot) and just -

I have close to no deal breakers in terms of narratives, OTP set ups etc. But it has to be done well, it has to make sense to me, and it just does not here.

I do hope it's just a small slump and it climbs out pls.

[starryluminary]

Chat I’m afraid I’ve lost the plot.

[angelsdean]

don't know how people multi-fandom. dipped my toe into another one and immediately backed out bc everyone there was insufferable.

[rox-of-iu]

bought "immortal life" as a gift for myself and I'm immediately obsessed

it's stardew valley style farm sim but xianxia (said by someone who never played stardew or farm sims this is guesswork lol)

anyway it's early access now but it will come out as a full game in Jan 2024! and I guess there is a possibility that the price will go up once it's a full game cuz that happens sometimes so if ur interested now is your chance hah (its on sale rn for 11,19€)

[wackywatchdotcom]

realizing just how LONG its been since ive posted a ragatha comic. i need to do that again its been too long despite the fact that i think most of my best work wrt tadc has been my ragatha stuff...

hey wait wtf i posted this and tumblr deleted like the last 12 tags. what the hell . that sucks. maybe i hit tag limit and it just didnt tell me or stop me from adding more tags...

[felixravinstills]

I watched Solaris (2002) last night, and young Viola Davis was there! As a doctor/scientist! And there was also a young man named Snow!

An 'if I had a nickel for everytime this happened, then I'd have two nickels' situation to be sure. Very strange that it has happened twice.

[amelikos]

I really wonder about Spinel's motivations and the reason he stole Rakurium. He was making his own move and acting independently from Gibeon's orders, since Zir and Conia were spying on him on Amethio's orders. Amethio also suspects him of plotting something.

I wonder if he is working for a third party, which is not the Explorers, though I doubt it because it'd make things a bit too crowded. And from what we've seen of him so far, I don't really see Spinel as someone who'd be involved in a grander scheme (good or bad). He prefers to be alone most of the time and avoids people usually, and he seems to have his own agenda.

Given how the Rakurium is also called "eternal blessing" and that Gibeon mentioned needing more of it for "eminent prosperity", I wonder if it has some healing properties or if it's capable of improving someone's quality of life (which would be the reason why Gibeon wants it)? I wonder if Spinel is doing all of this for someone else's sake, or if there is someone he is willing to do anything for. We know he is capable of love, since Blacky is a friendship evolution, and they are both loyal to each other and love each other. I think it'd be interesting if Spinel was willing to cross some lines and hurt others for a goal that could be considered altruistic.. At the very least, we know that Spinel probably joined the Explorers for his own interests and goals and that he is currently not acting for Gibeon.

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

ah yes, she's concerned about the aggressor and attacker who was invading them six months ago. something is wrong with the empire right now, poor edelgard; whatever could've happened to her? :(

like... what. why do you care about what's going on with her specifically when she's the person who made the decision to invade leicester? does the whole war just mean nothing to marianne? it's just totally fine that all those people died in a war edelgard started? poor edelgard, something happened to her after she started her attack? you're concerned about the leader who gave the order to attack your home?

hopes has stupid lines but this one is top tier of the top tier and just an excuse for more edelgardjerking from the writers.

[afternoonblues]

this is just my opinion...(although i think many will agree), twitter (or x whatever idc) is legit the worst place to be in while engaging with a certain media / or your interest. being a fan of anything and everything is a constant war over there. and my god, if you have any niche interest or love for a certain show or music or even a person (fiction and non-fictional) then you're gonna get cooked by these ppl who have become way too comfortable hating things for some seconds long shit and giggles, which i find pretty infuriating. they think they are so morally upscaled that their nasty words are rightful justifications of people's opinions and interests. cancelling people or shows left and right, calling people men & women the worst kinds of insults as if tides don't change with time.

i'm damn sure that the opinions or views i held when i was 15 is not the same as what i hold now at 24 and you know what? when i am going to be 34 or 44 or 54, i'm gonna probably have different opinions again unlike the present 24 years old me which is FINE. this is literally what growing up means or evolution too. these people who act like they are the pinnacle of morality are the worst kind of people you can encounter in your life.

[waywardsalt]

song list from my crimson king au playlist :3

rn this playlist is a bit over 2 and a half hours long

again just listing songs w/ the artists/game or show of origin, and while the songs in the space au playlist were much more just there for vibes and the general feeling of that one, the songs in this one have a liiiiittle more to do with the actual tone/plot/what have you. (the big hint is the full name of this au being ‘in the court of the crimson king’ so feel free to guess the most important songs)

(like a few songs in the space au list a few of these have extra titling or w/e as a part of the title but for a few i’m just going to exclude it bc they can get long. side-eyeing the king crimson songs)

The Court of the Crimson King, 21st Century Schizoid Man, I Talk to the Wind, Moonchild, Epitaph (By King Crimson)

Waltz for Zizi, ELM (from Cowboy Bebop)

I. Shinji (From Neon Genesis Evangelion)

Night Running (By Shin Sakura feat. AAAMYYY)

Promise, The Reverse Will (from Silent Hill 2, 2001)

Enemy, Dirty Little Animals, Playground, Snakes (From/Used in Arcane Season 1)

Luminosa, Noms, Kansas (From Rising of the Shield Hero)

Again (By YUI)

Elegy of the Dynast (From Hunter X Hunter 2011)

Exorcist Kyousoukyoku Chapter4 D+T, Exorcist Kyousoukyoku 3rd Mov.: U & Cloud (From Blue Exorcist)

Ikebukuro: Underground District, Traffic, Black Market, Ueno: Underground District, Battle B-4, Shibuya: Underground District (From Shin Megami Tensei IV)

Murder, Behelit (From Berserk 1997)

Feast, Death Trap, Crossing Blades, Last Man Standing, Jaws of the Machine (Yanlao’s Theme), Smile at My Cursed Dream (Lady Ethereal’s Theme), Our Passion (Fuxi and Numa’s Theme), The Path for Us All (Yi’s Theme) (From Nine Sols)

[aromanticasterisms]

starting the waifei peninsula plot and sighing sadly thinking abt how much i miss hugo + the sons of calydon the whole time

[owlf45]

Sorry for being shippy but… does dabi like, like-like hawks in imaginary? Or is it a “i pity you moderately good looking bird” situation?

ill be fr, i've never gotten to the part in the anime/manga where dabi and hawks interact. i might joke around with them and if i ever catch up on the series, we'll see how it goes from there

[crystalleoi]

oc stuff ^^

their names in order of images are Aero(+ their beloved wife Mackenzie), Venus, and Zettabyte

additional doodles underground

mostly aero because their design hasn't changed very much at all... i've drawn plenty of the others but a lot of it is of their older designs :/

[courfee]

just went through all my ao3 fics and edited all the tags because i feel like i overtag a lot and it always bothered me. tbf the most overtagging happens in my relationship/character tags but i find it super difficult to judge who/which relationship is important. like friendships are So Important in my fics i dont feel like i cant tag less there? especially my longer fics. amtc james&sirius and black brothers are in my mind at least if not more important than literally amtc jegulus. i know its a jegulus fic but also jegulus is just the catalyst for other relationship dynamics. how do you tag that stuff

[snekdood]

bitches prolly out here psychoanalyzing my old art on behalf of my abuser to cushion their belief that im a Horrible Person but then dont see the irony when I point out the shitty things my abuser has drawn and how I see it as clear evidence of their mindset and beliefs (of what's okay to do and how to treat people) descending and pairing that along with everything else they've done and it paints a clear picture of how this person got to the point of thinking it was okay to abuse me the way they did and then the people looking for reasons to hate me through my art will act like "they're just drawings !!!" about their art. which one is it. does someones art say something about them or not? or does it only say something about them if you hate them?