#i once wrote a multi-perspective 3-main-character story with

[not-poignant]

Have you ever written in first person pov? If yes, why did you stop? And if no, why not? I'm doing a creative assignment where we explore the different types of povs used in fiction and I'm curious about which ones you prefer and and why?

Also do you prefer writing in past tense or present tense? And do you ever struggle to switch between the two?

Hi anon!

I've definitely written in first person before, I've written whole novels in first person, but I don't know that any of that content is on AO3. If it is, I haven't written in first person POV for a very long time. I actually really enjoy doing it, but it's widely not favoured among romance audiences, and I haven't felt a particularly strong draw to it in a while. That being said, I don't hate it like so many others, and I have no general objections to it. It can be done badly, it can be done extremely well, it's probably the best POV for deep character work (and unreliable narrators) that exists, imho. And I love both of those.

But yeah, when the majority of readers of your genre/s are like 'I can't stand 1st person POV' in a way that's not at all reasonable or logical, eventually you're just like 'whatever, I can still do a pretty raw third person unreliable narrator. I didn't used to have a preference at all, now I simply have a preference because I've written millions of words of one, and probably a few hundred thousand words of the others.

I prefer writing in past tense, which is why most (but not all!) of my stories are in past tense. I wrote all of Science of Fear in present tense though, and really enjoyed it.

I don't mix up present/past in writing, with like, one exception: When I'm rapidly getting down a new story, or a quick quote or story idea and I only have a few seconds to do it. The immediacy of the moment often translates to present tense, and I've actually had to rewrite the beginning of quite a few stories to make them present tense. Once I have it locked in, I won't make the mistake again.

I like both. I think you could safely say that the one I write the most is the one I prefer to write ;) - but they both have their strengths, and the immediacy of present tense when done well, is a lot of fun.

I really really hate tense switching, and it's something that is not like a 'natural error' for me otherwise because I hate it so much.

When reading fanfiction, it seems to be an error most commonly when an author reaches a scene with great immediacy (a sex scene, an action scene, a fight) and gets caught up with the moment themselves, or, doesn't understand what other techniques they can use to create urgency (like variation in sentence length, for example). I pretty much only see it in like... fanfiction though! It's far rarer in published fiction (though it does happen in self pub).

[ae-azile]

For the ask fic game: 1, 11, and 14 for your Dancing Hedgehog series? Please and thank you!

1. What inspired you to write the fic this way?

Giant Dancing Hedgehogs are Nightmare Fuel started as a one-shot and has grown into a multi-fic series that is several hundred thousand words and has both prequels and sequels. So it was far what I expected to write, but I guess - once I decided to go back to the one-shot and continue it - I decided to approach it to explore some of my favorite genres: angst, romance, hurt/comfort, and absolute crack/comedy. All at once. I did this because I feel like KP is the perfect fandom to explore these genres with. The series is filled with dramatic romance, angst, trauma, and wildly comedic moments. I just took the last two up a notch and added a magical weighted blanket, but gave myself wiggle room to write a more serious and angsty ArmKhun centric prequel (which still has comedy, but it's a bit more grounded), and a very serious VegasPete centric prequel. The sequel focuses on making things more fantastical and plot heavy with dream sharing, hidden sisters, Tawan's angelic doppelganger brother, forced memory loss, and captive mothers that need to be tracked down and saved. So I feel like the inspiration from the series developed gradually because I left the genres broad enough to be as angsty and silly as I wanted.

11. What do you like the best about this fic?

There are different things I like about each one so I will list them. This answer is long, so I am putting a cut.

Giant Dancing Hedgehogs are Nightmare Fuel

This is the fic that kicked the series off. From a completely biased perspective, the thing I like best about it when I read it is how it reunites the cousins and lets them hold themselves accountable for their actions in ways that don't bring them complete shame. They have chosen a path towards healing their wounds, understanding the perspectives of others, and trying to find clarity after being manipulated/abused by their fathers for so long. So I like that this does that and still finds ways to be silly, because laughter is a great medicine. The boys need to laugh.

As a writer? I am impressed and annoyed by how much it evolved as I was writing it. I did not plan out shit, no matter how it looks, and I love and hate that the backstories and offhanded remarks I would write that would fully flesh it out found ways to spiral into full plots or stories in my head that had to be further explored. Like, there was going to be no magical blanket. That wasn't thought of until Vegas wakes up holding it, saying it's an entity or haunted. The mothers weren't going to be alive. Gun and Pete's dad weren't going to have some past affair as a skeleton in both of their closets. Idk, I just made stuff up and wrote it down whenever I thought it was funny.

5, 3, 1, and On

Out of all of my fics, this might be the one I am most proud of. It feels the most mature to me without losing a comedic element or ignoring the gravity of Arm's and Tankhun's past traumas. Also, Tankhun is probably my absolute favorite character. I want all fics to be about him. I think I may be one of the only people to post a novel length and complete fic where Tankhun is part of the main pairing (if I am wrong, send those long fics my way!)

As for Arm, his tragic backstory was interesting to develop and also flexible, because we know very little about Arm. We know he is incredibly capable and should be the head guard now that Chan is gone, but he is also a part of the mafia. I feel like people who accept that kind of job have a story behind why. So making Arm kill a dozen pedophiles singlehandedly and expose his Dean for embezzlement seemed like it might be a way that touches upon just how capable he is. He is sent on missions, he hacks into other networks and systems, and is so good with Tankhun. And that's just from the little we do see. Expanding on that with an off take was fun.

The Weighted Blanket Ad No One Expected (But Everyone Deserves)

This one is a bit easier to answer: I love the girl power. I love that I was able to make Namphueng a more complex character, brought in four significant female OCs in the form of Vegas's mother - Milan, Vegas's grandmother - Fern, the major family mother - Dao, and the secret, long lost sister who is a teenage bodyguard, a baddie, and a dancing fiend - Aree. I really enjoyed developing all of them, especially Aree since creating her showed Porsche and Chay just how much they were robbed of and what Aree was robbed of.

I also love Benz. The readers also seem to love Benz, and I love this because when he was first introduced (prior to him saying a word) everyone wanted him dead due to looking just like his biological brother (who he never met). After a couple of scenes, everyone who mentioned him in their comments were ready to kill for him. I also liked including him because Vegas's and Kim's autism (in the fic) is able to go by without being easily detected if you don't know them. I have written Vegas as someone who has learned to mask over the years - especially after his mother died - and Kim as someone more introverted, which makes it so his symptoms might be dismissed as just that. With Benz, it's much more noticable. He stims in public, struggles with speech off and on, is extremely picky with food, likely has an auditory processing disorder paired with sensory issues, and hyperfixates on his special interest intensely. His symptoms have also likely become more profound due to the consistent emotional and physical abuse inflicted on him by his mother, not being diagnosed and supported, and not having other family members to fall back on until Kim welcomes him in and makes it a goal to protect him, with Aree following that goal after witnessing just how awful Tak (his mother and Korn's fiancee) is to him. So writing him as a multi-faceted character that readers empathized with is a pride moment.

Also, I like my two semi-original couples in it: Macau/Aree and Namphueng/Milan. This BL world NEEDS a token straight couple and lesbian couple! 😂 While Namphueng and Milan are rekindling their old teenage romance secretly at the moment, I have been developing Macau and Aree since chapter 7, I think? I loved making Macau confirm that he is straight, loved having Vegas empathize with Aree's past and situation rather than deem them as reasons Macau should reconsider his feelings for her, and just like what they have brought out in each other. I also like inverting expectations by making Macau the soft and inexperienced one and making Aree the more blunt, forward, and physically capable one (not that Macau isn't. He likely grew up training to defend himself and others. But Aree is fucking FIERCE).

So yeah, I really loved creating the OCs/semi-OCs, along with writing them in pairings that seemed to still stay engaging to readers somehow. I also loved incorporating sign language as a way to give Namphueng access to communication. I loved it so much that I have used it in multiple fics, just like I love Aree and made her a character in Lay Me Down to Sleep with a similar background but facing very different circumstances. ♥️

Before We Forget

This one is only 6 chapters so far and I update it sporadically, but I love exploring Vegas as a teen. This is before his first kill and shows how his first relationship with Pete developed. This is a Vegas who knows he has to be guarded, but he's too honest and desperate for someone to just see him and take an interest in him. He's sensitive and is not good at covering sadness. It's an emotion he feels a lot of due to the hot and cold treatment he receives from his father, being parentified (despite loving his brother very much), missing his "dead" mother desperately, being disconnected from his cousins since his mother and aunt died and resenting them, being pumped out for deals, and falling in love with the new major family bodyguard close to his age. The thing is - and maybe because it's from Vegas's POV - but I feel like he wears his heart on his sleeve more than Pete does. Pete puts on such a convincing happy demeanor that Vegas has yet to catch on that Pete's history is not a good one. Pete, however, catches onto Vegas struggling. I think he has barely scraped the surface, but he can see Vegas needs a friend who will provide some comfort. But that's hard to do in a secret, teenage romance. So yeah, I think writing Vegas as someone facing so much but still so hopeful for love and change is what I like the most. ♥️

14. Is there anything you want readers to learn from this fic?

I guess considering the series is all over the place in terms of genre, I suppose I want readers to find the joy in cross-genre fics, since life is full of happy, funny, romantic, sad, funny, and enraging moments. If they are thinking of writing, don't be afraid to write something weird, put your characters in absurd situations, or give them specific characteristics or quirks that aren't normally found in media. Absurdity can bring on beauty and broaden your writing skills, since it's fun to implement those absurd or over-the-top moments in a way that aligns themselves with the story's tone.

Thank you for the ask @fawndlyvenus! ♥️

[politalysis]

# What has happened to JK Rowling?

Growing up in the early 2000s immediately made Harry Potter a huge part of your childhood. Even if you never read the books or watched the films, you can probably name the three main characters. Even if you weren’t interested in Harry Potter in the slightest, you probably know your Hogwarts house. It’s incredible what Harry Potter did for our generation all over the world. Children would stay up on their eleventh birthdays anxiously awaiting a Hogwarts acceptance letter, knowing full well that owl was never going to come. Our imagination kept the dream of going to Hogwarts and learning magic alive anyway. Even now at the age of 23, I can for the most part keep a conversation flowing with anyone who has read the books or even just watched the films. You could even go as far as to say it was our generation’s Lord of the Rings.

JK Rowling came from very humble beginnings. She suffered with depression in her childhood and early teens, and lost her mother to multiple sclerosis in 1990. These struggles inspired her a lot when writing Harry Potter. She channeled her grief and pain into her writing. In 1992, she married a man she had met whilst living in Portugal, but Rowling suffered domestic abuse at his hands and the couple separated a year later. She lost her job and moved to Edinburgh in Scotland, where she had to sign up for welfare benefits, which left her a poor and depressed single mother spending her time writing in coffee shops. When she finished writing Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, twelve publishers rejected the opportunity to publish the book. Once someone finally agreed to publish the book, it became the best selling children’s book of the year.

We all know how the story goes from there. Rowling wrote six more Harry Potter books, eight films were made, and Rowling went from a poor vulnerable single mother to a multi millionaire in the space of a few short years. Harry Potter is now a global brand estimated to be worth about $15 billion. The last four books have each consecutively set the record for the fastest selling book in history. Rowling is now the richest author in the world, with a net worth of $92 million. But as well as money, JK Rowling has over 14 million followers on Twitter. This gives her massive influence as well as money. Rowling seemed to initially use this influence for good, spreading mental health awareness, LGBT inclusivity, interacting with fans and creating a website for all us Harry Potter fans to determine our houses and let our wands choose us.

I remember being 8 years old when Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was released, and I was attending a religious school where some parents complained and called to ban Harry Potter over the controversial decision JK Rowling made regarding Dumbledore’s sexuality. Rowling had made the claim that Dumbledore was gay. Looking back, the controversy was ridiculous and I can only imagine how embarrassed some of those parents must be. I also remember as I got older, re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I noticed more that the emotion behind Dumbledore’s relationship with Grindelwald was one he held with a romantic love. So years later, when several members of the LGBT community attacked Rowling for only deciding Dumbledore’s sexuality after the books were written, I publicly defended her with my knowledge that that simply wasn’t true. I had this image of Rowling in my mind, that she had always been on the right side of this debate. She had always been inclusive and supportive of LGBT people as far as I could see, and I just didn’t understand the issue. Rowling had always expressed a centre-left political perspective, and although I didn’t agree with all her views, they seemed relatively uncontroversial.

When Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was released, I hated it. It was a literary disaster, completely disrespectful of the original book series, the characters were a shell of the characters we had grown up with, the plot was almost deliberately ridiculous and overly elaborate and I immediately dismissed it as not canon. I have never forgiven JK Rowling for publicly stating the book was canon. She almost destroyed a whole two decades of her own hard work and the franchise that she’d built that had been like a home for a whole generation. All because she wanted to grab a few extra quid for a terrible book she didn’t even write. To this day I can’t help but wonder if she has even read the book. If I had written the masterpiece that is Harry Potter, I would view the Cursed Child as an insult. Perhaps I’ll even write a review one day, just for fun. Rowling also annoyed me by going back on her story, regretting pairing Ron and Hermione together and not pairing Hermione with Harry. Ron and Hermione are my favourite couple from the story, and their relationship had so much meaning. I couldn’t believe that the author who wrote such a clever and consistent relationship between two beloved characters could ever regret it. At this point in my life, I was beginning to wonder if perhaps Rowling was losing her mind. It was almost like she was trying to destroy her legacy.

As more years passed, the Fantastic Beasts films were released. The first film looked promising, but the second film was yet another disaster. Again, it was inconsistent with the franchise as we knew it, for some reason Hogwarts was full of people wearing 3 piece suits instead of the robes they wore in the Harry Potter series and Minerva McGonigall appeared as a teacher despite the fact that canonically there is no way she could have been old enough. The film was a disaster with both fans and critics hating it. Amongst this mess came controversy in December 2019. Rowling lost all respect she had once held amongst the transgender community when she made a public statement supporting Maya Forstater, a British woman who lost her employment tribunal case against her employer who fired her over transphobic comments. Six months later on June 6 2020, Rowling criticised the term “people who menstruate” and stated: "If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives." Rowling’s views on these issues were heavily criticised by GLAAD and even by the actors from the Harry Potter movies including lead actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.

Rowling published a 3,600 word essay in response to the mass criticism of her views four days later. The essay did her no favours, as she wrote: “When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside.” She seemed to be suggesting that trans women are often just men disguised as women in order to trick or even harm other women. This obviously angered the transgender community even more, and women’s refuge shelters that allow trans women were reporting no rise in violence as a result, children’s charities that support gender non conforming children were criticising Rowling, she was being made to give back awards and ultimately Rowling was labelled a Trans exclusionary radical feminist, a term often abbreviated to TERF.

JK Rowling is the perfect example of how money and influence can make someone forget their roots so easily. For someone who survived poverty, domestic abuse and sexual assault, she is so lacking in self awareness and how the things she has said and done can be harmful to transgender people. It is widely reported that transgender women are at more risk of harm in female restrooms than cisgender women. With acceptance becoming the norm, transgender people are feeling more safe to come out now than ever before, and so the rise in numbers of the community is huge, especially amongst our generation who grew up with Harry Potter. For a young transgender teenager to grow up wondering how Hogwarts would accommodate them, only to hear the author who gave us Hogwarts in the first place disapprove of equal rights for transgender people, must be very disheartening. However, JK Rowling has proven that she has no idea how powerful the legacy her books created really is. She was tasked with following up the Harry Potter series, and what she gave us was inconsistent and very poorly written screenplays. I have read better sequels on tumblr. Lots of them. Hogwarts doesn’t belong to JK Rowling, it belongs to the fandom. And I’ll be willing to bet my last penny that if Professor McGonigall witnessed any bullying of transgender students in her classroom (or indeed the girls bathroom!) she’d absolutely defend the victim without a moment’s hesitation. Hermione would decorate the Gryffindor common room with little blue, pink and white flags in support of a transgender first year who’d just been sorted into Gryffindor. Luna Lovegood would sit and befriend any trans student who looked lonely, and Ginny would dish out a bat bogey hex to anyone who dared pick on them. No matter what JK Rowling thinks, Hogwarts is not hers to ruin. It is ours. Regardless of what makes us different, Hogwarts is our home.

[kiingocreative]

The Structure of Story is now available! Check it out on Amazon, via the link in our bio, or at https://kiingo.co/book

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Every author starting out will know how important reviews are. If you’re yet to be convinced, here are some fun facts about reviews*:

1. 88% of consumers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations.

2. 72% of consumers will take action after reading a positive review.

3. Positive reviews tell Amazon and Google you’re worth ranking and can boost search results for your book by feeding into SEO (reviews account for almost 10% of total search ranking factors).

So reviews aren’t just a nice to have — they’re critical to the success of a book.

Now, amongst the writers community, we talk a lot about receiving reviews, but less so about giving reviews. I enjoy writing book reviews immensely, because it makes me think about what I’m reading on a different level, and forces me to learn how to articulate that opinion. This is actually one of the main reasons why I got into professional BETA reading.

I was asked recently how I structure my book reviews (all of which can be found on my blog), so here you have it: all the secrets to how I go about writing book reviews, along with some concrete examples!

Start With Why.

The most important question to ask yourself before you even start writing a review is this:

Why do people read book reviews?

In essence, they want to know whether the book is good, what it’s about, and — more importantly — whether they should read it. They generally like some context and detail to back the review so that they feel it’s genuine and trustworthy.

If you can keep in mind what people generally want to get out of a book review, this will help you keep your review relevant and useful. It’ll help you figure out what’s worth including and what isn’t. If in doubt, ask yourself what you would want to read about in a review when you’re trying to decide whether or not to buy a book.

Some Key Questions.

Before you start writing, you also need to ponder a few things. It may not always feel natural to reflect on a book on this level of detail — it didn’t for me at first. I either liked a book, or I loved it, or I didn’t, but I rarely spent a lot of time critically thinking about why I did or didn’t like a read.

If you’re also finding this uncomfortable at first, I say stick with it. I found it extremely interesting to make myself think these things through. It’s made my writing so much better, because I’ve developed that objective evaluation muscle that activates even when I’m with my own work. It’s also made me much better at forming and formulating an opinion, which is something I didn’t use to be good at!

Here are some questions to start with before you start on your review:

• Did you like the book?

• What did you like about it?

• What didn’t you like about it?

• Are there any themes that were particularly well handled?

• Were there any characters you liked above others, and why?

• Would you recommend the book to a friend?

These few questions will start shaping your view of what you’ve read and provide the main elements of your review.

To take your critical reading to the next level, you may want to ponder the various elements of the story and the writing as a whole. Think about:

• The plot / storyline — is it strong? Consistent? Original? Enticing? Are there gaps?

• The characters and character arcs — are all characters well developed? Multi-layered? Do they make sense? Are they relatable?

• The key themes — what are some recurring topics through the story? Are they well handled?

• The pace and timeline — is the story progressing at a good pace? Where does it lag? Does the timeline make sense?

• The writing style — how was the writing style? Did it flow well? Did it feel unique or original?

• The dialogues — did they feel natural? Were they believable? Were they engaging? Did they add to the overall story?

• The editing — how was the editing? Were there any typos or formatting errors?

Example Review Outline

Once you’ve spent some time with those initial questions, you’ll find it gives you the best part of your review content. At first, you may want to note down your answers to each of these. With time, you may find you can process these in your mind faster than you did before, and you don’t need so many notes. Whichever way is right for you, once you have this, you’re ready to start structuring your review.

I tend to use the following outline (though, of course, this isn’t the one and only way to write a review!):

1. Star Rating:

It’s most common in this day and age to include a rating in your review. There are talks out there about not leaving a rating on a book, because these can be extremely subjective — someone’s three-star rating may mean they loved the book but for others it’s a negative rating, some people don’t leave five-star reviews out of principle etc.

If you’re reviewing the book on Amazon and Goodreads however, you don’t have a choice but to pick a rating out of five stars. Have a think about how that rating system relates to you. For instance: would you leave five star ratings? What rating do you use for a book you liked versus a book you absolutely loved? What kind of book would warrant a low-rating? etc.

2. Opening:

Start with a short overview of what you thought of the book. This should give the reader a concise view of what you thought of the book, in two or three sentences. The idea is that, if they read only this opening part of the review, they should know your view on the matter.

Here’s an example opening paragraph I wrote for Heart of a Runaway Girl by Trevor Wiltzen:

‘Heart of a Runaway Girl is a breath of fresh air. As far as crime and murder investigation novels go, I only ever read Agatha Christie, so my standard is high. But this book did not disappoint.’

3. Synopsis:

The next section of the review is a short summary of the book, which should give the main elements of the plot. I tend to keep that part really short because I find that, if anyone wants to know the specifics, the book blurb the author so diligently wrote for the back cover is a much better place to learn more about that. Yes, you need to give a sense of what the book’s about, but it shouldn’t be the bulk of the review.

I think this is a matter of personal preference, I’ve seen reviews out there with a much longer synopsis section, but I always find myself skipping those bits to get to the nitty gritty of the review, which is what the person thought. There again, go back to the why — people who read reviews do so to find out whether or not they want to buy a book, so the more valuable pieces to help with that (in my view) are your opinions, more than an in-depth summary which they can find elsewhere.

For instance, when I reviewed Counter Ops by Jessica Scurlock, the second opus in the Pretty Lies series, I kept the synopsis paragraph to:

‘In Counter Ops, we meet a familiar duo, Ivy and Nixon, as they face the aftermath of the Elite Auction, and each endure its painful consequences. We follow their journey as they try to escape their fate and attempt to come to each other’s rescue — in more ways than one.’

4. Highlights:

The next part is what I call the ‘highlights’. This is where you talk about what you liked most about the book, or what you thought the strongest parts of the book were. This can focus on one element of the book (a character, a part of the plot, a theme etc.) or cover multiple elements.

See, for example, the highlights I picked for my review of Age of the Almek by Tara Lake:

‘I loved the author's ability to give every character their own voice and a distinct perspective on the world around them. I loved how involved I became with every character's fate and woes. I loved the precision with which the Almek world has been created, with such minuteness you can picture it down to the finest details.

My favourite part is the portrayal of the many facets of human nature, be it through the reactions of the masses to the barbaric ways of their rulers or the individual views of the protagonists. In every Almek citizen is a piece of the great puzzle that is humanity at large, and the author has a gift for writing it as raw and real as it gets.’

5. Mitigate your view:

Right after the highlights is where you’d add anything that mitigates your view. That’s anything that wasn’t quite as strong as you’d want it to be, or anything you weren’t a fan of.

You can skip this part if there’s nothing you didn’t like about the book — you don’t have to go nitpicking if nothing comes to mind. And it doesn’t have to be a bashing of the author and their work either. Keep it constructive and explain why you felt that way. There’s never a need for insults or expletives, and these wouldn’t enhance the quality of your review anyways. Formulating constructive criticism takes practice, and requires tact and subtlety. It’s a valuable skill to have if you’re willing to invest time in honing it.

Here’s how I phrased that part of the review for Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan:

‘But - and there's a but - my qualm with this book is that, for a story that revolves entirely around Nick and Rachel... There's actually very little Nick and Rachel in it!

Yes it's all 'about' them and it talks 'of' them loads, and we're told theyare happy together and want to be together... But it's all 'tell' and no 'show'. Their intimacy is sorely lacking, so I was left missing that added colour to convince me that they, in fact, do love each other. And I'm not talking saucy passages — I 'm talking about basic things suchas them actually talking to each other and spending time together.’

6. Conclusion:

The final part of the review is a short paragraph with closing remarks, such as a short summary of your view on the book, whether or not you recommend it or some indication of what readers the book may be for (e.g. ‘if you liked… you may like this book’).

When I reviewed Collision by Kristen Granata, I ended the review with:

‘Readers used to intricate, far-fetched romance plots may find this book too straightforward for their liking. In my mind, this is what makes the book's key strength: it's real and honest, it takes the reader through difficult situations and complex emotions beautifully, and that makes it all the more relatable.

A great read overall - and the moment I finished the last page, I was on Amazon ordering the next book in the series!’

How long should a review be?

I don’t think there should be a minimum or maximum word count to a review, though I find that mine end up being around 300 to 500 words. I feel this is a good length because as a reviewer this forces me to be concise and clear in expressing my opinions, and as a reader it’s long enough to give people a sense of the book, but not too long that they’ll drop off before the end.

Final Thoughts: To spoil or not to spoil?

My view on adding spoilers in your review is simple: DON’T.

Try as I might, I can’t fathom what could be gained from adding spoilers to a review. Once again: back to the why. Someone reads a review to find out if they want to read the book themselves. If you ruin the plot for them in that review, what’s the incentive to pick up the book?

It just hurts the author’s chances of making a book sale, and it robs a fellow reader of the joyful rollercoaster of finding out those plot twists at their own pace. Don’t do it, it’s just rude.

*Sources:

www.bookmarketingtools.com

www.searchenginewatch.com

www.dealeron.com

[therosefield]

4, 10, and 20 for the meta ask :)

Questions about writing || Thank you anon! <3

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

This is a section from the first chapter of a multi-chapter, Chaos Family-centric, slightly AU fic that I'm currently working on and not far from finishing, brain and life circumstances permitting. It's the very first thing I wrote from Lyra's perspective and I just really like the way I captured her reflections on Asriel's visits:

Every time her uncle came to Jordan College, she treasured his visits and clung to his every word, perpetually driven by the hope that this trip would be different and that when he inevitably left, he would bring her with him, and she would finally see the North that she so desperately longed for. And every time she was left wanting. Sometimes she didn't even get so much as a goodbye, and at other times she would cling to his leg and beg for him to reconsider, to bring her with him because she promises she'll be good and studious and she can help him! But her pleas, as always, fall on deaf ears, much like her stories and her fabrications and most of what she had to say when they came second to her uncle and his ambitions - and they always came second.

This time was a repeat of the second situation. It almost hadn't been, he would've left without warning had Roger not spotted him packing up his airship. But it still ended the same way as it always does: Lord Asriel, off to make more exciting discoveries in the North, and Lyra, left behind to dream in his shadow.

10. How would you describe your writing process?

Throw a bunch of words onto a document until something makes sense

I wrote about my writing process in some detail on this post a while ago and much of it still holds true! The main difference these days is that my current main WIPs are all big, multi-chapter projects, so I've taken more time to write a skeleton outline of the overall story and get a rough plan down for what each chapter will entail.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

Let's talk about my most symbolism-heavy fic: Let Slip the Dogs of War... (EDIT: Link has been removed as the fic is deleted - not permanently, but the planned sequel to it has turned into a beast of a fic and i decided it would probably work better if i embedded this fic into that one instead of leaving them separate!)

The entire thing started as a work inspired by the absolute genius that is FF15's Omen trailer, which is a story completely separate from the game itself and portrays an alternate universe whereby the protagonist is pushed to the point of corruption and is tricked into killing his lover. Charles and Erik may not have been together in my fic, but that concept carried though all the same.

Then there is the storm/lightning symbolism - having the clouds there as a barrier, getting darker and starting to rain as Charles sinks further into his corruption, but the lightning breaks out only when he finds a new depth to his own powers, as if it smashed the proverbial lock on his full strength.

There's also the horsemen analogies - from War literally being part of the fic title, to the fact that a red horse (the most common steed depiction for the horseman of war) represents Apocalypse as he guides Charles throughout distorted versions of his memories of events from Days of Future Past through to the beach from First Class (yet another intentional choice on my end as I wanted the moment where he truly fell to happen at the same point where his hope started to shatter in xmfc).

I did have one more parallel in my first version, most of which was taken out the final version as it didn't fit the pace for the rest of the fic... but I am now in the process of writing a sequel and I'm going to give a large chunk of that story away if I talk about it now, so I'm going to keep this little detail close to my chest for now and talk about it once I post the sequel 👀

[disappearinginq]

3. What do you think makes your writing stand out from other works? 13. First fandom you ever wrote for? 16. Any guilty pleasure trope(s)? 34. Copy and paste an excerpt you’re particularly fond of.

3. At the risk of sounding vain...I tend not to write completely self indulgent fics, like, something that would take the character completely out of their established canon-behavior. Do I want my favorite characters to be the center of a hurt/comfort recovery fic? Yes. Yes, I do. But I also really don’t like the tendency for the genre to get into “woobie-fying” (or however it’s spelled) the main characters.  In Lucifer, I still wrote Lucifer as a narcissist with daddy issues. When I wrote for the 100, I tried to pull as much as I could from canon to justify the direction the story took. When I write in Magnum, I really try to take into account the back story they’ve given the characters - that they were Taliban POW’s, they’re elite military members, etc. So while I like that fandom is freedom of expression, and AU’s and fix-its and all the other genres exist and people can use them, my most cherished feedback is from readers who say “I can see this happening” or “this makes so much more sense, I never considered this”. 

13. Uuuuuhhhhhmmmm, I think the Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, though if we want to get technical, when I was like...10 or 9, I had probably close to a thousand pages typed of what would be considered an OC spin on Sliders in an epic multi-fandom crossover fic, which included Sliders, Star Trek, Star Wars, Magnificent Seven, and Hudson Hawk amongst other things. I really wish I knew what happened to it, because I guarantee it’s terrible by my own standards today, but 10 year old me was living. 

16. The Bourne Identity Trope - amnesiac who turns out to be a lethal assassin; government experiment escaped, a la Pretender style; secretly most powerful character but they either 1) can’t control it, or 2) choose not to use it for another reason; co-dependent besties (see: “There ain’t no me, if there ain’t no you”); and I have no idea what you would call it, but when the protagonist has fought with everything they have and they face the ‘final problem’ and they just sort of...sink? Jensen Ackles did it really well.; and final one “rage solves everything” - see the entire final fight sequence of Serenity. 

34. From “Damnatio Memoriae” of the Lucifer fandom: 

“The moment you laid eyes on these wings, when you first realized that they were real and all that that knowledge entailed, you wanted some of it for yourself, didn’t you?” he whispered, soothing. “You knew there were such things in creation deserving of worship, and you wanted to be one of them.”

The woman shook, but she finally raised her head, finally meeting his gaze.

Strength of madness in the face of Death.

He almost liked her.

“Your crusade was a foolish one,” Samael said, voice just loud enough for her to hear and no one else in the congregation. “It was an act of vanity and personal pride. And worse, you thought you could lie to me about it. Perhaps you repeated it so often you actually believed it but I can see, Delilah. I know what’s in your heart. I know how you feel when you command and others obey. I know the way your heart beats at the sight of blood. How powerful you feel watching someone else’s life fade away because of you. You thought yourself a god.”

He pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and cupping his hands to either side of her face.

“Allow me to show you what happens to false gods,” he whispered. He touched his lips to her forehead, his fingers sliding along her neck.

In one quick movement, he pressed his fingers down and snapped her axis vertebrae, severing her spinal cord.

Her entire body went limp, but he didn’t allow her to fall. He kept his bruising grip around her neck, holding her up like a ragdoll.

“I’m not going to kill you,” he said pleasantly. “Though perhaps I should – it would be a mercy, gratitude for all that you’ve done. But you, Delilah Rogers…are deserving of no such consideration. You can live, bound as I was, reminded of the power you once had and are now deprived of. Your lying tongue cannot poison anyone else’s mind.”

He released her, and she dropped in a boneless heap to the floor, unable to do anything more than blink and breathe.

“I’m going to give you one last gift, Delilah,” Samael said, turning his back on her and facing the congregation that stood with bated breath in the shadows.

“I’m going to give you the perspective of God,” he said as he paused at the front of the church, moonlight casting onto his beautiful wings and making them shine. “By letting you watch as I make your beloved flock destroy themselves.”

And with that, Samael allowed all of his hate, all of his anger and rage and desire to flood the congregation. The roiling black sickness seeped in through their skin, into their bones and into their hearts as their eyes flashed black as night.

“Tell me humans,” he shouted above the crowd. “What is it you most desire?”

And the sea of people turned on one another like the animals he knew they were. Nails tore through skin, teeth clamped down on muscle and sinew and bones snapped like brittle twigs as the humans literally consumed one another.

Samael smiled to himself, inhaling deeply and savoring the taste of blood in the air. He supposed he should be grateful that so few mentions of him remained. Eliciting desire was such a bland term for what he did.

He controlled hunger. The darkest part of the human soul was his domain and he knew what to pull and what to push and how to make them bend and snap and tear themselves apart. Death was a mercy he bestowed upon the masses. His ability to take a life was not what earned him a place in the Pit.

It was the ability to make them destroy themselves in their pursuit of desire. He hardly needed to lift a finger – all he had to do was whisper in their ears, and they ripped each other apart.

Desire was a fluid thing. People often confused it with lust. But it was so much more than that. Power. Love. Hate. Hurt. It was the human spirit unconstrained.

It was what he loved about them. They were so eager to destroy each other, they happily destroyed themselves.

He stepped off the crossing, uncaring of the blood that pooled beneath his feet, ignoring the bodies as the fell to the floor.

No one touched him.

No one even noticed him.

With a spin on his heel, he pushed open the doors of the church, stepping out into the cool California desert night.

The skies were clear. Stars twinkled in the velvet darkness, barely visible with the full moon out in all its glory. The entirety of his Father’s beloved creation lay before him, bathed in silvery moonlight bright as the sun. He could hear the beat of its corrupted, festering heart beneath his feet, hear the whispers of dark desire on the air.

“So much work to do,” he muttered to himself, smiling happily. He stretched his arms, his wings expanding behind him as he unfurled them in their entirety for the first time in what felt like centuries.

He spared a glance skyward. “Dearest Father, have you no words for your beloved Fallen Star? Speak now, or forever hold your peace.”

The heavens reverberated in silence. Not a sound from the Silver City.

“That’s what I thought,” he said. “You and I always did have an understanding.”

And with a flap of his magnificent wings, he vanished into the night.

[uchiha-madara]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is:   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless /

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO / [Madara is both famous and infamous and i’ve seen so many people either hate or love him with absolutely no in between but the consensus seems to be positive (at least from personal experience)]

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO/ 50/50 [Some people think Madara’s absolutely hot and there are other people that think he’s.. not. I think it’s the eyebags lol, he just needs some sleep ]

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO [ the only one stronger than him was Kaguya. (at least from a 1v1 perspective, the only one that got close was Maito Gai) LBR here, the man took on an entire shinobi army, consisting of the Kage and the 9 tails. Hashirama and Tobirama, both.. he’s stacked, literally God-tier by shinobi standards. He’s considered powerful, yes, but sometimes I see that people don’t really take that into account when interacting with him in his canon-divergent verses, or try to make a mockery of him. He wouldn’t stand for that bs, tbh.]

Are they underrated?  YES / NO [It seems that as time goes on and Boruto progresses the original cast seems pushed to the side, especially when new villains come out, and new challenges are to be faced. I’d say, yes now. No, when he was first revealed in the shinobi war (i remember how everyone was so excited to see him maul ppl in the shinobi war, but that was so many years ago now).]

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO. [The last part of the manga was directly about the protagonists fighting him and was only overshadowed by Kaguya, so I’d say..yes.]

Were they relevant for the main character?  YES / NO 

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL. [Not really an inbetween here, either.]

How strictly do you follow canon? – So I tend to follow Madara’s canon personality and his backstory, but most of what I write comes after the shinobi war, whether it be in a modern verse or immortal au or anything of the like. The one constant is his personality and experiences in the past, which i try to mirror in all my au because it’s easier to keep his personality consistent if that makes any sense at all.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals. – Madara’s ambitious, hard working, cunning--basically a Slytherin without the blood purity bs, let’s acknowledge that. He’s surprisingly forward with his reasoning why he’s doing what he’s doing, so he’s not afraid to make waves to change the world to make it a better place (in his view ofc). He’s not afraid to use whatever or whoever is at his disposal to guarantee his victory, even if it’s not completely ideal. You can guarantee that his motivations, while not completely on the “right” side of the moral compass aligns with what he believes is right, which is a double edged sword for him. He’s bold and speaks his mind, and is not afraid of the consequences.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  – Madara has a bad habit of not trusting people, of becoming too paranoid about their motivations and that’s become his downfall multiple times. He’s too determined or stubborn to see when his plan isn’t working and waits too long to change it and ultimately leads to his ruin. He’s not nice by any means at all, and that makes a lot of people dislike him even if his motivations are good. Also, another note, especially about fandom: they consider madara either complete trash or a complete god, when he’s multifaceted and it’s very hard to not be annoyed by it. A lot of people just consider him this evil entity and it’s.. frustrating.

What inspired you to rp your muse?  – So I was writing Madara when everyone thought Tobi was Madara and I really liked how everything was leading--how he was manipulating the entire world to do what he wanted and immediately wanted to write him because his mentality was so different than mine. Granted, I was coming from writing an OC, Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy (two of which i had wrote with my irl friends since I was in middle school, passing a notebook between classes every day). I wanted and needed a change because my passion for writing was waning and Madara held my interest very well (more than any of the other characters tbh, minus Itachi.)

What keeps your inspiration going?  – My partners, new thread ideas especially, when i see new content/art/etc of my muse is a big one. I can see someone draw an au and immediately think of a couple thread ideas based on that. When the content stops coming, it’s hard to write even if I do post a lot of sketches/madara content myself.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO.

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO.

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO/ (I used to on multiple blogs but stopped because it got too hectic)

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO.

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO.

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO.

Are you a sensitive person?  YES /NO. (Not really, I’ve had to grow quite thick skin to continue writing in this fandom and i’m too stubborn to stop now if someone steps over a couple things. After all, a lot of context is lost through text only messaging. 9/10 times it’s a genuine miscommunication.)

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?  – Yes, even if I’m skeptical at first. I can learn from anyone or anything, even if it’s not worded so nicely.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  – !! I love them so much. I love writing about what he would think or do, and basically flesh out headcanons that I already have. It would actually give me an excuse to.

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?  –  Mmhm. Yes, of course. I would love to know why and what basis they have in the manga or why they think it so. It’s fun to have a healthy debate every once in a while. you know?

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?  – I’d just let it rest and let them have their own opinions about it. Not a big deal to me. 

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it? – I just want to know why. He’s a great character, has had ups and downs, redemption multiple times, etc, so there’s so much to discuss about it. If they hate him they hate him and that’s their business but I’d have to admit that I’m curious why.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  – Hell yeah. Point it out, I want to get better when I write 

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?  – Yeah! I honestly don’t care about formatting, icons, etc. I’m not too picky about thread content, I enjoy ooc conversation a lot, I’m pretty much open to anything, if anything, I like interacting with people a little too much and tend to do that instead of reply lol

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

Tagged by: @shattered-by-sparks Tagging: steal it from me, if you see this and haven’t done it yet, consider yourself tagged <3

[nerdylittleshit]

Thoughts about Spn 15x05

BEWARE! SPOILERS AHEAD!

What an episode. This truly will be the most meta-season ever, that really made me wonder how casual viewers might experience these episodes.  There might be small references, like the fake ID’s they use who we last saw in 1x02, that don’t matter for the plot, and are Easter Eggs for the fans. But take a character like Lilith: though she has been mentioned here and then over the years (last in 15x03) the last time we saw her was in season 4, which is over 11 years ago. People who never rewatched the show and analysed it to death might simply have forgot about her (and the same goes to Becky). At this point we are so far down the rabbit hole you are lost if you haven’t paid attention. Personally I like how self-referential the season is, but I’m curious to know how the general audience receives it.

Just like last week we have a commentary on the episode itself within the episode, with the only difference that by now Sam and Dean are part of the conversation and are now aware that Chuck still writes about them. Like Becky before we have now Lilith who talks about the episode in pretty much the same way the fans do: she analyses the story, draws parallels, talks about “foreshadowing” etc. But while Becky was/is a fan and has seen ‘Supernatural’  always mostly as a story (she realized she loves Sam as a character, not as an actual person etc), Lilith on the other hand has been a character in said story, though she had always been aware that she had a role to play within a story. And in fact Sam and Dean not playing along and expressing free will ruined that story from her perspective. So in a way it makes sense that Chuck would resurrect Lilith, because unlike Sam and Dean she is used to play her part in any given story.

This new reveal will make things very interesting for the next episodes, because once again Sam and Dean have to start questioning everything happening to them and if their choices are really their own. But before we go there, let’s have a closer look at this week’s episode.

“Easy’s good. I like easy.”

Let’s start with Cas, or rather Cas’s absence, because it kinda frames the episodes. After the cold open we see Sam texting Cas, and from his messages it seems like Dean hadn’t told him the exact reason why Cas left (“Didn't realize you were taking off”). So their break up (because that is what the narrative made it look like) is something Dean didn’t feel comfortable enough to share with Sam, indicating that perhaps he does feel guilty about the harsh words he had used and the way he had treated Cas ever since Mary’s death. Still, there is no sign that Dean himself has communicated in any way with Cas. We end the episode with Sam calling Cas, leaving him a message on his mailbox. Not one, but two times the show reminded us that Cas is not around, that something is clearly missing and their little family is not complete.

The case of the week, as Sam at some point realizes, is a bit too easy. There is an eye-witness, who can also name the man who attacked her. It is uber-obvious that werewolves are responsible for the attacks and they are easy to find. In the end the Winchesters didn’t even had to kill them, they did it themselves. Just as easy as the actual case is the meta layer. The werewolves are two brothers, one of them the good son, trying to follow the rules of their late father, not wanting to hurt or kill anyone, the other one a monster, incapable of change. One kills the other, before killing himself. The parallels to Sam and Dean are obvious, as is the foreshadowing. It’s not clever or deep or multi-layered and well… it’s not supposed to. It’s bad on purpose, wanting us to question what is going, with Sam even pointing out that something feels weird. The big reveal – that Chuck is still writing their story – comes shortly after, giving the audience a manual as how we have to perceive the next episodes: with precaution, always aware that what we see is Chuck’s writing.

“He is not exactly Shakespeare”

The thing about Chuck’s writing is that there are some obvious mistakes in it. How is it possible that God had the power to resurrect Lilith from the Empty, when the Empty itself once told us that God has no power over there? Who is lying here and why? Why bringing back Lilith of all people (or rather demons) in the first place? Does Chuck need her for one of his endings? Clearly she has her own agenda and does not like to follow Chuck’s script, just as Sam and Dean.

And again it is obvious that Chuck doesn’t know his own characters. He gave Lilith the order to seduce Dean (why?), oblivious to the fact that that wouldn’t happen for several reasons. Then of course we have Ashley/Lilith telling Dean how great it would be if everything was planned for you, everything in your life already decided. Free will and found family are the two main themes of the series and Chuck ignores both, with dismissing/ignoring Cas and actually thinking he could force Sam and Dean into accepting the roles he had written for them.

We learn what Chuck’s preferred ending for the series is: one brother has to kill the other, after he turned dark side. It is clear by now that what Sam sees in his dreams are not visions of the future but instead visions of Chuck’s possible endings (as many had suspected). We have now seen three visions: in one Sam had been drinking demon blood again and killed Dean (in which Benny was present); in another Sam had become Lucifer’s vessel, with Dean trying to kill him, resulting in Dean’s death; and in the last one we saw Dean once again with the Mark of Cain, killing Sam. We know that Chuck had stopped writing after season 5, so the Mark of Cain storyline isn’t official canon of the books, as far as we know (and neither is Benny). Chuck would know about it, but his readers would not. And it is not just that a character like Benny isn’t official book canon, he is also pretty much dead. Just as Lucifer, which would make it impossible for Sam to become his vessel again (also we only saw Lucifer!Sam wearing a white suit once, which was in the endverse, something Dean had witnessed but not Sam). Then again with the reappearance of Lilith it is possible Chuck might bring back every character from the dead, simply because he wants to. It is obvious that Chuck plays with his greatest hits, but none of the visions Sam has seen so far seems realistic/like something that might actually happen. Then again we shouldn’t trust Chuck as a writer.

Lastly something Lilith told the brothers was quite interesting: that she had only died because she had let herself killed; it was part of her story. Sam and Dean weren’t cleverer than her, she died because she needed to in order for her plan to work. And according to the writers this is something we will see in the next episodes: that so far Sam and Dean had been the heroes because Chuck wrote them that way, but now that will be over. Which will be such an interesting concept. Because over the last years we were so sure that Sam and Dean would always win, always come back from the dead etc, because that is what the story demanded, right? This is what we expect as an audience, so I’m curious to see those character interact without this confidence.

Until then <3

[theboywhocriedbooks]

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

[Goodreads]

It's 1989 in New York City, and for three teens, the world is changing.

Reza is an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother to live with his stepfather and stepbrother. He's terrified that someone will guess the truth he can barely acknowledge about himself. Reza knows he's gay, but all he knows of gay life are the media's images of men dying of AIDS.

Judy is an aspiring fashion designer who worships her uncle Stephen, a gay man with AIDS who devotes his time to activism as a member of ACT UP. Judy has never imagined finding romance...until she falls for Reza and they start dating.

Art is Judy's best friend, their school's only out and proud teen. He'll never be who his conservative parents want him to be, so he rebels by documenting the AIDS crisis through his photographs.

As Reza and Art grow closer, Reza struggles to find a way out of his deception that won't break Judy's heart--and destroy the most meaningful friendship he's ever known.

Thoughts:

Spoiler-Free Thoughts:

This was a book that I instantly became excited for when I learned what it was about. It discusses queer love, HIV/AIDS, NYC, the late 80’s, and those are all right up my alley. I’ve personally spent a lot of time educating myself about this history, be it in classes such as the one I took that focused on QPoC and HIV/AIDS specifically, or online, so you can say I’m pretty invested. I even wrote my own short story that focuses on similar themes (more on that some other time). Those parts of this book were so great, to an extent. One of my favorite historical moments is the St Patrick's Cathedral protest in the late 80’s, the die-in, where an individual can be heard screaming ‘You’re killing us!” and that made it into this book. So many other important historical moments made it into this book and I think that is its strongest aspect. 

I was also excited about this book because it discusses this topic AND is by a person of color, an Iranian American specifically and one of the main characters is Iranian American as well. I felt like, ‘who better to explore themes of love and friendship during this time than someone who was alive during that time and also is a person of color’, aka, a voice I don’t hear enough of when discussing this topic. So much of this book is important! The queer Iranian representation, the queer youth rep during this time in history, queer sex + safe sex, the iconic activism, and even just some of the general references. I respect this book for that alone, for attempting to tackle it all and doing some of it very well.

Unfortunately, I had a lot of problems throughout the book. I know one or two might be very biased and personal things, but I know there are some I would like others to know or talk about. This includes: love triangle/melodrama?, general pacing, Madonna, the white characters, cis-normativity, privilege, the pov’s, and more. I will discuss that below, so run to read the book (if you want) or continue to read my spoiler-ful thoughts!

Spoiler-ful Thoughts:

I feel like some of what I have to say might be controversial so bear with me. For context, I am a young queer Mexican-American writer from Los Angeles, and that’s where I’m coming from with this, identity wise.

I was so stoked to hear this history told in a PoC perspective but aside from the author being of color, I don’t actually think I got a PoC perspective??? Let me break that down. First of all, the story is a multi-pov that alternates each chapter from Reza, Art, and Judy. Realistically, 1/3 of the story is told from the Iranian American character’s eyes. Then the other two are white characters. That itself is where I began being a little iffy (because, again, I was excited about a young PoC pov on this topic) but I was open, especially because I enjoyed them all in the beginning. I just didn’t understand why we needed a straight ally’s point of view? Overall her arc fell flat, aside from the cute moments of fashion design or that moment with Reza’s brother surprisingly. I would have been okay/would have preferred if it was just Reza and Art’s pov though.

In relation to Judy, the whole romance between her and Reza and then Reza and Art was so overblown and unnecessary. Reza didn’t need to date her, though that is a valid and relatable gay teen feels. I wish it ended in that “oh!!! you’re gay, wait!! lol let’s be friends then!” thing. Instead, she’s in love with him for half the book, super pushy with sex and gets extremely upset with Art for… liking Reza, and then you don’t ‘see’ her much throughout the rest of the novel anyway? It just felt so unnecessary, and so love-triangle-y. I did really like Art’s “you don’t understand how it is to like someone and be gay” speech cos felt valid to gay teen vibes, but that could have just been said in a way less dramatic argument? It really made no sense to me.

Before we leave Judy, lets touch on privilege, specifically white privilege and class privilege. Reza’s family, was once poor but now filthy rich. Art’s family, filthy rich and white. Judy’s family, allegedly shown to not be ‘rich’ by the two lines that say “my friends’ rich parents gifted us that cos we’re not as rich as my rich friends” and yet there is really no discussion on that any deeper than that. Like why are her parents not shown working, her mother especially? And her uncle? He lives alone in an apartment in the upper east side or whatever, and doesn’t work anymore? I might have missed that but I shouldn’t be able to just ‘miss that.’ Like, how did they pay to go to PARIS. It just didn’t at all feel like a story I could relate to or one that this history could relate to entirely. Like, even them having a whole ass wake/party thing for her uncle in a night club? Most people who died of AIDS complications didn’t get that, especially not ones who aren’t from ‘not-rich-families’. It was subtle and yet the smell of privilege was everywhere.

Then even Art and Reza’s relationship was also weird? It was forbidden then it immediately wasn’t and they were in love, due to one or two time jumps that really did not help to build their relationship at all. Okay though, some teens love easily, especially gay teens who don’t know many other gay teens so it could slide? Then, however, there is this really real and valid fear ingrained in Reza regarding AIDS and gay sex. He is terrified, and I loved (and hurt) for how terrified he was because it felt reasonable. What I didn’t love was, knowing this, Art was also super pushy sexually? Do you realize he, at multiple times, tried to pressure Reza into sex and once even got naked and pushed his body against him? Doing this after full well knowing how uncomfortable Reza was? No, thank you. From the author’s note in the book, I felt like MAYBE this could have been intentional and not meant to be an extremely positive? While that could be a stretch, it also doesn’t at all criticize or directly address this toxic behavior so boop.

This brings me back to not feeling like I get a QPoC perspective. Reza is our main queer person of color, and really the only prominent one (Jimmy was a rather flat character). Yet, everything else revolves around whiteness. I already addressed Judy taking up space as a narrator. Then there is Art, the super queer activist teen. He is mostly where Reza learns all the queer things from, and he is mostly the perspective where we see the queer action/activism from. Then, who is the elder HE learned everything from? Stephen, the gay white poz uncle of Judy. THEN, who do they frame EVERYTHING around? Madonna, the straight white woman. 

Sure we hear about Stephan’s deceased Latino boyfriend and, as I said, Jimmy didn’t have much character to him aside from wearing a fur coat, saying “my black ass,” and helping move Stephan’s character along. He also has one of the few lines that directly addressed qpoc, where he says qpoc are disproportionally affected by AIDS but no one is talking about it. Ironic. It almost rarely addressed PoC throughout the rest of the novel. Heck, it almost never addressed trans characters either. What about the qpoc and trans woc who were foundational to queer rights movements that take place before this book? Sure he name drops Marsha P. Johnson, in passing, on the last page of this 400 page book, but why not mention them in depth even in one section?

Someone asked me, why does the author HAVE to do all of this. Why do they have to representing everyone, like Black trans women. Isn’t that unfair? My answer is no, it’s not unfair in situations like this. This author isn’t writing just a casual romance/friendship story. No, he is heavily touching on so much literal queer history and yet leaving out so many key players that are so often left out because of white-washing that happens in history. He didn’t even have to name these people, but just addressing that they are there as a community. Instead we get two or three throwaway lines about Ball culture after they “went to a ball that one time,” a random line from Jimmy, and a Marsha P. Johnson name drop at the end. It is honestly disappointing. 

Even framing everything in the words of Madonna was a bit much for me. Sure, I know of her history and importance to queers so this is one of the more biased parts of this review. I just don’t think we needed several references to her every other page. I then screamed when, not only did we time jump like 20+ years (gays don’t do math, sorry) and the last quote is Lady Gaga! Oh, my god. I won’t linger on the white popstar allies because it’s not worth it. In regards to that time jump, though. It felt unnecessary as well, just trying to tie it all up with a bow. It’s reference to Pulse seemed random, and honestly felt a bit cheap, but so did lots of the things I’ve referenced. 

Lastly, why did Art abruptly lick Reza’s lips out of nowhere, or when he was angry it was shown by saying “ and his brow sweats”? Anyway, I’m bummed out. I haven’t been reading as much this year or writing reviews but here I am, writing a novel-sized review basically dragging this book. I liked it enough to finish, and I think it’s important. I know some queer kids reading this will love it and learn from it but I just couldn’t help but realize that right under the surface, this book was sort of a let-down.

Thanks if you read all of this, and also sorry at the same time. Share your thoughts!

[abundantchewtoys]

HS Epi: Meat p16 reaction

Reaction under the cut!

Still in the process of, well, processing the defeat of Lord English and all those deaths.

I wonder if, through some esoteric means, Jade's body would be used by Caliborn to try and escape his fate. She's an ex-First Guardian, so he might have a connection to her body. Plus, if that would happen, that would be the final time the wolf head could be connected to LE - since Jade's half dog.

Blaperile thought also of the server representing LE's DNA, running somewhere in the Furthest Ring. Maybe that fell into the Black Hole too, though?

I wonder what is even going to happen to John now. I mean, he still has the Ring of Life, someone could find him and put it on his finger. Someone like Terezi. It could be Meenah as well, in an ultimate sacrifice - she once said she'd run him through again to steal his ring, but maybe she'll sacrifice her chance at life for him. Some form of ultimate redemption for the Condesce, in a way.

If Terezi finds him, odds are she'll have found out about Vriska somehow. :/ I doubt any ghosts are left in the Furthest Ring on the one hand. On the other hand, we haven't seen any mention of any of the other trolls mentioned in the character list. Nor of GO Vriska & Terezi, though they might have double died through the cracks that encroached on them.

A third option to find John is Aradia - since she was so intent on witnessing the end of Paradox Space and seeing what'd happen if the place came falling apart.

Or maybe John will have some sort of vision, like a special afterlife, with his Dad there, before he wakes up / revives? I can only hope.

I doubt the Ring is multi-use, but if it were, it would sure be something if Meenah could be revived as well as John! And for Aradia and Terezi (and Meenah?) to come back with him to Earth C, now there's nothing left in the Furthest Ring for them. If Meenah came to Earth C, the Crocker run for president would have some serious competition! :P Not that I'd really root for Meenah to win, though, since she's quite clearly unfit to lead a country, only a strike force.

I've also got to wonder how long Andrew has been planning to have Davesprite be the one to kill Lord English? I'm sure much of what Davepeta became grew organically, as well as the other components of Lord English, but it seems to me the Davesprite part was always planned. But he sure is a master of tying in later details into the evolving story.

Like, for instance, LE biting Dave's head off reminds me of Hearts Boxcars doing the same for Eggs. Dave and eggs...

So, it was all doomed and retconned selves that were instrumental in bringing down Lord English, you know. John is pre-retcon, the other B2 kids came from a temporary offshoot. Tavros was also pre-retcon. Meenah came from a scratched session. Davesprite was doomed. All those troll ghosts were doomed. Alternate Calliope was doomed. The only exception is the Nepeta part of Davepeta, and she was so irrelevant to the timeline's major events before her prototyping as to almost not count. These were the glitches in spacetime that could kill Lord English. It's fitting, since Lord English was so focused on the main timeline and being the 'alpha', that he couldn't see where his 'doom' would come from.

Anyway. The page ended with a command to John, so I'm rather convinced the next page will continue from John's perspective.

---

"ROSE: When I was a child, I wrote a novel." Well, never mind!

Well, okay, I guess that, even though John's perspective has just ended in what could have been the ending of Homestuck, I would very much like to learn more about Complacency of the Learned and its potential ramifications as to the rest of the plot! Guess now's the moment to find out why the story isn't ending just yet.

"She has both hands resting on the chassis of his recent project, Sawtooth 3.1." Soooo... Was Sawhoo supposed to be Sawtooth 2.0? :P I wonder what improvements Dirk could be implementing. Also, whether he ever intends to use the rapbot on his show. I get a feeling most of the robots there never leave novice mode, actually.

"DIRK: Another one of those Lalonde childhood wizard fics, I presume?" Yeah, now I'm reminded of Wizardy Herbert, Roxy's supposed work. I never did get through that draft of it Andrew wrote all those years prior, I got to admit.

I'm guessing Rose has found a way to connect her old fic to the grander context of canon, realizing some of the stuff she put into the story came from her aspect?

"With the sunset behind her she’s a shadow ringed in yellow light that turns white at the tips of her hair." Pfff, circumstantial simultaneity strikes again! That's just like how Reload Rose looked. Alternatively, she has a bit of a halo right now.

"ROSE: It’s more raw. It betrays considerably more sincerity than my young self was surely ever aware of stitching into the prose." Hah, guess Rose was not as good at hiding her own feelings as she tried back then, hiding behind that passive-aggressiveness.

I wonder if this is Andrew talking about how some of his early work, maybe even early Homestuck, was a lot closer to his heart than the epic story it grew into, despite said level of epicness.

"ROSE: It meant something." Maybe adult Rose's work was too polished, too betraying of her literacy and a bit removed from the essence of what she was trying to say. That could be due to its nature as anti-propaganda aimed against Condesce.

"DIRK: Hmm." There Dirk goes again, with the autoresponder-enabling short responses.

"ROSE: For all its plainly evident amateurism as the literary product of a child, I’ve come to believe it’s a much stronger work standing alone as a single volume, its meaning and symbolism potently compressed, and its message shining through more nakedly, undisguised by the cleverness of a more seasoned writer." Again, Andrew comparing Team Special Olympics and such things to his later work?

"The plot concerns the machinations of twelve wizard children." Oh, I thought it was focused on twelve adult wizards, including Zazzerpan?

"ROSE: It isn’t their intent to commit atrocities, or within their nature to do so originally. They become corrupted by an overabundance of knowledge. The kind never meant for the mortal mind to grasp." They went grimdark. :P Also, I suppose this leads into Rose's misgivings regarding the ultimate self.

"ROSE: It certainly wasn’t the most fucked up thing I’ve ever written." ... Oh right, the MEOW code. Yeah, that must take 1st place.

"as if I were pulling inspiration from beyond myself—channeling the story, rather than writing it." Almost as if she got it from the Void more even than her then-latent aspect!

"spiderwebs of gold that dissolve into dust" ... Really, sure, go ahead, keep rubbing salt into that wound. :P

"ROSE: You could almost call the process... [...] She’s smirking now, just a little." Brace for pun-pact!

"ROSE: ...enlightened." Eyyyyy!

"

DIRK: It also sounds like it’s the opposite of what was going on?" Dirk also thinks it sounds more like a Void thing?

"DIRK: Sounds more like you were trapped in a sort of dire creative fugue state causing you to chart your own mental profile using metaphor revolving around murderous, omniscient children." ... So that's where the locquacious genes came from. Also in-deep-analysis.

"ROSE: Well, consider the playful pun rescinded.

ROSE: Apologies for diminishing your presence with my suboptimal health and the toll it has taken on my wordplay.

DIRK: Thanks. It’s been very difficult for me.

ROSE: You’ve been a real trouper." These two, are the best.

"ROSE: Anyway, my point is that I’ve long suspected my story was a pre-manifestation of my Seer of Light powers. I was seeing beyond my universe into another." Yyyeah, but, the analogy with the trolls doesn't hold up after the first glance, and she (or her adult self) also incorporated things from other timelines and universes. The genderqueer Cal... I forgot what the full name was..., for instance.

Meanwhile, Dave has been well aware his subconcsiousness is influencing him, and he has been looking and found the "least psychologically revealing" SBaHJ comic, as a result.

"ROSE: My original thesis was that the children represented the twelve trolls who created our universe." Ooh, so she noticed it too. Guess she might now be thinking the twelve are representations of the B2 kids, Karkat, Kanaya, Calliope and... someone else?

"DIRK: Twelve. That’s how many players went through the door at the end of our game." Riiiight, Terezi went through as well!

"When she finds herself leaning against him—probably without thinking about it, Dirk imagines, because neither of them really “do” that—he doesn’t pull away. If it’s her, it’s all right." That just shows the difference in how he and Rose behave versus he and Dave, where the distance or proximity is always a tangible thing.

"DIRK: You describe this as a fact of numerological significance.

DIRK: Which makes it seem you suspect these correlations are something less than utterly providential. As if there is a part of you holding on to the belief that certain figures are coincidental. That their significance and repetition smacks of bullshit." Heheh, there are a LOT of repeating numbers in the story though, bullshit or not. Twelve is just one of them: 4 6 10 11 12 13 25 ... Seems like Dirk holds them in higher esteem than Rose, though. If he's sincere.

"It’s unclear exactly which things are smacking, just as it’s unclear that when it comes to bullshit, whether or not smacking accurately describes what is being done per se." This metaphor has gone off track again.

"DIRK: I’m just saying it’s all evidence of a grand design. An immortal, metatextual apparatus beyond our ken that we can only catch glimpses of when we’re proverbially shitting our brains out through our nose." They can almost see Andrew. :P In-canon, the closest to such a reveal were John and Jade, but they let the moment of epiphany pass them by as they started their 3-year-long journey. :P

"ROSE: They were filled with the light of knowledge and one by one they succumbed to it, turning insane or evil or, most often, both." Ah, right, like the guy that filled that tome with knowledge and was crushed by it, that Roxy named Jaspers after.

"ROSE: If this is the effect unchecked powers have on players living in a post-canon victory state, then why isn’t it affecting any of our other friends?" Let the theories about evil power-hungry Jane commence! Though, what other effects could we even see right now, not much. Plus, Kanaya, Karkat, Terezi and Calliope won't feel the effects of an ultimate self ascension, at least.

"DIRK: Well." Don't say "now you mention it", Dirk. Please.

"some of us have stopped using our powers completely." Oh, he thinks that it's not so much power that corrupts, but the continued use of it?

"emergency resurrections" But he also doesn't seem to think then that what Jane is planning reeks of her getting slowly corrupted, huh.

"sportsball riot" I wouldn't be surprised if sportsball is an actual thing on this planet, courtesy of Dave's influence in shaping society.

"ROSE: In that case...

Rose sways suddenly." Eesh, she's starting to get woozy.

"ROSE: Maybe I was a fool for imagining I could settle down here." :/ It would be shitty for Paradox Space to do this to the players for no good reason, though. Then again, Sburb.

"occasional banter about adoption with her wife" Ooh, cool. Well, yeah, it would stand to reason Maryams like to become mothers. :)

"ROSE: I assumed it was just that feigned Strider Stoicism, but you seem to be taking this...

DIRK: In stride?" Awww-yeah. Sorry Rose, you have nothing to top Strider Dad jokes.

"

DIRK: But I’ve got more practice at this than you do. I spent most of my life before the game multitasking my entire fucking subconscious. I’ve had several times my age on paper to contemplate these mysteries.

DIRK: Years of prying open can after can of worms filled with answers I don’t like.

DIRK: Cut yourself on the edge more than once and you stop getting surprised by all the blood.

ROSE: I see." So it's as if, due to Dirk already having such an extensive memory from juggling dream and awake selves, he's handling all the input better. Maybe, relatively speaking, it's less that's coming in for him, too. I mean, his dream selves mustn't have gone through many different things. Plus, maybe merging with Lil' Hal does something for you to be able to handle big data. :O

"ROSE: In fact, I don’t think it’s the expansion of my powers that is causing the headaches, but rather my own resistance to it.

ROSE: Sometimes I get this feeling that I could, if I really wanted to, just let go." I think Rose might prefer to keep to her current self, if she could. Like the narration said, she's basically still a solitary creature. The expansion of experiences is proving too jarring.

"ROSE: I’m forcing myself to stumble through my life as a sleepwalker. All this pain and sorrow could go away if I would just allow myself to wake up." Between this and "letting go", it seems like an ultimate self ascension is perhaps even going to go further than the psychologically, maybe even physically. If that's so, Dirk might be further ahead but not there yet. But once they'd ascend, there wouldn't be coming back from it, I would think, and they'd leave their old lives and Earth C behind, to go to another plane of existence, maybe?

"ROSE: Because I’m not sure that the person opening her eyes will be me." ... Now I'm thinking about how the last command aimed at John was for him to close his eyes. :/ Could that mean he's about to go through a sped-up ascension?

Rose has the unfortunate occasion to compare her ascension to Jasprosesprite^2, so I very much understand she has very grave misgivings about "expanding her mental horizons", so to speak.

"Then, in a deliberate motion, he pulls off his shades." ... Say, would his eyes have changed if he merged with Lil' Hal, even just psychologically? I know the autoresponder was a pair of shades without eyes, but the Hal monitor had that red buzzing light which represented his eyeballs on at least one occasion.

"DIRK: I know I sound pretty nonchalant most of the time, but actually I’m scared shitless of myself.

DIRK: I’ve always had this uncanny ability to chart a course from A to Z and not give a fuck about any of the letters in between.

DIRK: I’m not sure anyone should be allowed to have that much foresight. Especially a guy like me." Well, that's a healthy self-assessment and fear. Though, foresight? It would be more akin to intuition, right, knowing how people responded in different situations? ... Which sounds like Mind powers, actually, come to think of it.

"ROSE: The farther above the board you fly, the harder it gets to care about the pieces." Is that part of the reason Terezi left, if she forced an ultimate self ascension on her with her Remem8er act?

"DIRK: And yes, I may be a shitty human being, but,

DIRK: As a mechanic, I’m off the fucking charts." Well, that certainly are points to Dirk being at least marginally better as an adult than Bro, if only out of self-awareness. Speaking of, does he have access to Bro's memories now, too? Also, the mechanic part is leading into the Soulbot I theorized about? Wait, mechanic... Dirk and Darkleer should have a build-off.

"Rose’s eyes have grown distant, almost mirrorlike. Dirk can see himself reflected in her vacant stare.

ROSE: All the pieces in their place.

ROSE: The mechanisms all running smoothly." Has Dirk... hypnotized her?

"She says this in a hollow tone. It’s the disarming voice a puppeteer ventriloquizes for a marionette. Her head falls toward her shoulder slowly. Dirk catches her cheek as she slides into sleep. It’s difficult for the untrained ear to spot the exact moment in their conversation when the words she was saying stopped being hers and started being his." ... What did I just watch. ... How. Why? ... Did Dirk use any Heart powers here? I can't...

"Does it really matter? In many respects, they’re basically the same person, aren’t they?" Kind of creepy to say that about your hypnotized daughter, though.

"Kindred spirits in blood and perspective, the puppet masters of the respective games they like to believe they’re playing." ... Puppets. Puppets and games. ... This is building up into a Saw reference and I don't like it one bit. "I want to play a game." ... I do hope Dirk's ascension hasn't seen him get influenced by Lord English.

... You know, though, maybe Dirk was able to influence Rose because of their strong connection, since she's so close to his self she's almost like another shard of him, more so than other people that contain shards of his essence, like Brain Ghost Dirk for Jake.

"But you already knew that, right?" Aaaaaaah, he took over the narration! ... He took over Andrew??? Is that a power for ultimate selves, to get access to the narrative prompt?? If so, then Caliborn was not an exception, just the primary example.

... He's pulled a Doc Scratch on us.

Dear god.

What to make of this. I think Dirk might be the hidden antagonist of Earth C. His Heart powers might be able to influence and even control people.

I just hope he isn't going to absorb them all.

... Man, this started baring on innocuous and look at how chilling the ending of the page is.

I think through his influence, people might start behaving exactly as he predicted, enforcing him being right and securing influence at the same time. I mean, if he merged with memories from Lil Hal, Doc Scratch and perhaps even LE... He's become a master manipulator.

... This is basically "shh, only dreams now" D:

[louiseeleanorbee]

Author Asks

I was tagged by @criminal-minds-fanfiction ! Thank-you! 💕

1. What inspires your work most? (The show it is based on, the actor who portrays a certain character, maybe the character itself? It could even be an experience.)

Uh, I suppose the characters - what they’re like personality wise, etc. - and the universe itself, like what sort of things happen in it’s universe and are capable of happening. And mostly just random scenarios that I play out in my head, some are shorter than others, some get written while most don’t. So just scenarios of the characters and the reader/oc until I think, “hey, some people might wanna read this. Maybe I’ll write it….”

2. What is your favorite fandom to write for?

I’ve only written for Criminal Minds (I’m ignoring those few days where I wrote some Tom Hiddleston fanfiction when I was like 15, *shudders*). It’s the only fandom where I actually felt like I had a place and actually felt welcomed, the other fandoms just felt difficult to squeeze into. But luckily I made a friend in the CM fandom who made me feel as though I’m a good writer and encouraged me to write and post fics!

3. Which perspective do you prefer writing in? (First-person, second-person, third-person)

I suppose if it’s a fic that is very much about the relationship/connection between a character and the reader, then it’ll be second person. But it it’s a fic with a bigger story around it, with more characters - especially if they’re OC’s - then it’s easier to write in third person.

4. Do you prefer writing reader fics or OCs?

Uhh, like before if it’s a oneshot or a fic where it’s mainly about the relationship between a character from the show and a character that I’ve put into the universe, then a reader insert is best. But if the story is focusing on a case, or something bigger than the characters, then I like to use an OC. So it depends on what kind of fic I’m writing. If I want it to be a more intimate fic, then reader, and if I want it to be a more story driven, then OC.

I kinda like the fact that an OC gives you so much more freedom to have the character how you want it. Then to apply a personality, hobby, etc. on the ‘reader’, when the reader may like that. Maybe I just want to avoid any negative comments about that, due to it happening to a friend, and knowing people would be picky about that…who knows…

5. Do you prefer writing longer works or one shots?

I’ve mainly only written one shots, but now that I have the ideas for two multi-fics, I don’t have the time or motivation to write them. I want to write these two fics but it’s effort..and…what’s the point in writing them, y'know

So I suppose I prefer one shots 'cause they’re easier. And less effort, still takes effort though…

6. Do you take requests?

Nope. I can barely manage to get my own ideas down and put them out there. The thought of doing other people’s ideas terrifies me. The pressure and responsibility of turning these great ideas by your readers into a piece of writing that’s good, and that they would want to read, and enjoy…. *shudders*

7. Do you enjoy getting random Asks?

Yes!!! Yes!! Oh my god yes! They always make me smile! Whether it’s on here (my main) or my CM sideblog, I love it! It makes me feel like I do belong and that I do have a purpose on here. That people do like me - they really like me! - and that they do want me to be on here and in the fandom.

Athough I don’t get many, they always make my day, and I love and cherish every message I get. And they always make me smile whenever I think if them.

8. What inspires the names for OCs (or extra character names) in your works? Do you pick them from real life or just select them at random? A mix?

For extra character names, I pick them at random and often use a name generator online to pick some that I may have forgotten of. For OC’s…I tend to pick names that have more meaning, for/about the character.

My first OC, named Elizabeth, doesn’t have too much meaning in her name. I wanted a fairly “conservative” name considering her parents and what they’re like. Plus, I love that name, and I thought about possible nicknames too; Eliza, Liz, Lizzie, Beth.

For my second OC Olive, because I took inspiration from the goddess Athena, her full name originally was Athena Minevra (Minevra is the Roman equivalent of Athena), but I decided that was too on the nose, and as she wasn’t exactly like a reincarnation of Athena I changed her name. I looked at things that are associated with Athena. One of the trees associated with her is an olive tree, and loved that as a name! Plus she’s Italian-American…. - so it kinda fits in that case too.

My third OC, Iris, has prophetic dreams and is sort of like a psyhic. So I looked up names with the meaning of; medium, prophet, clairvoyant, psychic, etc. And struggled to find one that I truly loved. I came across Iris in my search (plus, I’ve always loved that name) and chose that, and I feel like it’s a name that fits, considering that she can “see” the future.

9. If your story(ies) have OCs, are their appearances based on real people or celebrities? If so, who?

Uh not really. Sometimes I’ll have an image in mind of what they look like, and for Olive I came across this picture of this woman and was like “!!!!!! That’s Olive!!!!! That screams Olive!!!!!”

10. How long have you been writing fanfiction?

Properly, just over two years, though I haven’t really done any in the last four or five months, or so…

But I did start writing when The Avengers came out in 2012. My best friend at the time introduced me to it and I got very obsessed, very quickly, and developed a crush on Loki and Tom Hiddleston. I read a lot of fics about Tom, and decided to try my hand at it. But it was probably only for a couple of weeks, though in hindsight it feels like only a day or two. It was a very short lived attempt at writing.

Until I watched Criminal Minds in the Summer of 2015 (once I finished sixth form college) and found the CM fandom on here, and met my best friend, Cherry, who inspired and encouraged me to start writing. She is literally the only reason why my fics exist and are on my sideblog. So, yeah.

I tag: Any writers that want to do this!!!

[seenashwrite]

The Nail: July 2017

The Nail isn't about perfection. It isn't about award-level contenders. It's about seeing focus and effort and hard work radiate off of the screen.

The Nail's purpose isn't to highlight genres of fics or specific ships written during a certain time frame - the sole focus is quality.

Character dimension. Writing with clever readers in mind. Solid world-building. Tension through boundaries. Crazy crisp dialogue. Incredibly tight plotting. Big emotion.

And though yours truly - nice to meet you, new folks, I’m Nash! - is editor of the list, the goal is for YOU to curate the content.

Read more about how all this came to be, find past editions, see what factors are considered when constructing the list, and how to get your recommendations in/be a curator HERE.

Hey, ramblers? Let’s get ramblin’.

For your reblogging convenience, here’s The Nail Master Post of Editions!

Quickie Nash Note:

I've not had opportunity this month [June] to give individual three-point reviews. So, something a little different here for July's reads - and it just might be the way The Nail rolls from here on out [and yes - I still will review on my "own time", as it were, once I... y'know... have more time].

Aside from the typical short blip of a summary that reviewers provide for their readers, you'll see a handful of reasons these pieces made the list below that, labelled "Q". In other words, the "Q"s  are a handful of elements we [curators & I] look for when it comes to an author nailing it.

Quite wonderfully, the curator submissions are increasing in number with every edition! So much so, many stories have been shifted to upcoming months. If you enjoy curator selections & found them to be of quality, please consider not only giving the authors feedback, but also thanking the curator(s) for bringing the story/series to your attention. I suspect they'll dig it.

XO - Nash.

* ~ * ALL FROM THE WORLD OF "SUPERNATURAL" UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED * ~ *

SPEED READS [from scene do-overs to gif-inspired one-shots to dripping drabbles, all 500 words or less]  

These won’t be reviewed separately in Nash’s usual three-point manner à la #Nash Gives [Feed]back due to their length, excepting those cases where the author pulled off a fleshed-out plot/character or had a unique take that was well-covered in the short amount of space. If there is no title provided by the author, Nash/the curator will pick one for them.

THE YEAR IS 2050  -  @mishasaurus

Years on the job, and still the occasional surprise. 

Q: crisp, quick, no more words/detail than necessary; executed a call-back and wisely eschewed any [uneccessary] explanations; wonderfully delightful, spot-on humor

.

FIFTEEN  -  @teamfreewill-imagine  

Time always has moved differently for Dean.

Q: Concise while still giving character dimension; exploratory without explaining every finite detail; subtle and realistic tipping point in character arc

.

RESERVED SPACE  -  @supernaturalfreewill 

Rather than take action, Dean observes and wonders.

Q: pitch-perfection descriptions that gave just enough vs. too dense; took a prompt that inferred a certain direction/instead chose a thoughtful path to show a different side of a well-known character; pleasant change of pace/atypical use of reader inclusion/insert

.

STEP-BY-STEP  -  @veneredirimmel

A short character study, considering what exactly is behind this hunter's smile.

Q: careful and considerate exploration of a characteristic that often bends shallow and sappy; flow is pitch-perfect, each section adding a bit more gravity, growing more personal as it goes on; kept in line with the portrayal we know while adding believable layers; leaves the reader with a feeling of "I want to go back and read this again"  

---> Unable to tag author, if someone would kindly let them know <---

.

THE LONG, FULL YEARS  -  @ariannnawinchester 

What happens in the life story of the Winchesters after "The End" has been written.

Q: fantastic example of a heavy topic in the hands of a sharp author who can make it feel "light" & not depressive; written with clever readers in mind, painting a picture fluid enough to allow for interpretation; absolutely knocked it out of the park regarding the "main event", in that those details weren't important as the aftermath is the point; fleshed-out OCs whose personalities were clear & enjoyable despite only a few lines between them

.

THERE IT WAS  -  @deathtonormalcy56

There's every reason to believe he'll be back - after all, he's always come back before - and now begins the time in between.

Q: good contrasts between objectives & subjectives/how "dulls" can be "sharps", etc.; took the risk of going with little/no dialogue that can often go awry for many/go sluggish; strong protag in the face of sorrow/doesn't fall apart/introspection without broodiness; 2nd person almost fading into 3rd omniscient

ON THE SHORT SIDE [500-ish to 1.5K]

Works via curators will not necessarily receive Nash's typical 3-point review

URBAN LEGENDS  -  @sasquatchandleatherjacket

Seems that some legends are more than the stories we use to contain them - and just how frightening they are depends on your perspective.

Q: creative take on the subject which made absolute perfect sense; nice, slow burn - despite the crisp pace & length - to the ultimate reveal, nicely camouflaged by the initial, more intuitive reveal; atypical choice regarding perspective, one not often utilized; leaves reader with the feeling of "I'd definitely read this again"

---> Unable to tag author, if someone would kindly let them know <---

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SHEETS  -  @klaineaholic

The basic skills for hunting include weapons and the lore, but when it comes to hunting with the Winchesters, one must also master snark, sarcasm, sass - and those skills may just be the most important of all.

Q: well-done characterization; nice, quick pace; awkward moment handled realistically; fleshed-out protag in a very short amount of time/showed a sharp wit with a softer side that didn't bend sappy

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TEA TIME WITH MILDRED  [on AO3] -  @grey2510 

Crowley has help this time around with his critique of Dean and Castiel.

Q: in medias res with steady pace; excellent characterizations, including fleshed-out & highly enjoyable minor/here-and-gone character from a past ep; doesn't waste time on things superfluous to plot, nice flow

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TRANSPLANT  -  @zepppie 

Dean takes a moment to give thanks for a gift, one that's given him a very different perspective on life.

Q: very unique/original plot that fits within the universe of the show; excellent characterization [minor OCs & protag alike]; written with clever readers in mind; big emotion while calmly introspective

.

THE BEST OF FOOLS  -  @fanforfanatic

In which Castiel learns that a gift he's received holds more than simply music.

Q: in medias res; scene exploration with unique/original concept; tangible descriptions of the object in question, paints picture of sound extremely well; multiple fantastic turns-of-phrase/keeps a steady flow/prevents a bogged-down information relay

.

STICK 'EM UP  -  @seljepw

Dean finds himself in a slightly atypical situation, though he also finds the family mantra still applies.  

Q: Solid beginning/cap-off; very believable characterization/verbiage/behavior of protag; tight plotting with crisp dialogue; little-to-no extraneous detail

MIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD [around 1.5K - 2.5K]

Works via curators will not necessarily receive Nash's typical 3-point review

LET'S SWAYZE THIS MOTHER  -  @emilywritesaboutdean

They thought Gabriel had been taken out of the equation. They were wrong. Oh wow, were they ever wrong.

Q: in medias res; incredibly creative plot [bonus points for perfect title choice]; both the overall story/structure and characterizations left the feeling of having watched an episode of the show; seemingly effortless humor

.

THERE YOU'LL ALWAYS BE  -  @deansdirtylittlesecretsblog

It was a different relationship for Sam, this woman who understood his lifestyle and his secrets completely, though the feelings of contrition seem to find him all the same.  

Q: beautifully fleshed-out, introspective view of the stoic main character that rings true to canon/believable interaction with secondary canon character;  moderate borrowing from source material used appropriately; killer last line to cap off

Curated by @klaineaholic, who said:   "This is so so sad and beautiful! The [pieces of dialogue were] such Eileen things to say, I’m so glad you wrote this!”

LONGER [around 2.5K to  3K-ish]

Works via curators will not necessarily receive Nash's typical 3-point review

  CRAPULOUS  -  @butiaintgonnaloveem 

A tale of a hangover, a vampire stake-out that went awry, and mysterious underwear await.

Q: well-plotted story with just enough detail/purposefully does not reveal every facet/encourages readers' imaginations; quick, witty, crisp dialogue beyond prompt(s); phenomenal featured OC; believable take on canon character; seemingly effortless humor

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THE REST  -  @mrswhozeewhatsis

Deferring to author's pitch-perfect summary - “It’s all about what you give away and what you keep for yourself.”

Q: excellent weaving together of a fleshed-out OC's story in a very plausible behind-the-scenes-canon vignette; limited/no laborious describing of situations/surroundings/appearances; well-done choices of breaks/flipping to next scene/kept flow; bonus points for utilizing a seldom-seen character 

Curated by @klaineaholic, who said: "I'm falling more and more in love with these fics that explore what's behind the canon. [This story is] like following this thread and going until you think you know how it's going to play into the canon and then the end just tugs your heart unexpectedly. Michelle clearly put so much thought and creativity into her pre-canon story on [a] beloved, oft-written about part of the Supernatural universe."

DEEP DIVES [3K and beyond, including completed multi-parters with 2 to (roughly) 5 parts of modestly sized chapters totaling at minimum 3K words]

This does *not* include series, which have their own section. Works via curators will not necessarily receive Nash's typical 3-point review.

THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS   -  @hannahindie

On a much-needed night of relaxation for the crew, Dean’s picked a happy hour - with the hope of a happy ending - that doesn’t quite go as expected.

Q: rarely seen use of a narrator to help tell the story - and it is pulled it off seamlessly/does not detract or add a cumbersome nature - this is one of those few exceptions to the likely-never-to-fail-you in medias res kickoff; crisp, witty dialogue/interactions; solid all-around characterization  

.

SCAR TISSUE  -  @fanforfanatic

It's nothing new when Dean meets a woman in a bar - only this time, as the author puts it, "their damaged parts seem to match."

Q:  took an oft-seen locale/situation and went deeper/introspective without being depressive; lovely, subtle touches sprinkled throughout for adding character depth - particularly O.C. - that add up by the end (bonus points for inventive "naming"); multiple well-crafted turns-of-phrase

SERIES SPOTLIGHT : SUPERNATURAL & SPN CROSS-OVERS [works that are completed series, as well as ongoing series with at least 3 parts published as of/prior to the edition of The Nail in question]

Due to time constraints, series are not read in full. They are given a cursory once-over for the quality basics, most importantly that the author has put maximum effort into world-building.

The first chapter / first handful of chapters / first third of the first chapter - depending on length - are read to ensure there are no gross grammar / spelling errors, as well as ensuring the story’s premise is made clear.

Summation line(s) below are taken from the author/the story, edited/shortened only for length/clarity if needed. Same applies to series from other fandoms featured on this list.

LIKE A ROLLING STONE  -  @stori-teller

"Cas Novak stumbles across a dead body - enter the Winchesters." 

Q: in medias res; character dimension; descriptions of people/places/things unfold organically; plot unfolds organically/no long expositions/etc.; bonus points for mini-summaries/appropriate warnings for each chapter  

.

SENSATION  -  @littlegreenplasticsoldier

"Sam is cursed to live without his senses and you are left to look after him at the bunker."

Q: [Deferring to our curators this go, seems they covered it, yes? ;)  -N.] 

Curated by @butiaintgonnaloveem, who said: "It's one of those fics that is heavy, while maintaining humor which is tricky. And the way she manages to describe the senses and the lack thereof just boggles my mind."

Curated by @klaineaholic, who said: "Being inside Sam's head as he loses all of his senses, following along as you (the character) try to keep him sane and make him feel not-so-alone when he can't help BUT feel alone [...] Sam's internal voice is captured perfectly, his characterization is so true, and the plot is just phenomenal."

.

BLOOD & PERFUME  -  @helvonasche  +  @madamelibrarian

"A pair of sisters must learn to navigate a life they're not used to, without a family, and with a power that should not exist."

Q: in medias res - and with a kick/thrown right into the action; unique ability/power/skill not seen/rare to see in this fandom; inventive name choices for original characters that fit the tone without being cumbersome or distracting; lets plot unfold organically

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YOUR YOUNG MEN WILL SEE VISIONS, YOUR OLD MEN WILL DREAM DREAMS  -  @winchester-family-business

[SUPERNATURAL + INCEPTION]

"Dreamsharing: digging through the secrets that should stay locked up tight -  and no secret is safe from the Winchesters."

Q: see my review for more detail on how this author essentially gave a master class on how to start a story, particularly in the action/adventure genre; takes inspiration without carbon-copy; characterization on-point; tension through boundaries; writing for clever readers

Nash Note: The link on the right - the second part of the title - is to the first chapter. The one on the left - the first part of the title - is to the brief primer on the “Inception” universe  

.

RISE FOR YOUR KING  -  @thran-duils

“You were betrothed to a prince, but when a neighboring king - a mage - decides to dole out justice to your future father in law, he destroys the royal family... and takes an immediate liking to you.”

Q: well-styled fantasy/pseudo-historical AU with solid world-building; in medias res; tension/drama/action that ebbs/flows; gift/power/skill for protag which is atypical/rarely seen

Curated by @klaineaholic, who said: "JaNae is the queen of AU!Cas and she throws this character into new positions and life experiences and draws from the various Castiels that we see on the show in order to play with her AU!Cas' personality. This fic reminds me of Godstiel in a way, and how power-hungry that Cas was. Definitely imaginative, truly unique, and sexy to boot."

.

THUNDER ROAD  -  @tankcupcakes

“Sent back in time to stop the murder of their parents, Sam and Dean are met with unforeseen circumstances that strand them in the past.”

Q: in medias res; crisp dialogue; tight plotting; spot-on/fleshed-out characterization [familiar + OCs]; evident critical eye regarding appropriate detail for time period; nice formatting/flow

POEMS & POETICAL PROSE [mostly quick reads, these are actual poems of any structure/length, as well as short prose that sings like a songbird]

These will not be reviewed separately in Nash’s usual three-point manner à la #Nash Gives [Feed]back due to the typically short lengths & structure. For poems: an excerpted line is used in lieu of summary. If there is no title provided by the author, Nash/the curator will pick one for them.

WHAT ANGELS NEED  -  @justrandomspnstuff

"...counting freckles like they’re flecks of gold."

Q: stanzas arranged with common strokes vs. carbon-copy repetition; sweet/thoughtful without bending saccharine/broody; kept clever readers in mind/lets the reader fill in the finer details    

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HIS CREATION  -  @vintagesam

"...enough tiny stars to make you believe in infinity."

Q: impeccable structure; steady through-line with nice break in form for ending; imagery without using over-the-top vocab/kept it simple & sharp yet expressive

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HE KNEW  -  @trexrambling

“The hunting continued while a different dream was born from the ashes.”

Q: nice change of pace with pseudo-”insert” approach in 3rd person/engaging readers with choice of 2nd protag; good formatting to help flow/segments of their time together separated; no "real" dialogue but without loss of pace

[ETA: Caught it on a subsequent glance - I have no idea why only Rex’s got copied from draft when I had it in another category initially, but it’s fixed now! -N.]

RANDOM FANDOMS  [all types, all lengths, all the things that aren’t SPN but are still pretty dang super]

Works via curators will not necessarily receive Nash's typical 3-point review, same standards apply per genre as noted above

TWO BIRDS [series]  -  @whotheeffisbucky

[MARVEL]

“Set in the roaring 1920s, Bucky Barnes runs Manhattan like a kid with a toy set. There’s perhaps only one person who should be more feared than him - and she’s asking for his protection.”

Q: phenomenal/well-researched world-building; tone, verbiage, descriptions that read like they're somewhere in the Gatsby family tree; appropriate to this time period/genre - winding and packed with rich - not laborious - detail

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WHAT'S A LITTLE TRAUMA BETWEEN FRIENDS  -  @withstarryeyes 

[STAR TREK]

An injury proves traumatic to more than just the person on the receiving end.

Q: wonderful characterization/explored side of a protag only seen glimpses of; nice cadence/flow; appropriate use of "breaks" in formatting that didn't disturb the flow; refreshing style to see regarding a distinct lack of laborious descriptions [setting/characters/etc.] in lieu of shots of tiny details sprinkled along paragraphs

.  

LOGIC AND ANGELS  -  @oneshot-twoshot-redshot-blueshot

[SHERLOCK + pseudo-SPN]

The great Mr. Holmes adds to his vast amount of knowledge.

Q: in medias res; excellent characterization of protag; kept air of mystery/no explicit explanations/ambiguity - written with clever readers in mind; multiple well-crafted lines, both internal and verbal 

---> Unable to tag author, if someone would kindly let them know <---

ORIGINAL WORKS [anything from haiku to novella]

Works via curators will not necessarily receive Nash's typical 3-point review, same standards apply per genre as noted above

I DIDN'T GIVE YOU THE FRUIT  -  @medeae

"I forget that ichor is gold."

Q: imaginative/original; vivid but not overbearing/atypical imagery; crisp, tight structure/verbiage

.

LIKE THE SUN  -  @louisamayanniecat

"He looked at her like she was the sun, in that he never looked at her except in frustration."

Q: subverted the concept and made it infinitely better; not a space/word/letter wasted; conveyed a multitude of thoughts and incited as many feelings in a crisp, quick, organized manner

---> Unable to tag author, if someone would kindly let them know <---

.

THE JUDGMENT  -  @impala-dreamer

One person's journey through.

Q: good use of imagery; platitude pulled from the facile & given framework;  contrast of easy nature with intensity of setting

.

BOOKS ABOUT BETTER GIRLS  -  @inkskinned

Not every princess spends her days alone in the tower.

Q: above and beyond, fantastic, exceptional execution of a trope twist; fleshed-out characters; plot unfolds organically; written for clever readers; lovely world-building/character depth as compared to the length of text [read: many authors would take more words and likely accomplish less]

Shameless Self-Promotion:

See Nash Write : Master  || See Nash Write : Mobile 

Now get out there & read, read, read!

[cover2covermom]

A little late, but today I am wrapping up what I read & blogged in June!

» The Time of Green Magic by Hilary McKay

*2.5 Stars*

While I was expecting a middle grade fantasy, this was more contemporary with some magic realism elements.  Unfortunately, this one came up a bit short for me.

» Rick by Alex Gino

#PrideMonth

Another wonderful MG book from Alex Gino.  They (preferred pronoun) write such relevant and informational books with LGBTQIA+ elements.  Rick includes a main character that is questioning their sexuality and exploring the idea they might be aromantic.

» Drama by Raina Telgemeier

*3.5 Stars*

#PrideMonth

I loved how this book centered around kids in their school’s theater production.  I also appreciated the inclusion of gay characters in a MG graphic novel.  I think coming off a Svetlana Chmakova graphic novel made this one dull in comparison…

» Bloom by Kevin Panetta

*4.5 Stars*

#PrideMonth

This was a wonderful YA graphic novel about a M/M romance.  I loved the blue color palette carried out through the entirety of the book.

» The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club #1) by Lyssa Kay Adams

I was surprised with how much I enjoyed this adult romance.  I was delighted with all the feminist tones, and enjoyed the humor.

» Internment by Samira Ahmed

Need a very relevant YA dystopian book in your life?  The scary & unsettling thing about this book was that I could actually seeing this come to pass here in the U.S. under our current political leadership.

» New Kid (New Kid #1) by Jerry Craft

An excellent MG graphic novel about a black boy attending a predominately white private school for the first time.

» White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

ALL white people need to read this book.  DiAngelo really puts things into perspective.  I learned so much.

» Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

#PrideMonth

This book gave me The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender vibes, so if you enjoyed that book, you’ll probably also enjoy this one too.

» All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

#PrideMonth

Johnson shares his experiences growing up as a queer black boy in this powerful memoir.  I love that Johnson wrote his story for the teen audience.  This is a must read!

» Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

#PrideMonth

I thought this was a super unique genre mash up science fiction (dystopian) and western.  I also loved the pack horse librarian element, but wanted MORE.  I wanted a full length novel with more development, but this is a novella.

Goodreads Challenge Update: 71 books read in 2020

Monday 6/1

Mini Book Reviews: June 2020 – Part 1

Tuesday 6/9

Mini Book Reviews: June 2020 – Part 2

Thursday 6/11

Mini Book Reviews: June 2020 – Part 3

Tuesday 6/23

Mini Book Reviews: June 2020 – Part 4

NetGalley ARCs:

» Anxious People by Fredrik Bachman

Publication date: September 8, 2020

A bank robber on the run locks himself in with an over-enthusiastic estate agent, two bitter IKEA-addicts, a pregnant woman, a suicidal multi-millionaire and a rabbit. In the end the robber gives up and lets everyone go, but when the police storm the apartment it is . . . empty.

In a series of dysfunctional testimonies after the event, the witnesses all tell their version of what really happened and it’s clear we have a classic locked-room mystery on our hands: How did the robber manage to escape? Why is everyone so angry? And: What is WRONG with people these days?

» The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

Publication date: September 22, 2020

Everything changes in a single moment for Dawn Edelstein. She’s on a plane when the flight attendant makes an announcement: prepare for a crash landing. She braces herself as thoughts flash through her mind. The shocking thing is, the thoughts are not of her husband, but a man she last saw fifteen years ago: Wyatt Armstrong.

Dawn, miraculously, survives the crash, but so do all the doubts that have suddenly been raised. She has led a good life. Back in Boston, there is her husband, Brian, her beloved daughter, and her work as a death doula, where she helps ease the transition between life and death for patients in hospice.

But somewhere in Egypt is Wyatt Armstrong, who works as an archaeologist unearthing ancient burial sites, a job she once studied for, but was forced to abandon when life suddenly intervened. And now, when it seems that fate is offering her second chances, she is not as sure of the choice she once made.

After the crash landing, the airline ensures the survivors are seen by a doctor, then offers transportation wherever they want to go. The obvious option for Dawn is to continue down the path she is on and go home to her family. The other is to return to the archaeological site she left years before, reconnect with Wyatt and their unresolved history, and maybe even complete her research on The Book of Two Ways–the first known map of the afterlife.

As the story unfolds, Dawn’s two possible futures unspool side by side, as do the secrets and doubts long buried beside them. Dawn must confront the questions she’s never truly asked: What does a life well-lived look like? When we leave this earth, what do we leave behind? Do we make choices…or do our choices make us? And who would you be, if you hadn’t turned out to be the person you are right now?

» A Wolf for a Spell by Karah Sutton

Publication date: September 22, 2020

The Girl Who Drank the Moon meets Pax in this fantastical tale of a wolf who forms an unlikely alliance with Baba Yaga to save the forest from a wicked tsar.

Since she was a pup, Zima has been taught to fear humans—especially witches—but when her family is threatened, she has no choice but to seek help from the witch Baba Yaga.

Baba Yaga never does magic for free, but it just so happens that she needs a wolf’s keen nose for a secret plan she’s brewing… Before Zima knows what’s happening, the witch has cast a switching spell and run off into the woods, while Zima is left behind in Baba Yaga’s hut—and Baba Yaga’s body!

Meanwhile, a young village girl named Nadya is also seeking the witch’s help, and when she meets Zima (in Baba Yaga’s form), they discover that they face a common enemy. With danger closing in, Zima must unite the wolves, the witches and the villagers against an evil that threatens them all.

“Karah Sutton has crafted a vivid and rollicking adventure that proves a wolf doesn’t have to be big or bad to win the day!” —Rosanne Parry, New York Times bestselling author of A Wolf Called Wander

Which books did you read this month?

Have you read any of the books I read or hauled this month?  If so, what did you think?

Did you buy any books?  If so, which ones?

Comment below & let me know 🙂

June 2020 Reading & Blogging Wrap-Up + Book Haul #BookBlogger #Books #Reading #BookWorm #BookHaul A little late, but today I am wrapping up what I read & blogged in June!

[danithebookaholic-blog]

REVIEW!

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Born Scared

By Kevin Brooks

Publication Date: September 11, 2018 Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Mental Health, Crime

Synopsis:

Elliot is terrified of almost everything. From the moment he was born, his life has been governed by acute fear. The only thing that keeps his terrors in check are the pills that he takes every day. It's Christmas Eve, there's a snowstorm and Elliot's medication is almost gone. His mum nips out to collect his prescription. She'll only be 10 minutes - but when she doesn't come back, Elliot must face his fears and try to find her. She should only be 400 meters away. It might as well be 400 miles...

Goodreads

Purchase:

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / IndieBound

Author Bio:

Kevin Brooks was born in 1959 and grew up in Exeter, Devon, England. He studied Psychology and Philosophy at Birmingham, Aston University in 1980 and Cultural Studies in London in 1983. Kevin Brooks has been in a variety of jobs including: musician, gasoline station attendant, crematorium handyman, civil service clerk, hot dog vendor at the London Zoo, post office clerk, and railway ticket office clerk.

Kevin Brooks's writing career started with the publication of Martyn Pig in 2002 through The Chicken House which won the Branford Boase Award 2003 and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. He also wrote Lucas (2002) which was shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and Booktrust Teenage Prize in 2003 also winning the North East Book Award in 2004.

In 2004 he published Kissing the Rain and Bloodline and I See You, Baby and Candy in 2005. In 2006 he published 3 books including: Johnny Delgado Series - Like Father, Like Son and Private Detective as well as The Road of the Dead; a standalone novel. In February 2008 he published the standalone book Black Rabbit Summer.

As a child, Kevin Brooks enjoyed reading detective novels. He writes most plots of the various books he has written around crime fiction. He likes mystery and suspense and enjoys putting both of those components into each and every story he writes in some shape or form.

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Review & Wrap-Up:

Born Scared is a different kind of story. It is told with a multi-person point-of-view, and while multi-person narrations are not uncommon, it’s the mixing of the first person narration—the main character, Elliot—and the unknown third person narration that I found interesting.

Elliot’s mental illness—panophobia, or the fear of everything—gives the story a reverse Don Quixote vibe. Sir Quixote saw everything as something it was not: the windmills as giants, the dilapidated inn as a castle, and—of course—himself as a noble knight. Elliot also saw everything as something it was not, however Elliot also saw everything as a threat: the monkem with a monstrous black dog and a shotgun was actually a nice lady with a cane trying to help him, who’s dog got away from her, and the devilish creatures with yellow demonic eyes are actually sheep.

But once Elliot comes across the Hillbillies and real fight-or-flight kicks in the story takes on a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde feel. One second Elliot is the scared little kid that he’s always been, and the next he’s this psychotic, nothing-can-get-in-my-way badass that you’d never guess he had in him. Which is cool. You no longer feel sad for Elliot and his way of life, you’re glad he’s no longer frightened with everything little sight and sound, and finally able to stand up and fend for himself, but deep down you still know something isn’t right.

A big part I didn’t care for and didn’t really understand was the other side of the narrative: the two guys in the Santa suits. I understand their need for the end of the story, but I don’t understand why they are in the house in the first place. Things just didn’t align for the reasoning to be there. And when things don’t align or more sense, it can cause issues throughout the story.

All around—like I previously stated—Born Scared is a different kind of story. Parts were a little hard to follow due to the psychotic breaks Elliot has throughout the story, while other parts just didn’t make sense at all. I liked the multi-person point-of-view, it gave the story an interesting perspective, and I loved the homage shown to two great classic works of literature. But honestly, Born Scared is not one that I would read again, and it’s not one that I can really recommend.

 From one bookaholic to another, I hope I’ve helped you find your next fix. —Dani

Dani's Score out of 5: 📚📚🔖

(A bookmark:🔖, is a half a stack of books. i.e: 📚📚🔖 = a score of 2.5) 

Have a book you’d like to suggest or one you’d like me to review? Please feel free to leave your comments down below.

[iwishiwasabigstrawberry-blog]

Fandom as audience in popular culture (blog#3)

This last blog will also discuss fandom of K-pop stars and how they act in the digital world. There will be four sections in this blog, first, there will be examples about media rituals in my family and how I react differently in context as home and concert, then I will introduce few narrative styles of fanfictions and other production of fans as they engage with the media texts. This section also related to the left two following,  I will connect fans as SME and try to describe how they interact with each other. At last, going back to the first blog I will again argue that audiences are active and in charge of the media.

Reception contexts and media rituals

Sullivan argued that “Television continues to be the most important and widely used media technology in the domestic context. The introduction of new media technologies has not fundamentally altered the amount of television use in the home” (p. 171) Because my father is always busy, in my childhood memory I always watched TV with my mother. However, there was a period when I got my new smartphone and became more willing to spend time on that rather than stay with my mother on the sofa. For now, because I study in Canada, me and my mom shared our lives with each other through WeChat, such as what we eat that day and what drama we were watching at that time. I still remember that when I started to watch Breaking Bad and recommended her to watch, but she watched faster than me and there was one day she called me for spoiler. Because of that, I didn’t watch season 5 till now. I became a fan of BTS in the summer back to China and watch a TV show with her, and BTS’s song was BGM of that show. And II searched that song and learned more about them while sharing with my mother. Even she became an “army” as well. She even can repost things on Weibo (Chinese version of Twitter) about BTS and @ me recently. I went to 2017 Beijing concert of BTS with my friends who is also an “army” and we knew each other on BTS’s fan BBS. As we travel we watched their program shows together.  It is different when watch it by myself and when someone set beside me, we laugh out loud some of the jokes they made. Because we should be quite on the KTX, we tried so hard to hold back the laugh which made us laugh even harder. “Differences between theater and home viewing are screen size, image quality, audio quality of the theater, viewing condition, and cheering atmosphere” (Kim, 392) I could feel it in the concert that day, within the Cheering Atmosphere, which we all sang with them and that added realism to the viewing experience. I cried in that moment, it was the first time that I felt that they are not only some people in my electronic devices, there are right there in front my face. My tears would be physiological responses, and when BTS said “how are you?” in Chinese, we all screamed which made every “army” felt involved can be an example of immersion. As a Fan, I like to see BTS in their concert rather than setting in my room watching iPad. There is no wonder why people say “fans will never forget their first concert”.

Fandom and audience subcultures

In this section, I would explain fandom on a continuum with my own experience of being an “army” as consumer, enthusiast, fan, and producer. When I first knew BTS in the TV show, I was a consumer paying attention to their music. After that, I started to download all their albums and watch their MV on YouTube again and again, at this stage I was an enthusiast. Regard the four positions as Sullivan argued that “fan audiences are deeply engaged in their favorite media text. And fans often reinterpret media content and create their own culture.” (p. 193)  Then, as I turned into a fan of them, I started to get information about each member. “This ‘Spimatic’ appreciation of the process of fandom highlights changing paradigms of fan viewership as a form of participatory culture” (Booth, 2015, p. 151) In this stage I watch their MV not only because I like but also for increasing their view, as I said in the second blog, these numbers are rating which reflects how much attention they get. According to Sullivan, “The difference between watching a [television] series and becoming a fan lies in the intensity of their emotional and intellectual involvement” (p. 198) As a fan, I feel emotionally involved with them, especially when they won awards and get famous I feel so proud and I feel upset when people say something bad about them. It can be in a wrong way when fans get so emotional that they think that there is some relationship between them and their idols which beyond just fandom. There is a group of fan called 사생팬(Sasaeng Fan), this word came from Korean fandom that refers fans who are so over-obsessive that has engaged in stalking or other behavior that constitutes an invasion of privacy. Once BTS when to Europe and chased by Sasaeng Fans for hours. These crazy fans still just a few of fans, most active fans make their own fan-made products such as MV reaction and MV analysis which I mentioned on the last blog. There is also a YouTuber who does “0 budget version of BTS’s MV” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=629fMYD6RC4

So hilarious! I am a producer as well, I and my friends sometimes record our dance cover videos of K pop groups and post them online. I also wrote fan fiction when I was in junior high, I like SHINee and I wrote bromance between two of SHINee’s members. I post my fanfictions on BBS, where lots of other fans write theirs.  When fans do fanfictions what we usually do is called “Recontextualization”, which means “short stories or “missing scenes” that fill in gaps in the existing media text (TV program, film, etc.)” and “expanding the timeline”, which means “Explores characters’ backgrounds or rewrites unpopular endings to the existing media narrative” (Sullivan, 205) Take BTS as an example, there is a scene in Run MV that Suga and Jungkook is having fight with each other. In fanfictions, they add plot as Suga’s girlfriend left him and Jungkook wanted to cheer him up because Jungkook loves Suga as well. But it didn’t go well, they had a big fight and Suga left all the other members. Some wrote that they were having a fight because Suga wants to leave Jungkook, at the end, Jungkook lets go of Suga and send him to Jimin’s side, and he goes to another country for healing his broken heart. 

There is another style of narrative called personalization, in this style fans write themselves into the narratives.  I know a Weibo account which specifically posts love stories between “I” and members of BTS. I followed it without telling anyone, some of the stories are well wrote so that I really feel like I am in relationship with them.

Besides, like I said in blog 1 and 2, “army” also write theory to explain what happened in their MV, here are two article they wrote about Run and I need U MV.

https://thebangtantheory.wordpress.com/2016/07/27/bts-run-explained/

https://k-pop.aminoapps.com/page/blog/bts-prologue-i-need-u-run-epilogue-theory/DYIP_ue6LYxrYBnB1bZM33BoxM2PR

When fans connect two or more of the media texts together, that are “crossovers” which means “blurring boundaries between distinct media texts; introducing characters from one media narrative into another”(Sullivan, 205).

 Fandom in a digital media world

This section will focus on fandom’s behaviors on Twitter because of its uniqueness and suitability for audience interaction.  Since I am from China so that I don’t know much about Twitter so I would go with Weibo, which is basically the same thing. It indeed proves the development of technology now people can get on the internet so easy. “In general, most SMEs are young, tech-savvy, and geared towards the tech world.” (Wasike, p. 19) SME here refers to social media editors, they can be loosely defined as “tech-savvy journalists appointed by news agencies to act as the newsroom liaisons to the digital world, also called the social media sphere… Specifically, their main functions are: to monitor the social media sphere for latest trends; to procure relevant material for editors; to maintain the organization’s online presence; to interact with the readers and to post news articles online.” (Wasike, p6) Fans can also be seen as SME as they giving and tracking the latest movement of their idols on the social media, such as me. I live in Canada but they are in Korea so that I need to search them on the internet and get information about them, there are people in Korea who have time can take pictures or videos of them and post on social media for us. Because “army” are all around the world, we keep on-line mode for anything new. Also, we can interact with each other by comment under other’s post and reply, I even know one of my friends on Weibo. As Sullivan said, “media audiences today have come to expect the ability to provide instant feedback to media producers and to other audiences.” As audiences become an integral part of the media production apparatus itself,  there appear a lot of “prosumers” who are consumers and producers at the same time. As for me, to go along with the point of the last section. I consume BTS’s media production on the internet such as music, MV and photos then inspired by the lyrics and writing reviews on the internet. Other “army” will find my reviews from #BTS so that we can have conversations with them.  During this process, I can be seen as a free labor of promoting BTS.

I also find that there is a BTS emoji on Twitter! 

Passive or active?

In the textbook Sullivan had explored the concept of media audiences from multiple perspectives: as objects of media influence, as quantified constructions of institutions, as active users, and as subcultures and media producers, the word “audience” seems not as much as the meaning as before. According to Astigarraga, “Thanks to the digitalization of television

and the expansion of broadband internet, the supply of contents has multiplied exponentially,

and the fragmentation of the audience is such that some authors suggest that the term “audience” (understood as a collective of people and not as the sum of individuals) should be abandoned as an ‘outdated’ concept” (p,133) We now use electronic devices such as smartphones which can be seen as a collection of many different kinds of  devices. For example, I can not only call and text people through my phone, I can also watch BTS’s MV in YouTube APP and even write a blog about BTS on my phone. Different from the past, audiences not just set in front of the TV and receive the messages in TV passively, it is normal that people search character’s name or discuss plots on the internet while watching TV. Example of this in Fandom will be live shows, fans can interact with their idols right away. It also brings up the question that because of how fast can the internet be. I said in the previous blogs that star system updated so fast to catch up with the flavor of fans, any other news can also be forgotten quickly. Recently, there was a severe criminal case in China that explore in Weibo, people start to get information and talk about this case. Then after about two weeks, people’s attention moved to a female celebrity who cuts her hair. We indeed can choose what we want to look or produce on the internet actively, however, with the change of the network environment, people are changing too.

 References

Astigarraga, I., Pavon, A., & Zuberogoitia, A. (2016). Active audience?: Interaction of young people with television and online video content.   Communication and Society, 29(3), 133‐147.

Booth, P. (2105). Crowdfunding: A spimatic application of digital fandom. New Media and Society, 17(2), 149-166.

Kim, K., Cheong, Y., & Kim, H. (2016).  The influences of sports viewing conditions on enjoyment from watching televised sports: An analysis of the FIFA World Cup audiences in theater vs. home.  Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 60(3), 389–409.

Sullivan, J. L. (2012). media audiences: Effects, users, institutions, and power. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE publications.

Wasike, B. (2013).  Framing news in 140 Characters: How social media editors frame the news and interact with audiences via Twitter.   Global Media Journal ‐ Canadian Edition, 6(1), 5‐ 23.

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Seven steps to write your first novel

Joanna Penn

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It can be overwhelming to try and learn everything at once.

Is it your dream to write a novel? Are you unclear on the process?

Perhaps you’ve read a ton of books on writing or done a class, but you’re still confused on the way forward.

Don’t worry. I know how you feel!

When I started out writing fiction, I was just as overwhelmed as you might be right now. But after 12 bestselling novels, I’ve nailed down my process, so I hope this overview helps you on your way to finishing your novel.

The writing craft is like an iceberg, with hidden depths that you can spend the whole of your life exploring. When you’re writing your first novel, it can be overwhelming to try and learn everything at once.

But you only have to know about the small section of the iceberg above the water to get that first book written! Here are the basics.

(1) Understand what you’re writing and why

Before you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, it’s worth stopping for a moment to think clearly about what you’re doing. Firstly about yourself, and then about the reader.

Why do you want to write a novel anyway? What is your definition of success? Do you just want to hold your book in your hands, do you have a burning desire to change people’s lives with your words, or do you want to make an income from your writing? The answers to these questions will shape what you write, how you publish and whether you’re happy with the result.

Consider your potential readers.

This book will not be a journal for your eyes only. At some point, a reader (hopefully lots of them!) will pick up your book. Who are they? Which other books and authors do they love? Where do they find your book on the bookstore shelves?

These are important questions because, however you want to publish later on, you need to understand where your book fits in the eco-system. If you get an idea of this now, it will help you shape your story as you move forward.

Of course, none of us like to think about putting ourselves in boxes, and we all want to be original. So here’s the best way to work this out, since after all, writers are usually voracious readers!

What are the 5-10 (bestselling or award-winning) books that are similar to the story you want to write?

Which authors write the books that you love and are similar to your future book? Make sure that you use authors who are currently publishing in today’s market rather than classic literary works.

Write down your list and then go and check them out on Amazon. Scroll down to the Product Details section and find the Amazon Bestseller Rank, which includes the sub-categories where the book is ‘shelved,’ sometimes described as the book’s genre.

If you know where your book sits from the outset, you know what you’re aiming for. You can write what you love, but you can also write something that will find an audience.

(2) Fill your creative well

“Where do you get your story ideas from?”

This is one of the most common questions for authors and one I used to struggle with. I spent thirteen years working in large corporations implementing financial systems, possibly one of the least creative jobs possible! I felt like I would never have any ideas or original thoughts. I needed to retrain myself to recognize ideas because you can’t write a book without them.

Follow your curiosity.

When you walk into a bookstore, which sections do you browse? When you stroll past a magazine rack or a parade of shops, what draws your eye? If you overhear a conversation, what do you notice about the people? When you decide what to watch on TV/film, what do you choose? What interests you?

When you go to a new city, where do you want to go first? What do you want to see? Do you like architecture, museums or historical places? Do you want to eat the local food or go dancing or to cultural performances? Do you want to talk to the local people?

These instincts are often things we take for granted, but becoming aware of your curiosity is the first step to finding ideas. Once you begin to notice what you’re interested in, then you can take the next step.

Write down the sparks that appear.

These don’t have to be fully-formed ideas. They can be anything from quotes to sensations, to places or things that you see. I use Moleskine notebooks (always plain paper!) and also the Things app on my iPhone, as well as taking pictures which I post on Pinterest and Flickr when I travel.

These ‘sparks’ can become part of stories over time. For example, when I visited the Hunterian Museum in London a few years ago, I wrote down the sensation I felt when I looked at the medical specimens in jars.

That location and those specimens became the basis of Desecration, my first crime thriller, a murder mystery with an anatomical theme. One of the characters, Blake Daniel, came to me fully formed after I visited the British Museum and wondered what it would be like to work there.

Trust that other people find the same things interesting.

Whatever you’re into, there are people online who love those things too. Your ideal reader doesn’t have to be in your town. They might even be on the other side of the world!

I always thought I was a bit weird because I enjoy visiting graveyards. I find them beautiful, peaceful places and I bring this awareness of death into my fiction. It turns out that a lot of other people enjoy graveyards too, and when I started sharing pictures and writing about them, I found a whole new community!

Once you’ve tuned into your curiosity and started writing down your ideas, you’ll find that they coalesce into potential stories over time.

(3) Write a story, not just a pile of words

Professional editor, Harry Dewulf, recently told me about the biggest problem he finds with manuscripts from first-time authors. “They give me a load of typing, instead of a story.”

And prize-winning literary writer Flannery O’Connor said, “Most people know what a story is until they sit down to write one.”

So even if you have read thousands of books, it’s still hard work to write a story that readers love.

Too many writers try to start a novel by writing words on the page with no direction and soon run out of steam, wondering what’s wrong. This is where you need to understand the basics of story structure but don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be complicated.

Consider what you love about your favorite books as a reader.

How do the books begin and end? Why do you want to turn the pages? Is the book a series? Why do you crave these types of books?

For example, I write supernatural thrillers and my ARKANE series has been described as ‘Dan Brown meets Lara Croft.’ Readers of my books also like Steve Berry, James Rollins, Clive Cussler and James Patterson, authors of fast-paced adventure thrillers, many with an edge of the supernatural.

This type of story usually has a single protagonist who has to save the world before the bad guys destroy everything. There’s a ticking clock which keeps the plot moving, and puzzles to solve, as well as global locations and a final confrontation between good and evil. This fits with the expectations of readers who like supernatural thrillers.

Another great example is the romance genre, where the readers are some of the most voracious and demanding in the publishing business. If you want to satisfy romance readers, then you need to deliver the HEA, the Happily Ever After, as well as obligatory scenes like the first kiss.

Use classic story structure to expand on your ideas.

The Three Act Structure goes all the way back to Aristotle’s Poetics, and the best-loved stories follow this tried and true path. Structure and boundaries help you to be more creative, and you’ll find it easier to come up with the various aspects of your story if you follow it.

As an example, consider The Hunger Games. The book opens in the ordinary world of Panem, where Katniss is hunting for food for her family in a district oppressed by a central government. Then Prim is chosen for the Reaping, which is the Inciting Incident as Katniss has to make a choice that then propels her into the story. Act Two of the book is the preparation for the Games and the obstacles of the arena itself, where Katniss has to fight to survive. She faces death rather than leave Peta behind and in the Climax, defeats President Snow and wins the Games, returning to the real world of the district at the end, forever changed.

This same story structure is used for many bestselling books and films, so it’s definitely worth using to help you finish your first book. After all, if it ain’t broke …

(4) Write a character that people want to spend time with

If you want readers to want to spend their precious time on your book, then you have to write a character that keeps them engaged. This doesn’t mean that you need a goody-goody-two shoes perfect person, but you do want to write a compelling, authentic protagonist that hooks the reader, so they are desperate to know what happens next in the character’s world.

Use one main character.

The multiple character arcs of Game of Thrones might make for compelling reading/watching, but it’s much easier to start writing by focusing on one central protagonist.

Consider Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, or Anastasia Steele in 50 Shades of Grey, or Harry Potter. There are other people in the worlds of those books, but the main characters are the ones that we care about most and follow through the books (and also why these became huge films as well as multi-million selling books).

Your character will also shape the Point of View you write from, and this is critical because every story is different from a different perspective. The bad guy never thinks they are the bad guy, after all. S/he is the hero of their story (think Despicable Me!).

Focus on these questions.

What does your character want and why? What/who stops them? How do they overcome the obstacles along the way? How are they changed as a result of the journey?

Go back to the books you love the most and you are likely to find that these are the core aspects of those stories.

 (5) What happens, why and where?

Once you have a character, and you’ve considered what they want and why, you can start fleshing out the details of what or who stops them from getting it. You can also think about where this will happen, otherwise known as the setting. You can’t just have characters talking to each other in an empty white room. There needs to be action that takes place somewhere specific.

Use setting to bring conflict to your plot.

Game of Thrones is a great example of this. Take Jon Snow at the Wall in the North. The wall keeps out the Wildlings, who fight the Knights’ Watch; then it becomes the site of a huge battle and then becomes the only thing stopping the White Walkers. The ice and snow bring a dark, cold tone to the experiences of the characters and makes life much harder than those who live in the golden city of Kings Landing in the sunnier south.

The Hunger Games also uses setting to derive plot, with much of the first book taking place in the games arena where Katniss must survive the deadly traps set for the Tributes.

It doesn’t have to be all death and destruction, though! In Gone Girl, Nick must find his missing wife Amy, and figure out the psychological games she has been playing as he falls into the domestic traps she has set.

Remember that plot and setting is experienced by the character and the closer you get to the emotions of the protagonist, the more your readers will resonate with the story.

(6) Get words on the page for your first draft

When you read a book that makes you think, ‘I could never write something like this,’ stop for a minute. Because that is NOT what the author wrote the first time they put pen to paper. The reality is that everyone starts with a first draft, and most authors would never show that draft to anyone.

We’ll come onto editing in the next section, but first, you need to create that first draft.

Once you understand that you will rewrite your work later, especially when you’re first starting out, then you can let go of any sense of judgment over what you write.

In my experience, the amazing ideas I have in my head turn out to be a mess on the page. Finding the right words is difficult. And how the hell did my character even get into this dilemma in the first place?!

But you can’t edit a blank page, so just try to get as much down as possible. Don’t obsess over your word choice or how cliché your characters are, just get black on white and work it out later. I try not to re-read my words until I’m ready for the second draft.

Schedule your writing time

Do you schedule your gym classes? Your children’s school events? Your meetings at work? Your social life? So why don’t you schedule your writing time if it is that important to you?

I use an old-school Filofax diary and schedule my writing time in blocks. When I worked a full-time day job, I would get up at 5 am and write before work, because I knew I’d be brain-dead when I got home. Now I tend to go to a cafe or a co-working space and pound away at the keyboard while plugged into Rain and Thunderstorms on repeat. Anything to quiet that critical voice!

Use focused, timed writing

Once you are in your specific place at the specific scheduled time, then you need to focus. No Facebook, no email, no social media, no texting.

You are there to write.

Set a timer and start small, since writing takes stamina and you have to build it up over time. Try ten minutes of typing and just write down what your character is doing in a particular place. Allow yourself to write a load of crap without censoring and I guarantee you that there will some something there worth saving!

Take a quick break and then do another ten minutes. Repeat this until you have your first draft. It really is that simple (but not easy,) and you get the bug, this will turn out to be immensely satisfying and addictive!

Bonus tip: You can write by hand on paper, or use MS Word, but many writers now use Scrivener software which helps you organize and write your novel. I have personally found it life-changing!

(7) “Writing is rewriting.”

So said Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park and many other incredible bestselling books. This is particularly true when you first start writing fiction because there is a huge gap between the books that you love and the pitiful first draft you have created. But that’s okay because you can now edit the manuscript into some much better!

Start with self-editing

I like to print out my entire draft and then edit by hand.

I end up with pages of scribbled notes, arrows, lines and extra scenes, strike-through marks across whole pages, as well as grammar and typos fixes. Then I put all those changes back into my Scrivener document, remembering to back up my files along the way, of course! That first edit is usually my most significant one, and then I will print it out and go through it once more before working with a professional editor.

Use professional editors

The best way to improve your writing is to work with an editor on your manuscript. If you want an agent, then improving your manuscript before submission is a good idea. If you’re self-publishing, then this step will make your book more likely to please readers. You can find a list of editors here.

There are different types of edits. A story edit, or content edit, is a great way to check whether your structure is working, whether your characters are engaging or whether your plot has massive holes. You’ll be given a report with details on how to improve the book.

Too many writers think editing is about fixing typos, but that is the least important thing at this stage. Readers will forgive terrible writing if your story is amazing. Getting a story edit is often the best way to improve your work and well worth investing in. Then you can do your rewrites based on the suggested changes.

The next stage is a line edit or copy edit, the classic ‘red pen’ approach when an editor pulls apart your whole manuscript, and you make the changes that will improve the book further.

After you’ve done more rewrites, the book will need proofreading which is the last stage of checking for typos, grammatical errors and anything else that may impact the finished product.

Congratulations, you can now hold your novel in your hand and say, “It’s (finally) finished!”

This article has been a whistle-stop tour through the process, but I want to reassure you again that it is possible.

You can finish your novel.

I know because I’m writing my thirteenth at the moment. It’s hard work, but it’s worth it! So I wish you all the best with your book.

What are you waiting for? Go write!

This article originally appeared at The Creative Penn.

Joanna Penn

Joanna Penn is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling thriller author, creative entrepreneur, podcaster, professional speaker, and travel junkie. For more, visit www.jfpenn.com