There's only one reason I didn't give up on my manuscript
For those of you that don't know, I recently finished Draft 13 of my manuscript which was a big one because unlike drafts 1-12, I didn't see a huge glaring problem with it.
Someone in my replies said once, "I keep editing until it 'works'..." and I was like, yes exactly that. I can't explain how I know that it isn't 'working' but I know, and I need to keep going until it does.
So long story short, Draft 13 was that draft--where things finally 'worked' and fit together and read like a story. It took 7 years, and it very nearly didn't happen at all.
Around Draft 4 or 5 I got frustrated with all the major problems I kept running into in each draft. I thought it would just never 'work', that the story I wanted to tell was impossible somehow (??) and I put it away for good. I tried writing something else but my confidence was so shot that I could barely get words on the page for fear of suffering another failed manuscript, and I basically stopped writing altogether for like two years.
I had always told my friends and family that they could read my story when it was finished, but because I had given up on it, it was about as finished as it would ever get, so I relented and sent it to my best friend.
And thank god I did.
She loved it. It was unfinished, and in my eyes a total mess, but she saw through the flaws into the story and exactly what I was trying to do, and told me over and over again that I couldn't give up on it. It took a year of nagging encouragement, a whole lot of cheerleading and getting me excited about my own manuscript again, and a boost to my confidence before I tried to pick it back up again.
And you know what? After all that time, I read over it, and it was not as messy as I had thought. Every problem that felt so insurmountable before had suddenly become small, fixable, workable. It wasn't ruined. It wasn't impossible. I went on to Draft 6 to fix it.
And then Draft 7, 8, and 9 when I got some major feedback that led to 10, 11, 12, and now 13.
All because I sent it to a friend that could see the good in everything and was stubborn enough to keep on me about it until I saw it too.
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🍬King Candy (Wreck-It Ralph) x (gn) Reader👑
(Beginning Relationship Pt. I Edition!)
(I thought this song would be fitting considering King Candy’s voice is based on the vocal performance Ed Wynn did for the Mad Hatter… That and its… Nostalgic🔑 [I saw the animation meme culture rise and fall.] lol)
- So, as we all know, the more unpleasant parts of his personality (which could tie him to Turbo) are suppressed, and hidden, though they can still peak out when he’s feeling particularly malicious.
- He’s a slime, a real manipulative rat who’s so sure he can keep everyone in the dark, who takes it slow with you at first to try to maintain his hard work.
- There’s a clear wall between what he displays in front of others and how he is, just the way he likes it, but honestly— If you mean so much to him, you get a weird mix of the two (well, more than usual), a kind of sweet goofiness that’s followed up with a snide remark about being the most skilled in some specific topic.
- Again he’s not the best lover, though from his previous indiscretions he has learned to be more open to others feelings— But only for your sake, mostly cause he can’t stand anyone else besides you…. And Sour Bill sometimes, but he’s mostly the personification of a minimum wage worker.
- Spending time together after hours is a must, though he’s more understanding now than he was before, not demanding every moment of your time but relishing whenever you do.
- I think all that time alone before Sugar Rush got plugged in made him lonely, and less stubborn to admit that he wants that comfort from someone else.
- I don’t think it’s much of a far reach when I say maintaining the King Candy persona is something he is very fluid in, but it’s exhausting at times.
- When he gets that seldom time alone without any of his kingly duties he finds himself yearning for your comforting touch, that stubbornness making way as he makes Sour Bill retrieve you.
- I can see moments between the two of you to be on the tamer side, not as many arguments like Pre-RoadBlasters, little to none really, but there are these tense moments where you ask him something a little too close to home and he becomes stiff in your arms if only for a brief moment.
- As much as he wants to be, not only for himself but maybe even you— He isn’t perfect, he isn’t the person he tries so hard to be, that gleeful and peppy voice going flat the second he isn’t feeling it anymore.
- It becomes apparent the more you know him he’s far more serious than he lets on, puffing his chest up slightly when things don’t go his way and he has to play dirty, which he’s certainly no stranger to...
- In comparison to himself when the arcade first ever opened, he’s certainly grown from that childish hatred, for better and for worse.
- He’s more affectionate for one, providing you with comfort fitting to how you are feeling at that moment, little compliments, and gestures of affection to quell your anger and anxiety in a matter of seconds.
- Quick to learn every little thing about you to make sure he’s able to relate to you, though his intentions with this information go back and forth.
- He wants everything on a silver platter, not only for himself but also for you, making the other subjects of Sugar Rush bend over backward for you, even when you object to all the attention.
- I think one of the ways he dotes on you in a way is date planning, various areas in Sugar Rush vary which can be very nice date spots… He seems like the picnic blanket and tea liker as King Candy, as stereotypical as that is lol.
- Though if that isn’t your style, he can always do dates at the castle, like baking— chatting the night away, it’s the simple things in life <3
- Even with his character growth he is far from a good person, which we all know and love for the most part. He’s fully aware that the things he does to bar you, Venallope, the Sugar Rush inhabitants, and even the arcade entirely is cruel, spiteful even. But what could he have done? Let himself fade into obscurity and be characterized after one of his biggest mistakes?
- No, no, not when he still has so much to provide— He’s a person, just like everyone else, better yet he was programmed to be better. Why should he stand aside and let the world spin without him? Why should he look at you from afar when he has every right to want you?
- That’s part of the reason why he’s so adamant about keeping his spot as the monarch of Sugar Rush, he’s the rightful ruler after all.
(Ria ecfcreaqqhaqq jl ria chraphar cq hjrichg rj qsjll nr winr wcee n oachg wijqa nfocrcjh gpjwq uhtap tupaqq tj wiah ia garq icq 4ri sinhsa?)
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i dont know how to say this in a nice way but i have have no interest in watching the 1994 version of interview with the vampire for one reason: they aren’t black.
i love iwtv with my whole heart. it is my favorite show (with the exception of arcane) and means so much to me. ive seen s1 literally a million times. i have fanart, fanfics, edits, and headcanons for all the characters i love so much. but i dont not want to watch the 1994 version because they (specifically claudia) are not black.
i’m a biracial girl with a black immigrant mom who has been told so many times that i “act white.” i’m queer,i do a predominantly white sport (ballet), and go to a predominantly white school. on top of that i have a mental illness/mood disorder, which makes me seem, lets be honest, irritating and off putting. (wow what a combo) “weird girl representation” has always made me so uncomfortable because it never feels like it was made with anyone but white girls in mind. and that’s okay, except for the fact that there’s no alternative. i couldn’t find anything that had someone i could see myself in, specifically with a black lead. so i would always just take what i could get, until i watched iwtv and saw claudia for the first time.
claudia as a character represents so many things i have struggled with. her personality, looks, struggles with her family - id count lestat and louis as her parents in this analogy - are things i resonate so much with on such a deep level. seeing claudia, both Delainey Hayles and Bailey Bass in different ways, healed something inside of me that i had been looking for for so so so long. seeing them in that role was life changing for me, and i don’t want to see claudia’s character as anything else but black.
i am in no way saying that the original 1994 version is bad, i’m sure the original cast did an amazing job and brought so much to those roles. but i don’t want to think about claudia as anything but black, or at least black coded. im planning to read the books to understand the source material and Anne Rice’s vision better, but im even hesitant about that because Claudia is so important to me i dont want to think about her any other way.
i love claudia sm she is so special to me🫶🏽
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wip wednesday
Loosely based on @sausagepastry 's lighthouse keeper/merman au
Once the boat was beached on the rocks, Niki scrambled out and pulled it closer so that it wouldn’t get washed away. Kohaku should have been keeping an eye on him and would be down to help in a moment, but Niki was still baffled by the uh, tail, and now that he wasn’t distracted by the rocking of the boat, the fact that there were gills and fins on the merman in front of him.
“Hey! Wake up!” He tried shouting and shaking the merman. It had grabbed onto the boat out in the water and looked like it was breathing as much as Niki could tell. How something that may or may not have both gills and air breathing lungs would be able to show he was breathing, Niki wasn’t entirely sure, nor was he sure he wanted to know that answer.
“Niki-han, did you find anythi--oh what is…” Kohaku came to a stop next to Niki, looking at the merman. “Please tell me I’m seein’ things.”
“I don’t think so, Kohaku-chan. He won’t wake up but I don’t want to leave him in the storm either.” Niki shook the merman’s shoulder again, gently slapping its face to no avail. He pressed a finger to its neck to search for a pulse but he didn’t even know if that would yield any results. There was a faint throbbing though, something like a heartbeat. Could they stay out of water? If only the damn thing were awake and could answer their questions.
Another lightning strike jolted them back to reality. “Kohaku-chan, start running the bath and get the stove heated. I’ll try and get him in the house.” Kohaku nodded and ran back inside, while Niki contemplated the best way to get the merman back. There was a wheelbarrow somewhere that would probably work well enough to get him up to the door but trying to wheel it up the steps even when it was empty was a challenge. His stomach growled and Niki decided to just grab it and maybe he would just dump it through the door and he and Kohaku could carry it to the bathroom. Yeah, that would work well enough.
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making a public post so I am withheld to some sort of vague promise of doing the silly shit I really want to do but don't for some reason....
SILLY VIDEO EDITS IN THE PIPELINE
Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels edit with Harley: not even started, but this should be the easiest to do. just need a couple more episodes..
NormNiles....PART 2!!!!!!!!!!!: its like half done. The hardest parts I think. All downhill from here...editing Harley will give me momentum to finish
...........ultimate celeb fancam 😐: 3% done bc the song is cut and thats it. This is going to be a Big Effort but I'd like it done by march so...gotta get cracking.
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