#i want to write out long paragraphs of exposition but all i can do right now is scream

[transchrisredfield]

I am once again replaying RE5 and losing my mind over Chris and Wesker's interactions. They drive me fucking CRAZY. What do you mean you're not gonna stop fighting Wesker until YOU'RE dead Chris!!! WHy not until Weskers dead HUH WHy NOT UNTIL THEN

[toxicpineapple]

writing tips masterpost

hello to my loyal tumblr followers... i am often asked to give writing advice but usually when people ask me this i'm nooooot completely sure what to say despite having a ton of advice to give. it's such a broad question when there are so many different things i can advise on, right? so i thought i'd make a sort of writing advice masterpost where i can compile the tips that i think people specifically in fandoms could benefit the most from hearing, OR that i wish someone had told me when i was still finding my footing as a writer.

hopefully this will be helpful to you. i am putting all of the advice under a read more since this is going to be a long one. let's roll!

✬ paragraph breaks are your friend

the fastest way to get me to stop reading a fic is if i click in and see that there are NO paragraphs made and the entire piece is in a huge block of text. no matter how good your work is, i just can't read it at that point. the giant paragraph makes me get lost, i can't focus on anything... it's a huge no.

the trick is you want your paragraphs to sort of act as a guide for your reader, taking them through the story, keeping them engaged. do not be afraid to do short paragraphs! i can understand wanting to shy away from one or two sentence paragraphs for fear of not having "enough substance" in your work, but the truth is, a thousand short paragraphs is ten times easier to read than a huge block of text.

realistically, you want to have a good amount of variety in your paragraph length. variety is key. readers will notice when your work gets formulaic, and some people will like that, but for others that can turn people away from your work. but don't force it! a paragraph should end at the end of a statement, or if the paragraph is getting too long then cut off the thought and continue in the next paragraph with a transitional phrase.

as a general rule of thumb, you want lines of dialogue by different speakers to be put in separate paragraphs. you also want to avoid doing huge chunks of narration or exposition in the same paragraph as you introduce a new speaker. just make a new paragraph! no big deal. i guarantee you your reader will be way more engaged and nobody is going to come at you for doing more rather than less.

✬ make sure the reader knows who is speaking and when

you don't have to end off every line of dialogue with "she said" and in fact i would really recommend you don't. but you ALWAYS need to have some kind of indication in the text as to who is speaking, otherwise the reader can get lost.

this doesn't necessarily mean that you always have to explicitly say who is saying what, though. if it is obvious in a scene who is saying something -- so for example, a scene where there are only two characters talking OR the dialogue has some kind of phrase, statement, etc that makes it obvious who the speaker is -- then in that case you can just let the dialogue speak for itself. sometimes in writing less can be more. you disrupt the flow of a scene if you start to exposit unnecessarily when the reader could reasonably work something out for themself.

✬ "said" is your friend too

related to the last piece of advice, here's another note: don't shy away from using the word "said".

don't overuse it, either. obviously, you don't want every single line to be "he says" "she says" back and forth, especially when they might be asking questions or shouting, in which case the word "said" probably isn't all that applicable at all. but it's a nice default. if you catch yourself busting out the thesaurus, my recommendation? quit it. just use said. it's not going to hurt you and the reader isn't going to mind.

but yeah, in the event that a character is raising their voice, whispering, inquiring -- there are tons of other words you can use in lieu of said and then an adverb. it's just context-dependent, and also, you don't really want to lean too far one way or another. like i said, variety is key. too much of the same breaks immersion.

✬ if you wouldn't say it yourself, probably don't use it in writing

another related tip. look, i get it. you want to spruce up your writing with synonyms. but the fact of the matter is that a lot of these words that "mean the same thing" on paper actually have wildly differing connotations and if you don't understand what those are you're going to look kind of silly whipping out a word you just found off the internet. we can usually tell, too.

your vocabulary will naturally grow and expand as you continue to read and learn. you don't have to try and force it to seem smarter in your writing. people who can write compelling prose and dialogue without throwing in fancy words they barely understand look a lot more intelligent than people who have a thesaurus at the ready 24/7.

✬ if there's a simpler way to say it, take it

this one can be sort of style-dependent, so if it's not your cup of tea then feel free to take or leave this tip, but in my opinion, taking a whole seven-line paragraph to describe a simple action wastes both your and the readers' time.

how many times have you read a fic where the main characters are having a conversation with these long rambling paragraphs between lines of dialogue? sometimes this makes sense! if you were writing a death note fic it would absolutely make sense for light or L to be pausing every few seconds to carefully analyse their opponent's move... but that's not always the case. sometimes characters are just making small talk.

i'm not saying you can't show off. you should show off where applicable. but there's a time and place. sometimes a scene benefits more from you taking the easy way to describe something and moving on. flowery language is great, but if you're meandering too much the reader will lose interest and attention.

✬ a metaphor is useless if nobody knows what it means

writing is subjective and highly personal. write for yourself first and foremost, and use the metaphors that feel right to you -- but the best metaphorical pieces, to me, are the ones that people can understand and identify with.

you've read a story like that, haven't you? with a reoccurring theme or motif that comes back into play at the end in a way that makes you feel so satisfied and complete? THAT'S what you aim for with literary devices like that. if you write a story that nobody can understand, with metaphors that just don't make any sense -- then you haven't really successfully told a good story, have you?

i understand wanting to have a magnum opus. i think it's easy to fall into the "misunderstood writer" mindset where you want your pieces to be so magnificent that only the likeminded will get it -- but writing is a form of communication. metaphor is just another means with which we can illustrate how we feel. you WANT your readers to understand what you're doing with the metaphors, you WANT the people who step away from your story to know what you were trying to say. you don't have to be obvious, just make it good. make it something that can be reasonably drawn from the text.

at the end of the day flowery language is just flowery language. that doesn't actually make your story good.

✬ grammar intermission

(.) period/full stop: used at the end of sentences. oftentimes not used at the end of sentences in dialogue, because lines of dialogue are considered a fragment of a larger sentence. use a period/full stop at the end of a line of dialogue if the dialogue is followed up by another complete sentence. example:

"i just went to the store," he said, scratching his head.

"i just went to the store." he scratched his head.

(,) comma: used in the middle or to separate different clauses (parts/sections) of sentences. used for incomplete clauses, AKA sections of the sentence that could not function as individual sentences. also used to indicate a slight pause. example:

she reached for the ripest banana, plucking it from the bunch.

a comma can also be replaced by a conjunction like "and" or "but". example:

she reached for the ripest banana and plucked it from the bunch.

(;) semi colon: used to separate different complete clauses in sentences, AKA sections of the sentence that are related but COULD function individually as their own sentences. example:

he sighed as he looked out the window; it had been so long since he stepped outside.

not to be confused with

(:) colon: used at the end of a line that leads into or introduces another line. example:

his fingers drummed restlessly against the window sill. it was finally happening: he was finally leaving this place.

(-) hyphen: used to connect compound words like three-years-old or hyphenated surnames like jones-smith.

(–) en dash: used to indicate ranges of time or distance, like 3–4 hours.

(—) em dash: a girl's best friend. slash j. but an em dash is used to indicate a few different things: an abrupt end to a thought or sentence, a "cut-in" where you interject something tangentially or unrelated before returning to the original thought, or a diversion in the sentence/thought. examples:

"no, listen, you don't understand—"

he scowled—an ugly look on his usually handsome features—and told her to be quiet.

it's not like she had wanted it to go that way—but when had it ever mattered what she wanted?

(()) parentheses: used to add additional context, information, or a semi-unrelated thought that would break the flow of an ongoing sentence without completely taking the reader out. example:

"no, i'm sorry. i just forgot to call you this morning," he said, looking away. (in truth, he'd sat by the phone for fifteen minutes trying to psyche himself into it, but hadn't been able to muster the courage.)

✬ show don't tell, and tell don't show

show don't tell is one of the classic pieces of writing advice that i do, often, think is correct -- but it's a little more nuanced than just never telling your readers what a character is thinking. you want the work to speak for itself without you implanting messages or themes into the reader's brain. at the same time though you don't want them to be doing too much work because it breaks immersion.

this ties into what i was saying above about simpler being better sometimes. you want to be concise especially in scenes that might call for it. a fight scene should be quick and snappy. no need to dig into the physical sensation of being enraged -- just say the character is pissed! but if a character is having a meltdown or panicking, you can get SO much more out of describing how that feels than just outright saying it.

✬ remember your perspective

another huge thing with show don't tell is that you don't want your character to be able to objectively say what everyone else is thinking and feeling -- unless that makes sense for them within the context of the story. really dig into it. DOES the character have a reason to know what their opponents, friends, etc are thinking? how well do they know the other characters? how attentive are they to the emotions of those around them?

it's better to focus on descriptions than labels in that case. say what face a character is making, describe their body language or tone. your character can have impressions, just make it clear that those ARE their impressions. and let your character be wrong! they do not have to be a completely objective source of information.

✬ when it comes to representation, if you aren't confident you can do it well, don't do it at all

i'm one of those people who's kind of of the opinion that white or cishet or otherwise systemically advantaged people have no place being the loudest voices in conversations about representation, least of all AS the representatives. if you are someone with systemic privilege and you choose to portray someone who is oppressed -- that's not necessarily a bad thing. but you need to be willing to do your research and have a sensitivity reader, and you have to be ready for people to say you did it wrong.

not much else to be said about that. your voice on the matter isn't actually all that important. there are people from the demographics involved who DO have stories to tell about themselves that will be MUCH more valuable than your perception of them, so it's honestly better to just let them tell it. that's how i feel.

✬ don't break the rules unless you know how to follow them. in other words, your rebellion should be obvious

a lot of times i see people breaking grammar or other rules and citing "stylistic" choices as their reasons why. which is all good and well, to an extent -- but you want it to be very clear that you ARE breaking the rules on purpose in a way that adds to the artistic merit of your piece.

if you don't know the rules, then it really just comes across like messy work. you both have to know how to apply the rules, and also how to break them in a stylistically significant way. if it doesn't make sense for the rules to be broken, if it says nothing... it's honestly better to just follow them. that's my take.

✬ don't be scared of names and pronouns

i said before that you want variety in your work, and that is very very true -- but it's also true that certain words like names, pronouns, etc will sort of blend into the background in writing. people don't notice them. that means if you're using a name or pronoun a lot in a scene to make it clear who exactly is being referred to...

hey. look into my eyes. breathe. it's okay. you do not have to resort to highlighting arbitrary characteristics of the characters. i know. just breathe. it's okay. use their names. they have them for a reason. it's all good.

this isn't to say that you SHOULDN'T do that, just do it when it makes sense to. if height is something the characters are noticing then use "the shorter boy". if age is relevant, eye colour, hair colour, whatever -- go ahead and use them. but don't be excessive with it. i should not be having to read the bluenette more than i'm reading shuichi's actual goddamn name.

✬ read

this is the huge one. reading other works informs your writing. it teaches you skills and tricks you can use. it helps expand your dialogue and your world view. it might even highlight to you things you do too much of in your own writing. read, all the time, whenever you can. it doesn't have to be books. it can be fanfic, articles, whatever -- just keep reading, because you will be passively absorbing knowledge during that time and it'll help you grow as a writer.

✬ practice

BOOOOOO TOMATO TOMATO TOMATO! SHE SAID THE THING SHE SAID IT!

but listen, it's literally just true. i write almost every day for at least a couple of hours and i have been on a trend of consistent growth for the past five years. go read my fics from 2019 if you don't believe me. i've grown fast and i've grown constantly. you just DO grow through constant practice, even if it doesn't always seem that way.

not only that, but you start to build confidence too. writing a lot helps develop those muscles to a point where you start to realise that you ARE that good and you DO have that dawg in you. or whatever. you just have to keep at it. you're not going to magically improve thinking for six months about how you want to be a better writer without practicing anything about it.

✬ yeah, betas are good

you want to have a good editor. i know that that can feel like having someone ELSE be the reason your piece is good, but that's genuinely not it. a beta reader is a second pair of eyes on your work, someone who can tell you about the issues and mistakes you're missing. they'll tell you when something doesn't make sense. they'll point out your punctuation errors. you don't NEED to have a good editor for every crummy little oneshot... but it's good to have one.

✬ numbers are fine and all but don't compare yourself to other people

i think almost everyone in some kind of creative pursuit wants to get some kind of acknowledgement for it. we want to be the best we can be, and it can be discouraging to receive utterly no validation along the way! i get it!!

just don't get caught up in crunching the numbers. you are not as good as your fanbase is. you alone know your skillset and you absolutely should not say "well this other writer got THIS much attention" because that'll just wear you down. it really will. external validation will only keep you going for so long, and you'll always end up needing more. you HAVE to build your own personal confidence first or you'll crash and burn.

✬ read your writing out loud

there is no quicker way to see if something is wonky in your prose than reading it out loud and seeing if it makes sense verbally. i highly recommend this to anybody who struggles with sentence flow. it's a good one.

✬ yippee hooray!

🥰 and that's what i've got for now. thank you if you made it this far, please take all these tips as you will, it is all subjective of course, these are just the tips that help Me the most when i sit down to write something.

please feel free to ask me for additional advice (on specific topics if you could!) at any time, i love encouraging new writers and i am passionate about writing so i will gladly offer support in any way i can, including beta reading works for anybody who might need that.

take care now 💖

[dayscapism]

My Thoughts on the Percy Jackson TV Show (was not a fan):

Months have passed but, I guess I like to throw wood to embers to make fires again. Honestly, I would have abandoned it after episode 3 if it weren't one of my favourite book series ever and I wanted so bad to be hopeful and pleasantly surprised.

I don't think it's a terrible adaptation, but I think it's boring, badly edited, with character inconsistencies, has first-draft-level writing and just missed potential. I'm happy it's been working for so many others, but I've also seen a lot of people being so reluctant to negatively criticise anything about it. Which is weird, it makes me feel like we're watching two different shows and I'm the problem (am I the drama? perhaps. I don't care.)

It's not been an easy time to watch for me; it's a sustained, painful, physical effort to pay attention to this show, especially during dialogue scenes. Like how do you make a show about a bunch of ADHD kids and make it so NOT ADHD-friendly to watch?? (The writers and editors should watch EEAAO, that's how an ADHD brain approaches visual media). The pacing, the terrible exposition, it's the static and uninteresting camera work, the lack of a campy hyping music/soundtrack, the lack of stylization, the lazy editing, the actors stopping to chat in a static shot every other minute, no running during urgent situations, etc. Nothing is engaging! It's such a boring show! There's always exactly 1 thing happening on screen and nothing else around it, no hidden meanings, no mystery, nothing that could be layered storytelling, which is such an important thing in a TV show where you only have 8 episodes to tell your story! Spekaing of, ADHD and dyslexia don't seem to be shown or discussed again after it's mentioned that Percy has it in episodes 1-2. I was hoping for bolder representation with that. (Why didn't they include the little dialogue where neither Percy of Annabeth can figure out the sign at the emporium because of dyslexia, and Grover has to tell them? These little moments count so much for representation of this kind!)

The dialogue paired with the pacing/humour is not landing. It truly feels unpolished, like a first draft. Like technically it serves its purpose, but it's an ineffective, unengaging manner to write a tv script. They should have done more flashbacks too, to give context and exposition. But instead, everything is given to us like you would in a book. (And this is coming from someone who read the books years ago so I NEED this exposition because I don't remember a lot of details, but the exposition isn't even helpful and the writing doesn't keep me engaged enough for me to even pay attention to the exposition!) The actors are doing the best with the material they have, they're all really precious, but this writing and directing is hurting their acting so bad. The dialogue and scenes are so awkward, which hurts the chemistry between the characters too (I expand on my issues with the characters later).

A lot of the tone and pacing issues could just be a book-to-tv adaptation thing because we're no longer in Percy's head with his funny sarcastic remarks and long paragraphs that can give us context. But then why didn't they include narration? Why didn't they keep it up after the intro in episode 1?? Why did they even include that bit if they weren't going to keep it up?? We have 4th-wall narration in lots of things these days (from the top of my head, Fleabag and Deadpool), usually done for comedic and style effect. This would help so much with the pacing and tone! the lost potential is so frustrating. Many movies/shows don't need narration; this one could have benefitted so much from it.

The show is not funny whatsoever when the books are hilarious. At no point did I laugh out loud here. Such a crime. I hate to be one of THOSE but the movies at least got the unserious and funny beats right. Like why is the music in this show just an epic forgettable MCU-like soundtrack but with a serious tone? Why didn't they include modern or campy songs? They should have taken clues from the Umbrella Academy's first seasons. And they could have included Greek music in it too! How cool would that have been? It's not a bad soundtrack by any means, but if nothing else is used in a very strange manner in some scenes because it sometimes cuts the action or doesn't match the energy or vibe of the scenes. The visuals and settings are pretty good, I admit, but these are underserviced by the entire production's lack of style and music and tone are a big part of that.

Some people have said the action scenes are bad, but I feel the problem is there's no sense of urgency, of danger (no layered storytelling here either). The fights with the monsters are okay, great even, the problem is this lack of excitement. The problem is the setups to the action: the lack of tension and then rushed resolutions. For example, they dragged the scenes with Medusa and Equidna talking that it lost all suspense. Equidna literally says instead of just jumping to it, showing what she would do to them kids. (Ok the chimera is cool tho, looks really cool. I want it as a pet 😊 And the editing when Percy falls from the arch is pretty cool too, rare exception.)

But most feels so underwhelming. These kids should also be running everywhere, not calmy walking (bad directing!) This makes the monsters not feel as menacing, because they always have time for a calm exposition break long conversations in the middle of what are supposed to be life-or-death encounters with ancient Greek monsters. And mind you, these pauses for conversation aren't even layered, they're often shot with a static camera, with dull dialogue no 12 yo would speak. They could be having these conversations while running, while hiding, while doing something else! Mix dialogue and action! Layered storytelling, it's about themes and characters but also about how you present the scenes themselves.

An adjacent problem is also that the actualization of the myths for a modern audience is a bit surface-level (like with Medusa). They could have done so much more here.

Now, issues with characterization:

Characters can really make or break a story. Here we have a lot of character inconsistencies, or rather, a lack of definition of the characters. It's not about the show being exactly accurate to the book here, it's the show wasting perfectly good character and plot moments from the show, while not being true to tone and to the core of the characters. Change in adaptations can be good, to consolidate or make things clearer and work for the new medium, but they character work here was very ineffective and inefficient.

Percy is supposed to be cunning, smart but not knowledgeable about the Greek world. The show has this being reversed many times.

Grover is perceptive and has more life experience but he is reduced to nothing here. Like I'm wondering why is he even here?

And Annabeth... Oh. Annabeth is a hard character to portray and write, tbh, it's easy to make her unlikable and straightforward, can very easily come off as annoying, pedantic perhaps, though I am all for unlikeable female heroines. But this is such a baffling iteration of her character. She comes off as a stalker in the first episodes, then she's mean and bossy yet she doesn't seem to actually plan or have good strategies (all is deferred to Percy really), then she sort of uses "the power of friendship" to resolve things but never her growing wisdom. Yes, she could be weird and caring and smart but they didn't nail any of those traits either. They striped her of any complexity. But my biggest gripe is that they didn't make Annabeth nerdy enough! Annabeth sure recalls a lot of facts during the show to look smart I suppose, but she rarely gets to problem solve or truly nerd out neurodivergent kid style, which I think is a huge missed opportunity.

An example, which might be very niche but it shows my issue with her characterization and I have to talk about it cause I'm a physics nerd (literally, it's my major), the part in the ST Louis Arch in episode 4 where she tells Percy and Grover stuff about the construction is so... basic. Like she just read it out of a tourist pamphlet or something. She just says how tall and wide the arch is and that it's symmetrical. That's it. Right...

Why didn't she mention what type of arch it is?? (A catenary arch, more specifically one that follows a weighted catenary curve. It isn't just held by "symmetry" it's tension! It's cool math!) Maybe she even mentions that it's a hyperbolic function and Percy and Grover can be like omg what are you even talking about, and she keeps going on and on about calculus and architecture, like a neurodivergent kid would about their interests. I mean, sure she's like 12, but she's supposed to be like a gifted kid, daughter of Athena, right? She probably knows some of the science and engineering behind the arch. Missed opportunity. Or maybe it's just that I see so much of myself in Annabeth and it hits too close when they can't make her justice. Idk. Like having a true nerdy, brilliant, neurodivergent, bossy but caring, black Annabeth would have been amazing. I guess the world wasn't ready for that.

This was episode 4 and the episodes are NOT getting better...

Also, Annabeth and Percy get sincere with each other really quickly after like 1 day of knowing each other, no layered storytelling or emotional reactions to them baring their deepest fears and darkest backstories either. (Poor kids are doing their best with mediocre adaptation, though Walker is carrying the show at this point, tbh.)

Annabeth and Luke's relationship also suffers a lot from telling and no showing. Why don't we have flashbacks?? Such a missed opportunity for a show. As a rule, showing isn't superior to telling, but these two techniques need to be balanced in the writing, they can be combined too to serve the story during a specific scene or passage. In this case, telling was the wrong way.

For Luke, if they want his arc to have the emotional hit it has in the book, they really needed to build his character more and give him more screen time! Which could have been done with flashbacks. Because with Annabeth's stoic acting, too, we don't really get the emotional reactions appropriate to the events she recounts. So how are we going to feel with the betrayal since the relationship hasn't been built strongly so far? Nothing. We'll feel nothing.

Annabeth's actress is doing her best with what she's given she portrays her like she's in a Disney Channel kids sitcom from the 90s, deadpan but snarky, which is not a flavour of acting that helps this adaptation. This might be a larger directing issue, though, because Percy barely reacts when he sees his mother "die" in front of him.

Anyway, Flashbacks and narration could have saved this series alone, tbh. We don't even know how Thalia looks like! How are we gonna know it's her at the end of the book with the fleece reveal??

Ok, disclaimer, I didn't finish the show. I got distracted and bored and couldn't be bothered. I think I stopped after the Underworld episode (episode 7 I think.) I couldn't be bothered to watch the finale even with Toby Stephens in it. That's how enthusiastic I am about this.

Also a bit of a nitpick but why isn't it explained why are Percy and Sally are stuck with Gabe in the first place? About his scent? Why is the abuse so... sanitized too? Like yeah, we could have a more psychological and verbal form of abuse situation, of course, but we also didn't get that? Gabe was just unpleasant and a bit of a jerk, pathetic, but that was basically all. Also, no explanation for the blue food?? When it's such insight into Percy's relationship with his mom?? So much EXPOSITION in this series yet they missed many of the important parts!

Disney watered down Sally too. They really did. Her makeup is nice though.

So... yeah, they could be doing so much more with all the characters.

Concluding thoughts:

I don't hate the show (the visuals are great and Walker Scobell's acting is amazing, such a young talent!), but every time I finish watching an episode, I'm just bored and underwhelmed and wished I had done something else with my time.

I know it's frustrating that in previous decades usually had 20+ episodes, plus season 1 and 2 being shot side by side so we didn't even have to wait and fear of cancellation after so little; shows really don't have to be perfect from season 1, they need room to grow, but they have to have SOMETHING to pull the viewer in from the beginning, to make them stay. Anything! This show is giving me nothing to work with. I do hope the show gets better in season 2, and I understand that the 8-episode-season model is a constraint for writers, but I still think it could have done much better with the resources it did have.

For example, Black Sails had an infamous first season, but then it grew to be what imo is the best show ever put to TV. And yes, it took a while for it to find its perfect footing, but it was like a delicious cake that maybe has some bad frosting but the foundation is there, it just needs polishing and a few changes. But this PJO show doesn't live up to its potential and it's just so frustrating because I wanted to love this show so much but I'm finding it difficult to think of anything that I truly loved about it other than Walker Scobell's acting and course Toby Stephens (but I already love him from his previous work so it hardly counts).

Honestly, I'm a little bit tired of discourse going around saying that critiquing a show from season 1 is not acceptable because the show hasn't finished growing and we want a second season, we don't want the criticism to affect a season 2. But this is irrelevant and that's not how media criticism works. People can get very on board with good shoes from 1 season alone. That's no excuse. There are genuinely good book adaptations out there that make changes for the better and get a good foothold from the get-go! Look at Lockwood & Co, OPLA or Anne with an E. It can totally be done. The criticisms we have are precisely because we love the books, because we wanted this adaptation to succeed, because we wanted to love it, but it disappointed us. And we are allowed to voice that, as long as is done in good faith.

I'm happy this show got renewed because of the fans who enjoyed it, love the Percy Jackson series, it is truly dear to my heart, but would I be sad if the show was cancelled? Honestly, no. I couldn't care less what happens to this show at this point. Why should I? I was given no reason to care, aside from my already existing love for the books. I'm not intrigued about how they're going to adapt book 2, I didn't connect with the characters, I wasn't having fun. Nothing. And sure, I want young kids to be introduced to Percy Jackson, great if it's through this show, I want younger generations to love this series too, but I don't know any gen alpha who would enjoy such a show. (Hell, I really wanted my audience-age-appropriate niece to love it, but she couldn't care less about it and jeez, I wonder why...) Kids deserve better shows than this.

Will I watch season 2? Idk. Maybe? I can put it in the background while doing something else perhaps. I do hope they improve stuff but I don't have my hopes up. Will I watch episode 8? No. Life's too short. I already read the books so why bother (hehe)

[jccatstudios]

I have been following your soc comic adaptation and it just so good!!! I love how you draw them!

I have just one question: Why did you not include Inej's opening musings about Kaz on the first page? (Kaz Brekker didn't need a reason etc) I actually really like how there is not text on the first two pages, it's really atmospheric and moody so this really is not a criticism, I don't want to insult you. I guess I was just wondering what the thought process behind that was?

Oh, I've been wanting to talk about this for a while! Buckle up, this is gonna be one of my long comic rants. (Also, no offense taken at all! Anyone's welcome to question my artistic choices and I'm always happy to take critique, even though that isn't your intention.)

So, the thing is I actually planned on including that first paragraph into the comic! Here's when I first shared the thumbnails on here. Just for the sake of this post, I'll insert them here too.

The boxes are meant to be where excerpts of that introduction would go. When I was creating the thumbnails, I was thinking about how iconic these lines were and how well they introduce the world and characters. I even finished the pages with the intention to include those lines. This is from my original csp file.

When I lettered it all out, I felt like something wasn't right...? Hard to explain. I wanted silence for the opening and the narration took that away. I then thought about the reader who'd go into this without reading the novel first, wondering if they'd be thinking, Who's this Kaz Brekker guy? Is it this character on the page? It's clearer in the book, but I didn't think it paired well with what I drew. I didn't want any confusion. It's also Inej's chapter, and while Kaz's parts take up most of it, I still wanted it to feel like her POV and her story. We can hold off officially meeting Kaz until page four.

But the main reason I took it out comes down to my philosophy when it comes to comic adaptations. I believe that an adaptation should use the original story in the best way for the secondary medium. A comic adaptation should play to the strength of comics, not the original source material.

Time and time again, I see a lot of comic adaptations of books try to use a book's strength instead of a comic's. When that happens, you get pages upon pages of narration boxes and exposition that could've easily been told in a single panel's image. If you want to read excerpts from the original novel, go do that! They're beautiful and well-crafted and you should be reading the original anyway! If you're making a comic adaptation, make a comic, not an illustrated version of the novel (that's a whole field of its own).

This whole thing really ties well into what I'm doing for Chapter 3. Kaz is such an internal character, his chapters have a lot more exposition that isn't setting description or character actions. I've had to do a lot more of my own writing for this chapter than the last just to turn that exposition into his own voice as an internal monologue. Sometimes, it's just a change from "he" to "I," but there are other times I've had to write new dialogue and find ways to naturally flow between thoughts. If I didn't do the work to adapt the expository text and instead just put in narration boxes of text from the book, there would be a greater disconnect between the reader and Kaz. Third-person limited works great in books and doesn't separate the readers from the story, but in comics, first-person internal dialogue keeps the readers inside the scene better.

If I were to redo Chapter 2, I think I would try to find a way to incorporate the information from the chapter intro better. I think by losing the intro I initially planned to include, I didn't establish certain ideas very well. Ketterdam and Kerch are established later on pages 4 and 5, but I don't think I ever go back and mention The Barrel. Also, the idea that Kaz is deliberate, even if his reputation says otherwise, is important too. I've made sure to fix this kind of issue in Chapter 3 and keep record of what kind of information I'm losing as I adapt it.

[bonesandthebees]

Hi Bee! You seem to read a lot of books, and I've been trying to get back into reading books rather than fanfiction as of late (which is going good atm). I used to read a lot of actual books when I was younger, but once I was a pre teen I'd discovered fic and had trouble reading actual books unless I had to for school lol. Anyway, my question is do you have any book recs? While for right now, it is going well, I only have two books I'm planning on reading after I finish the two I'm reading simultaneously right now. So it'd be nice to have some more for once I finish those as well. :D

Another reason for my wanting to get back into reading actual types of books is studying a more formal written literature to improve my writing, and to observe what author's do with their writing style that I'd want to incorporate in my own writing. If you have any tips for studying/observing, I'd also love some of those.

While this doesn't really have to do with the whole book thing, I just wanna say that you definitely inspired me to want to write more. Most of your titles always sound so cool and make me wanna read anything of yours solely based off them, and your plot, descriptiveness, metaphors, Greek mythology references, and so many other little things about it make it so enjoyable to read and something I'd strive to be within my own writing. A little silly, I know, considering it's MCYT fic, but your writing is genuinely so cool.

That's all I wanted to say, bye bye.

this is so kind thank you!! it seriously makes me so happy anytime someone tells me my silly fic writing inspired them to start/improve their own writing. writing is such a beautiful art but it's also a skill you have to put so much time into. you're off to an amazing start already with recognizing that you have to read published novels to improve your writing. it seriously helps so much.

I can definitely give you some recs! I'll put them under a read more, but since you asked for tips when reading novels:

try to pay attention to things you like and don't like about the author's writing style. like if you're reading a novel and there's a line of description that's particularly gorgeous or sets a scene super well, consider annotating the book with a pen or highlighter or if you don't own the book itself, copy down the line/paragraph somewhere (notebook, notes app, smth like that) to refer back to later. or if you find yourself super immersed in a conversation going on between two characters, take a step back to notice how the author writes out the conversation. is there a lot of physical description of what the characters are doing while they speak that lets you picture th escene easily? or is the dialogue rapid fire back and forth which forces you to just be sucked into it? what about it do you like?

or, on the contrary, if you find yourself struggling to enjoy a book try to notice what about the writing style is pulling you away. is there too much flowery description that makes you want to skip ahead? is there too much exposition so you feel like you're just getting an infodump instead of a narrative? take stock of what your own thoughts are as you read and then try to figure out why that is.

also, a tip I heard once is that you can always try to emulate a specific style. if you want to improve your writing and you just read a book with a writing style you really want, maybe try and write a random scene in that same style. it doesn't have to be anything original or even good, no one ever has to see it, it can just be for your own practice. just keep the book beside you and try to pick out what makes the writing style distinct, and try to emulate that. not saying you have to adopt that style, but just trying out a new style can give you some variation to help you develop/improve your own.

okay now book recs time, this'll get long so putting it below

now you didn't specify what kinds of books you like to read so I'm going to just throw in a few from a few different genres I've read. most of these are books I've recced here on my blog before but they're all a bit scattered so I'll rec them again. now, I mostly read fantasy or historical fiction because I just like those genres but I'll try to include some variety here

Genre: Fantasy (Typical Medieval)

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

one of my all time favorite novels. incredibly expansive fantasy worldbuilding that draws from a variety of cultures that's not exclusive to just europe. of course there's one country that's fantasy england, but you also have countries that take inspiration from asia, africa, and the middle east. you follow several characters that vary in age, race, gender, sexuality, etc. and they're all wonderfully fleshed out and fascinating. the story itself is also just fantastic and the world really swallows you whole. there's also a prequel to this called A Day of Fallen Night that I actually think I liked a bit more than Priory, but I'd recommend reading Priory first because it's easier to get into the world through that one whereas ADOFN is a bit more dense.

Genre: Fantasy (Apocalyptic? Sci fi? Kind of?)

The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin

similar to priory, the fifth season is a masterclass in worldbuilding and creating interesting worlds. that's where the similarities end though. technically speaking The Fifth Season is a fantasy and not a sci fi, although it feels more like sci fi to me tonally. The Fifth Season explores a world that is so regularly tormented by apocalyptic natural disasters that everything is formed around survival and it makes for such an interesting culture. the story also does an incredibly interesting and unique thing with POV that I rarely see in novels so that's also super fascinating to dig into for writing study. currently reading the sequel to this one and I love it so far.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Hild by Nicola Griffith

alright if you really wanna stretch some writing/reading muscles this is definitely a book you can try out. but be warned, it is dense. I'm a fairly fast reader and it took me so much longer to read this than I was expecting just because of how dense the writing is. this story takes place in 7th century Anglo-Saxon Britain so there's a lot of Old English words thrown in, and while there's a glossary at the back it doesn't cover everything. this is a really interesting novel though that dives deep into the time period and the specific life of one girl as she grows up at the heart of the political machinations of the Anglo-Saxon kings. really great if you're like me and think learning a lot about what life was like in this time period is super fun, but I could see it being a drag for people not super into history like that. I still think it's a really good story though on its own, especially with how the main character is characterized as she grows up, and how it represents all the politics going on at this time

Genre: Satire/Dystopian Fiction

Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

I'm including this because I'm trying to give you a bit of genre variety. If you want to read an adult dystopian book for our modern day this is definitely an excellent one to pick up. warning, it's incredibly effective as a dystopian novel because all I felt was dread and fear after finishing it. it takes place in the near future where the prison industrial complex has been combined with the entertainment industry. prisoners who are serving a sentence of either 25+ years or life are given the option to compete in televised gladiator style death matches. if they survive 3 years, they'll be released. the novel is incredibly on the nose and not subtle whatsoever about it's criticisms of capitalism and racism, especially the racism that the prison industrial complex is built on. the horrifying thing about reading it is how easily I could see this becoming a reality, especially the brand sponsorships. it made me want to laugh and cry at the same time because of how ridiculous but realistic it was.

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

And here we have my all time favorite novel. this novel is a great example of unreliable narrator and how to tell a story two different ways. if you don't know the twist for this already, go into it blind, I promise it'll be more fun that way. the premise of the story seems simple—the morning of their 5th anniversary, a man's wife goes missing and the story follows his attempts to find her. but it gets way messier than that. this novel is an excellent example of how to characterize horrible people and still make them enjoyable to read about. also, if you're like me and enjoy media about two shitty people having an unhealthy and fucked up relationship, you'll adore this.

Okay that's a lot so I'll stop there for now, but feel free to pop into my inbox if you want anymore recs! especially if there's a specific genre you're looking for. if I've read anything that fits what you're looking for I'd be happy to throw it your way!

[no-shxme]

since ive had people asking about it, here's

an overview of my writing process:

its very long (but split into 4 sections) so i will be posting it below the read-more. i fr threw up all over the post and it covers my writing process specifically. because i write unreliable narration >> canonic characters, etc this will prolly not be as useful for like, idk, crack fic writers or whatever else. basically this is what works for me. it might not work for you, but feel free to peruse, im sure no 2 writer's processes are exactly the same. (AND THATS COOL)

Step 1: The Idea & Start

usually my fic starts with a single scene/mood/line, and the whole fic is started around that. (for ex: my fic Teeth started bc of 1 set of lines that we haven't even gotten to yet. [sob]) this also helps me be more motivated, as i become pretty desperate to get that scene/mood/etc written. (as i write i often find new goalposts to write to, which helps keep me motivated, yeah)

occasionally i will write out an initial drabble (like 1 or 2 paragraphs) set in the story idea i have, just to see if i like whatever's going on before i commit.

before i start i decide my setting or at least whatever parts of the setting are relevant. (i wont go into it here bc that's not exactly process.) then i'm game to start.

i've heard a lot of writers struggle with starting a fic and ending it. starting a fic isn't usually a problem for me but if i don't like how the beginning is looking it's usually because i've started it too far away from relevant plot. i don't want to write too much beginning set up, so my solution is always to delete what i have and restart the scene closer to when something happens.

(for ex: when writing everything that went wrong over the summer, the story started earlier and was going to have kayn discover rhaast at the end of the first chapter. but halfway through i decided it was bad. i didnt want to reveal too much and it was kinda boring, became a slog of wordlbuilding. i hated it so i deleted it and instead we meet rhaast in literally the second paragraph.)

imo if you are having trouble with starting stories, literally just throw yourself into the action, its the best way to jog a stuck start. move up the timeline, make things move faster. ask yourself if you really need all the space before the action happens. this method also be used on other scenes, not just beginnings.

it's generally a good idea to figure out what the minimum amount of time you need to complete your story. (this plot that takes place over three weeks, can it be done in three days instead?) but i dont always do that for fanfiction, more my personal writing. fanfiction can be loose and slimy, thats okay. i'm not gonna stress myself over it like i do with my book lol. for me fanfiction is like a vacation. since the characters are already established i can be free to experiment stylistically and try new things.

Step 2: The Writing (The Slog)

(The longest section of this post)

I actually have SO many notes for my writing process so this will be all over the place.

Whenever I write ANYTHING my goals are the following:

keep things concise, without crazy exposition or information overloads.

to me writing is kinda like a puzzle, or a combination lock. i have a line or thought and i just continuously swap words around in my head or on a doc until something clicks. my goal is not just something that fits, it's something that fits BEST. (i am not always successful at this.) so yeah sometimes a line sounds good, but how do i make it sound BETTER. i am always thinking about lines. all the time. i am always turning a scene in my head trying to find the best angle. im literally doing it right now.

this is a stylistic choice that might not apply to everyone, but i love writing unreliable narrators and therefore always write them. in fanfiction i like trying to keep the characters close to their canon personalities, so a lot of the following advice is through that lens.

WHEN IT COMES TO PLOT:

by the time i write my first scene i usually have an idea of the ending. i'm not too terribly focused on it but i definitely prefer to know it. its just something i have to reach eventually. usually little plot ideas will start sprouting up like checkpoints between the start and the end, and then it's just the matter of figuring out how to bridge the gaps between them. one of my favorite tricks i like to use for longer or difficult plots is work backwards. (i call it Keyframing)

(for ex: let's say i'm writing a story about a knight who marries a dragon, but i can't figure out how the hell that's gonna happen. an easy way to come up with ideas is think: what's 1 thing that has to happen between the start goal (there's a knight) and the ending (married to a dragon)? it could be something simple. the knight has to get to the dragon's lair before he can get married. okay, great, there's another plot checkpoint. now what's 1 thing that has to happen between the start and getting to the lair? and also what's 1 thing that has to happen between getting to the lair and getting married?

as you keep adding 1 thing to the plot between points, it basically writes itself, or gives you a very good list of things that HAVE to happen in order to progress the story. then you can add embellishments and tweak it, but its a good method i use for avoiding over-complicated plot. periodically i also ask myself: can this be simplified further?

in cases where i don't have an ending in mind (about 35% of the time) i let my characters drive the plot. this is very easy because i write unreliable, character focused narration. all i think is: ok what're they gonna do. how would they do xyz. hows this affect them. i'll also think about my end goal for the character as it slowly develops and ask myself if it's realistic for them. i don't write crack so if it's something a character won't do then i just won't write it. i'll figure out some other goal or method to achieve the same effect, even if the scrapped idea is cute. :C the end result is usually a more convincing character. (once again this is literally just how i write ff. you DONT have to write like this) in many cases the goal is fine but the method isn't, so i have to rethink how the character realistically reaches that goal. (this was very much the case in my fic, One Promise)

WHEN IT COMES TO WRITER'S BLOCK:

here's my methods for getting over writer's block in no particular order:

taking a break. (or a nap)

reading poetry (this helps bc i try to write poetic) or just read, if im in a pickle.

changing location. (if you write on your phone/laptop. just go somewhere else)

delete the scene and restart from a diff angle. (not advised tbh. i dont think this is a good method, even if it works for me. im only listing it bc its something i do.)

to a lesser degree: changing the font, listening to music i would never listen to normally. or not listening to music at all.

walking around in circles talking to myself about whatever line im chewing on. :/

Okay now im just gonna list a mixed bag of shit that pertains to my literal writing process:

i use google docs because i like to write on my phone and my tablet. i will write in bed before sleeping or in the car. ill write wherever. occasionally i will also use scrivener on my pc for writing assistance. or ms paint. (dont make me go into it)

i almost always try to write what the CHARACTER sees or experiences, versus what a narrator would see. (for example, in my fic Teeth, sett's ears are mentioned a lot. it's because talon keeps noticing them.) this is super important in my writing as it also serves meaning and makes things more concise. oh a character is an artist? so they might notice the technique in a painting. versus the same painting viewed by a carpenter, who might focus more on describing the picture frame. i have specific thoughts on (confident) character voice/unreliable narration, but this post is long lol. if anyone wants to hear it lemme know.

for the most part i only try to describe what's necessary. im not trying to introduce too many characters BY NAME or too many places or too much detailed description-dumping, unless im trying to hide something. ESPECIALLY IN FAN FICTION. one thing i keep in mind is that the reader will fill in the gap. like i could write 'a kitchen with green walls and one window' and boom you already have an idea of what the kitchen could look like. i could write a character using a stove and different readers might imagine that stove in two different places, as pertaining to their imaginary kitchen. that's fine. as long as the location of the stove is unimportant then i dont need to describe it. basically if it's not Vital to my vision then i often don't bother writing it. (this also allows me to push themes and sneak things, but this post is too long)

often while i write im thinking ahead, so ill start noting future lines/plot ideas to use at the bottom of the document so i dont forget them. if it's a long fic my lines-to-be-used will be like, pages long lol.

JUST WRITE. I JUST WRITE. sometimes its slop, that okay. i try to write every single day.

whenever i return to a wip i reread it to get in the Groove.

as i write i sometimes make comments (in google docs) on some words that i know are placeholders. like i'll write a sentence and think: i need to change that word, but im too in the flow to do that now, so i just make a quick note so i dont miss it when editing. i have shorthand for it too, like for example, WC stands for 'word choice' and REP stands for 'too much repetition.' sometimes im lazy and dont do this ._.

speaking of repetition, one of my lil tricks is to start a list of repetitive words as i write. i will often throw in the names of characters, and some common pitfall words for me (words that i have a tendency to use too often). this is helpful for....

Step 3: The Editing

okay first i take a break. the length often depends on how long the fic is. if its a shortie then i just play a game or 2 of league or smth. i must banish the story from my brain.

when i come back i give it a read over and edit whatever issues i see, reword, blah blah. i also use Ctrl + F with my list of repetitive words! this way i can clearly see problem areas where i've used the same word too close together. i will also Ctrl + F grammar missteps, namely double spaces, double periods, and double commas.

for word choice ideas i use wordhippo :3c sometimes i recognize that a line needs to cook so ill come back to it.

i also do character checks where needed. (Would they REALLY do that?) at this point i can identify a problem area pretty easily so i dont do it that much anymore.

then as my final editing step i read the whole thing aloud. this step is so important that i never skip it, even on long ass docs. reading it aloud to myself is vital. when i read it aloud i can actually test the dialogue and see cadence issues and random mistakes that i never catch anywhere else. for longer stories this is done chapter by chapter as finished, which is,,, thank god lol.

if im unsure about a story then i'll let it ferment for a while (days, weeks) before i come back and edit, just to make sure im not crazy or smth.

Step 4: The Posting

i post in ao3's rich text format, so it keeps some of the formatting. then i hit PREVIEW and then i hit EDIT again. bc ao3 is finicky about italics and will add weird ugly spaces bc of that. so to get rid of them i use my CTRL + F method again to check for space + periods (literally a space then a period), space + commas, double spaces (again), etc. i also center those *** things that people use as scene breaks bc they're never centered. takes like 5 minutes.

then i post and try not to feel immediately awful lol.

anyway that's my writing process. this ended up super fucking long holy shit. sorry i like, rambled and blabbed. i try to be thorough. there's a lot more that i can talk about not pertaining to the process itself but like, yeahhhh. thanks if you read all this, hopefully its not terribly boring.

[grim-faux]

This definitely helps a lot, I have to try it or adapt it to myself. Thank you so much. I want to take advantage and ask you, as a writer you are, some advice for writing your drafts and dialogues clearly. I mean, I usually write a paragraph describing what happens at each moment, but I think it is a fairly orthodox method.

Shore ting. Rough drafts and the sort are probably the easiest to get done - if you've seen the post that tells you cold turkey.

Just write the damn thing. Tell YOURSELF the story, write out what needs to be said. You want to get the descriptions, story elements, dialogue - all down. Especially when you have a tight schedule and not a lot of work time.

Drafts can benefit from a good, organized outline - or an Outline that stacks out events, scenes, and the rough dialogue content. If you're still working on specifics to your story, or you have the setting and environment firmly fixed in your brain, but you're struggling with the dialogue. Anything. And an outline can be as complex as you want it, maybe you'll write out a very detailed paragraph that you'll implant into the story itself because it was written and hit all the nuances and descriptions you needed. The same goes for dialogue - You might have brief sentences describing the scene at its bare bones, but go ham entirely on this dialogue interaction and get the whole thing scripted out. If you're struggling with a scene leading to that dialogue, or you have a scene rolling but you haven't decided the direction of the dialogue, inserting bare bones basics of your idea can benefit keeping that creative juice rolling.

Another big aspect of a draft is pacing. Which can be the trickiest concept when drafting or getting a story written. What scenes do you want to focus on? Why are they important? How do they progress the plot, the story themes you want to cover? Where are you taking the reader, and why? Because in story pacing can cover a day or an hours worth of time, in a few paragraphs - if it's not integral to the story. Like a movie montage. Or, if certain scenes and events are important, the character might spend an extended amount of time working through the scenes - i.e., paragraphs or chapters. But in your story, you have to incorporate the components that are important and interesting, and fulfil the readers need for rewards for the questions we have. In pacing your readers progress through the story, you're informing them of the events as they transpire, as they are important to your plot; you also need to keep the reader fixed in the environment so they know where they are, in reference to the characters. It might work in some cases to dump a lot of exposition onto the readers lap to get them up to speed, but for some it can be a turn off to have a lot of information to take in all at once. You can trust your process of writing that when you are giving the details at the right time, your reader will be enticed and follow, and will learn about the story at increments that are easy to understand. This can be essential to extensive world building projects, because the invested reader will stay involved with the work and keep absorbing details - then that becomes a process and relationship between the writer and reader, where both are undertaking a journey to learn about a realm that is entirely fabricated. The writer tells a story piece by piece, and the reader returns because there is always something to return to.

A good method for helping with elements like pacing and description details, is try taking the time to evaluate a graphic novel or any other rich story telling comic book media, like mangas and the sort. You can think of each panel incorporated into this visual novel as segments of paragraphs - even the little boxes that say something like WHAMO! because recall, a paragraph can be as long or as short, or a single word - its a tool at your disposal. A paragraph breaks up the flow of thought, it changes the perspective or anticipation of the reader - much like the graphic novel changes the 'camera' to view each scenes. The panels give to readers what is need to know at each moment, where and what a character is experiencing. Panels sometimes overlap, sometimes they are interesting shapes or wedge between two dynamic panels. That is how the visual story is being fed to the reader/observer, and it can be very similar to how we tell story with paragraphs - some brief paragraph inserts go over a characters internal thoughts, or a cluster of paragraphs in a sequence cover an extensive establishing scene where the characters will exist for an extended period of time. It's always important to recall pacing though, and how much in terms of details the reader needs to know.

This is also valuable to how incorporating dialogue works with in the story itself, and how to pace conversations with certain actions - dynamic or passive. Think how the reader should experience this dialogue, and what it will define of the characters. Even a purely dialogue scene can describe to the reader what is happening, or what the character is doing.

"I cannot tell you how irate I am with this situation. Ingrates! All of them! Wait. Why is my door locked?"

"Er, did no one deliver the notice? You've been replaced."

Without any context, this brief can determine a lot of different things. The first speaker is angry, and they are trying to get through a door - a door that they no longer have access to. The second speaker elaborates some news which the speaker was not given, which in itself could imply a lot of different situations - no one cared, there's been a disturbance in hierarchy, or the first speaker is very unpopular. But as I've said, a draft can be as complex or simple as you need it, so long as you can get the details down and get the general mood or theme you want to convey. All of this might shift as you elaborate the broader idea of your story, so it depends on what and where you want it all to go.

Show, don't tell. Give the reader freedom to experience the story, use their emotions and perceptions to internalize a scene. In some situations it is important to elaborate why a character feels a certain way, or why they undertake a certain action. If a character is being swept away in a river, the reader does not need to be told, Gabriel flung his arms from the frothing rapids seeking the bank, a branch, anything or he would drown under the merciless waves. The description feels more visceral and desperate if it's described, Gabriel flung his arms from the frothing rapids and lashed at sharp rocks, his fingernails ripped at wood and mud before he plunged beneath the foam. Both sentences convey the same stakes, are very similar in terms of the situation and what Gabriel needs to achieve, but the latter sentence does not need to elaborate why Gabriel is panicked and flailing - it's in the moment and immersive, wherein Gabriel and the reader are both fighting to find a handhold, but fail and are sent beneath the river's rapids. Rather tell the reader what Gabriel feels, I want to immerse my reader with the sensation and panic the character is enduring. At the same time, the process is a balance of what you need the reader to feel and keeping them adhered to the story as it unfolds. It is always okay to detach the reader from the character and exposition when it is helpful or necessary. Don't become so fixed with telling the perfect story, that the process ostracizes the readers capacity to relate or interpret what is happening, or why we should be invested.

I hope all this is helpful to the drafting process. A lot of this is also finding your style and voice in the narrative, how you choose to choreograph scenes and approach the plot. It factors into how you choose to assemble the general idea of the story, for the eventual scope of the character and readers journey. And all of that comes down to getting it written, not getting overwhelmed or hung up with an instant perfect process.

Again, if there are additional questions or anything I should clarify - coz this is a lot of stuff, feel free to ask. Im far from perfect when it comes to following my own rules, but I do have methods to my madness. And the whole writing process is good for experienced writers to review and share with others, since its a learning process that never ends.

[thatbanditqueen]

i’m obsessed w all ur fics but i gotta ask…

are u planning on midge and ep making up some way in the next chapter or are u thinking ab dragging it out? (also wanted to let u know i reread the only sure thing probably once a week lmaooo)

So I'm writing chapter 8 right now and...... they are going to be colliding into each other at the end. Followed by three very very very smutty chapters. This and the last chapter where they are not together have been the HARDEST for me to write because I have the smut headcanons for the next chapters rebounding around in my mind grapes and I just want to get there already and I want the build up to be good but I have discovered this about myself as a writer. I'm not great at slow burn or storylines that don't lead to somewhat immediate smut..... lol.... maybe I'm off, but my favorite chapters of Only Sure Thing are 2 through 6..... I did like writing the scene in 7 where Elvis walks in on Midge writing fake fan letters for the Colonel.... but some of that chapter felt flat trying to accomplish more exposition and where i see them going... idk i am an aggressively hard on myself person, but i guess I think my favorite thing to write is pre-smut verbal foreplay which is hard to do if characters are broken up... so, this was a really long way to answer your question. The short answer is yes, and I'm sorry because I'm still learning how to write stories but I see ch 9 and 10 being.... um.... fun....

Once a week? My love.... im so fucking honored to hear you say that because I am really fond of these characters and I reread it everytime I write a new chapter, but I also want to rewrite it, especially some of the clunky paragraphs early on where I feel like I was over explaining Elvis' bio.... I might one day....

This is something I'm struggling with so I'm curious to know what you think... I don't want them to make up totally until March 1961 bc Elvis is going to convince Midge to go to Hawaii with him and he's leaving like the day after they reunite. But I also don't think it's realistic that he wouldn't try to see her every chance he can and try to wear her resolve down... I'm having him bombard her with telegrams and phone calls, and sort of explaining how he's off filming two movies and doing benefits and events in Nashville and Memphis as the reason he doesn't see her for six months... but I feel like I need to write ONE "look let me prove I can be just friends" scene from Midge's pov, where E shows up at her place unexpectedly because he's super impulsive and hyperfixated..... and he wants to use any excuse to get her alone and bring her back to his house ... uh... ok apparently this post became part of my writing process...

Thanks for reading and supporting my own hyperfixation. Im always down to chat about them. I really hope the fan community doesn't dissolve bf I finish these stories....I know I'm moving at a snail's pace..

xoxo

norAHHHH

The Only Sure Thing forthcoming in the next few days Ch 8 vibes...

[rowarn]

sorry i wasn't specific with my ask! if you could just give me some ideas on how you get your inspo and word usage, that's mostly what i'm looking for! anything is appreciated though, thank youu. :))

RIGHT ON! its okay, i would have given random tips but i wasnt sure if there was something specific you were looking for!

my inspo largely comes from other media. tv shows, movies, edits, fucking character ai bots, other fics; literally anything that i enjoy i typically wind up using in my fics. its not for me personally but plenty of people get inspired by music! songs and music videos

other fics are excellent inspo bc u can see how readers respond to tropes that they've done. age gap, dilf, aus, and stuff like that. its also rlly great to see characterization. as long as you're not plagiarizing then emulating and learning from other writers who are doing the same thing you do or want to do is excellent. i love reading fics hehe

ik that sounds like super basic and boring but having a repertoire of existing tropes and stuff is super great!

as for word usage, it's all super subjective bc my tastes and stuff will not match up for everyone. but if u like how i write and want to emulate it then there are a few things i can say! i focus mostly on smut and dialogue.

first, it's important to have a good vocabulary. knowing synonyms to words you want to say is important. u don't want to have a paragraph that uses the same word over and over again, you want to break it up and make it mentally appealing to read. it won't be interesting to readers if you don't expand your vocab!

i am primarily a smut writer so that's where most of my focus is on intentional word usage. all my narration and plot is pretty basic i'd say. nothing incredibly special except for my dialogue which i put a lot of thought into.

i don't use metaphors that much. so, say, for smut u won't catch me using "globes" in reference to tits. i much prefer to just come out and say breasts, tits, chest.

i also don't use like Correct anatomy language. so i don't use penis, testicles, vagina or clitoris. i use.......porn language bc that's what im writing; cock, pussy, cunt, clit. just to keep it......erotic bc i personally (again, subjective) find correct anatomy language to be more off-putting than erotic.

smut is where it becomes difficult to use broad language. there's only so many words you can use for a dick. so don't be afraid to bust out some wattpad words u know? length, member, etc. ik they can sometimes be cringey and u don't like them but use them at the right time and using it sparingly and most ppl won't rlly notice. it breaks up reading the word cock and dick over and over and over again for 2k words.

for some examples,

for dicks u can use; dick, cock, member, shaft, length

for the puth u can do; pussy, cunt, folds, core, sex isn't bad

clit i use clit, bud, and nub mostly...but ppl use pearl or button, i don't but it doesn't bother me when i see it

i also don't use flowery language. i know in creative writing or whatever it's common to use poetic word usage but i find it to be more confusing than anything. i can't read rlly flowery fics bc the meaning of what im reading just genuinely gets lost. it's all lost on me. i'd say im a much more direct writer with my words and scenes? i utilize a fair bit of narration and exposition in my writing.

i find dialogue style to be quite important. if you read my stuff (like the fics, we dont look at my word vomit LMAOOO) you'll usually see i make the characters talk in specific ways.

simon cuts off his words "goin'" instead of "going", "somethin'" instead of "something", like that. i dont use a ton of language to depict his accent other than that, i leave the leg work mostly up to the readers bc they know what he sounds like. but some writers do like british slang, "wanker", "mate", "innit" LMAO i just don't and thats my choice. i choose to just cut his words off and call it a day. he has a more casual way of speaking in Taking What You Need as compared to konig in Experience.

konig, in Experience, has a specific way of talking as well that is opposite to simon. he doesn't use contractions. i did that intentionally bc i wanted him to have a more intimidating, professional, cold kind of way of talking. "do not do it" comes across different than "don't do it"!

i personally would say that a large part of my characterization comes across in dialogue and the style of dialogue i choose. i think that makes it more enjoyable for readers!

all in all, i basically just emulate what i personally like to see in writing. that's how i keep finding it enjoyable. i love giving fics for ppl to read but if i didn't write straight up what I wanted to see then the actual physical task of writing would be a lot worse.

idk how helpful this was since i basically just told u.....what i like to do LMAOOOO but i hope it gives u some kind of idea of what i focus on and how i get my writing to be the way it is?

EDIT: important that i also use inclusive language to the best of my abilities!

instead of saying like "your cheeks turned red" i use "you feel your cheeks heat up" or something along those lines since people with darker skin tones won't have their cheeks turn red when they blush!! but feeling your cheeks BURN is smthn we've all experienced.

i also try not to use any "running your hands through your hair" bc not everyone can do that! i can't even do that i have curly hair hehe. an alternative would be pushing a stray strand out of your face or tucking some behind your ear or something like that.

also, i don't mention nipple color or vagina color or anything !

[spacedimentio]

I'll just answer these cause I doubt I'll get asks so yeet

🫓 What is your most popular fic? Definitely Fractures.

🥘 What category do most of your fics fall under? Hurt/Comfort. Sometimes just Hurt >:)

🍲 When did you start writing and why? I started writing in 2010 thereabouts, in high school. Partially it was because I was obsessed with Meta Knight and was inspired by some cool fics about him such as Shadow Wings by twilitprincess and Young Meta Knight by teamrocketspy621. And my English teacher was a really cool and supportive dude, I loved English class and writing projects for class taught me a lot.

🍱 Do you read your own fics? Oh absolutely. I write them for myself after all, so if I'm craving a particular flavor, what could be tastier than my own fic? Plus I like to look back and rediscover all the clever little details and formatting tricks I put in. Even with my older more cringy fics there's still things about them that I appreciate.

🍛 Have any comments, tags or reactions to one of your fics every made you laugh or cry or both? Not really! The reaction I like the most is the one where I've written something absolutely evil and the comments are like D: how could you do this to me and I'm like >:)c

🍜 Do you ever feel pressured to write? Only by myself, really. I go through periods where I write a lot very quickly, then I don't write anything at all for several months. I try to stave off the latter as long as I can because that's why I have so many WIPs and don't finish anything.

🍠 How long does it take you to write one of your fics or a chapter/part? Honestly I write really slowly? Like sometimes I will write a three-sentence paragraph and it will have been 20 minutes somehow. But I rarely have to do a second draft/scrap something and start over because it usually comes out right the first time, which is why the writing is slow. I've compared the mental process to a zen garden before.

🍢 Have you ever gotten hate on a fic? *points at Within* Yep.

🍣 What helps you focus or get in the mood to write? Honestly I am either hyperfixating on the story and can't think of doing anything else but writing, I randomly think of some detail to add and get sucked in, or I read back through a section/the entire chapter proofreading/editing along the way, then pick right up where I left off once I get to the end. There's a trick when you don't really feel like doing something, which is to try doing it anyway for 5 minutes. If your brain has not gotten on board with the task after 5 minutes, then stop and do something else. Forcing myself to write just leads to a mess that I have to scrap. Recently I have just let my brain write whatever it wants and jump around between sections instead of doing it in chronological order, which can lead to trouble stitching everything together but I am getting so much writing done. Woe, I am sticking HAL 9000 into The Martian and none of you can stop me.

🍥 What's your favorite fic you've written? Honestly it really depends on what mood I'm in and what brain rot I have at any given time. You've always loved the Ocean is up there though, as is Deadlight Holiday. Logic Error, the first part of the thing I'm currently writing, is topping rn hgg such trauma, such romance.

🥮 Do you have any writing milestones you're working toward? Naw, I don't do milestones, too much pressure.

🍡 Which of your fics was the most emotionally difficult to write? Honestly Deadlight Holiday made me cry a lot. Prime Directive Three, the second part of the thing I'm currently writing, is also being difficult. Not because there's a lot of emotional junk, but rather because I wrote some of this first before I did the first fic in the series and the natural evolution of all of the technical details has been a pain to keep straight and worldbuild with. I have a habit of wanting to explain everything and ending up with too much exposition and it is rearing its head with a vengeance here. It looks like I'm going to have to redo an entire chapter and I've had to stop touching that bit for now out of frustration.

🍘 Is there a fic or idea for a fic that you've abandoned? Plenty, I've got a lot of ones I hopefully still call WIPs but the chances of me touching them again are not great. I also have a huge list of ideas, there are so many papers scattered to one side of my desk with random ideas for things on them.

🍙 Is there a fic you wish had gotten more attention? I mean, all of my Super Paper Mario fics really. A New Year With You, behold my soft Luisley propoganda. And You've always loved the Ocean, I know that one's an original work and somewhat strange but I'm still really proud of it and wish more people would look at it.

🍚 What genre do you have the toughest time writing? Anything that's pure fluff with not even a sprinkle of angst. Slice of life I can have lots of ideas for but actually writing any of them is hard.

And that's that!

Links for fics I mentioned: Fractures Shadow Wings by twilitprincess Young Meta Knight by teamrocketspy621 Within (dead dove do not eat) You've always loved the Ocean Deadlight Holiday A New Year With You

And Logic Error and Prime Directive Three aren't done yet so no links for those. These are in the series Prime Directive Three, which is for 2001: A Space Odyssey, because somehow HAL 9000 has come from the distant past to take over my brain.

2001: A Space Odyssey x The Martian fic is the result of a stupid and random idea that I ran with to take a break from the above series. The name for now is In Tenebris Stellarum, which might be too cool for it considering it's supposed to be crack, but also there is so much trauma so maybe not. Is there a word for a fic that's kind of silly but really sad at the same time? It's also looking to be a series, considering there's a bunch of what ifs but also a main 'canon' storyline.

Fic Writer Asks

Thought it would be fun to make one of these myself

🫓 What is your most popular fic?

🥘 What category do most of your fics fall under?

🍲 When did you start writing and why?

🍱 Do you read your own fics?

🍛 Have any comments, tags or reactions to one of your fics every made you laugh or cry or both?

🍜 Do you ever feel pressured to write?

🍠 How long does it take you to write one of your fics or a chapter/part?

🍢 Have you ever gotten hate on a fic?

🍣 What helps you focus or get in the mood to write?

🍥 What's your favorite fic you've written?

🥮 Do you have any writing milestones you're working toward?

🍡 Which of your fics was the most emotionally difficult to write?

🍘 Is there a fic or idea for a fic that you've abandoned?

🍙 Is there a fic you wish had gotten more attention?

🍚 What genre do you have the toughest time writing?

[glassmarcus]

Tunic: Marcus Bait gone Wrong

*Played in September 2022, Written in November 2022. I will gleefully die on this hill even today. I learned that consumables recharge on death like a month ago, and it just made me hate the game even more. Explain your mechanics you coy bastard!

There's a ton to like about Tunic. It has wonderful environmental story telling, a complex dense world with secrets and shortcuts around every corner, and a charming art style. Its defining gimmick is super clever. The game aims to capture those feelings of being a confused kid playing a cryptic game that can only be navigated using a manual in a foreign language. And I assume it captures it perfectly (never had to do anything like this growing up to be honest). There's very few items to use in this game, but in their place are little pieces of paper. The main object of progression are pages of the in-game manual. This manual is the Heart and Soul of Tunic. It is your map, your exposition, your move list, your tutorial, and your Prima Strategy Guide all in one. Information is explicitly a tool in this game and once you have that knowledge, executing on it is always satisfying. It's like the power was within you the whole time. You know that moment in Super Metroid where you are shown by those aliens how to wall jump and then realize you could have been doing that hours ago? They pretty much turned that into an entire video game. I really dig it. I can also see how it will make subsequent playthroughs far more varied and expedient. Road blocks that you perceived your first time around are later revealed to just be smoke and mirrors. You could have gone straight to that location and gotten that item early if you only knew the true form of the illusion.

Moments where vague plot points and details of the world are revealed just by picking up a page will always stick with me and were truly magical. Tunic is an extremely inventive game and at times had me more captivated than nearly any other title to come out this year. And when you view the 2022 video game roster, and see the savage killers it has to contend with, you can't help but cheer it on. I really wanted to come out of Tunic with it being this surprise favorite I didn't anticipate.

Yea, that didn’t happen

While its world is well crafted (aside from the quarry) and it's gimmick is well executed (aside from the fairies), Tunic fails on a fundamental kinesthetic level. If you know anything about Tunic you probably know it's heavily inspired by Dark Souls and The Legend of Zelda. Probably my 2 favorite video game franchises overall. Tunic is theoretically a hand made present for me. They might as well have sewn my name on the back of it. So I wish I liked it, and am very disappointed that I don't. Now I have so much knowledge of Dark Souls and Zelda that if I start comparing them to this game and pointing out all the things it does right and wrong, we'd be here all day. I had a whole thing written about how this is isometric Dark Souls 2, but way worse. I had a paragraph about the joy of simple top down Zelda combat prepared. But I won't follow through and resist mentioning them for the duration of this write up. I'm not going to go into my perception of what the developers and designers were thinking when they made this either. I will just plainly state the things I hate about it.

The Combat of this game doesn't work. Your swing animations have no weight despite the slow wind up. Every enemy gets knocked back or dodges after 1 or 2 hits. There's no visceral death animation or sound effect to accompany your triumph. The currency you get from kills doesn't have clear value in the beginning of the game and has no value near the end. The camera constantly obscures information about encounters and makes spacing hard to make out. The camera also wildly swings around while locked on to a large enemy, disorienting the fuck out of you. There is ONE weapon and it's not particularly good (You can’t have both long recovery frames AND minuscule hit box range, PICK ONE). Half of the magic spells are garbage. The other half are still magic, thus are limited in use. The Enemies are aggressive and won't leave you alone until you kill them. You also move at an unbearably sluggish stride. Which wouldn’t be huge deal if enemies along the routes you take weren’t such a horrid chore to deal with. Hit boxes just feel wrong sometimes. The parry is a double tap. The game pretty much expects you to be holding the triggers constantly during encounters. The dodge goes too far. There is no satisfaction during combat, after combat, no meaningful reward for combat, and no reasonable way to avoid combat. NOTHING about this was executed correctly. The magic whip mitigates a lot of the issues by removing spacing and movement from the equation and giving a good animation. But like I said, you only get a few uses of this so you can't rely on it being a play style. This is a game full of fighting and they forgot to make the fights fun. You end up killing the same enemies with the same weapon and the same combat loop without any meaningful variation. It's BORING.

If it was just simple isometric hack and slash gameplay I would have been strapped in the whole time. It did not need to be revolutionary, it just needed to be functional. Instead it tries to be this ill-conceived chimera of opposing philosophies. The world design is based off a camera angle that obscures your vision and inherently hides information from you. It's combat assumes you have visual clarity so you can act with precision. These two ideals do not like each other. They do not communicate, they do not collaborate. I don’t know what their beef is. I assume Combat slept with World Design's wife or something. Regardless, they simply do not work together.

What can spice things up are the consumable items. I can't talk much about these because I never used them. Why complain about the combat being monotonous when I'm not using all the tools the game gives me? Because the game never tells me how to use them. Sure, you are given hints. But these are consumables. I'm not going to use them until I know exactly what they do. That's how my brain works. I theorize that's how most people's brains work and I'm sick of pretending this line of thinking is an outlier. If you want me to experiment and figure it out myself, make it unlimited use, otherwise fuck off with this cryptic nonsense. I get that it's the game's thing, but there's a point where it gets obnoxious and this is one of those points. I would have preferred this game had more puzzles and less riddles like the Legend of [redacted], but I accepted that this wasn't how it would go. But at least make the riddles free. I already have to spend time, now I have to spend resources too? Tunic is just a bit too cheeky for me and here it veers into active malice.

The game overall just doesn't feel great because of a lot of conscious design decisions that I don't agree with and animations I felt were underwhelming. But even with the correct decisions and animations I think I picked the wrong game. Or at least the wrong console. This game runs like ASS on the Nintendo Switch. And normally I would blame the Switch and myself for buying that version. But apparently all 8th gen consoles run poorly. The load times are egregious, the frame skips are abominable, and the lighting is unsubtle. The performance issues were not something I got used to like I do with most games, but something that compounded overtime and made me increasingly annoyed.

Mid way through Tunic, I didn't like the combat, but enjoyed the world and what I understood of the narrative. It had potential to be the NieR: Automata of this year for me. A game that transcends the medium in every way, but forgets to polish the core gameplay. Then the end game happened, and the Metroid Prime artifact hunt began. There were no new areas to explore. Just going through the same shit you've been through before. This was when I decided I disliked this game. If it just ended a few hours earlier and didn't have a terrible final boss, I might still be able to call Tunic good, despite all my gripes. But instead of ending on a high note of went out on a fading loop of the chorus. In conclusion: I'm not a fan.

[perpetual-stories]

Story Structures for your Next WIP

hello, hello. this post will be mostly for my notes. this is something I need in to be reminded of for my business, but it can also be very useful and beneficial for you guys as well.

everything in life has structure and storytelling is no different, so let’s dive right in :)

First off let’s just review what a story structure is :

a story is the backbone of the story, the skeleton if you will. It hold the entire story together.

the structure in which you choose your story will effectively determine how you create drama and depending on the structure you choose it should help you align your story and sequence it with the conflict, climax, and resolution.

1. Freytag's Pyramid

this first story structure i will be talking about was named after 19th century German novelist and playwright.

it is a five point structure that is based off classical Greek tragedies such as Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripedes.

Freytag's Pyramid structure consists of:

Introduction: the status quo has been established and an inciting incident occurs.

Rise or rising action: the protagonist will search and try to achieve their goal, heightening the stakes,

Climax: the protagonist can no longer go back, the point of no return if you will.

Return or fall: after the climax of the story, tension builds and the story inevitably heads towards...

Catastrophe: the main character has reached their lowest point and their greatest fears have come into fruition.

this structure is used less and less nowadays in modern storytelling mainly due to readers lack of appetite for tragic narratives.

2. The Hero's Journey

the hero's journey is a very well known and popular form of storytelling.

it is very popular in modern stories such as Star Wars, and movies in the MCU.

although the hero's journey was inspired by Joseph Campbell's concept, a Disney executive Christopher Vogler has created a simplified version:

The Ordinary World: The hero's everyday routine and life is established.

The Call of Adventure: the inciting incident.

Refusal of the Call: the hero / protagonist is hesitant or reluctant to take on the challenges.

Meeting the Mentor: the hero meets someone who will help them and prepare them for the dangers ahead.

Crossing the First Threshold: first steps out of the comfort zone are taken.

Tests, Allie, Enemies: new challenges occur, and maybe new friends or enemies.

Approach to the Inmost Cave: hero approaches goal.

The Ordeal: the hero faces their biggest challenge.

Reward (Seizing the Sword): the hero manages to get ahold of what they were after.

The Road Back: they realize that their goal was not the final hurdle, but may have actually caused a bigger problem than before.

Resurrection: a final challenge, testing them on everything they've learned.

Return with the Elixir: after succeeding they return to their old life.

the hero's journey can be applied to any genre of fiction.

3. Three Act Structure:

this structure splits the story into the 'beginning, middle and end' but with in-depth components for each act.

Act 1: Setup:

exposition: the status quo or the ordinary life is established.

inciting incident: an event sets the whole story into motion.

plot point one: the main character decided to take on the challenge head on and she crosses the threshold and the story is now progressing forward.

Act 2: Confrontation:

rising action: the stakes are clearer and the hero has started to become familiar with the new world and begins to encounter enemies, allies and tests.

midpoint: an event that derails the protagonists mission.

plot point two: the hero is tested and fails, and begins to doubt themselves.

Act 3: Resolution:

pre-climax: the hero must chose between acting or failing.

climax: they fights against the antagonist or danger one last time, but will they succeed?

Denouement: loose ends are tied up and the reader discovers the consequences of the climax, and return to ordinary life.

4. Dan Harmon's Story Circle

it surprised me to know the creator of Rick and Morty had their own variation of Campbell's hero's journey.

the benefit of Harmon's approach is that is focuses on the main character's arc.

it makes sense that he has such a successful structure, after all the show has multiple seasons, five or six seasons? i don't know not a fan of the show.

the character is in their comfort zone: also known as the status quo or ordinary life.

they want something: this is a longing and it can be brought forth by an inciting incident.

the character enters and unfamiliar situation: they must take action and do something new to pursue what they want.

adapt to it: of course there are challenges, there is struggle and begin to succeed.

they get what they want: often a false victory.

a heavy price is paid: a realization of what they wanted isn't what they needed.

back to the good old ways: they return to their familiar situation yet with a new truth.

having changed: was it for the better or worse?

i might actually make a operate post going more in depth about dan harmon's story circle.

5. Fichtean Curve:

the fichtean curve places the main character in a series of obstacles in order to achieve their goal.

this structure encourages writers to write a story packed with tension and mini-crises to keep the reader engaged.

The Rising Action

the story must start with an inciting indecent.

then a series of crisis arise.

there are often four crises.

2. The Climax:

3. Falling Action

this type of story telling structure goes very well with flash-back structured story as well as in theatre.

6. Save the Cat Beat Sheet:

this is another variation of a three act structure created by screenwriter Blake Snyder, and is praised widely by champion storytellers.

Structure for Save the Cat is as follows: (the numbers in the brackets are for the number of pages required, assuming you're writing a 110 page screenplay)

Opening Image [1]: The first shot of the film. If you’re starting a novel, this would be an opening paragraph or scene that sucks readers into the world of your story.

Set-up [1-10]. Establishing the ‘ordinary world’ of your protagonist. What does he want? What is he missing out on?

Theme Stated [5]. During the setup, hint at what your story is really about — the truth that your protagonist will discover by the end.

Catalyst [12]. The inciting incident!

Debate [12-25]. The hero refuses the call to adventure. He tries to avoid the conflict before they are forced into action.

Break into Two [25]. The protagonist makes an active choice and the journey begins in earnest.

B Story [30]. A subplot kicks in. Often romantic in nature, the protagonist’s subplot should serve to highlight the theme.

The Promise of the Premise [30-55]. Often called the ‘fun and games’ stage, this is usually a highly entertaining section where the writer delivers the goods. If you promised an exciting detective story, we’d see the detective in action. If you promised a goofy story of people falling in love, let’s go on some charmingly awkward dates.

Midpoint [55]. A plot twist occurs that ups the stakes and makes the hero’s goal harder to achieve — or makes them focus on a new, more important goal.

Bad Guys Close In [55-75]. The tension ratchets up. The hero’s obstacles become greater, his plan falls apart, and he is on the back foot.

All is Lost [75]. The hero hits rock bottom. He loses everything he’s gained so far, and things are looking bleak. The hero is overpowered by the villain; a mentor dies; our lovebirds have an argument and break up.

Dark Night of the Soul [75-85-ish]. Having just lost everything, the hero shambles around the city in a minor-key musical montage before discovering some “new information” that reveals exactly what he needs to do if he wants to take another crack at success. (This new information is often delivered through the B-Story)

Break into Three [85]. Armed with this new information, our protagonist decides to try once more!

Finale [85-110]. The hero confronts the antagonist or whatever the source of the primary conflict is. The truth that eluded him at the start of the story (established in step three and accentuated by the B Story) is now clear, allowing him to resolve their story.

Final Image [110]. A final moment or scene that crystallizes how the character has changed. It’s a reflection, in some way, of the opening image.

(all information regarding the save the cat beat sheet was copy and pasted directly from reedsy!)

7. Seven Point Story Structure:

this structure encourages writers to start with the at the end, with the resolution, and work their way back to the starting point.

this structure is about dramatic changes from beginning to end

The Hook. Draw readers in by explaining the protagonist’s current situation. Their state of being at the beginning of the novel should be in direct contrast to what it will be at the end of the novel.

Plot Point 1. Whether it’s a person, an idea, an inciting incident, or something else — there should be a "Call to Adventure" of sorts that sets the narrative and character development in motion.

Pinch Point 1. Things can’t be all sunshine and roses for your protagonist. Something should go wrong here that applies pressure to the main character, forcing them to step up and solve the problem.

Midpoint. A “Turning Point” wherein the main character changes from a passive force to an active force in the story. Whatever the narrative’s main conflict is, the protagonist decides to start meeting it head-on.

Pinch Point 2. The second pinch point involves another blow to the protagonist — things go even more awry than they did during the first pinch point. This might involve the passing of a mentor, the failure of a plan, the reveal of a traitor, etc.

Plot Point 2. After the calamity of Pinch Point 2, the protagonist learns that they’ve actually had the key to solving the conflict the whole time.

Resolution. The story’s primary conflict is resolved — and the character goes through the final bit of development necessary to transform them from who they were at the start of the novel.

(all information regarding the seven point story structure was copy and pasted directly from reedsy!)

i decided to fit all of them in one post instead of making it a two part post.

i hope you all enjoy this post and feel free to comment or reblog which structure you use the most, or if you have your own you prefer to use! please share with me!

if you find this useful feel free to reblog on instagram and tag me at perpetualstories

Follow my tumblr and instagram for more writing and grammar tips and more!

[elphabaoftheopera]

Tagged by @raven-curls​ and @vinkunwildflowerqueen​ thank you!

This inspired me to finally re-shelve the books strewn all about my place (and dust my bookshelf). So thank you for that.

From last place to first:

#10. Time Travel Short Stories foreword by David Wittenberg: “It may surprise readers to know that the sorts of spectacular time travel plots one typically encounters in contemporary science fiction, full of multiplied time lines, paradoxes, revisions of history and butterfly effects, are a late innovation of the genre.”

Pretty dry writing even for a foreword, and I was not surprised by the fact. Next!

#9. The Norton Shakespeare Anthology: (from the preface) “Since Shakespeare’s principal medium, the drama, was thoroughly collaborative, it seems appropriate that this edition of his works is itself the result of a sustained collaboration.”

There were like four collaborators for this anthology. I get what they’re going for here, but kind of boring. Bring on the Shakespeare!

#8. Star Wars I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole: “None of us liked waiting in ambush, primarily because we couldn’t be wholly certain we weren’t the ones being set up for a hot-vape.”

What is a hot-vape? When I googled it I just got “vape hot” which warned people that they were vaping too much if their vape was hot. Is it a Star Wars thing? Deducted points for confusion.

#7. Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer: “This was the time of day when I most wished I were able to sleep.” (I had to add the next few lines just to appreciate the brooding: “(cont.) High school Or was purgatory the right word?”)

I laughed when I pulled this one out. I borrowed it from my mother-in-law like over a year ago but couldn’t make it through the first chapter. I would give it higher points for the next two lines but judging just by the first line doesn’t make it a standout.

#6. The First Five Novels The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum: (from the intro) “In 1900, a moderately successful writer for children by the name of L. Frank Baum set out to write a new type of “wonder tale” in which (in his words) “the stereotyped genie, dwarf and fairy are eliminated, together with all the horrible and bloodcurdling incident devised by their authors to point a fearsome moral to each tale.”

L. Frank Baum is obviously a fave, it was cool to learn a more about him in this long ass sentence. I laughed at the irony of “moderately successful writer”. Still, it’s a foreword and forewords are bland.

#5. Play Directing In The School (A drama director’s survival guide) by David Grote: “Play directing can be an art, but like all real art, it is built on a solid foundation of craft.”

I haven’t read this book yet and I’m not a drama teacher but I do direct plays. It’s a sentiment I agree with. No more, no less. Still a foreword! I promise I do have novels too...

#4. 1912 Facts About Titanic by Lee W. Merideth: “On April 11, 1912, many of the more than 2,200 people aboard RMS Titanic watched the green hills of Ireland slowly disappear from view as the magnificent liner steamed west into a beautiful Atlantic sunset—and into history.”

Actually kind of pretty imagery for a non-fiction foreword. A topic that interests me. I feel like if this were an introductory paragraph/sentence in an essay the teacher would write “nice work!” off on the margin. 

#3. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss: “It was night again.”

Simple. Concise. Informative. It was night again. I’m simply gripped! I have no idea what this book is about but this made me laugh out loud.

#2. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel: “Like many fathers, mine could occasionally be prevailed on for a spot of “airplane.”

Masterful, and I mean that unironically. Obviously Alison Bechdel is a fantastic writer, but this is a really great first sentence. It puts you right into the narrative and is creatively expositional. Makes me actually want to finally read the graphic novel in full. Obviously makes me think about the musical too which is a plus!

#1. Junie B. Jones Is Not a Crook by Barbara Park: “My name is Junie. B. Jones. The B stands for Beatric. Except I don’t like Beatrice. I just like B and that’s all.”

I didn’t even need to crack the cover to know what the first sentence would be. Yes, I cheated a little to get the full bit but even so I’d rank it first. This intro is iconic and just delights me every time I read or recite it. This sentence was literally the first sentence of a chapter book I ever read on my own (though I was reading Sneaky Peeky Spying), and for that Junie B. Jones will always “B” #1 in my heart.

I'm tagging @the-shark-is-a-mammal​, @character-shoes-and-misery, @amidalleia, @cultishsocialgathering, @lavalierre, @starspangledpumpkin, @itsniaeveryone, and @misosuper and anyone else who wants to participate!

[nicegaai]

Ch 4:

“Since I made you wait a whole month, here's a long chapter. :)” UMMMM.. <333333 UM <3 (well I guess this explains how sloppy ch 2 felt. I was in a rush for some reason.)

HAHAHASHAFASA WHAT TH EUFKC.

I have less to say bc im getting caught up in the story . i can  hardly believe it. I might get thru this after all. Im gonna try and keep typing notes tho bc I AM going to reference these for the final few chaps 

Oh wow that was a very long serious attempt at exposition. Im proud of me for that. It didn’t turn out well written and I think its going nowhere but im also proud of Berber for trying. Ohhhh I wanna go in and edit this scene for better flow sooo bad. But I won’t. Moving on.

THE GASLIGHTING CAMPAIGN <3 YAYYY <333

kjlkJSLDGJSDLKGSLDG why am I like this. The whole Berwald thing is like. This is killing me. Why is it all happening back to back every single scene like this… once again every chapter is Too Much and like for what? What am I doing here. Hello

I FORGOT TO ADD THE FUKING EMOJIS TO THE TEXT CONVERSATION IT SAYS (emojis) THATS SOSOOSO GASDG ASODGIJ ASD GIA OSDOIGAIJSDL KGKA JSDKLGAKJSDGJL . Umm. Skull emoji. I should be making a second note for all the things I need to fix atp x_x

Ohhhhhghh Emil baby boy baby boy so silly I luv u 

ohhhHH another strange one-off stylistic choice …. I thought I edited out all the parenthesis’ed asides !!!! I kind of don’t like how that turned out. It weirds the pov. Note to self, fix that bit too.

I am not sure if I was going for a single POV or… what is happening here. I rly was like nahh im gonna do this based on vibes ^-^ and its driving me crazy to read now. i still don’t exactly know how writing the dif types of point of view work but I can tell something is off. echhhhh. Oh well, I’ll do better next time <3 

I HSOULD HAVE CUT THE SCENE THERE!!! Like 4 paragraphs earlier!! I DIDNT NEED TO DO ALL THAT its awkward  and clunkyyyyy booooooo

N?RICE INTERACTION BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK KISS HIM KISS HI M AIAIEIIEEEEEE E E EE EE E E EE. E EE *writhing darkly* *attacks regardless of target*

FUcking shit. Feeling rthings again. im going to jump into an active volcano to set my miserable spirit free. I promise there’s a punchline for all the underage discussion. I promise its going somewhere funny. I would never do something that isnt either for funny or sexy purposes. On my life bro I swear

Awhhgh another mistake uhghhhh UGHHH there should be italics there at minimum :-(

Oh my gd im getting stressed out reading B all stressed out. Why did I do this. In the original story idea, they all just had an orgy right there . There were no crazy dramatics. TBH I just chickened out and didn’t want to write sex. Thats the honest truth I just didn’t want to write sex and accidentally drug the story out for twice as long as I meant to.  And now its stuck like this. Can you believe? 

Heh. Ice mention

You know, I didn’t consider that the thing breaking would make a shit ton of noise. Ummmmmm. Emil has AirPods in he can’t hear anything <3

LMAO. KEK EVEN. This was a good chapter actually despite it all

im attempting my fic reread today. im announcing this bc i will be liveblogging to keep my morale up, NOT THAT anyone cares but i personally need this, like ill only commit to do the thing if theres an imaginary audience holding me accountable. & i like to have fun :3

anyway. captains log, its a beautiful sunny july weekend. i just finished my morning coffee, and, i am dreading this so much. i dont like rereading my own writing but i shall get over it. ok here we go.

Þetta Reddast vagueblogged directors commentary edition

Ch 1:

*opens fic and starts convulsing immediately* god i wish i smoked weed rn. i cannot chill out ever for the life of me

My Mission For Today Is: to remember what plot threads I’ve left hanging so I can resolve this story properly. And also try n remember where the flow is going. I have the end plotted out, I just am a little lost … it’s been a while :-(

------------

Abrupt beginning!!!! I’m not mad because I have . I HAD. Almost no writing experience when I started this. it isn’t ideal but I refuse to be one of those fanfic writers that starts rewriting early chapters without finishing the last ones. Ive never seen one of those types actually finish a longfic. …I’d already rather yap than actually read LMAO AHH

Oh this is worse than I remember. thats cool that s great ok alright *coughs up blood*

"20 somethings" WOW I really did not know where I was going with this when I started huh

LKJSDLKSJDLGKGDJSLDGJK ??? Who authorized this. Who let me cook. What the hell

I could write this better now. I could edit this into something beautiful. <- devil on my shoulder

FORGOT I WAS MAKING RICE BRB

"generously offered nothing to the exchange." wait STOPPPP. I’m so funny

GRAMMAR ERROR DETECTED why is there two periods. I’ll be coming back to fix that …………………. :-(((

Fuck. This is a lot. Marge Simpson Hiding Her Face dot Png

Oh this is stupid this is gayyy this is fukcinnn . Who fucking did t his. What was wrong with me,. This is so good actually. what was i ONNNN. 

Im gonna throw up and I don’t know if thats like/. A complimentary thing or if im just cringing that hard . Im feeling emotions. I love my OTPs..OT3~5? I love them so so much

Ok as much as im like “eww bad writing” this is .. dare I say, rly good in places. Not to suck my own dick but maybe all hope isnt lost and imposter syndrome is an illusion

Grammar mistake #2. Goddddddd. they should ban me from the archive for this

EMILLLLL EMIL EMIL EMIL HIIIIII BABYYYY EMILLL I LOVE UUUU AWWHUUGHH everyone clap for my bewoved baby bruvver right FUCKING now

Urghhh gritting my teeth… Im fully expecting the flow of events to start not making any gd sense. There’s no way this came together the way I hoped in my head and .... For real I was never able to read this all the way thru. this is my first time, lol. and it was all disjointed on the authorial end to say the least. Im scared T-T

Jlxjvklsdkjfsjlkdkjlsjklkljzsdkjlgaskljdgjklasljkgdljkasljkdgjklasjlkdgljkaskljdgjakl?????????? 

Im not liking the ratio of dialogue to whatever the other stuff is. scene-setting I guess. prose maybe. i could have dragged this out way longer... By which I mean made it a more satisfying read. But WHATEVER !!!! 

TIMO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TIMOOOOOOOOOO NUMERO UNOOOO DO MUNDOOOOOO I really need to utilize him more. As soon as I finish this fic I need to write a Timo POV spinoff where he gets cancelled on furry twitter for proshipping in real life

Hmmmm chapter ending didn’t hit as hard in practice as it did in drafts. Oh well. God damn that was a lot to happen in one chapter LMAOO???

OH SHIT MY RICE IS STILL COOKING —— 

[embyrinitalics]

I'd love to know more about your writing process if you're willing to talk about it! From the initial idea to brainstorming and planning to how you structure your stories to actually putting words down -- I'm always curious to know what the process is like for writers whose work I enjoy ^^

Meep! 😱 What an incredibly cool ask! I am willing to talk about it, but spoilers it will probably be embarrassing and uninspiring and a total mess and with THAT disclaimer out of the way let's goooo!

So right out front I will say I don't feel like I have much of a "process." I am very unstructured, never use outlines, and rarely know where a story is going when I start out other than a vague direction. I definitely discover as I write, which works super great for me in short form stories (like the ones I spit out for Whumptober), but very very poorly with long fiction. Which explains the 4 1/2 year long Calamitous debacle.

My ideas often spawn out of something shallow (omg wouldn't it be hot if Link was a Dragon? OMG what if he was blind!!! OMGGG WHAT IF HE WAS A HOT MANIPULATIVE POE??!), but ultimately those scenarios are just playgrounds for exploring character stories. Getting to know my characters in those environments is priority #1. Cuz if I don't know who they are and what kind of baggage they're toting around, I won't know how best to torment them, amirite?

Sometimes as I'm discovering who they are, the characters will end up driving the plot hard to unexpected places. The Defiance set from Prius Dementat comes to mind immediately. When I started that piece, I did not know that Zelda was actually the Daughter of Hylia, whose birth prompted the rampage of an imperial war machine that devastated Link's childhood and country. But as I got to know him—who he was, where he came from, how he viewed the world—it seemed like the obvious way to make his life infinitely more difficult.

Character always comes before plot for me (chronologically, but also just insofar as what I'm personally interested in), and as a result my plots tend to be predictable and lack depth. But I think (hope?) that because I'm so laser-focused on the characters and how they interact with the world, that even if it is uncomplicated, it is at least believable. I want them to feel like real people having real reactions. I want them to be intelligent enough to keep up with the reader (or have good reason not to), but also imperfect and emotionally flawed enough to make mistakes. I want their conversations to fit their voice and reflect motivation, and not just be an excuse for exposition or to move the plot along.

My actual "method" involves a lot of rolling around in bed early in the morning (I get my best ideas when I'm groggy LOL), going for walks in the woods, listening to just the right song on repeat, jotting down lines and ideas in notebooks and then misplacing them, and staring at my laptop screen in the dark waiting for inspiration. Interruptions are the absolute worst; I definitely work off the unconscious association of words and mental images and ideas that happens when I'm "in the zone," so having a comfortable room where I can close the door and pop my headphones in is great for the creative juices.

One thing I do A LOT of that I kind of assumed other writers do too but maybe not? Is I'll have a scene in my head, but if I try to actually write it out I'll get caught up in word choice and pacing and it'll all start to escape me before I can get it down, so I end up smashing an inelegant paragraph together as a note to myself. Here's one such paragraph in my The Wolf King doc:

(And when he finally tears away, eyes dark and wild and chest heaving, he says, “Pack your things,” and he pushes off the wall to leave her. “You’re going home.” OOHHHHHHHHHHHH lol And she goes back into the shed because she does NOT have the energy to chase after him and then just faceplants in the blankets and cries a little bit. When she goes back inside they’re already packing up her stuff, and Paya is like WHAT DID YOU DO and Zelda’s like when am I supposed to leave and she’s like “Tomorrow morning.” Link is predictably missing all day, and she ends up sneaking into his room and Paya sees her and she’s like “I have to talk to him,” and then Paya’s all “If I get in trouble, I’m blaming you,” and helps her get in.)

lol yup so that's how it starts in my brain... I'm not entirely sure how it ends up legible. But I have literally pages and pages of story written in that mishmash, so. That's a thing.

I don't know if... ANY of this is what you were looking for 😂 But hopefully you found this ramble amusing, if nothing else. As you can see I'm disorganized and really struggle to complete things, but while I'm sure there's a way for me to write that would end up being more productive, I have a feeling it would be a lot less fun, so I've stopped looking for it.

Thanks so much for the ask! 🥰✨

[winters-tales]

I posted 510 times in 2022

That's 323 more posts than 2021!

108 posts created (21%)

402 posts reblogged (79%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@wildswrites

@owlbear33

@coffeewritesfiction

@inneskeeper

@autumnimagining

I tagged 405 of my posts in 2022

Only 21% of my posts had no tags

#fen reblogs - 281 posts

#writeblr - 64 posts

#writing - 51 posts

#fen writes stuff - 36 posts

#creative writing - 24 posts

#oathsworn: the nameless - 21 posts

#streaming - 19 posts

#nanowrimo 2022 - 18 posts

#fen's originals - 14 posts

#fen is a streamer now - 12 posts

Longest Tag: 130 characters

#obviously the absolute best thing to do is befriend people from all walks of life because then your life is made richer anyway but

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Let's talk ✨🌍WORDBUILDING🌍✨

No, really - it's something I really struggle with a lot. I'm best at writing about actions that happen within a world, so my short stories tend to be sparse on worldbuilding details, allowing the audience to fill in any gaps they want to.

I'm getting the hang of worldbuilding, but then I run into another problem which is: how do I give this information to my readers? I'm a big fan of seeding things in as I go but if get excited about a detail then I get a bit heavy on the exposition, which can be boring.

So how else can I offer background lore, without writing a massive wall of text that leaves my reader's eyes involuntarily skipping over paragraphs looking for the good bit?

In-world newspaper articles.

Oathsworn: The Nameless is urban fantasy, so newspapers are absolutely a thing. It also has the extra step in difficulty of covering a long period of time - nearly 400 years - so rather than painstakingly recount history, I'm going to write newspaper articles that cover the important, story-relevant bits of history.

For example, a list of topics for articles across the centuries could be:

- cancer rates are going up [related to the use of nukes in the war] - finding ways to 'clean' radioactive sites - holy shit so many people are unaccounted for you guys [it was a hundred-year war involving supernatural beings so lots of MIA] - instances of Touched [people who have traits from being in close contact with Fae] on the rise/on the decline/how do we feel about it - this one may be more of a magazine piece, a sensation piece - we've had a breakthrough in radiation cleanup - cancer rates are going down

So of these topics, which do you want me to write first?

33 notes - Posted October 16, 2022

#4

Writing Advice

Befriend Scientists

No, really. if you don't have Actual Scientists (tm) in your friend group you should go out and find some because I had the time of my LIFE this evening while aksing for help with a couple of points in the worldbuilding of my novel:

Me: "Microbiologist Friend, I found this thing that said e-coli can be used to clean up radioactive contamination, is that legit?? It doesn't expand or offer sources."

MB Friend: "Here are several other sources that seem to back this up, a couple of them list different bacterium but that just gives you more to work with. Also, be aware of these specific limitations when working with bacteria."

Me: "Incredible, thank you!"

-

Me: "@heavymetalscientist nuclear power plants gone wrong vs nuclear warheads: what's the difference in after-effects? Also could there theoretically be radioactive fire?"

@heavymetalscientist: "Fascinating! Not only will I answer this with sources but I'll also solve a plot hole you didn't know you had using a video of a guy picking up a cube of material heated to 2,200 degrees celsius with his bare hands. You can have a video of Cherenkov radiation as a bonus."

Me: "... do you all just have this stuff in your back pockets ready to go for the right absolutely batshit question?"

-

Seriously, befriend a scientist or three, ask them a hypothetical, and then just sit back and enjoy the information dump.

Alternatively: befriend scientists, then sit down and watch a film that uses CRISPR as the plot point (like RAMPAGE). Just as entertaining for very different reasons!

36 notes - Posted October 16, 2022

#3

Sleep Deprivation

Death by one thousand cuts A thousand-billion starving synapses Falling to a torture only Halfway self-inflicted

Don't trust your self-image in the dark Starvation makes anything look appetising Self-esteem becomes Manna from heaven In the darkness of 2 am Where every criticism bites back

Remember the experiment you read about? Think about how tired you'd need to be To bite your fingers clean off - Your jaws can already do it How tired do you have to be before you brain forgets To stop them

If only you could see the carcass Chunks torn from my Self worth Self view [Selfish] It's 2.37 am and I'm no longer sure

My world is a Moebius Strip Self-fullfilling ouroboros Dying brain cells circle back on themselves Looking for every last scrap of Serotonin Dopamine Contentedness [please gods let me be content enough to sleep]

It's too hot My back hurts My brain races on Not realising it's the greyhound Destined forever to chase a mechanised

Lie

~~~~

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Ko-Fi Patreon

67 notes - Posted July 13, 2022

#2

Love is in the Apples

There’s something about apples and love The fruit of knowledge Depicted in all it’s crisp Mouth-watering glory Eve saying here, are you hungry, too? Adam takes it, and he means I love you Did the bite they shared together help them truly know The depths that love can reach?

We’d help to pick the apples Bending to retrieve the ones that hit the ground And that was love as well: Your 60-year old knees and back and hips can’t bend like my 8 year old skeleton can Let me get that for you I love you I’m light enough to reach the tops of the trees Hold the bucket, I’ll get the best ones I love you

Later in the kitchen we’d tuck ourselves into a corner And tuck into an apple half the size of our heads Bitter and tart juices running down our faces Thank you for your help; I love you We’d have apples for weeks: Apple pies Apple cakes Apple biscuits Apple crumbles Give the apples to the local priest and get Homemade tablet in return I thought you’d like these, Father Little loves

I think of Snow White Baking an apple pie for seven strangers A gift of gratitude Seven times I thought you might like this Seven times I hope you like it Seven times I love you

You return triumphant Bucket overflowing with your bounty Crisp, green, bitter, and tart Fruits that seem much smaller now I’m grown My hands cramp from the motion of rubbing the butter and flour You get ready to drop the apples and come to my aid if I ask I’m okay, I say I know, you say Soon the kitchen smells like love Apples and cinnamon and sweet buttery pastry The triumphant fruits of our labour

It’s wonky It’s tart The lid has come away from the base But nothing has ever tasted as sweet

Like an apple that has fallen, I briefly pick up A faith long since abandoned And I thank Eve for sowing the seeds Of love, in apple trees

~~~

If you enjoyed this poem, please consider leaving me a tip on my Ko-Fi

~~~

160 notes - Posted September 18, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Reblog Me Please

You like this? I'm glad you like this. You are picking it up, and putting it in your pocket. It's for you to find later before you put your trousers in the wash, it'll be nestled in there with your loose change and half-formed thoughts, and maybe you'll read it again and enjoy it but it'll be just you who re-reads it.

Reblog me please; put me in your pocket and find that I am split, endless copies to pin to the lampposts on your street, a reverse missing poster campaign. Have you seen this? I have. I'd like you to see it. Maybe you'll like it. Lots of reblogs means lots of lampposts, lots of streets, lots of hey, look at this.

Pandemic isolation hits, reblogs become lifelines, not just sharing art but sharing thought, sharing emotion, sharing soul. I'm here. I know you're there, too. We see you. Hang in there, hold on, keep going. I love you. We share because we love, and we love because we share.

Reblog me please; I just want to be seen and shared and heard and felt. A hundred hundred lampposts, a thousand thousand connections, a million million souls.

Have you seen me? I see you.

I love you.

242 notes - Posted October 9, 2022

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