#just know not everyone can process a story if it doesn’t follow a structure | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sam-glade · 1 year ago

Text

My Editing Process

Part 1/3 - Big Picture Stuff

This is what I do to a novel or a novella before showing it to anyone (including beta readers). I’m posting it in hopes that it will help someone, and I’m not expecting it to work for everyone. Take any parts that help you!

Two things up front:

‘Imperfect’ doesn’t mean ‘bad’. Good writing can have imperfections.

The goal is to get the manuscript to a stage where the imperfections won’t be distracting to beta readers.

Baseline

This is my process for novella- or novel-length projects (so around 40-100k words). I don’t write short stories, so I don’t know how applicable it will be. I’m currently editing Gifts of Fate, trying to shave off a couple of thousand words, and I’ll be pulling examples from it.

I’m a pantser and an overwriter who loves checklists. I know that my early drafts include scenes that explore the characters and the setting, but don’t contribute enough to earn their keep – this isn’t applicable to everyone. I also write in 3rd person multi-POV, hence references to switching POV.

In this project, I also aim for a crisp, direct style, with minimally flowery descriptions.

I start this process when my draft is in the following state:

After I’ve replaced all [[foreshadow this]] and similar comments, added all the skipped segments, etc.

After I let the manuscript rest for a couple of months

When the overall plot is highly unlikely to change. I.e. the sequence of events/plot beats is set in stone. I may consider reframing them or rewriting from someone else’s POV, but I won’t change the direction of the story.

Big-picture stuff first

I can’t stress this enough, do this before you get into the nitty gritty line edits. You don’t want to pore over a chapter for hours, only to realise it has to be cut – and all the effort you put into editing will be thrown away.

The goal of this pass is to bring out the best parts of the story, make the focus crystal clear, and make sure everything gels together.

I make a copy of the manuscript and make sure you have the old one stored away. I often refer back to it, to see if I like how a chapter has changed.

The outline

I write a bare-bones outline, no more than a phrase per 2k words – the shorter the better.

The way I do it is to put that as the title of each chapter – chapters for me tend to average just over 2k words. E.g. in GoF, the first few chapter titles are: ‘The Rupture’, ‘The Sword’, ‘The Cutthroat’, ‘The Sergeant’, [redacted], ‘The Windmill’, ‘The Threat’, ‘The Investigation’, ‘The Plan’. Not catchy, but pinpointing the focus of each.

It’s important that each point corresponds to a similarly sized chunk of text, so that I can spot when there are long sections where not much or too much happens – this will highlight issues with pacing.

If I’m not sure what to put in the title, it’s an indication that it might be one of those meandering, unfocused chapters. I gather a list of those, to pay more attention to them.

It also helps me identify the goal of each chapter. This is the part where I’d consider reframing or even rewriting a chapter from someone else’s POV, if the current structure shifts the focus away from what it’s supposed to be about.

Two examples:

In one chapter, I had a regular POV character (Ianim) check in on the protag’s family, and the protag’s sister (Marta) filled him in on how her magical powers had manifested a few days earlier. The intended goal of the chapter: tell the reader about the powers. What it ended up being: by framing it as a conversation between them, the focus was on their dynamic. Solution: rewrite the chapter from Marta’s POV and present the events that led to her powers manifesting as they happened, rather than retrospectively talking about them.

Later on, the protag (Lissan) is on the run and struggling to survive, while feeling that he should be saving the world, not just himself. He gets a stern talking to from an old man. The intended goal of the chapter: Lissan gets over his dilemma, and makes a decision to save himself, then make the world a better place. What it ended up being: the old man’s backstory stole the spotlight Solution: spend more time on the dilemma, especially before the storytime, and less on the backstory – I want to keep it, because it serves a subplot, but I can shorten it by a few sentences.

Meandering Chapters

With that done, I read over the manuscript one more time, focusing especially on the chapters identified as meandering, and skipping the ones with clear plot beats. I know events like the big fights, first meetings, etc. definitely won’t be cut.

In my case, a lot of these are consecutive chapters composed of 2-3 vignettes, which come up when characters spend a period of time in one place, e.g. taking time to train or make preparations. They’ll be composed of scenes with low-stake actions, some exposition, and some exploration of characters and their dynamics. I want this project to be a fairly fast-paced fantasy adventure, but these slice-of-life scenes slowed down pacing too much. They are usually identified as meandering, since each scene/vignette has its own goal, but they aren’t strung together.

I Marie Kondo the hell out of them. I list what’s the purpose of each scene, and what I lose if I cut them out – this can be a mental exercise. Will cutting each one in turn leave the reader confused? Sometimes, all the reader is losing is an additional bit of characterisation. This is how I discovered I had two chapters showing the same two characters spar, each from one of their POVs, and the only purpose the first one fulfilled was to show that one of the characters didn’t like cold weather. Yep, that got cut.

Then, anything that's set up but doesn't have a pay off UNLESS it's a deliberate red herring. The length of the set up should be proportional to how crucial to the main plot is the pay off.

E.g. I had two conversations where in the first one the protag was told that demons react to the colour red, and in the next one he found a red ribbon to put on his Sword. And that was the last mention of it. The first mention stayed as flavour, the second conversation got cut.

And I know I need the red ribbon there in the second book of the trilogy, but it really can appear closer to when it's needed – i.e. in the second book. In general, I'm weeding out set up for later instalments which are easy to forget.

Repetitive Chapter Structure

I group chapters by structure, especially paying attention to the cases when:

Characters sit around discussing a plan, with the dialogue being a civil discussion all the way through. I know I have a tendency to do exposition through pages of dialogue. I don't want to have more than 2-3 of these across 50 chapters, and I want them spaced out.

A character fills others in on events they don’t know about. This can be either 'you weren't around when this happened to me' or 'this is a legend you (and especially the reader) needs to know, to understand the rest of the story'. I want to make sure there’s at most 1 of these in my novel.

How many of each you want in your manuscript, depends on its length and genre – I’m going for a fantasy adventure with a fair bit of action, so I cut down on the dialogue-heavy or research chapters, in favour of action scenes.

If in either of these categories I have more than what I want, I try to change the setting, or sprinkle in some action – for example, talking while doing shopping or renovating a house. Sometimes, a large chunk of the conversation can be skipped with a 3-5 sentence summary paragraph – and yes, in cases like this exposition might be the lesser of two evils. I also make sure the similar chapters are spaced out, with a change of pacing or setting between them.

This is where I stop tinkering with the story on my own – if I go on further, I don’t have the confidence that my changes are making it any better.

Part 2: Ctrl+F'ing the manuscript

Requested tag: @galactic-mystics-writes

#editing #writing #writing tips #writing advice #novel writing #creative writing #writeblr #writeblr community #writers of tumblr #writing resources

29 notes · View notes

tellthemeerkatsitsfine · 2 years ago

Note

Hey I’ve been looking through your posts and you’ve mentioned quite a bit about reading autobiographies of several comedians. Do you have any favourites and general recommendations? I’m curious to hear which ones are your favourite and which ones you’ve never talked about before for whatever reason. Also have a nice day :)

Thanks for that, I appreciate the message! Here are the comedian memoirs I’ve read or listened to on audiobook in the last couple of years:

- Look Back in Hunger - Jo Brand

- Born Lippy: How to Do Female - Jo Brand

- Can't Stand Up for Sitting Down - Jo Brand

These three I bought together, and I enjoyed all of them. Look Back in Hunger is the closest of them to a straightforward autobiography, telling the story of Jo Brand’s childhood and adolescence, going up to just when she started comedy. Can’t Stand Up for Sitting Down is part two of that, the story of her career in stand-up. It’s a fair bit shorter and doesn’t cover too much, but there are interesting stories in there. The other one is less of a straightforward story but it does include lots of stories about Jo Brand’s own life; it’s meant to be things she’s learned along the way about how to get by while being a woman.

Like I said, I liked them all. I went through them pretty quickly; Can’t Stand Up for Sitting Down it short, Born Lippy is easy to read quickly because it’s organized into many different sections, and Look Back in Hunger is just an easy read. I’d really recommend Look Back in Hunger if you have any interest in the comedian Jo Brand, and Born Lippy even if you have no interest in who Jo Brand is but just might enjoy a book about someone’s thoughts on life and sexism and feminism and that sort of thing.

She has an interesting story – it can be broadly summarized as a rebellious childhood (there’s some sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll in that bit) followed by years of working as in a psychiatric facility, the latter of which had some unique stories about dealing with violent patients and things. So… that’s one to get if you think that life sounds interesting.

- James Acaster's Classic Scrapes - James Acaster

- Perfect Sound Whatever – James Acaster

Classic Scrapes is a series of short stories about weird situations James Acaster has got into throughout his life. It’s not really an autobiography, but it puts the stories in chronological order so you do end up getting a picture of his life story in the process. It can also be found, if you’re interested, in its original radio form. The stories started as a regular feature he did on Josh Widdicombe’s XFM show, and then he turned it into a book. That link is a compilation of his radio show stories, which I downloaded and listened to like an audiobook a couple of years ago.

Then I read the actual book, and both have their advantages. The actual book is longer, has more detail and structure, lots of stuff that didn’t get included in the short radio segments, and more of his comic voice since he had time to write and edit it instead of speaking mostly off the cuff. The radio show has some of James Acaster speaking like a normal person (you can hear him develop his “comedy voice” as it goes along, but in the early ones he hadn’t yet), lots of fun back-and-forth with Josh Widdicombe, in a few cases the excitement of the stories unfolding as they go along (notably the cabbage story, which is so worth hearing and/or reading in its full form if you’ve ever seen the WILTY episode about it, because the WILTY episode does not do justice to how wild it was), Nish Kumar laughing really hard, and a general sense that the stories are in a more “raw” form. Personally I preferred the radio stuff but enjoyed both.

Perfect Sound Whatever is a memoir about just one year in his life, which was 2017, and was terrible. It started with his girlfriend leaving him (said girlfriend being an “unnamed NZ comedian” but everyone knows who it is and I sometimes thought he overstepped a bit with how much detail he included about her, given that fact, but it’s not too bad). Then he had a psychological breakdown, a bunch of other bad things happened, and that’s the story of this book.

It’s organized around the fact that he dealt with his 2017 breakdown by listening to all the music he could find that was released in 2016. In each chapter, he talks about some different artist or album he found, and uses that to tell another story about the terrible year he spent listening to them. Personally, I think his taste in music is terrible but his writing is good. I think it might be technically a better book than Classic Scrapes, it has a lot of interesting ruminations on mental health and life in general that make you think about stuff. But Classic Scrapes is better if what you want is his life story.

- Just Ignore Him – Alan Davies

I listened to the audiobook of this one all in one day, which I recommend if you want something to absolutely fuck you up emotionally, but be prepared for the fact that it will do that. I’m not sure quite what to say about it because I think a book like this is best approached without knowing the story so the full impact can hit you as he intended, and Alan Davies has said he doesn’t like people taking some of the darker stuff he talked about and discussing it online, cheapened because its stripped of its context. Having said that, trigger warning for death and child abuse. That should give you a general idea.

It's a really well written book. Alan Davies did a master’s degree in creative writing while writing this book, and you can really see that. Almost always in a good way, maybe very occasionally in a “okay I can really see that he’s applying some creative writing tricks here, and those wires should maybe be less visible” way. But most of the time it works well. I was totally drawn in and really emotionally affected by multiple parts of it. Just… if you’re going to get this book, don’t read or listen to it when you have other shit to do that requires you to not be very emotional that day (I haven’t read the book, only listened to it, but I really recommend the audiobook because he reads it very well).

- Moab Is My Washpot - Stephen Fry

This is a story that runs from his young childhood until he started at Cambridge; there are further volumes that cover his Cambridge days and later, but I haven’t read those. It’s supposed to be very, very good. I think it’s considered one of the great comedy memoirs, like how Stephen Fry is considered one of the great comedy figures. And my view on both those things is sort of… I don’t get it. Not that I think he’s terrible! Well not always, I think a few things about him are at least a bit terrible. But mostly I think he’s fine. I just don’t get the mystique about Stephen Fry. I read Moab Is My Washpot partly in the hopes that I’d understand.

It's definitely a good book. In terms of dense, very well written prose, it’s by far the best thing on this list (with the possible exception of the Sandi Toksvig book, and a few chapters of the Alan Davies one). It has interesting stories. He’s led a hell of a life. Done lots of interesting things, made lots of bad choices that lead to bad consequences but good stories later. He’s often interesting about it.

I think if Stephen Fry weren’t meant to be this towering figure in comedy, I’d have liked this book fine. But because he is, I kept finding things that bugged me about it. Like when he’d write multiple paragraphs of complex prose about how we can surely all understand the sort of youthful yearning and impulsiveness that would lead us to steal credit cards or something, and I just wanted to say, “Dude, I think that’s the bipolar disorder. You needed to see a doctor.”

There’s also the way he describes his childhood like it’s normal (I mean, not like it’s normal, there were a lot of odd things about it, but he described it the way anyone else would describe their childhood) and then at one point casually included a picture of his childhood home and it appears to be a mansion. I grew up with plenty of financial privilege, solidly middle class, lots of people out there would be justified to resent the things I take for granted. But I still sort of resent someone who could grow up in a mansion and think that was so normal that it wasn’t worth mentioning.

As problematic as it is to romanticize privilege and everything, it was interesting to read the story of a well-off boy in British prep school then private school in the 60s and 70s. Interesting in the same way that a novel set in a time and place like that is interesting, to see what that “other world” is like. And Stephen Fry writes well about it. It’s a good book. I just went into it already not hugely liking Stephen Fry, and then I found some things to validate that resentment.

- Backstory – David Mitchell

I’m putting this one next because I had a slight objection to it for a somewhat similar reason to the Stephen Fry book, but on a much smaller scale. He spends a weird amount of the book denying that he is financially privileged, as though his target audience is people who watch WILTY and think Lee Mack’s stories of his posh upbringing are all true. He also spends a sort of odd amount of the book denying that he is gay (not a huge amount of the book, but some of it, which seems like more than the normal amount to spend on that), but to be fair, I think at the time there were rumours of him being gay and he was just responding to those.

There’s one bit when he complains about performing in Liverpool, because the Scousers reject so-called privileged Southerners like Mitchell and Webb. They’re angry because they don’t understand, he says, that they’re really not that privileged! Robert Webb, for example, went to a state school. That got to me a bit because like I said, I grew up solidly middle class, and my parents would never have considered sending me to private school. I think I’ve only ever met two people who went to private school, and they were both known as the incredibly rich kids. If your bar for arguing that you’re not really that privileged is one of the two of you didn’t even go to private school, it seems like a bit of a skewed perspective.

Anyway, I was reminded of that because I just wrote that thing about Stephen Fry, but it was only one small part of a book that I liked overall. It’s a straightforward autobiography, from his young childhood, through his Cambridge days, until pretty much when it was written, in 2012. It includes the development of the Mitchell and Webb partnership, their early TV and radio shows (Sound, Situation, Look, Bruiser), Peep Show, and WILTY. It has some genuinely sweet stuff about Victoria Coren, which appears to be a painfully lovely and romantic story.

It doesn’t follow any special structure except chronological storytelling, so David Mitchell just adds his thoughts about whatever’s happening as it goes along. From a comedy nerd perspective, the stories about Footlights are really interesting, as was the stuff about how he got shows commissioned. Some of it was quite funny. Good book overall.

- Mack the Life – Lee Mack

I read this one right after Backstory, as watching WILTY made me decide to systematically watch both team captains’ other TV shows (that is why I have seen every single episode of Not Going Out, which was probably not the best use of my time, but it was summer 2020, what else was a I going to do?), buy their autobiographies, and read them together. I have to say that of the two, I preferred Lee Mack’s. Not that David’s was bad, just that I really liked Lee’s.

Some people have criticized this book for not getting personal enough, which is true. You won’t find much in there about his family or wife or kids, so if for some reason you’re really interested in Lee Mack’s parents or wife or kids, you’ll be disappointed. But I didn’t mind that. This book is mainly focused on his career, including a lot of his own opinions about the nature of the comedy industry and how to break into it. It basically is his life story, does include stuff about when he was younger, but it tends to gloss over everything except his experiences in comedy, which it discusses in a lot of detail. And I was fine with that because I find that the most interesting part.

I also liked the gimmick that he used for the structure of the book. Each chapter begins with a discussion between him and a psychologist who’s evaluating him for ADHD. I assumed when I read the book that he’d made them all up, but read afterward that he says he really did have a psychologist read it one chapter at a time, and then he talked to her about it and wrote down what they said. I don’t know if that’s true, but either way I thought it worked really well. The exchanges with the psychologist were insightful, funny, and found a cool way to show us his perspectives. The whole book was quite funny, actually. It had a higher joke rate than you’d normally find in an autobiography, even one by a comedian.

- It's Not Me, It's You! - Jon Richardson

Well, I’ll start by saying that this was the only book on the list besides the Alan Davies one that made me cry. So... if that’s what you look for in a comedy memoir, then this one’s for you! It was published in 2011, so probably written in 2010, and it is an intense and concentrated version of 2010 Jon Richardson. It’s going to be polarizing, because 2010 Jon Richardson was a pretty fucked up and intense thing, and if you liked that, you’ll like this book. If you didn’t, you will not. It has so much pointless reveling in anger and despair that I’m honestly surprised his publishers didn’t make him punch it up a bit before putting it out there. He’s not even particularly deep about it all. Just bitter, mainly.

I’ve complained a bit lately about the more recent iterations of Jon Richardson, and it’s not even that he’s bad now, it’s just that I had so much attachment to what he was. Ultimate Worrier was a funny show at times, but it was also Jon Richardson dressed up in these perfectly pressed cardigans, reading off an autocue about how weird he is, and it’s like they took all the fucked up things from 2010 Jon Richardson and put them into this neat little package that’s more palpable for light entertainment. Which I guess is a silly thing for me to say because plenty of the version of him that I liked came out on 8 Out of 10 Cats, which is very much light entertainment. 8 Out of 10 Cats is not a good show. But for a little while, Sean and Jon made something good in it. I just… I haven’t watched/don’t plan to watch his recent Christmas sleepover thing, or his mother in law show, or his panel show for celebrity couples. But it depresses me a bit that they exist. They’re probably even funny at times, I don’t know. I’m probably unnecessarily judgmental.

The point is that this book is an undiluted shot of Jon Richardson from before he was folded into a TV-friendly package, and he just fucking hates everything. It’s after 8 Out of 10 Cats but before Catsdown, after the radio show and before any reconciliation with Russell Howard (you can feel that seething resentment all the way through), before acquiring his girlfriend/now-wife and being happy. And it has occurred to me that it might be messed up that I liked him so much better back when he was unhappier. I strongly disagree with the principle that anyone needs to suffer to make good art. And I don’t actually think it was acquiring a girlfriend/now-wife that created the change – I think that coincided with him losing his edge a little (I apologize to Jon Richardson and also to everyone else for using that expression, I can’t think of a better one), but didn’t necessarily cause it. Or if it did, it didn’t have to cause it. As in he could have got married but not had that change whatever it changed in his comedy. Also, it coincided a bit but not perfectly. He was still very good on Cats and Catsdown for a few years after he was no longer single. So whatever went wrong wasn't Lucy Beaumont's fault.

Back to the point again. This book isn’t a straightforward autobiography – it doesn’t tell his whole life story, though it does make some references to his past. I think it was marketed as a sort of zany collection of thoughts about how to date people if you’re a bit weird, but it’s definitely not that. It is Jon Richardson writing about a few days in his life, and along the way, writing in detail all the things he thinks and feels about what’s happening. It feels like a stream of consciousness. I feels like a journal entry. I don’t know why it was published. I loved it but I don’t know if it's actually “good”.

I’ll say this about any list-based post I write on this blog: the things I put earliest on the list will be discussed in the least detail. Because I start by telling myself I’ll just write a few quick sentences about every item, and then I slowly drop that idea as the list goes along.

- The Audacity - Katherine Ryan

This one is a straightforward life story, from Katherine Ryan’s early childhood to when the book was published, which was in 2021. It includes growing up in Canada, moving to England for her job with Hooters restaurant, having a kid when she wasn’t quite planning to, being a single mother trying to break into comedy, breaking into comedy, and then getting with her current husband and having another kid. Those are the broad notes of the story – obviously a lot of shit happened along the way.

Sometimes when I read or hear something from a comedian, I’ll think I really relate to that, and then think everyone relates to that; it doesn’t mean they’re articulating something I in particular have experienced, they’re just describing things all humans feel. This book weirdly made me realize that isn’t true, because I related to very little of it. It was an exercise in understanding someone who grew up very differently from me – not just in different circumstances, but thinking and feeling and caring about different things. Spending her adolescence reading fashion magazines and wanting to look like the women in them, and getting plastic surgery. I sort of look at that as something on which I hold a sort of theoretical opinion, which is to not judge the people who’ve experienced it even if I don’t understand it, but it was something else to actually read the thought process behind it.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t love this book, mainly because of what I said about a lot of it just feeling alien to me. But I also saw her live over the summer, and saw a lot of women in the crowd excitedly asking her to sign books, who clearly had found something that felt familiar in it. I also wished it had more in there about her experiences in comedy – it had some of that, but the comedy-stories-to-dating-stories ratio wasn’t my favourite.

I’ve also found myself disagreeing with Katherine Ryan ideologically a lot lately (not on things like getting plastic surgery, on which we might disagree about whether to do it for ourselves but I agree with her that it should be allowed and free from judgement – I mean I disagree with some shit she’s said like how people who are paranoid about COVID are boring and anti-vaxxers are more fun), so that’s going to colour and bias my perception of this to a point. The book was fine, it had some good stories, Katherine Ryan annoys me these days.

- Monty Python Speaks – David Morgan

The only one on this list to not be written by its subject, this is something someone else wrote about the story of Monty Python. It was really well done. A lot of work went into this, interviewing the then surviving members of Python itself (everyone but Graham Chapman), as well as lots of people who worked with them, like their producers and other actors. It went from the very beginning, how these guys met each other a few at a time at different schools, did things together there, and then were brought together as Python. It covered all the years when Python was active in detail, discussing their writing process as well as the business side of things. And then went into what they all did when it was over (including, of course, Chapman’s death). I found the whole thing really, really interesting.

It didn’t make me like all the members of Monty Python personally, but it wasn’t meant to. They’re not all likeable people, and the interesting thing about a biography written by someone who isn’t its subject is he’s not telling a story that’s biased toward painting them in a good light. He did his best to show the whole picture, the good and the bad, and I found it absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend this to anyone who’s into British comedy history. Or just comedy history, really.

Also, in case anyone’s concerned, it turns out that no one is wrong to think Michael Palin is the nice one.

- Between the Stops: The View of My Life from the Top of the Number 12 Bus – Sandi Toksvig

I’ve put this one last because it’s my favourite book on this list, and one of my favourite books I’ve ever read. Actually I haven’t technically read it, I listened to the audiobook, and I highly recommend doing that because it’s narrated by the author and she reads it so well. It’s very, very good. I made my father listen to this book. I made my mother listen to this book, and she’s not even into comedy.

This book does tell her life story, starting from childhood and going quite a ways into her career, but it’s not just a straightforward autobiography. It’s told via a bus trip through London, which is an excuse to get in some stuff she knows about London’s history in every chapter. The gimmick is that each chapter represents a stop, and she’ll tell us about the history of the things around that bus stop, and then she’ll go into a story from her life that’s vaguely related to it. I found that gimmick delightful.

Sandi Toksvig has a hell of a story – an interesting multi-national upbringing (one that has almost as much financial privilege in it as Stephen Fry, and the reason it annoys me in his book but not in hers is I like her better than him and I’m a hypocrite), cool experiences that came from her father being a journalist, and then a long and varied career in comedy. Including the feminism and coming out as gay back when that was a dangerous thing to do in the public eye (yeah, so did Stephen Fry, but he’s not so great on the feminism angle, and I like Toksvig better).

It's very well written, you can tell this one was made by a properly skilled writer and not just a comedian who decided to write a book (...no offense to everyone else on this list). It's funny and it flows well and I just really really like it. It's good quality writing and it's an interesting appealing story. Highly recommended to anyone who likes anything good.

...Thanks again for the message, and sorry for replying to your simple request for book recommendations with a 4,000-word screed. I do that sometimes. But I appreciated the chance to go on about that, I hope you found anything at all in it helpful, and I hope you have a lovely night!

11 notes · View notes

thats-the-teen-spirit · 2 years ago

Text

Paramore - This Is Why in-depth album review

As for someone growing up in the emo scene, Paramore has always been the band that meant constant change for me. The band that could release any type of music tomorrow and I could bop my head to it. I enjoy pretty much everything they released so far in their career and I must say, when I heard the singles I didn’t know that this album would hold this many surprises.

1. This Is Why

Both the first single and the opening track of the album. The guitar is really funky, much like on the previous record After Laughter, the melodies are classic Paramore, just how everyone in the Parafamily likes it. I personally don’t know the writing process of the lyrics but it sounds like it was written during the quarantine times because it sounds like Hayley was actually a bit agoraphobic, and was actually scared to leave her house. I also adore the video of this song, it’s the weirdness and the quirkiness that I love this band for.

2. The News

Second single, second song on the record. The News is about being scared to watch or listen to any news outlet because all they do is bring the listener/watcher down. The parallels between the dark thoughts in someone’s head and the happenings that are actually out there are terrifying. The instrumental is a really dark but clean melody that with a little distortion could sound like an early Paramore song, even the pre-chorus reminded me of crushcrushcrush. This song is one of my favorites off the album.

3. Running Out of Time

This song is pretty straightforward, as the title suggests it’s about running out of time, always making excuses and being late. Around the bridge Hayley realizes that it’s best to accept that she’s never gonna be not out of time. Instrumentally the song follows similar song structure as This Is Why, the guitars are similar to that song too, barely any distortion or effect, weird time signature, it looks like that’s Paramore in 2023.

4. C’est Comme Ça

Undoubtedly the weirdest song on the album. Many of the fans didn’t like it after the first listen but honestly, for me the weirdness of this song is what makes it so good. C’est Comme Ça or in English ‘That’s The Way It Is” is about acceptance of failure when it comes to getting better. As someone going through hardships currently the line that say: ‘In a single year, I aged one hundred’ got instantly memorable for me. Hayley talks about healing and how her own self prevents being healed, self-sabotaging herself to the point of regression. She even admits: “getting better is boring”. Everyone has doubts about themselves getting better and this song shows Hayley is no exception.

5. Big Man, Little Dignity

For such an chill song this is one of the angriest lyrics I encountered in recent Paramore songs. Hayley sings about a man (or it can mean people like him in general), that are not held accountable for their actions. She says “she can’t look away” because they’re like “a movie that she loves to hate”. She’s waiting patiently for the demise of the previously mentioned men but when it doesn’t happen she gets disappointed. It looks like it’s the same old story over and over again and she’s really disappointed. She hopes for a different outcome too but that’s also not happening. Instumentally this song is nothing special, some chill guitar playing and slow tempo, but the lyrics are in the focus anyway so it doesn’t matter anyways.

6. You First

Not gonna lie, the first couple notes of this song were a little jarring to my ear. The drumbeat sounded also a little off. But when the verse kicked in it transformed this song to the best song on the album for me. The verses and the chrorus sound like they could be from the All We Know is Falling era. It’s like Hayley voice can’t get older from her 16 year old self. The song follows a similar theme as the previous one, she sings about revenge and that karma will reach us all. The best line on the album is in this song too: “Turns out I’m living in a horror film, where I’m both the killer and the final girl”. This song is pure emo excellence. I love it.

7. Figure 8

To my surprise You First wasn’t the only nostalgic sounding song on the album. This song is about endless pessimism, the fact that she can’t break away from these negative thoughts, these go on on forever. “spinning in an endless figure 8″. These lyrics are probably the most melancholic sounding ones so far. Eventually the song got a little boring for me. The chrorus undoubtedly screams early Paramore though which is one of the best things about it.

8. Liar

This song is about Hayley’s love to fellow band member Taylor York, and how admitting it to herself must be wrong. She says she got good at fighting it, Around the bridge she admits her love and says she’s not ashamed of it. This song is a sappy love song about being vulnerable with someone and how hard it is for everyone who feels that way. It’s a little too bland for me but it’s a really chill one for melancholic nights.

9. Crave

Probably the single most relatable song for me on the record. Crave follows a similar thought that After Laughter started back in 2017, but is about accepting the journey through mental illness instead of denying it. “I romanticize even the worst of times When all it took to make me cry was being alive” - these lyrics have to be relatable to everyone who have dealt with depression in the past, The chorus is a little repetitive but has a lot of power in it. Definitely the song that needs the most replays for me.

10. Thick Skull

This melancholic closing track features a mellow instrumental with drone sounds, shoegaze elements, weird drum patterns, the whole package. The song is about leaving the toxic managers and naysayers behind that caused Hayley and the rest of the band many insecurities in the past. As Hayley said in an interview: “This being the last album of this era of our career as part of the same contract I signed as a teen, I just want to leave all those fears and the bullshit here. I’m not taking it with me any further.” Good for her and for the whole band, It’s really an end of an era that is this song is the perfect closure for.

#paramore #this is why #album review #hayley williams #taylor york #zac farro

6 notes · View notes

boundinparchment · 2 years ago

Note

Hii I really love your works and the way you write it's literally so addicting, I can't get enough of the way you characterized dottore!! you did an amazing job

Also, if you're ok with it, would you mind sharing a bit about your own process of writing/give some advice? I have my own story and ideas but I just have a difficult time putting the whole thing into words, idk why

If not that's totally fine, I hope you take care of yourself and have an amazing day/night<3

I try to stick to as much canon characterization as possible, however little of it we have. I’m glad you’re enjoying so far and I hope I’m able to keep the good doctor in check as far as his personality!

I’m no professional, that’s for sure, but:

Write when you can, as much as you can. Some people prefer to work in chronological order, others hop around, but it’s important to establish it as a habit in general. I find that once it’s part of my day, it’s a little easier to start throughout the week. Do you only write 100 words? Okay, that’s progress! Did you write 2,000? Yay, also progress! (I follow this when I can; right now, I’m a bit off the rails of my routine in an attempt to find gym time).

Usually, if I can’t get started, I’ll just start writing the scene that comes to mind, even if it’s shit and not where i am in the story. It gets the concept out and makes it a little more tangible to work with. It also just straight up helps you start because your brain is already there. Everything is a draft to be edited and revised, it will never feel perfect the first time. It shouldn’t.

Prompts can be helpful if that doesn’t work. I personally only use them for specific purposes but that’s what they exist for. They’re springboards to help get you going.

Having friends or acquaintances online or IRL who write can also be a huge help. It can be motivating to see other people working on fics, and sometimes ideas have to be bounced around outside of your own head to get them to cooperate.

If you intend to share a fic, at the very least have a backlog if the fic isn’t completed. I do not recommend posting as you go unless the method works for you. It can be a one-way ticket to not seeing stories through (speaking from experience there!)

Oh, and read! Do audiobooks, physical, ebooks, whatever, but r e a d. Find books and authors you enjoy, and read whenever you can. It’s tempting to rely on fanfic for this. I recommend not doing so, or at least balancing it out with published books.

Read fanfic by all means, but don’t necessarily use it as your single source of written entertainment.

With fanfiction, headcanons or certain approaches get picked up by others and continued on outside of an author’s sphere, and eventually end up as fanon, as beloved or even completely replacing the canon characterization. Tropes get used and reused, as is their purpose. Fanfiction is a hobby, so everyone does their own thing, and it’s fun, but with few exceptions, it kind of just helps target commonalities and how to continue them or put a slight twist on them.

Published books will provide an idea of structure, pacing, character building and development, world building, etc. They’re completed works that underwent revisions and had a particular vision in mind. If you don’t know where to start, ask a librarian or a bookseller at a local bookstore (basically, ask a person, where you can have a conversation, rather than relying on an algorithm or a list. BookTok is garbage imo, do not rely on it.)

#formatting is shit because of copy/paste will fix later

4 notes · View notes

bekalawson · 1 year ago

Text

JACK-O-LANTERN

October 1, 2023 - 31 days of prompts! 🎃

You stumble upon a broken forest, blanketed with dead crunchy leaves under a full moon. Crunch, crunch, crunch they go as you stomp through the darkness. Wind whistles through the naked branches like a tea kettle. Your teeth rattle like old bones.

You think you see a light cutting through the dark distance, and warily you drag your heavy legs on. Scraping your ankles, rubbing your wrists and arms. You pull the ends of your jacket tighter around your body and hold it there, the broken zipper biting at your palm.

You should've brought a lamp. You should’ve known this wood was too thick to traverse. Every uneven step over a thick stick or downed tree threatens the vitality of your ankles, yet you just couldn't let anyone talk you into cowardice. The stick house in the woods was probably something a third-grader thought up to get everyone worked up.

You're no third-grader. In fact, you've faced scarier things. At your age, sticks are just sticks, and there are no hidden shadows in the dark. The stick house is just a story. The hooting is just an owl. And the crunching is just the dead leaves and dry sticks under your feet. The… extra crunch, just…

In a held breath, you turn yourself around to find… nothing. Momma didn't raise no fool. Not a complete one, anyway. You know how it is in the movies.

You don't turn back to your patch immediately. That's how they always get caught. You scan the forest floor, the sky, between the trees. A bulbous shape rests nestled between them, but it could be anything. Trick of the light. Or maybe a third-grader came to scare you.

You press forward, never letting the dark figure out of your mind. You're tense. No longer able to relax. The distant light becomes a bit brighter. The wood becomes a bit quieter, except for the echo of footsteps.

You begin to sweat. The hairs on the back of your neck stand at attention, and your breathing becomes shallow. You walk faster. Crunch, crunch… crunch. Faster. Crunch, crunch… Crunch. Are the crunching sounds becoming louder?

Before you know it, you're sprinting toward the light. Crunch crunch crunch crunch. You were right, someone is following you. Chasing you! Once again, you know better than this, but something in you can’t help but want to know.

You chance a glance behind you, almost tripping in the process. You’re sure it’s that same dark shape as before. Only closer! You scream, a futile cry, for these woods are empty of all but you and the shadow.

Brighter and brighter the light becomes. You didn't know you were this agile, ducking branches and hopping timber. Finally, you reach the light, which lies inside an impossibly large mound of sticks.

Out of breath, you stare at it, bewildered. Where do you go from here? You don't have time to think. The thing touches you, and your soul leaves your body. It flinches backwards, and you fall on your behind, scooting backward toward the mess of sticks.

Your mind is in a horrible disarray. Your assailant throws its hands out in defense. Like it doesn’t want you to do… something. It steps closer and closer to the light. Orange? Yes, its outstretched arms are orange and ridged. So is its face.

It steps closer again, and you can’t stop the scream that rips through you. It flinches again, but this time crouches with its hands out, showing its fleshy palms. Its face is carved with the most horrible rictus. Its eyes, dark triangles.

You back away, and it waves its hands fervently. It doesn't want you to back into its stick house. You look back at it— from this close, you can see it actually does have the structure of a home. Not a whole lot of insulation from this October chill, though.

You turn back to the orange thing. Sure is cold to be out here at night, and so skinny with no jacket. That’s right: it is a rather small thing. And it’s shivering.

It looks at you— no, at your jacket. You remove it and offer it to the thing. Without wasting a single second, it snatches it from your hands and throws it on. Then, it actually looks you in the eye. It invites you into its stick house, where you stay the night. Boy, will you have a story to tell.

#halloween #writers on tumblr #writing prompt #first of halloween #no thinking. just write.

0 notes

prettylittlelyres · 2 years ago

Text

Update - Violins and Violets - 10th April 2023

Hello, friends!

Inside the Writing Process - Part 8 - The First Chapter

I’m pleased to find myself redrafting “Violins and Violets” at last. I haven’t written very much this month at all; it’s been a sad one and I haven’t really been in the mood to write. I’ve managed to get lots of crochet done, though, and I’ve nearly finished the blanket I’m working on, so I’m trying to look on the bright side there.

Last night I sat down and studied the first chapter of one of my favourite books, “The Lost Daughter”, by Gill Paul, to see how it’s constructed and what information the opening scenes give us about the protagonist, Maria.

I made a list of all the basic concepts - “description of location, exterior; description of location, interior; emotional response to location; flashback to happier time,“ and so on - and started putting together my own first chapter for “Violins and Violets”, following the same kind of structure.

I know exactly where I want the story itself to go, and I’ll probably be reusing a lot of text from the older drafts, but I want to add more to the beginning, so that the readers can get to know Katharina better before the inciting incident. I really struggle to write the first scene if it’s not “in media res”, and the “in media res” approach doesn’t quite work for “Violins and Violets”.

One of the reasons I love Gill Paul’s work so much is that her books always pull you right into the character’s inner life, make you feel like you’ve known them forever, and then throw chaos into the mix at just the right moment. Her pacing is spectacular, and that’s something I want to emulate in my writing!

I ended up with 40 beats for the opening scene, some fleshing out Maria’s character, others fleshing out the supporting characters, some describing the current setting, others showing the difference between how things used to be and how things are now. I’ve been ticking them off as I’ve been fulfilling them for my own opening scene - not necessarily in order - and I’ve just checked to see how many I did in last night’s writing session of 1,000 words - 12/40 - so I’m nearly a third of the way through.

The specifics are very different, of course, because I’m not writing a book about the Romanovs, but I am writing a book about a young woman alone with her parents after a big change has occured. Maria’s siblings are elsewhere, Katharina’s brother has just left for a tour of Europe, and everyone feels a bit lost. The dynamic isn’t dissimilar, so I thought the first chapter of “The Lost Daughter” would be a good one to study. It’s about 1,500 words long, and I think mine’s going to end up a bit longer (I’m going to stop myself if I go over 3,000 words!), but I can always shrink it down if I need to.

I’m very much looking forward to seeing how this draft goes, and I’ll probably be posting a few “Inside the Writing Process” articles as I work on it!

#writeblr #blog #inside the writing process #violins and violets #amredrafting #amediting #my writing #writing about writing #gill paul #the lost daughter #gill paul the lost daughter #maria romanova #katharina schmidt

1 note · View note

bratz-kitten · 4 years ago

Text

the sun through the houses

sun in the 1st house: you irradiate confidence and self-assurance, as if you know exactly who the fuck you are and what you're here to do and people are very drawn to that kind of energy in you, to the way you're so full of life, spontaneous, ready to face anything that life throws at you and your ambitious nature. you thrive when you're uplifting others to feel as good as you do because you don't want to shine alone, and because on the inside, you might be much more insecure than people are aware of - you understand what it's like to be at rock bottom, but you're good at hiding this part of yourself. can be very controlling and competitive, and if you were raised in an environment where your parents used to fight a lot, you might chase conflict wherever you go. be careful with being arrogant and proud, and be aware that your strong energy might overwhelm a lot of people. whatever you do, you follow your heart. you need appreciation and recognition from others. you keep your cool in the most stressful situations.

sun in the 2nd house: you crave to achieve financial success; here, the planet of the ego is tied to the house that rules material possessions and our self-worth, so you want to achieve power by getting rich because that's how you feel safe. you're very talented when it comes to business and making good investments that'll allow you to get to the next step. when it comes to your ambitions, if you want something, you'll work hard for it and only stop when you get it. you're very witty, with your dry humor and sarcastic personalities, you truly have the best comebacks lmao and above all, you always keep your word. you take pleasure in everything lavish that life has to offer; you have great taste and know when something is of value almost instinctively. you need to make sure you're appreciating the people in your life instead of only what you own and your ambitions because you're at your best when you're expressing your kind and generous side. you might be into retail therapy when you feel sad or empty, but afterward, you might feel terrible because the fulfillment shopping gives you is only temporary. careful with being controlling or possessive.

sun in the 3rd house: you use your mind like a weapon. you truly have a way with words and you're able to express yourself in a way that leaves everyone wanting to know more about you; but most of all, you crave to keep on learning more and more and to expand your knowledge, because that's what feeds your soul. spontaneous personality; bold but unpredictable and you feel a sense of pride whenever you think about your friends, they're very important to you. you have the capability to bring stories to life, this placement is amazing for aspiring writers, and you like analyzing your surroundings which, in turn, makes you a very adaptable person. constant change in your way of thinking because you're always viewing things from different perspectives. you can become easily bored when you aren't feeling mentally stimulated, which is why you're always seeking new experiences, communicating with others and why you live so much in the present. persuasive. people who don't seek to expand their minds terrify you. you refuse to live in the shadows of your siblings, you have a need to stand as your own person.

sun in the 4th house: when the planet of the ego is in the house of our family life, our inner experiences and our childhood trauma, you are blessed with a rich inner experience that leads you to want to delve deep into what you went through and how those experiences shaped you into the person you are today – and that means the trauma you went through, too. if you had bad experiences in your child, your journey is longer and harder because you find it harder to understand life, and you might've compared your home life to the "outside world" a lot, feeling like they were two different entities (think sinclair from demian). you're very caring and nurturing and very attached to your family, either the one you were brought under or the one you want to establish. having a home that feels cozy and safe is what brings you security, and you want to bring happiness to the ones you love the most. be careful with being too pessimistic and feeling paranoid that something bad will suddenly happen, and also with being too controlling and domineering. you need a lot of reassurance, but be careful with coming off as if you don't trust your loved ones. very strategic, you play the long game.

sun in the 5th house: you literally irradiate artistic talent and creativity! you thrive when you express yourself and your originality and get recognized for it, and appreciation for your efforts is very important to you. intelligent, you can be very cunning and strategic, at the same time that your optimism and spontaneous nature naturally commands attention from others. very dramatic, you shine in the eyes of others. but although you have a happy aura to you, you can be very hard on yourself, thinking you're not good enough whenever you're not being appreciated. at your worst, you can have an exaggerated sense of pride, dominating energy, manipulative tendencies or feeling less than others. you may fluctuate between focusing a lot on yourself and being overly generous with everyone in your life. bold, you do a lot just to feel alive. you're very loyal and love deeply, passionate and nurturing, but be careful with involving yourself with people who take advantage of that. you should realize that appreciation should come from yourself and not others. if you add discipline to your originality, you can become very successful.

sun in the 6th house: one of your driving forces is your attachment to your work and your need to be of service for others and to be recognized for your efforts. health, dieting, exercise and keeping a structured routine are very important to you. you have a constant need to be perfect and that can be your own worst enemy, because when you or others aren't meeting your high standards, you might feel like you're weak and have your insecurities taking over you. you can't stand being told what to do. very self-aware. a tendency to be a workaholic because it's what makes you feel proud of yourself; you need to feel like you're making the world a better place. stress can easily physically affect you, you should understand that validation needs to come from yourself and not from others, and accept that having imperfections is human, it doesn't make you weak! careful with having a routine too restrictive that doesn't allow you to have fun, work can become an obsession for you. you truly always want more and need to keep busy and productive to feel safe. don't let your insecurities stop you from pursuing your ambitions.

sun in the 7th house: you have a very strong sense of justice because of your capability of analyzing a problem from all different perspectives. you need to bring peace everywhere you go and to help others in any way you can. you have a special charm that others feel drawn to, and many admire you for your caring nature and talent at giving advice, making you often the center of attention in the middle of groups. sociable and good with words, you're very persuasive; although you might tend to identify yourself too much with what others think of you – you should understand that others' opinions aren't that important and it's how you view yourself that matters. you crave affection and are very sensitive when it comes to your relationships, you would do anything for your loved ones and you're very in tune with their needs. you can have people-pleasing tendencies because you're terrified of rejection. you're determined to succeed and to build an amazing self-image because you have a gift when it comes to social intelligence. can have some open enemies.

sun in the 8th house: can attract a chaotic life that pushes you into achieving transformations because that's how you grow and evolve, through the process of death and rebirth. you can't deal with superficiality and you crave deep connections with people, intimacy and to evolve with the person you love. creative. you may feel like the universe sends you messages so that you'll reach an awareness of some kind. you love experiencing new things and especially with yourself, you constantly look forward to changing your appearance and your spiritual or emotional views on the world. you feel a need for self-improvement. very secretive, you value privacy more than anything and you don't allow almost anyone to figure you out. you might be terrified of not finding people who want to connect with you as deeply as you want with them. tendency to isolate yourself emotionally, as in you might open up to others about superficial matters but when it comes to emotions, you're terrified of showing that part of yourself. you want to help others through their darkest times.

sun in the 9th house: you love learning and dream of exploring the world, it's like you can absorb any information that you get your hands on. very idealistic and dreamy, it's hard for you to keep grounded on reality and material things when you're so concerned with the metaphysical, to understanding the secrets of the universe and all that is spiritual, philosophical, religious and transcendental. so enthusiastic and curious, it's like you can't stay still for a minute and long to go on adventures. you can see the best in people, but be careful with only seeing their good parts – you need to understand that nothing is black or white and people are morally grey and complex, not all bad nor all good. might be very pessimistic if you've gone through something traumatic that completely shattered your perceptions of the good in the world; you might feel like things are never going to get better (i promise they are). very proud of your knowledge. high ideals and honesty. loyal to your beliefs always. careful with being too authoritative.

sun in the 10th house: when the planet of the ego falls in the house of social status, you seek power above all. you want fame, notoriety and to lead, and when not achieving what you want, you might become insecure. you can't help that ambition runs in your blood, but you should make sure you're doing things because you love doing them and not just to get recognized. it's like you need to achieve so that you can feel proud of yourself because you never felt that kind of support when you were younger, and achieving success feels like a life or death matter to you. you ooze charisma and you naturally draw attention to yourself, wanting to be recognized for your talents. very aware of how others perceive you. but even if you're a great leader, you hate following orders which can make you have problems with those in charge – be careful with making enemies and with stepping on others to get what you want, it’s very important that you keep a strong sense of morals or else you can grow to be arrogant and tyrannical. at your worst you can start abusing your power; at your best, you can use it to better the lives of all those around you like a true leader.

sun in the 11th house: here, the planet of ego is in the house of friendships, hopes, inventions and the collective, making you shine when you're able to help others. your friends are the most important thing for you, but be careful with identifying too much with them. you carry yourself with so much confidence, you're so full of life and with a love for learning and giving to others. eccentric personality and big dreams. you want to stand for a cause that matters to you alongside others who you love. others gravitate towards your magnetism, individuality and friendly nature, naturally looking up to you as a leader. if you happen to have been betrayed in the past, you might shut yourself completely from friendships due to a fear of trusting the wrong person again, but please don't deny yourself your need to socialize and to express your revolutionary ideas to others because you truly shine when you're around those who you trust and help you grow.

sun in the 12th house: you might have a very hard time understanding who you are and your identity, and because of this sense of unclarity about yourself + your intuitive and empathetic nature where you absorb others' energies like a sponge and need a lot of solitude to recharge yourself, you might feel like you need to keep a mask in public, to play a character to feel safe interacting with others. plus, it doesn't help that you have perfectionist tendencies and hate failing and making mistakes. there's a tendency to feel very insecure and misunderstood, and to feel melancholic and with turbulent emotions, so you should be gentler with yourself and allow yourself to express your sensitivities, the way you're so compassionate and giving. because even if you need time to recharge for introspection, you shine when you can help others. be careful with developing self-destructive behaviors. artistic tendencies because of the depth of your emotions and inner world. you can be truly wise and others might see you as an "old soul" because of that. you might be a night owl. psychic potential.

3K notes · View notes

genshxn · 4 years ago

Text

@/datonecanadianartist asked:

A Zhongli x reader where the reader is a chaos magnet like Bennett, but unlike him they refuse to get any help and finally Zhongli tricks them to help them? Many thanks friend!

i hope this is something like what you had in mind :,D

it’s also a little long lmao-

【ｚｈｏｎｇｌｉ】

chaos magnet s/o refuses to get help until they get tricked (ft. Chongyun)

warnings ; haunting

There was only one other person you had heard of who had your level of bullshit, and it was some poor kid who lived in Mondstadt. Apparently the events that would follow you were on par with what he’d experience.

And more often than not, your partner Zhongli would get caught in the cross fire. Treasure hoarders would always know where you are. Zhongli would just send them flying with his monoliths, however. Or maybe you’d get hit in the head by an incoming bird, also knocking into Zhongli in the process. Either way, it’s always a little messy in the end.

He was more concerned for your safety than anything. You miraculously don’t get hurt amidst the chaos, but he isn’t sure how long this is going to last. The last thing he wants is for you to get hurt.

He’s tried to get you to do all sorts of things to try and get rid of this abysmal luck of yours. He’s bought about 30 different charms supposedly imbued with energy to repel bad luck. You refused to carry any.

Another time, you walked into your bedroom with him looking like he was about to start some kind of ritual, just waiting for you to arrive. You scrambled back out the door, not having a bar of it, and he had to chase you for a very long time before he finally caught you.

So those didn’t work.

Zhongli was wandering the streets of Liyue one day, simply wondering what else he could do to try and cure this ailment of yours, if it even was an ailment.

His mind wandered to something Hu Tao was prattling on about to do with mischievous ghosts causing trouble for people in their daily lives. He had overheard her talking about this in passing the other day. Perhaps this was something going on with you.

So he sought the help of an exorcist.

Except given his current track record, no way in hell was he going to be able to get you to sit down and stay still for the exorcist to do their work. So he’d have to come up with a plan to keep you in one place.

"My darling, tonight is a beautiful night in the harbour. Would you perchance go to dinner with me?" He asks you. He hopes he’s not being too suspicious to suddenly ask you to dinner out of the blue.

“Oh, yeah sure. I’ll go get ready.” You say, getting up to get changed into something a little nicer. Your hesitation likely would have come from the fact that he asked you so suddenly. He doesn’t blame you.

When you finally emerge from your room, you look lovely. He really wonders how you always look so good. But a little part inside him feels guilty because what he has planned may ruin your clothes slightly...

You make your way to Third Round Knockout where Zhongli had already made a reservation. The two of you sit and decide what you’ll order. He wants you to eat first before he potentially ruins your evening. Zhongli casts a glance beside him, where the young, blue haired exorcist was sitting eagerly. Zhongli previously told the exorcist his plan. The exorcist was to look like another customer for the time being until Zhongli gives the signal to begin the ritual. Zhongli would take care of keeping you in place so you don’t escape anywhere.

The two of you enjoy a lovely meal together, but you couldn’t help notice that Zhongli has been looking a little fidgety the entire time.

“Are you okay? You’ve been acting suspicious all evening.” You say, finishing your last mouthful of dessert.

Zhongli exhales and opens his eyes to meet yours. He looks very guilty. “I’m sorry for this, but it’s to help you.”

Before you could question what he meant by that, a stone structure had snapped around your waist and arms, keeping you in place. It wasn’t so tight that you couldn’t breath, but you certainly couldn’t go anywhere either.

“Zhongli, what?!”

“Chongyun,” He says. A blue haired youth in white attire jumps up from his chair and quickly summons six talismans in a hexagon, which then fly out towards you.

Everyone else in the surrounding area looks at you. There you were with a stone containment and talismans attached to your head.

“Evil spirit be purged!” The exorcist slams his fist onto his palm and the talismans all quickly dissipate. With a harrowing scream from an unknown source, a weight feels like it’s been lifted off your shoulders.

“Wow! That was my first proper exorcism!” The boy exclaims. An exorcism? You were being haunted?

“What?!” You suddenly cry out. People suddenly look over in your direction.

“Ah, so my theory was correct,” Zhongli says to himself. “It was a malicious spirit following you around.”

“A ghost?”

“Yes. It was quite a potent one too. It managed to resist my pure yang energy enough to not run off in my presence,” The exorcist happily explains. “I don’t know how it got attached to you, but that should be the end of whatever harm it was causing you. Very well, I’d best be on my way now. My services are free of charge!” He says as a final note and walks off, barely containing his excitement of his first proper exorcism.

“Oh thank the gods, I forgot to pay him,” Zhongli mutters under his breath.

“Can you let me go now?” You ask.

“Oh! Yes, right. My apologies.” With a wave of his hand, your rocky constraints dissolve back into the earth.

“Right... Now what the hell was that?”

“I suppose I do owe you an explanation. It wasn’t fair of me to do something without your knowledge, but I had enlisted that exorcist on the chance that there was a ghost causing your abhorrent luck. Such events simply aren’t natural... But it turns out it was true. I’m very sorry for doing all this behind your back. I just don’t want you to eventually get hurt one day. The circumstances you could find yourself in could be perilous, and I don’t want to see the one I love suffer so often. It feels selfish since you didn’t want to do anything, but—“

You cut off Zhongli by placing a finger on his lips. “You don’t need to apologize so much. Thank you for looking out for me. It means a lot to me.” You pull him into a hug. The poor guy looked sad from guilt, so you have to show him he’s not in trouble. “But I won’t be able to have anymore crazy stories.”

“I think you’ve had enough for a life time for now.” He replies.

#genshin #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #zhongli #zhongli x reader #zhongli imagines

400 notes · View notes

perpetual-stories · 4 years ago

Text

How To Fight Writers Block

hello, hello. hope everyone is doing well. as you can all tell, this post will be about how to fight writers block.

it’s really annoying to me when I hear people say “oh you don’t have writers block, you’re just lazy.”

first of all, yes, I am naturally lazy. second of all, how dare you. writing isn’t as easy as many think. granted, all you have to do is write down words on paper, but it’s not always easy to find the right words to express what you are feeling, or what you wish to say.

I have had terrible writer’s block for the last few days and it’s horrible! as a business owner or a small writing store, I have to be ready to write and fulfill my clients’ ideas and orders.

it’s not easy. It takes a heavy toll on my imagination, and digs me a deep pit of blockage, drowning in the lack of originality because of the constant writing and repetition or certain phrases and sentences in different projects.

i am making this post in the hopes to remind myself about over coming the dreaded and sometimes skeptically believed writer’s block.

What is writer’s block?

Yeah, I know. We all know what that is, but let me define it.

is the state of being unable to proceed with writing, and/or the inability to start writing something new

some people believe it to be a real problem, others believe it's “all in your head”

What Causes Writer’s Block?

in the 1970s, clinical psychologists Jerome Singer and Michael Barrios decided to find out

they concluded that there are four broad causes of writer's block:

Excessively harsh self-criticism

Fear of comparison to other writers

Lack of external motivation, like attention and praise

Lack of internal motivation, like the desire to tell one's story

How to overcome writer's block: 20 tips

1. Develop a writing routine:

Author and artist Twyla Tharp once wrote: “Creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is a result of good work habits.”

it might seem counterintuitive

if you only write when you “feel creative,” you're bound to get stuck in a tar pit of writer's block

The only way to push through is by disciplining yourself to write on a regular schedule. It might be every day, every other day, or just on weekends — but whatever it is, stick to it!

2. Use "imperfect" words:

A writer can spend hours looking for the perfect word or phrase to illustrate a concept

You can avoid this fruitless endeavor by putting, “In other words…” and simply writing what you’re thinking, whether it’s eloquent or not

You can then come back and refine it later by doing a CTRL+F search for “in other words.”

3. Do non-writing activities:

one of the best ways to climb out of a writing funk is to take yourself out of your own work and into someone else’s

Go to an exhibition, to the cinema, to a play, a gig, eat a delicious meal

immerse yourself in great STUFF and get your synapses crackling in a different way

Snippets of conversations, sounds, colors, sensations will creep into the space that once felt empty

4. Freewrite through it:

free-writing involves writing for a pre-set amount of time without pause — and without regard for grammar, spelling, or topic. You just write.

The goal of freewriting is to write without second-guessing yourself — free from doubt, apathy, or self-consciousness, all of which contribute to writer's block. Here’s how:

Find the right surroundings. Go somewhere you won't be disturbed.

Pick your writing utensils. Will you type at your computer, or write with pen and paper? (Tip: if you're prone to hitting the backspace button, you should freewrite the old-fashioned way!)

Settle on a time-limit. Your first time around, set your timer for just 10 minutes to get the feel for it. You can gradually increase this interval as you grow more comfortable with freewriting.

5. Relax on your first draft:

Many writers suffer form perfectionism, which is especially debilitating during a first draft

“Blocks often occur because writers put a lot of pressure on themselves to sound ‘right’ the first time. A good way to loosen up and have fun again in a draft is to give yourself permission to write imperfectly.” — editor Lauren Hughes

perfect is the enemy of good,” so don't agonize about getting it exactly right! You can always go back and edit, maybe even get a second pair of eyes on the manuscript

6. Don’t start at the beginning:

the most intimidating part of writing is the start, when you have a whole empty book to fill with coherent words

instead of starting with the chronological beginning of whatever it is you’re trying to write, dive into middle, or wherever you feel confident

7. Take a shower:

Have you ever noticed that the best ideas tend to arrive while in the shower, or while doing other “mindless” tasks?

research shows that when you’re doing something monotonous (such as showering, walking, or cleaning), your brain goes on autopilot, leaving your unconscious free to wander without logic-driven restrictions

showering is my favourite thing to do if I may add

8. Balance your inner critic:

successful writers have in common is the ability to hear their inner critic, respectfully acknowledge its points, and move forward

You don't need to completely ignore that critical voice, nor should you cower before it

you must establish a respectful, balanced relationship, so you can address what's necessary and skip over what's insecure and irrelevant

9. Switch up your tool:

a change of scenery can really help with writer's block. However, that scenery doesn't have to be your physical location — changing up your writing tool can be just as big a help!

if you’ve been typing on your word processor of choice, try switching to pen and paper. Or if you're just sick of Google Docs, consider using specialized novel writing software.

10. Change your POV:

great advice from editor Lauren Hughes: “When blocked, try to see your story from another perspective ‘in the room’ to help yourself move beyond the block. How might a minor character narrate the scene if they were witnessing it? A ‘fly on the wall’ or another inanimate object?

11. Exercise your creative muscles:

Any skill requires practice if you want to improve, and writing is no different! So if you’re feeling stuck, perhaps it’s time for a strengthening scribble-session to bolster your abilities

12. Map out your story:

If your story has stopped chugging along, help it pick up steam by taking a more structured approach — specifically, by writing an outline

13. Write something else:

Though it's important to try and push through writer's block with what you're actually working on, sometimes it's simply impossible

feel free to push your current piece to the side for now and write something new

14. Work on your characters:

It follows that if your characters are not clearly defined, you’re more likely to run into writer’s block

15. Stop writing for readers:

write for yourself, not your potential readers

this will help you reclaim the joy of being creative and get you back in touch with what matters: the story.

this is something I really need to do. because of my etsy business i don't write for fun anymore, but instead as a business and a deadline. i'm going to have to pull out my old crappy wattled fanfics or write some new ones.

16. Try a more visual process:

when words fail you, forget them and get visual. Create mind maps, drawings, Lego structures — ideally related to your story, but whatever unblocks your mind!

17. Look for the root of it:

writer’s block often comes from a problem deeper than simple “lack of inspiration.” So let's dig deep: why are you really blocked? Ask yourself the following questions:

Do I feel pressure to succeed and/or competition with other writers?

Have I lost sight of what my story is about, or interest in where it's going?

Do I lack confidence in my own abilities, even if I've written plenty before?

Have I not written for so long that I feel intimidated by the mere act?

Am I simply feeling tired and run-down?

once you identify what's wrong, it'll be so much easier to fix.

18. Quit the Internet:

If willpower isn’t your strong suit and your biggest challenge is staying focused, try a site blocker like Freedom or an app like Cold Turkey

19. Let the words find you:

meditate, go for a walk, take that shower

Word Palette is a great app that features a keyboard of random words, allowing you to simply click your way to your next masterpiece.

You can also try AI auto-completers like Talk to Transformer, where you can enter a phrase and let the app “guess what comes next.”

even though they often produce nonsense, it's a great way to help that writer's block.

20. Write like Hemingway:

And if your biggest block is your own self-doubt about your prose, Hemingway offers suggestions to improve your writing as you go

it's a pretty cool app if you ask me.

it highlights your sentences (if need be) and makes suggestions on how to improve them!

well, there you have it! a lengthy post on how to fight writer's block. now i just hope i can combat my own soon.

like, comment and reblog if you find this useful! feel free to reblog in instagram and tag me perpetualstories

Follow me on instagram and tumblr for more writing and grammar tips and more!

#writing #writing advice #writing tips #original writing #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #writersconnection #writersofig #writersofinstagram #writings

382 notes · View notes

blarfkey · 4 years ago

Text

Tips on Beta-ing Fic in Fandom

Hello! So I’ve noticed from some of my experiences and the experiences of others that not everyone fully understands how to beta a fic or how to ask for a beta reader.

And I get it. Editing is a delicate process, it's terrifying to ask someone to look at your work, and it's equally terrifying to feel responsible for the quality of someone else’s writing.

So I decided to write up a little guide. I enjoy being a beta reader and learned how to while I got my minor in creative writing and through participation in many writer workshops but being a good beta doesn’t require an education like that. A lot of bad experiences I’ve seen or heard about could be avoided with communication and basic courtesy.

More under the cut:

First of all, there are different levels of editing that require different levels of depth and commitment. A lot of issues crop up when two people have a different idea of what’s expected. So here is a way of looking at the different levels.

1. SPAG (SPelling And Grammar): This is the most basic level and has the least amount of time commitment. The beta looks for issues in grammar and spelling such as: comma rules, homophones, run on sentences, anything that obscures meaning, ect. This is the easiest level to ask for since it requires a basic read through and no knowledge of canon or characters or the fandom at all. If you are with a new beta whom you don’t know well, I would start with just this level.

2. Flow and Efficiency: this gets a little deeper into SPAG. A beta on this level would flag passages that slow down the pace of the story, words that are repeated too often, dialogue that doesn’t make sense or sounds awkward, pronoun confusion, sentence/paragraph order, ect. This requires more time and re-reading the fic more than once to do a thorough job.

3. Characterization: This deals with how in character your dialogue and actions feel in your story. If you’re writing a character for the first time or you don’t have a full understanding of them in canon, it can be helpful to ask a writer well versed in writing that character to take a look at your characterization. This does require more of a commitment than the others and you need to communicate with each other to discuss what seemed out of character and why and what alternatives could be taken instead.

4. Plot and Story: This is the biggest commitment for a beta and not something you ask a person to do real quick or even ask a person to do if you don’t know them very well. This type of editing asks someone to look at the story overall and see what is working and what is not working as far as plot goes.

Did the writer develop the story in a way that makes sense, did they lay down the seeds of the development throughout the fic, are they sticking to a theme, are they contradicting themselves throughout the fic, did they repeat a scene, ect? For multi-chapter fics, this requires a long term beta/writer relationship over the course of each chapter update.

You should not ask someone brand new to beta at this level for an update chapter, especially if they haven’t read your other chapters first or aren’t familiar with your writing. This level requires an immense amount of trust between beta and author and a huge time commitment for a beta.

~~~

Now that we understand the different levels of editing, here are some common courtesy guidelines for both authors and betas:

Author:

1. Decide beforehand what level you want your fic to be beta’d for. Communicate clearly exactly what you want your beta to look for and at what level you would like them to edit. You don’t have to use my guideline above exactly, but be clear if you want deeper edits than SPAG, for example. And understand that deeper edits, such as on structure and plot and characterization, require a lot of commitment on behalf of the beta reader. It’s understandable if they do not or are unable to give you that level of commitment so be clear about it upfront.

2. Be clear on your deadline of when you want this done.

3. Be clear on the length, pairing/characters involved, rating, and major content warnings when asking for a beta.

4. If you share a google doc, do not let any beta have full editing privileges. Even if you trust them, you won’t be able to see all the changes they make so you can learn from your mistakes. Keep the restrictions to commenter only.

5. Be upfront and honest about how sensitive you are to different kinds of feedback. Especially if you’ve been hurt in the past, be honest about what feedback you do not want.

6. Remember, you do not have to change everything a beta suggests. This is your story and even though they’ve done you a favor, it's ultimately your decision and judgement on your own fic.

That being said, you don’t need to argue with a beta about their suggestions. If you don’t agree with most or all of their ideas, they are not the beta for you. Thank them for their time and then follow through with your own suggestions or find a different beta.

Beta/Editor: Here are some basic courtesy rules you should follow when you are beta-ing.

1. Do not engage with fic that makes you uncomfortable, even if you want to be kind to a friend. Your reluctance shines through in your efforts and it does not end well for anyone. If you start a fic and then find you are uncomfortable with it, politely tell your author that you cannot continue. Do not do so in a way that shames their fic. You do not have to go into personal reasons why you cannot finish the fic, just tell them you are unable to do so.

2. Stick to the deadline you agreed to. If something comes up, let the author know as soon as possible so they can find someone else, especially if they are on a publishing schedule or have an exchange deadline.

3. Word all your non-spelling edits as suggestions, not commands. Ultimately any changes are the author’s decision and up to their discretion so it comes off as very rude and controlling when you use commands, as if you naturally know better than the author does at telling their own story. This also means that you should not change anything in the document without telling the author if they have given you full edit access on a google doc or word doc, ect.

Some ways of phrasing you can use to make suggestions:

A. “Could” and “can” instead of “should” and “need”.

For example: For example, Maybe you could move this paragraph to the beginning because of ____ reason instead of You need to move this paragraph to the beginning.

B. “I think” at the beginning of a suggestion, so it's clear it's your opinion and nothing else.

I think this paragraph works better at the front of the chapter rather than the end.

C. “Maybe” with a question mark.

This is one of my favorites. Think of it like brainstorming with someone. Maybe you could move this paragraph to the front of the chapter? Maybe X Character could do Y instead?

4. Always explain why you would make a change to story, flow, or characterization so the author understands your intent and reasoning.

5. Do not judge someone’s writing. This is their story and their ideas. Do not try to steer the plot in the direction you would want to take it, do not kinkshame any of their smut, do not criticize their story/pairing choices because they aren’t to your tastes. The goal is to improve what they already have, not change it to match what you personally like.

6. Do not offer only critical feedback without something positive. This is very important. Even if you are just at level one SPAG, leave a comment or highlight a passage, turn of phrase, line of dialogue that you enjoyed or leave a note at the bottom of something you think they did well.

Asking for critical feedback is terrifying, and if there is not a balance of positive and constructive feedback, authors can be discouraged from writing further if they think all they write is bad or needs work.

The way I did it in writing workshops is that I put every negative comment in between two positive comments. This might be unrealistic for beta, but you cannot beta a fic without leaving any positive feedback at all.

~~~

Communication and clear expectations go a long way in a good author/beta relationship. It helps to find someone whose fic they have written or bookmarked align with your own tastes if you want deeper edits. Make sure you have similar ideas on characterization, head-canons, interpretations of canon lore.

At the end of the day, however, it’s fanfiction. It is written for free and for fun. Little things that would not cut it in professional publication can slide in an fanfic and there should not be pressure to make a fic as perfect as a professional, published piece unless the author gives you that explicit expectation.

Please comment or send an ask/message if you have any questions about beta-ing!

#fandom #beta #beta readers #editing #fic editing #fanfiction #fic

401 notes · View notes

teamxdark · 3 years ago

Text

The sun beat down from overhead, and the scent of salt carried over as the breeze guided the waves to the shore. Below his feet, the captain felt the soft rocking of the ship sway him from side to side, back and forth, a sensation so familiar that he had to concentrate if he ever wanted to notice it.

And, well... He wanted to notice it right then. Anything to keep his troubled thoughts at bay.

Shadow was no captain. He had never considered himself good for the role. He could govern himself just fine, but when it came to a group, the weight of responsibility for others pushed him to his worst.

The problem was that no one noticed it.

The hedgehog lifted his head, keeping a hand on his hat to prevent it from flying away, and looked up at the clear skies, dotted by a few seagulls gliding on the currents up above. A perfect day to set sail, as the navigator had told him; Knuckles had an exceptional sense of direction and the strength of body to carry out duties as the helmsman or at the rudder, even when weathering a storm.

Even though he still sometimes drank himself to sleep to handle the guilt of refusing to accompany her.

A flash of yellow swooped by his periphery, and the captain turned to see Tails hard at work, checking the rigging and assessing the sails. The lad was young but brave, and had exceptional knowledge about the structural integrity of the ship. He could spot issues that most would gloss over, even with years of experience. A prodigy, an asset, an invaluable member of the crew.

Shadow still saw the boy's hands shake as he retied the knots, and he knew he still slept in the same hammock as his brother, worried that he might meet the same fate as her.

"Here you go, Captain!"

Amy's cheerful voice interrupted Shadow's brooding, and she pressed a large sandwich into his hand. "It's the last day we can have bread, unsalted meat and fresh vegetables, so I decided to make everyone something special."

The cook was her own force of nature, with a bright and friendly disposition that made those around her feel calmer and happier, and she made meals so good, even with a limited pantry, that the crew swore she was capable of magic. Yet, Shadow had seen her at the cannons, firing mercilessly at those who threatened them. She never missed a shot.

She still cried into their stew, sometimes.

Amy carried on, bringing the next sandwich to Silver, who thanked her with a kind smile. The cabin boy was the newest addition, a stowaway-turned-crewmate that they couldn't manage to turn away. He was an odd one, optimistic and thoughtful, yet impulsive and filled with a rage that brought the worst storms to shame. His telekinetic abilities helped him keep the ship spick and span all over, and when obstacles couldn't be avoided, it was often he who held the ship together... quite literally.

Shadow knew she would have found him to be priceless.

"Ready to set sail, Captain?"

Shadow held back a sigh and looked over to his first mate. Sonic was leaning over the side of the ship, feeling the breeze hit his face, his eyes serenely closed as he noticeably avoided looking at the water. For someone who didn't know how to swim, Sonic still fit in the crew like a hand in a glove tailor made for it. A jack of all trades, he was quick, decisive, courageous, fearless...

She should have picked him.

Shadow's hand rose to his chest, feeling the bumps and indents of the necklace hidden underneath his shirt, until it stopped over his heart, where the jewel lied.

Pink. Heart-shaped. Not worth much by a jeweller's appraisal, but absolutely priceless to any and everyone on that ship. The true symbol of the captain.

"Sometimes you have to make the value yourself," she had told him as she slipped the stone back under her shirt, safe from view.

"Just about," he finally responded to Sonic, noticing how the other hedgehog's ear dropped a tad before lifting back up.

"Sorry Cap, but it doesn't really sound like it."

Shadow hated that he was right. He hated that he still didn't feel ready. He hated that he had such a fantastic crew that he didn't feel worthy of inheriting.

When he was only responsible for himself, it was one story, but he didn't know if he could stand being responsible for anything that could happen to the rest of them. Shadow knew himself; after so many years of following her orders, so many instances of breaking away from her plans because he needed to figure out something for himself, he had come to a conclusion:

He was selfish, self-centred, and unfit to be the one calling the shots for people who needed someone with a strong mind and a constant focus on the big picture.

Why did you give this to me, Rouge?

Any of them could do a better job. Sonic, though he seemed carefree, commanded attention and loyalty and inspired trust and morale. Amy was a natural leader, responsible and resourceful. Even Knuckles, who still fell for Sonic's dumb pranks, had shown that he could step up to the plate and lead when he needed to.

Shadow had been the wildcard, a mix of a lone wolf and a follower, a gun to be aimed and fired by someone with enough clarity of mind to know what she needed to shoot for in the long run.

Rouge had been the perfect captain, except for one thing.

For some reason, she had named Shadow as her second in command.

"Still comparing yourself to her?"

Shadow's hand fell from his chest. He refused to respond.

Sonic leaned back from the railing, opening his eyes to the sky. "I guess I get it. Big shoes to fill and all that. But no one's a perfect captain, you know. Captain Rouge might have been one of the best there was, but the instant she saw a pretty gem..."

"... we'd get sidetracked," Shadow finished, pressing his lips together. It was true; as great as Rouge had been, she had a weakness, and that weakness was why she wasn't with them now.

"I just wish she had told us where she was going..."

It was a question the crew often asked themselves. Why had their captain run off to find a treasure reputed to have a curse so terrible that the map was torn apart and scattered. Why they had spent the better part of a year sailing around to find the pieces. Why Rouge had put together the map in secret and left to find it alone, leaving Shadow her necklace with the announcement that he was in charge. Why she hadn't taken anyone with her, save for the joking offer to Knuckles to accompany her, which the echidna still managed to convince himself was a true offer as a way to find something concrete to blame for the guilt and fear that he felt. That they all felt.

Shadow had nothing like that. He envied Knuckles in a way for it.

"Think of it this way," Sonic said, once again pulling Shadow from his thoughts. "It's an adventure of our own, and the prize is finding her again."

Shadow clenched his fists, crushing his sandwich in the process. "If she's still alive," he muttered, saying what so many of them were afraid to even think about.

"Hey now, come on--"

"Six months!" Shadow snapped. "It's been half a year and there's been no sign of her at any of the rendezvous points!"

You left us. You left me here, with your crew, and now I have to do what I could never do.

"And that's why we're looking for her, right?" Sonic asked, remaining calm even as Shadow felt his world split apart, yet again, as it did far too frequently when he was left with his thoughts. "That's why you ordered this search. Because you know that giving up on her when there's still a chance is the worst thing you could do for her."

Shadow breathed in heavily through his nose, forcing his hands to unclench. Sonic was right. There was a stupid, dumb, idiotic, pathetic part of him that couldn't accept what he knew should be the truth.

Rouge, if we find you and you're still alive, I'm throwing you overboard myself.

"We set off in two minutes," he ordered, stuffing what was left of his sandwich into his mouth. Next to him, Sonic grinned and gave him a salute.

"Aye aye, Captain."

With that, he was off, no doubt relaying Shadow's order to the rest of them. Shadow, meanwhile, walked to the bow of the ship, looking out to the horizon as he drew the necklace out from under his shirt.

They had no leads. They had a great many countries and vessels after them thanks to their history of heists. The odds of finding anything helpful were so astronomically slim that they might as well be sailing to their deaths.

But if any crew could do it, it was this one.

And Shadow, no matter how little he believed in himself, no matter how much fear he held, had to lead them.

"Sit tight, Captain," he whispered to the necklace's heart-shaped gem. Behind him, he heard the sound of Silver raising the anchor and Knuckles calling out directions to Tails at the helm while he pushed the rudder.

It was time to begin their adventure.

#Smash speaks.#I wanted to see if I could write a short thing and decided pirates.#Turns out writing short things is very hard.#This feels like a Chapter 1.#Luckily I have none ideas on how to continue so 🎉#Also I did not edit this. I am very tired and I can't tell if hungry or unhappy stomach.#Either way I wrote pirates I hope you enjoy.

85 notes · View notes

fermented-writers-block · 3 years ago

Text

Lus and the Human Portal Clone Theory

Even before Keeping Up A-fear-ances aired, I have been working for almost a year now on running through all the possible various suspects with wonderful folks like @sepublic , @anistarrose , and @elementalist-kdj . Like the post title indicates, from sheer process of elimination, the only conclusion that made sense to me was a clone made of Luz by the portal door, and I’ve been working on refining and reworking said conclusion up to the version I will lay out here.

Now, as @safetayy , @theowlhouseheadcanons , and @50shades-of-blue have heard from me before, the portal I've long suspected was not made to go from the Demon Realm to the Human Realm, but rather to go from the Human Realm to the Demon Realm by humans, for humans. This is because it then could tie into the hypothetical existence of a Luz clone without having the issue of asking where Eda, Lilith, and King's clones are, as the clone in this case is the result of a function of the door to create a basic level duplicate of any human that passes through it rather than it happening for just anyone that passes through.

With this, it's because the suitcase form of the portal looks as thought it indicates it was used for temporary trips to the Demon Realm, much like how suitcases were used when railways and international boats made travel more accessible for the middle and lower classes. For example:

Going by the way the door “faces” and the way it swings open, the ergonomics of the portal makes it look an awful lot like a right handed out swing door, with the Human Realm on the “inside” and the Demon Realm on the “outside.” And the arrow in the diagram depicts the general direction of traffic that such right handed, out swing doors are typically design with in mind - ergo, showing what way the portal appears to facilitate travel in.

Now, before you ask, the reason why I think the portal could have been created in the human realm in the first place is that it might require an extra component/bit of help or two from the Owl Deity which I’ve discussed before in the past as hinted by these connected designs:

I’ll explore how I feel the revelation that such a twist about the portal’s origins could play into the themes and narrative of the show under the cut, but overall, I feel these are potential significant details to keep in mind for the rest of this arc of building a new door and handling the idea of Lus having initially been made as a temporary-duration clone, hence how "Luz" comes off so uncannily in the letters as she wasn't meant for long term impersonations.

That, and why I named this the Human Portal Clone theory, for those wondering about the name.

Alongside this, my thought has been that walking back through the portal to the Human Realm basically makes the portal send a recall signal to tell the clone to return to it, where the clone would be reabsorbed into the portal and its memories are given to the original. However, with Luz going back into the Demon Realm for a brief time in YBOS, I am of the mind that it doesn’t just make another clone, but rather that doing so merely made the door turn off the recall signal and allowed "Lus" to resume the impersonation.

And as for the clone itself and why they’re writing letters to Camila, well, imagine it from Lus' perspective. To her at the time of creation, the last thing she probably knew was that she had been chasing the cute little owl that took her Azura book into the woods, and right when the bus to Reality Check Camp was about to arrive.

Also, if you think about it, Lus being the work of someone we/don’t know yet raises way more plot threads/questions than answers compared to being the work of the portal, as outlined below:

TLDR at end of post for those wondering

Belos? How and why before YBOS where he actually started paying attention to Luz for the first time and actually got his hands on a portal?

Eda? Why would she do all this and not tell Luz she can goof around without needing to worry about her mom or the camp/in time to fool the camp, especially when it took a good amount of time for Eda to even start feeling that close to Luz?

Hooty got ruled out from the getgo since he can’t hold pencils, King just isn’t that subtle, and everyone else that Luz knows has the major issues of just straight up not knowing about the camp in the first place. Well, that and a lack of another known method of getting to the Human Realm in the first place.

The camp? Why would they worry about a missing camper whose disappearance is all HER fault and thus would more logically result in a call to her parent than some convoluted clone conspiracy?

And finally, some currently completely unknown third party?

If we’re talking a Changeling, A) it’d be easy for Luz to dismiss them and B) that just makes all the ominous portrayal of Lus super straightforward instead of a subversion like is the show’s shtick.

If we’re talking dimensional counterparts, A) they have to REALLY have led a very similar life to Luz’s in order for there to be enough common ground for Luz to listen, and B) dimensional counterparts aren’t even a confirmed or likely thing that people cooked up from Episode 1 side characters influenced by Amity’s concept art.

And if we’re talking some complete surprise third party group or another, it doesn’t make sense to introduce a third party and their motives and plans to the show this late in when Belos is already taking up the bulk of it all.

Hell, if anything, the continued existence of the duplicate in of itself would indicate that the target of the conspiracy is none other than Camila Noceda than anything to do with Luz or Eda, especially with the complete lack of anyone taking advantage of Luz and or Eda.

From the getgo, Witches Before Wizards already hard-baked into the show the idea that Luz is NOT inherently special or anything into the foundations of the show from the getgo - ergo, Camila likely just is an absolutely regular human being, someone who has no justification for such a convoluted conspiracy to surround them.

That said, I believe that the idea of the portal having originated from the Human Realm could potentially play into some interesting stories to be had with Camila and Lus here, especially as the conspiracy board shot from the promo was confirmed by Dana to apparently be from S2A, not from the episodes past Yesterday’s Lie:

After all, with Luz searching the library for a way home this coming episodes, perhaps she might figure out something the next couple of episodes that allows her texts to send through, which would logically lead to the above picture. That, and Camila and Lus being confused by and trying to figure out what’s going on there.

I mean, the cabin in the woods likely has a very close connection to the portal and it’s origins given how closely tied the two structures seem to be, and as far as we can tell, Luz never mentioned the cabin in her videos to Camila, but if Lus tries to retrace her steps, that would be a natural vector to lead Camila to the cabin and thus allow us a chance to actually investigate it.

That said, all following the trail would do is lead her and Lus to a dead end at the abandoned cabin, where they would have nothing else to do except discuss their complicated relationship concerning Luz and twiddle their thumbs while waiting for Luz to finish things on her end - which while something I think would be interesting to see, I just don’t see how much of a way to keep them in the greater picture of the show without some kind of project or activity that the two of them could work together on on screen.

And that’s what leads me to a particular train of thought here, starting with the question of what if Luz FAILS to make a working portal over the course of S2A and such?

With the possible in-universe mystery over what the heck is going on with Lus, perhaps the cabin might hold some notes from the original last human owner - if not potentially the creator - of Eda’s portal as well as potentially some of the same materials and such from previous trips.

Cue CAMILA building a working portal, following in the footsteps of the original creator and such and thus finding a reason to stay on screen, all the while potentially demonstrating both why Belos wanted the portal instead of making his own, as well as diving into the Owl Deity’s connection with the original portal. Heck, maybe the Owl Deity is only accessible in the Human Realm and that plays a part in Belos wanting to get to the Human Realm, which would bring Camila directly into contact with the magic her daughter has been interacting with.

Also, just imagine the internal conflict going on here with Lus. After all, helping Camila build a portal to get the original Luz -and hoo boy would that be a tough thing to grapple with- would most definitely do that and make both Lus AND Camila question how much the latter likes Lus vs Luz.

Like, just imagine it. There would be major chances for Lus and Camila to discuss what would happen if and when they’re finished with the portal, and what will happen to Lus’ relationship with Camila if and when Luz gets back.

Does Camila really prefer her daughter to be all more “normal” like Lus, or does she prefer the old, “weird” daughter from before the summer with Luz?

Perhaps she might be able to figure out how to strike a nuanced balance between the two, and all on a metaphorical journey to truly build a better connection between her and her daughter(s?).

TLDR: Or in short, I can’t help but feel it would be fitting to see Camila building a bridge WITH Lus TO Luz.

Particularly, by being the one to craft an actual working portal in the Human Realm instead of Luz in the Demon Realm, showing a parent putting in an active effort to get down to their child’s level rather than waiting for said child to try to get up to their parent’s level even if they can’t or find it incredibly hard to do so.

#the owl house #the owl house theory #owl house theory #toh theory #toh #owl deity hooty theory #camila noceda #lus #lus noceda #luz noceda #toh speculation #the owl house speculation

99 notes · View notes

satorugojowidow · 3 years ago

Note

Hey dude, hope you feel better soon. Answer this anytime you want (or if you don't want to, feel free to ignore), how do you think canon events would change if Geto and Gojo had succeeded in saving Rika Amanai from both the Merger and Toji? Like, idk, maybe they pop the question at the beach instead of at Jujutsu High, Rika agrees and they whisk her away to somewhere else and Toji's plan fails spectacularly. Or smth.

Hello <3

I’m doing a little better. Thank you!

Sorry for taking so long to answer, but I wanted to take my time to think in this question.

Little disclaimer:

I’m my profession (historian) we tend to dismiss counterfactual stories because are a trap. Is not possible to know which event is the “key” event, due the relation between processes and events. Even if you try to separate both, end up being impossible. Is the same for persons or characters, how much is their own agency and how much is the result of circumstance? How much is their individuality and how much are the result of structures? It delivers you to a dead end of infinite questions.

However, counterfactual stories are a good exercise to considerer the relevance of an event and to understand the event itself. So, is not possible to write a satisfactory counterfactual story but is an interesting exercise to think in a particular event. I believe your question is more inclined to be an exercise, but I did this little disclaimer because I won’t answer this question with some kind alternative universe where Riko doesn’t die that would be like writing a fanfic rather an analysis.

I will answer which I believe most probably but this doesn’t mean I’m dismissing others possibilities.

How relevant is Riko’s death as an isolated event?

In order to change “destiny” (I’m using this concept to follow the explanatory line of Tengen) How relevant is Riko’s death as an insolated event? In other words, If Riko wouldn’t die Shibuya wouldn’t happened? My answer is: probably no.

If they asked her in the beach meaning the never went to the Tombs of Stars Corridor, that would save her? Probably o. Toji is still there haunting from the shadows. For how long you can keep her save? Toji only needs one distraction to kill her. Even if the merge never happens there is no guaranteed that those who wanted to kill her would stop their intentions. As long as she lives there is chance of merge for them.

What can save Riko? Toji’s death? He needs to show himself in order to be a target for Satoru. He can kill her before he gets kill by Satoru (as we saw).

Tengen says that Toji destroyed the “destiny”, everything seems to be consequences of his actions. What if Toji never existed? Things would be different? My answer is: probably no. Toji is the consequence of the violence of Jujutsu society’s structures. If wouldn’t be Toji, someone with other name probably would have lived a similar life. Because oppression can’t last without creating conditions of its own destruction. About this (if you an interest) I have a post.

Now, let’s consider Suguru’s downfall. If Riko wouldn’t have died, he wouldn’t fall in disgrace? My answer is: probably no. Riko and Haibara’s death are the tragedies he went trough in that time, but there are more potential tragedies that could have happened in his life. To prove this point I will take Haibara’s death as example. He died during his mission and his death is not relevant for Jujutsu society because is something that tends to happened. Haibara is one of many others students who died before graduate. Is one of many sorcerers that die in mission. If Haibara wouldn’t have die, someone else would eventually die in Suguru’s life and this is just statistics. If there is a number of deaths (significant or not) between students and sorcerers per year there is a high chance that some of those deaths are significant to Suguru. Riko and Haibara life don’t necessarily save Suguru from falling down. Because his fell is consequences of his impossibility to reconcile his ideals with the jujutsu machine (how jujutsu society work) and his impossibility to process in a healthy way the tragedy and the contradictions inside of him due ideals/reality. This last aspect as the result of him being too young and the lack of guidance to help him go through this. In summary, his down fall is a mix of subjectivity and circumstance. You can think circumstances as scenarios, you change one to other, but what is most probably to happen is the scheme of those scenarios are the same from one case to other (from one universe to other).

It’s possible to prevent Shibuya?

I will try to clear this up. To Shibuya to happen we need three majors’ “events”:

Riko not merging with Tengen.

Toji’s existences.

Suguru’s downfall.

Saving Riko or not is kind of the same for Kenjaku because he only needs the merge to not happen. Even if Satoru saves Riko and kills Toji, Kenjaku can kill her by themselves when all them let the guard down thinking the threat is over.

If someone with the name of Toji never existed, maybe someone with other name and would have a similar life. Maki is the example of this, but she didn’t follow Toji’s path because she has a different subjectivity and this is the reason, I use the “probably no” and I don’t give a certain answer. (this is what I meant when I said counterfactual stories are a trap).

Suguru’s downfall can still happen for different circumstances and in a different time.

Shibuya’s accident can be avoided at all? No, surely it can, but majors’ changes need to happened before the event.

Maybe if Riko was saved and she rejected merging with Tengen- and this one refused her rejection- Satoru and Suguru would be outcast from Jujutsu society leaving everyone is a poorly position to deal with Kenjaku.

I’m sorry for this crazy long answer. I hope it makes some senses and won’t be too fastidious to read. If you read until the end, you deserve heaven ♥

#jjk reply #jujutsu kaisen meta #riko amanai #suguru geto #toji fushiguro #tengen #satoru gojo #kenjaku #jjk meta

48 notes · View notes

juiceboxman · 3 years ago

Text

Advice for New DMs

I’ve been lucky enough to have DM’d a weekly game for over a year now and I’ve had conversation with people irl and online about how they think about DMing but aren’t necessarily too confident in their own ability or don’t even know where to start. So here’s some things I would suggest to get started, things to keep in mind and advice about general stuff. Here we go;

1) Familiarise Yourself with the Rules. You can read the DMs Manual or the Player’s Manual for rules. You can find rules explained everywhere online from Roll 20 to DND Beyond. But if you don’t like reading, and I get that cause the thought of reading a 200+ page instruction manual on how to play a game does sound daunting, I would suggest watching or listening to Actual Play Shows. If you watch like a few episodes of Critical Role or Dimension 20, you kind of get the basics of DnD. That’s really all you need to start DMing, just the basics like “what which Dice do”.

2) Know your Players. DnD is a collaborative game and all good collaboration necessitates some base understanding of who you’re collaborating with. You don’t necessarily need to know the people you’re playing with very well, but just enough to get where you can decide whether these people are chill to play with. So say if you’re gonna be playing a horror/scary campaign and you know one of the people in mind for playing isn’t too into horror- maybe don’t have them play cause it will make them uncomfortable. That example is perfectly fine but it delves into extremes when you’re dealing with people who are just difficult. You can look up online and find tons of stories relating to bad dnd experiences with just rude, shitty people. I would like to clarify that by saying that these experiences aren’t a DnD problem- it’s a social group problem. If you hang out wih a shitty person they will inevitably do shitty things, and honestly its better that a shitty outburst occurs at a controlled environment such as a DnD Game than say a house party where all sorts of shit could happen. So know your players. If they’re cool people, they’ll make cool players. If they’re kind of shit heads, they’re going to cause a lot of issues and not the fun kind. Know the difference between “shenanigans” and “open disrespect” because you as the DM put a lot of work into the game, if the players don’t respect that- maybe don’t play with them. No dnd is better than bad dnd

3) Know Your Game. This rule helps a lot if you are familiar with lots of DnD shows, which gives you a frame of reference for the type of campaign you wanna run. If you wanna go big dramatic epics with a lot of strict survivalist rules, Critical Role is a good place to reference. If you wanna go for balls to the wall humour with a lot of heart and emotional moments, NADDPOD is a good place to reference. You want a proper scary campaign, watch Sophomore Year from Dimension 20- it is primarily a comedy show but when they do drama they do DRAMA. Knowing your players allows you to know the game better. It took me quite a while in my own campaign t realise “Oh I’m not running a CR game, I’m running a NADDPOD game” and ater I realised that I was able to play it better. Know the game, know the genre, know what you and your players like and enjoy and try to maximise that fun.

4) Preparation. DMs do a lot of preparation whenever they intend to run a game. I would argue that the amount of preparation you want to do should be equal to the amount of time you’re willing to spend. Sad fact of life is that DnD, and other activities with friends, are all dependant on IRL scheduling. A campaign can fizzle and die out at a moments notice, not all stories get finished and if you wanna start any creative process that’s a reality you have to accept. I’m a creative person, I do quite a lot of writing and stuff on the side so when I do prep for DnD I don’t want to spend too much of my creative juice on a project that only six people at a table will know about compared to one that would feature a larger audience. Also if you have a busy schedule you might not have time to worldbuild, so short cuts help. So in those respects I don’t see anything wrong with being lazy. There are plenty of websites online where you can randomly generate maps, towns, characters- you name it. You don’t need to spend hours on end developing streets of a city that no one will walk down or lore behind businesses no one will ask about. You just need to be familiar enough with the history or your world, its vibe and tone in which you can effectively improv the rest. I’ve been DMing a game now for well over a year, I spend less than an hour a week doing prep. I write a few bullet points for stuff to bring up in the session, I make a brief map for encounters, I’ll look up monster stats, maybe draw up some homebrew and heroforge pictures of the NPCs- that’s it

5) Improv. I think 90% of DMing is pure improv. Depending how well you know your players and their characters, you can predict certain behaviours. So if you have an NPC say or do something that you know will gaina certain reaction from a player, that’s something you are certain about. Everything else however can be improv based. Players will surprise you. They’ll do weird dumb shit and they will do really cool game breaking shit. You have an NPC who was supposed to be a big villain? Well the PCs all teamed up and with an effective strategy, that NPC is now dead. It’s the lay of the land. The goal with prep is to have enough prepared that you can effectively pull stuff out of your ass with no issue. Improv isn’t necessarly difficult, all you really need is to listen. When a player responds to something and you feel its worth rolling for, have them roll for it. If tey roll well, tell them they did the thing. If not, tell them they didn’t. If the thing they asked for is impossible, tell them it’s impossible. You can come up with all sorts on the fly

6) DND isn’t like TV/BOOKS/MOVIES. DND is a weird medium of entertainment. Its a collaberative game where you all make a narrative, but a lot of strange stuff happens in between. Like if youre watching a movie or a show or reading a book you might think to yourself “why is this character spending twenty minutes talking to this waiter that genuinely isn’t that interesting?” or something like “why did the main villain die five pages in?” DND doesn’t follow a beat structure or format. Plot armor doesn’t fit here, it’s all decisions and luck- that’s it. Don’t be dissapointed in your work in regards to storytelling. Don’t worry about plot holes or inconsistencies, just focus on player engagement. If the players are having fun, then you’re playing the game right. You as the DM have to make sure that everyone is playing fairly and having fun. Treat your players equally, don’t be a dick, don’t be a pushover. You have to know what your players want, but also know what they don’t want. If your players like a weird NPC, have that NPC show up more cause they enjoy it. If your players discover an ability ot a magic object that left untouched will alter game play (e.g. one of my PCs recently gained an ability in which they gained the breath weapon of an ancient red dragon) that if used effectively could elminate all threat from any boss fight ever- don’t be afraid to NERF that. You need to be considerate about your enjoyment and the players enjoyment, its all in the balance.

That’s the main six points I have so far. If I have anymre I’ll be sure to add them. If anyone has any advice, feel free to add below. Hope this helps! Also; Brennan Lee Mulligan has a good podcast giving DM advice called Adverturing Academy. Has a lot of cool guests. The episode featuring Carlos Luna from Roll 20 is actually good career advice and gets me motivated just thinking about it. Definitely worth checking out!

#dimension 20 #critical role #naddpod #adventure zone #dunegons and dragons #dnd #d&d

90 notes · View notes