#reading an entire book of writing advice without writing at all in between

[strxnged]

"Am I to patronize sleep because children sleep sound? Or honey because children like it?"

C.S. Lewis (1966). "Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What's to Be Said," Of Other Worlds

i wonder what lewis would have to say about our culture's urge to degrade any and all media which teenage girls enjoy.

[anim-ttrpgs]

If any of y'all had tips for aspiring TTRPG creators, what would they be? I'm hosting a "How to Make your own TTRPG" panel at a con this weekend, and anything to show folks from a fellow indie studio would be great!

Yeah a bunch. Each one of these could basically be its own post, but here are the condensed versions.

Social Media

You need social media. No one will ever hear of your game without a strong social media presence. And as much as it sucks, your best bet is probably tumblr. It’s the only populated social media site that allows your posts to be widely circulated without you having to pay, and also long form enough to actually include information. I dedicate one day a week entirely to social media and that’s just about the only reason we make any money at all.

Also, when using tumblr, the first five tags you put on a post are the most important, those are the tags that make it show up on people’s dashboards. The first twenty tags are the ones that make it show up in search results. Don’t put the name of your game in the first five tags generally, because if no one has heard of it yet, no one is following those tags.

Don’t Paywall Your Game

You deserve to be paid for your work if you indeed did any work at all (we’ll get to that), but that just isn’t the world we live in. Unless you have an advertising budget to essentially trick people into buying a game that might end up being crap, you need something to prove that your game is worth spending money on. Without an advertising budget, that proof has to be your game. Setting your game to pay-what-you-want, or providing “community copies,” lets people try your game before they buy. Plenty of people will buy up-front when given the option, and others who can’t afford it at that moment will download it for free then come back and pay later. Some people will never pay, but what that means for you is that they either never experience your game, or they pirate it. People experiencing your game, showing it to their friends, and talking about it is one of the most valuable pieces of advertisement you can ever have. It will ultimately lead to more people who are willing and able to pay learning about your game.

Start Small but Not Too Small

Do not make a one-page game for your first game. Do not be like us and make a 700-page game for your first game. Try to aim for something between 20 and 200 pages, especially if you’re one person or a small team.

Play and Read a lot of RPGs or Your Game Will Suck

Would you watch a movie by a director who had only ever watched one movie? Would you read a book by an author who had only ever read one book? Hell no, those would suck.

Read many rpg rulebooks, from many different genres and decades, play as many of them as you can (by the rules) to understand how the rules work and why they’re there. This will give you the creative tools you need to make something that isn’t just a weaker version of the last RPG you played. No, listening to "actual plays" does not count.

Most actual plays stray significantly from presenting a regular gameplay experience in favor of an experience that is entertaining for an audience. If you want to learn martial arts, you should be watching martial arts tournaments, not WWE.

If you want an actual play podcast that has my “actually mostly presents a real gameplay experience” approval, try Tiny Table.

If you say you don’t have time to read rulebooks, then you don’t have time to design a good game. Studying is part of the process of creating. If you don't, you won't even know about gleeblor.

This will let you know whether your "innovation" is more like "Cars don't need to run on gasoline!" or "Cars don't need crumple zones and airbags!"

The Rules Matter, So Design with Intent

The rules matter the rules fucking matter holy shit what you actually write down on the page matters I can’t believe this is actually the seemingly most needed piece of advice on this list. The. rules. matter.

Design your game to be played in the way you designed it. The rules affect the tone and genre of your game, they affect the type of people PCs can be and the kind of stories that will result from gameplay. Bonuses encourage PC behaviors, penalties discourage PC behaviors.

Do not fall for the trap of “oh well people will just play it their own way based on vibes anyway so it doesn’t matter what I write the rules to be.” Write that you wrote this game to be played by the rules and that significant changes to the rules mean that players are no-longer playing the game you made. Write like you deserve for your art to be acknowledged by its audience. If you don’t, then there is no point in anyone playing the game you made, because if the person who wrote it doesn’t even care what the rules say, why should anyone? The people whose “playing” of TTRPGs consists of never opening the rulebook and improving based on “vibes” will still do that no matter what, but the people who would have actually tried to engage with your game will find that it sucks if you don’t even care what the rules are yourself.

Playtest

You need to playtest your game if you want it to work as intended. You need multiple sets of eyes on it. If you don’t have the opportunity personally to do so, just release your game anyway with the acknowledgement that it’s unfinished. Call it an alpha or a beta version, and ask for people that do play it to give feedback, then update and fix the game based on that feedback.

Ignore Feedback

Most people do not have any game design credibility, perhaps least of all TTRPG players. You do not, in fact, have to listen to everything people say about your game. Once you ask for feedback, people will come to you with the most deranged, asinine, bad-faith “feedback” you can imagine, and then get really mad at you when you don’t fall to your knees and kiss their feet about it. You do not need to take this feedback at face value, instead you need to learn to read between the lines and find out which parts of the rules text are being misinterpreted by players, and which incorrect assumptions players are making about your game. Then, you update and improve the game by clearing those up. Only like 30% of “feedback” you receive will actually be a directly helpful suggestion in its own right at face value.

You can’t please everyone, and shouldn’t, so appeal to the people who actually like your game for being what it is, not the people who don’t.

Read Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy

Yeah this one sounds self-serving but hear me out. Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is as much a treatise on TTRPG game design as it is a game itself. When it presents mechanics and rules, it tells you what they are, why they are, how they are, and what you’re intended to do with them. This makes it an excellent example to read for anyone wanting to get serious about game design and learn how TTRPGs tick under the hood, and an excellent example of a TTRPG that expects players to play it the way it was written to be played, and why that is a good thing. Also you can download it for free.

[hivemuthur]

Hi!!! Everything you write is so beautiful and so fun to read, and it never fails to make my day <3

I don’t know if you would want to do my request, maybe it’s a little bit too specific… Anyway, since I’m struggling with my PhD (it’s in literature, and I have no clue what I’m doing), I was thinking if Viktor, being an academic weapon and also the sweetest boyfriend ever, would be so kind as to give the reader some advice, or at least some consolation

Hiya! I never got to PhD so I admire you insanely. Here's some hype man Viktor for you to get you back on track!

Persistently Holding Dearest

viktorxgn!reader general - fluff! Viktor supports Reader through the PhD struggle by being a pookie.

word count: 0,6K

author’s note: art by @petitesieste of course!

—

Despair might be a touch overdramatic, but you are inching toward something adjacent. Lodged somewhere between exasperation and resignation, you feel like a complete fraud—staring at words you don’t even remember writing, with no idea what should come next.

The table is strewn with books: annotated margins, half-finished thoughts, too many tabs, too many highlighted lines that used to make sense. Your laptop hums beside a mug of tea long gone cold, a dark ring of residue clinging to the rim. The cursor blinks, maddeningly, on a sentence that refuses to finish itself.

You sigh, rubbing your temples. “I think I’m going to die before this chapter is done.” A soft shuffle behind you. Then a hand, warm and familiar, lands gently on your shoulder.

“Statistically unlikely,” Viktor says, tone far too calm for your unravelled nerves. He leans down to press a kiss to your temple, the corner of his mouth curving. “Though I suppose we could dramatize it for effect.”

“I’m serious,” you murmur. “I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore. I read one sentence and immediately forget the previous one. What if I’ve lost the thread entirely? I’m losing my mind,” you whine, flattening your face in your palms.

His arms come around you from behind, folding you into the kind of embrace that steadies things without asking them to stop spinning. “Then we find it again.” A chuckle, then—“Both the thread and the mind,” he explains.

You laugh, quiet and bitter. “It’s not that easy.”

“No,” he agrees. “But it’s not impossible either.”

You turn slightly in his arms, meeting his eyes. “How do you do it? All the theory and analysis and structure—and not feel like a fraud every time you put something down?”

Viktor tilts his head, considering. “I do feel like a fraud. Often.” He brushes a knuckle over your cheek. “But then I remember—doubt is not a weakness, it’s proof that you care. That you’re thinking deeply. It’s the arrogant who stop questioning.”

You breathe out, slow. Something in your chest unknots. “You really believe that?”

“I believe in you,” he says, firm now, no softness in that conviction. “And that’s not blind faith. I’ve seen the way you work. How your mind builds connections no one else sees. It’s beautiful.”

Your eyes sting, and you lean into him fully. “I’m not sure what I’m doing.”

“That’s alright,” he murmurs. “Let’s figure it out together.”

He nudges the chair beside you with his cane. “Show me what’s giving you trouble. We’ll wrestle the sentence into submission. Like real academics.”

You huff a laugh and reach for your laptop. He settles beside you, eyes bright, posture relaxed, like he has all the time in the world just to help you find your words.

It gets better, then worse again. Then better for a while as you find your rhythm, empty cups mounting around the both of you. Then, inevitably, worse again as exhaustion sets in, and you slump against the chair, groaning.

“PhD,” you scoff. “More like perpetually heading downwards.”

Viktor hums, nudging your foot with his. “Perhaps, holding determination?”

You snort. “Perishing horribly, daily.”

A soft chuckle escapes him as he leans forward, wraps his arms around your waist, and rests his chin on your shoulder, breath fanning your cheek. “How about,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss just beneath your ear, “persistently holding dearest?”

“Persistently holding dearest, preventing perishing horribly, daily?” you offer, downright sold on his option.

Viktor hums a soft laugh and mutters somewhere into the space between your ear and mouth, “I can accept such compromise.”

[monsterswithimagines]

Undisclosed Desires - Part 1

Joe Goldberg x female!Reader

Summary: Twenty minutes before he would have met Guinevere Beck, Joe meets you instead. You intruige him, but it will soon become clear that there is something off about you.

Words: 610

This first part is short, but later parts will probably end up being longer. Anyway, Joe Goldberg is my current obsession. I just had to write fanfic.

Masterlist

Hello, You.

You look unsure of yourself. You've walked into Mooney's without a purpose, and now it looks like you're not sure why you came in at all. You wander through the isles aimlessly, glancing at the books without really seeing them. You're not even reading the titles. Then, you stop. You've found something that intrigues you.

You're in the isle F through K. Are you sending me a message? I'd like to think so but no, you're looking - really looking, this time - at our collection of secondhand Stephen King books.

You seem like the type to be a King fan. You’re tiny, can't be more than 5’5”. You're not fat, but you've got a round face that could trick people into thinking so, if you covered up your body more.

You're wearing a Guns ‘N Roses tank top and army-green cargo pants, and Doc Martens. You want people to be impressed when they look at you. You like the attention. I don't know who you're trying to fool, though. It's clear you wouldn't hurt a fly.

In any case, you look like the exact sort of girl who'd enjoy King's more outlandish books. I expect you to go for Desperation, or maybe Pet Sematary, but instead your searching finger glides across the spines of the books and stops at Joyland.

You slide it out from between the others. You look at the front cover, not the back. Appearances are important to you.

Suddenly, you are approaching me. You set the book down on the counter carefully. Almost reverently.

“Hi,” you say.

I like your hair. It's a deep brown, not dyed. You've got a wolf-cut, but you have curls so it looks messier than you probably intended. Your hair covers your ears fully, but I just manage to catch the sparkle of an earring.

“Hi,” I answer. “Just this today?”

“I made a deal with myself when I came in here. Only one book. I have an addiction to buying books.”

I smile, because that's good. It means you might come here again. But then again, I've never seen you before. What if you're not from around here? Just passing through? You could walk out of my life forever, after this.

“Oh yeah?” I ask, casually. “How come I've never seen you here before, then?”

“I just moved here. Trust me, you're going to see a lot of me.” You laugh. “I had a very personal relationship with the woman who runs the bookstore in my old town.”

A ‘personal' relationship? Are you hinting at something? Do you want to have a personal relationship with me?

“Came there that often, huh?”

“At least twice a week.”

“Do you just read that fast? Or…?”

“I read pretty fast, yeah.”

If you were somebody else, I might suggest you get a library card. But if I say that to you, you might actually heed my advice, and then you won't come here as much. Better not to poke that bear.

“Well, here's to hoping I see you again, then. That'll be $ 13,99.”

You hand me your card. You could pay with cash, but you want me to see your name.

“(Y/n). I like your name. It suits you.”

You shrug.

“And your last name… German?”

“Dutch,” you say. “Like I said, I just moved here.”

Funny, I don't detect an accent at all.

I ring you up, pack Joyland for you in a paper bag, and hand it to you. Your smile lights up the entire room. Your teeth are a little crooked, but not unbearably so. It's sort of adorable.

“Thanks,” you say, and: “See you later.”

Then you're leaving. I miss you already.

[physalian]

What No One Tells you about Writing #3

Opening this up to writing as a whole, because it turns out I have a lot more to say!

Part 1

Part 2

1. You don’t fall in love with your characters immediately

But when you do, it’s a hit of serotonin like no other. I’d been writing a tight cast of characters for my sci-fi series since 2016 and switched over in a bout of writer’s block this year to my new fantasy book. I made it about ⅓ through writing the book going through the motions, unable to visualize what these new characters look like, sound like, or would behave like without a ‘camera’ on them.

Then, all of a sudden, I opened my document to keep on chugging with the first draft, and it clicked. They were no longer faceless elements of my plot, they were my characters and I was excited to see what they could accomplish, rooting for them to succeed. Sometimes, it takes a while, but it does come.

2. Sometimes a smaller edit is better than a massive rewrite

Unless you’re changing the trajectory of your entire plot, or a character’s arc really is unrecoverable, sometimes even a single line of dialogue, a single paragraph of introspection, or a quick exchange between two characters can change everything. If something isn’t working, or your beta readers consistently aren’t jiving with a character you yourself love, try taking a step back, looking at who they are as a person, and boil down what your feedback is telling you and it might demand a simpler fix than you expect.

Tiny details inserted at the right moment can move mountains. Fan theories stand on the backs of these minutiae. One sentence can turn a platonic relationship romantic. One sentence can unravel a fair and just argument. One sentence can fill or open a massive plot hole.

3. Outline? What outline?

Not every book demands weeks upon weeks of prep and worldbuilding. I would argue that jumping right in with only a vague direction in mind gives you a massive advantage: You can’t infodump research you haven’t done. Exposition is forced to come as the plot demands it, because you haven’t designed it yet.

Not every story is simple and straightforward, but even penning the first draft with your vague plan, *then* going back and adding in deeper worldbuilding elements, more thematic details, richer character development, can get you over the writer’s block hurdle and make it far less intimidating to just shut up and write the book.

4. It’s okay to let your characters take the wheel

I’ve seen writing advice that chastises authors who let their characters run wild, off the plan the story has for them. Yeah, doing this can harm your pacing and muddy a strong and consistent arc, but refusing to leave the box of your outline greatly limits your creativity. I do this particularly when writing romantic relationships (and end up like Captain Crunch going Oops! All Gays!).

Did I plan for these two to get together? No, it just happened organically as I wrote them talking, getting closer, getting to know each other better in the circumstances they find themselves in. Was this character meant to be gay? Well, he wasn’t meant to be straight, but you know what, he’d work really well with this other boy over here. None of that would have happened if I was bound and determined to follow my original plan, because my original plan didn’t account for how the story that I want to tell evolves. You aren’t clairvoyant—it’s okay if it didn’t end up where you thought it would.

5. Fight. Scenes. Suck.

Which is crazy because I love fantasy and sci-fi, the actiony-est genres. Some authors love battle scenes and fistfights. It comes naturally to them and I will forever be jealous. I hate fight scenes. I hate blocking and choreographing them. I hate how it doesn’t read like I’m watching a movie. I hate how it could take me hours to write a scene I can read in 5 minutes. I hate that there’s no way around it except to just not write them, or put in the elbow grease and practice.

Whatever your writing kryptonite is, don’t be too hard on yourself. It won’t ever replicate the movie in your head, but our audience isn’t privy to that movie and will be none the wiser of how this didn’t fit your expectations, because it’s probably awesome on its own. It could be a fight scene, sex scene, epic battle, cavalry charge, courtroom argument, car chase—whatever. Be patient, and kind to yourself and it will all come together.

6. Write the scenes you want to write first

And then be prepared to never use them. It can be mighty difficult working backwards from a climax and figuring out how to write the story around it, but if you’re sitting at your laptop staring at your cursor and watching it blink, stuck on a tedious moment that’s necessary but frustrating, go write something exciting. Even if that amazing scene ends up no longer working in the book your story becomes, you still get practice by writing it. Particularly if you hate beginnings or the pressure of a perfect first page is too high, you’re allowed to write any other moment in the book first.

And with that, be prepared to kill your darlings. Not your characters, I mean that one badass line of dialogue living rent free in your head. That epic monologue. That whump scenario for your favorite character. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out anymore, but even if it ends up in the trash, you can always salvage something from it, even if that’s only the knowledge of what not to do in the future.

7. “This is clearly an author insert.” … Yes. It is. Point?

No one likes Mary Sues, because a character who doesn’t struggle or learn to get everything they want in life is uncompelling. The most flagrant author inserts I see aren’t Mary Sues, they’re nerdy, awkward, boring white guys whose world changes to fit their perspective, instead of the other way around—they don’t have anything to say. I’m not the intended audience to relate to these characters and I accept that, but I don’t empathize with the so-called “strong female character” who also doesn’t have flaws or an arc either.

A good author insert? When the author gives their characters pieces of themselves. When the “author insert” struggles and learns and grows and it’s a therapeutic experience just writing these characters thrown into such horrible situations. They feel human when they’re given pieces of a human’s soul. They have real human flaws and idiosyncrasies. I don’t care if the author wrote themselves as the protagonist. I care that this protagonist is entertaining. So if you want to make yourself the hero of your book, go for it! But make sure you look in the mirror and write in your flaws, as much as your strengths.

[enigmaticexplorer]

Writing Advice: Third Person Point of View - The Problem with Head-Hopping

A personal pet peeve in fanfic—and even some published books, unfortunately—is an author head-hopping.

I understand that not everyone learned about writing point of view in primary school, and many fanfic writers are new to writing and might not even realize they're writing head-hopping.

So, this post is an educational means for those who are interested in learning how to improve their writing.

I'm going to give a quick overview of point of view, a breakdown of third person point of view, and how to spot head-hopping in your writing.

What Is Point of View?

Point of view (POV) is the perspective (voice) from which a story is narrated.

There are three POVs.

First person

Second person

Third person

Third Person: Limited vs. Omniscient

In third person POV, the author is narrating the story through third-person pronouns (she, he, they).

Third person POV is subdivided into two categories: third person limited and third person omniscient.

Third Person Limited

In third person limited, the narrator is an external observer who knows the thoughts and feelings of ONE character at a time.

Here's an example from R.F. Kuang's, The Poppy War, page 341:

The Cike were stretched to their limit, especially Rin. Each moment not spent on an operation was spent on patrol. And when she was off duty, she trained with Altan.

Note that this paragraph—the entire book, actually—is from Rin's POV. We have access to Rin's feelings, thoughts, and observations throughout the book, while also seeing how other characters are acting.

But we are only in Rin's head. We do not have access to the thoughts and feelings of other characters. This is third person limited POV.

Third Person Omniscient

In third person omniscient, the narrator is an all-knowing observer who has access to the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of ALL characters in the story.

Here's an example from Jane Austen's, Pride and Prejudice, page 104:

As they drove to Mr. Gardiner’s door, Jane was at a drawing-room window watching their arrival; when they entered the passage she was there to welcome them, and Elizabeth, looking earnestly in her face, was pleased to see it healthful and lovely as ever.

Notice how we have access to both Jane and Elizabeth's 1) physical locations, and 2) thoughts. Even though Elizabeth is in a carriage and Jane is inside a house, the narrator is all-knowing and can narrate both of them at the same time.

The problem I see from many fanfic writers: they attempt to write in third person omniscient when they're actually writing shoddy third person limited, constantly switching between the POVs of multiple characters.

This is called head-hopping.

Head-Hopping vs. Omniscient

Head-hopping is when an author shifts between the POVs of multiple characters without a scene break. Meaning, the author is inside Character A's head but abruptly—and randomly—shares the thoughts, feelings, and/or observations of Character B.

Here's an example:

Kathy arrived at the cafe in hopes of showing Brittany her completed sweater. It was the first time she had knitted and she was eager to share her hard work with her best friend. Brittany took one look at the sweater and cringed. She hated it, but she didn't want to hurt Kathy's feelings. She didn't know what to say.

In this example, we are inside both Kathy and Brittany's heads. Both characters have distinctive voices, and because of this, the narration of the story is inconsistent.

It's jarring to read, and pulls you out of the story.

Here's the same example written through omniscient POV:

Kathy arrived at the cafe with the intent to show Brittany her completed sweater. After hours of hard work, the opinion of her best friend was important. At Kathy's approach, Brittany observed the sweater in her friend's hand and wrinkled her nose. The sweater was hideous.

In this example, we are inside the head of the narrator. The narrator is telling the story through its voice, rather than the individual voices of Kathy and Brittany.

Remember: Omniscient means the reader is inside the NARRATOR's head, not the characters'.

The Scene Break to Denote POV Switch

Back to my definition of head-hopping: Head-hopping occurs when a writer suddenly switches POV without a scene break.

Like the first example of Kathy and Brittany—there is no scene break between their thoughts. If the author wanted to write from both Kathy and Brittany's perspective, the author would have to include a physical break to alert the reader to a switch in POV. See below:

Kathy arrived at the cafe in hopes of showing Brittany her completed sweater. It was the first time she had knitted and she was eager to share her hard work with her best friend. ~~~~~~~~~~ Brittany took one look at the sweater and cringed. She hated it, but she didn't want to hurt Kathy's feelings. She didn't know what to say.

The squiggly lines demonstrate a switch in POV, and the scene would then continue in Brittany's POV. [Please note that a single paragraph space (as seen in the first example of Kathy and Brittany) is not a scene break. It is a paragraph break, and therefore cannot be used to demonstrate a switch in POV.]

You can write multiple POVS throughout a story. These will all be in third person limited POVs.

For example, each chapter in Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series is dedicated to ONE character. Throughout that chapter, the reader is inside the head—reading the thoughts, feelings, and observations—of that singular character.

Individual chapters can also have multiple POVs (again, these are third person limited POVs). These are denoted by a divider or additional paragraph space.

For example, Timothy Zahn's Thrawn switches between the POVs of multiple characters in each chapter. The switch between his characters' POV is shown by an additional paragraph space.

Why Should You Care about Head-Hopping?

If writing head-hopping makes you happy, then keep at it. It's fanfic, and most readers are so desperate for content they don't care.

But, if you're interested in improving your writing, here are a few reasons why head-hopping is problematic:

It's jarring to the reader, and takes them out of the story. Frequent head-hopping can confuse readers as they struggle to keep track of whose perspective they are currently experiencing. It disrupts the flow of the narrative and can make it challenging for readers to form a strong connection with any one character.

It makes it harder for readers to truly immerse themselves in your story. Consistent use of a single POV allows readers to immerse themselves in the story's world through the eyes of a specific character. Head-hopping disrupts this immersion by constantly pulling readers out of one character's perspective and into another's.

It hinders character development. When the narrative constantly shifts between characters, there may not be enough time or focus on any one character's growth and development.

It takes away the emotional impact of the scene. Head-hopping can prevent readers from fully empathizing with or understanding any particular character's emotions, motivations, and inner conflicts.

Even well-established authors struggle to write omniscient without head-hopping. It's a nuanced subject that can be confusing to understand and difficult to overcome.

Again, this post is simply to inform writers about third person point of view and the subtle differences between its subdivisions. It’s not an attack on fanfic writers.

[goawaypopup]

Here's an AU I've had in my mind ever since reading the side books.

When he sets out into the continent in the original books, Lief is almost completely unprepared. The Shadow Lord's regime has cut off information flow between population centers, and Del's recorded history is almost all in the off-limits library, so there really wasn't a lot he could have done to avoid this. All he has is his memory of his father's copy of The Belt of Deltora, a vague little pamphlet that he keeps forgetting at bad times, and which helps not at all with dealing with the dangers of the continent itself.

Unless... Jarred chose a different book to steal from the palace library all those years ago.

Secrets of Deltora, an in-universe guide to Deltora's locales by Doran the Dragonlover, was also hidden away in that library. It was far more richly detailed and practical than The Belt of Deltora, and in its writing Doran expressed his distrust of the advisors and his fear that the Shadow Lord was preparing to strike - also containing a hint at the location of Withick's Belt of Deltora booklet in one of its illustrations. And it has a similar narrative recounting of Deltora's founding, the powers of the seven Belt gems, and their combined ability to ward the continent against the Shadow Lord. It would be an entirely plausible choice for Jarred if he had had some extra time to find and read it, and conceal it about his person (seeing as it was, in fact, extremely forbidden to touch).

If, growing up, Lief or his father managed to decode the secret message in Secrets, he would have lacked no information from not having The Belt, up to the urging to ignore the tradition of keeping the Belt locked up. Indeed, he would have a distinct advantage, knowing that the complete Belt was capable of waking and summoning the dragons, as well as all the travel advice and recorded dangers found elsewhere in the book.

What does this mean for him when he finally sets out to recover the gems?

This time, considering the question of which hotspot to visit first, Barda and, ahem, Lief's father are confronted with a very different picture. The elaborate, detailed descriptions of all the ways plants, bugs, snakes, and wild animals can kill you in the Forests of Silence, and the terrifying undead telekinetic armor guy, plus the sheer scale of how many places a gem could conceivably be in the three forests. Versus: nothing at all in the guide for the Valley of the Lost, which was the only site formed AFTER Doran's time. Just some rumours of a valley cloaked in mist. So it seems clear that Barda's bravado will not prevail with better information at hand - the entire journey is going to be in reverse.

Starting at the Valley may be for the best, as it is comparatively harmless for a party with their wits about them. Forewarned of the region's Grippers, they do not fall victim to any embarrassing incidents, though they might be shocked by the Jalis' absence.

Unfortunately for Lief and Barda, they will not have the aid of Jasmine or any mind-clearing gemstones this time. And god knows whether the Belt is still capable of burning the Guardian with 0 gems present - let's hope it doesn't come to that. But honestly, I think they could pull this off, with the assistance of their usual excellent luck. Especially if they manage to guess the name without completing the clues. This does mean... they're going to be thinking that Endon was a corrupted traitor the entire time. Oh boy! Time for Deltora to buck the bonds of monarchy entirely?

The diamond is an excellent first gem. Its courage will probably do at least as well as the topaz did at suppressing Lief's burgeoning PTSD, and its added physical strength will come in extremely handy for the fights ahead.

The Maze of the Beast will be much, much more straightforward with the Shadow Lord's forces not yet on alert. There will be far fewer Ols in the area and any that remain will be much less on guard against the duo. The whole ordeal with Tora and Dain and the Resistance and the pirates probably won't happen either, so rather than being shoved into the Maze, Lief and Barda can adequately prepare for it. They could ideally leave a rope ladder or something and avoid having to leave though the blowhole.

The Dreaming Spring is clearly described in the guidebook, along with its status as a much-needed source of scarce water in the north, so they're quite likely to visit it on the way to Dread Mountain. The incident that gained them the Kin's assistance, however, is unlikely to play out the same (the Rithmere Games have probably not occurred yet, Doom has not freed the Karn pod's captured finalists, and the Grey Guards do not pass this way for another while yet.) They might have to trudge through horrible cold woods for weeks instead of being carried by warm women.

Unless they had their own incidents with Doom, they won't glean anything in particular from the Kinrest and Dread Mountain writings. Despite Doom having been swept up in the changes in this timeline, it seems likely he's still in similar places at the same times. He could have been near Amethyst territory in books 1 and 2 prior to visiting Tom's shop.

Dread Mountain is where I'm going to leave it as having too many divergent possibilities to make a solid prediction. Jasmine and likely Prin are absent, the Lily nectar is absent, the Ruby is absent, there may or may not be Spring water for the using. If they happened to take the exact same path up the mountain, Lief is dead at the bottom of the very first gnome trap if nobody tripped him before he could step in it. There are roughly twelve hundred deadly poisonous arrows killing alternate timeline versions of them left and right. It's pretty rough.

From there, if they live, they're probably going all sorts of exciting directions away from canon. Perhaps the illustration of the Belt of Deltora in its proper order will clue Lief off that he's doing it wrong sooner. Perhaps Lief drops the book in Glus water, or didn't bring it with him, and has to start using his exceedingly unreliable memory for many more, more vital pieces of information. Perhaps the perceived perversion of the monarchy that Barda served so early on in the quest causes him to snap and throttle Lief with his bare hands. Perhaps, at some point, Doom will receive a smack upside the head and regain his memory, and remember about the kid he left in the deadly, deadly jungle over a decade ago.

But most importantly, this time they will have dragons at their disposal immediately if Lief manages to assemble the Belt correctly.

[mrhaitch]

what are your views on booktok?

because in my opinion, it has caused a great deal of overconsumption and oversaturation in the literary industry. it's harder for authors who genuinely have a story to tell publish their books out there just because they don't contain the popular tropes or smut. (just to clarify, i grew up reading fanfics and i absolutely have nothing against smut or tropes, i write them myself. but they are not an indication of well-written literature.)

not to mention the rise in the romanticization of violence against women and toxic relationships. that was always there, but booktok kind of increased it in the name of being morally gray. morally gray characters can literally exist without being literal SAers. and it genuinely confuses me because booktok is a female dominated industry.

ive been reading since i was 6 years old and i was so glad when i found there was a community for readers on tiktok. i used to love booktok back in 2021 when people actually gave book recs based on plots and characters and depth and not how much smut it has. it couldve easily been a safe space for POC authors to publish books filled with representation and diversity and instead it turned into whatever it is now.

im also bitter because the girls who used to bully me for reading percy jackson and harry potter in middle school now claim to be readers while refusing to read anything that has no smut in it and reading books with worse plots than what i used to read on wattpad when i was 13.

(im not an elitist i swear i read and love books that arent just classics)

I believe I've talked about this a bit before, but I share your concerns. In fact I think it's part and parcel of people misusing and misunderstanding what social media is good for and what it's bad for.

Novels are complex media, the discussion of which requires time, space, nuance, and reflection. Tiktok affords users none of those, as it is focused entirely on quick, attention gabbing sips of raw dopamine. As such only the most salacious of story beats can be emphasised, as they're the most attention grabbing, which creates an atmosphere where books with MORE salacious content get more exposure.

The publishing industry, while made up of a lot of very smart and very passionate people, is collectively stupid - more so now that publishing houses are falling under the ownership of venture capitalists looking for a quick buck. Any trend or gimmick that's popular can and will be wrung until it's dry and howling. You'll be able to track this in real-time:

An excellent book becomes a cultural flashpoint, and people talk about it and recommend it to damn near everyone.

People who want to be published and successful and view those things as ends within themselves will try and distill that flashpoint into tropes, which they deploy themselves.

The market floods with more of the thing people like, and everyone's happy. The trend intensifies, each new iteration of those tropes becomes more and more basic - less a story which features those tropes, more a series of tropes with some narrative in between.

Then we hit peak saturation, and the appetite comes to a dead stop. Seemingly overnight readers will collectively nope out of the trend, and then start pushing back at it, complaining they're sick of having the same tired stuff shoved down their necks.

After which it's a case of waiting for the next thing. For examples see: Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Twilight, Game of Thrones, 50 Shades of Grey, and all of their respective derivatives.

Best advice - completely ignore it. Sidestep the whole fetid quagmire and do your own thing, it'll die out on its own.

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

When you are writing a new chapter for a fic, how do you decide what to put in, and what to leave out?

I see a lot of advice about killing your darlings - whittling the scene down until it contains only what's necessary to advance the plot.

But I also see advice that says it's okay to include more than this, because you need to advance the characters as well, by giving them quiet moments in between all of the plot advancing parts.

I really struggle to find the balance. I love writing the quiet moments, and fleshing the characters out, but sometimes these moments run away on me, and I end up with a bloated mess that barely advances the plot at all.

Do you have a process or a rule-of-thumb you follow, to help you decide what does or doesn't make the cut?

How easy do you find it to remove stuff later, when you realize the story is better without it? Do you cry and have wine while you bury your dead, or are you a ruthless assassin? :)

Oh man, great question.

I’m going to answer for what for my original fiction. I don’t heavily edit my fanfics in any meaningful capacity, as any of my readers can attest, since that is my hobby and editing is work. Also, since it is my hobby, I am pretty self indulgent with what I include. I meander and wander all over the place with my plots and don’t keep them as tight as they probably need to be.

Exhibit A, the visual representation of the plot of Thus, Always 2.0 (one line being present day and the second being the past):

But for my original fiction, there’s a very long, drawn out process of editing.

For House of No Return, the current book (known as The Venetians in my tags), I wrote out the first draft. In that draft I put all the self indulgent stuff I wanted. Character studies, side plots, random asides, plot cul-de-sacs, and so on.

Then, when done, I rewrote the entire thing. Top to bottom second draft. This is because, by the time I was done with draft one, I knew my characters a lot better than when I started. I knew, more clearly, the story I wanted to tell. I had a better vision of how the plot should work.

Once the second (or third) draft is done, I let it sit. Ideally, you should let it sit for a few months. I don’t have patience and am riddled with a deep need to always be writing, so I can usually only make it a few weeks.

When I take it back out, I print out the manuscript and read it in one or two sittings. This is because I need to remember what the fuck I was doing. As I read, I make margin notes of where I bump or where things drag a bit. My second read through is much more methodical. I sit with a note book and jot out a detailed outline as I read. When I eventually type them up they usually look something like this:

As I read through the outline, that’s where I can see if there are baggy parts that need trimming. When I note them, I decide whether to completely remove, or shorten, or shift to another part of the story, or if I can convey any central information in other areas.

Sometimes colour coding helps – highlighting all the parts that are faster paced in red, the slower bits in green, the pure character study bits in blue (or what have you). The visual representation helps me, at least, see if there’s a part that’s bunched up with only one colour and may need to be broken out a bit.

I make edits to my outline in blue, usually, of what needs to be added or changed when I go to do the next big rewrite.

--

Throughout this whole outline review process, I’m also thinking through what sort of plot pattern/design best serves the story. There are a lot out there and each has a purpose and can strengthen aspects of the story that’s being told.

Good reference: Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative by Jane Alison.  

For House of No Return, it’s a pretty classic mountain form: start | rising action | point no return | climax | resolution.

Something a bit like this with the little plateaus representing times when the plot slows for a bit to allow the reader a break and an opportunity to sit with a character or an emotion or some new information.

These breaks can also ratchet up tension and help keep people on the edge of their seat. The horror genre is a great example of this. You know that when we’re having a quiet character moment, or a humourous moment, we’re about to get something horrific on the other side of it and we’re in trepidation until it happens. But the book can’t be all horrific moments or else the audience gets bored.

(Unless the author is Doing Something/There’s a Purpose Being Served in having 85,000-100,000 words of only horrific moments. Which can abosolutely be the case! Again, it’s about what you’re trying to do, how to best tell the story, and fundamentally what that story needs to be.)

Grief and trauma writing also benefit from the breaks. I think about this in fics where it’s all bleak torture and there’s no resting or lighter moments—it’s hard on the audience. Which, again, can be the author’s intent! And that’s fine! But usually if you want to keep people going with you on the journey you need to give them breaks. That is just reality.

So, when writing the classic model I would say write, write, write. Get every thing onto the page. Every little indulgement moment, every little character study etc.

Then think about how you want the story to be paced. Do you want it a heart pounding fast paced piece? Then yeah, trim it down to mostly bare bones with just enough breaks for character study/get the audience invested in who they’re reading about and to give them a bit of a breather. But it should be super tight, over all.

Steep, steep, steep – little moments here and there for a break – then shattering fall and people should be reading going “what the fuuuuck is going to happen next??” (Grady Hendrix is a master of this.)

 Some traditional mountains, though, are slower.

There's a long, langurous start. We’re all along for a gentle ride then it begins to build bit by bit until we realize we’re riding down the Tuscan hillside in a cart with no breaks.

This is the sort of story where you can really relish your character studies and soft moments between people and little side bits. But you do need to keep enough movement to keep the audience interested. This is one that is harder to pull off because the balance can be tricky.

I tend to write like this. Hilary Mantel has books that hit this kind of approach. Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic is a good example of a slow burn start but a good ride at the end. Laura Purcell’s The Silent Companions is another example.

-

All that said, not all stories need to follow the traditional approach! Some are meant to be tangled meditations. A lot of weaving, a lot of introspection, the story is more about the journey and not the destination. Sometimes the plots look a little like this:

Peak Literary Experimental Fiction shit right here. This can be a lot of character study, a lot of philosophical musings, a lot tangents or backtracking or jumping around a little. Justin Torres’ Blackouts is a great example of a meandering story that is as much about the characters and their conversations as it is about queerness and history.

Other stories are meant to be rolling hills or waves: up and down, up and down.

Jane Austin has a bit of a wave quality to some of her stories, not all, but some. Long, drawn out family epics that span generations tend to have this quality to them. Books like Pillars of the Earth tend to be more wavey than mountain climax.

-----

Anyway. I've done a diversion myself. Back to editing.

When I’m doing my trimming, I don’t have an exact process for determining what makes the cut or what stays. I go with my gut on a lot of it. Sometimes, there are scenes that are hitting the same note but coming at it in different ways.

Cristof’s anxiety over his friend’s gambling addiction, and his guilt around feeling as if he is enabling it, is something I overwrote in the first few drafts because I was trying to understand the psychology of their friendship and Cristof’s own inner demons. Therefore, as I trimmed, I picked three key things that the audience needed to know about Cristof and Jacopo and made sure those were captured. I cut and trimmed accordingly.

However, I do have some babies that get reused in different places once I realize the original scene wasn’t working.

This stupid joke was originally in a completely different scene and was said by different characters but that scene wasn’t working and so I had to cut it. But I was very enamoured with this little interaction, so I found a way to incorporate it.

-

It’s also important to remember that some character studies/the resting pauses can be brief. By all means write out the full seven page version but I bet it’s possible to trim it down to a really powerful short beat that can pack a bit of a punch. Writing out the full seven pages is sometimes necessary to get at the heart of what you’re trying to say. Then cut it back.

I had a full multi-page version of this paragraph:

But it’s a rest-beat in the middle of the apothecary/barbershop scene that is moving the plot along, and therefore this memory/character beat needed to be tight. Still, we get a bit of a glimpse at Cristof and Nicolo through it, and while it might not seem important on the surface, we do need to care about these two idiots and the fact that they’re dumb about each other and in love.  

-

Quiet moments can also be interspersed within action. You can weave them through, so you have:

Active Scene/Plot Moving

Restful introspection or memory

Back to the Active Scene.

If done right it can give a bit of a melodious, wave-like quality to what you’re writing. It’s not for every story, nor every scene, and shouldn’t be overused (I may be guilty of that), but it allows you to still get in those meaningful character moments without stopping the plot too much.

As for the ease with which I kill darlings? Depends on the darling. Some are easier than others. Some I like, but if I can incorporate the important bits in another fashion then I’m fine with it. The more I write, the more I edit, the more ruthless I become.

--

A lot of this is, fundamentally, all about practice and doing it a lot. And also all writing rules aren’t rules so much as broad guidelines and each story has its own needs and requirements to make it work.

Apologies for the long reply. I'm not sure it's what you're after but I hope it helps. There is, unfortunately, no "quick trick" that I have to do it. It's really just a very involved process.

[disease]

Hi, I know you’re not a therapist or anything so you can absolutely ignore this but idk where else to put it… I feel like you are somebody who would understand.

I’m a young woman who found out about Gen January last year. I have never, ever felt more connected with a person. I can’t even listen to their music without feeling physically ill, when I look at a photograph of them it’s like looking at an old lover who’s died (I apologise if I’m using wrong pronouns by the way I’m just not sure which to use so I usually use they)

It was okayish, just an admiration until I had a manic episode (I’m bipolar) and subsequent depressive episode where I became convinced they were literally living in my body. Like I could feel their presence 24/7, everything I did was to do with them, I couldn’t read anything that wasn’t read by or related to Gen in some way. I couldn’t even look in the mirror because I would see Jackie. I became so jealous of her I couldn’t listen to any of Gen’s music past 1990 because the specific way that they loved with pandrogyny was everything I had ever wanted - Genesis was everything I had ever wanted. Genesis was the love of my life I thought.

It felt like all the confusing feelings and emotions and authors I have liked and poets and painters I’ve admired and just EVERYTHING was shared by them when I never even knew it. The more I learnt the more I felt connected. I couldn’t sleep at night because all I could do was just think about Genesis, and Neil, and all the versions of who they were in their lifetime. It felt like being reborn in a way… I felt like a prophet for them. I’ve never related to anybody more in my entire life. It’s like I found my twin flame but I know so many other people think that about Genesis as well. But I can’t explain it, this just feels different.

It subsided a bit when I got a boyfriend but Genesis is always in the back of my mind even now. Even after being medicated, I still feel like we are connected somehow and I feel this sorrow for them almost 24/7. It feels like I have lost a child. Like some sort of grief. I’m not the best at putting my thoughts into words, but I just can’t handle this. I love Genesis so, so much. More than I can write down or explain. I get this stomachache when I think about their life and how beautiful they were.

Do you have any advice or any helpful words? I’m really struggling. I feel so crazy. Sorry that this is so out of the blue. Sending love! ❤️

this message is extremely touching—and you shouldn’t feel ashamed by the intensity of your emotions toward Gen! however, i’m glad to hear medication helped to some degree, as these situations can prove to be very exhausting.

regarding Gen—as last i knew ‘they’ sufficiently addressed the Pandrogyne—they certainly had an incalculable influence on countless many during their lifespan on this realm. speaking for myself, i’ve worn a psychick cross pendant for years, along with it having been my first tattoo. Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth was/is yet another brilliant idea of Gen’s… but, as we know, Gen disbanded from the concept upon feeling that it had shifted into somewhat of a religious cult. its intention was always to be an influence for artistic expression and self-empowerment—sort of an evolution from COUM Transmissions—but nothing beyond those basic principles alone.

fast-forwarding to more current times, i felt it to be such a privilege that they utilized contemporary media (notably Instagram) to remain virtually connected and provide further documentation. in one of their conversations with Carl Abrahamsson, i recall them accurately predicting the potential significance of technology, and what it could/would become. [i highly recommend obtaining a copy of this book: Sacred Intent.]

when Gen eventually did transcend beyond their mortal vessel, i recall this same feeling as you’ve noted… somewhat of a ‘unity’ between them & self. unselfishly, it was a relief to know they no longer had to suffer from ongoing cancer. but, beyond that, there was purely this feeling of their presence still being here… perhaps a universal feeling which then manifested into S/he Is (Still) Her/e.

the only advice i could provide given the circumstances are essentially the root of what you’ve already been doing: learning about, discussing, and manifesting the lessons & artistic creations they provided to the universe. if you’re an avid lover of music, do recall the role they played in pioneering both the Industrial and Acid House genres. if Gen desires anything from you, it’d likely be at the core of their teachings in TOPY, which was recognizing and seizing your unlocked potential as a Human Be-ing. forgive yourself for your behavior in the matter; then continue to be influenced by the infinite wisdom of their words and actions.

S/he Is Still Her/e. 丰

[literaticat]

Hi Jenn. After all these years agenting, do you still find it exciting and challenging (in a good way) or do you sometimes have to find new ways to keep it from becoming mundane at times? Hope I'm asking this right. I guess what I mean is, what advice do you have for others in the publishing field - agents, editors, authors - or even any job (!) to keep things fresh and stimulating without becoming dull and repetitive?

I find it exciting and challenging, and very rarely would I characterize it as dull or repetitive or mundane, actually. (Even theoretically "dull" activities like data entry or whatever -- while maybe ANNOYING sometimes -- are still of short enough duration that they aren't really any of those other things!)

There's just always some new project, challenge, puzzle to figure out, and one day rarely looks just like the next. (I guess it might from an outside perspective -- like "okkkkkay, she's sat at her computer for 8 hours... the next day she's sat at her computer for 8 hours..." these seem the same! BUT I PROMISE THEY ARE DIFFERENT!)

So where MY problem comes in is not in boredom or anything like that -- it's more: A) PANIC because no matter how much I do, there's literally always more to do. I can't get to inbox zero, the inbox doesn't have a bottom. I can't finish a to-do list this week, or any week, things are just getting added as fast as I can do them. and B) PROCRASTINATION - like right now is my "day off" but I started to low-key panic about the things I have to do. Like, I have to -- HAVE TO!!! -- do my taxes and clean my house, because my mom is coming in a couple of days and the house is a wreck AND I know while she's here I won't have time to do my taxes and whatever whatever -- so instead I'm SCREWING AROUND ON TUMBLR. -- so B is both a result of, and cause of, A. That's my struggle. (And if anyone has advice, hmu.)

I guess my advice if you DO have a repetitive job is, try and break it up into smaller bits, and do other things in between? Like, I can't give notes on multiple books in a row, or read multiple contracts in a row -- I can do ONE, and then I have to do something entirely different, using a different part of my brain. Like I can edit a book, then update social media -- then I can do a contract, but then go outside and just read a published book -- then I can look at queries, etc. But if I tried just editing a book or reading contracts or looking at queries all day long, I'd die.

So if you are a writer, maybe you have dedicated time that you know you can be head down, butt in chair, just writing your face off -- a time when you are by yourself and don't have to worry about feeding any children or animals or anything like that. Focus on that for that dedicated stretch of time -- no looking at email or the news. Then take a break that is totally different -- walk the dog! Make an omelette! Call your mom! -- then, go back to work, but this time, you are editing something you wrote last week. Then, give yourself a treat, have a cup of tea, look at social media. Then, go back to work, but this time you are doing admin -- updating your website, or getting shit together for an event next week, or whatever.

ALSO, I got this piece of advice from a productivity expert (paraphrasing, and also, advice that I should actually take myself but I just remembered about it right now!) Basically, rather than having a lengthy to-do list that feels daunting -- your daily to-do list should be THREE ITEMS. Pick three. ONLY. THREE.

Then when you do those three things, you're done for the day -- you can give yourself a gold star and stop -- OR, you can try for another three.

I do find that when I actually focus -- like, OK, I have ONE HOUR to do this task and only this task, head down, timer on -- or OK, I am going to sit here and do THREE AGENDA ITEMS -- then I actually do them. Whereas if I have a nebulous long list, it's much harder to do!

OK NOW I AM GONNA GO DO MY TAXES BYE.

[shelbbswrites]

What are your thoughts on EJ’s talk with Ricky? And his talk with Gina? I’ve really only seen these two scenes but they were both so significant to me in that we really see how EJ has (sort of) moved on from the last season. Though there is an overall somberness to him (like you mentioned in your review), I like that we got to see EJ making progress towards figuring out his life after high school

First of all, thank you for reading my review. That means a lot!

His talk with Ricky isn't much of a talk. It's more of EJ telling Ricky what he needs to hear, no matter what it has to do with EJ. I'm also not entirely convinced that EJ knows Ricky well enough to give him this life-changing advice. I wish we had seen them interact as friends outside of their romantic love triangles so their supposed brotherhood and EJ’s advice landed better.

I wish that conversation had been between Ricky and Big Red. I understand that EJ has a perspective that Ricky or Big Red don't (yet), but Ricky and Big Red’s comments in the finale underscore how underutilized their friendship is in Season 4. Big Red knows Ricky better than most people and could've offered him advice — even over FaceTime!

As for Gina, I really liked the first part. That mutual understanding. Gina apologizing for how she took her own insecurities out on him. The risotto joke? I could’ve gone without it. I feel like a lot of the season unnecessarily undercuts Ricky/Nini and EJ/Gina.

But yes, I like seeing EJ live a life that’s for him and not what his dad wants. That's SO rewarding after all this time. Those pressures are something he and Gina really had in common, which makes it all the more unfortunate that we didn’t get to hear them talk about that more during Seasons 2 and 3. But I digress.

I’m happy that EJ is doing better, and I’m shocked that I like the idea (because we never really see it to KNOW) of him and Val. She was the only person there for him and listened to him last season, so I’m here for their relationship.

I could write books about EJ Caswell in Season 4.

[neewtmas]

So I found a post by @chdarling that was full of questions for writers (because apparently we're weird) and though it might be fun to ask some of my favorite writer mutuals (that I can remember in the next 2 minutes) to answer the questions. There were 40 in total so I've just shortened them into 21. Number 11 is optional.

Have fun :)

What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting?

If you had to give up your keyboard and write your stories exclusively by hand, could you do it? If you already write everything by hand, a) are you a wizard and b) pen or pencil?

What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?

What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

Do you have any writing superstitions What are they and why are they 100% true?

If you had to write an entire story without either action or dialogue, which would you choose and how would it go?

Do you believe in the old advice to “kill your darlings?” Are you a ruthless darling assassin? What happens to the darlings you murder? Do you have a darling graveyard? Do you grieve?

Do you lend your books to people? Are people scared to borrow books from you? Do you know exactly where all your “lost” books are and which specific friend from school you haven’t seen in twelve years still possesses them? Will you ever get them back?

Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Why or why not? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends?

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark?

Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end.

If a witch offered you the choice between eternal happiness with your one true love and the ability to finally finish, perfect, and publish your dearest, darlingest, most precious WIP in exactly the way you've always imagined it — which would you choose? You can’t have both sorry, life’s a bitch

How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

How do you get into your character’s head? How do you get out? Do you ever regret going in there in the first place

Who is the most stressful character you’ve ever written?

Who is the most delightful character you’ve ever written?

What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

Thoughts on the Oxford comma, Go:

What is something about your writing process YOU think is Really Weird? If you are comfortable, please share. If you’re not comfortable, what do you think cats say about us?

What keeps you writing when you feel like giving up?

Omg thank you so much for thinking of me!! That's really nice🫶🏻🫶🏻

I have to preface this by saying that i'm not a "real" writer in the sense that I'm writing original stories, i'm just doing fanfiction (at this point). I might not be able to answer everything, but I'll give my best.

What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting?

I usually write in a grammarly document and there is a default font that I don't know if you can even change. I also don't really care though

2. If you had to give up your keyboard and write your stories exclusively by hand, could you do it? If you already write everything by hand, a) are you a wizard and b) pen or pencil?

I think if I had an idea that was so groundbreaking that I had to get it out into the world I would but otherwise... I'm a slow writer as it is so that would just make it so much worse

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?

I don't think it's particularly cursed, rather it's probably very basic - I just put on comfy clothes, light a candle and listen to ASMR/ some sort of ambience background music that fits the mood I want to write about

4. What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

I don't have a specific word, but what I absolutely LOVE to write about is how the light looks like in a room. morning light, afternoon sun, dawn, dusk, golden hour, etc. I think that's a fantastic way to set the mood.

5. Do you have any writing superstitions? What are they and why are they 100% true?

I don't think I have any. I don't really have any in general either

6. If you had to write an entire story without either action or dialogue, which would you choose and how would it go?

I'd definitely kick dialogue. You can convey almost everything through actions, gestures, facial expressions, etc. A story that only consists of dialogue would be hard to write and probably terrible to read imo

7. Do you believe in the old advice to “kill your darlings?” Are you a ruthless darling assassin? What happens to the darlings you murder? Do you have a darling graveyard? Do you grieve?

I mean I don't really have any original characters to kill off, and even then I would probably be hesitant to do so - even though I think it can really make a story hit so much harder. In fanfiction, I rarely write about character death.

8. Do you lend your books to people? Are people scared to borrow books from you? Do you know exactly where all your “lost” books are and which specific friend from school you haven’t seen in twelve years still possesses them? Will you ever get them back?

I do, but only to people I trust. So far I haven't had any bad experiences. I also know where all my books are.

9. Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Why or why not? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends?

I write in my books, I underline, I use post-its, I do not dog-ear my pages (that's terrible IMO), I have also read in the bath before. I used to be really strict about keeping books as pristine as possible, I didn't even write into books I had to read for school that I couldn't care less about. But now I think that a book that looks well-read is the best kind of book.

10. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark?

I used to lay my books over the back of chairs or at the edge of tables

11. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

Okay so I do have something in the works currently, which I won't give too many spoilers about, but it's a George x reader that is sorta enemies to lovers. It's also a little bit of a different setting than usual bc reader is a solo agent as opposed to in the agency/new to the agency.

12. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end.

I'm gonna be honest I can't really choose one singular passage, so I'm gonna talk briefly about one of my favourite things I've written recently, which is George x reader titled Nightmares. This is one that was extremely fun to write, because I started out with like a little idea for one scene, and it really quickly developed a life of its own and I just had to follow that. That's something that only happens sometimes when I write. I also liked how I got to include scenes from both the show and the book and how it was a really nice mix of angst and fluff.

13. If a witch offered you the choice between eternal happiness with your one true love and the ability to finally finish, perfect, and publish your dearest, darlingest, most precious WIP in exactly the way you've always imagined it — which would you choose? You can’t have both sorry, life’s a bitch

I'm gonna take eternal happiness with my one true love. I'm not a perfect or even really good writer by any means, and currently I'm absolutely fine with that. In theory I would love writing a book, but in reality I simply don't really have an idea big enough to warrant a whole publishable book.

14. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

I use grammarly bc english is my second language and it helps with typos and weird grammar mistakes that I might overlook. I have a document for everything I've written but it's not super organised or anything. The most organised place is probably my masterlist.

15. How do you get into your character’s head? How do you get out? Do you ever regret going in there in the first place

I really just think about the source material and think about 'what would they do?' that's pretty much the extent of it.

16. Who is the most stressful character you’ve ever written?

I actually think Lockwood is really hard to write. Or all characters in general that have this confident, charismatic nature bc I am not confident and charismatic at all lol

17. Who is the most delightful character you’ve ever written?

Probably Newt. He is just such a sweetheart.

18. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

19. Thoughts on the Oxford comma, Go:

it only exists in English, and I actually can't remember if we learned to use it in school or not. I don't have really strong opinions, I sometimes use it, sometimes don't.

20. What is something about your writing process YOU think is Really Weird? If you are comfortable, please share. If you’re not comfortable, what do you think cats say about us?

I don't have an endless amount of unfinished WIPs. I have one that I write and finish and post, and then I start a new one. I think that's probably somewhat unusual.

21. What keeps you writing when you feel like giving up?

Writing (fanfiction specifically) is a way for me to connect with the world and the characters similarly to reading. I often have this strong urge to think myself into a book universe and writing is just one way to do it. Also going back and reading nice feedback I got is a great motivator.

[mimbotomy]

7, 24, 56?

Prompts found here!

7. How do you choose which POV to write from?

It’s a bit of a process IMO so I’m just going to go through it! Starting with my process for a multi chapter long fic with multiple POVs bc that’s mostly what I write lol.

My first step when starting a new chapter is to flesh out/rewrite my outline according to the previous chapters, changing any continuity errors, changing the tone if needed, etc, etc. Then I make of list of all the potential POVs and think about what notes I’d want each one to hit - their feelings, thoughts, how they would react to the action - and I’ll often write a couple short little snippets to see how their voice and internal dialogue works with the action of the chapter. Since I only really write Odyssey fic, a lot of this step focuses on our girl Kassandra and debating whether or not I want her POV or someone reacting to her, and then what kind of reaction I want! Then I start writing! And honestly, I go back and rework things or completely rewrite things to a different POV in the middle of this step more often than I would like to admit RIP.

My process for single POV fics, of which I only have two bc I like seeing different people’s view points, is mostly the same, but I spend a lot more time debating between Kassandra’s POV and reactions to Kassandra. Deciding on the POV for There is No Escape. . . was a lot easier bc after I decided I wanted this fic to take place after Hades’ canon storyline, the story became less “Kassandra and Zagreus fight Underworld baddies” and more “Zagreus’ decision to help Kassandra and the bond they form over their journey down and out of the Underworld.” And having it from Zagreus' POV, in a world and story format he knows and understands gave me the space to focus on relationships and characters rather than Kassandra reacting to the Underworld. And I had already down a Kassandra POV for A Miscalculation, which had a similar storyline of Kassandra saving Phoibe from the Underworld, so I wasn't necessarily chomping at the bit to completely rehash that.

But I went back and forth for a much long time between having the Children of Kephallonia be entirely from Kassandra’s POV or alternating between her and Phoibe’s before deciding on the former, bc I realized my plan for the story gave me the opportunity to have Kassandra reacting to herself and her own skill and power that I don’t really give myself to do in my other fics. One of the scenes that I thinks best explains this is in Chapter 6, The Interloper, where Kassandra is surprised that Brasidas doesn’t seem to believe that she can scale a three story wall in armor without being spotted bc she lowkey thought everyone could do that, and Ikaros says, “Maybe it’s just easy for you.”

This ended up being a little longer than expected but that’s my process!

24. Worst writing advice anyone ever gave you?

Writing in past tense! Not trying to shit on anyone who writes in past tense, bc I have read some truly amazing books and fics written in past tense, but I feel like my work became a lot more fluid when I started writing in present tense. It helps brings me into the moment and I think my work is now more detailed and easier to read bc of it. Easier to write too - flows better IMO.

56. What’s something about your writing that you pride yourself on?

Characters! Or more specifically, I think I’m pretty good at getting inside a character’s head and capturing their unique voice and I think I also do a decent job at exploring and fleshing out character relationships from canon. Honestly, I think a lot of my skill there has to do with the fact that I write a lot of crossovers (3 on AO3 and at least 5 rattling around in my head or on google docs please pray for me 🙏) bc it forces me to really think about Kassandra and the other characters, whether from Odyssey or Marvel or Harry Potter or Hades, to figure out how they would act and react in situations so far beyond the comfortable confines of canon.

For example, I personally saw a huge shift in my writing after I started my Odyssey x Marvel crossover: my Kassandra and Ikaros became even more tightly connected, she became more devout to the gods and both a little more and a little less arrogant at the same time, and her relationship with Phoibe solidly shifted over to the mother-daughter category, all of which ended up becoming big parts of my next fic The Children of Kephallonia and every fic since.

Also, I think I’ve gotten pretty good at writing fight scenes and giving Kassandra a unique fighting style, but those scenes are usually a lot shorter 😂

[ezomind-the-other-one]

Weird Answers from a Writers

1. What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting?

don't care, the default Google Docs one

2. If you had to give up your keyboard and write your stories exclusively by hand, could you do it? If you already write everything by hand, a) are you a wizard and b) pen or pencil?

yeah I was born before everyone had a personal computer also I'd use a pen

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?

I procrastinate on my actual paying job to write and this is cursed for obvious reasons

4. What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

"rather"

5. Do you have any writing superstitions? What are they and why are they 100% true?

no superstitions, only faith

6. What is your darkest fear about writing?

no one will like my stuff

7. What is your deepest joy about writing?

i like my stuff

8. If you had to write an entire story without either action or dialogue, which would you choose and how would it go?

no action, all dialogue

9. Do you believe in ghosts? This isn’t about writing I just wanna know

only the one that live in people's heads

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

Terry Pratchett has haunted me; several decades after reading I still remember the sentences, situations, and meaning.

11. Do you believe in the old advice to “kill your darlings?” Are you a ruthless darling assassin? What happens to the darlings you murder? Do you have a darling graveyard? Do you grieve?

no my darlings get a happy end always but I will make them work for it

12. If a genie offered you three writing wishes, what would they be? Btw if you wish for more wishes the genie turns all your current WIPs into Lorem Ipsum, I don’t make the rules

The ability to write intimacy without feeling weird, time to write and more words in my head, I'm not a native speaker and I don't know tat many words.

13. What is a subject matter that is incredibly difficult for you write about? What is easy?

difficult: intimacy, see above

easy: outside chat-style POV

14. Do you lend your books to people? Are people scared to borrow books from you? Do you know exactly where all your “lost” books are and which specific friend from school you haven’t seen in twelve years still possesses them? Will you ever get them back?

i don't know any people well enough to lend books i am an actual ermit

15. Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Why or why not? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends?

no marks on my books but i put them down open with the spine up.

16. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark?

the fleeting memory of what page I was at

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

uh well the horny parts are probably not going to make it to the text (see points 12-13) and I'm certainly not having an epiphany and change my ways on this tumblr post

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end. Spicy addition: Questioner provides the passage.

omg this is getting difficult

19. Tell me a story about your writing journey. When did you start? Why did you start? Were there bumps along the way? Where are you now and where are you going?

i've had stories in my head since I was five but the thing that finally sent me over the edge a few months ago was reading a PWP on ao3.

20. If a witch offered you the choice between eternal happiness with your one true love and the ability to finally finish, perfect, and publish your dearest, darlingest, most precious WIP in exactly the way you've always imagined it — which would you choose? You can’t have both sorry, life’s a bitch

I'd ask the witch were she trained for that kind of knowledge and do that in addition to writing

21. Could you ever quit writing? Do you ever wish you could? Why or why not?

no no no

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

lol it's a set of google docs and my brain no system only vibes

23. Describe the physical environment in which you write. Be as detailed as possible. Tell me what’s around you as you work. Paint me a picture.

my old couch for actual writing but plotting is always with me, especially in public transportation.

24. How much prep work do you put into your stories? What does that look like for you? Do you enjoy this part or do you just want to get on with it?

a few online searches but I'm a simple writer my good omens fanfics don't need that much backstory. Althoug I did search for the name of a malware contest recently.

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story?

it will become relevant in the future

26. How do you get into your character’s head? How do you get out? Do you ever regret going in there in the first place?

actually it's my characters that come into my head, dwarves @ Bilbo Baggins's style

27. Who is the most stressful character you’ve ever written? Why?

not enough data for an accurate answer (yetà

28. Who is the most delightful character you’ve ever written? Why?

Haven't written that many OCs but the ineffable idiots from good omens are a joy to write about.

29. Where do you draw your inspiration? What do you do when the inspiration well runs dry?

A mystery for the ages. Good thing I can just wait out the no-inspiration moments because i have a day job speaking of I should probably go back to that.

30. Talk to me about the role dreams play in your writing life. Have you ever used material from your dreams in your writing? Have you ever written in a dream? Did you remember it when you woke up?

nope

31. Write a short love letter to your readers.

i love u i miss u where tf are u when you're not commenting on ao3 ? can i come visit u there

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

too many to list

33. Do you practice any other art besides writing? Does that art ever tie into your writing, or is it entirely separate?

art no but my work kind of seeps into my writing (i'm science-adjacent)

34. Thoughts on the Oxford comma, Go:

leaving that one for the native speakers and people who actaully know shit about language

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

wait there are rules ?

36. They say to Write What You Know. Setting aside for a moment the fact that this is terrible advice...what do you Know?

I know nothing

37. If you were to be remembered only by the words you’ve put on the page, what would future historians think of you?

wow she really liked good omens and the word "rather" hu

38. What is something about your writing process YOU think is Really Weird? If you are comfortable, please share. If you’re not comfortable, what do you think cats say about us?

no I'm always having a perfectly normal one when i write

39. What keeps you writing when you feel like giving up?

never felt like giving up but then I only started a few months ago

40. Please share a poem with me, I need it.

The tiger He destroyed his cage Yes YES The tiger is out

@chdarling im bad at tumblr, reblogging confuses me but i hope this gives you a chuckle

Weird Questions for Writers (because writers are weird)

1. What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting?

2. If you had to give up your keyboard and write your stories exclusively by hand, could you do it? If you already write everything by hand, a) are you a wizard and b) pen or pencil?

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?

4. What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

5. Do you have any writing superstitions? What are they and why are they 100% true?

6. What is your darkest fear about writing?

7. What is your deepest joy about writing?

8. If you had to write an entire story without either action or dialogue, which would you choose and how would it go?

9. Do you believe in ghosts? This isn’t about writing I just wanna know

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

11. Do you believe in the old advice to “kill your darlings?” Are you a ruthless darling assassin? What happens to the darlings you murder? Do you have a darling graveyard? Do you grieve?

12. If a genie offered you three writing wishes, what would they be? Btw if you wish for more wishes the genie turns all your current WIPs into Lorem Ipsum, I don’t make the rules

13. What is a subject matter that is incredibly difficult for you write about? What is easy?

14. Do you lend your books to people? Are people scared to borrow books from you? Do you know exactly where all your “lost” books are and which specific friend from school you haven’t seen in twelve years still possesses them? Will you ever get them back?

15. Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Why or why not? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends?

16. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark?

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end. Spicy addition: Questioner provides the passage.

19. Tell me a story about your writing journey. When did you start? Why did you start? Were there bumps along the way? Where are you now and where are you going?

20. If a witch offered you the choice between eternal happiness with your one true love and the ability to finally finish, perfect, and publish your dearest, darlingest, most precious WIP in exactly the way you've always imagined it — which would you choose? You can’t have both sorry, life’s a bitch

21. Could you ever quit writing? Do you ever wish you could? Why or why not?

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

23. Describe the physical environment in which you write. Be as detailed as possible. Tell me what’s around you as you work. Paint me a picture.

24. How much prep work do you put into your stories? What does that look like for you? Do you enjoy this part or do you just want to get on with it?

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story?

26. How do you get into your character’s head? How do you get out? Do you ever regret going in there in the first place?

27. Who is the most stressful character you’ve ever written? Why?

28. Who is the most delightful character you’ve ever written? Why?

29. Where do you draw your inspiration? What do you do when the inspiration well runs dry?

30. Talk to me about the role dreams play in your writing life. Have you ever used material from your dreams in your writing? Have you ever written in a dream? Did you remember it when you woke up?

31. Write a short love letter to your readers.

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

33. Do you practice any other art besides writing? Does that art ever tie into your writing, or is it entirely separate?

34. Thoughts on the Oxford comma, Go:

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

36. They say to Write What You Know. Setting aside for a moment the fact that this is terrible advice...what do you Know?

37. If you were to be remembered only by the words you’ve put on the page, what would future historians think of you?

38. What is something about your writing process YOU think is Really Weird? If you are comfortable, please share. If you’re not comfortable, what do you think cats say about us?

39. What keeps you writing when you feel like giving up?

40. Please share a poem with me, I need it.

[lgcjiho]

LEE JIHO: The Puppy Interview

he'll be honest—when he saw he was going to get to do the puppy interview, he was way too excited. he has his own puppy at home, but he hasn't been able to spend a lot of time with him though he hopes to change that this year.

once he's on set and sat down, he steels himself for the puppies and they don't disappoint.

the puppies come stumbling out as if they're not used to being on their own feet just yet, and he immediately coos over them, reaching out to scoop the closest one into his arms.

he can already tell this interview is going to be more difficult than anticipated. not because of the content or anything, but because he's probably going to be very distracted the whole time.

"what's your favourite song to perform?"

jiho laughs a little at this question, assuming they were giving him the entire roster of songs he's been part of but wanting to make a joke, even as he dodges the puppy licks to his face and reaches out to pet one near his knee. "i only have two songs," he points out, laughing

the staff tell him that he can pick between those two or he can pick a group song if he wants, and he pauses to think, letting out little baby noises to the puppies in front of him. "oh, they're so cute," he says, already distracted from thinking of an answer.

"i have to say 'pose' if i'm picking out of my solo songs," he says, nodding. he loves chaser probably as much as he loves pose, but— "since i'm the main dancer of agito, i like pose because it shows off not only my vocals but also a different style of dance."

he gets sidetracked and entirely misses the second question as he plays with one of the puppies, watching the others run about in front of him and playfight with each other. he gives the one in front of him a belly rub, looking up as he catches the tail end of the question.

"oops ... i missed that. could you repeat it?"

"since you write and produce a lot, what do you do when you're in a creative slump?"

"oh, that's a good question," he says, and he has to pause to translate the answer from korean to english in his head, hoping that it comes out the way that he wants it to. "i ... watch movies, or shows," he says slowly. "you know like ... animations? or i read books," he adds afterwards. "sometimes, if i'm really uninspired, i just give up for a little bit and i paint or i go for a walk, talk to a friend ... i think if you push it too much, it's not good."

he doesn't know if this is good advice, but that's just what he does.

"how have your motivations changed since debut?"

he shakes his head, "even before we had a name for them ... my biggest motivation is always eterval. i wouldn't be here without them."

there isn't much else more for him to say in that case, reaching out to tug on a rope toy one of the puppies had in it's mouth. he coos over them again, reaching out to fondle soft ears, and he grins. "you're so cute!"

one of the puppies climbs into his lap and he doesn't say anything, staring down at it in awe and he looks over at the cameras to check if they're catching this moment. he gently pets its head quietly, letting it doze off and it looks like he's fighting with himself to not just squeal from how cute it is.

"i think it fell asleep," he says in a low tone, cooing softly again and he smiles, so fond.

"how many unreleased songs do you have? are they all for agito or do you have some solo ones hidden away?"

"oh, i have tons of songs stashed away," he admits, laughing. "i can't say how many are complete, but everything i write is for agito. if it ends up being for someone else, then that's okay too but i always write with agito in mind," he answers, his tone of voice a bit lower than originally because of the sleeping puppy in his lap that he's loathe to awaken.

"when do you find it the easiest to write music?"

he's quietly petting another puppy who's come to lay down next to him, its head on his ankle and he hums softly to think. "i'm a night owl so i usually find it easy to write lyrics at 2 or 3 am, honestly. i think because it's quieter outside, the thoughts flow easier," he says, shrugging.

he won't deny that he's also a bit of an insomniac but that's not something that he needs to say aloud, considering that eterval would definitely worry if he outright admitted that. but, it's true that he writes his best lyrics in the dead of the night, usually with just him in his studio.

"you have a puppy at home right? have you revealed it's name?"

jiho grins at that, trying to think if he's told the public his puppy's name yet. it's not something that he had purposely withheld from fans, but seeing them talk about it had him wondering if he should ever reveal it.

it's been kind of fun, keeping it a secret.

"no, i haven't revealed his name yet. but my puppy is boy, and i love him very much but he's staying with my parents right now. i'll post more pictures on instagram i promise."

"do you watch the edits that etervals make of you and the other v&a members?"

"oh .... i see them sometimes. haru, one of the agito members, is very active on social media so he shows them to me sometimes," he says, looking amused. he's sure that everyone at buzzfeed in the studio with him, and all eterval, know that he doesn't lurk online very much nowadays. he used to do it more often before, but since he had started focusing on writing music, he's had less time to lurk.

"but i did see one a while ago ... i think it was about yushin and the cheese shoes? i thought it was very funny."

with the last of the questions answered, he gives goodbye to the cameras and also does a quick promotion of his solo album since that's mostly what he's here for.

the staff as him to name the puppies and he very easily decides to name them all after different flowers because he thinks it's a cute idea, especially since he's been into painting flowers lately. camellia, tulip, rose, sage and hazel are the names he comes up with before bidding the cameras farewell a final time, holding up one of the puppies so he can use its paw to wave at the camera too.

he won't deny it—this was definitely his favourite schedule.