#so my interpretation of how these dynamics work changes along with those tweaks

[bragganhyl]

anyway click to observe Bertalan aka Berci getting touchy feely smoochy with the gang

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

Hi, Em!

I was wondering what advice you'd give to someone who is only writing fanfiction but wants to start writing original work.

What are some writing tips, specially for when you get writer's block?

I absolutely adore your writing and thought you were the perfect person to ask this to <3

Hiya lovely! Oh, thank you so much. You're too kind 🥺❤️❤️

How Fanfiction Translates to Original Stories

This is going to sound strange, but my biggest piece of advice to anyone trying to transition from writing fic to writing original stories would be to… write fanfiction. What I mean by this is that fanfiction and regular fiction are more alike than they seem.

Oftentimes, fanfiction is framed as a “lesser” form of fiction. I believe this to be a great disservice, especially to aspiring writers. Because, as someone who wrote a great deal of original work before even touching fanfiction, I know exactly what the latter offers that the former simply does not:

1) Writing fanfiction offers writers grace from the pressure to be perfect. That is to say, fic writers don’t have teams of editors to help round out the jagged edges of a first draft, but fic readers do not expect smooth edges, nor do they expect perfection. 

Fanfic is typically a pretty judgement-free zone (barring a few pedantic snobs who have high opinions of their opinions and the ridiculous impulse to burden people with them). So less pressure to be perfect usually results in more fruitful creative efforts.

2) Writing fanfic provides the writer with excited and near-immediate feedback from other fans. Using the platform of the original text, your writing reaches a level of exposure, commentary, and encouragement that the original WIPs sitting in your Documents folder could scarcely imagine. Not to mention, getting enthusiastic feedback on OG work is often a long and arduous task. It’s not impossible, but people are invariably less passionate about characters/settings they do not know yet. 

Granted, our job as writers might be in part to convince the reader to care, but this may not happen until much later in the writing process. And unless you are highly self-motivated, other people’s enthusiasm for your work does wonders for helping you soldier on.

3) Writing fanfic offers writers a template for characters and relationship dynamics that original WIPs must essentially work up from scratch. If you’re unused to coming up with OG characters and relationships, it can be hard to make these elements appear natural/realistic in your narrative. You may have an extremely detailed OG character in mind, but do you know how they would react with another OG character? 

Fanfic of a canon text is like providing guidelines for the writer.

~~~~

So why do these things matter to your original WIPs?

In my experience with fanfiction, everyone has different interpretations of canon characters. Even fics based in the original canon world will have noticeable differences in the characterisation of its characters, no matter how unintentional those differences might be.

Original fiction is merely placing made-up people in made-up lives and showing the ways in which those lives conflict to create plot. If you are writing an Alternate Universe (AU) fanfiction, what’s to say that’s not exactly what you’re doing? You’re changing the characters’ backgrounds, desires, goals, setting, situation, and circumstance. The only real similarities between canon and AU fanfiction are the characters’ names and appearances, which are two very easily changeable things.

The reason it is fanfiction is because you say it is, and the audience is then obliged to impose their idea of the canonical characters onto your story. But what if you changed the names of the characters? What if you tweaked the characters’ personalities or relationship dynamics to better suit the narrative you’re trying to convey?

Along with all the other changes you’ve already made just by virtue of creating your Alternate Universe, that sounds like an original story if you ask me.

~~~~

So what about plagiarism?

There is a quote (debatably attributed to Pablo Picasso) which says, “Art is theft.” This is true. 

Bad artists try to come up with something completely original, taking nothing from their accomplished forefathers in the name of “originality”, and often resulting in work that appears to even the least discerning eye as contrived or two-dimensional. This is because they haven’t taken the time to study the mastered techniques of their predecessors. 

Good artists try to emulate other artists exactly, studying their styles and techniques to improve their own skill, but not necessarily achieving innovation in their work. They will never attain newness or originality in this way. They will always be in the shadow of the artist they are trying to emulate.

Great artists steal techniques from other artists and wrestle them into something new. They use the methods and elements mastered by their predecessors as tools to create new methods and elements which are unique to their own work.

Now, you don’t have to be a “great artist” to write an original story. But just because your characters are inspired by a text that is already written doesn’t mean your story isn’t uniquely yours. 

All original writing is inspired by writing that already exists. What is fanfiction if not this? I think we should be thinking of fic as less of an “instead of” and more of a “stepping stone to” original fiction.

~~~~

To the point: If you want to write original fiction, but you’re not sure how to begin, write an AU fanfiction for your favourite characters, change the names, and you’ve got yourself a solid first draft of an OG WIP.

Those are my thoughts and tips on that. In terms of writer’s block, I have a post about it (linked below). I hope this helped, happy writing!

—Em 🖤🗡

Writer’s Block Tips

Writing Tip Masterlist

[rantracer]

Invader Zim Fandom: Making OOC Characters Right

Having a character you love, then watching another twist them like the world’s funkiest pretzel just so they can fit into someone B-rated plot is, challenging. Truly, it isn’t difficult to see why so many have trouble with OOC characters in fanfiction.

However, I believe that not only is changing characters in small ways a necessity in fanfiction, but it is also fascinating to watch how different individuals interpret or mold the same character. And I think no fandom is better suiter for showing the importance, yet dangers, of OOC characters than Invader Zim.

Invader Zim is a show filled with characters that are either entirely self-interested or completely apathetic, and while one of my secret shameful glees in life is thinking about Invader Zim’s creator Jhonen Vasquez having mini meltdowns on fans giving deeper meaning to his surface level characters (c’mon it’s a little funny), the reality is that Jhonen’s vision of his characters can’t work in the majority of fanfiction, even if fans wanted to make them the same.

How would you even get a story off the ground about Zim and Dib developing a friendship beyond trying to kill/expose each other if they stayed as straightforwardly focused on their respective missions as they always will in-character? How would you have a fanfiction about the positive sibling relationship between Gaz and Dib (pre-Into the Florpus) when their dynamic in the show was all but exclusively toxic.

The truthful answer is the same one that I believe Jhonen would come up with, which is you can’t. The characters must be tweaked in little ways or there is no story.

Which is fine, and honestly preferred as I am given new ways to enjoy the same generalized character. However, why is it then that some of these OOC creations are praised while others are avoided.

The important thing to remember is to make OOCs right. Which is an easier thing to say than do. There are ways to start, such as checking to see if you have the basic ideals and concepts towards a character down. However, the greatest advice I can think to give is to look at a character and how they are reacting to problems and see if they are reacting as a character you have created, or as a body to fill in the appropriate reactions you want.

An OOC character may be necessary to fulfill a plot, but that does not mean the plot controls your character.

For example, let’s look at everyone’s favorite little crazy alien-thing, Zim. Zim is a very emotional character. This means when something tragic happens to him he could rage, scream, cry, panic, or even go into a deep dragging depression and all of those would be in character, in some fandom, somewhere. But, instead of doing any of those things let’s say Zim gets depressingly introspective. Readers get to follow along as Zim spirals, with great clarity of mind, into his sadness and fears, and we are pulled along through all the anxiety ridden rollercoasters this creates.

This is still fine, it’s something that I see a lot in fanfiction, and honestly, it’s probably a way the author deals with troubling situation themselves, but it was in stories like these that I first started seeing commenters shout ‘OOC!’.

Because Zim is not so easily introspective or so quietly fueled by the same anxieties as a human fanfictioner. Zim, even a parallel Zim, is Zim. So how would your new Zim actually react?

OOCness is delightful and I hope everyone knows it, but changing a character still means that what is left behind is, in fact, a character. And characters are consistent, self-reacting, critters of themselves.

As long as that’s done let’s make a million Zims! I can’t wait to watch them take over the world.

[g-perla]

The ACOTAR Series is a Romantic/Gothic Horror Stage and Only Nesta Got the Memo

Not even SJM knows what’s going on.

Ok, this is going to seem off the rails but bear with me.

So I'm a big fan of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (top 5 books and all that jazz) and I was thinking about it because it deals with themes of the Other and the supernatural, Nature as Character, the overlap of the animalistic and human, blurring of established binaries...fun, Romantic shit like that. Interestingly, this overlaps with how SJM illustrates her world and characters a lot of the time, hence why I was considering it while working on my Nesta project. I’ve mentioned before that Nesta really gives me Byronic heroine vibes and that’s a character construct of precisely this literary tradition.

I started thinking about Heathcliff and Cathy and how they're ridiculously extra and just feel the most intense emotions towards each other but also towards literally everything (nothing half-assed ever, this is a Romantic novel after all). I then remembered how so many people ship them, but like in earnest, in a totally aspirational way. It's not a #cursed ship to them at all. It's...romantic to them not Romantic. I even read often that people quote it at their weddings, specifically the infamous "two souls" quote.

Then I had an epiphany. I was like "wait, what if SJM is one of those people?? What if she has the energy of a Cathy/Heathcliff earnest shipper and that's why all her ships are messy??" Because if that is the case, my friends, oh boy oh boy would it explain so much. I will post some sections from Wuthering Heights:

Doesn’t the acotar series seem like a 1/50 dilution of that energy?? And that is barely a taste of all the spiciness this book has to offer. To illustrate further: SJM gave us the F/eysand suicide pact and the near-death battlefield Nessian scene. One is certainly more outlandish than the other, but both are the result of intense emotions. To that Emily Brontë raises the following: Heathcliff asking the sexton to dig up Cathy’s grave to see what’s up because her ghost has been haunting him since he personally dug up her grave 18 years prior and she has been haunting him ever since. He later demands to be buried in the same exact grave when he dies so they can decompose together. They both married other people though which only adds to the mess. (I am not lying to you the Romantic tradition really gave us these gems lmao. As an aside, Mary Shelley was also a writer of the Romantic tradition and she confessed her love to husband Percy Bysshe Shelley on her mother’s grave. Her mother was liberal feminist icon Mary Wollstonecraft by the way which only makes this even more amazing. Additionally, biographers believe that the Shelleys also had sex there. Talk about Romantic 😉.)

Then I had ANOTHER thought! (Dangerous)

If we read the series from the point of view of just another YA high fantasy things might get a bit boring because the world-building is honestly lazy and the magic system is pretty soft, which isn’t a pre-requisite in high fantasy (The Lord of the Rings has a soft magic system) but it's not the norm and it doesn't pay off in this series. Not to mention that the plot is pretty lackluster and derivative. To add to that the romantic and sexual relationships are questionable in their healthiness and consequently are the source of much argument in the fandom. 

But, dear reader, if we think about the ACOTAR series as being a sort of thematic and ideological 21st century YA homage to the Romantic tradition of the 19th century (within which Gothic Horror also lives), things get REALLY, REALLY SPICY.

No longer do we just have a romance fantasy with messy, hyper-emotional, animalistic characters who constantly partake in morally grey situations rife with dubious dynamics. No longer does plot really matter. No longer do we require quasi-scientific descriptions of the world and the magical system. No! All that matters now are the characters and the mood. Now we have potential! Add a lot of Nature ambiance: expanses of dark woods, great mountains, the unknowable and sublime energy of the ocean, a violent rainstorm/hurricane/tsunami, an impending snowstorm whose intensity reflects the growing emotional intensity of the characters as the story goes along (I’m looking at you impending snowstorm in acofas that curiously matches the growing complexity of Nesta’s emotional state). Blur the lines between any imaginable category: life and death, human and animal, known and unknown, Self and Other, beautiful and monstrous, good and evil, masculine and feminine, the list goes on. Most importantly make your readers uncomfortable by frustrating their desires to sort things into easy binary categories and don’t apologise for making them question their assumptions about the world, morality, gender, and any other kind of previously constructed Order. 

Basically write the story with Dionysus-in-a-Greek-tragedy energy and bring to us mere mortals artful Chaos.

Once that is done we can have a literal Romantic/Gothic Horror story.  The Acotar series could have been this unapologetically, with the added element of being told through the eyes of the "Cathy" character instead of through the lens of a third person getting second-hand accounts about what went on. This whole series is honestly enough of a chaotic mess of Byronic-like heroes and heroines and cursed familial relationships that it could have been that. That alone is peak entertainment. The problem, however, and the main reason why I can’t really say that this series truly delivered this wackiness is that SJM committed the act of not fully committing to the bit (very un-Romantic of her, I know). Now, I am not saying that SJM actually intended this. I’m just saying it really could have accidentally been this genius with some tweaks. Unfortunately, she made the crucial mistake of trying to justify too much, trying to make things too neat, too tidy, too sensical (in other words: the reason we really can’t have nice things). 

I could end this here, lamenting the potential of what SJM had set-up for us were it not for one element, one gift:

Nesta 

OHOHOHO DO THINGS GET GOOD HERE SO BUCKLE UP

Most of the characters refuse to fully commit to the bit in their desire to satisfy modern sensibilities, by which I of course mean they want ridiculous things like political power, to conquer lands, to be a Girl Boss, to get married, have kids, celebrate holidays, converse about mundane things, be relatable, etc. You know, pretty pedestrian stuff that only requires a bit of genetic luck, a sprinkle of energy, and the right circumstances within the world of Acotar. I would like to reiterate the beginning of this paragraph: most of the characters. 

Let’s say you’re stubborn and you decide to still read the series through the lens of the Romantic/Gothic tradition, what happens then? 

The most hilarious thing (for the Nesta stans that is. The antis would probably hate this)

Nesta, based on what we know about her through Feyre and the limited amount of other scenes, is the only character who really takes the performance seriously. She's the only one that SJM hasn't managed to confine through justification. Nesta just shows up and simply refuses to make sense (her POWER what a queen 👑). She is endlessly fascinating because she just exists in her world on her terms, established categories be damned, and in this manner she frustrates not only the sensibilities of the characters in the stories but those of the reader as well. This double duty is, I suggest, the result of the other characters not fully inhabiting the nebulous world of Romantic characters and thus being a little too plausible and understandable even if they are not justifiable. 

Ok, you may say, but I relate so much to Nesta. I do understand her. I don’t justify all of her actions, but I understand where she is coming from. (You’re not alone, friend. I like to think these things too. Alas, we are but plebs).

To that I reply; Nesta does things, certainly, and we can spend hours trying to explain through extrapolation, educated guesses, and personal experience why she did those things, but the fact is we really don't know why. We are never explicitly told. Our insight into who she is and her motivations comes predominantly from the understanding of her youngest sister and from our own interpretation of the actions she takes. I must make clear that our own interpretations are rooted in pre-established assumptions about what is sensical and orderly in our own world and in our own lives. We cannot interpret with the tools available to us that which may be, by definition, unfathomable. It is simply paradoxical. Nesta, as we currently know her, is a construct derived from a limited number of scenes and our interpretations and projections of these scenes. Even the scenes where we get third person narration don’t explicitly tell us her motivations and her logic. For all we know there really is no comprehensible reason for her actions and that is endlessly amusing to me in how utterly Romantic it is. Acosf may and likely will change this of course, but as it stands, Nesta is a whole Romantic character. Her divisiveness in fandom and in the narrative could be due in part to her refusal to fit the discrete categories available in her world and ours. 

Isn’t that wonderful?

To illustrate this a bit more I will share some details SJM gives us about her/ elements she sets up that fit in with the characteristics of the Romantic tradition (these are not exhaustive by any means):

The absolute pettiness (and extra-ness) of being so angry at her father’s inaction that she is willing to starve to death to see if he does something.

How in Acowae she is described as shifting between emotions as if she were changing clothes and feeling everything too strongly (probably to the point of destruction)

She is constantly being compared to animals, even when she is still human. Granted, SJM compares everyone to animals, but that strengthens the blurring of lines between usually discrete categories. It is still most powerful when used as a comparison when she is human because it dehumanises Nesta.

Often, SJM describes her characters as forces. Forces of nature, for example. Acofas is full of details like this in relation to Nesta. There is a storm brewing leading up to the solstice party and it is in full swing when she arrives at the townhouse. The language used there suggests that Nesta herself may be the storm (against the onslaught of Nesta). It really adds to the Maleficent energy tbh.

She is often associated with death post her transformation

She is Other even to Others. She was Made like Elain, Feyre, and Amren in a sense, but the process of her specific transformation differentiates her greatly from the others. As it is, she doesn’t fit in anywhere

Her intense attachment to her femininity and its expression are at odds with the ideas and assumptions about the performance of womanhood and a woman’s role in her world and even in ours. She is unapologetically feminine in her physical presentation, but her character, her thoughts, and possibly even desires transgress the unwritten rules of acceptable femininity (unfortunately there still are abject expressions of femininity in our ‘”progressive” mileux

She displays in many of her actions a disrespect towards authority and to the status quo. This is particularly notable when her intensely polarised sense of right and wrong is aggravated.

Her self-destructiveness. This is referred to most strongly in Acofas, but I would say she was remarkably blasé about self-preservation in Acowar as well

She is described as intelligent, cunning, ruthless, attractive, and prone to debilitating extremes of emotionality. All of these are characteristics of Byronic heroes, a subtype of the Romantic hero

Here are a bunch of quotes that touch on many of the elements that I have discussed above:

“I looked at my sister, really looked at her, at this woman who couldn’t stomach the sycophants who now surrounded her, who had never spent a day in the forest but had gone into wolf territory...Who had shrouded the loss of our Mother, then our downfall, because the anger had been a lifeline, the cruelty a release. But she had cared--beneath it she had cared, and perhaps loved more fiercely than I could comprehend, more deeply and loyally.” 

--Acotar, emphasis mine, note the strong emotions. This is a recurring element for Nesta.

“Cassian’s face went almost feral. A wolf who had been circling a doe...Only to find a mountain cat wearing its hide instead.” 

--Acomaf, animal comparison

“Nesta is different from most people,” I explained. “She comes across as rigid and vicious, but I think it’s a wall. A shield--like the ones Rhys has in his mind.” “Against what?” “Feeling. I think Nesta feels everything--sees too much; sees and feels it all. And she burns with it. Keeping that wall up helps from being overwhelmed, from caring too greatly.”

--Acomaf, emphasis mine

“I knew that she was different [...] Nesta was different [...] as if the Cauldron in making her...had been forced to give more than it wanted. As if Nesta had fought after she went under, and had decided that if she was to be dragged into hell, she was taking the Cauldron with her.”

--Acomaf, Nesta had her own plans for the Cauldron what a queen

“Something great and terrible.”

--Acowar, referring to her eyes. Oooh, spooky Nesta 👻

“The day she was changed, she...I felt something different with her [...] like looking at a house cat and suddenly finding a panther standing there instead.”

--Acowar, a two in one here: difference + animal comparison. Boy does SJM really go heavy when establishing Nesta as Other.

“‘Not in flesh, not in the thing that prowls beneath our skin and bones...’ Amren’s remarkable eyes narrowed. ‘But...I see the kernel, girl.’ Amren nodded, more to herself than anyone. ‘You did not fit--the mold that they shoved you into. The path you were born upon and forced to walk. You tried, and yet you did not, could not fit. And then the path changed.’ A little nod. ‘I know--what it is to be that way. I remember it, long ago as it was.’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’“

--Acowar, show don’t tell gets thrown out the window here, but it is useful for the present purposes

“What if I tell you that the rock and darkness and sea beyond whispered to me, Lord of Bloodshed? How they shuddered in fear, on that island across the sea. How they trembled when she emerged. She took something--something precious. She ripped it out with her teeth. What did you wake that day in Hybern, Prince of Bastards?

What came out was not what went in [...] How lovely she is, new as a fawn and yet ancient as the sea. How she calls to you. A queen as my sister once was. Terrible and proud; beautiful as a winter’s sunrise.”

--Acowar, who knew rocks, darkness, and the sea were such gossips, but look how many connections to nature! To be compared to the sea, a significant example of the sublime, is peak Romanticism. If any of you have read Moby Dick, think about what the ocean and the white whale might have represented there and how that might relate to Nesta.

“I think the power is death--death made flesh.”

--Acowar, Feyre referring to the possible nature of Nesta’s power. Alluding to her powers possibly being related to death is quite significant because that is something most of us cannot comprehend, nor can most of the characters. For Nesta, a “reborn” but very much living character to have death associated with her is a strong blurring of the lines. The case of her being labelled a witch is similarly significant as it solidifies the elements of the supernatural while simultaneously comparing her to pretty much the only exclusively female-coded monster in western pop culture. I will touch more on this when I do my study of Nesta through the framework of Barbara Creed’s Monstrous Feminine.

“I am not like the others.”

--Acowar, we love a self-aware queen.

“Nesta took in his broken body, the pain in Cassian’s eyes, and angled her head.

The movement was not human.

Not fae.

Purely animal.

Purely predator.”

--Acowar

There are a lot more details and quotes that support this interpretation, but I didn’t write them all down in my archived notes. This post is obscenely long, however, so even though there is more to be said, I’ll leave it for another day. If you made it this far you really are an MVP and probably love Nesta to a concerning degree like me. Please rest your eyes if you’re actually reading this 😂

I’d love to read about any other takes and thoughts that might have come to your minds after reading this monstrosity,

G

[saenvs3000]

we are a mosaic

I like to think that each person is a mosaic. We are tiny reflections of the people around us, influenced by different experiences or memories that affect us most, conversations that changed us, or even subconsciously affected us. This is one the reasons why I believe we are all so unique. Our individual life experiences affect our opinions, thoughts and morals. This mosaic affects our problem-solving skills, how we approach an issue, or how responsive we are to a crisis. This is an example of our ethics. Personally, I think our ethic is more than just the black and white, the obvious good and the bad. There is a lot of grey area. How do we justify our actions in the grey? Because of this mosaic, our individual moral judgement is something that is cultivated, we can’t be taught. We can be taught what is right and wrong, but in the real world it is our decision to act on these principles. So as we continue to form relationships, go through life experience and learn, our ethics and our mosaic grows and changes, bending and shaping to these factors.

Personal Photo: A lot of my beliefs and values come from the teachings my grandparents sewed into me. They are the biggest influence and motivator I have. As you can tell, they also love nature! And they have taught me to embrace the moments I have outside. (July, 2020).

I think humans have this greedy mindset. We are never happy with what we have, and when we finally get the next big thing, we just can’t wait for the next one. I used to live a lot of my life just waiting for something to happen. A countdown. And once the time hit zero, I would reset the clock and wait for the next thing to come along. But I realized that I was wasting the time I have right now, I was so focused on the finish line that I forgot that it didn’t have to be a race. One thing I love about nature is that it slows you down. Sure, everything is always changing, the leaves turn colours, the pond dries up, the sun rises earlier, and the birds fly back home. But these are changes you can expect. These are changes that are constant. There is so much in this world that we can’t control. But nature reminds me that sometimes change doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Nature reminds me that I can wait in the grey. 

Personal photo: (Tuesday, March 30, 2021). The light from the sunset always fills up the main floor of my house. I like to close my laptop and enjoy the changing colours from the big window for a moment. 

My relationship with nature has changed me for the better. Our busy urban lives burden us. We feel a constant pressure to keep up with these dynamics. We forget that life doesn’t need to be so complicated. I feel like I have a certain responsibility to share the wonders of nature with others. My previous experience with nature interpretation plus the principles I learned for this class makes me think that I would be suitable to do so. My approach to nature interpretation is similar to these teachings, and the lessons encouraged from the textbook. I want my presentation or my story-telling to be audience driven. One major lesson I learned from this course is the idea of the Invisible Backpack. We each carry subtle or not-so-subtle differences. This may affect our receptiveness to nature interpretation or even our ability to partake in those types of activities. I will strive to be highly inclusive of all people, to accommodate and embrace the differences in their backpack and recognize that there are predetermined privileges that people have and not to assume this privilege can be extended to all people. Making sure that everyone is equal means accommodating for the parts of the whole, not just the whole all together. 

I want people to strive to have a relationship with nature. To think that nature should be experienced, not just observed. To recognize that nature can open up our eyes. I believe that it is important to lead by example. How do I expect people to accept what I’m teaching or sharing if I don’t believe in it myself? So like we learned in the later part of the course, I think it’s important to reflect. To take time to debrief and question the significance of our thoughts and actions. Was this the right way to present this material? Was this an appropriate way to think about nature? How would I do things differently? How can I make my ideas more clear? Recognizing that there is always room for improvement or tweaks that can make us better is important for self-growth. We can use reflection to actively change our mosaic. Another way of contributing to my mosaic is being open to other people who can introduce new skills to me. When I was working at a nature centre, I learned how to present the same program in new ways every time I shadowed someone. This let me figure out which way I wanted to adapt or what worked well for groups and what didn’t.Than I can take these pieces of other people’s presentations and make my own. 

I also think it is important to be receptive to criticism, which is something I struggle with. But environmental teaching is meant to be adaptive, not one thing or way can work for each audience in each circumstance. We must learn to adapt, just like how nature does. 

Personal Photo: (February 18, 2021).  My best friend and I love to visit conservation areas and explore the natural area around our homes.I get to tell her cool things like the geology of the rocks behind her in this photo, and she gets to listen haha. 

In terms of approach, (I have said it before and I’ll say it again!) I think story-telling is such a powerful tool to explain a message. You can add humour to make it more engaging, analogies to make it memorable, characters to make it personal or shifting tone of voices to emphasize important details. Educating people about nature has to be not just about the information being told, but the way that information is being presented. Engaging and inclusive. One of my beliefs is that everyone should have the same opportunities to experience nature and so my presentation should also be accessible to all people. To recognize that there may be things in this backpack that I can’t see but I should expect and plan for. 

I believe that nature is a form of art. One we can never replicate, it can never be forged or bought. I hope that I am able to share its beauty and its importance with the people around me and they in turn will feel inspired to share it with others. And maybe then one day, we’ll all see nature through an interpreter’s eyes. 

[postmodern-metafiction]

Analysis and Theory Application on The Tiger’s Bride, The Company of Wolves and The Lovely Bones

           The theory of metafiction cannot be defined or explained in a singular way, for it concerns with a few unconventional forms found in fiction works. Waugh stated that one of the ways metafiction element is embedded on selected fiction work is when the original outline of a fictional text is given twist whereby authors commonly parodized a fiction’s conventional content (4). Other than that, one of the most known concepts on metafiction is the concept of the blurry line that exists between two worlds; fiction and reality.

          Two reading materials were chosen for the purposes of analysis and theory application, which are The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter and The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. The Bloody Chamber is a collection of multiple fictional works, containing a total of ten short stories which were parodied after well-known fairy tales. The tales which are chosen for the analysis are The Tiger’s Bride and The Company of Wolves. These two tales are renditions of the conventional tales of Beauty and The Beast and Little Red Riding Hood respectively. Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, on the other hand, is about a fourteen-year-old murder victim who narrates the events that take place preceeding and following her death and how her loved ones, her murderer as well as the narrator herself deal with her death.

          This essay will discuss various metafiction aspects that are found in two selected texts from Angela Carter’s anthology The Bloody Chamber and Sebold’s novel The Lovely Bones through analysis of the elements of metafiction concerning intertextuality, parallelism, parody and breaking the fourth wall by a character.

ANALYSIS ON ANGELA CARTER’S THE TIGER’S BRIDE

          Women are often perceived as the weaker sex among the two genders. Angela Carter’s The Tiger’s Bride proves that women are of less or no value in comparison to men. Upon further reading this tale, it can be seen that The Tiger’s Bride is a parody to Madame de Beaumont’s Beauty and the Beast that was written in 1756. This analysis will be focusing on the dynamic relationship between men and women and the way women are perceived in both of these tales. Not only that, this analysis will also be focusing on the intertextuality elements that can be found in both of these tales.

          Angela Carter’s The Tiger’s Bride is clear cut a parody of Madame de Beaumont’s Beauty and the Beast. Parody in metafiction is when a text imitates another for satirical purpose which is usually meant to mock the original fiction (Carter 4). Both of these tales offer a similar storyline, despite having a number of plot twists along the way that would differentiate these two tales.

          In both of the tales, it is clear that the character of women, or Beauty, are associated with a certain degree of passiveness. In Carter’s The Tiger’s Bride, Beauty is traded by her father due to him losing a game of cards to Beast. Beauty has no choice but to surrender to the trap that was set by her father. On the contrary, Madame de Beaumont’s Beauty and the Beast, Beauty willingly chose to surrender herself to the Beast in order to save her father. Even though in Madame de Beaumont’s story, Beauty willingly made the decision to follow the Beast, she still had to passively follow the rule of Beast instead of rebelling against him.

          Another similarity that can be seen in these two tales is the characteristics of the Beast. In Carter’s The Tiger’s Bride, the Beast is described as “a tiger with fur, pads and claws” (61) that was ready to hunt and kill. The Beast’s description further emphasizes the manliness of the Beast. Carter further wrote that, “the tiger sat still as a heraldic beast, in the pact he had made with his own ferocity to do me no harm” (64). Not only that, the “rich, thick, wild scent” that the Beast “soaked himself” the first time Beauty saw him portrays the masculinity of the Beast (Carter 58). From another point of view, Beast’s beastliness can also be interpreted as his sexuality. This can be seen when he demanded through his valet to see Beauty naked (Carter 58, 61).

          In Madame de Beaumont’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’, the Beast is portrayed parallel to the ‘The Tiger’s Bride’. The Beast in Madame de Beaumont’s story is often associated with the act of violence. This can be seen when the Beast was ready to kill Beauty’s father when he plucked a rose from the Beast’s garden (35). Not only that, it can be seen that the Beast desires for Beauty when he repeatedly asked for Beauty’s hand in marriage (De Beaumont 38-39). This at the same time portrays the sexuality side of the Beast and his masculinity as well.

          Another intertextual reference that can be found in these two tales is allusion. Allusion is an indirect reference in one text that originated from another text (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). However, this technique fully relies on the audience or the reader’s knowledge to be able to develop the meaning. In these two stories, ‘Rose’ is an allusion that is used by Carter from the text by Madame de Beaumont. In Madame de Beaumont’s Beauty and the Beast, a rose is mentioned at the beginning of the story when Beauty asked for a rose from his father, and was mentioned again when Beauty’s father wanted to pluck a rose from the Beast’s garden for Beauty (34-35). In Carter’s The Tiger’s Bride, the flower was first mentioned when Beauty went to Beast’s house for the first time and Beast handed her a bouquet of flowers. It was later mentioned again when Beauty handed a stem of rose "all smeared with blood” due to the fact that she accidentally pricked her finger (51).

          The ending of these two tales are parallel to each other. In Madame de Beaumont’s Beauty and the Beast, Beauty remained passive throughout the entire tale. This can be seen when she says, “Aren’t I terrible for causing grief to someone who has done so much to please me?” (De Beaumont 40). Beauty decided to accept the Beast’s hand in marriage for the “kindness” that the Beast has portrayed her throughout the stay. Beauty’s gratitude towards the Beast further nudged her decision when Beast allowed her to visit her father which was not well (De Beaumont 39). It is evident that the relationship between Beauty and the Beast remained virtuous (De Beaumont 42) and not sexual which is contrary to Carter’s tale. The Beast in De Beaumont’s version of the story decided to take after Beauty’s passiveness and “civility” by patiently waiting for Beauty’s return instead of forcing her to be with him and later transforming into a charming prince (De Beaumont 42). This shows that Beast decided to let go of his animalistic side to be with Beauty.

          Angela Carter, on the other hand, decided to end her version of the story in an opposite manner. Carter’s Beauty, instead of being passive, decided to embrace her womanhood and sexuality to be with Beast. Instead of changing who Beast is, Beauty decided to bring out her animalistic side. At the end of the tale, Beauty decided to go into the Beast’s room and it was mentioned that, “He dragged himself closer and closer to me, until I felt the harsh velvet of his head against my hand, then a tongue, abrasive as sandpaper. ‘He will lick the skin off me!’ And each stroke of his tongue ripped off skin after successive skin, all the skins of a life in the world, and let behind a nascent patina of shining hairs.” (Carter 67). The term nascent here connotes the process of being born. This proves to the reader that Beauty is bringing out her animalistic side to match the attributes of Beast had along.

          Angela Carter’s The Tiger’s Bride observe the element of metafiction in the sense that it intertextualizes and parodizes Madame de Beaumont’s Beauty and The Beast. Carter’s version of the story contains a significant amount of plot to intertextualize de Beaumont’s Beauty and The Beast. However, instead of having her story end in the same manner, Carter parodizes de Beaumont’s Beauty and the Beast by allowing Beauty to venture off a whole different path than the de Beaumont’s Beauty. Both of these tales share the same element of metafiction, which is a parody in intertextuality. The application of the concept of metafiction allows readers to understand deeper the concept behind these two tales which are almost two centuries apart.

ANALYSIS ON ANGELA CARTER’S THE COMPANY OF WOLVES

          One of the aspects in metafiction theory discusses on how the convention of fiction works is challenged. The conventional content and storyline of novels or fiction works were tweaked or altered for the purpose of parodying or commenting on the convention form of the fictional works (Waugh 4). Angela Carter wrote The Company of Wolves based on the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood which was written by Grimm brothers in 19th century. This part of the essay will elaborate on the resemblances of the content between Grimms’ Little Red Riding Hood and The Company of Wolves, the differences, and the portrayal of men and women in Carter’s work.

          One of the most notable elements which resembles that of Little Red Riding Hood in the tale written by Carter is the existence of characters as such wolves, a girl, the girl’s parents, and a sickly granny. These characters which were found in The Company of Wolves are the characters which are in the short story Little Red Riding Hood. Furthermore, these characters too were given the qualities similar to those of the characters in Little Red Riding Hood. For instance, the ‘granny’ character in both stories was sick and the little girls both owned a red hood or shawl. In a line from Carter’s selected short story, the phrase “had been indulged by her mother and the grandmother who’d knitted her the red shawl” (143), is evident that the girls in both tales share the same piece of red clothing. Additionally, both girls in the two stories bring along a cake and a bottle of liquor for the grandmother who lives outside the village.

          The portrayal of the girl in Carter’s The Company of Wolves at certain point differs from the one in Grimms’ Little Red Riding Hood. The girl in Grimms’ seems to be of a child who is bubbly and unaware of the danger lurking around her. It is evident as she “met the wolf; but as she did not know what a bad sort of animal he was, she did not feel frightened” (Grimm 1). Carter’s character of the girl however seems to have been given opposite characteristics whereby she is always vigilant of her surrounding and has high confidence that she could take care of herself, despite being aware of the possible danger waiting for her in the forest. She is described to be a “strong minded child” and “is quite sure the beasts cannot harm her” (Carter 142). The girl too is notably prepared in guarding her safety as she “lays a carving knife in the basket” (Carter 142).

          Aside from the resemblance in the characters from both stories, there are also parallels found in the storyline. A part in The Company of Wolves which resembles the storyline of Little Red Riding Hood is when the girl goes off into the winter wood to bring the cake and liquor to her sick grandmother. Similarly, the basket was packed with food by the mother of the girl. Resemblance is further found as she stumbled upon a figure while making her way into the winter wood. Apparently, the figure that the girl in both stories stumbled upon is a wolf.

          In both tales, the girl character meets a figure on the way to her grandmother’s house. In the Little Red Riding Hood, the girl stumbled upon a literal figure of a wolf. Grimm Brothers wrote “and when Little Red Riding Hood had reached the wood, she met the wolf” (Grimm 1). Meanwhile, the girl in The Company of Wolves too met a wolf which she at first was not aware of. This is due to the reason that Carter reconstructed the figure of the wolf by replacing it with an incarnated wolf-man figure instead. It was stated in the line whereby Carter wrote “The wolf is carnivore incarnate” (146) connoting that the man is not a literal animal figure wolf. Carter has hinted upon the readers earlier that the young man is actually a wolf through phrases as such “There is a faint trace of blood on his chin; he has been snacking on his catch” (Carter 145) and “with his hairy knuckle” (Carter 146).

          Carter’s tale The Company of Wolves highlights the issue of how women the victims of men’s physical and sexual abuse. This is arguably the reason why Carter parodied Little Red Riding Hood, which is to address the stated issue. Woman, in Carter’s tale is portrayed to exist only to marry, cater to their family members, and satisfy the sexual needs of man. For instance, young woman, which is mentioned in the earlier part of the tale was told to have married a man who apparently went missing on the night of their wedding. She later on went on with her life, remarried, and bore children after. In the story, the young woman was beaten by both of her husbands, one who is a man-wolf and one who is a man. These men, despite them being slightly different in nature, are both abusive towards the young woman (Bishida).

          The girl in Carter’s tale has been portrayed since her early appearance to be courageous. A twist was given in the end of Carter’s version deviating from that of Grimm’s conventional tale. Towards the end of the story, Carter represents the acceptance of the girl being entrapped in the clasp of the incarnated wolf by turning her into a girl who willingly slept with the wolf. It is notable among readers that the girl actually acknowledged that there is no escaping the cage she was in thus she rendered herself to the wolf. “At the heart of this story is the hideous coercion that needs no violence, as the girl already knows what the ‘tender wolf’ is capable of” (Bishida). This depicts the sexual abuse which is faced by woman, which at some point in the reality world women will tend to give in to what men want for they know that they are indeed powerless and helpless to stand against men and what they are capable of doing. The girl in the story hence was ‘willing’ and gave in to the wolf because she knew that was the only way for her to survive.

          In a nutshell, there are elements of intertextuality found in Carter’s work, The Company of Wolves and the conventional tale of Little Red Riding Hood in the form of parody. Angela Carter notably creates parodies out of fairy tales in order to address issues concerning the relationship between man and woman. Understanding the concept of retelling stories based on metafiction theory will enable readers to fathom the tales better.

ANALYSIS ON ALICE SEBOLD’S THE LOVELY BONES

          A work of metafiction is often considered one that draws attention to its status as a work of fiction. According to Waugh, metafiction writing self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artefact, which leads to the emergence of questions about the fictional and reality aspects of the work (2). Literary works that are written by means of metafiction often draw and dissolve the line between reality and fantasy, leaving readers to question the ambiguity of the work’s fiction and non-fiction characteristics.

          There are several methods on how to produce a work of literature that contains metafictional aspects. While more popular works of metafiction often address the use of previous literature works as part of their newly produced story, whether they be a reference, parody, satire and others, there are also works of metafiction that draw and dissolve the line between fiction and reality by directly or indirectly addressing readers of the book. In a sense, the literary work is drawing attention to its own artificial nature by breaking the fourth wall by referencing the audience at some points of the story.

          A literary work that perfectly exemplifies this type of metafiction concept is Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones. The plot of this book follows fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon as she narrates about her life and observes her family on the earthly plane as she watches them over from what she calls as ‘heaven’. After being raped and brutally murdered by one of her neighbours, Susie, unsettled with leaving her family and friends and unable to live her life to its’ fullest, was uncapable to fully move on from the earthly plane and proceed to ‘heaven’, therefore leaving her in the ‘in-between’ where she narrates her life story, looks out for her family and loved ones, as well as observing her murderer. The story is told by Susie herself, which makes the book narrated by a first-person protagonist. Sebold exhibits this type of metafiction through allowing the narrator of the story, who is also the protagonist, to address the readers of the story at some points of the book, therefore breaking the fourth wall that keeps the whole story in its fictionalized form.

          An example of this concept of metafiction can be seen in the excerpt below:

                    I wasn’t killed by Mr. Botte, by the way. Don’t think every person                            you’re going to meet in here is suspect. That’s the problem. You                            never know (Sebold 6).

Preceding the excerpt, Susie explains how she was only fourteen years old when she was murdered on the 6th of December in the year 1973. Leaving out the identity of the murderer, she then proceeds to talk about her junior high school interests and experiences, in which she expresses favouritism over her biology teacher Mr. Botte. Natural human instinct may cause readers to immediately be wary of this Mr. Botte for multiple reasons; one of them being the fact that due to him being Susie’s favourite teacher, Susie may have the tendency to trust him more than she trusts other male teachers. A reader may interpret Susie’s trust towards Mr. Botte as vulnerability, whereby she could trust him enough to follow his instructions and directions.

          However, readers are made aware that Mr. Botte is not the suspect that everyone expects through Susie’s revelation. The sentence “I wasn’t killed by Mr. Botte, by the way” depicts Susie directly addressing the readers, countering the audience’s suspicions about Mr. Botte. It also reveals that Susie, despite being a character herself, broke out of her storyline to address the audience of their suspicions. The line “Don’t think every person you’re going to meet in here is suspect” firmly suggests that Susie, the fictional protagonist, is directly addressing the readers from the real world by telling them that readers should not always go along with their assumptions based on the reading material. The “you” in the line suggests that Susie was referring to the audience of the book and “in here” suggests the fictional world and its events that she is currently narrating.

          Another example of Sebold writing in lieu with the concept of metafiction can be seen in this excerpt:

                    “This little girl is grown up by now,” she said.

                    Almost.

                    Not quite.

                    I wish you all a long and happy life (328).

The excerpt above refers to the very last line of the book The Lovely Bones and is uttered by Susie. The book ends with a married couple finding Susie’s old charm bracelet in an industrial park and the wife commenting that the person whose charm bracelet had been is probably grown up by now, to which Susie narrates that she is not quite what a person can consider “grown up” as her death prevented her from reaching that stage of life. However, the metafiction element in this excerpt happens to be Susie’s very last utterance in the book, which is “I wish you all a long and happy life.”

          The “you all” that Susie uttered may refer to multiple different audiences: the married couple, her loved ones, the audience of the book and “you” in general. Contextually, it was spoken in response to the married couple’s comments on how Susie is grown up by now, and it can be interpreted as Susie replying to the married couple that although she is not necessarily grown up, she wishes that the two of them would get the opportunity to live a long and happy life, something which she did not receive herself.

          However, it may also be interpreted as Susie wishing the audience of the book “a long and happy life.” This is because, despite being written in the scene where the married couple finds her charm bracelet, it was never directly mentioned that she was referring to any character in the book. Moreover, Sebold’s way of writing the sentence could have turned out as “I wish them all a long and happy life” as to refer to the characters within the fictional story. Her decision to use a direct “you” in the sentence can be argued that Susie was not just addressing the characters in the story, but that her well wishes could also extend to the readers, audience of the story and also the general “you”, which means that anyone who comes across the phrase would receive Susie’s well wishes.

          Sebold’s decision to use a general and direct “you” instead of Susie’s usual “them” while referring to the characters in which she shares a story with can be interpreted as Sebold allowing her character Susie to venture out to the ‘real’ world and connect with the audience by giving them well wishes. This ultimately highlights the element of metafiction whereby Susie does not only refer to the other characters in the story, but also refers to the audience and readers. By doing so, Sebold makes it evident that the character in her fictional work acknowledges non-fictional aspects that ventures outside the world that she created.

          Sebold’s The Lovely Bones exhibits firm elements of metafiction whereby the author allows the protagonist to break the fourth wall of the fictional story and connect with the readers from reality. Sebold’s decision to use pronouns as a form of blurring the lines between fiction and non-fiction ultimately makes her a writer capable of writing and creating metafiction.

CONCLUSION

          Based on the analyses done on the chosen literary works, it is evident that metafiction is a postmodern literary device that allows authors to experiment with various writing styles, plot construction as well as to test the waters between fiction and non-fiction. Angela Carter’s decision to write her anthology based on classic stories and Alice Sebold’s decision to allow her characters to dissolve the barrier of fiction and reality both exemplify their ability to create metafiction and also involve their audience in understanding and fathoming their work based on the contexts that they were trying to deliver. This is because metafiction allows writers to write in unconventional and abstract ways that enables the audience to pose questions and engage themselves in the fictional world in accordance to reality.

ENGL 4620 - Literary Criticism

Sem. 1, 2019/2020

Section 2

Name of Lecturer: Miss Nurul Fateha

Group 6

Khairun Nuha Binti Khairul Bazli (1528896)

Sarah Afifah Binti Abdul Basir (1529504)

Siti Mariam Ahmad Jamil (1525996)

Jarzreen Binti Jaffri (1529040)

 

WORKS CITED

Basu-Zharku, Iulia O. "'Beauty and the Beast' and 'The Tiger's Bride': To Be or Not To Be a Beast?" Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse 3.01 (2011). http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/a?id=359

Bidisha. “Angela Carter's Wolf Tales ('The Werewolf', 'The Company of Wolves' and 'Wolf-Alice').” The British Library, 25 July 2016, https://www.bl.uk/20th-century-literature/articles/angela-carters-wolf-tales.

Carter, Angela. The Bloody Chamber. New York: Penguin Group, 1993.

De Beaumont, Jeanne-Marie LePrince. “Beauty and the Beast.” The Classic Fairy Tales. Ed. Maria Tatar. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, (1999). 32-42.

Grimm, Jacob Ludwig, and Wilhelm Carl Grimm. GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD. 1812, http://pinkmonkey.com/dl/library1/story089.pdf.

Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones. Picador, 2002.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Allusion.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 12 May 2017, https://www.britannica.com/art/allusion#:~:targetText=Allusion, in literature, an implied,will understand the author's referent.

Waugh, Patricia. Metafiction. Routledge, 2013.

[petaldancing]

wow guys, i learned about yuletide (a fic exchange for obscure fandoms w <1,000 fics on the net.. like.. hmm.. HYOUKA!!) from @brella and am stoked to take part in it this year! you get to write a letter to the person who’ll be fulfilling your request, so here is mine~

hello (future) friend and (current) yuletide writer!!

This is actually the first year I’m participating in Yuletide! (And also the first year i that i’ve gotten back into writing fic after a 3 year hiatus!) I’m excited, and I hope that my prompts will help spark inspiration for you and that you’ll enjoy writing this piece as the year draws to a close. Thank you so much in advance for this, and I look forward to reading whatever you have for me! 

general

i prefer:

gen, het, or femslash

G - M ratings (if the latter: no to underage (below 18 y/o, for me), yes to character-driven, build-up + pay-off! when the sex isn't the highlight of the story but a nice complement.. wow!!)

any length you have in mind for the fic

you to write a story that you've been meaning to but haven't gotten around to! or one that you'd love to have under your belt! (:

i can't deal with/DNW:

drug use, death, gore/violence/assault, dub/noncon, abuse, angst, kinky stuff, unhappy endings

i will cry tears of joy for:

stories focusing on ladies, their r/s (platonic, romantic etc) w other ladies, their characters & motivations beyond just the romance

(but i still thrive on romance ahaha)

characters losing themselves but then finding themselves & becoming stronger (w or w/o someone's help)

(un)resolved sexual tension, unexpected kisses that take both parties by surprise, almost kisses, being trapped in small spaces, mutual pining etc

characters drifting apart over time but then reconnecting and falling in love again

wacky humour

shoujo tropes used in good doses

unlikely pairings that work

platonic fic on unlikely friends/vitrolic best buds esp between a guy & gal

fics about characters who've hardly interacted in canon (!!)

canon divergence (as long as it leads to interesting r/s between characters)

ten years later post-canon fic!! (esp if characters are high-schoolers in canon)

WITCHES! guy witches work too

recurring motifs/symbols

i also love AUs, particularly:

pacific rim AUs

role reversal AUs

I live for AUs that bring out character dynamics you know & love except in a diff universe! but you don't have to write AU fic!

fandom specific

1. Hyouka to say this is my favourite, most precious & treasured piece of fiction would be an understatement!! i give all my heart to hyouka’s themes (finding your identity & place in the world, relating & empathizing with others, following your passion etc etc i could go on) which were told beautifully through a wonderful core cast of 4 characters! the depth and flaws and emotional weaknesses of hyouka’s main cast is Too Much For Me To Bear and i love them in any and all permutations and just WANT TO READ ABOUT THEM ALL THE TIME!! also i’ve written satomaya to the moon & back but let me tell you... i would still read satomaya content any day ehehe. BUT i am very intrigued by satoshi & chitanda’s r/s which hasn’t been written much about in the fandom yet so maybe??? HMM!!

ships: satoshi/mayaka, houtarou/chitanda but would be also open to mayaka/houtarou or satoshi/chitanda because that always intrigues me

prompts (optional, of course!) - Mayaka & Houtarou having a huge falling out, like SERIOUS falling out, and it’s up to Satoshi & Chitanda to work together to get the two to make-up and get the group back together!! - Satoshi & Chitanda working together to solve a mystery without the help of Houtarou & Mayaka, who’re usually the two who are better at solving cases!! - On the flipside, what about: 5 times Satoshi dislikes Chitanda, and 1 time he doesn’t.  - Soul Eater AU!! this is a specific AU i’ve had in my head for awhile but would love to read someone’s interpretation of it!! who would be the meisters/weapons, what forms would the weapons take?? a fic where the four find each other and become partners/duos would be worth a BILLION yuletides!! - in the same vein, fire emblem AU! here’s a post i wrote about it years ago but still relevant and feel free to tweak the classes - older!Houtarou/Chitanda who stayed behind for college in Kamiyama visiting Satoshi/Mayaka in the big city/Tokyo (optional as to whether the two pairs are dating yet, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if they weren’t at the start of the fic!!) - any mayaka-centric fic, perhaps a fic about her trying to set Chitanda/Houtarou up? w accomplice Satoshi (+10000 points if she and Satoshi AREN’T DATING! YET! !! COLLAPSES) also i guess it works the other way too!! chitanda trying to get satoshi to confess to mayaka, dragging houtarou along in the process... you know it’s good when both pairs aren’t dating yet

2. Hibike Euphonium

this anime is a good example of me loving the small moments and characters so much more than the overarching plot! i liked s1 more than s2 because of the development of kumiko and reina alongside each other, but i loved the spin s2 gave on kumiko & asuna’s r/s! while this anime isn’t a top fav of mine, the r/s between the ladies in this show is SO GOOD!!! would love to see what you can do with it!

ships: kumiko/reina, kumiko/asuna, am p alright w most other ships too except shuu/kumiko, i’m really not interested in that at all, but shuu as a character? yeah OK i guess prompts - 5 fives they climbed the hill together, 1 time they didn’t (kumiko/reina) - a fic about kumiko chasing asuka down but always missing her!! i.e. following her to uni in the big city (only, her uni is like nowhere near close enough to asuka’s), moving out of home and closer to asuka, trying to join the prestigious band asuka’s travelling with etc etc, and finally catching up to her!! - ten years later fic! reina comes back into town after touring with the national orchestra, kumiko (who stopped playing the euphonium) tries hard not to fall in love with her & the eupho once again... and fails, of course - a fic that examines reina falling out of love with taki-sensei and developing feelings for kumiko would be wonderful for my heart too!!

3. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

i am so so fond of this anime and its gags! while the character dynamics are incredibly fun to watch, they also feel very ‘predictable’, not only because of the running jokes but cause their r/s never seem to advance that much. so i would absolutely LOVE if you threw me fic about the most unlikely pairs that don’t interact so much in canon and hence have less running jokes, i would love to see what pans out, and the fic needn’t even be romantic!! ships: nozaki/sakura, kashima/hori, seo/waka, also interested in kashima/seo and sakura+hori

prompts - kashima + seo: i find their r/s v interesting?? would love for a fic to focus on their interactions, esp since i vaguely rmb seo being a bit wary of kashima at first - hori + sakura: i think they would work as wonderful partners in anything they do and would love anything that explores their r/s! maybe sakura has to help the drama club for a performance? - ten years later fic would work wonderfully for GSNK! what’s everyone doing now? wouldn’t it be funny if all the r/s were p much the same, but also kinda different? - Akatsuki no Yona AU! (whether yona is sakura or mikorin, you decide! haha)

4. Fune Wo Amu

this is more of a wildcard pick because um, I REALLY LIKED THIS SHOW! i loved the attention paid to the world of dictionary publishing but specifically, the seemingly insurmountable ocean of words & meanings & the desire to bridge the gaps that so naturally form between people... this show calmed my heart so much and i would love fic which brought me back to that calm and reflective atmosphere & those lovely characters prompts -  over the years working, majime learns the definitions of words through his interactions with the people in the office - nishioka becoming a dad leads to everyone in the office inevitably taking turns parenting his kids!! either because they need to babysit, or because he brings em to company functions etc  - sasaki on her first day of work vs last day of work - any fic that explores how majime & nishioka influence and change each other’s lives would be nice as well ahh...

thank u again dear writer, may you have a wonderful end to the year and i hope that whatever good things and bad things that happened this year, you’ll carry on strong and even better in the next!! happy writing and please eat well and stay warm (: 

[chunsoftie]

My Thoughts - Life is Strange: Before the Storm (Episodes 1-2)

So, it’s pretty late and I spent most of yesterday playing the new prequel material to Life is Strange, which, for the most part, I found enjoyable.As a big fan of the first game, I was excited to know we were going to have a game largely center around Chloe - the one character that I’ll admit could have had a lot more development as we saw everything from Max’s perspective.

However, Chloe as a character also struck me as one that I wanted more development from in the sense that she was one of my least favorite characters in the first game. I didn’t hate her, she definitely wasn’t my absolute bottom pick of the barrel, but she needed work and I was willing to spend a little dough on a game that explored her characterization.

Anyways, here’s my mini-review and analysis of the new game (so far, considering the final episode hasn’t come out yet), and so I’ll be covering spoiler-related plot points as well as my own interpretations of how things will go. This will basically just be what I liked, what I didn’t like so much, and how I hope the game will progress.

Just to go ahead and get these points out of the way, I definitely felt there was an improvement when it came to the visuals of Before the Storm. There was something about the models of the characters that didn’t make them look as artificial as the first game, and even though I liked the designs regardless of how realistic they looked, this was something I was happier upon seeing when Chloe took off her hood during the first scene.

The gameplay is relatively the same with a few little tweaks - I didn’t really care too much about the ‘talking back’ option but with it being more down-to-earth than the first game (obviously, without the time travel), there wasn’t really much else that could have been implemented without it just feeling like a ‘your dialogue matters’ game - which would have worked just fine except having that little connection to the first game with a bigger option the character could fulfill was what made these games work individually. Like I said, not too big on that option but I’ll talk more about it when I talk about playing as Chloe later. Overall, glad they stuck with the program but the option was not so much a win-situation for me.

The second episode excelled from the first in that there was a variety of locations used that didn’t bore me to death. The mosh-pit in the first episode was a good intro, but after that I found myself being dragged with Joyce’s house, Blackwell and eventually, the park. These are all locations except for the third that were Life is Strange specialties, so of course they were going to be used, but they took such large gaps of times with scenes that they were going to drain me as a player, very quickly. Comparing the scenes between the first game to this, you would notice that the very first episode had more than 5 different locations for Max to explore and talk to people, where like I said,it felt very restricted here. The second episode did a lot better with more scenes, though, but with the junkyard being a huge scene in the beginning along with an entire 15-20 minutes scene in just the parking lot, the time and priorities for scenes felt very odd? I don’t know. Something about the amount of time spent with a certain location can make all the difference in the narrative of a video game.

Regardless, that is just setting and gameplay which is different from a lot of components of a story. So, what about the story and characters did I like? I liked the fact that the relationship between Chloe and Rachel was built up through these two episodes, even though I personally feel as though their dynamic was too similar for me to be truly invested in their differences and oppositions. I’m not going to try to compare their relationship too much to that between Max’s and Chloe’s but one of the reasons why that relationship worked so well was that their difference in personality made for the greater good when it came to how their relationship flowed in the story. Their dynamic was interesting, because they didn’t agree about everything and they had things they needed to compromise. There was a hint of that within the first episode of Before the Storm towards the end, but Rachel honestly feels like a more popular-girl cut out of Chloe and it really shows. Even the voice acting sounds too similar and normally I wouldn’t point out criticisms like that, but when you have two characters who are so similar in personality with similar voices, it really blends if you’re trying to listen to them from a distance away. A lot of times, you wouldn’t be able to recognize who is who.

Chloe’s decision making in this game was also very opposite of what the gamer would want to select. Chloe is a complex character who definitely has attitude issues due to her past and recent family changes, but a lot of people who play this game are not going to be feeling the same pent-up rage as her and will more than likely try to stay the moral route. That’s what playing a character such as Max gave us - the opportunity to be a mixed-bag. We were able to choose things we felt was in our best interests, but with Chloe, no matter what decision is being mad, it will also reflect badly when it comes to the story. I did feel this was annoying even though I came out enjoying Chloe more here than I anticipated.

Those were some things I didn’t really care too much but overall I found the game pretty enjoyable and I’ll make more notes whenever the final episode comes out. I still love how it can pull me back in to the world with just the characters alone. It’ll be interesting to see how the next episode goes.

[marleywatersft-blog]

MARLEY WATERS ft. NALDO BENNY

Top Hip Hop Songs

Hip hop music has been around for 30 years now, and during this time there have been many artists to provide amazing songs. But, some of these songs have caught in our minds and still make us rise up and dance and sing along when we hear them. We salute those that have given us musical expertise so exceptional to make us melt once we hear their tune.

The top eight hip hop songs ever are (in no particular order):

1. 'It was an excellent Day' -Ice Cube

From the beat to the lyrics this is that feel good track that immediately relieves all the stress of the day. We are able to all relate to the song, and irrespective of what number of instances it is performed it is nonetheless that sound you bob your head to.

2. 'Kids's Story' -Slick Rick

You possibly can't discuss hip hop with out talking about Slick Rick, one of the biggest performers in this genre. This music has that flowing beat and lyrics that get caught in your thoughts each time. Anyone who is aware of hip hop is aware of this jam.

three. 'Juicy' -Biggie Pop Songs Smalls

This tune started a brand new period in rap music as it is the music that made Big Poppa what he nonetheless is to the world immediately, even 10+ years after he was shot to death. Juicy stated it was all a dream and this music provided inspiration and feel good vibes to each single one that listened to it.

four. 'Straight Outta Compton' -NWA

Straight Outta Compton is without doubt one of the most popular rap songs of all times. It is usually liable for the West Coast gangster rap movement that modified the lives of countless individuals. Straight Outta Compton particulars the life out on the streets of one of many state's most harmful cities with hardcore rapper Eazy-E on the vocals.

5. 'Rapper's Delight' - The Sugar Hill Gang

Hip hop, hippty hop... He is rapping to the beat just attempting to move your ft. Most people know every single phrase to this classic tune. This was one of many world's first introductions to the musical style, and an impressive one which it was.

6. 'Push It' -Salt N- Pepa

Released in 1986, Push It was a success for the trio of rappers. It is a sassy joint that made it to bop charts and nonetheless right now rocks the body and the celebration.

7. 'Hypnotize' -Biggie Smalls

The legendary rapper tops the highest 10 list once again with this music, reaching primary only one week after the rappers dying. This quick-witted, funny song with the quirky beat feels good to hearken to. It additionally started an eruption of affection, tears and celebration of life at Biggie's funeral on his method to be laid to rest on the streets of Brooklyn.

eight. 'Arduous Knock Life' -Jay Z

Jay-Z is a musical god, as he proved back in 1998 with Arduous Knock Life, a music sampling Annie within the refrain. Jay raps about living that onerous knock life, a real track that most of us can really feel at some level.

Rap music is part of us, a part of our soul. There are literally thousands of wonderful songs out there in this style, with musical expertise from around the globe. There is nothing fairly like hip hop music when the sounds hit you.

Once you're able to get that southern hip hop taste in your ear, make your approach to Hip Hop in Nashville. The city is known as Music City USA but do not assume that is solely country music. There's a lot of great talent waiting to be found in the metropolis, and this is your chance to expertise it for your self.

Excited about new hip hop tune releases? From underground rap superstars like Atmosphere or Aesop Rock to Dirty South rap artists like Lil Wayne, here's the very best locations to new hip hop music releases.

Radio Stations

True, radio stations have misplaced some of their affect thanks to the popularity of the Internet, though new songs usually get a variety of airplay right here. Below you may discover classic hip hop stations and some on-line ones that have blown up just lately...

Power106. The authority when it comes to new rap songs. Energy 106 plays tracks from the hottest established rappers like Eminem, Lil Wayne and Kanye West, as properly the up and comers like T.I and Flo Rida.

Hot97. Their tagline is "Hot97 Is Hip Hop and R&B" and with their track record of providing the most well liked new beats and interviews, no one is about to say otherwise.

Energy 105. Initially a comfortable rock radio station, Power105 now focuses on providing new and basic rap tracks. They also supply the most recent freestyles from prime artists to youthful MCs looking to get noticed.

IMEEM. With IMEEM, listeners can make their very own music playlists on the fly and incorporate all kinds of musical kinds similar to underground rap previous-school hip-hop and mainstream artists. Fans can save their playlists for later use and share it with other users on the positioning. If you're on the lookout for a brand new hip-hop music or freestyle that is the place to go.

Pandora. For sure Pandora is one of my favourite websites what I'm in search of new music. All you need to do is type in the title of your favorite rapper Pandora creates a streaming playlist featuring associated artists, based upon musical types and lyrical content material. It never ceases to amaze me how many rap artists I've come throughout using this web site; it's like preventing and also you hit rap song each 5 minutes.or one other nice characteristic with Pandora is your skill to float for every track as its play. When you vote a song up, Pandora's more likely to include that music again and your ongoing playlist; voted down and you might not see that very same observe for months to come back, if in any respect.

I will begin this text by saying that it's a good idea to have an engineer that focuses on mixing Hip Hop songs be the one to handle the mixing of your private home studio recorded Hip Hop songs. There may be nice value in having one other set of ears interpret the sounds & make a combination that sounds good in an environment designed for mixing Hip Hop recordings by an individual who deals with Hip Hop mixes frequently. That being mentioned, the purpose of this article is to provide the Residence recording studio artist some suggestions, perception, & an outline of placing together a Hip Hop track mix utilizing the software program/gear that they have already got in their house studio.

In the course of the tracking phase of the recording process you might be/should be specializing in capturing the best recorded tracks on an individual foundation, making sure every recorded factor is of good high quality & recorded at an optimized level with no clipping/distortion. The mixing phase is all about making all these recorded elements mix together & sound good with each other to supply an important sounding & attention-grabbing track combine as a whole. On the mixing stage it's best to deal with how issues sound along with each other greater than how a bit sounds by itself. If you were to solo a component & tweak the EQ, it may sound higher when by itself but when placed in the combine the adjustment might be clashing with another half so at all times make changes in the mix while being attentive to the combination as an entire.

When establishing the combination a good way to make panning choices is to visualize your monitor separated into each instrument being played by a stay musician on stage with the main/lead vocal often panned in the middle. Alter the panning of each instrument across the stereo area within the locations that you just visualize the digital musician standing whereas taking part in the instrument sound. Use reverb results at various decay/suggestions settings to add distance & space to parts while keeping some sounds freed from reverb to maintain the mix up shut & private. It is a good suggestion to examine your mixes on good high quality headphones as this provide you with an concept of how the totally different panning setting are working & will let you understand if there are any sounds that aren't displaying up an excessive amount of on either facet of the stereo discipline.

The bass drum & different bass components are usually served greatest within the middle as bass tends to be perceived in a mono fashion so could as properly place it so. Lead vocals ought to be panned in the middle with over dubs & adlibs panned at various locations with slightly lower quantity than the lead & with delicate EQ differences. You need your instrumental to be like a kind becoming foam mattress that your vocal is able to "lay" down into & be embraced by. You do not need your vocal to sound like it was simply positioned on high of a flat beat. You need your mix to have changes in dynamics, with ups & downs that can build anticipation then release it & so on. You should definitely check your mix on a mono playback machine as nicely to ensure all parts are nonetheless heard, if in case you have any very wide instrument panning you might lose the sound when heard in mono so make changes to sound good in mono & stereo. The extent in your stereo mix ought to be Peaked at about -3db on the meter without hitting the purple. This may give the mastering engineer the headroom n

eeded to maximize the sound of your music & mastering will bring the level up to the max.

The ultimate mixture of all elements should be listened to on as many various kinds of sound sources as attainable comparable to ear buds, laptop speakers a bookshelf system, and/or a automobile stereo. The more different sources the higher as this may allow you pinpoint any re-occurring issues that may then be fixed "within the mix" Upon getting a accomplished combine that you have performed A/B comparisons with industrial tracks and also you imagine your combine is shut enough, you'll be able to enter the mastering stage. If you are a beat maker that has no vocal tracks, you may still mix your beat/instrumental using the same tips/techniques above whereas saving the vocal combine ideas for later.

The data in this article has given you an outline of the Hip Hop music mixing process within the home studio that I myself are likely to observe, it's possible you'll alter your process to fit your personal tastes as what I've supposed was to give you a type of mixing roadmap to follow when you are unsure tips on how to proceed.

Brian G a.okay.a. BG has 15 years experience beginning out as a Deejay turned Producer/remixer turned recording engineer with an honor student diploma from AIA. Brian G has recorded over 50 Hip-Hop and R&B artists in his house studios as well as recorded his personal hip-hop songs.

[thomasreedtn]

New Rates, Offerings and May 2017 Specials

So many people have asked about my new May 2017 rates, offerings and specials, in part because they want to know whether or not to purchase the April Specials. I wasn’t going to announce these until May 1, but in case even more people have questions, I’ll post these with a few days left in April.

I’ve not raised rates or radically shifted my offerings in ten years. After much prayer, synchronicity and consideration, these changes reflect frequent requests for services I don’t normally offer, as well as 16 years of professional session experience, teaching, speaking, and written support. At this time, I’m not changing my Reiki or Tarot offerings. The new rates and offerings affect any intuitive or coaching services that are not Reiki or Tarot based. You can find those (lower) rates and descriptions by clicking through the links above.

For the months of May and June, I’m also going to experiment with an email option as a Monthly Special, since so many people want to send me “quick” questions. Those “quick” questions are usually not that quick, since they still require an intuitive tune-in, energy reading/interpretation, and then the time it takes both to read their email and to respond. Previously, I have referred people to my blog or my books for general information, or a private phone session for specific information, but some people prefer email. I do not want to spend even more time in front of a computer, especially with my intended shift to writing books again once we get settled in our new place; however, of all the requests, email sessions are highest on the list. I’ll see how this option goes for May while it might actually be easier to fit in around packing, and then see what, if anything, needs tweaking after our move in late June.

Please scroll down for the May 2017 Specials, which are listed after the new rates and services.

NEW RATES AND OFFERINGS EFFECTIVE MAY 1, 2017

These services include anything related to:

Medical Intuition

Mind-Body-Spirit Readings

Soul Readings

Past Life Readings

Life Purpose/Life Path

Any kind of Coaching (life; career; relationship; transition; strategies for children, workplace dynamics, and/or aging parents; chronic health issues; awakening creativity, etc.)

Designing Personal Rituals for maximum shift of subconscious and energetic factors

Messages/Communication to and from deceased loved ones

Helping to discern effective spiritual practices and daily habits

Timeline Shifts

(If you would like a service not listed here, please inquire. There’s so much overlap with skills and techniques that the above list represents the most common, but not the only types of sessions offered.)

Rates:

20-Minute Check-in: $90

40-Minute Intuitive or Coaching Session: $177

60-Minute Intuitive or Coaching Session: $222

PROPERTY CLEARINGS AND RELOCATION BOOSTERS

This is a previously unadvertised service, which so many people have found so beneficial that I’ve decided to make it public. This service can be used for:

Clearing properties or spaces of negative energies and hostile influences

Preparing homes for sale and removing unwanted attachments to old properties

Blessing new homes, properties or work spaces

Smoothing details of relocation and supporting synchronicity in the search for a new home or office

Raising the vibration and increasing the positive influence radius of your home or work space

Blessing gardens or public spaces

Creating spheres of protection around your environment

Dedicating spaces to support certain goals or intentions

Creating a healing sanctuary or supporting sacred space

(If it’s not listed but seems related, please contact me for options. This process involves a combination of a Reiki Healing Attunement, Runes, specially determined timing, and any supportive symbols, crystals, etc. depending on the individual situation. It’s more complex and specific than a Reiki Healing Attunement, but that technique forms the foundation of this process.)

Rates:

$77 per location or specific intention

$200 for 3 locations or intentions (i.e. if you need to sell one property in order to purchase another and also want help finding a new office; if there are multiple properties involved; or if you anticipate needing this service again sometime)

PERMACULTURE CONSULTING

In addition to seven years of intensive gardening experience and research, I completed my Permaculture Design Certificate in January 2017. “Permaculture is a system of agricultural and social design principles centered on simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems.” This certification allows me to:

Help individuals or groups incorporate perennial vegetables and edible trees/shrubs into ornamental landscapes

Design properties for beauty and abundance

Assess ways of becoming more sustainable with your current set-up

Offer general instruction on permaculture principles (not the full PDC course)

Insights and resources for enhanced soil fertility, companion planting and multi-season harvests

I also work closely with Nature Spirits, Faeries and the Elements. If desired, my consultation can include ways of tuning into your own land and enhancing harmony with other beings who share that space with you.

Rates:

Half-hour phone consultation (if applicable): $90

Other services and rates will vary depending on the situation and if it requires in-person visits. Please contact me with details about your specific needs, location and requests.

MAY 2017 SPECIALS

20-Minute Email Check-In for $77

As mentioned above, this special is an experiment since so many people request email support. Twenty minutes usually covers one or two questions or issues, and it includes my time reading and replying to your email, plus the time spent tuning in and interpreting any messages I receive, along with providing links (if applicable) for further details and information. If you have more complex questions, you can add time. Available if prepaid on or before May 31, 2017. Depending on how this goes, this special might become a regular offering, but we’ll see, as I prefer life away from the computer. Please contact me to sign up.

Mentoring Package for Counselors, Therapists, Energy Healers, Coaches, Social Workers, and Alternative Medical Professionals

With sixteen years of professional experience under my belt, I’ve spent over a decade mentoring clients and students in similar or complementary fields. This has previously occurred as individual coaching sessions or classes, but for May 2017, I’m offering a package deal to support people wanting to take their business to the next level.

This package includes:

Four hours of career coaching, which can include tips for enhancing your own intuition to help more clients and recognize business opportunities, aligning with the “Cosmic Scheduler” to achieve work/life balance, embracing higher visibility, and helping clients and students find you without needing to resort to heavy duty traditional marketing and social media

Two 20-minute Email Check-Ins between phone sessions

Reiki Healing Attunement to amplify goals, clarity and alignment

May Special Rate:

$626 (Save $471.55 over individual services)

from Thomas Reed https://laurabruno.wordpress.com/2017/04/28/new-rates-offerings-and-may-2017-specials/

[tendaisagwetethink-blog]

Statistics

In 2014, 3,179 people were killed, and 431,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers.

As of December 2014, 169.3 billion text messages were sent in the US (includes PR, the Territories, and Guam) every month. (CTIA)

Ten percent of all drivers 15 to 19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes. This age group has the largest proportion of driv­ers who were distracted at the time of the crashes. (NHTSA)

Drivers in their 20s are 23 percent of drivers in all fatal crashes, but are 27 percent of the distracted drivers and 38 percent of the dis­tracted drivers who were using cell phones in fatal crashes. (NHTSA)

https://www.distraction.gov/stats-research-laws/facts-and-statistics.html

Chapter 1. Introduction

Why Data Visualization?

Our information age more often feels like an era of information overload. Excess amounts of information are overwhelming; raw data becomes useful only when we apply methods of deriving insight from it.

Fortunately, we humans are intensely visual creatures. Few of us can detect patterns among rows of numbers, but even young children can interpret bar charts, extracting meaning from those numbers’ visual representations. For that reason, data visualization is a powerful exercise. Visualizing data is the fastest way to communicate it to others.

Of course, visualizations, like words, can be used to lie, mislead, or distort the truth. But when practiced honestly and with care, the process of visualization can help us see the world in a new way, revealing unexpected patterns and trends in the otherwise hidden information around us. At its best, data visualization is expert storytelling.

More literally, visualization is a process of mapping information to visuals. We craft rules that interpret data and express its values as visual properties. For example, the humble bar chart in Figure 1-1 is generated from a very simple rule: larger values are mapped as taller bars.

Figure 1-1. Data values mapped to visuals

More complex visualizations are generated from datasets more complex than the sequence of numbers shown in Figure 1-1 and more complex sets of mapping rules.

Why Write Code?

Mapping data by hand can be satisfying, yet is slow and tedious. So we usually employ the power of computation to speed things up. The increased speed enables us to work with much larger datasets of thousands or millions of values; what would have taken years of effort by hand can be mapped in a moment. Just as important, we can rapidly experiment with alternate mappings, tweaking our rules and seeing their output re-rendered immediately. This loop of write/render/evaluate is critical to the iterative process of refining a design.

Sets of mapping rules function as design systems. The human hand no longer executes the visual output; the computer does. Our human role is to conceptualize, craft, and write out the rules of the system, which is then finally executed by software.

Unfortunately, software (and computation generally) is extremely bad at understanding what, exactly, people want. (To be fair, many humans are also not good at this challenging task.) Because computers are binary systems, everything is either on or off, yes or no, this or that, there or not there. Humans are mushier, softer creatures, and the computers are not willing to meet us halfway—we must go to them. Hence the inevitable struggle of learning to write software, in which we train ourselves to communicate in the very limited and precise syntax that the computer can understand.

Yet we continue to write code because seeing our visual creations come to life is so rewarding. We practice data visualization because it is exciting to see what has never before been seen. It is like summoning a magical, visual genie out of an inscrutable data bottle.

Why Interactive?

Static visualizations can offer only precomposed “views” of data, so multiple static views are often needed to present a variety of perspectives on the same information. The number of dimensions of data are limited, too, when all visual elements must be present on the same surface at the same time. Representing multidimensional datasets fairly in static images is notoriously difficult. A fixed image is ideal when alternate views are neither needed nor desired, and required when publishing to a static medium, such as print.

Dynamic, interactive visualizations can empower people to explore the data for themselves. The basic functions of most interactive visualization tools have changed little since 1996, when Ben Shneiderman of the University of Maryland first proposed a “Visual Information-Seeking Mantra”: overview first, zoom and filter, then details-on-demand.

This design pattern is found in most interactive visualizations today. The combination of functions is successful, because it makes the data accessible to different audiences, from those who are merely browsing or exploring the dataset to those who approach the visualization with a specific question in search of an answer. An interactive visualization that offers an overview of the data alongside tools for “drilling down” into the details may successfully fulfill many roles at once, addressing the different concerns of different audiences, from those new to the subject matter to those already deeply familiar with the data.

Of course, interactivity can also encourage engagement with the data in ways that static images cannot. With animated transitions and well-crafted interfaces, some visualizations can make exploring data feel more like playing a game. Interactive visualization can be a great medium for engaging an audience who might not otherwise care about the topic or data at hand.

Why on the Web?

Visualizations aren’t truly visual unless they are seen. Getting your work out there for others to see is critical, and publishing on the Web is the quickest way to reach a global audience. Working with web-standard technologies means that your work can be seen and experienced by anyone using a recent web browser, regardless of the operating system (Windows, Mac, Linux) and device type (laptop, desktop, smartphone, tablet).

Best of all, everything covered in this book can be done with freely accessible tools, so the only investment required is your time. And everything we’ll talk about uses open source, web-standard technologies.

By avoiding proprietary software and plug-ins, you can ensure that your projects are accessible on the widest possible range of devices, from typical desktop computers to tablets and even phones. The more accessible your visualization, the greater your audience and your impact.

What This Book Is

This book is a practical introduction to merging three practices—data visualization, interactive design, and web development—using D3, a powerful tool for custom, web-based visualization.

These chapters grew out of my own process of learning how to use D3. Many people, including myself, come to D3 with backgrounds in design, mapping, and data visualization, but not programming and computer science.

D3 has a bit of an unfair reputation for being hard to learn. D3 itself is not so complicated, but it operates in the domain of the Web, and the Web is complicated. Using D3 comfortably requires some prior knowledge of the web technologies with which it interacts, such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and SVG. Many people (myself included) are self-taught when it comes to web skills. This is great, because the barrier to entry is so low, but problematic because it means we probably didn’t learn each of these technologies from the ground up—more often, we just hack something together until it seems to work, and call it a day. Yet successful use of D3 requires understanding some of these technologies in a fundamental way.

Because D3 is written in JavaScript, learning to use D3 often means learning a lot about JavaScript. For many datavis folks, D3 is their introduction to JavaScript (or even web development generally). It’s hard enough to learn a new programming language, let alone a new tool built on that language. D3 will enable you to do great things with JavaScript that you never would have even attempted. The time you spend learning both the language and the tool will provide an incredible payoff.

My goal is to reduce that learning time, so you can start creating awesome stuff sooner. We’ll take a ground-up approach, starting with the fundamental concepts and gradually adding complexity. I don’t intend to show you how to make specific kinds of visualizations so much as to help you understand the workings of D3 well enough to take those building blocks and generate designs of your own creation.

Who You Are

You may be an absolute beginner, someone new to datavis, web development, or both. (Welcome!) Perhaps you are a journalist interested in new ways to communicate the data you collect during reporting. Or maybe you’re a designer, comfortable drawing static infographics but ready to make the leap to interactive projects on the Web. You could be an artist, interested in generative, data-based art. Or a programmer, already familiar with JavaScript and the Web, but excited to learn a new tool and pick up some visual design experience along the way.

Whoever you are, I hope that you:

Have heard of this new thing called the “World Wide Web”

Are a bit familiar with HTML, the DOM, and CSS

Might even have a little programming experience already

Have heard of jQuery or written some JavaScript before

Aren’t scared by unknown initialisms like CSV, SVG, or JSON

Want to make useful, interactive visualizations

If any of those things are unknown or unclear, don’t fear. You might just want to spend more time with Chapter 3, which covers what you really need to know before diving into D3.

What This Book Is Not

That said, this is definitely not a computer science textbook, and it is not intended to teach the intricacies of any one web technology (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SVG) in depth.

In that spirit, I might gloss over some technical points, grossly oversimplifying important concepts fundamental to computer science in ways that will make true software engineers recoil. That’s fine, because I’m writing for artists and designers here, not engineers. We’ll cover the basics, and then you can dive into the more complex pieces once you’re comfortable.

I will deliberately not address every possible approach to a given problem, but will typically present what I feel is the simplest solution, or, if not the simplest, then the most understandable.

My goal is to teach you the fundamental concepts and methods of D3. As such, this book is decidedly not organized around specific example projects. Everyone’s data and design needs will be different. It’s up to you to integrate these concepts in the way best suited to your particular project.

Using Sample Code

If you are a mad genius, then you can probably learn to use D3 without ever looking at any sample code files, in which case you can skip the rest of this section.

If you’re still with me, you are probably still very bright but not mad, in which case you should undertake this book with the full set of accompanying code samples in hand. Before you go any further, please download the sample files from GitHub.

Normal people will want to click the ZIP link to download a compressed ZIP archive with all the files. Hardcore geeksters will want to clone the repository using Git. If that last sentence sounds like total gibberish, please use the first option.

Within the download, you’ll notice there is a folder for each chapter that has code to go with it:

chapter_04 chapter_05 chapter_06 chapter_07 chapter_08 …

Files are organized by chapter, so in Chapter 9 when I reference 01_bar_chart.html, know that you can find that file in the corresponding location: d3-book/chapter_9/01_bar_chart.html.

You are welcome to copy, adapt, modify, and reuse the example code in these tutorials for any noncommercial purpose.

Thank You

Finally, this book has been handcrafted, carefully written, and pedagogically fine-tuned for maximum effect. Thank you for reading it. I hope you learn a great deal, and even have some fun along the way.

http://chimera.labs.oreilly.com/books/1230000000345/ch01.html

Me

______________________________________________________________

I considered making the campaign rely heavily on data visualisation because I thought that it would be good way to get statistical information across well to our target audience. This is because instead of communicating statistical information through potentially intimidating large blocks of text I wanted to use data visualisation to communicate to my audience through simpler visual means. We ultimately didn’t go along with this idea because my partner wasn’t enthused by the idea. I did draw a few starter ideas for what the ultimate results might look like.