#thank you for letting me freewrite about my OC!!!

[herawell]

On here for a bit, so for the OC asks for Jag or Vijayamalini (or both!) from Druadal: 6) If your OC is in a fantasy setting, what profession would they be in the modern day?

8) What hobbies does your OC have? What do they do to unwind?

16) How's their relationship with their parents? Are they alive?

24) Can they play any instruments? If so, what do they play?

Vijayamalini

6) If your OC is in a fantasy setting, what profession would they be in the modern day?

Vijayamalini is politically brilliant and good at PR in my royalty setting, so I guess in the modern day she’d have some similar political position. Perhaps if she’s able to get treatment for her chronic illness (which I need to work out the details of), then she might go into a more physically demanding career.

8) What hobbies does your OC have? What do they do to unwind?

Jaya has an intellectual/political circle of friends she enjoys writing letters to, both as part of being queen and for her own enjoyment, since she cannot travel often because of her health. In fact just as I was writing this, I had a stroke of genius that one of her pet projects as queen is improving the mail system in Druadal because she relies on it to maintain connections with the friends she cannot visit.

16) How's their relationship with their parents? Are they alive?

Right now all I know about Jaya’s parents is that she is the eldest daughter of a duchess, her mother is the one with the noble title in her own right, and her mother at least is still alive when she marries Jag. I might work out more details about them later.

I do know that her chronic illness runs in the family, although I’m leaning towards both her parents not having it, and that they were well aware before she was born that she might inherit it. She was raised with an emphasis on honing her political skills since she is occasionally bedridden due to her health, and there were questions about whether she would be able to have children. It’s a similar approach she and Jag take to raising their youngest son Prabodh. He inherits a milder form of the illness, which nevertheless prevents him from doing many physical activities, and they make sure to encourage his strengths in other areas, rather than allow him to mope.

24) Can they play any instruments? If so, what do they play?

She can play several instruments as part of her noble education, but music isn’t one of her passions. I imagine one of them is the Druadalian equivalent of a veena. Jaya does encourage her daughter Manjeera’s interest in dancing.

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

Hey! Do you have any advice for writers block? I have ideas and want to write but when I sit down to do it, nothing remotely good comes out 😩

Hi! My best and most important advice for writers block is to try all the advice, because you never know what will work for you–or what other people will swear by that does not help you at all!

But since you asked, let’s start here. What do you mean when you say you have writer’s block? In my opinion, there are two kinds. 

‘I am having no luck at writing, every time I try it’s horrible’… versus …’I am staring at a blank screen and no words are coming out.’ You can have both at once, but they’re really different problems.

It sounds like you’re currently dealing with the first one: you have ideas and motivation, but the process is hell and you feel totally unsuccessful because what you’re creating is awful.

If I’m understanding your question correctly, and when you write, it straight-up sucks? I have great news for you, my friend. You are writing. You are a writer. Congratulations and welcome to the world of truly terrible first drafts, full of so many uninspired words and awful sentences that you’re certain you should never write at all.

It’s sad, and I’m sorry. I still want to be able to pull perfect stories out of my head on the first try. But if you want to write often enough to get better at it, like any skill requires, that’s most of what writing is. You get the ideas out of your head, and you try as hard as you can to ignore the fact that they come out wrecked and ugly and not even close to what you mean to say half the time. You just get them down so that you have words at all.

Gag that voice in your head that’s used to scanning for problems and trying to fix them; lock it in a box and throw it in the ocean where you won’t hear it screaming at you that you’re the worst writer to ever form paragraphs and pages and don’t let it out til you’re ready to revise. Then, and only then, do you allow yourself to judge the words you’re putting down–not while you’re writing, but after you’ve said what you need to say.

That will be the time for editing, which is a completely distinct, terrible struggle of its own. If you want my thoughts on that too, let me know someday.

When you’re feeling blocked because the words aren’t coming out right, I promise you–I absolutely positively promise you–that that’s normal. That’s how it goes. If you’re lucky, sometimes you’ll hit a golden stretch where things flow easily and you feel like you know what you’re doing and you genuinely enjoy it.

But mostly it’s a slog. One you’ll get better at. You just have to keep trying.

Now, it’s different if your problem involves the second kind of writer’s block: the blank screen that mocks you for having the hubris to think you could ever have something to offer the world.

I experience that one a lot. I worry about my ideas not being good enough, when I haven’t even written them. I sometimes can’t figure out what my ideas are or where to start. And I’ve tried a ton of ways to fight it.

Here are some things that work for me:

Write around it. Use the same characters, but a different plot. Use the same world, but focus on different characters. Try to write the story from the perspective of a character that wasn’t supposed to be there, or pick something else that doesn’t sound intimidating, that doesn’t make you feel blocked, and try that. Give yourself permission to chase a plot bunny for a while, just to get you started. Once you’re writing at all, it can be easier to go back to your idea.

Create constraints. I request a lot of prompts here, and not always because I need to start new stories. (I should never be allowed to start more stories. I should be forced to put stories back.) For some reason, when I feel totally blocked and haven’t written in days or weeks and don’t know how to get past it, what can really help me is being given a world + an idea and seeing what my brain can do with the combination on a very small scale. It’s like a misdirect for my creative mind, asking it to look over there at the shiny thing and warm up.

Try different mediums. Is there music that reminds you of your topic? Listen to it. Do you make gifs? Do that for your ship or your AU concept. If you can dive into pinterest for a while, set a timer and try that. The goal is to get inspired, whatever it takes. Make moodboards. Fancast your OCs. Remind yourself why you like what you’re trying to create. Sneak around your inner writer and head straight for the artist that doesn’t need words to love the story.

Stop writing. It sounds ridiculous, but sometimes the best cure for writer’s block is giving up. Stop staring at your messy unfinished draft or your blank page. If nothing else is working, and you really don’t know where to take the story next or how to fix a problem you’re having…step back, breathe, and do something else.

I find this trick works best for plot issues. If a solution isn’t happening while you write, let your brain work it out for you. Make a sandwich. Fold your laundry. Pet your animals. Go for a walk.

Just about anything can unknot this kind of block. What’s important is that you make sure you’re doing something that engages you but not your brain.You need your mind to be able to wander, so that while you relax your grip a solution can present itself. I play a lot of Candy Crush when I need help. I have a lot of epiphanies in the shower.

Also, though I write to music because it subverts my focusing issues, I’ve found that other people’s words are terrible for writer’s block. I can’t brainstorm while watching TV or a movie. I can’t work out my plot if I’m reading my favorite novel. Anything that actively distracts you is not your friend until you’ve done the writing and are ready for a real break.

Things you could try that don’t help me but other people swear by:

Freewriting. This is when you force yourself to just start saying anything that comes to mind to get words flowing, even if those words are ‘wow I hate this why am I typing right now I need to wash my socks I will never write again’ etc. The idea is that eventually your brain will flow into real writing because you’ve forced it to start going.

Meditating or mentally writing in your head at bedtime. The space before you drift off can be full of creative possibilities, and meditation can be a variation on ‘engage your brain without actively using it’–but if you have a terrible memory like me, you will lose any great ideas you come up with before sleep takes you or while you’re letting thoughts flow as you breathe.

Build a habit. A lot of writers swear that routine is the most important aspect of writing, that the only way to push through writer’s block is to recognize that there’s no such thing and just force yourself to write every day, at the same time or for a specific amount. Forcing myself into a routine always fails but if you thrive on structure it’s worth a shot. I’ve learned to let my writing time ebb and flow with my mental health instead and work around the problems.

I hope some of this is helpful to you!! :) It helped me a lot, if only by reminding me how much I’ve learned and grown since I fought my way through my first novel draft back in 2011 and thought I would never write again.

Also, honestly, it was great procrastination from the plot work I was doing when you asked. So thanks for the distraction! Sometimes a break is the best thing.

[fruit-teeth]

Legacy

Little freewrite I did, kind of a prequel to my multi-chapter tf2 fic. Not much else to say, enjoy a moment of Gray Mann being (kind of) sweet and likable for once (also my oc Edith askjskjs)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*

The shrill sound of the buzzer met Gray’s ears. He stopped what he was doing and yelled out, “Who is it?”

“It’s Edith,” Edith’s voice shouted back. “I have something for you!”

Gray pressed a button on his desk, and the doors slid open. Edith stepped in, carrying something bundled up in a basket. Upon seeing it, Gray instantly knew what it was.

He took a deep breath, standing up from his chair and approaching slowly. “So…I assume she gave birth?”

“She did, just a few hours ago,” Edith confirmed. She pulled up a nearby chair, laying the basket down carefully. “I did a checkup with a nurse, and you have a healthy baby girl. She’s a bit tiny, but very strong.” She reached in, pulling out the bundled baby and adjusting her so Gray could see her face. “She’s definitely your daughter.”

Gray studied the baby for a long moment, saying nothing. He then reached out his arms. “Let me hold her,”

Edith complied, passing the newborn to Gray’s arms. He struggled to hold the infant, but Edith helped him, showing him how to support the head. Once he had settled her into his arms, he examined her carefully. “My god…” he murmured. “So beautiful…”

“She is,” Edith agreed.

The baby opened her eyes, squinting and blinking at the harsh lights of the room. Gray managed to smile down at her, carefully stroking her cheek with his thumb. “She is absolutely perfect—so alert already, so intelligent…”

Edith couldn’t help but smile as well, the purity of such a moment quite rare for a man like Gray Mann. “What are you going to name her? Have you thought about that?”

There was a pause as Gray offered the newborn his finger, and she gripped it in her soft hand. “Olivia,” he decided. “Her name is Olivia.”

Edith nodded, reaching back into the basket and making a note of that on the birth certificate she’d brought with her.

Gray sat back down in his office chair, baby Olivia still in his arms. She fussed a little, but he comforted her by shushing her gently. “Shh, there, there…just rest, you’re all right.” He turned her so she could rest against his chest, and once she’d relaxed, he rubbed her back. “You listened to me, that’s a good sign.”

Edith handed him the birth certificate. “Here, does this look all right?”

Gray picked it up, and he nodded. “Yes, it looks fine to me. Thank you,” he looked back down at Olivia, watching as her little hand fiddled with his tie. “My little daughter, my legacy…you have no idea how much I cannot wait to start training you.”