#this wip is my greatest achievement honestly

[rita-rae-siller]

Okay this is an absurdly specific ask for Storyteller Saturday....what is one wip outside of your posted/main one you'd like to talk about? Or alternatively, what is something within your main wip you want somebody to give you an excuse to talk about?

Feel free to answer either or both!

Oooooo, I’ve been looking for an excuse to rave about my vampire WIP!!!

So this is my longest story. The Price of Blood currently sits at over 120k words in draft 1. Almost 30 chapters. I took a break from working on draft 2 to work on The Lies They Tell during a fiction writing workshop I took in the spring semester at school.

It’s my other queer fantasy novel, featuring one very tall princess (Her name is incredibly long, but she goes by her first middle name, Victoria) that’s abducted by a vampire cult to harbor the soul of the God of Shadows and Subterfuge, AKA the vampire anti-christ. Her entire homeland Halaafin, ruled by the Halaa—sort of half elves basically? They’re one of the only people in this world that have magic. Pure humans can’t use magic—is overrun by this cult and basically destroyed. She makes a bargain with a spider witch that's also been betrayed by the cult to save her life and that of her unborn child. The ritual to summon the vampire anti-christ is sabotaged, but the vampires don’t know it. She manages to escape not long after.

Queue 15 years of living alone with her son in the middle of the woods of the neighboring empire until he’s old enough to help her fight the vampires and retake their kingdom. But things don’t go according to plan. The spider witch tells her she has to get a jump on their plans to destroy the cult early, before her son is ready by Victoria's standards. Queue her teaching her son a lot about his history and also her running into her childhood best friend/almost lover, a duchess in the empire that serves the empress as a professional monster hunter. The two reconnect to fight the cult, fall back in love with one another, and also work on healing from the trauma of losing their families to the cult. It's a very gay story full of angst, dry humor, and lots of dead vampires. Also stresses the importance of family and loved ones in the healing process, and how grieving is inherently ugly. (I wrote a lot of this WIP while my own grandmother was dying, so loss is a big theme in it, as well as love continuing after death)

Also guns. Victoria has been removed from modern society for almost twenty years, so when she comes back to civilization, she's introduced to more modern monster hunting equipment used by non-magic people. And let me tell you: nothing makes this giant bisexual disaster happier than getting to shoot vampires and monsters in the head point blank with a revolver.

[snakebites-and-ink]

Ocean-themed OC questions

I’ve included what the emoji is in brackets because they don’t always show up right on different platforms. You can send in the word instead of the emoji if you need to.

🫧[Bubbles] What is the hardest thing to get your oc to talk about?

🛟[Lifebuoy] How easily does your oc trust? Who do they trust the most?

🦈[Shark] What does your oc fear the most?

🦪[Oyster] What does your oc consider most valuable?

🍤[Fried shrimp] What is your oc’s favorite food or treat?

🐬[Dolphin] What activity does your oc think is the most fun?

🛳️[Passenger ship] What is your oc’s idea of luxury?

🐚[Seashell] Does your oc collect things? If so, what?

🏖️[Beach] What does your oc do to relax?

🐟[Fish] Does your oc like animals? What’s their favorite?

🪸[Coral] What is your oc’s moral/ethical philosophy?

🐡[Pufferfish] What pet peeve(s) do they have?

🏄[Surfing] How easily do they become restless?

🏊[Swimming] Can your oc swim? How good are they at it?

🦦[Otter] How likeable/charismatic do others find your oc?

🔱[Trident] How superstitious is your oc? Are there any specific superstitions they have?

🩱[Swimsuit] What is their sense of fashion like?

🎣[Fishing pole] What draws your oc in to people the most?

🌀[Cyclone] What is the climate like where they live? How does that affect their life?

🐧[Penguin] How do they react to feeling uncomfortable?

🪝[Hook] What bait would work best to get your oc somewhere?

⚓[Anchor] Who or what does your oc depend on the most?

⛵[Sailboat] What does your oc do for escapism?

🚢[Ship] If your oc could travel anywhere in the world, where would they go?

🧊[Ice] Is your oc the friend who’s always cold, always hot, or neither?

🏝️[Island] How does your oc respond to isolation (literal or feelings of isolation)?

🐳[Spouting whale] What do they consider their greatest achievement?

🐋[Whale] What do they consider their biggest mistake?

🦑[Squid] What is their most surprising quirk?

🐠[Tropical fish] Did they have any role models growing up? Who?

💧[Water drop] How easily does your oc get dehydrated? How much does feeling thirsty bother them?

🧜[Merperson] If they could have any one wish granted, what would they wish for?

🌊[Wave] What do they think is the most beautiful about nature?

🐙[Octopus] How honest are they with themself? Do they tend to lie to themself about anything in particular?

🦀[Crab] How would they treat others if there would be no repercussions?

🚣[Rowing boat] How have they changed throughout their story (or backstory)?

🛶[Canoe] What education do they have?

🤿[Snorkel] What words or phrases do they use a lot?

🦞[Lobster] What are their most distinguishing physical characteristics?

🦐[Shrimp] How are they with children?

🦭[Seal] What’s their love language?

🩴[Sandal] What are they like while watching a horror movie?

🚤[Speedboat] How are they with money?

I made this just for fun; I honestly do not have my WIPs well-developed enough for many of these questions, so there is no need to send me one of them when reblogging/using the game yourself. (though if you want to send an ask to someone else who reblogged one of these, you are encouraged to do so!) I made these for the sake of making them, not for the sake of using them myself, lol.

[tabswrites]

Author Ask Tag

Tagged by @writernopal here 💜

Gently tagging: @pandoras-comment-box @elbritch-kit @clairelsonao3 @thatndginger

1. What is the main lesson of your story (e.g. kindness, diversity, anti-war), and why did you choose it?

Don’t let the past define you. Each MC is weighed down by something in their past: A reputation, a legacy, trauma. They will explore their grief in many ways, and while some of them will overcome it and grow, some will let it consume them.

When I started writing again, it was to help me process some really heavy stuff that I went through last year, and I realized I had let the situation overwhelm me to the point where I didn’t recognize myself anymore. It happens in little ways over time, and I’m sure others have experienced the same thing. I want people to know that the things that have happened to them, the things people have done, they don’t go away. Not completely. But if we learn to accept them and confront the emotions, those things become easier to overcome, and you don’t have to lose yourself in the process.

2. What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding (like real-life cultures, animals, famous media, websites, etc.)?

I’m inspired a lot by nature and animals, tv/movies I love, books, random and weird history facts, fairy tales/folklore. I also experience vivid dreams from time to time and they inspire a lot of my story ideas.

3. What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, help readers grow as a person?

Besides the whole “bring back magic” thing, I think overall the characters in ToL are trying to achieve inner peace for themselves, and I want the same thing. I do want to inspire people to realize that sometimes the greatest empathy you have should be towards yourself. Forgiveness is definitely one of the minor themes, as it has been a key part in my own personal healing process.

For the readers, I just want them to be mindful of tbe complexities of life and of other people. You never know what someone else is really going through.

4. How many chapters is your story going to have?

….more than 2, but less than 100? Honestly, I planned for 15 with ToL but it might go longer. I’m not the one behind the wheel, if I’m being honest.

5. Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

Original! Both of WIPs are on Ao3 and Wattpad.

6. When and why did you start writing?

I originally began writing when I was 14 when I started role playing on Goodreads. (Yes, that one.) My classmate and I started our own 1x1 and decided to turn it into a novel just casually. I ended up dedicating way more time to it and she stepped away, so I rewrote everything in my style. I finished it during NaNoWriMo a year later and even submitted it for Script Frenzy. That was the only serious writing project I ever did, 99.9% of my time was spent role playing. When my RP buddies started to drift away I got really depressed and ending up not writing for almost 6 years. Started back up again last year and here we are!

7. Do you have any words of engagement for fellow writers of Writeblr? What other writers of Tumblr do you follow?

No one will ever love your writing as much as you do, so you should love it the most! Don’t second guess yourself, and stop comparing yourself to everyone else! You chose to write the story for a reason—if that other person was meant to write it, you wouldn’t be the one kept up at night by story ideas.

I follow so many who have been tagged by other people but too bad:

@writernopal I love her writing and her OCs and she’s always supportive 💜

@outpost51 I would love to file a formal adoption request for Atria and no one else matches my deranged commenting style like him

@writingmaidenwarrior Always supportive and up for a chat, silly or otherwise!

@clairelsonao3 I love her writing and she’s super supportive too!

@sam-glade Sam has amazing world building and gives great critique!

Others I don’t know very well yet but I have enjoyed their writing and/or interacting with:

@reneesbooks

@mysticstarlightduck

@pheita

@avrablake

@coffeewritesfiction

[dashawfrostart]

This Week In "Time & Again" #10: Colours Are Getting Colourful, Indeed!

So, just as promised and exactly as planned, I'm working on the colouring for Chapter 5. And boy, it goes very well now, let me tell you! In fact, it goes so fantastically well, I honestly don't even wanna be here right now writing this post that most people will not even bother reading (we live in the age of Likes and Emojis, after all, so longreads are usually not welcome... but see if I care!), and I just want to keep working on the colouring. Just like I do almost every day, almost non-stop. Quite possibly over 40 hours a week. And I'm not even getting paid for it. That's dedication, innit?.. But making another post on how it is going, even if there's not much to tell aside from an incredibly simple and modest yet surprisingly descriptive "'Iz gude!" (pardon my Scottish, ahem), is kind of a moral obligation for me. I decided that I'm gonna make posts about the progress - so that decision should be carried on with.

So... yes, iz goin' gude! 🤣

This time I did not bother trying to decide what approach to use in colouring the characters. I decided to aim for the same simplistic way of colouring from Chapter 4, with a lack of shading. "Atlantis" is still one of my greatest artistic inspirations, and the masterly executed balance of visual simplicity and skillful complexity in the art style of that movie is something that drives me to keep working on my own style, to strive to achieve a similar effect, because this is what I want my work to be like, too. Of course, a little experiment will also take place in Chapter 5, since I don't like my visual works to feel static and inanimate. But I'm not going to tell what exactly it will be yet. You will see. It's going to be something very obvious and easy to notice, for I've never done anything like that in any of my previous works. 😉

The question of backgrounds tho, contrary to the character colouring method, is a much, much trickier question. With every new chapter in development, I ask myself how to draw and colour the backgrounds in such a way that it's in harmony with the characters, but allows them to also stand out - but not too much (otherwise there's no harmony). And this question has not been answered fully by me. I keep experimenting. I'm still searching. For now and for this particular chapter, however, it all seems pretty straightforward to me. I opted for a simple background with a little bit of a painted, splattered "texture" to it. And I achieve this effect through layering colours and the texture with specific settings, usually using Soft Light (SVG) blending mode for the dark parts. And if I need an even darker shade - I put an additional black rectangle on top of it and play with its opacity until I get the desired effect. ("A very LARGE gif below" warning!)

For the obvious reason of spoiler avoidance, I will refrain from further explanation and I'll limit my demonstration primarily with the textual description, for now. But, just as proposed long ago, I am indeed still planning on creating a WIP thread on Krita forum. Your horribly introverted and seriously muse possessed dear artist simply should take a break from colouring everything like an obsessed maniac and finally get the Sch***e done. Eventually 😁

There's something else interesting I wanted to note before wrapping it up for today. Something somewhat technical.

Because I have increased the page size for the last 4 chapters of my crazy endeavour, suddenly I remembered that I also need to rescale the rest of the pages that serve as - as I call them - "framing materials" for the chapters. And that includes (and, as you may guess - but not limited to): the cover art, the background for all kinds of bonus materials, the back design (for potential printing on paper), the chapter title page, Vorsatz und Nachsatz, the credits page, and, of course, the Characters' IDs page... Yup, all of that stuff required to get the higher resolution variations, exactly 1/3 larger size of the original. And I forgot about it at first. I guess, my idea to turn it into a webcomic prevailed and befogged my consciousness ever so slightly. Or a lot. Not sure. But the fact is, that just slipped my mind.

Of course, a poor designer in my could've just enlarged the already existing pages by 33% to get the expected result in a few clicks hassle-free. But that's only the poor designer. Because everybody who tried to draw at least something digitally in their lives would know that that would only destroy the quality of the artworks. And that is totally unacceptable for me. And I'm no poor designer. "Time & Again" is awesome. No sloppiness allowed, I says. This is why I needed to redo everything layer by layer, file by file in higher resolution. It was that clear. Am I being too techy? Well, deal with it 😎.

But good thing I'm so practical: I already had all of the elements drawn in higher resolutions than needed. And those I didn't have - they were all vector-based, so they didn't even need any extra work. Good job, me! 😁 The moral of the story is simple: dear artists, whenever you work on something like that, just make higher resolution drawings - just in case, even if you don't need them that large for your particular current tasks. Because you might need the larger art in the future. Because who knows? What if you go crazy and haphazardly decide to up the resolution for everything, like it happened to me? This is something that I also learnt from the videogame development tutorials, and that was quite an obvious idea, now that I'm thinking about it. Drawing everything in twice the resolution you need is a truly good advice. Surely, it might save you from a lot of frustration.

But back to my circus and my monkeys. Since I always make all the geometric elements for the page designs in Inkscape, it was simply a matter of a couple clicks to re-save my older page outlines and templates in higher resolution. The same goes with text. I love vector stuffz 🤩 The only page I needed to tinker with a bit longer than everything else was the Characters' IDs page. This is my vector template:

From today's perspective, I do not understand why it was made this way - can't be responsible for my past self, right? right???... - but the colouring of the Characters' IDs was done in Krita instead of Inkscape. Which is a bit absurd, because I used simple gradients to fill in each of the "character cards" individually. And I could've easily done it in Inkscape, too. But to save myself some time, I decided not to unravel that twisted ball of yarn and did the same: coloured them all in Krita. Again. Because why not? - it's extremely easy. However, I have discovered imperfections that I was able to remove in this "new, hi-res edition".

Each "character card" has an inner circle of solid colour around the character's portrait. And apparently, in all 4 of the previous chapters, those were not aligned properly. The screenshot above demonstrates that: once I copy-pasted the new template on top of the old one for comparison, the placements of the inner circles did not match (the black one is the perfectly aligned new circle; the pink parts sticking out from behind it are the parts of the old and misaligned circle from the previous chapters). Of course, I seriously doubt it anybody would stare and measure how precise I am down to the pixel... But this time to me this misalignment was pretty obvious. And the puny perfectionist in me raged. A lot.

So that has been fixed. Hurrah for Align and Distribute options in Inkscape 😁 Remember this, pals: Align and Distribute are women's best friends - not dogs, not diamonds, and... definitely not what the rest of the internet suggests. Yikes. (and to be fair, Align and Distribute should be the best friend of everybody, not only women! Honest!!!)

Again, because I drew all the character portraits in significantly higher resolution than needed long ago, I just copy-pasted and rescaled them to the right size. And then... after a few sessions of copy-pasting and rescaling, everything was done and ready to go!

And for now that is probably enough. Once I stop colouring for a while next time, I'll drop by again to write another one typical - and perhaps, somewhat techy as usual - longread that some of you might be interested in. But for now - bah-byes, and cheer up! Valentine's Day is soon, and spring is just around the corner. Be happy just like Jeanny! See you soon! 👋

[emachinescat]

🙅‍♀️ What is one trope you refuse to ever write? 🗑 What is one fic idea that you loved at first but then scrapped? 📌 If all your fics/WIPs fell off a ship and were drowning (go with it), and you could only save one, which would it be? 🤔 What’s one genre you’ve never written that you’d like to try?

🙅‍♀️ What is one trope you refuse to ever write? I mean, I'm not sure if it's a trope, per say, but I don't have any interest in writing smut. No judgment to people who do, but it is SO not in my realm of interest!

🗑 What is one fic idea that you loved at first but then scrapped? I had this idea for a Psych fic where the bounty hunter Byrd comes back for revenge. I even posted the prologue, but then just never updated it, as inspiration never came to finish it. I think I ended up deleting it. But I still have hopes that maybe I'll actually write it someday. :)

📌 If all your fics/WIPs fell off a ship and were drowning (go with it), and you could only save one, which would it be? Ahhh, this is a hard one! I think I'd say The Finch and the Mockingbird for Psych. It's the only multi-chapter fic I've ever written fully before posting, and I enjoyed every second of writing it! I have such fond memories of writing and posting it, and honestly, I think it's one of my greatest fic achievements to this day, not just because of the story itself, but because of how hard I worked and how dedicated I was and how I proved to myself I could actually do something like this. :)

🤔 What’s one genre you’ve never written that you’d like to try? I'd like to try my hand at mystery -- like a genuine casefile mystery. I've written a few "mysteries" but I feel that they're not too complicated and they're more about the whump than anything else. But I want to write a fic that reads like an episode of Psych or Magnum P.I., a fic that leaves readers guessing and has a real, honest-to-goodness ah-ha! moment. I'm not entirely sure my brain is wired for mystery, but I'd love to give it a whirl someday. ;)

Thank you so much for the ask!! ❤️

[reggiemantleholdmyhand-tle]

Fic Writer Tag Game

i was tagged by @asirensrage and @raith-way! thank you both sm 🥰

How many works do you have on AO3?

5

What’s your total AO3 word count?

54,408

How many fandoms have you written for, and what are they?

7, I believe — Riverdale, Harry Potter, Big Time Rush, Legend of Korra, Teen Wolf, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and I used to write reader inserts for FAHC Achievement Hunter

What are your top five fics by kudos?

Well, I only have the 5 🤪 Buuuuut...

Through the Fire and the Flames — Teen Wolf / Isaac Lahey x OC: Pidge Kennedy had been having the same nightmare for weeks. There was something important about it, she just didn't know what - that is, until she realizes the voice she's been hearing in her dreams belongs to none other than her substitute history teacher and notorious phoenix hunter, Mr. Edgar Thorn. On top of that, one of her best friends is acting super weird, there's a strange lizard man on the loose, and a serial killer is apparently trying to kill off the entire 2006 swim team. (Kudos: 10)

The Greatest Challenge — HP / Cedric Diggory x OC: Kipper Dixon is visiting Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament. It's not long before she strikes up a friendship with Cedric Diggory, after bumping into him on her way to place her name in the Goblet of Fire. When Kippi is chosen as the Beauxbatons champion for the Triwizard Tournament, she decides they can't be anything more than friends. Cedric is determined to change that. (Kudos: 8)

The Trouble with Weasleys — HP / Fred Weasley x OC: "The trouble with Weasleys," Penelope Clearwater once told Maisie Barker, as well as anyone else who would listen, after a particularly nasty spat with Percy, "Is that they never really know what's actually good for them until it's too late." (Kudos: 3)

Smooth Runs the Water (Where the Brook is Deep) — Teen Wolf / Stiles Stilinski x OC: Bimmy's life had been fairly normal - that is, until she moved to Beacon Hills, after family friend Sheriff Stilinski told her mom there was a position opening at Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital. The transition had been easy enough; Bimmy had Stiles and Stiles had Scott, which meant Bimmy already had two friends when she arrived. Things got a little less easy after Scott received The Bite, turning him into a werewolf, and he spent several months being hunted. Things got even less easy when a serial killer with a kanima partner ran rampant among Beacon Hills. As if that wasn't enough, right as Bimmy's junior year began, a new pack of Alphas showed up to claim Scott as one of their own. Bimmy's one wish for her birthday is that things just go back to normal. She'll soon find out that normal will never be an option again. (Kudos: 3)

Third Time’s the Charm — Riverdale / HP AU / Reggie Mantle x OC: Mabel Harlow is a tough nut to crack, but Reggie will be damned if he doesn’t try. (Kudos: 2)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! I always like to give thanks to my readers and answer any questions/theories/thoughts they have!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I am currently working on it :-)

Do you write crossovers? If so, what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I write crossovers as in with other people, but I don’t write cross-fandom!

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I have not!

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I don’t, that is not for me. Even trying makes me blush and makes me want to throw my phone across the room.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

That is like trying to choose my favorite child, I simply can’t do it.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish, but don’t think you ever will?

Probably The Riverdale Chronicles. I created a monster and have much too much to tell so I don’t see that ever being done.

What are your writing strengths? What are your writing weaknesses?

My strength is dialogue. My weakness is description. I’m much better than I was, but I definitely still struggle. Usually with scenery and emotion.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I don’t tend to trust Google translate much, so I avoid it usually. Mostly I work with common phrases or one-word exclamations but other than that, I don’t usually write other languages.

What was the first fandom you’ve written for?

Honestly I think it was the Jonas Brothers when I was in, like, 6th grade ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

I really love all of them, I tend to jump from favorite to favorite and my current favorite is probably The Greatest Challenge.

tagging: @hughstheforcelou @anna-phora @akabluekat @randomfandomingwrites @randomestfandoms-ocs @ocfairygodmother @jinxsflame

[mywayornorway]

1,5,7 and 10 for the positive weiter ask please :D

1. What’s your favorite WIP you’ve ever worked on (finished or not)?

Hard to say... I loved writing that Undaaris/Lyle crack fic because I got to do Lyle's sassy internal monologue where he judges everyone and hates his life XD But I'm also having a great time writing my current piece of whump because it allows me to go off the rails and have fun tormenting Alex in the worst ways possible. All in all, I think it's every WIP where I reminded myself that I can write whatever I want and don't have to bow to anyone's expectations.

5. Tell us all about your greatest writing achievement (this is your permission to brag without judgement).

My greatest achievement is definitely getting to write again in the first place because I haven't done that in years... I've had pretty bad writer's block and sometimes felt like I'd lost my creativity altogether but now I'm more productive than ever before and I'm very proud of that :))

7.What’s the best writing motivator for you?

Honestly, it's people like you. I've always felt most inspired when discussing my interests with others who share them and are equally as passionate. I love throwing around ideas and headcanons and creating what-if scenarios which then sometimes make it into a fic. Also reading. It can be a great novel or a cool fanfic, it doesn't matter, as long as it gives me inspiration and makes me want to write myself.

10. Who do you write for? (like, while you’re writing you think “oh! [person]’s gonna love this!)

For myself and the fandom, I'd say. Like every other fanfic author, I make up scenarios when the canon isn't satisfying enough or doesn't go as much into detail as I'd like it to, so writing them myself is the only solution XD And in a fandom as small as the Alex Verus one, I think it's nice when people try and keep it alive, even if it's just for a small audience. Then there's also you of course, who leaves the sweetest comments!! They never fail to make my day and when I'm feeling insecure about my work, I like to go back and re-read them :)) I love discussing our individual stories with you and when I'm writing a certain scene with content I know you'll enjoy, I think of you like: >:DD

[pickingoutchinapatterns]

What are you working on at the moment? What do you consider to be your greatest writing achievement? Do you use a favourite word/saying/metaphor often? Whose POV do you prefer to write - Mulder or Scully? How do you feel when you write - do you experience the same emotions as the characters? How do you know when a fic is ready to post? Link us to three fics you've written that are your personal favourites and tell us why you're proud of them.

Thank you so much for sending this to me @frangipanidownunder!

I’m currently working on a little fic pre-One Breath featuring Mulder and Maggie.  I hope to post it sometime soon (just need to write more than a few sentences).  I also have another that I started (featuring jealous Mulder and Charlie Scully) that I want to finish.  I also always have my long fic still going, though it hasn’t been updated in ages.

I haven’t posted many works, but I’m still blown away that I still get the occasional like from my (I think) first fic I posted “Red.”  I find writing difficult so honestly I feel anytime I post anything to be an accomplishment.

Probably do have a fav, but nothing comes to mind at the moment (I haven’t analysed my work to really see).

I find it easier to write from Scully’s POV, though I think lately some of my fics have been from Mulder’s.  

I do sometimes feel their emotions, when I’m in the right mood.  I had developed a writing phobia years ago, so fic writing, when I can get past that mental hurdle, is very therapeutic.  (Luckily I tend to have a million ideas...it’s actually executing them that I find difficult.)

Honestly, I usually just post a fic right after I’ve written it.  I’m impulsive that way and many of my fics would benefit from editing.  

Three of my fics

Nameplate, actually my first fic according to ao3.  A huge reason why I love fanfic (mostly reading and discussing it), is that it gives me a chance to witness canon being fixed.  This is my take on one thing that I thought needed fixing.

Red, also on ao3.  I didn’t expect it to get the reaction it got (I don’t have many followers, so the fact that it got 40 kuddos on ao3 means a lot).  I got the most thoughtful and touching feedback message from someone from this post and really that’s why I picked this fic.  (I still remember that message.)

TBAAH, (honestly, I hate the title and will change it when I post all of the chapters).  It was my first time at FanExpo (first time I saw GA, waiting in line for her panel).  I was talking to another fan and it was the first time that I brought up my idea for this story, even though it had been percolating in my mind for years.  It’s still a WIP, but I have been able to flesh out other aspects and ideas slowly over the years (such as December 1989 and other little bits of fic developed in your writing workshops).  So this one does mean a lot to me bc it’s been with me for a long time.  (I just don’t think the little that I have written do it justice yet....and that has to do with my impatience of just posting instead of going back and editing).  Mostly I’m proud of all of the ideas I have for the story.

Thanks Vicki!

[modern-oedipus]

With respect to my post about WIPs, I’m actually quite a perfectionist in certain branches of my life, as called-out by my therapist. I am trying to get over things needing to be perfect, that’s why I posted a wip that I would otherwise not have posted.

It’s really hard to let go of perfectionism when you have self-respect. It is like I want to do some things in the excellent standards that I am capable of, such as writing the greatest science article I can, focusing on my gene analysis project in the greatest detail and effort, writing the most lyric fanfiction I can come up with, being the perfect friend/best friend/partner to someone with “zero” toxic sides, being the perfect, considerate daughter to my parents, etc.

I don’t compare myself with others. I don’t feel like I’m not enough either. I just know I have some standards, high ones, that I want to keep since I am trying to live my best life. However, sometimes it holds me back to a serious extend. Like, if I miss a day of not working I’m ok, if I miss a week? Or a month? I feel like I can never recover and that I failed miserably as a scientist and I’d be just fooling myself if I studied again. As I noticed during therapy, this is probably a “nonrealistic thought pattern”, but well, it IS a thought pattern right now. There is no shame in accepting my difficulties, so I’m posting it here. I think this mindset of mine is flawed. But it’s the one I have right now and I’m working on the improving it.

I just want to achieve the greatest standards for myself because I “know” they are possible if I study idealistically. Moreover, I have a parental figure who taught me so. My father is a perfectionist of his own, except he can actually achieve the things he wants. He never, ever, EVER failed me, broke a promise, disappointed me or anything. Neither in his business life. He’s /always/ a man of his word and if he says he’ll do something, he does it. My dad is... well, not your “typical” guy. He’s actually quite famous in his own area, well known and admired too. He never acts cocky out of it though, to the point it shockes me. Anyway. I’ve been raised by this exroverted, natural leader, charismatic overachiever with an utmost dedication to his parenting at every cost, so what I see— from my dad is that, if I work really hard I can keep my standards. It’s just that I’m not as mentally strong as my father. Sometimes being productive or more analytic or more stick-to-goals is easier for him. Which is ironic because he is 50 already, when I’m 21, I mean, I’m younger, but he is the excited, aspiring, inspiring one to be around. I just don’t know. I want to handle things as greatly as he does. To never break a promise I made, to always be on time to my meetings, to always done my work before deadline, to not procrastinate things, to work out regularly, to take care of myself mentally and physically, to have a business own my own, etc, etc, etc. Because I honestly think that’s admirable and respectful and I just love people like that. They have respect to themselves and people around them because they can do neat work, both in personal & professional life.

Yet sometimes this fear of “missing” a week or two makes me feel so guilty and paralysed and angry at myself that it’s impossible to move until I have barely 2-3 days to deadline. I hate it when it happens. I’m so done with it. I’m fine with minor imperfections on life (food not cooked at best, typo on text etc) but THIS level? It breaks my functionality. I hate it. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of constantly thriving to be better, not because I don’t feel enough but because I find myself worthy to have more. But I think this mindset of mine is flawed because the end results are procrastination, stress and misery (and a neat work but well, emotional burden). That’s why, next time I have therapy I will bring this up. I want to solve this issue. I want to more forward. I don’t want to be burdened by this mindset. I want myself to know that it is alright to be imperfect. But not in a way that just says “screw it”. I want to be perfect at work and shit still. God. Science is so... fucked up too, like. Scientists are expected to be perfect more than any other job genre because we are supposed to lay out “facts”. The psychological pressure is a lot too. Fucking hell, this job. Anyway. Thing is. I’m just writing them here because I learnt that writing your thoughts out helps to figure out your next path. Mental health journals are recommended, I have one I occassionally write too, but why post there when I can just post to tumblr in which I may get to share them with people who may be struggling on similiar things so they know they aren’t alone? I mean, I made this blog mostly to talk about my fanfics, so this is not the main focus of my blog and I’m not trying so hard to be heard, I’m fine, really, but I’ll just make a minimal effort to add perfectionism to the hashtags in case any perfectionist over achievers out there are looking for company to let go of this annoying habit.

[camwritesbooks]

VICTORY ! // 50,265 // words in total ･ﾟ✧*.

( statistics )

most written in one day 3,571 ( day one ) least written in one day 210 ( day eighteen ) average words per day 1,675

( what i was listening to - a playlist )

1. cherry wine // hozier  2. dead air // chvrches 3. willow tree march // the paper kites 4. gods and monsters // lana del rey 5. wicked game // lauren aquilina 6. winter sound // of monsters and men 7. infinitisemal // mother mother 8. listen before i go // billie eilish 9. in a week // hozier

( gushing )

i have a lot to say about this whole... thing, you know, me winning nanowrimo?? because it’s crazy. it’s honestly so crazy. i remember last year, during my first nano as a member of writeblr, i was so unused to writing in this-almost professional way and even my 20k word count goal was too much for me to manage in the end. the fact that i managed to write 18k in one month was absolutely insane. 

so you know what’s crazy? i wrote 50,000 words this month. what. the. hell. this year i not only did i have normal life stuff, but i also had exams and i was working, something that took up hours a day sometimes. in october i was thinking, okay, there’s no way i can do this, but i guess i’ll try. and i did try. and i succeeded! this is genuinely the greatest achievement of my life, and i’m so incredibly happy. this draft isn’t great. it’s a bit uh... shit? in a lot of ways. but it’s also pretty good? and it’s nearly done. which like i’ve said, is insane. so insane. i’m writing a novel. and that’s pretty damn cool. 

( more below !! - including the prologue )

( about the wip )

total word count 79,221 characters 430,173 pages 105

( read the prologue )

     The forest was alight. A young woman stumbled between the burning trees, covering her mouth in a vain attempt to avoid breathing in the suffocating smoke filling the air. There were tears wetting her face and her dark skin seemed almost to glow in the terrible light of the flames that danced in the bushes, in the bows of the ash and oak. She was clutching something to her chest – a bundle of fabric she held so tightly it was like she thought the world might end if she dropped it. The look in her eyes were pure and unmistakable terror.        The fire chased her further and further through the woods, blazing branches crashing into her path and forcing her to turn sharply and find another way through. She had only one thought in mind – the river. If she could get to the river, she would live. The first touch of cool water on her skin felt like coming home. She didn’t stop, not for a moment, struggling through the water until she reached the other side where the fire could not touch her. The only remnant was the heavy scent of smoke on the breeze, and she knew she had to keep going if she didn’t want the ash to fill her lungs. But she stayed there for a long moment, soaked through with the icy water of the river.      She knew what had been done. She feared – but guessed – what was to come. And she knew, above all things, what she herself must do.      On that night when the forest burned and two hearts broke, the young woman stood up and slowly walked away. She did not look back before the trees on that side of the river swallowed her, and she disappeared into the darkness.  

[mischiefiswritten]

10 Questions Tag!

Shout out to @awrenthatwrites for keeping me so well-supplied with tag games! I’ve loved having them waiting for me when I get back to my blog.

1. How did you come up with your WIP’s title?

The Calm Before actually went without a title for quite some time, including the entirety of its first iteration (which is quite different from the current version). That was pretty unusual for me because I’m one of those writers that needs things to be named, even just with stand-ins, before I can proceed with it. 

And honestly... I can not claim any kind of cleverness when it comes to TCB’s title. With the prevalence of the Stormbringer in the story’s plot, the phrase “the calm before the storm” just popped very quickly into my mind. I chopped off the end of the phrase et voila! A working title. I don’t know if it’s going to stay, but I’ve loved it for what it is.

The story for Here There Be Monsters is much the same. But that one’s staying.

2. Do you title your chapters? If so, what’s your favorite?

Typically I have not, but recently I’ve felt like I wanted to. I don’t think it’s right for TCB, but it does fit nicely into HTBM.

Since HTBM is episodic in structure, I get to title each “episode” as well as its chapters. Potentially, I could even get to title “seasons” or story arcs, if the project continues long enough. This project is still really new, so it’s only got one episode title at the moment:

“A Lost Little Wisp”

3. What’s a recent line you really like?

I have to admit I actually really like the whole opening scene to HTBM. Here’s a tiny bit that I’m proud of... 

This takes place during Gael’s desperate and foolish maneuver to escape her pursuers. Essentially a high speed ship chase.

           It was not until the ship was tipping nose first into the maelstrom that Gael realized the man in the public house had been lying. The Maw seized the ship like a demonic spirit, threatening to rip the wheel from her hands, or simply her arms from her body. Now it was the dark thing hiding at the bottom of the sea that chanted, “Give it up, give it up.” It wasn’t just hungry; it was possessive. Everything and everyone on its surface belonged to it. There was nothing it would not take for its own in the end.

           Something primeval was calling from the murk and the foam. Its voice, sonorous and terrible, slid through Gael’s very blood. It slithered along the planks beneath her feet, caressing everything in its way with oily, formless tentacles.

4. Are there any writing-related quotes you really like?

There are so many good ones! But I feel like no one is more quotable than Tolkien and Lewis. These quotes aren’t so much about the craft, but they do speak to me about the art, passion, and joy of storytelling.

“Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage.” (CS Lewis)

“It simply isn’t an adventure worth telling if there aren’t any dragons.” (JRR Tolkien)

5. Do you have an idea for a cover design for your story?

I don’t! I find this sort of thing so difficult, whether its book covers or faceclaims or castings.

6. What sort of AU can you imagine your story being?

Do you mean, if there could be one AU that would fit best with my characters what would it be? Or what kind of AU trope is my novel? <-- This was Talya’s question, and I have to repeat it! I’m also going to answer the same way.

If I were picking an AU to see my story written as, I think a The Greatest Showman AU would be a fun one for  the Here There Be Monsters cast! That iconic scene when Philip and Anne see each other for the first time would be perfect for the primary protagonists.

And if my novel was going to be an AU trope, it’d probably be a Friends-type setup where they all live in the same building and are overly involved in each other’s lives.

7. Which OC would be the most angry with you as the writer?

Are any of them likely to be very happy with me?

8. If you had to tell the story from a different POV, which character would you choose?

This is tough because I gravitate toward 3rd person limited omniscient POV. In TCB I have four proper POV characters (Rys, Hale, Aldrich, and Neja), which I feel like adequately cover all the angles I want covered for that story. If I could add one, however, I think Vidri’s perspective would be a fun one! 

In HTBM I don’t use POV characters, but rather choose whose thoughts/knowledge gets shared at any given time. If I were to pick a POV character for the story (beyond the obvious) I would probably go for the Collector. It seems right up his alley to be relating this story!

9. What would be your OC’s taste in music if they lived in our world?

Wow, this is unexpectedly difficult to answer! I’ve got nothing for the characters, but I do have a theme song chosen for HTBM! “Deep Water” by American Authors

10. What’s one personal goal you want to achieve by the end of the story?

My goal for TCB is to complete the project in a way I can feel proud of. In a way this is related to my goal for HTBM (and its very existence) because I’ve never completed a novel. I don’t know that HTBM will ever properly end or what that will look like, but my hope in starting it is that it will teach me to write without fear. One of my biggest hurtles as a writer has been that I’m so often paralyzed by perfectionism, pulled in a hundred directions because I don’t want to make a misstep. HTBM is designed for me to simply write without the fear or expectations that go with a project like TCB that I’ve become so invested in over the years. It’s an exercise in letting go.

Thanks again for the tag! I’m going to tag @pen-of-roses, @coffeescribles, @writing-for-the-stars-and-moon, @inscrutable-shadow, and @thewrittenpost if you want to!

[ohlookitstomorrowff]

F, N, and V!!!

F: Share a snippet from one of your favourite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it?

When you said snippet, I don’t think this is what you had in mind… but I can’t choose, sooo…

“If you could go anywhere in Oz, where would it be?”

It was a very odd question for Elphaba to ask at this particular moment. “What do you mean?”

“We are pretending we’re just two average women”, replied Elphie, “where are we? Where have you always wanted to go.”

“There is a small University town on the outskirts of Gillikin”, Glinda replied, honestly. “Shiz. I’ve wanted to visit since I was a child.”

“Shiz, it is. Perhaps we are roommates? You have cleverly seduced me with your charms.”

Glinda chuckled at the notion, “I believe it was the other way around, it was I who found your book of erotica. It was you, who taught me, the meaning of pleasure.”

Elphaba hummed into the crook of her neck in reply. Glinda could feel talented hands growing bolder. Snaking round her back and cupping the softness of her rear. “I could be studying Life Sciences, I think that would be interesting. What about you, my sweet, what would you study?”

Elphie’s touch was making the process of answering rather difficult. “Sorcery, p-perhaps? Or architecture and design…”

“And in the evenings”, Elphaba whispered, “I could study you.”

The blonde gasped as her breasts were found and her neck was devoured by a vampiric woman. One of Elphaba’s thighs, slipped between her own, despite the many layers in the way, she felt the contact, deep in her centre.

Glinda knew what this would lead to. She knew she wanted it. But she knew, ultimately, it would hurt them both.

They weren’t at Shiz. They were not in their teens. They were not meant to be.

She pulled away, hurt gracing Elphaba’s features immediately. “Even the greatest Sorceresses are unable to manipulate time. In another life, perhaps it would be possible, for you and I to meet like that. But not in this one.”

I suppose I’m proud of this scene because it’s just such a culmination of everything I was try to achieve when writing The Colour of Emeralds. It might not make much sense if you’ve not read the fic, but it’s almost a 360 for Elphaba and Glinda in regards to their character development. Plus, I just love Glinda, and in this scene she makes me smile and cry within the space of a couple of lines. TCOE was my first ever fanfic, and all though it’s far from perfect and could be doing with a good touch-up, on a whole I’m super proud of it.

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

I have so many WIP,S it’s unbelievable… au started writing a Gelphie fic last year (haven’t posted any of it) where Elphaba was a University student doing PHD - so she’d be around 23 - and Glinda is one of her lecturers… gay stuff ensues including some bdsm, and they end up falling in love despite the considerable age gap (NOTHING CREEPY THO). After I started writing it I was introduced to the Hicsqueak fandom and it became all-encompassing, so I sort of lost track… someone could finish that for me I suppose…😂

V: If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

I’m not sure, I think someone else’s work is off limits I suppose (a rather odd view considering that’s basically the premise of fanfic) but if we’re playing the game, I think I’d probs like to write a sequel to ‘The Princess of Oz’ by MyLittleElphie. I think the writing style is pretty close to what I’m comfortable with, and I just love the story so much and have a pretty good idea of what I’d like to see in a sequel.

[sullenload]

How would you want your WIP to be done as a film? Colour scheme, director, dream actors, etc?

hardcore 1980s! Muted colors, and if you’ve ever seen The Breakfast Club, i want the whole vibe like that

       2. Tell us about the character you’ve had the longest, and why you’ve                stuck with them for all this time.

im going to answer this for my other WIP A to Z. I’ve had Anthony the longest and he’s morphed into many things. there’s something i want to represent with him and i think i can do it!

3. What is a piece of advice you wish you’d been given when you first started out writing?

that it’s okay to not have everything be perfect for your first draft, your mistakes will be your greatest achievements someday

4. What do you step outside your comfort zone with in your writing?

having characters of color tbh! im so afraid to get something wrong within their heritage or anything like that so i just never try but now i have two mcs that are poc. im doing my research on them and everything so i hope it turns out well

5. Tell us why we’ll love your WIP!

well both of my WIPs touch on things that i think no other kind of lgbt book does i guess? i love getting through to the nitty gritty problems 

6. Would you rather be a household name for your work or have a small cult following instead?

i kind of wanna be both?? but having this as a job would be amazing, especially to tie in with being an illustrator

7. Do you have any easter eggs hidden in your WIP?

in all of my WIPs, they either go to the school Maintan High or Langston High. they’re rival schools

8. What motivated or inspired your current WIP?

i was rereading what i wrote and couldn’t believe i stopped. it was because of a writer’s block but it has so much potential

9. What is your process for building your characters/worlds/plots?

i pull traits from characters i love from books i’ve read and i think of ideas that stem from others that no one has done before! my process is so random honestly

10. What does your planning/revision process look like?

it’s a total mess i can’t even describe it

Thank you for the tag @cynotype !! i appreciate it! i tag @achemicalwriter @lonelyartistsandwriterssociety @girlnovels @sashathewriter 

questions under the cut!

1. How many WIPs do you have?

2. Who is your favorite main character and why?

3. Main Character you relate to the most?

4. How did you get into writing?

5. What are some battles you faced while becoming the writer you are now?

6. What would you say your writing style is?

7. Do you have any playlists for your WIPs?

8. What is your first concrete idea you had for a story?

9. Who is your longest character you’ve had and why?

10. When did you make your writeblr?

[rawbones]

2018 meme

i used to do this on lj eons ago so why not

1. What did you do in 2018 that you’d never done before?

2018 was essentially building upon 2017’s foundations so i don’t think i did anything new exactly

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

My resolution was to take better care of myself and i’ve semi-consistently managed to do that

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

nope!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

nope!

5. What countries did you visit?

NONE traveling is a commodity being marketed as self-improvement

6. What would you like to have in 2019 that you lacked in 2018?

Physical fitness?

7. What dates from 2018 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

None because RARELY DO I REMEMBER DATES

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I guess getting the job i have now

9. What was your biggest failure?

The fact that i can’t think of anything indicates that this hasn’t been a bad year

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

[usual complaint about mental problems]

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I didn’t buy a lot that i didn’t absolutely need but i really like the floral oxfords i bought a few months ago

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

My friends are gr8

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

lmao

14. Where did most of your money go?

Towards the essentials and probably too much wine

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Nothing

16. What song will always remind you of 2018?

The only thing i can think of off the top of my head is phaeleh - the mist but that’s only because i’ve listened to it a lot

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder?  Slightly more content

b) thinner or fatter?  same

c) richer or poorer?  richer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

reading!

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

self-isolating

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Small family dinner

21. Did you fall in love in 2018?

I am always in love

22. What was your favorite TV program?

The only thing i watched this year was Miss Sherlock which is very gay

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Nah

24. What was the best book you read?

I can’t think of one

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Chelsea Wolfe

26. What did you want and get?

A job and i got one

27. What did you want and not get?

AN END TO THE RENOVATIONS IN MY PLACE

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

Honestly fuck movies they’re terrible

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

32 and i worked and was generally feeling a bit sad and disconnected so i didn’t want to acknowledge it

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Being better-paid

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2018?

I guess something like dark academia with pathetically few accessories

32. What kept you sane?

lmao

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

no

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Literally everything politically was fucking abominable this year how i can i pick one issue

35. Who did you miss?

Not getting into this

36. Who was the best new person you met?

I liked meeting the kids a lot but i’ve mostly just deepened my existing relationships and i’m satisfied with that

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2018

I wouldn’t say i’ve learned it but i’m trying to be more at peace with the fact that i’m a WIP

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Yeah i don’t think in these terms so i never can come up with things like this sorry!

[authorracheljoy]

Nerissa Ask Does she have a voice? What's her greatest achievement? Anything she's insecurities? Any notable shortcomings? How does she deal with grief? How does she dress? What does she like to eat? What's her family life like? Any embarrassing memories from years ago? Does she have any dreams or ambitions? Her reaction to betrayal? Her reaction to a mystery love letter? What's her reaction to pain? What is she like on 2 hours of sleep? How does she act when she's sick? Why do you enjoy her?

1. Does she have a voice?

Not really? I don’t usually focus on the voices when making a dream cast (which I no longer really implement into my WIPs).. but I did have Nerissa cast as Laura Vandervoort so :) 

2. What’s her greatest achievement? 

I don’t intend for this to sound mean or anything, but she hasn’t accomplished anything, in life OR death! XD She’s easy prey for vampires and doesn’t have an independent mentality as a vampire soooooo yeah! 

3. Anything she’s insecurities? 

Ohhh lots of things; mainly anything regarding her outward appearance and demeanor!

4. Any notable shortcomings? 

I think I already mentioned them previously ;) 

5. How does she deal with grief? 

It’s more of a shock to her than anything. Like… she’d go through all the stages of grief (except maybe acceptance? I mean, she’s still pretty young to be dealing with death!) and that’s about it I’m afraid :/

6. How does she dress? 

Like a haughty teenager who likes to show off! 

7. What does she like to eat? 

As a human, she liked a lot of spicy things? 

Now as a vampire she, well… loves blood!

8. What’s her family life like? 

Well. Her parents were obviously so neglectful that they didn’t realize what was happening to their daughter (Nerissa getting involved with vampires and eventually becoming one!) until it was too late of course… But Nerissa still loved her parents, really. She was just.. kinda embarrassed by them?

9. Any embarrassing memories from years ago? 

I just mentioned how Nerissa was embarrassed by her parents? 

Sooooo anything involving them! :D

10. Does she have any dreams or ambitions? 

Oh for sure! Even though her main goal was finding a boyfriend/girlfriend (she’s got BOTH now hey-hey!) through Sergio and The Blood Diamond club, she still has dreams even in her afterlife~ I can’t get into them, though so.. oops.

11. Her reaction to betrayal? 

She. gets. really PISSED! 

12. Her reaction to a mystery love letter? 

Nerissa’s all about blind love and love at first sight so… she’d probably gush over it!

13. What’s her reaction to pain? 

She had a pretty high tolerance as a human, and as a vampire, practically nothing changed~

14. What is she like on 2 hours of sleep? 

Well, when she was human, she was addicted to coffee, so running on 2 hours of sleep only was no problem for her at all! 

15. How does she act when she’s sick? 

Like a whiny bitch, if I’m being honest XD Very pampered… annoying… but thankfully, as a vampire, she doesn’t get sick! So it doesn’t work anymore!

16. Why do you enjoy her?

Honestly, I hate her development in book one (if you can even call it that), but her eventual chemistry and bond with Sergio and Melissa is something that I really do like. I’m still developing it, but progress is progress~ She’s a pretty forgetable character, though, if I’m being honest XD

Thanks for the ask

[igarbagecannoteven]

so. camp nano july 2021 is officially over and i want to talk about stats baby let’s talk about you and me let’s talk about all the good things *anyways* i have a semi-unhealthy relationship with statistics be it spotify or nano so feel free to ignore what is basically me hyping myself up at this point lol. 

so if you’ve never participated in nanowrimo you probably don’t know about my greatest love/mortal enemy, aka their snazzy charts. they also have badges! which are cute and also occasionally the bane of my existence. yes i have issues let’s move on to the actual content before we start to psychoanalyze anyone skfjsldkj

so uh hindsight is 20/20 in that 12k was probably a lower goal than i should have given myself *however* in my defense i did have a very busy month with travelling and people stealing my room so i really did have not as much time as a usual july which maybe is a contributing factor as to why i got so much done? since there was the fear i wouldn’t have time later? idk man i’m not going to break down the intersection btwn my anxiety and executive dysfunction to figure it out basically my brain is wack and i think past me was valid. probably.

so above is the extremely sexy overall progress chart which is not normally half this smokin’ because i generally don’t make my goal period, much less early. anyways the pale blue line is what you have to write every day to make your goal in time and in dark blue is what i actually wrote. 

and fig. 3 (yes i regularly write scientific papers why do you ask?) is my daily word count broken down for all to see. honestly i’m much happier about the fact that i managed to write every single day this month than i am about passing my goal because i have never ever been able to do it so! exciting stuff! lowest daily word count was 52 words on the 10th and highest was 1,777 words on the 3rd. as you can see my daily count fluctuated quite a lot because consistency is not my strong suit. 

i won’t show the badges bc they are not half as snazzy but basically i got all except for the “achieve daily par every day” one which i expect to never get because everyone, especially me, has bad writing days so i’m not mad about it in the least.

some other stats that are *not* represented by the official nanowrimo website: i started approximately 14 new wips and worked on 22 wips total (this is a rough count bc i’m not including outlines or things in my notes app i didn’t include in the count, plus i’m bad at counting so i could have missed a doc or two), technically finished and posted one even though i only wrote, like, three sentences during camp because it was basically already done months ago, and am possibly semi-close to finishing another? semi-close as in it might be done sometime in august? possibly? i did not reach my goal of getting a complete draft of a chapter of my longfic done but honestly idc. i have resigned myself to the fact that it’s def not going to be done by 2021 and honestly maybe not even in 2022. it’s a bit of a mess but it’s chill bc i know if i do end up finishing it (which tbh is a pretty big if) it’ll be good! i think. if i can figure out the ending. or rather the last fourth of the plot. or maybe the second half? who tf knows anymore.

anyways there’s the camp breakdown literally no one asked for! i’m just happy that it went so much better than i thought it would :))) if you read all of this a) why, b) i love you, and c) seriously why would you do that to yourself (thank youuuu)