#your mind is so much more powerful than any game writer with a deadline and a design bible

[ampleappleamble]

not 2 start this up again, but i've already started seeing posts about avowed (tho not on here yet surprisingly, on other sites) and thus far it's almost all been talking abt how fun and charming the companions are and that's great! v glad to hear that! i did not spring for the early access version so i can't play till tuesday but it's great that i've been seeing ripples of positive responses already

except. the 3 separate posts ive seen today alone all follow this up by lamenting that it's a crime that the companions can't be romanced. gnashing my teeth over it like man, c'mon. have we truly lost the sauce. when a character who can't be romanced -- whether in a game with no romances at all, or whether they just happen to be one who doesn't have a romance path while others do -- charms you, you're supposed to let that consume you and drive your creativity and make your own romantic content. fics, fanart, edits, whatever it may be.

☝‼️

sigh. guys, you may think you can't romance kai or yatzli or whoever but the thing is you can. if you believe you can, you can. you can smooch the surly dwarf or the animancer lady too, as much as you want, in the infinite expanse of your Mind Palace. and they can be as good or as bad at giving head as you feel– no, as you know they ought to be. i believe in you.

[morocosmos]

Writer Interview Game

Tagged by @arcaneoddity, tyyyy 💜

When did you start writing?

I noodled at an unfinished story or two when i was a kid (i drew comics a lot more tbh), the first fanfic i wrote was when i was 13 (it is consigned to ff.net, never to be perceived again). i started developing my writing during secondary school, we had to for english class but i genuinely enjoyed those assignments so much that it didn't feel like schoolwork lmao, it was smth of an outlet. i did write a couple of fics for other fandoms between 2016 and mid 2020, but in late 2020 FFXIV revived my desire to create, while @stellarfatalism and @lemoncakedesign's fics inspired me to actually start writing.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I read a much wider variety of smut than what i could be convinced to write. other than that i think they mostly overlap.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

@haillenarte, @rabbitprint and @sezja's fics have stuck with me the most in terms of "god i want to be able to write characters like this"....i've never been compared to another writer before, never even considered it and idk how i'd feel.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

I was writing on openoffice at first, but their software has a tendency to crash when you press two keys too fast, for example when you. try to save your work. moved to gdocs to avoid that and so that i could continue working on fic on my phone, but i also use the notes app on there, mainly to get down ideas that i don't want running away or to write more freely. it's easier to be experimental and loose when i'm writing in notes, idk, whereas i prefer sitting at the desk and working on my computer when it's a longer fic or a more """important""" piece.

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

I've let it happen when it happens, for the most part. i was forcing myself to power through job around the time i really grew into writing, so i needed it to be a space where i wouldn't do it if i didn't want to. my feelings about that are more mixed now, because i'm a slow writer to begin with, and i can't help but wonder if more people would read my stuff if i updated more consistently. but i digress - the only time i've had to bring the muse in myself was for to sail your seas, and that was because there was accountability and a deadline. so i guess my most effective tricks are ADHD hacks and brainworms.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Until recently i didn't approach fic writing with themes in mind, when i get an idea it's usually about throwing a character at something and seeing what happens. that something tends to be another character, sometimes it's more existential like touch starvation. that said, i do have a WIP where i sat down and thought about what i want the themes to be before i know how it's going to pan out, but it's baby's first attempt so i don't have an answer to this question yet, really.

What is your reason for writing?

Processing things i know and exploring things i don't. when i got back into writing in 2020 it was extremely cathartic, i've burnt out on several creative pursuits over the years and having that spark come alive was, and is still very precious to me. i spent two years writing simply because i had ideas and a vice-grip compulsion to write them out. now that that's slowed down, i've started to think more about craft, and how i might try to hone that when i'm lowkey afraid of this stage of learning, and there's no formal institution to kick my ass into it. but in some ways, i think i write because i can't afford not to.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I've been told by a friend that i'm good at continuity, which is nice considering it lines up with the obsessive approach i take towards trying to tie plot/character threads together lol. personally, i still consider descriptive writing to be my greatest strength. it's what i keep going back to, maybe because it was the first thing i discovered i was good at that wasn't influenced by someone else's decision.

How do you feel about your own writing?

I miss the honeymoon period when i thought my writing was the hottest shit LOL. that tapered off towards the end of 2022, but it's not like i think my writing is bad now, just that over time i became more aware of my shortcomings, and how much knowledge and experience i lack. i did have to fight a little to keep my relationship with writing from souring last year, but in hindsight it was more about frustration that i didn't have the energy to write (work burnout wooo) than a problem with writing itself. after a year plus of stalling and big fic projects i just want to have fun again, be a bit silly.

[the-blaze-empress]

For the Ask Game, 1., 2., 7., 19., 21., 41., 44., and 81.,

(hug)

1. do you know how you want the story to end when you start, or are you just stumbling through the figurative wilderness hoping to find a road?

i know where i want to end up definitely, sometimes that can change in specifics a little bit but like. the main themes and shit are always pretty set. the middle can b a bit hazy but also has the main points outlined. sometimes characters just have a few more panic attacks than expected u know how it b <3

2. talk about a notable time a narrative or character has looked you dead in the eyes and said “fuck your plan, here’s what we’re actually doing.”

PHILZA FUCKING MINECRAFT IN TAKE MY ARMS STOP FUCKING PANICKING. his reaction to quackity was WAY worse than i thought it was gonna be that it warranted an ENTIRE EXTRA CHAPTER. yeah so that happened. ALSO PHIL GETTING DISTRACTED BY THE RIBBON VENDOR. KID PLS THERES PLOT THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN I GET IT THE RIBBONS R SHINY BUT WE GOT THINGS TO ADDRESS HERE. arms!phil very much has a mind of his own

7. tell us about the plot of the first fanfic you ever wrote

oh boy time to revisit the days where i didnt know what fanfic was!! i think technically my first fanfic was. sfge fic. i had a whole canon compliant story about a pair of twins, the daughters of the girl and boy from the snow queen fariytale, one had fire powers and the other water, the water one went to the school for good and the fire one went to the school for evil. they both got into the trial by tale and watched (ohgod what were their names) bane kill the good kid from woods beyond. uh yeah i had fun working out all their gifts and stuff, i had a lot of characters planned n shit i should see if i can find the word docs for that. as per usual the middle of the fic was very. hazy in the middle

19. what are some books or authors that influenced your style the most?

BUN BUNFLORAS @bunfloras!! SUCH a big influence on both what i write and how i write most notably in finally being the one to convert me from past tense to present. oh dear can you see me? for properly introducing me to whump and kidza, both of which i adore reading AND writing. fuckin. whats her name. margaret owen is such a good writer her books are so good i love how well she worldbuilds and embeds it all so well into her stories. go read the merciful crow duology you will thank me.

21. pick a writer to co-write a book with and tell us what you’d write about.

hmmmmmm. i think bun and i could write a good book together i mean we've already cowritten tens of thousands of words sfadsgdh. looks at rune and cam. looks at their rp. looks back at this question. yeah it would be about magic and queer relationships and growth and so much fucking angst

41. what is the weirdest story idea you’ve ever had.

i have no fucking clue. i have had so many story ideas i cannot keep track of them all. good lord. lemme check my google drive. OH I KNOW. that one klance fic i wrote from the perspective of a tree <3

44. any writing advice you want to share?

i feel like saying 'just fucking do it' is cliche. but its the best advice i can give really. write for yourself even if you dont publish it, read things you like and work out what you like about it and see if you can put that in ur own writing. write FOR YOURSELF. dont write for other people it will become a chore and you will regret it. people wont enjoy reading it if ur not enjoying writing it

81. if you could go back in time and give your younger self a piece of writing advice specific to you, what would it be?

god so much. not everything has to be about romance. stop taking on so many projects with deadlines at once. stop tracking how many words u write each day. write what you want to write. its okay to stop enjoying smth ur writing

writing ask game

(hi roo love you <33)

[nanowrimo]

Become an Organized Writer in 2021

Do you have any writing resolutions for the new year? Sometimes having a fresh start can help you develop better ways to keep track of your ideas and stories. Today, bestselling author Antony Johnston is here to give you some tips on how to be a more organized writer:

I’ve yet to meet a writer – myself included! – who doesn’t wish they were better organized. So as we all look forward to making a fresh start in the new year, here are four tips to help you stay on track.

1. Write Every Day

This is probably the hardest thing to commit to, especially right now with so many of us still at home and juggling that work-family-life balance. But it’s also the most rewarding and effective thing a writer can do.

Find a regular slot in which you can write alone and uninterrupted. That might be half an hour before everyone wakes up, an hour after evening dinner, or something else. The precise time doesn’t matter so much as making a daily commitment, because when you write every day even small amounts quickly build up. Oh, you can only write 250 words per day? Well, after nine months you’ll have finished a 70,000-word novel. And if you can write more than that... well, even math-averse authors can figure that one out.

2. Write With a ‘Clean Mind’

I always advocate making writing the first thing you do after waking – before email, social media, phone calls, etc. Those things distract us, polluting our minds with the real world. It’s difficult to let your imagination run free when your subconscious is composing email replies or getting angry about something on Twitter. Writing first means you can work with a ‘clean mind’, free of distraction.

Of course, if you have a day job and/or family commitments this can be difficult. Try to fulfill those duties and then take a short break to cleanse them from your mind – walk the dog, go for a run, maybe listen to a podcast. Don’t spend that time online! Do something that lets your mind relax, so when you come to write all you’re thinking about is your manuscript.

3. Write to a Deadline

If you’ve taken part in NaNoWriMo, you know the value of a deadline. It focuses your mind on getting those words down every day and finishing a manuscript on time. Give yourself that same benefit by setting personal deadlines, no matter the project.

Only you can know what a reasonable deadline is, and even experienced writers like myself occasionally get it wrong! But any deadline is better than none, and if you know how much you can reliably write every day (see #1) you can use that to figure out a schedule. It’s amazing how having that date on your calendar focuses your mind – even when you put it there yourself.

4. Write Fast, Revise Later

Remember: no matter how rough your draft is, you can always revise it. But first you must have a draft to revise – because it’s much easier to see what needs to change when you can see the complete story.

So don’t get bogged down searching for the perfect phrase or worrying about continuity details. Instead, power through to the end of the draft – because then you can go back and find that perfect phrase, or revise all those details, at your leisure.

Don’t sit around waiting for inspiration; just put your head down and write.

Antony Johnston is a New York Times bestselling author whose work includes books, screenplays, graphic novels, and video games. The hit Charlize Theron movie Atomic Blonde was based on his graphic novel, his Brigitte Sharp cyber-spy thrillers are critically acclaimed, and his productivity guide The Organised Writer has helped authors all over the world take control of their workload. He also hosts the podcast Writing And Breathing. 

Find him online: https://twitter.com/AntonyJohnston

Author photo credit: Chad Michael Ward

[sindri42]

What do you think the Reapers were supposed to be all about before the writer got replaced and the ending of ME3 threw out the lore?

There's not a lot that we have that's solid, just a lot of hints and suppositions. So there's no way to really conclusively determine what was supposed to be going on, but we can definitely come up with theories that match the evidence, which the "canon" absolutely does not. So here's what we know:

Harbinger refers to themself as our "salvation through destruction" and the "Harbinger of your perfection". "We will bring your species into harmony with our own" they say, and "Your species will be raised to a new existence. We are the beginning, you will be the end," but also "You will surrender your potential against the growing void."

Sovereign claims they are each a nation unto themselves, that they are the pinnacle of evolution, and when asked who created them or for what purpose insists that they have no beginning nor end

Mass Effect technology plays upon dark energy in a way that is poorly understood by the young races despite their reliance on it for almost every aspect of life

A small but significant number of stars are destabilizing for unknown reasons, aging at a massively accelerated rate.

The mass relays were built for the young races, partly so civilized planets would be laid out upon predictable paths and easily accessible via the "back door" in the Citadel, but also so that the new civilizations would develop along the lines the Reapers had planned for them

it's very rare to have more than a single major race in each cycle; most often the other spacefaring civilizations are either wiped out or made subservient to the rulers of the galaxy

The greatest race of each cycle is used in the creation of a single new Reaper, while lesser races or those with major flaws are discarded or turned into servitors like the Keepers (per the end of ME2; obviously this got retconned in 3).

Between "harvests" the Reapers retreat beyond the galactic rim, sitting quietly in the dark using as little energy as possible for tens of thousands of years at a time.

So, first and simplest assumption, the Cycle is effectively the Reapers' reproductive system. Like all life forms, they have a drive to produce more of themselves, but for some reason they can't or won't simply make a new chassis out of raw metal, and they're unwilling to use "flawed" people as components, which means the people put into it are extremely important. If the larval reaper that Shepherd killed had been allowed to grow up, it would not simply have been a machine with some random DNA inside, it would have been humanity, an entire nation and species flying through space for eternity.

Second assumption, slightly stretchy but with several weak points of support? Mass Effect technology is slowly killing the galaxy. As more people use it in more ways every year, more stars start to die. This isn't an issue that would affect any normal person alive today, the changes are observed over the course of millennia rather than even centuries, but unless something big changes everyone is eventually doomed. And sure, any given individual or small group could simply refuse to use the mass effect, but it's so easy to figure out that you could never suppress the knowledge of how to use it in any meaningful way, and it's so useful and people are so greedy and short-sighted that you could never persuade everybody to stop. And if you tried to do it by force, well, a nation making free use of eezo in their engines and their guns and their shields would wipe the floor with a nation determined to stick to mundane technology.

So, my theory of how things went down? The first race to figure out the mass effect knew they had a problem. Maybe they had already made themselves immortal, so they were more concerned with the long term than most people. Maybe they just had more foresight than most. Either way, they put themselves into a form where they could still think and communicate, likely on a deeper and more intimate level than ever before, but they would use as little energy as possible to preserve their billions of lives. The "pinnacle of evolution" if you will, a machine which had no creator besides itself, a life form which could last forever with minimal resource consumption. And they sat quietly Thinking about how to fix this, for tens of thousands of years.

But while they researched and experimented and contemplated, other life forms kept evolving. And eventually they also figured out the secret to using the mass effect, but either didn't know about the dangers or chose to ignore them. So the ancient... okay let's just call them Harbinger for convenience, had to do something to stop this. Maybe they were too soft-hearted to wipe out an entire species for an honest mistake. Or maybe their research had hit a dead end, and they needed an outside perspective to apply new ideas to the problem. Or maybe they were simply lonely, or the instinctual drive to be fruitful and multiply reared up after being suppressed for so long. Either way, they converted the young fools into another nation-ship hive-mind like themself, convinced them of the seriousness of the situation (to "surrender your potential against the growing void" as it were), and resumed Thinking out in the black.

And when it happened again, and again, they refined their approach over time. The eezo drives on the individual ships of the young races are not only slower, but also massively less efficient than the technology the Reapers have developed, so they gave the Relays away as a gift to minimize the damage each new race would do. They couldn't allow young races to become too powerful to stop, but they wanted to allow them as much opportunity to develop scientific research and understanding as possible in order to be more useful to the ongoing project to save the galaxy, so they learned how to insert observers and infiltrators throughout alien societies to observe things and ensure the Harvest was delayed for as long as it was safe to do so but no longer (and I think you can agree that they were cutting their deadlines really close given how an extra three years brought the council races from 'utterly unprepared, basically a walkover' to 'giving you a serious fight').

So, how would the game end, after you learned all of this? Maybe Shepherd simply accepts the inevitable fate of the young races, like Saren once did, and helps the Reapers to end the Cycle with a minimum of suffering so that they can join the endless search for a real solution. The ultimate 'sacrifice for the greater good', killing thousands of entire species of people in order to preserve life in the galaxy as a whole. Maybe Shepherd rejects the idea that it's worth killing billions of innocents now in order to head off some distant nebulous threat later, and fights back with everything they have... and if you managed to unify everybody you possibly could, this would certainly be more power than the Reapers ever had to deal with before in any past cycle. Or maybe you use a display of that power to force the Reapers to the negotiating table, and then use all the "impossible" things you've achieved and all the scientific progress made over the past few short years, plus a heavy dose of raw charisma and Paragon ideology, to persuade them that if everybody works together they can finally solve the impossible problem, the one that has been stumping every Reaper for millions of years, within the time span of this one final Cycle if they just share the data they have so far and allow the young races to work freely.

[theastrophilearchitect]

March TBR/W.

Every book, audiobook, tv show and movie I want to consume in March 2021.

-Hence ‘TBR/W’ - to-be-read/watched.

I’m not usually a fan of pre-planning my media for the month - I plan out all my media obsessively, but doing it by month seems a little too much like setting deadlines for my taste, and I’m sure I’ll somehow manage to turn watching tv into a chore. Regardless, it’s worth a shot, so this is going to be a rough guide - I’m going to pick four of each category, one per week, because I’d rather underestimate and surpass than overestimate and have to defer things to the next month. So let’s go.

Books

1. Skyward and 2. Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

Skyward is set in a future where the human race is on the verge of extinction, trapped on a planet constantly attacked by alien warriors. Spensa, a teenage girl stuck on the planet, wants to be a pilot, but it seems far-off. Then, she finds the wreckage of a ship that appears to have a soul, and she must figure out how to repair it, and persuade it to help her navigate flight school.

In truth, I mainly want to read this because of how highly it’s been praised by Hailey in Bookland on YouTube. I actually tried reading Sanderson’s Mistborn series a couple years ago, and just didn’t click with it. I love fantasy, but I can pretty confidently say epic fantasy just isn’t for me. However, Sanderson’s work is adored by many, and Skyward and its sequel Starsight appeal so much more to me, and I can’t wait to get to them.

3. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas

This is Maas’s first technically-adult book; Throne of Glass is young adult, ACOTAR being classed either as young or new adult. I’ve been a fan of Maas for a long time, and, though I enjoy her books less now than I have in the past due to how seriously they tend to take themselves, I’d still love to read this one. Where her previous series were both fantasies, this sits somewhere between that and a sci-fi, but I can’t say as-of-yet what I think, because I haven’t read it yet.

Bryce Quinlan finds herself investigating her friends’ deaths in an attempt to avenge them after they were taken from her by a demon. Hunt Athalar is a Fallen angel, enslaved by Archangels, forced to assassinate their enemies, when he’s offered a deal to assist Bryce in exchange for his freedom.

4. Scythe by Neal Shusterman

I listened to this as an audiobook in 2019 as part of BookTuber Book Roast’s Magical Readathon, and didn’t hugely get along with it in truth. The audiobook was excellent as an audiobook, but the story Ian’s I just didn’t really vibe. I think I just want to like this book, so I think it’s worth a reread to see if my opinion changes.

This follows Citra and Rowan, a reluctant pair of apprentice Scythes - in a utopian future where humanity has the means to live forever, it is the job of the Scythes to control the population by essentially reaping the souls of those they choose to die. Neither Citra or Rowan want it, but I don’t remember enough about this book to say any more.

Audiobooks

1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

This is the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy, and you either already know what this series is about, or you’ve been living under a rock for the last thirteen years. I read this book for the first time nearly seven years ago, and it’s stuck with me. It sent me into a phase of only reading dystopian books (The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken was part of this, and was the series that really got me into reading), but this was the main one that stuck with me. 

It contains a powerful message about capitalism and discrimination, and this is the second time I’ve listened to the audiobooks, though the god-only-knows-what time I’ve read the series. I listened to The Hunger Games and Catching Fire in February, which automatically puts this on my to-listen for March.

2. Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, Kelly Link and Robin Wasserman

This is a novella bind-up set in the Shadowhunters world, that I would imagine has quite a bit to do with the Shadow Market, an aspect of the Downworld introduced in The Dark Artifices, which I finished in January.

In truth, I’m mainly planning to listen to this audiobook because it’s the only Shadowhunters novella bind-up with an audiobook, and I’d just rather read additions to the main Shadowhunters series in this format rather than physically.

3. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

This is a Hunger Games prequel that was released early last year, and I just wasn’t going to read it. I heard several reviews, the general consensus of which was basically that it’s not as good as the trilogy and is somewhat unnecessary, but, in truth, my curiosity’s got the better of me, especially since I started listening to the trilogy’s audiobooks again.

This prequel follows Coriolanus Snow as a mentor in the Games before he became President of Panem and the wonderful villain of the original trilogy.

4. Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

I mentioned this in my physical TBR post a couple weeks ago, but have decided to listen to the audiobook instead. A few weeks ago, I’d started to run out of audiobooks I wanted to listen to, and didn’t want to read anything on my regular TBR in this format, including this book. But, I went through a load of audiobook recommendations, and this was one of them, so it joined my to-listen.

I’m not hugely into contemporary books, but I’ve wanted to get more into the genre for a while, and this was the first one to join my TBR.

This novel follows Eliza Mirk, your typical high school outcast, who publishes a hugely popular web comic under the pseudonym LadyConstellation. Then Wallace Warland, the biggest fanfic writer of her comic transfers to her school and begins to draw her out of her shell.

TV Shows

Before I go into my list, I’d like to mention that I am currently watching WandaVision and am definitely planning to watch Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+, but both come out on a weekly basis, so aren’t being included on this list. Also, I’ve been watching way too much YouTube recently, so I’m not sure I’ll get through all of these this month, especially since I’m watching the Arrowverse shows, which have such long seasons.

1. Love, Victor Season 1

This Love, Simon spin-off follows a character named Victor at Creekwood (I think that’s the name?) High School. I saw Love, Simon twice in cinemas when it was released, and, miraculously, it made me cry. I love that movie.

This series was released last year on Hulu, which is only available in the US, but as of February 23rd, it’s one of the shows that came to Disney+ as part of Star.

2. The Flash Season 1

As mentioned, I’ve started watching the DC Arrowverse shows. I watch tv shows through alternating seasons - as in, I watch season 1 of show A, then season 1 of show B, then 2 of A, etc., then when I finish one, I start watching show C - but I’m treating the Arrowverse as one show (even though it isn’t) so it’s not the only thing I’m watching. So this is technically Arrowverse S3, preceded by Arrow S1+2 (though I haven’t actually started S2 as of writing this because of how much YouTube I’ve been watching, so I’ll be finishing that first).

I genuinely don’t know that much about most DC superheroes, Flash included, but I’m going into this having been assured it takes itself less goddamn seriously than Arrow. It’s my sister’s favourite Arrowverse show, and I can’t wait.

3. Dare Me Season 1

I added this Netflix show to my watchlist when it came out, and my basic understanding is that it focuses on the cheerleaders at a high school, and begins when a new coach arrives. It focuses on the psychological damage behind competitive cheerleading, and I’m not convinced I’m going to love it, but I think it’s worth a shot.

4. Arrow Season 3

I’m so confused by this poster. This is specifically the season 3 poster, and I’m so confused, but I’m sure it’ll make more sense when I watch the season.

I explained the weird way I’m watching Arrowverse (named as such because Arrow was the first show in it) already, but Arrow follows Oliver Queen, the son of one of the billionaires of Starling City upon his return after being stuck for five years on an island when a cruise ship carrying him and his father sunk. His father left him with a list of names of the people ‘corrupting’ the city, and Oliver takes it upon himself to assume a vigilante identity and take them down.

Movies

I’m not a huge movie-watcher, but I end up compiling so many to watch that, to ensure I get round to them, I watch a movie every time I finish a tv show season. I’m also currently re-watching the MCU movies in chronological order.

1. Instant Family

This is just something that came onto Netflix recently and I thought might be entertaining, and so it joined my list.

This follows a couple who decide to adopt a teenager, only to find out she has two more siblings.

2. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 

This is just a continuation of my MCU re-watch - I love this movie. I love Guardians of the Galaxy, full stop (on another note, I just generally don’t understand why British people call it a full stop and Americans call it a period. Neither name makes particular sense). 

3. Avengers: Age of Ultron

And here we have another continuation of my MCU rewatch. I honestly think this is my favourite Avengers movie, because the whole teams actually together, and Wanda, Scarlet Witch, is introduced - I love her. I really didn’t like Vision until WandaVision came out, though.

4. Behind The Try: A Try Guys Documentary

Not technically a movie, but still. (Are documentaries movies? I tend to think of them as separate categories, but I guess they’re both movies. Hm.) I’ve been watching the Try Guys for years, which means I need to convince my sister to give me her Google password so I don’t have to pay for this.

I’m probably not going to stick to this list, and even if I do, I’m either going to also consume things not on it, or just not finish it. But, you’ll have to wait for my March wrap-up to find out.

[rpgmgames]

September’s Featured Game: Ghost Hospital

DEVELOPER(S): Lev, Kip, Rose, Tredlocity, C, Bittersweet ENGINE: RPGMaker MV GENRE: Adventure, RPG WARNINGS: Anxiety, Body horror, Implied child harm SUMMARY: Ghost Hospital is a game about anxiety, depression, despair, mental rock bottoms, and, of course, ghosts. You play as Robin, a twelve-year-old girl who has an anxiety disorder and is very much alive in this hospital meant for beings that are not alive. Frankly, her anxiety was already bad enough before she landed in a hospital full of dead people, the still-shambling shells of ancient ghosts who try to take her down for a sweet taste of life, and the hospital directors hellbent on keeping her contained, and more importantly, away from the reason she's REALLY there. Thankfully, you have your new friends Jay and Sarcastic Ghost- Jay is a ghost about your age, and still a very new arrival to the hospital, and Sarcastic Ghost…well, he's an amorphous blob of a ghost, who talks a lot despite not having a mouth.

Download the demo here!

Our Interview With The Dev Team Below The Cut!

Introduce yourself! Lev: Hey, my name is Lev! I'm an artist and storyteller, and though I've wanted to make games for a long time, this is my first serious attempt! Most of my work is about my experiences in mental illness. Kip: I'm a freelance artist being allowed to write cheap jokes in ghost form. Rose: I'm a freelance writer and editor for the game! I also work on dialogue and story drafting. Tredlocity: My name is Tredlocity! I do some character designs and writing in the game! C: c / ghoul is a character designer, comic artist and Halloween enthusiast. They're currently apart of several indie game teams and are writing the webcomic, This Dark Forest of Ours. Bittersweet: I'm Kendall (AKA Bittersweet), and I'm the resident music person (one of two, technically, but the other left the project unfortunately.) This is my first (and thus far only) major soundtrack composition project, but thus far, it's been a satisfying one!

What is your project about? What inspired you to create your game initially? *Lev: Ghost Hospital is a game about anxiety, and the game was born out of an idea to put someone in the shoes of someone with clinical anxiety and depression without going for the prototypical 'horror game' or 'walking simulator', giving more game-friendly, practical narrative and gameplay examples of how it effects people.

How long have you been working on your project? *Lev: The game started development in late 2016 as a thesis project for college. At its inital completion, it was more of a beta or proof of concept than a demo- in its current state, it's far closer to what we have envisioned for the final project.

Did any other games or media influence aspects of your project? *Lev: Absolutely! The biggest influences are OFF, Yume Nikki, and Sweet Home, and a lot of Gameboy Color graphics and aesthetics- namely, Pokemon GSC and the GBC Zelda Games.

Have you come across any challenges during development? How have you overcome or worked around them? *Lev: RPG Maker is a versatile engine, but still fairly restrictive, so getting all the effects I wanted to work was challenging. Mental illness and real life have been taking a toll on development time, too. Getting things to work took teaching myself some javascript, and after being in serious development for this long, I've found ways to motivate myself to keep working. Having other people checking in on you helps, too.

Have any aspects of your project changed over time? How does your current project differ from your initial concept? *Lev: In its very first inital pitch, it was much closer to Yume Nikki, being more atmospheric and serious. At some point in character and world development, though, I couldn't bear to make it a stoic adventure, and with most of the stuff I already take inspiration from, it's hard for me to not put jokes into the media I make, anyway.

What was your team like at the beginning? How did people join the team? If you don’t have a team, do you wish you had one or do you prefer working alone? *Lev: At the beginning, it was just me working on everything. The first people I brought on board were my concept artist, Kip, my writer, Rose, and my musician, Bittersweet. I can't do music on my own, and I knew from word go that I wanted this to be the kind of game with a strong story and a lot of unique NPCs.

What is the best part of developing the game? *Lev: Call me biased, but the most fun part is making the art for it. It's hard for me to motivate myself to keep working if I'm just using default placeholder sprites, I have to make new NPCs to keep myself interested. It's not the most convenient, but it's fun to do, and it actually really does help with my workflow.

Do you find yourself playing other RPG Maker games to see what you can do with the engine, or do you prefer to do your own thing? *Lev: Oh, absolutely. RPG Maker games have a bad reputation for being very cut-and-paste, and there's a lot of those out there. But it just takes a bit of effort to make yourself and your game stand out, and it can be done absolutely beautifully! The latest one I've played was Hylics, completely surreal and wonderful.

Which character in your game do you relate to the most and why? (Alternatively: Who is your favorite character and why?) *Lev: Robin is a sort of proxy character for myself, so...I'm a bit biased on her. I love Jay a lot, too, he's kinda the friend I wish I had in elementary school when all this first showed up, haha. *Tredlocity: As someone who faces anxiety on a daily basis, I relate to Robin a lot. Though I would say my favorite character is Jay, since he can shoot plasma and has blue hair. *C: I'm partial to Coop [upcoming character], not just bc I designed them but bc I love big sister types. *Rose: I also relate to robin and jay! i try to control my anxiety while remaining positive and hopeful about situations. *Bittersweet: As an anxiety-riddled person, I relate immensely to Robin. However, my favorite character by far has to be Carna. (There's another character I'm particularly looking forward to when the full version of the game is released, though~)

Looking back now, is there anything that regret/wish you had done differently? *Lev: Honestly, there's a few things I wanted the game to be able to do at the start that I wasn't able to make happen. I spent a LOT of time trying to get it to work without having to go in and code it myself, and I wish I'd been able to take a step back, remind myself that this is my first serious project, and just stop worrying so much about what, in the end, would've been a minor detail, anyway.

Once you finish your project, do you plan to explore the game’s universe and characters further in subsequent projects, or leave it as-is? *Lev: Chances are I'm gonna leave it alone, but if I go back, I HAVE had a bit of a 'Ghost College' AU where they're exploring a haunted old library on their college campus instead of being trapped in a ghost hospital. It'd probably be cool as a point-and-click adventure, but it wouldn't exactly be a canon exploration of the postgame.

What do you look most forward to upon/after release? *Lev: I'm actually working on a few other projects, so being able to work on those more freely would be great, especially considering I'm really bad at keeping my own limits in mind, haha.

Is there something you’re afraid of concerning the development or the release of your game? *Lev: Mostly, I'm afraid that making a game about a subject like this, as a minority and with other people in my team that would be considered minorities, that releasing this game to the mainstream public would get me a lot of negative attention from people who think that people like us don't belong in the gaming sphere. It's pretty nerve-wracking, but after the positive reception of games like Undertale and SLARPG, it's getting easier to convince myself that I should be more afraid of people just generally not liking the game, haha.

Do you have any advice for upcoming devs? *Lev: Have someone to work with! DEFINITELY have someone to work with. Even if it's just a friend to bounce ideas off of or someone to ask if you've been working on the game, having someone else involved helps a lot. And specifically for RPG Maker- if you can, replace your default font with a different one. It's a minor detail, but it goes a long way towards making your game feel more original. *C: Always have a backlog of different projects. I have about four or five ideas constantly on rotation so I don't burn myself out on just one. *Tredlocity: My advice for any creatives is to start small, and just get it out. Feedback is a great motivator, and the only way to get better at something is to keep doing it! *Rose: I think some good advice is to write a few drafts of whatever it is you're working on in order to see which version you'd like to continue! let your work have different scenarios and situations based on various elements you insert or take out of a story, game, or other piece. *Bittersweet: Don't pressure yourself to a dead-set deadline. I know, you want to get this project out eventually, and if you're on a roll with development then all the power to you, but if you're struggling, don't let it burn you out. That's just unhealthy.

Question from last month's featured dev @toxicshroomswamp: How do you feel about your main character(s)? What piece of life advice would you give them? *Lev: I love my main characters, I love them like my own children. I would probably tell Robin that she'll learn to handle everything, it won't be so scary forever. I'd tell Jay that stopping for a minute and thinking is way more important than it seems. I'd tell Sarcastic ghost to shut up.

We mods would like to thank Lev, Kip, Rose, Tredlocity, C, and Bittersweet for agreeing to our interview! We believe that featuring the developer and their creative process is just as important as featuring the final product. Hopefully this Q&A segment has been an entertaining and insightful experience for everyone involved!

Remember to check out Ghost Hospital if you haven’t already! See you next month! 

- Mods Gold & Platinum

[sqsupernova]

Author Post — KizuRai

We sat down with @kizurai to talk about Rain World, their process, and their Supernova adventure!

What inspired your story?

Listen. I was stuck in traffic on my way home from work one day, and it was pouring rain – as it does in Seattle, or anywhere near the northwest – and I thought to myself, “What if- but rain?”

No, but seriously though, I really was stuck in traffic and I wondered what would happen if rain could eat through materials. I would’ve been just stuck there, with nowhere to go and just melted there. Which is, okay, it’s morbid but I mean I wrote a post-apoc, what did you expect?

That and also I took inspiration from this indie game called <i>Rain World</i> (where I got the title if you couldn’t tell) and it… honestly there’s almost zero resemblance but I loved the concept of lizard monsters and the pressure of the rain killing you and having to run shelter to shelter. Like I said, kinda resembles my fic but not really?

Anyway, my fic is not frightening I swear!

How do you form your stories? Do you outline beforehand or write by the seat of your pants? Do you write linearly or out of order?

Outline? hAHA I tried, I honestly did try considering that was one of the requirements for the first draft: to at least have an outline written out (although it's a little more than that, be sure to read the rules lol). So I did write one, but then I threw that right out the window when I started writing because these ridiculous characters just don’t like to stick to script.

What I did do was write a bunch of random blurbs and facts about the world (which I never ended up using) and drew out some concept art and some floor plans, because I'm nothing if not a thorough game developer LOL

I also cannot for the life of me write out of order. If I do I just end up throwing it out even though I like it; I end up not being able to fit it anywhere.

So yes, I write linearly (not by choice) and write at the seat of my non-pants (because I hate wearing pants) and I just sit there, staring at a blank google doc until inspiration hits, or lightning strikes, whichever one comes first, and I just write and force myself to write and I keep writing until the stupid thing is done.

What in your fic are you most proud of?

Um, that it’s done? I’m still surprised I completed something, surprised I even managed 74k of words, like was I possessed?

Serious answer though, I wrote like up to chapter 9 and realized I didn’t add in any relationship stuff and Emma and Regina’s relationship went from 0 to 100 in a chapter. So I had to go back and sprinkle their relationship here and there. I guess that’s probably what I am most proud of, lmao, that I managed to make swanqueen for a swanqueen fic lol

Oh, and also making everyone hate me because of my fic. That is a joy.

Is there anything you'd change now?

Serious talk, which means this part is uninteresting but:

The thing is, we’re always changing, we’re always moving forward in one way or another, our minds are in constant movement. Therefore, whenever I look back on my old stuff I always get caught up in “god, that’s awful, why did I write that?” or “maybe I could’ve done better” and I’m sure I could if I spend the time to do so but why?

It’s done, if I’m really upset about something I should change then I’ll write a new story and do better because we grow with experience and each story writers churn out is like gaining experience points, eventually we’ll level up and maybe gain an extra skill.

The point I’m trying to get at is that, sure, there are plenty things I would love to change – burn the whole thing in a fire if I could (believe me I wanted to a couple of times) – but instead of looking back I’m going to look forward and make something better than the last. 

How do you deal with writers' block?

So I follow Emily Andras on twitter and she mentioned something that I took to heart; she said something along the lines of ”writer's block is for amateurs” and I got confused and a little angry at first but let me say, I think I get it. Even though I do get writers block and I’m screaming at my screen hoping for something to happen, I wonder what professional writers do when they’re on a deadline?

I think they power through.

And even if you think what you’re writing is terrible and it might never make it into the final copy, it’s still something, it’s still words on a page and sometimes just writing something might spark something. That’s basically what I did, I kept powering through even though I hated every second of it, but I managed to get it done on time (early actually because I remembered the deadline day wrong, but let’s not talk about that) and it’s done. Period.

Also, deadlines. Those help a lot.

Was this Supernova experience different than your typical writing experience?

As mentioned above I really think the deadlines helped me. I’ve always been kinda the ‘goal-orientated but lazy otherwise’ type so on my own I’m pretty much whatever and I have a billion WIPs but forcing myself to write and do daily sprints really helped. There’s also a bunch of other writers facing the same thing as me so we can all suffer together.

Any advice to other writers who might want to write a longfic, or participate in Supernova next year?

You know what, don’t listen to all the other authors telling you outlines are the key LOL sure, go ahead and write one if that helps you, but really you gotta find the process that works for you. It’s a little bit like education, everyone learns differently, everyone has a different way of doing things.

Oh but, yeah, listen to me on that ‘forcing yourself to write’ thing, you might hate yourself, or you might hate me while doing it – most likely me but whatever – but just get words on a page.

Also, don’t be so anxious about sharing your work. Your fic is not representative of your self-worth. Don’t write because you want validation or have everyone praise you. Write because you enjoy it and get happy if even one person reads your fic and loves it because these things tend to turn out like a popularity contest and a lot of new writers get lost in the crowd (I mean, like 6-8 things will pop out daily so unless you have a following already, people may or may not leave you until a lot later) so

1) Don’t be upset if you don’t receive any comments until a month (or 5) later 2) Be happy you finished something! Look at what you’ve accomplished rather than focus on the extraordinarily high expectations you’ve put on yourself 3) Have fun

That’s it for me on advice. #fluffwriter signing out.

You can read Rain World on AO3, along with KizuRai’s other works! And don’t forget to feed the author!

[axiumin]

Absolution | Chapter Two

Back at it again with part two! This time, there’s more interaction with Youngjae and the beginnings of that burn. 

Pairing: Youngjae x Reader

Genre: Drama, College!AU

Words: 2.5k

Chapters: [1] [2] [3] [4]

You had writer’s block, which was just about the worst thing that could happen to you when you had less than twenty-four hours before your faculty advisor expected to see a completed draft of your term paper. You tried your damnedest to get anything decent written, but every time you’d finish penning a line, the words seemed to glare back at you, jarring and insufficient.

Not for the first time, you cursed yourself for choosing creative writing. In hindsight, you couldn’t fathom how you thought a program that forced you to write creatively on a deadline would be even the slightest bit good for your mental and emotional health, but here you were.

Suffering.

And veering quickly for the melodramatic. Obviously, sitting around and agonizing in your cramped apartment wasn’t going to do you any good. Maybe a change of scenery would help kickstart your creativity, you mused. Or, if it didn’t, at least you could continue to suffer in the relative comfort of one of the library’s study rooms.

You stood and stretched your arms over your head, groaning when you felt your back give a satisfying crack. It didn’t take long for you to gather your things together and make your way to the library.

It was early evening, and with a few weeks still left in the semester, there weren’t any students rushing around in the panic of midterms or finals. The campus was still and silent, and the library was no different. Only one student lingered in the lobby, and they were utterly oblivious to you, their face buried in a sociology textbook and their headphones blasting music that you could faintly hear halfway across the room. The only other person around was Youngjae, working the front desk, and you felt your shoulders sag in relief at the sight of his familiar face.

And by the way he broke into a bright grin when he caught sight of you, you figured the feeling was mutual.

“What brings you here at this hour?” he asked when you made your way to the desk. His voice was quiet out of habit; you both knew you could speak louder without disturbing the only other library denizen, but you were perfectly content keeping your voice soft, too.

“Writer’s block,” you said simply. Youngjae’s face twisted into a look of sympathy.

The campus library had attracted all sorts of student employees, you’d found. Erika was a third-year psychology and social behavior major, and you were halfway convinced that she was the person who kickstarted the trend of perfectly color-coordinated and organized notes. She was brilliant and tenacious and orderly almost to a fault. If anyone could take over the world, it would be her.

Jiseob was an art history major. He was remarkably down to earth, and he often joked that he would likely work in a diner once he finished his degree. But you knew that he was hip-deep in faculty-led research projects. For all that he wrinkled his nose when he talked about grad school, you could think of no one else who could handle academia with such aplomb.

Akram was perhaps the chattiest computer science major you’d ever met. He was the only STEM major among your little pack of coworkers, but he took it in stride, easily keeping pace with conversations about everything from Romantic-era art to slam poetry. Jiseob liked to joke that Akram was a real Renaissance man, and Akram didn’t even try to hide the way he preened under the compliment.

Youngjae was the only one who was also in your creative writing program. He was a year ahead of you and could empathize with your struggles more than anyone else you knew, which you supposed was part of the reason you were so relieved to see him. If you trusted anyone’s advice at this junction, it would be his.

“What are you working on?” he asked, leaning his elbows against the counter.

You sighed and fished out your laptop, opening it up right there to show him.

“For my term paper, I wanted to write a fictional narrative that brings in elements of confessional poetry. I wanted to wrestle with ideas of life and death from the perspective of a widowed woman in her 50s, but I’m having a hard time making things feel authentic. I guess that’s what happens when you try to write about life experiences that aren’t your own,” you said, shrugging.

Youngjae’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “That’s pretty ambitious,” he said, but it sounded more like affirmation than admonishment. “But if anyone can pull it off, it’s you.”

The doubt must have shown on your face because he was quick to press on. “I mean, sure, you’re trying to write a confessional style from a perspective that you haven’t really experienced, but the key is that you’re writing about a human experience. Everyone wrestles with mortality in some way or another, right? You just have to try to find a way to convey your own feelings through the voice of a fictional character.”

“You make it sound so easy,” you said, a bit drily.

Youngjae rewarded you with a fleeting half-smile that made him go from sweet to rakish for just a moment before he returned to his usual neutrally sincere expression.

“It is,” he insisted. “Or, at least it can be if you know how to do it right. I can find some references for you, if you’d like.”

Now more than ever were you grateful you’d made the journey to the library. “Please.”

Youngjae busied himself with the computer for a moment, typing in some author name or other, and it took just a moment for him to turn back to you.

“Ah, we have some Sylvia Plath checked back in right now. Why don’t we check her out?”

You shrugged. “I’m game. What section is she in?”

“I’ll just show you,” Youngjae said, already moving out from behind the counter before you could respond.

“You realize I work here, too, right?” you noted as Youngjae began leading you into the shelves. “Like, I know where the sections are and I don’t even need directions or anything.”

Youngjae didn’t even look back at you, just shrugged. “I know. But it’s boring in here, and now I finally get to do something.”

Well, you couldn’t begrudge him that, you supposed. Besides, it wasn’t like he was bad company in the slightest, even if you had to trot a bit to keep up with his quick strides.

It took no time at all for Youngjae to pluck a book from one of the shelves and hand it to you. It was a slim anthology of poetry by Sylvia Plath, and you began flipping through the pages idly as Youngjae spoke.

“Confessional poetry became kind of popular among American authors around the 1950s and ‘60s. Plath was just one of several who became well-known for this style. She’s not exactly a 50-something-year-old widow, but she definitely had her own dealings with life and mortality. I thought maybe you could draw some inspiration from her.”

You dragged your fingertips across the paper, tracing the letters. “You know a lot about this, even for a librarian,” you said quietly, not tearing your eyes from the page. In the corner of your eye, you saw him shrug.

“Everyone has their stylistic preference. This one happens to be mine.”

You looked up at him in clear surprise, and he ducked his head sheepishly.

“I know, that one always tends to surprise people.”

You shook your head. “No- I mean, yeah, but.” You stopped and licked your lips, trying again. “I just don’t think we’ve ever talked about our inspiration and preferences before. Somehow.”

As a matter of fact, it occurred to you that you didn’t know much about Youngjae at all beyond your friendly conversations at work. You knew him well enough to consider him a friend, but you didn’t know much about him.

As if reading your mind, Youngjae said, “I tend not to talk too much about myself, to be honest. It’s a bit ironic, considering that I’m fascinated with the idea of people laying their emotions bare. There’s just something about the vulnerability of putting yourself in words like this, you know?” His gaze fell to the slightly yellowed pages of the book. “And not only are you putting yourself out there, but it’s permanent. The written word can outlast lives by centuries. It’s powerful.”

His eyes flashed back up to yours and it was your turn to look down at the book.

“I hadn’t thought of it like that,” you admitted. Sure, you were interested enough in confessionals, or else you wouldn’t have chosen that stylistic approach. But for you, it was more about venturing into unfamiliar territory. You were more focused on stretching yourself as a writer rather than the implications of that style.

“Not a lot of people do,” Youngjae said with an easy shrug. “I probably think about it too much. I just think I’m hoping that I can learn how to be more honest, myself.”

You felt your eyebrows creep up your forehead. In the months that you’d worked with Youngjae, you’d never seen him as anything less than kind, open, and sensitive.

“Aren’t you honest now?”

That wry smile came back, and Youngjae shook his head. “Not as much as I should be. Now more so than ever, I guess.”

You let that statement hang in the air as you mulled it over. It was surprising to hear him say that, but you supposed it was actually perfectly relatable.

The heavy silence was broken when Youngjae huffed a quiet laugh.

“This is all pretty topical, isn’t it?” he said, eyes crinkling. “I mean, with the whole Ars thing, it seems like confession is the hot topic this semester.”

You chuckled and shook your head. “I guess so,” you said. “Though I don’t know how many of those confessions are quite as deep as this,” you said, snapping the book shut for emphasis.

Youngjae just shrugged. “Maybe. But that’s just human nature, isn’t it? Everyone has different needs, different concerns. Some people may make a joke of it and post about how hot their TA is, and others may share trauma they’ve carried with them for years. Either way, don’t you think it’s important for people to be able to share parts of themselves like that? It’s hard to live with secrets all the time.”

You hummed in thought. “What about Ars?”

Youngjae blinked in surprise. “What about Ars?” he echoed.

“Well, people are releasing a part of themselves when they submit the confessions, right? But then Ars is taking those confessions in, and all Ars does is post them around campus. Is that release for them? Or are they left living with other people’s secrets on top of their own?”

Youngjae frowned. “Maybe they’re into that sort of thing. It’s not anonymous to them, right? Maybe they’re just looking for leverage over people. Maybe they’ll just turn things around on those confessors.”

You were taken aback. You hadn’t expected Youngjae to suddenly speak so negatively of Ars after all that talk of confession, and frankly, it wasn’t like Youngjae to play devil’s advocate.

A frown tugged at your lips and you shook your head thoughtfully. “I don’t think that’s the case at all,” you said. Youngjae seemed a bit surprised at your conviction. If you were honest, you were surprised, too.

For the second time that evening, silence hung between you, this one heavier than the last. You couldn’t quite describe the look on Youngjae’s face as he gazed at you.

Just as his lips parted to speak, you heard a muted thump and a “Hello?”

Both of you turned to see the sociology kid from earlier staring back at you from the front desk. The textbook was sitting on the counter, and he had a chagrined look on his face as he glanced back and forth between you and Youngjae.

“I’m finished with this book,” he called hesitantly.

Just like that, all tension was dispelled, leaving you with a gusty sigh.

“I should, uh, take care of that,” Youngjae murmured. You nodded fervently.

“Yeah. Yeah, go do that. I’ll just,” you held up the book, “go work for a bit.”

After some awkward shuffling, you managed to make your way to a study desk tucked away in the corner of the room. You sat down heavily, your head buzzing with thoughts of your conversation.

You mused about confessionals, the act of confession, and what that meant for you— and for your paper, too. Your fingers drummed against the table as you deliberated, but it wasn’t a difficult decision, and you were soon unlocking your phone and opening instagram.

What better way to get in the mood for writing a confessional than to start by confessing?

In no time at all, you opened a new message to Ars and typed out your confession, releasing another heavy sigh when you pressed send. You spared a moment for you to sit back and scrub a hand over your face, and then you were shaking off your thoughts and opening your laptop to get to work.

You immersed yourself in your writing, and when you finally sat back, the hour was late and the campus beyond the library window was pitch black. Your muscles were stiff and tired when you rose from your seat and neatly packed away your belongings.

You took a quick detour to return the Plath anthology to its rightful home before making your way back towards the front desk. You had to stifle a pang of disappointment when you realized that Youngjae was gone, replaced by a sleepy-eyed Jiseob. He waved lazily at you, and you returned it before pulling your jacket tighter around you and heading out into the night, your shoulders weighed down by your heavy thoughts.

When you awoke the next morning, you were relieved to find that the strange musing mood had eased. Your mind was surprisingly clear as you went through the motions of your morning routine, as you gave your term paper a final proofread, as you printed it out and placed it delicately in a portfolio folder. Nerves simmered low in your stomach, making it flutter unpleasantly, but it was easy to ignore as you walked across campus towards your faculty advisor’s office.

What wasn’t as easy to ignore were the stark white letters sitting at eye level on a pillar right outside of the humanities building’s side entrance.

“I don’t think I know how to stop being critical of myself and my work.”

The stenciled lettering was pristine, protected from the seasonal rains by its position under the building’s awning. You stood there for some time, just staring at your confession, shocked that it would manifest so shortly after you’d sent it in. Yet your shock was mostly quelled by a wave of relief. In the light of day, the swell of frustration and helplessness that had compelled you to pen these words seemed somehow manageable. 

You felt something that felt a lot like determination settle inside of you. You gripped the cardstock of your portfolio tighter and turned on your heel, ready to stand by your completed work.

[kellyvela]

THE STARKS ARE THE HEART

Everything started with THE STARKS:

RS: You've talked before about the original glimpse of the story you had for what became A Song of Ice and Fire: a spontaneous vision in your mind of a boy witnessing a beheading, then finding direwolves in the snow. That's an interesting genesis.

GRRM: It was the summer of 1991. I was still involved in Hollywood. My agent was trying to get me meetings to pitch my ideas, but I didn't have anything to do in May and June. It had been years since I wrote a novel. I had an idea for a science-fiction novel called Avalon. I started work on it and it was going pretty good, when suddenly it just came to me, this scene, from what would ultimately be the first chapter of A Game of Thrones. It's from Bran's viewpoint; they see a man beheaded and they find some direwolf pups in the snow. It just came to me so strongly and vividly that I knew I had to write it. I sat down to write, and in, like, three days it just came right out of me, almost in the form you've read.

—Rolling Stone 2014

But what about the dragons?

Meduza: The world of “Game of Thrones” is very convincing and very realistic, so why did you decide to bring magic into this world? Did it need walking corpses and dragons? What prompted you, as the writer, to introduce magical elements?

GRRM: I did consider in the very early stages not having the dragons in there. I wanted the Targaryen’s symbol to be the dragons, but I did play with the notion that maybe it was like a psionic power, that it was pyrokinesis — that they could conjure up flames with their minds. I went back and forth. My friend and fellow fantasy writer Phyllis Eisenstein actually was the one who convinced me to put the dragons in, and I dedicated the third book to her. And I think it was the right call. Phyllis, by the way, is distantly related to your Eisenstein, the maker of the great Russian films, “Battleship Potemkin” and “Alexander Nevsky.”

—Meduza 2017

THE STARKS are the center of the story:

Collider: In creating this world, did you start out with one family and then branch off into the rest of the world?

GRRM: Well, the Starks are certainly the center of the story, when it begins. It all begins at Winterfell, with occasional cuts to Daenerys across the ocean, because there was no way I could get her into Winterfell. But, we bring all the characters together at Winterfell, and they’re all there for a while before they start to go their separate ways. By the time you’re done with the first book, pretty much all of them have gone their separate ways. There are no two characters together anymore. From that point forward, the story spreads and grows progressively larger. I also introduce more characters, players and factions, in later books, to thicken the plot a little more. But, the Starks are the center of the book and, to a lesser extent, the Lannisters. They are still the major players. I write from this tight third-person viewpoint, where each chapter is seen through the eyes of one individual character. When I’m writing that character, I become that character and identify with that character. So, when I’m writing a Tyrion chapter, I’m in love with Tyrion. And then, when I switch to Jon Snow, I’m in love with him. Same with Daenerys. Even the characters who are perhaps not the nicest people in the world, and who are deeply flawed and might even be considered villains, if I am writing from their viewpoint, I have to identify with them. Nobody is a villain in their own story. We’re all the heroes of our own stories. So, when I am inside the head of a character who would otherwise be considered a villain, I have a great deal of affection for that character and I’m trying to see the world and the events through their eyes.

—Collider 2011

THE STARKS were always at the heart of this, always very central:

Collider: When you went into this, did you intentionally take the children, put them in an adult setting and force them to be in very adult and complex situations?

GRRM: Yeah, the children were always at the heart of this. The Stark children, in particular, were always very central. Bran is the first viewpoint character that we meet, and then we meet Jon and Sansa and Arya and the rest of them. It was always my intention to do that. As for the harshness, the whole series is harsh. My inspiration have grown, not only from Tolkien, but also from history and historical fiction. I tried to blend some of the tropes and traditions of fantasy with those of historical fiction, while doing this. If you read about the real Middle Ages, as I do all the time, it was a brutal time for everybody – for men, women and children. Children weren’t sentimentalized, the way they are today. They were frequently made to work, from a very early age. They were taken into battle. Boys become pages and then squires. You’re riding into battle with your knight, as a 12-year-old squire, but you’re there, and people are hacking at you with swords and shooting at you with arrows. You’re not at home, being protected. It was a different age with a different mind-set. I did want to reflect that.

—Collider 2011

But what about Jon and Dany?

RS: Given the complexity of A Song of Ice and Fire, did you have concerns over how faithfully it could work onscreen? 

GRRM: (...) Some people I met thought we have to find the story’s through line. Who’s the important character? Somebody thought that Dany’s the important character – cut away everybody else, tell the story of Dany. Or Jon Snow. Those were the two most popular characters to build everything around, except you’re losing 90 percent of the story.

—Rollingstone 2014

Time: It must have been a leap to allow this adaptation to happen, knowing it could never be as internal as a novel could.

GRRM: (...) I had a number of meetings long before David and Dan, with people who said this is the next Lord of the Rings franchise. But they couldn’t get a handle on the size of the material, the very thing that I set out to do. I had all these meetings saying, “There’s too many characters, it’s too big — Jon Snow is the central character. We’ll eliminate all the other characters and we’ll make it about Jon Snow.” Or “Daenerys is the central character. We’ll eliminate everyone else and make the movie about Daenerys.” And I turned down all those deals.

—Time Magazine 2017

THE STARKS are the heroes:

SI: What about the families: Are the Starks, say, the Green Bay Packers? 

GRRM: Whenever I propose analogies like that, fans jump in with their own ideas, but it depends on what team you root for. To me, the Starks are heroes, so they would be the Giants.

—Sports Illustrated - 2014

But what about the Targaryens? Isn't Dany the hero?

Question: Why do you think the political institutions in the Seven Kingdoms are so weak? 

GRRM: The Kingdom was unified with dragons, so the Targaryen's flaw was to create an absolute monarchy highly dependent on them, with the small council not designed to be a real check and balance. So, without dragons it took a sneeze, a wildly incompetent and megalomaniac king, a love struck prince, a brutal civil war, a dissolute king that didn't really know what to do with the throne and then chaos. 

—Fan Chat in Guadalajara, México 2016

Vulture: When civilizations clash in your books, instead of Guns, Germs, and Steel, maybe it’s more like Dragons, Magic, and Steel (and also Germs).

GRRM: There is magic in my universe, but it’s pretty low magic compared to other fantasies.

Dragons are the nuclear deterrent, and only Dany has them, which in some ways makes her the most powerful person in the world. But is that sufficient? These are the kind of issues I’m trying to explore. The United States right now has the ability to destroy the world with our nuclear arsenal, but that doesn’t mean we can achieve specific geopolitical goals.

Power is more subtle than that. You can have the power to destroy, but it doesn’t give you the power to reform, or improve, or build.

—Vulture 2014

THE STARKS are a huge part of the story, the central part:

The kids [Sansa, Arya, and Bran] are a huge part of the story, in many ways the central part of the story. And I always intended to separate them and set them on their own paths.

—GRRM, Inside HBO’s Game of Thrones: Seasons 1 & 2 - [x] 

(...) And no, before someone asks, I had no idea when this all started where it would lead... or how long the road would be. That picture of me up above was taken in 1995 in Scotland, after I'd signed the contracts for the first three books but before I'd delivered any of them. Back then, I'd thought the whole story could be told in three books, and that it would take me three years to write them, a year per book. That picture was taken just a few weeks after I blew my first (bot not my last, oh no) deadline on the series. Ah, how innocent I was... little did that guy in the picture imagine that he would be spending most of the next two decades in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros with Tyrion, Daenerys, Arya, Sansa, Jon Snow, Bran, and all the rest.

—Not A Blog 2016

But Sansa is not part of the “five central characters” in the original outline

(...) George said he was "pissed" that the outline was posted in the office building and that someone took photos and shared them. He said it was a letter for him and the publisher only. He was very firm when telling this and it showed on his face.

He then said that he is not good with writing outlines, making book deadlines, and that often in outlines he was "making shit up", and "characters changed along the way".

—Balticon Report 2016

—Not A Blog 2011

[recentanimenews]

STAND UP! It’s Time to Learn about Stands of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind!

Golden Wind has finally arrived and JoJo Fridays are back, baby! Whether you’re an old hand at JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure or a new fan checking it out for the first time, this article will help you out by telling you all you need to know about the Stands you’ll see in the show!

  But what are "Stands," exactly? Stands are a powerful vision created from a person's own life energy and spirit. Because it appears to stand right next to the person when they're called forth, the name "Stand" fits it to a T! Stands first appeared in Stardust Crusaders, where Jotaro Kujo was shown to have developed a Stand of his own. Joseph Joestar had developed his own Stand as well around the same time as Jotaro's, and the reason why that happened is connected to DIO being stabbed with the Bow and Arrow; when a Stand user is given a stand through the Arrow's power, all of their descendants gain the ability to use Stands as well. Since DIO claimed Jonathan's body, this inadvertently gave all of the Joestar line Stands, some of which were life threatening (which is why Holly was potentially in danger). Other users born with the innate ability to manifest stands will have them appear from moments of stress or extreme emotional states, such as Kakyoin or Avdol. Overall, Stands are metaphyiscal representations of a user's fighting spirit and powers, and each one is wholly unique! 

Please note that this analysis will include some spoilers for the episodes that have aired so far, but we won’t spoil any upcoming events or reveals, so don’t worry; if you’ve watched the episode of the week, you’re good to go! For our first outing, we’ve got four Stands to take a look at: Koichi Hirose’s Echoes, Rohan Kishibe’s Heaven’s Door, and of course, Giorno Giovanna’s Golden Wind, and Bruno Buccarati’s Zipper Man, so let’s get started!

     Fans of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable likely remember Koichi, the hapless but brave member of Josuke Higashikata’s group of merry stand users. Koichi returns in Golden Wind at the behest of Jotaro Kujo, investigating the possibility that DIO has a child who might be living in Italy! Koichi is no slouch when it comes to Stand battles, and his unique evolving Stand Reverb is one of the most unique of the lot! Reverb currently has 3 evolutions named Act 1, 2, and 3 respectively, and Koichi is able to call upon any of the forms when needed.

Echoes originally appeared as an egg, seemingly without any abilities, but soon hatched into its first form: Act 1. Act 1’s abilities are mostly non-combative; it can scout up to 50 meters away from the owner, but the most unique feature of Act 1 is its ability to “write” upon any surface (including a person!). Depending on what Koichi writes, different things will occur. Writing the onomatopoeia of a sound in Katakana will result in that sound being produced, but if Koichi writes a word in Kanji, he can influence the actions and behaviors of other people.

Reverb Act 2 is a bit more versatile, but can’t move as far away from Koichi as Act 1 can. Instead, Act 2 has the ability to increase the sound effects of its first form, but with some interesting restrictions. Act 2 can only “write” words with its tail, shooting them out one at a time. However, the words written have much stronger impacts, with the ability to make targets radiate heat (and even burn someone!), make things elastic, or even knock people far away from the surface of impact. Act 2 is also incredibly fast compared to Act 1, but nowhere as fast as Act 3! Compared to the previous two versions, Act 3 seems totally human, and even has a foul mouthed personality of its own!

Act 3 adds a unique ability called 3 Freeze, where it can “freeze” a target by punching it and increasing the weight the target feels. While it can only target a single thing, it is incredibly powerful, even managing to slow down and temporarily stop Heart Attack! In this episode, we see Act 3 force Giorno’s car and later himself to a full stop in the ground, before almost severely injuring itself and Koichi due to Giorno’s rebound ability. Koichi and Reverb make a formidable duo with Koichi’s quick thinking and Reverb's abilities of misdirection and unexpected direct force!

Although he doesn’t appear in the episode, Rohan Kishibe’s Stand Heaven’s Door is part of the reason the action of Golden Wind begins in the first place. While the somewhat abrasive Rohan doesn’t always seem like a team player, without the aid of his Stand’s ability of book transmutation, Koichi would likely have never encountered Giorno the way he did; thanks to Rohan, Koichi was fluent in Italian without ever needing to learn a single lesson. Rohan’s Stand has the ability to turn people into “books” that he can then read, edit, and even add notes and intructions to!

While originally this made Rohan seem like an antagonist, his abilities became particularly helpful to Josuke and company, and continue to be so here; by “writing” in Koichi’s book, Rohan made it so he could fluently speak and understand Italian. Rohan’s abilities aren’t limited to people, as he can influence and read ghosts and even animals; while it may seem like a pretty nosy ability, Rohan’s stated it’s come in quite handy for manga ideas and deadlines, but that doesn’t seem to be an excuse…

Next, we have Giorno Giovanna’s Golden Wind! From the initial mid-episode status card, Golden Wind seems oddly weak for a Stand, especially one wielded by someone with the mixed bloodline of DIO and Joestars, but that’s only if you’re looking at the surface level stats on Golden Wind. Instead, it might be correct to say that with the right application, Golden Wind could be one of the strongest Stands ever! In the first episode, we see that Golden Wind has the ability to transform objects and materials into living matter, whether that be a frog or a tree. Giorno has little control over the behavior of the things he brings to life, as he is genuinely surprised that the frog returns to him when it does, and warns Leaky Eye Luca that the frog isn’t attached to him, nor can he control it. Similarly, Giorno “rides” the growing tree to escape Koichi, but he has little direct control over it; he’s simply riding the tree as it grows taller, rather than making it go where he wants.

But a potentially even more impressive ability, and the one that could make Giorno so strong, is the fact that anything brought to life by Golden Experience, if attacked, reflects all of the damage done to it back on its attacker with the same force! This result turns out to be quite unlucky for Leaky Eye Luca, who ends up doing himself in with his shovel strike to the frog, and lucky for Koichi, who looks not to kill Giorno but simply stop him so he can ask him questions. However, what happens if Giorno has Golden Wind attack a human directly? The effect isn’t what you’d expect! Instead of pummeling his opponents with a barrage of strong, destructive attacks, Golden Wind instead seems to “speed up” the target’s mind, while in reality slowing their body and reaction time to a crawl. Giorno’s attacks seem a bit more powerful than an average human punch, but if you add in that your target can’t move or react on top of that, and it means a whole lot of “average” punches could get dicey real fast!

Lastly, we have Bruno’s stand Zipper Man, and it is certainly a unique stand! Zipper Man allows Bruno to create a “zipper” on any surface he desires, the inside of which connects to a seemingly endless pocket dimension that he can manipulate, placing objects inside of people and things if he likes, or even hiding himself inside of something or someone else. Bruno is also able to “unzip” his targets, such as when he attacks Giorno initially and nearly unzips Giorno’s head from his body! Bruno can also use Zipper Man to travel around various locations and physical places, even those that might seem impossible at first, such as his easy and quick exit from the train car while fleeing Giorno.

Zipper Man can create some interesting situations, some that even backfire on Bruno himself; when Giorno “unzips” his own arm to extend his punch range, Bruno accidentally gave his opponent the benefit he needed to attack him! Bruno’s power, much like Giorno���s, seems to focus on manipulating his environment and the things around it to his benefit, such as when he swaps arms with the young man to trick Giorno, escape from the train, place Luca’s fingers in Giorno’s mouth, or simply disorient and disturb his opponent, Bruno’s Stand helps him accomplish his mission through trickery and strategic planning rather than brute force. Overall, it seems that Zipper Man is perhaps a bit physically stronger than Golden Wind, although as it turned out, Bruno should have taken his own advice and not focused on physical attacks, but tricky movements and outmaneuvering his opponent!

  The Stands of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure make up some of the most fun and memorable moments in the show, but their powers can sometimes be confusing or unclear on first notice. We hope this helped you keep up with your knowledge of Stands, and even if you already knew a lot, perhaps you learned something new! What Stands will we meet next? Make sure to tune into Golden Wind each week so you don't miss out! Until then, make sure to practice those Stand calls and poses, and see you next time!  

What’s your favorite Stand that has been shown in Golden Wind? Have a particular Stand from a previous JoJo’s series you’d like us to cover?  Let us know in the comments!

----

Nicole is a features and a social video script writer for Crunchyroll. Known to profess her love of otome games over at her blog, Figuratively Speaking. When she has the time, she also streams some games. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries 

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[aion-rsa]

Donuts & Demons: Ryka Aoki’s Light from Uncommon Stars

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Shizuka Satomi, a violin teacher known as the Queen of Hell, owes one more soul to demons due to an infernal bargain she struck. Young violinist Katrina Nguyen needs to escape her homelife, where her transness is rejected by her family, and to start anew, hopefully making videos with her music. And Lan Tran and her crew are striving to build a stargate—before the Galactic Empire falls to the Endplauge—while selling donuts at Starrgate Donuts in Los Angeles. Light from Uncommon Stars is the story of how these three women’s lives intersect, and is a novel filled to the brim with music so beautifully described, readers can almost hear it in the narrative.

Katrina opens the novel with her flight and her passion for music; Shizuka comes in quickly after with her soul-contract deadline and her desire to find one last musician to condemn to hell. When readers first encounter Lan and her alien crew, they may wonder how author Ryka Aoki can pull off a story that is at once soul-bargaining-with-demons and refugee-aliens-building-a-stargate. But as the story progresses, the themes and characters dovetail together so beautifully that readers will wonder how they ever doubted. 

Aoki explores what it means to be human, the nature of souls, and the importance of hope and love even in the face of what may seem hopeless, filling the novel with both good humor and acknowledgment of suffering. There is pain, and yet a sense that better things are to come. The love and care with which the characters imbue parts of their lives—whether it’s the music they play, the instruments they shape, or the food they create—gains a greater meaning by virtue of that love. The result is an incredibly powerful story of hope and redemption, of small voices shouting into dissonance and being heard. Ahead of the novel’s September 28th release, Den of Geek had the chance to pick Aoki’s brain about how this novel came together, and insights into her inspiration…

Den of Geek: First, what brought together the two very different speculative fiction tropes—soul-bargaining and stargates—together into the same story for you? How did you create a universe in your head where both things worked without contradicting each other?

Ryka Aoki: I respect both science fiction and fantasy, but I had honest intentions and reasons to mix them in Light from Uncommon Stars. I was a little bit worried about how people would accept this—or not. But I’ve been thrilled with how readers have embraced and accepted this book.

I think this book might resonate with readers because we all hold seeming contradictions. In the book, Shizuka Satomi mentions how great pieces of music contain such different-sounding sections and movements. And, as music reflects the soul, doesn’t that say something about us, and our own shifting arrays of motifs and counterpoints?

In my case, being of Japanese descent, and being queer, and being trans, means that I play a lot of different things to a lot of different worlds. Yet working toward true acceptance and love of self can be like composing your own sonata—you’re striving to express and share your entire music. The person who I am with my family lives in a different world than the person who teaches English and Critical Thinking. And that person seems very different from the writer, or the martial artist.

And yet, I don’t feel fragmented. I feel pretty whole.

And so, when I wrote Light from Uncommon Stars, I always had faith that it would work out, somehow—because I worked out, somehow.

(At least I’d like to think so…) 

Demon Tremon Philippe and Shizuka’s relationship may bring to mind more of Mephistopheles and Faust than the devil at the crossroads. But there is a long tradition of musicians trading souls for greatness, brought into American folklore via blues musicians, who may have drawn on tales of Papa Legba rather than the European devil-bargaining stories. In the novel, you’ve brought many cultural traditions into play—where did you start from in the soul-selling elements? What did you borrow from earlier tales, and what did you invent whole cloth?

Thank you for asking this question because it lets me talk about another tradition. The early days of Internet message boards were the first time ever that trans people could speak freely yet relatively anonymously with people like them around the world. In fact, one of my dearest friends had such a board and they live in Iceland. We needed each other. We helped each other go through some horrible times… But there were also some goofy and fun times come as well—it was the first time that we realized that we’re all a bunch of science fiction and fantasy geeks. I mean, anywhere we can dream, right?

And I remember at the time being struck by how many trans women had created their own creation myths, to explain how their soul was placed in this other body. Many religions ignore trans people. Yet to know where one came from—and why—is a necessary question for many human beings.

In these stories, and the discussion surrounding them, there was much talk about having the soul of a woman, or the soul of a man if one were a trans man. “Do you have a female soul?” was a very relevant question to those with trans binary identities. (Discussions of nonbinary identities and gender fluidity were happening as well—entire vocabularies were being invented. Those were some exciting times.)

I think that even now many trans women, perhaps when first trying to make sense of who they are, still ask themselves this question.

And so, the cursed Shizuka Satomi, precisely because she is so focused on acquiring souls that she finds bodies irrelevant—offers Katrina the space and place to find her answers.

The descriptions and understanding of music and violins—and violin competitions—in the story are tangible. What is your music background?

I love writing music. I used to play in a band, and when I do my spoken word pieces, I compose all my own soundtracks. My main instrument is the piano, but I also play guitar, and some flute, and harmonica. For the most part, I am self-taught. However, I’ve been taking lessons for the past couple of years with a wonderful piano teacher—the irony is because I’m promoting this book, I’m on a brief hiatus from that.

However, I had no idea how to play the violin. I remember the first time I went into a violin shop. There were violins, but violins of different sizes, and cellos and violas and basses, and I was laughing to myself that I have no idea how to make music with any of this. I couldn’t put a tune together with one of these instruments to save my own life.

I did manage to teach myself some violin. And I really love the instrument. I have an acoustic violin from eBay, and I also have an electric violin now. This Christmas season, I am looking forward to jamming to some holiday music. We may never be ready for a committed relationship, but the violin and I have become good friends.

So, although I didn’t grow up in violin culture, as I researched violin culture, I found many parallels with a culture that I was familiar with—martial arts. Like many communities with overachieving children and parents with unrequited dreams, I found that in violin competitions, it was sometimes difficult to tell which was more important, the violin or the competition. This was so much like what I had seen as an annoying little martial arts kid. And so, those were the experiences upon which I drew.  

The posturing, the pressure, the mind games…the nausea in the bathroom…so different, but not so different at all.

In addition to being a writer, you are a teacher. Are any of your own feelings about teaching reflected in Shizuka’s feelings about mentoring?

*giggle* ALL of them…the good, the bad, the obsessive, the self-serving, and the hopeful.

This novel felt, in many ways, like a pandemic novel–in a situation that should be full of hopelessness (the Endplague, a coming soul-deadline), there’s still this tonal quality, even in the early pages, that things will turn out right, even if we have no idea how that will happen. Was any part of the novel written during the pandemic? Do you see it differently now that it’s coming out as we’re still dealing with the coronavirus?

During the first few months of pandemic, most of the novel had already been written, and we were deep in edits. I was pushing so hard to get my story just right that the first part of the lockdown went by unnoticed. Plot hole here, inconsistency there…even without a lockdown, I don’t think I would have gone out, anyway.

These days, I’m feeling the pandemic more, especially because this is when I was to tour, sign books, and meet people in person. And, as I engage with the lockdown more actively, I do notice how the pandemic does seem to echo the themes of the Endplague. Although Covid-19 did not inspire the Endplague, I based the Endplague on how civilizations can often fall, not from outside cataclysms themselves, but from the conflicts and fissures they cause their populace…and a collective loss of hope.

In the book, without going into too many spoilers, Lan and her family come from a very advanced civilization that has conquered many diseases and social ills, but is still battling with divisions, suspicions, and fatalism.

Looking around at world today, the parallels are hard to escape.

Late in the novel, you use Bartók as a way of framing and understanding transness in a beautiful way. Could you talk about the theme of Katrina finding her voice through the violin, and about how music and self-intertwine in the novel?

Provided the instrument is well-maintained, when you play the piano, you’ll automatically play in tune. A violin can be perfectly in tune, but that is far from enough—you need to be in tune with yourself.  

Furthermore, when I actually played the violin, I learned that certain notes resonate very well with other strings. In fact, sympathetic resonance is one way that a student can know if she’s in tune. If we listen for the resonances, we can feel the entire violin glow. There’s no better way to say it—it seems like the instrument glows.

This is very important to Katrina’s development, for human voices—and human souls—don’t have keys, or even frets, either. And when you’re playing in tune with yourself and others, you do get this internal glow. I think feeling this is very important to Katrina. It gives her security, weaves her into the songs of others.

But we are not always in harmony, nor should we be. Sometimes, our true songs are dissonant, or expressed in notes between notes. At that point, for all the rest of the world knows, your composition is wrong, or your intonation sucks. So, when your own music is so insistent, yet so at odds with what people expect—what do you do? Well, there goes Bartók.

There is a difference between playing with people in harmony and speaking to them in melody, after all. What does this mean for Katrina?

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

I think I’ll just leave it there.

Starrgate Donuts cannot fulfil online orders for their delicious donuts, unfortunately, as it is fictional, and videos of Shizuka Satomi’s performances are still not available to watch, due to interference from demonic forces, but Light from Uncommon Stars is available at bookstores everywhere on September 28, 2021. Find out more here.

The post Donuts & Demons: Ryka Aoki’s Light from Uncommon Stars appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[captainmarvels]

caro’s wonderland writing challenge!

Hello, my friends! I reached 10k not too long ago, and I wanted to celebrate with a writing challenge, since you guys are all super amazing, talented people!

If, by some miracle, all the prompts are taken, I will add more and/or reopen the prompts to more than one writer! I hope you all consider giving this a try, and don’t worry about having no experience - this is all about having fun!

Rules + prompts under the cut!

To participate, must be following this dork (please please PLEASE don’t let this flop because I really wanna celebrate with y’all lmao) + reblog this post!

Word count: 500 minimum, no maximum

One-shots, drabbles, drabble or fic series are allowed, as well as any genre; fluff, angst, smut (Absolutely NO SMUT for Peter Parker - that’s just so wrong.)

ABSOLUTELY NO: non-con or dub-con.

Any MCU character is allowed; Steve Harrington and Eggsy Unwin are included, too!

Actors allowed include: Sebastian Stan, Chris Evans, Ryan Reynolds, Anthony Mackie, Chadwick Boseman, Tom Hiddleston, Tom Holland, Chris Hemsworth, and Taron Egerton!

Any characters Sebastian has portrayed are fair game as well!

When asking for a prompt, please specify the pairing you will be writing for!

Your fic must be reader insert

You must send an ask to enter - once again, specify the pairing/character you’re writing for, along with the prompt(s) you’ve chosen!

If the one you’ve chosen has been claimed, you have plenty more to choose from!

Please, don’t forget to tag me! Also, please add #caroswwc to your tags!

If by any chance I missed your fic, then please send me a private message within a day of posting. Y’all know tumblr doesn’t notify properly sometimes!

Make sure to use the prompt/sentence/song you’ve chosen, otherwise there’s no point in being in this challenge! For song prompts, you do not have to include the lyrics if you don’t want to!

There is no deadline to enter, but ALL fics must be submitted/posted by January 20th, 2018.

PS: If you have questions about how to use certain prompts, just ask me! I’ve tried to describe what I (personally) would use for them, but you’re free to do whatever!

Prompts:

The setting is a festive party for a holiday of your choosing. Something unexpected happens, and the guests are drawn into a weekend of pranks and hijacks.

It’s a cold, rainy night. A man and woman stand beside a car, outside a convenience store. One of them pulls out a gun. Frank Castle x Reader // @halfbakedhoe || bucky x reader // @allyouneedisangst

Holiday shopping - what could go wrong? Peter Parker x Reader // @too-cultured-for-your-bs

Handmaking gifts for a birthday/holiday gift. 

Holiday dinner - preparations and all that good stuff.  Steve Harrington x reader // @runningwitches || jim hopper x reader // @atari-writes

There is a magical talisman that allows it’s keeper to read minds. It falls into [character’s name] hands. bucky x reader // @missingbucky 

The character unlocks the door with a special key they found slipped under their door. Sebastian Stan x reader // @obssessedwithbarnesandrogers

Two best friends make a pact. When they grow up, they grow apart, but the pact haunts them. Will they fulfill the pact they made as children? Steve Harrington x Reader // @ughkeery

She rolled over and felt her body push up against something hard. Bucky x reader // @lovelynemesis

“Every day the sun comes up and every night it goes down again.”  Tom Holland x reader // @thisisthetragicstoryofme || Steve Rogers x reader // @kaunis-sielu

“All the love we had and lost” Bucky x reader // @wanderlustingandwandering

“I’ll be your quiet afternoon crush” Tom Holland x Reader // @thestarsshinebrighterindarkness || Steve Harrington x Reader // @hairringtonsteve

“Is that too much to ask?” Sebastian x reader // @sad-af1121 || Peter Parker x reader // @farklesdarling

“What is true happiness?” Tony Stark x reader // @sometimeswerebruised

“Let’s go for a drive.” 

“Do you want me to stay?”Steve Harrington x reader // @lastdancewith-mj || Frank Castle x reader // @casownsmyass

Songs:

Do I Wanna Know? - Arctic Monkeys Bucky x reader // @buckingoffthebed

Show Me Love - Hundred Waters feat. Chance the Rapper

Champion - Fall Out Boy Steve Rogers x reader // @avengersandlovers

Mercy - Shawn Mendes Bucky x reader // @manonblxckbexk

Es Tarde - Juanes  Loki x reader // @just-another-photo-filter

The Party & The After Party - The Weeknd  Steve Harrington x reader // @nomequedamas-writes

Helium - Sia Tom Holland x reader // @justablrr

Somebody Else - The 1975 Bucky x reader // @wanderlustingandwandering

Shameless - The Weeknd

El Amante - Nicky Jam Steve Harrington x Reader // @fanlove-fandomlife

Africa - Toto  Bucky x reader // @marvelandwinchesters927

Words:

Power @buckythetinman // Tony Stark x Reader

Romance  Bucky x reader // @whothehellisbella

Heartbreaker Steve Harrington x reader // @carriefish-er

Dawn Stucky x reader // @a-splash-of-stucky

Ecstasy [...not the drug]

Lonely bucky x reader // @ohwhatamessiam

Heartbeat Bucky x reader // @221bshrlocked || Tony x Reader // @haven-in-writing

Survival  Steve Harrington x reader // @thegirlwhobrokeintothetardis

Lie bucky x reader // @ohwhatamessiam

Champion  Thor x Reader // @lady-thor-foster

[sarcasminho]

5 AI Copywriting Tools to Make Writing Content Easier

Copywriting is hard. Whether you’re writing product descriptions or PPC ads , there’s a huge volume of work involved, and the repetitive nature of the tasks can drain your creativity.

Could you give a machine a few instructions and let it generate engaging copy while you focused on more pressing tasks?

Well, now it’s possible, thanks to AI copywriting tools powered by machine learning. Let me introduce you to how it works and how it could transform your marketing strategy .

What Is AI Copywriting and How Does It Work?

AI copywriting is essentially computer-generated writing created using natural language processing tools.

First, you decide what you want to write about and the type of content you need. This could be anything from a blog post to a short ad. Then, you set certain parameters for the AI tool to follow. For example, maybe you decide you want a social media post advertising a new yoga class.

Once the machine receives the instructions, it generates content based on these parameters by analyzing similar preexisting content from around the web and processing it into something new and plagiarism-free.

How are companies using AI copywriting? I’ll give you an example.

JPMorgan Chase used an AI copywriting tool to improve its CTAs and online ad copy for home equity lines of credit. They asked human copywriters to perform a similar task, and then they compared the results.

The findings? While the “human” copy generated 25 home equity applications, the AI copy generated 47. With the help of AI, JPMorgan Chase generated more potential customers than before. Impressive, right?

Why Should You Use an AI Copywriting Tool?

There are a few reasons why marketers and copywriters might check out AI copywriting tools.

First, AI copywriting saves you time. These tools can analyze data much quicker than humans can, so they can instantly generate full articles. They work 24/7, too, so you can literally craft content in your sleep!

Also, just think about how convenient AI copywriting is. If you need bulk content, such as product descriptions , AI copywriting handles these jobs for you, so you’re free to focus on more demanding marketing tasks like lead generation and KPI tracking.

Finally, AI copywriting tools can save you from the dreaded “writer’s block” that every writer experiences at some point. Whether you need help brainstorming ideas or generating some content, an AI tool can help you get going again.

If you’re a busy content creator with multiple deadlines or dreams of scaling your content production, it’s worth exploring how AI copywriting may help you.

AI Copywriting Limitations

Like any digital marketing tool, AI copywriting has its limitations.

First, although AI tech is impressive, AI copywriting tools don’t write anything truly original. Remember, we’re talking about a machine. They’re “fed” articles and content written by human copywriters and essentially mix them up to create something new.

AI tools produce great copy, but just because it’s “new” copy doesn’t mean it’s original.

What’s more, AI tools can’t replicate human emotion. Why is this a drawback? Well, emotion matters in marketing. In fact, when it comes to consumer buying behavior, feelings are more influential than any other variable, so you should try to invoke emotion through your content.

In short, while it’s great for bulk projects, you might not find AI copywriting helpful for crafting those more emotive posts that need a personal touch and true creative thought.

Finally, the AI tools we have right now aren’t great at picking up “awkward” phrasing. Although the writing (usually) makes grammatical sense, you’ll still need to proofread the copy to identify any incorrect phrases and awkward wording.

The takeaway? AI copywriting tools can support your marketing efforts, sure, but they’re not a complete substitute for human content creation. Just think of them as another highly useful tool in your toolbox.

5 AI Copywriting Tools for Content Creation

Ready to try out some AI copywriting tools? There are plenty out there, but here are the five I suggest you try first.

1. CopyAI

Got writer’s block? CopyAI is here to help. From brainstorming topics to crafting social media posts, CopyAI can help you go from stuck to inspired within minutes.

How does it work? It’s a simple enough concept. CopyAI uses a highly advanced machine language model, GPT-3, to produce authentic, human-like copy almost instantly. You just select a copy type, provide some words, phrases, and descriptions to base content around, and watch CopyAI do the rest.

Key Features

One thing that’s great about CopyAI is how simple it is to get going. You only need to provide a few words to generate copy including Instagram captions, product descriptions, and even product value propositions in seconds.

What makes CopyAI stand out, though, is its suite of idea generation tools. Whether you need a viral post idea or you’re just stuck on what to write about next, CopyAI gets you moving again.

Pricing

You can choose from two packages . The “Solo” package costs $420 a year (billed monthly at $35) or $49 for rolling monthly subscriptions, and it gives you access to all CopyAI tools, unlimited runs, and around-the-clock support.

The “Multiple Seats” package is better for larger businesses because it includes collaboration tools to support multiple teams. Prices are on request.

Not sure if CopyAI is right for you? You can try it free for seven days.

2. Wordtune

Do you have trouble saying exactly what you mean? Wordtune can help you get the words right. This AI copywriting companion works alongside you in real-time, helping you rephrase and reword your content without sacrificing flow, tone, or meaning.

Since it’s not a fully-fledged article generator like CopyAI, it’s best for marketers who want to write copy and need help shaping it. It could save you time spent agonizing over word choice and sentence structure while giving you the creative freedom to write your content.

Key Features

Designed with the discerning content writer in mind, Wordtune can assist with everything from sentence length to full-length article rewrites. This could be great for marketers looking to repurpose content across different platforms who want help condensing and rewording their copy.

Once you add the Chrome extension, you can instantly use it across popular websites such as Twitter, Grammarly, and LinkedIn, making it one of the most efficient AI copywriting and grammar-assistance tools out there.

Pricing

If you just want help rewording a sentence or two, there’s a free plan.

However, if you want access to features like sentence length controllers, tone controllers, and word searches, sign up for Premium. You can either pay $24.99 a month or save money and pay $119 for the year. You’ll get access to all features other than team billing.

Do you have a larger business or multiple teams working together? Check out the Premium for Teams tier. The prices vary depending on the scope of the services you require.

3. Copysmith

Need help scaling your marketing and driving growth through copy? Check out Copysmith .

Whether you’re a freelancer or you’re managing an in-house marketing team, Copysmith gives you the tools you need to actually accelerate your growth through tailored marketing, not just create great copy.

Key Features

Copysmith boasts a really impressive range of tools for busy marketing teams and copywriters.

For example, if you run an online store, Copysmith can generate a whole FAQ section for you plus unlimited product descriptions. Need taglines to boost your brand profile? Copysmith can turn your brand vision into engaging, memorable ad copy, and you can store all your client copy in one place.

Pricing

Unfortunately, there’s no free option, but if you’re happy paying for AI copywriting support, you have three choices .

First, we’ve got the Starter package. For an annual subscription, it’s $192 which works out at $16 per month. However, you can instead opt for a monthly subscription, which is $19 per month. For your money, you’ll get 20 plagiarism checks per month, Google Ad integrations and Chrome extensions so you can access copywriting support within your browser.

Next, there’s the Professional tier, which costs $600 per year (working out at $50 per month) or $59 for a monthly subscription. You’ll get everything in the Starter package, plus extra plagiarism checks and 100 generated blog posts to get your creative juices flowing.

Finally, there’s the Enterprise package, which comes in at $5,088 annually or $499 if you pay monthly instead. It comes with unlimited plagiarism checks and blog ideas, plus a suite of integrations including Shopify, so you’ll never be stuck for a product description again!

4. Wordsmith

Do you rely heavily on data for your day-to-day decision-making? If so, check out Wordsmith . This platform generates natural-sounding content based on analyzing large data sets, so you can use it for everything from journalism to financial reporting.

Key Features

Like Copysmith, Wordsmith is all about scale. All you need to do is create one template, set up a few variables, and Wordsmith will generate multiple alternative scripts. For example, you can write chatbot scripts for responding to various complex customer requests or write a video game script.

Wordsmith is also great for presenting financial data in understandable English to help you with your financial reporting and tracking needs: The AP uses it to publish more than 3,000 financial reports every quarter!

Pricing

The pricing structure isn’t public, so you’ll need to request a free demo and tell Wordsmith a little more about your business and content needs to get a quote.

5. Writesonic

Looking for an AI tool you can scale as your business grows? Writesonic might be for you.

“Trained” on successful copy from popular brands, Writesonic can help you generate everything from landing pages to Facebook ads, and it’s designed to maximize your chances of ranking well on search engines. Simply select a template and supply a few lines of description, and Writesonic will provide multiple copy samples for you to choose from.

Key Features

Writesonic is great for marketers who want to automate their more mundane writing tasks like welcome emails and SEO meta descriptions. The billing structure is really flexible, too, so you can scale your package to suit your evolving business needs.

However, one of the standout features is the landing page generator. By supplying just a few key details, you can instantly generate an optimized, engaging landing page. Check out an example of a landing page for Monday.com.

Pricing

There are three pricing tiers .

Starter: It’s $29 per month (or $25 per month if you pay for an annual subscription) to get 75 credits and access to basic features like SEO tags and the content rephraser.

Professional: You can pay $99 for monthly rolling subscriptions, but it’s cheaper to buy an annual subscription and pay $89 per month. However, you’re capped at 150 credits per month for features such as blog outlines.

Business: Coming in at $449 per month for annual subscriptions or $499 for a single month, you get everything in the Professional package plus 1200 credits for advanced features like full article writing.

Writesonic offers 10 free credits so you can check out the functionality before committing to a paid package. You can also pay-as-you-go rather than buy a monthly subscription if your content needs vary from month to month.

Conclusion

Whether you’re a digital marketer or a busy copywriter, AI copywriting tools can help you scale your content creation and achieve your business goals. They’re easy to learn and fun to use, and best of all, they produce natural, engaging copy to support your content needs.

Since every AI copywriting tool is slightly different, it’s best to check out a free trial or two before you commit to a purchase. This way, you’ll get a sense of how the tools work and which one best supports your business strategy .

Have you tried AI copywriting tools yet?

See How My Agency Can Drive Massive Amounts of Traffic to Your Website

SEO – unlock massive amounts of SEO traffic. See real results.

Content Marketing – our team creates epic content that will get shared, get links, and attract traffic.

Paid Media – effective paid strategies with clear ROI.

Book a Call

Go to Source Author: Neil Patel

This post 5 AI Copywriting Tools to Make Writing Content Easier first appeared on WalrusVideo

[speechlanguage]

5 AI Copywriting Tools to Make Writing Content Easier

Copywriting is hard. Whether you’re writing product descriptions or PPC ads , there’s a huge volume of work involved, and the repetitive nature of the tasks can drain your creativity.

Could you give a machine a few instructions and let it generate engaging copy while you focused on more pressing tasks?

Well, now it’s possible, thanks to AI copywriting tools powered by machine learning. Let me introduce you to how it works and how it could transform your marketing strategy .

What Is AI Copywriting and How Does It Work?

AI copywriting is essentially computer-generated writing created using natural language processing tools.

First, you decide what you want to write about and the type of content you need. This could be anything from a blog post to a short ad. Then, you set certain parameters for the AI tool to follow. For example, maybe you decide you want a social media post advertising a new yoga class.

Once the machine receives the instructions, it generates content based on these parameters by analyzing similar preexisting content from around the web and processing it into something new and plagiarism-free.

How are companies using AI copywriting? I’ll give you an example.

JPMorgan Chase used an AI copywriting tool to improve its CTAs and online ad copy for home equity lines of credit. They asked human copywriters to perform a similar task, and then they compared the results.

The findings? While the “human” copy generated 25 home equity applications, the AI copy generated 47. With the help of AI, JPMorgan Chase generated more potential customers than before. Impressive, right?

Why Should You Use an AI Copywriting Tool?

There are a few reasons why marketers and copywriters might check out AI copywriting tools.

First, AI copywriting saves you time. These tools can analyze data much quicker than humans can, so they can instantly generate full articles. They work 24/7, too, so you can literally craft content in your sleep!

Also, just think about how convenient AI copywriting is. If you need bulk content, such as product descriptions , AI copywriting handles these jobs for you, so you’re free to focus on more demanding marketing tasks like lead generation and KPI tracking.

Finally, AI copywriting tools can save you from the dreaded “writer’s block” that every writer experiences at some point. Whether you need help brainstorming ideas or generating some content, an AI tool can help you get going again.

If you’re a busy content creator with multiple deadlines or dreams of scaling your content production, it’s worth exploring how AI copywriting may help you.

AI Copywriting Limitations

Like any digital marketing tool, AI copywriting has its limitations.

First, although AI tech is impressive, AI copywriting tools don’t write anything truly original. Remember, we’re talking about a machine. They’re “fed” articles and content written by human copywriters and essentially mix them up to create something new.

AI tools produce great copy, but just because it’s “new” copy doesn’t mean it’s original.

What’s more, AI tools can’t replicate human emotion. Why is this a drawback? Well, emotion matters in marketing. In fact, when it comes to consumer buying behavior, feelings are more influential than any other variable, so you should try to invoke emotion through your content.

In short, while it’s great for bulk projects, you might not find AI copywriting helpful for crafting those more emotive posts that need a personal touch and true creative thought.

Finally, the AI tools we have right now aren’t great at picking up “awkward” phrasing. Although the writing (usually) makes grammatical sense, you’ll still need to proofread the copy to identify any incorrect phrases and awkward wording.

The takeaway? AI copywriting tools can support your marketing efforts, sure, but they’re not a complete substitute for human content creation. Just think of them as another highly useful tool in your toolbox.

5 AI Copywriting Tools for Content Creation

Ready to try out some AI copywriting tools? There are plenty out there, but here are the five I suggest you try first.

1. CopyAI

Got writer’s block? CopyAI is here to help. From brainstorming topics to crafting social media posts, CopyAI can help you go from stuck to inspired within minutes.

How does it work? It’s a simple enough concept. CopyAI uses a highly advanced machine language model, GPT-3, to produce authentic, human-like copy almost instantly. You just select a copy type, provide some words, phrases, and descriptions to base content around, and watch CopyAI do the rest.

Key Features

One thing that’s great about CopyAI is how simple it is to get going. You only need to provide a few words to generate copy including Instagram captions, product descriptions, and even product value propositions in seconds.

What makes CopyAI stand out, though, is its suite of idea generation tools. Whether you need a viral post idea or you’re just stuck on what to write about next, CopyAI gets you moving again.

Pricing

You can choose from two packages . The “Solo” package costs $420 a year (billed monthly at $35) or $49 for rolling monthly subscriptions, and it gives you access to all CopyAI tools, unlimited runs, and around-the-clock support.

The “Multiple Seats” package is better for larger businesses because it includes collaboration tools to support multiple teams. Prices are on request.

Not sure if CopyAI is right for you? You can try it free for seven days.

2. Wordtune

Do you have trouble saying exactly what you mean? Wordtune can help you get the words right. This AI copywriting companion works alongside you in real-time, helping you rephrase and reword your content without sacrificing flow, tone, or meaning.

Since it’s not a fully-fledged article generator like CopyAI, it’s best for marketers who want to write copy and need help shaping it. It could save you time spent agonizing over word choice and sentence structure while giving you the creative freedom to write your content.

Key Features

Designed with the discerning content writer in mind, Wordtune can assist with everything from sentence length to full-length article rewrites. This could be great for marketers looking to repurpose content across different platforms who want help condensing and rewording their copy.

Once you add the Chrome extension, you can instantly use it across popular websites such as Twitter, Grammarly, and LinkedIn, making it one of the most efficient AI copywriting and grammar-assistance tools out there.

Pricing

If you just want help rewording a sentence or two, there’s a free plan.

However, if you want access to features like sentence length controllers, tone controllers, and word searches, sign up for Premium. You can either pay $24.99 a month or save money and pay $119 for the year. You’ll get access to all features other than team billing.

Do you have a larger business or multiple teams working together? Check out the Premium for Teams tier. The prices vary depending on the scope of the services you require.

3. Copysmith

Need help scaling your marketing and driving growth through copy? Check out Copysmith .

Whether you’re a freelancer or you’re managing an in-house marketing team, Copysmith gives you the tools you need to actually accelerate your growth through tailored marketing, not just create great copy.

Key Features

Copysmith boasts a really impressive range of tools for busy marketing teams and copywriters.

For example, if you run an online store, Copysmith can generate a whole FAQ section for you plus unlimited product descriptions. Need taglines to boost your brand profile? Copysmith can turn your brand vision into engaging, memorable ad copy, and you can store all your client copy in one place.

Pricing

Unfortunately, there’s no free option, but if you’re happy paying for AI copywriting support, you have three choices .

First, we’ve got the Starter package. For an annual subscription, it’s $192 which works out at $16 per month. However, you can instead opt for a monthly subscription, which is $19 per month. For your money, you’ll get 20 plagiarism checks per month, Google Ad integrations and Chrome extensions so you can access copywriting support within your browser.

Next, there’s the Professional tier, which costs $600 per year (working out at $50 per month) or $59 for a monthly subscription. You’ll get everything in the Starter package, plus extra plagiarism checks and 100 generated blog posts to get your creative juices flowing.

Finally, there’s the Enterprise package, which comes in at $5,088 annually or $499 if you pay monthly instead. It comes with unlimited plagiarism checks and blog ideas, plus a suite of integrations including Shopify, so you’ll never be stuck for a product description again!

4. Wordsmith

Do you rely heavily on data for your day-to-day decision-making? If so, check out Wordsmith . This platform generates natural-sounding content based on analyzing large data sets, so you can use it for everything from journalism to financial reporting.

Key Features

Like Copysmith, Wordsmith is all about scale. All you need to do is create one template, set up a few variables, and Wordsmith will generate multiple alternative scripts. For example, you can write chatbot scripts for responding to various complex customer requests or write a video game script.

Wordsmith is also great for presenting financial data in understandable English to help you with your financial reporting and tracking needs: The AP uses it to publish more than 3,000 financial reports every quarter!

Pricing

The pricing structure isn’t public, so you’ll need to request a free demo and tell Wordsmith a little more about your business and content needs to get a quote.

5. Writesonic

Looking for an AI tool you can scale as your business grows? Writesonic might be for you.

“Trained” on successful copy from popular brands, Writesonic can help you generate everything from landing pages to Facebook ads, and it’s designed to maximize your chances of ranking well on search engines. Simply select a template and supply a few lines of description, and Writesonic will provide multiple copy samples for you to choose from.

Key Features

Writesonic is great for marketers who want to automate their more mundane writing tasks like welcome emails and SEO meta descriptions. The billing structure is really flexible, too, so you can scale your package to suit your evolving business needs.

However, one of the standout features is the landing page generator. By supplying just a few key details, you can instantly generate an optimized, engaging landing page. Check out an example of a landing page for Monday.com.

Pricing

There are three pricing tiers .

Starter: It’s $29 per month (or $25 per month if you pay for an annual subscription) to get 75 credits and access to basic features like SEO tags and the content rephraser.

Professional: You can pay $99 for monthly rolling subscriptions, but it’s cheaper to buy an annual subscription and pay $89 per month. However, you’re capped at 150 credits per month for features such as blog outlines.

Business: Coming in at $449 per month for annual subscriptions or $499 for a single month, you get everything in the Professional package plus 1200 credits for advanced features like full article writing.

Writesonic offers 10 free credits so you can check out the functionality before committing to a paid package. You can also pay-as-you-go rather than buy a monthly subscription if your content needs vary from month to month.

Conclusion

Whether you’re a digital marketer or a busy copywriter, AI copywriting tools can help you scale your content creation and achieve your business goals. They’re easy to learn and fun to use, and best of all, they produce natural, engaging copy to support your content needs.

Since every AI copywriting tool is slightly different, it’s best to check out a free trial or two before you commit to a purchase. This way, you’ll get a sense of how the tools work and which one best supports your business strategy .

Have you tried AI copywriting tools yet?

See How My Agency Can Drive Massive Amounts of Traffic to Your Website

SEO – unlock massive amounts of SEO traffic. See real results.

Content Marketing – our team creates epic content that will get shared, get links, and attract traffic.

Paid Media – effective paid strategies with clear ROI.

Book a Call

Go to Source Author: Neil Patel

This post 5 AI Copywriting Tools to Make Writing Content Easier first appeared on WalrusVideo

[jrhayesart]

5 AI Copywriting Tools to Make Writing Content Easier

Copywriting is hard. Whether you’re writing product descriptions or PPC ads , there’s a huge volume of work involved, and the repetitive nature of the tasks can drain your creativity.

Could you give a machine a few instructions and let it generate engaging copy while you focused on more pressing tasks?

Well, now it’s possible, thanks to AI copywriting tools powered by machine learning. Let me introduce you to how it works and how it could transform your marketing strategy .

What Is AI Copywriting and How Does It Work?

AI copywriting is essentially computer-generated writing created using natural language processing tools.

First, you decide what you want to write about and the type of content you need. This could be anything from a blog post to a short ad. Then, you set certain parameters for the AI tool to follow. For example, maybe you decide you want a social media post advertising a new yoga class.

Once the machine receives the instructions, it generates content based on these parameters by analyzing similar preexisting content from around the web and processing it into something new and plagiarism-free.

How are companies using AI copywriting? I’ll give you an example.

JPMorgan Chase used an AI copywriting tool to improve its CTAs and online ad copy for home equity lines of credit. They asked human copywriters to perform a similar task, and then they compared the results.

The findings? While the “human” copy generated 25 home equity applications, the AI copy generated 47. With the help of AI, JPMorgan Chase generated more potential customers than before. Impressive, right?

Why Should You Use an AI Copywriting Tool?

There are a few reasons why marketers and copywriters might check out AI copywriting tools.

First, AI copywriting saves you time. These tools can analyze data much quicker than humans can, so they can instantly generate full articles. They work 24/7, too, so you can literally craft content in your sleep!

Also, just think about how convenient AI copywriting is. If you need bulk content, such as product descriptions , AI copywriting handles these jobs for you, so you’re free to focus on more demanding marketing tasks like lead generation and KPI tracking.

Finally, AI copywriting tools can save you from the dreaded “writer’s block” that every writer experiences at some point. Whether you need help brainstorming ideas or generating some content, an AI tool can help you get going again.

If you’re a busy content creator with multiple deadlines or dreams of scaling your content production, it’s worth exploring how AI copywriting may help you.

AI Copywriting Limitations

Like any digital marketing tool, AI copywriting has its limitations.

First, although AI tech is impressive, AI copywriting tools don’t write anything truly original. Remember, we’re talking about a machine. They’re “fed” articles and content written by human copywriters and essentially mix them up to create something new.

AI tools produce great copy, but just because it’s “new” copy doesn’t mean it’s original.

What’s more, AI tools can’t replicate human emotion. Why is this a drawback? Well, emotion matters in marketing. In fact, when it comes to consumer buying behavior, feelings are more influential than any other variable, so you should try to invoke emotion through your content.

In short, while it’s great for bulk projects, you might not find AI copywriting helpful for crafting those more emotive posts that need a personal touch and true creative thought.

Finally, the AI tools we have right now aren’t great at picking up “awkward” phrasing. Although the writing (usually) makes grammatical sense, you’ll still need to proofread the copy to identify any incorrect phrases and awkward wording.

The takeaway? AI copywriting tools can support your marketing efforts, sure, but they’re not a complete substitute for human content creation. Just think of them as another highly useful tool in your toolbox.

5 AI Copywriting Tools for Content Creation

Ready to try out some AI copywriting tools? There are plenty out there, but here are the five I suggest you try first.

1. CopyAI

Got writer’s block? CopyAI is here to help. From brainstorming topics to crafting social media posts, CopyAI can help you go from stuck to inspired within minutes.

How does it work? It’s a simple enough concept. CopyAI uses a highly advanced machine language model, GPT-3, to produce authentic, human-like copy almost instantly. You just select a copy type, provide some words, phrases, and descriptions to base content around, and watch CopyAI do the rest.

Key Features

One thing that’s great about CopyAI is how simple it is to get going. You only need to provide a few words to generate copy including Instagram captions, product descriptions, and even product value propositions in seconds.

What makes CopyAI stand out, though, is its suite of idea generation tools. Whether you need a viral post idea or you’re just stuck on what to write about next, CopyAI gets you moving again.

Pricing

You can choose from two packages . The “Solo” package costs $420 a year (billed monthly at $35) or $49 for rolling monthly subscriptions, and it gives you access to all CopyAI tools, unlimited runs, and around-the-clock support.

The “Multiple Seats” package is better for larger businesses because it includes collaboration tools to support multiple teams. Prices are on request.

Not sure if CopyAI is right for you? You can try it free for seven days.

2. Wordtune

Do you have trouble saying exactly what you mean? Wordtune can help you get the words right. This AI copywriting companion works alongside you in real-time, helping you rephrase and reword your content without sacrificing flow, tone, or meaning.

Since it’s not a fully-fledged article generator like CopyAI, it’s best for marketers who want to write copy and need help shaping it. It could save you time spent agonizing over word choice and sentence structure while giving you the creative freedom to write your content.

Key Features

Designed with the discerning content writer in mind, Wordtune can assist with everything from sentence length to full-length article rewrites. This could be great for marketers looking to repurpose content across different platforms who want help condensing and rewording their copy.

Once you add the Chrome extension, you can instantly use it across popular websites such as Twitter, Grammarly, and LinkedIn, making it one of the most efficient AI copywriting and grammar-assistance tools out there.

Pricing

If you just want help rewording a sentence or two, there’s a free plan.

However, if you want access to features like sentence length controllers, tone controllers, and word searches, sign up for Premium. You can either pay $24.99 a month or save money and pay $119 for the year. You’ll get access to all features other than team billing.

Do you have a larger business or multiple teams working together? Check out the Premium for Teams tier. The prices vary depending on the scope of the services you require.

3. Copysmith

Need help scaling your marketing and driving growth through copy? Check out Copysmith .

Whether you’re a freelancer or you’re managing an in-house marketing team, Copysmith gives you the tools you need to actually accelerate your growth through tailored marketing, not just create great copy.

Key Features

Copysmith boasts a really impressive range of tools for busy marketing teams and copywriters.

For example, if you run an online store, Copysmith can generate a whole FAQ section for you plus unlimited product descriptions. Need taglines to boost your brand profile? Copysmith can turn your brand vision into engaging, memorable ad copy, and you can store all your client copy in one place.

Pricing

Unfortunately, there’s no free option, but if you’re happy paying for AI copywriting support, you have three choices .

First, we’ve got the Starter package. For an annual subscription, it’s $192 which works out at $16 per month. However, you can instead opt for a monthly subscription, which is $19 per month. For your money, you’ll get 20 plagiarism checks per month, Google Ad integrations and Chrome extensions so you can access copywriting support within your browser.

Next, there’s the Professional tier, which costs $600 per year (working out at $50 per month) or $59 for a monthly subscription. You’ll get everything in the Starter package, plus extra plagiarism checks and 100 generated blog posts to get your creative juices flowing.

Finally, there’s the Enterprise package, which comes in at $5,088 annually or $499 if you pay monthly instead. It comes with unlimited plagiarism checks and blog ideas, plus a suite of integrations including Shopify, so you’ll never be stuck for a product description again!

4. Wordsmith

Do you rely heavily on data for your day-to-day decision-making? If so, check out Wordsmith . This platform generates natural-sounding content based on analyzing large data sets, so you can use it for everything from journalism to financial reporting.

Key Features

Like Copysmith, Wordsmith is all about scale. All you need to do is create one template, set up a few variables, and Wordsmith will generate multiple alternative scripts. For example, you can write chatbot scripts for responding to various complex customer requests or write a video game script.

Wordsmith is also great for presenting financial data in understandable English to help you with your financial reporting and tracking needs: The AP uses it to publish more than 3,000 financial reports every quarter!

Pricing

The pricing structure isn’t public, so you’ll need to request a free demo and tell Wordsmith a little more about your business and content needs to get a quote.

5. Writesonic

Looking for an AI tool you can scale as your business grows? Writesonic might be for you.

“Trained” on successful copy from popular brands, Writesonic can help you generate everything from landing pages to Facebook ads, and it’s designed to maximize your chances of ranking well on search engines. Simply select a template and supply a few lines of description, and Writesonic will provide multiple copy samples for you to choose from.

Key Features

Writesonic is great for marketers who want to automate their more mundane writing tasks like welcome emails and SEO meta descriptions. The billing structure is really flexible, too, so you can scale your package to suit your evolving business needs.

However, one of the standout features is the landing page generator. By supplying just a few key details, you can instantly generate an optimized, engaging landing page. Check out an example of a landing page for Monday.com.

Pricing

There are three pricing tiers .

Starter: It’s $29 per month (or $25 per month if you pay for an annual subscription) to get 75 credits and access to basic features like SEO tags and the content rephraser.

Professional: You can pay $99 for monthly rolling subscriptions, but it’s cheaper to buy an annual subscription and pay $89 per month. However, you’re capped at 150 credits per month for features such as blog outlines.

Business: Coming in at $449 per month for annual subscriptions or $499 for a single month, you get everything in the Professional package plus 1200 credits for advanced features like full article writing.

Writesonic offers 10 free credits so you can check out the functionality before committing to a paid package. You can also pay-as-you-go rather than buy a monthly subscription if your content needs vary from month to month.

Conclusion

Whether you’re a digital marketer or a busy copywriter, AI copywriting tools can help you scale your content creation and achieve your business goals. They’re easy to learn and fun to use, and best of all, they produce natural, engaging copy to support your content needs.

Since every AI copywriting tool is slightly different, it’s best to check out a free trial or two before you commit to a purchase. This way, you’ll get a sense of how the tools work and which one best supports your business strategy .

Have you tried AI copywriting tools yet?

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Go to Source Author: Neil Patel

This post 5 AI Copywriting Tools to Make Writing Content Easier first appeared on WalrusVideo