#Also‚ I'm starting to think I might have a problem with perfectionism

[valleymyristica]

[ TagGame ]

Post 4 fictional characters you relate to and assume something about the previous person based on their characters [ Original ]

Thank you @nightjasmine10 for the tag! This one sounds like quite an interesting one

Eris Sinbad

Alastor Hazbin Hotel (Pilot)

Snufkin Moomin (1990 TV series)

Fluttershy My little pony: Friendship is magic

And the gifs are quite fitting too, especially the Alastor one, when it comes to the story, what we have in mind, can't help but let a smile spread from time to time. Heh Eris is more the author in me.

Thank you again @nightjasmine10! This was a fun surprise

Here's my little analysis based on your characters Hope it's somewhat fitting as I didn't know most of them

.·˚✧ Koenma (Yu Yu Hakusho) ✧˚·. You have a level head, making sure that things goes as planned, helping. You like to focus on what you enjoy, and not too much on what's outside of that. Plus, you're loyal to those you care about, always wanting the best for them.

-

.·˚✧ Peri Fairywinkle Cosma (Fairly OddParents: A New Wish) ✧˚·. Likes to add some flare to what you do. Fearful of failure and always seeking to do good. Maybe also a sprinkle of, wanting to give others a nice impression of who you are out of fear of how they might perceive you if you don't.

-

.·˚✧ Chandler Bing (Friends) ✧˚·. You're a fun one who enjoys making others laugh. It's better to bring others up with joy than down with any sorrow you may feel. Hiding behind a smile because you've learned that others just like to see the sunshine you may spread, instead of any hurt that may be in your head. Still, all in all, you're a good person.

-

.·˚✧ Monica Geller (Friends) ✧˚·. You're indeed one that likes to keep the peace. Making sure all is well, maybe even at the expense of yourself at times. You don't think yourself bad, but you sometimes have a hard time seeing all the wonder you give.

-

You know yourself well enough to keep yourself up. You know what your ideal life may be, but you can still find joy in what you have currently. Still, there are many things that could be better, but hey could be worse too, right?

In essence, you're a good person Pretty like a flower

Hope I didn't overdo it Or maybe I did and it brings you glee Well, the important part is you being happy!

As for people to tag, always so unsure, but there are always lovely people to bring some brightness to!

@waitineedaname, You're a lovely one who's analysis is always fun, plus, it would be fun to see who you may related too (feeling one of them might be a librarian, though, guess that depends)

@shrimpyjackal, LOOK! Can you see me? Do you find the characters fit? Always so fun to hear from you, always a joy in seeing what you do, so it would also be fun to know which characters you relate to too ᵔᵜᵔ

@stitchwraith-stingers, You're a fun one, so it may be fun to see, who are the four that call to out to you? And why does it feel like not all of them are human too? Whatever it may, hope you have a wonderful day. Ups and downs are sure to come, but save the fun, enjoy what you can.

@wreckrinho, The cool cat that is you, do oh so wonder, who do you relate too? What characters make you feel more at home, for not all is lonely. You don't have to be alone. For you are one who deserves to be seen and happy, with joy to fill what's in-between!

@freesso, Sweet and fun, happy one. Hope all is well, do you want to play? It's odd, I have a vision of silver shimmering white, no idea who that could be, right? Regardless of choice, hope you are having fun in whatever you working on getting done ᵔᵜᵔ

@midnightdemonz, You're a fun one, wanna join in the game? Whatever you choose, I hope the day will give you much joy to gain, much fun to be had and do hope that things are good, not bad. For a lovely fun one, just like you, deserves much joy, it's true!

@vhs-consumer, Fun fantastic! Hope you're good and the world is kind, bringing you lively things to mind. Hope there is fun to be had in your day, hope you are doing okay ᵔᵜᵔ

@poggieking03, Hope all is well, and the day brings you glee, just like you have so many times brought me! Would be fun to see what you may say, and who are the ones that best match your days. Surely someone cool and full of spark, for you are always a bright spot in the dark.

@paaelle, A fun one to see, you come and you go, hope you're day is bright and enjoy all that you know. You may join if you like, but most of all, I want to tell, that I appreciate you as well!

And for clarity, no pressure of course!

Most of all, I just want to wish you all well For you are all so sweet and swell! So very wonderful, just wanted to tell ᵔᵜᵔ

Also, if anyone else would like to join in, then that would very much bring glee Fun people are always fun to see, trust me

[transhumanisticpanspermia]

i'm the gifted kid trauma understander because i got the whiplash of going from the "totally-not-a-prison school for children we basically think are gonna get warehoused in group homes and prisons and we need to abuse some compliance into them first" in 5th grade to the "public school with plenty of funding that immediately fast tracked me into gifted programs" in 6th grade.

and i am here to tell you that the main problem with gifted programs isn't the ~expectations for success~, it's that they teach kids in them to be elitist pricks.

oh you had undiagnosed ADHD and they put you in a gifted program and you developed habits that gave you burnout as an adult? that sucks. it really does. also, what do you think school would have been like if they kept you in standard classes? might you have gotten incredibly bored, starting acting out? seeking unwise sources of sensory and intellectual stimulation in drugs, or petty crime for the thrill, or intentionally getting close to older creeps who provided more interesting conversation than your peers or teachers, or whatever the fuck else would give your brain the input it craved?

because that happens to a lot of kids. it's why your gifted program was so damn white and affluent. you got the material that matched your intellectual interests. and they got told to stop dozing off and show some respect to their elders.

it happened to me. i was the neurodivergent child who wasn't being challenged, and also wasn't getting support for my sensory and emotional needs, so i got sent to the office every damn day. every fucking day! i remember the office in my original elementary school better than i remember the classrooms. one day in 2nd grade i flipped a desk and that was it, they decided my trajectory. i was shipped off to the school with the point sheets and the second blackmail recess that you watched other kids play in from the sidelines if you weren't 'good enough' and the god damn solitary fucking confinement cells.

and then i got out. i dissociated so hard that i formed a series of personality states that the school would identify as conformant, and they sent me back to mainstream for 6th grade. very few of my classmates went back to mainstream.

and yeah then i got the gifted kid habits with the perfectionism and the whatever the fuck else - but if they'd kept me in standard classes god fucking knows what my life would be right now. i'd rather be a neurotic 'gifted kid' on the edge of burnout than the latest neurodivergent adult shat out the end of the school to prison pipeline.

have some perspective. have some respect.

[cilil]

The honest to Eru reason why I've currently shelved my Angbang/Melkor/Mairon related projects in particular (and arguably Ainur in general, unless you count the 25% in Dior lolol) is that I'm... not quite content yet. Like, make no mistake, I don't hate my old works or anything; it's just that for the big future projects I never got around to thus far I'm missing a few final sparks, if you will. Some fine tuning. Some "back to the drawing board", reworking, refining. Also nobody take this as shade (somehow?), this is just me and a me problem and my issues with perfectionism that keep me from writing.

So I'm currently thinking about Ainur designs during the Almaren era, Melkor and Mairon in particular (this is not a serious headcanon post, btw, this is a brain dump that I feel like sharing with the besties on here). Anyway, I would like to try out some "weirder" designs, reason being that at this point Ainur haven't seen humanoids and are going with what they remember from the music and copy from one another. Adding various supernatural and/or animal features is a good start, but what I'm playing with right now in my head is also this angle of them looking kind of... proto-humanoid? Like basically "humanoid according to Eru's description, artist's rendition".

In Mairon's case, I've always liked the idea that his first forms while studying under Aulë looked like a statue of sorts. He made his first fána because he had need of it for work reasons, and while some of his peers may have kept it simple and others added their own flair (see above), he went about it like a craftsman would. Again: Artist's rendition of a humanoid body. And since Mairon is an ambitious artist and craftsman, he carefully crafted and sculpted a lovely shape for himself. The Ainurin version of Michelangelo's David, if you will. I also imagine Mairon's forms (all of them) as androgynously beautiful, the kind that's just absolutely gorgeous and stunning and inspires gender envy in all genders (nobody is safe).

Other ideas I had include making his skin either golden or marble with golden patterns and his hair being kind of... heavy? Like he shaped it into artistic curls and waves, but they would barely move in the wind, if at all; reason being that, at this point, he's a fire spirit working with rocks and metal, so flammable organic material is not his forte (to the chagrin of Yavanna. I like to think that, ironically, Melkor taught him about such material in depth later. But those are stories for another time).

As for Melkor, I want him to look the most human out of all the Ainur, funnily enough. I know this might sound odd considering he was barely even listening to the third theme, but he did have the greatest insight into the vision and it's a big theme that he's the most human out of all the Valar. Nevertheless, his fána would still have its "odd" and "unique" properties, just due to the fact that a) he's Melkor and b) he's weird and extra. Since he's still in a state where he can match all the other Valar and their Maiar on his own, his skin is pretty much impervious to any and all harm, to name just one example.

The main design elements I've been rotating in my head for his earlier forms revolve around his hair. I like to imagine it being pitch black at the roots, like the darkness of outer space, but becoming luminous at the tips. He's rocking the anglerfish ombré. Also depending on the angle and lighting and his mood the lights are constantly shifting in wavelength, and you see all colors of the electromagnetic spectrum flickering in and out of existence. Another thing I've been picturing for Melkor's hair in general is that it's constantly in motion, similar to Manwë who always has his wind around him. The difference is that there is no wind around Melkor. His hair just does that. If there's no wind at all, it's moving, and if there is wind, it's still moving, but not as it should. It's not super noticeable, rather subtle, but if you were to look at it for a long time, you would wonder if his hair is alive and has its own chaotic agenda. Also I'm fond of the idea that he likes to use it as additional arms, think Midna from Twilight Princess (either one big hand or smaller tendril hands, depending on what he uses it for).

...alright, I think that's all I got for now. Thank you for coming to my brain dump, I'll file this one away for future reference aka the inevitable return of acute brainrot

[topazadine]

"I Can Think of Ideas But Can't Write Them!"

Estimated Reading Time: 13 Minutes

Irrelevant hyperspecific Cleveland Ohio meme (it came up on my files when I searched for "think" so now you're stuck with it too)

Anyway, I see some iteration of this sentiment on the reg, both here and on other social media.

"I have this awesome idea about XYZ, but when I sit down to do it, I find it impossible to do anything. How do I get started?"

Great question and exceptionally valid; I think a lot of us have dealt with this at some point or another. So let's go through why you might have this happen to you and what you can do about it.

Perma-reminder that this is just my opinion and you are free to disagree, to think I am stupid, whatever. Take what you like and leave the rest.

Reasons why you might feel that you have great ideas but can't execute them

Writing, like many other activities, is just as much about your mindset as it is about your practice and your skills.

We can either psych ourselves into writing some amazing, lifechanging work ... or we can convince ourselves that we shouldn't even bother.

So how does our mindset play into our writing abilities? Here's some possible answers.

You've thought about it too much.

In essence, you've worked through the plot points so many times and refined them in your head to the point that you fear putting it on the page because you're certain that it won't match the beautiful vision you've daydreamed.

I have no evidence for this other than my own intuition, but I think this might happen more to people who are a 4 or 5 on the Vividness of Visual Imagery scale. I'm only a 3 so I don't have this problem quite as much. People with a 1 or 2 VVIQ score might have this problem even less, but don't quote me.

You are trying to envision the entire thing at once without outlining.

Most writers, including yours truly, cannot contain an entire story in our heads without any notes whatsoever.

For some reason, though, some newer writers are incredibly averse to outlining; they want the entire thing to spring forth from their heads whole cloth. Not everyone, of course, but enough people that I have noticed a trend.

I suspect this might be due to some academic trauma from being forced to outline every little thing in school and then being judged on that outline. But no one's judging or grading you anymore; your outline is just for you. Don't worry about it being perfect. It just needs to exist.

There are too many moving parts and you feel overwhelmed.

I encourage writers who are just getting started to focus on a simpler story to begin with. You can write your epic 120k thriller later; the idea is not going anywhere. It will always be there, waiting for you to be ready.

You feel that the project, in its current iteration, is beyond your capabilities.

And it very well might be, but you shouldn't let that stop you. Something existing in its rawest form is better than it not existing at all. There's always time and time more still to fix it as you grow in your capabilities.

You are a perfectionist.

This goes with the above point but also extends to other problems with writing, including being reluctant to revise and nitpicking your work as you go along.

Perfectionists often experience so much anxiety about the idea of not doing their best that they procrastinate or refuse to do something at all because they don't think they can do it perfectly in one go. Many "lazy" people are actually terrified of failure so they don't put in any effort.

It's something you need to work on as a writer, because there is no such thing as a publishable, literary-classic-quality first draft. A perfect first draft is one that exists.

You've got Imposter Syndrome.

Then we've got those who don't have an accurate assessment of their abilities and it holds them back. Imposter Syndrome often goes hand-in-hand with perfectionism; you feel like you're not as good as the writers you like, so you don't bother trying to reach their level.

Imposter Syndrome is the epitome of "comparison is the thief of joy." I have a lot of writers who I know are better than me; my favorite writers have lifted the bar so high that few will ever surpass them. I doubt I will ever get to their heights of success and eloquence.

But I do not let this stop me because I know that once upon a time, they were exactly where I am. Well, maybe not exactly where I am in Cleveland, lurking in the depths of Lake Erie. Skills-wise, though? They've all been here too.

You're thinking too far ahead.

I mentioned this in my post about how to write faster: writing has stages that must be put together one at a time. Every writer has different stages and does them different ways, but the average writer is not plotting, outlining, drafting, revising, publishing, and marketing at the very same time. It's just too much all at once.

When writing, don't think about everything else. Don't think about whether it will sell, or how long it will take to revise, or how to query, or any of that. All you need to think about is plot -> outline -> draft, in that order. And then you'll be okay.

How to Get Idea on Paper Now

Relax.

Yes, really. The first step is to relax. Take a deep breath. Tell all your anxieties about whether you'll ever get published, or whether you can do this, or whether you're even capable of writing, to shut the fuck up.

When you get those anxious thoughts, tell them that they are not helpful and they are not serving you. Practice mindfulness, such as by reciting a mantra to yourself until the thoughts give up. Outlast them out of spite.

Ask yourself what is scaring you so much.

Again, much of your struggles with writing likely come from your fears about the outcome rather than genuinely not being sure how to proceed.

You came up with this awesome idea, and you have probably played it in your head over and over again for days, weeks, months, years, but now find it impossible to get started. That tells me that you do have a story in you, but there's a blockage somewhere from brain to fingers.

So, gently question yourself about this and remember these key answers to your concerns.

Are you afraid of failing? If so, you have to ask what failing actually means in terms of writing. That you won't live up to your own expectations? Most of us won't, at least at first. And that's okay. You're trying, and that's what matters most. Are you afraid people will laugh at your work? Well, there are a lot of shit people in the world who love to tear others down. That says more about them than it does about you. Are you afraid you'll waste time on this project that will go nowhere? No writing is wasted. It's all practice. Are you worried you'll never get published? You're getting ahead of yourself. Nothing gets published if it's never written. Are you afraid that you're not going to do your work justice? You probably won't at first. And that's okay! Writing is wonderful because you get to keep picking at it until it is perfect. Unlike other crafts, such as knitting or embroidery or woodworking or painting, you don't get just one shot. You get as many shots as you want.

Release your perfectionist tendencies.

I know, this is easier said than done.

Perfectionism is not very helpful as a writer because either you never put anything down because you're afraid it sucks, or you peck so long at your completed draft that you never finish it. At some point, you need to just say "fuck it" and be done with the damn thing.

Could I peck and poke and prod at my drafts forever? Sure. I see things I could fix in all my works, even the published ones. I'd drive myself crazy if I continually reread my work with an editor's eye.

So, I like to see my work as kind of like Impressionist art.

Taken together, it makes a beautiful whole, but some asshole could go and complain about every little paint smear and how it doesn't exactly match the vision. And that person is dumb. And I don't want to be that person to myself, or to you.

When you've gotten to the point where you are utterly sick of your finished product and you'd rather stab yourself in the face than look at it again, then you are done. Go, my friend. Be free.

Stop reading authors you admire.

... For now! Not forever. Just give them a break for now, especially if you are dealing with Imposter Syndrome.

When you're struggling to get your idea finished, it's very easy to demotivate yourself by looking at authors you love and comparing yourself to them. But these authors have advantages you do not (at the moment).

They've been writing for years.

They may have professional training, like an MA in Creative Writing, or even teach this for work (like Anthony Doerr, one of my faves).

They have a team of professional editors who fix all their dumb mistakes and guide them through the revision process.

You are seeing the completed project, which has been looked over dozens of times, and not seeing the effort it took to get there. Their drafts may have been even shittier than yours, but you don't get to see that in most instances. So put them aside and promise to return to them later.

You should still read stuff, of course. But I recommend reading authors you don't like (yes, you can learn from them as well). Beta read for other people who are at your same level. Not only will you see that you're doing just fine, but you'll also get to learn from their mistakes.

Plus, I hate to sound mean, but yeah, it can be an ego boost.

That's why I don't read books by my moots until I'm in the Percolating or Revising stage, because I know their books are wonderful and will make me feel a lil sad about my own skills. I hate-read instead.

Remember that you can revise as many times as necessary

The way we teach writing, at least in the United States, is utterly antithetical to making great habits; specifically, I'm thinking about timed essays like the ACT. I got a 36 on the writing section of my ACT but I was still sweating bullets the whole fucking time because I would essentially be penalized for taking it slow and thinking things through.

You need to unlearn this habit. If you are writing for pleasure or self-publishing, there are no deadlines. You don't have a due date. You don't need to turn anything in. No one is checking over your shoulder, dinging you for not having a flawless essay done in 1 hour or less.

One of the best books to reassure anxious writers is More About How to Write a Million, specifically the revision section. The work is a bit dated now but the examples remain timeless, showing exactly how much work professional authors do to get from a sorta-shitty first draft to something beautiful. No draft starts out as a perfect angel. They're all a little ugly.

Writing takes as long as it needs to. Revisions are done as necessary. Revise, and revise, and revise again. It doesn't have to be perfect in one go.

Do it Bird by Bird

I love this phrase by Anne Lamott and use it all the time for everything. There's plenty of other adages that are similar, like "the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step."

One thing at a time. Split the whole process into chunks. When you try to think of everything all at once, you get overwhelmed and demotivated.

This was my order when I wrote the first story for The Eirenic Verses, which is now actually the sixth book in the series (love how that works for me).

Create a concept. High Poetry.

Refine the concept. High Poetry can be used for warfare, healing, etc, and was given to Breme by the goddess Poesy.

Create a main character. Cerie Korviridi, a High Poet. All I knew about her personality at first was that she is kind of a bitch, but she slowly grew into much more as I continued to write her.

Create a world. Breme, which has High Poetry but is impoverished, and Sina, which does not have High Poetry but is technologically advanced.

Create other characters to populate the world. Haniya, Uileac, Orrinir, Mordrek, Ono, and background characters as necessary. They are all connected to Cerie in different ways and have different relationships with her.

Create a plot. Cerie must use her High Poetry to end the war between Breme and Sina.

Develop the outline. Using the Plot Mountain method I have mentioned before.

Cut the outline down to the basics. Using the Double Outline method I will explain in a minute.

Develop the sections. I write by scene rather than chapter, as I mentioned in another post.

Write the intro. The first chapter went through a lot of revisions, I will admit.

Write the climax. To know what I am building up to.

Write the ending. To know where I'm ending up.

Write the subclimaxes. Other scenes of tension and intensity.

Write the downtimes. Places for exposition and discussion.

Percolate. I let it sit for a while while I went to outline and write other parts of the series.

Revise. Self-explanatory!

Percolate and Revise again.

Say "fuck it" and be done. And now it is glaring at me from my MS pile, waiting for its turn.

Write the blurb and marketing materials. Those are sitting in storage.

Rinse and repeat. Now that I am writing in an established universe, I don't need to do steps 1 through 5.

If I think about this all at once, I'd probably go "TWENTY WHOLE FUCKING STEPS? WITH SUBSTEPS?? I'm going to drown myself" and not do anything.

So, instead, I went "Okay, I have an idea. Now I will refine the idea. Now I will impose the idea on a hapless victim. And now I'll throw her into a world. And now ...."

You get the point.

Try the Double Outline Method

The Double Outline Method was invented by me for people like you (and me). People who want to capture every single possible detail before they get started writing, but then find themselves losing all motivation because they've basically done the whole thing in outline form.

With this method, you can cram every last plot twist and thought and theme and whatever into your outline ... and then let it go and use a much simpler outline to actually work.

This way, you can give your Bordie Collie brain its little treat and set it to the real work: herding all your thought-sheep into order.

Now, I have some tips to help you actually get the damn thing done once you have tackled your insecurities. I'm wishing you the best of luck, my friend!

I've created a masterlist of writing resources that you can peruse at your leisure, all for free.

The posts I write can sometimes take me hours - they're always intricate, always thoughtful. This one took me about 2 hours to write.

I do this as a labor of love for the writing community, sharing what I have learned from almost 15 years of creative writing.

However, if you'd like to support me, maybe you'll consider buying my book?

At $0.99, that's about 7 cents for each minute you spent reading this post.

9 Years Yearning is a gay coming-of-age romance set in a fantasy world. It follows Uileac Korviridi, a young soldier training at the War Academy. His primary motivations are honoring the memory of his late parents, protecting his little sister Cerie, and becoming a top-notch soldier.

However, there's a problem: Orrinir Relickim, a rough and tough fellow pupil who just can't seem to leave Uileac alone.

The book features poetry, descriptions of a beautiful country inspired by Mongolia, and a whole lot of tsundere vibes.

You can also check it out on Goodreads for a list of expanded distribution. If you loved it, be sure to preorder Pride Before a Fall, arriving January 1, 2025!

If you do purchase my book, don't forget to leave a review!

Reviews are vital for visibility on Amazon and help to support indie authors like me. Whenever you love a book, be sure to let the author know! It's much appreciated.

[ink-drenched-cat]

Alright a quick post about how I write for those who might be interested:

I write mainly on the phone, and use since 2018, the app Pure writer.

It's very nice, works offline as well and saves automatically. You don't have to pay for premium to use it as it works just fine for free – a fact I can attest to cause I don't pay. And what I adore is that you can completely delete the AI feature and that it does not use your data and writing to train generative AI.

Another app that works very well is Obsidian but I haven't tried it out much yet, so I have little to say.

Writing process:

1. Write down the idea and flesh it out.

2. Develop a story outline and how everything is supposed to go + any stray ideas that fly into your head

Ps: it's important to keep it flexible. Don't bind yourself to the rules you have set up so that you can change things without worries if something does not add up

3. Start writing. No matter how long it takes or how bad it is, keep writing until the end. I too struggle with perfectionism and can't sit still until I have fixed a sentence or a part that doesn't work. So to combat that, I note down that I need to fix that later and keep writing. That way you don't get stuck too much and can check when rereading if there is an actual problem or not.

4. It's also important to take breaks so that your head is not swimming from your writing.

5. Once it is done, you can reread and edit everything without worry. I tend to do it in three steps. First I spell check it with grammarly (currently looking for an alternative cause I'm starting to hate it), then I read the story from top to bottom and edit out problems or errors and lastly I listen to it so that I can find the mistakes that I skipped while reading.

Additional tips:

For titles I usually note down everything that comes to mind. Sometimes I already have some sentences floating around, though I make sure to make them associated with the actual story.

Same thing with descriptions.

Here some examples:

I also have the habit to make separate folders for world building, lore related things and researched topics, especially cause I think it's useful to keep them for future purposes, especially now when a lot of stuff can vanish within a day.

So, I might post more world building and AU stuff later on.

Now a little rant about why using generative AI in fandom is dumb as shit and something you should not be proud of:

I absolutely hate generative AI and everything that has to do with it wether in writing or in art. Use your goddamn brain like humans have for thousands of years to create and if you don't like it, do it again. The most important quality when creating art is determination and the will to become better no matter the time or effort it takes.

[comicbookgirl2]

HOT TAKE: I do sorta like this show BUT

I feel like it wastes a ton of potential?

The Chaos Bots should be a more consistent/bigger threat. But it feels like this show borrows notes from SVFTOE where it says "focus more on the teen/family drama than the ACTUAL looming threat."

The whole premise with the future could've been a bit more explored as well- because the future solely hinges on one person. ((I feel like this is kinda iffy but whatever)). Which is fine I guess- it's not like they can reveal what happens to everyone because of space/time continuum or whatever- ((that too is also a problem in and of itself when it comes to me caring about the characters, because it makes them feel like they don't matter in the long run??? None of them are Hailey's equals either? But it might just be a me thing)) but what about things like canon events? I'm not saying "THE SHOW HAS TO HAVE DARK LORE LIKE OWL HOUSE AND GRAVITY FALLS DID" but I honestly think it sorta needed a stronger hook if the stakes are going to be that HIGH. ((I do find it funny how it does lack that sort of depth of lore when you consider that the consequences of Hailey failing is the LITERAL apocalypse))

I feel like the whole 'kiss-scott' thing is sorta drawn out and boring. Hailey kinda feels like a flat character and I wish they'd gone for a more underdog-esque angle with her. She honestly feels like she's good at everything- and the universe just sorta helps her out (she's incredibly lucky, not lazy) so it sorta kills the tension? Nothing about her character indicates that she'd be a MASTER inventor who'd stop climate change one day. Sure she's creative and has a get-it-done sorta attitude, but until this list popped up in her life she never shows any deep interest in fixing the environment or wanting to become an engineer.

I feel like she should've been more like Lunella from Moongirl. Lunella is a brilliant inventor- but not very athletic (she struggles with gym class) so how does she compensate for this? Simple. She uses her weapons/gadgetry to bridge the gap. But even then I'd argue that Lunella fumbles/struggles more to get things done than Hailey does. ((But then again the Moongirl show doesn't have a strict framework like Hailey's show does-so it can get away with more but that's a talk for another time). They try to sell you a girl who's risk-aversed and introverted, but Hailey doesn't come off as either of those things to me. (But that just might be me)

Honestly I feel like the show should've started out being a bookworm/loner. She's not athletic in the slightest and in fact fails at a lot of things. She doesn't have scott by her side (I'll get into this later) so when the list comes to her- she's forced to believe in herself and for the good of the world interact/make friends with people she never thought she could. Maybe she even struggles with perfectionism/the fear of failure as well.

Scott's character is also super wasted too- I don't have a problem with dumb/friendly himbo characters that can't read the room- but it feels like he could've been a bit more than that??? Especially his unbalanced dynamic with Hailey? His character is sorta held back by all the re-occuring side characters if you think about it. And their chemistry is super limited. She's super smart/talented, and he's just well...Scott. He does and say stupid stuff that either annoys her or she just rolls with it for the sake of the joke.

((Personally I would've started off the show with them not being friends/maybe even frenemies and then just have them reluctantly work together until they fall for each other)) He can't be the rival who challenges her because that's AC's job (who's a joke of a character too btw) he can't be the super social one who's the popular kid who makes Hailey feel uncomfortable/reluctant to work with because that's Christine (who's also a reoccurring side character as well). He can't be the super snarky character who despite being just as smart/more responsible than her constantly butts heads with her over completing the list (because that's Beta's role- but I give Beta a pass because he sorta carries this show for me). But if he'd had any of those traits- being a rival, or a skill that he'd consistently be better at so he'd carry the team more- part of me feels like it'd have given their dynamic better footing.

Which speaking of-

Like this may be another hot take- but Hailey/Scott's dynamic feels unbalanced and lacks a lot of chemistry to me. I just can NOT ship them romantically, and ironically the more the show hints/tells me it's endgame- the less I feel inclined to ship it. I really think that if the list didn't outright imply it and the fate of the world didn't depend on it- these two wouldn't be a thing.

People say not every girl/guy has to end up together- and I do agree. But if the show really wanted to hit shipping gold, I think it should've explored it's options better.

[silvercap]

Do you have any tips for new writers?

Also is there a way to not get too caught up in engagement and stats? I'm kinda having this problem and it is taking the motivation out of things a bit 😭

That's a good question! This post got a little long, so I'm implementing a break lol

I don't exactly have specific rules, but I think my biggest tip for someone writing for the first time is to go easy on yourself and give yourself time to get better. I struggle a lot with perfectionism and the nasty habit of being harder on myself than anyone else ever will be, but it's important to acknowledge that we are our own worst critics and that improvement is only measurable by practicing through the early stuff. I encourage a lot of experimenting, especially when you're starting out--try new things and ways of writing and slowly collect the ones that work for you. I've taken plenty of classes on the logistics of writing and technical tips, but those aren't necessarily helpful for everyone to focus on when they're starting out. I think in first drafts and initial writing, it's better to write from whatever urge possesses you to do so and not get caught up in the technicalities. Those are often more helpful when editing, but it really depends on the way your brain works!

Over time, you'll start to build up a sense of flow and style and the general rhythm of writing engaging paragraphs, which brings me to my next point--reading. It's been said before, but I'll say it again: Reading is one of the best ways to develop a sense of rhythm and effective imagery/idiom/etc. I've also spent plenty of classes analyzing the effectiveness of (I forget the exact word) elements like metaphor or allegory or symbolism or anaphora or any other technical term you can think of that is commonly used to convey specific literary concepts. Reading, on its own, is a great tool for subconsciously noticing the flow of writing and getting a sense for it, but sometimes just taking notice of certain paragraphs that feel right to you or just hit in the right way can allow you to analyze them more deeply and find out what exactly it is about the words that works. Everyone has their own preferences! That might seem daunting, but often the best resources we as writers have is each other, and everyone is inspired by someone else at some point. I'm totally here to take asks and answer any questions I may have brought up because I'm rambling a little bit and like I said: technical aspects aren't necessarily helpful to focus on all at once, and I recommend trying one out at a time to see how it works for you. If that makes sense!

My biggest piece of advice is to have fun with it! Experiment. Put in that weird little thing you think nobody else will like, because often those are the best parts of writing. Do what you feel sounds right! Not to Wayne Gretzky you, but you can only get better or 'succeed' by trying it out and seeing where it takes you. We write because we have ideas we want to share or explore for ourselves, and trying to force yourself to write something you're not passionate about is rarely lucrative.

As for engagement and stats--now, that's a whole other beast. We all want to be noticed and appreciated and commented on, and it's hard sometimes to post a fic and have less engagement than you hoped, but I have a couple things I like to keep in mind for this. It's discouraging, for sure, but people on ao3 or similar sites don't always show their appreciation even if they read and liked your fic. The only way we can fix this as a collective community is to lead by example and comment/kudos/share the fics we read in the hopes that it will catch on and to spread the love to everyone else. I also find it helpful to think about the people who do leave kudos--even if there are only one or two of them--as not just random usernames, but actual living, breathing people who read your fic and enjoyed it. There's that post somewhere about ten likes not seeming like much in the scheme of social media and the influence that virality has had on the internet in recent years, but to have ten people standing in a room with you giving you a thumbs up? That's a lot of people. Even if you get very little engagement, that is not a reflection of you as a person or even necessarily your skill. I know that this can be draining, but the only way to try and build an audience is to post. Sometimes it takes a long time for fics to be noticed. Sometimes things fail. It's up to you how you want to take that, and I can't tell you any of this for certain. I just know from my personal experience that finding a community is only accomplishable by interacting and posting and sharing and existing, and often someone will come along when you don't expect it.

None of this is guaranteed. Hell, take everything I say with a critical eye and more than a few grains of salt, because this is only my experience and god am I still learning. These are things that help me, and I hope some of this is helpful to you, too! What I can tell you for certain is that I encourage you to write and pursue it as far as you want to, and even farther than that. It takes hard work. It can feel like nobody is listening. And ughhhhh the writer's block suuuuuucks. But, you're not alone in this. Anything you've felt is something another writer has felt before, and I think, at least, that there's comfort in knowing you're following in the footsteps of even the writers we consider to be great in both their success and flaws. Maybe I'm being a little lofty ahaha, but it comes down to whether or not you want to write. You can only decide how this goes, and it takes time to work through the barriers of both skill and the anxious fear of not being seen. I see you! And I'm here in the asks anytime you want :)

And even if you fail and give up--you're no less of a writer for it, because you tried, and I think that matters. The lovely thing about being alive and being writers is that we can change and grow, and there will always be a place for you among creators if you choose to join them, no matter how amateur you feel or how long you do it for.

[dinosaurchurch]

There's times where I'm my own worst enemy. I'd like to say that other people are the problem but my high standards for myself are a never ending uphill battle that I put myself through although people have told me that I don't have to. It's not as simple as just throwing in the towel on myself and quitting, I very much have a hard ingrained perfectionism streak. Myself is the only person that I have zero chill with and I'd absolutely love to let down the reigns but I find I just can't. I don't think I know how.

I've always been an 'all or nothing' kind of person. I can't half ass something or slack off, I'm either pouring my heart and soul into whatever I do or I'm not participating. This causes me to burnout on occasion, and I'd say now is one of those times. I'm mentally fatigued and I can't keep denying that.

If there's anything I could tell people about myself it's the very fact that I don't like chaos in my environments and I don't like things slipping out of my control. I also very much like to go at my own pace and do things when I'm ready to do them, not before then. I think one of the biggest things that have contributed to my current burnout is just the amount of time wasted having to commute back and forth to my job. I cannot express how happy I am to be able to walk to work again. I could go on a rant about how terrible public transport is in the city I live in but I think I'll save it for another time.

When it comes to dealing with burnout sometimes I find you can kind of trudge through to the other side and then there's times where you just can't. Having to accept that maybe you've got to ease off of the gas pedal is one of the hardest things to do. I tell myself that maybe I can balance it all until I literally can't and everything spills over, all of the emotions I had bottled up come oozing out over the top and I can no longer contain them.

I'm not a person that likes reaching out for help nor do I like to admit defeat especially when I'm the cause of it but there are times where I have to accept that. A lot of people feel shame when it comes to stepping back for your mental health like you should be able to handle everything but it's okay if you can't. Being kind to yourself in the sense of retreating when needed is also a form of self care. It's typically the start of getting back on track when you do come clean and say that yeah, you're having a hard time - the first part to solving a problem is addressing the problem.

It's okay to fail, and it's definitely okay to admit you're only human and there's only so much you can do. I know I can definitely be over ambitious on occasion, I'm not always good at listening to others who might see my burnout coming before I do either. Thinking about all of this really showcases that I'm far from perfect and even I have things I still need to work on.

I'm just glad that at least now I have some time to breathe during this turbulence...

[enneagram-reblogs]

Countertype Series: Type One.

From NineTypesCo by Steph Barron Hall.

Meet Steven! In this interview, he shares what it's like to be a Sexual One.

Defining the Sexual One subtype:

SX Ones are often driven to perfect and improve specific others and the way society works overall. It's common to find a sexual One launching into an explanation about why the way that things work is wrong and how it can be better. These Ones are focused on reforming others, and they don't always concentrate on inner perfection (though most still report having an inner critic). They are the most openly angry and intense of the three One subtypes.

Did you ever mistype?

"When I first took the test through the Enneagram Institute, it typed me highest as 2, 4, and 7, with 1 being my fourth highest scoring type. I was really enamored with the language of the enneagram in general, so I started reading through the types.

"As you might expect, 1 resonated somewhat with the three types presented to me, but when I read the fuller description of the 1, I knew those were the fears and drivers that actually informed most of my decisions on a daily basis, even if aspects of 'the perfectionist' didn't fit on the more surface level."

How would you describe the SX1 subtype? What is it like for you to move through life as a Sexual 1?

"Being the sexual subtype for me means that I spend most of my time focused on the energy I feel from the people around me. I will often even attribute problems that are due to something like hunger or discomfort to perceived issues I have with people I'm close to in my life.

"As a sexual 1, I feel like my rigid perfectionism is often playing tug-of-war with the passion I have for my friends and close ones. I often feel as though I come across as chaotic, being very structured and articulate, but also leaning toward big romantic gestures, dropping everything to have a significant moment with a friend, and over-expressing my feelings of appreciation and affection for those I am close to.

"I have always been VERY picky about who makes the cut in my life. I almost always know instinctively in the first couple of interactions if someone is going to get my time and attention or not. I am often playing this narrative in my head where I and a few people I approve of are special and rare, having a positive impact in a world of people who just don't quite have what we do (yes I am aware this is not a healthy narrative)."

What is the biggest challenge you face in your life related to your subtype?

"[One is that] I will sacrifice my schedule, principles, and good habits for the people in my life.

"If I am on a strict diet, but my friend wants to blast through a pizza, I'm right there with them. If I have 6 things on my to-do list for the day, but someone I care about needs to talk or wants to go do something spontaneous, I will drop that whole to-do list to have that experience. I chase the charisma and energy to an unhealthy degree.

"This always results in my beating myself up later for not doing what I wanted to with my time. I always take the hit internally later. I somehow expect myself to give the people in my life all my time and energy, and then just be able to do all the stuff I planned anyway."

What do you think is the biggest difference between yourself and other Type Ones?

"When you interact with most 1s, you can feel the rigidity. Their responses are always controlled. Their style is simple and clean. It always feels like they are holding back a little. I can have that same filter when I am in new situations or around people I do not know, but that filter comes down for me far more quickly and with greater frequency than other 1s. I quickly loosen up and become louder, more excited, more passionate, and even more silly.

"My subtype is called Zeal, and I feel like I approach many situations with zeal. I have lots of energy and fewer boundaries, especially when I have confidence or I care about what's happening in a situation. I can lean into excess and even be chaotic when I feel like it's the 'right' thing to do in the moment.

"At my core, I see myself being driven by the same deep need as all 1s to be good, do what's right, and always get better. I don't feel the same restrictions I see many other 1s dealing with trying to achieve those goals. It's much more natural for me to push energy into a moment, especially when I'm convinced it's good or I'm right."

Is there anything else you'd like people to know about your subtype?

"We are still perfectionists!! Our hair may be messy and our rooms might be disorganized, but we are probably crazy organized and structured somewhere else (like with our thoughts or in our work ethic or with our relationships, etc.)"

[renagato]

So here I am, coming back from the dead of every possible social media app (maybe expect pinterest..).

- rising from the dead to write a post about how I absolutely suck at posting.

Note: I'm writing this on a whim, without even making notes, so I might NOT make sense at moments. But I will write this sht anyways. No one can stop me.

So here's my short story:

I started posting art more than a year ago on insta, it wasn't that bad actually. But I was posting the kind of art I had no connection to (to make more likes) so,, i burned myself out and stopped posting. After a year of break I decided to start sharing my art again (art that I actually enjoy creating) BUT I suck at posting. And it's not like I don't have art to post but I'm still doing horribly..

Then, du-du-du, what is it? What's stopping you? What is your problem?

Well, the first answer is "tf I know" but let's ponder on this a bit.. What makes it difficult for me to post and run a proper account?

Reason number one! The sole act of posting is stressful (and also bothersome in a way?). It's stressful because I already think about how many likes I'll get (or how I won't get any bruh), plus I have to write a shitton of hashtags to even hope to get some. To add to that, there's that thought that I'm sharing my art with complete strangers in the back of my head and I get scared of judgement.

Stop! You can fight this fear, and put up with hashtags somehow, right? Actually, I did pretty well for some time. But alas, then comes the reason numberrr-

Two! The algorithm (maybe not here on tumblr but you know the deal). If you're irregular, it'll take you years to build your account. And I'm irregular af. I draw irregularly, and thus post even more irregularly or I don't do it at all. So I can say goodbye to a proper account, I guess, and chances of somebody finding me.

Well, I could go back to the "posting" part as I got a random thought - the act of posting somehow kills the fun for me? Firstly, you have to watermark your piece if you don't want it stolen (and it doesn't guarantee its safety in 100% anyways, bruh) and I don't watermark my arts AT ALL. Thus, even if I know I should, I end up forgetting to do it anyway and I get frustrated over a pretty much silly thing that a watermark is. Secondly, the stress that I talked about already.

Let's go to reason number three! And maybe this one is my main problem? I get discouraged easily and I struggle with keeping up with things (being irregular, as I mentioned before + simply forgetting to do things). And well, I can only blame myself on that, I guess 💀 I have lots of ideas but committing to anything is a big pain for various reasons - everything I discussed above + a bit of perfectionism too, I'd say. That's kind of a bad mix,,

So, we got 3 big reasons and everything in-between I probably didn't think of! If anyone has read all of this, thank you.

And since I'm struggling but still would like to run some sort of account/blog, I'd like to ask for any sort of advice! Or maybe you relate to what I wrote. In any case, feel free to share your thoughts and ideas!

Ahh, now I need to put the tags, good heavens..

[lucylouz]

So… uh… I'm sorry for promising to post and then disappearing for like 4 months….

Yeah I don't know how to apologise for that. Things just kinda spiralled out of control in my life and it didn't help that I don't have any experience in fandom or participating in challenges and that I didn't know how to deal with my sudden inability to post so I kind of freaked out and vanished. (I am not used to posting online, so that's kind of why...)

I'm not going to go into what happened to derail my plans to post because then I'd start complaining about my private life and I'm not trying to gain pity here lol - I'm just trying to explain what happened, I guess, and I am genuinely sad that I didn't post everything when I said I would, mostly because I don't want my incompetence caused by said lack of experience to come across as me not caring, because I really do respect and care about this ship and the people who make content/challenges for it. I don't really expect anyone to like my art and hope for more but I do regret that I publically promised something and then didn't come through. I suppose the good part in it is that I've come out of it wiser and more careful so I'll do my absolute best not to make promises I can't keep anymore, because my personal life will inevitably get in the way and I don't know if I'll be able to manage my schedule properly when it does yet. The main problem was mostly how I didn't leave myself enough time to finish the drawings or take my secret goddamn perfectionism into account ('settling' for posting my unprofessional, silly sketches was in retrospect not smart because of this, even though it felt the most natural at the time). I'd keep going back and 'fixing' everything until it was all I was doing which took away what little time I gave myself to post and I stopped wanting to post anything at all because of it. I genuinely enjoyed being creative and drawing for the February. It kept me going and feeling actually really happy throughout the month despite the personal shit going on, all I could think about is what fun scenario I could come up with for Ranfuku next. It's more fun than I've ever had.

Once I came to terms with the fact that I was too late for anything (regardless of actual Fukuran Feb guidelines, the stress I put on myself was entirely my fault ._., I'm kinda… like that) I carefully thought about it and decided that it'd be for the absolute best if I took a break and focused on myself and self-improvement so I can make sure it never happens again, because I desperately want to be active and actually post my art and participate for a ship that means so much to me even though my life and anxiety are fighting me on that.

I hope I can learn and grow to become the Ranfuku-obsessed crazy I dream to be.

So!! I've been doing!! anatomy practice!! and expressions!! and, only mildly unrelated, I bought the first 4 novels (I've read 'Dazai's entrance exam' only once so far and it's already been helping me understand how the world of BSD and the ADA works even clearer than the anime (though that might be subjective), and also helped me understand Kunikida as a character so much better, among other things that will all ultimately help me write Ranfuku better so it is kinda related) so I can get a better grasp on the characters' personalities and such, because I like to take a piece of media, study it to death and then go nuts with it :D I've also got rewatching BSD to analyze all the characters' moments and interactions in-depth on my agenda, as well as improving my art and fic-writing skills. I've been writing and drawing 95% Ranfuku non-stop in my free time and still have a bunch of ideas I want to write yet, I am insane about this ship gdi and I'll spread my brainworms online if it's the last thing I do. It just might, uh… take some time q-q because I'm still not where I want to be and it's a tough fight to work through that perfectionism and find the right balance between making my content as good as possible and letting myself be less than impossibly perfect. I can't promise anything right now, A Lot is going on in my life rn and all my plans/the things I'm currently working on out of my devotion to BSD are only half of it I hope I'm not and haven't let anyone down (because i did promise to a few people that i'd be posting and i'd most of all direct this apology to them), having said and done all of that. I am in some way aware that I might be taking all of this too seriously, fandom is fandom and everyone has to deal with the fact that life's a bitch sometimes and we're all only human in the end, but I still want to do better. Fukuran/Ranfuku has been inspiring me to do my best - so that's all I can try to do. I want to bring the sort of joy I felt when I discovered it to other people. I want to inspire someone else the way I've been burning with inspiration and positive energy for the past half a year. It's a beautiful feeling and I want to express my gratitude to everyone who led me to it. I hope I can live up to that wish.

[bubbleteamochilolz]

What is perfect, really? My thoughts on how the ideal ruins us

TL;DR: we get pressured from our community and social media to be perfect, affecting how we see ourselves. Perfectionism may have deeper roots (ex: religion), but we should try reminding ourselves only bad can come out of it. Doing research, eventually changing how we view the word "perfect", we can make it easier.

At this point, many of us know what perfectionism is, but when I read online, I found out that 92% of people , yes, 92, struggle with perfectionism in some sort of form.

My initial question was how come this mentality is so prominent in our life? A quick answer would be the influence of people around us (peer pressure to reach certain milestones). Moreover, social media clearly encourages anyone to be a certain thing, comparison pushing perfectionism as well. But is it deeper than this?

I think our yearning for it can be traced to our cultural, even religious values. I know, not everyone believes in them, but no one could argue that they don't play an important role in our society. I want to take a look at the gods being worshipped. Most of them resemble perfection (all-knowing, omnipresent, omnipotent). Interestingly, some of them (mostly ancient ones) resemble the human figure. I think it makes the followers feel closer to that ideal, in a way proving they might reach something better-potential. I know, the goals of religious people is not to reach godhood, but to get closer to it. To attain human perfection, however it is described.

Now I repeat the question: what is perfect, really? Is being the kindest, purest person perfection? Or the most accomplished, whatever that would mean? Both? Neither? If you have a certain checklist ticked, are you perfect?

I want to prove this perception could be wrong. Let's take for example whatever there is on the internet. Suppose you have a beautiful individual with a fulfilling career, family, well, life in general, posting something on tiktok or instagram. Someone will find something to criticize about them. Where they buy their clothes from, what their kids do, how they drive: there would be something! Now of course, toxic comments shouldn't bother anyone, but finding something mean they aren't perfect, even if they could theoretically tick all things that make perfect?

Now, earlier I was referring to stuff generally considered valuable. But the problem is bigger than some goals most of us want to achieve. It is when any teeny-tiny detail becomes a way to make it seem impossible to be enough. For a perfectionist, sufficiency is too little, interfering with how they perceive themselves.

Also, it really harms self-perception. A perfectionist would attach themselves to the act of performing without mistake, and any failure will reinforce the insecure belief behind their struggle: I am not good enough. It could end up it dehumanizing yourself, to the point you are just your actions, all entirely flawed, so you are as well. And mind you, 92% of us are internally going through this narrative...

I want to share my experience. I really wanted to start posting here on Tumblr. What should a good first post look like? A self introduction? Posting fanart? A cat? Or a hot take? I lamented over this for a hour. It is silly, it is completely stupid to search anywhere to find what should a first post look like. It's fascinating, really, how we can just hyperfixate on such minor thing, especially in a digital space. And I know I'm not the only one like this.

This is my first post, a way to completely crush any expectations of perfection. I'd say it is a shallow take on this...phenomenon, clearly influenced by social media. With this, I want to encourage anyone with the same inner critics to try whatever they want to regardless.

How can we battle perfectionism? Of course it shows up differently to everyone, so it can vary from person to person. Finding the root of the problem is crucial, be it family, close circle, work environment, social media etc. We have to let ourselves know we are human, prone to making mistakes, so we should be letting ourselves make them. It is important to know what triggers you, and try to distance yourself from that thing, or logically think it out. I'm no expert, so it is best to take what I wrote with a grain of salt. The best thing to do, really, is just research about it. Talk with others having similar experiences, or even to someone certified.

However, what I could encourage is changing what perfect is (really). As cliche as it sound, perfection is a journey, from the beginning of your life to the end, where you make progress constantly. I don't want to sound like a reach your full potential today person, because that is just unrealistic. How is that your full potential if tomorrow you can be better, know a bit more, just by acquiring more experience. Even making mistakes gets you improved, showing you what not to do. And when you don't pay attention to them, and it happens again, be assured this time you are closer to making the change you want, not to repeat them again. You are constantly getting better, you are constantly perfect. Good job!

Also (sorry cuz this is so long) we shouldn't care about others ideals (no shit). Even if we know this, we still care, something we should just remind ourselves not to do.

I hope someone will find this helpful, stay strong! <3

[finnlongman]

I apologise if this was a rhetorical question, but here are a few thoughts from my perspective.

First of all, there is no such thing as universal writing advice. Not everything works for everyone, and even things that work for some authors sometimes don't necessarily work for every book. So if it absolutely doesn't work for you not to edit, that's okay.

This advice is usually aimed at a specific (and very common) type of writer: the people who have never finished anything, because every time they start making progress on a project, they go back to fix something, and then they notice another problem, and then they decide to rework the opening entirely, and three years later they've never made it past the first five chapters and they've definitely never made it to the end.

If that's you, then it might be worth trying the no-editing strategy for a bit, because you have to break out of that loop somehow. While going back and editing works for some people without getting them stuck in a perfectionist loop, for many others it's paralysing, and results in nothing ever being finished. And you do, eventually, need to finish something! After all, a book that's bad but finished is still better than a book that's perfect but only exists inside your head. Because nobody can read the book that's inside your head, and that means it's failing at being a book.

But you asked how to turn off the inner editor. Well, I wouldn't consider correcting a typo as I go to be editing, so don't feel that no editing means no backspacing. But it does mean learning to sit with the imperfect sentences and move on. It means thinking "oh, I could do that better", making a note of it, and then continuing. Sometimes it looks like "[finish scene]". Sometimes it looks like "[NOTE TO SELF: MENTION HIS FATHER EARLIER]", or "[SHOULDN'T HE BE MORE EMOTIONAL ABOUT THIS?]" or "[HOLY INFODUMP BATMAN, CONSIDER SEEDING HER BACKSTORY MORE GRADUALLY NEXT TIME, YOU FOOL]".

(You don't have to insult yourself. In some cases this is counterproductive. But you're allowed to, if you want.)

Often, accepting these imperfections means not rereading what you've already written, lest the urge to fiddle get too strong. To help resist that temptation, at the end of a writing session, leave yourself a few bullet points of what you're planning to write next. That way, you can look at the last couple of sentences and pick up where you left off, without needing to go back over the whole previous scene (at which point the inner editor might get twitchy).

If the imperfect sentences are bothering you while you write, there's a nuclear option, which requires a certain degree of self-trust and patience with typos: turn your font to white for a little while, or zoom out so far that you can't read it, or otherwise prevent your ability to read what you're writing. And then write. If you can't see the sentences, you can't see if they're bad. But they exist. That's progress.

This is a temporary measure. I'm not advocating for doing this forever. Maybe you do this once. Maybe you do it for a week, or a month, or one project, or three. You do it until perfectionism stops holding you back, and then you no longer need to, and you let it go.

I took a no-editing approach for years. Now, I mix it up a bit more. I'll read through the previous day's work and fix sentences and tweak scenes, but I won't make big plot changes, and I will accept that I will never, at any point while writing a first draft, have any sense of whether the pacing is working or not. I will tend to think it's not. I will usually be slightly right, but it's never as bad as I think it is. I leave notes for myself for things to fix later, but I also fix the smaller things.

However, I'm at the point where I can stop and play around and fix the smaller things without losing my overall momentum and confidence because I have written twenty-four complete first drafts and I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I can and will get to the end of them. I am no longer stuck in the perfectionist loop of non-completion, and I've learned what I can reliably fix as I go and what I should leave until later to get a better perspective on how well it is or isn't working.

Lock up your inner editor, as advice, is for the people who are struggling to get to the end of things because they're trapped by perfectionism. It may or may not be helpful in breaking out. Like all writing advice, it's a tool, not a rule -- but if you're stuck in the loop, give it a shot.

*through sweat, blood, and tears* YOU WILL NOT EDIT THE FIRST DRAFT AS YOU GO. YOU WILL NOT EDIT THE FIRST DRAFT AS YOU GO. YOU WILL NOT EDIT THE FIRST DRAFT. AS YOU GO.

YOU. WILL. NOT. EDIT. THAT. FIRST. DRAFT.

[rinhaler]

any tips on how to write? i start a chapter then i get a new idea and want to start over and the cycle repeats

I'm very vocally not a planner when I write so I can understand this being tough. You could set yourself little challenges or targets maybe! Writing multichaps is quite time consuming and comes with its own challenges so why don't you try giving yourself a word limit and a specific scene and plot just to start! For example you could be like okay I'll try writing a meeting scene in a coffee shop that's 500 words.

My biggest problem is that I rly don't know how to shut the fuck up so I just write for ages but if it's just for practice this might benefit you! Also while you're writing even when you're getting new ideas you could write them down as a little note a few lines down from your actual story and then find a way to make them meet!

I deff understand searching for perfectionism too when writing so maybe that's why you're having a hard time re writing over and over. Maybe go into it thinking you aren't gonna share it. Write it for yourself, you don't need to be perfect for yourself you just need to write something you know you'll love and enjoy!

I hope this helps a little bit take care nonnie!!

[duhragonball]

UAWC Update: 24,112

I should reach the halfway point by the end of the day. I feel like the 20k to 30k part of these 50k challenges is where I struggle the most, but so far it's not too bad. The bigger problem is that I'm not satisfied with what I'm writing.

Part of the point of this exercise is to emphasize quality over quantity, and that's a bitter pill for writers to swallow. I guess that goes for all artists. If a painter did some some sort of 50,000 brush strokes challenge, they'd probably spend much of the time trying to make sure they're the right strokes. There's a good-faith understanding that no one does a writing challenge and just types "the" over and over again for a month.

And that's why it's so important to let go of perfectionism and trust your own process. If you sit there and wait for the ideal style and plot layout, you'll never get anything done at all. It's like Sean Connery said in "Finding Forrester": Thinking comes later. I should really watch that whole movie instead of looking up clips on YouTube.

I'm also reminded of that chestnut I liked about how your work will always seem a little tired and predictable to you because you already know the story. It'll be more fresh and spontaneous to your audience, and that's just something you can't experience in the moment. This is why it's good to go back and re-read your own stuff years later, when you've mostly forgotten everything.

And that's fine and all. I must have internalized this to some extent, because it feels like I'm getting the word count going with a lot less grief than I've had in past years. The Nano years helped a lot with that, but the whole Luffa project was started on the same philosophy. This was all based on a DBZ OC I came up with twenty years ago. I thought about writing the fic in 2006, but I never got anywhere with it because it seemed too big and I didn't know how to do it right. By 2015 I realized that if I kept putting it off I might never get it done at all, so it was better to do it half-assed. Nine years later, I don't have any regrets, because at least I have something to show for my effort. And at least 95% of the best ideas I've had were things I came up with while I was working on the fic.

But all that said, this stuff I'm putting together now, it just feels like something's missing. I'm doing a lot of exposition and a lot of telling-not-showing, and no matter how much I dress it up, it's still just a conversation, and it needs to be more than that, and that's what's got me down.

Also, half of my output has been writing posts about Daima, which has been good for me on a lot of levels, but it also bugs me at the same time. Writing about someone else's story is much, much easier to do, so it feels like a cop-out. And most of Daima so far has been characters trading exposition, but it works when Toriyama does it, and I can't figure out how to duplicate that mojo, even as I actively try to study it.

Then again, maybe that's an appropriate place for me to be at the halfway mark. At least I've got a handle on the problem, which I wouldn't have been able to say on October 31. So I guess I'm going back to work...

Well, I should eat lunch first.

[jelly-alien]

Jurrasic park

So I love these movies, I just finished watching them and I've come to this.

Jurrasic park: a fantastic introductory. I love it for that reason. It isn't an exact replica of the book, but I think I appreciate it more for that. There's quite a few areas I think it went the extra mile on and that are really memorable to me and others (the iconic ":o" scene with the brachiosaurus) and the Mr DNA scene with many others. It felt lively, smooth, and kept me wanting to engage with the world it was creating. And when it hit its Climax *it hit*. Sure, mistakes here mistakes there. But personally I think I enjoy a movie a lot more when it doesn't strive for perfectionism but rather the genuine story it's telling. Unlike a lot of movies today that strive for perfection, whether that be in screen quality, make-up, or otherwise. So I guess I'm saying I like the writing, but everything else in Jurrasic Park is stunning. The CGI and the Puppets. THE PUPPETS oh my g o s h do you people have any idea how cool those things are??? Life sized Dinosaur puppets.

Jurrasic Park II: After a solid introduction, we get to see our characters back in action. Personally it might have felt like Indiana Jones: Dinosaur edition. But I love it all the same, a much faster pace than the first movie. A different conflict. Many stupid decisions were made by the characters in the movie. It's incredibly satisfying to see Greed Inc. get eaten. There's a lot of funny moments in this movie that maybe aren't meant to be. But there's quite a few scenes where the Big Bad is trying to negotiate... with a T Rex. Now what is going inside your head to reach this? There's the middle of the movie where our main cast escapes the velociraptor pack. Big action sequence and they all get their own badges moment. In the middle of it after the girl gymnastic kicks the Raptor away from her dad, he goes "the school kicked you off the team" and it's so?? Funny? Like, I started laughing at the thought of, he was just saved by his daughter from these intelligent, meat eating, DINOSAURS and just "school". I'm not sure why I found it as comical as i did. These are also a lot of the scenes that felt like Indiana Jones a bit. You know the scenes. But I'm not complaining. The CGI and Puppetry has greatly improved in this one and it's so awesome to see. Like the transition from the first to second movie about the opinions of dinos went like :D -> D:

Jurassic Park III: This may actually be my favorite. The entire story is a rescue mission, and the plot twists are insane. Two parents that lied to this poor man's face and ended up missing a fuck ton of information and ended up making a fuck ton of bad choices while on the island (Grant was the only thing keeping them alive, and props to him. That I know was hard). So anyway, after the chaos they find the kid and he's been bunkering down and with his knowledge he lived. Smart kid. The entire movie was different from the first and second. Different problem. And no dinosaurs were taken, like that was not the secondary plot. The secondary plot was kind of that, but it was more so "I stole the eggs. I swear I was not going to make the most epic omelet you've ever had" Really though from the Rescuing Plot to the Raptors becoming more grounded as intelligent with the thievery plot. I really enjoyed it. It's also got one of my favorite scenes and it's with the Raptor in Grant's dreams going "Alan". Funniest shit. I have to contain myself if my brain just happens to play it at odd times. I have a great memory with the scene with my bf (we both died). So hey get rescued and it comes full circle. Everyone learns. The first and second movie start (atleast when they reach the island) start the same. They're screaming the name of the person they're looking for and bad things happen. Maybe the dinos are just sensitive to yelling and they just want peace and quiet. I enjoyed the movie for what it had to offer, an action packed survival rescue mission. It doesn't compare to the first one. But it has its own things to offer, and I rather like that a lot. Experimentation in movies is nice to see when it mixes well. Sort of how stated earlier I don't really care about the flaws in Jurrasic Park.

I love all 3 of these movies for different reasons. I loved seeing the Puppets evolve. The CGI improve. And of course there were new dinos every movie! The sound design! Absolutely peak, I love them. The parasaurs didn't deserve what they got in all 3 movies. I think I'd love to see a Triceratops VS T Rex scene. As it's historically accurate, I love the fight scenes don't get me wrong and later the movies depict the T Rex as the Good guy. But a face off between 2 ancient enemies? A Triceratops can and has (at least in 1 instance i believe) impale that mf. And I want to say was one of the very few (if not the only) to actually take down this gigantic apex predator.

I guess that's it. I like dinosaurs.