#i really recommend this exercise to other writers it really forces you to work on the characters' voices and convey action through dialogue

[milk-is-stable]

You should totally do number 21 with Ditch!

Dialogue Prompts - send me an ask and I'll write a drabble

21: "You're ears turn red when you lie."

— — —

"You miss him, don't you?"

"What? No, don't be silly Derek. He's living his dream, doing what he always wanted. I'm happy for him, and I- why are you looking at me like that?"

"Your ears turn red when you lie, you know."

"I- no they don't."

"They do, and now they're even redder. It's okay, you know? He's your brother, you're allowed to miss him."

"....am I though?"

"Titch-"

"He's finally happy. He was so unhappy here and I didn't see it because I was so wrapped up in myself, in trying to prove that I was worthy of staying here, as if having a good harvest somehow meant that I was a good son. And now he's gone, and he's happy, and I should be happy for him. That's that."

"...now love, don't you think you're being a bit overdramatic again?"

"What?"

"You're allowed to be happy that James is living his dreams and miss him when he's not here, you know. They're not like, mutually exclusive emotions. He's your brother. Of course you miss him."

"...so you don't think I'm being stupid?"

"Oh, you're being stupid love, but that's a separate thing."

"Hey!"

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

hi! so i started reading when christ and his saints slept (your recommendation, it's great btw) and wow george really dropped the ball on the dance cause what is this going on. like older sister against brother?? why would that work George??

i've seen tb make arguments that the usurpation set women's rights back for centuries, and that seems kind of silly cause the rule of (bloody) mary i still led to the rule of elizabeth i. personally, i think the issue of women's rights has more to do with the lack of queen dowagers and regents which are more common in real history but less in asoiaf who use their power of being mothers of the king to advocate for women, and lay the groundwork (e.g. margaret beaufort, nurbanu sultan, anne of austria, etc)

but, also what are the greens meant to do because if viserys did not settle inheritance for his sons (through heiresses) whilst he lived there's no reason why rhaenyra would do it when she's queen.

for me the greens have three options : take the throne through conquest, ask for a great council (they have vhagar they can make demands), or three literally die.

like as much as i am green supporter if i was rhaenyra and i peacefully ascended to the throne and my half-siblings who are brothers with sons of their own well, they just have to die ottoman style, because allowing them cadet branches undermines her own and in the end you get a house bourbon supplanting house valois situation (something catherine de medici committed war crimes to prevent); you can't let them leave because well 6 dragons outside of targaryen control — you might as well be asking for trouble ; send them to the citadel —well two are married to each other, one has vhagar with clear anger issues, the other has tessarion and can just leave when he wants and, not even talking about the kids with their own dragons.

the truth is the greens can't just sit and do nothing. if viserys doesn't want the trouble of his sons ,and wants rhaenyra has queen then simply don't remarry or do you your duty to the sons that you have sired.

reading christ and when his saints slepts its actually comical how house targaryen don't have mistresses and they began to have them when the dragons are dead

this was a long rant but the greens don't have much options especailly cause their living in an environment where sons inherit before daughters. i would ask how would you make the story more compelling and logical causing reading penman the dance is not.

also, big can of your writing ofcir and akab are holding me down since hotd has been feeding us crap.

Anon I've had this reply sitting in my drafts and should have answered ages ago, so my apologies for the late reply!

I'm so glad you're reading When Christ and His Saints Slept. It's my go-to recommendation for historical fiction about the Anarchy, and Penman in general is just my absolute favorite historical fiction writer. I hope you continue the series that follows Matilda's son, Henry II, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their brood of children.

You're right that the greens didn't have many options if they wanted to stay alive. The show has downplayed that aspect this season but Alicent's sons and grandsons would always be a challenge to Rhaenyra and Jace's rule. You only need a basic understanding of the world to see that they were in an impossible position. Ultimately, Viserys is the one who destabilized his succession and deserves a lot more blame than the show is willing to give him.

As for the matter of powerful women, queens regnant, and women's rights, irl history is full of powerful queen consorts like Eleanor who exercised power, defended garrisons, negotiated peace, and sometimes, as in Eleanor's case, even rebelled against their own husbands. In the Anarchy, Stephen's wife, Matilda of Boulogne, was a force to be reckoned with, besieging Dover castle and making a treaty for Stephen with the king of Scotland. When he was captured in battle, Matilda raised an army, and when her army captured Empress Matilda's half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, who was one of her biggest supporters, Matilda of Boulogne negotiated a hostage exchange and secured Stephen's release. And this isn't even a Westeros problem because we see politically powerful women who are not queens regnant in-world-- Cersei as regent for her children, Catelyn, who was basically running the war effort before Robb set her aside, and even book!Alicent, who exercised a good deal of power. In fact, somewhat ironically, show!Alicent was well set up to exercise even more power than her book counterpart. It's clear Aegon actually listened to her and valued her counsel, even seeking out her advice and guidance. Having the ear of the king is no small thing, and if she'd done anything other than belittle him she could have ended up as his most trusted advisor. Look how easily Larys moved in! But the show instead had Alicent alienate Aegon and then treated her disempowerment as if it were a function of her gender rather than a result of her inability to provide useful counsel.

So no, a lack of queens regnant is not keeping Westerosi women out of powerful positions, and you're right anon, in that HotD seems to have decided that powerful women didn't exist as consorts, dowagers, and regents even though that's not true irl or in Westeros. As for women's rights, unfortunately having a queen regnant historically has done very little for women as a whole. Royal women tended to align their interests with other royals or nobles rather than with women as a whole, that is, solidarity is formed along class lines more often than it is formed along gendered lines. We see this even in our world today, where companies with women as CEOs in fact tend to hire fewer women in lower management positions. Rhaenyra being denied the throne doesn't mean much for the average Westerosi woman, but civil wars caused by an unstable succession can make everyone's lives demonstrably worse.

[coochellati]

hi hi! Long time fan of your blog—and It’s really inspired me to write my own Bruno fic, any tips for a first time bruno writer?

HELLO!!! 💕

First of all, I just want to say thank you so much!!! Your kind words have made my day—no, my month. 😭🩷 AHHH I LOVE THIS QUESTION!!!

Okay, so I have a big tip for writing Bruno, (or anyone, really,) and I learned it in Araki’s book, Manga in Theory and Practice. This is a technique he uses to make sure his characters are always acting “in-character.”

Every time Araki creates a new character, he fills out a character history sheet for them. It’s a basic sheet containing all sorts of important stuff such as their personality traits, dreams for the future, forming childhood experiences fears, etc., and he uses that sheet to figure out how his character would react to any given situation. In Manga in Theory and Practice, Araki includes a blank Character Sheet and an example of what a filled-out one may look like.

(this isn’t actually the original Dio character history sheet—Araki lost the OG. This version was made from memory. I don’t know if the original was actually this blank.)

Since Araki hasn’t released one for Bruno, I decided to make my own.

(This image is huge. HUGE. 6232 x 5519px!! Unfortunately, tumblr compressed it so you can’t read all the tiny writing :( can you tell I was an overachiever in school? Here’s a link to the uncompressed photo in Google Drive!!)

You are welcome to use this sheet if you’d like! (Anyone reading this is free to use it.) This sheet contains canon information as well as my assumptions/headcanons since Araki hasn’t given any kind of answer to some of these questions. You don’t have to agree with them. After all, everyone has their own interpretation of Bruno Bucciarati—this is just the way I see him.

Here’s how my process goes: whenever I put Bruno into a situation where I’m not sure how he’s going to react, I consult the character history chart.

For instance: what if Bruno is in a situation where he catches reader smoking weed?

This is something I haven’t always been sure as to what he’d do—I’ve changed my opinion on this multiple times. Weed is legal in many places, after all. However, after looking at my filled-out character sheet, I now have a more solid idea of how he could react.

Canon information: Bruno’s dad (his only immediate family) became injured because he witnessed a drug deal. (Which ultimately led to his death.) The way Bruno sees it, drugs killed his father. He also can get very worked up over matters that are personal to him, such as when Diavolo attempted to kill Trish, or when he caught Passione peddling drugs.

Using this information, I believe that Bruno is probably going to be very angry at reader, even if it is legal nowadays. It wasn’t very legal in 2001, and Passione likely trafficked weed on top of everything else. Sure, weed isn’t cocaine, but it was still a very stigmatized drug at the time.

(so yeah. Bruno would not be very thrilled about my love for Mary Jane… I’d quit for him. Also, this is just my assumption—it’s okay if you don’t agree with me. There are infinite ways to interpret a character, and your opinion is just as valid as mine.)

My advice to you is to fill out your own character sheet! Here’s a version that has no headcanons/assumptions if that helps :) (Unless you want to use mine, lol. But I know my word isn’t gospel, and you likely have differing opinions on him.) If you want to reword it entirely, here’s a full-res blank version!

Another reason I recommend this because you’ll really get to study his character. Being forced to think about his strengths/weaknesses, forming experiences, the relationships he has with others, or hell, even where he was born can really help form an idea of the character you’re writing. Through this exercise, I feel like I’ve gotten closer to Bruno. When it’s a character you love, filling this out feels like you’re spending time with them.

I’d also like to note that this character history chart is ever-evolving. As I continue studying Bruno's character, my opinions and mental images of him become clearer. It feels like I'm a sculptor carving a statue out of marble, gaining a more defined picture with each detail I learn. The sheet above reflects my view of him at this current moment in time, and it will likely change in the future.

Another tip I have for you relates to writing his dialogue. Bruno can be a little weird. For instance, he often speaks quite eloquently:

He’s very self-assured:

But then, there’s moments like this:

I recommend studying his speech patterns. Hell, I’m always learning more about the way he speaks.

I’ll leave you with this: In the end, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to write Bruno. How you write him is up to you, and your interpretation is just as valid as anyone else’s. Don’t worry about what others may think about your version of him—just do what feels right for you. Write Bruno the way you see fit. :)

I hope this helps!!!! Don’t forget to have fun. 💕

thanks for the ask!! <3

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is:  katdeerly! @katdeerly has 3 fics posted to AO3 in the Stranger Things fandom and all of them are in the Steddie tag!

Our anonymous nominator recommends the following works by katdeerly:

Here For A Reason

you remind me of someone (it's probably you)

if you were a melody (i used only the good notes)

"Each of katdeerlys fics are like putting on a comfort movie, sitting back and enjoying. Each story is visual and dynamic and I've gone back to read them as comfort fics over and over. The ensemble casts, the characterizations, the ensemble cast. It's all so good and I return to them like a warm cup of soup and blanket around my shoulders." -- Anonymous

Below the cut, katdeerly answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I write Steddie because it was the first pairing in a really long time that affected me enough to get back into writing and fanfic and fandom in general! I was dealing with a lot of big personal life changes when S4 came out and I somehow fell into Steddie fic, so it wasn’t long after reading that the itch to write finally hit. I love the duality of Steve & Eddie’s dynamic - on the surface, they are the stereotypical “opposites attract” but when you examine who they really are as characters, there is so much they share: caring, self-sacrificing, passionate, thoughtful. Even from their few interactions in canon, there was so much to build on and so much unexplored potential.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

I love angst, so really any trope that inspires that, like a good miscommunication or misunderstanding. And I believe all the best relationships are rooted in friendship, so I love a friends to lovers or a second chances fic. And always need a happy ending!

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Doing this exercise really made me take a big picture look at my stories so far – so apparently, my favorite tropes to write are slow burn, found family, romcom AU, with a little forced proximity, slice of life, character study.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

I literally have too many to count, I have an obscene number of private bookmarks on AO3. The ones I’ve reread the most are probably “Exactly What It Looks Like” by Bilbosmom, “You Taste Just Like New York” by IrisLanding, “Dog Days of Summer” by WabiSabiPapi, “Buy Local: Steve Harrington’s Guide to Modern Sexuality” by loudsnapdragon, “swing for the fences” by occassional_loverboy, “Tuesday’s Gone With the Wind” by thisapplepielife, among many others…

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I’d really love to do a future fic. I’ve written a lot about first falling in love (and for good reason!), but I like the idea of showing something more lived in, a well-worn but well-loved relationship or something about the passage of time and grappling with the “what could have been”s and roads not taken.

What is your writing process like?

SLOW. Not actually but currently? Yes, it’s slow. I find myself needing to really immerse myself into the story to write and edit from the mindless scribbles that my outlines start out as and sometimes that takes more time and energy than I find myself with, especially during the week. I write mostly in sprints where I set aside a few hours to get out a big chunk in one sitting. So I guess my writing process is: sporadic and finicky. Oops.

Do you have any writing quirks?

Not so much a quirk but a lot of my initial outlining happens in the middle of the night while I’m half-asleep. I set the brightness on my computer on low, close my eyes, and “stream of consciousness” write without looking. Which means my first outlines are usually riddled with misspellings and logical leaps that make no sense in the light of day.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

I post as I go. I usually have everything vaguely outlined but (as noted above), sometimes revisiting my middle-of-the-night draft weeks or months later means I’ve backed myself into a corner or what I’ve outlined doesn’t fit into what eventually made it onto the page in earlier chapters. So, in the spirit of “it’s good enough”, I post as things actually get written!

Which fic are you most proud of?

“if you were a melody”, if for the only reason that it’s the first fic I finished! It’s the first time I really got the rush of getting engaged readers as I was posting and I’ve received the most lovely comments on it. It was also definitely the most fully formed in my mind before I even started writing, which made it feel almost effortless from the beginning.

How did you get the idea for Here For A Reason?

When I first started reading Steddie, after S4, the pieces of the storytelling I connected with the most were about what came after - after the trauma, after the healing, after you start putting yourself back together. I loved the idea of starting from scratch, but not starting from a clean slate. You bring everything with you, for better or worse, so for me, the story really started from this place of having both Eddie and Steve recognize where they are, what they have to build on, and decide where they want to go next, together.

When writing Here For A Reason, what was something you didn’t expect?

what was something you didn’t expect? This story was the first thing I wrote in a really, really long time. Until I got back into fanfic via Steddie, I had a mental block on creative writing for years. I look back on the early chapters and I cringe! So I guess what was most surprising to me about this story was the fact that it allowed me to find my voice as a writer again. Reading back, I can see myself experimenting and finding my style, so just the sheer rediscovery of this passion of mine is something I never expected.

What inspired you remind me of someone (it's probably you)?

I came up with “if you were a melody” after a drunken movie marathon of The Holiday and White Christmas, sprinkled in with a little Stick Season by Noah Kahan, and after I finally finished it, I still had romcoms on the brain - and my favorite movie of all time is While You Were Sleeping. Looking back across all my fics, they all seem to stem from a character’s inherent loneliness and then tripping their way into love and community (oh boy, let’s not delve into that particular inherent trauma too deeply). And apparently, I was not done telling that type of story! Lucy in the movie is truly that lonely but loveable character archetype, and I found it translated so well to my favorite Steddie dynamic to write.

What was your favorite part to write from you remind me of someone (it's probably you)?

Honestly, delving into the character motivations! While “Steddie but make it romcom!” seems simple on the surface, I spent a lot of time trying to make the character motivations realistic. What inspires Steve to keep the lie going? Why would Wayne keep encouraging this absolutely insane scenario? What would ultimately get Eddie to forgive Steve in the end?

How do/did you feel writing if you were a melody (i used only the good notes)?

It was so fun! Yes, there’s angst and obstacles, but ultimately the time pressure of the set-up and the “love at first sight” nature of the Steddie dynamic made it so easy to write their relationship journey and really intertwine the fluff and the angst, the mistakes and the inevitable happy ending. I also just really loved Eddie in this one, confident and competent but still a chaotic goofball at heart.

What was the most difficult part of writing if you were a melody (i used only the good notes)?

I didn’t want the happy ending to seem too easy or inevitable! They were so clearly in love but with Steve really trying to be strong and not fall into old patterns, having him realize that pride at the expense of happiness isn’t worth it and that trusting in love again after heartbreak is one of the bravest, strongest things to do - again, really making sure his emotional journey made sense. And also, exploring Eddie’s POV in the epilogue was challenging just for the sheer logistics of how he would have done all the things he needed to do; I had a spreadsheet with different time zones for each character’s story beats.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

Honestly, I have a terrible memory for specific lines, I’m sure I wrote some good ones? I remember scenes and emotions more so than specific lines – so the blue wall at the end of “if you were a melody”, the downtown Chicago rooftop at sunrise in “you remind me of someone”, Eddie & Steve at the tattoo parlor in “Here for a Reason”… all of those evoke the same feeling in me, of the two boys experiencing something intimate and magical, of finally giving in to that undeniable pull between them.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

Oh god, I don’t want to embarrass myself by promising or promoting anything in the future when I’m such a slow writer! It is my solemn vow that every fic of mine will be completed. Not to say I don’t have a few plot bunnies hopping around in my head, but in terms of anything specific, I guess I’ll know more after my next sleepless night…

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

It was truly such an honor to be asked to do this! Life has been rough and writing has been slow, so taking the time to look back and explore my own process and fics was such a lovely, much-needed reminder of why I love fanfic and this Steddie community. Thank you for thinking of me, and thank you to anyone who decides to read one of my stories because of this.

Thank you to our author, @Katdeerly, and our nominator! See more of katdeerly's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[sixdegreesofstarwars]

From the 6DOSW Archives: Sam's "Fix the Prequels Romance" Manifesto

I used to spend a lot of time bopping around on Quora (I do not recommend doing so now), and one of the answers I gave was for this question:

How would you write the love story between Anakin and Padme in the prequels if you had the power to choose the directing and dialogue?

In light of our new episode, y'all are getting the resultant manifesto for posterity, and I hope you appreciate the essay you’re about to get, because even if I only have the power to change the love story, and not the entirety of the plot, there is a lot I want to tinker with.

Obviously if you've listened to the episode, you know that I'm already pretty ride or die for Anidala, but I am also something of a writer myself (with 2 degrees in theatre), so this was an exercise as much in communicating to the audience authorial intent more clearly as it was flexing my creative brain muscles.

May the Force Be With You, Sam Grand Master of the Order of Six Degrees of Star Wars

One change I would make would be to push Anakin’s age up slightly to make him 11 in The Phantom Menace to Padmé’s 14, thus reducing their age difference slightly and meaning that in the 10-year jump ahead for Attack of the Clones, Anakin would now be 21, while keeping Padmé at 24. I know that this is close to Lucas’ original concept, where Anakin was 12, but then aged down to 9 in order to make the separation from his mother even more pointed, but I think that’s an indication of weakness as a writer that he couldn’t find a way to make that work with the 12-year-old. But in all honesty, this is also so I don't have to keep hearing "Padmé is a cougar" jokes from here to eternity. To the people who make those jokes, you're not funny, and moreover, you're wrong.

Other than that change, however, I would keep most of the setup in their story the same. The concept of Anakin being the one who’s more willing to articulate the attraction, while Padmé has more reservations about it is one that I think works really well, because of how their backstories set them up in The Phantom Menace: Anakin, who grew up enslaved, sees the people he loves as the most precious thing in the world and does not want to waste time with them. This makes him direct and forthright about his feelings. Padmé, meanwhile, was raised in privilege and comfort but has been in public service from a young age. Because of this, she is more likely to push down her own feelings in the name of serving the greater good, and so it makes sense that she’s the one who isn’t willing to act on the feelings she and Anakin share.

A lot of the issues with dialogue in the prequels has to do with how seriously everything is delivered— there are moments of levity where the connection Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen had as friends/romantic interests does shine through, and I think the main issue comes from George Lucas trying to keep the courtly formality in their delivery. So a big change I would make in the writing would be to allow them a more casual tone when they’re in private, with no eyes on them, as part of a demonstration of how their walls are coming down (contractions are your friend, George).

So what would I change?

Well, I’d add back in the scenes that were deleted, available at the following timecodes-

4:32 - Anakin and Padmé talking in the courtyard of the royal palace

9:26 - Anakin meeting Padmé’s family and bonding further with her and them

13:42 - Meeting with Dooku, followed by the “trial” with Poggle the Lesserhttps://youtu.be/5vPvyV7xznc

I don’t see any need to make real changes to these scenes, and yes, they are mostly to Padmé’s benefit because they let her play off people other than Anakin and add more depth to her character, but it also benefits the romance because it shows a deeper contrast between how they act in a professional setting versus a private one (from a certain point of view). And the trial and capture scene could be used to replace a shortened version of the scene in the factory (which I have never much enjoyed, and feel is largely superfluous action).

Now, onto the scenes that are in the movie that need adjustment.

The packing scene:

Most of this scene is okay in theory, I think it only really needs the following adjustments:

There needs to be a beat (a pause) where Padmé considers Anakin before telling him he’s grown up. In general, George isn’t the best at making use of the moments when people are not talking, and that’s probably due to him copying the golden age of Hollywood dialogue that relies so thoroughly on quick retorts.

The moment that ends the scene. The filmed version of the scene dialogue goes:

Padmé: Please don’t look at me like that. Anakin: Why not? Padmé: It makes me feel uncomfortable. [A beat as she walks away, Anakin looking at her with a smile on his face] Anakin: Sorry, m’lady.

The version of the script available on IMSDB has it going as follows:

Padmé: Please don’t look at me like that. Anakin: Why not? Padmé: Because I can see what you're thinking. Anakin (laughing): Ahh... so, you have Jedi powers too? [DORME is watching with concern.] Padmé: It makes me feel uncomfortable. Anakin: Sorry, m’lady. [ANAKIN backs away as PADME turns and goes back to her packing.]

Here’s how I would adjust it.

Padmé: Please don’t look at me like that. Anakin: Like what? [Padmé glances over her shoulder at Dormé, then back at Anakin] Padmé: Like this. [Padmé gives Anakin the same intense gaze he’s been giving her, he becomes flustered and drops the Force remote he’s been using, ducking to the ground to retrieve it, smiling to himself] Anakin: Sorry… [pauses and looks up, remembering Dormé is watching them, becoming more formal] m’lady. [Padmé awkwardly returns to Dormé, but she and Anakin are now both glancing back at each other]

I made these adjustments because while the draft version of the script makes it seem to me that Padmé was claiming the look made her uncomfortable to save face in front of Dormé, the filmed version can come off as creepy because the scene basically forgets that Dormé is there, and while Anakin and Padmé should do that as they get lost in their attraction to one another, the audience shouldn’t.

The Lake scene:

I love the lake scene and I wouldn’t change anything… up until the moment they kiss. See, I think it would be better if their first kiss took a little more time, so I’d let them lean in, and then make the following change:

Padmé [pulling back just before they make contact]: No… we can’t. Anakin: But I thought… Padmé: I know. I’m sorry. [a beat as they stare at one another] I should go unpack. [She leaves the terrace. Anakin, now standing alone, looks out at the water again, slowly bringing his hand to his lips]

This would be buildup of tension that would be raised further by the picnic scene, which really does not need to be changed in text, but the delivery of Anakin’s infamous ‘well if it works’ that became a meme needs to be adjusted slightly (even if I do enjoy the memes on some level). Again, let’s look at the IMSDB version of the script:

PADME: That sounds an awful lot like a dictatorship to me. [A mischievious little grin creeps across his face.] ANAKIN: Well, if it works... [Padmé stares at ANAKIN. He looks back at her, straight-faced, and can't hold a smile.] PADME: You're making fun of me. ANAKIN (sarcastic): On no, I'd be much too frightened to tease a Senator.

The version that ended up in the film feels more threatening and ominous, which, yes, works if you’re considering that this is the guy who’s going to be Darth Vader one day, but it also undermines the levity that’s supposed to let Padmé bypass the red flag and see this as a joke. I’d direct closer to the way it’s written in the script.

The dinner and fireplace scenes:

Since we’ve changed it so that they have not kissed yet, this is the pair of scenes that requires the most changes. Most of the dinner scene is fine, so let’s just go straight to its end/segue into the fireplace scene.

[Anakin floats a piece of the shuura fruit to Padmé, who catches it and laughs, getting up from the table, and crossing to the sitting room. As she leaves, he checks his communicator for any message from Obi-Wan, then follows her through. Padmé has removed her wrap and is now sitting by the fire and eating the fruit slice, he hangs at the door, watching her.] Padmé: Has there been any word? Anakin: Not yet. I’m sure he’ll contact us as soon as he knows something. It hasn’t been that long. Padmé: I just hate not being able to do anything, not being able to act, to do what I know needs to happen. [Anakin crosses over to sit next to her] Anakin: I remember you worried like this when we met. Padmé: [laughing slightly] And you were there to protect me then too. Anakin: I’d gladly do it forever. [Padmé blushes and looks away from him, Anakin ducks his head in realizing his mistake.] I only meant— Padmé: No, you didn’t. Anakin: You said we can’t. Padmé: I know. Anakin: But that’s not the same thing as you don’t want to. Padmé: What we want doesn’t change who we are, Ani. I’m still a Senator. You’re still going to be a Jedi. It could never work, we’d be destroying our futures, maybe even our lives. Anakin: What if I don’t care? What if you matter more to me than being a Jedi? [The two of them have gotten closer and are once more inches apart, staring at each other intensely.] Padmé: Then I have to be the one who says no. For both our sakes. Anakin: Is that really what you want? Have you ever actually done something for yourself instead of for everyone else? If you could just be Padmé, not a queen, not a senator, just you, what would— [Padmé cuts Anakin off by closing the distance and kissing him. Anakin seems shocked at first but returns the kiss before Padmé pulls back, covering her mouth in horror at her loss of control. She gets up, moving to leave] Padmé: I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. Anakin: If we feel the same way— Padmé: We don’t have the luxury of ignoring the real world. No matter how much we want to. This can’t happen again. I won’t let this happen again. I’m sorry, Anakin. I truly am. But I’m doing this because I care about you. And I won’t let you destroy yourself for me. [Padmé leaves before Anakin can form a response.]

We can keep the scene on the terrace after his nightmare relatively the same, as well as the scenes leading up to Anakin’s departure from the Lars homestead to rescue his mother.

Now we get to the scene after he finds his mother. I’ve gone on the record stating that I don’t think the scene is as nonsensical as some people make it out to be; there’s a logic to why Padmé reacts the way she does to Anakin’s confession of what happened, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something to be improved. It’s here that we need to look at a different source link I have for the script that has a few lines of dialogue that ended up missing from the final version. I’ll bold the missing lines for emphasis:

[ANAKIN hurls the wrench across the garage. It CLATTERS to the floor. He looks at his trembling hands. PADMÉ stares at him, shocked.] PADMÉ: Annie, what's wrong? ANAKIN: I... I killed them. I killed them all. They're dead, every single one of them... [ANAKIN focuses on her like someone returning from far away.] ANAKIN: Not just the men, but the women and the children too. They're like animals, and I slaughtered them like animals... I hate them! [There is silence for a moment, then ANAKIN breaks down, sobbing. PADMÉ takes him into her arms.] ANAKIN: Why do I hate them? I didn't... I couldn't... I couldn't control myself. I... I don't want to hate them... But I just can't forgive them. PADMÉ: To be angry is to be human. ANAKIN: To control your anger is to be a Jedi. PADMÉ: Ssshhh... you're human. ANAKIN: No, I'm a Jedi. I know I'm better than this. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! PADMÉ: You're like everyone else... [PADMÉ rocks him, and ANAKIN weeps.]

Put those lines back in, allow the emotions to come through in the performance, and the scene can work a lot better.

[ADDENDUM: do not under any circumstances misinterpret this as me condoning what Anakin does. It is 100% an atrocity, and even with this amendment I’m suggesting, the scene still needs some work to more fully grapple with the moral and ethical questions of what’s just happened.]

Moving on, we work through the re-added Geonosis scenes, and now we’re at the confession scene in the halls of the Arena. Since the leadup has changed, I’ll provide another full rewrite:

[In the gloomy tunnel, ANAKIN and PADME are tossed into an open cart. The murmur of a vast crowd is heard offscreen. GUARDS extend their arms along the framework and tie them so that they stand facing each other. The DRIVER gets up onto his seat.] Anakin: I’m sorry. I was meant to protect you and I failed. Padmé: I don’t think I did any better of a job protecting you. Anakin: It’s not the same. Padmé: Maybe not, but I don’t want you to blame yourself, or have any regrets. I want to own my choices in the time I have left. And my feelings. Anakin: Padmé— Padmé: I love you. And I’m sorry that it took this for me to say it, I was just—Anakin: I know. It’s alright. Padmé: I had a whole speech— Anakin: If this is all the time we have left, just let us be Padmé and Anakin. Not a Senator and a future Jedi. Just two people who love each other. Padmé: From the moment you came back into my life until my last. [They kiss as the cart begins to pull them out into the arena]

And from there… well, there’s not much left to change in Attack of the Clones, and not much I’d want to change anyway. And since I’m not allowed to change anything that’s not related to the romance, I can’t really advocate for restoring the Seeds of Rebellion arc, since that’s Padmé’s journey outside of her marriage and it only briefly intersects with her marriage as an indication of the widening gap between her and Anakin (BUT IT SHOULD STILL BE PUT BACK IN, JUSTICE FOR MY GIRL). There is a deleted scene of Obi-Wan talking to Padmé about her relationship with Anakin that I would kill to have more proof of, but sadly the best I can do is this screenshot that’s part of a larger Tumblr post (OP, I don't know where you are, but please know that this gifset haunts my dreams):

Yes, you read that right, I wouldn’t even change the veranda scene with the ‘you are so beautiful’ exchange, I don’t care if you think it’s corny, it’s absolutely on brand for two people who have been married for three years but barely get to see each other, and one of them asked the other if she was an angel when he first saw her. It’s okay to be cheesy sometimes.

And that’s my modifications for the love story of Anakin and Padmé. Hope you enjoyed all that.

[greensagephase]

Hi!!! First, how are youu??! I hope you are doing find. Second, I LOVE NON VIOLENT COMMUNICATION SO FREAKING MUCH!! I mean honestly, majestic piece of work. I would frame it or printed out to have it in a really cute book in my shelf. You are amazing.

Also, I find it adorable when you apologise for the word count, because it is like: non sense, I want moorre, gimme all the words your brain creates into this beautiful poetry. Really, it is amazing.

Lastly, I hope I am not overstepping, but, do you have any advice on how to start writing? Because I've had this idea for months, and I feel like it is really good. But I sometimes can't find the way to translate the things I picture in my brain to paper, you know? So, I just wanted to ask you, because your story really made me want to write mine.

Anyway, love yaaa. You don't have to answer if you don't want to ❤️. Apologies for my English, it isn't my first language

Hiii, V!!! I’m doing great today, thank you!! I hope you’re having a fantastic day/night!! (Also, sorry for taking a moment to reply to your ask but I wanted to sit down and make sure what I'm saying makes sense regarding the writing!)

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! 🥹 You’re so sweet, truly!!! I’m screaming about the framing or printing out the story into a book 😭 (lowkey, I might do that once the fic is done as it’s my best writing so far and I’m proud of it, so thank you for the idea)!! You’re too kind!!!🥺

And aww, thank you!! The word count always makes me feel guilty! I feel like in a way, I’m forcing readers to read long chapters, even though I know I’m not forcing anyone physically. I have a few readers who always reassure me it’s okay, so I’m slowly learning to accept that some of my chapters are and might continue to be longer than the average length of fanfic chapters lol!

As to the last bit, you’re not overstepping at all!! I’m so happy you’re writing your own fic, and I’m so, so touched that NC made you want to write it!!!! Seriously, this alone made my day!! Thank you!!

On how to start writing (I apologize for how long my response is but hopefully I can be somewhat helpful), I have some advice and I’m also sharing my own process for writing a NC chapter specifically since the process is more concrete than it is for my other short and standalone pieces.

One, I recommend simply starting!! I was reluctant to write my first ATSV work because I hadn’t written fanfic in many years and all I had been writing was either academic or for my original novels (not published but I hope one day they are). From experience, I also know posting fanfic online is or can be a commitment. I never want to be a writer that leaves a fic halfway done because as a fanfic reader, I’ve experienced that pain too many times 😭, so I knew if I posted anything that was longer than one part, I was going to stick with it no matter the ups and downs of my life. Ultimately, I decided to push past everything, even though I had nothing beyond the first chapter of this initial idea. I had an itch and needed to scratch it, so I gave in and literally wrote it on a car ride in my notes app lol not caring if I even posted it. That work is not published, it never was (it’s still on my notes app and it’ll probably stay there forever lol), but it helped me immensely with finding my voice and getting comfortable writing fanfic again. A few days after writing that, I was working on the first NC chapter! So, just start writing and don’t think about it. Brain dump everything on a page that you have so far without worrying about how well it’s written yet!

Two, I recommend doing a writing exercise. It doesn’t have to be about your fanfic, just write about something and get your writing juices going. Sometimes we overthink and it’s the one thing holding us back! You can easily find some short writing prompts on here, so if you’re interested in that, just search some up! This helps warm you up and once again, get more comfortable with writing.

My process:

Consider using outlines. I use these especially with NC because it’s a multiple parts work and has a clear story line. These are the best thing ever! I've also seen other people use mind maps, but I prefer outlines because they're more organized in my opinion.

I start the outline with the “bones” or foundation of the work. These are the main points/events of the writing piece. This is anything from a big event like an action moment with a villain to a character chilling alone on a rooftop, but they can also be pieces of dialogue that are essential to the chapter. I usually have some snippets already planned out in my head, so I go ahead and include those in this part. So I start by doing this, writing each point in chronological order, at least the way it starts out. Sometimes it changes with new main points being added or some omitted during the process and later on in editing. That’s okay! But either way, writing the events in chronological order helps keep everything organized and allows me to physically see the layout/flow of the chapter so far, and make changes to it.

I then go back and add the “meat.” This is all the details surrounding the main point that I have in mind already. This part becomes bigger once I've laid out the first layer of details.

Here’s an example from one of my old outlines, please excuse the handwriting and how messy it may seem. Usually I’m planning and writing all my thoughts in a rush because my brain is thinking faster than my hand is moving lol (I’m like “write that down, write that down!”)

The main point is that Miguel wakes up. Everything else is the meat of that scene and you can see I even have that one snippet of dialogue that I had stuck in my brain.

When I get to the writing on my laptop, I follow my outline and by the end of a writing session, I have a scene that I’m happy with. I do go back and edit, and usually this is when I do my best ✨magic.✨ I think the reason for that is that the idea/scene is not stuck in my head anymore and I can focus entirely on the other details that truly capture the mood of the scene perfectly to how I see it play out in my head, down to how the characters are sitting and looking at each other to the weather outside. This is why I highly suggest that you just write what you have so far and allow your brain to do its magic, it'll help you capture your story from brain to paper!

I hope this helps a bit! And of course, don’t stress too much on it! Writing should be fun and not stressful! Be kind to your writing and have fun creating!

Once you post your fanfic, pls tag me! 😊 I'm trying to read more fanfic these days, so I'd love to read yours! And if you have other questions that I can help you with, send them my way! I’m not an expert but sometimes just talking with someone helps a lot! Also, no need to apologize about your English!! It’s great!!! 🥰 I hope you have a great weekend, V!! 💞💞

[nanowrimo]

How to Get Out of A Writing Slump

Feeling a writing slump approaching you and your story? Get ready for some tips by guest writer Aamna to help get you focused and ready to continue your writing goals.

So writing slumps. Wow! Isn't that a big can of worms? This little curse can descend upon a writer, no matter a beginner or published when they least expect it. And for several reasons. The most common instance can be when you are right in the middle of a story or a first draft. So here are some methods that I have come across in my writing journey, and have seen work really well for either myself or others.  

1) Take a break from your current project. Let your subconscious do the processing.

Sometimes you're just not feeling your current project. How do get your heart back into it again? Drop it and do something else. What I would recommend doing in this situation is, write a short story. Or a poem. Or fanfic. It doesn't have to be related to your WIP. It will get your conscious mind out of a rut, but it'll still be processing in the back of your brain, and later when you come to your novel, Voila! You have a fresh set of eyes and renewed vigor for your story. 

2) There's a reason NaNoWriMo has pep talks.

By far, the thing that has worked for me the most is listening to other writers speak. Even if it is just a writing buddy and not a published author, there is something truly magical about listening to a storyteller gush about their story with the passion of a hero ready to save the world. The incessant urge to create something just as beautiful or being on that high of imagination that washes over me as I listen to them has worked for me several times when I feel myself falling into a slump.

Go through the NaNoWriMo pep talks, listen to author interviews or podcasts, or find a writing buddy. Remind yourself how fun it is to write. 

3) Go back to the synopsis of your story to see what made you excited to write that in the first place. Rejuvenate the love! 

I have personally seen that doing this little can trick can give you that dose of motivation you need to get back into a story. It takes you back to that place when you loved that idea and gets you excited to work on it again. 

My ideas come to me in the form of something like a Goodreads synopsis, so whenever I want to get back to working on it again after a break (maybe because of upcoming exams or tests), I have seen that going through the "hook", helps to re-ignite that love and excitement about the idea. 

4) Make a mood board or playlist for your characters or setting.

A writing slump may not necessarily be a complete turn-off from working on a story. It can also be that you are just in a position that you are not able to get the words out, but that doesn't mean the only way to effectively work is 'words.'

Creating aesthetics and playlists can be a very fun, entertaining exercise to do, and make the writing process seem less like a chore. 

5) Allow yourself the break. Don't push yourself back into writing full-length novels or projects. 

Every time you take a break from writing does not have to be called a writing slump. Sometimes it's way better to take a mental health break, or just put a pause for no other reason that you don't want to, and you'd rather work on something else. 

You should know when to shelve a story or let a project go. It's completely okay to stop in the middle of a WIP and delve into a new idea instead of forcing yourself to brainstorm and drag yourself through a story that you are not interested in anymore. A lot of the time that's exactly what pushes you into a slump in the first place. 

6) Remove the pressure. Don't let perfectionism hold you back.

Editing as you write is not the most advisable course of action, especially when you're a new writer. And fretting about things like sentence structure, word choice, or minute grammar errors shouldn't be the focus while you're writing. The first draft of anything is a mess. This is when you should turn off your inner editor, and let your perfectionist inner-self take a back seat. Little things like these, even though you may not realize it, do a lot to demotivate you and take the away joy of writing because you feel that nothing you write is ever good enough. Don't compare yourself to published authors. Their books have gone through developmental edits, copy edits, beta readers, and whatnot. 

Constantly expecting and beating yourself up for not being as good as someone else can push you into a slump faster than a boring story. 

Aamna (she/her) is a young devourer of books, stories, and any other form of words you can give her. More often than not, you can find her either reading, daydreaming about her seemingly never-ending WIP, or working on her blog. She likes to say that words are her superpower, and has a weird obsession with Marvel, ice cream, really bad art journaling, and Scrabble. She lives in India and is currently working on a Turkish-inspired fantasy novel. You can also follow her on IG.

Top Photo by Ryan Snaadt on Unsplash  

[catelyngrant]

I’ve seen a couple of people doing this writer’s 12 days of self love exercise, which looked really fun! Instead of writing towards the prompts, you pick pieces you’ve already written that fit (in any way you’d like to interpret) the prompts below. It was a fun challenge—some of these I was able to fit together immediately, but others were bigger stretches, involved more creative interpretations, and forced inspired me to look back at some much older works. I did it all in one go, but I recommend this to anyone who thinks it looks interesting!

hug: Dreamer of Improbable Dreams (Supergirl, Kara/Cat + Carter, Alex, & Winn)

crown: watching her world slip through my fist (ASOIAF, Sansa/Margaery)

repulsed: Rites of Passage (ASOIAF, Catelyn/Ned + Stark kids)

blood: Innocent Faces (BSG, Laura Roslin)

flower: see the world hanging upside down (The Walking Dead, Carol & Daryl)

clothing: We’ll Find A New Equation (The Sarah Jane Adventures, Sarah Jane, Luke, & Maria)

god: my house is haunted by rotten desire (CAOS, Zelda Spellman w/ minor MS)

music: sugar, we’re going down swinging (Hacks, Ava/Deborah)

dance: ghosts in the attic, they never quite leave (SVU, Elliot/Olivia)

magic: we are a woven thread, find the strand (Star Wars, Leia Organa)

kiss: Undone (The Closer, Brenda/Sharon)

ending: beckoning towards me from behind that closed door (Supergirl, Kara Danvers)

[rpbetter]

Hey, can I get some advice on improving my descriptions / becoming more literate? I feel like I'm really dull when it comes to my writing and would like some advice! Thank you!

You absolutely can, thank you for asking! I apologize it took me a bit to get to this, tumblr didn’t show me notifications and I’ve been rather busy. Hopefully, I can offer some good advice!

Please, keep in mind that, as always, it is just my advice. If these things do not work out for you, don’t feel bad about it! You just need to find what does work for you. And, if you have anything that jumps out at you that you wish me to elaborate more on, or even that simply occurs to you more specifically to ask as you read, please, do ask! I am always happy to have those questions, of course.

Being more literate in itself can help. It can also be a hindrance, however, as we tend to compare ourselves to others negatively. I’d say not to do that, but it’s something you have to unlearn, not something you can simply stop doing. We’re taught a lot of self-criticism by comparison in both the educational system and our society. You’ve got learn to approach material you enjoy as just that, something you enjoy, not a standard you need to uphold. All writers should be unique, they’re all individual people! I think the death of a good many unwritten works hinges on that, honestly; the writer couldn’t live up to their own expectations, born of comparison to their literary heroes.

That being said? Read.

Read new and diverse things, and revisit old favorites. Learn as many words as you can in whatever way works best for you; through reading alone, through word of the day apps, or looking up novel words you run across/looking up words as you write to compare them to synonyms. I know, tumblr has gotten really nasty in recent years about writers who seem to have “regurgitated a thesaurus.” There is always a bad way to do something good, there are always excesses when you’re passionate about something. Don’t replace every third word with an exotic one simply because you think it looks better. Do replace words that are, legitimately, better in how they evoke the setting or mood you are going for. Remember that word flow is important, perhaps especially when it comes to descriptions.

If you do not tend to read much material that is description heavy, I’d suggest doing so. Try to find works that are still descriptive, but fit with the genres you like to both read and write the best to get you started, but don’t stay there exclusively. It doesn’t need to be something like...let’s say, Tolkien. Not to piss anyone off, I’m not anti-Tolkien or anything, but I could never get into his works, regardless of interest or effort, because they’re so description heavy, and in ways that don’t pique or hold my interest much. So, if you find that you are not into description laden works, that isn’t a poor reflection on you! It’s more likely that you simply aren’t into those specific works, you need to find something that is more of interest to you, personally.

If you do tend to read many works that are descriptive at all, take up a few of your favorites and pick some passages within them that you enjoyed the most. Ones that you could feel. When they described an outfit, you not only saw it, you saw the way it moved on the character, knew what it would feel like to touch it. When they described a setting in nature, you had a sensory experience there as well; you could smell the hyper-specific scent of wildflowers on a warm breeze, or the electric chill of a sudden summer storm moving in.

Ask yourself what does this for you so that you can experiment with doing it yourself. Is it the words, the word flow? Is it what the author isn’t saying, leaving the reader to automatically fill in with their own sensory recollections? There are so many ways of being descriptive in writing, as many as there are writers, and as many as there are things to be descriptive about.

So, it’s, again, a bit of a situation of finding what naturally pulls you into those descriptions yourself. While there are always good rules that can apply across the board with writing, it is a creative art. If you’re only following the rules others have set down, you can end up feeling negative about the process, yourself, and the product...or your readers/RP partners feel like the work is lacking or boring. Even when people can’t quite put their finger on something, forced work feels forced, unnatural, or lacking substance.

Diversify what you consume.

I know, I just said that thing about the familiar stories! Once you’re better able to identify what it is that stands out as evocative to you, though, you can better feel that in unfamiliar works. You can get a better idea of how language itself works as a living thing. Read some things out of your usual genres, ask for recommendations from friends or family who read, check out some older works, and even follow some blogs that post a variety of poetry quotes or full poems.

Reading song lyrics and a variety of other spoken-word style things like slam poetry and rap is helpful as well. They’re all doing the same here, evoking imagery and emotion. That is what you are trying to do as well! These formats, additionally, use highly evocative words to describe in a shortened way. They are great for realizing unique ways that familiar words can be paired.

By going outside of your usual bounds, you may encounter words, writing styles, and other descriptive qualities you hadn’t considered before. If you don’t, you still end up with a fuller grasp on writing itself. Everything is a potential learning experience if you are willing to approach it that way! Use it to play around with words and styles, Use this as experimentation, and realize that it is perfectly alright for it not to work out. That’s part of the exercise of finding what works for you; realizing what doesn’t work.

When you have some ideas of what makes you experience the things being described, practice. Pick anything. In fact, incredibly mundane, irrelevant things are perfect for this. If you can describe a sock in good detail, in a way that isn’t either inaccurate or boring, giving it relevance and life, you can describe anything.

Use ask memes and writing prompts, and write them out from your character’s perspective.

Even if you are not writing a first person account, it helps you to use narrative language that the muse might use, or that gives the reader a intuitive feeling for the muse. Don’t try to fill the whole thing up with descriptions. Sometimes, just simplifying is a good thing, and will help more relevant details stand out.

For example, I will often use things in the environment around my muse to help pair with, further denote, and give the reader a feeling for the muse’s emotions, psychological state, and so on. If that muse is in a hectic state, I’m not going to describe something in the environment that isn’t, like a peaceful meadow. I’m going to describe the seeming chaos of some ants in the grass taking apart their food, the erratic seeds or spores on the wind, or the clatter of an old farm truck on the roadway that breaks up the peace of the surroundings.

It’s a very different effect than describing the entire meadow in high detail, in ways that are perceptible to my muse and not, down to a blade of grass or a rock. It then takes over too much of my reader’s imaginative process and agency without giving them anything of nonnegotiable importance about the scene or the muse. Details that reflect a state of internal distress, like the ants, seeds, or truck, then fall by the wayside of this massive scene-setting I’ve done. And, as unfortunate as it is, if you are writing RP especially, your audience is looking for details that are pertinent and impactful. They’re likely to, intentionally or otherwise, skip several paragraphs of descriptions no matter how beautiful they are.

Since you just said “descriptions” and “writing” {nothing wrong with that, I just want to be sure I’m covering as much as possible that might be of help to you}, I’m not sure if you are meaning external descriptions or more internalized, character-driven ones, and not sure if you are writing only RP, only traditional writing, or a combination thereof.

As I said above, using descriptions that reflect things about the muse is useful and interesting, regardless of how or what you are writing. So, even if you were not meaning internalized descriptions, doing the things I’m about to talk about relating to this will still be helpful!

Internalized descriptions include things like: mood, thoughts, memories, and sensory perception.

To do these things any justice, you have to really know your muse, be able to experience things from their unique perspective and not just your own - or just what you wish the reader to experience through them.

If you didn’t have inspiration for the muse, you wouldn’t be writing them, but inspiration isn’t the same as knowing them as well, maybe better, than yourself. To do that, it is a process of learning and experimentation...and practice.

Those memes I mentioned above? Those are useful here, too! It doesn’t matter if it isn’t an ask meme you want to reblog, or if no one sent you anything from it; you can find a variety of memes, save them, and ask yourself the questions.

On sentence memes, or “starter memes,” ask yourself what your muse’s internal reaction to having that sentence said to them would be, how it might externalize (or not), and if these things are true, or just your perception/what you would like to have happen. If you’ve developed this muse from scratch or spent time learning them from canon, you should have some pretty good ideas as to how they’ll feel. Expand on that instinctive or learned idea. Does it change if a different muse or character type says this? Say it is an inflammatory sentence, something accusatory, derogatory, or pushy. Do they react the same way if a loved one says it instead of a stranger? How about a person who is obviously intoxicated, or a person who is under the influence of youth, so to speak? Take that, and write out two different scenarios.

On ask, or “headcanon/development memes,” pick a question and answer it yourself. Just answer it in depth. Now, have your muse answer that question. You may notice that the muse didn’t want to answer as clearly, is lying or omitting things, and/or had other thoughts generated by that question. If you didn’t already do it this way, answer the question again as a story in which your muse goes through those thoughts. Describe their emotions using words that carry the same emotional resonance, not all descriptions need to be lengthy if the right words, right word order, are found for optimum impact on the reader. Write out the thoughts they are having, just as messy as they are naturally having them.

Outside of memes, you have yet more options for helpful exercises that get you in touch with your muse and your writing.

Try out photography and inspiration blogs. Pick a some pictures that drew your attention, and write about them descriptively. Write out how the picture makes you feel, what it makes you think about. Practice not just describing how something looks, but how it would feel to be there. Using the same pictures, write as your muse in the same way. Put them in this scene to give their experiences. It helps you get a grasp on putting impressions and experiences down in creative ways that allow others to experience it the same way, and it helps you more easily step into your muse’s mind and experiences.

Seeing things through your muse’s eyes (through the lens of their life experiences, preferences, biases, emotions, and thoughts) is critical in giving authentic descriptions. To do more of this, you can practice in every day life. Even if you cannot write it out, or write it out yet, you can consciously think as your muse. If your muse was watching this TV show or hearing this song, what would they think? Don’t just answer as, “they would/n’t like it.” Answer as to why they would or would not, what it makes them feel and think. You can continue doing this with your muse’s impressions of different environments and people.

You can even simply contemplate an emotion and how your muse feels and expresses it.

Adding on underlying and overarching emotions to the mix as you go along; emotion, and thought, is complex. We very rarely are only angry, sad, or happy. We are very rarely only thinking of a single thing, and even rarer, thinking of it out of nowhere. It’ll help you identify the way your muse experiences emotion and thought, as well as how best to describe these things.

For example, I write a muse that can easily present as simply being quiet and angry. Additionally, as the character develops, his actions and general behavior can seem to not match well with his overall, genuinely kind nature. It’s necessary for me as a writer to identify where the anger comes from, what its components are; it isn’t just anger. It’s built on the things anger so often is; frustration, sadness, and fear. It gives the reader insight and helps delineate the muse’s expression of “anger.” When the anger is coming more from a place of insulation and protection than it is frustration, it presents differently.

I describe the sensation of the most obvious emotion, the anger, but also the underlying states that have led to it being apparent. How it really feels to be a wounded animal in a corner. I describe an experience or two pertaining to the emotional pain and fear, keep it relevant throughout the text in callbacks (what set him off is related to those experiences in some way, and during or after the experience of anger, those other situations are referenced again). Maybe it is an outright flashback, maybe it is less thematically stated. The descriptions I use, again, of his surroundings-not just his expressions, tone of voice, or movements-denotes that he is in this particular state of mind. He might notice similarities in the environment relating to a previous bad experience, since he is in that mindset, or he might be noticing things in a more critical way than he normally would. Things he might see every day are being processed as hateful in some way; garish or otherwise visually displeasing, might be seen as outright harmful, or even menacing. Bold colors, sharp lines, stand out. Things come into high relief and are painted in large swaths of color, the minute details missing suddenly.

Further, you can think of things that make your own similar state of mind so much worse in these situations. Is there a repetitive sound in the background? Is the person he is speaking with seemingly blowing him off in some way? Is he hungry, tired, thirsty, in physical pain? I then write those things throughout as additional, building irritants. 

Using your personal experiences isn’t a bad thing, I really wish tumblr hadn’t gotten into that mindset. Unless you really have written a 100% self-insert character, they shouldn’t experience things exactly as you do, no. However, you have a basis to go off of already when you are describing their inner life; your own.

Maybe you have never been so wracked with grief that you collapsed, but you have been caught up in a significant loss of some sort that you can build upon. If you can better imagine what your muse’s experience is, you can describe it not only better, but also in a way that reads as legitimate. It’s not a description of grief that you could have gotten from anywhere else, doesn’t have cliché lines in it about grief, such as, “though he was drowning in an ocean of loss, he knew he had to be strong for his friends, so, he put on a brave face.” (There are other issues with that, but that’s a whole other post!)

My point is, you have the tools of accurate inner life within you, and you should use them to build that accuracy in your writing. Again, play with the words and structure, make sure you are building the feelings or otherwise being immersive about them. Keep them throughout the thread, do not have a muse magically become the opposite of what you’ve described because it is no longer convenient, and do not forgo little reminders that the muse feels the way they do, no matter what their actions might be saying.

When you describe your muse’s actions that are being influenced by an emotion, good or bad, use words that evoke the emotion while describing those actions.

If the muse is very sad, do not use words that bring to mind vivacity and passion. Don’t use metaphors that bring to mind those same things. Your muse doesn’t slink like a jungle cat to the table when depressed, but they might move in a daze, like a shadow, or a have to put maximum effort into their every step as though heading to their own execution.

I don’t think anyone should describe, let alone to an extreme, every action their muse undertakes, but when you are imparting these things with emotional tone or thought processes, it really shouldn’t be done. It’s exhausting for you to write, and just as exhausting for your reader, who is very likely going, okay, we get it, she’s angry. Like the descriptions of the surroundings, try to keep it to important and telling actions. You needn’t describe your muse’s every eye movement, but if they are so embarrassed they’re having trouble keeping eye contact, or so annoyed they glare, that is a description you want to add.

Writers never seem to forget facial expressions or dramatic body movements, which is reasonable, considering how visual a species humans are, but quite often forgo tone of voice and word pronunciation entirely. These are great ways to denote what your muse is feeling. Consider how your muse speaks most often, whether they work at proper pronunciation and hiding an accent, or if they simply let their most natural speech flow. Then, consider how different emotions might impact that. I’m not talking about the only go-to many muns on tumblr have, the “my muse speaks -first language here- when angry” thing. I’m talking about your muse entering into any emotion strongly enough to drop crisp pronunciation, outright mess up familiar and easy words, stumble, stutter, or pause. Write emotion into your muse’s speech, and don’t keep it to adding things like, “said angrily.”

That’s telling, not showing, and is the death of descriptive writing of any sort.

Doing any of the above in a document is highly recommended. Not only are you less likely to encounter tumblr eating your drafts as you work on them, you have more freedom to open it up later and play around with the structure. Additionally, writing directly on the platform can be distracting in more ways than just the desire to dash scroll! It can make you feel like you need to be doing what you owe instead, need to be responding to messages, posted memes, comments. Taking it off site feels more like your own space and time for experimentation.

I know this was long, and covered many points (though, it could always use more). So, I’m going to kind of rehash some below!

For learning and inspiration:

read things both familiar and not in order to figure out what sort of descriptions speak to you, then practice doing them yourself

read a variety of works, not just books, and not just new books; oftentimes, the lessons in older books will stand out to you even more for using descriptions that are no longer common. Those lessons still hold, like the very act of using common, highly recognizable objects and settings to describe a person, place, or thing. In those cases, see what you can rewrite that would give the same feeling using things that are currently so recognizable

don’t count out things like music and poetry, they flow with emotion and it is imperative that they give emotion and setting in unique ways

use ask/starter memes, pictures, and even common situations occurring around you to experiment with both writing descriptions and getting into your muse’s mindset

think on your own experiences with your environment and emotions

consider how your muse’s perceptions may change based upon thoughts and emotions, and/or how you can describe the setting to reflect and drive home these factors

really get to know your muse by exploring headcanon memes, giving yourself a refresher on their canon (yes, even if you wrote it), and comparing and contrasting your experiences with your muse’s on the same topics

experiment with new words, their use, and their flow

seriously, practice! Outside of writing you intend for anyone else to ever see!

Things to Remember:

you are unique as a person, therefore, you are unique as a writer...and that is a good thing, you just need to find what works for you

describe things that are important in setting the scene in ways that are not just visual; be emotive, and pick things that have bearing on the immediate topic

don’t forget that your muse’s voice and spoken words use can, and should be, impacted by thoughts and feelings

just like you, your muse is unlikely to see the same objects in the same light under any manner of strong emotional influence

also just like you, who is saying something and in what context is extremely important in how your muse reacts internally and how that is presented externally; if your muse feels and reacts the same way no matter the other party, they’re a little cardboard and you’re not being descriptive or thoughtful enough

listen, if you just really need to describe something utterly irrelevant to live another second? That’s fine, but you need to make it relevant. Perhaps, your muse noticed the cracks on that rock because they’re in an altered state - be that by way of a substance, or an emotion

there is a reason why we use clichés, and I am not going to say they should never be used, just that you should try to be more creative with them, and they should always be viable ones that truly match the mood

the same is true of words, we have some words that are just so commonly expressive of sensations and emotions that they come up quite often, but again, try to find something similar if possible, and always make sure it’s still evoking the right thing

I repeat: get in touch with your muse, even if you do not write them from first person. The language you use as a writer to describe them and their world is better if it feels like them

no support for tumblr’s anti-wordiness, but huge support for optimizing word use for maximum impact

to that end, if you’re a RPer, even a fic writer, please know that your desire to write descriptively isn’t going to be appreciated by some people. That’s their fucking loss, and you are better off without them. You will find the audience that will properly appreciate what you’re doing!

I hope some of this helped to give you some starting points you might not have thought of!

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is:  MuseumGiftShopEraser! They have 9 works on AO3 in the Stranger Things Fandom, and 6 of those are in the Steddie tag!

Our anonymous nominator recommends the following works by @museumgiftshoperaser:

Paint the Devil on the Wall

Conversations About Love

Now I'm A Stranger

An Exercise In Denial

Baby, You Were Meant To Follow Me

Her fics are BEAUTIFUL. When I first read Paint the Devil on the Wall I was so obsessed I immediately recced the fic to everyone I knew who would be vaguely interested in a steddie fic. -- anonymous

Below the cut, @museumgiftshoperaser answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I stumbled into it immediately after season 4 came out. I’ve felt very attached to Steve as a character from the beginning of the show and I think I was subconsciously waiting for someone to pair him up with. I think they’re both such great characters to explore themes of dealing with expectation (either by conforming, or fighting against it) and that’s something I always love to write about.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

Absolute sucker for fake dating. Can’t get enough of it.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Enemies to lovers! Though now that I’m looking through my AO3 I haven’t actually written that much of it. It doesn’t have to be very intense enemies, though. I just like it when characters don’t immediately get along.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

My brain has been forever rewired by took you for a working boy by pukner. It’s such a gentle, nuanced queer story. It feels vulnerable to me in a way that really only fanfiction can be. Can I sneak in another one?? Because everyone should also absolutely read the shame is on the other side by scoops_ahoy. It taps into this very specific kind of queer compartmentalizing, that I’ve never seen written this well. It broke my heart and patched it right back up.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I’ve been stupidly busy with my masters lately so there’s probably not a lot of writing on my horizon. I do have a wip called Doll that I’m slowly chipping away at. It’s a little darker than stuff I’ve written before. I know ‘dark’ isn’t really a trope, but I’m excited to see if I can push these characters a little further. 

What is your writing process like?

Absolute chaos. I write non-chronologically, without an outline, all in the same document. I keep writing snippets and scenes until the whole thing slowly comes together. 

Do you have any writing quirks?

Italicizing words for emphasis. I love it so much, you can rip it from my cold dead hands. It accidentally makes its way into my academic writing for my degree sometimes which is a little embarrassing, but I just love the flair of it. 

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

I don’t really do schedules, it doesn’t work for me at all. I try to make sure I have a decent amount of the story written before I start posting to give me a bit of a head start, but forcing myself to finish something by a certain date is a surefire way to kill my motivation.

Which fic are you most proud of?

Probably Paint the Devil on the Wall. It was the first time I’d written the entire story before I started posting so it went through way more rounds of editing than normal. I think you can really tell. It’s also the longest story I’ve ever written (in general, even outside of fanfic). The whole project gave me a lot of confidence as a writer.

How did you get the idea for Paint the Devil on the Wall?

I knew I wanted to participate in the Bigbang and the deadline was coming up, but I still didn’t have an idea. I decided to work backwards and try to think of something that would be fun for the artist(s) to draw. I had a vision of Eddie wearing dungarees without a shirt, absolutely covered in paint and I knew I had to write something to make it happen. I set the story in 80s New York because neo expressionism is really the only kind of art I could see Eddie making. I think it suits him very well. I do actually have a background in art, though! I’m currently getting my MFA, but I’ve worked full time as an artist for several years before that. I had a lot of fun working my passion for art (and all those art history classes I had to take) into the fic.

When writing Paint the Devil on the Wall, what was something you didn’t expect?

All of Steve’s character, to be honest. The fic is written from Eddie’s POV and for a large part of it he has a very hard time figuring out what Steve’s deal is. Right alongside him, I also had an incredibly hard time figuring out his character. It wasn’t until I was working on the final chapter that he finally clicked for me. I realized very late, just like Eddie, that Steve liked him from the very beginning. Most of the enemies to lovers premise was all in Eddie’s head.

What inspired Now I'm a Stranger?

Oh boy, that was forever ago! I remember I started writing it while I was camping with friends because I liked having something to do after everyone went to bed at night. I think I had the idea for that very first scene where Steve doesn’t remember Eddie and it all sort of spiraled from there.

What was your favorite part to write from An Exercise in Denial?

That was the very first fic I wrote, right after season 4 came out! I’ve never written something that fast, I think the whole thing took me less than a week. My favorite part was probably Robin being completely exasperated with both of them. They’re such complete idiots in that fic.

How do/did you feel writing Baby, You Were Meant To Follow Me?

Ahhh… I never got around to finishing that one. I probably never will, to be honest. I wrote the first two parts quite quickly and then the idea I had for the plot spiraled out of control and I realized I didn’t actually feel like writing the rest of it. There were going to be a lot of misunderstandings and I learned that I find that an incredibly frustrating trope to write (when done for drama at least. For comedy, I’m a sucker for misunderstandings.) So I guess I felt a little in over my head.

What was the most difficult part of writing Conversations About Love?

The ending! That fic is so incredibly personal to me and I knew from the beginning that I wanted it to have a very sappy, happy ending. It was important to me to write an aromantic character getting everything they wanted, but I realized as I was writing it that I don’t actually fully know what that means. So it took a bit more soul searching than fics typically do, but it was very much worth it. 

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

I still think the short little prologue for Paint the Devil on the Wall is the best thing I’ve written. “You don’t draw on things that aren’t yours, baby” is probably the best summary I have for that story.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

Not really!

Thank you to our author, @museumgiftshoperaser, and our anonymous nominator! See more of @museumgiftshoperaser works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[thewriterowl]

Do you have a standard writing process? Particularly with long fics? I start out plotting everything to some degree and then start writing but then usually what happens is I get too excited to share it so I start posting before I finish and then my mental health just kinda goes "and we're not finishing that"

Hello! Well I try to sort of do the same--that’s how I did it with Stars. But yeah, getting all the details out can burn you out quicker than what’s fair :/

So what I’ve sort of learned to do (especially coming out from What the Stars Let in, since that thing was nearly 500 pages in like three months) was the following:

1) I had major focus points already confirmed in my head: I knew Din and Luke would have an arranged marriage, I knew I wanted Luke to share his story to the Mandalorians, I wanted Luke to fight Dark Troopers, I wanted Din to have a moment or two of jealousy, I wanted there to be a “betrayal’ from Din, I wanted Luke to sacrifice himself by stopping and moving a cruiser, i wanted them to be separated, I wanted Din to have a moment facing darkness, and then I want them together. Besides a bare skeletal structor of a story (din and luke fall in love in an arranged marriage) i focused on story-points I wanted to see happen and made it a goal to get to one....and then get to another and it made me more excited for the plot point coming next rather than trying to rush to that ending.

2) For the scenes I was really excited about I wrote a rough draft instantly. I pretty much had a draft of Luke stopping the cruiser and then “dying” since chapter two because I knew I wanted that to happen. Same with the Dark Trooper chapter. Of course a lot of details were added or changed as the story progressed but i was able to really plan things because not only did I know I wanted those scenes, I had them written out so I could figure out how to foreshadow things in regards to them easier.

3) Although I am influenced by my readers and I try to keep things “Realistic” in the story (aka, why I didn’t turn Din dark though it was a temptation) I write what I want to read. This, of course, can hinder the writing process cause you’re putting a lot of extra love into it because, being honest, i want it to inspire others to write things like it so I can read something next so if it is not well received then it can be a bad sucker-punch...but I was just like, i gotta get these moments out there regardless of the response.

4) This isn’t the best advice...but I wrote when i wanted to...basically I am mostly working from home and in a job I loathe who has drained me of most all my happiness for the past three years and has used me something bad, but I’m shackled to them cause money. Well...I write on their time now (not on my work computer lol) so I sort of had this momentum of MASSIVE writer’s spite. “Oh, you’re gonna call me in to work on my day off AGAIN????? well, ok then...tomorrow from 8 till 5, I’m writing this space-dad fic and only answering some emails”. Maybe not risk your job for a fic...but i would recommend see if you can find some sort of spite to influence you case man, that stuff works maaagiiiic. 

5) Push through the block but not necessarily in a way that burns you out. If you can’t write out the chapter you are currently on, then don’t. Skip five or more scenes ahead and just start there and then go back later and tie things in. You do not have to write your fic in chronological order, so don’t shackle yourself to it. You on a scene with Din and Luke talking about the Force, it’s needed and important, but eh, you’re not feeling it? Go on and write their love confession scene. Or their fight scene. Or something you actually DO wanna write. Go read fics, maybe go and talk to artists and writers about general things and chat. Talking to others about things, not necessarily in detail, can be huge.

6) Bringing in the things I’ve said before; this is not something you need to write chronological--so don’t. The writing can be a fun puzzle. Write the parts you want first (aka the corners as many start with as they do a puzzle) and then start connecting things. I found it a lot easier and a bit more fun to do that way.

7) If possible, and this can be hard, try to be a chapter a head of your updates. With a good chunk of Stars, I was like seven chapters ahead of myself. Not so much with this new one (and for sure not with Little Bird) but it sort of releases some worry and pressure off of you. If you have an idea for a fic, try to see if you can upload it once you have two or there chapters written (not edited, that can come as you get read to upload) and it makes you have a deadline but one that isn’t looming.

8) I also gave myself a deadline. I wanted to update at least once a week. This may not work for everyone, so it’s just about figuring out what works for you...but I think I would recommend you set up a realistic goal on how often you update.

9) Just focus on one chapter at a time as you upload. A multi-chap fic can be so easy to get lost in (I may not update some of my Avengers fic) and that’s fine. It’s disappointing and sad, for yourself, but it happens and it should not be a burden on you. You’re writing these things for fun and if it doesn’t work out, well sucks...but there was no harm or waste to it. Some free content just won’t get finished. Happens every day and it’s all good. You just take up the next wave of inspiration and try to get it finished.

10) Ensure you have fun and keep other fun projects available. That mental stuff loves to take away fun, passionate projects. it’s a miserable monster that just wants to suck you dry from it. Take yourself from the project on occasion and write a one shot (these things are miserably hard for me) and use it as an exercise. It challenges you in a different way, gets you to do something new, and can give you and your mental-monster some whiplash so that it can’t instantly take it away from you.

11) If you lose your hyper fixation/love for a pairing, don’t grip on to it for the sake of a fic. I love DinLuke now and I don’t see that changing anytime soon...but when/if it does, I’ll need to just step back and let it go and wait for it to hit in another wave later. Just enjoy the fandom as a fan and you should have a lot more joy and ease in taking part of projects that way.

Those are my little tidbits that’s helped me with stuff so far at least!

[scope-dogg]

Super Beast Machine God Dancouga: Final Thoughts

“It’s complicated” can be a big of a copout when you’re weighing up whether to recommend something or not. In the case of this show and its trio of follow-up OVAs, it genuinely is kind of complicated. There was a lot I already liked about Dancouga even before I started watching - several of its soundtracks have had pride of place in my music playlists for years now, while the robot itself has been one of my favourite super robot designs for just as long, that being mostly fuelled by the machine’s status as a long-time Super Robot Wars stalwart. The same series made me a fan of the head pilot Shinobu Fujiwara and his trademark warcry of “YATTE YARUZE.” That said, I already went in with my expectations tempered by other opinions I’ve seen the generally weren’t quite so favourable as my expectations might have been.

Well, now I’ve seen it. In many ways, I really did enjoy it - the music is even better in its proper context, it’s cool to see where all the moves that Dancouga busts out in SRW came from, and Shinobu and the rest of the cast are as entertaining as I might have imagined in the primary material. Above all else, it surprised me by throwing in some ideas that were pretty original by the standards of its time, and some that are unique even compared to the rest of the genre as a whole. I really did enjoy a good amount of genuine enjoyment from the experience.

That doesn’t mean, however, that I’m going to recommend it. In fact, I just straight up don’t.

You see, there’s a lot of bad to go with the good in the show’s original anime run, to the degree that calling it “a mixed bag” would be too disingenuous. A promising start with some pretty great animation and production values quickly gives way to a level of quality that ranges from mediocre to shockingly poor, not only by today’s standards but those of the time. I don’t know the behind-the-scenes story of the show’s production, but it’s blatantly obvious that they found themselves out of money hilariously quickly, and they end up limping along on a shoestring budget. Stock footage abuse, animation errors, and just cheap and shoddy-looking artwork in general pile up until the result is a production that looks genuinely amateurish at times.

It’s a shame, because it’s a disservice to a show that’s actually fairly interesting in a lot of ways. The premise of Earth being invaded by an alien empire isn’t new, but typically shows of this setup from this era of anime follow a predictable pattern - a squad of hot-blooded youngsters is promptly assembled, thrown into the show’s resident giant robot, and sent off to fight off the aliens for as many formulaic monster-of-the-week style episodes as necessary. Here things aren’t so simple - there is the requisite squad of plucky youngsters, but it takes time for the team to properly assemble and to master their machine - in fact, they don’t even combine into Dancouga until the show’s halfway in. That’s actually more interesting than it sounds, because it means that the individual machines that make up Dancouga get a lot more screentime than they otherwise would in a show like Combattler V, for instance, which is cool because each of the four different ones has a vehicle form, a bestial animal form, and a humanoid configuration. 

It also allows for the setting to be more interesting - humanity’s war against the Muge Zorbados invaders is more interesting than conflicts of this nature tend to be in old super robot shows. Instead of sending one gimmicky monster or robot at a time, the invasion comes in force, and the enemy takes over much of the world while the heroes of the Cyber Beast Force are still building themselves up. The war ends up being more of an asymmetrical war of resistance involving all of mankind rather than hinging solely on duels between the protagonists and the monster of the week. The invaders themselves are more interesting than usual as well, as the egos of each of the invading generals clash with one another. By far the most interesting villain is Shapiro Keats, a fellow member of the academy that the leads Shinobu, Sara, Masato and Ryo attended, whose megalomania leads him to betray mankind and defect to the aliens in a bid to elevate his own power and prestige and fulfil his own delusions of godhood. A lot of the challenges that the CBF face in the early parts of the show come more from Shapiro’s treachery and clever planning rather than gimmicky alien technologies.

However, while it has interesting ideas, the show never seems to be able to pull them off to their full potential. Ironically it’s Dancouga’s long-awaited and heavily-hyped arrival that heralds the death of much of the interesting elements to the story. In addition to being the biggest casualty of the show’s animation budget, Dancouga’s not implemented in a very interesting way in the show’s original anime run - whereas before battles were a test of the protagonists’ skill and strategy, Dancouga’s overpowering nature trivialises much of the action. It doesn’t help that its repertoire is limited to punching, shooting lasers, and on special occasions shooting a really big laser. As a result, the show loses momentum as it enters its final stages, as Dancouga just bulldozes over Muge Zorbados’ armies. It’s also around this time that the writers lose touch with what makes Shapiro Keats an interesting villain. He was compelling because of his sheer lack of redeeming features and total megalomania, yet more and more focus gets pushed onto his past romance with Sara, the show’s female co-protagonist. It seems like we’re meant to sympathise with him and her because of this lovers-to-anime arc, but Shapiro never ends up being anything less than a vile piece of shit with no redeeming features that leaves you boggling at what Sara could have ever possibly seen in him, and rolling your eyes whenever she’s shown to be struggling with having to fight him. Ultimately, the plot culminates in what must have been an awfully unsatisfying cliffhanger at the time.

However, that wasn’t the show’s real end, because it went on to spawn several OVAs. The first is Requiem for Victims, which portrays the final confrontation with Muge Zorbados. This is an immediate improvement in many ways, getting many things right that the show got badly wrong. First of all, the animation is far superior, as you might expect from an OVA - the difference is beyond night and day. Furthermore, it gives Dancouga some more interesting weapons and attacks to work with, and explores more of what makes it special as a machine beyond just being big and powerful. In spite of this, it also features the most fraught and exciting fights that it ever takes part in. Overall, it’s a massive improvement.

The peak, however, is probably the next OVA in line, God Bless Dancouga - taking place some time after Requiem, it’s got the best production values of anything with the Dancouga named attached. The story isn’t anything to write home about if I’m being honest, but it’s not bad either - if all you want is to see the characters interact with one another, then it ticks all the boxes. The animation is absolutely superb the whole way through, and while Dancouga doesn’t actually have a great deal of screentime, it makes it count big time when it does - chances are if you saw it use a cool attack in an SRW game, it got used first in this OVA.

I was really hoping that the OVAs could go three for three and pull off a great conclusion that’d make the time spent worth it, but that sadly wasn’t the case. Blazing Epilogue is a 4-parter that starts off promisingly plot-wise, but the production values are for the most part not up to the standards set by God Bless Dancouga or even Requiem for Victims - it’s not as bad as the original series, but it’s not especially good by the standards of 1990 when it was released. Worse is the fact that while the plot’s pretty good in episodes 1 through 3, it lets itself down for the finale, wrapping things up in an abrupt way that ended up making the whole exercise feel fairly pointless. It’s a total anticlimax and a weak way to wrap things up.

Of course, that wasn’t the absolute end, as the show got a modern sequel in the shape of Dancouga Nova in the 2000s, but I’m saving that for another day - it features all-new characters and is by all accounts very different from the original. As for the original Dancouga saga, like I said to open - it’s complicated. Personally, I think I enjoyed myself more than I didn’t - but I also don’t think that’d hold true for most people. I came to this already endeared to the robot, characters, and certain aspects of its presentation to the degree, and that helped me to power through a lot of the rockier moments in this so that I could see them in their original incarnation. For other people who aren’t super robot addicts like me, I just think the lows are too low and the highs aren’t high or numerous enough to warrant it being worth most people’s time.

[d6official]

DAY6: ‘We’ve Always Wanted to Go to India’

The South Korean rock band open about their songwriting process, their aspirations for future records, the definition of authenticity in a world that often dismisses artistry in K-pop and India

I caught up with DAY6 a few months ago via Skype–I’m told the quintet are in the middle of shooting new content for their fans and are dressed in their looks for a video, so it has to be an audio call. I can’t see them and they can’t see me, so of course there’s a lot of giggling, whispering, and moments of ominous silence that then have us all breaking into laughter together. It’s awkward, hilarious and everything you’d imagine a call with DAY6 to be. 

It’s towards the end of the year so there’s a lot going on in the band’s schedule, but they’re an unstoppable force, flying across the globe to complete performances in the U.S. and in Australia. It’s a pretty rare thing to have all five members be able to join in on a single call, so I’m happy to hear all their voices greet me. “We’ve just been on tour and we’re having a good tour so far,” says vocalist and guitarist Jae. “Everyone’s been really welcoming in their countries and really just turning up for us, so we’re happy.” 

DAY6 debuted in September 2015 with leader and guitarist Sungjin, bassist Young K, guitarist Jae, keyboardist Wonpil and drummer Dowoon. All members are trained vocalists, with Young K also doubling as main rapper, and every member contributes to songwriting and production. (The group did have a sixth member, a keyboardist named Junhyeok, but he left in 2016.) Young K also leads the songwriting process, with lyrical contribution in every single track on most of DAY6’s albums. 

The beauty of DAY6’s artistry lies in how versatile they are able to make each track within a single album–in one moment you’re listening to a stadium anthem that’s reminiscent of a young U2, and in the next there’s a segue into Killers-esque post-punk revival. If you’ve been a long-time fan, you probably already know this thanks to their genius ‘Every DAY6’ project through 2017, which saw the band release two songs on the sixth day of almost every month. The result? An expansive, experimentative discography which built two powerful albums– Sunrise and Moonrise–with B-sides that shine just as much as a lead single. Jae explains that there usually isn’t a set idea when they begin an album–a lot of the music is born through songwriting sessions with various producers, where each member gets to go explore any genre they want on their own. It’s a power they’re exercising more and more, especially all through the Book of Us series. “We didn’t really discuss a direction when we started,” Jae says. “Everyone just kind of did what we wanted, which is why the album is a jumble of this and that from everywhere.” In fact songs have a tendency to switch genres in between verses–a great example of this is DAY6’s 2017 single “I Wait.”

The group also credit the genius of JYP Entertainment producer Hong Jisang as a key factor in their creative process. “I think definitely one of our main influences is probably gonna be one of our main producers and that’s Hong Jisang,” says Jae when I ask the band about their musical influences. “He’s a writer that works with us very frequently. For most of our title tracks–actually all of them I think so far. But yeah, he’s definitely one of the main influences because he’s always been kind of our mentor since the beginning of our debut dates… even before that. So he’s been teaching us about songwriting, you know, tracking or melody writing. We have a little bit of a flow just because we’ve grown so close to him as a group.”

“Just one of the reasons why we try any kind of genre or any music is because people do have different tastes in music,” explains Young K. “So if they like at least one of them, then it’s a success for us. Another reason is because we do get to play almost all of them, almost all [their songs] at the concert. So, we do have a chance to show it to the MyDays and the crowd and you get a chance to have fun with it. And I guess it’s just what we aim for as a group.” They’ve stood strong and stuck to their guns when it comes to this process of songwriting and it’s the fuel that expands their creative process, ensuring they don’t stick to one particular sound or vibe.  

I remember back in 2016 when DAY6 began to get more popular, a lot of the attention around them was built of curiosity. As the first band under JYP Entertainment and the one of the first in the third generation of K-pop, both fans and industry professionals were curious to see where the Hallyu Wave would take them. The idea of an ‘idol rock band’ was new to the thousands of fans who had discovered K-pop after the 2016 boom of the genre, and DAY6 didn’t fit any existing stereotype–idol or band. They still don’t, and it’s a powerful statement.

This particular artistic evolution that we’ve seen with DAY6 isn’t easy to achieve in the K-pop idol-sphere of it all; our discussion about artistry in the glittering world of idol culture brings us to the topic of what it’s like to exist as what people believe to be a ‘traditional’ band in the middle of the ‘boy band narrative.’ I ask because it’s something I see often even in India–there’s this idea of authenticity always being tied to the more ‘conventional’ format of a band: artists with their instruments are deemed more ‘legit’ than pop acts. There is an unfortunate tendency among the general public to dismiss artistry created by pop stars and K-pop idols. DAY6 walk the line between the two worlds, and their path to finding that balance often demands a seesaw from one side to another. Have they ever faced a dismissal of their artistry because they’re idols who are also a band? 

“That’s a very deep question,” says Sungjin. There’s a long pause as he gathers his words and then continues, “I personally haven’t seen that big of a difference. We, as a team that emphasizes on writing songs and writing music to appeal to other people, feel that everyone who writes songs or does music has the same objective and goal, therefore [artistry] is the same thing [for every musician.] So we’re not trying to focus on those kinds of factors but just try to focus instead on our music and our creation process so that we could become more authentic artists that appeal to more people.” 

And what is DAY6’s definition of authenticity? 

“When the person who’s creating the music legitimately feels like it’s good music,” says Sungjin firmly.

Right now the authenticity in their songwriting comes from the ordinary. Lead lyricist Young K explains the members draw from everyday experiences and conversations to write songs that are relatable, raw and honest. “Lyrics wise, I could say, we got very cleaned up and very neat. During the times of Every DAY6 project, we were out of time all the time throughout the year,” he says with a laugh. “So, it gave me the lesson of like, always being prepared to write lyrics so that I could pick out a way to find motivation or inspiration. I don’t wait for that inspiration, I gotta always go look for it. For example during everyday conversation, if there’s something or if there’s a word if there’s a phrase that I like, I write it down on my phone.” He pauses for a moment and then sheepishly admits, “To be really honest, I haven’t been doing that for months now. I need to get back on it.” He also says rather than listening to new music, skimming through lyrics is always his go-to move when it comes to evolving his style of storytelling. “So I guess it’s just continuous experiences that helped me to grow and, like you said, evolve.”

I ask the band which of their songs they would recommend to a new listener to help them understand DAY6’s artistry, and there’s a collective hum as they contemplate. “That’s a really difficult question,” says Wonpil. “Maybe ‘You Were Beautiful?’” The rest of the band agree wholeheartedly, and feel the 2017 rock ballad does a great job of summing up who DAY6 are. It’s certainly a fantastic example of the band’s powerful songwriting and their uncanny ability to to delve into topics that are at times a little too real, a little too familiar. 

DAY6’s complex Book of Us series of albums have dealt mainly with the various levels of human interactions, emotions and relationships, each volume diving deeper into the complexities of what makes us who we are. The ‘Us’ in the titles can refer to DAY6 themselves, the relationship between them and their fandom MyDay as well as various other relationships the members might have in their lives. It’s also a general reference to the relationships we as human beings cultivate in our lives. The first album in the series The Book of Us: Gravity was one of their brightest releases, exploring youth and young love. The Book of Us: Entropy was a little heavier, a little more mature, exploring the beginning and end of relationships and how it changes a person. 

The band’s upcoming release of The Book of Us: The Demon is perhaps their most anticipated release yet. Set to drop tomorrow, May 11th, the eight-track EP already hints at a slightly darker route than its predecessors with its title, promising a deeper look into the core meaning of the series. The teaser for the lead single “Zombie” which dropped on May 8th shows the band wandering dazed through crowds while the track itself seems to build on angsty alt rock. DAY6 also dropped an album sampler that hints The Demon cruises through pop rock (“Day and Night”), blues (“Tick Tock”), post-punk revival (“Stop”), acoustic pop (“Afraid”) and more.

In true DAY6 style however, the tracks can change direction in-between, crossing genres from one verse to another. It’s all a surprise right up until we hear the record, which is one of the best things about listening to a new release from this band. While I’m not told any specifics, I’m assured that DAY6 plan to go bigger than ever before when it comes to future releases.  “We want to go to space!” exclaims Dowoon and the band agree enthusiastically. How does space translate sonically? “We want to go for a larger scale of music,” he explains. It’s about dreaming bigger and looking at ways to elevate DAY6’s musicianship. Jae adds, “Yeah, maybe going from just one acoustic guitar to like a full brass band or something.” We discuss possibilities of DAY6 working with an orchestra someday and it’s a pretty fantastic vision. 

Speaking of future plans, I decide to put them on the spot and ask about when we’re getting an India tour. “Whenever you guys call us, we are definitely there!” Jae assures me immediately. Young K and Wonpil explain they are familiar with Bollywood and eager to learn more about it. “I am aware it’s huge there. And recently Katy Perry did something with Bollywood?” asks Young K. We realize he’s referring to the pop diva’s massive November concert in Mumbai with Dua Lipa and he shares that it’s one of the reasons DAY6 are more eager to check out India’s concert scene. “Yeah, I actually heard it from my friend. They were telling me, ‘Yo, you should go to India’ and like wherever it is, we always want to go. If there are people who are willing to listen to us and enjoy with us at the concert, we want to go.” Jae adds, “You guys have a lot of people and for us it’s a new culture and we are always interested in going to different places and seeing new things, trying different foods… naturally the food! So yes, we’ve always wanted to go to India, so call us!” 

We spend the rest of our allotted time together talking planning a show in India for 2020 and although COVID-19 has postponed these plans for now, it’s something the band believe needs to happen. “We definitely wanna see you guys,” says Young K. “It’s always great to go to new places. Until the time that we meet, we want you guys to stay healthy and happy.”

By Riddhi Chakraborty

©️Rolling Stone India

[bookcoversalt]

A+ youtube video! I feel like this is a dumb question, but what other sources, exercises, etc would you suggest for a writer wanting to get better at, like, everything you do in that video? I feel like I'm just not intelligent when it comes to writing and reading. I slap down whatever seems fun and I'm sure it makes for a bland story full of stupid plot holes and everything you talked about, so how does one get better at dissecting this stuff and...writing/reading intelligently?

Thank you so much!! There’s a tendency to consider analytical people just “smart”, as if the observations they make come naturally to them. But that super isn’t true: being thoughtful and critical about media, like drawing or writing or playing a sport or learning an instrument, is a skill that you pick up by absorbing reference, learning the language of the art form, and then practicing replicating it through your own perspective.

ABSORBING REFERENCE

My two biggest critical inspirations are Lindsay Ellis, a video essayist who covers film and culture, and Film Crit Hulk, a screenwriter and movie critic, and I’ve been consuming their work since I was 15. (I’m 25 now! that’s a wholeass decade.) I've picked up many, may other sources along the way: other video essayists, pop culture commentators, TV critics, spirited roasts of 50 shades of gray, actual “writing craft” books and blog articles, long goodreads reviews of books I thought I had a pretty good grasp of the flaws on, funny booktube reviews, even “anti” posts. I read “how the last season of game of thrones went the fuck off the rails” articles til my eyes bled, not because I cared about game of thrones, but because there was so much good, insightful reporting being done on How And Why A Story Fell Apart.

LEARNING THE LANGUAGE

Not all of this is good or useful. There’s a lot of bad faith or shallow criticism out there. The cinemasins clickbaity style of nitpicking “plot holes” or penalizing a work for the mere presence of tropes without regard for broader artistic intent and cultural context is particularly insidious and should die. The people who think twilight is stupid because it has sparkly vampires are missing the point. A LOT of people critique YA in particular from a place of bitterness or bias or misplaced expectations (and so did I, to some degree, for a long time. I’ve worked really hard to grow out of that, I hope). But the point is to seek out content in this vein-- not what I consumed necessarily (I would not wish that many GOT thinkpieces on anyone), but stuff that interests you. The more of this you mindfully consume and the more perspectives you collect and compare, the more context you’ll have for what’s being discussed and the more you'll naturally start to form your own opinions on it. You will learn, slowly, by osmosis, to pull what strikes a chord with you from the noise.

REPLICATING IT THROUGH YOUR OWN PERSPECTIVE

The cool and fun part is that to some extent, your brain will start doing this on its own. You’ll read a book and you'll just notice more. You’ll call plot twists faster, or be more cognizant of the pacing, or connect dots you might not have otherwise connected. You’ll see the logistic scaffolding in your own work more clearly and you’ll be more aware of choices you’re making subconsciously. You’ll recognize thematic hypocrisy or worldbuilding inconsistencies and have the language to name them.

And you’ll also have the tools to explore your less clear-cut, more emotional reactions to art. And this is the most important but “hardest” part of this: sitting with vague feelings and unformed thoughts trying to suss out what’s at the heart of them and why, using your hard-won critical “training” and your contextual knowledge.

I like to frame them as questions:

Why did the end of [book] feel disjointed? Why didn’t I connect with the main character in [book]? What really resonated with me about the plot of [book]? Why does [character] appeal to me more than [other character]? Why does [book]’s use of [theme] make me uncomfortable?

Sometimes it comes down to just preference or subjective taste, and that’s fine and good to know. But more often than not, you’re reacting to something concrete that can be identified: 

The ending of HOUSE OF SALT AND SORROWS feels disjointed because it comes out of nowhere and has nothing to do with our heroine’s efforts in the larger story. I didn’t connect with the main character in HEARTLESS because within the context of the worldbuilding, her choices didn’t make sense. What really resonated with me about the plot of UPROOTED is its thematic coherency. The Darkling appeals to me more than Mal because the villain romance power fantasy aspect of the series is better fleshed out and ultimately more rewarding to read than the love story of two flawed teenagers. ACOWAR’s use of trauma and recovery makes me uncomfortable because it ceases to be a sincere element of anyone’s arc or characterization and becomes yet another tool to make Rhys look like the best and coolest and wokest fae boyfriend.

Pulled from an old Captain Awkward article, this is something I have in a sticky note on my desktop as sort of a criticism guide: 

One of the things we try to do is to push past “I liked it”/”I didn’t like it” as reactions to work. What is it? What is it trying to be? Is it good at being that thing? Was that a good thing to try to be in the first place? Did the artist have a specific agenda? How did it play with audiences at the time? Does it play the same way now? What stereotypes does it reinforce/undermine?

Even if it’s only for your own personal growth rather than intended for an audience, I recommend putting burgeoning critical thoughts or questions you’re trying to “work through” down in writing somewhere: goodreads reviews! tweets! blog posts! spamming your group chat! Even just a private word document. The synthesis of thoughts into written content forces you to identify and choose a specific articulation of your idea(s). If it’s in a pubic or semipublic forum, you’ll also be able to see which of your ideas resonate with other people, and that can (isn’t always, but CAN) be useful information as far as having an external barometer for when you’re onto something.

And then..... you do that a bunch of times in different ways for many years, with a lot of different books and movies and games and whatever else. Like any other skill, you will get better the more you do it. (Again: I have been doing this for ten years now, and it still took me three months to write that video script. Forming nuanced, informed opinions and then articulating them coherently is hard.)

As kind of a footnote tip, seek out peers who have the same goals and feelings, and try to connect with them! Lots of my current internet friends found me back when I was posting on my personal blog about problems i had with THE SELECTION or RED QUEEN and we bonded over having similar opinions and being in similar places in our writing/ reading/ careers. These people now beta read my scripts and posts and help me brainstorm or refine ideas. I strongly believe that creatives (and critics) do their best work and grow the most within a network of support and feedback.

But also, in regards to creative writing in particular, i want to be clear that having fun is the most important thing. I absolutely think creators need analytical skills to improve their craft, but without the enjoyment of doing the thing at the core of it, there is no craft at all. If you have to choose between the "smart” thing and the fun thing, choose the fun thing. Tbh, if you’re worried your work is bland, analysis probably isn’t the solution--  figuring out how to have more fun is the solution. And letting yourself lean into the stuff that’s wild and awesome and so incredibly you that it sets you on fire to write is a skill of its own :)

[pwpoetry]

Q&A with Carrie Fountain

M: Can you talk a bit about the epigraph in relation to the poems? Did you know right away that this passage from Rilke would serve your purposes?

C: Epigraphs are mysterious. I’ve never once intended to include an epigraph in a book, yet here they’ve always come, trotting across my path. I love when they do. It’s as if the humming universe of other writers, voices, thoughts across the ages, asserts itself. Hi there! And it’s a comfort to know that, whatever thread I’m following has been followed before, in a totally different way, unique to another, yet utterly recognizable.

When I came upon this passage in reading Rilke, I had that experience, that thwack of recognition. This bit addresses the tension—the “ancient enmity,” as Rilke puts it—"between our daily life and the great work,” that centers the question at the heart of my collection: What is holy?

The epigraph came after a first draft. It helped me navigate through subsequent drafts.

M: I love the idea that an epigraph can do that. What was your writing and revision process like for this book?

C: I wake very early, before my children, and do my poetry reading and writing then. These poems mostly came out of that morning practice: writing in the dark, sipping coffee, letting whatever comes come. Some of these poems, like the poems “The Jungle” and “Self-Help” carry a little of that actual practice inside them, as narrative.

Here is a very simple, perfect practice I learned from the poet Naomi Shihab Nye: write down three things you remember from the last 24 hours that you’d forget in the next 24 hours if you didn’t write them down now. If there is a more elegant spiritual exercise for planting one’s self in the moment while simultaneously accounting for the fleeting, groundless passage of time, I have not found it. I recommend this to all my students first thing. There is no beginner who cannot benefit from this practice. There is no master who cannot benefit from this practice.

During other hours of the day, I can often eke out work on other writing: novels, screenplays, kid’s books. I’m writing a TV show with a friend and I can dip into that world any time of the day, whenever our schedules align and we can huddle for a while in our respective writing rooms, he in New York and me in Austin. I can revise poetry in the afternoon, if pressed. But the focus and attention that is required of writing, for me, wanes as the day goes on. That attention is concentrated in the morning hours, between 5:00 am and 8:00 am. That’s why the morning hours, for me, are for writing and reading poetry.

M: God and the spirit figure prominently, and yet the poems are very much rooted in the daily--a pitch-perfect balance between the concrete and the abstract. How do you see the two relating to each other, the physical and the spiritual, on the page?

C: I’m a disciplined writer when I’m disciplined. Disciplined enough. When I’m not, I am waiting to be. Waiting feels wrong to me, and it makes me uneasy. It doesn’t feel like work, even though it is likely the most important work: the work that happens beneath the mindscape of everyday life.

Now that I’ve been writing this long into my life, I’ve lost the utter fear that used to accompany long stretches of Not Writing. I’ll never write another word. This fear used to grip me hard, especially in the time right after a book came out. And it still comes around a little even now. But not as existentially. I think that’s probably because I’ve come to understand writing and revising in a different way.

It’s hard to articulate, and it feels vulnerable because part of me still finds it ridiculous, but for me, the discipline that returns with my writing practice is a spiritual discipline. When I’m awaiting it, I’m awaiting the spirit. When it’s here, I’m attending to the gifts of the spirit. It’s not really about making books, though of course it is. But, more essentially, it’s about returning to the attentiveness of that discipline. Which is merely taking a breath and feeling it. Looking around and seeing. It’s the easiest and the hardest thing to do.

What is holy is all around. Isn’t that the most difficult thing to come to terms with?

It’s all around and all the time.

The discipline is hard for me to come to. Like sleep, it is about relinquishing. You can do lots of things to make it easier to fall asleep, but you cannot force yourself to do it. Writing, in some ways, contains the same elemental conundrum. It requires a step back. A release. An assessment of the Worst-case Scenario.

When my daughter, who sometimes has trouble falling asleep, starts to get panicky as the hours get later, I ask her: Has anyone ever died of not sleeping? I ask myself the same question about writing: Has anyone ever died of not writing? And somehow knowing that the answer is no gives me the solace—the release, the emptying—I need to stay in the vicinity of my writing practice.

M: Are there any other works of art of texts with which you feel the book is in conversation?

C: Oh yes—don’t you think all our work is in conversation with others? I’m very glad that I really like reading poetry, as much as I also love writing it.

Some of the books I read while working on these poems surely informed their creation. I was really taken with Ada Limon’s The Carrying. I read through both Merwin’s and Clifton’s Collected while working on these poems, reading a bit each morning. I read Rilke, of course—and it’s strange, because I am never particularly drawn to Rilke, and yet here he always comes to shake at my soul. I’m always reading Jane Kenyon, who didn’t live long enough to fully express her gifts, which is a tragedy on top of the tragedy of her death.

A poet I’ve read all my writing life, who is scarcely translated into English, is the Brazilian poet Adelia Prado. During the time between my last book and this one, she had a second collection translated by Ellen Watson. I got to meet her when she visited Austin with Watson. I can’t explain her poetry and what it means to me. But she is a spiritual master, and reading her poems feels like a visit to church. Full. Complicated. Nourishing.  

[bettsfic]

Hey! I love your writing so much. What books and/or short stories do you think every aspiring fiction writer should read?

there is nothing so good that i would prescribe it for every aspiring fiction writer, because everyone has different tastes. the works that have been integral to my development are stylistically irrelevant to many other writers. so many people swear by jane austen, but i’ve never really connected with her work. i certainly value it and understand why it’s so loved, but there’s not much overlap with my own creative aims.

that said! you can check out some of my book recommendations in my reading recs tag. i also have this post on writing exercises, where i link to a few short stories to read through specific craft lenses. and you can check out this post on how to read as a writer, so you can carve your own aesthetic path, so to speak. 

i’m happy to share with you some stories that i come back to over and over, either to teach them or there’s just something about them i really admire.

“how to become a writer” by lorrie moore – i know i just said everyone has different tastes, but if you put a gun to my head and told me to pick one story that’s relevant to the most writers, it’s this one. 

“sea oak” by george saunders – one of my favorite stories of all time. has what i call a red herring opening, which means you think the story is going to be about one thing but then it’s about something else. the line “i can’t believe that guy peed right on your dishes” makes me crylaugh every time.

“a wall of fire rising” by edwidge danticat – this one really kicked me in the teeth. one of the few times a story has made me cry. 

“the husband stitch” by carmen maria machado – a good example of the state of contemporary short stories. i know that’s kind of a sweeping statement, but the collection, her body and other parties, really helped define the present zeitgeist. 

“good country people” by flannery o’connor – this one nails the ending. 

“debbieland” by aimee bender – this story is the antithesis of purity culture. the reader is forced to empathize with, not sympathize with, the monstrous narrator(s).

“car crash while hitchhiking” by denis johnson – johnson is one of those authors who really jives with a lot of male writers who are looking for something less pretentious than bret easton ellis but less mainstream than chuck palahnuik. i end up recommending him a lot. this story also nails the ending.

goes without saying probably because Literature, but trigger warnings for suicide, dubious consent, and graphic violence. 

i hope you find something in here that speaks to you! 

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