anavoli

[anavoli]

pushing through burnout feels like swallowing glass

I fear it will take too long to pick out the shards and feel whole again

[anavoli]

I was happy today.

It wasn't a particularly extraordinary day-- I went to work, a regular 8 hours. Caught a dance class afterwards. Made jjimdak (my new favorite weeknight dinner), and and got an extra hour of work in for my second job.

It's the end of the year so there's much to be done. Everyone's pushing through a mountain of tasks in order to enjoy two precious weeks of time off.

Not even a full two weeks though-- 11 days if we're being precise. Sometimes I don't feel like it's worth it to have a vacation if it means I have to do so much beforehand.

But despite how overwhelmed I usually feel at this time (and, well, all the time), I found myself surprised to note that I did, indeed, feel happy.

At least for today.

Even if tomorrow comes with many lows, I want to remind myself that today was real. Even in the midst of the chaos, there are small, quiet moments where I am content.

[anavoli]

Alcohol tips for newbie writers (or non drinkers!):

At bars, people who order “chasers” after their shots are ordering something to wash down the taste of their shot with. This can be juice, soda, more alcohol, or even pickle juice

Hard liquor is generally sold in stores as shots (tiny bottles), fifths, liters, and handles or in ml (50, 100, 200 etc)

Most people can’t finish an entire fifth of hard liquor (vodka, etc) on their own without being very ill

Conversely, many people can finish an entire bottle of wine on their own without being ill

Liquor can be “bottom shelf” or “rail” or “well” – all synonyms for the cheapest version of alcohol a bartender has. Bars generally keep several “levels” of alcohol stocked

You order a drink with the alcohol first, then the mix – e.g., a “vodka soda” or a “Tito’s and tonic”

When you “close out a tab”, you pay for all of the drinks you’ve had that night. Either the bartender already has your card (you “opened a tab” earlier) or it was quiet enough that they just kept an eye on you and tallied your bill up at the end

“Doubles” are drinks or shots with double the standard pour of alcohol

In the US, most shots (pours) are 1.5 oz by default. 

Mixed drinks (gin and tonic, vodka lemonade, cosmos, etc) are generally made up of 1-2 shots and a mixer 

If you don’t specify which type of alcohol you’d like in a mixed drink (vodka cranberry, for example) the bartender will put whatever the “house” liquor is – and this depends entirely on the establishment. A dive bar will pour rail by default, whereas a nicer tavern might make all vodka cranberries with Tito’s

PLEASE TIP YOUR BARTENDERS THEY WILL REMEMBER YOU I PROMISE

[anavoli]

I am a(n):

⚪ Male

⚪ Female

🔘 Writer

Looking for

⚪ Boyfriend

⚪ Girlfriend

🔘 An incredibly specific word that I can't remember

[anavoli]

Pro Tip: The Way You End a Sentence Matters

Here is a quick and dirty writing tip that will strengthen your writing.

In English, the word at the end of a sentence carries more weight or emphasis than the rest of the sentence. You can use that to your advantage in modifying tone.

Consider:

In the end, what you said didn't matter.

It didn't matter what you said in the end.

In the end, it didn't matter what you said.

Do you pick up the subtle differences in meaning between these three sentences?

The first one feels a little angry, doesn't it? And the third one feels a little softer? There's a gulf of meaning between "what you said didn't matter" (it's not important!) and "it didn't matter what you said" (the end result would've never changed).

Let's try it again:

When her mother died, she couldn't even cry.

She couldn't even cry when her mother died.

That first example seems to kind of side with her, right? Whereas the second example seems to hold a little bit of judgment or accusation? The first phrase kind of seems to suggest that she was so sad she couldn't cry, whereas the second kind of seems to suggest that she's not sad and that's the problem.

The effect is super subtle and very hard to put into words, but you'll feel it when you're reading something. Changing up the order of your sentences to shift the focus can have a huge effect on tone even when the exact same words are used.

In linguistics, this is referred to as "end focus," and it's a nightmare for ESL students because it's so subtle and hard to explain. But a lot goes into it, and it's a tool worth keeping in your pocket if you're a creative writer or someone otherwise trying to create a specific effect with your words :)

[anavoli]

Writing a Muslim Character

The Mods of the Magnus Writers discord server and community are putting together a variety of resources for Magnus Archives fan creators; these have been collated from articles on the topics, our own experiences, and the experiences of the members of the Magnus Writers discord. These are definitely not comprehensive or the only viewpoints out there, and are by no means meant as a way to police fanworks, but as a way to support and inspire fan creators in creating thoughtful and diverse works. Please note that external links will be added in a reblog to outsmart tumblr’s terrible tagging system, so make sure to check those out as well!

This resource in particular was put together by Mod Jasmine: hi, all! 

While there are no canonically Muslim characters in TMA, Muslim headcanons are common in fanworks—particularly for Basira, and sometimes Jon (which I love to see!). I have cobbled together this post from my own experiences to help support and inform fans in these areas, and as part of my diabolical plan to get more Muslim!Basira and Muslim!Jon fics to shove into my brain.

First, two gigantic caveats:

I was raised Sunni Muslim in Egypt, which is a majority Sunni Muslim country, and still live there. This means my experience will be very different from someone raised in a majority Christian country like the UK, and different again if they are not Sunni and not Arab.

I am currently ex-Muslim. This does not mean I bear any ill will towards Islam or Muslims, just that it wasn’t for me, and I felt it was important to be upfront about that. I’ll be linking to resources by practicing Muslims in the reblog to this post, whether to add to my opinions and experiences or provide you with a different opinion. I am not here to put my voice over that of Muslims, just to do some of the work so they don’t have to. Obviously, if any Muslims have any additions or suggestions for this post, I’m happy to accommodate them.

Alright. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get started with the basics of writing a Muslim character.

(Warning: this is absurdly, absurdly long)

Keep reading

[anavoli]

Hi, I just wanted to say how much I like your story "Sanguine" on AO3 and I'll leave reviews for it soon! Sincerely, StellarStylus

Thank you so much for your kind words!!! It means a lot to hear that you enjoyed reading the story. Thank you for your support ^^

[anavoli]

There’s an exhaustion that sinks deep in my bones

Piercing through the recesses of my heart

Buried so deep it can’t be seen

Only felt, day by day

With every breath

[anavoli]

The hero shows up at the villain’s doorstep one night. They’re shivering, bleeding, scared. There’s also a slightly dazed look in their eyes– they were drugged. They look like they were assaulted. Looking up at the villain, swaying slightly as they’re close to passing out, they mumble “…didn’t know where else to go…” then collapse into the villain’s arms.

[anavoli]

Today, I remembered how much you meant to me

You were my happiness, my home

You saved me from the worst parts of myself

But now I don’t know

Who I am without you

[anavoli]

Writing is not always writing.

Writing is being on the train and mentally seeing your OCs stumble into other people, or flinching away from the germ-ridden handrails, or sleeping on each others’ shoulders.

Writing is hearing a song on the radio and watching one of your scenes play out to the lyrics.

Writing is laying on your floor or sitting by your computer and spending hours collaging newspaper clippings or pictures or people or plants together and making something that is completely, uniquely, your story.

Writing is drawing your characters in your notebooks, and making tea only your one, picky character would drink, and writing an open letter to all your characters just to remind them you love them.

Writing is moodboards, and playlists, and crafts, and asks, and prompts, and pictures, and memories, and you.

So never think that just because you’re not putting words on a page, you’re not a real writer. Writing is something that follows you everywhere, beyond the word document, and beyond the screen.

Because writing isn’t something you do. It’s something you are.

[anavoli]

If I had died that day

What would I have been to you?

[anavoli]

You ask me why I still care, when I have other things I could be doing, or should be doing, or wish I was doing. You’re right. It doesn’t make sense. 

Well...love makes us do some ridiculous things sometimes. 

[anavoli]

reasons to not quit writing:

your writing is a skill, not an inborn talent (unless, yeah, maybe it is). not everyone can do what you do and love

everyone says they want to write a book. everyone has what it takes to write a book. not everyone does it anyway. you be the small percentage of success you read about

your writing will always seem brickshit horrible because you wrote and read it a million times

you love this writing thingy. quitting it will be like cutting off your fingers one by one.

someone out there will want to read what you wrote.

someone out there wants to know what is on your mind. 

someone out there appreciates your art. they will share it with their friends. they will share it with their loved ones. they will share it with their future self because maybe what you wrote saved them.

if you give up now, you know you will just come back to it again, whether it’s years from now, months, or next week. you love writing, that’s why you planted the seed of thought that you are going to write this book, and whether you come back to it or not, your unwritten stories will come back to you.

[anavoli]

Sanguine - Chapter 11: Red Sky at Night

Chapter Summary: Trapped at the Concierge, Red X and Chat Noir need to learn how to work together. 

Pairing(s): Ladynoir, Adrinette, Marichat, Ladrien

[Commission for Red_X] [Ko-Fi Donations]

About twenty minutes after Chat Noir is forced to power down, Red X lets out a frustrated yell. Adrien nearly jumps out of his skin, having been dozed off briefly. He’s wide awake now, senses jumping into high-gear for any signs of danger.

“What, what’s wrong?” he sputters.

“This whole situation is ridiculous,” X spits. “I’m not sitting around any longer, waiting for these Lions to make us their next lunch. We’re gonna get out of here.”

Adrien slumps. “How? We don’t have any weapons, and I can’t transform back into Chat--”

“Big whoop. What kind of vigilantes are we if we can’t do anything without our fancy gadgets?”

“Hey! I’m not a vigilante,” Adrien frowns.

He doesn’t need to see X’s face to know that he’s rolling his eyes. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“We save people! We don’t break the laws or purposely hurt people to get what we want.”

The chains rattle while X squirms, like he’s trying to turn and look Adrien in the eye.

“Here’s the truth, kid. Anytime you put on a mask and leap around the city, you’re gonna be considered a vigilante. Doesn’t matter if you’re on the side of the law or not. I’ve seen what people have been saying about you guys--”

“--yeah, no thanks to you,” Adrien scoffs.

“--and the citizens will never be happy with people like us. We’ll always be too overpowered, or too passive. Too corrupt, or in everyone’s business. We are vigilantes.”

Adrien’s anger deflates. “You’re right. No way around it.”

“People are stupid. That’s why I don’t care what they think--”

“Shh!” Adrien hushes him suddenly.

A flashlight shines into the room, followed by the clipped, authoritative walk of a guard on duty.

[Read More]

[anavoli]

I am a True Believer in outlining before you write. (At least, so long as an outline doesn’t debilitate your writing.)

But I think some people don’t understand what that means to me. 

To me, an outline means that I know: 

Where the story is going. 

What beats it’ll take getting there. 

The major content I know I want to write.

How that content can be reasonably connected.

Where character development decisions should take place.

What the climax will entail.

What choices the characters will be forced to make during the climax to fulfill or deny their developmental arc.

It also means that along the way I might…

Randomly move multiple scenes to a completely new settings.

Rearrange scenes to make for better pacing.

Throw in conversations I never imagined the characters would have.

Completely change one of my main character’s voices in the third chapter.

Have a random side character mysteriously foreshadow grudges certain characters are holding.

Realize certain characters have legitimately been holding said grudges.

Add in new character arcs for said characters to get them to work through their grudges.

Watch as the main ship progresses way faster than intended.

(Cry over the main ship.)

Let the protagonist chose to go by an alias because he’s more insecure than I thought.

Watch as his brother ruins his alias attempts four chapters later.

Create an entire new arc that revolves primarily around the protagonist wanting to sleep in a proper bed after camping for three weeks. (And do a lot of last minute plot adjusting to make the pacing still work for this bed-related arc.)

Forget one of my main characters exists for five chapters.

Suddenly add her into an arc she wasn’t supposed to be in, to make up for it.

Be bamboozled as the love interest refuses to sit still long enough to let their leg heal and ends up with a permanent injury. 

Flat out re-outline entire chapters because the new idea worked better with the character development or pacing.

Realize that the symbolism I had for a certain thing has actually meant something different all along.

Add in a motto I didn’t realize was a huge part of two of the main character’s lives in the previous book.

Take about ten thousand notes on what needs to be adjusted in the next draft.

Cry because I think the novel will be too long.

Cry because I think the novel will be too short.

Cry because I love it too much.

Cry because it’s definitely the worst thing ever written.

So, when I say I’m a True Believer in outlining, I don’t mean that I’m a believer in never letting your story’s surprise you, or never making last minutes adjustments, or never throwing out huge parts of your outline for something better.

I mean that I’m a true believer in letting your story have a foundation before you write it, because any large or complex story built on a weak foundation, like a castle built in the sand, will need to be re-built later.

But the stronger a foundation you build for it, the easier it is to make changes without your entire structure falling apart.

#This is not saying that some writers don’t do better just rebuilding the castle later or that all stories are complex enough to warrant outlines. #Please do not take my post about what outlining means to me and attempt to writer’splain to me how some writers can’t use outlines. #I literally put that disclaimer right below the title. #Read and think before you reply.

[anavoli]

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ONE! Don’t ignore this in your writing!