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Ann: I’m not strong like you. I dwell on things.

Anne: Do you remember at Crow Nest, when Mrs Priestly walked in on us, and you laughed? I was mortified, and you… you laughed. I think, in that moment, I saw for the first time the real you. Who is as brave as anyone.

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to be fully honest this new trend of remaking and sanitizing not only gothic fiction and its genres (hill house, dorian grey, turn of the screw) and horror movies more generally (carrie, the exorcist) point to much more serious cultural movement than the death of art or the death of horror as a genre in the mainstream. specifically it is gesturing to a sanitizing effect in which cultural authority has now deemed the subversive as worthy of living but only if it is a) commodified and b) divested of all its subversive elements. we can play-act at feminism, trans inclusion, and anti-racism as long as it serves a corporate interest and does not actually challenge cultural authorities. we can adopt its aesthetics as something to be sold without actually inhabiting it ideologically. it is the newest manifestation of cultural authorities anesthetizing effect on anything that threatens it and it is becoming more and more prevalent. anyway i want to beat mike flanagan with hammers

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🖋️ You Don’t Need to “Write Every Day” to Be a Real Writer (and Other Guilt-Crushing Truths)

Let’s make this one loud: 📣 You are not a failed writer because you didn’t open your Google Doc today.

We’ve all heard the advice, write every day, build the habit, protect the streak, treat it like brushing your teeth or doing crunches or whatever metaphor productivity Twitter is pushing this week.

But here’s the thing: You are not a factory. Your brain is not a faucet. And writing isn’t a moral behavior.

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🚫 Daily Writing is Not a Badge of Legitimacy

The "write every day" rule? It wasn’t invented for you. It came from a very specific kind of writer.... usually full-time, no kids, no chronic illness, no 60-hour day job, no executive dysfunction, that lives in a world made of schedules and uninterrupted mornings.

You? You’re probably doing your best between classes, during night shifts, after crying, before therapy, while microwaving pizza rolls.

If you’re writing at all, you’re already in the game. No daily streak required. No blood oath to the Scrivener gods. You don’t need to bleed ink to prove you’re real.

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🧠 Writing is Mental, Even When It’s Invisible

Plotting in the shower. Thinking about your character’s tragic backstory at red lights. Whispering fake arguments into your Notes app at 3am. Staring at the ceiling replaying one scene until it rots.

It all counts.

Writing is thinking, not just typing. That mental compost pile? That’s how the good stuff grows. You don’t owe your worth to a word count. Some days, the work looks like a blank page and a brain on fire.

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🔄 Rest Is Part of the Process, Not a Detour From It

Let me say this plainly: Burnout is not proof of effort.

You are allowed to pause. You are allowed to stop mid-project. You are allowed to write in bursts. You are allowed to write for a week and disappear for a month.

Writing is a relationship. It has seasons. It expands and contracts. You are not a robot with a daily quota, you’re a person carrying a whole fictional world inside you. Let yourself be human.

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📆 Consistency Helps--But Define It For Yourself

Do some writers thrive with routines? Sure. But routine =/= daily.

Try this: → “I write every weekend morning when I can.” → “I jot down notes during my commute.” → “I commit to one hour a week, guilt-free.” → “I take two weeks off after every chapter.” → “I only write during November and spiral gloriously.”

Build a rhythm that actually matches your energy, not one that shames you for not vibing like a full-time author in a lakeside cabin with nothing to do but word vomit and sip tea.

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💌 You’re Still a Real Writer (Even When You’re Not Producing)

You don’t need:

a finished draft

a daily goal

a growing WIP

a thriving project

a clever new idea

…to be a writer.

You only need:

the drive to tell a story

the will to try again

the love of the craft, even when it doesn’t love you back

You’re a real writer if you write sometimes. You’re a real writer if you write badly. You’re a real writer if you wrote once and it changed you.

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✨ Guilt Kills Stories Faster Than “Laziness” Ever Will

You’re not lazy. You’re probably: → Overwhelmed → Tired → Burnt out → Depressed → Distracted by survival → Caught in perfectionism’s death grip

And the guilt? It doesn’t make you more productive. It just sinks its teeth into your confidence until you start to believe you’ve “fallen behind” on something that’s supposed to be yours.

The best thing you can do for your writing life? Protect your joy. That spark. That curiosity. That itch to build something from nothing.

That matters more than any streak.

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📣 Final Truths (Pin These to Your Soul):

Missing writing days is not failure.

Your process is not wrong just because it’s not loud.

You are not in a race.

You are not a fraud.

You are allowed to come back whenever.

Writing is not a productivity metric. It’s a craft. It’s a calling. It’s a weird little ritual.

And it’ll still be there when you’re ready.

See you on the page, whether that’s tomorrow, or next week, or next season.

—rin t. // thewriteadviceforwriters // chaotic writing realist. anti-guilt gremlin. your local plot ghost.

📜 prompts for gothic girlies, literary lads, and cursed creatives

🕯️ download the pack & write something cursed:

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The woman loved animals From Eden to our century, She lavished praise on them From her sweetest vocabulary.

In her ardor to cherish them She confuses them all. In short, The only one that makes her suffer, ... Is man.

“Beauty and the Beasts” by Miarko Fantasio magazine, 1923

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Here's a rundown of the first half of the stories and creators including details about the creators and images from each and every story!

Genre: Educational

Writer: Jeremy Whitley (My Little Pony, Unstoppable Wasp)

One of the Editors of Aces & Aros. Find full bio in "Creative Team" Section of the Kickstarter page.

Artist: Bailie Rosenlund

Bailie Rosenlund ; a graduate of Sheridan's Illustration program in Oakville, ON, Canada; is an award-winning illustrator located in Vancouver, Canada. She is currently working as a Comic Artist on Marvel Voices: Avengers Academy. She recently illustrated the comic Hero Outage: An Epic NPC Man Adventure. Previous clients include: Marvel, DC, Bad Egg, Dreamworks, Warner Bros, Cartoon Network, Apple, Nickelodeon, Netflix, Restoration Games.

Instagram | Website

Colorist: Kelly Fitzpatrick (Archie)

Kelly Fitzpatrick is a professional colorist who has been working full-time for over 10 years in the industry. Their client list includes Marvel, DC, Archie, Darkhorse, and Image Comics; as well as many other indie publishers.

Genre: Slice of Life

Writers: Phil Falco & Kat Calamia (Lifeline Comics)

Two of the Editors of Aces & Aros. See full bios in "Creative Team" Section of the Kickstarter page.

Artist: Valeria Peri

Valeria Peri (she/her) is a freelance comic book artist from Italy. She graduated from the Art Academy, A.C.M.E. of Milan with specialization in comics. Valeria has published two short stories with a local publisher and is now working as a freelance artist.

Genre: Fantasy

Writer: Derek V. Song

Derek V. Song is an Asian American writer known for his work on the WEBTOON adaptation of Dimension 20's Fantasy High. When not writing, he can be found anxiously staring at the wall, trying to decide what to write next.

Bluesky | Website

Artist: Alex Brennan-Dent

Alex Brennan-Dent is a prizewinning queer comic artist, illustrator and all-round nerd from the UK; who can either be found making videos over on his YouTube channel, or at his desk working on various (usually fruity) comic projects!

Genre: Poetry/Slasher

Writer: Sarah "Neila" Elkins

Sarah "Neila" Elkins is an asexual writer and artist who's worked in the comics industry since 2008. She loves scifi, fantasy, horror, and mystery. She has a from of chronic ossifying tennis elbow.

Bluesky | Mastodon

Artist: Feriowind

Feriowind is a Taiwanese-American illustrator and creature and comic artist who has previously worked on Godzilla Rivals: Mothra vs Titanosaurus.

Genre: Spy

Writer: Cici Affini

Cici Affini (She/Her) is a demisexual comic book writer best known for “MythFall.” She was featured in the “Oxymoron: Killing Time” anthology and wrote the prose short “Thin Ice” for the Chimeranverse Tales collection. She is one fourth of creator-owned indie publisher Attic Door Media and a member of the ComixLaunch community.

Substack | Instagram | Bluesky | Facebook

Artist: Mauricio Mora (HAUNTING, Damsel from D.I.S.T.R.E.S.S.)

Mau Mora is a comic artist and illustrator from Costa Rica who loves fantasy, action and drama. After several years of working as an artist for indie video games projects, he started to make his way into his true passion, comics, and in particular, creator-owned projects. Some of his most recent projects include the sci-fi thriller "The Game, spy/fantasy "Damsel from D.I.S.T.R.E.S.S.", horror drama "HAUNTING", cyberpunk/superhero "Xolotl" and the Comixology Original sci-fi adventure, "Major Thomás". In the meantime, he's also started working on writing his own projects, soon to come! He lives in Costa Rica with his much more talented comic artist wife, and their two very dumb cats.

Genre: Slice of Life

Writer/Artist: Emily C. Martin

Emily C. Martin is a comic artist, illustrator, printmaker and teacher based in Sonoma County, California. On the internets, they are known as Megamoth, and found mostly through www.megamoth.net. 

Website

Genre: Video Game Comedy

Writer: Suzanne Wdowik

Suzanne Wdowik is a writer and aspiring math teacher from metro Detroit. She has previously been published in the Eisner-nominated anthology SENSORY: LIFE ON THE SPECTRUM (Andrews McMeel) and the horror anthology IN THE NECK OF THE WOODS (Greykin Press).

Instagram | Bluesky

Artist: Yonson Carbonell

Yonson Carbonell (he/him) is a  freelance comic artist and illustrator based in the Dominican Republic, has work with Plague Doctor press, Alpha eve, kofi, and more. He's currently working on his personal comic project Hooligans (free to read on his Kofi and webtoons). When not working you can find him watching anime, playing video games or with his pets.

Website | Instagram | Twitter

Genre: Slice of Life

Writer: CC Mooney

CC is a Canadian writer and editor. This is their first work in comics and they're super excited about the opportunity!

Bluesky

Artist: Gib Lewis

Gib Lewis (they/them) is an Iowa born and raised graphic novelist with a passion for telling interpersonal stories. They are primarily a YA creator and are currently working on their own graphic novel, an early 2000s paranormal mystery tale.

Twitter | Bluesky

Genre: Historical

Writer: Logan Noack

Logan Noack is a comic writer best known for his ongoing webcomic, The Witch's Thrall. This is his first published work and he hopes more will follow.

Bluesky

Artist: Ornella Greco

Ornella Greco is a cartoonist and freelance illustrator from Italy. She studied in Palermo, Sicily at the Grafimated Cartoon-School of Comics and finished her studies in 2019. After she graduated, she began working for various publishers in the American and French comics industry, on such works as the acclaimed Dragon Kingdom of Wrenly series from Little Simon, Star Trek: Picard’s Academy with IDW Publishing, and more.

Instagram

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Writer: Bwillett

Bwillett, disabled biroace comics gremlin and Webcomics Old One. When not juggling multiple webcomics, she enjoys building models, being very Opinionated about toys, cross stitching and dealing with her screaming goblin of a dog, Duchess.

Bluesky | Mastodon | Website

Artist: Zuzanna Lewandowska (Bi Visibility: Still Bi, Hairology)

Zuza is an illustrator and comic enthusiast from Poland who is a huge fan of interesting stories, complicated characters and art in general. Their ambition is to one day publish their own comic.

Instagram

Genre: Slice of Life

Writer: C.K. Carpenter

C.K. Carpenter is a queer disabled writer who most recently co-edited (and contributed a story to) the unSEEN/unHEARD: Disability & Neurodivergence anthology, published by Unseen Alchemy Publishing. Other recent works include short comics in Transphoria by Lifeline Comics and Down Below by Limit Break Comics. They also edited, published, and contributed a story to Scott Snyder Presents Tales from the Cloakroom v1. Their stories tend to center on queer characters or characters with disabilities.

Twitter | Bluesky

Artist: Sam Alegre / Darkjellyfish

Sam (they/them) is an agender illustrator from the Dominican Republic. Their artwork usually shows experiences as a nonbinary individual, appealing to a young audience. In their artwork, they explore self-discovery, mental health, and self-expression. Sam currently works as a graphic designer and children’s book illustrator. They also enjoy playing with their pets and roller skating.

Instagram | Behance

Please jump in and support the anthology and help us tell comics stories by, for, and about ace and aro folks! And look out for the next post with the other half of the stories!

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Beck from the french webcomic La Théorie du K.O. (The Theory of K.O.) by Matheiu Reynès.

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SELENA GOMEZ via @ sooparkmakeup Instagram

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Deep Blue is 30 years old and was capable of defeating chess grand champions. It could be housed in a single cabinet.

ChatGPT spans untold data centers devouring massive amounts of electricity and it got its ass whipped by an 8 bit gaming console from the 1970s.

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