deerwight

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the self-indulgent fanfiction will continue until morale improves

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If you think the freedom of one people means the annihilation of another, you have been deeply misled, and your personal character needs work.

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there's this horrible school of attempted literary criticism on here that holds that 1. everything in any given author's work is autobiographical, especially if it seems "real" and 2. those themes seeped into the work subconsciously, revealing something about the author that they're either trying to hide or unaware of themself. it drives me up a wall, since it seems to deny the fundamental skills that make people good writers: the empathy to imagine and portray experiences that one hasn't had oneself and the ability to take one's personal emotional experiences or worldview and fold them, consciously, into the unworked clay of a narrative.

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"everyone should care about accessibility because most people will become disabled at some point in their life" is a logical argument and I understand its popularity

however, everyone should care about accessibility because disabled people are fellow human beings living in the same society as you who deserve the same rights as you

thank you good night

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Writing Tip

Don't overly edit before you finish a first draft.

Get that draft down, then edit.

You'll never finish if you keep editing and don't just continue.

You got this.

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THINGS WRITERS SHOULD DO TODAY: 

Write 

Straighten their backs 

Celebrate their victories 

Write anything 

Take the empty cups out of their rooms 

Seriously. Stop overthinking and just write 

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A first draft is supposed to be shit. It’s supposed to be barely intelligible garbage. It’s there for you to get a feel for what you’re writing. You don’t have to write a whole story in one go, you can write it out of order you can use placeholder names you can write notes to yourself in it. It’s supposed to be like that, don’t hold yourself to such high standards all the time, write a shitty first draft

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How to Write Realistic Characters in Your Stories

Writing realistic characters can be challenging because there's a lot to consider. Even though I've touched on this subject before, it's a complex topic that requires vast knowledge to get it right. Here's a guide on what to consider when writing people in your stories:

1. Similarities to Real People: Just like in real life, your characters need to share traits with real people. This helps readers connect with your story and characters on a more personal level.

2. Negative Traits: It's important to explore your characters' negative traits to make them more believable. For example:

- People often think of themselves first because it's part of our DNA to protect and care for ourselves. Your characters should share these qualities.

- People pretend to be something they aren't or act differently in front of others due to fear of not being liked. This affects almost everyone at some point.

- People are easily distracted and often miss important lessons or moments that contribute to their growth.

- People are dishonest at times to protect themselves, making it hard to fully trust them.

3. Outside Influence: Your characters are also influenced by external factors, just like you are in real life. Consider these suggestions to help you along the way:

- People tell you what to think, feel, believe, and how to act. They often tell you that you're not good enough. These are common issues we go through as humans, making it important to your stories.

4. Realism vs. Idealism: While we sometimes want to write stories filled with fairy tales of a perfect world, sadly, that doesn't exist. There will always be someone who breaks your trust, and writing about this is important. You can take this information and practice cause, effect, and solutions to these situations to see what you come up with.

I hope this helps you on your writing journey. Happy writing!

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Happy pride month specifically to folks on the asexual and aromantic spectrum who oftentimes feel isolated and left out of the conversation. You belong here as much as the rest of us and I hope that you are all loved in a way that is comforting to you.

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Don't ever let anybody talk you out of writing or pursuing your passions. Every time you write, you're improving your craft. Every time you read, you're also improving your knowledge of the craft you love. Keep at it, give yourself and your art some grace, and some room to breathe. The only person who can ever stop you from writing is you, and wouldn't that be a shame? You'll never know who might be touched by your work if you give up on it now.

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Me at work: So many ideas! Can’t wait to write!

Me at home: *Stares at blank document* Never mind.

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One of the great things about fandom is that sooner or later you will think to yourself: I would never write/read x kind of story, I would never ship x kind of pairing, I would never do whatever fandom thing, and then, if you stick around long enough, you will 100% become a clown of your own making. It’s inevitable and I love it.

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This tweet is just... Odd. Very odd.

Like... You live like this? You write like this? You think like this??

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There's nothing more important than writing what you want to read. Don't worry about who will like your book. Don't worry about what market it can neatly fit into. Don't cut corners or blunt edges to satisfy an imaginary person who might dislike aspects of your art. It's yours. Treat it as a pure expression of your soul. Compromise is for cowards.

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Sometimes taking breaks from writing can be just as important as writing itself. Clear your mind. Sleep on it. Take a walk and get some fresh air. Hydrate (you know who you are). When you turn writing into a chore to get through, whether it's a daily wordcount quota or an amount of hours you allocate to writing each day, you set yourself up for burnout and corner-cutting. It's great to have a creative routine and to make art whenever you can, just be mindful that you aren't settling. Forcing yourself to hit quotas can make lazy and uninspired writing an acceptable standard if you aren't careful.

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I feel like we need a refresher on Watsonian vs Doylist perspectives in media analysis. When you have a question about a piece of media - about a potential plot hole or error, about a dubious costuming decision, about a character suddenly acting out of character -

A Watsonian answer is one that positions itself within the fictional world.

A Doylist answer is one that positions itself within the real world.

Meaning: if Watson says something that isn't true, one explanation is that Watson made a mistake. Another explanation is that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle made a mistake.

Watsonian explanations are implicitly charitable. You are implicitly buying into the notion that there is a good in-world reason for what you're seeing on screen or on the page. ("The bunny girls in Final Fantasy wear lingerie all the time because they're from a desert culture!")

Doylist explanations are pragmatic. You are acknowledging that the fiction is shaped by real-world forces, like the creators' personal taste, their biases, the pressures they might be under from managers or editors, or the limits of their expertise. ("The bunny girls in Final Fantasy wear lingerie because somebody thought they'd sell more units that way.")

Watsonian explanations tend to be imaginative but naive. Seeking a Watsonian explanation for a problem within a narrative is inherently pleasure-seeking: you don't want your suspension of disbelief to be broken, and you're willing to put in the leg work to prevent it. Looking for a Watsonian answer can make for a fun game! But it can quickly stray into making excuses for lazy or biased storytelling, or cynical and greedy executives.

Doylist explanations are very often accurate, but they're not much fun. They should supersede efforts to provide a Watsonian explanation where actual harm is being done: "This character is being depicted in a racist way because the creators have a racist bias.'" Or: "The lore changed because management fired all of the writers from last season because they didn't want to pay then residuals."

Doylism also runs the risk of becoming trite, when applied to lower stakes discrepancies. Yes, it's possible that this character acted strangely in this episode because this episode had a different writer, but that isn't interesting, and it terminates conversation.

I think a lot of conversations about media would go a lot more smoothly, and everyone would have a lot more fun, if people were just clearer about whether they are looking to engage in Watsonian or Doylist analysis. How many arguments could be prevented by just saying, "No, Doylist you're probably right, but it's more fun to imagine there's a Watsonian reason for this, so that's what I'm doing." Or, "From a Watsonian POV that explanation makes sense, but I'm going with the Doylist view here because the creator's intentions leave a bad taste in my mouth that I can't ignore."

Idk, just keep those terms in your pocket? And if you start to get mad at somebody for their analysis, take a second to see if what they're saying makes more sense from the other side of the Watsonian/Doylist divide.

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One of the greatest lies a writer can tell themselves is that they will remember the idea that they came up with while they were half asleep, so they don’t need to write it down right away.