lynamei

[lynamei]

A marker of school education quality?

Last night I was preparing for sleep when my brother called me from his room and asked my help with his university homework. So I sat there in 12 AM solving his physics problem. And I did it.

The thing is: I graduated 15 years ago, received uni education in social sciences and never touched physics in any professional sense.

[lynamei]

Understanding political system: the basics for your fictional world

Whether you want to write a complex political plot or give your story a nice wholesome background, you need to know how politics work. Otherwise you'll make a real mess of your story, slotting together things that make no sense when combined.

Of course, sometimes things that make no sense exist, we see them right in front of us and want to ask ‘Sorry, what?’

But you should only try to create something contradicting if you are 100% certain in your understanding of the social systems. Otherwise it's better to start simple and then move towards more unusual options.

First thing you need to know: politics is always a system. Change one thing and others will change accordingly. It might take time, in some cases decades even, but in that regard politics is like a human body - everything is interconnected and interacts together.

Now, there are four big blocks political system is composed of:

Political organisation

Political relations

Political norms

Political culture

We’ll go over them one by one.

Political organisation is the easiest to write part of the system. It includes all political institutions that exist in any society. This is the part you can see every day and research to make your story more believable. Of course, some things are more difficult to research than others. Like, you can easily find information on the elections in Switzerland. But finding a lot of material on the imperial court of the Sui dynasty would prove to be a challenge.

The central institution in the whole political organisation is a state. Other examples are: political parties, elections, local governments, non-profit organisations. You should ask yourself what could reasonably exist in the world you create and how it will fit in the state.

There are also institutions that are not political in nature but might be involved in politics in different circumstances. The prime example - army and church. These two are amongst the oldest and most influential social institutions, and while they are always related to politics in some way, they are rarely (nowadays at least) straight away political.

When you construct political institutions, it's best to find something at least resembling what you want to create and then tinker with it. Just remembered that every part of it exists for a reason, and that is not playing a role in your story.

Political relations are an often overlooked part (as in, we write it as we want but don't think it through). They include all permanent and temporary ties that exist between parts of the political system. And that's what is really important when you want to make politics a part of the plot. Because this part can also be called actions and interactions.

Government influences citizens? - That's political relations. People start a revolution? - Political interaction, too. A country sends envoys for negotiations? - That is one more example.

Actually, you can witness this part too, if you pay enough attention to trace the roles different actors play in this or that process. You just need to pay attention and actually trace the entire web of actions and reactions complete with all participants’ motivation for them. It's like orchestrating a complex chess party with numerous players where you have to predict all moves before the first rook makes a play.

When writing about political relations, you should remember about all sides of the action. Yes, sometimes one side acts and others are ignoring it or being passive, but they all have their own reasons for that. One-sided action will likely only result in Mary Sue or something like that.

Writing political norms can be tricky but it's also pretty easy if you know where to look. They often (but not always) are reflected by laws and international regulations. Yet, there's also a large part that exists in the grey zone of mortality. And, of course, there are rules of etiquette which everyone knows but they may not be formally registered anywhere.

Like, diplomatic etiquette. Everyone knows that a female doesn't show legs during an official visit to a Muslim country (like Saudi Arabia). Doing such a thing is a direct disrespect towards existent religious norms of the country and therefore a breach of an unwritten political protocol of respect towards the host’s traditions and beliefs.

Your characters can and will breach political norms, especially if you push politics in the centre of the conflict. But you should be aware of those norms because overstepping or outright breaking them tells a lot about your character.

Start with thinking up all norms that are relevant to your story, especially those that have some ties to your plot. A simple example - every monarchy ought to have throne succession rules, but you might not mention it at all or you might need to delve deep into it depending on what you plan to happen in your story.

Political culture is probably the most elusive and the most exiting to write part of the political system. But it is also the part that in some form exists in practically 90% of the stories (if not more). Political culture includes all beliefs, ideas, ideologies and views that are tied in one or another way to politics.

So, your character being prejudiced against a social group is a show of political culture. Your character supporting some ideology is a part of political culture. Your character simply having opinions on something that is related to politics is a part of political culture.

So, it's basically everywhere. But you don't have to give more depth or explain every little instance of political culture shown in your story. Especially if those are displays of dominant culture (for example, internalised homophobia in British society in the 80s). But you might need to show how a character becomes unlike others in some environment.

Also, remember that political culture is the most irrational part of the system. I mean, people believe in propaganda, and that is not rational. People believe in pseudo science if it corresponds with their ideals. So it doesn't have to be rational. It only needs to have some inner logic (may be not too great to withstand a thorough questioning).

In the end, you are the author and you know how it should be, but look at the story with a critical eye and tell yourself if you believe in it. For political parts to work as you want them to, you have to know what you're writing and why. Your understanding of what you're writing about will allow you to create interesting, life-like and non-cliche political elements.

You can leave a comment if you would like to read more on any particular piece. I would try to include it in some of my next posts. Take care and until the next time.

[lynamei]

Apparently, bombing civilian infrastructure in response to attacks on military objects is alright and doesn't count as war crime. And those are people the world wants us to make peace with.

[lynamei]

Every time you read or watch something and think that some tricks of the hero are impossible, remember that today in the city of Sumy a thirteen-year-old boy with shrapnel wounds of his head jumped out of the window of a burning bus and deblocked the bus door to save other passengers.

That's all I have to say for today.

[lynamei]

One of the most idiotic things I've ever seen: a speaking English test for a position of content writer. I mean, the job is literally to write things, not speak. And somehow B2 spoken English and C1 written English is not enough for a position where it's clearly stated that they want B2 English or higher.

And then they write 'let's keep in touch'. Hell, no. I don't think I want to work in a company with that kind of attitude. And not because I'm someone's second choice, fuck, I'm alright with being fifth choice. But no, I don't want to work with idiots who test speaking for writing positions. Or with jerks who actually lie in their job postings.

Can't believe I wasted a month of my life on those idiots.

[lynamei]

Nothing frustrates me more than human stupidity.

When you try to educate them in the matters of politics they accuse you of propaganda and trying to manipulate them. They call you liar and point their fingers or dismiss you as an overreacting naive fool. All the while consuming the populism being fed to them from every TV, radio or website.

That's how society works, of course, but that understanding doesn't make things less frustrating.

Again, might be applied to fiction and real life.

[lynamei]

I will never understand people criticising fanfiction.

And I'm not about gently pointing out mistakes and helping an author to improve. I mean expressing their dissatisfaction with the story because it doesn't coincide with their perspective on the characters or situations.

That just makes me want to block all my current and future works so they won't see them. Because if you don't have respect for me when I share for free something I've written for fun and don't have to share with other people, than I don't want to be subjected to your toxicity when you find my other works.

And YES, I think that simply closing the tab if you didn't like the story is the show of respect. I do that all the time, you know. Not point out how someone else's opinions are wrong, not criticise their understanding of friendship or love, not impose on them with my own opinions.

Just. Quietly. Leave.

That's it, that's everything I had to say today.

[lynamei]

Political plot: where to start

Well, some people would try to seem wise and say something like ‘at the beginning’. Here we are, then, trying to figure out what that beginning would be.

Before we dive head first into perfecting your plot, there's some important nuances that you should decide on. And you should keep them in your head through the entire process of planning your plot. So the question you should find the answer to is the following:

Why do you want to write it, what do you want to tell your reader with it?

That's important lest you lose the thread and become caught up in the excitement of intrigues, power plays and winning moves. Because then you risk overcomplicating the plot and creating too many unnecessary tangents that wouldn't make sense in the end. Or worse: you’ll pause at some point, look back and feel lost at what you should do with all that mess.

So yeah, the reason your plot is what it is.

It doesn't have to be something socially important (like the dangers of introducing computers to governing to guarantee impartiality and equality). Even if you think that your reasons are too simple or silly, they exist and they are important to you. That's all that matters. You don't have to share your reasons with other people, just keep them in mind to ensure that the story progresses as it should.

Then comes another important detail.

You have to decide whether it's your central plot line or your subplot. And it's not because a central plot demands more attention and knowledge than a subplot, though some might think like that. But there is a fundamental difference between the two. For your subplots you have to decide how they are connected to the main plot. So, there's one more point for you to think through.

The first option obviously means that your story actually is about politics.

It doesn't have to be only about politics, stories with multilayer plots and complex problems are as interesting as the ones featuring single focus. So, no need to make everything a political move. But you will have to remember that politics are in the centre.

One of the most well-known examples of political plots is George Martin’s ‘Game of Thrones’ series. Now, I won't comment on the quality of it, but the fact remains - the story is about the struggle over the throne that is the symbol of the ultimate power. Other storylines are tied to this one. Even the supernatural subplot with Others and the Long Night is somewhat dependent on the political turmoil of the Seven Kingdoms.

What does that mean? Only that most (probably not all) of your subplots will be to some point defined by the main plot or coloured by it. Like, marriage of two people loving each other isn't only marriage now, but a political alliance, obstacle on the path to power, or a hidden danger. Possibilities are numerous. Also, not everything has to be touched by your political plot, but that should be an exception, not a rule.

The second option is writing a political subplot. It obviously must have some importance to the story (why would it be there otherwise?) and some ties to the main plot.

A subplot can be:

a way to better unfold a character’s personality and/or history (the storyline of Ciri’s origin from Witcher books series)

a component of some bigger conflict (Landsmeet quest in Dragon Age: Origin);

a background to the main story (pretty much most books written by Remark);

a side of the complex and multifaceted central plot (like in Harry Potter ideological side is the part of struggle between good and evil).

There are, of course, other possibilities of political subplots. You only need to think up the thing you want and tie it logically to your main plot. Remember: you are the author. If you decide that some action, behaviour or other element of the story is political and you show it to your readers then everything is as you say.

Now, when you decide why you have this specific plot, you must understand that politics is all about power and influence. It might be not the political power in its pure form (like a throne, a post of president or conquering a neighbouring tribe), but it's power nonetheless. Each of your characters wants it, needs it for some reason or is in possession of it, and events unfold around it.

And if you went for a political subplot instead, you should determine what parts are relevant for your story but still trace the entire line at least in your head. Because if some attentive reader notices that something doesn't add up, you’ll have to fend off a series of critiques, not always kind. Slacking off isn't worth it.

Next up, we’re delving a little deeper into political worldbuilding, going over the main elements you’ll have to account for. Those are all things that will be important in your plotting. How the political system is built and functions. Which political institutions can and cannot coexist. What place political culture has in the system and what are sociopolitical implications in everyday behaviour.

Until the next time. Stay safe.

[lynamei]

Apparently, the easiest way to stop the violence is to take the means of defence from the victim. Truly, no person - no problems.

[lynamei]

What makes me always finish my WIPs

Even if it seems like I abandoned it, that's almost impossible. Even if it has only one chapter, there's 95% that I'll finish it.

I leave 5% for some kind of emergency. Like me dying.

I am so certain because in reality you see a small part of stories I start. I have a rule: four chapters in, and then I can start posting. That means that by the time it comes to that I'm too invested in my story to give up.

Besides, it gives me time to decide where the story is going. At least a part of it. I rarely have a full outline, but by the point I start posting I have a general idea and even some scenes in the later chapters.

It'll also helpful when I start doubting myself. Even if I don't get kudos or comments, the next chapter is already written, so I will post it anyway. And with time more readers start following the story, so doubts get dispersed.

If someone finds this helpful - you're welcome. It would be great to see less abandoned WIPs on AO3.

[lynamei]

A little teaser of my next WIP. Because Lyna here decided it's time to get into a new fandom.

The door opens. Unexpectedly, Liu Qingge sees the most beautiful man he has ever laid his eyes upon. His features are sharp, his skin paler and smoother than even the highest quality jade, lips thin and shining black hair all held up in a complicated hairdo. He looks roughly Liu Qingge's age, though it is hard to say with cultivators. The girl from before is with him, peeking out curiously from behind the man's back.

"You can leave, Wang Yi," the man says, and his voice is smooth, melodious and calm.

"Yes, shifu," the girl chirps like a little bird and leaves, though from her gaze it is obvious that she would like to stay.

"Isn't she a little too young to be taken as a disciple?" Liu Qingge blurts out as soon as the door closes behind her.

"Her father was selling both her and her elder sister to the brothel. What was I supposed to do: take one and return later for the other?" the man snaps.

What is this?

Of course, LiuJiu. We’re in for time travel, drama and some BAMF Shen Jiu moments. Just to warn you, it's not going to be friendly towards Original Luo Binghe or his Original harem members.

First chapter coming in the first weeks of March. You'll be able to find it on my profile on AO3.

[lynamei]

So, I just decided to leave it here. Places you can find me on outside Tumblr.

My profile on AO3 here: Lyna Mei.

I write slash mostly in fandoms of Chinese BL novels and related dramas. Multi chapter fics there, because apparently I cannot write an oneshot. Though I really want to succeed at that sometime.

Perhaps at one point I would finish my original story and add another profile when I decide where to post it. Still, it might be not for some time yet.

If you like my fics, or my posts, or for some other reason insane reason decide that you wish to support me, you can buy me a coffee.

[lynamei]

So, CEO EA decided that Veilguard failed because of the absence of live services. I'm sorry, but oh how wrong you are.

I am (or was, I don't know) a fan of the series. DA: Origins is the work of art and I used to play it over and over (despite knowing the plot almost to a t). The second game is not that great, but I played it a couple of times too, trying different scenarios. And Inquisition is tolerable, I guess. Too many 'please, find my sheep' quests but overall alright.

Now, I had expectations for Veilguard. Like, when the game was announced (years ago, yeah), I was excited about it. That world has so much potential. Or had.

But I didn't even buy the game. And I decided that I'm never buying their games again.

The reason is simple: in 2023 I had some free time and decided to play Inquisition. And when I tried to install it on my computer I discovered that there are only two languages available for me: russian and polish. Because, apparently, I should know one of these languages, based on my location.

Surprise-surprise: I don't. Neither of these is my first language or even the official language in my country, and the idea of learning a foreign language just to play a game is ridiculous.

I understand that a company cannot translate the game to everyone language in the world, but I don't need it too. English would've been okay, I know it and I use it daily. But no, they only gave two options and neither was acceptable. They didn't give a damn about users like me, the ones that didn't fit in their smart little algorithm.

Maybe I'm the only one (I doubt), but I think that the failure of Veilguard is what you get when you don't care about your audience.

[lynamei]

When I see people asking that question the only thing I want to ask is:

"How can you stand living in the world where a country attacks its neighbour, brutally kills citizens, bombs whole cities until almost nothing left and half the world don't even have the guts to call things what they are?"

Is it my personal trauma speaking?

Probably yes.

But there are so many things in the world far worse than some sillygreenbanana writing incest BDSM smut with angels. Let them live how they want. Let them write what they want.

And most importantly: keep your morality and your opinions to yourself. Or go fight some real problems. Like catholic priests raping children. Or workplace harassment. Or bullying in schools.

There are so many problems, but it's easy to just shout about morality in the Net.

"How can you stand the fact that gross, disgusting fiction about (x topic) exists??"

It's simple, I know how to be polite and ignore fiction I'm not interested in, and I don't base my concept of morality on what I personally consider to be icky or distasteful.

[lynamei]

One big 'NO' when you put politics (in any form) in your story

There are dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands of little things you should know and remember when writing the social and political side of your story. Of course, it's too difficult to keep in mind all the different advice, clues and details that are supposed to help you achieve success. Meaning, that you should set your priorities straight and move from there.

The thing I will caution you against is your own political beliefs seeping into the story.

I often see it as poor taste and poor skill because if the author cannot make their readers at least see some points of the ‘bad’ guys, they’re telling a one-sided story with little to no value. The exception is self-indulgent stories the main purpose of which is so-called face-slapping or bashing. And those things should be tagged accordingly.

As long as I know that the focus of at least half of the story would be on the protagonist wiping the floors with abusive relatives, bullying co-workers or jealous friends, that's alright. But only because I know what to expect and I consciously go there to read that.

So, yes, if you’re not ready to post your work on a website with tags warning your readers about the specifics of your story - namely, your protagonist getting back at his offenders as much and as hard as your creativity allows you - try give your story more than one side. And that means no judgement of characters’ beliefs.

No, obviously, some things are just morally wrong, like genocide, racism or repressions. Though if you can build a character whose clearly racist ideas have some merit or background, that's all the more interesting.

Take for example Magneto (film version). He clearly is an extremist and borderline racist, though a less violent one at times. But seeing him as a powerless boy who loses his mother in a Nazi camp and then undergoes inhumane experiments at the very least gives one some understanding of his views and ideas. I might not like what he fights for but I can clearly trace the ways his worldview formed. I can understand why and how he became like that. Perhaps I can even sympathise with him to some extent.

But that's not exactly the point. The point is that if you want to tell the world about your political views, write a treatise with arguments, do research, write a series of articles on social media, start a blog. Whatever strikes your fancy. But don't force your political views on your readers.

The prime example of what happens when you put your political views at the forefront is Harry Potter. And I don't mean that your book would get the same level of popularity. In fact, I would pray to all known deities that it doesn't.

The problem with Rowling's world is that she started her series as a children's story and then started adding more serious and adult elements. Including sociopolitical divides and implications of people’s allegiances. And it just so happened that all the ‘good’ characters are obviously ‘left’ while the centre of the evil side is glaringly ‘right’. I guess it has something to do with her personal experiences and the trauma of her life, but I’m not a psychologist.

Still, I know that it cannot be healthy for society when entirely normal sociopolitical divides are painted ‘good’ and ’bad’. I cannot recall even one significant traditionalist person on the light side in the entire series. And I mean in a political sense, not in the ‘stay at home and have kids’ sense.

In fact, all depictions of ideology in Harry Potter are so crude and primitive that one would think they were created by a child. Traditional wizarding culture practices are mainly so atrocious that no one could've agreed to them.

The prime example is house elves' situation, that is essentially slavery, and the good progressive and light girl Hermione is appalled at their treatment. Follow my hands: ‘many old families’ own house elves - most old families are supporters or at least sympathisers of Voldemort - elf owners are evil.

Even those traditionalists who don't support Voldemort are depicted as not exactly nice people. Here we have Amos Diggory, one of the most irritating side characters in the entire book 4, and Barty Crouch senior, the man who decided he was above the law. The only good people from traditional families are those who understand their lifestyle is wrong and leave it. Just like Sirius and Andromeda Black. And of course they must despise everything their family previously stood for.

And that's why I say it's crude. Even if someone tried to argue that the genre called for clear distinction of sides and battle between good and evil, I’d say that there was no reason to equate political views with moral compass. Especially when political ideologies are overly simplified, full of stereotypes and polarised, with author’s clear preference towards one side.

Why am I so against it?

Because it's obvious for me. It's not the same for many other people. And what we read influences us, especially if we like it. So, here we have a whole generation that grew up on ‘left’ ideals - my generation by the way - because those ideals were spread and reinforced by a book we all read.

(Remember that 'right' doesn't only mean racists and fascist, there are also simple conservative people. Remember that 'left' are not only nice and good democrats, my ancestors lived decades in a 'left' hell called Soviet Union).

Of course, no one wanted to be like the cowardly and whiny Draco Malfoy who ran to his father at every sign of trouble. Or like the sneering bitch Pansy Parkinson. Kids grew up wanting to be brave and kind and loyal like Harry Potter and his friends. And it's nothing wrong, wanting to be loyal instead of cowardly, but once again: good and loyal kids are ‘left’ (Weasleys are poor, Hermione and Luna are outcasts, Harry doesn't want to be a rich snob), bad and cowardly kids are ‘right’.

And so we learn to despise one side and strive to be on the other.

You know, that's a truly sinister way of propaganda, influencing the minds of children who don't have skills of critical thinking yet. Though I don't think that's what Rowling was aiming for, at least not consciously. Otherwise we probably would have a subtly (or not-so-subtly) transphobic monstrosity on our hands. Either way, even unintended efforts set the tone for children upbringing for decades and cemented ideological notions alongside eternal ideals like friendship and loyalty.

Now think about the amount of damage your story can do if you aren't careful with what you put in there. Simply because, should your story become successful, you'll be shaping the minds of hundreds of people. And that is responsibility no one could take too light.

Of course, there are great examples of political satire or political thrillers or other similar stories where authors consciously and knowingly put some political views on the forefront. But one should have a good grasp on social ideas and political behaviour as well as a true mastery of word to attempt criticism in the form of fiction.

As long as it's not criticising totalitarianism. That one is always easy and necessary, I guess.

[lynamei]

The reason for procrastination? There's only one chapter left to finish in a story I've been writing since 2021.

Here I am, not knowing how to say goodbye to my fic (despite the ending being planned weeks ago).

[lynamei]

How do I tag.

Well, the actual tag on AO3 always makes me huff (good-natured, I promise). But the post is not about that.

I have a routine that helps me tag everything easily instead of staring at the open page and trying to decide what else I should put there.

First thing, I get done is the ships and the list of the characters. Those are one of the most easy tags to put as you can at least guess (if you don't know exactly) who's going to be a part of your story.

Next, I put together a first list of tags. I usually go in order - from more general tags (like genre, widespread tropes, important warnings) to more particular for a fandom tags (like tags related to characters).

This order helps me to avoid losing tags. Like, simply forgetting to add something that might disturb or traumatise my readers.

I return to the list (usually a couple of times) to decide if every tag really should stay and whether I need to add some things. When I feel like I'm ready to post a story, the list once again is there to keep me on track.

Perhaps I am too intensive in something as simple as tagging my fanfics, but I would actually appreciate if more people at least made an effort doing that.