my-consciousthoughts

[my-consciousthoughts]

How to be a great writer

Read in full here: https://www.theconsciousthoughts.com/post/how-to-be-a-great-writer

There are a lot of creative writing courses and programmes that one can sign up for but I personally believe ( from slim experience) that these courses try and tell you how to be creative.

Which is seriously not encouraging at all nor fulfilling. Creativity is all about being free of boundaries and pragmatics, expressing yourself, your thoughts and your worldly outlook. Why are we telling people how to be creative?

To be a writer, a good one at least you're going to have to step away from that, you're finally free. Pop a bottle of wine (preferably not around me, it doesn't taste very good) and enjoy the ride or whatnot.

I need to feel

Being a writer is about empathy. For all the lives you will never live, for all the lives you are yet to write - Charis (me)

When reading a book, while listening to someone's poems, I like to feel exactly what the character/author is feeling. Especially with fictional characters, I want to feel as if these characters aren't just made up. I want to be able to read them as if they could be real people, real people to love, to hate and everything in between. You don't necessarily have to method act to have this effect in your writing, but you'll have to understand your characters. You'll have to think of the everyday things that they would like or dislike, their beliefs, and their passions as these tiny details and big structural aspects add so much to who these characters are.

I personally don't think you can have one without the other.

So please make sure that you are close to your characters.

Plan!

I mean you don't have to...

But I personally think it makes the writing process a lot easier, think about your book as writing an interesting essay. It's a lot easier to plan the essay before you write it instead of constantly having to think of a new point on the spot. In this case, a plot point, have your main message sorted and then think about the big scenes that you want to add throughout the story.

It doesn't have to be too detailed, plans always end up changing new additions and subtractions are made. That's normal, don't become too attached to the plan.

Everyone has their own idea of how to write and at the end of the day you should do what suits you! You don't need to take an expensive writing course for someone else to impose their own practices onto you.

This is just a suggestion.

Inspiration

Get inspired by other authors, everything is inspired by something else. Obviously don't copy and paste other people's work, that would be theft. But in the early planning stages it is natural for your manuscript to be barren, once you begin to build on your world and characters, your work should begin to gain its own image and individuality.

Read the rest HERE :

[my-consciousthoughts]

Kaz coming back to my screen has the potential to drag me out of my months long depressive episode fingers crossed everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!

[my-consciousthoughts]

18 Things I’ve learnt in 18 years 🥳. (Blog post)

It's crazy to think about life, from an objective perspective.

We often go by, day in and day out, never reflecting on the week or months before. So, this blog post is a little random but I thought "Why not?" 🤷🏾‍♀️.

2022 is coming to an end, just over two years since starting this blog. And just like every ending a bit of self-reflection is needed.

1) I've learnt to be selfish.

In the best way. I had a horrible habit of making myself responsible for other peoples feeling's, if I told them something that I've done and achieved I would tell myself it was my fault for making them feel jealous, my fault for making them feel insecure.

The truth is any decent person whose supposed to be in your life should be there to support and be proud of you, just like you would them.

2) Read.

Reading has been something that's developed my written and verbal skills. Most importantly, reading has given me the ability to emphasise and understand different types of people. Types of people who I may never get to formally meet in my life. I say all of this to say that reading fictional (well-written) characters will naturally make you develop an emotional attachment to these characters. Therefore, extending your own worldview and emotional intelligence.

3) Making mistakes

When I turned sixteen I realised that hating myself, my body and the attributes that I have was emotionally draining and took out a big chunk of space in my mind. Space that I now use for other things ie my creative projects and ventures.

I am no longer punishing myself for making mistakes, for not being perfect on the first try because the simple truth is the more pressure you add on yourself, the higher the chance you'll fail.

There is more on theconsciousthoughts.com

[my-consciousthoughts]

Jackson’s Diary Fan fic:

David’s discovery Ao3

Relationships: David/Exer

These characters do not belong to me.

David sighed, as he made his way to Canteen, for his punishment today he would have to unpluck the gum that was underneath all of the lunch tables. 

‘Yuck’.

The thought of it made his skin crawl, he would wash his hand’s thousand times as soon as the gruelling task was complete, he never had been a fan of Shakespeare but he would have to be Lady Macbeth today for the sake of his sanity. 

It was strange how one minute you were on top of the world, he and Exer had been Kings and now? Now they were peasants, the bottom of the barrel and honestly. If it weren’t for the rude comments from Rick and Marty, the side eyes and the hallway shoves…

He liked it. 

The only pressure he got now was from his dad. 

David swallowed, he halted in his tracks when he saw a poster pinned to the centre of the bulletin board, his heart raced as he scanned the rainbow-coloured paper. It had been hand drawn, there was no way anyone wouldn’t notice it. 

But it was the thick black lettering that called to David the most. 

‘The Queers’ 

Every Saturday at the basement downtown. 

5 pm to 7 pm. 

Don’t miss it. 

David stared at the paper for a couple of seconds before searching his pockets for a pen, he scrawled the information down. He glared at the black ink on his palm, he knew that there were people out there like him. 

If Ron understood, maybe others who were like him would too.

 David jumped out of his skin when he felt two hands squeeze his waist…

Tell me what you guys think. I sometimes question my ability as a writer so I hope you guys do like this 😭.

Read the rest here:

[my-consciousthoughts]

Jackson’s diary Fan fic

Notice you- fan fic (Part 1):

Mlm, David Miller, Exer, Side characters mentioned. Og from Ao3. Alternative continuation of episode 72.

“What really matters to me is you”

“David, you’re my best friend… my other half”

David woke up from what felt like a dream but it wasn’t a dream. What happened last night was real.

Exer, his best friend, had said those words to him and he could hardly believe it. He needed to thank Ron, without his help God knows how long it would have taken David to have the courage to speak to his old friend again.

Sitting up he stretched out his arms and yawned, simultaneously, the morning birds began chirping. How early was it? He leaned over his bedside table and almost jumped at the time.

It was 5:30.

AM!!

He wouldn’t get back to sleep. If their reunion hadn’t been so soon David would put on his best shirt, and his cleanest sneakers, spend too many minutes fussing over his hair and dashed straight to Exer’s house.

But he couldn’t.

The wounds were just healing, besides it was Saturday, and he would see his friend again in less than forty-eight hours. Damn, was he really counting?

Despite it all, he was still going on a walk, even if it wasn’t with Exer, he needed time alone. In his head and with his throbbing heart.

He tiptoed down the hall, past Brenda’s room and then slid down the bannister, the older he got the more painful the sliding got. Before leaving, he grabbed two waffles and listened to the snores coming from his father’s office. His mom would be upstairs in the master bedroom, fast asleep with a magazine on her head.

Without a second thought, he unlocked the door and left.

***

The sun was just beginning to rise, and the sky was so beautiful a magnificent mauve pink, the light hues mingling with the ever-growing blue.

Exer…

Read the rest on Ao3

Written by me @my-consciousthoughts

[my-consciousthoughts]

An education on black peoples hair.

People ask many questions about black people and our hair. Some of those questions come from general curiosity. Sometimes those questions can be phrased in a rather rude or ignorant way.

"I could never spend that much time on my hair"

"Really! You spent that much on getting *looks at amazing box braids* those"

"Do you guys not wash your hair?" This one pisses me off.

Black people, particularly black women, have been demonised for their hair. Maybe from the outside looking in it doesn't appear that way. But I can assure you that most (not all) black girls have experienced rude comments or sometimes even bullying about their hair.

The difference doesn't equal inferiority.

You'd think that human beings would be able to understand such a simple fact.

In this post, I'll be sharing a few facts about black hair how we look after it, and different textures and hairstyles.

#1 We don't need to wash our hair every day.

Shock horror. Who knew that different ethnicities have different wash routines?

But seriously, as black people's hair isn't straight it doesn't get greasy, meaning that we do not have to wash our hair every day. Depending on porosity black hair absorbs water so we need to put OIL BACK into our hair instead of washing it out. Therefore washing our hair every day would only lead it to become dry and brittle.

If you look around in beauty stores such as Superdrug and boots you will see a section for black hair care and most of those products include moisturisers, hair gel and natural hair oils.

Such as …

Read the rest HERE —

[my-consciousthoughts]

One last stop: Book review!

Casey McQuiston strikes again in one last stop, as usual McQuiston turns the mundane into the magical. This book starts with a steady rhythm, we are introduced to August Landry, a 23-year-old girl moving from degree to degree trying to find something (or someone *inserts knowing laugh*) where she can settle down in.

She moves in with her flatmates.

Niko is a physic who has an uncanny and accurate answer for what you are feeling at avoiding at any given moment. Myla is an engineer who doesn't stick to making 'normal' things. Wes, a disowned rich kid who dropped out of architecture school and worked as a tattoo artist and Isaiah (he doesn't share with them but lives down the hall and is part of the gang) who is so cool. He's a drag Queen (going by Annie when in drag) and an accountant at the same time! …Read the rest on theconsciousthoughts.com CLICK HERE:

[my-consciousthoughts]

I let my fingers trace the lines across your finger tips. Graceful some will call it obsessive.

[my-consciousthoughts]

Sometimes, I often find that writing gives you a second voice that you'll listen to more than your own. More than anyone else’s.

- CharisClarissa

[my-consciousthoughts]

Moving on from someone who didn’t deserve you has to be the best feeling ever.

- you weren’t worth any of my time

[my-consciousthoughts]

Hostage

You don’t have to be here

This house is not a prison

My love is not a dagger pressed against your neck

We simply are

We simply live

Turing round and round on this living sphere

What were you looking for when you looked into her eyes and fell in love

At least that’s what you told me

You fell in love with the old me

But my past has no tether

No connection

You have eroded me

A chalk cliff

Beaten down by the brutal waves

That crashed and tore at it’s edges

So leave if you want to

As with you I see no future

Present here in these moments

Circling around pretence of what is meant to be

‘Happy’

You’re bored of me

And I am tired of entertaining

Don’t be my hostage

Leave and set me free.

Poem by

Charis

[my-consciousthoughts]

All I want to be is a better version of myself. I don’t care about anything else.

- (at least that’s what I tell myself)

Charis

[my-consciousthoughts]

I guess it must hurt -poem

Looking at your reflection

Outside of a glass window

Or a mirror

Your self conscious

Not confident

Confused not aware

Closed never open

Your actions always uncertain

While my mind moves like cogs in a machine

You did not reciprocate my kindness

So why should I care?

I’ll hold up the glass to your face

I’ll be your mirror don’t be afraid

I can read you like a boring book

It’s dull but I get the job done

I’ll morph into all your bad traits and mirror that to you

I guess it hurts someone using the same weapon that you used on others against you

But that’s life

Why play games

When you can win battles?

Don’t run when I chase after you

Don’t be shocked when I show you

The reflection of you

By me

[my-consciousthoughts]

I want to live inside my Pinterest board

[my-consciousthoughts]

Can’t grow - poem

I’ve spent too much of my time

Hoping you wouldn’t be a disappointment

That you could be more

But some flowers aren’t supposed to grow.

- chariswritespoems

[my-consciousthoughts]

I can taste the summer on your lips

It’s so addicting

I lean against your shoulder

Oh baby pull me closer

I like it here

I hate it out there

Blind me with your golden rays

And bless me with new sight

Insomnia mixed with nostalgia

For moments that were never really mine

I wonder when I die

When I Perch on the throne of death

If it’ll all come back

In a blur of beauty emotions that I thought were lost

Forever

I eat my words

Devour the ink

Loose myself in stories

Hope it all sinks in

I can taste the summer on your lips

I dream of long winding roads

The days where I wake up and think

This must be a dream

Because life couldn’t

Shouldn’t be this good

For now I’ll just dream

Spring flowers

Gentle rain

Fingers tracing the shape of my lips

It’s over

I wake up

Yet despite it all

I still taste the summer on your lips.

Poem by me - @my-consciousthoughts

[my-consciousthoughts]

Don’t bother explaining everything all the time.

Some people aren’t supposed to get it.

Consciousthoughts