#Adventures in Writing

[emilybeemartin]

Important scientific validation happening in copyedits currently

[transcript: A text thread reading "Centaurs have hands, right? I have a comment from one of my copyeditors in my manuscript that centaurs don't have hands but like... They objectively do. Right? Am I crazy?

Like these are centaurs and they have hands"

Followed by a gif of Disney's "Fantasia"

Followed by a screenshot of the manuscript comments:

Editor: "Centaurs don't have hands. Okay left for the reader to imagine the logistics?"

My reply: "Centaurs... Do have hands?"

Followed by a drawing of a classical centaur]

[fictionadventurer]

Genuinely think the only way to approach art is to like the things you like instead of tearing down what other people like.

"You should read classics because those are real literature unlike that TikTok garbage." Bad. Turns people away from reading the classics because it makes them sound stuffy and boring and makes you sound like a snob.

"You should read classics because this book is amazing! I love the characters and the story, and it's so cool to read a story that uses different techniques than modern fiction does." Good. Makes people want to read the classic. Suggests there's something good in this story instead of just suggesting that other stuff is worse.

"You don't like the modern art? That's because you're an unwashed plebeian who only likes what's pretty." Bad. Puts down the person and makes them even less likely to be interested in this type of art.

"Wow, I love this painting! Look at the technique! I love the message behind it!" Good. Helps the person to appreciate what might not be obvious at first glance, instead of shaming them for not automatically knowing this.

"You should watch this show because it's so much better than that other garbage show." Antagonizes people who like the garbage show and makes them less likely to feel positively toward the show you like.

"You should watch this show because it has great writing/characters/plot etc." Good! Tells people what makes this show appealing and makes them want to try it.

"I listen to this music because it's real art and not that manufactured pop garbage." Bad. Makes your genre seem like an exclusive club of snobs that I don't want to join.

"I listen to this music because I like the sound. Here, listen to this song." Good! Shows me something good within the genre and may encourage me to explore further.

There's a place for criticism. You don't have to like or approve of everything. But it's not a great technique for getting people to like art. Hating on the things that are bad just drives people away. If you want to draw people toward something, you have to help them to appreciate what's good.

[bookshelf-in-progress]

You could make a really cool cottagecore fantasy novel using the structure of Little House in the Big Woods. Where the main characters live in a stable environment and go about their daily lives dealing with the domestic details of the world, but they meet characters who have gone on adventures. So a huge chunk of the book is made up of the stories that these characters tell. The main characters would face very little peril, but you'd still have a book full of thrilling stories.

I'd try for a middle-grade fantasy. Center it on a group of siblings whose parents went on save-the-world adventures, but have settled down to raise a family. Maybe they run an inn that caters to people from a ton of the nations and races of this fantasy world. Or maybe they're just frequently visited by old adventuring companions who always have cool stories to share about the adventures they've been on or the events or history of their homeland.

[mecharose]

me 2021: what if i wrote all my reject story ideas in the same universe lol

me 2025: No end is truly the end of all things. A thousand tiny worlds may live and die, but the world at large persists. The inevitability of death makes what happens in the interim that much more meaningful; there is nothing but the time we have, and what we choose to do with it. *looks up at the sky at night* yeah man it actually would be really creepy if the moon was a big eyeball staring at me right now lol

[ladyloveandjustice]

GUESS WHO GOT AN OFFER OF REPRESENTATION FROM AN AGENT FOR HER BOOK?????

I can't believe this is real I'm so excited.

[scrapimmortal]

i know i said fat xie lian friday. but i lied. fat xie lian wednesday!

[tarisilmarwen]

Ezra: Sabine no.

Sabine: Sabine YES.

[writtenwolves]

Signal boosts appreciated!

Edit: I can’t edit the text of polls. That last question was supposed to say “I don’t keep a journal/see results.”

[lynne-monstr]

once again foiled by the need for a title and summary

[renecdote]

god I love writing roy kent. don’t know what to put as the next line of dialogue? no worries, just add a grunt. perhaps even a growl. maybe a heartfelt “fuck” to spice things up

[echochqmber]

this chapter is so funny... hua cheng is like "if xie lian finds out that i'm actually Dangerous Supreme Ghost Hua Cheng he'll hate me" and xie lian is like "Hua Cheng? i've never heard of him..."

like sometimes fafa really does overestimate his own reputation, or perhaps just underestimates xie lian's ability to tune out anything not related to his recycling hyperfixation

[fictionadventurer]

I'm getting more and more scornful toward the idea of art as self-expression. Why would I want to express myself? Why should you pay one millisecond of attention to "my identity"? I want to express truth! Point toward something outside myself. Work with you to explore something universal rather than sucking you into the black hole that is me me me.

You're going to express yourself as you make art. That's pretty much unavoidable. Even if you blatantly copy something else, that's going to express the kinds of things you're obsessed with. You've got your own background, your own experiences, your own influences that have shaped your assumptions about the world and what you see as true. This stew of influences is something that is going to be different from everyone else's, whether you know it or not, and it's going to make your art naturally unique.

The real trick is to use that personal perspective to provide a new angle on something universal. Show us truth. Bring us beauty. Enter a conversation with your audience. It's not supposed to be about you. It's about something bigger than you.

[bookshelf-in-progress]

I love how a well-written romance is so often structured as a mystery. A person starts with a certain idea about another person, and over the course of the story, they uncover more evidence that gives them a fuller picture of who the other person truly is. They learn about layers to the personality and backstory that give the other person more depth. They learn how the other person's personality meshes with theirs. Even the third-act misunderstanding fits the mystery structure--it looks like they've uncovered the final secret to the other person's identity, which is that they're not the worthy person they seemed to be, but then discover that they misinterpreted that evidence, or the other person takes steps to apologize and repair the level of trust. When the mystery is resolved, they've reached a full understanding of each other and know they've found a partner they can trust their whole future to.

[mecharose]

the thing is normally when i see some cool concept in a story and im like this could have gone differently. i just write my own original story. make ur own post ass philosophy

[ladyloveandjustice]

Officially Signed with my Agent!

I've officially signed on with Emily Sacks from Creative Artist's Agency as my agent.

I've gotten my edits to work on and I'm starting to feel nervous, but this is a big part of my dream, so I'm also excited. Someone believes in my story and will be contacting the editors I dream about.

The thought of seeing my book in Barnes and Noble with the little local author sign under it. (or my local indie bookstore NOT just because I consigned it...though actually I'll probably still give them free copies so like is there a difference??...there is in my heart. Anyway)...seeing a lot of people from all over who don't even know me read it and like it or hate on it...having someone else in my corner...doing an author event that's not just attended by people who know me...it's all so much more in reach than it's ever been before. I never thought I'd even get to this step.

I'm going to try my best, and I'm so glad I've had so many people support me, from my family to you guys.

[scrapimmortal]

me: okay for your smut practice maybe ease into it, maybe something vanilla

also me: okay so filthy filthy kinky sub hc

me: ... not what i had in mind initially but sure