#I like this question!!! and I love non linear plot lines

[daydadahlias]

have you ever written a story with a non linear narrative and would you ever wanna write such a story (again or for the first time depending on your answer to the first question)

sending love xx

oo what a delightfully specific question!! I’ve written two stories that are non-linear! One i wrote for Panic! called “Death Doesn’t Deter Me” which was a mix of current timeline and flashbacks. And then the other one I wrote was for 5sos (it was a sequel to my pornstar au Portable Player) and that was just a mix of timelines! I was honestly super proud of how that fic worked but it’s currently private and not on ao3, sorry!

And, yeah, I totally would write another one !! They’re a lot of fun to piece together!!! I just don’t usually have fics that call for that kind of literary device! But I do love it!!

[onwhatcaptain]

It's been ages since I posted a snippet from my K/S novel, so I'm back with one from Chapter 15!

“Well, I haven’t even asked you anything yet, Doctor.” He snorts. “And for your sake, you probably shouldn’t.” They make a small expression of sympathy that he’s getting far too used to seeing and they walk in silence for a few moments. “I understand you’re going through a lot right now, but I have a responsibility to at least try and ask you questions, Doctor.” “And why’s that?” “Because this story deserves to be reported fairly and accurately, and your perspective on the matter is missing. I think you might have some valuable insight and I just want to understand. To shed light on the matter.” “And what exactly needs my input?” “Doctor McCoy,” they ask, “were Commander Spock and Captain Kirk merely colleagues and friends? Or was there something more?” McCoy stops in his tracks without turning to face them, nearly tripping on the gravel lining the path. “What?”

If you are curious, my fic "I Shall Do Neither" is here at AO3.

I Shall Do Neither (87406 words) by onwhatcaptain Chapters: 16/26 Fandom: Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: James T. Kirk/Spock, James T. Kirk & Leonard "Bones" McCoy & Spock Characters: James T. Kirk, Spock (Star Trek), Leonard "Bones" McCoy Additional Tags: Romance, Angst, Heavy Angst, Loss of Control, Psychological Trauma, Mutual Pining, Five Year Mission (Star Trek), Episode: s02e05 Amok Time, Post-Episode: s02e05 Amok Time, Pon Farr, Pon Farr Aftermath (Star Trek), Unresolved Sexual Tension, Friendship, Grief, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Sexual Tension, Sexual Content, Unreliable Narrator, Vulcan Biology, Tarsus IV (Star Trek), Vulcan Mind Melds, Non-Linear Narrative, Storytelling Through Vignettes, Missing Scenes Between Episodes, Plot, Cover Art, Canon Divergence, Digital Art, Illustrations, In spite of the description Kirk features heavily in this novel Summary: In the wake of the kal-if-fee on Vulcan, Kirk is dead. When T’Pau tells Spock to live long and prosper, he knows he shall do neither. This is a story about men who love each other, and the lengths they will go to for one another. - Foolish, he thinks. I have been a fool. How he had wanted so desperately to prove his Vulcan side. How all his life it had felt like a performance, and yet, to be finally subject to the most Vulcan thing of all destroyed him. The stripping of logic. All sense torn from him. His carefully constructed barriers had collapsed like a flimsy house of cards. To be granted his wish this way was a type of mockery. How he had wanted to be fully Vulcan. To prove that the blood which runs through his veins was not so human. How wanting had been better than having. - This story is told in two parts across 25 chapters, and will be updated on Sundays.

[atamascolily]

As someone who makes fanvids and AMVs, I spend a lot of time looking at media in unconventional ways--cycling the same clips over and over again, jumping around in a non-linear fashion rather than watching straight through in chronological order, etc, etc. Usually, this is in service of getting shots to line up with the music or finding that one snippet that perfectly illustrates a lyric, but it also means I spend a lot of time engaged with the source material at a level of repetition and detail that most viewers do not indulge in.

I thought nothing would be able to top that level of granularity, but then I started making text post memes by juxtaposing media screenshots with clever and witty posts made by strangers on the Internet. Instead of watching the same clips over and over again, I was now watching specific individual scenes shot by shot, searching for the perfect frame to pause and screenshot. Suddenly, I was engaged with the source material on a whole new level, staring at stills I have never really looked at before, despite having watched them in motion a billion times already.

This was especially true of Madoka Magica and even more true for Rebellion, where the animators had lovingly incorporated whole new levels of detail I had never encountered before--some of them so complex and intricate, they could only be fully appreciated as stills, either because they were only on screen for an instant or because there was so much action/other stuff going on in the foreground that drew my eye when I was watching casually or for plot. (As much as I love subtitles, they did not help with this, since their presence meant my eyes were also naturally drawn to the bottom of the screen as well instead of focusing on the background.)

I started documenting my PMMM observations here on Tumblr, partially because it was low-stress and informal fun, and partially because this site has such excellent and convenient image hosting (for now, anyway) that it's really easy to discuss and compare multiple images at a time, which I think is more effective than reams of text at proving my points.

When I look at a screenshot, I have two major questions in mind:

1) What am I looking at? 2) What does it mean?

The first question is one of observation and identification. This part is usually straightforward, but can be more complicated if the animators are drawing on an element of Japanese culture that I'm not already familiar with. The answers to this question vary considerably depending on context, but they're usually not a source of tremendous controversy among the fandom; they are fairly objective, with a definitive right or wrong answer.

The second question, however, is more complicated and subjective. This is where analysis and interpretation come in--of the shot itself, the scene in which it occurs, and how it fits into the installment/series/franchise as a whole. It's entirely possible for different people to have wildly different takes on this, and multiple readings can and do exist simultaneously.

In my meta writings, I usually attempt to answer both questions: first, by pointing out details that I think are interesting, and then by offering my interpretation of them. Rebellion in particular is so visually dense that it's possible to randomly pause at any scene and find something new; no matter how much I watch it, there is always more to analyze.

To be clear, I don't think that watching Rebellion frame by frame is inherently better than watching the whole thing straight through, just that different perspectives and insights are possible. In this sense, both Madoka Magica TV series and Rebellion are inherently fractal in nature, with meaning multiple levels and layers regardless of scale. Unlike real-life fractals like the Mandelbrot set, however, there is a clearly defined limit to this--I doubt once you zoom into the pixel level there is anything to find, but hey, you never know with SHAFT.

I generally prefer to work with material that has already been released rather than stuff that hasn't, but I try to ground my predictions in my observations as much as possible--by which I mean, consistent with the show's themes and motifs on both a macro and micro level. That in itself doesn't guarantee that they're right, but I like to think they are plausible, which is all you can really hope for with that sort of thing. And of course, all my analyses and predictions tell you as much about me--how I see the world and what I value--as they do the work itself.

I used to joke that I was working on an honorary master's in media studies and Rebellion in particular, but after looking back at my output over the last six months, I'm not so sure that's a joke anymore...

[macfrog]

Could you possibly walk us through your writing process? I’m a beginner writer at best, and I usually jot down snippets in my notes app. I’m not the best at connecting plot lines, and most definitely struggle with writing filler content. I was just wondering how you start out + go through it from there? If not, that’s okay :) I love your work so much <3

absolutely i can. i have been told that my writing process is a little non-linear (read: unhinged), so please bear with me. it’s like a christopher nolan film up in my brain

most of my stories start with just an image or a particular line in my head that i can’t shake – so like, jet was built around a static image of a dingy motel room with two horses stood out front. and from there, i just map everything out.

that initial thought is the main seed, and everything else stems from questions i ask myself (and therefore gotta assume whoever’s reading will also ask). all the what where when who whys etc. and slowly this skeletal structure forms, where the bones are the answers to these questions, and the flesh becomes the story they tell, with as much attention to detail as i can possibly cram in. the devil is in the detail!!!!!

this means, though, that the process is not always linear (for me anyways lol), because depending on which thought/image has sparked inspiration in my brain, i begin writing at diff points of the tale. sometimes i'll start writing the end and go back and fill the beginning in, sometimes i write one scene in full and then jump back and forth to finish the story. it’s back to front, left to right, upside down on its damn head way more often than it’s once upon a time… straight through to happily ever after. i cannot say i recommend this. it becomes confusing and mildly painful when editing.

anyway. yes. using the notes app is also super helpful, keep doing that! it’s great for when inspiration suddenly strikes and you gotta jot it down. good for collecting little moments that you’ll wanna use in fics later on. little snippet notes are great for mulling over a particular idea and developing a story around it. just keep adding adding adding

as for physically writing/pulling a story together: you just have to do it. just get it out. don’t worry about it being good or bad, especially not your first draft. sometimes you gotta let the water run for a bit before it turns clear. just write. i like to hammer a first draft out (usually garbage), and then i pull up a blank second document side by side and redraft by retyping the entire thing. it helps me read it like a first-time reader would, which helps point out things that maybe don’t make sense or could be worded better. helps edit the hell out of it. i LOVE redrafting lmao

my biggest piece of advice is have fun with it. write stories you love, about people you love, and do it for you. and please send in anything you write, so we can all read and love it, too 🩵

(sorry for long ass response. u ask about something max is passionate about and she appears at ur window like the boogeyman)

[thewatercolours]

talking shoppy~! as many or as few as you like, but, I just have to ask.....

who's your favorite character to write, where do you get your ideas, do you keep scraps of stories in notebooks and things, how do you feel about skipping around a plot or do you have to tell a story from start to finish, what's something you'd love to write but haven't gotten to yet, what's your favorite thing you've written in a sentence or scene or overall creation, who's your second favorite character to write, what's your favorite trope, what do you love and dislike about writing in general, are we in a secret club??

Pretty sure this corner of the internet counts as a secret club...

Who's your favourite character to write?

Do you keep scraps of stories in notebooks and things?

Do Google Docs count? Like all writers, I find the idea of notebooks appealing, but I'm not one to use them very much or well. I forget I have them going, or to keep them around where they'd be useful to me. Add to that the fact that I prefer to keep it digital, because I make SO many edits as I write. That being said, I'll occasionally scribble on random papers if I'm scared I'm going to forget an idea - usually a two line dialogue exchange. I never find those papers again.

How do you feel about skipping around a plot or do you have to tell a story from start to finish?

Within a single scene, I try to be pretty linear, but jump ahead if I get struck with a very vivid idea for later in the scene and want to capture it in a few paragraphs, before doubling back. Or if I'm getting really stuck and I know jumping just a little ahead will give me momentum, especially if the two moments aren't separated by much. That's nice, because it gives me a better idea how to bridge them.

Within a multi-chapter story? Um, if it's "Rippling Consequences," heh, start to finish is definitely not a thing. Although the Goblin Graham storyline has to be told in progressive order, even if we skip around to other scenes in between.) My other little multi-chapters have all been written in scene order.

What's something you'd love to write but haven't gotten to yet?

(Gonna count some that I've taken a stab at but don't have anything near a complete draft.)

"What if" where Graham, having lost the tournament, decides to approach his sister about joining her seagoing crew, and things get off on the wrong foot.

"What if" where Chapter One Graham didn't make it to the tournament on time, and ends up a bottom-rung page at the court of Western Kolyma. And meets someone. ;-)

Rewrite of the Princess "Ball" in Chapter Three

Sleeping Beauty-type spell hits Daventry, and everyone's evacuating before the lilac-y sleep claims them, but someone was forgotten down in the valley while everyone else was fleeing and the king goes back into the sleepy, sleep thickness of the spell to try to get them to safety.

The rest of "Rippling Consequences" and "Paths." Thee are some scenes I'm really looking forward to, but I have to wait for the right moments to write them. There's an Orri scene especially that I'm looking forward to in RC, and a sort of reconnaissance scene into enemy territory that should be fun to write. This could change, but "Paths" is set to include a couple of actual canon scenes in the prose, and I am looking forward to playing with them.

What's your favourite thing you've written in a sentence or scene or overall creation?

That is a lovely, gigantic question and how am I supposed to answer it? Um, very non-exhaustive selection of tiny little moments from just three fics because I the kind of person who could embark on a long, long overthinking project.

From The Fairy: Orri tapping Graham's nose and him going cross-eyed. Graham tearing up with joy because he's apparently turned human again, and then snapping back into his goblin form within seconds. Also the moment where Graham slips briefly into a goblin mindset and perceives the human side of his mind as something intimidating and far too clever that doesn't belong and has to be pushed out (and I let him giggle manically... I had the goblin theme music playing on repeat when I was writing that passage, and the goal was to try to make the words feel a bit like that music.)

From The Waystop Woman: Nelia being an utterly ruthless and morally grey person who works with kidnappers, and at this point is motivated by pure revenge, but is also just extraordinarily kind and survives by seeing people's humanity and drawing it out even in the worst circumstances. The scene where she notices the unconscious Graham shivering, and asks the kidnappers to lay him by the fire, and they object that he's asleep and won't remember the warmth, and she still insists. "Let him have one more nice, deep sleep before everything changes." "It's already changed, as far as he's concerned." "All right, one last nice sleep before he changes." And the sickfic scene.

The opening line of A King Sat Alone in a Lavender Field (that's more or less the line itself.) It's not actually one of my better fics, but it was written in hopes it could be a bit of warmth when a few people in the fandom were going through a difficult time. I hadn't written anything, not really, in months and months, and it was a rusty attempt. But it was meant to be something quiet and gentle and just exist, and still that title makes me feel a bit of that.

Who's your second favourite character to write?

Oh, I don't think there's a clear second the way there is a first. I've probably written more Number One and Neese than other characters, but does that mean they're my favourites to work with? Maybe?

(Might try and answer the rest another time! Got to stop overthinking and get to bed. Flying to another province tomorrow.)

[darkpersonapeace]

5 writers/5 things

@woahpip and @wingsofescape tagged me in this  to talk about five things you are likely to find in a story of mine and tag five writers to give their answers to the question.

So, let’s try this? 

1) Different references! I’m always reading new stories or watching new movies and my mind just keeps turning them into my favorite ship (edwin), so that’s something you will find in my stories. I have added references to other movies, other books, great quotes and lines from tv shows in my stories (in there is no peace here, war is never cheap dear I used the quote “ by definition, don’t all relationships end in tragedy?” from the Watchmen series!)

2) Crumbles of the story: I often like to write leaving crumbles of informations inside my stories, hoping that people will connect the dots and realize what I’m tryhing to tell them. Like, in war tangles the strings that binds us I wrote that Ed had a female general with short blonde hair who says “even you now have the eyes of a kiler” hoping that people will get that’s Riza! So yeah, I leave crumbles but I doubt people get them (lol)

3) Excessive use of non linear thinking? Idk even know if this is a real thing in, you know, the world, but it is in my stories! I often tend to write some scenes as if I was the character, the way of them thinking or feeling at the moment, so, sometimes, when you’re reading something I wrote, it feels more natural (I hope) like a persons true feelings at that moment, than an actual story. This tends to happen more in explicit scenes, but I still write that way in a lot in normal scenes, rs. 

4) RANDOM TITLES FOR THE FICS (i wish that had a deeper meaning -- except war tangles the strings that binds us and there is no peace here, war is never cheap dear all of them are so RANDOM) 

5) Romance! I am nothing but an avid romance girl, I absolutely love romances, little stories to create universes, men begging, creating war for their loved ones, strong females with men so in love with them. I love love tropes and count me in on them. ALL I do is write love stories, if there isn’t romance, I’m not really interested. 

Extra: english mistakes! english is not my first language so you’ll always find some grammar mistakes, ignore them, the plot (or porn) is better. 

Okay, babes, that wasn’t SO hard, ok? Love you for tagging me <3 

[wordsnstuff]

Guide to Writing Dark Fantasy

Patreon || Ko-Fi || Masterlist || Work In Progress

–

What Is “Dark” Fantasy?

Dark Fantasy subscribes to the tropes and conventions of fantasy, while mixing in elements of the horror, thriller, and sometimes dystopia. Loosely, the magical elements of fantasy take a gloomier, more frightening turn. Dark fantasy is not simply “fantasy, but make it sexy or gory”. (I’m talking to those who cite Game of Thrones as an example of the genre.)

Yes, a lot of authors choose to incorporate heavier subject matter into dark fantasy stories, but things like rape and copious amounts of gore and death are not genre-defining. Darkness exists in every adult story, even if it’s only in symbolism, but the darkness in this sub-genre specifically persists throughout each scene and coats every element. This includes character development, plot development, world building, etc. 

Death Still Has to Mean Something

Something you have to understand about dark fantasy is that death can be a tool, but the nature of the genre shouldn’t make it any less impactful. When a side character or an extra gets killed, it should affect the reader emotionally, even if death is very common. If the death isn’t going to surprise them, it should unease or upset the reader. Death should never serve the purpose of filling space. 

Incorporate The Horrific

A lot of dark fantasy authors and writers have trouble or fail to incorporate the dark elements in a rounded, even manner. A lot of authors go for the “show the reader something undoubtedly tragic or traumatizing and the tone will endure” or the “if I sporadically kill characters for no apparent reason throughout the plot, the reader will stay disturbed and none will be the wiser”. 

The Villain Is The Key

The antagonist must be complex and compelling, and you have to use them well. Dark fantasy is a genre which depends on a fantastic villain or antagonist. It’s wise to create an antagonist whom the reader can understand, but who is severely misguided or obviously facing their own demons. Stories with a standard “I’m evil because my mommy didn’t love me” or “The world has been unkind to me so let there be fire” villain is outdated and, at this point, you have all the opportunity in the world to do better. 

If there’s one place where you should invest your creativity, make it the antagonist. 

The Darkness Is In Everything

Incorporating horrific things into fantasy is what makes this genre, true, but it has to be a consistent effort and an author must play the long-game. The darkness has to penetrate your word choice, the way you deliver new information in the text, the way you build up to important events, etc. The horror shouldn’t just spurt out every couple of chapters. You want to create a dark atmosphere, and an atmosphere must stretch beyond one or two scenes here and there.

Flawed vs. Unlikeable

This is a major downfall of a lot of dark fantasy works. It’s difficult to create a character whose flaws are so integral to the storytelling without making them unlikeable, but if you don’t toe this line carefully, your readers will put the story down. Yes, the character must be flawed and complex, and there are no heroes in the situation, but if there’s nobody to have hope for, then the reader will abandon the story. Nobody wants to sit and watch something that is sad and frustrating for the sake of depressing themselves. Well, some do, but not enough to convince someone there’s a market for your story.

Common Struggles

~ How do you craft a dark fantasy ending?... Not all pessimistic stories have to have a pessimistic ending. You can give your characters a positive outcome (or even just somewhat positive) without sacrificing the work you’ve done to maintain the genre’s tone and message. Most dark fantasy is about topics that are larger than the story itself, such as equality (in many aspects), existence, freedom vs. security, society vs. individuality, etc. Dark fantasy tends to branch off from the typical fantasy in terms of messaging because incorporating darker aspects of reality forces the reader to face harsher truths. Make your ending about what you want the reader to walk away with, and you should have no problem figuring out how to do it. 

~ How do you warn readers of possible triggers in non-fanfiction works?... Simply put, market your story honestly. Disclose any especially dark elements, and when advertising on platforms such as social media, perhaps provide an official disclaimer. The manner in which you warn readers of possible triggers is up to your own and whatever marketing team you have’s discretion.

~ How do you research dark topics while writing?... With purpose, caution, and practicality. I see a lot of posts that cover very tiny details that may go into fantasy, and while I encourage research of all kinds for every genre, I think fantasy is one where writers can get so caught up in getting every minute detail researched and recorded that they get burned out with their own ideas before they even put pen to paper. Research what you missed, then find holes as you write, and then do the rest of the research for the second draft once you’re finished with the first. Avoid burnout that comes with extensive research beforehand.

~ How do common fantasy tropes interact with darker aspects of the sub-genre?... There’s a lot of ways you can mix typical fantasy with typical horror/thriller and come out with dark fantasy. The main fantasy characteristics that persist in dark fantasy are setting and the way magic systems are executed in the story. Secondly, I see a lot of similarities in general world building. Where it deviates, I think, is in character development, plot structure, plot development, and messaging. The smaller events tend to be more mature, the character arcs turn more raw, the characters themselves are more flawed, and the plot develops in a much less linear fashion. The messages are heavier because the content is heavier. 

Other Resources

Resources For Fantasy/Mythology Writers

20 Mistakes To Avoid in Fantasy

Guide to Writing Fantasy

Guide to Story Researching

Commentary on Social Issues In Writing

On Writing About Sensitive Topics

Resources For Writing Royalty

Dark Quotes & Prompts

Angst Prompts

31 Days of Character Development : May 2018 Writing Challenge

Suspenseful Prompts

Sad Prompts

31 Days of World Building : August 2018 Writing Challenge

31 Days of Plot Development : January 2019 Writing Challenge

31 Days of Horror : October 2019 Writing Challenge

Resources For Creating Characters

Giving Your Protagonists Negative Traits

Writing Good Villains

Showing Vulnerability Without Death

Giving Characters Flaws

Creating Villains

Flipping Character Traits On Their Head

“Male characters are more relatable”

Tips on Character Motivations

Tips on Character Consistency

Resources For Plot Development

Guide To Plot Development

How To Write A Good Plot Twist

How To Foreshadow

Plot Structures

Describing Setting

Resources For Worldbuilding

Guide To Political World Building

Creating Diverse Otherworld Characters

Tips on Creating Magic Systems

Tips on Introducing Political Backstory

Resources For Writing (Global) Period Pieces : High Middle Ages & Renaissance

Resources For Writing (Global) Period Pieces : 1600s

Resources For Writing (Global) Period Pieces : 1700s

Resources For Writing (Global) Period Pieces : 1800s

Tips on Writing Fight Scenes

Tips on Writing Chase Scenes

How To Make The Journey Interesting

Tips For Horror Writers

Tips on Writing Pyschological Thrillers

10 Mistakes to Avoid in Horror

–

Masterlist | WIP Blog

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[makiema]

absolutely love it when people are like I dont think anyone understands the ending and thats why they are hating it yes sure sis i absolutely do not understand

why armin would condone Eren genociding 80% of the world

why eren’s answer to everything is i wanted to see a blank canvas, my thoughts are messy bc time is non linear in my mind, idk man it had to happen anyways i love mikasa, and ymir chose mikasa but why? that is between god and isayama.

i also absolutely do not understand why historia is suddenly an ethnonationalist accepting whatever eren did + leading Paradis as a fascist leader

i absolutely do not understand how in gods name a character who has always looked beyond, sought freedom and justice and explicitly stated that the ones inside the walls and the ones outside are the same would not fight against his visions and would stomp on 80% of humanity bc “i wanted to see a blank canvas” and i absolutely do not understand the point of introducing the “everyone is born special” theme in the story if 80% of the everyone in question is gonna get rumbled.

i also do not understand the absolute madagascar-esque idea of making someone reiterate the necessity to fight, move forward, live freely, live with dignity, and most importantly, the right to exist and belong in this world irrespective of being special/not to not only turn out to be anti thesis of said qualities but to actually revoke 80% of the population’s right to exist for NO GOOD REASON bc guess what war is inevitable and “we may have to wipe each other out after all” like we didnt know already that meaningless genocide doesnt solve anything? i dont think anybody actually thought that was the answer to anything but then why do it in the first place? the fact that isym makes eren dodge everyone one of armin’s “but why?” question including the point of such unnecessary horrror w some boring shit abt forest, river and a blank canvas explains p well that there was no point. it really is isayama admitting he bit off more than he can chew.

you can say that him resolving the two other plot points— beauty/cruelty theme and the titan question is good writing and the other characters moving on and trying to achieve peace leaves a good taste in the mouth and yes i agree w it but you cant just say—

assassinating a character by deliberately writing him along the lines of a character who you know was poorly handled (yes im talking about Daenerys)

leaving so many unresolved themes (freedom from the threat of extermination? not found. relief from a caged existence? not found. possibility of co-existence? just hinted at) unexplained elements + plotholes (source of all life? poof ymir fritz? poof historia’s pov? poof)

making a mess of your narrative (make people feel for eren and share in his cause only for him to do a 180 degree of everything he stood for and if this is not enough “irony” then heres the icing on the cake: the first ever tragedy that befell the tragic hero was a result of his own doing. so yeah its all just a big joke)

let alone that absolute bullcrap excuse of “pain of love” (toxic misogynist het bs in fucking 2021? i think NO altho hardly shocking considering the protag’s bestie thanks him for genociding) are things that every reader has the right to resent and refute.

[elwenyere]

12, 27, and 28 for the writing meme!

Thank you for the asks, Chel!!! Questions are from this post.

12. Do you outline your fics?  If yes, how detailed are your outlines?  How far do you stray from them?

Oooh good question. For me this depends a lot on the structure of the fic (how protracted the plot is, how many separate scenes it requires, how non-linear the sequence of scenes will be). I've written one-shots with little more than like a few breadcrumb phrases that I chuck ahead of me as motivation, but I've also written longer time-jumpey fics that required a lot of headings and subheadings so that I could visualize how the different pieces were going to fit together. In both cases the outline almost always emerges and shifts as I write. For my sins, I draft all my fics completely out of order (I need to have my hands on like five different sections of the story at once to feel out the connections among them), so part of the function of the outline is to help me play around with different ways to constellate the bits I've written and to see what needs to happen in between.

27. What area of writing do you feel strongest in?

Dialogue usually comes pretty quickly and joyfully for me, and my first pass through a scene will often be spare on everything but the spoken lines. This is also kind of a canary-in-the-coal-mine area for me: if the dialogue is coming out clunky, it's often a sign that something else about the way I've set up the scene isn't working in its current form.

28. What area of writing do you want to improve in?

There are a ton of craft things I'd like to work on: descriptions of physical spaces, attire, and accessories, for example (it's a real struggle for me to remember to clothe the characters in anything at all), and gee it would be great to be able to write a kiss that wasn't, like, 30% simile. But I think the biggest thing I'm working on right now is my writing anxiety. I would love to develop more patience and discipline about my writing habits so that I could try my hand at longer stories without becoming so wrapped up in getting it all out of my head that I end up leaving my car keys in the refrigerator (just to choose a totally, totally hypothetical example).

Thank you so much for these great questions, Chel!!! <3<3<3 This was a delight.

[baladric]

Writing questions: 1, 8, 35 please :D

yay, thank u!!!!!! :3

writing ask

1. What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting?

this is a fun question, bc honestly, i write in comic sans! i read a tweet at some point somewhere that was like "listen if you're having a hard time writing bc the words on the screen seem intimidating or you're taking things too seriously, write it in comic sans." bc it's like literally impossible to be wary of comic sans!! like it's become a joke font, yeah, but we kickstarted it bc it's so friendly! also it's good for dyslexia bc it's bottom heavy!

8. If you had to write an entire story without either action or dialogue, which would you choose and how would it go?

honestly if i'm not paying attention, i can end up writing entire things w/o dialogue just by accident. i really love writing heavy introspection-based character studies (which is... probably apparent ahaha), so would definitely choose to go dialogue-less if pressed. it'd probably go okay, though the piece would definitely be bite-sized.

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

god, there are writing rules? lmaooo, i'm not really sure!! i have no actual ~*Training*~ and i'm sort of allergic to reading non-fiction so i haven't consumed much writing about writing. the one thing i can think of is that i willfully push back against the socialized idea that flowery/purple prose is 1) "Women's Writing" and 2) less worthy than straight-forward, grounded writing styles. think faulkner, hemingway, twain—your typical all american white male authors.

when "on earth we're briefly gorgeous" really gained its stride and people started discussing it as the newest addition to the canon of Great American Literature™, ocean vuong had a lot to say about this exact thing. bc not only is his book structured after kishōtenketsu (a four-beat plot structure that originated in chinese as four-line traditional poetry, and which has spread to korea and japan; you have almost certainly encountered its usage before, bc it's the narrative structure hayao miyazaki employs) instead of the western 7-beat narrative—it's also non-linear and reads almost like a prose-poem. to have a book written by a vietnamese-american immigrant considered part of the american lit canon is huge in itself, but adding to that the fact that the novel was written in a prose style that has been looked down on by literary critics for decades (which involves a really funny amount of shitting on nabokov honestly, like y'all could fuckin Never, the dude was writing in his third language and he still wrote wildly evocative shit like "I am just winking happy thoughts into a little tiddle cup") is like!! huge.

so idk, i like to think i'm sticking it to the man (and my dad whoops) by being a trans man writing in prose that's heavy on sensory figurative language. also i have been told by english teachers past that i use too many em dashes, and to this i say Suck It, Nancy Streblow ;)

[attemptsonherlifepdf]

attempts on her life: an exploration of victimhood, theatre and self-empowerment as modern feminine survival tactics

trigger warning for discussions of suicide, self harm, sexual assault, fetishism, eating disorders, implications of paedophilia and violence

‘is she not saying, your help oppresses me? is she not saying, the only way to avoid being a victim of the patriarchal structures of late 20th century capitalism is to become her own victim?’ martin crimp’s 1997 play, attempts on her life, was first performed at the royal court theatre upstairs the year of its release. written ‘for a company of actors whose composition should reflect the world beyond theatre’, the play explores the seedier, harsher aspects of reality, including pornography, ethnic violence and suicide. crimp’s central character, anne, is characterised as unique and empowered, but most importantly she is characterised by narrators and other characters describing her. the irony of a woman described as so empowered having so little voice of her own throughout the play is crucial to the question the play poses: is liberation from patriarchal constraints even possible, or do acts of reclamation serve to eventually end up catering to the male gaze regardless?

the scene ‘untitled (100 words)’ details anne’s self-destruction, manifesting in ‘various attempts to kill herself.’ it is an effort to replace being a victim of ‘patriarchal structures’ with being a victim of her own actions and emotions. arguably though, this effort may not be entirely fruitful as anne’s behaviour produces the same result she would achieve through allowing herself to cater to traditional expectations: a helpless victim of the male gaze. anne’s actions are presented as exhibitionist; while motivated by her own suicidal ideation, her attempts to take her life work as ‘a kind of theatre for a world in which theatre itself has died.’ she leaves a ‘gallery’ of memorabilia surrounding her attempts, including ‘medicine bottles, records of hospital admissions polaroids of the several hiv positive with whom she has intentionally had unprotected intercourse, pieces of broken glass...suicide notes…’ a narrator describes this exhibition as ‘the spectacle of her own existence, the radical pronography...the religious object.’ the semantic field of language in this scene associated with anne’s suicide attempts is littered with sexualisation and ideas of performance: ‘its sexy...voeyuers...pornography...object of herself...to be consumed...self-indulgent...entertaining.’ this opens up a dialogue between the narrators that evaluates her suicidal behaviour as a piece of artwork. one asks ‘who would possibly accept this kind of undigested exhibitionism as a work of art?’ while the other offers the idea that ‘gestures of radicalism take on new meaning in a society where the radical gesture is simply one more form of entertainment - in this case artwork - to be consumed.’ as uncomfortable as it is to suggest, anne’s suicidality is both fetishised and commodified, something that is partially her own doing. the concepts of ‘pure narcissism’ and ‘self-indulgence’ are attributed to her performance, along with one of the narrators pushing for her to receive psychiatric treatment. an obvious but viable interpretation of anne’s ‘gallery’ is that it is an exaggerated cry for help, where she lays out the evidence of her mental state in the hopes of receiving validation or assistance. this idea is disputed by this narrator’s counterpart, who suggests that ‘help is the last thing she wants.’ the sexualised language used and the repeated hints at exhibitionism could indicate that her performance is for the purpose of her own sexual pleasure: ‘surely our presence [the audience] here makes us mere voyeurs in bedlam.’ in forcing those around her to witness her mental decline, anne may be participating in fetishism. she certainly is acting with the intention of performing, and of being watched.

this is where the idea of empowerment and reclamation comes in. anne forces her peers into watching, something that she gets pleasure from, and this arguably serves as a reversal of typical sexual dynamics which place men in dominant, pleasure-receiving roles roles. in self-destructive behaviours, she reclaims her body and chooses to destroy it herself rather than allowing others to do it to her. however, in the process of doing so she achieves the same result that she would if she were allowing her environment to shape her into an object of the male gaze; that is to say, a helpless object. men’s stereotypical attraction to what ibsen referred to as ‘feminine helplessness’ tends to be the driving force of the objectification of women. it can be argued that this objectification is inevitable and thus anne’s efforts to control the means by which it occurs is the closest she can get to liberating herself from it. finding a way to enjoy or bear something painful and inevitable serves as a survival mechanism; ‘not the object of others, but the object of herself.’

the aesthetic framing of anne’s violence against herself is incredibly significant to its relevance as a piece of artwork. in ‘aesthetic violence and women in film: kill bill with flying daggers’, kupfer argues that film, and by extension plays and scripts, aesthetically frame violence in three ways: symbolically, structurally, and as a narrative essential. anne’s violence can be characterised as self harm and fulfills these three framings. symbolically it is an act of free will and a reclamation of her own body, an opportunity to enjoy her ‘inevitable’ objectification. structurally, the scene ‘untitled (100 words)’ occurs five scenes after the last discussion of anne’s suicidality within the play, a scene titled ‘mum and dad.’ this sets up certain aspects of anne’s performative nature in advance. after a suicide attempt she describes ‘[feeling] like a screen’ to her parents: ‘where everything from the front looks real and alive, but round the back there’s just dust and a few wires...an absence of character.’ here she details an experience of feeling disconnected from herself beyond her performance. the act of using performance as a means of openly criticising performance is certainly subversive, and is a device seen in more modern media, such as bojack horseman (‘i felt like a xerox of a xerox of a xerox...not my character’) and in bo burnham’s ‘inside.’ crimp uses his play to propose ideas about the nature of acting, particularly its role in the lives of women. the sentiment of acting being a survival tactic for women is echoed in much earlier texts, such as ibsen’s ‘a doll’s house.’ throughout the play nora caters to her husband’s infantalised fantasies of her whenever he is present, and doing so results in him giving her an allowance and certain limited but significant moments of freedom. torvald admits, ‘i would not be a man if your feminine helplessness did not make you doubly attractive in my eyes’ and repeatedly states that he wishes some ‘terrible fate’ would befall his wife so that he could have the pleasure of rescuing her. anne’s performance of suicidality, of feeling ‘beyond help’, would likely be received by men similarly to how nora’s childish facade is received by her husband, as a fantasy that involves saving her for their own sense of pleasure and accomplishment. however, what makes anne’s behaviour ‘radical’ is her refusal to accept help. she recognises that her feelings of hopelessness are fetishised and argues that ‘your help oppresses me.’ this sentiment is also reflected in ‘a doll’s house’; nora must refuse torvald’s money and help in order to pursue her own freedom in the final act. catering to his idealised image of a wife only served to help her survive her household, not to prosper or be her individual self. she had to leave the environment which forced her to perform behind entirely in order to discover who she is beyond the act. not accepting help is anne’s version of this, but the narrators consider the idea that even in isolating her act to only include herself, anne still cannot escape objectification. her ‘radical gesture’ of destroying herself and laying out the evidence of her behaviour is ‘simply one more form of entertainment, one more product… to be consumed.’ an earlier scene, titled ‘the camera loves you’ includes the line ‘we need to go for the sexiest scenario’, a statement which accurately summarises the likely reception to anne’s ‘dialogue of objects.’ arguably another aspect of what makes anne’s predicament ‘the sexiest scenario’ is that even within the text itself she is the subject of the conversation, but rarely a participant. anne is described by narrators, art critics, her parents, her family, etc, but only ever speaks for herself when her defiant statements are being quoted by one of these narrators. descriptions of her self-inflicted violence fit kupfer’s final framing: a narrative essential.

interestingly, the play consists of a somewhat non-linear narrative, where each of its 17 scenes has its own plot unconnected to that of the last. as a result, a narrative essential in ‘attempts on her life’ would be a device, or in this case an instance of violence, which builds our understanding of both anne and the play’s messages, rather than a traditional narrative essential which would drive the plot forwards. the play delivers multiple instances of various forms of violence, ranging from ethnic violence to self harm to forced pornography. anne’s self-injury in particular is framed just prior to and just after the midpoint of the play. before the midpoint, the audience learns of her ‘terrible detachment’ from the character she plays, how she ‘feels like a screen.’ the midpoint, a scene titled ‘the international threat of terrorism™’ opens with a brief analysis of a statement made by anne: ‘i do not recognise your authority.’ the speaker asks, ‘does she really imagine that anything can justify her acts of random senseless violence?’ ‘random’ and ‘senseless’ seem ill-fitting qualities to attribute to anne’s violence, particularly given that her parents state ‘she’s planned all this.’ however, this midpoint scene states ‘no one can find anne’s motive’, seemingly the reason that the speaker cannot see a possible justification for her behaviour. choosing not to recognise the authority of those around her is yet another aspect of our protagonist’s performance that is ‘radical.’ in neglecting to acknowledge the power of those objectifying her, anne is achieving two things; either she is allowing herself to experience her own body and emotions without it being for the sake of others, or she is allowing herself to be fetishised and is simply in denial of it. her defiance is complex and the results of it, and indeed the motivations behind it, are difficult to ascertain.

martin crimp’s use of 17 separate individual scenes rather than a traditional singular plot narrative allows the audience to gain a multifaceted understanding of many multifaceted issues. anne is placed and acts within varying contexts such as her own personal self destruction, destruction of land that comes with ethnic cleansing, the commodification of female bodies and two different familial structures. the scene ‘the camera loves you’ emphasises how anne is an ‘everywoman’ but rather than this term being used to describe an average woman in daily life, it instead refers to a woman who is, simply put, everything. anne is described in the scene ‘girl next door’ as ‘the girl next door...royalty…a pornographic movie star...a killer and a brand of car...a terrorist threat...a mother of three...femme fatale...a presidential candidate...a predator…’ by not allocating a specific speaker to each line, crimp allows the director to decide who describes anne and in what way. lines such as ‘what we see here is the work of a girl who clearly should have been admitted, not to an art school but to a psychiatric unit’ can be spoken by a parent, an art critic, a teacher, anyone, and the relation of the speaker to anne is what characterises the comment and thus characterises her. someone described as ‘self indulgent’ by a parent is very different to someone described the same way by a lover. this means that anne is not just every woman, but every woman to everyone. by placing this ‘everywoman’ in such a range of contexts, she arguably becomes a plot device used to convey meaning, and it can be argued that this negates the more empowered features of her character. it is entirely common for female characters to be reduced to plot devices, however most often when this occurs, the character is two-dimensional. anne, on the other hand, is consistently given additional layers to her character in every scene; she exists to be characterised. excessive use of character description in conjunction with limited speaking time is either evidence that crimp’s writing is atypical in style but not theme, or that it is poignant.

arguably, by giving anne countless traits and emphasising ideas of performance and media, crimp is using his 17 scenes as an extreme example of the commodification of female bodies. anne is sold to the audience as this larger-than-life persona, someone who fulfils a million roles in subversive ways that are interesting to watch, but she still ‘feels like a screen.’ again, this sentiment of the effects of performance on an actor is echoed in many modern texts and pieces of media, but ‘attempts on her life’ makes this point in specific reference to women. real life examples of anne’s treatment exist, and her ‘everywoman’ role allows audiences to relate anne to any number of women existing in media. the way that others only talk about anne when describing or evaluating her mimics the way that agencies and record labels create a solid branding for their actors, musicians, and so on. this brand becomes an intrinsic part of their genuine personality as they cannot be caught behaving in a way that is not consistent with it. acting becomes a constant, and these women are constantly selling a brand or persona, and have very little space to behave in ways that feel true to themselves instead. acting ‘out of character’ results in the loss of public support, funding from agencies, job offers, etc, and thus the character created for celebrities is vital to their survival in their respective industries. as previously discussed, traditional texts argue the importance of theatre for women’s survival just as much, namely ibsen’s ‘a doll’s house.’ the same way nora must leave the environment that forces her to act in order to be happy or individual, anne must do the same; but her attempts at suicide suggest that the environment forcing her performance is not a household or an industry, but ‘the patriarchal structures of late twentieth century capitalism.’ either she dies or ‘becomes her own victim’ in an attempt to escape constant performance, but even her death becomes somewhat performative. even dead, many female celebrities continue their branding through martyrdom. there is very little room for one to make art detailing suicide, sex, and the like without seemingly crossing the line between expression and glorification. women who suffer are not necessarily acting, but as their suffering is a part of their life experience, it becomes interwoven in their branding or public image: amy winehouse’s experiences with alcoholism and bulimia come to mind. winehouse never glorified alcoholism herself, but songs such as ‘rehab’ and documentaries covering her illness released after her death have certainly been accused of doing so. agencies and other creatives took advantage of winehouse’s struggles in order to perform their own ‘activism’ or ‘spreading of awareness.’

in light of ‘attempts on her life’ and the concepts surrounding performance that it poses, we must consider: is liberation from patriarchal constraints even possible, or do acts of reclamation serve to eventually end up catering to the male gaze regardless? it would not be accurate to the play’s style and purpose to try to make one singular conclusion to this question. crimp uses varying styles and contexts in order to showcase the various aspects there are to this issue; the necessity of performance, the constraints it leads to, the sexualisation of suffering, brand maintenance, and so on. anne’s lack of voice in this play can be read either as an example of the very thing the play criticises, or simply just poor usage of character, and the former feels most appropriate for crimp’s writing style. the play implies that victimhood can be intrinsic to womanhood, but presents anne’s defiance as ideallised, encouraging it. theatre can be used as both a survival mechanism and a method of empowerment, but the play posits that it is only empowering to a certain extent; it allows one to control the means by which they are objectified but not to actually avoid objectification. one can behave in undesirable manners, such as anne’s displays of suicidality and exhibitionism, but then we must examine their motivations. is anne behaving in this way solely based upon her low mental health? or is the fact that she is also engaging in a form of exhibitionism and forcing an audience evidence of her sexualising her own experience? if so, her sexualisation of suicidal behaviour likely stems from the ‘patriarchal structures’ she is working to avoid being a victim of, suggesting that it is not possible to liberate oneself from them. anne is evidence that women are not separate from the patriarchy, but active participants in it as it is a collection of ideals engraved into western society. it would be unfair and somewhat dejected to conclude that these ideals cannot be unlearned, but ‘attempts on her life’ certainly illustrates that unlearning them is a more active and difficult task than simply holding a feminist ideology.

i.k.b

[gunchucks-wukong-archive]

Non-linear thoughts no one asked for, because i feel like ranting 🥺

I don't care much for Yang's sexuality/gender identity as in, i have my hcs of course (demilesbian + i also enjoy trans yang), but i'm gonna be happy with whatever sapphic identity crwby deems appropriate for her because at the moment they all make sense in some way. That said all the talk about Yang's one line anticipated by Barb might be about her sexuality gets me very excited bc i would love for rwby characters (including blake) to be more specific about the things they like. I know the chances are thin and that Yang's line is either related to Ruby, Raven/Summer or potentially a confession to Blake, and i also know rwby has proven more than once that this show won't focus on romance/sexuality as much as us fans would want it to, but you know, whatever is gonna happen on this island sounds very promising, and when they want to write proper romance they're totally capable of doing so as they've proven with Arkos/Blacksun in my opinion clearly two very different kinds of "romantic" arcs but both have been far more linear than Renora and even Bees in my opinion because they've developed in a certain window of the show without weird seasonal jumps. Yeah both Arkos/Blacksun are dead now, but they ended at the right time in my opinion, and i just like that, except for V3 in BS's case, they've been developing linearely. A trait i hope Bumbleby and expecially Renora can inherit as the show continues. Bees are at a good point but they could do better. Basically i hope V9 gives linear juice for Bumbleby, an entire season of them being on the foreground. I like consistent development, and i can see that crwby has already provided for bees in that sense. V7 and V8 no longer have the weird breaks on their relationship that lead people to question whether it was actually intented like in the past, nowadays they're always doing something cute even just in the background. But that's the problem. For the past two seasons team RWBY and bees have been background noise of a bigger plot. They grew, sure, but it's not the same as having the focus of the plot. V9 is looking like it was made to fix this issue specifically, and provide the so much needed character focus we've been yearning for. So. I hope RWBY doesn't mess this up for us lol

[itsclydebitches]

Since you're probably the only person I follow here who plays WoW, I'm wondering; what do you think about the writing of Sylvanas in BFA and Shadowlands? A lot of people seem to be very unhappy with how the character has been handled.

Throwing these all together! It took me a while to get around to WoW asks because I was... playing WoW lol.

I'll be straight with everyone here: I'm probably one of the worst players to question about the narrative aspects, just because I've always been more focused on gameplay over story — or at least the in-depth story gained by listening to all the conversations, watching all the cutscenes, reading the tie-in novels, etc. MMOs are weird (and fascinating) in that it's so easy to be immersed in them while simultaneously bypassing 99% of the nuance. Do I know the basic setting, conflict, and goals? Sure. Do I know that such-and-such character yelled out this line as a callback to a fight three expansions ago? Not really. The non-linear experience of an MMO — dropping the game for large stretches of time, coming back in halfway through an expansion, doing new content before old content, exiting out of cutscenes because you've got somewhere to be, etc. — has created the unique ability to say, "I've played this game since its release and no, often I don't know wtf is going on." (Something that got even worse for me during Battle for Azeroth, actually).To put it in RWBY terms, I'm the happy fan entirely ignorant of the drama about Team RWBY's moral downfall, or the badly handled themes, and is just sitting in her isolated corner going, "That fight was so fun!"

All that being said and based on my established-as-shaky knowledge... yes, I'd say the backlash is very deserved lol. I haven't done the raid myself yet, but I've watched the cutscene and... what the fuck is going on with Sylvanas?

Her entire arc lately has been a bunch of cryptic BS that has little to no explanation attached. Honestly, I'd put money on at least part of my inability to follow the logic of certain arcs, or figure out what a character's motivations are, is simply because said logic and motivations don't exist/contradict/have plot holes/etc.

She suddenly decides that maybe genocide and enslaving everyone ever is a bad thing after the Jailer has basically made himself into an unstoppable god? Also, why is one of the least trusting characters putting so much insane trust in him, conveniently right up until the final hour when it's WAY too late?

HONESTLY, SYLVANAS, WHAT WERE YOU EXPECTING?

ZOVAAL WAS NEVER GONNA REFORM THINGS IN A GOOD WAY

HOW WAS THIS NOT OBVIOUS

I straight up want to revoke every writer's right to redemption arcs until they figure out how to actually do one properly

Between Emerald and Sylvanas I am slain

Her random change of heart results in her shooting the slowest, most telegraphed, useless arrow I've ever seen

It, shockingly, does nothing

So everyone is dead now, right? The Jailer has our heroes bound in chains, under his control, all set to take them out. He'll kill the only people capable of stopping him now, right?

Lol of course not because that would be smart

Instead he just leaves and also gives Sylvanas the piece of her soul back because? He's grateful???

Idk what's going on. It's all stupid. Lovelies in my inbox keep comparing RWBY to Final Fantasy, but let's talk about the writing similarities between RWBY and WoW: stupid villains, instant redemption, crazy high stakes with no real depth or payoff... it's a mess. The cinematic has 15k downvotes on Youtube against 4.6 upvotes. I felt vindicated upon noticing this.

WoW, I think, is good at small storytelling. I'm loving Shadowlands and (since the core gameplay rarely changes) a lot of that stems from my environment and short-term goals. I love gaining Ve'nari's trust and hunting down other cartel members for her. I love chatting with Theotar and sharing tea. Breaking into a hell-esque prison and helping unfortunate prisoners along the way? Excellent. Even the larger concept of an afterlife in need of reform, but that is ultimately threatened by the Jailor's idea of change, assisting and protecting souls in the four definitely not Hogwarts Houses afterlives is fantastic. It's just when WoW gets bigger and more ambitious that stuff really falls apart. Which, ultimately, is one of the reasons why I haven't put forth the effort to catch up on all the lore. I like the simple concept of being the Maw Walker, assisting friends and acquaintances with their immediate needs; less so the convoluted mess of whatever is going on in the cinematics.

... well, Anduin is the exception now. I need the raid to rescue my boy lol.

[zet-sway]

@the-wip-project day 46:

What does your editing/revision process look like?

GREAT QUESTION LOL (ʘᴗʘ✿)

It's a mess. It's a god damn shit ass mess. I can slam down 1k words in an hour if the mood strikes but I will, without question, second guess the everliving fuck out of every last word.

So I write a scene and then spend like 1 week minimum nitpicking it.

Editing fanfic! Its a thing I do until it makes me literally sick. Sometimes I know I'm done with something when I just can't fucking stand to read it anymore. Holy hell you guys just don't have any idea how heavily edited all of my work is.

The method is: draft first, fix later.

So usually my WIPs are stuffed into Tumblr's drafts thing. And I pick at them a few minutes at a time, multiple times a day.

While I'm at work

When I get home

Before bed

When I wake up

When I'm taking a shit

You know, downtime lol

In fact I often start editing the work before I even finish writing all of it.

The number one thing I find myself doing when I'm revising work, is taking the second half of a phrase/sentence/paragraph and cut/pasting it in front of what was once the first half. I don't know why but most of the time, when I rearrange words like this, I like them better.

I also keep the fucking thesaurus handy. Because I'm not confident in my vocabulary. One of the shitty things about writing a lot of smut is this oppressive feeling of "sameness" that permeates each work. It's all smut. Mouths, hands, genitals, sensations, feelings, intimacy. There are only so many words to describe how it feels to be touched. And I don't want to reuse the same idioms from scene to scene cause then it just feels like "I wrote the same smut but remixed." I'm trying to incorporate a heavy focus on dialogue these days and that's helping a lot, but wordplay is challenging when you're writing oral sex for the third time in two months. At that point I often find myself banging out a non smutty scene just to like, loosen up a little.

Side note: I found this "sexy thesaurus" online that listed "heart of her arousal" as a way to say vagina and I'll be honest I've never heard this one and I really love it so yeah expect to see that more lmao

And one of the biggest things I do when I'm editing is distance. I have to take breaks from the work, to write something else, or just to do anything else at all. Sometimes I read other fanfics which is a double edged sword because it's inspiring but also makes me think "fuck why didn't I think of that???" But I'm trying to distance myself from the notion that I can't "borrow" from other works. I can borrow. Borrowing a "train of thought" is not plagiarism. Borrowing one word used near another word is not plagiarism. If I don't try out new words, I will never grow as a writer.

And don't even get me started on dialogue. It's funny because I find Shepard's character a pain to write but her dialogue is very easy for me. She speaks with my voice (not literally but in terms of words). Thane I find easy to identify but harder to dialogue. I revise his words a lot. There's a fine line between his ample vocabulary and his direct way of speaking. For instance in Taste of Victory, I revised these lines at least five different ways:

"What do you hope to gain by poring all night over strategic data?" - I struggled with what exactly Shepard was looking at. I wanted her to be doing some small, pointless thing that made her feel like she was still contributing to the war while tired as fuck, but I didn't want to use the words "war assets."

"The whole galaxy could be on to us and I could not find it in myself to care." - I wanted him to say "I have no fucks to give" in the most Theloquent way possible. I just made up the word Theloquent - Thane + Eloquent. I'll see myself out LMAO

"Ah, the legend herself, assassinated in the fortified heart of her own warship?" - this line was originally way too long. I wanted to keep the words 'legend,' assassinated,' and 'warship.'

Thane in particular is very easy to "overdo," in my opinion. It's easy to put too many big words in his mouth and even easier to tack "Siha" on to every single line of dialogue. In my headcanon, he calls her Shepard just as often, usually saving Siha for more private moments but not always. Actually he sometimes calls her "Dess" too, as a shortened version of "December" (thank you spookyvalentine for that nickname!) but I don't use my Shep's name as a general rule. But yeah I don't want Thane to sound like a thesaurus.

The absolute hardest thing is second guessing the "plot." I'm dealing with a lot of that now. If I change an idea for something that hasn't been written yet - while simultaneously working on a scene that comes AFTER that event - oh my god it just makes my stomach flip with anxiety. I could fix this by actually writing in a linear fashion. But that's so fucking hard to do lmao. That's one reason I haven't finished my long ass WIP yet. I'm happy with the interlude scene but I keep thinking I want to slow burn it more - it's important because both Shep and Thane make direct references to events that happened previously. Events that I haven't written yet. This is me clutching my fucking head in my hands and screaming into a pillow lmao (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

So TLDR my editing process is extremely nonlinear, time consuming, and exhausting. I have this ingrained idea that "there's always room for improvement." But often by the time I'm done editing I can't see what's good about the work anymore. I know which moments I like but I can't see it from an objective standpoint anymore. Coming back to fanfic after years was an incredible experience because it was the first time I ever read my own work from a completely clueless perspective. It gave me inhuman confidence to write again, and I have to remember that because I'll second guess myself into the ground if I'm not careful.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I should maybe try and calm down a bit lol

[loisinherlane]

Consider this my magnum opus of why I love Booster Gold and why you should read these comics, but also: how Michael Carter and his family are connected to time travel. It’s kind of a hot mess because I run through a bunch of comics, but hopefully this makes sense!

Michael Carter, alias Booster Gold, is the first new hero introduced after Crisis on Infinite Earths. Booster is from the 25th century, where he was a college football player who got caught betting on his games and expelled, eventually becoming a janitor in a museum.

(Booster Gold (2007) #1)

At this museum, he befriends a security robot called Skeets. Eventually, Booster decides that he wants the adoration superheroes had in the 20th/21st century, and with future technology, he would be able to join up in the past. So Booster steals a Time Sphere, a suit, and a Legion of Superheroes flight ring. (Wait, the legion is from the 30th century, right? Yes. There are reasons this ring is in the past, and that’s mostly because Booster was always meant to become a superhero.) In the past, Booster establishes himself as a superhero, with a manager and number of sponsors. He’s about making money. This doesn’t necessarily make him a lot of friends. But he joins the Justice League International, makes friends with some heroes (including Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle), and has a standard fare for a non-central character.

So flash forward to Countdown to Infinite Crisis. For those of you who haven’t read this one: This is a lead-in to the OMAC Project, and later, to Infinite Crisis, where Ted Kord notices a number of things that don’t add up. Unfortunately, Ted is not the most respected hero in the community, and no one quite takes him seriously. Wonder Woman says she’s busy but to keep her updated, and Oracle is trying to get him to pay more attention to other matters.

(Countdown to Infinite Crisis)

So Ted seeks out his best friend Booster to help. Booster, after some initial reluctance, joins up. There’s some noticeable moments where Booster hints that he knows some things about the future (particularly, that Ted is going to die, and the Scarab means that the new Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, is about to take over): Booster keeps staring at the newly found Scarab. He asks Ted when he found it. Ted, in his narration, hints that Booster knew Doomsday would kill Superman, and he still took the first punch.

(Countdown to Infinite Crisis)

All of this parallels what happens next: Booster shoos Ted away from the computer and takes over. Booster gets hit by an explosion meant for Ted.

(Countdown to Infinite Crisis)

Consider: Later implications of time travel suggest that some small things can be changed, but the big things can’t. If Booster knew what was going to happen, did Booster only postpone Ted’s death?

With that, Ted does die at the end of this story, and a part of The OMAC Project is Wonder Woman and Booster investigating Ted’s death. But as much as I love Ted, we’re mostly talking about Booster and time travel today. So moving on!

In Infinite Crisis, Booster is the one who fetches Jaime Reyes. After returning to the 25th century to access historical records, he tracks down Jaime via the scarab. (Of course, this is another example of a potential change: Booster says he may be saving millions or billions of lives, but this is unsubstantiated.)

(Infinite Crisis #2)

(Infinite Crisis #5)

So this brings us to 52, the fallout of Infinite Crisis. Booster Gold’s plot, while not obviously central in its introduction, plays a major role in bringing back the multiverse to the Post-Crisis continuity. Booster Gold, in the wake of the loss of his best friend Ted Kord, has sold-out again.

(52 #1)

With the help of Skeets, he’s returned to his origins. He wants to be a hero and make bank. Superman’s not around, so who else could Metropolis turn to?

Booster is on the outs though. First, with the heroes: Ralph Dibny blames him for not realizing his wife Sue was going to be murdered. Beatriz de Costa (Fire) shames him for how he’s acting after Ted’s death.

(52 #7)

(52 #4)

Pay attention to that notepad. Booster writes the names of Rip Hunter and his fellow Time Masters, as well S.T.A.R. Labs Time Travel Division. Everyone but Rip Hunter is crossed out. Rip’s name is circled, but he’s noted as “unlisted?????”

Because he’s noticed a number of events that don’t line up with the history Booster and Skeets remember, Booster goes to visit Rip Hunter in his Time Lab in Arizona. Skeets has to hold the door open because of the lock, so Booster goes in by himself...

(52 #6)

...and sees this... (Feel free to read what’s on the chalkboard. A lot of it hints to happenings in both 52 and the One Year Later event, as well as other stories. It can be fun to make connections.)

(52 #6)

...and this. Yikes.

We soon find out that Booster hired an actor to fake an incident on a subway. Why? Well... that answer’s not so clear. But considering the rest of the story, it’s likely Booster wanted to discredit himself.

(52 #7)

Unfortunately for Booster, this ruins his reputation with the public, and he’s soon replaced by a new, more humble hero: Supernova.

(52 #10)

And the public adores Supernova. Meanwhile, Booster’s sponsors pull out as his reputation goes down the drain.

Booster gets one last moment in the limelight, when he pushes too hard trying to upstage Supernova, and he dies... though he’s recognized as a hero for his tragic sacrifice.

((Hold on if you haven’t read 52. You’re going to find this one funny.))

(52 #15)

So... Booster is dead. Ha. What next? Well, Skeets seeks out Booster’s ancestor, Daniel Carter, for help to get back into the Time Lab. After all, Booster didn’t give Skeets the details.

(52 #19)

Daniel lets Skeets see into the Time Lab, where Skeets finally sees the same things Booster saw.

(52 #19)

Whoops! The real problem is Skeets. A little more menacing now, isn’t it? So Skeets abandons Daniel in the Time Lab, where he’s sucked into a vortex that’s part of Rip’s security measures. Meanwhile, Skeets is free to handle his evil plan. Whatever that is.

Back to Metropolis: Supernova is still out there, doing good. He’s also grabbing items that seem a little... eclectic. 

(52 #20)

And everyone is theorizing about who’s really under the mask. Cassie Sandsmark thinks it’s Kon-El. Lex Luthor thinks it’s Superman. Ralph Dibny puts the pieces together...

(52 #31)

But Supernova asks him not to say it out loud.

Later, we see that Supernova is actually working for Rip Hunter. Everything he’s gathered has been for Rip, who, as you can see, is really going through it. (Sad they never followed up on why Rip Hunter was affected like this, but I have my own thoughts that I might say later.)

(52 #36)

Where are they working anyway? In the jarred city of Kandor! Of course, Skeets can’t find them here, can he?

(52 #36)

Whoops. Spoke too soon.

(52 #37)

But who is Supernova? That burning question we’ve had for all these issues?

It’s... Michael Carter! Booster Gold!

(52 #37)

So, as Rip asks, Booster tells him. Booster knew something was off with Skeets. At the Time Lab, he almost asked him. But Rip Hunter arrived and recruited him for the long con. Rip needed Booster to gather materials, but they couldn’t alert Skeets. However, using a suit Rip rigged, Booster could be in two places at once: through time travel. After faking his death (using his real corpse from the future), Booster was sent back in time twelve weeks to complete Supernova’s actions.

Now Rip, Booster, and Skeets are engaged in a battle that, uh... is not continued until Week 50 on panel. If you count this as continued. I just love this panel.

(52 #50)

Actually, Skeets follows Rip and Booster to a lab where T.O. Morrow has searched the Red Torado’s brain to find out the truth of the 52 that he’s been repeating throughout the series.

(52 #51)

Of course, it’s not actually Skeets. The real Skeets was used as a chrysalis for Mister Mind... who has become a horrifying moth hellbent on eating the new multiverse.

(52 #51)

Rip drags Booster out, back to the Time Sphere, where they travel back to the beginning.

(52 #52)

After the events of Infinite Crisis, the multiverse was recreated. 52 identical Earths came into existence, and the same struggle has been taking place on all of them. These Earths are slowly aligning, and for some reason, Rip can see this, but Booster can’t. (Hold tight: Let’s keep in mind, for some reason, Rip was totally non-linear earlier. We’ll come back to this.)

(52 #52)

Rip intends to save all of the Earths, as they slowly settle into the new multiverse, with help from Supernova! ...This time, Daniel Carter, the Carter family ancestor that Skeets/Mister Mind used earlier.

(52 #52)

Bad news is that Mister Mind is still bent on eating a universe. As he eats parts of the various Earths, he changes their history, which leads to each Earth being unique.

(52 #52)

Booster has doubts about their ability to face something this big, but Skeets, now broken from Mister Mind, cheers him on... Booster heads back to the one place he knows to get the right power source, and Rip hints about Booster’s “glory days” soon to come. So now we know there’s a connection between Booster and Rip.

(52 #52)

But where is Booster going to get that power source?

(52 #52)

The immediate aftermath of the first crisis, where he talks a little with very young Ted Kord. (Sad.) Now we have to wonder how Booster knows to go back here? How much about time travel does Booster know yet?

Anyway, together, Rip, Booster, and Daniel succeed in defeating Mister Mind, and the multiverse is restored. Rip is very optimistic!

(52 #52)

So... let’s cut to Booster Gold’s second solo. Notice the title of his first story is “52 Pick-Up.” Booster, after saving the multiverse, wants nothing more than to be a hero again. He wants to join the Justice League again! Unfortunately, he’s recruited by Rip Hunter once again, who makes it clear that Booster’s destiny lies in time travel instead. And the world needs to think Booster is an idiot.

(Booster Gold (2007) #1)

Notice how Rip mentions his father? We’re finally getting somewhere.

Meanwhile, the other weird Time Stuff, that’s going on. Back at Rip Hunter’s Lab, Rip has written a number of interesting things on his chalkboard again.

Notice how Rip notes 1939 (the year Detective Comics was first published), 1985 (Crisis on Infinite Earths), and 2006 (Infinite Crisis). This shows how the crises actually affect time in the DC universe. Rip is, of course, aware of it. Is Booster too? How else would he know about the first crisis?

What is the connection between Rip and Booster anyway? Why does Rip care so much about Booster? Well...

(Booster Gold (2007) #1000000)

That’s right! Booster is actually Rip Hunter’s dad! So a lot of stuff we’ve been over must make more sense now.

But seriously, the Carter family is heavily involved in time travel, and the way it interacts with them is interesting. We’ve already seen how Rip isn’t linear when the timestream is disrupted... but what about the other members? How does this all affect Booster?

Honestly, I’m not sure. And I just ran out of energy for this post. If you want to know more, send an ask! And read the comics. You will not regret it.

[the-starryknight]

Dear Starry, for the asks: 14, 25, 27 & 30 (is there a 30?) Thank you✨

Hi beautiful @skeptiquex! Thank you so much for asking!!

14. What’s the most research you ever put into a book?

Oh man, I feel like I'm outing myself by saying that I don't do much research for my fic! Answered this a bit yesterday, but for example, this passage from A Room Up There is fully cobbled together from vague memories I have of an article I read about bathroom furnishing development in the late 19th & early twentieth century and my fascination with clawfoot tubs.

“You know, I think I might be starting to understand it,” Draco mused as he read over his notes on the clawfoot tub (mid eighteenth-century? claw & ball foot, likely og. in kitchen, when moved upstairs? → 1900s w/ other plumbing).

I wish I had a smarty answer! I just stick the random bits of knowledge I have into Draco's head and make him 10x more confident about it than I actually am. Probably about 70% of it is actually accurate.

25. Linear or non-linear, and why?

Hmm, both! I think it really depends on what sort of story needs to be told & how. I chose to go for non-linear with Two Zinnias and the Scent of Lemon because I didn't want to tell a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The basic point of that fic is that fighting for a socially just society is complicated, iterative, and continuous, and so I didn't think it'd work for the narrative structure to follow a clear-cut arc -- I thought the non-linearity would work to underline those three aspects. But on the other hand, a story like A Room Up There can only be told linearly, since it's about uncovering information and building up to something. It wouldn't have the same emotional impact if Draco discovered [redacted for spoiler] at the start of the narrative, or if Harry did [redacted for spoiler] first.

27. Do you share rough drafts or do you wait until it’s all polished?

A bit of both! With a longer project, I like having a beta reader working on it as I go, especially if there are bigger elements I need to fix (like characterization, or clarification, or a continuity issue, which happens often). For medium and shorter-length projects, I prefer to get it to a place I'm happy with, and then send it off to be reviewed. I do like to share (and receive) little snippets as I go with certain cheerleaders -- that little boost keeps me writing in the hard moments!

30. Favorite line you’ve ever written.

You and Tacky are out here asking the hardest question on the list!! I gave them two favorite lines here, but I'll do one more bc I thought of it with these other questions you asked! Purely bc I felt like it brought the romance together with the house & antiques plot, this is from Room: Draco thought he could spend days studying those eyes and he would still not be able to inventory every depth.

Thank you so much for asking, lovely Tee!! <3