#WritingReflections

[ancientroyalblood]

Thoughts: Balancing Genre Expectations and Creative Freedom

In the intricate dance of storytelling, writers often find themselves navigating a delicate tightrope — on one side, the allure of adhering to genre expectations, and on the other, the beckoning call of creative freedom. Join me in a contemplative exploration of this nuanced balance, as we reflect on the interplay between staying true to established genres and unleashing the boundless realms of…

[azus-reyan]

Entry 9: You Become What You Consume.

Most of the time, I write casually—relaxed, with a touch of comedy for flavor.

It’s my preferred style, the one you’ll find in most of my posts and stories. But every now and then, something shifts.

I forget how to tap into that voice.

My writing takes on a different tone, less casual and more reflective. Occasionally, it even takes on a raw, almost bloody feel, as if I’m translating excitement into the piece without realizing it.

At first, I thought it was just a result of not locking in a specific tone. But I soon realized the problem ran deeper than that.

TV, books, media—you become what you consume.

Yesterday, I was watching The Boondocks, an animated show about a family of African Americans living in a wealthy, white neighborhood.

It’s fast-paced, clever, and funny in more ways than one—one of those shows that makes you giggle through every episode. Around the same time, I was struggling to write a certain blog post. I wanted to nail a casual, comedic tone, but something kept blocking me.

I’d start writing, look over the first draft, and see it was two inches away from what I wanted. I’d try again, but before I could finish the first sentence, I’d toss the draft because of how serious it was turning out. It was maddening.

So, I did what any writer does when they’re stuck—procrastinate. And my procrastination of choice? The Boondocks. Long story short, I laughed my ass off, finished an episode, and sat down to write again.

This time, I didn’t hesitate. From the first letter to the last, the words flowed. I don’t remember writing so smoothly in a long time. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the smoothest draft I’ve had in ages. My fingers moved on their own, and the jokes practically wrote themselves.

Was it any good? Well, you’ll have to see it for yourself.

And this got me thinking—right after celebrating with a cup of coffee and three more episodes of… you know.

I wouldn’t have written that well if I hadn’t watched that show. But why?

So let’s say I was going to write a reflective and slow piece. I’d probably pick up something by Albert Camus—The Fall, maybe—or The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa (highly recommended, by the way). My tone would naturally lean toward mimicking those writers. But it’s not just about writing. It’s everything you consume—even food, I guess.

These days, it’s less “you are what you eat” and more “you are what you watch.” All the media you consume—posts, movies, podcasts—they affect your brain. And they definitely affect your writing.

These media can be a powerful tool for inspiration, but they can also work against you. So, if you’re going to consume something, make sure it’s helping you grow.

For me, it was The Boondocks—who knows, next time it might be The Shining, the book, or the movie (or both). Either way, once you’re done, you might just find yourself writing that horror story you’ve been meaning to get to.

And so until next time,

Au revoir.

[elysianwing]

Panning

We often trick ourselves into thinking poems need be long and drawn out to extract some sort of truth from the stream of consciousness outpouring from our lips, pen-tips, and keystrokes... like prospectors sifting the earth searching for gold specks in dirt lifted from a river's bed. We must take great care to remind ourselves on occasion that the time we spend looking for golden truth is not nearly as important as where we start our search. written 9/1/2024 @ 7:58pm by Alexander Learmont https://www.patreon.com/Elysianwing

[ks-caster]

I was watching a Disney movie one day and this thought dropped into my head. Why is it that every adaptation of various fairy tales (and I love so many of them!) always keeps the idea that a beautiful woman must necessarily be virtuous? What if Beauty didn't act like it? What if ugliness wasn't an indicator of cruel character? How would the story go then? What might happen if we reversed the tropes? #writing #writinginspiration #ataleofgoldandroses #beautyandthebeast #writingreflections https://www.instagram.com/p/CS-hasJA0JL/?utm_medium=tumblr

[elaz-ivero]

Written in reveiw // reflecting on my writing this year

This year was the year I finally felt like my prose had reached a standard that feels compatable with the stories I aim to tell, I’m more articulate, the plots of my stories have become more interesting and enganging and my dialoge no longer feels like it’s been put through google translate one too many times.

Here’s everything I wrote this year: 

Short Stories: 4

Sumatran’s a type of tiger, 2673 words

Sumatran’s a type of tiger was the first story I wrote that didn’t have a coded white narrator and is the most complex and layered story I’ve written to date. It has three layers, with triple meanings and every repeat read reveals new previously hidden information around the protagonist and better clarifies the cliffhanger ending. I’m super proud of its quick and engaging narrative and strong and cohesive plot but I do admit it gets pretty complicated at time and it wasn’t surprising that cutting it down to 5,000 words would cut out some important information. Overall a really stong story but definitely getting someone to read through it first before submitting it next time. 

Yard Work, 1,869 words

Yard Work is a short story I wrote for my first English class which is why it’s so short, however, it’s a super interesting story that evolves really fluidly and I intend to lengthen it to a submittable length so it’s going in the short story section and not the flash fiction section. I love how all the little details help cement this story into believability, with all the books and board games being published or that specific edition being around in the 1940′s. Each of the siblings feel so real and I can’t help but wonder whether my subconscious slipped details of my own sisters into this story. But this story is just evidence of how much! my! plot! has! improved! The narrator’s motives are so complex and the progression of the house being emptied and it’s contents sold to symbolize him fully abandoning and cutting off his toxic living family members by making their memories move out is so nice to read. 

Cabin Teeth, 3,000

I wrote Cabin Teeth after reflecting on my writing and realising how white it was and so I started consuming and reading more diverse writing and so when I started drafting my first horror story my main characters were naturally diverse and the story from then on developed into one of my favourites. It’s that perfect kind of horror, the kind seen in Hereditary and Mindsommar the kind that sticks with you and feels eerily familiar. Everything is unknown and I loved adding little details that emphasized how ‘off’ everything is. The fact that Carrie has the money to book out an entire holiday park but not enough to afford her own apartment, that Harrison’s teeth have been growing overnight, the fact that Tans family were finishing a catered funeral four months prior to the death. It all culminates in a hauntingly nostalgic tale. I can’t wait to write more horror in 2021. 

Flash Fiction: 3

Kidnappers Favour, 300 words

Artwork by J.C Leyendecker

Kidnappers Favour is basically a call out post by the narrator on why he doesn’t care that Casper, the village baker’s boy was kidnapped and cruelly wonders why out of all the kids in his town the stranger chose to take him as well as clearing his name and formulating an alibi for how it wasn’t him. The story was a one-off submission and I love how the tiny word count challenged me to introduce concepts and information to the reader in a few short sentences. 

Little excerpt /-“It'd be a matter of hushing his howling. His kidnapper would have to be quiet too and not cry or curse when he scratched and bit, and yet someone did. They did the whole thing, the taking and the hiding.”

Maybe it’s better if the kids are left alone, 500 words

Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, this story was a response to a heritage photograph of a group of children wading in a brook supervised by a couple teens. I adore stupid little stories that perfectly capture the energy and experience of growing up in a small town with friends you know but not too well and one or two good hang out spots. It needs to be rewritten so bad, I wrote it when I really didn’t care how good it was and now I’m looking back and having regrets. 

Night Blooming, 1,000 words

Night Blooming is an Inuit lesbian love story with motifs of nocturnal flowers, she-wolves and arroyo’s vast bodies of water. It follows the narrator falling in love with married Quppa. I absolutely loved doing the research for this piece but unfortunately I didn’t finish it before the deadline for it’s paired competition so now It sits in my google drive...waiting. 

Beginning/Developing Big Projects in the New Year, 2

In a month I wrote 21,000 words for Sun Ballad and I’ve just recently finished Chapter Six

+

I’ll be starting to draft Celestial Bodies In 2021 with my co-writer and can’t wait to write my first screenplay. 

Moving Forward/ Writing Goals

-Improving Dialouge + Productivity 

-Diversifying projects and escaping my genre comfort zone

-Elaz

[litdiary-abelb]

Hey everyone, it's Abel. After my last post where I was feeling down about writing in a world of AI-generated content, I did some thinking. I realized that even though anyone can have their own custom-made story generated by AI, not many people actually do. They still go to the cinema, they still check out books from the library, and they still seek out new stories and perspectives. Why is that? Maybe it's because there's something special about a story that's crafted by another writer. Something that can't be replicated by algorithms and machines. Maybe it's the emotional connection we feel to characters and themes that we know come from a living, breathing person. Maybe it's the thrill of discovering something new and unexpected, or the satisfaction of being challenged in our thinking. Whatever it is, I'm starting to see that there's still a place for writers like me in this world. A place where we can offer something unique, something that can't be generated by AI alone. So I'm not giving up on my writing dreams just yet. Who knows, maybe I'll be the one to write the story that resonates with readers in a way they never expected. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more updates. #writingreflections