#You could just have a pile of discovery-filled experiments and honestly what better chance of finding that art thing you want to obsess ove

[creepyscritches]

Since I stopped regularly posting my art online it's nuts the psyche reset my art brain went through. Ego death of whatever deviantart mentality. I'm back to drawing w markers bc it's fun, baby. Making my weird little things and breaking crafts bc it's not always an unusable result lol. Waiting to get back to my 12yr old mary sue generator brain, it's the next step to making more things I enjoy making

[ailuronymy]

hi Grey! so i have an idea that i've been slowly developing. it started out as a Warriors AU but as i work on it, it's started to move away from Warriors and further into an original idea. i'm working on a naming system now (gonna make a conlang too) but i'm a bit hesitant b/c i fear if i ever try and publish this down the road, ppl might think it's a copy of Warriors. any words of advice u could give?

Hello, Ruddles! I think I do have some advice for this situation. (It’s going to get long, sorry).

First of all, congratulations on starting your original work! That’s very exciting. Many renowned writers have written in response to preexisting stories–possibly you’re familiar with Tolkien’s frustrations with Macbeth, which surfaces in his writing through Eowyn and the ents! In fact, Tolkien drew on many, many sources of folklore and literature when creating his world and story, so you know you’re in good company.

Which brings me to my first piece of advice: you are in danger of copying if you limit yourself to only one source. No creator creates in a vacuum. Most, if not all, creators are consumers and lovers of other people’s creations, and that’s okay! That’s part of how we weave rich tapestries. Storytelling is always a social act, and sharing and transforming and reworking and re-imagining all ties into that. However, if you take your inspiration from only one source, it’s going to dominate your work. That’s when you hit problems.

The solution is fairly simple: borrow from many places! If you borrow from one place, you’re a hack and a copycat; if you borrow from dozens, you’re just being a normal writer. I’m not suggesting you steal from other works, of course, because that won’t solve your problem and is also a pretty rotten thing to do. What I’m saying is, if you’re feeling your work is too similar to Warriors still and you suspect your readers would also feel that way, that’s a sign that your own reading and creative life needs more fuel! You need to put more into yourself, find more things you love, more passions, more things you really want to write about, more things that make you angry, so that these things–and not just Warriors, Warriors, Warriors–will come through in your writing.

Tolkien spoke of a concept he called “the cauldron of story,” which you can read about in his ‘On Fairy Stories’ essay, and I find the idea deeply useful to think about in this context. The way I see it is that you (and I, and everyone who creates) have a personal cauldron that you fill up with everything–whatever you can get your hands on, whatever you love, whatever you hate–and it boils and boils away until you’re left with the core ideas that really matter to you, the things that fascinate you. It’s a process of distillation, basically, where the first stage is consuming media. The more you put in, the richer the broth will be and the more chance you’ll have of finding the ingredients (for lack of a better word) that you love best.

So if your work is only drawing from Warriors, that’s probably a good time to sit back and do a couple of things. The first thing is ask yourself if you know why you want to write an original work, not a Warriors fanfiction, and try to figure out what is unique about your story. Capitalise on the uniqueness of you, your writing style, your experiences, and your perspective! What can you bring to this story idea that no-one else can? That’s important to keep in mind and might help you find the heart of your story and your personal strengths, which, once recognised, you can use consciously to full effect.

Another thing, especially if you’re concerned that your story is too similar, is to ask if you’ve given yourself enough raw material to have great creative thoughts yet. If you’re feeling starved of fresh ideas, that probably means your cauldron needs more put in it! I’m not sure I believe in “writer’s block,” but I definitely believe that a body needs food in order to function, and our creative brains are no different. Take some time away from writing, fill up your cauldron, let it bubble, and then come back. I imagine you will find there is so much more you want to put into your story, and doing so will really help you build your own discrete idea and style away from Warriors.

(I genuinely believe that one of the best ways to avoid copying another writer too much is to be excited by a plethora of writers, concepts, styles, so on, so that they water each other down into a nice soup in your work, a basic subtle broth upon which you then do your unique thing. I’ve also found that things you don’t like tend to be the most motivating reading material: they’re inspirational, in that I spend the whole time I’m reading going, “This is rubbish, they’re doing it all wrong, I could do better than this… I should write my version,” and inspire myself to act out of sheer exasperation. If you want something done right, and all that).

Telling a story about groups of cats might make people who’re familiar with Warriors see similarities between your work and Erin Hunter’s, especially since you’ve been influenced by the series. This isn’t a disaster, though! People might also associate your work with Tailchaser’s Song or Catwings or The Books of the Named, as well as animal fiction more broadly, such as Watership Down, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and Redwall. You can’t control this association but you also don’t need to worry it too much. “Originality” is a fairly new concept in literature (introduced largely because of copyright and IP infringement laws) and it’s not singular unlike how people make it out to be, because what matters isn’t just the story you’re telling–it’s how you’re telling that story. Originality isn’t one idea that you either do or do not have: it’s created through the enormous compilation of so many “unoriginal” ideas, piled into one story together, words all put together in the way that only you can do. (Stories are original the way people are unique).

An example of what I mean is really clear when you compare Temeraire, Dragonriders of Pern, Eragon, and How To Train Your Dragon (film). These are all texts that are defined by dragon-riding but they each handle the material in their own way. Temeraire is a fantasy twist on history. Dragonriders of Pern is a science fiction twist on fantasy. How To Train Your Dragon is a goofy fantasy coming-of-age story about an outcast’s epiphanic discoveries of self and society, plus also there’s a cute dragon. Eragon is… whatever it is, I honestly don’t know. Point is, they’re all “people ride dragons” stories, but that shared concept doesn’t diminish their individuality. And they haven’t exhausted the concept either: there are so many other dragon-rider stories waiting to be told.

“Boy meets girl” describes millions of stories. “Chosen one saves the world” also describes millions of stories. Nevertheless, Romeo and Juliet remains a beloved classic, and Harry Potter has been an international phenomenon. “Cats live in a community” is the same. As long as you are telling your story, not copying Erin Hunter’s, I can’t imagine you’re going to have trouble when it comes to originality.

I hope this advice-slash-whatever this turned into is helpful to you, Ruddles. Good luck with your writing!

[learningtowtodissapointmom]

It’s Ok to Explore

              I would say that I believe in a higher power. I know enough about science to know that we don’t know everything. Scientists and mathematicians are searching for something out there to unify all of the random of assortment of things that we know about our universe. A God Particle, String Theory, or a math equation. So I don’t see a reason why it couldn’t be an intelligent being outside of our understanding or perception. After all, this concept seems to be a cultural constant. Be it a great spirit, community of gods, or a singular god reigning over everything almost every religion throughout history has had some form of this idea. The need to believe in something bigger than us almost seems built in to our DNA.

              Growing up in a Christian household, it’s obviously the religion I am most familiar with. Even though as a young child I was encouraged to explore my curiosity of other religions my parents always made very evident to me that Christianity was the one right way. Investigating and even questioning was ok, but any sign of doubting my inherited faith and I was stepping into dangerous territory. But doubting is only natural, especially when one hits their twenties and has a chance to finally view the world through their own eyes.

              One of the parts of religion that always seems to take the highest priority are the rules. My mom used to always spread random sticky notes around the house with bible verses written on them reminding her of what to do and not do. For the most part they are pretty basic and common sense. Like don’t be an asshole, don’t lie, don’t judge other people. But they seemed like more than just guidelines to my mom. It was almost like she was terrified to break them. She was constantly feeling guilty about one thing or another.

               When I really think about it Christians are just about the guiltiest people I know. Which when one really thinks about it, is at face value contrary to the whole point of Christianity. Their faith is based around the idea that Jesus came and took all of the guilt and responsibility for their mistakes. That God is loving and accepting and only wants them to try their best to follow him. This idea of a grace filled and accepting god is one I think most people could get behind, but isn’t always the one people live by. Because not only do Christians pile rules and regulations on themselves, but they also push them on to other people.

               If there’s one thing that I found that Christian’s could do better than almost anyone is gossip. Everyone knows the rules, the status quo, and so when someone goes against the accepted norm people talk, and people make judgments. Because even though our relationship with God is supposed to be personal, his rules certainly aren’t and so if everyone else in the church isn’t following the guidelines you feel he set for you, well then, they’re wrong and need to be counseled back into the holly grace of God. It’s presented as an act of kindness and charity. They’re just looking out for you. Trying to make sure you’re checking all the right places and will end up going to the same place as them when you die. But it can be stifling and painful. One has to wonder, how much of the shame in the world is caused by the misguided and misdirected judgement of righteous people.

              But what if God didn’t set the same rules for everyone? I mean, I would like to think that if he exists as the loving and father-like deity who made us to each be individuals as the church says he is, that he would then also expect us to act as individuals and thus treat us as individuals. But in my experience, church as a social construct, has a very narrow definition of acceptable individuality.

              So how do you find yourself when you don’t exactly have a lot of wiggle room to work with? Honestly, I don’t really have the answer. I hope that those around you will be loving and accepting of your journey of self-discovery and love the you that you choose to be. But unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. However, if God really is as loving as he is said to be, then I believe that he would want you to be the you he created you to be. And no one but you and God can tell you who that is. Not your pastor, not your parents, not your teachers and mentors.

But hey, saying is always either than doing. I’m still trying to figure out how to figure out who I am myself. 

As long as you’re trying, God will be proud of you. And I’ll be proud of you too.