#and anyways that kind of storytelling is so RARE in mainstream music it's something she really has a monopoly over

[overthemoonwithme]

Midnights is giving me Lover/Rep vibes but with a more sophisticated aesthetic

[mong39]

First impression of Frozen 2

I have been a fan of the franchise since it came out. And I mean hardcore fan. I was deep into the fandom for a long time, and even though I stopped being involved I haven’t stopped loving Frozen. These characters are very important to me, so before watching Frozen 2 I had a lot of feelings and expectations. Naturally, I have much to say about the movie and I’d love to discuss it with other fans. So, here are my (extense) thoughts on the plot, characters, technicalities and other things! (I might change my mind on some things after watching it again and listening to the soundtrack properly, these are my right-out-the-movie-theater thoughts) Note: I haven’t used tumblr in so long! I barely know how to use this app so sorry if my formatting is weird.

Plot. I loved the incorporation of the elements of magic and the origins. I also loved the lesson of there being wrongdoings in the past and one must make them right even if it might affect us. And the message of people in the present benefiting from harm done to another group in the past without being aware of it. For people in colonized countries or marginalized groups, it is a familiar story. I’m quite surprised they addressed this topic which was last touched (yes, touched, not addressed) in Pocahontas if I’m not mistaken. Certainly, it’s a strong message that deserves an analysis of it’s own. The fact that it is about the origin of Elsa’s power wasn’t unexpected, but that didn’t make it uninteresting. However, I did feel like they kept adding too many punchlines which made them seem weak somehow. For example, when they reveal Iduna was Northuldran it didn’t feel shocking. It wasn’t that relevant to the plot, that is to say, it wasn’t delivered in a way that felt like it mattered. It was only later on when Anna says that she was a gift to her mother for saving the prince, but is that even true or was she just comforting Elsa? Why would the forest thank her for it anyway? I think it wasn’t delivered correctly. Additionally, I do feel that superficially the plot is little similar to the original one but looking at the details it a different kind of journey.

Storytelling. The directors really ventured out and got experimental with the story telling this time. Those black background scenes are very unlike disney, and the way they explained the elements is also rare in 3d animation. That being said I’m glad they got brave and used it because it really makes you understand how (Elsa’s) inner conflict and memories also serve as settings in this movie. It helps connect with Elsa on a deeper level, in contrast to the first one where we get to know Elsa mainly through Anna’s memories.

The lighting. The lighting is by far, the boldest I’ve seen in mainstream 3d animation. The lighting alone sets the mood of each scene and delivers it’s own message. It’s an extremely old art technique to give texture and personality to a scene/painting through lights and shadows, but they took it to a new level (as far as Disney Animation goes). They chose to play with the light artistically, without it feeling unnatural which isn’t so easy. Anna’s scenes in the cave? It feels like the light contrast is an additional character. I think the light was the most breathtaking visual in the film! Of course the choice of colors is also beautiful, but honestly you can’t go wrong with a classic seasonal palette so it’s not groundbreaking or original. Moreover, it was specifically brave for a Disney film to use such strong shadows on their protagonists. It’s not unheard of, we’ve seen this in Brave but it is not easy to incorporate it without losing the overall taste that Frozen has (I do not need to explain why the mood of Brave and Frozen is completely different). I personally think this use of dramatic yet poetic lighting is was truly makes you realize you aren’t watching the same movie.

The songs. Now this a personal preference, but I do love how most of the musical numbers were ballads. However, there wasn’t anything new in terms of story telling through musical numbers. In truth, I found Frozen did it better because it had more songs that actually moved the story along. In Frozen 2 we don’t really find musical numbers that explain the past, current situation or develop the plot (as is the case for DYWBASM, First Time in Forever, Love is an Open Door, etc.). However, we do find more songs that develop or showcase a character’s inner conflict: Into the Unknown, Lost in The Woods (kinda), Show Yourself and The Next Right Thing (in Frozen we only have Let it Go). I can only assume it’s because, as I said, the film focuses on inner thoughts way more than the first film so it is a reasonable choice.

Animation. Going back to technical aspects, there has been so much improvement in the past 6 years! I was particularly impressed by the improvement in expressions and small movements. Perhaps watching so many animation films in these years, gradually improving, it hadn’t been shocking. But looking at how the same characters are moving way more naturally now really made me realize how much progress Disney has made (I say Disney, because in the past I had felt Dreamworks was ahead of them in terms of making movements seem human). Just by using more exaggerated and dynamic expressions I felt like I got to know the characters’ personalities more, even if, script wise, I didn’t. It is such an intrinsic part of filmmaking that Disney has been slowly incorporating into their 3d animation and finally we get to see it in it’s full glory. What is more interesting, is that they had to expand characters’ (previously limited) body language in a way that was in accordance with the first film and the character’s personality. It was quite obvious how they recreated Elsa’s mannerisms (ie. Hugging herself when pushing Anna away) but I was impressed how they added to Anna’s personality through her very strong facial expressions (her sobs, her anger). Not to mention, I think I actually like Kristoff way more now because I understood his character in a way I hadn’t had a chance to before.

New characters. I can’t say I wasn’t hoping to see more of Honeymaren, she seemed like an interesting character. I guess the choice was between her and Ryder and they went for the latter. They had a lot on their plate already as they were including the King and Queen, the Lieutenant, Bruni... plus the weight of the plot... So it’s fine I guess... I just wanted to get to know the tribe more. Naturally the audience will feel more intrigued about them than the soldiers, and we didn’t really learn anything about Iduna or Agnarr as people anyway. I would’ve preferred to focus on one or two new characters and get a clearer picture of them. Writers’ choices.

Character opinions

Elsa: First off, Elsa is a character that is very dear to me, so I am very biased on this. I was slightly disappointed when she froze. I admit it. I thought “Wait, this is it?”. I was simply so into this Elsa-focus and to suddenly be snapped out of it, it was a little discouraging. But I respect the director’s intentions, they were trying to say that it will never be only about Anna or only about Elsa. I respect that. Another thing is that I was looking forward to getting to know her personality more, something new but that really wasn’t the case. They chose to dig more into her identity, which, again, I understand. It is simply not what I was expecting. Realistically, I shouldn’t have expected for them to dive more into her personality without establishing her place in the world first. Oh and by the way, the could’ve not found a better place for Elsa. It was something that I would’ve never thought about but of course, that is where she should be and I’m happy about her joining the forest!

Anna: she really won me over in this film. I grew to love her way more than in the first film. Perhaps it’s because she obviously has matured or because I got to understand her more but she is truly a well constructed character now. She is now not only loveable but also badass. And no I don’t mean it because of the rock giant scene (she had endangered her life before) but because she literally thought her sister was DEAD and she got up and did something about it. This girl, who thought she has lost her last family member and a close friend (Olaf) still did was was needed to be done. Anna is so strong it’s unbelievable. And?! She became Queen!? Again, the writers are amazing! Of course, that’s the way it should be. Anna’s willpower, kindness and sense of justice would most certainly bring prosperity to Arendelle. I would’ve had my doubts about Frozen 1 Anna but Frozen 2 Anna can be trusted with anything.

Kristoff: I grew to like him as a character. I didn’t dislike him before, but I just wasn’t very drawn to him. This time I did see more into who he is, and many times I thought “Oh, that is so Kristoff”. In a way, it made me realize that I did know him more than i thought.

Final thoughts, I loved this movie. I was expecting a LOT and I got a lot. Maybe not what I thought but I gladly accept this path the writers took. And the visuals are just unbelievable. Beautiful. I personally think it has the most breathtaking scenery out of any Disney Animated movie.While it also deals with very serious emotions in a way that is more upfront and mature than previous Disney movies.

[echoeternally]

What do you do to get motivation? I have a fic that's been going on for years now. I have the whole thing drafted, I mostly know what I want to happen, though I sometimes get stuck on side details.

Motivation works differently for everyone. I wish I had one universal answer to simplify it, but it really depends on who you are and what drives you.

To help, I can give you some tools that I use to help inspire me, and maybe from that, you can find your answer as well.

Short version for that would be the following:

Books, Media, and Other Stories

Music and Art

Unexplored Territories

Rewinds: Re-read and Remind

Audience

Friends

Research

Creating Goals

Slightly longer blurbs will go under the cut to explain things.

Ok, let me explain some inspiration sources a little more. (And because each section is longer, this now is a very long post.)

Books, Media, and Other Stories: This is usually a good place to start, since you can help engage yourself to your work by getting into other things. Books get a particular special mention because writing and reading go hand-in-hand. This can be extended to comics and manga though. Media is the umbrella term for tv shows, movies, video games, and other forms that entertainment take to portray stories of different kinds. Other stories themselves are meant for the less conventional venues to explore, like articles or history, or even other fanfics as well. Each source has their own story to tell you, and by looking into things, you can find how storytelling flows from each of them.

It doesn’t have to all be good stuff either. Maybe you hated the latest episode of your favorite cartoon or tv series. There was a book you finished last week, and it just completely fumbled the ending into a mess. Perhaps history was duller than dirt. Think you can come up with something better to tell? Great! Then fire up and get into writing how you’d do it better.

Music and Art: Another good spot to rouse creativity. Music and art tend to help bring about some life into you that stoke your creative fires well. Both are broad to describe, but they each have a lot of forms to them, so you should go with what you like to delve into. For example, art doesn’t strictly have to be fan art for fanfics; maybe there was a cool painting you remember from a museum that you wanted to recapture or explore. That can be useful. Same goes for music, as maybe there’s a song’s lyrics that you want to elaborate on, or take into a story of your own.

Personally, I prefer music that doesn’t involve lyrics. Classical music and media soundtracks (movies, video games) are usually super helpful, because they can have dramatic flares to them, and don’t always have people singing with lyrics that you end up associating with the song, which becomes a story of its own. If you can get the right tune that you can relax to, it can then help you want to create a story that goes with the atmosphere. There are all kinds of feelings that songs can stir in you, so experiment and see what you like.

Unexplored Territories: Stories are mostly not quite groundbreaking in what they tell, but rather how they tell it. Nevertheless, there are numerous less explored resources that can be immensely helpful to get into. Most people go for realistic stuff, like cultures that aren’t as primed for media representation. It’s good when you’re doing grounded things that deal with people mostly. For those more engaged in fantasy, though, you’d want to get into stuff that’s not tied for cultures, or extract it from them. Maybe you look up a list of mythological creatures and want to write about something that isn’t the woefully tiring trend of wizards/witches, vampires, werewolves, or clowns. Even changing it up in simple ways, like establishing a difference between sorcerers and witches, or having werewovles, werecats, and werebears all in one story that operate differently.

But don’t be afraid to turn to real life stuff too, especially for less explored spots. I tend to use LGBTQ+ stuff (mostly gays) to both give representation to groups that I identify with, as well as use character dynamics that mainstream media is too afraid to touch. Those two main male characters that are best friends? Make them boyfriends. That lady who seems like she’s super sexy? She’s actually asexual. I’m not telling you to specifically use this stuff, mind you, but this is an example of less explored territories that you can have a little more flexibility with. Heck, it can even simplify the story you tell with minimal changes: Beauty and the Beast’s titular characters are both female. The rest of the story plays out as follows, but it now gains brand new angles to be explored by a small change. That’s part of why I also like shipping and going for “rare pairs” for romance stories: they’re not as explored, and therefore, prime for new content that can be exciting just by existing! 

Rewinds (Re-read and Remind): A simple concept, but sometimes you can help stir some motivation by looking back over your old work. Checking back on things can help remind you of what’s going on, or can help create the desire to continue what was going to happen next. It’s basic, but sometimes just the smallest trick to help start some sparks you lost.

It doesn’t have to be a lot, either. Maybe you just wanted to write up this one scene, but you haven’t gotten there yet. Write it anyway, and then work on how you need to get there. While you’re reading over something you wrote, don’t focus on editing, but on the content. Maybe there’s this one line of dialogue that you really loved, and it’s this excellent one-liner that defines your character really well. And then that can make you want to give more to them. When you rewind and recall things you had ideas for, sometimes reviewing them can help you expand on them.

Audience: Has anyone read your stuff yet? If not, ask a few people to do so! An audience can help you immensely, because their reactions help gauge what works and what doesn’t. By giving them content to look over, and interacting with your readers as well, you can end up helping drive yourself to want to deliver more to them. It keeps things flowing nicely! (And this is why writers cry a lot about wanting feedback: it super seriously helps out in a great big way!)

Make sure to look for readers too, not just other writers. Sure, other writers can give you tips and tricks, but they’re looking at it from a similar perspective to yours: the creator’s. For readers, they’re specifically interested in consuming the content, and therefore, have different interpretations and interests for the story. They can give you opinions that other writers can’t quite so easily offer, because they can be more to the point of entertainment engagement. (Writers do typically double as readers, though, so it works out either way.)

Friends: I wanted to add a special distinction for friends as opposed to audience. Friends are nice, but are infinitely less likely to read your work. Online pals, irl friends, whichever you’re comfortable with talking to, they’re still not always the people you’ll go running to so you can grab a new reader. But that’s ok, because you have other ways they can help!

Sometimes, just telling a vague summary of things that are going on in your fic can help you get interested in telling more about it, and to others that might understand it more. Telling your friends puts you in a spot that helps you come up with ways to break down your story to its bare bones, and then what you want to do to help build it up. Another way to go about it would be to listen to stories that they have to tell you. Maybe they’re not writing, but sometimes just interacting with others can help you with developing dynamics that people can share in stories. Or events that are so out there, and you can come up with a way to create a related scenario. (No, I’m not telling you to write your friends…unless they make good characters, lol.) Even just being with friends to take your mind off of things and relax? That helps out too, more than you realize in the moment or immediately after.

Research: It kind of goes with some stuff above, because by viewing media, other stories, unexplored territories, music, and art, you’re doing a type of research. Each one presents a different medium that lets you get to know about them, and the more you look into it, the more you learn.

But the cool thing about research is that it takes you places. Websites like TVTropes and Wikipedia can take you to all kinds of weird places, but that’s what makes them great! You end up learning new topics and angles to explore, and they can help inspire new ideas by doing so, or help you restructure ideas you might think are too cliché or simply don’t work. Delving in deep can be time consuming, but also can lead to major payoffs.

Creating Goals: This one I’m not quite as sure about, because it depends on what you’re looking for out of stories. Still, it can be a helpful boost in its own way, so I’ll include it. Goal creating isn’t just something like, “Today I want to write a sentence.” That’s good to do in general, but I’m talking a little more along the competitive lines.

You’ve got a fic written up, but you’re looking to keep it rolling. Maybe you’re exploring two neglected characters from a movie and giving them a new life. But, guess what? Someone else tried something similar about two years ago. Heck. Are you going to let that stop you though? Heck no! What you do with that is see what that story nets for ratings, and plug away at trying to match them. Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to outdo them entirely, especially the top ranking stuff. You don’t have to be the best. But you want to compare as well, so see how your content measures up. If they have bookmarked readers that stack to several hundreds, and you can net half after writing about the same characters? That’s pretty great stuff on your part! Even if you don’t have something specific to go up against? Tackle the archives or stories in general! See how highly rated you can get your stuff to be, and duke it out to be visible among everyone else’s content.

This one is really dependent on your personality type, so if you’re not competitive, don’t put stock into it. But if you get fired up about a challenge? Bring it on!

…

…

There’s a bunch of different avenues that you can look into, and different ways to help bring some motivation and inspiration into your creative mind. These are some suggestions based on angles that I’ve personally attempted, so they may or may not work for you. But that’s ok, because you might be able to come up with more ideas as well.

It just depends on what you like, what you want to do, and what stories you want to tell. From there, just let loose and explore.

But, please do keep in mind to keep yourself (yes, you) in check and feeling good. Tired? Get some rest! Hungry? Go eat! Overwhelmed? Decompress and relax. Know your five senses? Engage them all! Your mood definitely matters as well, and it’s little things that can sometimes hold you back in major ways. Take breaks, and when you come back, things might flow a little easier.

No matter what though, make sure you’re having fun! That’s what really counts in the end, above all else. Do stuff that’ll make you happy, and you’ll flourish in ways you might not even realize. These may be typical lines you’ve heard in countless places before, but they’re pretty helpful.

Again, go for it, and have some fun with the writing!