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jeannereames · 5 years ago

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Hello, this might seem like an odd or unrelated question but, in these uncertain times, do you have any tips for new writers of aspiring historians? I've been feeling awfully discoursged with my writing and the fact that I missed a whole semester of school over the virus.

Let me divide my advice into that for students and for writers.

First, writers, the advice I have now is the same as at any other juncture. Write. Even if you don’t feel like it. Don’t worry if it’s any good. Just write.

One of the earliest lessons I was taught by successful writers, and have only had confirmed in the years since (including by my own experience) is, “Write every day. Even if it’s just 2 pages. Write everyday.” (Or almost every day.)

Writing, like exercise, is a habit. At first, most of what you write on demand may be utter shite. But the more you practice, the better you’ll get at turning out moderately readable prose on demand. There will be times you’re more inspired, or less, but practice really does improve skill.

Find a writing group. Listen to their critique. Don’t get defensive. Unless you’re spectacularly talented, you probably are that bad. LOL. (I was.) There are tricks to good prose. Learn them. Read your stuff out loud, to hear how it falls on the ear. Read A LOT. I mean A LOT. Good stuff. Study what they’re doing. My teachers were Iris Murduch, Toni Morrison, Graham Greene, John Irving, Flannery O’Connor…. Find a writer whose work picks you up and throws you down again, a little bit broken and a little bit more whole. Figure out how she or he did that.

But don’t neglect the nuts-and-bolts, stuff like, “Passive voice is a Bad Thing,” “Said-bookisms suck,” “Don’t over-choreograph,” and “Just use the character’s name, not eleventy-two synonyms.” And especially “’Emerald orbs’ should never be used to describe someone’s eyes,” or the offending writer should be taken out and shot. ;)

I’m not a big fan of books on the writing craft, but I do recommend Dwight V. Swain’s Tricks and Techniques of the Selling Writer, rev. ed. Some of it is quite dated, but most of it isn’t. Scene and Sequel is still A Thing. It works.

Not everyone can be Carson McCullers to pen classics at 22/23/24 (The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Reflections in a Golden Eye). But she really only wrote about 4 major novels (in part due to very poor health).

There are writers out there who can count published novels in double-digits. What’s the difference? They sit down and write. It’s not always a classic. In fact, it’s rarely a classic. But it can still be a perfectly good yarn that takes someone out of herself for a little while.

Long ago, I met author Lawrence Dorr, and when introduced, rather shyly said, “I’m not a real writer, but I want to be someday.” Meaning I wasn’t published yet. (I was about 19 at the time.) Dorr just looked at me and asked, “Do you write?” “Yes.” “Then you’re a writer. A writer writes. A writer can’t not write.”

As you can see, I never forgot that exchange.

Dorr was positive inspiration. Harry Crews was negative. That SOB would make me so mad, I once chucked a typewriter out the sliding glass door of a second-story apartment. Broke the door and typewriter both, and I had to pay the apartment complex for it. The upside was I bought an Atari with a word processor. And I got better. Unfortunately it was usually after Crews had posted our grades. But I did learn a few things from the misogynistic bastard–including the trick that there is no muse and writer’s block is just an excuse. “Write, godfuckingdammit,” he’d say. “Two pages a day. Write two fucking pages a day.” (He was my professor before he sobered up so he was still a roaring pain the arse.)

He also insisted that when we want to tie up things neatly, throw a monkey-wrench in it. And to write our demons. Nobody wants to read a story in which nobody bleeds (even if figuratively).

I realize all that probably gives away my age, Ha. My first attempt at a novel was written in longhand, then the second was typed on this sucker, and yes I still have it (typewriter, not the novel, thank god; it was terrible):

Second, students, I am so sorry that you’ve got to worry about losing your job, and maybe your place to live and your car, and still be expected to do homework and attend lectures online that’s only half an education, if that Will we still be doing this come fall? I don’t know. I hope not, but I fear Covid19 will come roaring back, like the Spanish Flu.

But the world is also a lot different place with much greater understandings of viruses, which is why historians (unlike political scientists and sociologists) rarely try prognostication. History never repeats, even if it sometimes rhymes. If there is any good news in looking back at the Spanish Flu, it’s that after the second wave hit, the US (at least) recovered relatively quickly, especially compared to the ‘29 stock market crash a decade later that set off the Great Depression. The good news out of the Depression was FDR’s ability to shove through the New Deal, which resulted in social safety nets like social security, unemployment benefits, the FDIC, and prepaid hospital insurance (the precursor to the eventual Medicare/Medicaid of the ‘60s).

The unhappy news is that US has a bad habit of not fixing its problems till things break spectacularly…like the Civil War (and the trashfire that Reconstruction became), or the Great Depression, or the violence of the Civil Rights Movement.

Also, don’t forget–historians need records. So write what you see around you. What’s it like to be living right now, at this juncture in history? What does it feel like to be young and looking out at a world on fire?

There you combine both writing with history. Maybe you’ll write your own The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.

#There is no muse #The Craft of Writing #Writers write #history and crisis #asks #the writing life

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wolfpawn · 5 years ago

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I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 77

Chapter Summary - Danielle gets around to reading the GQ article and Tom's lovesick tone towards Taylor does not sit well with her, leading to an argument.

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long. This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog @jessibelle-nerdy-mum @nonsensicalobsessions @damalseer @hiddlesbitch1 @winterisakiller @fairlightswiftly @salempoe @wolfsmom1

If you wish to be tagged, please let me know.

Tom walked in the door feeling positive. He had had a great run and the weather seemed to be finally turning to that of Spring time, the bitter cold finally ceasing. "Elle?" his brow furrowed slightly when she didn't answer. "Elle?" he looked to see her coat was still in the hallway and he had passed her car to get to the house. Mac was on his bed, having realised Tom was back and gave a polite wag of the tail before turning over to go back to sleep. Tom walked into the kitchen to see a half-empty cup of coffee, touching it, he realised it was almost cold. "Elle?" he walked upstairs to the bedroom. "I was calling you." he smiled as he walked in, noticing his girlfriend sitting on the bed. "Hey, what's wrong?" the fact Danielle said nothing and did not look at him as he spoke caused him to sense that something was not right. "Elle?"

Finally, she rose to her feet and turned to look at him; immediately, Tom knew that the positive feeling he had had returning home was very much about to dissipate. "I finally got around to reading this." She held up the GQ Magazine he was featured in. "I didn't really think too much about it until I realised you had a copy, you know since you said that it went well and there wasn't too much to it."

"There isn't."

"Really?" Danielle's brows rose as she spoke. "Because to me, it seems a lot like you are really heartbroken that Taylor broke up with you, that after that many months, it still eats at you that you lost her, that you were incredibly in love with her."

"No, that's not…"

"Well that is what it reads like," she stated, her voice wavering slightly.

"Elle…" He stepped forward, but Danielle took a step back. "I didn't mean it like that."

"You went and rushed to her hotel on the final morning before she left to hammer it home, it is there in the magazine, 'lovesick Tom misses Taylor, she broke his heart'. All the time you are supposed to be with me, trying to build something with me, asking me to move in with you. How the hell does this look when our friends who know how long we are together read this; or when people outside of them find out and do the dates and realise we are supposed to be together for months before this was ever done?" She snapped, it was then the tears came to her eyes. "What does this make me look like?"

Tom swallowed, "Elle, I do want this with you, I want you."

Danielle held up the magazine. "This sure as fuck doesn't look like it." She retorted angrily. "This makes me feel like I am just some little rebound, something to rub your tender ego after being ditched by the princess or some grabber-on, sensing you were in a bad place and leeching onto you."

"That's not it and you know it," he growled, his own anger rising. "I just set the record straight."

"Oh you set it straight alright, you have made it very clear what you think, the only issue is that it is not me on your mind or us, is it? It's Taylor."

"It is not. What am I supposed to say about you, you won't let the world know about us yet?"

"Excuse me for thinking that we should enjoy some time to ourselves for a while, for waiting until after your press tour so that you don't have to worry about that, so that you can concentrate on your job rather than get the questions that don't matter until after. Any time you went out with her, people we demanding information."

"At least she went out with me, not acting as though she is ashamed to be around me in public," Tom shouted back. "Not changing every last thing about herself and becoming uptight and rigid."

Danielle, who was about to argue back closed her mouth, pursed her lips and looked at him sadly. "Right." She stated, before walking out of the room and walked down the stairs.

Tom stood still as he heard her call Mac, open the door and leave. He thought she was going for a short walk to calm down, but when he heard her car start, he rushed to the window in time to see her pull out of the driveway, her driving almost reckless as she did so. He sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, unsure of how the day had taken such a turn.

By dinnertime, when there was no sign of Danielle returning, Tom started to really wonder where she could be. He thought she would be back by then. When it passed Mac's feeding time, he truly became concerned. Reaching for his phone, he pressed on her name and placed the device to his ear. It rang once before going to an automated message, telling him that she had it on Do Not Disturb, he sighed and dialled again and again.

"Can you not take a hint?" a voice finally answered.

"Elle?"

"What do you want Tom?" He voice was cold.

"Please, it's dark, come home, Mac needs his dinner."

"I have Mac taken care of."

"Elle?" Tom pleaded. "Please, where are you?"

"Not your concern."

"Elle? Please, I am trying to fix this."

"Fix? Tom, you have not asked am I okay, you have not asked do I plan to come back, you have not asked do I want to fix this."

Tom felt a horrible pang in his stomach at her words. "Elle, it was just an argument, nothing more, we can work past it." He heard her exhale, knowing that was a sign of her calming and listening slightly. "That article, it is a tad dramatic, they usually are."

"Ben's one with you wasn't, that was good, as was that other woman's one." Danielle pointed out. "Variety or whatever it was, that was really good, they were really good."

"Well, yes, they were actually great, but Taffy wanted to set her’s apart from others and she did."

"Spectacularly." Her tone was dripping with sarcasm.

"Elle," he admonished slightly. "Please, come home so we can talk about this properly. Have you eaten?"

"I'm fine."

"That's a no," Tom commented. "You can't eat if you're anxious."

"Yes, I can."

"Good anxious, yes, bad anxious, no you can't." Danielle didn't argue, causing him to smile. "Please darling, come home."

"Tom?"

"Hmm?"

"Why haven't you apologised for saying what you said?" he frowned to himself. "That you think I've changed, that I am ashamed to be in public with you?" Tom's eyes widened slightly as he realised that in everything, he had not said anything of his parting words to her, the hurt in her voice saying that in truth, to her, the article and all its focus on him and Taylor lay forgotten, that what he said was the issue, but he had not even noticed. "Do you really think that?"

"No, of course not."

"Why say it then?"

Tom swallowed. "I was mad, I thought that if…look Elle, come back so we can talk this over properly."

"Why did you say it Tom?" she asked again, her tone more clipped, indicating she would not be redirected from her question.

"I was annoyed and angry."

"So you wanted to hurt me, make me think that I was after changing because I wanted us to have time together before the cameras came sniffing because I was taking the time to actually prepare myself, talking with Sophie about it, even Emma."

"Emma went to an event or two with me, when they realised she was my sister, they backed off."

"Watson."

"You've been talking to her?"

"Yes, I met her one day in Camden, I asked her if she had any tips, we went for tea and she actually gave me advice," Danielle explained.

"I hadn't realised…"

"I wasn't ashamed Tom, I told you from the start I am not overly public. I don’t tell people who you are, but I tell them about you. The jobs I have worked since us, my colleagues know I have a boyfriend and his name is Tom, but I have never flaunted who you are. I know they would whisper that I got the job because of you, though let's face it, how does an actor not even on the production have influence over the hiring of a safety officer that works for a firm with about ten of them on the books? I just didn't want everyone in on us until I am ready, until I can be sure I won't embarrass you."

Tom felt his throat tighten at Danielle's words. "You wouldn't…"

"That is not how you acted when you said it though."

"Elle, please, this is ridiculous."

"Tom, me wanting to discuss this is not 'ridiculous'. You said something that really hurt me and expect me to shrug it off without apology, then I tell you that it hurt me and you dismiss it still. I mean, it is one thing or you to not apologise when you don't know how much it hurt, but when I not only tell you why it hurt but explain my reasons for being perhaps what can be construed as such a way, you tell me that it is ridiculous."

"Because it is," Tom argued. "It is all ridiculous, you need to come back so that we can get passed this."

"Why the fuck would I come back and 'get passed' it when you won't even acknowledge what hurts me?"

"We can talk about it more when you get back."

"I don't want to talk anymore Tom, you are dismissing me as irrational and my feelings as unimportant, there is nothing to discuss if that is the case."

"All I said was that Taylor would go in public with me."

"Yes, and be shot from several different angles, hell throw in the family for a nice photo op too sure for the fun of it." she scoffed. "I thought you didn't want that life, show dog for the cameras, doing tricks and getting rewards in the way of your face on all the magazines, good and bad."

"You have no idea what you are talking about." Tom's voice was low and angry.

"I think I do. I think you miss the media attention, you seem very much wanting to flirt with it again if you are angry at me for not wanting to be in it."

"Danielle, enough."

"Oh, we are back to my full name now, like I am an unruly teenager," she prodded, her own anger rising.

"Look, I am sorry I dismissed what I said as hurtful, clearly to you, it is. I am sorry that you seem to think the magazine dismisses my thoughts on us, but there is no need to be a brat about it, it's done."

There was silence on the phone for a few moments, Tom had thought that the line had gone dead. "It's done?" Danielle repeated quietly.

"Like your father used to say, it's done," Tom stated.

"No Tom, this time, it's I'm done." Danielle's tone was sad but firm. "I am done, goodbye." she hung up the phone without another word, leaving Tom to look at the device in his hand, his heart pounding so loudly he could hear it in his ears, his mind blank but for one thing, Danielle's final sentence.

#I Hate You I Love You #chapter 77 #wolfpawn #tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fic

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theinsanecrayonbox · 6 years ago

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more OmegaTooth/Weapon X-Force fam headcanons

courtesy of fever brain

Arkady and Victor being rough with each other, because since they both have healing factors, they don’t have to be mindful of not hurting the other; but at the same time the fact that they are soft too shows how much they care; Victor is excellent at after care

Arkady having no hair on his body, save for his head (caused by a combination of his albinism and the carbonium poisoning). thus why he rarely, if ever, cuts his hair and keeps it long since it doesn’t *really* grow out

Dom doing a Cosmo Quiz (like on a long flight to a mission), trying to get the girls in on it, and Arkady’s the only one that plays with her

he says he’s a “cat person” to one of the questions, which Victor snickers at, Belle rolls her eyes at, and Dom misses completely because this was before she realized he and Vic were dating

Dom taking Arkady out on a Girl’s Night

Yuriko doing anyone’s nails should they ask

Daken just showing up out of nowhere sometimes in the base, drinking their milk; after the third time it happens, the rest of the team just go with it

he does it because he decided to accept Arkady into his adopted family; still refuses to let Victor join (but only to mess with him)

Yuriko and Daken having conversations at 3 am in full Japanese

Dom, half awake, growling enough to rival the ferals about how she has to learn yet another language to keep up with everything here

Raven vacuuming every other day because she can’t stand “cat hair everywhere”

Raven silently throwing a fit when the others invite Daken to their Mario Kart party over her

Belle studying for a GED in between missions, and having the various adults phrasing mathematical questions in mercenary scenarios (like, if your target is 500ft away, and you have this model of sniper rifle, what angle do you need to position yourself at to make the shot)

Warpath getting tricked into a double date with Arkady and Victor by Dom, and only sticking through it to try to tear them down

it fails spectacularly as team OmegaTooth win pub trivia with a full on shutout

everyone calling Arkady “Red” but just the way Victor says it tells you it’s different

Yuriko passive-aggressively teasing Raven

just Yuriko being secretly happy with her strange family

Raven throwing a huge fit when Warpath is invited to Mario Kart over her

he of course refused, thinking it some trick

#omegatooth #headcanon #thinking outloud #belle on weapon x-force au #Victor Creed #Sabretooth #arkady rossovitch #omega red #bellona kinney #yuriko ishida #lady deathstrike #domino #raven darkholme #mystique #daken akihiro #warpath #james proudstar

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kingsofeverything · 8 years ago

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Hello my luv, I see you doing fic and art appreciation once in a while so I thought I'd give asking for recs a shot. I really love plot heavy fics (the longer the better, some of my favourites are the top gun au, young and beautiful, liarb and everything by zarah5 and some random author you won't know called fullonlarrie. But i also really loved another hazy may (also as in it's quite short for me). Do you happen to have recomendations?

lol i read this 3x before i realized you listed me in there!

i’m going to start off by saying that i am horrible at reccing fics. horrible. AND i don’t usually care for long fics at all. i always send people to @softhie and @nottooldforthisship for fic recs because they’re PROS. and also, i will always feel like i’m leaving someone out and that sucks.

so the first fic i thought of was swallow my words by yesisaworld ~33k words

and then i thought about all of the big bang fics and summer exchange fics that have come out so far (i wrote for both!)

and then i went and asked @louandhazaf because she’s much better at this sort of thing. and the best part of this fic rec is that i have more fics to read, because i haven’t read a lot of them (i’m a horrible person) and then i had to put them below the cut because i pasted the descriptions and this got long and you’ve probably read some of them:

Or Brûlant by iris_avis (starryeyedlarry) ~90k words

After completing his prestigious dance training overseas, Harry returns to England to begin teaching in one of London's elite ballet schools. Only, certain dancers aren't too happy to have him suddenly on board. Or his well-fitted lycra uniform. Throw in some unusual dynamics, tense elevation demonstrations and an unlikely dance partnership, and you've got yourself a pretty interesting edition of Matthew Bourne's 'Swan Lake'.

Or the one where Harry is the new ballet teacher, despite him being younger than everyone in his class, and Louis is less than impressed by his inescapable talent. They sort themselves out eventually.

Paint Me In A Million Dreams by @greenfeelings ~110k words

Harry's one of Hollywood's biggest actors, has made a name for himself in prestigious films and lives the life of a superstar. There's just one thing missing to make it picture-perfect, but the one Harry's in love with is completely out of reach for him. Enter Louis, one of Hollywood's biggest actors himself, who just came out of the closet and taps new genres in the industry. When Louis sacks the role Harry auditioned for in Scorsese's next big film, their irrational feud starts. Who could have guessed it would get even worse when for promo season, their teams decide to present them as a couple for publicity?

In short, Harry's in love with someone and doesn't care about dating anyone else, Louis never felt home in L.A., Liam writes love songs for someone he shouldn't write love songs to, and Niall makes everything better with good food.

Domestic Monsters Series by g_uttertrash

(summary of pt 1) Harry is a witch from a long line of power, an ancient line that’s one of the strongest left alive in their hemisphere. He can cast spells without a word if need be, fly on a broomstick, and has a black cat (a kitten, really) named Felix that is his animal familiar. He can shape galaxies in his cupped hands and can destroy them just as easily. He can choose exactly how to use his power, for encouragement and support, or for more nefarious causes if he wishes to.And as fate would have it, he’s scared of haunted houses.(Harry is a witch who carries around a stuffed pumpkin, Louis is a vampire with too much time on his hands, and their best mates Zayn & Niall aren't exactly what they seem...)

Adore You by isthatyoularry ~67k words

“We invited our new acquaintances from uptown. You’ve simply got to meet their oldest son!” said his mother with a flourish, and suddenly it became abundantly clear as to why his parents had so adamantly demanded he join them in Deansville for the entirety of the summer.

Against his wishes, Harry spends the holidays at his family’s summer estate, and is reluctantly pulled into a courtship he didn’t ask for. Harry doesn’t want to get married, but Louis does. They don’t fit, but then again they really, really do.

Vaguely set in the 1920’s. Headpieces, jazz, fashionable canes, and flapper dresses, and that.

Here In The Afterglow by fondleeds ~89k words

“If you hadn’t noticed, I don’t have many friends,” Louis whispers, the blossom of insecurity in his stomach unfurling and clawing its way into his throat.

Harry is silent for a long time, and then he speaks; a soft, slow uncurl that makes Louis’ stomach shake. “I’ll be your friend.”

1970’s AU. In a tiny town in Idaho, Louis’ life is changed forever by the arrival of a curious stranger.

I Only Ever Want You by itsmiz ~180k words

Louis and Harry's relationship goes through a series of changes while Liam and Zayn discover new things about themselves, as well.

Or: Louis & Harry and Liam & Zayn begin to have sex in front of each other and a lot of kink-discovery results from that.

Run Like The Devil by Benzos ~138k words

Harry stops pouting, but his frown is still fixed in place. “Are you sure?” he asks. “You know it’s your soul you’re signing away.” He sounds…sad? No, that’s not right, but there’s something.

Christ. This is the most incompetent demon Louis’ ever met. If he hadn’t seen the red of his eyes he wouldn’t believe he was a demon at all. How’d he get this job if he isn’t trying to convince Louis to deal? Or is it just another trick? A ploy for sympathy?

“I’m sure,” Louis says. “Come over here and kiss me.”

Supernatural AU. Louis hunts demons; Harry's the strangest demon he's ever met, and he keeps fucking meeting him.

Fool’s Gold by @tvshows-addict ~55k words

Leaflet for Over Again Inc.

“In relationships, there are three types of people: those who are happy, those who are unhappy but accept it and deal, those who are unhappy and in denial. Handling this last category is our job: we are professional couple breakers. To reach our goal, we use all means necessary.”

Or the Arnacoeur AU in which Harry is scheduled to be married to Liam in 10 days and Harry’s mother hires Louis and his team to break them up.

When We Were Younger by @dinosaursmate (waytoomanypeopleintheaddisonlee) ~76k words

About a week after Harry started visiting this particular chat room, he was watching some kid argue with the whole room about football, personally disinterested as he tipped a bag of crisps into his mouth. He happily chomped on the crumbs, taking a swig from a glass of Ribena to wash them down, glancing at the screen and very nearly spat the squash back out again.His heart was pounding wildly. The display icon of the argumentative newcomer had caught his eye, and not in a good way. He gulped as he clicked the picture, and when it popped up in full resolution, his heart nearly fell right out of his arse.-Sixteen year old Harry Styles’ world turns upside down when he logs on to gay teen chat to discover somebody has stolen his photos and used them as their own.

Saved Tonight by objectlesson @horsegirlharry ~30k words

Harry is the world's most persistent seduction-baker, a questionable dog-sitter, and Louis's biggest fan. Louis hasn't written in years, is trying to pass loneliness off as cynicism, and absolutely hates his fans. It's probably destiny.

Feels Like Coming Home by @phd-mama ~60k words

The last thing Harry Styles expects when he's hanging out at the Someday Cafe in Somerville one rainy October day is for his ex, Louis Tomlinson to walk through the door, but that's exactly what happens. After a spectacularly ugly break-up three years prior, Harry hasn't heard one word from Louis, and he's moved on. Gotten over him. But having Louis back in his life, not to mention working at the restaurant where he's a chef, isn't easy, and the feelings that Harry thought he'd left turn out to be not so easily forgotten.

This is a story about love and the power of forgiveness, and how the hard choices we make define us, and change our lives.

#fic rec #i apologize in advance #i am not good at this sort of thing #i'm sitting here thinking i'm leaving out so many #Anonymous

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