#haven't read the book to be honest

[monstrumpuella]

Recently started rewatching some of my favorite Disney films and let me say this:

The Princess Diaries is still one of the best films ever and I loved it, adored it and it instantly took me back to my childhood. Mia was my icon I loved her so much she was me with the awkwardness the humor the kindness the determination the anxiety just being so caring

She the absolute queen 👑💞

[wanderer-clarisse]

some lotr doodles! here's Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn. I've been rereading the trilogy and it's fun getting to visualize the characters on paper!

[just-pauline]

The puppet doll

Without text:

[best-enemies]

The Deca itself amazes me, but its fandom is on a whole other level. We have one canon source material (and a few other mentions scattered throughout the Whoniverse), but the fans have managed to tinker with it so much that fanon is actually more popular than canon and more wildly accepted. And I love y'all for it

[mariocki]

The Brothers Rico (1957)

"Okay, okay, so nobody's blaming you! Let's just say something happened way back, huh? So maybe I am gonna die. But, Eddie, you've got even bigger troubles. You're gonna live."

[elizabethrobertajones]

That YA post you reblogged is not really accurate. There are some good sources in the notes, you should check it out

I know, I'm a five times published YA author :D However, it is funny!

[tenracoonsinacrisis]

"He would locate Nina. They would survive this night. They would free themselves of this damp, misbegotten city, and then... Well, then they'd change the world."

I AM ABSOLUTELY SOBBING AT THIS LINE. REREADING IT I AM TEARING UP AT EVERY BIT OF MATTIAS'S HOPE FOR A FUTURE. LEIGH BARDUGO YOU ARE EVIL.

[biracy]

Tbh I should probably take a break. I almost definitely won't but I should, yknow

[fungi-maestro]

What's your dream run for Vic?

I had to think about this for a little bit-

I really loved the dynamic of Vic in Hub City just after Myra was elected as mayor, and I also loved the way Vic and Renee played off of each other in 52. If a series ever came out where Vic and Renee both acted as the protectors of Hub City during a time of great stress, I think it would be one of the best things for me. Bonus points if they worked to solve or uncover something horrifying lurking beneath the surface, but I might just think that would be cool because of my own love of mysteries.

If it's done right, a story like this could be a great way to showcase the part of the Question that is dearest to my heart; Their exploration of how, why, and for what purpose different things happened around them, seeking to fully understand how something came to happen and how to prevent it from happening again or completing it's mission. It could also be a great chance to show the different ways that each Question accomplishes this. I think it could be cool! Plus, the idea of Vic back in his old stomping grounds with Renee by his side just makes me feel something. I think it could be really fantastic.

[bitegore]

I've misplaced the original spec for the thing, but I think it was roughly "thoughtful, emotional prose written by people who haven't read anything but fanfiction..." So (accounting for the fact that a lot of your stuff on here is Art or brief comments on other people's posts or random personal reflections and that is the nature of the medium):

Thoughtful: yes, of course. Aside from Decepticon religion etc and Stunticon interactions (which are clearly properly thought through) there is all the stuff you write about charity and religion and people being people and making the world a kinder place in really practical ways. I'm also still using your stuff on confidence in a couple of contexts, and it helps people.

Emotional: clearly, but perhaps not in the slightly twee way the OP implies. You're passionate about things and you wear (some representation of; this is social media) your heart on your sleeve about the important stuff. You also present a lot of emotion about the silly stuff (violet mints and sleep patterns, to name but two).

Having read only fanfic: not seeing it (though maybe, I'm not sure what I'm presenting here is not doing fanfic a disservice). Quite apart from the fact that I'm pretty sure I've seen you talk about non-fanfic you've read, your fic and the way you talk about it draws on a much wider range of conventions and structures than most of the fanfic I've read. (Disclaimer - that may be selection bias on my part, as I've only really ever been into TF fandom, but there are certainly lots of brilliant writers therein and the thing that distinguishes you among them in my head is the range of structural approaches and angles.) It feels as if you're in dialogue with a very wide range of other authors.

...I actually forgot that non-fiction still counts as reading, if you'd believe that lmao. My whole "thing" (inasmuch as I really have a "thing") is parodying whatever I've read for my homework last. That tracks haha.

Thank you! This was a really thorough answer and very much food for thought :D

[illusion-of-sea-axes]

Holy shit, I love physical media. I love holding my favorite show in my hands and being able to flip it over and over and look at it and know that I have this and I can watch it wherever there is a CD player.

[superconductivebean]

#1133

I'm free this evening, allow me to run into the confessions blog's wall for a brief second, I wanna speak to a copypasta.

I want to define canon.

By 'canon' we usually consider the congregation of the worldbuilding shown through the plot lenses and the plot itself with all its elements; we rarely consider the world as a separate entity although logically it should be regardless of how functional it is presented to the reader.

Therefore we usually call canon only the Main PlotTM only and often forget about The LoreTM. Which is, honest, hilarious because if we take that on Earth, we'll have that time in literature history when all you could read were the Bible and What The King Did; no peasant Slice of Life, nor some interesting records, neither precise statistics and basically everything that forms our knowledge of how the world really functions today.

Hogwаrts Legаcy isn't aiming to write a story before HP. It aims to tell a story in the decour of HP's lore and trying to play around parts of its vast but largely unfilled lore. Isn't yet the levels of DND of the tabletop and any DND-based cRPG, but certainly hit the mark of SW Legends.

Which, as you probably know, can be incredibly cringeworthy but people consider them canon over the official material because those things are canon lore-wise; doesn't quite matter if contemporary.

Ever heard of Only The Stuff Before 5th Season Is Canon? Basically it.

Or heard of Everything That Isn't In The Main Line Isn't Canon? Yeah.

Or Everything Out There Forms The Universe's LEGO? This.

[maganne-studies]

"My father said it looked very sad: a stairway in a field of ruin, going up to nowhere."

- The Woman Who Had Two Navels by NIck Joaquin

[lurkiestvoid]

I fucking love Libby so much. ADHD makes it hard to make Going To The Library a regular routine (hard to remember to return books on time, hard to remember to just Go and Browse), and poverty makes it impossible to collect and read everything I want.

anyways thanks to Libby and my local library card plus a Queer Liberation Library card I've been able to read 79 books since August 2023 and still going strong, AND my "to read" tag STILL has nearly 400 titles in it.

So this post will be a running list of the books I read from Aug23-Aug24:

"Mort," Terry Pratchett

"The Fifth Season," N.K. Jemison

"Celtic Gods and Heroes," Marie-Louise Sjoestedt

"A Very Brief Introduction: The Celts," Barry Cunliff

"Princess Princess Ever After," K. O'Niell

"Gentleman Jack," Angela Steidele

"Hatchet," Gary Paulson

"Equal Rites," Terry Pratchett

"The Religion of the Ancient Celts," J. A. MacCulloch

"The Light Fantastic," Terry Pratchett

"The Giver," Lois Lowry

"The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," Suzanne Collins

"The Sandman (Vol 2)," Neil Gaiman

"Fourth Wing," Rebecca Yaros

"The Color of Magic," Terry Pratchett

"The Sandman (Vol 1)," Neil Gaiman

"American Gods," Neil Gaiman

"The Song of Achilles," Madeline Miller

"The Handmaid's Tale," Margaret Atwood

"Good Omens," Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

"Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal Edition," Naoko Takeuchi (1-10)

"The Invasion," K. A. Applegate

"Dragon Ball," Akira Toriyama (1&2)

"Dragon Ball Z," Akira Toriyama (1&2)

"The Eight," Katherine Neville

"Behemoth," Scott Westerfield

"Warriors: Dawn of the Clans," Erin Hunter (1-6)

"Warriors: Omen of the Stars," Erin Hunter (1-6)

"Warriors: Power of Three," Erin Hunter (1-6)

"Warriors," Erin Hunter (1-6)

"Leviathan," Scott Westerfield

"The Turn," Kim Harrison (series reread, 0-17)

[mirellapryce]

It's so funny when I tell people that I'm petty and spiteful, they don't believe me. Then somewhere down the line I tell them about something petty and spiteful I did or wanted to do and I watch the horror on their faces.

[burntoutdaydreamer]

Things That May Be Causing Your Writer's Block- and How to Beat Them

I don't like the term 'Writer's Block' - not because it isn't real, but because the term is so vague that it's useless. Hundreds of issues all get lumped together under this one umbrella, making writer's block seem like this all-powerful boogeyman that's impossible to beat. Worse yet, it leaves people giving and receiving advice that is completely ineffective because people often don't realize they're talking about entirely different issues.

In my experience, the key to beating writer's block is figuring out what the block even is, so I put together a list of Actual Reasons why you may be struggling to write:

(note that any case of writer's block is usually a mix of two or more)

Perfectionism (most common)

What it looks like:

You write one sentence and spend the next hour googling "synonyms for ___"

Write. Erase. Write. Rewrite. Erase.

Should I even start writing this scene when I haven't figured out this one specific detail yet?

I hate everything I write

Cringing while writing

My first draft must be perfect, or else I'm a terrible writer

Things that can help:

Give yourself permission to suck

Keep in mind that nothing you write is going to be perfect, especially your first draft

Think of writing your first/early drafts not as writing, but sketching out a loose foundation to build upon later

People write multiple drafts for a reason: write now, edit later

Stop googling synonyms and save that for editing

Write with a pen to reduce temptation to erase

Embrace leaving blank spaces in your writing when you can't think of the right word, name, or detail

It's okay if your writing sucks. We all suck at some point. Embrace the growth mindset, and focus on getting words on a page

Lack of inspiration (easiest to fix)

What it looks like:

Head empty, no ideas

What do I even write about???

I don't have a plot, I just have an image

Want to write but no story to write

Things that can help:

Google writing prompts

If writing prompts aren't your thing, instead try thinking about what kind of tropes/genres/story elements you would like to try out

Instead of thinking about the story you would like to write, think about the story you would like to read, and write that

It's okay if you don't have a fully fleshed out story idea. Even if it's just an image or a line of dialogue, it's okay to write that. A story may or may not come out of it, but at least you got the creative juices flowing

Stop writing. Step away from your desk and let yourself naturally get inspired. Go for a walk, read a book, travel, play video games, research history, etc. Don't force ideas, but do open up your mind to them

If you're like me, world-building may come more naturally than plotting. Design the world first and let the story come later

Boredom/Understimulation (lost the flow)

What it looks like:

I know I should be writing but uugggghhhh I just can'tttttt

Writing words feels like pulling teeth

I started writing, but then I got bored/distracted

I enjoy the idea of writing, but the actual process makes me want to throw my laptop out the window

Things that can help:

Introduce stimulation: snacks, beverages, gum, music such as lo-fi, blankets, decorate your writing space, get a clickity-clackity keyboard, etc.

Add variety: write in a new location, try a new idea/different story for a day or so, switch up how you write (pen and paper vs. computer) or try voice recording or speech-to-text

Gamify writing: create an arbitrary challenge, such as trying to see how many words you can write in a set time and try to beat your high score

Find a writing buddy or join a writer's group

Give yourself a reward for every writing milestone, even if it's just writing a paragraph

Ask yourself whether this project you're working on is something you really want to be doing, and be honest with your answer

Intimidation/Procrastination (often related to perfectionism, but not always)

What it looks like:

I was feeling really motivated to write, but then I opened my laptop

I don't even know where to start

I love writing, but I can never seem to get started

I'll write tomorrow. I mean next week. Next month? Next month, I swear (doesn't write next month)

Can't find the time or energy

Unreasonable expectations (I should be able to write 10,000 words a day, right????)

Feeling discouraged and wondering why I'm even trying

Things that can help:

Follow the 2 min rule (or the 1 paragraph rule, which works better for me): whenever you sit down to write, tell yourself that you are only going to write for 2 minutes. If you feel like continuing once the 2 mins are up, go for it! Otherwise, stop. Force yourself to start but DO NOT force yourself to continue unless you feel like it. The more often you do this, the easier it will be to get started

Make getting started as easy as possible (i.e. minimize barriers: if getting up to get a notebook is stopping you from getting started, then write in the notes app of your phone)

Commit to a routine that will work for you. Baby steps are important here. Go with something that feels reasonable: every day, every other day, once a week, twice a week, and use cues to help you remember to start. If you chose a set time to write, just make sure that it's a time that feels natural to you- i.e. don't force yourself to writing at 9am every morning if you're not a morning person

Find a friend or a writing buddy you can trust and talk it out or share a piece of work you're proud of. Sometimes we just get a bit bogged down by criticism- either internal or external- and need a few words of encouragement

The Problem's Not You, It's Your Story (or Outline (or Process))

What it looks like:

I have no problems writing other scenes, it's just this scene

I started writing, but now I have no idea where I'm going

I don't think I'm doing this right

What's an outline?

Drowning in documents

This. Doesn't. Make. Sense. How do I get from this plot point to this one?!?!?! (this ColeyDoesThings quote lives in my head rent free cause BOY have I been there)

Things That Can Help:

Go back to the drawing board. Really try to get at the root of why a scene or story isn't working

A part of growing as a writer is learning when to kill your darlings. Sometimes you're trying to force an idea or scene that just doesn't work and you need to let it go

If you don't have an outline, write one

If you have an outline and it isn't working, rewrite it, or look up different ways to structure it

You may be trying to write as a pantser when you're really a plotter or vice versa. Experiment with different writing processes and see what feels most natural

Study story structures, starting with the three act structure. Even if you don't use them, you should know them

Check out Ellen Brock on YouTube. She's a professional novel editor who has a lot of advice on writing strategies for different types of writers

Also check out Savage Books on YouTube (another professional story editor) for advice on story structure and dialogue. Seriously, I cannot recommend this guy enough

Executive Dysfunction, Usually From ADHD/Autism

What it looks like:

Everything in boredom/understimulation

Everything in intimidation/procrastination

You have been diagnosed with and/or have symptoms of ADHD/Autism

Things that can help:

If you haven't already, seek a diagnosis or professional treatment

Hire an ADHD coach or other specialist that can help you work with your brain (I use Shimmer; feel free to DM me for a referral)

Seek out neurodiverse communities for advice and support

Try body doubling! There's lot's of free online body doubling websites out there for you to try. If social anxiety is a barrier, start out with writing streams such as katecavanaughwrites on Twitch

Be aware of any sensory barriers that may be getting in the way of you writing (such as an uncomfortable desk chair, harsh lighting, bad sounds)

And Lastly, Burnout, Depression, or Other Mental Illness

What it looks like:

You have symptoms of burnout or depression

Struggling with all things, not just writing

It's more than a lack of inspiration- the spark is just dead

Things that can help:

Forget writing for now. Focus on healing first.

Seek professional help

If you feel like it, use writing as a way to explore your feelings. It can take the form of journaling, poetry, an abstract reflection of your thoughts, narrative essays, or exploring what you're feeling through your fictional characters. The last two helped me rediscover my love of writing after I thought years of depression had killed it for good. Just don't force yourself to do so, and stop if it takes you to a darker place instead of feeling cathartic