#i think about this a lot with the authortubers i watched when i was just starting out and a teen

[thelostboys87]

does anyone else get writing "advice" posts on their fyp (usually from blogs that promote themselves as solely a writing advice account) that is all very neatly laid out but when you read it is actually like. nothing-advice? like i got a "how to plot a book" post and all the points where incredibly vague, "start with an idea" "consider themes and message" "create well defined characters" and i don't think even a beginner writer would benefit from this because what does a "good" idea look like? how do you define characters well? how do you consider and approach an idea thematically? at first i thought maybe i need to remember that im not a beginner writer and dont need things laid out like that, but then i remember the times i was a beginner writer and and would watch similar videos on youtube and just feel overwhelmed by all the steps being laid out in a whistle stop tour with nothing about how to tackle each step, or reassurance that you dont have to a follow a set line of steps in the first place. feel like there's a whole genre of writing advice content, typically marketed at beginners, that's like, the advice isn't bad but it's so surface level and presented in a easy to digest way that it can look helpful but when it comes to actually being helpful you'll realise it's actually saying nothing. coincidentally it's also the easiest content you could make re writing LOL

[twilightguardian]

"Imagine thinking that responses to someone cannot be longer than the thing being responded to."

Funny thing is, this is frequently a thing the political right do in America- they spout random bullshit all the time as part of a carpet-bomb misinformation tactic, so that the left spends more time debunking the misinformation.

Fairen is basically pulling from the far-right playbook of covering discourse in FRWBY with so much bs that the series is incapable of standing on its own two feet- because fans of it have to spend time explaining why the lies she peddles (that she often gets from biased recaps because she doesn't watch the show) are based in falsehoods rather than talking about FRWBY on its own merits.

kinda funny that the person who rushes to use sexism as a catch-all excuse to smear her opposition has no problem pilfering far-right debate tactics, huh.

Unfortunately, such a tactic can be used by anyone with proper motivation to do so. So it's not surprising to me that Lilith, who seems to lean very left, would also do this. I don't really want to make this about politics or pointing fingers at one side or another. I mostly made note that Lilith primarily focuses on common politically motivated aspects of book writing, whether coincidental or born from insular spaces.

As for her biased recaps, yeah, they're lies, but I wouldn't say they're just a Gish gallop of lies that one has to debunk. More that she uses half-truths, obscuring the truth in vagaries and massive omissions.

She has a very big habit of ignoring when someone calls her out, and if not, she claims people are bullying her. I've seen quite a few people in the RWBY fandom space say that people disagreeing with them, or messaging them to correct them is 'bullying'. People, like Lilith, weaponize the block button just as much as it's used legitimately.

But it is funny to me that anything she says about FRWBY being bad because it can't stand on it's own misses the point of FRWBY in the first place: It's not designed to stand on its own. It's meant to be complimentary to RWBY. Just like Lilith has written a first draft of her Glints Saga series, she'd taken them down and rewritten a second draft of it. It's like, 'congrats, Lilith, you did the exact same thing functionally that FRWBY is meant to be to RWBY.' A second draft. You also don't typically publish second drafts, either. But the purpose of Fixing isn't meant to make RWBY perfect, it's to show that RWBY can be better than it currently is with only minimal tweaks.

Some people aren't going to like the changes. The majority of the takes I've seen either misunderstand FRWBY by citing canon as the reason why Fixing is flawed, despite Raymond having stated those particular things they evoke have changed for his lore in his rewrite; or they deliberately don't pay much attention and miss the inference, so used to the fact that RWBY usually tells the audience things they should be showing instead, then getting upset that Fixing doesn't do the same.

There's been a few legitimate critiques I have come across, such as one that talks about Ozpin and the host changes. But unfortunately in canon we don't know for certain how the hosting works, or what the end result entails. It kind of seems like they waffle on the answer. There was nothing to really say on the critique, as it was just their opinion that they liked what seemed like their headcanon for RWBY better than Raymonds. Okay, sure. If there was deliberate misinformation or misunderstanding about FRWBY's version, I'd probably step in. But other than that, there's no need.

Stepping back into the writing and politics for a moment, for clarification:

There's a lot of talk within some writing circles or just media circles more generally about women's role in media, and the extremes of that seems to be what Lilith subscribes to. A recent example of this mindset is from authortuber Jenna Streety who released a somewhat problematic video talking about female characters in fiction, where for much of it she was preaching more her personal politics rather than talking about women in fiction (and even insinuated that if you want to write characters outside of your sexual preference or gender, you might be gay/trans. Because you can't just... write a character, you actually just want to write yourself. It might also be why Lilith insists on calling Roman Celtic's self-insert all the time).

Among the things she says is reminiscent of the things Lilith talks about, namely that it's apparently sexist for female characters to have motivations surrounding characters other than themselves, but especially men.

Also like Lilith, Jenna tries to silence all disagreement and criticism levied at her by means of deleting comments and bragging about it on her twitter, calling anyone who disagrees with her homophobic and sexist.

It gives off the implication that actually feminine women are undesirable, and the only valid way to write women is to make them masculine in some way, or unlikeable, selfish assholes. Considering what some critics of RWBY claim the girls are like, it wouldn't be a far stretch to equate this mindset of women being well written if they're this way to the reason why Lilith likes the RWBY girls so much. But with no actual confirmation, it's still a stretch gleaned from inference to how Lilith talks about and treats the female characters of the shows she likes and how the characters are.

Of course there's nothing wrong with a female character having motivations for herself, but the problem is that characters don't live in a vacuum. Yet some advocates of this act like they do. Women, even fictional ones, are human beings (or representative of humans) in case anyone forgot, and we are social animals. Women especially, with ancestral roles dating back to our ancestors in the trees, are more naturally inclined to other people. Friends, parents, siblings, children. There's nothing inherently wrong with a female character's main motivations stemming from another character other than herself, not even a man, and that also tying into who she is as a person. We as people resonate strongly with fictional characters having those connections. It's why so many people criticize Yang for not paying more attention to Ruby, and vise versa. Or all four girls in general not being like we expect women to be and act socially. Indeed, apart from a few small moments, they almost act like they were written as male characters with an S pasted on to the 'he'.

Do I think that was how RWBY was actually written? No, of course not. But male writers tend to need to be a bit more cognizant of how they write female characters on average, or else oddities may occur. It may not have been intentional, subconscious, even. But there's something there with the writing of the girls that feels wrong to enough people in the fandom to take note of.

Here's a response video a youtuber I've come to like named Ian posted recently in response to Jenna's video (In Majima from Yakuza Cosplay), and her issues with the woman's opinions and outlooks regarding writing women or even just as a whole.

This turned into a much longer discussion on the topic than I thought, but I had fun, so thank you for messaging me!

[isabellahawkes]

Defending 5 Tropes Everyone Hates In Fiction

Today  I’m going to defend the tropes in fiction that everyone hates. I’ve  been watching Authortube and Booktube for several years, and over a  period of time I’ve realized that certain tropes get more blind hate  than they deserve. So I’ll be talking about the five tropes everyone  hates — or, so they claim to — and explain why they’re really not that  bad.

1) The Self-Insert: People make fun of self-inserts because they, in theory, drag the quality of the story down. But what exactly is a self-insert? Well, it’s supposed to be a character that resembles a more perfect version of the author, typically the main character. This character is hot and can do no wrong, and defeats all of their enemies easily.

However…what is actually a self-insert? The main character. Of any novel. Especially if it’s written by a woman.  Women authors are more often than not accused of writing self-inserts,  especially if the main character is also a woman, and bonus points if  they have the same hair color. Because brown is such an uncommon hair  color. Self-inserts are typically also referred to as Mary-Sues. Here’s a  tip: Go in the opposite direction from anyone who uses that term today  unironically.

I’m  not saying that self-inserts don’t exist in fiction, or that people  don’t write “Mary Sues”. But let’s be honest, this is just another way  to dig at a woman author for not writing the just perfect and acceptable  representation of a woman. The character is likable? Self-insert. The  character is unlikable? Self-insert. The character is good at most  things? This is wish fulfillment. The character is completely  incompetent? She’s so pathetic…so she must be a self-insert.

Aside from this primarily being directed at women — even  though some of the most renowned male authors have never had trouble  expressing their own self-inserts (Leo Tolstoy, Victor Hugo, Stephen  King, etc)— self-inserts by themselves aren’t even a bad thing.  Writing a character that has the same traits as the author doesn’t mean  the quality of the story will be less than. If anything, the author  will know how their character would realistically react to any  situation.

To  be clear, I’m also not saying you should just write characters that are  exactly like you. But it’s pretty impossible to write a character that  is exactly like you as you keep writing your story. As you develop your  character, they become a separate entity from you. It’s possible that by  the end of writing your manuscript, your “self-insert” only has a few  traits in common with you. And that’s the strange thing about people  critiquing self-inserts — this is you assuming you know the author. And 9  cases out of 10, you don’t. Not even if they’re a YouTuber. So really,  it’s kind of a creepy accusation. A better critique of a main character  would be that they excelled in everything too easily, or they were so  “perfect” it was annoying…you don’t need to drag the author’s perceived  personality into the mix. Also, make sure the character is actually too  perfect, rather than you don’t expect a woman to be capable of doing  anything.

2) Flashbacks:  I’ve seen a lot of people who hate flashbacks, and honestly this is one  on the list that I can see why people do. However, I’ve seen a lot of  hate being thrown its way…and I personally love flashbacks. When they’re  necessary. I love multiple timelines, when done well. I love a  nonlinear story structure. Flashbacks tend to get hate because sometimes  the flashbacks are placed in awkward times in the story, or they don’t  seem to add much, or they just confuse the audience. These are totally  valid criticisms, but I think like with self-inserts, they’re not always  done horribly.

A  common piece of writing advice is to start your story where the story  starts, otherwise known as the inciting incident. The inciting incident is not always where a flashback takes place in the main character’s  story. Perhaps the most well-known example of this is the show  Lost. For one thing, Lost has a big cast, but it would’ve been annoying  to follow these random characters with family issues that seemingly  don’t have much of a connection until they crash on an island, probably,  what, in the third season? Sometimes a story starts with a catastrophic  event that brings up memories for the main character. It wouldn’t be  effective storytelling to start off with Jack ruining his alcoholic  dad’s reputation and then crashing on an island…that’s some out of  nowhere twist.

Also, sometimes a story needs flashbacks, typically in the mystery and  thriller genres. Maybe readers who don’t like flashbacks don’t enjoy  those kinds of stories, but I just think the flashback hate would  actually ruin a lot of cool stories.

3) The “Chosen One”:  I honestly think that people who hate the “Chosen One” storyline don’t  actually read many chosen one stories. That’s because their complaints  are bizarre oversimplifications about what the chosen one could be…but  never is. I’ve heard people say that the chosen one is randomly chosen  for no clear purpose or reason. The three most popular examples are Harry in Harry Potter, Frodo in Lord of the Rings, and Katniss in The Hunger Games is brought up a lot for some reason.  Critics of this trope act like these characters were just randomly  chosen by some all-knowing being to save the world…and that’s just not  true. All three of these examples weren’t “chosen”, they were victims of  life circumstances, as are all of us.

Harry’s parents were murdered and a protection spell was placed on him, and it was all because of Voldemort. He  made the decision to go after Harry because he heard of a prophecy that  Harry could be his undoing. It also could’ve been Neville. The point  is, this wasn’t some grand design from God, it was circumstances that  led to Harry being the chosen one. In Lord of the Rings, Frodo  inherited the ring. Gandalf and Frodo even have a discussion about how  it didn’t have to be Frodo…but that’s too damn bad, it is. And Katniss  became a symbol for the rebellion in Panem because she was the first  person in a long time to actively show some resistance against the  Capitol. Again, this was due to life circumstances.

The point of the Chosen One is never to show how incredible these everyday heroes are…in fact, it’s the opposite. The  point is that random things happen that lead these heroes down  extraordinary circumstances…and they never want it to, but it’s too damn  bad. I just think people who critique this trope aren’t  actually even talking about the trope when it’s used, they’re just  borrowing jokes from CinemaSins.

4) Teenage Heroes/Super Soldiers:  When people complain about this trope, I get really confused. For one  thing, teenager heroes are typically in young adult books…which you’d  think would be obvious. But a lot of adult YA readers don’t actually  seem to like teenagers at all…so why are you reading about them? I also  get confused when people complain about this trope because they say it’s  not realistic…meaning, it doesn’t reflect real life…they don’t buy that  young people are targeted by any particular industries because they’re  young…

Not  only does the military target high schoolers because that’s when  they’re most physically fit, their minds are also more impressionable.  Universities do the same thing. Every industry  targets the youth to mold into a good soldier, a good student, a good  worker bee, another cog in the machine, if you will. But each person  targeted feels special, kind of like a hero. Sure, it might  sound weird to have an army made of up of 13 year olds because of the  kids you see around you. But back in the day, that was the norm, it’s  only unusual sounding by today’s standards. Just Google the age of King  Tut and you’ll be surprised how wrong you are.

5) One-Dimensional Villains:  For a time, we hated seeing villains that were just evil, for seemingly  no reason. We wanted something different. We wanted villains who felt  real like we do. We wanted funny villains. We wanted quirky villains. We  wanted to see ourselves in villains. Because we wanted to feel  challenged by our material. We didn’t want the good guy to always be  right. We wanted to understand the villain’s point. So…we got a ton of  villains with tragic backstories and redemption arcs. Not one of them  can stay evil unless they’re the last season baddy. That guy’s just Satan. It’s literally Satan most of the time now.

Every  villain’s gotta have a point, or at least a sob story. It’s totally  fine for a villain to have a point, and a sob story. But it’s gotten out  of hand. We’ve gotten to a tricky place where  many writers are unintentionally trying to justify their villains’  actions through their explanations of how a villain got to be the way  that they are. Or, if you’re a writer on YouTube, let’s be  honest, you’re gonna pretend that all of your characters are  three-dimensional people…because you’re the one writing them.

But  not every reader is going to think of your character chart. So, when  you don’t have these tragic backstory reveals, or understand why the  villain is committing genocide, the reader is just going to think, “this  is a one-dimensional villain.”

And that’s okay.

Why  do we need to justify genocide anyway? When we think of some of the  real world’s most evil people, we don’t see their complexity as a human  being…we see a monster. And honestly, I don’t see why every fictional  villain needs to be humanized in every fictional story. It all depends  on the story you’re trying to tell, and your themes. But your story  definitely doesn’t need to give your villain redemptive attributes.

Those are the five tropes I’ve seen get a lot of crap about, even from people  who use these tropes. And I don’t think they’re that bad, they’ve just  been oversimplified. Most any trope can be done well in fiction, they  just need to be utilized in an effective emotional way. And if you still  hate these tropes, well, that’s okay too. Just keeping an open mind is  one of the most efficient ways to improve your writing and expand your horizons.

Also published here on my website, and here on Medium. :)

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

what led you to the decision to pursue a bfa in creative writing?

- from a lost 11th grade highschooler lol

Hi! You know what, I can’t really pin down what made me want to pursue my degree in creative writing. I know it was a decision that I made at a very young age (when I was in grade 10) and one that I’d solidified when I attended my now-school’s open house in grade 11 (I started searching early)! I remember I always thought I’d study English at UofT because English was closest to my interest in writing and I’m from Toronto lol. But when I entered high school which starts at grade 9 where I’m from, I took my first English course (of course had done English in elementary school but not as a full blown course) and I realized very quickly it was my least favourite subject. No hate to the English lovers who may follow me! I wish I could be like you! I was surprised at this but no matter how many English classes I’ve taken, I just don’t like the subject (the heavy focus on reading is extremely difficult for me as a disabled person, though I didn’t realize it was likely my disability affecting my experience in those classes at the time).

I really got into authortube in grade 9 (I’d been watching since grade 8 but only like 2 people since only 2 people were making authortube vids lol) and remember seeing someone post about their creative writing major and that’s when the idea sparked, I think.

A word of advice: I genuinely think creative writing programs are sometimes romanticized in how much they’ll give you. It’s not that I wouldn’t make this decision again because truly I don’t know what else I would’ve wanted to study and writing is a skill I’ve been practicing for years that feeds my other interests like videography, but writing programs rely on the students in them. Really, you’re relying on other often young people to help you become a better writer in workshops. I would really consider a few things before choosing to study creative writing: what is your current financial situation and how would you fund your degree? I am extremely fortunate to come from a family where my parents had saved for my education, but since I’m schooling so far from home, I knew I needed to find another avenue to financially support my degree that will likely not bring financial return (as most writers won’t make tons of money if any). I strategically worked extremely hard in high school to acquire essentially what is the top level (or one of) scholarship at my institution, which required a 96% average. I sacrificed a lot of mental wellness in grade 12 to achieve this average (which was 99% when I graduated). That scholarship covers 100% of my tuition, but to renew it every year, I must maintain an A- average in my classes. It’s looking like I’ll be able to renew it a final time for next year, which is an accomplishment of difficult labour.

So while my experience as a creative writing major has had its sure positives, particularly my first year being quite revolutionary for me, it was a decision I made knowing a lot of hard work would need to be made to sustain and fund my decision. If you have parents who you can rely on to financially support you and a way to pay for your degree (as I do with my scholarship and I also won a bursary at my graduation and an additional scholarship from a third party that helped pay for my first year residence) perhaps through grants, etc, and you’re very passionate about writing and aware that this path will likely not be financially rewarding (as in you probably won’t be able to be a full-time writer right after you graduate, not that you can’t be employed with this degree as it is attractive for other jobs such as in publishing!), then I’d say go ahead and take a look at some programs! In general, it doesn’t hurt to go to open houses. Not sure where you’re located and am aware most open houses have already happened, but one of they very best things I did was get started on uni search EARLY. In grade 11 especially I did all my research, went to all the open houses for multiple schools, talked to faculty and students there, etc. It makes grade 12 so much less stressful to get some of that guesswork done (I didn’t have to do program searches at all that year and instead focused on my studies), so even if you can’t make it to the open houses, look into the schools and programs, the requirements, etc, if you need a portfolio and so on! Even just a little research before grade 12 helps a bunch!

I hope this isn’t demotivating but I feel a duty to be honest to high school students asking because of how rose-tinted my ideology of my degree was—it was a decision that’s surely changed my life for the better in many ways, but that truly needs to be considered (especially if you’re planning on doing school during the pandemic), so I wouldn’t want someone to go because of something I say without also discussing other elements of post-secondary education in general! Talk to your academic advisor or guidance counsellor! And certainly discuss with your parents or other adults in your life. Hope this helps!

[artie5o5]

Things that’s stopping me from Starting my YouTube

I’ve been wanting to start an AuthorTube channel for about a year now. I don’t think I’m in any way qualified to give advice to anyone... all I want to do is sit down in front of a camera, and talk about my writing projects, the characters, the ideas, the themes, the progress - all that. 

But every time I’ve borrowed my mother’s phone and tried to sit down in front of the front camera to record myself, I’ve been paralyzed by fear... 

Today I just wanted to take a deeper look at what, exactly, is the core of my fear - 

1. NOBODY CARES 

I keep telling myself that I’m doing this to myself, I just want to start, I just want to make something.. I just.. I just.. I just...  But it doesn’t matter. Every time I finish recording a video and import the file in Premiere Pro, not even halfway through the edit, I feel like nobody is going to watch this shit.  I’m too awkward, too clumsy, I talk in circles, I’m too nervous.. it’s just a total mess. 

2. PEOPLE WILL MAKE FUN OF ME

Which leads me to my second biggest fear - 

- people I know in real life will find out and make fun of me

- somebody is gonna walk in while I’m recording and make fun of me

- people will see my video online and make fun of me 

- people will make fun of me

- people will make fun of me 

- people will make fun of me

- and worse, maybe I deserve to be made fun of 

Apart from my usual shittiness in front of the camera, there are a lot of technical aspects that keeps making me stall the whole thing 

3. THE LIGHTING

I have two light bulbs in my room, that’s all the lighting I have. Maybe advise channels on YouTube may say “Sunlight is your best friend” And all that - but I can’t use the sunlight. Because I shoot at night, after everyone in my house is gone to sleep. The shot is not so poorly lit that you can’t see anything. It looks like those old 2011 videos that people used to make from their bedroom. Only it’s not 2011 anymore. People make AWESOME CONTENT on the platform that looks nothing less then cinema! And watching videos of such monumental quality, and then watching back my own footage - makes me really cringe!!

4. THE BACKDROP

My room has the shittiest backdrops in the history of everything. It’s just white walls that look paler in the bulb light. The windows look out on the building outside, where you can see the infinite windows of the inhabitants living there. The room seems tinier than it is because of ALL THE FURNITURE that it has... and when you try to shoot, all of it just makes the video more claustrophobic. 

5. THE AUDIO 

I record the video with my mother’s phone and with my laptop mic. I try to edit it a bit in Audition. But nothing really works. The laptop mic is good enough when you just remove the background noises in Audition, but it still sounds real PATHETIC compared to the videos that I consume where they record in a sound proof room with real microphones and all 

I think I might be able to overcome the lighting and the backdrop if only I figure out the courage to record in sunlight in a different location other than my room. My roof or the attic during twilight would most likely provide the best light but the backdrop there would be equally, if not MORE shit. And audio would be worse that it is in any open space...  My mother chose the absolute worst tiles for the bathrooms. Otherwise I would’ve shot my videos sitting on the commode! At least I’d have good audio there... 

I really don’t think my YouTube thing will take off even if I manage to have the best lighting, and the best backdrop and the best microphone. Maybe the main problem is me... 

Do you have a YouTube channel?

I’d love to see how you’re doing it. Take some inspiration. Maybe get to know each other. 

Drop your YouTube link in the comments and I’ll subscribe to your channel.. 

Meanwhile...  I’ll just sit and mope in my misery here. 

Goodbye!

[phantomoftheblank]

Authortube is horrible and why I’ve turncoated to Booktube. I wont apologize but I will argue.

I’ve consumed about 5 hours worth of Authortube just to write a shitty think-piece about it, so now we gotta have this talk. If you’re unaware of what I’m talking about let me explain; YouTube is a website that used to be about cat videos but now splits itself into subsections THAT ARE DEFINITELY NOT CULTS, but kinda looks like it at times,

    Though these genre’s aren’t really official, there is a genre for just about everything, and creative things especially. You have plenty of genres and way too many Youtubers to express it, and despite my pretentious nature I actually love how congested it is because it means its accessible to almost everyone, anybody can pretty much join in,

(Yeah I know, what a progressive queen I am, please give me claps for the bare fucking minimum,)

Gaming is probably the biggest on YouTube right now, but we like to pretend that it doesn’t exist and consume that content in the darkest corners of our house and pretend we don’t like it. Anyways; Authortube is kind of self explanatory and despite what a man-splainer I am as a 21 year old female, I think you get the point on what it is,

Well, with Authortube, we are making books to be consumed, and with this happening, Booktube has also bloomed. And in my judgemental opinion, it is actually better, and no, I’m not gonna go on the rampant that “we need to learn our audience” because preying on a bunch of minors doesn't sound very nice. 

Or legal, actually, yikes. It’s not like that, don’t make a judgment, we authors just want their money, not their mental state. Okay, I need to shut up, let’s talk about shit posting again, 

It’s actually not all minors, there’s plenty of adults on BookTube as well, which actually makes it that much more relatable, as to where Authortube is mainly adults who are going through routes to publishing their book or already have. Now, don’t attack me just yet, it’s my turn to argue honey and I brought an unloaded gun to the canon fight, I have an example for you.

Let’s take a look at Jenna Moreci, who is lovely, but also pretentious as all fuck. So me, but successful, not broke, prettier and in video format. In all seriousness I understand her audience, it’s primarily youthful writers looking for advice or writers looking to self publish because they see a success story, but this advice is all very mediocre and this isn’t a Jenna problem, this is an Authortube problem, Jenna Moreci is just an unfortunate example to explain my point,

    She’s even made certain content I can consume and not wanna spittle up, but it’s only when she herself is in the frame, and mainly when writing is not what she’s trying to teach me about. Jenna as a person with personality is quite lovely and very watchable, but Jenna as a self-publisher is part of the reason why I’ve turncoated.

    Writers aren’t puppies, you can’t teach them tricks, and though writing advice is important to get, I don’t see there being a lot of purpose in having 18 YouTubers telling me Show not Tell, but never following the same advice.

    You don’t get that lecturing attitude from Booktube, you get lovely personalities like Ariel Bisset and hilarious reviews from Cat (Paperbackdreams) and it actually becomes more watchable because it feels more genuine because they’re actual people in front of a camera, talking about what they enjoy, that’s because they aren’t trying to sell you something. 

    To compare two examples, for Authortube we’ll use Jenna Moreci, and for BookTube, we’ll use LilyCReads,

    LilyCReads, a BookTube channel, who used to do hilarious reviews on plenty of books, in a more so ranting fashion, and this worked for her, her audience grew a lot because of it. But eventually, she felt so obligated to make rant reviews she stopped enjoying the process of making the videos entirely, so with this being her emotions, she took down her rant reviews due to feeling too negative about it. Her greatest fear was becoming a rant review channel focusing on negativity. Though many of these videos I loved from her, she took them all down, which at first, was a bit saddening for me, as I watched those videos after a long day, oftentimes repeatedly, but I could not deny her genuine emotion to not wanting to be negative.

    And honey, I can’t relate, but I can say LilyCReads is one of the most genuine faces you will see on camera now. Has her subscriber count faced a backlash to this? Yes, she took down what -- in my opinion -- was her best videos.

 I don’t laugh when I watch her videos anymore, so this isn’t to say Booktube is perfect but I can say she is much more of a person for it and has not re-uploaded the rant-reviews for viewership at my time of writing this.

And then we have Jenna Moreci, as we’ve discussed is very likable person and that’s why she’s succeeding, but it’s very hard to get a genuine feeling from her unless you have a bias to content you’ve enjoyed from her, so eventually “Cyborg” starts feeling less like a joke, and more like a reality,

    This leads us to a very conflictive point, which is Marketing; and trust me, I don’t wanna talk about the marketing of a book no more than you wanna read about it, but the bottom line is we can’t finish this topic without at least mentioning it,

    And it is worth mentioning because that is actually the drive that most people start these channels with. Though for some I’m sure they do actually enjoy it, but others whom I won’t mention, it feels as genuine as my hair extensions; looks right in certain angles, but is definitely about to come unglued.

    It’s worth mentioning that I only started this blog because I wanted to become involved within a writing community and eventually begin marketing my own shitty book I wrote, so I come at this with not judgment, but a realization. The only reason I continue to do this right now is because I find a genuine enjoyment from it, but I don’t get to choose when my writing feels genuine to you, and it is only fair to mention, that those were the intentions I started with.

    I understand the point of marketing but it’s also worth mentioning how fucking skeezy that actually is, when our audience is more of a person than we actually are as writers/authors. And if you’re reading this as somebody who isn’t a writer, but is a reader, then you’re in the clear, but if you’re a writer, be aware of this before you bleach the side of your head to maintain a “funky skunky stripe” and start a Tumblr blog like I did. 

I was a redneck before this, can you believe that? Shame. I feel lots of shame.

Now, I’m not saying marketing your book makes you evil, I’m just saying that it’s hard not to get wrapped up in the business mindset because publishing a book on your own is fucking terrifying. It’s scary to realize that you may have put months/years into a book that will flop because you made 2 less Instagram posts last week. Trust me, I get it, but at some point Authortube took a great plunge. 

And though yes, this is all my opinion, I think we all know it’s quite clear I really only care about what I’m saying at the moment, so I really don’t give two shits about who you watch on YouTube, but I will say, if you enjoy Authortube, you’ll love Booktube, and I hope you love both, because both have important places.

But I’ve become biased to people and I can’t help but scan every person I meet, see, or know to make sure they’re genuine. I like seeing people because we are surrounded by capitalization run amok. Everything is a god damn advertisement and it’s honestly driving me insane, so it is nice to relax, kick back and watch somebody read ‘Searching Around Nebraska’, a book I’ll never read, but listen to somebody talk about because at least I know they enjoyed it. 

And it’s important for me to watch people enjoy things, I’ve lost all happiness in the void of my self-conscience telling me to pay for Facebook advertisements, I mean god damn guys my pretentious mindset has me syringe-ejecting serotonin from videos about red pandas, and injecting it directly into the bloodstream. It’s like crack, but cuter.

My point is, reading is hard and writing has fried my brain, support nice people with small channels because they’re more likely to write a diss track on me and that’s all I truly want. Bully me, mommy.

[thorofasgard007]

Casting my WIP:  “Blade of Penance Volume I:  Bore of Great Sacrifice”

Haven’t posted anything in a while thought I would put up a fun game for us aspiring authors out there.  My first draft nears completion.  Just a the final fight, “mop-up” and a couple appendices to write.  Hoping to be done this week while I am on vacation. *fingers crossed*

Anyway, I saw a YouTube video posted by an authortuber I follow named Kim Chance where she went through the dream casting of her newest book Seeker (soon to be released here is the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5Rmhm8HhE8).  I was thinking while I was running some errands earlier today I should do something similar.  If my novel(s) ever get made into a movie whom would I cast as each character?  So I decided to post that here and see what other authors/aspiring authors would cast as their characters.  Name the character, a brief description of them, then the actor/actress and why you would cast them.  

Here are the rules:  #1)  You have to use the actors/actresses as they are TODAY.  No using “Early 80′s Arnold” or Clint Eastwood like he was when he played Dirty Harry.  It also goes without saying you can’t use actors that have retired from acting or passed away.  #2)  If there is a seminal movie/tv show in your genre you cannot use actors from that franchise.  Since this rule can really make things difficult you can use up to TWO exceptions to rule #2.  Since my WIP is epic fantasy both actors from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies and Game of Thrones are disqualified.

Okay here we go.

Dorath:

The father of my hero Kaaldor.  A former general and hero of the Battle of Gos.  The last scion of the House of Dranus who’s progenitor alongside Ka’Reyus The Elven Warrior King lead the Great Liberation against the Dragon Rule of Rab Yangin 500 years ago.  Few either human or elf could match his skill with the blade save maybe one.

At first I thought of The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment:  Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.  I even used his physique as a bit of a template when I was doing up his character model.  However in the end I thought he should be cast a bit younger (Don’t hit me with the People’s Elbow Rock.)

Therefore I will use one of my exceptions early and go with Aquaman, aka Kahl Drogo, Mr. Jason Mamoa.

Ka’Reyus:

The Elven Warrior King and Grandfather to my hero.  Unquestionably the greatest warrior alive.  Has gone unmatched in swordsmanship for over 500 years.  Single headedly fought and slew three dragons at once.  Him and Dranus (Dorath’s ancestor) tag-teamed to slay the corrupted dragon lord Rab Yangin to free the continent of Kalis from drake rule.  Is Dorath his equal as a warrior??? SPOILERS :)

For him I batted around a few choices including Liam Neeson and Russel Crowe of course cgi would have to be used to size them down because as an elf Ka’Reyus was only 5 feet tall.

I finally decided on Wolverine himself (aka Jean ValJean, aka PT Barnum) Hugh Jackman.

(Yes this is an older pic... but I wanted one of him as Wolverine :) )

Princess Almelphia:

Mother of Kaaldor.  Only child of Ka’Reyus.  The unchallenged beauty of Elvendom.  All the nobility compete for her attention not only for her beauty but that whomever she chose as her husband would be the likely successor to the elven throne.  She is also is the only member of the royal house with any magical ability, even though it is just limited to reading the memories left behind on things/people that she touches.  While my hero was growing up she always called him her “little champion” and he did everything he could to live up to that title.

She was a tough choice.  If I wanted to use my second exception I would have chosen The Khalessi herself Emilia Clarke but considering Jason Mamoa is Dorath… that may be a little much.  I also considered Miranda Otto (aka Eowyn) but again didn’t want to use my second exception.  Therefore I decided to go with Jenna Coleman aka Clara Oswald from Dr. Who, and Queen Victoria on Victoria.

Here she is from the “Robin Hood Episode” of Dr. Who so you could see how she would look in a fantasy setting.

Ka’Vatch:

Lifelong friend of Ka’Reyus and Elvul Ka’s(the elven nation’s) foremost smith.  Him and Ka’Reyus both learned their weaponry by working his father’s forge.  Growing up Kaaldor learned from Ka’Vatch at the same forge.  To be a great warrior you must both know your weapons and then know yourself.  The weapons part started with Ka’Vatch after an 8 year old Kaaldor hid in his smith from bullies that didn’t like that he was half human.

For him I thought about Michael Ironside.  Granted you usually see him as a bad guy (and he plays a great villain, especially with his voice work... if they ever do a live action version of Darkseid they should have him reprise the role from his voice work on Superman: TAS etc).  However age is a factor.  Therefor I chose Josh Brolin aka Thanos… aka Cable.

Ka’Draoi: (pronounced Ka’ DREE, gotta love Gaelic)

Grand Thaumaturge of Elvul Ka’ and one of the world’s most powerful wizards.  He draws his power from the Blue Flame like all elves and fought along side Ka’Reyus and Dranus in The Great Liberation.  Being such a long time friend of the king he can often get away with breaches of proper decorum and has been known to have a bit of a ...shall we say “unique” sense of humour.

My original choice for this role was of course Sean Connery... but he has been retired from acting for some time.  I thought about Terrance Stamp (aka General Zod from Superman II, my all time favourite movie villain) but decided against it.  I didn’t want to use another exception or to be seen as him being a Gandalf clone so no Sir Ian McKellan.

In the end I chose another James Bond Pierce Brosnan, he can command the regal presence and wisdom Ka’Draoi needs, plus have the comic timing to pull off the sense of humour needed.

Ok.  That covers Kaaldor’s family and the elves.  Now lets move on to some more human characters.

Admiral Jagaran:

He is the Admiral of the Palan fleet (the main villain nation of the story) and in command of its new flagship The Jorgmundr (a ship completely made of dragonbone).  He is a very skilled warrior, especially at see and a cunning strategist.  He always takes the most straightforward path to victory whether it is an honourable choice or not.  However he has been known to let his ego get the better of him.

My first choice was Peter Wingfield.  Highlander fans will recognise him as Methos from the 90′s Highlander TV series.  (As a point of trivia I watched some of Methos’ sword fights on the series to map out some of this character’s move sets).  However he has apparently retired from acting and at last report was pursuing a career in medicine.

So instead I went with Rome’s Ray Stevenson, he has been in many other things but I mostly know him as Titus Pullo on Rome, Volstagg from the MCU and as Frank Castle in Punisher: War Zone (I should dust that one off I haven’t watched it in a while)

Anonyus:

The Mage assigned to the Jorgmundr.  Although he technically outranks Jagaran as he is a mage his role on the ship is similar to that of a “political officer” on the old Soviet ships.  He is your classic sadist that makes King Joffrey and Reese Bolton look like boy scouts.  He prefers to invoke fear in his adversaries of what he may do than to actually inflict the pain.

For him I went back to the MCU and chose Tom Hiddleston, aka Loki.  I just love him as a villain.

(Point of trivia... he originally auditioned for the part of Thor... go fig because he was so good as Loki.)

Armorton:

The chief slave-driver on The Jorgmundr, and a sadist son of a... gun (trying to keep this PG) in his own right.  He takes perverse pleasure in publicly and brutally executing slaves that can no longer work in the bowels of the ship... or just make an example of.  As he is more a hand to hand brute than a swordsman I went with a wrestler/actor for him.  Dave Bautista from Guardians of the Galaxy (gee I am pulling a lot from the MCU) and Spectre, also a former WWE Champion.

Ok... let’s get away from the villains for a bit.

Dex:

The classic dashing rogue.  Thinks he is “the pyres” gift to women and even names his lockpicks after his conquests.  Never met a maiden he didn’t want to hit on.  Or a full coin-purse he didn’t want to cut.  Always ready with a witty retort but also willing to help when he sees something unjust.  Kaaldor sometimes sees him as his best friend... and other times wants to punch him.  But they somehow make it work as they defend the village of Belieret from the warlord Tyv.

This character needs the comic timing that only Ryan Reynolds can provide.  I have been a fan of his since he was in Blade: Trinity (not as bad as everybody says) and he was dead on casting as Deadpool.

Klok:

A Baegian merchant that is one of the few in Belieret willing to learn how to fight to protect his new home.  His own brother betrayed him when the Baegian King became a vassal for Q’Rab The Sorcerer King of Palis and Klok began to speak ill of the new regime.  He couldn’t let hit happen again with Tyv.

I have chosen a bit of an odd choice.  A TV actor named Alimi Ballard.  He has been on many TV shows but I mostly remember him as David Sinclair on Numb3rs.

Ok lets do some more villains then we will go for the Hero and Heroine.

Tyv:

The warlord that is pulling the old extortion racket on the village of Belieret.  He blames Ka’Reyus for ***SPOILERS***.  Little do the villagers know he is just a cog in the machinery of one of Q’Rab’s plans.  In the meantime he plans to take his revenge on Ka’Reyus by sending him Kaaldor’s head.

For this I am going cast Clancy Brown, mostly because he played my #2 all time favourite movie villain The Kurgan in Highlander.  You would also recognise him from The Shawshank Redemption and Starship Troopers.  He as also done a lot of voice work, including Lex Luthor for Superman: TAS, Savage Oppress on Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Mr. Krabs on SpongeBob SquarePants (lol).

Hespera:

Apprentice to the Sorcerer Q’Rab and Master/Mistress to Anonyus.  She suffers no failure and many of her apprentices have felt her wrath.  None have lived to tell the tale.  Her vanity is her weakness and although devoted to Q’Rab for centuries she has been known to have her own machinations to undermine his plans.  You only briefly see her in the first book... but I plan to have her take a much larger role in book 2.

For her... if she is willing to be a redhead my first choice is Wonder Woman herself Gal Gadot.  She can be both regal, the flirt to ensnare men but then switch gears to be something menacing all at once.

(come on I had to choose a Wonder Woman pic... all the world is waiting for you... and the powers you possess :) )

Q’Rab:

Sorcerer King of Palis and has ruled for over 200 years.  He draws his power from the Black Flame and rarely gets his hands dirty himself but is always a Master of Puppets pulling strings from afar.  All under his rule are fanatically devoted to him.  Whenever he is mentioned they finish the sentence with “May his reign be eternal”.   It has yet to be determined who is the more powerful wizard if him and Ka’Draoi were to meet in a duel, and the true goal of his plans while he is at war with the nation of Corlot are ****SPOILERS****.  His origins are ***SPOILERS***.

For him I went with a bit of an odd choice, I needed a classical type of actor but one that wasn’t your standard English baddie.  I went with Alexander Siddig.  While best known as Dr. Bashir on Star Trek:  Deep Space Nine, he also has a long movie and TV career including 24, Gotham on the small screen and Kingdom of Heaven and The Nativity Story on the big screen.  If he can pull off both The Angel Gabriel and Ra’s Al Ghul he can pull of Q’Rab.  (Note:  As he was also Doran Tyrell on Game of Thrones... he is my second exception)

Ok... you are saying enough with the villains.  Fine lets get to the main event.  My hero and heroine.  First the Heroine:

Renna:

Daughter of the captain of The Divine Lady, the ship that Kaaldor is a passenger on when The Jorgmundr strikes.  While able to fight for herself knows when she is out of her depth and instead fits into the facilitator role to get Kaaldor what he needs to win.  She can also act as the diplomat to Kaaldor’s brute force as she knows not every problem can best be solved by the right amount of smashing.  She is not the damsel in distress like Lois Lane that always needs a Superman to rescue her, but she also knows she doesn’t have to be Xena to be strong either.

This one was a hard choice... The aforementioned Jenna Coleman was a strong contender at one point.  I also considered Rosa Salazar (loved her in Alita Battle Angel) however in the end (maybe because I just did a binge watch of Cobra Kai over the Labour Day Weekend) I chose Mary Mouser (Samantha LaRusso on Cobra Kai).  Her look is the right combo of innocence, beauty and strength which is what you need to play Renna.

Finally.

Kaaldor:

The hero of the story.  Half-elf and half human.  Trained by his grandfather since he was eight years old to be a warrior without equal.  He was even able to fight Ka’Reyus to a draw.  Though of the elvish royal family very few fully accept him as part of elvish society.  He can never let an injustice stand and sometimes gets himself deep in a bad situation by acting without thinking.  But still is the one willing to act when others are too scared to.  In the end he must complete his quest to ***SPOILERS***

For him I originally thought of Daniel Cudmore, I best remember him as Colossus in X-Men 2 and X-Men 3 (boy did three SUCK).  However in the end thought a Hemsworth was a better fit.  Not Chris (Thor)… but Liam (Expendables 2, The Hunger Games).  (Note:  He will probably have to bulk up a bit as when I wrote the character I was thinking “Early 80′s Arnold”)

Well There you go... It was a lot of fun going through this.  For all you authors/aspiring authors out there... lets see your own lists.  Use the Tag below. :)

[gayspacerockblog]

I was tagged by @goddessofnothingatall and I have nothing better to do at work right now, so let’s do this. The following are answers for side characters in my WIP, Burying Dragons. 1. Who are your favorite side characters in books/tv/film etc.? My favorite side characters off the top of my head are Iorek Byrnison and Lee Scoresby from His Dark Materials. The completely perfect friendship that was built between a cowboy and a polar bear is simply precious. If you have read this series but overlooked the companion novellas, PLEASE check out Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman. You get to learn how these two came to be friends and it warms my heart. If you haven’t read this series, do it. Do it now.  2. Name the side characters in your current WIP. Oh crap, okay... here it goes...wait, are you sure? OKAY, okay....  Nym: tiny goblin-like creature (phink), mute, trusting, raised by a raven. Nykoli: also a phink, taught Nym to write, skepitcal and snarky. Varen: Nym’s raven foster mother, loves to collect shiny things for Nym. Marlah Penrose: Sky’s mother, Vaesgardian, servant Prince Ezra Blackwood: subject to an arranged marriage with Teff, actually gay. Queen Eda Pandorn: Teff’s mother, controlling, vindictive, we don’t like her. King Orson: Teff’s father, lost his only son in battle, stubborn, misogynistic. King Beauregard “Beau” Blackwood: formerly handsome, alcoholic, jerk. Lenka Pandorn: Teff’s younger sister, bitter about not being married off to Ezra. Serafine Cato: Thisbe’s sister, Donovan’s partner in ruling Pravus, evil at whim. Thisbe Cato: Donovan’s true love, a radical, organized the rebels against Vinna. Reynard Fengrave: founder of the Vinna, Donovan and Jaemy’s grandfather. Ira Poege: not her real name, author, secretive, lives in Asherah, kind of crazy. Vinna Duruc: burly/bearded marshmallow, loyal, giant immortal cat companion. Leya: giant immortal cat companion, understands everything, empathic. Vinna “Minty” Alvar: Vinna librarian/records-keeper, lives in tree trunk, the oldest character by far.   3. Which side character is most like you? I relate to Duruc a lot. He is fiercely loyal, perhaps to the wrong people, and equally compassionate. He is protective of his friends, even when they are doing the wrong thing. His closest friend is his feline companion, Leya. He is generally quiet, with an intimidating presence due to his size and a hard-to-read expression. His first words happened when he was 10 years old and he said “I don’t have anything important to say yet.” This line was written by accident, but after reading it over a couple times I realized it made me love his character even more than I already did.  4. Do you ever base your side characters on real life people? The most prominent and recent example I have of this is for the character Ira Poege who is somewhat based off my late Aunt Heather who passed away a couple weeks ago. She was a fierce and formidable woman who held her own and never let anyone get her down. She was slightly eccentric and very worldly. I had looked up to her a lot as a child and always considered her very mysterious and beautiful. She was rather troll-ish in stature, the smallest of her siblings, with a pixie cut and a smile that could make anyone trust her. Her characteristics seemed to lend themselves well to Ira Poege and I couldn’t think of a better way to honor her life. 5. Gush about one of your side characters! I quite love Prince Ezra. His character is very tragic and short-lived, but I am trying to give him as much substance as I can. In order to unite the kingdoms of Celladore and Ampelis in the ongoing war against Pravus, Kings Beau and Orson had decided to unite their houses by arranging a marriage between Ezra and Teff. This was decided when both were very young and the two did manage to become friends. Ezra is gay and sympathizes with Teff and her love for Sky. He helps her escape after Sky’s capture, leading her into Asherah so Teff can begin her heroic journey to Pravus. He is a very shy and clever character, hesitant to fight against the life that has been set for him. However, Teff’s determination and hardship inspires him to rebel and help in the start of her journey. Without him, Teff would have never been able to made it out of Celladore. 6. Is there anywhere we can find out more about your side characters? E.G A blog, a website, instagram, deviantart? Sadly, no. I wish I had the artistic ability to give my characters life outside of words, but right now my writeblr is the best spot to learn about my WIP characters. If any of these characters sound intriguing and you’d like me to post more about them, please say so! I’m more than happy to share what I have and write more if I don’t have what you want yet.  Now for the tags... Just going off my recent notifications, I’ll be tagging @charlotteisnotarealperson @alpinewriter @sashathewriter @itskassidywrites @foxesfatewriting    Join in and do this even if I haven’t tagged you. It’s fun, I swear. 1. Who are your favourite side characters in books/tv/film etc.? 2. Name the side characters in your current WIP. 3. Which side character is most like you? 4. Do you ever base your side characters on real life people? 5. Gush about one of your side characters! 6. Is there anywhere we can find out more about your side characters? E.G A blog, a website, instagram, deviantart?

[maxgrayarchived]

Best Writing Advice I’ve Ever Received

A little while ago, @bellarosepope did a video on her Youtube channel where she shared the most useful advice she’s gotten during her writing journey. Well, I noticed a few things missing from the list, so I’m here to share the best writing advice I’ve ever gotten myself.

1. Get something done every day

I’m just going to say it: Write every day is absolute bullshit. Maybe some people can, but the fact of the matter is, 98% of writers do not have the time or energy to make significant progress on their stories every single day. Bitch, I barely remember to eat every day.

If you have finals this week, you probably can’t find the time or energy to write a full chapter. But you can lay in bed and add things to your queue. If you’re home sick with a pounding headache, you certainly shouldn’t attempt outlining. But you could definitely lie down and watch authortube videos.

The thing to remember is that progress is progress. If you at least get one thing done almost every day, you are moving, and that’s enough.

2. Don’t shit on your writing

For reference, I turn seventeen in June. I heard this advice when I was fifteen, from @jennamoreci, and this seriously never occurred to me. I never thought that being insecure could harm my platform and writing.

I’ll be the first to say that I never read anything that starts with something akin “I know it sucks, but...” And this didn’t start when I heard this advice- I’ve always done this.

Even if you feel like a pile of garbage, even if you think you produce nothing but shit, don’t broadcast this. Rant to people who are close to you, get the stress out, and then move on. Instead of saying your writing is awful, ask for constructive criticism. Point out your major flaws- Quietly, to yourself -and then research and experiment with ways to improve it.

Positive mindset, guys.

3. You can’t tell if your writing is boring

I actually read this here on Tumblr about a year ago, but recently Bella mentioned this as well.

Listen, if you’re in the editing phase of your manuscript, and you’re bored out of your mind- That’s fine. You’ve read this a million times and you know exactly what’s going to happen. This will be new and fresh to your readers- Not boring.

4. Take everything with a grain of salt

This is, in my opinion, the most important bit of writing advice there is.

When people are sharing advice, they’re simply sharing things that have worked for them. That’s all. It might not work for you, and it might not even be good.

It is vital, as human beings, to be able to form your own opinions, and know why you think what you do. Writing advice is no exception.

5. Always assume someone doesn’t know how amazing they are

No, I’m not saying to patronize them, or treat them like some fragile flower. I’m just saying that compliments never get old.

I run a Thomas Sanders blog in which I write some fanfiction, and I have some posts that have well over a thousand notes- And I read every single comment, and every single one makes me so damn happy.

Your compliment will always be valuable. Don’t assume that just because a writer is popular that they know how great they are.

6. Nice Things folder

This also came from Jenna Moreci. You will pretty much always remember the negative things said about you and they’ll often overlap the positive.

So save the positive. Write them down, screenshot them, put them in a place you’ll remember them.

7. Just fucking do it

Warning: I’m pretty harsh here. And please remember that it’s normal to need breaks and not normal to overwork or bully yourself.

I started telling myself this at the hellfire age of 13 years old. I’m not comfortable broadcasting them, but trust me when I say I’ve had a lot of problems. Sometimes the only thing that got me through the day was to tell myself to get over it, keep going, and fucking do it. No exceptions.

Yes, I’ve had a lot of problems. More than some. But I am not special, and I certainly am not the worst off. People in far worse situations have persevered and survived. I can, too. No exceptions.

So I’m going to turn this into a tag! All credit to Bella, of course.

Tagging: @glorious74 @shaelinwrites @therealjimkaragkounis & @jennamoreci

My Writing

[hilunawrites]

Meet the Writer III, IV, V, and VI

Thanks so much for the tags @whataremetaphor​, @allisonaldridge​, @killer-badass​, and @swaynewrites​! 

Rules: Answer the 10 questions, write 10 questions, then tag 10 people. ** From @whataremetaphor​: 1.)    Who are some of your favorite authors?  JK Rowling, Perry Moore, Audrey Niffenegger, Alex Sanchez, Julie Anne Peters, Nancy Garden, John Green…  2.)    Pen and paper or typing?  Honestly typing. My handwriting is illegible and I type really fast.  3.)    What’s your character development process?  I mostly have an idea for a character already in mind and I let them loose into the story. They usually figure themselves out on the way, but if I feel they need a little boost or more details to make them seem more rounded, I’ll fill out little character development questionnaires or free-write about them for a while. 4.)    Favorite words?  English: silly, serendipitous, onomatopoeia, plethora…(mostly coz they feel nice in the mouth to say. There’s probably way more).   German: gumpendorfer, ausgezeichnet, Eichhörnchen, frühstücken  5.)    Do you have a “type” for characters (either ones you write or ones you like? If so, what is it?   Hmm… I guess I tend to write characters that are slowly figuring out who they are and how the world works. So characters who are coming-of-age.  6.)    Music or no music while writing? If so, what kinds?  Sometimes, sometimes not. If I do listen, it’s whatever YouTube spits out at me.  7.)    What first got you into writing?  Kindergarten. My teacher said my story of the day was good enough to “publish.” We wrapped a piece of colored construction paper around it, stapled the sides and I made a cover for it. I was ecstatic XD  For those interested, my story way: “Today I walked up the driveway to the mailbox and got the mail.” A literary genius at five years old hahahaha.  8.)    Vampires of werewolves? (or magical creature of your choice?)  Vampires  9.)    Where did you get the inspiration for your current WIP?  Augh, don’t hate me. I originally started my WIP as a gay Twilight Fanfiction…  10.)  Most difficult part of writing?   Keeping up motivation and self-confidence.

** From @allisonaldridge​: 1.)    What is your favorite writing snack? I don’t eat a lot when I’m writing. If I do, it’s junk food. Pringles (sour cream and onion) Oreos or other cookies.  2.)    Would you want to visit the place or world you created for your WIP?  The world is basically ours with a little fantasy twist. So yeah, totally.  3.)    If you were stuck in a room with one of your OCs, who would you choose?  Hmm..tricky…Probably Teresa because we have the most in common.  4.)    What movie would you relate closest to your WIP?  Twilight, Love Simon.  5.)    Do you watch any Authortubers on Youtube? I watch a bit of John Green, does that count? I gotta check out more of these Authortuber people apparently..  6.)    Traditional publishing or independent?  Hopefully traditional. I might publish some things independently though.  7.)    What is your main OC’s fashion sense? Basic hahaha. Jeans and a shirt.  8.)    Where do you keep all your story ideas stored?  In my head or on a file on the computer.  9.)    Are you working on more than one WIP right now?  Not currently. I want to get the first draft of this one finally finished (been working on it for years) before I write anything new.   10.)   Coffee or Tea? It is very important. I have to say both, I love them both. ** From @killer-badass​: 1.)    What is the cutest couple in your current WIP?  The only couple in my WIP: Daniel/Vaughn. This WIP has been dubbed my Daniel/Vaughn story since 2007 :P They are beautiful.   2.)    Would you rather have your WIP made into a movie or a TV show?  Hmm…probably a movie at this point.  3.)    Who would you want to direct said movie or TV show?  God, I dunno…I would like it to feel like Love, Simon so maybe Greg Berlanti? And also Chris Columbus or David Yates for the fantasy parts. 4.)    What TV show character would your protagonist of your current WIP be?  These questions are hard for me, I don’t know why! Maybe…Marco from Degrassi.  5.)    What is your favorite song to write to?  Don’t really have one…I usually put on something like “Castle on a Hill” first and just let the YouTube algorithm do its thing.  6.)    What is your protagonist’s theme song?  Oh jeez, I haven’t thought about any of this. Perhaps “Brave” by Sara Bareilles. 

7.)    What marvel character is our protagonist like the most?  Spiderman 8.)    Your favorite movie?  The Princess Bride  9.)    Your favorite TV Show?  So many. Right now, Brooklyn 99.  10.)   What genre is your current WIP?  Realistic fiction mixed with fantasy. ** From @swaynewrites​: 1.)    What is your favorite book, and your favorite author?  Harry Potter, JK Rowling. This series has affected me so much, how can I not still answer this question like this?   2.)    What’s the longest time you’ve spent working on a WIP?  hahahaha, current WIP I’ve been working on since 2007.  3.)    What’s your favorite character that you have ever created?  Hmm I actually have a lot of feels about Ariel from my short story “My Life with Ariel.” Strange I didn’t choose someone from my main WIP, but there you go. 4.)    Have you ever based a character on someone you know? (family, friend, coworker, etc.)  I always take bits and pieces of personality from people I know and add them to my characters.  5.)    What is your favorite WIP you’ve written?  Completed WIP that would be “My Life with Ariel.” We’ll see if I make it into a novel or try to publish as is.  6.)    What’s the best response you’ve had to one of your WIPs?  One person told me they literally stopped breathing during one scene they were so enraptured by what was going on. This compliment felt so good, because it’s always what I’m going for! 7.)    What’s the best film/television show you’ve seen based on a book?  The first two Harry Potter movies. Hmm.. Though some things were changed from Love, Simon I felt the atmosphere of the book was captured so well.  8.)    Have you ever written something as a joint project with a friend or a fellow writeblr? If you haven’t, would you want to?  I don’t think so…but I would absolutely love to! HIT ME UP PEOPLE, LET’S DO THIS!  9.)    If you could change something about a popular book series, what series would you change and what would the change be?  Twilight. I would eliminate all the abuse in her relationships with Edward and Jacob.  10.)   For the Harry Potter fans out there, what is your favorite character/spell/scene? (If you haven’t read or seen Harry Potter, I’d recommend it. LUNAWRITES NOTE: I don’t just recommend it, I demand it hahahaha) Favorite character(s): Draco, Luna Favorite spell: Accio, Not a spell but also Apparition Scene: The chapter in book 6 where Harry confronts Draco in the bathroom and then later has his first kiss with Ginny in the common room. ** My questions for YOU: 1.)    Who are three writeblrs you love? 2.)    What book has made you cry? 3.)    What’s the first book you remember being read as a child? 4.)    Where do you read fiction the most? (magazines, journals, books, tumblr, archive of our own) 5.)    How do you feel about new novels that remind readers of other popular books? 6.)    What are three things you look for in a good novel? 7.)    How much of your week do you spend writing? 8.)    If you’re imagining publishing your current WIP, being accepted by a publisher, what does that feel like? 9.)    What are your three greatest fears about writing? 10.)  How can you fight those fears?  Tagging: @theouterdark, @damnwrites, @crucioandcoffee , @jess---writes @theaberrantwritergirl, @somnambulant-directives @wondersofwriting00, @smile-everything-is-alright, @greenandwords @rainbowsaw

[batterymonster2021]

FREE Online Novel Writing Course | AuthorTube

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/free-online-novel-writing-course-authortube-2/

FREE Online Novel Writing Course | AuthorTube

Before I grew to be a full-time writer I took many writing publications but most of the time even online writing publications became out to be pretty costly that is why when I got here across this fashion of getting access to a free on-line novel writing course that has helped me immensely in my writing trip incidentally I obtained so excited and now I wish to share my secret with you in actual fact somewhat over a 12 months in the past once I began getting relatively serious about writing my novel and getting it released I began searching on-line for tips and systems on methods to write a booklet and discovered the magic of AuthorTube. Now for a lot of of my subscribers who already recognize what AuthorTube is i need you to hold in there with me for just a minute but for any of you that don’t know AuthorTube is a subset of YouTube the place writers and authors create channels referred to as AuthorTube channels where they share their writing journeys and plenty of writing tips modifying procedures as good because the publishing guidelines and e-book marketing suggestions they’ve discovered along the way these are writers who are most of the time published like Kim risk and Alexa Donne self-released like Bethany Atazadeh and Mandi Lynn along with channels from authortubers like me who are currently knee-deep in our manuscripts taking you on the trip with us as we plot write edit find critique companions to find and utilize beta readers query and pursue publishing and marketing our novels now if you’re questioning where this free novel writing direction I promised is available in i am about to get there persist with me as an aspiring writer myself I wolfed up these movies now not only were they free to observe as frequently as I needed however they were jam-packed with tremendous valuable expertise and helped me no longer most effective suppose like I wasn’t on my own but the guidelines and experiences they shared made me suppose like I could fairly do that and considering that YouTube is tremendous the extra I subscribed to AuthorTube channels and watched and favored and commented on their videos the extra YouTube learned that i really like a lot of these videos and kept suggesting increasingly invaluable content and here is the place my writing course proposal of came in you guys pretty quickly I wasn’t just observing AuthorTube videos however I additionally taking notes on account that I used to be finding out so much and then as I did this I was once like what am i doing I would be saving and organizing all of these movies into topical playlists on my YouTube account as you will find right here over this prior 12 months and a 1/2 or so I’ve created lots of playlists for each and every stage of the writing and publishing procedure some of these playlists are in topics like writing suggestions plotting hints persona development enhancing and revising suggestions querying hints publishing suggestions and creator platform and advertising and marketing recommendations with lots of movies in every category some I’ve created when you consider that I used to be going by means of a targeted part of the writing system and was once browsing for unique themes and saved videos I appreciated to a exact list however mostly i will just assess out what new movies the creator tubers i am already subscribed to have just lately come out with in my subscriptions feed or what YouTube suggests on my homepage or on the side of the movies i’m already looking at after which i’m going to retailer those i’m thinking about right away to my watch later playlist if I would not have time to observe it correct then and i can do that on my desktop like this or on the mobile app like this then when i have a damage or i am simply getting ready in the morning or cooking or cleaning and even riding don’t fear I just hearken to the audio at that factor I both put on my watch later playlist or an extra unique playlist and absorb the entire expertise it’s style of like a visual podcast but with lots of one of a kind writers and their recommendations and experiences I determined this quite best too when you consider that although there are unique concepts each creator must comply with when writing a novel there are all one-of-a-kind systems to plotting and writing and modifying and many others if you buy a average writing course from one distinctive author you simplest get there one perspective however with author tube you have got entry to so many exclusive authors without delay without cost because of this which you can be trained a bunch of extraordinary tactics are attempting them out yourself after which figure out which one works great for you and in that approach you form of have a ton of extraordinary writing coaches at your fingertips and voila simply by using shopping and subscribing to AuthorTube channels i will create a free on-line writing path that i have complete control over its totally customizable and it’s constantly growing given that AuthorTube are always making extra content material plus if there may be a distinct writing obstacle you are having that you could constantly ask your favorite authortubers in the comments of their movies if they might make a video on that detailed subject they usually mainly will and in case you failed to recognize already many authortubers like me already arrange their movies into topical playlists on their channels so you can find precisely what you want whilst you want it this probably useful to determine out earlier than inquiring for a precise video considering the fact that chances are your favourite author tuber could have already got created a video on that very subject additionally through observing these videos you might be helping fellow writers and authors and also you get to be the first to be trained a few bunch of latest books that are coming out as those authors have become published plus you get to look all the in the back of the scenes of what it took to create that book so whether you’ve gotten been looking at AuthorTube channels for a whilst or if you’re just hearing about it now you may be questioning about methods to find the nice author to channels for you so that you can developing playlists and therefore make your possess free online Writing direction yourself well due to the fact creator tube just isn’t nearly as greatly referred to as it deserves some best channels can be tough to search out so if you want to take more advantage of this robust free content material so which you could finally write and post that booklet I without doubt propose you start doing the next first make certain you’re signed in to youtube with an account so you could certainly go forward and create playlists then examine out the hyperlink within the description under for a list of a bunch of my favorite authortubers that you would be able to go ahead and determine out and start subscribing to or if you need that you may just sort in a writing question with the time period authortube in the youtube search field and see what comes up after you might have determined some writer tubers then just begin observing or saving videos that seem invaluable to you on your watch later playlist or begin creating topical ones of your possess and then when you’ve got some time which you can looking at or paying attention to these playlists and take notes if that’s useful too now this next step is the key you guys if you want YouTube to maintain suggesting equivalent content to you listed here are the methods you can signal to YouTube that you want them to doing so first you want to hit the like button on that video watch the video the entire method by means of comment on the video and subscribe to AuthorTube channels and if you want to motivate us authortubers to hold growing and support different writers to seek out definitely share the movies you in finding most valuable along with your writing buddies or for your social media money owed and inform all of them about author – speaking of let’s try all that out proper now for those who found this video invaluable be sure to hit the like button go away me a comment down below sharing some of your favorite authortubers and how you’re gonna begin growing your own free online writing path share this video with all your writing associates that need to find out about this amazing free resource and be definite to subscribe for extra writing suggestions identical to this one so you don’t omit some thing in my year-and-a-1/2 of gazing authortube and now having my own AuthorTube channel being a part of this on-line writing neighborhood has absolutely modified my existence and my writing profession which I shared all about in this video that i’m going to hyperlink here and it continues to support me grow every day good that is all i’ve for you guys today i hope this used to be valuable we’ll see you in the feedback and except subsequent week comfortable writing

[airoasis]

FREE Online Novel Writing Course | AuthorTube

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/free-online-novel-writing-course-authortube-2/

FREE Online Novel Writing Course | AuthorTube

Before I grew to be a full-time writer I took many writing publications but most of the time even online writing publications became out to be pretty costly that is why when I got here across this fashion of getting access to a free on-line novel writing course that has helped me immensely in my writing trip incidentally I obtained so excited and now I wish to share my secret with you in actual fact somewhat over a 12 months in the past once I began getting relatively serious about writing my novel and getting it released I began searching on-line for tips and systems on methods to write a booklet and discovered the magic of AuthorTube. Now for a lot of of my subscribers who already recognize what AuthorTube is i need you to hold in there with me for just a minute but for any of you that don’t know AuthorTube is a subset of YouTube the place writers and authors create channels referred to as AuthorTube channels where they share their writing journeys and plenty of writing tips modifying procedures as good because the publishing guidelines and e-book marketing suggestions they’ve discovered along the way these are writers who are most of the time published like Kim risk and Alexa Donne self-released like Bethany Atazadeh and Mandi Lynn along with channels from authortubers like me who are currently knee-deep in our manuscripts taking you on the trip with us as we plot write edit find critique companions to find and utilize beta readers query and pursue publishing and marketing our novels now if you’re questioning where this free novel writing direction I promised is available in i am about to get there persist with me as an aspiring writer myself I wolfed up these movies now not only were they free to observe as frequently as I needed however they were jam-packed with tremendous valuable expertise and helped me no longer most effective suppose like I wasn’t on my own but the guidelines and experiences they shared made me suppose like I could fairly do that and considering that YouTube is tremendous the extra I subscribed to AuthorTube channels and watched and favored and commented on their videos the extra YouTube learned that i really like a lot of these videos and kept suggesting increasingly invaluable content and here is the place my writing course proposal of came in you guys pretty quickly I wasn’t just observing AuthorTube videos however I additionally taking notes on account that I used to be finding out so much and then as I did this I was once like what am i doing I would be saving and organizing all of these movies into topical playlists on my YouTube account as you will find right here over this prior 12 months and a 1/2 or so I’ve created lots of playlists for each and every stage of the writing and publishing procedure some of these playlists are in topics like writing suggestions plotting hints persona development enhancing and revising suggestions querying hints publishing suggestions and creator platform and advertising and marketing recommendations with lots of movies in every category some I’ve created when you consider that I used to be going by means of a targeted part of the writing system and was once browsing for unique themes and saved videos I appreciated to a exact list however mostly i will just assess out what new movies the creator tubers i am already subscribed to have just lately come out with in my subscriptions feed or what YouTube suggests on my homepage or on the side of the movies i’m already looking at after which i’m going to retailer those i’m thinking about right away to my watch later playlist if I would not have time to observe it correct then and i can do that on my desktop like this or on the mobile app like this then when i have a damage or i am simply getting ready in the morning or cooking or cleaning and even riding don’t fear I just hearken to the audio at that factor I both put on my watch later playlist or an extra unique playlist and absorb the entire expertise it’s style of like a visual podcast but with lots of one of a kind writers and their recommendations and experiences I determined this quite best too when you consider that although there are unique concepts each creator must comply with when writing a novel there are all one-of-a-kind systems to plotting and writing and modifying and many others if you buy a average writing course from one distinctive author you simplest get there one perspective however with author tube you have got entry to so many exclusive authors without delay without cost because of this which you can be trained a bunch of extraordinary tactics are attempting them out yourself after which figure out which one works great for you and in that approach you form of have a ton of extraordinary writing coaches at your fingertips and voila simply by using shopping and subscribing to AuthorTube channels i will create a free on-line writing path that i have complete control over its totally customizable and it’s constantly growing given that AuthorTube are always making extra content material plus if there may be a distinct writing obstacle you are having that you could constantly ask your favorite authortubers in the comments of their movies if they might make a video on that detailed subject they usually mainly will and in case you failed to recognize already many authortubers like me already arrange their movies into topical playlists on their channels so you can find precisely what you want whilst you want it this probably useful to determine out earlier than inquiring for a precise video considering the fact that chances are your favourite author tuber could have already got created a video on that very subject additionally through observing these videos you might be helping fellow writers and authors and also you get to be the first to be trained a few bunch of latest books that are coming out as those authors have become published plus you get to look all the in the back of the scenes of what it took to create that book so whether you’ve gotten been looking at AuthorTube channels for a whilst or if you’re just hearing about it now you may be questioning about methods to find the nice author to channels for you so that you can developing playlists and therefore make your possess free online Writing direction yourself well due to the fact creator tube just isn’t nearly as greatly referred to as it deserves some best channels can be tough to search out so if you want to take more advantage of this robust free content material so which you could finally write and post that booklet I without doubt propose you start doing the next first make certain you’re signed in to youtube with an account so you could certainly go forward and create playlists then examine out the hyperlink within the description under for a list of a bunch of my favorite authortubers that you would be able to go ahead and determine out and start subscribing to or if you need that you may just sort in a writing question with the time period authortube in the youtube search field and see what comes up after you might have determined some writer tubers then just begin observing or saving videos that seem invaluable to you on your watch later playlist or begin creating topical ones of your possess and then when you’ve got some time which you can looking at or paying attention to these playlists and take notes if that’s useful too now this next step is the key you guys if you want YouTube to maintain suggesting equivalent content to you listed here are the methods you can signal to YouTube that you want them to doing so first you want to hit the like button on that video watch the video the entire method by means of comment on the video and subscribe to AuthorTube channels and if you want to motivate us authortubers to hold growing and support different writers to seek out definitely share the movies you in finding most valuable along with your writing buddies or for your social media money owed and inform all of them about author – speaking of let’s try all that out proper now for those who found this video invaluable be sure to hit the like button go away me a comment down below sharing some of your favorite authortubers and how you’re gonna begin growing your own free online writing path share this video with all your writing associates that need to find out about this amazing free resource and be definite to subscribe for extra writing suggestions identical to this one so you don’t omit some thing in my year-and-a-1/2 of gazing authortube and now having my own AuthorTube channel being a part of this on-line writing neighborhood has absolutely modified my existence and my writing profession which I shared all about in this video that i’m going to hyperlink here and it continues to support me grow every day good that is all i’ve for you guys today i hope this used to be valuable we’ll see you in the feedback and except subsequent week comfortable writing

[dolores-madil]

Disney Writing Tag

This is a tag that was created by Kate Cavanaugh who is an authortuber. I thought it would be fun to try. I don’t really know anyone so I tag everyone.💜

1. ALADDIN -- Poof! A genie appears and is willing to grant you ONE wish to fix your current WIP. What do you wish for? : I guess it would be for my second WIP and that it would be if all my outlining for the world building/background could just be completed and done so I can start to wring the story.

2. LION KING -- If you had to retell a Shakespearean play using animals as the main characters, which play would you choose and which animals? : I really only remember Hamlet because after we read a specific section, we watched the BBC play with David Tennant and Patrick Stewart. I would choose wolves because they are very much a group/family, but when there is a shift in power, there can be a slight divide sometimes. Instead of a faithful just switch over.

3. POCAHONTAS -- Have you ever pulled inspiration for a story from history, and what was it? : Yes I have well sort of I like to draw a lot from mythology.

4. SNOW WHITE -- What was the very first story you ever wrote? : I had been writing a story since middle school that was inspired by princess diaries but with magic and other differences.

5. MULAN -- Who is the strongest character you've ever written and what made them strong? : I have a character in a short story I wrote in high school that I had two different English teaches tell me that I should expand it into a series because of my main character. She went through so much in a detailed flashback I had put in the short story that she had been alive for a really long time, and when she finally had the freedom and love she always wanted the "villain" killed her lover, but she was able to move on and not get consumed by vengeance.  Yet, still, experience love in different ways and face the villain without having just revenge in mind.

6. STAR WARS -- If you had to live in one of the worlds or setting you've created, which would it be and why? : I would live in a syfy world that I started writing in college and have not finished yet but I think it would be a great adventure I might die but it would still be fun.

7. ANTHEMS -- Which Disney song(s) would you put on your writing playlist? : All of them. I actually have two playlists on my phone and computer with one that has just princess songs and the other with general Disney songs. I also have a playlist on Pandora that has Disney songs and might make another on Spotify that is just instrumental soon.

8. RETELLINGS -- Which fairytale movie would you want to retell? : Perhaps Robin Hood I always loved that movie if this counts. (shrug Question make?)

9. FROZEN -- Which character that you've written is Most Likely to be misunderstood or incorrectly interpreted as a villain? : I'm not sure but my new story might be more of a gray tone where the stories I have written up till now is more black and white.

10. MOANA -- If you had to go on an epic journey with ONE of your characters, and the two of you were tasked with saving the world, who would you choose and why? : I would choose Tora from my short story not just because of her powers but because she has a lot of knowledge and life experience being hundreds of years old. Also can be very positive about a given situation.

11. PINOCCHIO -- What's the most common lie you tell people about your stories or writing? : I don't really tell people that I am writing a book but I guess when I do tell people I don't tell them that I am writing under a pen name. (surprise this is not really my name.)

12. SIDEKICKS -- Who is your favorite minor character you've written that you wish you could give their own full story to? : Sam from my current WIP I would love to dive dipper in what he has been doing the whole time he and Hope had been separated while she was in school.  

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

I've never send you an ask before, but this is very important that you know how much it meant when I found your channel at the start of this year. To see someone my age who looks like me (I'm Brown, but with lots of acne, and curly hair like yours) meant so much to me coz all the authortubers are just supermodels. Love my beautiful queens(!!) but it was also the biggest reason I couldn't start a YT channel. I hope I'm not offending you, but you're voice is so soothing, and you're so talented 1/2

Seeing you in the last couple of months, be as confident as you are, did make me a little self confident too. I wanted to make a Preptober video today, but when I watched it back, all the acne and everything made me feel so bad. Can you give me some advice on how to me more comfortable in my skin, how to be confident enough to film a video, edit and upload it wihtout beating myself up si much. (Again, I hope I have not offended you) 2/2 Love, rev

Oh my <3 this is such a kind, beautiful message, thank you! I talk about the struggle to accept myself in today’s vid, so this is a topic I’ve been thinking about the last few days!

I feel like we’re on the same wavelength here because we’re both brown, have acne, and have curly hair, and oh my! these are three things that I’ve struggled to accept in the past, but that I’ve grown to love. My face wasn’t on the internet at the time of my worst years with acne, but from about age 11-16 I had really horrible breakouts. My skin scars easily, and since it is darker in colour, the scars just end up as dark spots. I remember I used to be so upset that my entire forehead as a young teen was a different colour than my face because of how scarred it was (that was my perception at least). So I feel you, and truly understand the adverse affects these kinds of things can have on your self-confidence, and I wish I could tell you a definitive answer on how I came to love the things I never did love. Growing up not looking like the super white media was not! fun! and I straightened my hair almost daily from the age of 8 until I learned how to style my curly hair last year.

I do have a few tips besides the obvious be kind to yourself!

- Learn how to love the things you’re uncomfortable with.

I mean this in a literal way. I wasn’t comfortable with my curly hair because of how frizzy it got. It was frizzy because I never knew how to style it and combed out all the curls lol! Once I learned how to style my hair, educated myself on haircare, and really created a relationship with it, I absolutely adore it! I’m not saying you have to cover up anything you’re uncomfortable with to feel better--not at all, and I actually stray away from that. I’m saying to get connected to the things you’re uncomfortable with by learning more about it.

The world is so white and so literally everything you’re taught especially if you’re in North America is codified from a white lens. For example, I get these dark spots on my chest & stomach (I think they’re fungal, but don’t know the proper name) and when I was younger, I was really confused and concerned about them because I didn’t know what they were and this was not explored in white media. When I asked my mom I found out they’re just really common for people of my ethnicity and totally normal and fine and just because the Walmart models don’t have them, doesn’t mean I have to get rid of them (and I actually now think they’re so beautiful)! It’s kind of amazing to me how learning a little bit about something that slots me farther away from society’s “normal” makes me feel confident about it and the more I realize that I’m not “abnormal” AT ALL.

- Engage in some diverse communities

Authortube is! so! white! Is there even an authortuber of colour who has over 10k subs? I did a little data study on this for myself over the summer and I believe (this is not fact because obviously I just have to judge on what the authortuber has said!) about the ~top 15 (give or take) channels are all white! And mostly white women. So I understand how uncomfortable it can feel to hop onto the internet as a smaller creator in a white dominated field. My recommendation here? Do NOT let that stop you. I know it can be uncomfortable, but the world needs diverse creators like you. This community needs diverse creators and this community needs to do BETTER to amplify our voices.

Because authortube is so white, I don’t often engage/watch vids in the community because it makes me a little uncomfortable and that is something I’d like to change by watching more diverse authortubers. Not going to lie! Sometimes this is hard because the community is so white dominated and even I need to do a better job at this. If anyone has any faves please put them in the replies!

I mostly watch YouTube outside of authortube. Some of my faves that I watch frequently (non exhaustive):

- abetweene

- Anncy Twinkle

- bestdressed

- Divas Can Cook

- emmymadeinjapan

- HeyParis

- Honeysuckle

- imuRgency

- Jackie Aina

- Karina Gomez

- LongHairPrettyNails

- Marion’s Kitchen (I am not lying any recipe I make from this woman is HEAVENLY just made soup from her yesterday)

- Vee Kativhu

I’ve been watching YouTube for about ten years now, and some of these names have been in my subs since then, so I think seeing diverse YouTubers doing their thing was really helpful in me feeling comfortable to also be on camera!

My last tip for you would be:

- Take the plunge

It will be uncomfortable the first few times you make a video for so many reasons, but once you get over that initial hump, it is so much better. It took me a few months to feel brave enough to make a face-to-face video and a lot of those videos never got uploaded--and that’s okay! It’s okay to feel insecure and lack confidence. I am not a very confident person so it amazes me that people think I am. I am actually super insecure about so many things! But don’t let those insecurities hold you back. What would you get from not doing something you really want to do just because you’re worried about others, including yourself, will think? You don’t get anything besides that awful feeling. What would you get from taking the plunge? Maybe some embarrassment, or some insecurity, but you’d also prove to yourself that you can do it--and that will trump all insecurity in time. If you’re uncomfortable with a new decision you made (of course outside of unhealthy reasons that would make you uncomfortable), you’re living life right. Be uncomfortable! It is okay! You will be okay!

If you do make a channel, please let me know and I’ll sub immediately! You are not alone in this journey, and if you need anyone to chat to, my DMs are always open. <3

[authorchloeelizabeth]

NaNoWriMo 2017: Should you aim for 50,000 words?

NaNoWriMo is upon us and while some of us have put everything aside to cram writing sessions in to get to the winning goal of 50,000 words, some of us simply can’t do that to get 50,000 words. So what should you aim for if you have a busy November?

Let me just put this out there: November isn’t a busy month for me. November is an opportunity for me to start working on a new project, a project that I’ve completely outlined ready to go but haven’t started working on yet.

I started working on Adrenaline Rush at the end of August and, by the beginning of September, I stopped because I had no motivation, no inspiration and no excitement. I started editing SOAS. 

And then I heard about NaNoWriMo. If I remember rightly, a lot of authortubers I was watching were mentioning it and, because they were all American or Canadian, I thought it wasn’t an international event.

When I discovered it was an international event, I wanted to participate. So I signed up to the website late September and that was when I had to decide which project I was going to work on for it. I’ll keep this short and just say that I decided on Adrenaline Rush in the end.

A couple of weeks ago, I read a post by @shaelinwrites (who is awesome, by the way) which inspired me to write a post on the pressure to write everyday as a writer. Ever since then, I’ve been a lot kinder to myself. I made the choice that my goal for NanoWriMo was to just write. If I only manage 25K words, great. If I manage the whole 50K words, great.

But there’s no need to beat yourself up if you don’t reach 50K. If you’ve written something for NaNoWriMo, that’s better than nothing. Be proud of what you write. Be proud of the quality, not the quantity because when it comes to your audience and your readers, they look for quality, not quantity.

That applies to those thinking of editing. Save your time and strive for quality, not quantity.

Check my progress out - https://nanowrimo.org/participants/authorchloe/novels/adrenaline-rush-1236549/stats

[batterymonster2021]

FREE Online Novel Writing Course | AuthorTube

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/free-online-novel-writing-course-authortube/

FREE Online Novel Writing Course | AuthorTube

Earlier than I became a full-time creator I took many writing guides but as a rule even online writing publications became out to be pretty luxurious that’s why when I came across this fashion of accessing a free online novel writing course that has helped me immensely in my writing trip incidentally I got so excited and now I need to share my secret with you sincerely a bit of over a 12 months ago after I started getting really serious about writing my novel and getting it published I started browsing on-line for hints and systems on find out how to write a ebook and discovered the magic of AuthorTube.Now for many of my subscribers who already understand what AuthorTube is i would like you to hang in there with me for just a minute however for any of you that do not know AuthorTube is a subset of YouTube the place writers and authors create channels referred to as AuthorTube channels where they share their writing journeys and tons of writing pointers modifying strategies as well as the publishing tips and publication advertising guidelines they’ve learned alongside the best way these are writers who are mainly published like Kim hazard and Alexa Donne self-published like Bethany Atazadeh and Mandi Lynn together with channels from authortubers like me who are presently knee-deep in our manuscripts taking you on the trip with us as we plot write edit in finding critique partners in finding and make use of beta readers question and pursue publishing and marketing our novels now if you’re questioning the place this free novel writing path I promised is available in i’m about to get there keep on with me as an aspiring author myself I wolfed up these videos now not simplest had been they free to watch as regularly as I needed however they had been full of super worthwhile knowledge and helped me not most effective consider like I wasn’t alone but the tips and experiences they shared made me think like I might really do this and when you consider that YouTube is excellent the more I subscribed to AuthorTube channels and watched and favored and commented on their videos the extra YouTube realized that i like all these videos and saved suggesting increasingly priceless content and right here is the place my writing direction concept of came in you guys pretty soon I wasn’t simply gazing AuthorTube videos but I also taking notes considering I was studying a lot after which as I did this I was once like what am i doing I would be saving and organizing all of these movies into topical playlists on my YouTube account as you will find right here over this past 12 months and a half of or so I’ve created plenty of playlists for every stage of the writing and publishing system a few of these playlists are in issues like writing hints plotting hints personality progress enhancing and revising recommendations querying tips publishing suggestions and writer platform and advertising hints with tons of movies in every class some I’ve created seeing that I was once going by way of a unique part of the writing process and was shopping for specific topics and saved videos I favored to a particular record however frequently i’m going to just examine out what new videos the creator tubers i’m already subscribed to have recently come out with in my subscriptions feed or what YouTube suggests on my homepage or on the side of the movies i am already gazing and then i’ll save the ones i am interested by right away to my watch later playlist if I don’t have time to look at it right then and i can do this on my computer like this or on the cell app like this then when i have a break or i’m just getting in a position in the morning or cooking or cleansing and even driving do not fear I just hearken to the audio at that factor I either put on my watch later playlist or a different distinct playlist and soak up all of the advantage it can be form of like a visual podcast but with plenty of different writers and their recommendations and experiences I found this really pleasant too on account that although there are targeted standards every creator should follow when writing a novel there are all different methods to plotting and writing and enhancing and so forth if you purchase a natural writing path from one exact author you most effective get there one perspective but with writer tube you’ve access to so many distinct authors without delay free of charge which means that which you can gain knowledge of a bunch of different procedures are trying them out yourself and then figure out which one works quality for you and in that way you variety of have a ton of extraordinary writing coaches at your fingertips and voila just with the aid of searching and subscribing to AuthorTube channels i will create a free on-line writing direction that i’ve total control over its utterly customizable and it’s consistently developing given that AuthorTube are constantly making more content material plus if there’s a precise writing hindrance you are having that you would be able to continually ask your favorite authortubers within the comments of their videos if they might make a video on that exact subject they usually by and large will and in the event you failed to know already many authortubers like me already arrange their videos into topical playlists on their channels so you’ll discover precisely what you need when you need it this probably invaluable to check out before soliciting for a specific video on the grounds that probabilities are your favourite author tuber might already have created a video on that very topic additionally by means of observing these videos you might be helping fellow writers and authors and also you get to be the primary to be taught a couple of bunch of latest books which can be popping out as these authors are getting published plus you get to peer the entire at the back of the scenes of what it took to create that book so whether or not you’ve been watching AuthorTube channels for a even as or if you are simply listening to about it now you can be questioning about how one can in finding the pleasant author to channels for you so you can developing playlists and subsequently make your possess free on-line Writing direction yourself well due to the fact author tube isn’t close to as commonly known as it deserves some nice channels can be hard to seek out so if you wish to take more advantage of this potent free content material so that you can eventually write and publish that publication I surely advise you doing the next first make sure you’re signed in to youtube with an account so that you could really go ahead and create playlists then determine out the link in the description beneath for a record of a bunch of my favourite authortubers that you would be able to go ahead and examine out and start subscribing to or if you need that you may simply variety in a writing question with the time period authortube within the youtube search field and spot what comes up after you have located some creator tubers then just start gazing or saving videos that seem precious to you on your watch later playlist or begin growing topical ones of your possess after which when you have a while you can watching or listening to these playlists and take notes if that’s worthwhile too now this next step is the key you guys if you wish to have YouTube to preserve suggesting similar content material to you listed below are the ways that you may sign to YouTube that you need them to begin doing so first you wish to have to hit the like button on that video watch the video the entire method through comment on the video and subscribe to AuthorTube channels and if you wish to encourage us authortubers to maintain growing and help other writers to search out definitely share the movies you to find most helpful with your writing pals or for your social media bills and tell them all about author – speakme of let’s are trying all that out proper now if you happen to found this video worthy be certain to hit the like button go away me a remark down under sharing a few of your favourite authortubers and the way you are gonna begin developing your possess free on-line writing direction share this video with your entire writing pals that have got to learn about this mighty free useful resource and be definite to subscribe for more writing suggestions identical to this one so you don’t omit anything in my yr-and-a-1/2 of looking at authortube and now having my own AuthorTube channel being part of this on-line writing community has absolutely converted my lifestyles and my writing career which I shared all about on this video that i’m going to hyperlink right here and it continues to aid me develop on daily basis good that is all i’ve for you guys at present i’m hoping this was once beneficial we are going to see you within the feedback and except next week completely happy writing