#identifying myself AS a writer more? so this was fun

[deadandphilgames]

A note from Daniel (new epilogue from You Will Get Through This Night)

Thank you for reading This Night. Writing this book in 2021, while sitting locked down in a lightless basement apartment for months, had a certain self-fulfilling irony that was not lost on me.

In many ways, I wrote this book for not only my past self that I wish could have known these things when I needed them most - but for the guy sitting in an incredibly uncomfortable, hunched, t-rex-esque position typing, that needed it right then. Like many of you, I thought those particularly fun couple of years were a temporary inconvenience, that I wouldn't have to age the book by diving into. And here we are. I hope you enjoyed that new chapter about resilience and whatever the hell a 'polycrisis' is. Turns out certain global events do have an additional effect on our mental health - it's understandable that you may try to power through it and pretend it never happened, but we all deserve to take whatever time we need to honestly process how life makes us feel. I hope you're doing alright. My journey of reflecting honestly on my own life experiences and lifestyle while writing was …like spontaneously punching yourself in the stomach. "Wow. I really live like this? That is apparently not conducive to a healthy mind. Oops. Guess I'll go touch some grass." I'm happy if that made this a more entertaining read occasionally.

Even now, I find myself continually re-reading the book in those small moments of first emotional reaction to situations where I now at least think "Wait - what was I supposed to do here? Right. Not catastrophise." If this is you - that is fine. You are not expected to perfectly memorise this book or retain all knowledge you hear in life. I know I don't. If you're ever sat next to me in the emergency exit aisle of a plane, know that you may be required to physically throw me out of the door in order to inflate the slide because I was busy during the briefing, imagining how my life would have been different if I actually had the nerve to dye my hair black that time in school. I am at peace with that.

It was honestly terrifying for me to try and mine the content of my life to try and actually illustrate advice for people that may really need it …for me to honestly look at the balance between joking about my mental health, and really getting real. Hey - if your attempt at opening up via some humour comes out a bit offensive, you still get points for at least putting it on the table. That's progress.

This is not a book about me. I am here just as an example of terrible behaviour that you have permission to have an inappropriate public transport snort at, and as a writer who has repeatedly not finished traditional 'self-help' or scientific study books for being dry, unrelatable and preachy. I just hope you found this moist, identifiable and accepting of all of your beautiful flaws. So many flaws. I often worried if any of the material was maybe obvious, or something you could stumble across on the second page of Google - then I had a small moment of honesty with myself contemplating my own ignorance, commitment to procrastination, attention span …and the fact that factually just 0.63% of all people searching online, ever bother clicking to the second page of results. If you already knew some of this, good for you. Honestly. You must literally be happy with yourself. I'm just looking in the mirror and trying to do something for the 99.37% of humanity that spend their lives never successfully researching how to not lay awake at night fantasising about their doom. Look forward to the upcoming pocket size book of 'offensively self-destructive jokes' by Dan - or 700-page memoir of my yet un-girthy, mostly unremarkable life so far if that's what you're really looking for.

Perhaps the most terrifying result of releasing this book into the world, has been coming face to face with those of you that have read it. For in these moments, all of my protective self-deprecating persona comes crashing down in an instant when someone says this book made them feel better. Hearing that this book was the first time they finished anything tangentially related to self-improvement, or that just one thing they read was a new perspective on a part of their life they needed, makes me feel my mission in life is already complete. Seeing it be recommended by bookstores amongst all the other choices, hearing that people have shared it with their therapists or had it suggested to them by a professional, is an unbelievable seal of approval that I appreciate. I am so inarticulably grateful to have been given the opportunity to do anything that could make your life easier, more peaceful, more enjoyable. I've met people who annotated this book with post-its, told me they listen to audiobook exercises on their commute - and even a few people that have had illustrations tattooed onto them as a symbolic reminder of a message.

All of this puts that year of typing like some kind of infinite monkey at a typewriter into perspective. I'd do it all again. Mostly. It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the guy whose name is printed on this book, and I just hope that reading it helped you, as much as writing it helped me.

Love and good luck.

- Dan

[copper-16]

Chapter 8 has been posted - but before everyone goes to read, a little bit of an announcement on my end:

This is going to be my last longer Mapi/Ingrid story, and probably the end of me being super active/posting on ao3 and tumblr. I might write the occasional story here and there, but writing is not bringing me the same joy it once was and I want to dedicate my time to other things. I’ll still be around reading on ao3 and somewhat on Tumblr, but I just won’t be posting a whole ton on either. I’ve been so incredibly lucky to get to know all of you guys on here, and to receive so much love for my work. It means the absolute world to me - and thank you all so much for welcoming me into this little community so wonderfully! I hope the stories I wrote were able to bring just a little bit of happiness when you guys needed it (even if I constantly left everyone on cliffhangers - I truly am sorry about that).

The rest of this is long, and you don't have to read it if you don't want to, you can just go ahead to the story now if you would like. I'm not known for my ability to keep concise, that is for certain. If brevity is the soul of wit - perhaps we know why my stories aren't very funny!

I’ve especially enjoyed joining tumblr and really finding a little community here. Getting to interact with so many people, both those who read my works and those who don’t, has been such a joy for me. I love getting to hear when people like the things I've written, even if it touches them in a small way. I love getting to interact with so many brilliant minds and am forever in awe of how much amazing talent there is in this little corner of the internet! I've made some incredible friends from getting to be on here, and it makes me so happy to have a little community of people I love. Thank you guys for letting me have space here even if I don’t write reader works or know how this app works most of the time.

I started writing seriously in September 2022 and I can't tell you how much joy it has brought me in the last two years. As someone who doesn't enjoy the college degree they are currently getting, this was such a fun creative outlet for me. It was so cool to have this blank canvas to work with, to weave things together, especially as I began to write longer stories. Writing was a place to destress for me and interact with other people who loved football as I was coming to love it. Every single kudos, comment, and bookmark meant so much to me. Even when it was something silly like someone dubbing the 'Copper Monologue,' it made me feel so seen. Someone cared enough to read enough of my works to pick out the fact that I do that? Absolutely mind blowing to me. It's crazy to hear that people cared about the silly little stories I wrote. When someone told me that I was one of the things to help inspire them to write their own stuff - I think I properly sobbed. It meant more to me than anything has in this entire world, and it still does! Writing has helped me to process, it's helped me to grow, it's helped me learn to identify my emotions and struggles and think through my own thought processes. I hope that maybe for someone out there, it could help them do that as well. It's a little strange for me not to want to do that anymore. Writing this last story solidified to me that for the most part it was time to be done, and HDITA was more of a goodbye than anything else. But even with that, it feels strange not to be thinking of my next idea, thinking of how I am going to create characters and relationships and plot lines.

I think for me right now, I'm just excited to be myself. Maybe this vessel of writing was what I needed to get myself through the last two years. I wrote la princesa when I was at my absolute worst in life, and as I've grown and matured as a person, I like to think that my writing has. I no longer find myself in a place where it fills a huge void in my own life that I once needed.

I've grown a lot as a writer these few years (those who read my earlier works will understand), and I'm excited to one day come back to it, maybe in a different sphere. I love the idea now of writing a real book. It always terrified me before - I didn't know where I would start or if I would be horrible at it. But you all have given me the confidence that maybe at least one person would like it, and maybe that's enough of a reason to try. So thank you all for holding my hand and encouraging me. I hope that if nothing else, everyone remembers that a little bit of kindness on here or ao3 or anywhere on the internet costs nothing, and yet can go a long way.

It did for me.

But enough of my sappy rambling, please enjoy this last chapter of mine. I hope it brings you as much joy as it brought me when I was writing it. Love you all so so much!

Chapter 8 of How Do I Trust Again?

[cripplecharacters]

Hello!! I’m a fic writer and have had the idea of giving one of the characters I’m writing for prosopagnosia. Within the canon, he mistakes the protagonist for someone he used to know (the protagonist is unable to correct him) and doesn’t realize his mistake until much later on, where he then comments that the two aren’t actually similar at all, in reference to their personalities. He’s also known to refer to people with notable visual traits, at least in the online circles I’ve run in.

I have a couple smaller questions in regards to how I should proceed:

Is it reasonable for him not to have been aware that the way he perceives faces is different?

Would it be incorrect to have him identify others by facial features? Not in the sense of “the one with the short nose” or anything, but “this one has red eyes” and “that one has a scar”. Something easily picked out on the face. Would those be identifiable traits at all?

My fic isn’t meant to have much of an overarching plot, and it’s just supposed to be funny/slice of life. This character is important though and will be a consistent presence. What jokes might my characters make, what jokes should I avoid making, and what jokes is the character going to hear the most and get sick of real quick?

Thank you for your ask! Whether or not he realizes he can’t recognize faces depends on both his character and the severity of his prosopagnosia, as it can range from difficulty differentiating faces to being unable to distinguish faces from objects. From the experience of myself and most people I know with prosopagnosia he’d probably just assume he’s bad with faces and not think any deeper than that, but it isn’t a universal experience.

It's also fine if he recognizes people by unique facial features! Despite not being able to picture someone's face he could try to remember key aspects of someone’s face like a prominent mole or a crooked nose, though I agree something like ‘short nose’ is too vague. The more unique and prominent, the easier he’ll have remembering it (to clarify when I say ‘remembering’ I mean remembering that they have that feature, not being able to picture it). He can also try recognizing people by clothes they always wear or unique hairstyles, though it can get confusing if someone decides to change their hair or he meets a stranger with the same hat as his one friend. The easiest way for me to recognize someone is by their voice or calling their name and waiting for them to respond.

Have a nice day!

Mod Rot

Hi!

Usually I identify people by hairstyle or specific articles of clothing, although unique traits like a scar or red eyes would certainly help as confirmation! (Of course, personality as well--but speaking about visual traits, this is what I look for.)

I hate when people change their hairstyles, it makes them totally unrecognizable for a while. Often I can figure out who someone is a few minutes into a conversation, maybe shorter for people I know really well, but changes to big recognizable features throw me off. (Don't ask how many times I've been in conversations with people and had No Idea who I was talking to...)

So yes, it's realistic to go off facial features, although non-face features may be more common as an identifier. It's also realistic to mistake someone for another person entirely. I often think people look alike and they just are similar heights with similar hairstyles to non-face-blind people.

Joke-wise, I make fun of myself for not recognizing people. It's embarrassing, sure, but in hindsight it makes a good story. I don't like being teased about it, it makes me feel bad or inadequate that I can't recognize people. But when I do it? Funny story!

Mod Rock

Hello,

As someone with a similar condition (I've always heard it referred to as face blindness,) I use a few different things to recognize people;

Glasses. A lot of people I know have unique glasses and I use those to recognize them. I know this person because they have blue, red, and gold glitter in their glasses, and I know this person because she has electric teal wire-frame glasses.

Hair. This only works when people have an unusual hair colour or style. If someone has one side of their head buzzed, I recognize them by that. If someone has very long red hair, I recognize them by that.

I also look at distinct facial features. I know someone who wears red contacts and I recognize them by that. Something like a scar or very distinct facial features can help me recognize someone.

Voices. I'm not excellent at recognizing voice but I can recognize a distinct vocal quirk, like a Louisiana accent.

Context is also important. The biggest thing I struggle with is recognizing people out of their usual context. I struggle to recognize most of my old classmates outside of high school and school-related functions like graduation ceremonies. If I see an old classmate or even a family member in the drive-thru, it's hard to recognize them unless they have something distinct about them or I know them really well (such as if they were in my friend group.)

And then there are little things I pick up on that help me recognize people I wouldn't otherwise recognize. I work in a drive-thru so I can recognize a lot of people by their orders or by the cars they drive. I can recognize a few people based on their names when they order on the mobile app- if they order and don't use the app, it takes me a minute. I can recognize most of the regulars because they usually know my name and make conversation.

And yes, like you mentioned, personalities.

I didn't know I struggled to perceive and recognize faces for a very long time, I thought everyone was the same way. If it had never been pointed out to me, I probably still wouldn't know that I need to do things differently. It's not something that's easy to notice without outside help telling you that no, actually, most people can recognize people they know or even people they've met a few times.

So yes, he sounds very realistic based on my experience. He sounds like he has it pretty severely. And, by the way, the same situation happens to me all the time. And it's extremely embarrassing when it happens.

I make a lot of "I barely recognized you!" jokes with people who know I have face blindness. They aren't extremely funny but it's my way of saying "You've changed something about your appearance" or "Wow, it's been a long time!" I don't know of many face blindness jokes either, it's not something we often have the opportunity to joke about. If he draws people, he might make a joke about "Yeah, this probably isn't the best career" or "I know, don't quit my day job." Or he could do something kind of like Toph Beifong and react to someone else's art with "Don't worry, I think it looks exactly like the person." Maybe if they're looking for someone and he points out a random person like "Hey, there they are!" only for the group to realize he's messing with them?

Maybe you could repurpose some blind jokes and make them about "I can't recognize people" instead of about "I can't see"?

Mod Aaron

[copperbadge]

A newsletter has a regular feature going down the list of Notable Sandwiches on Wikipedia. This week's is the hot dog. The writer emailed 30 professors. I commend everyone for the well-thought-out answers, especially the grad student who produced graphs. buttondown(.)email/theswordandthesandwich/archive/notable-sandwiches-89-hot-dog/

What a fun feature overall! I haven't reviewed the entirety of the Hot Dog Document yet, but I feel like now I want to do a bunch of back reading, too. I like reading about sandwiches, even if I'm fairly picky when it comes to them myself.

I will say, and perhaps this is populist of me or perhaps it's even more ivory tower than the academics, but as we all know I have a longstanding solution to all of this "is a hot dog a sandwich" nonsense, which is this:

"Sandwich" is not a noun. It is an adjective.

I don't mean that literally, like I haven't found some weird archaic dictionary that tells us so, but "sandwich" as a word is not used as a noun but rather as a descriptor of a thing, ergo, adjective. An object is a sandwich if you must apply "sandwich" to the end of the noun in order to properly identify it. It's like how many different kinds of dogs can be "brindle" but that is not a breed of dog and doesn't stand on its own as a classification.

Now, I have no objection to anyone saying "a hot dog sandwich" because that's simply a redundancy and if they wish to, that's their prerogative; it sounds fun and old timey, like saying "a hamburger steak". But we need not classify a hot dog as a sandwich simply because you don't need to say "hot dog sandwich" for the person you're speaking with in order to make yourself understood. Much as you would not generally say "Italian beef sandwich" even when speaking to someone who might not know what an italian beef is. You say "an italian beef" and then elucidate.

There is a possible exception to the rule, which is the Grilled Cheese Sandwich, commonly referred to as simply a Grilled Cheese despite taking a very sandwich-like form, but there are three arguments one can make regarding this:

It SHOULD be called a Grilled Cheese Sandwich to distinguish it from Halloumi

It is technically a "melt" which like a hamburger is distinct from a sandwich (ie, a Tuna Melt or Patty Melt) in the classification of "sandwich-like objects that need not be called a sandwich"

The grilled cheese is the exception that proves the rule and this is right and just, because grilled cheese sandwiches are the best and should be considered special.

Thank you for coming to my TEDtalk; I will not be taking questions at this time.

[femslashfeb]

HELLO ALL

TLDR

No reblogging from the blog this year - posting prompts tomorrow the 31st

For the past few years I've very much struggled with reblogging everyone's activity in the tag. So this year I will not be doing so.

(OR maybe I will? I just don't want to commit)

Even if I knew how to make a bot that reblogs - a lot of people still use the unique tag to tag outside challenges. So I've always had to hand submit. However it became too stressful for me and for the past few years I ended up avoiding it until later weeks or even months.

If you noticed I didn't finish reblogging last year so- I've just given up on that.

Honestly I've struggled a lot with depression for the last 7 years or so. It's been harder and harder to find my way back to tumblr. It doesn't help that my phone can barely handle the amount of apps it already has.

My main account @puff-pink hardly ever updates because of my big sad. And I don't know if I'll ever get back on the horse in the same way I did before.

Some of you know me as an artist, and tho I still churn out subpar art for my day-job I've struggled a lot to make art for myself during my depression. Partially because one year I overworked my hand - and still deal in continual wrist aches. Even the weeks I don't pick up a drawing tool.

I intended this challenge for myself and maybe the small fandoms I was in at the time. But it took off among writers and creators of all types across all fandoms.

One year I even tried to tally the most popular fandoms but there were honestly too many to keep track of- and I stopped after the first three pages of submissions.

I don't claim to have invented the concept of FemSlash February. Before I started the prompts I swear I had heard the phrase somewhere. Tho not sure where. Perhaps it had been amongst my friends on Skype. Back when I had online friends and Skype(I'm still not sold on Discord🤷‍♀️).

However that January I thought it would be fun to partake in a challenge of some kind. But scouring tumblr and the general internet. I could only find half hearted efforts on fanfiction sites from years past.

I'm so proud of all my Sapphic creators on here that have partaken every year. Even if I've never shown favoritism or awarded anyone. I do notice those that actually complete the challenge AND those that keep coming back each year(looking at you H20 writer(I don't remember your username but there's a mermaid writer that's a writing machine)). I truly am proud of you especially in my shriveled state of creativity. Thank you for your efforts. For your hype. And for your love of women of all kinds across all the universes.

Each year I'm surprised to find even more categories I never thought to include. From mood boards, to doll photography, to ofc the classic art and writing. May your pencils forever be in union with your sister mediums.

On that note. There is a strict NO AI GENERATED ART or writing this year.

Not that I could physically stop anyone who does use AI. But I do not want that sort of thing associated with this challenge. It's become scarily good in 2023 to the point it can't always be identified. So I simply ask for the honor system when it comes to AI generated creations.

That being said. If you've made it to the end of this post:

Prompts will be posted tomorrow.

I usually prefer to give yall more of a buffer, but I've been busy. Both with Big Sad, rescuing some feral cats, my own life, errands, chores and work.

If you're still here- here is a preview of the first three days.

FEB 1 - black

FEB 2 - spring

FEB 3 - cake

The 14th as usual will be some sort of Valentine romance type theme(haven't decided specifically yet) and as always there will be a Rest Day.

Expect some repeat prompts. In the past I tried to avoid them but idc anymore.

It's also a Leap Year this year so expect one extra prompt to throw off the symmetry of what's normally 28 days.

Thanks for coming back this year. And thank you to those that still check on this blog.

❤️🧡🤍💜🩷

Keep loving girls

-PuffPink

[highfantasy-soul]

So I need to get something off my chest about 'writing' and what a show is trying to do vs if the writing is the best to show that.

I haven't seen this complaint so much on Tumblr, but it has been brought up several times in a Discord server I'm in and I don't think there is the best place to address it (it might be taken as too political or an attack against specific people) but I really really needed to write out how I'm feeling about it.

So a massive complaint in this Discord is that the writing of the Acolyte is bad. The ones making this criticism claim that they like the ideas behind the show, but the execution with the writing is terrible and they need to get a whole new writing team for season 2.

So. Hmm. How to not get too in my feelings about that.

Let's take a look at who the writers are. We have:

3 men - 2 of which are men of color, the last I don't know enough about to say if he's part of a specific marginalized identity or not

and we have 7 women - Leslye who is openly queer, 3 black women, an asian woman, a trans woman and activist, and another who I again, don't know enough about to say if she's a part of a specific marginalized identity (other than her femininity) or not.

I didn't do deep dives on them, they're writers, so it's kind of hard to specifically find out 'hey, do you personally have a lot of experience with colonialism/religious trauma?' BUT I think that just baseline seeing how many women, people of color, and queer people there are on the writing staff and the way I could see so many extremely nuanced and real things on screen that I personally know about gives me a good idea about their own experiences/knowledge about such subjects.

Despite the claim that 'they like what the story is going for', the understanding of how the writers are telling that story isn't translating to everyone. I have a little suspicion as to what unites the people who 'don't get' the writing despite claiming to like what the show was going for. Kind of like how people 'liked what the civil rights movement was about, but those leaders and their methods? Get those out of here and accomplish the goals in a different way'. Or reading a classic and having no context for who wrote it or when the story was written and trying to judge it based on your own very limited understanding and claiming it's "bad" because you, personally, are just not aware of anything outside of your own world view.

It's important to be able to identify where your own understanding might be lacking - and acknowledging that just because YOU don't 'get it' doesn't mean that the writing is BAD. It just means... you don't get it. Personally, I don't get every single show made for a very specific audience - especially racialized comedies specifically for the race the writer/performer is. As an example, Dave Chapelle (horrendous transphobia aside) wrote a great deal of his material for his very specific audience of Black Americans. I personally, as a not-Black person, wasn't sure how to feel about some of his jokes - but what I DIDN'T do was say that he was bad and 'I get that he's making fun of his own community, but he should do it in a different way, maybe get a different writer'. Because I'm not the one equipped to judge that. I acknowledge that his comedy is outside my wheelhouse and honestly, for Chapelle's case when it comes to his racial jokes, I simply remove myself from the equation and just look to other Black people and how they react to his comedy to see if he's stepped over a line. (Also, when it comes to comedy, as he himself pointed out, some white people were laughing a little TOO hard at his jokes - I think that's mainly an issue with comedy and poking fun at yourself only to have someone not in your 'group' not take it as friendly ribbing but rather more malicious - and so he dialed it back).

Comedy is a bit different than any other media - I do think that comedy requires a lot more knowledge of the subject matter to know when the person is exaggerating, critiquing, or affectionately ribbing that is pretty important to know before internalizing what's said in the show. If you're not aware of that stuff, you might hear a stand-up routine and internalize a lot of really harmful stereotypes so I think it's ok to step away from comedy that isn't "for you" in a way that I don't think is particularly great for ALL types of media that isn't "for you".

With romance stories - I just don't get why a character would make all their decisions focused around getting a romantic partner, maybe I actively dislike watching/reading about that, but what I'm NOT going to do is say Jane Austen is a bad writer. I can point out things I disliked aside from the romance aspect or even larger writing critiques, but I'm not going to say that 'I see what she was going for, but get a different writer because I didn't get it'. Those stories were intensely personal to her and many people see themselves in the characters she wrote. Just because *I* don't get their motivations doesn't mean others don't.

So, examples aside, I think it's incredibly important that before we say 'the writing was bad', think about if maybe it's just that you don't have the meta understanding of the groups being highlighted in the story. It does give me the ick when people say to 'replace the writing table' on The Acolyte when the story trying to be told is of marginalized groups interacting with massive colonial institutions and the generational trauma that causes - and when you look at the writers....they are part of the groups affected by those issues, and the ones who are saying 'replace them'....aren't (largely).

When you 'don't get' something in media, especially if that media is telling the stories of groups you don't belong to, go to see what those groups are saying. There have been articles written about The Acolyte from the points of view of marginalized groups and meta posted around about how these irl subjects are being handled. In my opinion, as someone a part of such effected groups, I think the writers have done an incredible job with the show.

The main issue I think (good faith) people have is that DISNEY didn't give the show more time to tell its story, but then they lay the issues at the feet of the writers for 'not explaining enough' - but the things they want explained, largely I find are things that...were explained enough if you know the basics of colonization, missionaries, and generational trauma.

Other complaints I've seen boil down to "the show should have told me everything in order, clearly, and told me what to think about it and each of the characters - because I was left guessing, instead of using my own brain to think about it, I have decided it's bad writing because everything wasn't fed to me in a straightforward way" which again, isn't a fault of the writing, it's a flaw in the way you THINK all shows need to hand-hold you. Just because a show doesn't spoon-feed you the story and character motivations, doesn't mean the writing is bad.

Finally, I've seen critiques of the writing (and story) to the effect of 'it's a Star Wars story - it NEEDS to fit into the Star Wars box/expectations and if it doesn't, that means it's bad writing' - which again, kills diversity. You want surface-level inclusion where "yay! It's a woman doing bombings now! Cheer for her!" rather than "Look, it's a woman doing war-crimes and we're pointing out that war crimes are STILL wrong and here's other marginalized people fighting against that!"

So before claiming 'the writers need to be replaced', take a step back and look at why you feel that way, take a look at who the writers are and what story they were trying to tell, and first consider: maybe you just aren't knowledgeable enough about the subject matter. And just because it's not 'baby's first colonizer story', doesn't mean the writing is bad. Maybe you aren't the center of the universe for once and maybe its OK for you to feel a little behind in understanding - it just means there's new stuff for you to learn! Which is a good thing!

Obligatory explanation that all this doesn't mean that you can't critique the writing or that if you critique the writing that means you 100% are who I'm talking to in this post. All I'm saying is that maybe before having the knee-jerk reaction 'get rid of the writers', take a look at it from this perspective to see if you 'not understanding' isn't on the writers, it's on you and your life experiences not preparing you for such a story told in this way.

[i-got-da-rubes]

Hey you! Yeah, you!

Are you a writer, or looking to become one? Well oh boy, Funky Introverted Writers Server might be the one for you! We’re a community-based group of writers(and non-writers) that’s over a year old now!

We’re majorly LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent, so if you write about similar themes, you’ll find friends here. Well, you’ll find friends either way, but you get the point. 

Note: you must be 15-28 years old to join.

We’re also very disability friendly! I myself have chronic pain, another admin is hard of hearing, and several of our members have physical or mental disabilities themselves. It’s not a topic we shy away from.

We have Pluralkit and believe that all systems are valid! *If you identify as a system, you will not be pressured into using the bot or outing yourself. 

We have movie nights and read-aloud nights where we practice presenting. You could read your own work, you could read from a book, you could read from a fic. We end up mostly reading children's books. It’s tons of fun.

On a more personal note, this server has done a lot for me. I’ve connected with two of my best friends through it, I’ve met other really good people, and I’ve just generally learned and grown. I genuinely don’t think I would be a writer if I hadn’t found this server. And I write a LOT now, haha. 

I presented a poem of mine during one of the read-aloud nights. I was terrified. I didn’t expect much positive feedback, if any, but that’s exactly what I got. They gave me the confidence to read the poem to my parents. Which is important, because it was something they really needed to hear. 

Anyway. This server is my safe space. I would love to share it with you. 

If the link doesn't work, shoot me a DM to join.

[rottingaches]

hello everyone ! my name is mio or phobia, i'm 20+ and use he／they pronouns. i'm currently looking for long—term one on one roleplays with people 18 and older, preferably on discord, or roleplay groups to join ˎˊ-.

⊹ i write in a descriptive, 3rd person point of view, normally ranging from three to five paragraphs. if you have a different writing style, shorter or longer, i'll match ! i tend to use a lot of prose and flowery language, as well as visual changes in my writing — including using capital words or fonts for emphasis. if you would prefer i don't do this, feel free to let me know and i'll leave it out !

⊹ generally, i prefer plots where romance is not the driving factor. i will often include it as a subplot, or something that furthers the main point, but romance—centered stories are not for me ! that being said, if there is a romance plot that you're very interested in, feel free to offer it and we can see if it's something that can be worked with. i absolutely love soulmate plots where neither of them are expecting it, or the soulmatism is the cause of sooo much pain and anguish.

⊹ i love angst. i love it. i live it and breathe it and i will injure and maim and maul my characters for fun! sorry about this! i like hurting them! fluff is so rare!! what is a happy ending without pain so they can appreciate it! etcetera. i'm sorry!!

⊹ plot—wise, once more, i tend to work with darker plots. many of my writings include death, light gore, religious imagery and blasphemy, drugs and illegal substances, and more generally mature themes. while i may reference suicide or self—harm, it will not be actively written. that aside, i will not write r*pe, ab*se, in*est, p*dophilia or any of the above topics including a minor. i also do not tolerate racism, and prefer not to write any kind of sexism. homophobia is a theme that many of my characters will have in their backstory, but not one i'm willing to include in current roleplay events other than as a reference to the past.

* as a note : any action by my characters that is illegal or generally seen as wrong is not one that is endorsed by me. these are actions taken by fictional characters in a piece of writing that stays between me and another writer or group of writers, and are not identifiers of a lifestyle that i believe others should attempt to emulate.

⊹ i will write smut if it furthers the plot or if we are close only. please do not request it; i will not write it as a focal point. any smut or sexual mentions in my writing are based purely on built chemistry and generally, will shape the plot: i do not believe that casual sex will not change a relationship. if that is a plot point for us, then by all means ! — i do not have any issue with discussing sexual themes in writing, and do believe in a sex—positive environment.

⊹ i prefer queer pairings. my characters' gender identity and sexuality often play a crucial part of their journey and even if it's not active in the roleplay, it is important to me and i will be talking about it ! most, if not all, of my experience lies with mlm ／ nb pairings, but i'd like to reach into wlw pairings and writing to better myself. ˎˊ-

⊹ most of my characters have an irl idol or celebrity faceclaim. i do not do real—person roleplay, though i may reuse names, but my characters are not their faceclaims. i use them because they inspire me and are fitting. all my ocs are close to or older than their fc. most of my faceclaims are k—pop idols. if this bothers you, do not bother with interacting! i have a few that are not, but i tend to have very low muse for them.

⊹ i prefer oc and fandomless writing. that being said, i do have ocs and canon characters that i've written in the genshin impact verse and bungo stray dogs universe. i'm very open to writing these, it's just not something i've done as often ! i'm also willing to dip my toes into honkai impact 3rd, saw, hannibal, or something with a plot similar to inuyasha, neon genesis evangelion, stardew valley, legends of zelda, reanimator, and a lot more !

⊹ i've been roleplaying and writing for over eight years, on multiple different platforms from wattpad to tumblr to twitter, discord, and mewe. generally, i prefer plotting before deciding on characters as it allows me to be sure the characters will be ones that will help rather than hinder the plot and leave us at a standstill !

⊹ i am a student, so i may not respond immediately but will always try to get back to you in a day or two max ! feel free to poke at me occasionally and leave messages, i'll respond once i can.

⊹ send me a dm or interact with this post if you're interested in plotting! when you reach out, i'd appreciate it if you'd introduce yourself and let me know what you're looking for. i return the energy i receive ! i love talking ooc and would love to make friends, whether we rp or not. ˎˊ-

divider. rts appreciated!

[olderthannetfic]

Issue: I know people avoid reader/OC fics. But I feel genuinely good about what I've written and I feel like the concept and my competency as a writer WOULD attract people if not for the automatic "nope" to readers/OCs. (I know everyone feels good about what they've written, and I don't mean to sound self-absorbed, but I genuinely do feel like I'm a good writer.) Would it be...disingenuous to either A) substitute the reader/OC with a canon character and rewrite it to be more in-character, or B) file the serial numbers off completely so it's OC / OC, which people generally find more palatable than CC / OC? The first one is more difficult to do well, but would probably attract more readers. The second one doesn't have the benefit of a canon label slapped on it to attract fans of the canon, but isn't constrained by canon anymore.

--

I think you should do whatever is fun for you.

For me, second person is a hard no. There's nothing kneejerk about it and no amount of writing skill will ever do anything to change this. It is hubris on your part to imagine that it isn't a deeply considered opinion on the part of most second person haters.

Overtly asking me to identify with one character in particular rather than leaving that up to me can be a squick as well. I don't fantasize about myself, and trying to pin me down to The Reader Insert (including in Mary Sue form in the third person) elicits visceral disgust. Even canon character/canon character will annoy me if I feel I'm being told to identify more with the one I identify less with. Your writing skill isn't going to overcome this for the large number of people in fandom who feel this way.

I'll happily read new characters if you're good, but in many fandoms, I'm there looking for something specific with particular canon characters. It doesn't matter how good you are at baking a cake if I need a sandwich and sugar will give me a headache.

Which option will get the most attention depends heavily on the culture of your proposed fandom and what other tags would be on this story. Nobody can begin to predict that other than you.

[notexactlyrocketscience]

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood: a critically kind review from a femme acespec physicist <3

> scroll to the next section for my review on the physics academia content in this book!

First, a quick romance novel review!

spoiler: it wasn’t my favorite but I gave it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 because being a writer has made me a generally more appreciative reader + I am so starved of woman in physics rep.

the good

It just felt good to read about a woman physicist, who are still incredibly underrepresented in fiction, especially as protagonists. (I’ll go off about that in a minute.)

The romance is so swoony with shoujo manga vibes, I haven’t read straight M/F adult romance novels in a while and I just loved the flutteriness of it.

A couple of chapters were so soft with excellent pillowtalk. There was something about the ambience of the snow, the hypnotic sadness of failure, the prescence of a comforting person.

I enjoyed identifying the relatable parts about physics academia. Hazelwood clearly did a lot of research, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It definitely kept me reading!

the bad

The academia issues are so over-simplified it’s almost juvenile. For an adult novel, even one marketed as a romcom, I expect more nuance, more explanations, more explicit lingering in tight positions.

And then the romance tries to be complex (and has a lot of potential!) but not a lot of conflict really happens.

A fictional physics fued between theorists and experimentalists is a really fun (and actually not far off) concept, but I would have expected some things to be the other way around. (More on that later!)

Okay this is personal but the main couple both have terrible taste in movies. Twilight vs white male rage movies??? There is no lesser evil here

Elsie’s hardships aren’t put in a very serious light. Her diabetes and lack of access to health insurance is used as a plot device to engineer romantic momentum between the characters and/or comic relief.

Just overall, the book tried so hard to remain “light” that I think it fails to garner depth. Because adult lives really aren’t that light all the time, and a book can bring relaxation and joy whilst including real worldly negative experiences.

There were aroace and sapphic side characters, but I wanted so bad for Elsie to be demisexual. It's set up so perfectly only for it to be averted—As a demisexual person myself, Elsie’s feelings about attraction felt acutely familiar to me, and every other reader I've spoken to has agreed that the book took a dissapointing and unexpected turn. I understand Hazelwood may not feel equipped to write queer protagonists but if I were her editor, I would have flagged that and recommended she make it canon. It would have added so much more context and dimension to Elsie, and would’ve put hetero demisexuals on the map. </3

Following up on the above: The smut tries so hard to be meaningful but it ... really is icky, stereotypical, unrealistic allocishetero stuff. Think: the shy inexperienced girl vs the man who knows exactly how to advise her. The characters try to subvert the trope by calling it out, but it feels performative because all is forgotten in the next second. The PiV sex is weirdly conventionally idealistic considering the pairing’s size difference. I’m picky about smut but also forgiving when I do like the dynamic. I just didn’t here.

Following up once again: I was ready to ignore all the repetitive comments about how sexy Jack’s height and muscles were, because sure, I guess Elsie has a type. But the sex scenes solidified the redundancy of it all. I've read this same dynamic in countless smutty heteronormative M/F paperbacks. And I have also been made aware by every Hazelwood reader that all her books focus on this kind of physical build pairing. I just want more diversity, you know?

IDK, I just wanted more physics in here than complaining about teaching, glossed over toxic mentors, and using some quirky physics term in every other sentence. (More on that below!)

I just wanted ... more? It’s not an extremely short novel, but both the plot and the character development fell flat. The ups and downs were too fast and easy, and the placement felt off. I finished the book and wondered, “That’s it? That’s all that happened?” It just wasn’t fulfilling. The side characters aren't expanded upon, and don’t get enough pagetime. My other romance reads this year were Bellefleur's The Fiancee Farce and Mcquiston’s One Last Stop. In both of those novels, the drama was fleshed out with so much care and detail. In comparison, Love, Theoretically may mention similar social difficulties in passing, but failed to really, really show us.

Overall ... the novel was fun for being about physicists but I really don’t see myself picking up another Hazelwood book, especially considering this isn’t even a debut novel. The conventional white steminist vibe and the particular allocishetero M/F dynamic just isn’t my thing.

But perhaps a reader wanting more of a novel and its characters is a good problem to have. Never say never, I guess! I look forward to keeping tabs on what Hazelwood publishes in the future!

Now, onto the physics!

First, most physicists, as good scientists, understand that theory and experimentation are fundamentally linked. It’s true that we each are often biased towards our own methods of research, but it is quite a stretch to imagine full professors so blatantly feud against others solely because of theory vs experimentation. Regardless, I was happy to suspend my disbelief for the sake of the plot that was framed in a genre-specific, lighthearted, humorous way.

Secondly, both theory and experimentation have sources of funding that are motivated in different ways, and Hazelwood's decision to have the theorists struggle with funding cuts due to declining interest in pop culture/the general public is actually quite credible. Experimentation garners a lot more interest from the application and engineering end of society, parts that are easily fueled by capitalism.

However, I think experimentalists in general are far less likely to be mean to theorists than the reverse scenario. Dr Fatima Abdurrahman has a great video essay about that called on her YouTube channel called “Quantum Physics, Feminism, and Objective Reality: What Physicists Don’t Want You to Know About Quantum Mechanics.” Dr Fatima outlines how old white men in physics have maintained this image of unwavering scientific objectivity in the name of rigor, despite studying a field that fundamentally is barely fathomable for humans. In simpler terms: Men, even in theory, pretend to be better, smarter, and more valid as physicists despite being in an infamously iffy field. And I would have liked to see that represented. It was just really hard for me to buy narcissistic grad students mansplaining Elsie about her field, and Elsie’s righteous feminine rage, when the field in question is … physics theory? It just didn’t make sense to me, when all of my personal experiences point to the opposite.

But every cloud has a silver lining, and having a woman theorist in a physics field that’s less popsci-oriented is actually … really cool. And having her love interest be a man in experimentation … sort of subverts gender roles and conventional media expectations.

Let me explain. The reality is that when women are represented in STEM, media prefers to put them in biology, like a nurse to a doctor, a people-oriented nurturer, a mere sidekick to the real “objective” scientist—often a mathematician or an astrophysicist who is always a man. And when women are placed in physics, they are automatically assigned to observational astronomy, which is dismissed as passive and easy. (This is wildly untrue—though styles of research in astronomy has interestingly allowed a somewhat more diverse array of researchers in history. Even today, you’ll see a higher frequency of women and queer people in every astronomy department.)

I think my ideal version of this novel would be retaining Elsie in theory, while also making theorists the overall bad guys in the feud. I would love to have her talk about the unique sexism she faces as a theorist. I would kill for a scene in which Jack gets gobsmacked by how fucking good at math she really is, compared to him (instead of, like, only making fun of it like it’s easy). I would love to read about her getting a tour of his lab, and just more physics content. But maybe I’m the only one saying that, because I’m a physicist. Maybe Hazelwood simplified it all to keep the book appealing to the general masses.

Still, it all read more like a girlpower!!! chant rather than a real commitment to represent a woman in STEM. I savored every moment Elsie or George would go off about physics. I loved Elsie’s conversations with Olive, a different STEM academic. (Monica was more complicated and actually quite interesting, and I wish we could have seen more of her. Heck, I wish we had actually been given any tangible info about Jack’s mom, even.) But I genuinely felt these instances were rare. Elsie referred to being a physicist a lot (and frankly, her mind is more physics-y than any IRL physicist considering the sheer number of physics-inspired figures of speech she uses … but I excused that as silly comic relief, a quirk in Hazelwood’s writing style). But she didn’t tangibly do physics on page. It was disappointing, considering women characters in STEM is what Hazelwood is known for.

And there are physicists who love teaching—even physicists who solely want to teach. Physicists who do pedagogy research. I know the book was mainly trying to criticise the adjunctification and dismissal of physics higher education, and it’s actually quite accurate in representing that most physicists in academia would prefer not to teach. But the excecution also ends up erasing physicists who aren’t in academia just for research. And I say this especially because the validity of teaching physicists as physicists is dismissed in real life. It’s used as justification to further force all physics academics to try to juggle between both research and teaching, whether they want to or not.

Which leads us to bad mentors. I’ve had a bunch of those. As Olive pointed out in an excellent quote, “Academia is so hierarchical, you know? There are all these people who have power over you, who are supposed to guide you and help you become the best possible scientist, but . . . sometimes they don’t know what’s best. Sometimes they don’t care. Sometimes they have their own agenda. […] Sometimes they’re total shitbuckets who deserve to step on a pitchfork and die.” And the thing is, the novel really doesn’t show us any of that (perhaps other than in Monica). We don’t fully get to know what happened to Jack’s mom, or Olive. We are not shown what Dr L’s agenda really was. Their final confrontation was so quick, when in reality shitty mentors are often sticky and entwined with your work, hard to cut off and scarier to talk back to even after you’ve finally realized they’re toxic.

Which isn’t to say the novel is just inadequate about everything. It’s correct in how goofy physics faculty are, and how white man-dominated the field is, how students try to mansplain women profs, how theorists madly work on their computers (as an experimentalist, I could never understand), how publishing is finicky (to put it kindly), and how tenured faculty fail to understand the reality of the job market in academia today. There are certain parts (like the quote above!) where I felt incredibly seen as part of a minoritized identity group in STEM academia. It’s rare to have a book written from this PoV, and as a first I think this novel will always be special for me!

If you’re interested in reading about more fictional women physicists, I would highly recommend skimming through this list I made on GoodReads (and feel free to add more!).

And if you’d like to support memoirs and science communication books by IRL women physicists, then look to further than this other list I’ve also made. (We’re actually currently seeing a boom in these which is inanely exciting to me, so again, contributions are always welcome!)

[castielslostwings]

Please help me tell people about my book!

Hi! I'm publishing a book! It's HERE, just in time for Christmas!! It's GAY!! It's romantic!!! It's HOT! It has firefighters and background sapphic romance, and is exciting AF!!!

I'm very excited, too!

Both U.S. domestic and international friends can order shipped Paperbacks from me directly via my Ko-Fi shop (retailers take less of a cut): https://ko-fi.com/castielslostwings/shop Or you can order on amazon directly, this is the only way to get the KINDLE ebook option: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1945687126

Standard EPUB format is available to download directly from me for $1 cheaper than Amazon: https://ko-fi.com/s/2a82c64d56

And WILL be available at other retailers soon!

Here's the thing: I had a pretty solid platform on Twitter, but since Elon took over, a lot of my followers left, the algorithm crashed, and the whole thing might go under. I don't have the same reach on other platforms, so I need some help! Please share this post if you like GAY SHIT and BOOKS and helping indie content creators be successful!!! Please follow me or check out my ko-fi for updates! Thanks!!! Here's my pitch, hope you like it:

"Fire & Ice": The flaming hot queer romance novel where a foray into BDSM helps two best friends find themselves, each other, and what it really means to burn. Summary: "Firefighter Tripp Truett has somehow tumbled into a whole new kind of relationship with his quirky paramedic best friend, Lee, but mutual relief from their high-stress jobs quickly develops into something more. With all the missed signals and crossed wires, can these two ever figure out that they're so much closer to being on the same page than they think?"

**************************************** About the author (info dump ahoy!!!!) :

I'm Robin, sometimes known as Wings! I'm a 36-year-old, queer, autistic, disabled mom of 2 humans and 5 senior rescue dogs, former R.N. & paramedic. I'm a hardcore fangirl and a proud fanfic writer (and reader), and while I know some people will judge me for that, I am not ashamed! I started writing as a hobby after becoming physically disabled and unable to work as an RN. Fanfic gave me an audience and an outlet, gifted me purpose and hope again. Transformative fiction is FUN! It fosters creativity and passion, heals wounds, and makes people happy. If someone wants to discredit me for that, then perhaps they aren't the audience I'm seeking.

Ultimately, I know I'm taking a risk, but since people seem to enjoy my fics, this book is my attempt to try and make ends meet through original fiction! I know some people WILL discredit me. But I'm always about being myself and speaking on what I feel matters: Fanfic should be legitimized as a creative medium. I assure you, friends—the thousands of hours I've spent on my fanworks are as REAL as it gets. The intersection of disparaging fanfic + sexism/misogyny can't be overstated—women (esp queer women)'s unpaid work is often treated as a "hobby," not worthy of uplifting. I'm here to uplift! The risk is worth it—I would have nothing without fanfic & I'm proud. Younger creators shouldn't feel shame about writing/reading fanfic. We should ALL approach it as a legitimate medium. In fact, MOST new media these days is transformative "fanwork" of SOME kind, whether it's inspired by, based on, or outright rebooting existing worlds.

Plus, we queer folk simply deserve to see our stories in the mainstream media and to see the characters we fall in love, identify with, and root for to get their happily ever afters.

TL;DR: I'm keeping my name and history. Hopefully, I'll be successful in original fiction, but if not, I'll still be a fangirl. Please consider supporting me + other creators attempting to dip into original works. Follow or subscribe to my ko-fi for previews, updates, access to my discord community where I share exclusive content, and more: https://ko-fi.com/castielslostwings FIRE & ICE IS NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH MULTIPLE PLATFORMS! Ko-Fi subscribers will have the option to buy signed copies & merch bundles! The link to purchase will also be posted there first.

A MAJOR thank you to my friends, editors, and to everyone who in my server for supporting and encouraging me to put myself out there and try something new. Love you guys so much. <3 Thank you to @chaoticdean for the beautiful cover. Many more thank yous to come. P.S. If you are reading this and know anyone with a platform who might be interested in receiving a free copy in exchange for promo (only if they enjoy, ofc), please holler at me, I can use all the help I can get!

<3 Wings

[bluebelleisabelle]

I think it's predominantly the excitement of Monster High returning, but I wanna talk about "Growing Ghoulia" and "Spell the Beans" (especially since I've seen other people talking about the new episodes). Just a bunch of random points that I really appreciated. So, yes, this post will include spoilers for the episode "Growing Ghoulia" and "Spell the Beans" :)

All the new episodes this month have been wonderful so far, but I honestly really loved this one and "Spell the Beans" (but knowing me, the clankie episode tomorrow will likely come out on top <- pun intended. Don't be surprised if I post all about that one tomorrow too jhsjssjh).

No, but honestly, I appreciated the use of "allegory" (if you'd like to call it that) in regards to Ghoulia's need to top the horror roll. Ghoulia says, "it's hard for zombies to get points. We're not as fast as other monsters. I wanted to be the first zombie to be number one and show everyone they misjudged us."

Many could interpret it as disability allegory, or generally, any minority group that is prone to being judged solely on the basis of stereotype. And Draculaura pitches in with her own personal example. Due to her love of witchcraft (something that is shunned in monster society), she feels the need to prove herself as a means of "showcasing" that she is a responsible and kindhearted person amidst the act that she practices what society deems as a "filthy human habit".

In the episode "Spell the Beans", Draculaura states that she uses witchcraft to create, and that it is a fun hobby. Being a witch is her identity, and she wishes to prove to other monsters that witches can be good people. It is entirely dependent on what you use the powers for. Through these two episodes, we get to see Ghoulia and Draculaura's identities even more deeply, as well as the fact that they care so much about serving as pioneers (within the groups they identify with) towards a better, more accepting future. I imagine, even if kids aren't reading into the episodes as much as I am JJSJJ, that this underlying theme about identity and acceptance means a lot to so many people watching.

Also, can we talk about Ghoulia's reaction to Draculaura practicing witchcraft?? It's so wholesome! She's immediately like "that's so cool!" and then quickly realizes how unfair it is. Not because it's a "human" practice, but because of her goal in the episode: to be at the top of the horror roll. She is not bothered by Draculaura practicing witchcraft. As a matter of fact, she finds it very impressive and intriguing.

Also the visuals?!? Like, as a writer and filmmaker, the whole heart-to-heart scene with mid-falling, suspended tree leaves around them made me like "OMG CINEMATOGRAPHY", even though it's literally animated JSJSHJ. But still.

ALSO "Spell the Beans"!! With Dracula and Draculaura sitting with their backs to the tombstone. Like.... ooooo damn I love myself a good heart-to-heart scene, especially when the characters use the space in that way. There is so much that can be gathered through just their position during that scene. A sort of metaphorical (and literal) wall stands between them. It's a space where they can't exactly face one another, but can still engage in their conversation. LIKE OOF. FEELS.

And then of course, a definite highlight...

MONSTER HIGH CANONICALLY HAS AN LGBTQ+ CLUB!!

GUYS. MONTHS AGO I MADE A LIST OF G3 FRANKIE HEADCANONS AND ONE WAS THAT THEY ATTEND A QUEER CLUB BUT LIKE--

I DIDN'T THINK THEY'D ACTUALLY INCLUDE IT, BUT I AM SO HAPPY THEY DID!!

And they said "queer" too! Just like Twyla said "autism". I know it sounds small, but the writers (in order to avoid angry, homophobic parents) could easily have been like "this is the Ghoul Wraith Alliance, a place where people can celebrate identity". Sure, it would be sweet, but it would leave too much to the imagination. That is typically fun, but as a queer person myself, it is such a joy to hear these words being spoken aloud in children's media!! This made me so happy, and I have nothing but absolute respect for the Monster High team working on this show!

Nah, but overall, I'm so glad Monster High is back. They do such a great job not shying away from topics and communicating these topics in validating ways. Pumped for tomorrow's episodes (watch as I shit my pants at school, cause I'm gonna be there at 5 for theater production callbacks hehe).

[amandacanwrite]

How do you begin the first chapter of a story you already have planned out?

Always with an action!!

I personally don't believe in telling people there are wrong ways to do a thing, but I will describe what I personally think is best for the opening scene of a new story/novel.

A really common pitfall, in my opinion, for any fictional narrative is getting caught up in exposition. It makes sense that we get the urge to do things this way, because it's how we tell stories to friends about things that have happened to us.

"Okay, so let me give you background so you know who is who or whatever..." or "Okay, so for context..." are how I start a lot of tea spilling sessions, and its great for colloquial storytelling, but not a great way to get readers engaged from the start.

Whenever I start a book, I think of it less as a historical account and more of myself as the writer arriving to the character's life at a specific point in time, and leaving it at a specific point in time. Because of this, I think the best way to start a story is in the middle of something in their day. Here are some of the first paragraphs from my vampire story:

I scraped another jagged line in the already-worn paint on the wall, marking another tick among the other tidy rows of carved lines in the wall. I relished the feeling of old paint and soft, decaying wood sliding beneath my too-long fingernail. It hurt, but at least I was feeling something.  The first thing they did to me when I arrived at The Tower was glamour my name away.   One moment I was a person, and the next I wasn’t. All I was left with was the milk-warm feeling of the glamour on me dissipating too quickly, leaving me cold and without a sense of self. I could remember everything about my life—everything that had led me to this horrific moment, but not the core of my being. Not the most basic of identifiers. Not my name. 

And another from my Unseelie Court Meets Peaky Blinders WIP:

I pressed my back against the cold, damp brick outside the public house on Main and Besom. My heart raced so fast that I could feel the steady thump of it painfully in my neck. I didn’t know how far I’d run, but I knew I’d done it faster than I ever had before.   How many days late was I now? Five? No wonder Thomas had two others in tow.    I panted, my ribcage straining against my corset, even with it only loosely laced. I felt like I could hardly get a breath in at all. Closing my eyes and forcing myself to slow, I looked down the alleyway behind the pub. If I dodged down that way, I’d have to walk through some of the dodgier areas of The Strid, but it would be better than risking running into the Half-Blind Barber’s men.    I’d heard about Thomas’s proclivities from my friends in the Rose Garden, and I knew that he would relish the chance to carve me up like a roasted pheasant. 

I like starting stories this way because 1) it's way more fun to write for me than to spend hours trying to come up with an engaging, yet exposition-y opening and b) I get to lead with character instead of trying to find some way to shoehorn them into the lore.

The thing that's really awesome about your reader? They usually read a lot and can fill in a lot of the blanks. I found when I was first writing I always panicked about the reader seeing my story EXACTLY how I saw it in my mind. But at the end of the day, that's not actually that important and over-explaining anything can actually ruin reader immersion.

I try to never write two thousand words of description where a well-placed metaphor or comparison will do. Let your reader's mind do the heavy lifting.

Could I describe a castle in thousands of words talking about the period of architecture and the way that the buttresses look? Yes. I can. You know what's faster and more entertaining to read?

"The castle has the austere elegance of a sacred temple, and was nearly as quiet as you would expect one to be, too."

You have an image in your mind, reading that, right? See, in my head, I see a mormon temple; not because I am mormon, but because I have been to a mormon temple and I find their structures beautiful but also incredibly, deeply haunting.

Someone else may think of the time they visited the Sistine Chapel. Or of the Wayfarer Chapel in Palos Verdes, because they had an aunt who got married there. Yet another person may thing of their local jewish temple. Another person may think of Wyrm's Crossing in Baldur's Gate. At the end of the day, it doesn't truly matter what they see in their heads or understand is going on based on the text--what matters is that they can glean what this place looks, sounds, and maybe even smells like because they have linked it to a place that they have ALREADY experienced IN REAL LIFE)

All of those tangents to say--I don't worry about backstory until I need it. I like to try to make the reader feel like they're getting to know the characters at the same time they're getting to know each other.

Sorry for this very long winded answer--thank you for asking me about writing! I LOVE talking about it (as you can tell rip)

[raveszonee]

Raveszonee Roleplay

W e l c o m e🕸️ - Feel free to ask questions if you want, read as much information as you want as well and read the rules very carefully.

L o c a t e💬 - I usually roleplay on discord, I’m more active than I am on tumblr and threads. My discord is, (( toji.fushiguuro ))

M D N I🚫 - I don’t want minors here because as an adult, I am not comfortable with roleplaying with anyone younger. I also write smut and thus does not make me comfortable enough to write with anyone under the age of 18. If you’re under 18, please leave.

S M U T��� - When writing smut, do not be shy to vocalize what you wish to see during a smut scene and what you don’t want to see. As smut should be comfortable for everyone, kinks you aren’t comfortable with should be listed so I can avoid them from happening.

ROLEPLAY LIST HERE!

Rules - OF - The Blog

No Racism - This is common sense but some people find this okay. This does not stand right or okay with me in the slightest. I have seen so much hate to oc's and writers, mainly the black oc's and writers. Black oc's and writers are welcomed to this blog, completely. As well as everyone else. Everyone is welcomed, keep it that way or get blocked and called out.

No Homophobia/Transphobia - Many oc's and the writers are welcomed here regardless of sexuality and how they identify themselves or their oc's. I have shipped with many oc's. And I am not uncomfortable with it at all. This is a safe space to truly be who you are. You also do not have to give up your identity to me as a writer, I have no desire to dig into your life, as it's fine to be cautious about who you tell.

Triggers - Respecting triggers is a must, I do not want limits passed and uncomfortable aura falling into our talks outside of character and in character. Please vocalize your triggers, this helps me prevent certain events that may trigger you or myself. Triggers are important and everyone should consider them. I do not want to trigger anyone.

No debates - This is something that happens in spaces that aren't open for it. I'm not open for debates. I do not mind you having your opinion, but no political debate is worth losing fun. I want to roleplay to help other people have fun, I really don't like war zones, as everyone has their own opinion and the chances of everyone seeing eye to eye, is slim.

Religions - I don't mind everyone having a religion, it's completely fine, be mindful of someone that might have a Religion they live by. This is something worth considering, and be mindful of some oc's who possibly have strict lifestyles to live by as well as writer. And, don't be afraid to educate me on your Religion if you feel I'm overstepping it or not understanding it. I would love to learn more.

Have fun - Roleplay is meant for entertainment, having fun is something I want you to do. Be open with your ideas and never be afraid to send them to me, or ask me how I feel about them. We can always plot together, have fun!

Educating is okay!

This has to be said! Do not be afraid to educate me or anyone else if you feel no one is understanding your oc. I have shipped with oc's who are blind, deaf, autistic, depressed, etc. They sometimes even have adhd, sensory processing disorder, ptsd, etc.

This stuff is not forbidden to educate one on, if you have an oc you feel you can't use due to this being a lack of education for some writers. Do not be afraid to text me information regarding this. This will help me fully understand your oc and so I can work with writing and shipping with them without making them or you uncomfortable.

Thanks for stopping by my blog! You can roleplay with me through my discord! I am mainly active there but do not be afraid to text me here if you have questions! I hope you enjoy!

[familyabolisher]

re: the other questions about books, this is probably impossible to answer but what does make a good book in your opinion? like what would you say a good book Does if that can be identified

lol yeah i mean that’s the question innit! i don’t really believe in “good” and “bad” as like metaphysical properties that one can kind of alchemise into being by using the Right combination of literary discourses in narrative construction, so i guess i can’t really then point to one fixed set of criteria by which a book becomes “good” or enjoyable to me. i think the closest approximation i can get here is like, a good book (to me) is one that has a clear and sophisticated discourse to it, but doesn’t just tell me its discourse; rather, it makes generous use of literary techniques in order to essentially chart the path by which i can trace that discourse (or trace one of many possible discourses) on my own. i like a book that takes its readership seriously rather than worrying that people won’t get it and need to be told what it’s about. more ambiguity please people!!!!!

one of the reasons i like locked tomb so much despite its many faults is that tazmuir is operating within a very developed discourse of sexual violence, imperialism, catholicism, and queerness/lesbian gender relations—but she’s not spelling this out for the reader on every other page. she’s making use of unreliable narration, multitudinous shifting perspectives, intertextuality (don quixote, the iliad, lolita, etc) to gradually map this discourse out on the good faith assumption that the reader will ask their own questions about what those references and allusions and shifts in perspective are doing. and it makes for something that i can talk about for days and days and days—like, you can follow a line of argument through about the significance of dulcinea’s name being dulcinea relative to ideas of chivalry in gtn, how those ideas of chivalry are linked to an internal system of imperialism enacted in-world, how imperialism is linked to death, how cytherea & gideon’s relationship as a Highly Questionable one feeds into these constellate ideas of death/imperialism/sexual violence/chivalry, how all of that then reconverges at our original point of entry (don quixote) with questions of shifting + unstable identities, doubles and doppelgangers (also a lolita thing), the extent to which falsely occupying a role is the same as ‘becoming’ or internalising it or if that difference even matters. (is don quixote a knight? is dulcinea del toboso a lady? is gideon a cavalier? is cytherea Her Lady?). all of that gets v effectively encoded in the naming of one (1) character and unpacking it is far more gratifying on my end than it would be had it all just been Explained on the page!

like—i like things that offer me thought trajectories i can follow through on and construct my own argument within; i hate books which just kind of … hand me what they want to say, often spelt out in quippable extracts. like, write a medium article! i want to think about this text—i don’t want to read it and have it be like “here’s what i think” and then have myself be like “here’s what the book thinks.” my only avenue for response then becomes responding to the book’s discourse—which can be interesting, but is nowhere near as fun as trying to locate it and build the case for my own reading in the first place.

i also just love a playful, original prose voice. i love a writer who understands that prose itself is a site of discourse, that prose can be used to communicate certain ideas and obscure others; i love writers with unique prose voices who don’t just imitate the elevated MFA voice that’s such a big deal right now. anything experimental, innovative, intricate, thoughtful, deliberate will scratch an itch for me. 

i think often this kind of question collapses into a tautology: a book is good when it’s good! i don’t really know how to answer this coherently. i like books that make me think about things that i find it satisfying to think about. i know the good ones when i see them; at the same time, my "good" is someone else's "very very bad" and my "fucking unreadable" is someone else's "favourite book ever" and neither position can really supercede the other without appeals to external intellectual hierarchies that i tend to reject. that’s probably the best i’ve got.

[scrapsofthought]

Writers' Block

How silly of me to think my writer’s block was miraculously cured. In fact, I’m feeling more lost than ever. It’s jumping from affecting just my love of the craft to tanking my whole sense of self worth. So, you know, fun times. But as much as the devil is whispering in my ear to give up, that I’ll never make anything good “enough” to live up to some imaginary standard *I* can’t even identify, I’m still trying. Your mileage may vary, but if you’re interested, here’s what I’m doing:

Take in new media and experiences

I’m putting too much strain on trying to put something out into the world when it’s time to take new things in; instead, I’m resetting my mind and refreshing my bank of experiences and information to pull from.

Inventory what you actually enjoy about writing

Somewhere along the way, I forgot that I was allowed to enjoy this thing I was doing for fun. Actually considering what I enjoyed about this craft helped to take back some of the pressure I was putting on myself so I could look for the areas I could play in now while I’m rebuilding my confidence.

It helped identify where I was running into trouble, both skill wise and emotionally. I also realized things I wanted to work on improving. 

Seek out community

Talk it out with a friend, look for writing groups at your library, engage in writing tumblr or reddit. 

Recognize behaviors

I’ve been falling into a trap of comparing my first draft ideas to someone else’s finished, published work.

I’m also getting too concerned about high level symbolism and “things making sense” when I’m really just at a words-on-the-page stage.

Write something else

This blog gives me the opportunity to change the kinds of things I’m writing. If fiction isn’t working, coming over here and throwing together some more conversational thoughts changes up the brain while still feeling like I’m doing *something*. And for some reason, it’s easier for me to accept when a first blog draft isn’t perfect.