#im just working on this story for an anthology and im cursed to always be writing something a little too difficult

[abyssaldyke]

Having a weird one because I've been objectively doing some of the best writing of my life but I'm also getting pummeled with rejections which is part of it I know but there's also the fear that I'm plateauing or jumping around on projects too much and not focusing enough on prepping a novel but alternatively there's no right way to do things except what if there is and what if I'm fuckin it up a bit.

[kamari333]

Got tagged by @starsgivemehp for this meme!

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). Then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

I'll go backwards from last update, if thats okay? First paragraph of each first chapter...

mind the tags and be responsible <3

iNVaDeR FeLL: The Nightmare Begins :: The Irken Empire (which had retained its name even after the shift in management brought about by the events of Operation Impending Doom I) was more alive than it had been in years. Signs replayed message after message redirecting convention-goers how and where to attend the Great Assigning in the Main Convention Hall on Conventia, one of the many planets conquered and repurposed for the good of the Empire. The teleporter ring was blazing almost as brightly as it once did before OID1, only this time, it brought to the surface not Irkens, but Monsters; creatures of every shape and size. They came not only from the 'kingdom' that had overtaken Irk (they called themselves 'Fell'), but those from the 'kingdoms' of conquered worlds as well, which had been expeditiously subjugated in a fashion worthy of the Irken Empire.

How Dance Got a Picture of Lust Covered in Kittens :: "there's sammaches in th' fridge," Red mumbled, feeling the lunchbox lid click shut under his claws. "'r if ya want some'n lighter, there's soup in th' freezer. just gotta nuke it..."

Burlesque Noir :: Lust peeked around the curtain to look out at the crowd, as he had done so many times before the last few days. The speakeasy was full and vibrant and alive as it was every night, as swanky a joint as Grillby could make it and still keep it safe. As packed as it was, however, Lust didn't see any sign of his favorite patron.

It Could be Worse :: Life... Could be worse.

An Anthology of Dreams :: Sans was at his desk, as always, analyzing his latest attempt at a synthetic soul compound. His last two-thousand-and-twenty trials had been devastating failures, but even Dr Gaster was intrigued by his steady progress.

The EMV Anthology :: Red had a love-hate relationship with the holiday season.

An Anthology of Nightmares :: Sans stumbled out of his room just in time to escape. He had no idea what was coming, he only knew his years of fighting for his life underground was screaming that he had to move his bony ass if he wanted to live. Just as he crossed the threshold of his bedroom into the hallway, there was a loud crash. When he looked back, his whole room was gone.

A Growing Future :: Red stumbled out of the house, squinting at the glare of sunrise peaking like a glinting knife over the neighbor's rooftops. The air had a crisp chill to it, made all the more shocking by his lack of a shirt, but he knew it would be overly warm in only a few hours, and there was a lot of work to do.

Kinktober 2020 : Kamari333 Edition :: HI FOLKS! Beyond this point you will find 72.5k words of pure, unadulterated, self indulgent, Undertail-themed SIN, ~57.7k of which was prewritten in September, the rest in October, all written and published for Kinktober2020. This year, due to conflicting schedules, the sin was written in September, to be published on time in October. Please note that there may be plenty of typos, although I will/have since gone back and fixed some of them since I'm garbage and read my own stuff, and this year I have been indulging in the use of my lovely betas!

A Night in the Woods :: Red bit back a curse as he once again had to detangle his phalanges from the flimsy tent material. Stupid-ass cheap plastic bullshit, so thin he could breathe on it wrong and watch it disintegrate, but the packaging said it somehow kept out wind and rain, and that was honestly all he could have asked for. That, and perhaps that the piece of shit stop snagging on his claws every five god damn mother fucking seconds, fuck-

Arum :: The room was pitch black, save for a nearly indiscernible ambiance that glowed low and dim like the twilight right before the true darkness of night. The walls and floor of the room oozed with a viscous substance that stank of fermentation and rubber. At the end of the room, upon a throne of black stone, sat a diminutive figure from whence the slime seemed to originate, itself drenched in it to the point of blackness save for the singular glow of one lavender eyelight, shining like poison in the darkness.

Poignance :: Sans Blueberry pulled on his modified gloves, rolling his shoulders to make sure his makeshift pauldrons were cinched tight enough. The scalemail he wore under his chestplate made a soft noise, not quite the clink of chainmail, but not quite the hiss of cloth or leather either. He fingered at the tiny plates over his torso before pulling his bandanna back on around his neck, grateful to Alphys again for donating her sheds, and Undyne for reinforcing them so they wouldn't turn to dust.

Those Feelings at the Bottom of a Bottle :: Ink carefully managed his supply of emotions, keeping his usual level of orange (excitement) and yellow (happiness) as he made his way back through the house. The crowd of people, with their ever-vivid colors and gold-glittered eyes, made it easy to blend in and keep himself inconspicuous to the ever watchful guardian. It was like a game of hide-and-seek: Ink hid, and Dream looked for anything potentially amiss.

A Skeleton Plague Doctor in Lord Dream's Court :: Falsi woke up from a restful sleep on his examination table, shifting under his thick black blanket (one of the few luxuries he was allowed, usually kept hidden away in his bedroom with all the other small luxuries he had managed to keep, like his collection of skulls, his beast fur pelt, his mask, and the tapes and videos of a more personal nature he had collected over the years). He slid down to the floor, thankful once again for the mercy of a windowless apartment, as he folded his blanket and stumbled into the adjacent room: his bedroom.

Bad Day :: Edge was used to getting ominous messages from Red at odd times. It was just the nature of any relationship Red was involved in.

Burlesque (Censored) & (Uncensored) :: Of all the bars Red frequented in Ebott City, this was his favorite.

Happily Ever Laughter :: It was almost midnight. Papyrus had been sitting at Muffet's bar, enjoying his third (or was it fourth? Fifth? Hard to say) glass of Spider Cider, when he got the call. He pulled out his phone, surprised. That was his brother's ringtone. He flipped it open. "heya, bro. wazzup?"

Egg on Arrival :: Slinky could feel it in his bones: the hum of his future, the tremble of his soul. Even if it was still cold as balls outside the nest, his internal clock said it was spring.

I think I'm Paranoid :: Red came back into the livingroom, popcorn in one hand and a six-pack of coke in the other. He lingered, taking in the scene in front of him.

Another Me :: Lust fiddled with the TV remote idly as he mentally went through the available channels in his head. He didn't dare cable surf, not when He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named was so prominent, and Pink's relentless job searching made his schedule so erratic that he could show up at any minute. The sight of the blackout curtain over the bookshelf (which served as the house's movie collection's honored display) reminded him of how understanding Papyrus had been of the need for temporary censorship.

...oh my some of these are terrible for catching the readers attention XD (why are all my hooks like 3 paragraphs in gdi).

EDIT: i forgot to tag folks! um... @deku-lily @silverryu25 @bonerpuns @msmkcreates @jellyficsnfucks @jellyfish-swims-through-gold @tkwolf45 @nanenna @dana-chan325 @skerbaderbadoo @keelywolfe ...im terrible with names and can't remember anyone else's handles ;-;

[elizadoolittlethings]

An Interview with Mark Gatiss

October 12, 2015

Mark Gatiss is a man who has made a career of developing his childhood passions: Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes, comedy, classic literature, Gatiss has done them all. With work as a screenwriter, actor, novelist and showrunner under his belt, Gatiss's illustrious career has been varied, but one thing has remained steadfast throughout his working life; his love of the dark and unsettling.

At a fundraiser for Darlington Police Memorial Fund on Ocotober 3rd 2015, Gatiss told of how Sherlock has changed his life, how he'd warmly welcome a female Doctor, his lifelong goal to play Jacob Marley and the mysterious gifts he has received from fans. After the event, Gatiss was kind enough to sit down with Shadows at the Door to discuss M.R. James and all things horror. SATD: You did a lot to raise the profile of M.R. James with new audiences with your adaptation of The Tractate Middoth and the accompanying documentary. Do you feel James is as recognised as much as other contemporaries such as Lovecraft? MG: He's the master(!), he's absolutely preeminent and rightly regarded as so. And well, you know the only problem I found with that is when I did Crooked House. They (the BBC) asked me to do an M.R. James and I said that I'd just like to do some new ones, because in a way, he becomes the default. It's a bit like whenever they list the greatest films ever made, it's so often Citizen Kane and people get a bit bored it it. James is clearly the best that's ever been, and people sometimes think 'Oh is he? Yes he is actually!'. But in fact what you want to do is kind of mix it up a bit, and that's all I wanted to do. Tractate came about because they asked me to do the documentary, and I said I'd love to but I'm too busy. But they kept asking and I just thought I'd chance my arm and said I'd do it one condition: let me write and direct a new adaptation and they said yes! Only trouble is that I'd love to do it every year and they haven't asked! And yes, James is incredible but i'd love there to be a broader field for others, such as Sheridan Le Fanu and all those that came after him. He was the best but it would be nice to mix it up a bit and if there were more of them it would be easier-- we could do with an anthology series, really. SATD: Yeah, the Ghost Story for Christmas series is quite sporadic at best, each year we look for it in the listings and it's never there. Is it quite a fight to get the BBC to do another one? MG: Yes it is. I would do one very year until I dropped dead. In fact, I want to do Count Magnus.I'd love to do some more, it's a tough sell because it's a short format and in the 70s it was so easy. The documentary was made via BBC Arts and it was like making one in the 70s, I was left on my own. But essentially, what I'd have to do to make that work is replicate it: do a documentary on someone along with an adaptation, and I can't do James again. But Funnily enough-- no wait, I won't say that because I'll jinx it(!) but it could work again. But it's difficult, it's all about money and ratings and it's a difficult slot whereas if you could make four or five of them together you could make a little series of them but that's expensive. SATD: Do you think that's something that could realistically happen? MG: Maybe. It's just increasingly difficult.

SATD: You're a fan of H.G. Wells too, is that someone whose work you'd try to push with the BBC?

MG:  Yeah but I tell you what, rejoice! Because the great Graham Duff has just done a serise of four Wells adaptations for Sky, I've seen them and they're fantastic! He's done The Purple Pileus-- the one about mushrooms-- and The Moth. But the particularly brilliant one stars Micheal Gambon, the name escapes me (Mark cries in frustration), but its just brilliant! It's about a dying old man who's looking an heir because he has n children, it's very sinister and it's fantastic. THey're all directed by Adrian Shergold and they so much capture the spirit of mid-70s horror, they're just really well done so look forward to that. SATD: Sounds fantastic! So moving onto Doctor Who, a lot of your episodes in particular have elements of horror to them. Is this something to comes to you naturally or is it just owed more to Doctor Who's gothic origins?

MG: Well horror is my bent, and to me Doctor Who has always been frightening. My principle memories of a child are being scared by it, it's in the DNA of Doctor Who. But obviously it depends on the story, The Crimson Horror for example is a northern gothic love letter and others are more traditional scares. A Martian in a Russian submarine for example, you just can't do that in any other show, I've yet to see it in Midsummer...

SATD: Speaking of The Crimson Horror, I've got to ask: were there elements of Hillary Briss (Gatiss's demented butcher character from The League of Gentlemen), in the character of the the undertaker?

MG: Oh yeah! He licked his lips a lot, didn't he? I tell who I really wanted for that part, Graham Fellows who plays John Shuttleworth. I really tried to get him but it didn't work out, I think we would have been perfect for that. What does he say? (Mark adopts a thick Yorkshire accent) 'White as the top of Buckton Pike!" (laughs). SATD: In other interviews you've said that you're fatigued by the sheer quantity of modern horror films.

MG: That's true! I was just thinking about this the other day: the absolute constant for me is ghosts, but other things can wax and wane. Personally, I think its now all a bit over saturated. Its a bit like super hero movies, theres too many and you start to get weary. Weirdly, its sort of like the old Chinese curse, be careful what you wish for. There are so many shows now, that are just hyper-gothic, steampunk-y, and Im just a bit saturated.

Therefore, like food or wine your tastes change and your palette changes so now I've gone in a slightly different direction. I used to think nothing could exist without waistcoats and bubbling test tubes and now Im actually more interested in modern horror; the gothic but in a modern context. I dont think it has to be about the old and obviously I still love it but it doesnt have to be about candelabra and castles. You can get the same feeling from modern methods, and in a way that is more frightening. The story which by consensus is the most successful in Crooked House, is the one which is in Barratt home because its like; 'Oh this is horrible because it might actually happen!'.

SATD: So have there been any recent films that have pleasantly surprised you?

MG: Well the problem is, and I was just talking to Simon Pegg about this, its like an addict always searching for their first hit. And whenever someone says; 'Oh my god have you seen x?' like The Babadook, which I really enjoyed, but I found it was much more interesting when it was a very harrowing story about that women going mad. The gothic touches left me cold, and I wondered why they were suddenly doing Poltergeist? Thats not what this story is about, the idea of a woman losing her mind because her child is unstable was really scary but in a different kind of way. (sigh) I suppose Im always just waiting for The Thing, really.

SATD: You have a part in the new Victor Frankenstein movie; does that feel surreal now that you're in a horror movie?

MG: All I can think of is; whats taken so long? But yeah, it was a delight. I only have a small part, and it only took a few days. Paul McGuigan, the chief Sherlock director asked me to do it and it was, you know, a really fucking huge Frankenstein laboratory! And I get to pull the lever and everything! There was a bit when I was going up an iron lift with Freddie Fox and it was all outdoors and raining I mean absolutely lashing with freezing cold rain and I said to Freddie; 'This isnt like being in Frankenstein, this is Frankenstein!' (laughs). And it doesnt get any better than that!

SATD: Do you get to ham it up then?

MG: Well, wait and see! (laughs)

SATD: Well, Mark thank you very much!

MG: Not at all, its been an absolute pleasure.

wanted to know about his Frankenstein role :) though didn’t get to see him much - think they edited a lot

also, for me too “..the absolute constant for me is ghosts, but other things can wax and wane.”

[drimmolo]

About: The  Story itself!

I realized I never really talked about the story in general! I mean i posted the breakdown of the story some time ago but since then it went under some modifications so mhm..yeah ..brace for a long post.

When I first realized I was going to make a comci for this module, the story of me meeting Šahrazād immediately came to mind and i didn’t even question myself: I knew from the start that i wanted to use it. The idea had been floating about in my head for years now, especially after I had written two whole essays on Šahrazād and her importance from both a feminist and philosophical perspective. I always liked to believe that Šahrazād was part beduin, and during her childhood had met many mythological creatures and heroes that would tell her all the tales that she would then retell in the thousand and one nights. I always wanted to explore the concept in a comic, and sometimes i fantasized about making an entire anthology of re-invented versions of the stories of the thousand and one nights, with me meeting  Šahrazād as the beginning of the anthology.  Now i don’t think I’ll ever make that anthology, but I definitely thought its introduction idea was perfect for the comic assignment. 

Soon after, during class we met Monty Nero, who gave us some advices on how to properly write a plot that is engaging to the reader. One of his advices was that the plot should be so that it can be summarized in two phrases or less. Doing that not only helps you see whether your story is complicated or not, but also whether the summary sounds inviting!

A summary of my story would have looked like this: 

“A young comic artist and her friend look for and find Šahrazād, the most famous story teller in the world, to ask about the origins of her incredible stories”

When i read this summary, i felt something strange...i felt like something was missing....

This was all that my comic was about, that was it. I mean if this was the beginning of that anthology it would work perfectly! But this is only a comic of 12 pages...so if the reader were to open the comic and read it they would be left with “...what...thats it?”. It felt like a waste to use this module’s comic assignment on a comic only meant to be an introduction.... and honestly, a comic like this wouldnt have any impact on the reader. The reader maybe would think “Oh thats cool”, but then just put down the comic and move on...and i dont like that. I wanted to also send over a message!  One of the main reasons why I love Šahrazād and the thousand and one nights so much is because they celebrate the importance of telling stories to each other.  I think that’s such an undervalued part of the human experience and  wanted to explore that concept with this idea

But with only 12 page, how can i explore Šahrazād’s past and at the same time send over the message of story telling? The focus of the comic was divided in two and there was no space of them.

I tried to think about this rationally: “I know i want to make a short comic that can stand on its own. I don’t want to make an introduction..so i have to understand how short comics work”. 

I love webcomics, so i decided to look at one-shot webcomics. They’re online comics of max 5 to 10 pages, compact and usually require no previous information. They explore concepts or send over messages without needing the responsibility of carrying on the concept. The one that i looked at to “study”, so to say, was “Weeds” by Mollie Rose. 

It’s a 11 page comic about how a gardener learns that “weeds are only weeds if you don’t want them”, which is a metaphor for having wrong assumptions about people. The comic conveys the message that you shouldn’t assume bad things about others just because rumors tell you not to trust them. It’s an important lesson, that the artist sends by showing the readers what those wrong assumptions hide. Assuming that weeds should only be removed and thrown away hides that they can used in the kitchen and make the garden look more alive. Assuming that witches are all bad hides that they also have feelings and maybe are just looking for company. 

From this i extrapolated that you can convey a message about something by making the readers re-discover that something. 

This is where i finally started seeing the light! The importance of story telling as part of the human experience is undervalued because it’s taken for granted. I could make people re-discover the importance of story-telling by showing that the most famous story teller in world literature knew her tales not from books but from others! But how to disclose that message?

Extrapolating again, i understood that to convey a message about something in a short story, you usually need a factor that drives you towards re-discovering that something. In weeds, the bad rumors about witches leads the the gardener to act unkind to the witch, who then curses the gardener (because of hurt feelings), through which then the gardener realizes her mistake. 

I have to admit that Monty Nero had mentioned something similar  when he came during that one lecture: in order for a story to progress, you need something the main character is fighting against. At the time i had discarded this suggestion because i thought my story was too different for this suggestion to apply. “I’m not fighting anyone in this story, it doesn’t count”...but when i thought about it later i think what he meant was that the plot needs something that drives the character towards that main message! Weeds used the consequences of being unkind to people. So then what could drive me towards re-discovering the importance of story telling? This is where it HIT ME LIKE A FREIGHT TRAIN.

Until now I had never realized that in my story the weakest and most superficial link....was me! I was just a random kid who went up to to Sahrazad and was like “yo where did you learn your tales?”! Technically speaking, i was the second-most important character, both because i ask “the question” and because i am the only link between the world of the readers and the imaginary world of the story. But i had no value to the story itself, i added nothing! This was the hole that i felt back when i made the summary for my plot!

I tried to put myself int he shoes of the reader and asked myself “why is this kid asking Sahrazad this? what’s driving her?”...so then i asked myself.. “why would i ask this to Sahrazad”..... “...wait hold on...i wouldn’t ask such a question...all the books say that she was a learned and cultured woman who had spend all her life reading...i would take that for granted!!.....so then ...what would i ask her?”

 Another reason why I really like Sahrazad as a character is because i ....I honestly just respect her as a story teller! Can you imagine being so confident in your stories that you put your life on the line, marry a dude that has been literally killing killing one wife per day, tell him a story each night in such an amazing way that he becomes enchanted and has to hear more?

So if i have to be honest with myself..I think if i were to really meet her the first thing i would ask her is...how can one become good telling stories? How could i achieve something even remotely similar? I mean im technically also trying to become a storyteller...and to be honest i struggle a lot with doubts and insecurities... and..

That’s when it all became clear.

Doubts and self-esteem issues are probably the most common trait among all artists of any kind, so if I were to use this as that famous “something to drive the story forward”,  not only do i gain more value as a character instead of being only a “question-asker”...but I also then become a representation of all artists that are going through the same insecurities! In that case, it would be like all readers are asking her that question! That gives the comic an additional aspect and value! Plus,  the comic medium is perfect: i can represent artists and their insecurities not only through my speech but through my gestures and expressions! I can let them relate to me, so that the message that Sahrazad sends over is that much more impactful!

it felt good to put all the pieces together, and now a summary of my story would look like this:

“A young comic artist battling with insecurities seeks out Sahrazad of the thousand and one nights, to ask her what she needs in order to become a good story teller”

Now i don’t feel that gap anymore. I can see that a reader can pick up this comic, read it, and gain something from it.