#sometimes i think about how i've written stories and poems using words that im not even 100% solid i know the meaning of

[lexiandliterature]

let's talk about rupi kaur and why she's everything wrong with online culture.

i've heard many a good review about rupi kaur and her poetry and i will tell you right now that i confidently disagree. in case you don't know who she is, rupi kaur is a "poet" on instagram with over 4.5 million followers known for her short but impactful poems that captivate the hearts of millions of people around the world.

her rise to fame caught the tidal wave of internet virality as she self published her first collection, Milk & Honey, earning critical acclaim. I like to call it milk our money but i'll get to that in another post.

let's first define poetry for what it is. though this definition can depend on who you ask, i like to think of poetry in four main categories: theme, meter, form, and intention. theme is just the general topic of the poem and the way the poet goes about addressing it. meter is the rhythm and rhyme pattern; it's the way it sounds when you read it aloud and the way that sound hits your ear. form is the way it looks, the way it reads, how that affects the way you say it and the way the words are perceived. and finally let's talk about intention. how is she choosing her words, how is she placing them in an order that is interesting, and how is she using literary devices to aid her story?

(if you want to see these categories done well, then it will have to be a whole different post because this could take awhile.)

so let's talk about rupi kaur's poetry in these four categories starting with this 2 LINE POEM that doesn't have a title.

"and here you are living despite it all"

-rupi kaur

wow. inspirational. 2 lines, with no punctuation whatsoever. this isn't even a sentence. we're off to a great start.

so theme. this poem is about overcoming something difficult. what difficulty? i could not tell you. there is no more information. at least she has an idea. the "you" is likely addressing the readers, thus suggesting that the purpose of the line being so general is to appeal to everyone (this is another issue i'll get into some other time).

let's talk about meter now. there's really nothing to say, there is none. there is no rhythm, no rhyme scheme, no nothing. and i'm not saying every poem has to have these things, it's just to say that if she doesn't have this, her poem needs to be interesting in other ways (which spoiler alert it isn't).

now let's talk about form. she breaks this "not sentence" into two lines. this enjambment is random and without thought. there is nothing interesting about separating this sentence other than for aesthetic purposes. nothing about the shape of this poem is interesting and nothing about it has meaning.

and finally, let's talk about intention. she uses "you" to appeal to a wider audience which suggests that this poem is more likely written to be relatable than to be sincere. is the "you" talking about a friend? a lover? a sibling? a friend/lover that's a sibling? (im just kidding) like come one. give us nothing. the ambiguity of "all" has a similar connotation. what is she overcoming? a cold? the death of a loved one? spilled milk? what is it? i shouldn't have to give meaning to the poem FOR HER. THIS IS HER POEM.

so if we're grading this out of 4 points, we'll give her a point for theme (because at least i know what she's talking about), no points for meter, no points for form, and certainly no points for intention.

this poem is a 1/4 or a 25%. congratulations rupi!

if this is the standard at which we are holding one of the most POPULAR poets of our generation because her poetry is accessible, easy to read, and relatable, then we are in a bit of trouble.

taking time to understand why the words are put in a certain order is what makes poetry so beautiful and if we can't even stop to sniff the roses sometime, what are we even doing? nothing in life is easy, and we are slowly diluting everything difficult into something that is meaningless. part of the beauty is in the time you put into understanding its message. rupi kaur is a perfect example of someone marketing off of our short attention spans and our need for instant gratification.

what i'm getting at here is not that a poet i dont like is extremely popular but rather we're letting people profit off of mediocrity while also losing the essence of what that thing really is. we're letting it become easy and accessible and "relatable" when part of the beauty is often what makes it different. it's not that rupi kaur is the problem but rather an example of the ongoing issue.

thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[alegocarmadein]

How about 35, 32z and 17 for the writing asks?

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

oh god. so it's set in the fae realm, right? I call it Elphame in this fic. And it's this mismatch conglomorate of ideas I've learned, rpg shit, and random fucking ideas. not based on real fae myth, this is fantasy bullshit. So there's these beasts, right? these monstrosous, weird creatures called the First Beasts because they were what first evolved/were created. And over like….millions of years many of these beasts have been hunted down (mostly by humans). They're generally worshipped by various species of the fae realm. we meet at least two, maybe more. But they're ethereal in a way. kinda terrifying? ever see a bug that's so fucken weird you're like. I don't think you're an enemy. but maybe ur an alien so please leave my house/screen. or had a weird crawdad-like thing run over ur foot when you weren't expecting it? yeah like that, like not unheard of just like ah hi what the fuck are you. generally this fic is meant to be a respite. there's not really weird time shenanigins, or fucked up memory stuff, just a classic slow, we're walkin in the forest looking at shit and talking while we head towards our destination. oh look a giant snail. hey did you know i love you. im going to look at you meaninfully and study your features cause i have no clue if we'll ever get home. that shit. not pining…just…lingering. it's also a uh interim? between next of kin & the third story in the series. that ones. gonna be. rough. so we have to be chill in between then and now. god i will get this goddamned story done. someday.

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

Hm. I am really. really. really. bad at remembering lines. but this segment sticks with me.

"Still, Feels said nothing. Not the house still brought you back to me. Not you were unconscious, you didn't hear how that place still breathed - quiet, yeah, but still there. Not the flies were gone when we left, the dust swept away, the window propped open for us .

Instead, wordlessly, he held his hand out.

An invitation. A question.

Do you trust me? it asked.

Kane took it, and in the silence he gripped it tight."

god the "An invitation. A question." I LOVE that shit in writing. the repeat of similar words but with important meanings that when put one after the other elaborates on the feeling of the story, the imporatance of the end, the meaning behind the action. AHG.

this is my favorite kaf fic. and this whole segment of it is just OH so impactful. i love house horror and i love the house loving you (see thirteen letters). i found it because its a kaf fic- shit i just realized you asked me this rowan, this is going to seem like pandering, i didn't even notice you asked it. well. anyway- the way it's written is really alluring in a way that is very satisfying to read. it is just the type of fic i wish everyone made because it's so good and really just. good fic. 100/10. quality shit. like argh. 

(https://archiveofourown.org/works/44602054)

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

uh keep it tight. fuck keeping it tight. sometimes. you need to linger. SOMETIMES. you need to use fucked up punctuation. SOMETIMES you need to repeat words in a row to emphasize shit. SOMETIMES you need to fuck up your structuring and have it not make sense to get there. to the end. sometimes. you need to linger. sometimes you need to say "fuck consistency we're takin this shit OFF THE TRACKS. WE WILL NOT RAILROAD OURSELVES INTO STEREOTYPICALITY. WE WILL MAKE WEIRD STORIES." 

make weird stories yall.

(i never do ask games so this is very fun. im gonna reblog the list so if theres any anyone wants to ask. ya know. ask.)

[findstenicht]

15 questions for 5 mutuals

Rule: You have to answer truthfully and you have to tag 5 mutuals in your post.

I was tagged by @apoloniaspiegelgold, thank you!! <3

1. Are you named after anyone?

nope! although my dad used to claim that i was named after some slavic actress/model/wife-of-Some-Guy whose name i always forget

2. When was the last time you cried? Why?

the weekend before the last, just your average sunday afternoon mental breakdown

3. Do you believe in Soulmates? 

sort of, but also not really? i do believe that there are certain people who are supposed to be in your life at certain times but that doesnt necessarily mean "forever"

4. Do you drink liquor? 

rarely - im not opposed to it, i just dont often do things where there's alcohol involved

5. What do you usually daydream about?

listen. i have a very specific daydream universe that i always come back to but. you know how you sometimes read a story and can pretty much guess what's wrong with the author? describing my daydreams would be like that except you wouldnt have to guess at all, it'd be the most on-the-nose thing you've ever seen. might as well just post a list of everything that ever went wrong in my life and it'd be less embarrassing

6. First thing you notice about other people?

their voice!! (i mean obviously lots of times you see people before you hear them, but i dont really notice anything more specific than a general impression about appearances at first glance, yk?)

7. What's your favorite quote from a TV show/movie/book?

does a poem count? cause the only thing i can think of is "Es gibt keine Schuld. Es gibt nur den Ablauf der Zeit." from tucholsky's poem aus, which i havent stopped thinking about since i read it nine years ago (and for which i still havent found an english translation, sorry!)

8. Some of your pet peeves?

absolutely hate when people overexplain stuff to me that i know, that you could reasonably assume i know, and that i've told you i know. i know a lot of times people mean well (which is why i wont get actively mad at anyone), but if i already told you i know about something, you really dont have to explain it to me like it's brand new information. (looking at all the guys who heard about my field of study and then went on to describe the most basic sociological concepts to me)

9. Where’s the next place on your travel bucket list and why?

ireland!! i have no specific plans but i've wanted to go to ireland ever since i was a kid and saw the photos my parents took on their trip to ireland in the 90s

10. Where were you born? 

in a small town in northern germany :)

11. What are your hobbies?

nothing exciting tbh - video games, talking to friends, going for walks, and writing (<- i say, barely having written anything in months)

12. What's the best joke you've ever heard?

bold of you to assume i can remember jokes

13. What’s your love language? 

words of affirmation all the way - if i love you in any way, you will hear about it. thats both a threat and a promise.

14. Topics you never get tired of to talk about.

dragon age, what i'd vaguely describe as online media literacy, and social movements (especially far right movements, which i know sounds weird, but for some reason the FR became my main academic interest)

15. What would be the title if your life were a movie? 

not sure if it'd actually fit, but a couple years ago i scribbled down the phrase "the grand stupidity of the general state of things" and ive just been waiting to use that as a title for anything ever since; so yeah sure, why not, title for a movie about my life!

also im gonna cheat here and only tag @78669 (only if you want to ofc!!) bc i love my mutuals but never talk to them and i dont want to annoy them :( (obviously everyone feel free to just consider themselves tagged, if you want to do this!)

[just-some-random-blogger]

13, 22, 25 & 32 - for the weird questions for writers

OMG 🤩 QUESTIONS FROM MY LOVE <3 [GIDDY LAUGHTER]

13. What is a subject matter that is incredibly difficult for you write about? What is easy?

lets start with easy. lol don't know if this counts as a subject but whatever my fixation is HAHHAH that's really easy to write. idk i think i'm mostly a fluff/crack writer. probably nonsensical/silly subjects are my forte HAHAHA i love writing weird pieces that make you giggle and think 'wtf did my eyes just witness' AHAHAHAHAH.

and well, i have expressed my joy in creating angst fics and i've had people cry at me for them, which is great HAHAHAH thus people may think i'm idk good at that but tbh i find writing angst really hard. i don't think i can write angst honestly; there is only a time and place when i can, and i usually go through a lot of prompt ideas for it, so if you see me reblogging any prompt ideas, then that probably means im going to attempt to write angst

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

i have no idea if i'm organized at writing. ok wait maybe im not. im not the type of person that does bullet points or whatnot, though sometimes i do. i mostly just go ham and barf on the keyboard. my method is just go for it. i literally just use the text creator on wherever im going to be posting the fic. sometimes i do write on my phone notes, maybe ms word or gdocs, i used to write fics on my notebook whilst at school cos i would day dream too much (ive even written a story at the back of my exam paper because the interval between our exams was too long) i dont write on my notebooks anymore though, and again, i mostly just write on site textboxes.

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story?

see i flesh out my characters SO MUCH, esp if its like for a series im doing or if im writing for a really interesting prompt. then i just assume people can read the between the lines and know on instinct that 'oh this means she's probably into yoga' or some shit HAHAHH. suddenly i couldnt think of anything. had to rack my brain for this one. in stone cold, i imagined reader showering her step kids with tons of gifts during their namedays and them being partial to her during events cos she enables sweeties and is the cool third parent 'I WANNA SIT NEXT TO HER' 'NO I WANNA' 'everyone stfu'

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

well, i have tons and tons of favorite lines from the little prince that i could gladly share but i thought of a line from to kill a mockingbird, which is the only thing i got from that book cause i didn't get passed... like 5 pages of it T_T HAHAHAH. 'Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself' this was my pinned tweet when i had a twitter way back in the olden days. HAAHH. yeah i just found it in the book i borrowed. and i only borrowed it cos my library had like a bazillion new copies for some reason, also i wanted bragging rights 'i read that :P'. i just think the line puts an interesting introspective light on things. like, fear is in your head, you're only as scared as you think you are. but also, i like the fact it also doest make sense to me and it sounds like a silly line posing as something profound HAAHAHH

thank you for stopping by my ask my love <3 <3 <3

[inyoursheets]

can you explain what you meant by scathing not meaning what you thought it did in your tags? I would absolutely describe that review as scathing! You used it correctly IMO and English is my first language :)

[re:] #now that is what i call a scathing review #and it's gorgeous #WAIT OMG I TAKE IT BACK #i just googled what the word scathing meant #it did not mean what i thought it did #sorry y'all sometimes i learn words based on vibes alone

hi!! ummm i can try?? i thought scathing meant like. scathing. but then i looked it up and it said "bitterly denunciatory; harshly critical" and i thought shit, wait, did i just call this review bitter? like its criticism is unjust/unfounded? bc i dont wanna do that! and then i panick-edited the tags mostly bc i thought i did The Thing

The Thing being, sometimes (or actually, plenty of times) i never learn the actual translation of an english word, i just sort of... ingest it and soak up its meaning from context and vibes alone. and i think many times that results in me knowing the meaning. translation is intuitive for me. but sometimes my interpretation is kind of off, or it's a word that just has multiple meanings in different contexts and i only interpreted it one way and just stuck with that forever, not realizing there's more to that word. so sometimes there's a word where, i'll have had that stubborn interpretation stick with me for so long it overshadows its actual meaning?

idk there's words i've been using for years (like scathing) but never actually looked up their actual meaning and/or translation for. and yes, that is how language works. but also. im not even sure what im talking about half the time

i hope that made sense lol sorry if this got more confusing!!

[commajade]

hi! can i ask if you have any tips for editing your own work and for keeping good writing habits?? i was on a slam team until recently (i graduated) and im getting used to editing my work on my own after a long time and would love some tips if you have any! thanks and hope ur having a good day

hello!! here's some thoughts i hope are interesting/helpful to you!

consistent and low pressure are how i would describe my daily writing habits. if i try to force myself to write ever i tense up for days and i have written well while tense but why do that when i can i choose ease. but i do write in my journal or notes app at least a line or two every day. i've filled half a journal in the last 3 months which is a lot for me. i wrote a poem yesterday for the first time in several months it feels really good!

i'm diligent about documenting ideas or scraps of pretty sentences or interesting ideas i wanna keep for later. i respect the process of accumulation and idea fermentation and don't try to wring words out of the little sparks in my head that excite me. i piece things together and reconfigure them often.

i accidentally started doing a freewriting exercise where i put a song on repeat and freewrite until i feel like i got down all the feelings or images that naturally come from that song for me

go in remembering that nothing is wasted and that ur making clay from which a small world will be born and ur making compost and cultivating soil to grow poems or stories in.

line breaks are breath control, punctuation is breath control, capitalization and spacing and everything else is breath control. think about exactly what cadence u want ur words to be heard with in the reader's head and take full control of that in the editing process. i like to play with rhythm and expectations and ambiguities it's really fun to see how many different meanings u can get out of sequences of words by their relationality to other words it's what writing is all about.

sometimes when ur editing too long u simply have to stop and try again later with fresh eyes. and sometimes u need another person's eyes on it before u can edit better.

remember that people spend years editing a single poem, and people can and do spend a whole year writing 3 or 5 poems. everyone's pace and process is different!

[rebel-ezra]

hiiii,

for the book recs ask thingyyy . . .

1, 39, 43, 60, 107, 135

hii!

this turned out to be such a long post im sorry

1: a book that is close to your heart poems that make grown women cry (original: gedichten die vrouwen aan het huilen maken) by isa hoes. this is a compilation of 63 poems hand picked by well known dutch and flemish women. they each pick a poem and talk about why they love it. sometimes its connected to a story, sometimes its just because they like it. this book has helped me process a lot of things. my copy is filled with annotations and looks like it's been through hell and back (which in a way, it has been). on the first pages I've written "a present for myself. what's a better present than beautiful words?". I've memorised a lot of poems of this book

39: a book featuring your favourite character six of crows by leigh bardugo and the hidden oracle (trials of apollo, book one) by rick riordan I couldn't pick between jesper fahey and nico di angelo. jesper is my all time favourite character, he's funny, flirty, bisexual (like me!! win for the bisexuals) and just so lovely. I remember when I first read six of crows how happy I was when I found out he's bi like me. it was the first time when I was reading a book when it was explicitly mentioned a character was bisexual nico is my favourite character at the moment, because I just finished all of the percy jackson books (percy himself is my second fav character at the moment). he's been through a lot but he's still fighting, which I admire a lot. plus he's sarcastic, 10/10 a comedian

43: a book that you have read more than three times the chronicles of narnia; the voyage of the dawn treader by c.s lewis this is my favourite book of all time. I think I read this once every two months, sometimes more. I first read it as a kid and I still love it. I've got a beautiful old edition that was released for its 50 year anniversary, which I got at the last book store in los angeles during a road trip :)

60: a book that you think about at 3am under the whispering door by tj klune a friend recommended this to me and said it's a wholesome book about death. I didn't believe them, until I read it myself. it's a beautiful book about a tea shop where people end up after they die. it's about a man who discovers he's been kind of an asshole his whole life. he uses his time at the tea shop to reflect on his life, alongside the other characters, who are all very interesting

107: your favourite book in a different language ronja de roversdochter (ronja the robber's daughter, original in swedish) by astrid lindgren when I was younger, my mom read this book to me every summer. she had a way of reading that brought the characters to life. I try to read this book every summer, kind of like my own family tradition.

135: recommend any book you like! aristotle and dante discovery the secrets of the universe by benjamin alire sáenz and we are all made of molecules by susin nielsen I recently finished ari and dante. it's about two teenage boys trying to find their way to live in the 80s. it's about growing up, loving your family, finding friends, losing friends. and it's beautifully written, some lines are almost like poetry. we are all made of molecules is also one of my favourite books. it's about stewart - who is a gifted kid - and his dad moving in with ashley - who is the popular girl in school - and her mom. the book is about stewart and ashley learning how to live with each other and how to treat each other

book recommendations asks! aka please let me talk about books

[first-only]

You got any tips on how to analyse media properly?

I don't think I'm too bad at media analyse, but it is always something that I've wanted to better at (and a good skill to have imo! Even if it's just a basic understanding)

See, this is not aimed at you per se, but i really dont like the way people use 'media' now. "Media" could easily also (and sometimes primarily) mean, like, the news. Which is indeed something you very much need to learn to analyze and think (actually) critically about. What are the sources cited? What are the sources' backgrounds, and groundwork, and motivation? Who pays? Who owns the media? Did you look at different sources reporting the same thing? And if you have access only to shitty sources, try to separate the cold facts from emotional manipulation and twisting words and stories (eg our prime minister is talking about unity while actively bribing other parties' representatives. 'unity' takes a different meaning here, yeah?). Think of consequences, not ideals. Even if the ideal is protecting children, will banning drag queens from schools achieve that? What will the actual result be? Are they even trying to protect children or is the goal elsewhere? Media, as in reporting and news work, is genuinely the best to learn to understand tbh.

As for fiction and non-fiction prose and poetry, which is what im assuming you're actually talking about, there's no real set in stone 'real' and 'true' analysis take that can hallmark doing it 'properly'. Of course, some people will tell you it's 'obvious' and then oscillate vastly between approaches themselves. Let me make this more clear - when talking about interpretation and analysis im always reminded of a work of poetry i studied in high school. It was a poem called "you will be wearing white" (in my native tongue), and everyone in class was convinced that, yes, obviously the author is talking about marriage. He's talking to a woman about the future, about /their/ future. Marrying is never mentioned, but love is hinted, she has to be in white. Simple, right? Except our teacher was extremely adamant that no, the poem is definitely not about marriage. She listened to our arguments, called the interpretation shallow and then explained that the work is about the relief of the future, freedom, and happiness. Why? When it was written, brides did not wear white. Marrying for love was.. well, not impossible but definitely not how you would mention marriage one-sidedly in a work of art. White was a color not for a bride, but for a woman free from having to work hard to feed herself and her family, a woman with enough money to afford it. The intent of the author wasnt "i will see you married to me" (or "i will own you", as the teacher would say); but "i will see you happy [and i will be happy too]".

[under the cut because this turned into a monster im sorry]

Which interpretation is more valid? A bunch of high schoolers saw a love poem with a white dress, and thought of a happy marriage, that signifies future happiness. A lit teacher, used to interpreting marriage as the other side of Death, in symbolic meaning of course, and aware of the cultural and period background of the writer, tells them the original way it was meant to be interpreted. A 'modern' outlook versus authorial intent. Now, with all of the blatant wrong info floating around, let me tell you, /this/ is what death of the author means. Interpreting the text for itself, without the background or intent woven into it, even if you know it.

Now, to do Actually Proper, or /academic/ analysis you will have to either follow the author's works, life, intentions, and gimmicks closely, or you will have to catch and learn references to known classics. Especially biblical symbolism and references are an integral part of the classic analysis of (western) Classic Works, and catching how they're interwoven and reference each other is exactly what they teach you in school. Another huge part of this is learning how symbolism works (both in the particular text and outside of it - local symbols and widely used ones). Big archetypes are commonly referred to and used as a base of analysis, and i mean the actual meaning of this word by Jung (and by extension Freud), interwoven into literature on a bigger scale by Joseph Campbell. Im saying this because Star Wars is a good example of what im talking about - Campbell and Lucas are good friends, and the original trilogy is ripe with archetypical symbolism, it's effectively based on it. A simple example - Luke breaking Vader's mask in a vision is usually interpreted as a hint that vader is his father, but thats not the symbolic meaning. The Mask is an archetype - it covers the self in what it wants to see. In breaking the mask, Luke is discovering his fear that if he keeps on this path, if he lets the dark side guide his instincts, he will turn into what vader represents himself. It's a warning, not a foreshadowing. (now, the giant tree, that is the archetype for family, is very much foreshadowing and warning that his roots are in the Dark).

Obviously this approach has many critiques, and not every story will follow or acknowledge it. That doesn't stop you from analyzing it this way anyway. There is a reason when people write analyses theyre calling them "an analysis". There is place for interpretation, a lot of strings to pull, a lot of variables to take into account and a lot of approaches to consider.

Let's look at the infamous blue curtains. Were the curtains always there, and always blue, or are they mentioned specifically for this scene? Does the writer use the color blue in the work before to establish a particular meaning within the confines of this specific work? Are the protagonist's SO's eyes blue for example? Were the curtains in his childhood home blue? Does the writer use common symbolism often? Is blue the color of sadness to them as it usually is? Is the writer so inept as to not know that every word written on a page of a book has to have a meaning? (ie the "the curtains were fucking blue" approach). Or are the curtains a symbol, the cover hiding the outside world from the eyes of the protagonist, and painting his view in blue? Are the curtains the archetype of the Veil, the walkway into the underworld? Thus is the protagonist thinking of death? Does he feel dead? Is the protagonist dying? Or being reborn? (for in symbolic language death itself often just means Change).

None of these readings are Correct. Some would be based on the entire work's properties (looking for other symbolic language for example), some might be supported by the author themself (outside of the text), some might be rooted in cross-references to Classics or religious or culturally significant texts. Others might be a projection of the reader themself, what does blue mean to you? But no matter which approach to analysis you take, finding ways to support it can dip in different wells.

Let's go back to SW to have more clear examples. The dominant social media approach seems to be that The Empire is the nazi regime and everything is intentionally made to look and feel this way. Is this supported by authorial intent? Or is it more of a modern interpretation by people who want to find their morality everywhere. There was a post flying around mocking someone for saying Anakin is a Jesus figure, but, regardless of that person's other views, that /is/ a valid interpretation. Be it that Vader is actually the antichrist who fooled people into thinking he was a saviour, or be it that the story can be read as an attempt at construing what it would be like if their lord was in fact a mortal and fallible man. And Lucas? Lucas has given enough interviews to show that he was just writing about his special blorbos and their epic story about the magic of the universe.

When it comes to modern storytelling, be it shows or movies, etc, the approach to analysis is often Doylist first. Who is the target audience? Who paid for its production? Was there censors and content policies? Who are the actual writers, what conditions did they write under (did they know the whole story? were they allowed freedom of creativity? were they paid enough? how did they get that position?)? Was the story influenced by fans/social media's reaction? I feel like this is where the modern meaning of 'trope' comes from - it's more of a cliche, a setting of "the good guy" "the bad guy" and so on. Easily digestible and reproducible. That doesnt mean there isnt merit to deeper analysis however. Even if its unintentional (and thats not always the case) sometimes the best stories come from disjointed and confused narratives. A game sequel forgot about an entire essential part of the lore? Maybe something happened behind the scenes that explains it, and furthers the current narrative. Practicing suspension of disbelief and being charitable to the narrative is never wasted imo, you practice creative thinking and watsonian explanations, thus an 'internal' interpretation of the narrative.

I honestly think the most immediately helpful thing when approaching a story is your own, personal, what used to be called 'emotional intelligence', now emotional differentiation. Yes, knowing your own feelings, but also ability to decipher and interpret characters' feelings, emotions, goals, driving forces. The general theme of the narrative, and yes the narrative itself - what is the story about? Why did Luke refuse to kill Vader? Did he betray the republic for his family? Does he sympathize with a murderer? Did he Choose the Light and realize that walking into the dark side will make him worse? Or did he showcase his own character and personality, defend his own principles? Or all at once?

You know, i genuinely think that doing some analysis of fics can help with the basics of interpretation. Even bad fic. It's easier to see what the author is trying to tell you, and how they're doing it. Are they telegraphing simple movements just to make you understand the physicality of the situation? Are they trying to make it poetic and how? When reading a more advanced versus a more inexperienced writer, where are the differences between their ways of showing intent, and achieving it? The strings of symbolism and metaphor are also usually better visible in fic for an inexperienced analysis, because you can both juxtaposition the original text, and get an interpretation of it. And then, beyound authorial intent - how does your headcanon and interpretation of the canon differ from the fic author's? Why? Does the original text support their reading? How? Do the intent and the result in the reader match? What words do they use so their fic can be interpreted differently than intended? (the amount of 'fluff' ive read that was actually an unintentional horror lol).

I do want to say that if you're trying to get better at analyzing in order to participate "better" in fandom, that's your choice and all that, but it's not necessary. It's a buzzword nowadays how "critical thinking" and "actual analysis" in media are rotten and forgotten, but the fact is - this is fandom. Yes overanalysis and essays exist, but they were never lit crit or academic essays. They serve the purpose of fandom. And the purpose of fandom is very often, very expectedly, and very normally, "the curtains are blue, because his lover's tie is blue". There's nothing wrong with that. This is a hobby. We're here for fun. And way overanalyzing something in a completely haywire direction is tons of fun. Like hell, my personal take on a shallow ass FPS game with a base mechanic of healing orbs and vampiric attacks? Souls exist in this universe, thus soulmates too, thus my headcanons are toootaly canon-compliant. Was this the intent of the shallow FPS? Hell no. Is it supported by the source? Sure.

Worth saying however that like actual academic lit crit and analysis is a whole ass science and a huge field with many resources, theory and /a lot/ of work. If you want to get into it seriously, classes or at least reading theory is kind of a low bar, to be honest. And reading /a lot/ of classics - cant catch those references and universal symbols and common lit knowledge if you havent experienced them. It's genuinely not just making some shit up on the basis of five lines. And honestly? A lot of the theory is biased, and subjective, and western-centric so you gotta analyze the analysis theory. Yeeah.

Now the actual advice i will give you when it comes to existing in a social media world that's viscerally discoursing over every story is don't get gaslighted. Just because everyone is shouting loudly about a particular interpretation doesn't mean it's the only valid real one (or that it's valid at all). Listen to yourself too, read the source for yourself, if you care check on the author/s (and disregard as needed). If we went on tumblr one day and the dash was covered with new hot takes over how Luke is supporting fascism by not mercilessly killing his father will that mean he is the villain of the story? We've seen the Steven Universe/Aang is the real villain takes. Were they the villains? Is the claim supported by the text? Was Kylo Ren a one-dimensional villain with zero nuance? Did the text support that, regardless if it's his fans or haters that claim it? The Only Rule to make an objectively Valid take is take the entire source into account. Cherrypicking will get you an incomplete idea of the narrative and character. Support your claim with canon examples, references to outside sources, authorial intent, doesn't matter - but if you take a single scene, or a partial context, you're achieving a headcanon and personal fun (which is great!) but not an analysis that will hold to scrutiny and outside inspection.