#writerly-ramblings

[fictionadventurer]

Beloved 📚

Here is a stack of books that were so beloved that I made a special point to buy my own copy. I've left out some of the obvious series--Narnia, the Fairy Tale Novels, and Anne of Green Gables--on the grounds that the first two have shown up in a bunch of stacks already, and I don't particularly love the copies I have of the Anne books. There are complicated shades of nuance behind choosing books for the stack--there are several very beloved books that were easy to find, so buying them didn't have quite the same treasure hunt feeling, while some slightly-less-beloved books made the stack because their acquisition was more purposeful or felt more exciting. Because of that, I'm going to give a little info for why I chose each book.

Books In the Stack:

The Electrical Menagerie by Mollie E. Reeder: I read the ebook and loved it so much that I made a point of ordering print copies for myself and a friend.

Baby by Patricia MacLachlan: I read it so many times in middle school (because it's short and it's about a baby) that I had to buy a copy when I found it at the thrift store, even though it's nothing particularly amazing.

The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers: My favorite of the Wimsey books I read from the library, so I made sure to order a print copy of my own.

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff: When I finished this book, I wanted nothing more than to buy my own copy at a used book store. The next time I went to one, I happened to find it.

Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke: Such a fun little graphic novel that, when the opportunity arose to get a signed copy, I jumped at it.

Tales from the Blackberry Bushes by @isfjmel-phleg : I love these stories so much that I hand-bound my own copy so I can have it on my shelves forever

Entwined by Heather Dixon: One of my favorite retellings, so I ordered myself a copy as a Christmas present one year

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne: I had so much fun listening to the audiobook that I bought the very first copy I found at a library book sale.

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton: I read it on Gutenberg, and it's so important to my worldview that I bought my own copy from the religious book store.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery: This is just such a cute little book that I couldn't resist buying a falling-apart copy from a garage sale, and later buying a replacement copy in better condition from a thrift store. It's not quite beloved, but for some reason I'm very fond of it.

Matched by Allie Condie: The library book left my head spinning with concepts of free will. When I got a Barnes and Noble gift card, I bought my own copy. The story is rough, but the concepts of the world only get more relevant as time goes on.

A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis: Such a heartwrenching look at grief. When I happened to find a nice used copy, I couldn't leave it behind.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: After I read the series, I bought ragged copies of my own from garage sales. They're far from difficult to find, but at the time, getting my own copies was exciting.

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery: It became one of my favorite romances, so I ordered my own copy online. Then I bought a replacement copy when I happened to find a much better edition last summer.

Persuasion by Jane Austen: Of course I have print copies of all Austen's novels, but the others are mostly just the copies I happened to find. With this book, I saw the Word Cloud Classics edition in a Youtube video and knew I needed that specific edition, so I ordered it online. I haven't regretted it--it's a pleasantly-designed book.

World Series by John R. Tunis: The Dodgers books are some of the only books that stuck with me from my teenage years. I happened to find copies of The Kid from Tomkinsville and The Kid Comes Back, both of which are more beloved. But after my last reread of Tomkinsville, I wanted to continue the series, found my library had gotten rid of their copies, so I ordered my own copy of the second book. (And then never reread it, but that doesn't mean I don't love it).

The Reed of God by Caryll Houselander: I saw it at the religious bookstore, decided to read it from the library instead of buying, and then loved it so much I eventually went back to the same store and bought it.

[setaripendragon]

So I'm still on this daemon AU kick, and I can't stop thinking.

What are the limits?

It's generally accepted that a daemon is an animal representation of the soul, right? So, you know, we've got birds and mammals and reptiles and insects.

But what about fish?

Obviously there's an issue here of, you know, environment, and if your soul literally can't survive in the air while you literally can't survive in the water, there's a problem.

But, hey, if it's small enough, you could have a little fishbowl for your daemon to live in. Hamster ball, but filled with water, rolling along at your heels. Fishtank on wheels that get tricked out like dudebros soup up their car. And maybe, if you're from a particularly sea-faring culture/lifestyle a water-bound mammal like a dolphin or an orca could make sense. And then there's things like sharks, which have so much symbolism attached to them that it seems a real shame to have to rule them out. (Someone who's particularly driven or ambitious having a daemon that would literally die if it stopped moving is a bit of symbolism I'm going a bit feral for, tbh.)

I think we have to rule out the deep sea creatures, unfortunately. Fishbowls and/or living on a boat wouldn't really solve the problem of pressure, and someone with a blobfish daemon would, uh... be in trouble.

And if we're talking about things that can't survive in the same atmosphere as humans, what about internal parasites? Like flatworms. I think it's safe to say that having your daemon parasitizing your intestine kind of defeats the purpose of having an external manifestation of your soul, but... There are species of flatworm that aren't parasites, so... do we just rule out all flatworms, or are the non-parasitic ones okay?

And speaking of flatworms, what about size? I've read some fun stories that deal with the issues that might come from having, say, an elephant daemon. It's not quite as dramatic as the issues of having an aquatic daemon, but actually, similar adjustments would have to be made to your living situation to cope. But, of course, it could be done and I don't think anyone's trying to rule out animals on account of how big they are, but I think it's safe to say that microscopic daemons are out for the same reason that internal parasites have to be.

There's a nice solid rule I can settle on; a daemon has to be a visible animal.

And, in point of fact, I think it's safe to say it has to be an animal. We can rule out trees and plants and even fungi.

So what about coral?

It's an animal, and if we are allowing for some aquatic daemons, then should coral be an option? Or are its vibes too plant-like to qualify? Do we rule out sessile animals like we ruled out microscopic ones? As much as I find the idea of a coral daemon absolutely hilarious, I am going to come down on the side of animals that are too much like plants are a no.

So a daemon has to be a visible, mobile animal.

But what about the ones that only move very slowly? I don't think we're ruling out sloths, but in the continuing vein of torturing myself considering various aquatic daemons, there's starfish and sea urchins and hell, even most bivalves can move at least a little, right? (Correct me if I'm wrong, I haven't done that research yet.) And there's a lot of fun symbolsim to be had, there, I think.

And what about extinct creatures?

I think it's safe to say that mythical creatures are a no-go, unless this is a 'verse where those animals are real, (oh, boy wouldn't that confuse people in a world like HP where most people think dragons and unicorns aren't real, but people still wander around with dragon and unicorn daemons) so we can ammend our rule to visible, mobile, real animals, but could we go so far as extant?

If yes, that would have interesting world-building implications. Where's the cut-off point? Can we rule out dinosaurs because we don't/didn't have enough information for a daemon to settle into a form that wouldn't be technically mythical? But then, what about animals that go extinct within human history? What about all the people who had mammoth daemons or dodo daemons as those animals were dying out.

Would conservationists study daemon statistics to see if an animal has really gone extinct? Would an animal's extinct status get over-turned when a kid's daemon settled into that form? Honestly, I like this enough that I've convinced myself that, at least barring some very unique circumstances, extinct animals are not allowed.

So, it has to be a visible, mobile, extant animal. That can exist in proximity to humans.

Oh, and should probably add; visible, mobile, extant, and non-sapient.

You can't have a human daemon, or an elf or a dwarf or a fairy daemon even if they exist in that world, and if this is a 'verse with dragons who're more than just exotic magical animals, you can't have a dragon daemon. (Obviously, if your fairies are more like magical bugs than tiny people, then fairies would be a valid daemon.)

...I'm still on the fence about whether a daemon should have to be air-breathing or not. That kind of rule would still leave marine mammals available for the fun world-building of how people adapt to that kind of handicap. (...Do you think people with aquatic daemons would be considered disabled? Oooh, what about people with really big daemons? I mean, presuming such a thing is comparatively rare, people probably wouldn't be building schools with a mind to allowing elephants or giraffes to wander the corridors.)

Disclaimer! This is for my own creative process, and not intended to limit anyone else's creative flair. And, honestly, I'd love to hear other people's takes on what does and doesn't qualify for a daemon.

[chthonion]

Hey, where's the next chapter of the Harrowing?

So, shoutout to readers of the Harrowing for not complaining about the delay on chapter 29 (and in many cases for instead notifying me that rereads are in progress, which is one of the most motivating things I can hear). You are all being SO PATIENT and I appreciate every single one of you!

Basically, I had to shred three chapters and rebuild them all together, so it's been slow going. The next chapter will probably also be delayed further by life stuff that is happening this week.

But soon! Very soon! Probably next week, and although this won't be the one with the Maedhros/Fingon reunion...the one after this, which does have the Maedhros/Fingon reunion, should not take nearly this long because I've already rewritten it.

...and it is, in my completely unbiased opinion, much more awesome now.

[m1ssunderstanding]

Chapters: 3/3 Fandom: The Beatles (Band) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: John Lennon/Paul McCartney Characters: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Denny Laine, Ringo Starr, Linda McCartney Additional Tags: Post Beatles break-up, Wings UK Tour 1979, Fix-It, POV Alternating, Pining, Jealousy, Eventual Smut, Eventual Fluff Summary:

During the Beatle years, John left a jumper at Paul's house, and Paul kept it and started to wear it. Now, in 1979, John sees a picture in a magazine of Denny Laine wearing the jumper. HIS jumper. John decides to go meet up with Wings to get it back.

No words for my love of this fic!!! I just finished it and it needed to be shared. Everyone should read this ASAP. 

[wickedlittlewordsmith]

How does one go about building a platform for original writings?

[raven-writes-fanfic]

I just have to share my moment of writerly triumph. Last night I had a thought of something very small that I wanted to add to my current WIP, but I was too tired to get my laptop out and add it in. I thought to myself that if it was important enough, I'd remember it in the morning. Well, folks, it's morning. AND I REMEMBERED THE THING OMFG!!!

[davycoquette]

Writerly Questionnaire

There’s certain stuff I’d love to know about you guys, so I am just gonna ask. Obviously feel free to skip questions that don’t spark joy or ignore this if it’s not your thing. Also feel free to add/remove questions to your hearts’ content!

About You

When did you start writing?

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you’re often compared?

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (Room, coffee shop, desk, etc.)

What’s your most effective way to muster up some muse?

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

Your Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character? (Current WIP, past WIP, never used, etc.)

Which of your characters do you think you’d be friends with in real life?

Which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

Tell me about the process of coming up with of one, all, or any of your characters.

Do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

How do you picture them? (As real people you imagined, as models/actors who exist in real life, as imaginary artwork, as artwork you made or commissioned, anime style, etc.)

Your Writing

What’s your reason for writing?

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (For example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who “gets” the human condition; as a talented worldbuilder, as a role model, etc.)

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

How do you feel about your own writing? (Answer in whatever way you interpret this question.)

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? If it’s a mix of the two, which holds the most influence?

If you see this: TAG, You're it! I want to know these things about all my mutuals - and writers I've not met, yet, too. My taglist is below the cut!

@saturnine-saturneight @albatris @nathaniel-zellos @sableglass @michellekarnold @harmonic-melodii @capnmachete @illarian-rambling Let me know if you want on or off the list!

[olderthannetfic]

With all this talk about AI, the one perspective that appears missing from the discussion is that of someone who actually uses AI writing tools in production of their fanfic. So here I am, stepping in to provide my (anonymous) two cents.

I've been using a generative AI program especially made for creative writers for several months now. Initially, I had a lot of the same reservations I'm hearing form others, but I was curious about the tech and wanted to try it for myself. I quickly discovered that it's insanely useful, and I truly believe it has improved my writing. 

I also believe these tools will become commonplace among creative writers in the near future. In fact, I've heard that generative AI is coming to a writing software near you (MS Word to be exact), and I suspect that that once more people have actually tried it, use of AI will begin to seem no more remarkable than the use of spelling or grammar checkers does now. 

In the meantime, as you can see, I am staying anon, and there is absolutely no way I would tag my fanfic as AI assisted given the current environment. People are very quick to make assumptions about what a statement like that means, and are all too hasty in reaching for their pitchforks.

As far as I can tell, the main concern seems to be that Ao3 will be flooded with 'bad' fanfic as a result of AI use. But 'bad' fanfic has been a thing for as long as I've been in fandom (decades, at this point), and in my experience, human beings are perfectly capable of writing poorly without any help from machines. Readers are, as always, advised to curate their own reading experience. The 'back' button works the same as it always did, and someone's possible use of AI changes nothing about that. 

But the general assumption that AI input automatically leads to 'bad' writing seems rather short-sighted. Yes, obviously if someone were to go to ChatGPT and tell it to write them a fanfic in 'x' fandon about 'x' pairing, the output would be bland, generic and probably a bit rambling. AIs are not great storytellers; they can't maintain narrative logic. 

If this hypothetical person then copy-pasted the unedited output directly onto Ao3 and called it a story, the result would most likely qualify as 'bad' fanfic. Whether it would be worse than a story the same person might have written on their own is debatable. Our hypothetical protagonist obviously decided that the output was good enough as it was, and chose to post it without bothering to edit, which suggests (at least to me) that they would have similar standards about a story they'd written without an AI.

Since the above seems to be the scenario everyone has in mind when talking about "AI fic," I would like to point out that what I just described is not the only way to use AI in one's writing. My own use is more akin to using an online thesaurus; a very powerful thesaurus that can make suggestions for things like phrasings, descriptions, dialogue, and so on. The key there is that it makes suggestions. 

My AI assistant is smart enough to 'read' the scene I'm working on and tailor its suggestions to the mood, style and context of what I'm writing. But it's still my story. The AI doesn't write it for me. I'm the one who sifts through those suggestions, takes the bits that work, and shapes them into useful text. Sometimes the AI comes up with amazing things. I wasn't kidding when I said it's improved my writing - and my rewriting. It knocks me out of those mental ruts we writers tend to get into, coming up with descriptions and turns of phrase that I wouldn't have thought of on my own. 

But it's still just a tool, and at the end of the day, I'm still the writer. The words that end up on the page do so because I chose them. Those writerly choices are what make the story mine, regardless of where the words might have originated from. And whether they came from my brain or the AI, they are still subject to the same standards of rewriting, editing and proofing.

So no, I don't think I'm going to be tagging my fic with an AI disclosure statement any time soon. Not until the current moral panic dies down to the point where people don't read that and automatically assume it means 'copy-pasted from ChatGPT.' And for anyone who's curious about AI... I suggest you try it for yourself. Play around a little and find out what it's about before making judgments. I think you'll find it's a tool like any other - and just like any tool, it can be used well or it can be used badly. That's entirely in the hands of the human being using it - which is one thing that hasn't changed, and never should.

--

Yeah, I fail to see any major issue with more sucky fanfic getting posted. That's just the default for big fic archives.

The actual problem problems we're seeing are with paid markets with open submissions that get flooded beyond what staff can handle and big corporations replacing humans they already try not to pay.

The main potential issue I see with other uses of AI is that it may end up with samey suggestions, but it's hard to know how much that's 1. a thing and 2. an actual issue when writing genre stuff that often sounds samey on purpose and where that's a desirable characteristic.

[satohqbanana]

〚 ◾ Satoh's Introduction ◾ 〛

NOTICE: Not open to asks or random DMs for the moment. Thanks!

Okay, new rules to establish boundaries.

Hi, I'm Satoh! I write, draw, and do a little bit of everything. I post my own works, and I reblog pieces I like and pieces from my social spheres. I'm currently interested in psychology, video games, and fantasy worldbuilding. My biggest L is that I'm a coward.

I tend to give writerly friends and acquaintances feedback, both positive and negative, to show my appreciation of their works and efforts. I will be polite and I will refrain from giving critique as much as possible. This means that in general, if I have nothing to say, I simply might not have any substantial or helpful feedback. I will also appreciate feedback and critique on my own work. Kindly be upfront if any aspect of this is not okay for you. Yes, we can discuss this through DMs.

I am easily stressed and therefore will refrain from reblogging donation posts, guilt trip posts, and posts regarding heavily controversial issues and events. Recent events and developments had been crazy for me enough. I'd like my blog to be a safe space for myself. Any post under this category that go on my blog AFTER August 2024 are either stuff from the queue or are big mad exceptions for special and reserved cases.

I am 100% okay being unfollowed or blocked for little reason. Please take care of yourselves. I will not think less of you for doing so.

✨ Personal Post Navigation:

#satoh interacts - Any post under my current username that involves me interacting with other blogs. Often used to reblog other people's stuff.

#satoh draws - Any post under my current username that has my art.

#satoh writes - Any post under my current username that has my writing.

#satoh says - My miscellaneous ramblings under my current username.

#satoh's psych phase - My miscellaneous ramblings and reblogs about psychology.

#arcanium series - My random musings about my current OG work.

#arcanium:magia - Contains (quasi-)official stuff about the first series in my current OG work. Its sister tags are #arcanium:liberatio and #arcanium:nasci.

#ask game - My reblogs for ask games. Please feel free to reblog from me without sending an ask to me first!

#anne's av musings - My more recent Aveyond fandom tag. I've previously tagged stuff under #aveyond, #av1, #av2, #av3, and #av4.

#annelaurant art - My old art under my other username.

#annelaurant writing - My old writing under my other username.

[kiisuuumii]

@kiisuuumii's writerly questionnaire !

thank you @lead-to-code for tagging (ily kara <33)

i'd love to see yall's answers (only if you'd like to share of course !) @noahsbong @yearning-rambles @thesorcererpoet

about me:

1. when did you first start writing?

i was maybe between seven and nine ? to be honest, i can't really remember when it was, but i remember the first few things i wrote were story quizzes on a (now gone </3) website called quizilla (it was naruto rp....................)

2. are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

not really, now that i actually think about it ! ive always been the type of writer that only liked writing angst, and even outside of writing (fan) fiction (which tbh i dont do very much of anymore), so much of my poetry either comes from heavy emotion or features it so sdghjksd

3. is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you're often compared?

theres one mutual, actually, who i actually wished i could write more like. in a very self-deprecating way, but ive since become very comfortable, and maybe even happy (!), with my style of writing ! so, no, i'm not really looking to emulate anyone in particular, and no one's ever made a comparison between my work and someone else's so no to that one too :0

4. can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (room, coffee shop, desk, etc)

i usually write on my phone, in the notes app or in my drafts here ! and ill usually only write in a (head) space where i can really think, undisturbed, for at least 30-45 mins. so i'll usually be out in my backyard under one of my calamansi trees ! though, lately, ive been occasionally writing at my desk on desktop tumblr :>

5. what's your most effective way to muster up some muse?

fall in love with someone

once i start thinking about how everything around me is alive, i start remembering that i, too, am apart of nature—a lucky enough set of sequenced mutations, to make me—just a eating, breathing, shitting animal. how lucky this set of mutations is to take it all in, the emeralds in the trees, and the beat of a chipmunk's heart, how scared we all are.

that or love

6. did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

people, no, but places, yes. i grew up for most of my childhood in the desert, and i have /always/ hated summers, because i'm kinda heat sensitive, and i sweat easily, and i hate it i hate i hate it djhks

but, a year ago, i moved back home, and, honestly, since being back home, ive come to appreciate the desert a bit more sgkjds i used to think they were ugly and uninteresting, but there's so much more there if you look a bit harder imo

7. are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

honestly !! i think there are plenty obvious ones, but i really wanna talk about /the lack of/ sexual themes in my work !! i wanna write more sexetry or whatever, but it feels really embarrassing to sdghks i really like writing them too, but again !! it just feels embarrassing !! ;w;

my characters:

1. would you please tell me about your current favourite character? (current wip, post wip, never used, etc)

not to copy of kara dskjfs but i love my first (and my current) d&d chara !! her name is maeve umerie, and shes a drow wild magic sorcerer / (planned artillerist) artificer !! shes so packed full of trauma and self-harming behaviors and addictions that i dont even know where to start <33 (i promise i love her i would actually be so devastated if she died before i could give her a proper happy ending </3)

2. which of your characters do you think you'd be friends with in real life?

i have this fantasy novel thought that ive floated in my head since maybe september-october of last year, and, in it, i have a character named levin hel, and AUGH hes just a sweetie :^( hes the son of a blacksmith-gunsmith duo who know a thing or two about magic, and is the apprentice to the son of the wizard who saved his life (who's name is nox, and he's an asshole ! but also i love him so much ;v;)

i need go go back to all my notes and stuff on it, bc i invested A LOT of time worldbuilding for it, but yea levin's a very kindhearted person, very much wanting to be like nox's father :'''^) </3

3. which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

i would absolutely hate to meet maeve mother. she's horribly self-serving and emotionally manipulative. she rules the house with an iron fist, and anything less than the best is worthless. she uses everything at her disposal to get what she wants, family or not.

4. tell me about the process of coming up with one, all, or any of your characters.

im ngl most if not all of my characters are just bits and pieces of me and my wants in different aus >_> .................................

5. do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

family and/or religious trauma mhm yep

6. how do you picture them? (as real people you imagined, as models/actors who exist in real life, as imaginary artwork, as artwork you made or commissioned, anime style, etc)

for my fantasy wip, i imagine imaginary artwork, but for maeve, i have pieces i've drawn and pieces i've commissioned of her !! id love to someday get pieces of her family and other major characters in her past commissioned :>

my writing:

1. what's your reason for writing?

i will say that it's changed over the years. as a kid, and up until college, i've wanted to always be a story-teller. but, lately, i dont really have a reason for writing, other than to satisfy the thing that lives inside me that wants to write :^)

2. is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particular motivating coming from your readers?

knowing other people's reactions, getting to hear how something made them feel emotionally, or physically, or if there was a particular thought or memory that came to mind. i love knowing what people see, what my work makes people see, if anything.

that or if theres something, a word choice, or a line, that you thought was clever or struck you !!! i always love knowing people's thoughts !!!

3. how do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (for example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who "gets" the human condition; as a talented world builder, as a role model, etc)

i want to be thought of just as another person, honestly. someone who had very human emotions, and did the only thing she knew how to do.

4. what do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

uhhhhh im ngl i think this is also my greatest weakness but i have a tedium to my world-building, in that i need history-book-level details of my worlds or i will die (like i drew my own map. i drew a fucking map of an entire contiment)

5. what have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

yk,,,,, no ones given me a whole lot of specifics so im not sure,,,,,

6. how do you feel about your own writing? (answer in whatever way you interpret this question)

i said it before, but im pretty content at the moment with my poetry. though with prose, i think i could probably improve a bit sdgjksg

7. if you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

uh yeah !!!! i write and record voice memos in my journal fully knowing no one will ever read it or listen back right now as it is so !!!!

8. when you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? if it's a mix of the two, which holds most influence?

i gotta be honest, writing is a selfish act for me. i write because i want to, in ways that tickle my fancy dgkjds

it really is almost like an instinct for me

[tenderlady]

I feel morally obliged, after seeing your tags on this post, to ask you for your Beatles-adjacent casting and re-telling to THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS!

I'll kick things off by proposing John as Eli Cash? "Wild...cat..."

I am, as always, obsessed with your mind and am a big fan of putting Beatles places they were not intended to be. I definitely could see John-as-Eli (writerly, self-constructed, aggressive, insecure), and by that logic I think that probably Paul would be Chas (rigid, overachieving, trying to hold the family together despite not particularly liking any of them) and George would be Richie (wounded, overshadowed, best hair in the family). By default this means that Ringo would be Margot, which, uh.....fascinating.

I think the general conceit of The Royal Tenenbaums, of "getting the band back together" (ba dum tss) because of a family member dying (sorta) could really work, which I suppose would leave Royal as Brian?? Honestly, I couldn't blame him if he wanted to fake a life threatening illness to get all the boys in the same room and to put all their differences aside for five minutes. Also the idea of the Tenenbaums being a family of child prodigies who are all trying, with various degrees of success, to cling to that prestige into adulthood is Very Beatles.

Will be rotating this in my mind for the rest of the day, but I welcome your insights as well, O wise crepesuzette2023...

Other semi-related ramblings under the cut.

As much as I love and am obsessed with this idea, I was actually referring to the copyright boondoggles around the soundtrack when I reblogged that picture. The opening includes a choral cover of Hey Jude, but was originally supposed to be the actual song. I've also heard (although I can't find the original article I read now) there was a semi-illegal showing of it once that had the soundtrack replaced by all Beatles songs. The only information I can find on that now is that the original version of the film included both Hey Jude and the Anthology version of I'm Looking Through You, but George's illness at the time of filming got in the way of securing the rights.

I actually kind of love how difficult it is to secure the rights to Beatles songs, because it often forces filmmakers to make interesting choices to get around it. Another one that I can't find the receipts to prove now but love the idea of is that Hideaki Anno wanted to use Hey Jude to score Third Impact in End of Evangelion. I can kind of see it, but either way we got Komm Susser Tod instead, which is like Hey Jude if it hated you.

[setaripendragon]

Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

[From this ask meme]

Oh! Um... You know? I can't think of one? I... don't tend to resist when a new idea strikes me? ^^" Even if I haven't published it, I've at least started writing it.

There are... less tropes, and more techniques I want to try that I haven't found the right idea for. I really want to play with flashbacks, and how to work them into narration in a way that flows? I want to practise working symmetry into my longer stories.

But tropes... Like, the closest I can think of is Body Sharing, but specifically how the characters would deal with romantic relationships that they don't share while body-sharing (complex and weird polycules are my jam), but... I've written (started writing), uh... three fics with that premise, it's just I didn't get as far as I'd like into them before I got distracted? So I didn't get to the really juicy bits of interpersonal shenanigans I had planned ^^"

-

Oh, um... I'm sure there must be? XD Uh... infidelity plots? I really don't like writing that at all. Um...

Oh! Blame the Bastard! I hatehatehate that trope. Haaaaaaate it. I'm pretty sure I'm never going to write it, not unless I plan to subvert it. Not even if the Jealous Wife is the obvious villain. I hate that this is even a trope, tbh, that it's prevalent enough in our stories, and realistic enough to human nature to be that prevalent. Blame the person who did something wrong, ffs. Argh!

[chthonion]

Writing is hard

Some days you manage to pull together an intense and meaningful emotional moment that has been 200k words in the making.

And then other days you're sitting there going "How do I make this scene stop happening?"

[fractured-shield]

Writerly questionnaire

thanks for the tags @honeybewrites and @nczaversnick!!

about you:

when did you start writing?

I was stapling together loose paper and handwriting weird shit on the playground instead of socializing for as long as I can remember, but I was 12 when I first got serious about telling any kind of coherent narrative and 19-ish when I overhauled FS into it's current form

are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

oh, nah, I'm a sucker for the same cliche high fantasy tropes as I write. I got really into LotR in 6th grade (like, reading the silmarillion and other supplemental texts the following year. don't ask me about my favorite traumatized elf guys unless you want the most incomprehensible rambling response. i've been told it's all very predictable of me on no less than half a dozen occasions) and that shit was a formative experience I can't go back from

is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you’re often compared?

yeah i think every high fantasy writer gets compared to tolkien at some point, the whole mt fuji analogy of the genre and all that. I'm not really trying to emulate the same scale or depth of lore, but I find that a lot of the themes really speak to me now in my mid-20s more than they did as a kid, so I like to lean into some of those in my own writing, and keep (and occasionally fuck around with) the typical high fantasy trappings along the way

can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (Room, coffee shop, desk, etc.)

eh...don't really have one rn. i'll write anywhere from scrap paper during church (i'm a church musician only so i don't lose my skills lmao) to my phone, to actually sitting at a desk. but i recently had to move pretty suddenly and don't have much set up yet

what’s your most effective way to muster up some muse?

find yourself in traumatizing situations and project them onto your characters instead of getting therapy long car rides listening to music

did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

i'm sure it did a bit subconsciously, but most of my formative years were spent using fiction as escapism, so not too much

are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

grief and trauma and coping with things out of your control, finding purpose, found family and good supportive familial relationships, feeling lonely and othered and using self-improvement as harm...etc. normal stuff like that. i'm doing so good i'm so well adjusted please believe me

your characters:

would you please tell me about your current favorite character? (Current WIP, past WIP, never used, etc.)

😔 <- character profile link. i cannot pretend anyone else is my favorite when i literally have a tattoo in honor of him. (tldr that's my protag's father. she wouldn't even be mad she's relegated to second favorite, she'd agree with me)

which of your characters do you think you’d be friends with in real life?

i think i'd get along with a lot of them actually. therien, oenith, and waith would all have some initial conflict but we'd figure it out. hal would be chill. i wish leithe and idhren were my parents

which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

i think if i met maithyr he'd kinda scare me tbh. and i'd be so tired of dealing with malin's genuinely friendly extroverted behavior, love the guy though. waith's parents piss me off, as do deras and ealrid. alfrin is a little shit and, like therien, he'd get under my skin. unlike therien, i'd be too much of a coward to punch him

tell me about the process of coming up with of one, all, or any of your characters.

uhhhhhh therien and oenith kinda happened on accident...? a friend and i were fucking around and wanted some sick ass fantasy self insert ocs and now it's 12 years later and they're their own fleshed out fully different characters. waith was originally a shared oc with a different friend, and she's still pretty similar and they get consulted sometimes about how i write her. idhren and leithe were always therien's parents but their role wasn't originally supposed to be this big. maithyr and linna are shamelessly based on the vibe of a popular ship in a fandom i've been in but i made them debatably worse. hal just showed up one day and malin reinvented his whole self when i wasn't looking. ...mor and arennir and alfrin were...interesting cases...

do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

mostly the trauma, yeah

how do you picture them? (As real people you imagined, as models/actors who exist in real life, as imaginary artwork, as artwork you made or commissioned, anime style, etc.)

i've had them all for long enough that it's some fluid mix of faceclaims (one very notable story about that), picrews, video game character builders, and just imagined collections of features and vibes

your writing:

what’s your reason for writing?

idk i didn't know it'd be 12+ years of these guys with no signs of stopping when i made therien and oenith and idhren back in 2012. they're like real people to me and i'm very fond of them, so i enjoy thinking about them and i think their story deserves to be written

is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

i really like when people connect with my characters. particularly therien and idhren, any "oh my god she's weird as fuck i love her" or "ohhh im sad about him i think a hug from him would fix me" is like. going to make my entire week

how do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (For example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who “gets” the human condition; as a talented worldbuilder, as a role model, etc.)

tbh i've never really thought about how i want to be seen as a writer. i just want to tell a story people connect with, i'd rather readers find characters as inspirational rather than myself

what do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

probably characters, but only within FS. I don't think it's a strength, like any new character I make for another project is whatever, but with these guys—I hope they feel complex and realistic, I've been thinking about them for long enough

what have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

i've been told I write dialogue well I think? I also got a comment from when I submitted ch1 of my current draft for a class critique last spring where someone said I wrote anxiety/panic in a very realistic way. that scene wasn't even in the outline lmao my characters do what they want

how do you feel about your own writing? (Answer in whatever way you interpret this question.)

it's...fine I guess? It's definitely gotten noticeably more consistent and closer to what I want it to be in the past 2-ish years, but I still struggle a lot with feeling like the style is bland and the topics forgettable. I try not to linger on it too much because I primarily write for my own sanity, the approval of any readers is just a bonus

if you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

oh yeah, i'd keep writing. i like my characters and i like seeing new parts of them and their stories revealed to me as i progress

when you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? If it’s a mix of the two, which holds the most influence?

nah, not really. i mean, aside from "if i introduce this thing earlier it'd make more sense / breaking the chapters here would flow better for readers" type things. the actual content and themes and characters are purely what I enjoy. i'm not delusional enough to think publishing is likely anyways, i know the whole "cliche high fantasy" thing isn't terribly marketable, especially how it falls in the overlap of YA and adult

open tag for anyone who wants to join! doing open tags until I get caught up I think

tag list: @just-emis-blog @orions-quill @honeybewrites @leahnardo-da-veggie @robin-the-blind-sniper-rifle

[you-remind-me-of-the-babe]

I have been having ✨A Time✨ recently, both writing and personally, so my sharing today is a 🔥Hot Mess🔥 (much like my brain rn). Feel free to skip if you have no patience for my rambling.

But first, thank you for the tags today @fatalfangirl @j-nipper-95 and Wednesday @palimpsessed @artsyunderstudy @forabeatofadrum @ivelovedhimthroughworse @chen-chen-chen-again-chen

Adding just a few tags today because I don’t want to burden too many people with my word vomit @cutestkilla @captain-aralias @shrekgogurt @ebbpettier @whogaveyoupermission @aristocratic-otter @facewithoutheart @raenestee @thewholelemon @hushed-chorus 😘

On to said rambling. Really, truly. Last chance to back out from delving into Writerly Indecision Hour. You have been warned. Below the cut for length:

Ok! I have mostly been trying to get chapter 6 of Depth of Reason up and running. I know what I want the bulk of the chapter to be about, but I have been having trouble writing the start and getting them to that point. I have two separate documents going, one with 1k, the other with 2k, and both of them feel like they aren’t quite how I want to start. Why don’t I just jump into the parts I want to write and go back to do the start later, you might ask? Well, for better or worse, I usually have to write in a linear fashion and writing scenes out of order rarely work for me.

So! My plan was to start with Simon and Baz out to lunch with Penny, getting some legal advice on how best to take on the Coven. My first attempt had a some Simon/Penny banter as they walked to the restaurant, as I wanted to toggle back to their relationship, and checking in on Penny’s pregnancy. Here’s a bit:

“Are you feeling okay?”

She sighs. “Yes, just a side ache. My body has become far less efficient these days. I hate it.”

“You’re growing a human from scratch. I’d say your body has become far more efficient than it’s ever going to be in your life.”

She shakes her head.

“I don’t know how my mother did this five times. I’m barely halfway through this pregnancy and I’m already tired of getting winded going up a flight of stairs and getting heartburn any time I eat something spicy.”

“Maybe your mum just really had it bad for your dad.” I waggle my eyebrows at her.

Penny groans and laughs at that. “Please stop, you’re making it worse.”

Not bad, but I got stuck a little further down once they got to the restaurant with Baz. Basically, I wanted some tension with Penny not fully on board with how Simon has been handling things and taking it out on Baz. But then I got stuck on how I wanted said tension to go. So then I started another document getting straight into the legal advice. Here is a bit of that:

“That fact of the matter is, Baz broke the law simply by existing as an unregistered vampire,” Penny continues. “According to the Dark Creature Management Code of 2018, any individuals who did not voluntarily come forward and self register within 90 days of either their birth or their turning, depending on the type of creature, was in violation of said code and would be subject to the legal ramifications set forth under—”

“Penny,” I stop her. “We already know all of that. You don’t have to read us the whole law.”

Sigh. This bit gets tricky, too. Basically, I need to lay out what their plan of attack is and how they are going to take on The System. I need to strike a balance between giving the reader enough legal background without it being a snooze fest. (Cue Simon trying to speed her through the legalese to get to the crux of what they need to do.) I started this bit with having Penny compare the World of Mages’ judicial system to the UK at large, assuming it was much like what we have in the US. Upon further research…it is not. And my ability to understand and parse out this differences is limited. Therefore, I am going to have to take out some of these explanations and just lean heavily on my made up WOM system for this fic. Which led to this (slightly aggressive) note to myself in the middle of a scene:

DO I SHORTEN THIS WHOLE THING AS MORE OF A FLASHBACK AND GET US THROUGH THE ADVICE AND THROUGH PENNY DOING SOME SORT OF DONT FUCK THINGS UP FOR SIMON THING TO BAZ SO THAT WE CAN MOVE THE STORY TO THEM GOING TO WATFORD FOR CHARACTER WITNESSES?????

the Watford scene is what I wanted this chapter to really be about. The other stuff is just the lead in to get there. But some of it really is important.

This writing struggle is compounded by the fact that I broke my toe this week, had my car brake down, and I’m in the middle of report card and parent conference season at school. Plus dealing with all of my other obligations with family and such while limping slowly about. Anyways! If you read this far I love you and appreciate your interest in my struggle. 😅 I genuinely enjoy reading posts like this about other writer’s processes and road blocks, because it makes me feel like I’m in good company when the words don’t just flow with ease. If it feels like the muses have temporarily abandoned you, believe me, I get it! Here’s to hoping they bless us again soon. 💛

[melodraca]

Hey! I saw in one of your posts, in the tags, that you were an English major. I'm going to college soon, and I was wondering if you had any advice on picking out your major. What do you like about majoring in English, and what exactly do English majors do? Thank you!

First of all, congrats! That's really exciting! I really hope you enjoy your time in college! Second, this is gonna be a bit long, so I apologize in advance o7

I'm honestly not sure how helpful this is, but for the longest time I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I actually enrolled in university as a mature student a good 5-ish years after I graduated high school. I was so tired of school-related stress (and the way that the public school system functioned in general) that I was honestly considering not even going to post-secondary. I bounced between different potential majors, although I couldn't help but feel tired just thinking about them, like I would be going to school out of obligation or societal expectation rather than genuine passion.

When I came back around to the idea years later, I started poking around my local university's website. As I was going through, reading everything over, and clicking through different subjects, I realized that I was actually really feeling excited about school for the first time... pretty much ever. Because I realized that I had the chance to do things at my own pace, with a focus on subjects that I actually liked, rather than what my family expected would get me a traditionally "good job."

I narrowed my major down to a choice between English and creative writing, but I ultimately went with English. As much as I love creative writing, I prefer doing it as a hobby. It's the same with art for me: getting too serious with it made me feel less passionate and creative (to be fair though, I did take two first year creative writing classes as electives and I am genuinely proud of the stuff I wrote for them!)

With English, I could do my favourite thing in the world: overthinking literature and talking ad nauseam about the media I like. I love rambling, and writing essays is pretty much just organized info-dumping. I also wanted to learn more about history and culture, especially the way that they influence and are influenced by the works of literature, film, etc. of the times. In my experience so far, English classes have mostly consisted of reading or watching a bunch of texts, analyzing them & picking them apart, discussing said texts with my peers, and comparing/contextualizing them with each other. It's way more fun for me than it probably sounds to most people haha

Side note: I'm also taking biology as a minor (specifically with a focus on zoology because I love animals). The contrast between using the more creative and writerly side of my brain, and the more logical sciencey and side works well for me.

I'm still not super career focused, though I have certainly thought about it. I'm on disability support right now, so thankfully I'm fortunate enough to not need to juggle work and school. Ideally, I would love it if my degree landed me a stable job that doesn't make me feel miserable or put the same strain on me that retail and food service do. But I'm kinda just going with the flow for now.

Anyways, that's all to say: look over all of your options and narrow it down to the ones that draw your interest and passion the most. Consider what you want out of school, explore the potential career options that each subject could bring if that's your goal, and generally go with what makes you feel the best.

I know most schools have exploratory courses and academic advisors that can help you figure out what you want to do, so I would definitely look into that! Oh, and look into the required classes for each subject too! It personally helped me organize and prepare for everything I would need to do so that I was less blind-sighted by, as an example, my mandatory statistics class for my biology minor (I'm DEFINITELY not a math person)

Good luck, and I'm sorry again for how long this got! I wish you the best :D