#I'm repeating myself but I really really really don't want to make my fantasy universes fucking homophobic
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I am this 🤏🏻 close to blocking someone on ao3 rn
#do I really have to regurgitate the entire setting of the world for it to make sense#or is the courtship of men BY men only makes sense in omegaverse?#don't know about you but I dont want my AUs to be built on the same homophobia or have ye olden gender roles like irl#yes I'm talking about Treasure#yes someone said ONCE AGAIN that “uhh this is not abo why is stiles like this”#this is a FAIRYTALE it's NOT REAL#i can make men soft if i want to#idk is that like THAT unrealistic and hard to imagine#my god#starting to think this user's imagination is as stiff as a concrete wall#I'm repeating myself but I really really really don't want to make my fantasy universes fucking homophobic#men ARE going to be courted by men#women ARE going to be courted by women#everybody is allowed to court EVERYBODY becasue fuck homophobia#no one would blink a fucking eye#sorry for the rant
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So I am fascinated by how some fandoms just...spontaneously end up with some tropes repeating over and over in fic (especially explicit fics)
Like, I've never been in a fandom that had many coffee shop au's, but I know there are fandoms where they're super popular. There are fandoms with absolutely massive amounts of omegaverse and fandoms with like, none.
And sometimes it's obvious why a particular fandom ends up with a popular fic tropes: Steven Universe fandom has a lot of high-school au's. She-Ra has a lot of university au's. (These are probably the same authors at least some of the time!)
But sometimes it's a complete fucking mystery to me???
And a thought/question about explicit catradora fics under the readmore:
With the obvious disclaimer that I have not read a double-digit percentage of the explicit catradora fics on ao3 (seriously there's 1,668 of them as of right now), I have read uhhh maybe a dozen or two dozen of them?
And I'm dying to know: why is tribbing (i.e. rubbing your vulva on someone's body; sometimes the other person's vulva but in this fandom usually their thigh) so INSANELY COMMON in catradora fics?
I say this knowing that before I even read fics in this fandom, I'd already written my own tribbing scene into my current WIP! So like, I'm including myself here. I didn't even know it was such a huge thing when I wrote it. Like, I think it was the first sex scene I wrote for that fic. So it wasn't just from seeing it in other fics, which would be the obvious reason.
So imagine my surprise and amusement when I started inhaling fics and "rubbing off on each other's thighs" is INCREDIBLY common in catradora fics, whether they're pre-canon or mid-canon or post-canon or non-fantasy au or those au's where they're on modern Earth but all the partially-animal characters are still partially-animal, so like, Catra works an office job but still has cat ears and a tail (I admit I love these)
So now I'm sitting here going: why is that the sex act so many of us write???? Like we might also write oral and fingering and whatever else, don't get me wrong.
If it was just canon-ish fics I could sort of see it: I could imagine a situation where all of us are looking at Catra's claws and possibly-rough tongue and going uhhhhhhh...hm. But...everyone manages to get around that! We decide that Catra can retract her claws. Either her tongue is closer to a human's or Adora's into it lol.
I've had some theories.
My first thought was that rather than "take turns" they can kiss and face each other the whole time? And we really want that for them? (But...there are other sex acts where you can do that.)
But maybe also it's the kind of thing that is the obvious next step when frantically making out (as one might when you finally get to kiss/fuck the person you've loved and wanted most while also actively tried to hurt for the last multiple years...don't mind me just having. feelings. again. ;_;) and not wanting to separate for even a second???
I mean I say this knowing a couple of weeks ago I posted about how the first time I made out with another girl, when I was 17, she shoved her knee into my crotch and I nearly came even though we were both fully dressed lol
So are we all basing it on our own first times with another girl? Because I know that's why I wrote it.
Anyway, likely nobody will see this post lol, BUT, if you read or write she-ra/spop fics lemme know if you've noticed this (like seriously is it just the fics I personally happen to have read?) and if you have theories
Because this is not my first f/f pairing or fandom for which I have read and/or written a ton of fics (lol), but this is the first one where like, nearly every explicit fic has had "rub it out on each other's thighs while making out, either dressed or naked" in it lol
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Get to Know the Mun !
ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘɪᴄᴋ ᴜᴘ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ ᴍᴜꜱᴇ(ꜱ) ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ?
Well, it started with Kaede when I came back (and it was JJK that coaxed me out of retirement), but I took a three-year hiatus from roleplay et al. I didn't feel like I belonged anymore so, meh, left. Decided to focus on a fic (for Kaede ksjdhfs) during that time, some side projects too, but then the idea for the universe this blog focuses on came into being. At first, I just wanted to share it with the homies, but it was so unrefined yet so perfect for OCs, I had to expand and expand and expand - and then I thought, "Why not take it to tumblr, your natural habitat?" So here we are. All of the muses on this blog are rehashings of many many other muses I've had over the years, updated, changed as needed - I wanted to write the oldies without them being old, y'know? I missed them! So I combined some traits from some of them, new faces, etc. Threw 'em all in the pot and fleshed them out a liiiittle bit more through interactions, which only made me want to write them more and now I suffer endlessly (affectionate).
ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ?
Aside from the obvious (graphic noncon, pedophilia, incest)? Not really, I'll write just about anything, even if I hate it. Like, I hate coffee shop AUs, but I'll write in one, y'know? I hate murder, but I'll write one. I hate angst, but I'll drown myself in it for free. I don't believe in limiting myself when authors like GRRM exist, and in order to be a well-rounded writer, imo, you gotta try things that disgust or terrify you (in writing). Research, getting into the heads of bad people to understand them so you can write a better villain or problematic 'good guy', further flesh out a life-changing experience for x character, etcetc. I'm just here to write and expand on established technique, style, storytelling ability, symbolism, stuff like that
ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ?
It depends on some things, but I like to write stories and about characters who recognize the complications and hardships of life, be they with or without reason. Toxic relationships, smut, family life, monologues, horror when it suits me, dealing with trauma of any kind, romance at all, fantasy fantasy fantasy, etc. Can't think of anything super specific; It's really more about the themes I weave into everything. Growth, healing, wounding, what can make them worse, etc. It honestly goes the fuck on.
ʜᴏᴡ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴜᴘ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴꜱ?
I get brainworms. Sometimes from single words, a visual, vague inspiration, video game lore - and I think about it forever until it becomes A Thing against my will ksjdhfs On occasion, I'll just have an idea ready to go, but will have to expand on it later
ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ɪɴ ꜱɪʟᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴀʏ ᴍᴜꜱɪᴄ?
I write with music on. If I don't write with music playing, it's because I have to keep my eyes and ears open for the munchkin and puppies. But I have to have noise playing in the background somehow, somewhere, or I go crazy and get nothing done.
ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴀɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇᴘʟɪᴇꜱ ᴏʀ ᴡɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇᴍ?
I plan almost nothing. I like to have as organic a response as possible for my replies and asks, and developments.
ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ꜱʜɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ?
Oh yes, all the ships, give them to me. I love to ship, as long as the characters have chemistry and develop. I'll ship just about anything if the vibes are right.
ᴡʜᴀᴛ'ꜱ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴀʟɪᴀꜱ/ɴᴀᴍᴇ?
Taro !
ᴀɢᴇ?
Over 25
ʙɪʀᴛʜᴅᴀʏ?
October 27th
ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴏʀ(ꜱ)?
Every purple known to man, black, and teal
ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜱᴏɴɢ(ꜱ)?
You cannot put me on the spot like this. I listen to way, way too much music and have lots of songs I listen to on repeat from trap to metal to dark country to instrumental to r&b, so on and so forth
ʟᴀꜱᴛ ᴍᴏᴠɪᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜᴇᴅ?
Pretty Things, which, uh, was fucking wild.
ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜᴇᴅ?
The Witcher - literally do not @ me.
ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱᴏɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪꜱᴛᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ?
Fight For Me, by AlicebanD
ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜰᴏᴏᴅ?
Potatoes :)
ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜱᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ?
Spring and Fall and nothing else (i do not count the 87346823 other seasons in my state >:/)
ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ᴛᴜᴍʙʟʀ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ?
I have a few tumblr besties! Particularly those I've been writing with for a literal decade, since I first started roleplaying on tumblr ( @elysiumtouched & @melancholymirth , and I love them immensely), but I've made other friends too, and sorta-friends, over the years and enjoy having them around, whether we write all the time and talk or not.
Tagged by: @origami-assassin (and others) ! <3
Tagging: anyone that hasn't done this yet!
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For the Ask Game: Papyrus, Orchid, Cactus, aloe vera, palm tree, and Tarot (mispelled so you instead tell us about a Tarot card you like (any arcana) and why you like it (art, symbolism, personal attachment, etc))
papyrus ⇢ if you put your ‘on repeat’ playlist on shuffle, what’s the first song that comes up? what do you like about it / associate it with?
my current 'on repeat' playlist is a playlist for a fic i'm writing... so let's see.
oh. it's fucking misery - maroon 5 LMAOOOO which is on there mostly as a bit between a friend and i. masque IS in Misery(TM) in that AU.
orchid ⇢ what’s a song you consider to be perfect?
answered previously!
cactus ⇢ something you’re currently learning (about)?
lockpicking... mostly through @notjusthespongenextdoor but hopefully i will learn myself soon
aloe vera ⇢ what’s something (mundane) you really want to experience in life?
i want to go horse riding! i've ridden horses before very briefly but i really wanna do it again.
palm tree ⇢ do you have a fictional villain you shouldn’t like but love regardless?
lmaooo no because i don't believe that anyone "shouldn't" like a fictional character. i love a lot of villain characters; some of them might repulse me and some of them i might find fascinating or interesting or even (god forbid!!!!!!) attractive, it depends, but again... they're fictional characters. people get so weird about things like this and there's a strong "you can like something as long as you're not HORNY about it you FREAK" judgment in fandom that i deeply dislike. if someone finds the guy's horrible abusive behaviour in 50 shades of grey hot because it's a safe fantasy they can engage in even if it would obviously be TREMENDOUSLY UNSAFE AND ABUSIVE in real life, i'm not here to judge them for it. it's a fantasy!
(i will judge their idea of what good writing looks like though LMAO)
ANYWAY though that was a tangent. tldr yeah i dig a lot of villains. i don't like it when people make excuses for their shitty in-universe behaviour or try to downplay it as less awful than it actually is (looking at you, ascended asta.rion + corinth.ian apologists), but i don't like it when people act like you're making a moral choice by enjoying a work of fiction or making your own.
tarot:
the hierophant, purely because i had a character as a teenager with that name for some reason. i literally never did anything with it i just like the word LMAO
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I was going to make a post summing up how the year of 2023 has been for me, but it got too rambly. So, here is the condensed version.
This year can perhaps most succinctly be described as "the year I started playing Final Fantasy XIV and didn't really stop", considering that I already have over 950 hours in it despite only downloading it in April. I am very, very grateful for the many friendships that playing it has allowed me to develop and strengthen.
On a related note, I am very grateful for the friends that I have made and friendships I have retained this year. There are also many people that I enjoy being around even if we haven't ever interacted very much, so.. thank you all for being who you are. It seriously is lovely to see~
Other than that.. university decided to be an onslaught and a half this semester, so I am very much hoping that the fourth-years' advice that it gets successively easier from here on out holds true.
I will readily admit that I am not in as good of a place as I was hoping to be this year, specifically when it comes to Tumblr. I want to be more active here, but it just keeps not being feasible, it seems. One of these days, I will figure out exactly what I'm doing wrong, but that day has yet to come. The one thing I do know is that I am not going anywhere.
My resolution is therefore to try and be more active this year (in terms of making and reblogging posts) compared to last year. The main way I can see myself achieving this is by repeating myself more, as I say a lot on Discord that never ends up on my blogs but could.
I still don't know what song to go into the new year listening to. Last year it was God-Shattering Star, and prior to that it had been either a KIRA song or, one year, Sand Planet. Thankfully, I still have an hour to decide, but still.
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That's a long winded way of saying, "I don't like this show yet I stick around in this toxic relationship I have with it to win or something."
Seriously, everything you said isn't worth it. It sounds like you want to make your own fantasy story not unlike RWBY yet can't get over the latter like a bitter ex-partner.
Are you okay? Legit asking as a concerned citizen.
First things first, I am okay I mean how about you. I'm certain everyone who has been roastin' yo ass since yesterday. Cause daaaaaamn man. I can smell a whole barbecue over there!
But anyway.... to start things off.
Something really tells me you didn't read through the whole fucking reblog and only sent this in. Do I need to repeat it so you can firmly grasp it? Cause certainly you need to grasp it!!
Also since you didnt read through the literal paragraphs about my canon divergence Atlas and Mistral regions and even about Robyn Hill and Ironwoods canon divergence. Oh wait a minute, I think you may not know the definition of canon-divergence. Hold up let me get it for you, okay?
Canon Divergence: a fandom term, used when fanfiction is set in a universe that diverges from the original canon due to changing a character's backstory or the plot overall.
(Note- This can also apply to Roleplaying blogs as myself)
Yeah, its that easy to make a story for Ironwood and Robyn Hill and still make it good for both of them for everyone to enjoy. Not like a pasty ol' Karen and a plot-twist villain in the main canon.
But enough of that but just the fact that you say it isnt worth it towards a VERY strong answer. Kind of tells me that its like: "Oh its not good to match canon." I dont know what kind of world you live in amigo, but it aint one I wanna be on. Also another thing to say is.
People on the RWDE tag can still like certain aspects of RWBY and can still be critical about it at the SAME time. It doesnt hurt to do that and trust me it does not hurt me as I can seriously take the wild bullshit the main canon does and can cook it back out as something incredibly Canon-Divergent and people will like it.
Also what is this weakness man, this weak ask you sent me amigo. Cause I was expecting so so MUCH BETTER. It's no wonder why yo ass is getting cooked in the RWDE tag. man...Like who let you cook?!
Cause I think I turned yo ass into a five star at a five star restaurant with a side of steak that is....
W e l l
T h e
F u ck
D O N E
Now enough of that, now then back to roleplaying for me and also go back to Lilith and cry her a goddamn river why dont ya. Ya fuckin simp!
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ok, so...I know you promised that you're still working on this story that despite myself I am still obsessed with... and I know we won't get a new chapter until it's complete and perfect, but.... how about a tiny preview, like just a few paragraphes, to keep the dream alive?? :D If you don't want to, I understand and no pressure. I will wait until you feel it's ready! xxx
Dear anon!
You are wonderful, thank you so much for still carrying a torch for this story :) It's been a while since I could devote any brain power to writing, or the time for writing as a hobby, when I needed to write for pay (and you guys know I hate writing, so that was too much writing...).
HOWEVER, from time to time me and @madfatty my lovely beta and friend, had been sporadically working on it. We were making real progress... and then I decided to re-work an entire plot point, so now there's even more writing to do 😐
I guess what I'm saying is - as always - it's coming, only very slowly. And yes, dearest anon, as per your request, here's a small part of the next chapter. Note that it's not fully beta-ed! so all mistakes are mine alone. Oh, and you don't get much of anything really interesting (I know what your guys are really interested in wink wink). But hey.
I hope this helps to restore your faith in me... and thank you for asking! 💖💖💖
Shiri
AKA
Witchstuff
Excerpt from Common People, chapter 9
...
Forty minutes later, Rae is feeling a whole lot better. She’s still got tremors in her hands, she can still feel the choking tears in her aching throat, but when you go through a magical door into an alternate universe made of light and noise and people and excited expectation, other shit tends to fade into the background.
Rae’s never felt anything like it before. Every fantasy she’s ever had about attending a big concert to watch proper musicians that she loves, has paled in comparison with the feeling of actually standing in the venue, in the middle of the enormous lobby crowded with people who are just as excited as she is. She’s trying to take it all in, her eyes are gobbling it all up, to remember every moment, every sound.
On the one hand, she’s never been anywhere that’s more her in all her life. The noise, the excitement, the fans practically climbing out of their skin from sheer anticipation; that is exactly how she should spend her life. Band T-shirts and the occasional snippet of excited music-related conversation made her feel she’s finally in her element; these are her people.
On the other hand,it’s all absolutely terrifying. Rae feels uniquely exposed, as if they all can see how clueless she is. As if they all know each other, but she’s a stranger at the party and they can all tell that it’s her first time and that she’s a total poseur who just doesn’t belong.
She’d spent twenty minutes with her back to a wall, as befitting a wallflower who suddenly found herself at the cool kids’ party unprepared. She wants to go exploring, check out the merchandise booth, piled high with Stone Roses garments calling her name. She wants to make eye contact with some of the fans and maybe get into a conversation about her favorite topic. But she just has to hold the wall up, can’t just step away from it, she’s holding her personal sky from falling.
Clasping her hands in a futile attempt to get rid of the tremors, she takes a big breath and shuts her eyes, frantically trying to remind herself this is the best night of her life. They don’t know you, she repeats inwardly, they don’t know you’re not like them. She’s still trying to convince her feet to move, her body to fake confidence and walk to the merch booth, when her ears catch a bit of the conversation taking place not too far from her. “- shouldn’t have worn these dumb clothes. I should’ve put on my own shirt, like that cool girl. Look at her, she’s fucking boss”. “You look hot, though!”, says another girl, sounding apologetic. Her friend’s not having it. Her voice rises in frustration. “I look dumb and I’ve got high heels on, for fuck sake. Is the cool girl wearing high heels? No. She’s got converse on and she looks fucking perfect…” The drive-by convo moves past Rae and now she sees the pretty, leggy blond girl in a hot-pink mini dress throwing adoring looks back her way. Rae almost turns to look for the “cool girl” in question when she realizes in shock, they’re looking right at her. At Rae.
For a few seconds more, she continues to stare blindly at the spot where both girls (proper girls, girly girls, Chloe-type girls, what her mum wants her to be type-girls), had disappeared into the crowd.
They were literally talking about her.
Rae smiles and goes exploring.
+++
She stands in front of the merch booth and she’s close to tears again, this time in frustration at how unfair life is. Every fucking thing on that table is so bloody expensive, Rae would need to go home, get a job, work for a month and come back, and even then she could probably only afford like a key chain or something. She checks out every product anyway, trying to console herself that the designs aren’t that great, that there isn’t that much variety, that she prefers underground stuff made by fans, not corporations… she can almost believe it.
A bored looking sales girl asks if she can help her. Rae pretends that she’s interested in purchasing a T-shirt. And then, it happens. Of all the things that could go wrong, and really, the way this night is going, it could be anything, the one thing she never expected, was that she’d be standing by the merch table, with an impatient sales girl suggesting loudly that she get a Men’s XXL, because “They don’t make women’s shirts in your size”, and that would be the moment she runs into Finn fucking-everywhere Nelson.
#common people fic#common people#chapter 9#snippet#excerpt#mmfd fanfiction#mmfd fanfic#mmfd fic#mmfd#my mad fat diary#rae earl#finn nelson#pride and prejudice fanfiction#pride & prejudice#p&p#p&p au#thanks for ASKing!#writing is haaaaaaaaard
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my top 10 paralive songs in no particular order
hello!! i thought i'd rank my faves before the new content drops in the summer!! so let's go!!
#1 - PARADISE // BAE ft. ISSA: oh man, i LOVE this one. it's feel-good, it's summer party vibes, it's catchy and smooth and everyone blends together SO well in it!! i think the english-japanese mash is super well-done in this song, it literally makes me feel like i'm being called out to have fun and get swept off my feet
#2 - GOOD TIME // COZMES ft. SKY-HI: SKY-HI'S PART ABSOLUTELY SLAPS. OH MY GOD. I COULD LISTEN TO THAT ON REPEAT FOREVER. kanata and nayuta kick off really strong too like holy shit??? i know there are people who don't like that monotone style or too much repetition but it's really soothing to me!! AND THEY DESERVE TO HAVE A GOOD TIME AFTER ALL THE SHIT THEY'VE BEEN THROUGH!!
#3 - JUMPING INTO MY WORLD // Lollipop*universe: you would not BELIEVE the serotonin rush this song gives me . . . it's catchy, it's easy to sing along to, and you can really get a taste of everyone's personal styles, which i think is super cool! and they all genuinely sound like they're having so much fun singing it!! (plus the mv is absolutely adorable LMAO)
#4 - CALL FOR FAMILIEZ // AKANYATSURA: this . . . this song hurts my heart . . . it's so GOOD but it's so PAINFUL and i love it so much!! i get so hyped up for reo's part, i always sing the "FAMILIA" along with him LMFAO. and i really like how his singing contrasts with the flow of the song!! it makes it much catchier imo. iori's part also really sells it for me bc. well. ajksdljkadaDJK i do not think i need to say anymore than that!!!
#5 - GIRAGIRA CANDY NIGHT // CLUB CANDY: this song fucks!! it fucks hard!! like if it had a physical body it would do unspeakable things!! once again iori's voice comes out on top like UGH the way he sings <333 also that part where everyone comes together one after the other?? i LOVE that it's so cool!!
#6 - Why do you like me? // Beauty & Beast: okay anyone who says they don't like this song HAS to be lying. like. the others are all my personal opinion but the objective truth for "Why do you like me" is that it is perfect!! it's so pretty and soothing and the VULNERABILITY that anne shows in it . . .
#7 - CHILLIN' // HOKUSAI WITH AKANKYATTSURA: this one also brings me serotonin but in like!! a chill way!! reo's part also reminds me of how he is in "CALL FOR FAMILIEZ" in that it goes against how everyone else usually matches the flow, and i love that!! also the little "HAI SANSEI" in the bg are so cute?? this song just makes me feel better about myself and life in general tbh it's a lovely reminder to slow down and relax
#8 - WAVIN' FLAG // BAE: wavin' flag literally sounds like it belongs in a fantasy rebellion overthrow-the-government movie. like. it's THAT powerful. everything about it goes so hard and i have a lot of respect bc of that!! also it's just really catchy and another fun one to sing along with LMAO
#9 - For my Stella // VISTY: another song that i'm pretty sure nobody hates LMFAO. it's so bright and fun and lovely and the mv is very pretty to watch!! also aoi's part is so soothing wtf. i want them and reo just fucking up songs with their contrasts and blowing everyone else out of the water
#10 - EMBLEM // BAE + BURAIKAN IS BACK // BURAIKAN: okay so . . . i kind of cheated with this one bc i really could not decide between the two LMFAO. emblem is so sweet and fun and i love singing along to it, and the confidence boost it gives me helps a lot!! plus the mv is so aesthetically pleasing like wtf. buraikan is back is like. weirdly seductive and haunting and dark and it sucks you in like a black hole. plus the fact that the music is used for the intro videos??? IT'S SUCH A STRONG WAY TO INTRODUCE PPL LIKE WTF
#paradox live#paralive#sou says stuff#cozmez#kanata yatonokami#nayuta yatonokami#bae#allen sugasano#hajun yeon#anne faulkner#visty#shogo yamato#toma hikage#aoi kureha#kantaro misuji#akanyatsura#iori suiseki#reo maruyama#hokusai masaki#zen gaho#satsuki ito#buraikan#chisei kuzuryu#haruomi shingu#also included:#shiki ando#ryu natsume
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Fighting off a cold, with mucus that doesn't budge unless I walk around with a hot towel over my head like a bargain basement cult leader. I listen to almost every interview I can find with Yeonmi Park, a woman my age who perilously fled North Korea in her adolescence. A cosmetically altered face and chest makes her almost unbearably attractive, like a doll designed and marketed in the early 2000s. She describes some of the most violent acts humans can inflict on each other with a quiet intelligence. Park has gone from eating grasshoppers and flowers out of desperate state-sanctioned starvation, to being a cam girl in China, to trekking across the Gobi desert, to reading every book worth reading, to writing a memoir with a Jordan Peterson foreword, to raising a son in America. If anybody was going to make me feel unaccomplished at thirty years old, it's this bitch. People no longer escape North Korea successfully, making it harder and harder to know what is taking place there. And even when the West learns the details, we shut our traps when it comes to angering China, who sponsor the North Korean regime. Park is shocked, when studying at Columbia University in 2016, that her professors dream of communism as a solution to America's ills. She recalls a game she used to play with her sister while they were starving as children, where they'd out-eat one another in a fantasy meal. "I could eat 100 loaves of bread", "Well I could eat 500". She says she had no concept of what her stomach could handle as a child, never having experienced fullness. She arrives in America to an obesity crisis. North Koreans are distinct from South Koreans because of their 3-4 fewer inches of height, from malnutrition. At a restaurant she wants big portions. She struggles with freedom. She was not raised with any notion of romantic, since no such word existed in the North Korean language. None for "friend" either, only "comrade"
I don't really believe in stories of extreme suffering being a viable tool for gratitude. The father who takes his anorexic daughter to Auschwitz for "perspective" is an idiot. And yet seeing or hearing someone who has experienced both sides of the privilege seesaw, both the abject survival mode and the option of going to Burning Man, it is a good reminder of what I have when I'm too busy having it to be thankful. It is also useful to know Park decided not to go to Burning Man when asked, proof that just because something is on offer does not mean you always have to seize it, especially if it's a music festival
The half rain / half sleet doesn't stop for one second on Wednesday. I get a cab back to home turf and then a massage and almost refuse to leave the table when I've been towelled down by a Thai woman named Kim. I have even come to enjoy the fact that they only have one relaxing song on file, which plays on repeat and has done since I began patronising the joint 3 years ago. I walk myself home and have bone broth delivered, glad that it's not grasshoppers, and that I know romantic love, and that I don't starve because of the government but rather of my own volition which is how we do it in the West
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Public Service Announcement:
I've been noticing for some time now, and quite a bit lately, that many of you are going around being openly prejudiced and making incorrect generalizations about other people (including me).
What I'm seeing is some people who have incomplete data coming up with conclusions that are incorrect and being quick to shout them from the mountain tops... and in doing so attempting to tear down whomever they have incorrectly prejudged.
This is a bit disheartening to me because it's an indication that these people don't understand how inductive reasoning works.
The more data you have, the more accurate your conclusions will be... but if you don't actually take the time to collect as much factual data as possible and fill in empty spaces with your own theories and fantasies instead, you are going to be wrong the majority of the time (if not all of the time).
You may be wondering why this matters to me since I tend to ignore people as much as possible who prejudge me and make incorrect generalizations about me; I see them as spiritual children so I forgive them for their ignorance and do my best to lead by example. I'd rather spend my energy engaging with people who are open-minded and spend their energy getting to know me and others as individuals versus trying to fit any human being into a pre-existing box ASAP. This is why I identify as a fluid being and pretty much always have when put on the spot.
This all matters to me because of my vision of humanity living in harmony, even though I don't take the actions of others personally in any shape or form. I know what anyone else does is out of my control and is a reflection of where they are in their evolutionary journey in consciousness.
I realize that most people are not as forgiving and understanding as I am... and that they tend to take being prejudged and generalized incorrectly personally, which leads to us being divided versus united - as we are meant to be since we are ALL different aspects/degrees of the same ONE Life that keeps transmuting Itself.
I'm asking everyone that reads this post to please slow down and NOT rush to judge anyone you engage with and label them, because by doing so you limit your experiences with them as well as actually knowing the truth of who they really are. No two people are identical, not even identical twins. We all have different experiences, personalities, and beliefs.
I know this is not an easy request, but it is possible for anyone earnest. It starts by taking control of the ego and admitting that you don't know anything and often times we must repeat this step until it becomes a habit. I've been through this process several times and I know it can be scary. I even had an identity crisis over a decade ago which had me questioning my own existence... but I'm so grateful that I admitted to myself that I don't know anything and have been eager to learn as much as possible ever since. It has helped me to attain peace, health, love, clarity, and courage in my life which no one can ever take away from me. I too hope that whoever else wants to attain those states of being will do the necessary work.
As always, I am here for those of you who would like some extra support in making these sorts of transformational changes in a sustainable manner. I mentor people one-on-one and teach them the universal principles that I apply in my day-to-day life to help me navigate Life as gracefully as possible.
Love, Logic, and Liberty,
Sorinne - Healer-in-Chief
#sorinne ardeleanu#sorinne2020#healer in chief#soul food for thought#self control#personal responsibility#know thyself#evolution of conscioiusness
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11 questions
tagged by @writergurll
1. What is your favourite writing quote?
I.... don't collect quotes. I could Google one right now but that's not the same because I won't feel any long-term connection to it. but my favorite writing advice derived from a quote is the equivalent of "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take" because you can't edit words that aren't there. write and keep writing, it can be good later, now you just want there to be enough words to work with
2. What is the name of your childhood favourite book?
Hmm Ender's Game was a favorite. as were the Harry Potter books.
3. When did you start writing?
the first time I wrote a story and cared about it, not just because it was required for class, was probably 7th grade? but I've been crafting stories to lull myself to sleep with for years, at least as young as 3rd grade. and now a solid half of my writing process is zoning in to that same narrated imaginationland that I tell my bedtime stories from, and crafting the story in a similar way (the thing with actually writing it down later is, now it does matter whether the story is self-consistent.)
4. Do you listen to music when you write?
usually, yeah. I have found what works best for me is putting on soundtracks from video games I haven't played. video game music is designed to be played on repeat, to complement but not distract from a task. and if it's music from video games I haven't played, then I don't get distracted remembering what I loved about the game. (the times I don't listen to music it's usually because everything is too distracting. music is too distracting, silence is too distracting, the surface I'm sitting upon is too distracting... on those days I get a cold drink and write in silence and hope and pretend I'm a functional writer. alternately I was so ready to write I put in my headphones and got in the zone and wrote 4 pages before I realized I was still listening to silence)
5. Who is your favourite character to write?
oooh, good question.
I like to write observant characters, because whether or not they're correct in their observations, it forces me to think about how truths can be misconstrued or hidden, or whether they're obvious to all or just to those who look. It also gives me an excuse to over-describe everything, when the character is observant enough to notice and mentally comment on all the details I want to add.
but also I like writing any characters when I have a strong sense of their voice, enough to be confident that I'm writing them in character
6. How do you come up with names for your characters?
I write a lot of fanfiction which makes names mostly a moot question, but when I am actually generating character names, I've got a few methods:
for a fantasy universe with names that resemble American names but aren't actually recognizable, I kinda just babble gibberish that also sounds vaguely like names until something sounds right. Then I repeat it a few times to make sure it still sounds right, and modify if needed. (...often I realize weeks or months later that a name sounds like something else and I'm surprised with myself for not noticing the similarity and then I second guess the character's name. once I wound up with a character whose name turned out to be the brand on the water fountains at my school.)
if I'm writing vaguely modern English or white-American names, I'll go through names I know and try them out, filtering by how pretentious the name sounds against family background.
and when I have to come up with names with other backgrounds I'll use baby naming websites or lists of "25 most common names in [country]
7. What’s your favourite book?
heck that's a really good question. I like lots of books. usually whatever I'm reading at the time is my "favorite" unless it's awful.
idk if I have a permanent favorite book, but the Harry Potter, Belgariad, Xanth, Pern, and Ender series all really shaped my sense of storytelling
8. What is your favourite part of writing?
either when I have a great idea and I get it down on paper/into a document before that initial burst of inspiration fades, or seeing people's reactions to my work, or occasionally just rereading something I wrote months or years prior and just enjoying it as much then as I did at first.
9. Who is a writer you look up to?
As much as I don't like his politics, I have been really drawn into nearly everything I've read of Orson Scott Card's (if I was old enough to Get It. tbh most of the Ender sequels went over my head bc I read them too young). and that's something I aspire to, to be so skillful, and to weave such a compelling story, that even people who want to dislike me are willing to kinda ignore that and forget it and pick up something I wrote just because my name's on it so they trust it to be good
10. Which genre is favourite to read?
when I was younger I liked both fantasy and sci fi pretty equally, but even though they can overlap, the tone is so different between the genres that I tend to prefer fantasy
11. How did you come up with your current wip?
lol which one? all my current wips are fanfiction (the last original piece I had half a plot for, I outlined and then abandoned during high school). usually I'll watch an episode or a movie and come away imagining "what if..." and if I get enough of a divergence from the original and I still feel strongly that I think it's worth writing, I'll start writing it up. I've started pieces because they were happening in my imaginationland and I wanted to force the scenes to be completed. occasionally I let a character (OC or fandom) work through a crisis I'm trying to pretend isn't happening in my own life. Several of my crossovers are inspired by "those characters should interact, it would be funny/drama-prone/intriguing/etc" (eg Julie Kwan & Hermione Granger: more-than-competent, sarcastic, academic friends. sounds excellent. OACET agent & Jodie Starling: time for (supposedly ex-)FBI shenanigans and Conan can be the one out of the loop for once. just things like that that sound like something interesting will happen) sometimes it's based on fandom commentary I've read (what if the Dursleys died instead and Lily and James raised Dudley) or just straight up "write the thing you want to read" (my long wip right now is because I got hooked on a trope and few of the fics were complete and none of them contained twists I thought would fit so I'm writing my own).
inspiration comes from lots of places and then it all kinda gets filtered through "what do I spend more than a single afternoon polishing in imaginationland?" and what survives is usually what I write.
anyway I'm not organized enough to have a taglist. I imagine I'm supposed to tag 11 people? but maybe @knightbusofdoom or @elizabethsyson to answer questions? no pressure.
and anyone else that wants can either do it and tag me or dm me and I'll edit you in so you're properly tagged
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del's january challenge day 2: about the blogger
my introduction was only about a week ago, but oh well, here it goes :D
my name is Eszter
i'm 19 but i'll turn 20 soon and it feels kinda weird (i could hardly get used to being 18+ lol)
i'm aquarius sun with virgo rising
i'm in the 2nd year of my studies at university (english major, language technology specialization)
my fav part of the semester is to plan my schedule (my major gives us a lot of freedom with it, so it's really fun to read the course descriptions, check what others say about the teachers, and finally choose which courses i'm going to take)
my mbti type is intp but uni is making me organized and wanting to plan everything
i have a sister who is 1,5 years younger than me and she's probably going to major in chemistry or biology
fun fact: i have an advanced level gcse in biology. yeah, i study humanities, i had no use for it at all
i'm actually terrible at literature, let me just read in peace without having to analyze it
i played the clarinet for 9 years and i'm a member of my hometown's wind orchestra
in the last 2 years i've been literally listening to the same 4 artists on repeat
i like classical music (but almost exclusively impressionism and modern)
i like fluffy things
my main blog is kind of a disaster, you can find almost everything there lol
i enjoy fantasy and sci-fi the most, and i avoid romance
i want to write novels. also, i never write
i love walking in th city and looking at the beautiful palaces/old buildings, it's a shame i don't do it very often
i am very interested in the history of languages, i sometimes look up word etimology for fun, and maybe i want to learn old english
ravenclaw pride. my patronus would be some cat, but it's totally different every time
tea enthusiast (but i like coffee too, especially the sugary thingies like caramel lattes)
#epicanthicfold (also no makeup skills)
i want to cut my hair but i plan to wait for the good weather
i'm terrible with writing facts/talking about myself... although i almost never know what to talk about, or how, i'm a huge introvert
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My 100 Favorite Albums of the 2000s: #100-#91
Hi all. As you can tell from the title of this blog post, I am about to take you off on quite a tangent. Music is in the works (both the completion of Lights & Reflections and the first full-length Harsh Lights album), but currently I find myself sitting up into the early morning hours with a newborn while my wife tries to get some uninterrupted sleep. So I am taking the opportunity to finally post this ridiculously long-winded writing project that I embarked on last year. The actual list-making and blurb-penning has been done for many months now, but I never took the time to format and post it. So here I am with some free time, getting around to finishing this undertaking!
As you may have seen, I decided to join in the fun at the turn of the decade and make a list of my favorite albums from 2010-2019. I wrote about my top 20 albums of the decade, and had a blast revisiting those records and sharing a little bit about why they are special to me. However, the most surprising part of the process for me was that choosing 20 albums to represent that ten-year period was...pretty easy? I started my career in late 2009, so the entire past decade I've been working full-time, pursuing my own music in my spare time, and more or less adulting. I've definitely listened to a ton of great albums, but it's hard to find music that truly excites you as an adult the way that it did in your formative years. The whole time I was crafting my list, I was thinking about how much more difficult (and rewarding) a task it would have been to compile a list for the previous decade, spanning 2000-2009.
So of course, not long after posting my 2010-2019 list I got to work compiling my favorite albums of the aughts. That 10-year period starts when I was 12 years old and wraps up as I was starting my post-college career. Pretty much my entire journey of musical discovery and growth occurred during those years. I had little in the way of responsibilities, and for most of the decade I ravenously consumed an absolutely enormous amount of music. Multiple hours worth on an average day. I was still buying physical CDs all throughout those years, so I really focused on each album I purchased, giving them many repeat listens and learning them intimately. And so much of what I heard was new and fresh to my ears. At 12 years old, there were so many sounds and styles of music that I had yet to encounter, and all of those first experiences and coming of age moments left lasting impressions.
Suffice to say, putting together a top 20 list of albums to represent that 10-year period was nearly impossible. I knew I would have to make a larger list to feel like I was doing justice to even a fraction of the albums that impacted me in that decade. What I eventually arrived upon after making an initial list of albums and then cutting it down quite a bit...was 100. Yes, I'm going to write about my favorite 100 albums from 2000-2009. And I'm going to have a damn good time doing it. Most of my favorite albums ever will be contained in this list, and most of them are wildly underappreciated, in my opinion. For the sake of keeping each post to a manageable length, I will be posting 10 albums at a time, starting with numbers 100-91 below. Walk with me down memory lane in countdown form, and I hope you can enjoy me waxing poetic about 100 albums that were staples of my young life. Let's get nostalgic.
100. Paris Texas - Like You Like an Arsonist (2004)
There are hundreds of albums that I could have picked to round out my list here in the final spot, but I wanted to shine a light on this poppy punk rock record from 2004. It doesn't do anything particularly groundbreaking, but it's a really fun take on the genre and it didn't get the recognition that it deserved. "Bombs Away" and the title track are absolute barnburners. What a shame that the band broke up shortly after this album was released. I remember reading a review of Like You Like an Arsonist around the time of its release that criticized it for sounding like a collection of songs that could blend seamlessly into the soundtrack of a blockbuster action movie. Looking back, I agree with the reviewer's assessment, but I see it as high praise.
99. Greenwheel - Soma Holiday (2002)
In 2002, you could throw a shoe and hit a band that sounded much like Greenwheel, a radio-ready alternative rock outfit with some heavy riffs and a throaty lead singer. But these guys stood above many of their contemporaries on Soma Holiday, their only major label release. (Their independent EP Bridges for Burning and never-released second full-length Electric Blanket both hinted at a sustainable career that didn't come to fruition.) This album had enough muscle for the rock kids ("Shelter" and "Strong") and enough sweetness for the emo kids ("Dim Halo" and "Breathe," which was later recorded and popularized by Melissa Etheridge). What could have been.
98. Sleeping at Last - Ghosts (2003)
It's been almost 10 years since Sleeping at Last became a solo project for Ryan O'Neal, releasing themed singles that make up overarching concept albums and EPs. Though the output from the current incarnation of the band is beautiful and soothing, the minimalist and orchestral style is a far cry from Ghosts, Sleeping at Last's one major label album. At the time they were a three-piece featuring guitars, bass, and drums alongside O'Neal's piano and distinct vocals. Ghosts features an uncommon blend of cinematic, ethereal, and earnest indie rock that just seemed to go deeper than its peers in 2003.
97. Taking Back Sunday - Where You Want to Be (2004)
I've never been a huge fan of Taking Back Sunday, though of course I rocked the singles from Tell All Your Friends like any self-respecting high-schooler in 2002. It was the follow-up, 2004's Where You Want to Be, that really got its claws in me after I picked it up on release week. With a killer opening trio of "Set Phasers to Stun," "Bonus Mosh Pt. II," and "A Decade Under the Influence" giving way to ballads like "New American Classic" and "...Slowdance on the Inside," this is just a great rock record.
96. Sherwood - A Different Light (2007)
A Different Light is a bright, summery, buoyant pop album full of smooth vocal harmonies, glistening guitars, and shimmering synths. Sure, the lyrical content isn't all rainbows and butterflies, but if you could capture the sound of pure positivity and optimism, it would sound a lot like this record. Between the singalong melodies, handclaps, and "whoa-oh"s, if you don't have a good time listening to A Different Light then music might not be the right medium for you.
95. Young Love - Too Young to Fight It (2007)
I'm fairly certain that Young Love, the dance-rock side project of beloved post-hardcore band Recover's frontman Dan Keyes, was not at all well-received. But for someone with no preconceived notions or attachments to Keyes' previous work, I thought this album was a hell of a lot of fun. In a world where Young Love made a mainstream impact, alternate-universe Kyle can be seen storming the dancefloor to the title track or "Discotech." Too Young to Fight It also gives us the smooth R&B of "Tell Me," the indie rock of "Take It or Leave It," and the experimental and apocalyptic "Tragedy." This is so much more than a dance album, and if it hadn't been released by a musician with strong ties to the hardcore scene it would have had a fighting chance of being recognized as such.
94. Vendetta Red - Sisters of the Red Death (2005)
Vendetta Red frontman Zach Davidson has one of the most dynamic hard rock voices I've ever heard, and Sisters of the Red Death is one of the catchiest rock records I've ever heard. Despite those facts, I have a complicated relationship with this album because of its often-horrifying lyrical content, which details acts of sexual violence and gore. That's usually a dealbreaker for me, but I won't completely write off this record since it is a concept album set in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world. Apparently female empowerment is at the core of the message, so it's not like Vendetta Red are condoning the acts that they're singing about. It's still a bit unnerving when you get the urge to sing along to one of the plethora of earworm melodies throughout this album and then realize exactly what you're singing. While I may not have the stomach for Sisters of the Red Death in 2021, I can still wholeheartedly recommend "Silhouette Serenade," which contains all of the awesomeness with none of the gross-out lyrics.
93. Ours - Distorted Lullabies (2001)
Now 20 years into his career, Ours frontman Jimmy Gnecco is surely tired of being compared to Jeff Buckley. But damn, he really does sound like Jeff Buckley. And when you're being compared to one of the all-time great voices in rock music, that's not such a bad thing. Distorted Lullabies is the first proper Ours album, and it's filled with melodic rock songs that highlight Gnecco's incredible range. As the saying goes, I could listen to Gnecco sing the phonebook (those were still around in 2001!), but put his powerful and emotive voice on dynamic rock songs like "Sometimes" and "Meet Me in the Tower"? Yes, please.
92. Armor for Sleep - What to Do When You Are Dead (2005)
This here is an emo concept album about a boy who commits suicide and his experience in the afterlife. Despite the overwrought subject matter, the songs on What to Do When You Are Dead are carefully crafted and interesting. "Car Underwater" is a scene classic, and my favorite track might be the keyboard-centric interlude "A Quick Little Flight." Armor for Sleep seemed a bit more thoughtful in their songwriting and arrangements than many of their contemporaries.
91. Cauterize - Paper Wings (2005)
The single "Something Beautiful" led me to Cauterize's 2003 major label debut So Far from Real, but upon purchasing the album I found that the rest of the tracks didn't live up to that song's high bar. Not so with the independently-released follow-up Paper Wings, which was just full of emo rock songs that I absolutely devoured in 2005. This was actually the first album that I had to order online because it wasn't sold in stores. I remember the surreal feeling of the CD showing up in the mailbox, and that first experience attached some additional meaning to Paper Wings. It doesn't hurt that it features propulsive songs like "Wake to the Sun," "Closer," and "Tremble." Cauterize later signed to another label and re-recorded most of these songs for Disguises, which rejiggered the tracklist and added a few new tunes. Even though the production might be a little better on Disguises, I always preferred the Paper Wings versions and the flow of the original tracklist. There's nothing like the first time.
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How did you develop your writing style? It's so unique and descriptive. Did you take inspiration from anyone and build on that, or was it more like writing until you gradually became better at it? I'm having a crisis because I want to develop a distinct writing style, but I don't know how. I don't know if you can compare it to an artist finding their style or not, so I don't really know what to expect. eh, sorry if this didn't make any sense (ᵕ̣̣̣̣̣̣﹏ᵕ̣̣̣̣̣̣)
Very interesting ask.
Thank you for the kind words in the beginning of your ask, first of all. I think this is a very important thing to address for writers in general because it’s a struggle that we all go through at one point. And, for others, it’s a constant battle… for most, if not all, it’s a necessity.
I’ll be answering this in two parts, because one is more personal while the other is more objective. I hope that these answers and thoughts will help in some capacity.
We’ll go with the objective one first. (This will be long. Sorry. I can’t answer this question in a short way without any depth.)
. Where Do You Aim When Crafting Your Writing Style? .
Anon, if I were to be honest, the actual act of aiming to develop a distinct style, rather than focus on developing your craft in terms of grammar, syntax, and variation in imagery, leads to obstacles more than anything.
I know from personal experience that being obsessed with being different (and this is more recent in my years as a developing writer, rather than towards the beginning) prolongs the frustrations and even causes writers to stumble and overthink about their style.��
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve struggled with enjoying my own writing because of my very descriptive use of words and imagery, even though that’s what differentiates me as a writer.
(And there are plenty of flaws that develop with every single style, and I can tell you a dozen frustrations I have for every one positive thing I like about my own. Of course, that will be expanded on later.)
The first step into coming into your own writing style, Anon, is understanding that trying too hard to emulate another’s style will only halt you in crafting your own. There is nothing wrong with drawing influence and finding inspiration in authors, of course, because that’s how we function.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to be similar or even outshine the authors we admire, whether it’s in terms of the actual style itself, the content, the plots, the characters, the settings, etc. In fact, it’s encouraged for writers to explore the secrets and methods that the most esteemed and successful authors use, because that’s where you learn.
Writing is, in fact, an extremely meticulous and even mechanical process. There is a sort of science (if you want to view it that way) to the way stories are structured, how certain styles work with certain readers and so on.
Your motivations behind why you want to develop a distinct style should be made clear before you move forward with practicing and continuously exploring what you have to offer for yourself, rather than your wish to imitate other people.
Now, there are countless different ways you can discuss the writing styles of different authors. For one thing, there’s a very descriptive elegance and simple depth that is often found in the works of Ian McEwan, for instance, the author of Atonement, Nutshell, and Sweet Tooth.
His style is very heavy on summarization of his characters, almost, which can either draw the reader in or immediately turn them off. Some absolutely despise this style because they claim it lacks depth or connection between the reader and the characters.
I absolutely love Ian McEwan. I’m one of millions of readers who enjoy his style, and I oppose the viewpoints of millions of readers who absolutely detest his style. But what makes Ian McEwan Ian McEwan is… well, Ian McEwan’s writing style and process.
When you criticize or praise Ian McEwan, you’re not criticizing his style for emulating J.K. Rowling or George R.R. Martin or C.S. Lewis or any other writer, but your’e criticizing and praising him for his style. He is well into his own work because, through being influenced and learning from his own idols, he’s grown into his own style.
Ian McEwan’s style, not a… say, “polished imitation of Rowling or Martin.”
It’s just his own.
This is a very important differentiator because it’s incredibly easy to become enveloped in the idea of wanting to be the “next J.K. Rowling” or the “next Stephen King.” I guarantee that it happens to every writer, and maybe my opinion isn’t exactly universally viewed as accurate in this regard, but I think this is a dangerous way to view writing.
Desperately trying to emulate another’s style through forced, unnatural and exhausting means, leads to burnouts and a quick recession of passion and even frustration that you can’t even pinpoint as a writer.
You will often ask yourself: “Why isn’t this working? I’m doing exactly what my favorite author is doing!”
And that, right there, is where you know you’ve slammed headfirst into a wall.
Do you write because you want to express the style of a different author? Or do you write because you want to express yourself?
Most, if not all, writers would say: “well, obviously myself. Why else would I write? I’m not trying to copy every other person out there.”
Of course writers aren’t always actively trying to do just that, but sometimes it’s inevitable when you’re focused so intensely on wanting to create your own style amidst a pool of millions of writers who could not be more different. Sure, some styles are going to be similar no matter what, but there are always elements that show your personality as the author in your work.
You should write, ultimately, for yourself first before anyone else. Thus, your style should be, ultimately, you.
How do you become a better writer? You read and you write every day. It’s a simple, yet very tasking process, and part of what, of course, draws from us, as writers, to look to our idols and what causes us to create a new style based off of what we know.
It’s the basic fundamental of writing, from beginners to the most advanced and successful published authors around (and beyond).
So, instead of aiming to mimic other styles and trying too hard to emulate your favorite authors, start with drawing inspiration from them and just… losing yourself, to a few tries. In order to evolve into your own style, you must freely write and just let your typing/writing fingers speak for themselves.
It’s a very daring process and it’s extremely difficult to do, especially for over-thinkers like myself, but trust me, the payoff is absolutely rewarding.
[ Alright, moving on to the more personal aspect. There will be answers that aren’t explored in this one because they should be exemplified more in the second half of this post. Fair warning. ]
. So, Let’s Talk About the Relationship Between Style and Writer .
Oh, boy.
Honestly, this ask resonated so much with me personally that it’s difficult to write all of this out, but it’s important. And, as much as I actually detest and obsess over changing my style each and every day, there’s something I need to make clear about how it works in general.
My style actually fluctuates depending on which tense I’m writing.
In fanfiction, I often write in present-tense. Why? It’s fast. It’s quick. It immediately appeals to the senses and allows more freedom and control over the characters in how they move, talk, etc. It also motivates me to write faster because this type of style emulates how I dabbled in poetry, which I’m very fond of.
My writing is… very descriptive, yes, but this started out as my biggest flaw. In fact, it’s still considered a flaw.
Sometimes I use far too many adverbs and far too many words to reach a certain point, and overly describe each scene and movement between characters because of how specific and vivid my visions are for each story.
It’s part of my controlling nature as a writer. Boohoo, I’m a horrible person. Whatever.
Usually when I reread my drafts (which is either obsessively repeated or not done at all…) I cut away the excess descriptions because, ever since I started writing, I would over-write. I was desperate and even more insecure in my craft, and it showed.
When I write original works, I write in the past-tense. And, strangely enough, my style just… changes.
It’s often recommended not to have different writing styles for certain settings. If I had to simplify my style I would say it’s very descriptive and is pretty minute in what it pays attention to, but it can get lost in the fray and is usually best observed between character interactions and descriptions of scenes upon envisioning them for the first time.
My past-tense style, when compared side-by-side with my present-tense, holds some key similarities but are, ultimately, quite different. It’s more blunt, still highly visual and sensual, but it is still, essentially, my style.
Everyone develops their style in a different way and over time through practice and just… discovering what you enjoy most about writing.
Do you love appealing to the senses the most?
Do you love imagining landscapes and describing the different ways a sunset or sunrise can look?
Do you love architecture? Buildings? Moss on the walls? Thorns on a vine? What roses smell like in winter if they still retain their fragrance?
Do you love witty banter and short, snappy descriptions and fast-paced action?
Do you love dialogue more than the setting?
Do you love the setting more than the dialogue?
Do you love both equally and seek a balance?
Do you love slow-building drama and angst?
Do you love describing economics and politics?
Do you love describing romance and sex?
Do you love laying out emotions as they are bluntly or relating them to more palpable things?
Do you love fantasy? Contemporary? Thriller? Mystery? All of them? Everything and anything in-between?
Do you love more minute or expanded details?
Do you love skipping over details in general and just going straight to the point?
Do you love writing?
All of these aspects and many, many more, make up the many different styles that writers wield and hone to their own ability each and every day. It requires discipline, a lot of practice, insight, and willingness to delve deep into oneself and think: “will I like reading what I put down?”
Be honest with yourself. Experiment. Try new things. It’s normal to be confused and stuck in a rut, Anon. I struggle with my own style every day and obsess over it far too much, but it’s a constant uphill battle with unimaginable rewards when you start coming more and more into those moments where you can lean back and loudly proclaim:
“Yes. I fucking wrote that, and it’s brilliant. I love this style and I’m going to keep using it and building on it and making it the best of what it can be because it’s mine and I want to be proud of it.”
Good luck, Anon. And to anyone else reading this! I hope it provided some value! Thank you for the wonderful question and I wish you the absolute best.
#So Drained#From Writing That#So Worth It Though#Writing Styles#Writing#Write Write Write#Advice#DriftingGlass#Ask DriftingGlass#Anonymous#I Hoped This Helped#What Style Means the Most to You#Wannabe Novelists#Writers Who Dream#Developing#Learning#Try New Things#Read#Write#Don't Ever Stop#Write Every Day#Read Every DAy
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I really really love your old Don't hug me I'm scared stories on Ao3, they are my very favorite to read. Do you have any tips for an aspiring writter? I'm only 14 but I really want to be a writter some day, I write a lot of fanfiction but I don't think they're very good and they never get more than one or two reads and never any comments. I'm not sure what I can do to improve myself. (Sorry I hope my English is okay.)
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Thank you so much for your message! I’m gladto hear that you like my stories, and I’m very flattered to be asked for advice. It got me thinking, and I ended up writing out a LOT so I’m sorry for how long this is, but bear with me:
#1) Read Read Read. The only way tobe a good writer is to be a good reader.
That’s really my best advice for anyone. Read as much and as widely as you can.
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Style & Language:
- Start in the middle of theaction (google in media res)
- The more you practice the moreyou’ll develop a voice of your own
- Think about tense (past orpresent?) and about point-of-view
- Who’s telling the story? Whatdo they know? What do they observe? What kind of vocabulary do they have andwhat does it say about their personalities? (e.g. Tony’s language is always morearchaic and formal than Paige’s, because he’s more uptight)
- Is your narrator reliable, orfooling themselves, or fooling the reader?
- Get a great opening sentence to catch the reader’s attention, and a closing sentence that gives some emotional closure to the story.
- Keep it simple, and keep yourdialogue believable. The best advice I read about that was a writer named SarahBunting saying that someone should be paid to sit down with writers and repeatand repeat the words People Don’t TalkLike That.
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Characters & Plot:
“Every character should want something,even if it’s only a glass of water” – Kurt Vonnegut
- Make your audience do thework. Don’t spell everything out. Drophints. Instead of saying “Bob felt nervous and scared to speak up” say “Bobshuffled his feet and cleared his throat twice before speaking”
- That being said, if you dodrops hints, make sure they pay off later (see Chekov’s gun)
- The mood of the story is justas important as the plot. What kind of emotions do you want your readers tofeel? I’d say it’s more important for the reader to feel satisfied even ifthere are some plot holes.
- There are a lot of boring booksand movies where “the fate of the whole universe is at stake” – but if thecharacters don’t act like they care, neither will the reader.
- What’s more dramatic, a bombunder the table that explodes suddenly out of nowhere, or a bomb slowly tickingunder a table that only the audience knows about?
“Not “A happened, then B happened” but “B happened, because A happened””
- Film Crit Hulk
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Some of your stuff you’ll like better thanothers. That’s fine. That’s normal. I’ve written lots of stuff I really don’t like. Youcan always put it away and write something new. Write one scene. One sentence that sticks in your mind. Have fun.
Don’t worryabout notes or reblogs. They don’t mean that you’re not talented.
A few resources:
Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Rules for Writing
Film Crit Hulk This guy is a professional screenwriter and has some deep thoughts about language, plot, and how to craft stories. HIGHLY recommend.
Wired for Story I’m reading this book for work right now. Very useful.
Authors to Read:
- Yann Martel
- Agatha Christie (a master oftightly structured plots)
- Neil Gaiman
- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
- Jorge Luis Borges (read his short story The Library of Babel and let me know what you think)
- Guy Gavriel Kay (if you like beautiful, slightly sad and gorgeously written fantasy)
- Pablo Neruda (love poems that are achingly perfect and completely unsentimental)
- Shakespeare (still the very best)
Hope that’s useful, please feel free to come by and chat any time!
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An ode to the playlist of my life
Note: The content of this post is based on personal experiences with some strong sentences. Read with caution.
For people whose escape method is modern entertainment, when the weather is just perfect, we encounter a story that hits too close to home and stays right by the heart, in a frequency tuned to our steps.
Years ago, when I spent my days in a boarding house for university, Reply 1994 (tvN, 2013) was that story for me. Messy romance aside, Shinchon Boarding House was full of people like me: excited, lost, scared, frustrated, wounded, but slowly crawled their way forward.
Years after, as I graduated and started working, Hospital Playlist (tvN, 2020) is the new champion.
youtube
I hope that, to you, I will become
A perfect piece of memory like a sunset
And will remain without regrets like a picture
Oh that reminds you of our precious green days
To be frank, I did not know much about what my life would be like when I first chose medicine as my major. Then reality hit. From internship to real work, currently an ER doctor. I deal with people who think they are entitled to everything fast because they have money, people who are unable to do anything because they have no money, people who think too highly of their titles, people who talk tons but do nothing, people who only hear what they want to hear, people who don't really care working together, or people who look at me like I am a salesperson for drugs and medical tools. Contradictory needs and goals. Limited resources. Language barriers, which end up in misunderstandings. Replacing lunch with antacids because there is no time. Asking questions like, "Do I really need to smile even when they curse at me?" at 3 AM. Double it up ever since the pandemic hits as everyone looks at COVID like it's a conspiracy created by healthcare workers to fill our pockets. I 'work' even when I'm not at work. Then residency in neurology for four years if I'm good enough to pass the exams this month, with similar stuff repeating every day until I retire.
I wonder what Hospital Playlist looks like to non-healthcare professionals. I often stare at the series in disbelief. How lucky are the twin interns for having such great residents and professors to tail around. How lucky is that student who mistakenly shaved a patient's head for receiving such understanding from the patient and his family. How lucky is that foreigner with brain hemorrhage for getting support from the hospital's daddy-long-legs for his surgery and treatment, knowing that it may take weeks for him to recover. How lucky it is to have higher-ups in management who seem to be generally kind human beings. How lucky it is to work in a hospital that looks as comfy as a 5-star hotel connected to a mall. At least we have those nice things in fantasy.
On the other side, the life of the residents is something I'm very familiar with. What do people feel when resident Seok Min explains stuff like a robot? When Jae Hak shares how he gets on his knees to get his patient to accept treatment just to save him his job, looking obviously miserable and disgusting as he does it? When he breaks down in front of some fruits with a thank-you note? When life still gives him more lemons with being scammed whatsoever and he still has to stay professional? When Min Ha is at her limit handling her patients and covering for her MIA coworker? When her patient constantly calls for her, yells at her, gets into a complicated medical situation, and still has to keep her shit together to save two lives when she can barely stay awake? When her professor acknowledges her struggles and her efforts? And then to see how those little "thank you"s and "you did your best"s at the end literally pull them back to sanity, to keep their lives going no matter how hard it is?
I feel like an orange being peeled open and squeezed dry at those moments.
I'm complaining, yes. Even though I should not, since this is the consequence of choosing the major in the first place. Even if I didn't know better, it was still my choice. Alas, as Namjoon said:
I run faster than those dark clouds
I thought that’d make it alright
But, it turns out I’m just a mere human
To round up my misery, Hospital Playlist shows me the life I have always dreamed about. Waking up every day to a job I can do well and generally enjoy, hanging out with my friends at a restaurant when I get off work, going for karaoke or play games together when we are free, setting time away or buying things for myself, dating or divorcing when I want to, singing alone at church or wherever as I like, getting myself checked and treated when I'm sick - in short, finding that balance between the human me and the professional me. Chae Song Hwa embodies so many traits I wish to have when I'm in my 40s or 50s. Her gang reminds me of my group of (close?) friends from uni time who I only see through our group chats. It's hard not to be envious. I mean, look at Kim Jun Wan slicing Song Hwa's ex with his eyes because the latter thinks a man and a woman can't be true friends. Can my friends and I last through another 10 or 20 years? If I lose them, will I find someone else like that? The world on screen is fantasy, so I begin to wonder whether it is actually possible to reach that point in reality.
To me, who is going to wear this white coat and title and carry my kind of personal baggage for the rest of my life, Hospital Playlist is beautifully brutal. It is unbearable like a mirror at times, but it gets me regardless. So here I am, waiting for another ride with Shin Won Ho PD-nim and his gang starting tomorrow. It sounds strange to hope for another beautifully brutal story, so let's just say that I'm looking forward to spending my days with such a warm, comforting show as we all deal with the highs and lows of life.
#i was going to write a commentary but i was lost in my feelings#now it becomes half rant half love letter#hospital playlist#kdrama#commentary#Youtube
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