hello i love your fics a lot! do you have any writing tips for beginners?

Oh sure!

So. First and foremost, reading helps a ton. I know everyone says this, but it does! You don't even have to read super critically like you have to for literature classes, just read. Find what books you like.

Then, once you've found what books you like, try to think about what it is about that author's style of writing you like. Do they use flowery words? Do they write dialogue in a way that feels real? Is their writing style serious, or do they pepper in jokes and personality into the narration? What kind of POV- first person, second, third? Do they write in past or present tense? Do they switch between the two?

I personally like to do this to get an idea of what I like to read, and then I try to emulate that. Sometimes I just skim a few pages of a book I once read to get myself into the headspace and get a feel for that particular author's style when I feel like emulating their specific style in a piece.

Fanfiction also counts! I don't think you have to read the classics like Dracula or Frankenstein just to get a grasp on a style you like. If you like fanfic authors' styles of writing, try to discern what it is about it you like and emulate it in your own writing. Ex: @bye-bye-sunbird has SUCH lovely prose, and I sometimes read their works when I need to get in a... idk, gothic mood. I think that's the best description of it KGJDJFMD

Another thing I try to do (and this is something I still struggle with) is banishing perfectionism, I guess? I try to just write. I doesn't matter if I'm using a semicolon improperly; I'm writing and people enjoy it even with the copious amounts of grammatical errors I don't edit out (lmao). I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to edit your work, but I've held the mindset for a while now that so long as it's legible, it's enough. Who cares if it has run-on sentences? Unless you're looking to publish something, it doesn't hurt to overlook the imperfections when writing is just a hobby (as it is for me).

I also have some writing tips for dialogue that I actually learned on accident but they turned out to be SUPER helpful in the long run!

So... If you're looking for realistic, natural dialogue that reads like someone actually said it? Transcribe videos. Seriously! Just find videos of multiple people chatting idly and transcribe it- be it for the fun of it, or you can try doing it for closed captions to generally help hard-of-hearing/deaf folks. The more natural the conversation, the better. Try picking small streamers or small youtubers who don't have an internet persona or who don't heavily edit their videos (raw footage and first takes work best!), or transcribe podcasts(so long as they're not reading off a script). If they're a little awkward or stumble over their words, that's GOOD. That's what REAL dialogue is like! People use filler words, and repeat themselves, and stutter, and slur their words, etc, all the time!

If you don't know where to add a filler word, or a pause, or anything like that to make the dialogue feel more natural, try transcribing real conversations for a while and it will genuinely help a ton with dialogue.

Source: I transcribed videos for a wiki for almost a year (maybe over a year, actually) and while I don't try to make my dialogue that natural it definitely made it read less stiff and... rehearsed? I guess. Banter also comes a bit more easily to me now, given I have a grasp on the character.

I hope this helps! <3

Got tagged by my lovely Nessie at @igotanidea

20 Questions for Fic Writers!

I'll be tagging: only @angelltheninth and @millyhelp because I have no one else to tag lol

How many works do you have on AO3?

It's a shame really that I've never been an AO3 user. I recognize that's the best place for a fic writer to be but I was always so used to tumblr that I feared migrating and not getting a new platform. But lmk if you think I should start publishing there as well

What’s your total A03 word count?

//

What fandoms do you write for?

I write mostly Dick and Jason, but I do all the BatBoys + Bruce, Narnia and now COD, but I’m also open to write for a few other Marvel, Harry Potter and other fandoms I also enjoy. So it’s always wise to ask me if I write a certain character because I might eventually do.

What are your top five fics by kudos?

//

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I love receiving comments, be it on replies or reblogs, they always bring a smile on my face wherever I am. However, sometimes I feel like I’d be bothering people if I replied (????), like idk, so I most commonly don’t but in my head I’m having full on conversations with everyone lol. I feel like I need to change this and interact more with my readers.

New Year resolution, perhaps?

What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Maybe 'I'll Show You' or 'Gravity', but I'm not even sure those count. I noticed I always make my fics have a happy ending.

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I love happy ending fics, so I mostly write them. I’m not sure which one is the happiest though. 'Hello Officer' has a pretty good happy ending imo.

Do you get hate on your fic?

Thankfully not!

Do you write smut?

Yep, although I feel like it’s not my best quality. I’m getting better though, I feel, and it’s not as hard for me to write it as it once was.

Do you write crossovers?

Never been the biggest fan of the trope/genre

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Again, thankfully not.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not this one either

Have you ever co-written a fic?

Me and my friend had some plans a few years ago, but never came to do it. I’m open to doing it though.

What‘s your all-time favourite ship?

MonDler (Friends), Percabeth (PJandTO), Spitfire (Young Justice)

What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Gravity — Jason Todd x Reader

What’s your writing strengths?

Comfort moments, certain descriptions of feelings, and definitely backstories!

What’s your writing weaknesses?

I’ll put here: smut (I had never written it before last year, so I’m slowly getting better at it); vocabulary, as English is not my first language, and writing speed haha.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I feel like it has to be done in a way that will not get in the way of the reader’s reading, specially if they don’t know the language and might struggle to understand and keep up with the story. I like it to a certain degree, it has to be done write for it to work I guess.

First fandom you wrote for?

First fandom I wrote for and posted or the first I’ve EVER written for? Those are two different answers haha. The first question would be DC/BatBoys, the second would be One Direction.

ACTUALLY!!! I did have a One Direction tumblr with a few friends back in like 2014? They were probably first that I wrote for AND published lol.

Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

Has to be "I want to k__ you". Starting from the title, I think I wrote it as perfectly as I could and finished it on a nice note.

fanfic ask game

tagged by @rogerzsteven and @imsupposedtobewritting thank you babes 💕

What is your total posted word count on AO3? (Go to your Works, then click Statistics.)

615,388

Although I’m pretty sure that's the number of words currently up on my profile. I've orphaned and deleted over 100 and probably about 80% of all of my fics, so I have no idea what the actual number would be.

How often do you write?

I try to write a little bit every single day. If I've just completed a longer fic, I'll take a day where I don't write, but then I'm usually editing. It's just a really nice way for me to relax and unwind.

Do you have a routine for writing?

I do! The past month or two I've been getting up really early, around six am or a little bit earlier. I'll get my coffee, and I'll take my adhd meds, and I'll sit down and try to get some words down. I love getting up early, it's really peaceful and quiet, and it's when I find the most inspiration. For a while, I was struggling because I couldn't find enough peace to write with all of my coursework, but this has been working really well, because it's like my brain knows that between 6am and 8am, (and full saturdays, when I can) that's my me-time, and I don't have to worry about anything that doesn't bring me joy. I really recommend having a set time to enjoy your hobbies. It sounds counterintuitive, but it's really helpful.

What’s your favorite tropes/pairing?

I always find questions about tropes so difficult to answer, because I think my favorite tropes vary depending on the pairing.

My favorite pairing is really just Buck and Eddie at the moment, (For writing, that is. I do read a ton of other pairings.) and FWB is always elite for them, as is fake dating.

For a long time I was writing Ian and Mickey (and I'm still technically working on a fic for them with J, but it's taking a long time, okay, we're very slow.) but I don't write them as much anymore, I've just kind of fallen out of the fandom a bit, although I will say that any AUs having to do with either crime or fame - or both - are always a lot of fun when it comes to them.

Do you have a favorite fic of yours?

I think my favorite fic that I have ever written is actually one that I haven't posted yet. It's coming out on thursday. Hopefully by then I will have a title for it.

As for the ones that are posted, I think the one I'm the most proud of is either stupid people. or moonlight, nightmares, and tearful confessions.

Your fic with the most kudos?

stupid people.

Anything you don’t like about your writing?

There actually isn't a lot, and the reason for this is not because I'm the best writer that has ever existed or anything ridiculous like that. It's simply because I have been writing for so many years, and I've written so much that I have just kind of carefully carved out exactly what I like, and what I want. (At this point in my life, at least.) That's not to say that everyone has to like my writing style - of course not - but I like it, and it's taken a long time, and many, many hours of writing to get to that point. I'm sure that there are aspects that I can improve, and that I will improve, however, another reason why I feel the need to say this is because I think a lot of us need to work on our courage when it comes to this kind of thing. It's perfectly okay to be proud of your writing.

That being said:

The one thing that I do think I could work on is that sometimes the descriptions of the characters moving can be a little bit repetitive, and a little bit too technical. I also really, really try my hardest to create an atmosphere, and because of that, I also think that certain scenes can drag on for too long. I can describe the rain in one sentence, I don't need two more, you know? You guys know what rain is.

Now something you do like?

Like I said, I really do try my hardest to create an atmosphere that you just want to climb into and live in, and I think I'm slowly getting even better at that. I really do want to live in the fic I have coming out on thursday, and I can't wait to see what that aspect of my writing is like a year from now.

I also like my dialogue a lot, I think it usually feels pretty natural.

tagging @ekstasisandangst @messyhairdiaz @eddiediazes @eddiediass @gayravi @loveyourownsmiilee @captainchimney @fearlessdiaz @buddiemidnights @bitchfacediaz @thatbuddie

The Best Tips For Effective Article Marketing!

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There are certain principles in any type of business that will help you achieve success. Understanding how a particular business operates will help you succeed with any product or idea, and this is definitely true with online marketing and traffic generation. In this article, read up on the latest article marketing tips to learn how to construct a successful campaign. Include a blog as part of your internet marketing strategy. Writing blog articles gives you the opportunity to write useful information about your business that people may want to link to on their own website. Advice or tips are great things to put in a blog. A well written article educates potential clients about your product or service and drives them to your main website. With there being so many different people on-line, you want to make sure that your advertisements are being viewed by the correct target audience. If your company sells women's purses, it would not be very beneficial or profitable to market your product on a men's health site. Being aware of your target audience could mean the difference between steady sales and slow business. The main reason people are going to read your articles is to find out information. So pack as much information as you can into your article. Try and give them everything they're looking for in one place. If you become a reliable source of information, they'll come back to you. Find a unique and clever way to make your article promotional. Readers love it when a writer tries something new and interesting. They are used to seeing the product description/review/buy it here format. If you can figure out a different way to promote your product, readers will flock in, and usually buy. Be sure to spell check your articles and then read them yourself, to be sure that everything is spelled correctly and the right words have been used. Spellcheckers don't know what word you intended. You may have entirely the wrong word in place, albeit perfectly spelled. Check your grammar. If you are not a grammarian, use simpler sentence structure. When trying to market your articles, make sure that they are of a reasonable length so that search engines can find them much easier. Try to keep your articles' word counts down to 500, or at most, 700 words. more than that will dissuade a lot of readers because they will consider it too long. Introductions and conclusions are very important in an article. You want to introduce a reader to the content below in a general way, making the reader feel as if any subject within will relate to them. And then you want to close by briefly summarizing what the article touched on and adding your last call to action. Unless websites delete your articles, they'll remain there and can be used to drive traffic to your website. It's possible to use these articles to cross-promote other articles you've written to really expand your readership. Try to keep your number of article submissions down to about three to five good article directories. It's better to use spun articles for these too. You don't need hundreds of copies of your articles placed into hundreds of directories. Try to pick a few good ones, spin your articles, and submit them to those few directories. Write with your own personal style, and make it memorable. If tourist blog of expertise or niche in a market is a hot topic, it is vitally important that your content stands out from your competitors'. It takes a little extra time and effort, but the dividends you enjoy in more readers and higher site traffic are well worth it. Make sure articles are properly formatted. You have to check with the service you're submitting to to ensure their formatting is in place. This will give you the correct information as to where to insert your links. Putting together a successful article marketing campaign doesn't have to be difficult if you know how to approach it. As long as you're following some great information like what's presented here, you should have no trouble at all making some great money and ultimately owning a legitimate and profitable business via the internet.

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I see the askbox is open 🙂 You don’t know the speed at which I raced here.

But I was really hoping that you could do headcanons for Arthur (vamp), Masamune (Sen), and Mitsuhide (Sen) with a s/o who is an author? Like Tolkien almost, she writes high fantasy and is super well known? (bonus points if she goes back in time with one of her novels on her to show them exactly).

I hope it’s not confusing^^

I adore your writing so I hope to see whatever you publish in the future!

Thank you so much!!

Waa thank you sm for your support!! It really means a lot, thank you ❤ ❤ I hope you enjoy!

Author!MC who writes high fantasy novels - (Arthur, Masamune & Mitsuhide)

Arthur

Arthur is extremely amused and intrigued when he hears about your occupation, and even more so when he discovers that you’re a pretty big shot, too. For once, he completely discards appearances (although he still thinks you’re very pretty) and is genuinely interested in your job, frequently asking details about your writing process, your stories and such.

Your books come from two completely different universes, as we have realism and crime against fantasy and supernatural. Yet, when you offer your book for him to read, he falls absolutely in love with it. Although it may not seem like it, Arthur is quite the superstitious man, and has always had a certain interest in the occult and paranormal. Long story short, he becomes your number one fan.

He asks Comte to bring back your books from the future so that he can read them all (if you find out he’ll admit it with a sheepish smile and a blush on his face), and even then he feels like he doesn’t know enough about the different worlds described in your books and about their writer, you. If the topic pops up during conversations he'll take his chance and curiously ask you more and more questions about your job; if not, he'll pick up hints along the way whenever he can.

Your writing schedule will easily adapt to the domesticity of your relationship. You both write together in the same room (sometimes his, sometimes yours, or even in the dining room) as it can be very motivational, and you’re both ready to comfort the other whenever a lack of inspiration puts a stop to your writing. Furthermore, it’s very practical when it comes to taking breaks! He’ll cuddle with you while asking how everything’s coming along and if you need him to help you get some ideas. (this man will def sneak kisses whenever you're absorbed in your own little world because he adores the pout that magically appears on your lips whenever you're concentrated)

Overall, he’s very supportive of what you do. He understands the struggles of being a writer, but he also adores how much of a professional you are. Would probably be a fanboy even if you two didn’t know each other (he’d buy your books in secret so that Theo doesn’t tease him; the great mystery writer who adores realism, falls in love with high fantasy books. The man would never let him see the end of it)

Masamune

Even before knowing that you actually come from the future, Masamune is extremely curious to see some of your works once he hears that you’re a writer. As someone who writes poetry, knowing that you have the same passion makes him like you even more; although your occupations are as different as they can be, he still enjoys finding a common ground with you. Sometime later, after he has already discovered about your particular situation, he’ll also come to learn about the differences between what he thought you did and what your job really is. Fundamentally the job is always the same, but the whole process and the final products are almost completely different than what he had expected.

He doesn’t know what high fantasy is, but when you do tell him about all the various genres and such, he finds himself not too weirded out by the idea; it’s very similar to popular folklore, after all.

When he asks you to tell him one of your stories, you find the perfect situation to show him a physical copy of one of your best-sellers. He’s amazed by the weird-looking book. It’s experiencedly crafted and perfectly written (that’s printing for you<3), and he curiously fidgets with it as he asks endless questions about it. Unfortunately, he can’t read anything (even if it was written in modern Japanese he’d probably be able to grasp 3 words in a whole page or smth, lol), so you find yourself narrating your stories to him. (you receive great in-depth feedback for each chapter in return!! Masamune will be 100% honest with you and takes it v seriously). It becomes a daily occurrence that neither of you wants to miss. Each night, just before bed, you read out loud part of your book as Masamune quietly listens to your every word, wholly enraptured by the story.

He’s the most supportive partner one could wish for, and he’s always ready to show your works off to everyone he knows. He’ll help you get in touch with local printers and see what he can find amongst all the imported goods to make your job easier. If you ever find yourself stuck, he’ll gladly take you on a stroll to help you get your mind off writing for a bit to come back more refreshed and inspired.

Mitsuhide

Mitsuhide is a man who mostly communicates through lies, vague descriptions or distorted realities just to confuse others. As such, he finds your writing skills and wide imagination to be quite useful and admirable. He can be a capable storyteller if needed, so you often wonder why he doesn’t try writing every once in a while.

This said, he never expected for his kitsune story to strike up a chord in you to the point you’d write a story with a character heavily based on him as the protagonist. He’s quite flattered to say the least. When you hand the finished manuscript to him as a gift, he reads it all in one night. (let's pretend he'd be able to understand ahahah...) He’s amazed by your skill and the world you managed to describe through such vivid wording, but you'll have to read between his teasing words to grasp his real feelings about the gift, although he sincerely thanks you profusely.

The novel is the first work of yours he has ever had the chance to read, so he stores it away very carefully in a corner of his room, but curiosity makes him wonder about your previous works though he doesn't directly ask you anything about them. Sure, he'll probably drop some hints here and there concerning this hidden wish of his, but that's totally up to you to understand. Sooner or later he finds two copies of some of your books in the bag in your room (it was totally accidental, he wouldn't just barge in your room and look through your things like that), and he feels like he's fallen in love all over again. There's this particular level of mastery with which you handle your words that leave him spellbound and amazed. Who would have ever thought that his little clumsy mouse was such an expert writer?

In general, Mitsuhide is the closet fanboy. He won't be as open about his love for your stories as Masamune, but he's not afraid to be direct about his feelings every once in a while, especially if you really need to hear supporting words from him. If anyone ever brings up your skills during a conversation, he'll hum in affirmation with a rare, genuine smile gracing his lips.

Issues with Reader Fics

Okay, I'm probably going to be a bit controversial here. Yet, I'm asking you to hear us out, please. Fanfic writers, specifically those who write "x Reader" fics, please read this. My dear friend Jack has already made a post, where I and others have contributed our experiences and feelings towards certain issues with these fics. Those issues still prevail and therefore I've decided to make my own post, which is more of a PSA, I think. Anyway. You can and should read Jack's (@mlmxreader) post here, please. It is long, yes, but it is extremely important and will say a lot of things we will not talk about here again. Now, what this is mostly about is the tagging of those fics. Every single time, we (men and non-binary people) come across Reader fics and they're tagged with just "Reader", so, naturally we assume they'll be gender neutral then. Well, they basically never fucking are. Every time, in the first few sentences or in later paragraphs something like "baby girl, girlfriend, wife, she/her" will come up and it is frustrating, can be triggering (for trans people, like myself, especially because it can cause dysphoria), and is honestly just very excluding and rude. By doing that, you show us that you do not consider anyone but women to read those fics. Even though that isn't the case. Men who like men exist and we read fics. And we want to be able to read some that don't make us feel bad or excluded. We're not asking you to suddenly write Male!Reader fics. We're asking you to tag properly. If your reader is female, tag it as "Female!Reader" or "Fem!Reader". It doesn't take more than two seconds to do that. So, please for the love of everything good, take those two seconds and type in that one word, even the abbreviation is enough. But tag it! Please! Also, please, stop tagging "male reader" or "gender neutral reader" when it's a female reader. You won't get more notes from it. All it does is clog the tags and push down fics that are actually targeted towards those groups. So, don't do that, please, thank you. One thing I personally wanted to ask actually. Why do women read "Male!Reader" fics? This is a genuine question. Why do you, if you're a woman, read those fics? They aren't targeted at you, and frankly, I don't understand it. If I were cis and not dysphoric, I still wouldn't read "Fem!Reader" fics. They aren't for me, and I wouldn't be interested in it, even if those were the only fics for a certain character. So, if anyone could answer me this, genuinely, then I'd actually appreciate that a lot, I'm truly just curious, as I have noticed women reading my "Male!Reader" fics, too. Which is cool, as we've said, you may interact, as long as you're not creepy or fetishistic, but I still don't understand why you would read that in the first place. Now, onto what my two wonderful friends have said, when I asked them if they had anything to add to this issue, or perhaps overall, still: @iscariot-rising said, "It's just disrespectful for writers and readers alike to assume that everyone reading their fanfics is inherently female, to the point where for some it has become the standard that any fic has female reader - leading to writers not tagging their fics as female readers or mentioning in their descriptions that reader is female, instead only titeling it as "character x reader", before then three sentences in referring to reader as some sort of female term. This isn't just rude, it can also be triggering for people or make them dysphoric, if not just plain uncomfortable. Fandom spaces are something that is shared across all genders and sexualities and it is only courteous to respect this and tag your fics accordingly, since it doesn't take a long time and saves a lot of trouble for readers." And you know what? He is absolutely right and he should say it. You need to listen to us, please. @mlmxreader said a lot, too. For example, he's mentioned that there is a reluctance to even write Gender Neutral Reader fics, which is true. Even though it would be much easier, to be perfectly honest. Yet, people seem not to do it. Do y'all not want people of different genders to enjoy your fics without feeling excluded? He also said, "oh! yeah! there's also the whole thing about lingerie, too, like putting men in women's lingerie and talkin about panties and stuff, which comes off as extremely fetishising (when it's not written by mlm) as well as just... really gross bc like that stuff can trigger dysphoria and half the time it's not even tagged? Like it wouldn't be so bad if y'all tagged it; on top of that, there's also the whole fact that they assume that all mlm relationships revolve around sex and that that's all that matters. But then also using (m/n) standing for "male name" instead of (y/n), like, what the FUCK is up with that?? /gen" Again, he is absolutely right. Tag your shit, please. I know it can be tiring to pick out everything relevant, but trust me; you'll do a lot of people a big fucking favour when you tag your stuff properly. And frankly, I agree with him. I don't understand the whole '(m/n)' thing because if we're men, our names are automatically male because, well, we're male. It doesn't really make sense. That might just be a thing that personally bugs us, though, I honestly don't know. TLDR; Tag your fics properly, be respectful, don't assume everyone is female and therefore exclude everyone who isn't, just say (y/n)???, and yeah, that's basically it. Just be more considerate, please! That was it. I don't mean to personally attack anybody, but if you do feel attacked, that probably means that you're guilty of doing something I've listed here, and perhaps should consider changing that. I also wanna note that if you consider sending me threats or hate of any kind, I will delete it and not engage with it. If your first response to this post is something rude and hateful, you should take a step back and reconsider why you're about to do something so senseless. Does it help you in any way? No, it doesn't. So, what's the point, other than acting like a complete dick? Anyway, have a lovely morning/day/night; cheers!

Enola Holmes in Review

Gentle Readers:

1.       I did not plan to watch Enola Holmes

2.       I do not/have not watched Stranger Things, and my entire concept of Millie Bobby Brown as a human is encapsulated in the occasional errant tumblr post, and a line of eyewear she apparently has created, posters for which hang at my glasses-provider.

3.       I had never heard of the YA novels about Enola Holmes

There she is!

Yes, I do tend to enjoy nearly any incarnation of Sherlock Holmes. And, yes, I am often surprised by this fact. For some reason, Holmes, unlike, say, Chris Evans as Cap or Chris Hemsworth as Thor [instances where I can’t really imagine enjoying anyone else in the role] I am always interested to see someone else’s [writer and actor and director]’s take on him. *Subtle shout-out to James D’Arcy’s 2002 turn in A Case of Evil.

Mr. Jarvis! [and there was Vincent D’Onofrio and opium!!]

And yet, watching the Enola Holmes trailer [no doubt b/c of tumblr], and yes, admittedly not unmoved [we are not made of stone] by Cavill’s Curls™ the delight I felt in watching that advert led me to start informing my family that on September 23rd what I was going to be doing was enjoying Enola Holmes on Netflix [and anyone else was free to join me].

Someone important is missing from this picture

And what a delight it was. In the run-up to its debut I read more than a few reviews of the film [and, I think, every one of them written by men], some of which struck me as simply coming from a place of mean-spiritedness, yet none—even the positive reviews—preparing me for how ENJOYABLE this film is.

I’m not going to provide a full review point-by-point here, b/c the film involves cases to be solved (no, none of them are overwhelmingly complex—YA novel--, so all the more reason not to spoil any pay-offs). But I do have some things to talk about.

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM – And what a nice, nice elephant it is! Henry Cavill as Holmes is, in my opinion an absolute delight of a performance. From the moment he first says Enola’s name (a perfectly-rendered reaction to the moment playing out) this Holmes fits into this Greatest Showman-like version of Victorian England, where no one’s too dirty no matter how poor, and where despite a flaming red dress, cut too low for daytime wear, young Enola is never once mistaken for a working girl. [Again, YA novel] As other reviewers have noted, HC is, well, Cut and Bulked Out, and in his highly tailored frock coats well, strapping is too light a description word. *not a complaint. Cavill’s Curls are out and proud and here to tell us that we are meant to be Having Fun, and Gentle Readers—THEY DO NOT LIE.

No, not a priest’s collar where he is undercover (though I had thought so)

In fact, you could absolutely write your thesis statement on this film, that it’s really a fraternal, familial love story between Sherlock and Enola. Sherlock is the character during the two hours that actually changes. [Yes, Enola comes to an understanding about herself, and her circumstances change repeatedly—but it is Sherlock who experiences a Change of Heart/Reversal]. 

Raise your hand if you’re totally here for significantly older brother/significantly youngest sister family love!

HOW I WOULD DESCRIBE IT – This might in no way be helpful, but, Enola Holmes is basically The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles...

Where have you gone, Sean Patrick Flanery?

a YA historical storyline that’s written adjacent to [there, famous people] here, enduring fictional characters. It’s adventurous and pleasantly immersive, historical morays are given a slap-dash portrayal, rather than a fully-accurate representation, there’s adventures to be had, and side-characters to be converted into caring about the title character as much as we, the audience, do.

LUCY HONEYCHURCH – Yes, that gorgeous girl from Windy Corner. The timeline doesn’t jibe, but I daresay Helena Bonham Carter (back in a corset—though she may have worn those for Bellatrix) as Eudoria Holmes *IS* what Lucy Honeychurch might well have become beyond A Room with a View’s end. Bonham Carter looks absolutely at home here (period films have sorely missed her! –she had a part in 2015’s Suffragette), and still wears the trappings of Victorian England like a second skin. 

Not to mention that she now join my personal comfort-list of on-screen mothers with the likes of 1997’s Little Women Susan Sarandon and Cinderella’s Hayley Atwell.

FAMILY ISSUES OR PLOT HOLES? 

It’s a fair question. There’s a lot going on in this plot, some of which...seem solvable. Why has it been so very long since the Holmes brothers have seen their own mother? And sister? How could the woman we come to know as Eudoria raise a Mycroft? [see also, Molly Weasley?] Why aren’t people who seem to care about Enola more engaged with saving her from all the dangers London throws in her way? Why does Enola accept several acts of violence aimed at her, why does she in certain instances Do What She Is Told? Rather than chalk these up to plot holes or convenient devices, I’m siding with the Holmes family being dysfunctional [who knows what dad was like? We’re certainly not told here]. 

[clears throat]

The conversations between Mycroft and Sherlock barely skim the surface of any subject they interact on. Classic dysfunction: distancing one’s true self from human interaction b/c keeping the peace supersedes all else.

Enola accepts certain treatments b/c if we really do watch her relationship with her mother, there is an element of something amiss—as I will declare the later abandonment shows. Enola is a child used to being elevated and celebrated on one hand, and shut out and isolated on the other. Her parent has informed her about so much, but essentially locked her away in a false reality, where Enola is not taken to see the world, nor taught how to interact in it (which is explicitly stated). Perhaps it is not so surprising that the Holmes’ brothers have not cared overly much for visiting their remaining family. And when repeatedly confronted with a minor child (and yet a child likely though old enough or about so, to be married off) being forced to endure things diametrically opposed to her will—the brothers’ reactions are stoic, the system they accept as to how life must be lived immoveable and morally right simply by its very existence.

MILLIE BOBBY BROWN – THE STAR – In what has to be an Emmy-nomination-deserving turn, MBB is nothing short of wholly in charge of the screen. She never overpowers the story. She’s as loveable as Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping, and as ready for her closeup as Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games. As another review mentioned, she handles the 4th wall breaks in such as way as we look forward to the next time she’s going to talk to us. We ache with her sorrow for her lost mom, and rage with her at the adults in her life choosing wrongly for her future—or simply not choosing at all.

A random observation, but one that feels important to me: her HAIR. Yes! They’ve managed to make a late Victorian-era film where the heroine’s hair looks like real hair that someone really styled (or in some scenes, didn’t). And yet, where the hair looks proper for the time. [wild applause]

COMPLAINTS: Well, in honesty there aren’t any. If you want to complain that there isn’t any dirt, that the evil of the world (I mean, c’mon, this is narrowly post-Dickensian London, here) is neutered, that the adults in question seem neither alarmed enough or emboldened enough at either their mother or sister being missing and possibly out of their depths in a dangerous society without protection, and in Enola’s case real-world skills--? Well, I’m certainly not going to disagree with you. This is YA Victorian London, after all, not Ripper Street. There is also neither a hint of or actual threat of sexual violence at any point in the film. But the lack of that has preserved us from having to sit through that, as well as no doubt lectures about how Enola’s virtue might be spoilt and she might become useful to no man.

The relationships are appropriate, too. Despite strides between Enola and certain adults in the film, by the time the credits roll they’re not showing physical affection toward each other (a move that would have seemed over-the-top), and teen relationships are shown progressing at a reasonable and mutedly awkward pace.

Now, Netflix, green-light me five more films (or more). There’s still a new version of John Watson to meet, after all!

Do you have any fics with Jason just being a Bro™️? Or any with him rejoining the family after UTRH?

For the sake of this post not being too long, I am going to rec only one fic or series from an author, but all of these authors are great writers so I recommend checking their other works as well. Hope you will enjoy this fics as much as I do!

1. Jason and Damian being bros

1.1 Bet on it by Lysical  

Even Damian could admit that his older siblings occasionally had their uses. __

"I need your assistance," Damian said, voice low and tense.

"No," Jason replied, and hung up.

Short but adorable story of Jason helping out Damian to hide something from their father, just like big brothers out to do.

1.2 Cracked Foundation by Cdelphiki    

The last thing Damian expected to happen when he ran away from home was to spend a day crammed into a small space with Jason Todd.  His father's second son was a black sheep.  An outcast.  An angry, insanity driven criminal who enjoyed screwing with the batfamily in every way he could. At least, that's what Damian thought.  Maybe he was wrong about Todd.

Perfect hurt/comfort with a lot of family feels and Damian and Jason bodning. Bonus points: Jason actually apologizing for shooting him; exploration of Bruce’s relationships with them both too.

1.3   Good Grief by lysiabeth                

“I know who you are, you know. I got my degree at GCU.” The girl says, eyes boring into Jason’s chest as if the red bat were still plastered on it, and Jason’s back stiffens.

“Right.” Jason’s teeth click together as he closes his mouth. He’s eighteen-hundred miles out from Gotham, and of all the Goddamn vet centres he could have broken into it’s probably the only one around that knows anything about his city.

WIP with 8K words so far but worth early reading and bookmarking/subscribing. Case fic, plus Damian and Jason bonding as siblings through Talia? Leviathan also plays a part in this story? Hell yeah.

1.4 Jason and the Three Terrors by Cdelphiki                

One moment, Jason was peacefully sleeping, perfectly content with his life with the League of Assassins.  Okay, so maybe not content content, but he wasn't unhappy, either.  Then Talia woke him up at 2 am, threw three children at him, and told him to get them to America and far away from Ra's al Ghul.

What the fuck.

The last thing he wanted was to see Bruce. But with three brats relying on him and no Talia, there weren't many options for sanctuary. He just didn't expect the kids to grow on him so much in two short weeks.

A superb AU where Jason helps Damian escape League of the Assassin (against his wishes and with two unwanted additions to boot, which is half the pleausure). They aren’t brothers, stictly speaking, at the start of the fic, but become them as the story progresses.

It’s a WIP but it has 50K already and it will be so much more. I am excited with every update and I’m sure you’re gonna be, too.

2. Jason being a brother to Cassandra

2.1 Nests and Cages series by LanternWisp, Lysical starting with Needles or Pins  

Jason Todd's journey back to the Batfamily. Takes place in the Frankenstein's monster of a canon I've stitched together. Each plot is rather self-contained, but the fics do flow into one another

Jay and Cass are bio siblings, and Jason’s slow return to the fold. I love this series, and I think it’s one of the greatest take on Lady Shiva being Jason’s mother too.

2.2 Didymous  by   Hinn_Raven

Didymous: adjective: growing in pairs or twins.

Cassandra and Jason are born twins, raised by their father to be killers. Two heads are better than one.

It’s a great AU with Jay and Cass being biological siblings.

2.3 the patron saint of the lost causes series by evanescent

Pre-Flashpoint AU based on canon what-if Lady Shiva was not only Cassandra's biological mother, but Jason's, too. Mostly focuses on Cass and Jason's relationship, and how that fact changes the dynamics in Batfamily.

It is also a great series with Cass and Jay being biological siblings and I recommend reading every fic of this series.

2.4 Rebirth by Ionaperidot                

"The boy is clearly ill, and while she’s almost certain that he is, impossibly, Jason Todd, almost is not good enough. She can’t drop heartbreak on her beloved’s doorstep, and she can’t run the necessary tests when Damian is vulnerable to her father’s wrath. There’s no way around it. He’ll have to come home with her."

Unexpectedly in charge of a second son, Talia struggles to raise her children without unwanted attention from the Demon's Head.

An AU where Talia is the one who unites Cass and Jason. It also contains Damian, and he’s a little brother to them both.

3. Jason and Duke being bros

3.1 Bats are Dorks by   Reah22                

Duke hadn’t meant to literally trip and fall on to Jason. He really hadn’t. For the record, he blamed Steph. It was probably one of her old pranks that she forgot to take down. That, or she deliberately left it up for someone to trip over in the dark.

Just Duke and Jason, hanging out. Super nice.

3.2 oh, where do i begin? by LazuliQuetzal

“No, no, nothing’s wrong,” Jason says. “We’re a-okay. Just peachy. Good times.”

“Oh,” Duke says, lamely, working himself out of crisis mode. There’s an awkward silence for a moment before he speaks up again. “Why did you call?”

“Right, right," Jason mumbles, which seemed a little out of character to Duke. His sort-of wayward brother was generally intimidating, even when he wasn't trying to be. "Uh, Dick said that you had a guinea pig when you were younger. How do you take care of a guinea pig?” _____

AKA, not-exactly accidental guinea pig acquisition

Absolutely adorable short story about Jason going to his little brother for advice.

3.3 rockstar au series by addiebey starting with disconnect:

jason and duke bond. dick just doesn't get it, but what's new?

Another great no-capes AU. Only two fics from the series, both under 1k, are focused on Duke and Jason, but they are so great. The whole series is, actually, though it’s not finished. I am just grateful even this much exists, but I am definitely bookmarking and subscribing it in case there will be more. Please give this series the attention and praise it deserves.

There are, alas, not many Duke and Jason-centered fics. Though there is another one I wanted to recommend, about Jason training Duke, but I can’t find it for some reason. It was short and funny, and if anyone recognizes this description, I would be glad if you told me.

4. Jason and Dick being bros

4.1 i was naive and hopeful and lost by heroics (figure8)

Clark and Bruce take in a troubled teen.

The The Fosters AU no one asked for.

It’s a part of the series which is one of the best no-capes AU I’ve read, if not the best, and it’s a great family-focused fic with a good parent Bruce. The road for Jason to become Dick’s and the rest of the kids’ brother is slow but greatly written.

4.2 To Reconcile by CasualDanger      

“Babs slapped me at your funeral.”  Jason goes to laugh, but it’s just a cough and his mouth barely even twitches up.  “She hated me in that moment.  I mean, really, really hated me, like I did Talia after I found out Damian had died.  And I wondered,” his voice cracks, eyes glassy now, “did you hate anyone when I was gone?  Because I was gone?”

Short and emotional fic where Dick and Jason open up to each other during pressing circumstances.

4.3  Five Times Dick Grayson Read about Jason Todd in the Newspaper by Engineerd              

If Dick hadn’t been special ordering the Gotham City Gazette, he wouldn’t have found out for - well. Years, at this rate.

Short and very full of emotion story. I love the exploration of Dick’s almost unchanging attitude toward Jason - well, unchanging right before the last time he would read about him (or almost the last time). They’re not really close here, and won’t grow closer, but sometimes siblinghood is like that.

4.4 The View From Jade by lowflyingfruit                

Being transported to the past is not the sort of thing one normally expects. But this having happened, and with no easy way back, Jason's determined to make the most of it. Though the Bat still stalks Gotham's streets, the city's crime is run by the mobs instead of the rogues. There's no Joker yet.

There's no Robin.

Maybe there shouldn't be.

Time Travel Jason&Dick focused AU! One of the best time travel fics where they actually change stuff even if it doesn’t transit to their universe - for exception of their more strong brotherly relationships.

5. Jason and Stephanie being bros

5.1 this time, the loser wins by parkerstorms

They were two sides of the same coin.  They understood each other.  It was nice.  It was a downright relief.  She’d never had a big brother before.

There’s not a lot of Jason and Steph being bros stories I have not mentioned before, but this one is one of them, and a great one too.

6. Jason and Tim being bros

6.1 Bonding Habits of Robins by  GoAwayOlivia                

Giving each other shit is how the bat brothers show they care. Jason and Tim do it particularly well.

It’s a funny and nice fic with exactly what’s said in the summary.

There’s a lot of fics with Jason and Tim being bros but my memorie went blank when I tried to recall. Which is not a statement about their relationships or quality of fics that depict them, it’s just sometimes my memory doesn’t work properly. This is the case with the Jason and Steph, too. As soon as I remember or discover new fics about their relationships, I am going to update this post or maybe create a new one just for the three of them. We’ll see!

7. Batfam Jason-featured sibling relationships

7.1 If the Sky Comes Falling Down (For You)  by  lurkinglurkerwholurks

or, 5 times Jason Todd saved his siblings... and one time they saved him.

It was only by luck that Jason was still there when the bodies came crashing down the street. Bad luck, he would argue. He could hear them long before he could see them, their bodies preceded by the thunderous pounding of boots of asphalt and shouted curses. Three or four figures flashed by his little alleyway, a tight mob followed by a lone, slender figure in a streaming cape.

Summary speaks for itself. It’s a gradual description of Jason slowly coming back to the family after UtRH and starting feeling like their brother.

7.2  this is a long drive (for three robins who don't agree on much) by   drakefeathers

(Bad Robins road trip AU!) Steph’s trip home to Gotham takes a huge detour thanks to Jason and Damian’s conflicts with airport security. She’s stuck driving the two brothers cross-country to reach Tim’s wedding in time.

Damian, Jason & Steph bonding road trip AU that warms your heart. Seriously, if you like any of these characters, you read this.

7.3 on a thin chain of moments and something like faith series  by irnan

Jason really oughta know better than to talk to Bats.

Jason bonding with both Steph and Cass! Love it. It’s fluff and angst, which is hard to pull off together, but it works here. It also, in places, incredibly funny. I love re-reading it from time to time.

7.4   Tremor by  LueurdeLaube              

Nobody can tell Jason Todd that joking about his own death is not a valid coping mechanism.

Not about Jason being a bro per se but about Batfam and Jason so I hope it counts!

7.5. the lost sidekick society by  redtruthed                

The batkids make a group chat.

Chaos ensues.

One of the best groupchat AU for Batfam.

INSPIRED BY @alamborghini

In the last week, I have spent a majority of my time on Archive of Our Own reading Twyla and Alexis fics. In lieu of that, I thought I would create a recommendation post of my favorites, eight of them to be exact. I've wanted to do fic recommendations for awhile, and this seemed like the perfect place to start! Because the community is small, as I mentioned previously, there will be some author repetition, but they're all incredibly talented writers who I encourage you to support.

Check out Justine's list, too, it's linked at the very beginning! Theirs is a bit more extensive considering they've been here for longer and I've just recently dipped my toe in, however, this was a lot of fun for me to put together and I hope you enjoy nonetheless <3

All word counts, ratings, tags, and descriptions are taken directly from the stories themselves. Credit goes to the original creators for the information provided. Also, I've colored the titles according to the length of the fic. Here is the system I've devised to help you easily find stories within a certain a range of words without having to read too much while also helping to separate the titles a bit: PURPLE >2,000 words, BLUE 2,500-5,000 words, and PINK >5,000 words.

Posts marked with * are also in Podfic format. If it isn't underlined, the Podfic is apart of the work hyperlinked in the story's title.

tuck you in, turn on your favorite nightlight by @alamborghini and @anniemurphys

WORD COUNT: 843

RATED G for GENERAL AUDIENCES

TAGGED with Future Fic, Canon Compliant, Post-Canon, Children, Children's Stories, (that aren't always appropriate for children), alexis and twyla have just Seen Things ok, Alexis Rose travels for business and pleasure

DESCRIPTION: Twyla and Alexis' daughter adopts her mother's' stories in the interest of elementary school coolness.

I Offer You My Heart by @landofsonlali and @sunlightsymphony *

WORD COUNT: 10,347

RATED G for GENERAL AUDIENCES

TAGGED with Alternative Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Slow Burn, Tea Leaf reading, Flirting Via Coffee and Pastries, Pining, you know it's an AU because of the seasons, Baked Goods, Podfic, Podfic Length: 1-1.5 Hours, Let Alexis Rose Eat, Twyla Sands' Freckles

DESCRIPTION: Twyla is the owner of a coffee shop in Schitt's Creek and Alexis is a frequent customer, featuring pining, flirtation, and a whole lot of baked goods.

never saw you coming, never be the same by @alamborghini, @anniemurphys, and @landofsonlali *

This is a MUST READ series for any Twylexis fans. I started my journey through the Alexis Rose/Twyla Sands tag with these ficlets and I recommend beginning here as well.

WORD COUNT: 1,938

RATED T for TEEN & UP AUDIENCES

TAGGED with Pride, Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Coming Out, Twyla Sands' Freckles, Supportive Siblings, Pansexual Alexis Rose, Cuddling & Snuggling

DESCRIPTION: Three different perspectives of Twyla Sands and Alexis Rose's first Pride spent together as a couple.

i didn't know that i was starving (til i tasted you) by @turningtimeinthetardis

WORD COUNT: 12,885

RATED M for MATURE

TAGGED with Character Study: Twyla Sands, Character Study: Alexis Rose, Episode: s04e12 Singles Week, Singles Week Rewrite, Ted is great, But Twy and Alexis are meant to be each other's soft girlfriends, Fluff & Smut, Pining

DESCRIPTION: Twyla knows her natural penchant for kindness can sometimes be a problem. She knows it can sometimes be used against her by people who are more willing to chase their desires than she is.

Normally, she's at least a little ok with being naturally passive, with allowing her desires, her wants, to skate past her, untouched.

Maybe it's because she's gotten accustomed to serving customers at Cafè Tropical and taking unwarranted abuse with a fake smile. Maybe it's because she had grow up faster than any eight or nine year old should. Maybe it's because, well, secretly she's a multi-millionaire and, materially, she doesn't want for much of anything. And she'd be hard pressed for saying she wants anyone in Schitt's Creek.

But once she gets to know Alexis Rose?

Yeah, Twyla wants her.

to be your harbor by @doublel27

WORD COUNT: 4,007

RATED E for EXPLICIT

TAGGED with Post-Canon, Sugar Mama Twyla Sands, Praise Kink, Sex Toys, Strap-Ons, Light BDSM, Light Dom/sub, Service Top Alexis Rose, Sweet/Hot, Tooth-Rotting Fluff

DESCRIPTION: Twyla uses some of her money on things that are special to her. Alexis is special to Twyla. Luckily, Twyla is precious to Alexis.

your body's poetry (speak to me) by @anniemurphys

WORD COUNT: 19,599

NOT RATED

TAGGED with Alternative Universe - Ballet, adventures at youth america grand prix, baby ballerinas in the corps de ballet, oh my god they were roommates, Twyla Sands' Freckles

DESCRIPTION: Ballet has been at the center of Alexis’ life since she was three years old, the first time she saw New York City Ballet perform The Nutcracker. She pulled on her mother’s sleeve, much to Moira’s displeasure, pointed at the stage, and said, “Me!” It was the very first time she felt like her mother saw her. That feeling was intoxicating enough that she couldn’t help but chase it.

She’s seen some of the world's most celebrated ballerinas perform. But she’s never seen anyone dance like this girl, whose name she doesn’t know. The stage lights turn her auburn hair burning red. Her pirouettes are perfectly landed; there’s no struggle at all in the way her leg lifts behind her in attitude to tap against the tambourine she holds above her head. As she flits across the stage, her tambourine extended toward the judges like an irresistible invitation, there is something real in her smile, something seductive in her eyes.

Alexis forgets to breathe.

searching for a sound we hadn't heard before by @hullomoon

WORD COUNT: 867

RATED T for TEEN & UP AUDIENCES

TAGGED with New York City, Kissing, Coda, of sorts, Episode: s06e13 Start Spreading the News

DESCRIPTION: Twyla visits Alexis in New York.

Ladies Night Inn by yeah_alright

WORD COUNT: 15,848

RATED T for TEEN & UP AUDIENCES

TAGGED with Canon Compliant, Alternative Ending to The Canidate (season 2 episode 7), ladies night, Spa Night, slumber party, Female Friendship, Friends to Lovers, really more like, acquaintances to friends to potentially lovers, if we're being accurate, Teen rating is for makeouts and a few refrences to very specific and crucial body parts, No Smut, No Sex, Fluff and Humor

DESCRIPTION: What if Twyla had accepted Alexis' invitation to a ladies night at the motel after her breakup with Mutt?

If you happen to indulge in any of these, let me know you're thoughts as I'd love to chat about them and make some new Twylexis friends. Happy reading! (SOURCE)

Tag - You’re It!

Repost don't Reblog!

Thank you so much to @enigma-the-mysterious for tagging me. :D

How many works do you have on AO3?

Over 40 – not sure of the exact number as I went on a fic-orphaning spree a few years ago.

What’s your total AO3 word count?

176891 – I had no idea AO3 had stats things until now. How very exciting.

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Musketeers, Dorian Gray, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Penny Dreadful, Mozart in the Jungle, Black Sails, The Greatest Showman, Fantastic Beasts, HTTYD – possibly more, but those are the ones I can find to have existed. Plus random crossovers between Dorian Gray and other Victorian literature/plays.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Five times Newt visits Percival, and one time everyone does

Braids

A British thing

Eros

What does Google say?

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try to – if someone puts the effort into writing a comment, I want to reply! But I fear I can never do words well enough to convey my appreciation when I do, so sometimes will spend ages just trying to figure out what to write in reply. XD

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I like happy endings! But, I think maybe Guilt?

Do you write crossovers? if so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I do, but none are especially crazy...maybe Dorian Gray/Dracula?

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not that I recall.

Do you write smut? if so what kind?

I have dabbled. Usually kink-based and only just bordering the smut line (nothing super explicit).

have you ever had a fic stolen?

No idea, but not particularly bothered if I have – if people are reading and enjoying, even if under a name that’s not my own, I have no complaints.

have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, but I can’t remember which one.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

There are too many to choose from, but if I had to pick just one, it would be Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin because they’re so perfectly in tune (not always literally, of course) and comfortable in each other’s company. There need not be a physical side to it, but the affection between them is unbearably wonderful. Close seconds include Portamis, Henry Wotton/Basil Hallward, and Monchevy.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Tears at the Opera.

What are your writing strengths?

None! XD

What are your writing weaknesses?

Most things? Particularly getting lost in convoluted plots, excessive use of proper nouns because I don’t know single-word descriptions for people that don’t sound irrelevant, or weird and liberal employment of excessively long sentences. ;)

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I honestly have never given it any thought! I think it’s fine. One of my favourite authors does it all the time, and it’s never bothered me.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Not sure. Black Sails probably.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Fortunes of the Fearless (the original and orphaned) – I was a better writer back then! And, perhaps, Jacobean

I don't have that many people on tumblr to tag at the moment as only just rejoined, and I'm certain everyone I could hope to tag was tagged by the mysterious one XD - therefore, if you happen upon this post and write fanfiction, please consider yourself tagged.

The Best Tips For Effective Article Marketing!

There are certain principles in any type of business that will help you achieve success. Understanding how a particular business operates will help you succeed with any product or idea, and this is definitely true with online marketing and traffic generation. In this article, read up on the latest article marketing tips to learn how to construct a successful campaign. Include a blog as part of your internet marketing strategy. Writing blog articles gives you the opportunity to write useful information about your business that people may want to link to on their own website. Advice or tips are great things to put in a blog. A well written article educates potential clients about your product or service and drives them to your main website. With there being so many different people on-line, you want to make sure that your advertisements are being viewed by the correct target audience. If your company sells women's purses, it would not be very beneficial or profitable to market your product on a men's health site. Being aware of your target audience could mean the difference between steady sales and slow business. The main reason people are going to read your articles is to find out information. So pack as much information as you can into your article. Try and give them everything they're looking for in one place. If you become a reliable source of information, they'll come back to you. Find a unique and clever way to make your article promotional. Readers love it when a writer tries something new and interesting. They are used to seeing the product description/review/buy it here format. If you can figure out a different way to promote your product, readers will flock in, and usually buy. Be sure to spell check your articles and then read them yourself, to be sure that everything is spelled correctly and the right words have been used. Spellcheckers don't know what word you intended. You may have entirely the wrong word in place, albeit perfectly spelled. Check your grammar. If you are not a grammarian, use simpler sentence structure. When trying to gia công cơ khí chính xác tại đồng nai , make sure that they are of a reasonable length so that search engines can find them much easier. Try to keep your articles' word counts down to 500, or at most, 700 words. more than that will dissuade a lot of readers because they will consider it too long. Introductions and conclusions are very important in an article. You want to introduce a reader to the content below in a general way, making the reader feel as if any subject within will relate to them. And then you want to close by briefly summarizing what the article touched on and adding your last call to action. Unless websites delete your articles, they'll remain there and can be used to drive traffic to your website. It's possible to use these articles to cross-promote other articles you've written to really expand your readership. Try to keep your number of article submissions down to about three to five good article directories. It's better to use spun articles for these too. You don't need hundreds of copies of your articles placed into hundreds of directories. Try to pick a few good ones, spin your articles, and submit them to those few directories. Write with your own personal style, and make it memorable. If your area of expertise or niche in a market is a hot topic, it is vitally important that your content stands out from your competitors'. It takes a little extra time and effort, but the dividends you enjoy in more readers and higher site traffic are well worth it. Make sure articles are properly formatted. You have to check with the service you're submitting to to ensure their formatting is in place. This will give you the correct information as to where to insert your links. Putting together a successful article marketing campaign doesn't have to be difficult if you know how to approach it. As long as you're following some great information like what's presented here, you should have no trouble at all making some great money and ultimately owning a legitimate and profitable business via the internet.

My Thoughts on the HG Prequel

I just finished reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and I got to say, my feelings are mixed. Below I have an entire review  for the story which included how I felt, the expectations, the biases I had going into the new book, and how I felt after reading. Please note there will be spoilers. Also this review isn’t meant to hurt anyone and if you absolutely love the book so far...good! Enjoy it fully! As an aspiring writer myself and someone who studied in college/loves creative writing I’m well aware that people just have different takes on writing. Glad you are enjoying it :)

Anyways, here it goes…

The Expectations

As the Hunger Games series is one of my favorites of all time, I had a strong bias to like this book. Since it was first announced, without knowing any details, I was extremely excited and optimistic. I re-read the entire Hunger Games series twice beforehand in preparation; once with my fiancé and once on my own. The only thing I really wanted, knowing that it took place during the tenth hunger games, was that the arena reflected how new the hunger games were. Then, when we learned what the series was about, people started voicing some concerns or were disappointed by the plot, instead wanting it to be something like Finnick’s arena, Haymitch’s, Mags’, etc. etc. I was not among this group. However, I understand where they were coming from, because I always thought the idea of the first Quarter Quell (the one where the districts voted for the tributes) was an extremely interesting concept. 

Yet I think these things are best left explored in fanfiction as they add nothing to the series and Suzanne Collins did an excellent job just giving us enough information to get the idea. At that point it’d just be a book on details, which could fall short or be a gimmicky, cheap way to keep people reading the series and keep her name relevant. And wasn’t that part of the message in her series, the thing Katniss so heavily criticized that gave a great irony to the books? Who would watch children killing each other for entertainment? Meanwhile, we as the reader are reading these books as a form of entertainment. Plus, Suzanne Collins so skillfully painted the illusion of knowing but not fully knowing their stories that it’s haunting, and I think that is one of the many reasons (along with the battle royale trope being naturally compelling, liking the characters, etc.) that a lot of us are more drawn towards these stories rather than (at least for me)  a book on Snow. 

That being said, I was not against the idea of a book on Snow because I find villain characters, especially grey ones, to be very interesting to read about, and I was pretty certain Suzanne was going to handle this beautifully, especially since you could already feel this atmosphere coming off of Snow in the Hunger Games series. I know some were really concerned about a Snow redemption arc, but to me it felt very obvious that it couldn’t be and it would be more of him sliding into evil.

I did have other concerns when I read the description for the first time. I could not believe they went with the whole tribute from District Twelve thing again. I loved Katniss and District Twelve, but I did not want Katniss 2.0. I said right from the beginning to my fiancé that she’d have to make the tribute from District Twelve extremely different for me to get on board (though I was holding on faith that Collins would). It just felt cheap and gimmicky to rehash the District Twelve thing, it sort of made me feel the same way I would have if she had written about one of the games I mentioned above. Sure, it’d sell, but it wouldn’t add anything to the series. I was thinking she better not hunt, sing, or have any qualities resembling Katniss really.  

Another thing I worried about was the love story they hinted at in the description. It just didn’t make sense to me. Because how was Snow going to ever support the games if from an earlier age he fell in love with a tribute and vowed to protect her? Then later he’s all like pro-hunger games? Just this itself could weaken the entire series if done poorly, because it would weaken the main antagonist’s motives for not only the prequel but also the Hunger Games series as well. I kept thinking either the girl has to die in the arena betraying Snow somehow (which is what I was hoping for), Snow will have to betray her, or perhaps he would have been faking love for her for some sort of personal gain I couldn’t imagine. Either way, I thought it weakened the story's appeal to me. Yet overall I was still excited, desperately waiting for the book’s release. 

And now that I have read it, I have to say it felt forced at a lot of parts and lackluster overall…

*Spoilers start here*

My Review:

Suszanne Collins’ writing style is one I’ve always loved and has consistently appealed to me. Even though this book is written in 3rd person (which some may like less if you don’t particularly like third person) it holds up well against the original series. So I really had no complaints in this regard besides the excessive use of songs (felt like fanfiction a bit). I think if you liked the original series and don’t mind third person you’ll feel right at home with her style.

The concerns others had about Snow’s redemption are completely dismissed in this book. Like I had predicted, she writes about his fall into evil, and although it’s not black and white evil (as I don’t like anyways) you can very much tell he’s a bad guy and that the hardships he faced in life only further pushed him towards obtaining status and power. Overall, he feels true to the character when we end up seeing him in the Hunger Games series, and his journey to power fits the images Finnick painted in Mockingjay. He is very well characterized in the book and perfectly unlikable while maintaining an intriguing internal dialogue (although it does occasionally feel tedious, but not enough to bother me; others may feel differently).

 The way he is written is very much in line with Collin’s great characterization, one of the reasons I always loved The Hunger Games. All the characters felt like real people. They all had an extreme depth to them and I felt they all resembled people I had actually met in real life. There were little to no characters that relied solely on gimmicky personalities to get by. Even very minor characters that seemed depthless and swallow at first--like Katniss’s prep team--had more to them. So I thought going into this book I had nothing to worry about in that regard. I didn’t even really spare it a thought, but boy was I wrong. 

I think Snow and Lucy Grey were the only characters that had (at least partly) the depth that the original Hunger Games cast had. I’ll discuss Lucy Grey later but first let me talk about some side characters. Where to even begin really? There’s a LOT of characters in this book. Frankly, way too many, which I think contributes heavily to the lack of depth in the characters. Honestly there’s so many that the names of characters were hard to keep track of while listening to the audiobook (my hard copy of the book was still in the mail and I didn’t want to wait). Things got a bit clustered in my mind quickly. There were twenty-four tributes, twenty-four mentors,  Snow’s family, The Dean and Drs at the university, Snow’s Peacekeeper crew, and the Covey, and those are just the groups that I can cluster together. At least, the ones I remember having names and getting introduced, but I think that’s everyone really important. There was no real time to develop or get to know them really, which made the tributes’ deaths more meaningless as I could barely recall their names. It caused impactful scenes to weaken significantly overall and it made characters serve only to characterize and amplify Snow’s fall into evil. 

Here’s what I mean by that. The head Gamemaker, Dr. Gaul, really was the character I hated the most while reading this. She was just evil without reason (one of the weakest villain types with little to no personality besides being evil). She even made creepy rhymes as if she was in some sort of horror movie, and the entire point of her character was to contribute a lot to some of the forced plot points driving Snow’s moral decline. For example, there were all her tests, which seemed contrived and all directly connected to getting Snow to think the Hunger Games was a good idea. She was seemingly supposed to be a Dr. Mengele type character, as this book has a lot of Holocaust-esqe imagery. I’m fine with irredeemably evil villains, but instead of getting the depth that a Dr. Mengele character could offer (as some may know, many children that were part of his experiments actually said he was kind and gave them candy, and I find that deeply haunting to this day.) She is a flat, one-dimensional character whose entire personality could be described with one word: sociopath. Evil people are master manipulators, which is how they get away with evil things. I think at one of the funerals she puts on a good public face, and she seems to have power, money and influence. Yet the book doesn’t show this seemingly present quality nearly enough to make her a haunting character. Instead we get nursery rhythms and clearly driven lessons towards evil at are contrived. Like “Write about what you most liked about the war” or the assignment to improve the hunger games? Like what class is this? Why are they taking it? And why are the young kids of the influential deciding this instead of the influential people themselves?

Another character I feel was just there for Snow’s development and to represent an opposite viewpoint but lacked Collin’s usual depth is Sejanus Plinth. As a District 2 citizen whose family got rich off the war and moved to the Capitol, he is the main opposing viewpoint of the book, presenting Snow with a chance to do the right thing. I’ve seen people say he’s a Peeta-like character, but I completely reject that idea. He lacks in the charm Peeta has, relishes in self-pity (although he’s completely justified in his sadness and has a right to be upset), and while he has a heart like Peeta, he ultimately doesn’t know how to use it. Instead of working within his position to get influence like Peeta so masterfully does, he’s hot-headed and continuously makes poor decisions that ultimately don’t help anyone. It’s like he wants to help but doesn’t know how as he’s driven completely by emotion without reason. He too contributes to some forced scenes, particularly my least favorite in the book; when they sneak into the arena. Overall, he just falls flat for me. Again, I feel I don’t know anything about him beyond what he contributes to Snow’s story line and he doesn’t come across as realistic. It’s like Collins just wrote how someone would normally react to the hunger games, slapped a district number on him and went on her merry way. 

I just wasn’t prepared for these sort of characters when the Hunger Games series made even the smallest of characters stand out dramatically. I feel neutral to annoyed by most characters in this novel. I could expand this portion, and maybe if people inquire I’ll elaborate on some of the other characters as I have strong opinions on them, but this post is already getting long, so I’ll move on to Lucy Grey.

Lucy Grey is by far my favorite character even though she is bordering towards being a character from a fanfiction. Not quite a Mary Sue in my opinion but there is a certain connection to fanfiction I made with her. You may have guessed some issues I had with her by reading my expectations earlier in the post, but that has not displaced my love for her. Her personality is very different from Katniss’s, or even Peeta’s or Haymitch’s. She had a different type of charm than all of them, is a natural performer, and seemed more extroverted. Also, the whole idea of the Covey and her “not really” being district was intriguing. It really highlighted the displacement that war can cause and how people can just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. (Although I was confused on how much mobility between the districts there were….and did District Twelve have a fence or no?) It really emphasizes one of the main themes of the book, extreme prejudice against both Capitol and District. Her spot sort of in between really drives home the point that there's literally no difference except extreme poverty, and even then there was poverty in the Capitol, only better hidden. Her bright mood (and clothes), her poised attitude, and her optimism made her endearing. She was confident in her skin yet still held the fear of a sixteen year old going into the hunger games.

There were only two main things that bothered me about her, which was of course the direct connections made to Katniss (which I’ll elaborate on) and the forced “love” story between her and Snow. I suppose that has less to do with her and rather more to do with my dislike of that subplot. And I'm a sucker for some good romantic subplots, but yikes!

I think having one strong connection to Katniss was all that was really needed in this book. I really liked the idea of that connection being the Hanging Tree Song, as I can only imagine how it made Snow feel watching “The Mockingjay” sing it in the propo. Despite me not liking that fact that Lucy Grey is also an enchanting singer as that felt like directly stepping in Katniss’s territory, I did enjoy the little twist of Lucy Grey writing the song. Yet the connections between the two when the plot took us to District Twelve went too far. It felt like it took away all of Katniss’s special places and things. The lake, her katniss roots, her gift towards music, her fondness for the meadow, sneaking into the woods, etc. I think one solid connection would have solidified their bond beautifully. Having so many seemed like it was really trying to force the reader to make the connection when it was already painfully clear I guess? Plus, having Lucy stand out at her reaping ( the whole song part read like a bad, contrived fanfiction bit to me) and having people care about her in the Capitol while moral questions of the hunger games were still surfacing made me start to think...isn’t this how the rebellion for Katniss got started? At least partly. I get it’s a different time. Too close to the war. It just felt way too similar. I guess Collins was going for the idea of a lost rebellion that in a way Lucy Grey started that Katniss later revives. Yet it feels like that invalidates the specialness of what Katniss does in the original series as it’s already happened; it just got erased. I guess history repeats itself, but I really just didn’t like it. I could see the appeal to some extent, and it could be a beautiful connection, but it just wasn’t for me.

Now on to the plot, which is the last thing I’ll talk about as this post is getting ridiculously long. A lot of the plot felt very forced or contrived, which was another shocker coming from Collins because her pacing and plot was done really well in the original series. Of course, a lot of this was driven by Dr. Gaul and Sejanus Plinth as the entire plot hinged on the moral debate of the hunger games these two represent. Other plot points just hinged on what happened to establish the games. I mean the rebel bomb explosion seemingly only happened to change the terrain so Dr. Gaul can then bring up the idea of the different arena and how that made the tributes act differently, thus creating the crazy arenas we see later in the series. I do have some praise for how Collins established the disparities between the earlier hunger games and the ones we see in Katniss day. From the way they lock the tributes up, don’t feed them, the spotty coverage of the arena, etc. All of that was exceptionally well done. The only complaint I have was that so many tributes died before they even got to the arena (though not because I wanted to see them fight). I had been expecting one to escape or something to further establish that this was new territory and was waiting to see how they handled it in earlier times, but I wasn’t expecting that many to die before the arena got started. It just seemed like a huge Capitol failure that they advertised loudly. I really wasn’t expecting that level of incompetence, just an escaped tribute that threatened to embarrass or harm the fragile beginnings of post-war Panem. Instead, most of the pre-arena stuff felt disastrous. A lot of the mentors' deaths felt forced, and it was weird that the academy never really came under fire at all from all the rich and powerful parents whose children were getting killed because of the mentor experiment. Like it seemed there should have been some interaction there, but there wasn’t. Maybe some was passively mentioned but still, it could have been a whole subplot that further established the debate of the hunger games.

While the pre-arena up to the break-in to the arena felt like the most forced part of the book and certainly I felt it needed more workshopping plot wise, it also harbored some great and powerful scenes, like Arachne pulling the sandwich away from the tribute while she was starving and laughing about it. Basically, all those interactions of poverty and captivity meeting the citizens of the Capitol were done well, but nothing spectacular (unlike the scene of Katniss screaming at Buttercup at the end of Mockingjay which is heart wrenching.)

The last plot point I’ll talk about is the “love” story. I wasn’t a fan, but it was sort of what a lot of the plot hinged on and led to the great scene at the lake between Snow and Lucy Grey. How easy it was for him to betray his “love” for status. This led to some of the most interesting and evil internal monologue Snow had in the entire book. I honestly feel the ending scene, the interaction Snow had with the jabberjays and Mockingjays in District Twelve, and the lynching scenes were among the strongest and most memorable.

The love story again felt forced (sorry I’m using that word so much it’s just so accurate) into the story. This hindered the book from having a strong plot in the same way the weaker characters caused forced interactions and plot points to move things along. Yet at the same time the kind of abusive and lackluster nature of their relationship throughout the book fit perfectly with the ending. Unfortunately, it didn’t really make it very compelling for the reader. Luckily Lucy’s  personality kept my interested during these parts. I wouldn’t say their relationship was poorly written at all; in fact the way it was written makes perfect sense. I just think the plot relied too heavily on their “love”, which was gross because of the way Snow is, and the reader knew it had to inevitably end in some kind of betrayal or reveal that there was no love at all. This creates tension for the reader, but I kept wondering: if the love plot had been ditched could we have gotten a stronger plot altogether?

So overall, like I’ve said I’m really conflicted. I know I focused heavily on things I didn’t like, but honestly the book was well written in some regards, plot bouncing between really compelling and a little contrived, the two main characters being written well enough but other characters not so much. Some connections between Lucy Grey and Katniss made at the end were powerful, I loved the Covey, Collins still excelled at writing a lot of the social issues/scenes in the book, and honestly the idea of Lucy Grey being completely forgotten in the Districts that hurts my soul a little. Nothing compared to the feelings I got in any of the Hunger Games books but there’s still something there.

I really hope someone made it through this long ass post. The book was entertaining. I mean I listened to all 16 hours of the audiobook in like a day. I can’t wait until my hardcover comes so I can look through it. Maybe once I know what I’m getting into I can enjoy the book a little more than I did, because right now it’s sitting at very average for me. Maybe I went in with my expectations too high? I certainly like the Hunger Games a lot more and probably always will. Honestly, I love new content, but I’m also the type that likes firm, planned endings to stories (even though it hurts to let things end and the fandoms can suffer from lack of content). I think fans can oftentimes get caught up in what they want and pressure the writer into writing more, which ends up a disappointment since it wasn’t originally planned in the series from the beginning. While I don’t think this is by any means the case with Suzanna Collins or that Lionsgate even pressured her to write this book (I don’t like conspiracies of that sort of thing as a writer myself that plans to have a series in which a book comes out many years after the original part of the series is released), I do wonder if this is the end of the Hunger Games for good. I sure hope so, especially if she would be writing about the other victors. I love them too much and really don’t want to feel similarly about their books, and like I said at the beginning, it wouldn’t add to the series just to my guilty pleasure lol.

Hope you all have enjoyed your reading of the book more than I did :) Again sorry if I wrote anything to upset you! Please if you loved this book ENJOY IT! I’m actually kind of jealous if you did. Feels like missing out on something special.

I’m sending you almost the exact list you asked me, but XD 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 15, 16

Perfectly fine with me! :D

1. What's something you've written that you know is OOC and you just don't care?

I am pretty sure that Darcy is being at least somewhat OOC in The End of Never but I couldn’t be bothered to care right now. I would have to rewrite it from scratch to fix that and all that can accomplish is making me abandon that fic forever so I guess we’ll just have to make do with it. (Though, tbh she just learned who her parents were so I guess it’s normal for her to be all confused and not too much like herself).

I also think that Valtor might be somewhat OOC as well in “How Can Light Be So Hard to See?” You know, giving up his quest for power for Griffin. It made sense with the direction of the story but when you put it next to canon, I don’t think it passes the test of being in character with flying colors.

2. What's the most overrated thing you've written?

I have one fanfic for Fairy Tail that is hideously basic and somehow is still my most popular and I just can’t stand that. The idea is just so unoriginal and mainstream - which I guess is what is the appeal - that it drives me nuts to know that is my most liked work for that fandom.

I don’t think I have any Winx fic that I would call overrated. Certainly a handful that I think are underrated, though.

5. Something you hate to see in smut.

Descriptions of every single movement that is happening between the characters. It is in no way necessary and what is more important in that situation - it is just not sexy. There is nothing hot about the in-out motion as I like to call the logistics of smuts. It is all the feelings that the characters are bringing into the situation that turn it from mechanical motions into an experience and I just cannot stand it when we spend five paragraphs on undressing and there isn’t a single emotion mentioned meanwhile, only physicality. No, thank you.

I really hate the lack of dialogue in most smut also. For me the connection of the characters also needs to come through in words. Maybe not that many of them - and I certainly have smuts that aren’t that rich in dialogue - but there have to be at least a few lines somewhere during the whole thing for me to be able to actually enjoy it. And since it relates to this, let me give you a quote from my idol, Dorothy Zbornak - “You know I’ve always wanted to [talk during sex], but at that point no one ever seems interested in conversation.” Same, sister. Same.

And here is also something that kinda goes as a addendum to the previous point - I may like to have dialogue in my smut, but I absolutely despise the way a lot of people write “dirty talk”. It is not sexy, it is just plain disgusting or offensive. Sometimes both at once. I don’t have a problem with the names of the things but you can use them without being utterly vulgar and gross.

6. Something you love to see in smut.

Talking. Just the characters talking about stuff. About how it feels or how they feel, or even about things that aren’t necessarily that connected to it. Bantering during sex is just A++ material. It just makes it feel alive to me and like an actual interaction. It is not necessary all of the time but, like I said before, let them speak to each other instead of just fucking like animals who can’t communicate, please!

Other than that, I am not that particular about what I want in smuts. I am definitely here for some kinky elements as often as possible. XD They certainly give a great opportunity to explore how much the characters trust each other and how they feel about each other and themselves and I am all about that. I just need there to be emotion because that’s what I can relate to and what makes or breaks a scene for me. And smuts aren’t an exception.

7. Something you hate to see in dialogue.

Accents because they often make it hard for me to understand what the hell the character is supposed to be saying. Just, please, write that there is an accent in the dialogue tag and let us all move on happily.

Excessive realisticness also can become annoying. I get it that you’re trying to be authentic but when you can’t understand what the dialogue is supposed to say, then we have a problem.

8. Something you love to see in dialogue.

Considering the fact that I am a dialogue writer, I don’t really have anything particular that I am looking for in dialogue. Just as long as it is understandable, I am fine with it. I don’t really stop to think about it that much when I write because it comes easily to me and so I don’t really pay that much attention to how it reads in other people’s writings.

11. What "don't ever do this" writing rule are you guilty of constantly breaking?

Starting sentences with “and” and “but” and other conjunctions. I don’t care what anyone says. That can be used as emphasis and I will die on this hill. It is a legit writing technique.

Also, I keep using adverbs no matter how much people condemn them. There is a certain merit to the advice to limit their use and look for stronger verbs that don’t need adverbs when possible but I still think it is silly to just throw away a whole group of parts of the speech.

12. What writing rule do you refuse to break?

I am pretty sure I have broken everything at some point. Some things consciously and others just due to not knowing how things happen. I am pretty particular about grammar and punctuation usually but if I think the flow of the sentence needs me to throw those out the window, I will do it without hesitation.

15. We all project onto our characters. Where has your personality or life choices leaked onto the page the most?

Honestly? Everywhere. Rarely do I ever look at a completed fic and not find a way in which I have projected onto the characters. It’s just everywhere.

There is Griffin’s fear of being abandoned in “Pain”.

There is Stella’s hurt over her parents’ divorce in “I Want to Do it All with You”.

There is Griffin’s desire to overcome her self-deprecation in “Can We Give Hope a Chance to Grow?”

There are more projections in “What Is the One Thing That Can Never Break?”, “Happiness Is More Real When You Share It”, “How Can Light Be So Hard to See?”, “Let Me Mirror Your Love for Me Back at You”, etc.

But the most notable I think is in chapter 2 of “Insanity”.

That paragraph that compared Valtor to Hagen? Hardcore projection but somehow I have projected onto both of them. And a lot of the conversation between Valtor and Oritel about having kids is also projection. The idea that society has a negative outlook on people who are not instantly ready to have kids once they are adults is a personal opinion... or more like an observation. And the part about fathers not refusing anything to their daughters also lands somewhere there.

16. What's the most ridiculous thing you've done to put off actually writing?

I am not that original when it comes to procrastinating. XD I do the usual stuff. Namely, get lost on the internet or research myself out of writing. Rereading old work is a big contender here also. But that is pretty much it. Also, going out with family or friends but I wouldn’t call any of these ridiculous.