#the next book
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I wish I could read my books.
Right now I'm on the fourth draft of the Next Book, which I love -- so far, it's my favorite thing I've ever written. At this stage, despite the work of editing, reading it is very much a pleasure to me.
Going by history, that won't always be the case.
Part of the process of editing, for me at least, is getting fed up with reading and rereading the same words. That's not what I'm talking about. That's a passing thing, temporary.
What I've found, having published the first two books, is that I can't pick them up in their lovely book forms with their pretty covers and their nice formatting and all of that and sit down and read them. As books, not manuscripts.
Which is sad, because I feel like that was part of the fantasy pre-publishing -- here's my book, finished, I get to relax and read it the same way I relax and read other people's books. But I haven't even attempted that. Even the idea of it just drives that hope of relaxing right out of me.
Rereading the manuscript? Relaxing. Rereading my fanfics once they're posted on AO3? Relaxing. Rereading my published book? Not a chance, move along, brain, it's time to think about something else.
I'm guessing as to why, but I think it's two factors.
The first is that the books are more personal to me than the fanfics. This isn't a judgment on quality or work involved, but just how personal the story is to me. I think detaching is often a big part of relaxing, escapism, so the books' intimacy with me makes that harder.
The second, and maybe the bigger thing, is the feeling of permanence. The manuscript is, by definition, something I can still change. A fic on AO3 can be edited in less than a minute if there's something I need to change, and it's not a big deal.
But a published book? Granted, I'm self-published. It's still possible to edit one of my books, though it would involve a lot more steps -- it's not a matter of opening one file and making a change and pressing Post.
But by the time a book is published, I've finalized characters and arcs I've been working on for years, I've formatted everything, I've bought the ISBN and slapped it in place. Can edits still be made? Yes. It is in the realm of things that can be done. If the edit is small enough, the ISBN can still be preserved. Maybe I won't need to reformat the cover. I will have to adjust the manuscript again. But.
But by the time I publish, my brain is telling me the book is done. It's not going back. It's not being changed.
To me, it's very important that once a book is done, it's done. I'm free to move on to the next project. I'm not just allowed to let go, I'm supposed to.
And I think it's that feeling that I'm no longer creating the book, I'm not "fixing" anything anymore -- I'm no longer in control of the book? -- that makes it hard for me to just sit back and enjoy the end product.
I hope so much that other people can kick back and enjoy my books the way I kick back and enjoy other people's books. Even if I never have the opportunity to read my books like that, I would still want to write them. Writing them means so much to me.
But I do hope that, some day, years down the line when these books no longer feel so close to me, I can kick back and relax with them too.
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"Get to Know You Better Meme"
I got this from @runicmagitek, thank you for that.
Last song. "I Need Nothing Else" by Sophie B Hawkins. I used to listen to her Whaler album back in the 2000s, then forgot about it for years. She has a fun, headlong, early 90s style that's extremely catchy.
Favorite color. I really like deep jewel tones, teals and wine-reds, also burnt orange. There's this really great magenta-touched purple that I use in some of my art that never scans correctly. We'll go with burnt orange today.
Currently watching. The Nanny, just started season 3. I've never seen it before, but I was lured in by the clothes.
Sweet/savory/spicy. Yes to sweet and savory, no to any but the most mild spices. I have wimpy taste buds, but I'm trying to build them up some. When I crave something, it's usually sweet, though often with savory undertones -- like a banana bread or Tollhouse pie with lots of walnuts in it.
Relationship status.
Current obsession. I'm focusing hard on the Next Book right now. I'm between edits, which has me antsy because I feel like I'm being "lazy". But the truth is, I have to take these breaks or I lose perspective on what I'm doing. But this month I'm going to be working on things like the cover and blurb and just going over how I want to talk about the book and present it to people. The process has its stressful moments, but I also really love the book, so it has its own kind of pleasure, thinking about it, preparing for it.
Last thing you googled. "greek epiousion". I just saw a post talking about how the Greek word epiousion only appears in the Lord's Prayer and its definition is a bit mysterious. It's the word we translate as "daily", as in "daily bread", but it's not the word the Greeks typically used for "daily", and the definition may actually be closer to "superessential". I think it's fascinating, and a little eerie, that things can feel so omnipresent and taken for granted, even when we have these gaps in our knowledge. What prayer, at least Christian prayer, is more omnipresent than the Lord's Prayer? And yet here it is, this strange, only semi-known thing right in the middle of it.
Also, all these centuries, we could have been bandying around a word like superessential like it's nothing, why can't we have that?
No tagging, but please do this if you're so inclined!
#meme#sophie b hawkins#the nanny#the next book#writing#editing#publishing#greek#linguistics#the lord's prayer#christianity#superessential
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tshirt that says NO LIVE ORGANISM CAN CONTINUE FOR LONG TO EXIST SANELY UNDER CONDITIONS OF ABSOLUTE REALITY
#i literally JUST finished hill house a few days ago and i already want to reread. Badly. it's sooo so so soo sooooooooo good <33333!!!!!#also completely enamored by shirley jackson's writing style i NEED to read everything she has written ever like right now..#opening lines of ALL TIME btw 👆❗❗❗#r.txt#the haunting of hill house#ALSO i've seen commentary videos on the tv show they made of hill house but from what i remember of it it's SO different from the book???#i think they were all siblings in the show which is??????? like why would you change that part?? i love sibling relationships as much as the#next guy but i feel like the fact that none of them knew each other was such an essential part of the story like why would u change it....#also eleanor was like. an entirely different character who was also already dead in the show i believe??? and dr. montague doesn't exist??#hill house could've been really good as a show idk why they changed it up like that...like was the original story not interesting enough for#you or something?? WHO decided to make that change i just wanna talk 🤨
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Wouldn't Daenerys be very close to be a mimic of greek tragedy (at least her Show! Daenerys)
if she was well written maybe?
I'm not against dark dany (though I can't really see it happening in the books tbh). But d&d just made thsi extremely clumsy and kinda randomly. I know all about the supposed "foreshadowing" but that's just fans researching. If show dany had been written purposely to fall into the madness and ultimately downfall then sure I suppose her journey could have mimicked a Greek tragedy. But her journey never started as this.
#f&b#idk maybe I'm biasesd because I love dany? but then again I love dark characters and I'm actually hoping for dark Jon if we ever gonna get#the next book#it's just show daenerys was never meant to be the Shadow of her former self that became in s8#it doesn't make sense thematically either
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The funny thing about the PJO cabin system is that everyone's always all 'oh the twelve' this and 'the twelve' that but that's absolutely not even remotely accurate. To start, right off the bat it's thirteen, not twelve, because they don't count Hades. But not really because before Percy, there were no big three kids, so we're down to ten active cabins already but it's actually eight because Artemis and Hera don't make demigods.
And of those eight, Mr. D is stuck at camp (thus not really making new demigods all that often) and his only two kids don't even sleep in a cabin, they sleep in the Big House with him.
So, pre-Percy, there are seven active cabins at Camp Half-Blood:
Glee club, the Jocks, the Nerds, the Geeks, the Farmers, the 'Sketchy Kids' and the Popular Kids.
Or, in other words, the Apollo, Ares, Athena, Hephaestus, Demeter, Hermes (and the unclaimed kids) and Aphrodite cabins.
What's cool is that you can already see the cabin dynamics in the show. For example, the Athena cabin allies with the Hermes cabin for the numbers. The Hermes kids plus all the unclaimed kids? It's the biggest cabin in the camp by far. It's a battle strategy. Luke and Annabeth's close relationship is just the cherry on top for Annabeth. It'll be really cool to see how the show develops the differences in the cabins during the series.
#pjo tv show#pjo series#if i remember correctly it's the Hermes cabin then Ares and Apollo in terms of numbers. Aphrodite would probably be next.#but the Athena Hephaestus and Demeter cabins were always under twelve kids.#they state exact numbers in one book... and if you don't want spoilers turn back now#but after the war theres only three Hephaestus kids left so like.... the numbers go real fucking low#the entire camp population plummeta#iactually really fucking depressing watching this camp filled with small tiny children knowing that only a very small fraction of themlive
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SHE CALLED HIM SEAWEED BRAIN I CANT-
#percy jackson spoilers#pjo spoilers#pjo tv show#percy jackon and the olympians#percy jackson#pjo series#annabeth chase#grover underwood#annabeth pjo#percabeth#grover pjo#ares pjo#I broke down when Annabeth gave that speech to Hephaestus#Annabeth was really the mvp of the episode#also I loved seeing her nerd out over the traps#also so excited for the next episode#lotus casino and Hermes lets goooooooo#this show is doing the books so much justice#1000/10
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innocently logging in to look at the Twst schedule for May like
#art#twisted wonderland#twisted wonderland spoilers#twisted wonderland episode 7 spoilers#twisted wonderland book 7 spoilers#twisted wonderland episode 7 part 8 spoilers#twisted wonderland book 7 part 8 spoilers#tsumsted wonderland#i-is that enough spoiler tags#anyway twst just absolutely obliterating me with the schedule again#i saw the story completion campaign ended in june and was like 'oh okay that'll be when we get the next part' NOPE HA HA#oh my god rook. oh my god savana rook is real.#w...why is this a story card. hey twst wHY IS THIS A STORY CARD --#is rook dreaming of still being a rowdy boy or#and why is he...(squints) why is he in a pomefiore bedroom#never mind i'm actually terrified of this card now#god. the STETSON. i'm crying.#he really is just applejack huh#also vil i don't know what your problem was this man's mane is LUSCIOUS#and what's this? it's twst following up that first punch with the right hook of EVEN MORE of the best and silliest event#malleus is going to be in the middle of an angsty flashback while dangling us over a pit of spikes or something#and then we're going to cut directly to him having a charming little tea party with a small plush version of himself#oh twst your sense of pacing remains exquisitely incomprehensible#(no i love this though)
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strength and nobility
#this vignette lives in my head rent fucking free. it haunts me something abt it reworks my brain chemistry#its not even a diasom vignette but it HITS its sat w me since i first saw it early on in playing the game. it ruins me. theres AUGHH#theres something so palpable in the energy of it. the confidence mal has in him as the king of heartslabyul#bestowing the rose so he exudes the majesty he already holds within. the unwavering belief in saving the group and mal's guards#AUGHHHH MY BRAIN MY BRAIN!!!!!!! looking at riddle's journey thru book 1 and seeing this as the next step of his char? RUINS ME#sorry. imemotional#twst#twisted wonderland#malleus draconia#riddle rosehearts#mallerido#suntails
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wanted to draw them together and Alecto's outfit
#pls alecto being huge will be an actual canon in the next book I can't imagine otherwise anymore#the locked tomb#alecto the ninth#anastasia the first#anastasia the ninth#nona the ninth#harrow the ninth#what's their ship name#alectostasia#??#alectostas#idk#art
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Like old times
#dick grayson#tim drake#dc#nightwing#red robin#I know it’s red but having all three of them be red is no good to me#so Jason is red Tim is yellow and Damian is green in my book#doodle#digital art#fanart#dick was visiting and Tim didn’t want to say he was tired so they hung out until he passed out#so dick carried him to bed and said he gets it and to just say he’s tired next time 🥺
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I think I may have more or less finalized the cover for the next book.
It is nerve-wracking.
There's a lot of little things that can unexpectedly go wrong with formatting everything and getting both the inside and the outside of the book correct -- and then seeing how different things look when it's actually in your hands.
So please keep your fingers crossed for me!
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THE DAM JOKES ARE BACK Y'ALL
#the dam jokes#dw i will post something for pride month next#be patient#pjo fandom#percy jackson books#the sun and the star#solangelo book#solangelo#will x nico#nico di angelo#will solace#pjo#percy jackson#percy jackson and the olympians#rick riordan#heroes of olympus#pjo hoo toa
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“He was probably quite decadent in the past, perhaps abusing his power a little bit. I see him as being very intelligent — very erudite — and highly manipulative when he wants to be. Very vulnerable and traumatized, but also incredibly witty and funny. He’s got etiquette, he’s articulate, and he’s very sophisticated. He’s a lover of the arts without, I believe, having the talent to produce art himself. He’s also rather good-looking, and he’s not afraid to use that as a way to shield himself or to get what he wants. He’s immoral, not amoral. I would say he’s quite aware of morality. He just chooses not to [be moral], darling, you know?”
“His sense of freedom is the most powerful thing about him. The drive to be free — the need to be free at all costs, including things that are morally gray and sometimes completely wrong. But the overriding sense is never wanting to be trapped again in a situation like the one he’s come from for the last 200 years. Underneath all of that, if you can find a way to him, he’s also probably one of the best friends you’ll ever have.”
-Neil Newbon on how he would describe Astarion (source)
#i love how he emphasizes that Astarion is sophisticated and erudite#because you totally get that sense about him when playing the game and I love it#plus he's constantly reading a book in camp#he's the biggest nerd next to Gale and you can't convince me otherwise#astarion#baldur's gate 3
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On my computer I titled this Neil's sanity.
Don't you hate it when your reflection tries to murder you.
Anyway here's an animation I spent the day doing, it's Millport Neil and his Guilt :)
Also thank you so much for all the replies for the animatic! It means so much!! Tbh I would draw and animate more but each time I do so I gotta catch on the school work and I'm getting behind already.. But yeah today I was like meh what's work anyway.
#aftg#all for the game#the foxhole court#the raven king#the kings men#neil josten#the reflection is named nathaniel#also are we gonna talk about the fact that there's gonna be a fourth book#the sunshine fucking court???#i cannot wait for this shit i am oh so excited#i'm gonna draw jean moreau next time#noah's aftg series
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the doodles i doodled while i listened to the nona audio book babay! (plus my favorite pyrrha dve quotes)
#tlt#the locked tomb#nona the ninth#nona the ninth spoilers#camilla hect#pyrrha dve#tlt shitposting#gideon the ninth#lot of people were asking me for a comic with pash in it but tbh i couldnt really think of anything LMAO SORRY#i mean i could probably come up with somethin but i just dont have a good idea of her character#i mean the fandom makes her very funny but in the book she doesnt have much screen time#do you still call it screen time if its a book probably not right#also sorry all my favorite pyrrha quotes are basically just her calling cam a gay ass#also also im working on griddlehark farmer doodles so ill probably get those done next
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Sea of Monsters is gonna end me
#this is just book one#like#this is insane#the t pose#they’re literally setting up the next season of the same thing#oh my goodness#percabeth is percabething#percabeth#percy jackson#annabeth chase#percy x annabeth#percy and annabeth#percy jackon and the olympians#percy jackson the lightning thief#pjo#pjo tv#percy series#pjo tv show#pjo hoo toa#riordanverse
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