#to my detriment as a writer and artist a lot of the time | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

just-s0me-stranger · 3 months

Text

Statement

I wish to make a statement regarding what happened on the 14th of April, 2023

I, at first, wanted to move on from what happened and start again

But, seeing as some people aren't willing to let go of what happened, I feel I have no choice but to give my side of the story

I'll admit, I haven't been perfect in all this

I made mistakes

Many I wish I could take back, and would do if it was possible

But, whether I'm forgiven or not isn't up to me

That being said, however, the person who started all this in the first place isn't innocent either

I wish to address the accusations against me regarding, defending a transphobic person, racism, me fetishising trans men in my Perfectly Imperfect roadrat fanfic, and my conduct with minors, in that order

First, the accusations of me defending transphobic person

These accusations were first brought against me on the 14th of April, 2023, when user @sodapoptisms dug up a tweet from someone who said the following

Link

They then followed up with a quote tweet saying the following

Link

Now, I knew the person being screenshotted

I don't defend how they said what they said

Out of context, it's very poorly worded

What I DO defend is the fact that I took issue with Soda wanting the roadrat fandom to "band together and force the bigot out"

In other words, Soda wanted to rally a mob against this person for their political beliefs

I took issue for several reasons

The first one being like I said, I knew this person at the time

I knew they weren't anti trans rights

But forcing someone out for not agreeing with every aspect of the trans community can cause someone to become anti trans out of spite

Which brings me to my next point

I knew not speaking out against Soda could have a detrimental effect on the support for trans rights on the grassroots level

How?

Because this person had said they'd had many bad experiences with members of the trans community

Many people have sadly come out against the trans community for those reasons as well

Including many gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and even some transgender people

Clearly, bullying people for not holding your exact political views isn't working

And may actually be making things worse

That isn't to say that you win rights by coddling people's feelings

But you don't win people over by bullying and demonising them either

There is a balance that needs to be met, which isn't at the moment

You can't just demand people be your ally, then treat them like shit when they refuse, or don't live up to your standards

The second accusation I want to address is the one of racism

I was accused of this after writing an open letter to Soda shortly after what happened on the 14th of April, which no longer exists

But in it, I used the term Flying Monkeys to refer to the mob Soda had rallied against myselfand the other person

The term, Flying Monkeys, is commonly used as a nickname in pop psychology for the friends of narcissists

However, because Soda has many friends who are black, they twisted the words to accuse me of referring to them in a racially derogatory way

This was despite me pointing out the fact that I did not know Soda's friends were black, as even if they have that in their bios, I don't tend to read bios in detail, if at all. So, I was unaware unless I saw a photo of them

Thirdly, the fetishising of trans men in fanfiction

I never thought I'd have to bring this up

After all, no artist or writer should has to explain or justify why they made the choices they did in their works, but here we go.

Long story short, I tend to write stories with mpreg in it

You can think ill of me for it if you like, I don't care

But, I do not write these sorts of fanfiction for fetish fuel

I wrote Perfectly Imperfect for several reasons

The major one being that I have a lot of unresolved Daddy Issues

I won't get too much into my personal history, other than my father wasn't much in the picture when I was growing up

The few times he was in the picture, he was abusive

Not just to me, but to my mother, my sisters, & his previous two families, which he had left prior

I was estranged from him for eight years until I learned he had cancer, & I decided to reconnect with him two years before he died

I began writing Perfectly Imperfect a year prior to my father's death

Why use Mpreg to deal with Daddy Issues, you may ask?

The answer is twofold

I want to have my own family one day, & I tend to project that desire onto my favourite characters

I'm also fascinated with the father/child bond I guess

Particularly those that, while they may not be perfect, they at least are there for their child/ren, and don't abuse them

As for the fact that I've written Junkrat giving birth

That tends to be how a pregnancy concludes

But, I always focused on Junkrat himself, & what he's going through while giving birth

Such as his the pain he's in and how scared he is

How he looks to Roadhog for comfort

And how Roadhog helps him through it

It's about the emotion & vulnerability of the scene, in other words

Birth is messy, & can be gross, I can understand why many are squicked out by it

But it's a fact of life, much like death

Fourth, I'd like to discuss my supposedly inappropriate conduct with minors online

As many of you will know, I used to run Roadrat server. This server was an 18+ server, as I didn't feel I could, nor did I want the extra responsibility of, keeping minors safe within it

However, I would ask around to see if many people wanted to join, provided they were of age

As at the time, there was a content drought, & I wanted to keep the fandom as active as possible through it

Which I felt I could do through Discord

Unfortunately, not everyone has their age in their bios, which is fine

I understand not everyone feels safe showing people their age

But, it does sometimes mean I'm unsure, & have to ask about the person's age

This person there were a minor & then asked if they knew of any other Roadrat servers

I didn't really know of any that were as active as mine was a the time, so I made them an offer

They tell me when they come of age, & I'd let them into my server on the day

As you can see, nothing inappropriate took place, & the conversation pretty much ended after that

So, that is the context of everything that happened

Lastly, I want to address @sodapoptisms aka @sodapopblast directly

I'm sorry

I'm sorry I ever had the misfortune of knowing you and your friends

I'm sorry I ever thought of you as someone worth my time

I'm sorry I never saw how much you use your gender identity as a sheild to bully and harass people who step out of line

I'm sorry I never saw how much of a manipulative and cowardly bully you are

And I pity your friends who don't see you for the worm you truly are

It's because of you that I've had to endure being mischaracterised and demonised by your false & deliberately misleading accusations

For months

I've endured multiple accounts of abuse, and many death threats because of you

I lost my standing in the Overwatch community

All of this took a major toll on my mental health & general well-being

It not only affected my ability to perform my job as a care worker, which I was so scared I'd lose because of you

But also my self-confidence & and self-esteem, which I had painstakingly built up by writing my Roadrat series over five years

Only for you to tear it down in the span of one day

I used to hold such ill-will towards you for a long time

But that's only stooping to your level

You deserve to get better as much as I do

But the sad thing is, you probably won't

You're way too comfortable where you are right now, surrounded by your fandoms & your Yes Men

I doubt you'll find true happiness while you're where you're at

And that's enough for me

#junkrat #roadrat #overwatch fandom

54 notes · View notes

dogstarblues · 9 months

Text

i really feel like romanticizing the act of making art and art itself is detrimental to how art is engaged with. i feel like thats part of where elitism springs from.

like. people think its inaccessible because they think art is special and because they think art is special, the idea is that artists must be special. the factor isnt specialness, its money and time. so writers and visual artists and musicians are treated as a Separate Kind of Person when anyone can do anything with the right resources. it just takes time and often money.

like im not special because im a poet, im a poet because i think mundanity is wondrous. im ordinary. i write about my lived experience and about nature and specfic. im just another person and ive written a lot for a long time to become better at my craft. i started writing seriously in my notes app. before that i wrote poetry when i should have been taking notes in class during high school.

being an artist is not an elevated position, its a human one. art is time. its human effort. thats the magic of it.

#dogstar speaking

58 notes · View notes

tobiasdrake · 7 months

Text

As much as I loved DBS: Super Hero, it did also serve as a reminder for why modern Dragon Ball gives Gohan so little to do.

What it boils down to is that Dragon Ball writers seem to have difficulty finding new ways for Gohan to develop or evolve as a fighter. This is because Gohan himself isn't interested in developing or evolving as a fighter.

By contrast to the proactive Goku, Gohan is a reactive character. He doesn't want to be a big martial arts super-warrior. He has no ambition to become Next-Gen Son Goku. That doesn't mean he won't Do The Things. He's been Doing The Things since he was four. But he needs to have a reason. Something he's doing it for.

"To be stronger/better, to push myself, to become more than I am now," is Goku's driving motive. Goku is a martial artist driven to surpass his own limits, and this drives him to keep finding new mountains to climb.

Gohan's driving motive is, "To protect my family from that asshole." He needs a reason. Self-improvement for its own sake (or, as some have offered, "to be strong enough to deal with the next guy") isn't his passion. Plus, he's already one of the strongest people in the entire universe. How much stronger should he reasonably need to be?

There are all kinds of stories you can tell with a reactive character like Gohan. He's basically a superhero archetype. Spider-Man doesn't constantly train to make himself a better fighter with every waking moment. He doesn't need to; His genre isn't one of progressive escalation.

The problem is, Dragon Ball is dedicated to progressive escalation, arguably to its detriment as Modern Dragon Ball is well past the point where escalation no longer holds any weight. The powers of the characters are so abstract by this point that they have to be defined solely in relation to each other. "Bob is STRONGER than Alex." "Yeah, well now we're fighting John, who's way stronger than Bob and Alex combined." "Yeah well Mark is 100x stronger than John!" "Frank could flex Mark into oblivion with his pinky finger."

This isn't a problem for Gohan, so much as it is a problem for the mindset people have when writing for Dragon Ball. Whether it's Toei or Toyotaro or even Toriyama himself, nobody ever knows what to do with Gohan.

Even when Gohan's in the driver's seat, he's being written by writers who don't know how to write the kinds of stories that Gohan, as a protagonist, is suited for. So they always wind up going back and rehashing things from the well of past Gohan things.

Goku gets to move forward and do new things, but Gohan is trapped in an endless cycle of doing the same three things and nothing else.

1 - Piccolo's sacrifice. Piccolo throwing himself in front of an attack for Gohan or maybe Gohan throws himself in front of an attack for Piccolo if we're being spicy today. REMEMBER THAT TIME. DO YOU REMEMBER? 2 - Gohan gets a rage boost or turns Super Saiyan 2, and then things get real. Everyone loved his Super Saiyan 2 transformation. They loved it so much they're still finding excuses to have him turn Super Saiyan 2 for the very first time again. 3 - Gohan has the power within him to win but he can't unleash it so Goku appears out of nowhere to save him and give him a pep talk, and then he gains confidence in himself and becomes strong enough to win.

To my knowledge, I don't think #3 has appeared in DBS as of yet but it was all over post-Cell Games. After everyone went nuts for Father-Son Kamehameha, we had "Goku gives Gohan a pep talk so he can win" as the resolution for both Broly: Second Coming and Bojack. Then in the actual manga, Goku made the save on Gohan during the Super Buu fight and then got sick of having to do this and fired him from protag slot entirely, which is worse.

Most of Super Hero was a lot of fun. But that final fight turning into "Let's literally bring Cell back so that we can do 'Gohan turns Super Saiyan 2 and defeat Cell' again but it's actually Cell again for maximum uncreativity"? I see you, writers. I see your total lack of ideas for this character.

#dragon ball #dragon ball super #dbs super hero #son gohan

39 notes · View notes

aheathen-conceivably · 5 months

Note

Hello! Merry Christmas and good luck in the new year! I have a question, I don’t know if it’s been asked already, but I’m interested to know which of your characters is closest to you in spirit? What traits do you have in common with him? And vice versa. Which character is the most difficult for you to write, which you do not always understand: his actions, words and motivation, because you are a real writer and are probably good at the psychology of heroes (I really apologize for the distorted sentences, because I am a foreign subscriber and use a translator)

Absolutely no need to apologize, Nonny! Everything looks great and thank you so much for taking the time to send these thoughtful questions 💕

Y’all already know the rambler in me is getting all excited, so prepare y’all selves! Though I must say, it’s quite hard to pinpoint an answer, mostly because there’s at least a small bit of myself in each of the characters and who’s easiest to write is not always who is the most like me? So naturally, let’s go below the cut, and I’ll split this into sections to make it easier for us to read 😘

1. My spirit characters:

Honesty time. I think that it’s easier for me to put my “negative” qualities into characters and thus also easier to recognize them in hindsight. This is probably because it’s simply often easier to see what needs to be improved in yourself than vice versa, but also probably because I’m a dramatic broad who likes giving her characters flaws.

So although I could probably find a bit of myself in most characters, I would say those who are most like me are Rosella, Zelda, and Violette. Just down to sims traits, Rosella and my simself actually both have the self-absorbed trait (oops). I think this manifests in different ways, but at its core I’m just as likely to follow my wants and cut ties as she is. I also have a ~rather strong~ proclivity for the aesthetic and vain, enjoying beautiful things for their own sake often to the point of distraction. However, I like to think that this is tertiary to me, and my pursuit of them is not as detrimental as it was for her.

Which brings us to, of course, Zelda. Zelda shares this love of the beautiful with her sister, although for her it can extend into the ephemeral and artistic rather than simply the mundane. I would say I share that tendency toward internal existentialism with her, as well as the proclivity to separate from my immediate surroundings rather than live in the present moment. I, like her, can thus often seem “out of it” but in reality we’re just interpreting our surroundings through a distorted, if not tinted lens. However, I’m by no means as artistically talented or reserved as Zelda, which brings us to….

Our little heiress, Violette. Now I’ll try not to get too deep into spoilers here, but Little Lottie and I definitely share some core tendencies. I, like her, despise being told what to do, and will usually become more stubborn or do the opposite simply because of what someone said (whether it’s well intentioned or not). I can also be gregarious, dramatic, and loud when I want to be, and enjoy being the center of attention. However, I think the Zelda in me tempers that so that I need to retreat back into my cave after a while, while Violette thrives on it. I was also raised an only child, so a lot of Lottie’s experience with loneliness and not knowing how to relate to other children is coming from my own childhood.

2. The easiest to write:

So oddly, I don’t think there’s a clear connection between the characters who are most like me and those I find easiest to write. Rather I think that comes from the historical situation that is currently inspiring me, which character fits into that inspiration the best, and how clear of a grasp I have on that character’s personality. This often comes in the form of scenes just appearing in my head, and as I write it’s like the sentences already exist? So there’s this natural understanding between the character and me, where I don’t really have to sort through thought rubble or force their perspective quite as much?

This answer is highly dependent on what part of the story we are currently in. As in, there have been times I have found a character easy to write, and then it will suddenly switch. Zelda is absolutely one of those characters, as her perspective came very naturally to me in parts of the 1910s and then again after motherhood. Now, I find it easier to write the characters surrounding her, and I’m sure it will switch again at some point in the future.

Currently? I find Josephine easiest to write (although she is not very similar to me at all, and her deep fear of commitment is something that I don’t share in the slightest), with Antoine coming in as a close second. Violette’s perspective in the 1940s has also kind of begun presenting itself to me, although at various points I would say that Adelia, Virginia, and Florence have all also been the easiest characters to write for, and those who’s voices have inspired me to come up with new scenes and plotlines.

3. Who even is she?

Now for the characters who are least like me? That one has gotta probably gotta go to Florence, Virginia, and Antoine. As much as I may want to be like Florence, I’m gunna be honest with y’all and say that is not the case. Starting with the fact that I strongly dislike the great outdoors. Farming? Nah. Camping? Absolutely not. Living of the land? What a pleasant dream. What can I say, I am absolutely a Rosella; I enjoy being fancy and comfortable, and Florence in some ways is the antithesis of this. She also embodies selfless generosity and a sort of steady love, which are not things that I would say I really relate to (I once again point you to answer 1 😅).

Now Virginia is a strange one. I was actually very concerned with writing her, because I share none of the righteousness or quickness to action that define her. Likewise, I don’t think that I am able to remain as steady and surefire in tragedy and trauma as she does. So when I first conceived her character I thought I would have great difficulty writing her, but as I mentioned above, despite the fact that she is probably the least similar to me of all the Darlingtons, I found her easy and almost natural to write once we began her storyline.

Which brings us to my baby boy. Sigh. I say this next because Antoine has easily been one of the most natural characters for me to write. I think this is because I had such a clear vision of him from the start that has really been able to grow through the story. So he’s remained who he is through it all, and why I still find him so easy to write.

Despite this, there is very little to none of me in his character, despite the fact that I maybe sorta have a thing for the broken artist stereotype (hello, hubs, I know you’re out there 😙). So there may be some ways in which I wrote my partner into his character’s talent and approach to the world around him, but he is heavily inspired by these ideas of “old fashioned masculinity”, of self-imposed stoicism and protection and fatherhood. These are feelings that I have to imagine rather than pull from experience, but somehow the more I write him the more real they become to me as well.

4. The ~struggle~

Hands down the hardest characters for me to write have been Oliver and Isaiah. I think that Oliver really suffered from the fact that he was my first gen heir, so I was at a place in the story and my writing process where I wasn’t as sure in what I was doing or as good at honing into what I wanted to do. Then by the time this became more clear to me, I had really begun to lean into writing Florence’s character and then his children. So he kind of became less of a focus, and the less I focused on him the harder it was for me to define his voice, which then became a cycle.

I think if I could go back, I would lean more into the connection that I see between him and the romantic poets, really kind of exploring that juxtaposition between idealized nature and reality. I also think his position as a pseudo-wealthy aristocratic and failed businessman had a lot of potential, but alas, you live and you learn.

Now onto the Forgotten Child. Y’all (and I) call him that for a reason, and I think next to his sisters it’s no secret that Isaiah received much less focus (I even have a post about him realizing this 😂). Part of this is just that he’s the youngest, so I really didn’t get much time to explore his adult life or even his teenage years. It’s also because trying to juggle six perspectives all at once means that some are going to suffer more than others.

Now that being said, I am happy with his storylines. However, they often felt more like I was exploring plots I had come up with rather than really viewing things through his perspective. I think this is the biggest challenge to me when having trouble writing a character: it’s that their voice is just for whatever reason not really clear in my mind. Even in the subsequent decades, our English Darlington updates are mostly going to come from Summer, because I still have never really gotten my finger on exactly who Isaiah is. For that reason, my poor forgotten baby boy is probably the most difficult character for me to write.

—

ALSO if you made it this far please know that turning your delightful questions into a multi-paragraph rant about myself is a very self absorbed and very Rosella/Violette thing to do so in the end…I think you have all the answer you need right there 🤣

#thank you all for coming to my Ted Talk 🫡#which is basically a demonstration of why the answer is Rosella #real cute look Alexis kill off your spirit character huh #also a very merry Christmas to you too Nonny!!#I hope that it was lovely ❤️🎄#ask #answered #Darlington extras

22 notes · View notes

missroserose · 2 months

Note

🎲 🦷🧩

China! Delighted to hear from you, my friend <3 let's see what we've got here...

🎲 ⇢ what stops you from writing more in your free time?

Interesting phrasing on this question! Initially I was going to start with the laundry list of life things that get in the way (chores, work, family stuff, social stuff, other hobbies, etc.) but then I realized it specifically says "in your free time". Going by that more narrow reading...

I was just talking with my therapist the other day about how I don't like doing the same thing repeatedly artistically (much to the detriment of my follower count, since consistent and reliable output is one of the primary ways to build a following), and she pointed out that that's a common thing with perfectionists, because we always want to be outdoing ourselves or doing it better. And wow, if that didn't hit home...so yeah. I think a good chunk of it is that perfectionism, that fear that I'm going to regress, that I'm going to disappoint people, that I'm not spending my time living up to my potential. Which, of course, means I spend a lot of time not writing when I could be.

Maybe someday I'll be able to internalize the "two cakes" theory with regards to my own writing...

🦷 ⇢ share some personal wisdom or a life hack you swear on

Do the thing. Do it now before you forget, or before your fears start sabotaging you, or before your brain decides it'd rather focus on literally anything else. Obviously you're not going to be able to always do everything immediately, but if it's important to you, if you're feeling the motivation to get started—that motivation is PRECIOUS and also evanescent. So jump on that horse and ride it as far as it'll take you.

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

Passive characters. If a character isn't doing anything to further the plot themselves, if they're just sitting and letting things happen to them and angsting about it without getting up and DOING something about it...yeah. No thanks.

(technically, this isn't 100% accurate—I once hate-read an entire 10K Swesson fic starring the whiniest, most passive version of Sam just because it was so terribly written that I was having a blast complaining to a friend of mine about it—but 99.9% of the time, yeah, that's gonna have me hitting the back button within a chapter or two.)

play Writer Truth or Dare with me!

#about me #writer truth or dare #askbox games #writing

9 notes · View notes

davidfarland · 3 months

Text

David Farland’s Writing Tips—Why You want Your Books Turned into Film

Many authors dream of seeing their books turned into films, but for some it’s a nightmare.

After all, filmmakers tend to take liberties with an author’s story, often making changes that seem detrimental to the tale just to “make it their own.”

For example, P.L. Tavers, author of the Mary Poppins series, burst into tears when she saw what Disney had done to her books. Now, the film “Mary Poppins” won the Academy Award for “Best Picture of the Year and became a huge hit, but Tavers didn’t like it. In the same way, Tolkien didn’t want to sell his rights to Lord of the Rings, but filmmakers got them anyway. When the rights to Harry Potter went up for sale, Rowling went so far as to put an ad in the New York Times decrying the sale.

Heck, just a few weeks ago I pulled my Runelords books from consideration with a large television studio because I had an artistic disagreement. They wanted to add more sex and violence, I didn’t.

You might not always like what a studio does with your books, but usually the film sale will work out very well for a writer. Why? Because one of the biggest costs for making a film comes from promoting the film.

Promoting a major movie typically costs $35 million spent on ads in-theater, on television, in print media and on the internet and radio. All of that advertising doesn’t just sell the movie, it also spills over and increases sales on your book.

Once a book gets turned into film, the book gets a new lease on life. The book will get wrapped with a new cover—one taken from stills for the movie—and will be distributed widely in better supermarkets and gas stations everywhere. The book will also be put in special displays in bookstores, and the publisher may engage in a bit of print advertising.

All of this will sell a lot of copies. A few years ago, a terrible movie was made from a popular book that I won’t name here. The movie was a real dog, a classic disaster. But the publisher told me that they sold an extra two million copies of the book anyway.

Think about it. The royalties paid to the author would have equaled about $1.6 million dollars. You could crumple those 1.6 million-dollar bills all up and make a very cozy mattress out of them!

This example comes from a movie that was a disaster, but what if a genuinely good film were made from your books? The Lord of the Rings movies helped sell about 100 million books globally, from what I can tell. The Harry Potter movies helped make the book the bestseller of all time. And Tavers with Mary Poppins—I’m sure she cried all the way to the bank.

The same can happen in television. The Game of Thrones series helped make the books into a phenomenon.

You can of course turn a book into a huge hit without having a movie tie-in. The problem is that it requires a lot of investment from the publisher in cooperation with the bookstores. The stores have to agree to give the book special face-out advertising in prime locations in the stores. They may have to agree to put up special displays. If the books are selling at a high-enough velocity, this makes sense for everyone. But coordinating these efforts with bookstore owners who might be harried, lazy, or stupid is emotionally draining for the publisher, and often doesn’t work.

That’s why, if an author like JK Rowling or Stephen King or Dan Brown breaks out into the “phenomenon realm,” where they are actually selling more books than the genre’s audience would seem to allow, it is almost always done because a good film tie in was made.

This is why, with my Apex writing group, I want to stress that writers be open to filmmaking. You should begin nurturing contacts with film producers and agents early. You might find it helpful to attend large film festivals, or even begin mastering the fine art of writing a screenplay.

For more on David Farland's Writing tips, visit https://mystorydoctor.com/writing-blog/

And you can also click here to get your David Farland Daily Meditations.

#writing help #writing #writing advice #writing tips #author

9 notes · View notes

leather-blr · 6 months

Note

i really wish i understood the appeal of milo murphys law but i just can't get into it :-( I've tried watching it but it's just so painfully mid

(i’m very critical about mml here but i end it positively don’t worry. essay under the cut)

i watched milo murphy’s law with my best friend and roommate ( @herbi-cide ) which gave me a more positive experience with the show as a whole but there were so many times were it just felt like a slog. i hesitate to call it “filler” because it’s a pretty episodic show (though theres much more of a plot than pnf) but i don’t particularly find the laid back contained story episodes very engaging or funny most of the time. i’ve seen people (KEYAN *shakes fist*) say this roots from a lack luster premise, but i think that a premise is always as good as it’s execution. and a lot of mml executes like ass. it is straight up disastrous. like milo murphy himself walked through the writers room one day leaving the writers to salvage whatever scraps were left among the wreckage

im really not confident in dwampy’s ability to write a plot-driven show, i think it’s obvious that they’re comfort zone lies in episodic comedies. which is awesome, we all have our skills and comfort zones, phineas and ferb is so great at what it does for a reason. but i think this is very much to mml’s detriment. there is so much set up for great storylines and likable characters, and so many good ideas, but like, either they didn’t have time to do anything with them or just straight up didn’t know how. it is genuinely impressive how boring mml can get given its cast and world

i think people blame pnf too much for the decline of mml in season 2, doofenshmirtz is insufferable throughout most of it and all, but i think the pnf shoehoring hints to a larger problem that mml always had. it feels as if it’s uncomfortable with its own characters and world, like it’s afraid to commit, and i think that is very much dwampy’s sitcom-oriented writing style shining through in an ugly way

i see people praise mml for its story, but because of dwampy’s aversion to writing linear storytelling, it definitely ranges on the plot-light side of television. it’s not quite a sitcom, but there’s really not much story progression happening aside from a few world building episodes and big arcs like the aliens or the pistachions (which phineas and ferb also does better in the meap saga let’s be real, at least for the alien arc)

i don’t like comparing mml to phineas and ferb, but one fails so hard at the things the other achieves in spades that it’s kind of impossible not to compare them. i wouldn’t mind mml’s shitty storytelling as much if the plot-light episodes (which is most of them) were compelling. phineas and ferb has just as good as a premise as murphy’s law, if not less interesting, and does the character-driven sitcom filler infinitely better in every single way. it is rare i’ll ever be bored watching phineas and ferb, and ik comedy is subjective, but i think a lot of us can agree that phineas and ferb is overall just wittier and funnier in general than mml. mml is kind of forgettable! i’ll be real! i love it but it’s forgettable

i want mml to be its own unique thing sooo bad but especially in the second half it feels like there’s no reason i shouldn’t just turn it off and go watch phineas and ferb. it’s also frustrating because i know mml has the capability to be good, because the pistachion arc is gripping and well structured and generally super entertaining (one of the best experiences i’ve had watching a show with a friend), and there’s a lot of fantastic episodes and moments in there. which is why i’m so harsh on it, it’s disappointing!!

there’s dozens and dozens of ultra talented people who worked on milo murphy’s law (i’ve gone through so many storyboards and portfolios to look for more details about the artists who worked on it so can confirm these people are awesome) so i can only wonder if studio conditions / time crunches / other factors (disney bullshitery) had anything to do with how spectacularly mml fails in a lot of regards, but there’s an upside, and this is the biggest appeal of murphy’s law for me:

the milo murphy’s law fandom and by extent the dakavendish fandom is one of the best fandoms i’ve ever seen hands down, some of the most dedicated and passionate writers, artists and general fans continue to be active in the community and create awesome shit that is leagues better than anything in the source material. because mml presents so many good concepts but doesn’t deliver, it leaves a lot of room for fans to expand on them and make their own amazing stuff. and because they’re such a small community, and milo murphy’s law is widely remembered as “that show that came after phineas and ferb” or “that show keyan carlile didn’t like” they are very close knit and very very friendly. nicest ppl you’ll ever meet

if it weren’t for the fandom i would not give a single shit about milo murphy’s law, but the fans make the show and it’s characters so much more than they are in the source material. so no wonder i had such a good time watching it when i had my roommate to talk about it with! community adds context to art in a way that can change it entirely, especially in the age of the internet

so i will always recommend murphy’s law with that in mind. also, think of it this way: at least it’s not hamster and gretel. i’ll stand by my opinion that show sucks LMAO

#milo murphys law #dwampyverse #asks #ask #thank you:#anonymous #keyan carlile fight me in the ring #it’s okay i love his videos #but i’ll still fight him in the ring

19 notes · View notes

peterpumpkinhead · 7 months

Text

rant about ofts writing problems

only friends is a series with great potential, good actors, important themes and a major pacing issue.

the arcs are either too spaced out or too close together. the characters go through a lot of redundant scenes, then race through underdeveloped yet key scenes.

the dialogue is often filled with exposition, meanwhile many circumstances could've been more fleshed out and made more clear, if only certain hints were more precisely sprinkled all throughout the series.

example: there could've been a couple of scenes showing sand reminiscing about boeing during the season - nothing too long, no expository dialogue whatsoever. imagine: sand alone in his room, after a major fight with ray, looking through his phone contacts, seeing boeing's name, looking at the screen, in doubt about whether to contact his ex or not, and then giving up and turning off his phone. literally this scene alone, that could've lasted, like, 15 seconds or something, would be instrumental to developing sand's lingering feelings for his ex. another scene could be sand, after bumping into top or seeing ray with mew, for an example, staring at a similar plane model in his room, obviously given to him by boeing, in apparent internal conflict, before putting it away somewhere out of sight.

imagine - two scenes like these, sprinkled during the show's season, each shorter than a minute, would've helped build up sand's emotional turmoil over his ex, would've further developed his resentment towards top and it's just SIMPLE FORESHADOWING for boeing's ressurgence.

I'm a professional screenwriter and playwright, btw, and I cannot stress enough how often my fingers were ITCHING because of the urge to get my hands on these scripts and give them at least a couple more rewrites.

they aren't bad scripts by any means! they're unfinished, rushed. they needed a few more treatments and revisions. I feel like the pacing issue is an industry problem - the writers are most likely rushed and possibly have to cater to less than helpful notes from executives who are oblivious to dramatic writing structure (VERY common, at least in my country's ent. industry).

the show is okay (which is already an accomplishment, honestly - people who don't know the ins and outs of working in television can't imagine the odyssey that is putting a show together). in many ways, ofts is very subversive and probably quite revolutionary for the cultural landscape. remember the context in which the show is produced, my people.

sure, it has problems, but please give grace to the writers. we are an underpaid class, often working under people who underappreciate and barely understand our work. we are most likely hyper aware of when our work is lacking.

this is a show that could've been better with more time and more budget - in every way (sound mixing, extras, set design, rehearsal time - the quick, cheap production style of a lot of these short tv dramas actively works against the quality of the shows and robs them of their true potential).

always keep that in mind. the artists are very clearly competent - the circumstances under which they work are very detrimental to the work itself.

but it remains frustrating to see a good piece of art that is so obviously unfinished.

#only friends the series #only friends #ofts #gmmtv #BL series #thai series #thai bl

16 notes · View notes

brightbeautifulthings · 5 days

Text

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

"What came first--the music or the misery? Did I listen to music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to music?"

Year Read: 2024

Rating: 3/5

My desert-island, all-time, top five most memorable split-ups, in chronological order.

Matt S.

Nate G.

Matt G.

Carson M.

Tiff G.

First of all, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, this is obviously a piece of media written by a man for other men. That's not in itself a bad thing, and it's actually a little refreshing to have it so up front (instead of the sneaky way most classics and literary fiction are written by men for men and still foisted upon us as the universal, inviolable canon by which all other pieces of literature should be measured, while genre fiction and YA--more typically written by women--are sneered at as lesser.) It lets me acknowledge that I was never the target audience for this book and that it's no moral failing that I can't relate to it and, this being accepted from the get go, I can still go on to find things to appreciate about it-- because being relatable, while nice when it happens, is obviously not the only reason to read or appreciate a novel. I do find it fascinating that so many men Identify so strongly with this novel, so clearly it speaks to something very real in adult male British/American culture. Still, if a woman (character or writer) spent 300 pages whinging about why her boyfriend had good reason to dump her, it would be slapped as self-indulgent and disregarded as a whiny rom-com rather than a work of literature.

All-time top five favorite recording artists:

The Gaslight Anthem

Taylor Swift

Fall Out Boy

Lady Gaga

The Weepies

Rob is, by his own estimation, about the most average guy on the planet, and it's hard to argue with him on that point. He's not a bad person or a particularly good one; he's just a guy who likes music a lot and can't quite figure out why he's never happy with his adult life or in a relationship. You know, like a lot of people. I like that it fully acknowledges what I've known since fifth grade (Matt S.), which is that men are just as invested in romantic relationships, if not more, than women are, and they're just as obsessed with the romance of a perfect partner and a happily ever after. Fairy tales are, after all, primarily written by men. Probably everyone has known a Rob at some point in their lives, but I can't say definitively that I'd want to date him. He sounds like a lot of work.

All-time top five favorite books:

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

I'll confess I really like this movie adaptation and I've watched it a lot with my dad, which is more or less what landed this book on my shelf. It's one of those films that's so well-written you almost don't even need to read the book, and so many of the best lines are pulled verbatim from Hornby's prose. (And there are many, many good lines.) It's a lot like reading and watching The Princess Bride: you can do it because you love it, but there's almost no point. All the "best parts" are in the film, and what's left in the novel feels fairly unnecessary, if not outright detrimental to overall enjoyment. (I've also had a crush on John Cusack since Say Anything (1989), so do with that what you will. Rob is no Lloyd Dobler, however.)

All-time top five favorite films:

You've Got Mail (1998)

Almost Famous (2000)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Doctor Sleep (2019)

Stand By Me (1986)

There's something entertaining about watching Rob work through his list of most memorable breakups, which is essentially the plot of this novel, with obvious emphasis on the one he's currently experiencing with Laura. Exploring his breakups seems like a first real attempt at figuring out what his problem is, and I think it's pretty successful. Sure, the character development is slow and a bit dubious. There's not so much change by the end as the idea of change. I had the sense that he could go either way. Either he really is starting to see the problem in the way he approaches relationships and life as a whole, and he's finally learning how to pull his head out of his own ass and see Laura as a real person. Or not. He falls right back into his old habits. I kind of like that I'm not sure which it is because that's life, right? Change is hard.

#book review #high fidelity #nick hornby #adult fiction #3/5 #rating: 3/5 #2024

4 notes · View notes

ina-nis · 11 months

Text

I was discussing with my therapist how frustrated I’m feeling because I cannot rely on fantasy and fiction as a coping mechanism anymore. Haven’t been able to for several months now. It has burnt me out from doing any art and writing (other than journaling) and I’ve been reduced to someone who forces creativity so I can keep focused on something other than the loneliness.

Yes, those are things I’m passionate about so it’s not like it’s a bad thing at all... it just feels like a chore and it’s not exactly fun anymore, at least for now.

I was brought to tears when they mentioned this is probably because of something concrete that would/could come.

It makes sense.

I’m unable to rely on fantasy and fiction anymore because of my concrete needs in real life.

It’s an extremely uncomfortable place to be. Brings me a lot of anguish and straight up agony.

Of course, I’d immerse myself into romance and sex in fiction. Seeing characters in love, seeing their stories develop, their tragedies and their joy and savour each of those moments as an viewer, and as writer and as an artist myself, too.

When I look back, the very reason why I started was because of my needs.

They remained unmet from... when I was very little. Or they were met half-way, or - as always - they came with a catch, a condition, were temporary, they ended.

I’ve been languishing in the fantasy of being loved and wanted for as long as I remember.

I made worlds where there was conflict and also love, a lot of love, a lot of conflict. As I grew older, my worlds started dissipating into distant memories, but I could always use other people’s. I latched onto characters, I made them get together, I made them love and make love. I saw their world and decided I wanted to explore the romance and physicalities, and build upon that.

It saved me. It kept me going. It gave my love, my feelings, and my longing an outlet.

It doesn’t work anymore.

Despite the fact that I still find romantic love an abstract concept, metaphoric, which feels intangible for me. When I fall in love, it’s all by myself. It doesn’t have to do with anyone else.

I fall in love all the time. I’m always in love. With ideas, objects and especially, people. My love for people feels magnificent, it takes my breath away, it’s no wonder I long for it so much.

I’m not sure what changed or why, nor why it’s happening now, but it probably has to do with the fact that I’ve been doing a lot of work to address my mental illnesses. There’s now enough space in my brain for older issues to surface, and oh, they did so spectacularly!

In my experiences in therapy, whenever I dealt with an internal discomfort such as this, it was a sign that I was, in fact, looking in the right places and addressing the right things.

“I’m here and won’t leave. Do something about it.” says the loneliness that inhabits me.

And it’s not letting me use fabricated versions of the things I need since it’s all avoidance.

It’s a difficult place to be. Escapism had its place until it became detrimental, and without any other “substitute,” it collapsed. It was avoidance, plain and simple. Now, that I can’t avoid that anymore, I’m at a loss about what to do. It was painful before and it feels much more now.

However, yes, the fact that I cannot rely on fantasy anymore to get my needs met means I’ll have to take action, one way or another.

My fated meeting with reality is long overdue, as it turns out living a fantasy is not exactly feasible long term.

A sign of something concrete to come, huh?

#avpd #avoidance #avoidant #Avoidant Personality Disorder #loneliness #inanis post

5 notes · View notes

olliethescribe · 1 year

Text

Rewatching season one of Rottmnt to write a canon compliant fic for Oz - have come away with the headcanon that Hypno has rejection sensitive dysphoria.

Here are all of the notes I’ve taken while watching - most canon and some headcanons supported by canon! I also wrote this at 2 in the morning so bear with me.

There’s a lot so all notes will be under the cut!

Notes: (bonus note: Hypno’s impressed by April figuring out one of his and Warren’s routines and even gives her a pat on the shoulder. He’d be a cool dad, I think)

Warren’s absurdly dramatic, way more than I remembered. He’s also the one that hurls more insults, cares far more about his looks, and has actually kissed himself in the mirror. Needs to be the center of attention - was disheartened and annoyed when the camera panned away from him in Newsworthy, several times. He also has a very interesting manner of speaking (typical New Yorker but definitely the gay theater kid who couldn’t find work as an actor so he became a news anchor - least those are the vibes - probably recites musicals to Hypno and gets super into them), putting a more dramatic flair and bravado to his voice when ‘fighting’ the turtles. Craves power and doesn’t care about who he hurts, doesn’t attempt to avoid pain since he knows he can’t, he’s even hurt Hypno in his debut episode by reflecting his hypnotic powers back at him (this comes back around in WHSIAT).

Just thought of this one now, the apartment we see him living in totally isn’t the one he originally lived in before his mutation. He lost everything, including the ability to access his bank account. He could afford a nicer place, but that money is tied up where he can’t reach.

This next one kinda pissed me off - they purposely block out his eye color from when he was human, leaving artists and writers alike to guess, a detriment to the 12 people actively making content for him /hj

Very pathetic, but realistically is probably very depressed. Keeps reminding himself of his old life and only really makes efforts at being relevant so he’d get back on TV no matter what. Needs attention to feel validated.

If I keep thinking about Warren Stone I will make myself sad. Moving on.

-Hypno is a bit more cockney than I remembered. Rhys really leans into the accent.

-Hypno holds people to their promises, expects that promises will be made good on, makes good on his own (no betrayals).

-He’s also kinda easy to trick which is ironic.

-Hates pain of all kinds and avoids it if he can (we see this after Hypno! Part Deux - in ‘Stuck On You’ he says “don’t come any closer!” “that’s close enough!” as he backed away from the turtles, and “not again” right before getting punched through another wall) tries to do the same for others by avoiding putting them through pain (he mostly runs away or puts people in magic traps / hypnotizes them if he can, the rings and physical fights being a last resort in every occurance other than his debut) (especially avoids inflicting pain if he cares about the person a lot - felt terrible about having to betray and hypnotize Warren so his roomie would be allowed to live - which ended in a second betrayal by Draxum).

-Damn, this man is kinda bad at being evil.

-Hypno likes pet names, and I mean the endearing affectionate partner kind. In WHSIAT, he calls Warren “my Warren '' which is heart meltingly sweet. He also calls him: roomie, best friend, golden voiced amigo, pal, magical assistant, and more!

-(Headcanon based on canon evidence) Hypno’s guarded when it comes to his emotions - specifically in terms of romance. The guy’s been tricked before as seen in Newsworthy, a trick that really hurts. Most likely took him a long time to warm up to the thought of Warren being a romantic partner since he feared rejection.

personal headcanon, both he and Warren have Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria - but Hypno has it worse

-Hypno cares about Doug - his previous hippo assistant - to the point that he’d raise him from the dead. (Oh look, a normal note)

-These are all just about Hypno now, with some headcanons supported by canon in there too-

dramatic in the flashy and showy performance way, seems less over the top than Warren

not above necromancy, then again, before Warren it seems like Doug was his only friend so that could be why

Would most likely come to blows with anyone that dyes animals different colors for events. He loves his pets/magical assistants and to see someone so flagrantly disregard the life of an animal for entertainment would piss him off.

hopeless romantic, and not just ‘cause of the hormones used in Newsworthy - (the whole ‘they pulled the fake Jenny on me’ line seals the deal - he’s most likely been set up on blind dates that have gone nowhere/ editing to add catfished and straight up made fun of. This is one lonely man and that’s terrible)

This next one’s strangely canon and weird - interesting doubled voice effect when he hypnotizes people but it only shows up twice (Newsworthy and Stuck On You), like the writing team wasn’t sure about it

Warren is his first major relationship and he fell super hard. It’s very obvious - this man is ultra protective of his worm roommate and would go through hell for him. He has gone through hell for him (not in the Orpheus way but he would do that too). Can’t stand being without him, super affectionate, the pet names and little comments, searching for Warren the second they get him back and giving him smooches, how he feels awful for being a bad roomie and knows that Warren notices his lack of effort around the house but doesn’t say anything, and the sweet gesture of baking Warren a birthday cake and jumping out of it to be extra dazzling proves that he’s investing a lot into this relationship. Even April points out how in love Hypno is with Warren by the end of the episode, saying that Warren’s life matters more to some people (looking directly at Hypno as he looks lovingly at his ‘roommate’ - hahaha it’s fruit city up in here) than some piece of armor.

#headcanon #taking notes #i need to write this man’s accent as ever so slightly thicker - wonderful #warren stone #hypno potamus #hypnowarren #rottmnt #There’s gonna be more notes taken at a time where I am not eepy #love these idiots - they’re so disgustingly co-dependent - it’s beautiful

16 notes · View notes

somethingshifted · 1 year

Text

youtube

i watched this video (put it off for all of 3 days because i get nervous watching video essays on my favorite things for some reason) and i loved it. it made me so happy. readmore cuz long post

even if the subject itself was how gorillaz nearly ended because of plastic beach's ambition, this video was so enjoyable. because i feel like getting an account of how people felt about the album release, at the time, from someone who was present is incredibly important for preservation? the extensive things fans have archived is important first and foremost as so much was personally privated by the band, but it's hard to get a pulse on fan feelings as a whole other than digging through wayback machine or knowing someone who was fandom present.

alongside this i'm appreciative of lady emily remarking on the landscape of releasing music at the time. where CD wasn't as huge, not as many people cared about vinyl, music channels were obsolete, and youtube was nascent even in 2010 when it comes to money making opportunities, especially for record labels forget about solo projects like lets-players. which just brings into perspective how taxing PB was to make. it's a beautiful project made off the failure of carousel to launch and didn't make as much of an impact as it needed to survive... which was something i personally was fully unaware of at the time. i just sat on youtube thinking that's where updates were mostly and relying on deviantart friends relaying info to me (i was very internet-dumb). carousel was insanely ambitious and destined to fail with how much they were expecting, and seeing the long list of projects that died out and the way the art being featured during tours became more of an after-thought was heartbreaking a bit so i can definitely understand why tensions blew up.

the idea of media (because PB isn't just an album even if that is the main skeleton veins and organs of it) being made for an era that doesn't exist is depressing, but her explanation to how it came to be and how different the climate is now is a great reminder to myself. because i keep asking 'why don't they do X Y and Z' and the truth is it costs SO much to do that, not to mention do it well AND have the artists and designers and so on be paid and treated well, and PB had so much going for it that didn't return profit. like the way the world is, passion itself doesn't reward you with a living which is sad, and appreciation and apt payment for visual arts doesn't get much better as the future moves on. and kind of humbles me to not have a stick up my ass for cracker island. KIND OF- i still feel my gears grinded when i see how sanitized some things are. major 'he wouldn't say that' feelings.

having reservations on gorillaz marketing behavior is fully allowed and honestly, needed because having a fanbase of only yes-men is detrimental, god forbid they thought NFTs would be well received. i feel hesitant to be a hater for newer stuff bc even if character writing choices annoy me so hard, i still find gems, and i still want to understand the full background of how much of what used to exist, can't exist the same way anymore as the world gets more expensive and a higher bar of quality is needed (outside the writing. that's more on current writers forgetting pretty well established easy characterization) idk if anything as wide-spread and ambitious as PB could ever exist today. isn't that sad? melancholy? i feel like being in your 20s during today consists of a lot of foot-in-one era, foot-in-the-other. the things you grow up with are impossible to go back to since technology is moving at a breakneck speed. but it being so expansive and story heavy was special and i'm learning more about that every day. as someone who's still iffy on the lore taking such a huge part of the overarching characters that it's still referenced at the end of the 2010's i really really do fucking love it. one of a kind. people who get very defensive of plastic beach have full reign to do so, just lemme stand behind you as a humanz defender

she also touched upon a feeling i thought was unpopular but i'm glad she did mention, and it's about how the story for the following albums were more self contained. i do feel though that wishing the band was a band and not characters milling about is a semi popular stance (?) i'm happy people recognize that because seriously my pulse on fandom feelings is sooooo lacking, even now as i venture to twitter and tumblr in 2023. anyways, even for how fantastical PB is and how much i love it, both the climate of the world not supporting projects like this and with gorillaz being self funded since 2019 (didn't know this and that is insane to me) gorillaz can benefit with the bar of expectations being lowered. multimedia projects are a rarity, with websites being sleeked and dumbed down for mobile users only, death of flash, social media being the hub for everything (why i get their reliance on it), singles needing to always be the strength of albums, and trends dying out faster than a mayfly, it's just hard. would i like to see them return to something like that, yes of course, but i sure as hell am not expecting it. unless some billionaire wants to dump their entire savings into their lap. the phases 1 and 2 performing well while being multimedia in the way of animation, interview, in-character and etc, is fantastic but there is no way that sort of MV quality would be passable today. and as a whole it was just less expensive AND way more new and fresh to make compared to making something in 2023 while also accommodating collaborators and managing the band. i guess it's difficult for me to hold a concrete stance. 'aw man why'd they do that... oh well...' times change ig. one thing i will shit on without feeling much guilt is the merch handling though like christ

i really want to hear her defend humanz like she said she might, like i'm on my knees... to wrap this up: very nice video if you want to hear about the behind the scenes of gorillaz all laid out in order. knowing the charting numbers didn't really hit for me till this video. and insight on how the band moved. there was a comment that said the flash games that are still archived today and she hearted it so you can check that out too, i've been going to that site archive for weeks now. i guess there was ONE thing which was i personally hated the way russel was used the entirety of that phase and i regard his mental break being phase 2 more than phase 3 so i raised my eyebrow at her depicting russel being cool and important, but like that's such a small bit, that i can understand why seeing him be a (silent) superhero was super cool. like yes he actually did do more actions on phase 3, bc even phase 1/2 he was, while well spoken gentle and wise, just there on the drums. i just want him to Say Something in phase 3 like that's his baby he's saving... well... ok. that's ok. don't get me started on my boy this post is already long e-fucking-nough

can i add. saying murdoc is the joker for gay teenage girls killed me

#i think at this point my re obsession mode is so heavy id pay someone to listen to me talk abt them for 4 hrs #text

11 notes · View notes

dramamelon · 8 months

Note

Hey, I’m a disabled artist who uses AI to regain access to some of what I lost. Not because I ‘suck’ at art and want to ‘cheat’ at being better, but because holding a stylus/pen/paintbrush/etc for more than five minutes will leave me in pain for days after. And I used to believe the internalized ableism telling me I should push through the pain to make art, but then I learned that I was actually permanently worsening my condition every time I did that. (According to my PCP, at least.)

So I can’t make art at all unless I can do it in sessions of under 5 minutes. And generating AI art for the base and then editing that allows me to create again without doing irreparable damage to myself. It’s still a pain in the ass because AI art isn’t nearly as advanced as people believe, but still. There’s basically nothing but misinformation floating around tumblr, so I don’t blame people for having the wrong idea of what it is and how it works.

Anyway, I’m messaging to ask if, knowing that, you want me to unfollow you. Since I had been enjoying your stuff but maybe you don’t want me here. I’ll respect that, if so. Just let me know.

Hey, anon!

There's a big difference between using AI generated stuff as a base to work from and trying to pass off unaltered AI as one's own work from start to finish. I've no issues with the first one and, in fact, understand completely. As a matter of fact, I don't have a whole lot of issue with people posting unaltered stuff as long as it's acknowledged that AI was used to create it. Some interesting things have come from the tech. (There's a lot of nuance in the discussion that doesn't tend to get brought up, definitely.)

A tool is a tool. AI generators, unfortunately, are a tool that are being exploited to the detriment of many by some less than savory people. As a writer and an artist, I'm very much against the way AI has been trained and can't wait for the current over-usage of it anywhere and everywhere to die a painful death, but I do see a future for it as a tool.

All this is just to say, no worries! :D From what you say in the ask, you're using AI as a tool, as it's meant to be. We're good. 💜

3 notes · View notes

doorbloggr · 2 years

Text

Inktober Part 2

Motivation and Stress

Sunday 20/11/22

(All art in this post are my own creations)

Linktober 2022 Day 25: Zelda

As an artist, a constant struggle is finding the time and effort to sit down and just do the thing. Be it motivation or inspiration, it is difficult for creatives to start (or finish) pieces of art. This applies to writers, visual artists, musicians, and any other type of creative.

This year in particular, I had multiple months where I produced maybe one or two pieces of art if I was lucky. This is because art is a hobby for me, and there is no revenue in it. Maybe it is because of my motivation that there isn't? But from experience is past years, I know that nothing gets me in the mood for creativity like a deadline.

But that mood isn't always a good one...

Linktober

I first participated in Linktober in 2018, where I just did the regular challenge. And as someone who doodled sporadically in my spare time, it was a refreshing change to have structure to my art. The first issue I usually have when I want to sit down and commit to illustrating is... what do I draw?

Linktober, as discussed in my previous post, is a variation on the Inktober format. For every day in October, artists will post a drawing. Each year the folks at Linktober will cook up one or more Calenders of prompts to follow, so that I have a direction to follow for each drawing. Each prompt is still up to interpretation for what specifically you draw, but it's something.

Linktober prompt listsfor 2018, 2020, and 2022

So there's two aspects of a month long challenge that help my artistic drive. 1) The direction, and 2) the quota. Now for a while, in particular last October, I have thought of Point 2 being more "Deadline", but I think it is better to think of it as a Quota, and we'll get into that soon.

Direction

So a lot of the struggle to start doing art is to do with inspiration. In 2020 I had a fairly consistent inspiration for art since that was the year my D&D group played the most regularly. But this year, adult scheduling has meant that we haven't played as much, and as a result, less D&D art happened.

And it wasn't just that I could call on D&D as a loose concept to do the art, since these "session arts" were pieces based on highlights from our sessions. Before I did Linktober, I did a month long Pokémon drawing challenge, where each day gave me a Pokemon Type, or category of Pokémon (e.g. starter, eevee, legendary). Now sometimes when I was in the mood, I would draw Pokémon anyway, but with this challenge, I was given instructions for 31 drawings.

POKEDEXY, a Pokémon drawing challenge I did in 2017

All this to say, although good art can happen spontaneously, I personally found that I have the best artistic drive if I already know what I'm drawing.

The Quota

Again to use the D&D session arts as an example, part of the reason I was so consistent with my posting of those arts was because I wanted to get last week's art out before we had our next session.

Session Arts for Chapters 9-18 for our D&D "Everift" campaign.

Part of the artist's motivation problem is... why finish? Sure if you have the direction for a piece, you know what you're making. But when will it be complete? Unless you have a client, most artists are not working to a strict deadline, so it is up to the artist when (or if) a piece is completed, and when/if it's shared to the world.

The pro of a month-long challenge like Inktober is that you are given the when. For Inktober, it's October. You'll be aiming to finish and post your artwork during October, and if you're on schedule, that'll mean you release your first drawing Octover 1st, your 10th drawing by October 10th etc.

The Struggle

I've highlighted the benefits of a monthly challenge to an artist's drive, by they can also be detrimental if approached in a suboptimal way. I wanna discuss how my relationship with Linktober has changed.

When I started Linktober in 2018, Breath of the Wild had come out the year before, and a combination of DLC and challenge runs meant I was still playing the game regularly. The Legend of Zelda has long been one of my favourite fandoms, so of course the next year, I did it again.

In 2020, Age of Calamity came out, and I was playing competitive Smash Bros all the time, with Link as my main, so Zelda was still regularly a part of my downtime entertainment. So 2020, I doubled down on Linktober, and actually made 31 days of art for two separate challenges (occasionally crossing over). I was able to keep up that year because that time of year, I wasn't working a lot, and always prepared ahead of time.

My Linktober 2020 (left) and Linktober Shadow 2020 (right)

When it came to October 2021, I had stopped playing Smash Bros, and had been waiting for new Zelda content for a while. I told myself I would restrict myself to a simpler art and colouring style, so that I would be able to complete the challenge with less prep time. As a result, I was almost always preparing art on the day it was due. And the most unfortunate part was that I didnt enjoy Zelda as much as i used to. It was the most stressed I'd ever been about art. Linktober had become a job, and nothing kills creativity more than making it work.

I usually post updates during Linktober on my Instagram story. For Day 27 in 2021, I did not finish in time, and posted it a couple days later. It made me very upset.

So the point I made earlier about a schedule being good had it in fact killed the fun of art in 2021. I was creatively drained and didn't enjoy it.

Linktober 2022

This year, I made Linktober more enjoyable by removing any restrictions I had on myself. No uniting artstyle, no expectation that I finish the 31st piece by October 31st, and since the last week of September fell during School Break, I had a solid week of preparation time. And once I hit my stride, I actually got way ahead of schedule. Finishing 30 pieces before October 1st. That final piece stumped me for the same reason I had been stumped for art the rest of the year. The final prompt for Linktober is always Free For All; artist's choice.

Usually this is my Smash Bros Day, but I had left the Smash competitive scene on a bitter note. And the bigger problem I had the previous year was still present. The lack of new Zelda content meant that I didn't enjoy Zelda as much as I used to. My new main "fandom" was D&D. So although I am happy with my art for October this year, it may be my last Linktober.

Free For All this year I ended up making it about Mario Kart, since I play MK8 regularly with family.

Even if I fixed the Deadline issue, the original draw of Linktober, that it's all Zelda, became a restriction. Why all Zelda if I don't enjoy Zelda as much as I used to?

What to learn from this?

Direction and Quota can be great for art motivation. Having that push to tell you what art to do and when to finish it is great. But don't let that become the only time you do art. If you don't have the time to do art every day, weekly challenges are just as valid. And if the subject matter of a prompt list doesn't appeal to you anymore, feel free to change it up every once in a while. For October 2023, I think I might do a different iteration of Inktober that better reflects my current interests.

Have fun and do art.

#blog #blogpost #drawing #art #digital art #inktober #linktober #the legend of zelda #dungeons and dragons

11 notes · View notes

davidfarland · 11 months

Text

David Farland’s Writing Tips—Why You want Your Books Turned into Film

Many authors dream of seeing their books turned into films, but for some it’s a nightmare.

After all, filmmakers tend to take liberties with an author’s story, often making changes that seem detrimental to the tale just to “make it their own.”

Heck, just a few weeks ago I pulled my Runelords books from consideration with a large television studio because I had an artistic disagreement. They wanted to add more sex and violence, I didn’t.

Think about it. The royalties paid to the author would have equaled about $1.6 million dollars. You could crumple those 1.6 million-dollar bills all up and make a very cozy mattress out of them!

This example come from a movie that was a disaster, but what if a genuinely good film were made from your books? The Lord of the Rings movies helped sell about 100 million books globally, from what I can tell. The Harry Potter movies helped make the book the bestseller of all times. And Tavers with Mary Poppins—I’m sure she cried all the way to the bank.

The same can happen in television. The Game of Thrones series helped make the books into a phenomenon.

For more on David Farland's Writing tips, visit https://mystorydoctor.com/writing-blog/

And you can also click here to get your David Farland Daily Meditations.

#writing help #writing tips #writing advice

6 notes · View notes