beautyinsteadofashes

[beautyinsteadofashes]

my point exactly

#very good point

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swifties : taytay is the greatest songwriter of the century!!!

kendrick lamar, holding his pulitzer prize : am i a joke to you?

#i'm a taylor swift fan but this is such a good point #i had a look at the past winners and he's like one of the only ev er mainstream artists win it

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me: taylor, and all celebrities, deserve their privacy and to not be asked about their love lives by strangers.

also me listening to TTPD:

#in the privacy of my tumblr where i'll never actually harrass her about any of this #she's a grown ass woman #leave her alone #personal #taylor swift #joe alwyn #matty healy #ttpd #the tortured poets department #the anthology #i wish the album was called anthology

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#mine #ideas #to start #to write #i need to reupload these chapters and get it up and running again #greg #greg serrano #cexgf #cegf #cxgf #crazy ex girlfriend #cass #to do #Youtube

[beautyinsteadofashes]

Harrison Ford hating playing Han Solo made him better at playing Han Solo because Han Solo did not want to be there doing those things either.

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the true asylum is even worse than this, how did we all survive it

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I hope you appreciate the casual johnlock in this 90’s Granada Holmes SNL skit

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but daddy i love him and how did it end is about the fans but also i think there's something interesting to be said about this album reflects on how middle aged women expected her to be this American Sweetheart/Country Girl too. Not sexual. Not flawed. Only pure and perfect.

People, this woman is 34 years old. She's not a child.

#this feels like the expectations on Aubrey and Marilyn still hang around #i know taylor gets overhyped but the parallels man #also her not going to therapy? big concern #please go to therapy #taylor swift #the tortured poets department #ttpd

[beautyinsteadofashes]

just recording this for prosterity, you don't need to interact, i'm not shipping them or anything. i know people hate either side of them.

but i had always hoped TTPD had Matty Healy songs on it because i KNEW that relationship was going to produce interesting songs and it DID. she's ok. she's grown and healed but the music is still great.

#taylor swift #matty healy #ttpd #the tortured poets department #personal #i LOVE almost of the anthology tracks almost more than the original album #1975 fans seem to hate taylor and taylor fans seem to hate matty

[beautyinsteadofashes]

Stop equipping every character with therapy speak and instead consider placing them somewhere on this chart

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@ comicbook: Will Friedle & Rider Strong tapped for the upcoming Radiant Black: The Audiobook, Volume One!

The massively popular Radiant Black series will be the first @ImageComics title to be adapted for an audio book. Radiant Black: The Audiobook, Volume One will feature a full voice cast headlined by Rider Strong and Will Friedle playing leads Nathan Burnett and Marshall Ward, respectively. The audio book is written, directed, and narrated by Radiant Black co-creator and Massive-Verse architect, Kyle Higgins.

Radiant Black: The Audiobook will be the first in a planned series of audio book adaptations from @BlackMarketNar and Image Comics, adding another level of immersion to the critically and commercially acclaimed Massive-Verse.

Head to the link in @ comicbook’s bio to read more details!

[beautyinsteadofashes]

this is gonna sound like a shitpost but the best advice i have if youre consistently coming off wrong is to start talking like an elcor

you will feel like a dumdum at first, but once you get used to it youll realize that telling people what kind of thing you're about to say ahead of time flattens their anxiety a huge amount

ive been starting every question with "question:" for awhile now and i almost never get people reading too much into what i mean anymore

it seems super dumb, but "what are your plans tomorrow?" gets people asking me what i have planned despite me obviously being in the process of figuring that out, whereas "question: what are your plans tomorrow?" gets me a quick rundown of their schedule, followed by "why?"

it also makes it really easy to work tone indicators into your verbal speech. if you're always saying "question: [your question here]?" then no one blinks when you say "genuine question: [question that could read as sarcastic]?"

it also gets you out of your own way for any types of things you struggle to say. "can you make sure to do the dishes before you go to bed?" feels like an argument waiting to happen, but "request: can you make sure to do the dishes before you go to bed?" gets the words flowing on a neutral word while making it clear that you're not looking for a fight

so yeah. suggestion: talk like an elcor

[beautyinsteadofashes]

writing historical fiction will make you google things like “when we’re towels invented?” “how much did a towel cost in American in 1885?” “historical average number of towels owned per household”

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Anonymous asked: I have a firm grasp on my characters, but I'm having trouble actualizing themes and character arcs into the story. My hero and villain have mirrored problems, both feeling trapped into behaving as others expect them to be, even at the detriment of their own happiness. Both wear "masks" to appear as they think they should be seen, but they're both able to see past each other's masks when no one else can. Their mirrored arcs are about putting aside others expectations and choosing to embrace their true selves, and in time, one another. How can I tie themes of identity, reputation, and appearances into themes, plot points, obstacles, etc. How can I turn these abstract ideas into solidly shaped themes, symbols, and plot points?

[Ask edited for length...]

It seems like your themes are solid... identity, reputation, expectations of others, and appearances. And you say you have a firm grasp on your characters. One thing you don't mention is your story's conflict, and I don't know if that's because it just didn't feel relevant or because your story doesn't really have one. So let's start there.

Even if your story is fully character-driven, there needs to be a conflict. Or, in other words, a problem that the protagonist is trying to solve. Without a conflict, there's nowhere for your story to go and nothing for your characters to do. It's very hard to draw abstract ideas of themes into a plot if you don't have a conflict against which to pin those themes.

So, before you worry about themes, symbols, and specific plot points, start with your conflict. Conflict can be internal (in the character's heart and mind), external (in the character's world), or both.

Here are some questions to help you work through it:

1 - What problem (conflict) has occurred in your protagonist's self, life, or world that they must now solve?

2 - How does the villain tie into this problem? Did they create the problem or allow it to be created? Are they fanning the flames of a problem that didn't initially involve them? Or are they trying to solve the problem, too, and simply have an opposing resolution/goal to the protagonist's?

3 - What obstacles does the villain create to thwart the protagonist's ability to reach their goal/solve the problem as planned?

4 - How does the protagonist overcome or work around these obstacles?

5 - How does this back and forth cause them to interact?

6 - How does the protagonist's reputation affect how and why they want to resolve the problem?

7 - How does the villain's reputation affect how and why they want to create the problem/fan the flames/solve the problem their own way/thwart the protagonist from resolving the problem?

8 - How would the protagonist and villain do things differently if their reputations weren't at stake?

9 - As the protagonist works toward reaching their goal/resolving the problem, overcoming obstacles along the way, what specific things can happen as a result (particularly due to interactions with each other) that helps these characters start to see the folly of forcing themselves to live up to others' expectations to their own detriment?

10 - As these characters move through the story, what can you do to make the "mask" identities start to slip, especially in relation to one another? What things can happen when they're in each other's presence that shows them they're both experiencing a similar problem? What things can happen that allow them to "see" each other and be able to say (or at least think) "hey, I get it... I know what this feels like. It's like this for me, too"?

11 - What are some plot relevant things that can happen that puts one or both characters in a situation where they are "putting on appearances" to meet others' expectations, but allows them to contemplate their discomfort and unhappiness as a result of having to do this?

12 - What are some elements you can think of that might symbolize your themes? For example, if these characters went to a masquerade ball, their masks can serve as symbolism for the figurative masks they have to wear to meet the expectations of others. Or, more subtly, maybe one of these characters lives in a grand estate, but it turns out only entry hall, dining room, and ballroom are grandly decorated and well kept. The rest of the state (where visitors never go), is more humble, informal, and comfortable. This would be symbolic of something (a grand estate) appearing to be something on the surface that it isn't when you look deeper.

I hope that helps!

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I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[beautyinsteadofashes]

10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU (1999) dir. Gil Junger

[beautyinsteadofashes]

Dreamy mood in the paintings by Henri Le Sidaner (French, 1862-1939)