goodluckclove

[goodluckclove]

Update: I've decided to make it canon in book two that they never actually have full-on sex in book one. Thanks for being here while I talk this out.

My boys do not fuck. Also one of them is not a boy. It's a complicated situation.

when scott and edgar have sex in Blind Trust i purposefully jump straight to the aftermath because i want to make Songbird Elegies the least conventionally horny romance of all time.

but i'm very tempted to wait a little bit after i release book one to see if it picks up steam, and then post a special bonus scene of the two of them hooking up. just before anyone else can. i don't want to write smut, but i also refuse to have anyone think that either of them are capable lovers.

listen, they both enjoy it. they're simps for each other. but neither of them have any goddamned clue what they're doing and it shows.

canonically scott does not really understand how to navigate or enjoy sex. he is a switch but either way you flip him he's mediocre and confused. he has sex with edgar and finds enjoyment in the intimacy but at the same time he's thinking about whatever he had for dinner that night and also a squirrel he saw once.

canonically edgar is so nervous the entire time that he feels super close to passing out. he accidentally pulls on scott's hair at least three times. any time scott makes any noise edgar stops whatever he's doing and checks in to make sure he's okay. he is not entirely certain what a moan could possibly sound like.

they stop the act of sex multiple times because they get caught up in conversation. at one point they forget they're meant to be having sex and edgar makes them a snack.

you know i wrote it vaguely enough to make it very possible that they never actually fuck. if that's how you want to read it i give you full permission.

i only consider myself god of my universe in declaring that edgar gallows and scott skylark kaufner are completely devoted and enamored with each other, only in a way that is entirely non-sexual.

#writeblr #writing community #songbird elegies

[goodluckclove]

Here's a little something. It's not perfect, but I had a thought. For those around me. It's a little geared towards writers with a concept I hope is universal. Words are chunky, but I'm also drained from a busy day. I hope you like it.

We are the same, you and I. We are makers. Makers of worlds and magics. We are destroyers of those very things.

We are the same. Yet we are different. I weep for the deep oceans and forests, with an emptiness that has me wondering what could be hidden while you weep for the skies and stars with their endless possibilities.

Did you know this is okay? Okay. Now, do you accept that is okay? I didn't. But i know better now. I needed a hand, just one, to help me see it and now I am ready to help.

Let me show you. We are the same. Yet we are different. We will struggle together and at different times, but never alone. Let me be your hand. Let me show you.

We are the same, makers and destroyers. Struggling together and apart but never alone.

Let me help you grow from where you were, if only by reminding you.

You are not alone, and we can do this.

#i just think this is nice #i like it and i agree with it #i have no further commentary #got it on the first try #writeblr #writing community

[goodluckclove]

guys is it weirdly positive aggression? is it a general rowdy energy whenever i eat a very good sandwich? i'm very curious.

New ask game:

Reblog if you want your followers to tell you what your trademark ™️ is. Like, what’s that thing that really identifies you.

#personal #roast me #PERCIEVE ME

[goodluckclove]

Sometimes I tell myself that Katy and Tenzin are the only reasonable ones out of the main four in Songbird. Then I read shit like this and am reminded that it is only Tenzin.

Then I remember what Tenzin does in the last book and then I remember that they are all feral idiots.

SIDE NOTE: Katy specifically makes none of the magic-users play magic-users in DnD. Smart girl.

#writeblr #writing community #writers on tumblr #writing #authors of tumblr #actually writing #migration patterns #novel excerpt #writing excerpt

[goodluckclove]

Excerpt from Migration Patterns today. Do you guys think it's a cool thing or a bad thing that Katy acts the exact same way she did when she was maybe fifteen?

Who needs emotional maturity. Katy found one particular vibe and stuck with it for the rest of her life. Good for her.

#writeblr #writing community #writers on tumblr #writing #authors of tumblr #actually writing #migration patterns #songbird elegies #katy posts #writing excerpt #novel excerpt

[goodluckclove]

A Celebration!

So I have memory issues.

It's for a lot of reasons that I won't get into here, it's really not a big deal. But it plays a fun part in the way I form relationships, especially relationships online. To put it simply, I can no longer really remember how I met @mercuryytheraven. I think I made some post asking people to tell me what's keeping them from writing and challenging them to allow me to fix it. We spoke for maybe thirty minutes, and I remember them saying that they were working on a Warrior Cat's fan fiction, which tickled me because I didn't know people still read those books.

They essentially said that they've been trying to write for some time, but no matter what they did they could never get past around 100 words. Something always got in the way. If I'm being honest, I don't remember what I told them, but it must've been insightful because they've been messaging me almost daily ever since.

Eventually my brain just accepted the presence of this bright, dandelion-fluff of a human being. I would look at my phone and say oh hey, it's them again. I would tell my wife about their exploits and we would remember what it was like to be young and even more confused than we are on a daily basis. Quietly, and I have never told them this, but I started calling them my protege. I don't know if that's arrogant or not.

Mercury is such a treasure of spirit. All it takes is one conversation to see the depth of color they carry within them. They care so deeply and about so many things, a quality hard to find in a world so preoccupied with cynicism and meta post-irony. Not only are they already an insightful and deeply curious writer, they are also an incredibly skilled visual artist. I questioned the validity of the high standards they held themselves to again and again - but then I told myself that I once did the same thing.

When I met Mercury they said they never wrote more than 100 words. That was less than a month ago. Today they just finished the first chapter of the Warrior Cats fanfiction they've been brewing for years. It's just over 3500 words.

Friend, do you know how remarkable that is? Can you imagine that big a breakthrough? I cannot stress enough that this is an immense achievement - not unbelievable, very believable, but hard. Worthy of accolades. Worthy of relishing in!

One chapter is never just one chapter. It's the creation of something foundational that didn't exist before. It doesn't matter if it's a fluffy fanfic one shot or literary novel or long-form au or pulp genre shlock. It wasn't here before and now it is and that is one of the most wonderful things in the world to me.

You might know me as someone against the general romanticization of The Writer as an archetype, but it's moments like these that truly call that stance into question. Because what @mercuryytheraven did today, and what many of you do whenever you can, is truly a precious sacrament. It is ritualistic in nature, a human sacrifice where we are the blood offering and the result is a story birthed from our own transfer of matter.

It is beautiful. So please, if you can, send some congratulations in the direction of our friend and colleague. And the next time you reach a milestone you feel is too small to be remarkable, know that you're wrong. You're doing something special for yourself and those around you with every single word you write, whenever you can write it.

So go write it!

#writeblr #writing community #writers on tumblr #on writing #writing #authors of tumblr #actually writing #writing inspiration #writing inspo #writers supporting writers

[goodluckclove]

when scott and edgar have sex in Blind Trust i purposefully jump straight to the aftermath because i want to make Songbird Elegies the least conventionally horny romance of all time.

but i'm very tempted to wait a little bit after i release book one to see if it picks up steam, and then post a special bonus scene of the two of them hooking up. just before anyone else can. i don't want to write smut, but i also refuse to have anyone think that either of them are capable lovers.

listen, they both enjoy it. they're simps for each other. but neither of them have any goddamned clue what they're doing and it shows.

canonically scott does not really understand how to navigate or enjoy sex. he is a switch but either way you flip him he's mediocre and confused. he has sex with edgar and finds enjoyment in the intimacy but at the same time he's thinking about whatever he had for dinner that night and also a squirrel he saw once.

canonically edgar is so nervous the entire time that he feels super close to passing out. he accidentally pulls on scott's hair at least three times. any time scott makes any noise edgar stops whatever he's doing and checks in to make sure he's okay. he is not entirely certain what a moan could possibly sound like.

they stop the act of sex multiple times because they get caught up in conversation. at one point they forget they're meant to be having sex and edgar makes them a snack.

you know i wrote it vaguely enough to make it very possible that they never actually fuck. if that's how you want to read it i give you full permission.

i only consider myself god of my universe in declaring that edgar gallows and scott skylark kaufner are completely devoted and enamored with each other, only in a way that is entirely non-sexual.

#writeblr #writing community #writers on tumblr #authors of tumblr #queer writers #blind trust #songbird elegies #asexual #asexuality #aspec

[goodluckclove]

I'm in a similar boat. From the age of 16 onwards I had no plans to live to adulthood. I made a pact with my best friend at the time that if we lived to 30 we'd have a huge party because that alone just felt like such an impossible goal.

I'm 27 now. I'm married to someone who loves me dearly and wants to grow with me and has no interest in exploiting me like people have before. I've cut off my abusive parents. In a few months I'll be getting a hysterectomy. My wife and I are going to buy a house soon. We own three cats. I have a DnD group and friends I go out to see movies and get drinks. I spend every day writing and talking to amazing writers about making art and staying alive.

I am staying alive. There's a lot of work I have to do still to make up for a lifetime of medical neglect, but I am glad I am still alive.

Even if I didn’t have a solid plan, in the back of my head, I always assumed I’d kill myself.

Now I’m an adult and people my age have their lives in order and I’m stuck here, confused, because I never planned to be alive and I’m so far behind.

I feel like I’ll never catch up.

[goodluckclove]

Are there a ton of aspec people on Tumblr or am I just scooping them all up by the net-full? I love it either way. I don't care who you are, if you follow me and you're aspec we are siblings/I am your new parent/you are my new parent. Whatever applies. Whatever you feel you need.

I can't wait to write more aspec tenderness to all you silly little salamanders.

#writeblr #writing community #writers on tumblr #on writing #authors of tumblr #queer writers #aspec #asexual #asexuality

[goodluckclove]

11,23,31 and 49 for the writing ask game, i shall hoard the resulting knowledge

Well if it's for a hoard who am I to stand in your way.

11. Books and/or authors who influenced you the most

The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac was probably one of the most revolutionary books I've ever read in terms of writing evolution. I remember I was maybe ten or eleven when I read it, and it was the first book I came across that was fully character-focused as opposed to plot-focused. Midway through I realized that I was loving the book even though nothing really happens and I thought to myself "I didn't know you could do that!"

Besides that? Definitely Vonnegut. Probably Ellison's Invisible Man, or at least I'd like to think as such. I read a TON of Stephen King early on in life so I'm sure his wiggly fingers have left a mark on me.

23. Favourite author

I'm such a huge Chuck Palahinuik fan. Big big big. Haunted is one of my favorite books of all time. Invisible Monsters is amazing. He has such cool gimmicks in all of his stuff it's such a wild ride. I have like a majority of his books taking up a whole shelf. He's so much fun to read.

31. Least favourite part of writing

Oh I know the Stephen King influence now. I suck at endings, guys. My endings are pretty weak. They just sort of stop. I have nothing to defend this with I've just always had a clumsy landing style.

I hear it's a common problem with authors, though, so fuck it.

49. Which character would you most want to be friends with, if they were real?

If it's characters that I've written, then probably Scott's mom Regina. She's literally my wish fulfillment of the mom I wish I had, but as I started writing her she sort of turned into what I imagine I would be like if I chose to have kids.

Or maybe Harbor, her old boss and long-time friend, and uncle to Scott and Tenzin. He's an aroace weirdo in his mid-60s who raises ferrets. I like his vibe.

I feel like the obvious answer would be Scott/Edgar since they're literally just me (They're both me, oops), but I tend to not want to be friends with people that are literally just me split into two people. That's why I married my wife, who is pretty much the exact opposite of myself in all the ways that matter and I love it.

#writeblr #writing community #writers on tumblr #on writing #authors of tumblr #queer writers #writing asks

[goodluckclove]

My Plan for Today

It is stormy weather here in Portland, Oregon. I'm at my favorite soup and noodle place, the kind of restaurant where the service sucks but the food is really good so you're left conflicted. I wanted something warm today and that's exactly what I'm getting!

After this I'm going to go to the H-Mart and pick up some little snackies and a fun drink. Then it's back to my house just as a thunderstorm is about to start, where I'm going to cuddle up in bed and do some reading of the work you've all sent me. A long time coming!

I can't wait to see what adventures I go on!

I hope you're all having a cozy day. If you'd like, I welcome you to imagine a raccoon eating a wafer cookie. He has little hands and he's so happy to get a treat. Good for him. Little Muncher.

#writeblr #writing community #writers on tumblr #authors of tumblr

[goodluckclove]

Tenzin and Katy from Songbird Elegies both unironically are really into Vocaloids. Tenzin has probably fiddled around with the software but it's all in Japanese so she didn't get too far. She tried to explain the concept to Scott once and he just does not understand it.

ok but like. which of your ocs would unironically listen to hatsune miku. that's the real question

#songbird elegies #lore time bby

[goodluckclove]

Writer ask game, let's go. 10, 19, 38, and 39 please c:<

Shit. Oh shit, oh fuck.

Okay yeah let's do this, Mushy.

10. Do you set yourself deadlines?

I mean I definitely used to. I've said before that I got my start in National Novel Writing in a Month, or NaNoWriMo, where you write 50k words in 30 days. The org has since proven itself to be less than reputable with its recent scandal, but I still stand by the belief that endurance sprints like that are a great way to get the muscle formed to write long-form projects. And you can just do it too, you don't need the backing of a semi-scammy nonprofit.

But now? Not really. I kind of set goals to keep work moving. I'll be like hope I finish editing by the end of this week. But I very rarely make it a hard deadline with actual...I don't know. Stakes? My brain don't work like that.

19. How do you keep yourself motivated?

I stand by the methodology of giving yourself a little reward after writing sessions, although at this point I space mine out more than I would suggest newer writers to. For me this is usually a fun drink or nice little baked good - I'm especially fond of what I refer to as a medium-fancy cake. Something with mousse. But it can be anything really.

Small breaks also help, although I am less good at keeping up with that. I actually haven't taken a full day off in like three weeks but shh don't tell anyone. I'm also very fond of reading over what I've already written and just enjoying it. Or reading books that relate to my character's interests - I'm reading a very interesting book on bird lore that I know Edgar from Songbird Elegies would love.

38. Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had

My weirdest play is probably Naked Lunch: The Musical, which follows a happy-go-lucky, classic musical lover who gets roped into adapting the essentially grindhouse experimental William S. Burroughs novel into a musical and goes a little insane in the process. He imagines himself befriending the ghost of William S. Burroughs, and the ghosts convinces him that to adapt his work properly he needs to do a lot of drugs and have a lot of gay sex, both of which go very poorly. I think Lin Manuel Miranda is mentioned as an unseen side character that my protagonist sees in the audience and threatens to beat up?

And my weirdest novel turned play is Bloodletting, which is based from a dream I had when I was detoxing off of weed - I was like addicted, not a casual stoner. I essentially dreamt that someone made me drink their blood and the blood got me high again, and from that point I developed a sort of sci-fi world where street drugs are so potent that they turn the blood of addicts into a new intoxicant that they can then sell as its own drug. I think they can also sell their blood to major medical organizations and have it used in pharmaceuticals. I still like this concept and might reuse it since I can't find the finished play it turned into.

39. Weirdest character concept you’ve ever had

Bloodletting had a romantic couple made up of a drug dealer and the AI house he was squatting in. My second novel had a leitmotif of the characters experiencing a feeling of "static" in their heads that I later on made into a sentient side character. I think I wrote a short play with a cannibalistic Guy Fieri. I started writing another play based around Sonic the Hedgehog where it was planned for Shadow to non-ironically become a rabbi, but frankly if you consider his character I do not think that's too far from canon.

I'm still percolating a project to do either alongside or after Songbird that's like Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City but with an all-robot cast. And the main character eventually transitions from a human-passing robot to some form of non-human looking machine and is much happier for it. Which I'm excited to put to paper.

#writing community #writeblr #writers on tumblr #on writing #authors of tumblr #writing #queer writers #writing asks

[goodluckclove]

Down to spill some of the dirty, froggy secrets of my dirty, froggy process!

A Writer’s Ask Game

Send me an ask with the number(s) you’d like me to answer!

The Basics 1.     Do you listen to music when you write? 2.     Are you a pantser or plotter? 3.     Computer or pen and paper? 4.     Have you ever been published, or do you want to be published? 5.     How much writing do you get done on an average day? 6.     Single or multiple POV? 7.     Standalone or series? 8.     Oldest WIP 9.     Current WIP 10.  Do you set yourself deadlines?

The Specifics 11.  Books and/or authors who influenced you the most 12.  Describe your perfect writing space 13.  Describe your writing process from idea to polished 14.  How do you deal with self-doubts? 15.  How do you deal with writer’s block? 16.  How many drafts do you need until you’re satisfied with a project? 17.  What writing habits or rituals do you have? 18.  If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be, and what would you write about? 19.  How do you keep yourself motivated? 20.  How many WIPs and story ideas do you have?

The Favourites 21.  Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write? 22.  Who is/are your favourite pairing(s) to write? 23.  Favourite author 24.  Favourite genre to write and read 25.  Favourite part of writing 26.  Favourite writing program 27.  Favourite line/scene 28.  Favourite side character 29.  Favourite villain 30.  Favourite idea you haven’t started on yet

The Dark 31.  Least favourite part of writing 32.  Most difficult character to write 33.  Have you ever killed a main character? 34.  What was the hardest scene you ever had to write? 35.  What scene/story are you least looking forward to writing?

The Fun 36.  Last sentence you wrote 37.  First sentence or your current WIP 38.  Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had 39.  Weirdest character concept you’ve ever had 40.  Share some backstory for one of your characters

The Rest of It 41.  Any advice for new/beginning/young writers? 42.  How do you feel about love triangles? 43.  What do you do if/when characters don’t follow the outline? 44.  How much research do you do? 45.  How much world building do you do? 46.  Do you reread your own stories? 47.  Best way to procrastinate 48.  What’s the most self-insert character/scene you’ve ever written? 49.  Which character would you most want to be friends with, if they were real? 50.  [Other question—ask me anything]

#writeblr #writing community #writers on tumblr #on writing #authors of tumblr #queer writers

[goodluckclove]

Rob is helping me write today. His help is greatly appreciated.

#ROB MONTH #HE HAS A JOB NOW

[goodluckclove]

Hey guys, we're all aware that if you get contacted by a person with some variation of an account like @catherine-med123 that they're clearly a scammer, right?

We know not to trust someone to market our books who doesn't have a full name or any professional, or even amateur credentials?

We can tell the icon is probably a stock photo?

This is all very clear to all of us right????

#writeblr #writing community #writers on tumblr #on writing #writing #authors of tumblr #queer writers #indie authors #indie author #self publishing #novel writing #writing resources #writing tips #writers supporting writers

[goodluckclove]

A regular one.

A normal, regular writer who's doing absolutely fine.

I've been writing for 15 years and I am on my maybe 13th-ish novel? 14th? I've lost count. But for every book I've written there are countless ideas that last anywhere from sixty pages to four sentences. I've posted excerpts here that I literally abandoned in the middle of a sentence for reasons that are beyond me.

You write a lot - as you should - and you're going to go through a lot of ideas that don't work. A lot. And some of them are really good ideas that you might be able to salvage later. Other ones are just missing something, some crucial component that's needed to make the engine running that you just don't have. Other ones are not actually as good as they sound in your head. This happens and it's all okay.

The key is to keep going. Don't be too precious when an idea works out - you can tweak certain angles to try and make it more approachable, otherwise you might just have to let it go. But you keep throwing pasta at the wall and eventually something is going to stick. You'll write an idea and it'll just keep working.

It's not bad to lose your grip on an idea. It could mean there's something in your work processes that need to be fixed, but even when you're perfectly solid in your foundation you will still think of ideas that don't end up working. Before I started my series I wrote like twenty pages of a Sonic Boom grimdark fanplay that opened with a transfem Knuckles electing to go through with medical euthanasia. I really thought this was a good idea at the time. it's not offensive, I don't think, but it is...really just a strange thing that I wanted to do.

But yeah. I don't know you, but it sounds like you're a writer. Congrats!

I hate how hard it is to stay motivated for a story. I can come up with awesome ideas and plot out enough details for a novel and then some, but I rarely get more than a few chapters in before I'm moving on to something else.

What kind of writer am I?

#writing #writing problems #writers on tumblr #writeblr #writing community #on writing #writers supporting writers