greeksandmagic

[greeksandmagic]

#*fingers crossed*

[greeksandmagic]

Hi Mr Gaiman,

You might not remember this, but you spoke at UC Santa Barbara back in 2010 as part of their Arts & Lectures series. Before your lecture, you first had dinner with some donors, their son, and their son's new girlfriend. That girlfriend was me. In our nervousness, bf and I only brought my set of books for you to sign, so you signed them to both of us. We joked that now we had to stay together forever, for the books.

Well, our daughter turns six next week and we're about to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. Thank you for your books, one of the first things we ever bonded over.

That put a big smile on my face. I'm glad.

#oh my god #this this this #wholesomeness

[greeksandmagic]

#oh my god #this this this #mathematics

[greeksandmagic]

by the way did I ever tell y’all about the time I got a blank message from nobody, sent on new year’s eve in 1969, when the internet didn’t exist?

because that happened

#oh my god #this this this #computers #gmail

[greeksandmagic]

you know someone’s awful when they have “discourse” in their url

#oh my god #this this this

[greeksandmagic]

"I wonder where Jonathan is and if he is thinking of me!"

#this this this #dracula #bram stoker #dracula daily

[greeksandmagic]

this might be weird to ask, but how do I critically look at another person's writing and implement what I like in their writing in my own writing? I've been having trouble improving in my writing, and frankly Im not sure how to go about doing that, even. It's easy to see what I like about another person's writing, but hard to pinpoint exactly why...

THIS IS NOT WEIRD TO ASK. It is, in fact, the most important question EVER.

How to Read Like a Writer

Re-read. If you get halfway into a chapter and think, Wow this chapter is super creepy–I wonder how they did that. Or get to the end of a book and think, I feel the poignancy of the fragility of human life in an inherently volatile economic system–I wonder how the writer made me feel that way… Go back and re-read that shit.

Read slowly. When you read like a reader, you read pretty fast. When you go in for your second, or third, or fourth re-read of a passage, chapter, or book that you want to know more about, read it slowly. Really. Slowly.

Read for technique, not content. Readers read for content (”In this paragraph, Damien gave Harold a classified envelope.”). Writers read for technique. (”In this paragraph, the writer made me feel curious about the contents of the envelope by giving sensory details about its appearance and weight.”)

Ask the right questions. They usually start with HOW: How did the writer make me feel? How did they accomplish that?

Read small. Did a chapter make you feel sad? Find out WHERE EXACTLY. What paragraph, sentence, or WORD did it for you? Was it a physical detail? A line of dialogue? A well-placed piece of punctuation? Stories are made of words and sentences. Narrow it down.

Practice. Reading like a writer is a skill that takes time to develop. Over time, you’ll get better at it!

How about y’all? Anything to add to this list? I made it off the top of my head so I’m sure I’m forgetting something. What have been your experiences with learning to read like a writer?

Hope this helps!

//////////////

The Literary Architect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler. For more writing help, check out my Free Resource Library or get The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Fiction Writers. xoxo

#this this this #writings tips

[greeksandmagic]

#oh my god

[greeksandmagic]

fun facts!

leonardo da vinci was a year younger than christopher columbus.

stalin, freud, Ttto, trotsky and hitler walk into a bar……no really, it’s possible since they all lived in vienna in 1913.

aristotle tutored alexander the great.

abraham lincoln was twelve when napoleon bonaparte died.

an unusually well-traveled person in 5th century BC could have conceivably met confucius, lao tze, the buddha and socrates over the course of a seventy year life.

pharaohs and mammoths existed at the same time.

pocahontas and william shakespeare died, in the same country, less than a year apart from each other. 

oxford university is older than the aztec empire.

#oh my god #this this this #history

[greeksandmagic]

I recently learned that the Star-Spangled Banner flag (as in, the flag flown over Fort McHenry that inspired the Francis Scott Key poem) has fifteen stripes instead of thirteen, because the tradition at the time was to increase the number of stripes along with the number of stars as more states joined the union.

I assume this tradition ended because of cowardice. I've prepared several options to revive the tradition:

The most direct approach. Looks vaguely pink from a distance.

I like how this one emphasizes how much more America there is now than there used to be.

I think plaid fits nicely, too. As a bonus, a lot of existing tablecloths could be converted to this design with just the addition of the canton.

Honestly, I just spent too much time making this one not to post it.

#oh my god

[greeksandmagic]

image how much better if everyone, adults, teens, younger kids, all got recess. like if everyone got 45 minutes to an hour to just play around outside, do fun things, be “childish” and things

#oh my god #this this this

[greeksandmagic]

idk im really tired of 15-17 year olds who have never interacted with the gay community irl and spend too much time on tiktok trying to act like the authority on all that is lgbt+ 

#this this this

[greeksandmagic]

okay guys hashtag not sponsored but tonight we went to a market and there was a man. this man's name was SEAN and he sold CERAMICS that happened to be in the trans pride colours and it was definitely an accident but he said "oh cool :)" when i mentioned it and wasn't weird so ally points for that one.

he also told another customer while we were there that he knew his wife was gonna be mad with him because she packed a bunch of paper bags for him to give to customers and he left them in the car which, relatable to us all.

anyway @teacupsandcyanide and i were channeling nadja and lazlo tonight (picture: a short dude in a frilly white shirt and deep blue frock coat, walking arm in arm through the night market with a being of many genders in all black with a witch's hat and a black lace veil over their face.) he told us we were the best dressed people in the market and that he gonna give us a deal because of it. he also told us he was excited because this was his first (!!) market selling his wares.

he was selling teacups for $aud35 a pop and when i went to buy two he gave them to us for $aud50 for the PAIR?? and i was like aw omg thank you :) and i said i wished i could buy more but i just couldn't afford it (not joking: would buy all of my crockery from him if i could.) and then he got a shifty look in his eyes and picked up a tiny milk jug i'd been looking at earlier and told me to TAKE IT??? FOR FREE??? and i was like NO OMG YOU NEED TO MAKE MONEY??? and he insisted and i took it because IT'S SO CUTE. but i'm genuinely concerned that this man may actually be losing money because he's too nice to people, hence this post:

look at his ceramics. feast your eyes.

and follow him on instagram and tiktok. and then i will finally feel i have repaid him.

#oh my god #this this this

[greeksandmagic]

I worked with toddlers and pre schoolers for three years. Sometimes I accidentally slip and tell a friend to say bye to an inanimate object (“say bye bus!”) & occasionally they unthinkingly just do it.

#oh my god #this this this #long post

[greeksandmagic]

show, don't tell:

anticipation - bouncing legs - darting eyes - breathing deeply - useless / mindless tasks - eyes on the clock - checking and re-checking

frustration - grumbling - heavy footsteps - hot flush - narrowed eyes - pointing fingers - pacing / stomping

sadness - eyes filling up with tears - blinking quickly - hiccuped breaths - face turned away - red / burning cheeks - short sentences with gulps

happiness - smiling / cheeks hurting - animated - chest hurts from laughing - rapid movements - eye contact - quick speaking

boredom - complaining - sighing - grumbling - pacing - leg bouncing - picking at nails

fear - quick heartbeat - shaking / clammy hands - pinching self - tuck away - closing eyes - clenched hands

disappointment - no eye contact - hard swallow - clenched hands - tears, occasionally - mhm-hmm

tiredness - spacing out - eyes closing - nodding head absently - long sighs - no eye contact - grim smile

confidence - prolonged eye contact - appreciates instead of apologizing - active listening - shoulders back - micro reactions

#this this this #writings tips

[greeksandmagic]

#oh my god #this this this

[greeksandmagic]

#oh my god