readingsometimes

[readingsometimes]

Reblog so everyone can hear what they need.

#poll #<3

[readingsometimes]

I saw a very blunt Instagram comment today that told a writer, "AI is going to steal your job soon. You may want to choose something else." It was so nonchalant and casual, like what was just said wasn't heartbreaking to hear.

Can we writers just make a pact just to... not quit? Can we not give in so easily? Can we actually fight to keep our professions and continue to share our own original work? I will never expect writing to be my main source of income, but that does not mean I'm so willing to give it up for the sake of some robot.

[readingsometimes]

[readingsometimes]

Applicable AO3 Ratings If You Don’t Write Porn

G- nothing objectionable

T- the fuck word

M- organs, outside

E- organs, outside, lovingly described

#fanfic

[readingsometimes]

It puzzles me when people cite LOTR as the standard of “simple” or “predictable” or “black and white” fantasy. Because in my copy, the hero fails. Frodo chooses the Ring, and it’s only Gollum’s own desperation for it that inadvertently saves the day. The fate of the world, this whole blood-soaked war, all the millennia-old machinations of elves and gods, comes down to two addicts squabbling over their Precious, and that is precisely and powerfully Tolkien’s point. 

And then the hero goes home, and finds home a smoking desolation, his neighbors turned on one another, that secondary villain no one finished off having destroyed Frodo’s last oasis not even out of evil so much as spite, and then that villain dies pointlessly, and then his killer dies pointlessly. The hero is left not with a cathartic homecoming, the story come full circle in another party; he is left to pick up the pieces of what was and what shall never be again. 

And it’s not enough. The hero cannot heal, and so departs for the fabled western shores in what remains a blunt and bracing metaphor for death (especially given his aged companions). When Sam tells his family, “Well, I’m back” at the very end, it is an earned triumph, but the very fact that someone making it back qualifies as a triumph tells you what kind of story this is: one that is too honest to allow its characters to claim a clean victory over entropy, let alone evil. 

“I can’t recall the taste of food, nor the sound of water, nor the touch of grass. I’m naked in the dark. There’s nothing–no veil between me and the wheel of fire. I can see him with my waking eyes.”

So where’s this silly shallow hippie fever-dream I’ve heard so much about? It sounds like a much lesser story than the one that actually exists.

#lotr #dont mind me im just here being devatstated at 5:42 in the morning

[readingsometimes]

I’m so sorry but in the nicest way possible do yall actually read books or just read words??? Cause I’ve been seeing that trend of people not understanding how “snarled” and “eyes darkened” and “eyes softened” etc. was used in a book and like…

Genuinely, do yall just not have imagination?? Or not understand figurative language??? Also eyes do literally darken and soften have you not lived a life??? How do you read with no imagination? Is this how you get through so many books in one month - you simply don’t take the time the understand the words as they are read?

#fr

[readingsometimes]

nothing pisses me off more than when i see a fic on ao3 talking about reach. "this ship isn't here but i added them for reach" "this fandom tag isn't necessary but i'm adding it for reach" "reposting for reach" STOP IT!!!! this is not tiktok this is not twitter this is an ARCHIVE this is not how it works!!!

#fanfic

[readingsometimes]

Still obsessed with Arthur Conan Doyle’s letter to Bram Stoker gushing about how wonderful a book Dracula is, but particularly how it makes such a good template for leaving fic comments, so I’m gonna to a BREAKDOWN:

Just say you loved reading it - “I am sure that you will not think it an impertinence if I write to tell you how very much I have enjoyed reading Dracula.”

Comment on a detail of the craft or structure that impressed you - “It is really wonderful how with so much exciting interest over so long a book there is never an anticlimax.“

Comment on how it emotionally affected you - “It holds you from the very start and grows more and more engrossing until it is quite painfully vivid.”

SHARE YOUR BLORBO FEELINGS - “The old Professor is most excellent and so are the two girls.”

Show appreciation for them as an author - “I congratulate you with all my heart for having written so fine a book.”

Next time you don’t know what to say on a fic you enjoyed, just use the ACD method~

#oh but this is so cute actually

[readingsometimes]

Hi, I've been reading a couple stories that I like because of how it was written and when I tried to write my story while being inspired by those stories, I struggled to write a sentence and flopped.

Any tips?

Inspired But Can’t Write Anything

Inspiration is just one small part of writing a great story. You also need to understand how stories work, have a full creative well to draw from, and you need to put in the time and effort to make messy art before you make good art.

Understanding How Stories Work

This is often the missing ingredient when people sit down to write and the story doesn’t go anywhere. If your story doesn’t have a conflict, if your protagonist doesn’t have a motivation and goal, if there’s no antagonistic force creating obstacles, and you don’t know how the conflict is resolved or what changes by the end, you won’t know what to write or what you do write will meander in circles. You can spend some time on my Plot & Story Structure master list if you need to fill some of those gaps.

Having a Full Creative Well

Writing fiction requires us to invent places, people, circumstances, problems, solutions, conversations, events, and moments. Being inspired by an idea or other stories is a great first step, but if you don’t have your own ideas about places, people, circumstances, problems, etc., you won’t be able to make the idea your own or fill in the gaps between the inspiration and a finished story. Guide: Filling Your Creative Well will help make sure you have lots of your own ideas to draw from.

Making Messy Art Before Making Good Art

Even when you’re inspired, understand how stories work, and have a full creative well, you can still sit down and be unable to get words on the page. It’s always worth considering the myriad possible causes for this, such as not feeling well physically or mentally, being in an environment that is distracting and full of interruptions, being tired or in a bad mood, or having other things on your mind. However…

One major reason why people can’t write (even when they have ideas and a plan) is because of fear. Fear that what they write won’t be as good as they want it to be, fear that you don’t have what it takes to do the story justice, fear of not meeting your writing goals and expectations, and fear that no one will want to read your story or enjoy it. These fears are all perfectly normal, but the only way past them is to give yourself permission to be messy. Your story has to be bad before it can be good. You’ll never do any story justice if you don’t start writing. Writing goals and expectations are easier to meet if you give yourself the grace to focus on quantity first and quality later. Get the story written, make it better, and you will absolutely find people who want to read it.

Writing gets easier with every story you write and complete. But if fear keeps you from ever getting started, you’ll never get in the practice and effort necessary to hone your craft and write good stories. My Motivation master list has posts that dive into the different fears and issues that can hamper motivation.

Have fun with your story!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

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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Visit my Master List of Top Posts

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#writing

[readingsometimes]

I was today years old when I learned that when you type “otp: true” in AO3 search results it filters out fics with additional ships, leaving only the fics where your otp is the main ship

#fanfic

[readingsometimes]

I haven't purchased a HP item in close to a decade - I use the books I already had as doorstops or to prop a laptop up for meetings nowadays.

There is NO "death of the author" with JK Rowling - she controls and continues to profit from her IP, and uses that money to fund hate groups.

#hp #jkr

[readingsometimes]

spanking figging anal punishment for burakhovsky STAT (i am asking politely) (do u do commissions)

I'll be honest, if I hadn't already written the fic (a piece of writing I'm too proud of not to share), this second ask would have seriously dented my enthusiasm to do so.

Let's put this in perspective. You (I have to assume you were behind both messages) sent your first ask on Sunday. I saw it shortly before heading out to have dinner with friends and decided to think on it. I was compelled by the idea and you did ask politely (the first time), so I decided to go ahead and write it. This meant freeing up a project slot first, which took until Tuesday. I then wrote the fic on Tuesday and edited it late Wednesday evening (the only time I had that day to do so).

This is a very quick turnaround for an out-of-the-blue request. Especially considering that I have work and my own non-fic writing to attend to. I am open to out-of-the-blue fic requests. I am not open to being nagged if I don't fill those requests on a frankly unrealistic timetable. Even if I am compelled by an idea and have the time to write it, which is far from guaranteed, writing takes time. I'm a person with a busy life, not a vending machine that might drop an extra snack if you shake it hard enough.

Again, I'm still posting the fic, but only because I like it too much to bury it. If you ask people for writing in the future, I hope you'll keep in mind that you're asking for time and energy from a stranger who probably has a lot going on in their life, and a little patience goes a long way.

#fanfic #adding 'i am asking politely' does not actually automatically make your phrasing polite. fyi anon

[readingsometimes]

#literally in the process of writing a fic about Halsin's life pre-game

[readingsometimes]

If you ever feel like you don't contribute to fandom because you "only" comment—

A regular serial commenter just joined a fandom Discord server I'm on and people are coming out of the woodwork to thank her for her service to the fandom, expressing how much joy her comments on their works bring them.

Remember—they're never only comments.

#and when people reply to your comment and have a little conversation about it thats neat too! #fanfic

[readingsometimes]

I know I'm a bit late to saying this but frankly if I found out a secret society of magic-users were just playing nonsense sports and making up slurs for the rest of us instead of helping us out with famines or leukemia I think I'd apply for a job with my local witch hunters

#hp

[readingsometimes]

Fans' attitudes toward AI-generated works

Irina Cisternino, a PhD candidate of Stony Brooke University, is writing their research on topics related to technology, art and fandom. You can participate by filling out a survey and additionally, signing up for an interview. The survey is expected to last until at least the end of April, those, who signed up for the interview, will be contacted later. You need to be at least 18 years old to participate in either, be able to understand and speak English and identify as a fan.

After the completion of the research, it will be accessible as the dissertation of the researcher. If you have further questions, you can contact Irina Cisternino at [email protected] or Lu-Ann Kozlowsky at [email protected].

[readingsometimes]

#poll #genre!