#i added this quote to goodreads so i could make this post

[russetpuddle]

#i added this quote to goodreads so i could make this post #this book is so..... #yeah #literature #quotes #yukio mishima #confessions of a mask #lgbtq literature #academia #japanese author #aesthetic #comphet #gay

[gogandmagog]

so what are your favorite books/authors besides lm montgomery...I maybe just maybe am tailoring my goodreads tbr for next year 👀

“I love a book that makes me cry.”

– Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables

And apparently me too??? I’m just over here adding this grossly popular quote right at the top of this list after having wrote it up, because when I look back over these all-star books that rushed to be highlighted, I realise that… every last one of these moved me to tears.

But I’ve read them all half-a-dozen of times, at least! 🥺 So, here we go, here we go!

Beloved by Toni Morrison. This one knocked me out, good and proper. It’s such a masterpiece. It starts in the 1870’s of Ohio and follows a former slave and her daughter. It’s got a strong Haunted House vibe (there is a ghost), and it opens up with both something quite Maud-would-appreciate-this-ish and quite chilling; "124 WAS SPITEFUL. Full of a baby's venom. The women in the house knew it and so did the children. For years each put up with the spite in his own way, but by 1873 Sethe and her daughter Denver were its only victims." Mind, some people haaate this book, and feel quite strongly about it — but I like prosey books (this is the top complaint as far as I can tell), and this one is certainly that. Some very harrowing descriptions of the abuse of slaves, to be sure, but I personally have never been one to turn away from that ugliness, because remembering and understanding its weight feels important.

Stoner by John Williams. This is a little bit like ‘life sucks, and then you die’ — hyper precise about mundanities and is frankly a huge red flag to see sitting on a dudes bookshelf but… I loved it so much. 😅 It’s quiet, but poignant, and in its simplest rendering is about a very bored English Professor falling greatly in love with someone who is not his wife. Keep in mind, I’m hardly a girl who thinks infidelity is either cute or excusable… but this book firmly lodged itself in my heart, anyway.

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. I’m a HUGE BIG HUGE BIG HUGE Baldwin fan. And this is the book that started it, for me. Like, this novel will fully pull you apart, and give you a wallowing. I’d say it's even a great atmospheric read for winter, and I also even want to go ahead and say this book is considered a classic, but I could be making that up; maybe it’s just a classic to me. The plot surrounds the struggles of a bisexual man in late 1950’s Paris; he’s just proposed to his girlfriend, but he goes on and has a relationship with a male bartender. There’s race, misogyny, and class issues here too, but this book isn’t so heavy that it becomes cumbersome to read. It’s actually quite beautiful. 

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Another prosey book. Maybe the most prosey book I’ve ever read… you don’t really get a break from it. But it’s so lush, and visceral, and the word play is sometimes so genius that you don’t mind getting fully lost in it (at least, I didn't!). This book could be labeled “tragedy” because it’s sometimes rather bleak – it's about fraternal Indian twins, Kerala history, and the lasting impact of childhood traumas, as well as the exploitation of the weak, really. But, there’s high points too!

Elsewhere if you haven’t read Peter Pan as an adult, I urge and beg of you to. J.M. Barrie (that’s James Matthew Barrie, and I will never stop conspiring that this is intentional of Montgomery and James Matthew Blythe) is right up there with Lucy Maud in the realm of exquisite and sweet storytelling that transcends age.

Of course Shirley Jackson, but you’re already a reader there! Fanny Howe has been an obsession of mine lately, too — I think I’ve posted her twice here and here — despite her being a poet, which is something of a fault that I’m being very charitable about overlooking (only half-joking, I really usually don’t care for poetry [except you Mary Oliver], not even LMM’s or by extension Anne or Walter’s either). Eve Babitz and Joan Didion are close personal friends (okay, it’s one-sided).

Anyone else that I read over and over are so classic that it’s almost white noise/nonsense to list them. I think the Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is my all-time never-to-be-defeated, and Lolita (despite its very uncomfortable content) by Vladimir Nabokov is a close second (I once saw Lolita cited as being ‘a love letter to the English language’ and I frankly agreed with my whole chest), and Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell (his essays are things of brilliance too) takes bronze. I also obviously throw myself at the feet of the likes of C.S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll and Fyodor Dostoevsky and Virginia Woolf and Kafka and Sylvia Plath and Charles Dickens and James Joyce, and all of Those Guys too. Genuinely. I also wholly stan Washington Irving. He’s most famous for Sleepy Hallow, which I’ll link right here because if you tap on it and read even a single line, I think you’ll be like, ‘oh right, he is sensational.’ And this quality continues throughout his catalogue!

Signing off with a true and sincere hope that you’ll consider sharing your TBR list with everyone, and maybe some recommendations of your own, too!!! Your opinion means worlds!!!

#this is very late and wordy #apologies 🥹

[whimsicaldragonette]

Blog Tour and ARC Review: By Any Other Name by Erin Cotter

Welcome to my stop on the By Any Other Name book tour with Colored Pages Blog Tours. (This blog tour is also posted on my wordpress book blog Whimsical Dragonette.)

Book info:

TITLE: By Any Other Name AUTHOR: Erin Cotter PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers RELEASE DATE: October 10, 2023 GENRES: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy PAGES: 464 REPRESENTATION: Queer MCs

Goodreads StorygraphBlackwellsAmazonBarnes & NobleBookshop USOther Retailers

Synopsis:

A down-on-his-luck actor and an English lord reluctantly team up to solve the murder of Christopher Marlowe in this Shakespearean-era young adult romp perfect for fans of F.T. Lukens and Mackenzi Lee.

London, 1593. Sixteen-year-old Will Hughes is busy working on Shakespeare’s stage, stuffing his corsets with straw and pretending to be someone else. Offstage, he's playing a part, too. The son of traitors, Will is desperate to keep his identity secret—or risk being killed in the bloody queen’s imperial schemes. All he wants is to lay low until he earns enough coin to return to his family.

But when his mentor, the famous playwright Christopher Marlowe, is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Will’s plans are hopelessly dashed. What’s worse, Marlowe was a spy for the queen, tasked with stalking a killer rumored to be part of an elusive order of assassins, and his secrets and untimely death have put Will under a harsh spotlight. And so, when Will unwittingly foils an attempt on the queen’s life, she names him her next spymaster.

Now, to avoid uncomfortable questions, prison, or an even more terrible fate, Will reluctantly starts his new career, which—yes—will secure him the resources to help his family…but at what cost? Adding insult to injury is the young Lord James Bloomsbury, Will’s new comrade in arms, whose entitled demeanor and unfairly handsome looks get under Will’s skin immediately.

Together, the two hunt the cunning assassin, defend the queen’s life, and pray to keep their own...all while an unexpected connection blossoms between them.

Author Bio:

Erin Cotter writes young adult fiction. Originally from Buffalo, New York, she currently calls Austin home. When not writing she spends time with her partner and pets, eating tacos, and searching for Golden-cheeked Warblers in the Texas Hill Country.

Author Links:

Goodreads WebsiteInstagram

My Rating: ★★★★

*My Review, Favorite Quotes, and Tour Schedule below the cut.

My Review:

I can’t give this five stars because I didn’t love it and I definitely wouldn’t read it again, but it absolutely deserves four for how very much I didn’t love the setting - purely a case of personal preference - and at the same time how much I loved the characters. It takes skill to pull such a visceral response of dislike from me and at the same time endear the characters to me so strongly.

The thing I like least about this book, and the thing that makes me admire the skill of the author the most, is the rawness of life in this medieval world. These characters live in filth. They are accustomed to it. Humanity here, from the aristocrats to the peasants, is only a step away from animals. Life is unpredictable, brutal, full of disease and filth and crassness and betrayal. And no one bats an eye.

It reminds me of Catherine Called Birdy (a book I still vividly remember viscerally hating when I had to read it for school all those years ago) in the way it portrays a world of casual brutality and scrabbling in the mud for a life. Honestly it’s probably at least in part a bit of germaphobia that makes me hate this world so.

Will and his friends go through so much over the course of the novel, and there are so many plot twists, that I was constantly surprised by events and by their tenacity and determination to survive. I never saw a single thing coming in the course of the assassination and murder investigation. I could see, after each piece had fallen into place, exactly how it fit, but not how it got there.

The characters and events were melodramatic and sometimes strained credulity, but it all fits with the underlying theme of plays and players. Shakespeare and Marlowe are even characters. Will begins as an actor playing girls on stage in Marlowe's plays, and he keeps all of those actor characteristics to his personality throughout the story.

Will is likable no matter his selfishness and many faults, and i found myself continually rooting for him and his star-crossed love. And I came away loathing the nobility, especially Elizabeth. Her court was rotten and she was the worst of them all.

The way the story played out was very satisfying and wrenched a lot of feelings from me. Not least of which was the conviction that I absolutely positively never want to visit this world.

Seriously though, James' sister Catherine deserved so much better. Her part of the story is the one thing that really disappointed me.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Colored Pages Blog Tours, and Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers for providing an early copy for review.

Favorite Quotes:

Goddamn it. I’ve been trying not to let these two become my friends, but they became my friends anyway.

---

Whatever lack of experience Bloomsbury claims he has, his inspired performance as the most vexing person I’ve ever met is certainly coming from somewhere.

---

To hell with Marlowe and Bloomsbury and all the other people who tug me into their dark intrigues and give me no lantern to light my way. I am tired of being left in the dark.

---

“We don’t need your coin!” Maggie snarls. “’Tis coin. We always need coin,” Inigo amends in a small voice.

---

Should I fail, the stakes are dire; impersonating a man of the noble class is a crime punishable by death. Though to be fair, most of the crimes in England are punishable by death.

---

’Tis a brave and dangerous thing to go about this world having dreams. A dream is even more fickle and fleeting than a life.

---

“So we’re not here to have fun?” I say, to be cetain I’m understanding Foxwell correctly. Because it very much appears as though we’re in the midst of fun.

---

’Tis Reamonn, the swashbuckling pirate lad. He prickles with knives like an adorable, bloodthirsty hedgehog.

Tour Schedule:

October 4th

@monikasbookblog - Review + Favorite Quotes

raavenreads - Review Post

October 5th

Yourlocalbookreader - Review + Reel

@monarchsandmyths - Review + Favorite Quotes

October 6th

_perpetualpages_ - Review Post

Whimsical Dragonette - Review + Favorite Quotes

October 7th

ofpagesandprint - Review + Reel

@moyashi_girl - Review Post

October 8th

@poatic.library - Review + Reel

@gingerly_reading - Review Post

October 9th

Readreviewcoffee - Review + Favorite Quotes

Spacey Ghost - Review Post

October 10th

​​@rubyraereads - Review Post

Bangalimeyreads - Review + Reel

#colored pages blog tours #by any other name #queer books #netgalley #arc review #shilo reads #queer mcs #lgbt+ #YA historical #historical fiction #fantasy #YA fantasy #erin cotter #simon teen #coloredpagesbt #shakespeare #medieval fantasy #middle ages

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

I posted 703 times in 2022

30 posts created (4%)

673 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@prettyinlimegreenboots

@theshelbyclan

@thesoldiersminute

@lovingtheroyals

I tagged 676 of my posts in 2022

Only 4% of my posts had no tags

#newsies - 152 posts

#peaky blinders - 130 posts

#tommy shelby - 73 posts

#racetrack higgins - 72 posts

#jack kelly - 69 posts

#incorrect newsies quotes - 56 posts

#cillian murphy - 55 posts

#writing - 49 posts

#spot conlon - 47 posts

#thomas shelby - 47 posts

Longest Tag: 114 characters

#my first ramadan away from home is kind of scary but i will prevail somehow without delicious homecooked iftar....

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Hi hello me again with another potential happy thought! Another night another sober Blink with a bus filled with his friends, a rather quiet night he'd thought, Mike and Ike nearly asleep on either side of Sniper, Mush beside Jack who'd been chatting quietly and Crutchy who'd been sat beside Blink commenting here and there about the streets they'd passed, David and Sarah having just been dropped off, the end of their night approaching steadily. But as a familiar song had started up on the radio, a quiet hum slowly grew louder, that quiet hum turning into solid and loud lyrics at the chorus', "So Sally can wait! She knows it's too late as we're walking on by", Blink even joining in with the choir of friends.

Awww I love this! The boisterous singalong would be an amazing thing to witness. I could see Jack and Crutchie trying to out sing one another while Race and Mush do the same. Much love to you for making my day!!!

8 notes - Posted January 8, 2022

#4

Racetrack Higgins and his harmonica to Brooks and Dunns boot scoot n boogie! Crutchy's got his guitar going and they're back to back singing. That one line "I want a shot o that red head yonder lookin at me" showing off Crutchy's vocals nicely as he winks at Al who's smiling but shakes his head, Jack pulling him up for a twirl to their friends singing ♡

This is so wholesome and I fully approve of Chrutchie’s guitar and Race’s harmonica!!!! When the Newsies find out that Race and Crutchie were performing, they all made plans to be at the bar to witness their musical talents. The entire bar gets into it as Crutchie and Race groove to the music. They play One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful” and the Newsies go nuts when Crutchie starts crooning “You're insecure, don't know what for”. They both know what they’re doing as they play that song.

Thank you for sending this in! I’m stuck at an airport awaiting a flight so this lifted my spirits!!!! You’re amazing friend!

9 notes - Posted January 9, 2022

#3

For your consideration: One Mush Meyers working at build-a-bear and whenever there's faulty bears or damages bears they can't sell at the shop, he comes home with them. He doesn't yet know how to sew or to patch a bear up but he's trying to learn, slowly but surely. So for now, Blink going through boxes in the spare room looking for a vase he borrowed from Denton back before they'd moved. Coming across this box of deflated bears that are all a little off, "hey Mush" he hollers, lifting the box, "what's w'the dead teddy bear army?" and here's Mush with this sheepish smile, "I don't know how to patch them up yet but i'll get there one day", Blink's adoration showing in the smile he gives the lad, "could always give Buttons a phone?"

I absolutely love this and when Mush eventually calls Buttons, his response is “why didn’t you ask sooner?” They would have an afternoon of patching up all the stuffies. Mush would take them back to Build a Bear, fill them up and donate them to the children’s hospital or an orphanage.

13 notes - Posted January 2, 2022

#2

I just learned something so I’m sharing it with you all. If you read fan fics and track books on Goodreads, you can track fan fiction through Goodreads and they’ll show up on your Yearly Reading Challenge. There are a ton of fan fics that have been added to Goodreads (most Harry Potter) but you can add any that haven’t been already added by this link.

15 notes - Posted January 30, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Hi hello hope you're doing well, if you were to write something titled 'Dear Jack', what would it be about? I've been thinking a lot about titles lately ♡

I love this idea!!!

I think it would be Race sitting down and writing a letter to Jack. Race and Spot moved to Chicago for college and he writes a weekly letters to Jack letting him know what he and Spot have gotten up to in that week. Like clockwork, the letter to Jack arrives on Wednesday while the letter to Race arrives on Saturday. Race always starts off the letter with a joke he heard that week (the answer is on the backside of the letter) before diving into how college/work was and anything he learned. He’d write about Spot but before Race posted the letter, Spot would always scrawl lines between Race’s telling Jack “what really happened” and calling Race out on his “bullshit”. He would promise Jack they’d come back to visit “when it gets warmer” and would always tell Jack that Chicago is way colder than NYC ever was.

Meanwhile, Jack would pen his own letter to Race, including little drawings and jokes of his own (which all of their friends would cringe at). He would catch them up on their little family, little antidotes of affection for something stupid Albert or Mush did that week. Blink would include a new recipe he had tried that week for Spot to then try. Medda would include her own note, telling her babies to hurry back. Davey would make sure Race was following the study guide he made him but also told him to make sure he was taking plenty of breaks and drinking water.

And when Race and Spot ended back in the city for their vacation, Race brought home a letter he penned on the ride over. After a very manly hug between him and Jack was exchanged, he handed the envelope to Jack, putting his hands in his pockets, shrugging, “I figured I’d save the postage this time”.

This was fun to write up! Might have to write a letter induced fic at some point. Thanks for sending this in friend!!! ❤️

20 notes - Posted January 29, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[ariaste]

Hi I have a fanfic related question and you seem like the perfect person to ask. A couple years ago I wrote a book review where I posited that the book, which is part of a series I hold deep affection for, would have been better with only one of its dual perspectives included. Lately I've been tempted to strip out the other perspective. Maybe tweak what's necessary to make it work. Something of a "put my money where my mouth is." Or, effort, at least. I'm worried this would cross a line.

what.....wait, like... Like you’re going to type (or whatever) the book into a word document and just erase all of the scenes from the perspective of Character B? uh.

okay. i have several answers for this. 

The short answer: Your instincts are correct, this would cross a line. Actually it would cross several lines, depending on what you DO with the.... thing.... you have created.

My answer as a fanfiction reader & the hypothetical reader of your....creation...: This is a waste of my time. I am not getting anything new by reading this thing. I’ve already read the book. If I wanted to only read the parts from Character A’s perspective, I have access to a copy of the book myself, I could just do that thing. My answer as a fanfiction writer: This is a waste of your time. Write something new. Write the whole book from Character C’s perspective. You know, Character C? That background character who wasn’t one of the POV characters? What’s goin’ on in their head while all this is happening?

My answer as a Writer, An Artiste: Cutting out all of Character B’s scenes is pretty insulting to the author’s original vision. It’s like deciding that you don’t like the background of the Mona Lisa, so you’re just gonna trim that bit out.

My answer as a professional author, if you decide to do this in the privacy of your own home, e.g. by taking a black sharpie to all of Character B’s scenes, or by taping paper over the top of them: I mean, you bought that copy of the book, you can do whatever you want with that physical object. You could take it in the bathtub, you could cut out a hollow in the pages to hide your Secret Gun, you could fuckin’ burn it if you wanted to. I don’t own you.  My answer as a professional author, if you do this and post it anywhere online: Hold on a second, let me get in character.... Ahem. “Hello! I, the original author of the text, am really sorry to send you this cease & desist letter but that thing you did DOES violate the definition of “transformative work” and does not qualify as “fair use”. That’s just a straight-up copyright infringement -- you have stolen half the text and you have made it available for other people to steal as well. Please take it down before I email my publisher, who may decide to send lawyers after you. I’m also going to be reporting it to the mods of the hosting website as well, and depending on their policies you may get permanently banned. It is not a transformative work. It’s just piracy.” In case you were wondering about those terms and definitions, here’s an explanation. The relevant quote: 

...[T]he status of a transformative work seems to be defined by two questions:

*  Has the material taken from the original work been transformed by adding new expression or meaning? *  Was value added to the original by creating new information, new aesthetics, new insights, and understandings?

soooooooooooooo. yeah. I would...........not do this thing......... if i were you.......... 

That said, if you absolutely must do it, do it on a physical copy of the book that you have bought (preferably new, preferably from your local indie bookstore rather than Amazon) and do not ever show the author, ever, ever, ever. Do not post pictures of this thing on social media. Do not post about the project on Goodreads. DEFINITELY DO NOT ASK THE AUTHOR TO SIGN IT AT A BOOKSIGNING. You WILL hurt their feelings, they will NOT think this is a cute project. They will feel sad. They will feel like you just took a giant shit all over months or years of their hard work. Please take a moment to imagine what that would feel like if someone did it to you. 

DO NOT SHOW THE AUTHOR. Hope that helped! I tried to answer as comprehensively as possible since there’s a couple different levels of “oh....friend, noooo. noooo, friend, noooo” going on here. 

And of course there are no hard feelings just because you asked a question! I’m really glad you listened to your instincts about seeking a second opinion! *thumbs up*

#writing #transformative works #copyright #fanfiction #fair use #seamusquigley

[booksandwords]

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Read time: 8 Days Rating: 5/5

The quote: Who cares about the crowded, broad road? I’ll walk the single-plank bridge all the night. — Wei WuXian

Warnings: The novel has some not minor issues with consent. It can be read as non-con or dub-con. It gets even murkier in the added chapters.

A big thank you to @exiledrebelsscans for the translation.

In the interests of full disclosure I read Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (aka Mo Dao Zu She or MDZS) after seeing The Untamed Okay so I saw it twice in quick succession, sue me. This prior knowledge meant I know the endgame to a degree I know the villains, I know most of the main players and I know the general plot. This review, as all my status updates did may contain so minor spoilers. But given the popularity of MDZS's adaptations, it's more than what people likely already know coming in. This review uses the standard short forms for character names.

The plot is gritty and at times nearing grotesque. If you are reading a translation chances are it is the Exiledrebelsscanlations version, heed their warnings there are some things that you really don't want to read while eating. The writing is layered and complex. You are required to keep track of time and people, weapons and families. One of the most telling quotes is “We are all human.” It is something that is at the heart of the story. Humanity, love. And the price we pay for both. It challenges your ethics and your concept of perception if you let it. Or you can just treat it as a fun ride. But you do need to think enough to follow the characters and plot.

My familiarity with The Untamed lead of course to comparisons between the source material and the adaptation.

The most glaring difference is the treatment of women. MXTX is a woman, it makes sense that her women are strong characters. Madame Jin is so much more than we see. Like Madam Yu, she is a fierce woman who intimidates her husband. Both these women are feared in the novel but Jin is played differently in the adaptation.

Separate post for Wen Qing. The Untamed did not do WQ justice. You know those scenes where her and Wei WuXian are searching for a way to help Jiang Cheng? Core regrowth or transfer in eps 17 & 18 yeah they are redundant. Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's vision of WQ is a badass. She created that process herself, well before WWX and JC the theoretical nature remains but she created it. Why would you remove that? The lady is a boss.

Writing allows for characters motives and actions to be better explained. JC and Jin Ling in the endgame. WWX and relationship with Xiao XingChen, his sympathy. Su She and his whole deal. Everything is still set up. But it's easier to keep secrets where required.

The characters are more balanced. As in WWX is still his prodigious self but he doesn't know everything. People have the knowledge they impart to him and Lan WangJi. Such as LXC and NHS.

The glaring difference is the use of sexuality. This is a Yaoi novel. WWX uses Mo XuanYu's homosexuality as a weapon. And there is a typical level of homophobia given the appearance of the apparent time. That said, MXY/WWX is referred to as a cut-sleeve as a slur, it comes from an amazing place and I love it

I want to ramble about the Yi City Arc (aka the Grasses chapters). This arc is dangerous to emotions in all forms this is something that fans talk about a lot. It is so well written it's a brilliant use of narration and skill. But to me, The Untamed did it better. Wang HaoXuan's performance changed a whole character and added depth. My favourite comment on Yi City (which I could talk about for hours) is "in a world of noble families Yi City is just four orphans destroying each other body and soul" Among the extra chapters there was one I liked. Villainous friends add some depth to the Yi City Arc characters. It adds Xue Yang's courtesy name, how he met Song Lan & Xiao XingChen, and the slight that started their deterioration. Also Song Lan's mysophobia. The rest of them aren't great. I can see why they exist by I wish I hadn't read them. (See also my rant on consent)

Okay. We need to address the elephant in the corner. Consent. For reasons not made especially clear one of the main characters wears an intimate accessory in full view and within reach of everyone at all times. The nature of this item is not readily explained but for another to touch it without permission is a violation. This violation occurs multiple times and it's never addressed not really. There are some worrying issues with drunken sexual activity, WWX knows LWJ isn't in his right mind and proceeds anyway. To a degree, I think this might be a cultural thing (ie BL/ Yaoi) but it made me hesitant. Not nearly as much as the rape fantasy, just thrown out there with no discussion. Or the two-time travel extras. They are rape (? I think, I skim read) and adult!WWX having sex with only-just-legal!LWJ (kind of, it's complicated). Though Bichen being used as a toy is certainly something. Look there is explicit consent, implicit consent, dubious consent and non-consent. This book runs a very fine line sometimes. It is a book I know, and I'm judging by western standards but the medium doesn't negate the need for clear writing, particularly when the target audience is young/ new adult. Usually with consent this murky it would lose a star it hasn't because I'm truly not sure where the fault lies.

Right to wrap this up because this was a rambling mess. I think fans who read this will have the same problem I did. Comparing it to an adaptation. This is Chinese, the adaptations have the issue with censorship. This has more freedom and allows some women to be strong and do their thing. There are some problematic elements but they are cultural. But it is beautiful and well worth reading if you follow along. If you can get through the first few chapters you can get through the book.

Goodreads

If you haven’t watched The Untamed the full mainland China version is available through Viki.com

#grandmaster of demonic cultivation #mo xiang tong xiu #the untamed #book review #exiledrebelsscans #read 2020 #adapted books #kt reviews #mlm #tw dubcon #tw noncon

[authorlaurelsimon]

In this Essay

Firstly before I start this essay i apologize for the long post I don’t know how to add a read more link. I also would just like to share this YouTube video and quote.

The tragedy is all right there...in the very beginning when he smiles at her. When she instantly forgets. Forgets how dangerous he is.

Anne Eliot

(We come back to the quote later I promise, there’s a point. it’ll just take a bit to get there.)

Last thing before, I start this essay that these are my opinions and thoughts and are in no way the be all and end all of opinions. I also hope that I remain neutral in my discussion.

Talks of abuse both emotional and physical bellow.I also feel like I have to preface this with I know that the type of manipulative and abuse relationships are real, and complicated in real world but this is a TV Show and not actually real. A fantasy that people can explore safetly. That fantasy is the bad guy with a heart of gold or the bad guys that are only nice to a girl they fancy. Now, on to the essay!

In this essay I will discuss my complex feelings about the relationship between Lizzie x Sebastian. Sizzie is a mix of two previous relationships we’ve seen before albeit updated/slightly different. Those relationships that Sebastian and Lizzie relationship mirrors are Klaus and Caroline as well as Elena and Damon. The mirroring of these two couples is what I have complex feelings over. (I don’t like the previous sentence but I don’t know what to say).

From the very first episode we know that Lizzie is in a precarious position. From her talks with Josie we know that she’s in therapy to better herself.

My guess is that her therapist told Lizzie the best way to better herself Lizzie is trying to focus on herself and her feelings and people around her and not fall into old habits.Old habits being sleeping with boys in order to fill a void of not feeling loved or cherished.

We also know that she slips up sometimes in her journey toward personal growth. Ie foreign dude I cannot remember the name of.

On her journey toward growth we discover that this is gonna be Lizzie’s year of yes.

So MG asks her out she says yes.

And she was probably thinking it would be the year of yes, to hanging out with friends, helping them, maybe fight monsters and be a badass or take like a cooking class or something. I think wasn’t even thinking about dating or boys for that matter.

So, Lizzie knowing fully that she needs to focus on herself probably says yes because she knows that MG is a friend and even if the date goes well, he’ll respect her wishes.

She knows what she wants.

We know from a little bit later that Sebastian only prays on the weak minded, the fragile people in his ghostly state. (When he’s trapped in the box)

Going back to season one we know that the genie chose Lizzie because she was weak or broken. So, realizing that in herself or with Caroline, Lizzie goes off to Europe away from all the baggage of school in order to get help.

However, Summer only lasts like three months and her therapy sessions and personal growth have just started so, being back at the school with her classmates, a new headmaster, a dad who’s busy with other things and mom who barely comes home due to magical problems doesn’t help. Doubt and/or insecures are going to pop up.

And this my dear friends is were Sebastian and the abuse comes in, maybe both emotional and physical abuse.

From our very first meeting we know that Sebastian is handsome and charming. Lizzie is definitely interested because of these things and by the fact that he is mysterious. (I also fell for that smile) It’s just an added bonus that he knows absolutely nothing about her. So, like she told MG she basically has a chance to make a good impression.

As time moves on we know that he gives her what I can now see as definitely as warnings to stay away.

At the football game he shows up getting her away from her friends and they banter and Sebastian tells her that she reminds her of someone, but that he bewitches him.

Not realizing it for what is the the mix of Damon and Klaus, Lizzie is charmed by it. The pattern repeats with the picnic and probably would have continued if MG hadn’t come to film.

Even though Sebastian is intrigued by Lizzie because he reminds her of his lost love it’s not enough because once Sebastian is free of the box though he starts territories the town probably acting similar to Klaus when he showed up. A baddie.

And he does so until MG and rest stop him and only helps when Lizzie is in danger.

The tricks continue with Sebastian when they have car trouble. However this time the con is both emotional and with his body.

Also, in the car sex scene he gave off a bunch of tips, breaking Landon’s neck, and the, “your forgetting I’m dangerous.”

He’s toying with Lizzie another Early stage Klaus or Damon move.

Before I get to much further I’d like to explore Sebastian’s character a bit.

Sebastian clearly has he had to deal with a lot.

Being abandoned by his parents for money

Abused by his shipmates, unable to run away

Lost his love and was unable to do anything to help cause he was trapped and has not had a chance to grieve.

Lost like 400+ years of life to being in a box.

Now has to figure out how to live in the modern world and has no idea what to do and nobody to turn to.

Also my guess is that Lizzie was at first using him as distraction from her own messed up feelings of missing something until she remembered Hope, Sebastian maybe realizes this cause he’s using Lizzie as a way to not face his own problems.

However, when Lizzie remembers Hope, it helps with her journey of self confidence, growth so she sees Sebastian as something different, a romantic interest maybe, even though she doesn’t want to admit it.

Shortly before he gets sent to the prison world he probably realizes that he maybe almost has feelings for Lizzie.

So, when Lizzie shows up in Prison World, he pulls out all the fancy stops wooing her with things: the house, dress, dancing because he doesn’t want to lose her. A Klaus move.

When Lizzie rejects his offer he manipulates her, tricking her, forcing her to drink his blood.

And it’s probably this thing that makes Lizzie realize that she and Sebastian aren’t right for each other. At least right now.

As is right now, Sebastian and Lizzie relationship is toxic and bad but so was Damon and Elena’s and even Klaus and Caroline’s relationship, it changed over time. It however took a lot of work, over a number of years.

I don’t know what Plec and company have planned for the next couple episodes or even if they are planning to bring back Thomas Doherty back if they have next season i could definitely see having a repeat of the Delena and Klaroline relationship type in Lizzie and Sebastian.

If they don’t bring Sebastian back for another season I hope that Lizzie will realize she doesn’t always need the love of a guy and she is enough or at least realize that her family and friends love her. Anyway just continue that journey of personal growth is what I’m saying.

In conclusion, the main reason this is complicated for me is because i feel for both Lizzie and Sebastian separate from each other as their own people and they deserve to figure out their lives and the different options they have before being in a relationship with one another or with someone new.

Biblgraphy:

1. YouTube video by heavenlyfire entitled Lizzie & Sebastian | Give Me the Worst of You [2x12] accessed 2-7-20

2. Anne Eliot Quote taken from Goodreads

3. YouTube video by Sarah Morgan entitled Lizzie & Sebastian [+ delena & klaroline] (+2x12)

#legacies #lizzie x sebastian #discussion #complex #character thoughts #my thoughts

[starberry-cupcake]

Social media has become such a complicated tool to use if the content that you want to share is primarily text, and that’s becoming more and more complicated for me to use them professionally, as one has to nowadays. As someone who’s been around internet platforms since I was a kid, going through msn and yahoo groups and old forums, I’ve always been prone to adapt and jump from one to another without much issue. But this current landscape in which text is becoming more and more unwanted is turning too complicated to navigate for someone like me, who primarily writes. 

I’ll do this in read more, ironically enough, because I’ve been told my written posts are too long sometimes. 

Now that social media has become a professional tool and that the platforms developed into systems with their own codes (Bourdieu would have a field trip in this day and age), you have (at least) three sides to each platform. There’s what the platform is created for, what they had in mind when they designed it; there’s what people use it for, which tends to be entirely different; and then there’s the type of community that primarly exists in it, which in tow conditions the way you can use it, express your content or yourself and the type of following you can gather. 

Right now I have the conundrum of having a project that relates to my work and I need a social media outlet for that content. I was practically obliged to make an instagram, because it’s what everyone who took my classes asked me for. It’s where the authors I quote are, it’s where the illustrators I teach about are, it’s where my students are. 

So, I asked a friend some tips, she has a bookstagram which is fairly popular and she gave me some indications of how to manage the “side-insta”. Still, it’s a nightmare, you guys. I’m so so so frustrated. I’m frustrated because I painfully see, through my use, how my content and the platform’s three aspects are not compatible at all. 

Bookstagrams are primarily two types, at least the popular ones. There’s the one my friend uses, which consists on pretty photos of the books in question and reviews of said books as bookstagrammers finish reading them or responses to challenges they dare each other to do in the “community”. The other type is for stores and stuff of the sort, which also feature books with descriptions of them for sale, collectors, etc. 

My content is neither of those. For reviews, I have GoodReads. It’s not the best thing ever, but it’s what I’ve been using because, after the blogspot days were gone, it became the space to specifically share reviews while serving the intended purpose of helping others choose what to read, because it’s easier than following 25 million individuals for book opinions. And I’m not selling the books either, so the second option is also out. 

For the type of content I want to share, the only viable format at this time, is video. Every type of social media platform that encourages text has either dissappeared, become irrelevant or, like tumblr, turned to prefer images and short things rather than long text, while developing its own system which is also incompatible for this particular project. 

I am primarily a writer. I’m not interested in becoming a youtuber. I want to share my content, but I don’t want to enter the youtube landscape, with all the rules and stipulations and monetization conditions and toxic community. And I didn’t want to have to learn skills of audio and video editing to share some stuff (I’m gonna have to anyway, for something else, because I have to teach my classes online now, so I’m working on it, but that’s different because it won’t be shared publicly and the expectations are much lower with quality of video/sound). 

So, basically, I’m kinda stuck. It’s either creating a blog in a platform that isn’t tumblr, like wordpress, but having to rely on social media to spread it because, by itself, it’d be like an island lost at sea. Another option is to turn my content into videos, investing in the software and hardware needed to be a decent youtuber these days (which I don’t have the money for) and do something I don’t feel comfortable doing, because I never wanted to share myself as a person. Or keep sharing a shitty version of the content I’d actuallyt like to on instagram. 

Podcasts are out of the question, by the way, because I need visuals for the stuff I’m talking about. I can’t work with picture books, for example, via podcast, Shulevitz would haunt me.

And, I want to clarify: I’m not actively looking to monetize this content, I just want to share it. It’s not that I’m looking for a place I could make a coin out of it. At least as it stands right now, I’m not meaning for it to be a product by itself, I want it as a companion to my classes and a space to open up more content that my classes can’t have. If it ever came to it having the chance to produce some sort of money, that’d be great as long as it doesn’t compromise my ideas, but it’s not my main goal here.  

In my mind, the remaning primarily text-based platforms that exist with some degree of social-media-relevance are tumblr, reddit and medium, and neither fits my project in the 3 criterias that I named before. 

Right now, I’ll stick to what I’m doing because I have enough at hand with having to figure out how to edit videos for my classes, but the only solution I can think of at the moment is to later on create a wordpress and use it to expand on what the instagram discusses, although I don’t think it’s gonna go anywhere.

And all of this is just about my regular work, I don’t even want to talk about what it means being a writer of fiction these days in which the only platforms to share that are either fic ones or whatever cringe-scape wattpad became. It’s not like we have a hiveworks for writers, as cool as that would be, to give as a space to do as webcomic artists do and start sharing stories online and work from there. And, if there was, I wonder at this point if people would care enough to read them, if they aren’t fics. And I’m not even going to mention the added trouble of not being a native English speaker and having most social medias be primarily English-based.

In any case...yeah. Conflicting times.  

#long post when expanded #about the perils of being primarily a writer and wanting to share content online #luly rambles #please excuse my english I'm in a computer that doesn't check mistakes and y'all know I do my best but sometimes I fail at it

[patron-of-lost-causes]

Books that remind me of Jude from A Little Life

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now, but I’ve always felt like I haven’t read enough to make a proper list. Then I realized that I will always feel like I haven’t read much and it is as good a time as any to do it. I have decided to create lists of books that remind me of certain characters-characters that I love, characters that intrigue me, characters that I can’t seem to forget. I decided to come up with these lists because it has been so difficult for me to find books that are similar to the books I loved or similar to the characters that I loved and I feel like this is a good way for me to keep track of these books and for other readers to find books that are similar to their favourite books and characters. These books can be similar in terms of the character’s personality, the character’s past, the character’s relationship with the people around them, about anything really. The similarities might vary, some books might be more similar than others. After all, reading is a subjective experience and no two persons ever experience the same book. Therefore, what I find is similar to my favorite character might not be the same for you. Please just keep this in mind before you get your hopes up. Also, recommendations are always welcome!

My first book list is about Jude from A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. Jude is the main protagonist from A Little Life and the book focuses on his relationships with his three closest friends and other people whose lives have interwoven with his life-directly and indirectly but mostly, it focuses on his relationship with himself-his mind and body.  A Little Life examines Jude’s life-a character study of what makes a person the way they are, how much hardship a person can endure, what makes and breaks a person and how a person makes the best out of their life even in the midst of suffering. Jude is a complex character-a character moulded by trauma and the kindness of his loved ones-and he is very very precious. Fellow A Little Life lovers would know how difficult it is to find books similar to A Little Life, never mind finding similar characters to Jude.

TW: Almost everything-A Little Life and these books are very triggering because of the heavy subject matter and graphic scenes so please make sure you’re in a good place emotionally and mentally before reading my post (it has some quotes which might be triggering to some) and before checking these books out. 

Spoilers: I will only provide the book synopsis (based on Goodreads). There will be spoilers from the  description of the similarities between A Little Life and the other books on the list.

1)   Edinburgh by Alexander Chee

“I wanted to wake up and not feel. My life would have been acceptable, I felt, if someone had come in and in the night severed all my nerves where they attached at the skin. If I was numb, then great. More life for me, another helping, please.”

This is the latest addition to my list having only finished it three days ago. It is a book about Aphias “Fee” Zhe, a Korean-American boy who has to come to terms with the sexual abuse he experienced at the hands of his choir director who also abused his fellow choir friends. This explores the aftermath of abuse-the difference ways abuse can shape a person, the coping strategies of the victims which can be quite destructive and how different victims deal with abuse differently. It is a very triggering book and it is very draining. My emotions were all over the place and Alexander Chee writes the book with such a raw and unflinching honesty that you can’t help but absorb all the emotions. This book reminds me of Jude in the way that it follows a victim of abuse through his self-destructive years, his achievements, his relationships with his loved ones and the complicated feelings he has for his abuser which he feels both disgusted and protected by. This book also portrays the human condition as beautifully as A little Life did and Jude and Fee both have the same outlook on life. The writing is simply gorgeous. Besides, Alexander Chee and Hanya Yanagihara are close friends in real life and she helped him a lot with this book. Both authors are really good at wrecking people.

2)   Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett

”What do you fear when you fear everything? Time passing and not passing. Death and life. I could say my lungs never filled with enough air, no matter how many puffs of my inhaler I took. Or that my thoughts moved too quickly to complete, severed by a perpetual vigilance. But even to say this would abet the lie that terror can be described, when anyone who’s ever known it knows that it has no components but is instead everywhere inside you all the time, until you can recognize yourself only by the tensions that string one minute to the next. And yet I keep lying, by describing, because how else can I avoid this second, and the one after it? This being the condition itself: the relentless need to escape a moment that never ends.”

This is about a family wrestling with mental illness and how mental illness affects the family and their ability to care for a person with mental illness. John suffers from severe depression and his marriage with Margaret gave him three children, one of whom suffers from depression and anxiety. What follows is years of anguish and suffering as Michael (the son) gets worse and the family tries their best to save Michael. This book asks the same questions as A Little Life-what makes a life worth living, how much a person should have to endure before it becomes acceptable for them to end their life, what right does someone have to force another person to live against their wishes even if their intentions are good, is it cruel to require someone to stay alive just for the sake of staying alive. It is brutal in its questions and it will force the readers to think about the consequences of their actions done with the intention of caring for their suffering loved ones. Jude is very similar to Michael even if their personalities couldn’t have been more different. Both were shaped by their suffering and by the suffocating love of their loved ones. Too much expectation and hope were placed on them both, neither of which they were ready to fulfill and give.  It also offers insight into the feelings of the family members-how helpless they feel in not being able to heal Michael, how difficult it is to care for their loved ones while having a busy life themselves, how some family members are more gentle and patient than others.

3)   The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride

“It was the very worst moment of my life and after it, everything soft in me slowly turned to bone.”

This book follows an 18-year old Irish girl (the characters are unnamed for the majority of the book) who goes to London to pursue acting. She meets an older man and begins a relationship with him and this is a story of their relationship and how it’s affected by the man’s traumatic past. This is a very disturbing book as the abuse in this book is very graphic, similar to A Little Life and their relationship can be toxic at times. While reading this book, I felt like I was walking on eggshells and it was not a pleasant experience. The anticipation of what was to come was almost worse than reading about the abuse itself. Both Jude and the male protagonist are very damaged characters, they are betrayed by the people who were meant to protect them and the extent of abuse experienced by both of them are very extreme. Both characters are self-destructive in different ways and they both HATE opening up to the people they care about and end up hurting the people they care about. I would also like to mention that while a huge part of this book is about the abuse and its aftermath, it also focuses a lot on the couple’s relationship and there are a lot of sex scenes-A LOT (I thought it’s worth mentioning in case some people are not comfortable reading about sexual scenes).  The book is written in stream of consciousness style so every feeling goes straight to your brain without any filters, making everything raw and heightened.

4)   A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride

“You’ll give her name. In the stitches of her skin she’ll wear your say.”

This is another novel from Eimear McBride that was an absolute pain to read. I still am unsure as to which of the two books I loved most. This book follows a young girl (unnamed again, but now throughout the book) and her relationships with her unstable mother, her brother who has brain tumour and her uncle who she has a complicated relationship with. This book is also about her sexuality and how a loveless upbringing and abuse can affect a child and her outlook on life. This book is BRUTAL, in many different ways, and I would say that it is more brutal than The Lesser Bohemians which is already very brutal and raw to begin with. The atrocities in this book make me nauseous and it requires a huge deal of commitment and masochistic tendencies to brave through this book. Some people might feel differently, some might feel that the other books in this list are more brutal than this one and they are right too. At the end of the day, it all comes down to who you are as a person and the limits of what you can see and endure. Again, both Jude and the protagonist are hurt by the people who were meant to protect them, people who are capable of so much love but chose hate instead. Both are very self-destructive even if they’ve managed to find their place in the world by their own terms. Both also have complicated feelings for their abusers.

 Those are the books that reminded me of Jude and A Little Life. Hope you guys like these books as much as I did. On a side note, there’s a book called On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong and like its title, it is a really gorgeous book. I would have added this book to the list but it didn’t remind me of A Little Life and Jude in any way other than its overall tone and writing. It is both sad and hopeful and I personally like these kinda books so if you are interested, please check it out!

#jude st francis #a little life #hanya yanagihara #edinburgh #alexander chee #imagine me gone #adam haslett #the lesser bohemians #a girl is a half-formed thing #eimear mcbride #book recommendations #literature #literary fiction #beautiful quotes #reading #book quotes #love for books #abuse #me

[joeys-piano]

Writing Update - #1

WIP Formally Began: July 18th, 2019 Date of Update: August 31st, 2019 WIP Intro: Here

Current WIP Status: Outline/WIP Bible Current Status W/C: 65,340 W/C Added: ~5,000 words (this week)

Summary Report: My current project, Survive Said The Prophet, has grown significantly in a variety of ways throughout this week. Not only has the outline grown, but the official summary and title were also finalized and the story has been formally introduced to the Tumblr sphere.

                                                   ~~~~~~~~~

On August 25th (Sunday), my outline for my conspiracy + sci-fi fic, Survive Said The Prophet, surpassed 60,000 words. The last time I had written this much for any story was either last year or two years ago, when I jumped the gun and tried my hand at writing about organized crime for the first time. Since that endeavour and learning from my experience, I’ve found that approaching stories with an extensive outline beforehand gives me a clearer idea of the arc/character progressions threaded throughout the plot. Although the 60k+ words to that organized crime story will not be picked up again, the experience and the sheer endurance that it took to write it has definitely prepared and laid down a foundation of weaknesses and strengths that I can refer to as I continue outlining Survive Said The Prophet. The formatting of the outline may’ve been an important part as to why I’ve written so much, why I still have the drive and energy to come back to this story, and why the story still intrigues me after putting so much of my time into developing it. Perhaps it’s the nature of the mysteries or how I’ve interwoven worldbuilding between canon hallmarks; whichever the case, coming back to this outline and just writing it makes me feel at ease. It’s been a few years since I’ve felt this way about writing, since I’ve felt this comfortable and sure of myself. Curious to know if it’s experience, if it’s a change in my mindset, a combination of both, or the influence of something else. On this same Sunday — mind you, I was writing as much as I could before the first day of the academic semester — I edited and finalized the summary for Survive Said The Prophet. For the past month or so, I’ve been rewriting and editing different summaries that I felt were decent previews to what’s to come. In my original drafts, I wanted to incorporate quotes that were from the story or quotes from the referenced authors in Bungou Stray Dogs. Before Survive Said The Prophet, many of the summaries I’ve written depended and leaned heavily onto quotes to convey whatever premise I was writing about. However, for this story, I couldn’t do that. I wanted my writing to stand on its own, rather than relying on the words of someone else or from a throwaway line that I’ve jotted somewhere in my outline. The most difficult part about this entire process was having to build a summary from scratch. During the past month, I referred back to previous summaries I’ve written and wondered if I could rework those for Survive Said The Prophet. What I quickly realized was that it wasn’t going to work. The summaries I’ve written beforehand, while they featured worldbuilding elements, weren’t for complex or heavily-involved stories. For the first time in months, I had to completely start from scratch. Unused to the experience, I knew I had to start somewhere. From July 28th to August 25th, I wrote close to a dozen new summaries with different directions, starting points, and different vibes on how to convey the premise of Survive Said The Prophet was to be presented. Keep in mind that for the most part, I didn’t know what the premise of the story was. Although I had jotted it down, it was a very pale reflection to what the actual premise was. Stumped at every corner and unsure what to do, I looked to resources on how to tackle this summary. From Goodreads to YouTube and to eventually IMDb, I found a muse of a summary that gave me an inspirational pause. While searching up thriller movies, I encountered Shutter Island. Reading the summary to that movie cleared the jumbled thoughts in my head, and it helped me realize what I wanted my summary to convey. Shutter Island’s summary began by noting the time and the incident that triggers the start of the plot. Out of all the summaries I’ve searched and read, this was the first one that began in this way. If I had only read the first sentence and nothing else from the movie’s blurb, I would still feel intrigued and would want to watch the movie to see what would happen. To me, the hallmark of a brilliant summary is when the first sentence has that kind of effect on the reader. Amazed and inspired, I began to draft what would eventually become the official summary for Survive Said The Prophet. On August 25th at 3:08 p.m., after editing and revising it so that it could within the character limits of AO3’s summary box, I had accomplished one of the most difficult parts of the outline so far. Now when people ask me what Survive Said The Prophet is about, I no longer have to give an abridged telltale version of what I think the premise is. Now, I have a summary that I can show to them and from what I heard from interested peeps and from my lovely brainstorming partner + muse, the official summary captures the essence of what Survive Said The Prophet is and raises more than enough intrigue to prompt a reader to discover for themselves what the story will be.

Between August 26th to August 28th, not very much happened. With this being the beginning of the academic semester, I didn’t have time to work on my main outline. With this in consideration, I decided to update and work on other aspects of Survive Said The Prophet that have nothing to do with writing. Namely, I wanted to create a wip introduction so I could formally show and talk about what I’ve been working on for more than a month now. I already had the summary completed and I had a few ideas in mind on what the story edits would be. I knew I was going to use a combination of Unsplash, Fotor, and Canva to help me make those edits into a reality, but I didn’t realize how difficult it was going to be and how nitpicky I would become as the wip introduction moved onto its later stages. Initially, the wip introduction was going to list the main characters that were in Survive Said The Prophet. However, after gauging how long the introduction was becoming and wanting to keep things concise and easy, I decided to omit the main characters from the final draft. For several reasons: I wanted to those character introductions in a post solely meant for them, I didn’t like how I was initially going to present them, and this main character segment was a real thorn to my backside so omitting cleared away some stress that was on my mind.

On the night of August 29th (Thursday), I completed my wip introduction and formally introduced Survive Said The Prophet to the public. As nerve-wracking as it was to finally do that, it doesn’t trump the stress that overtook my body a few hours prior as I was editing and formatting the images I used from Unsplash for my story edits. Easily, the most difficult part was finding a book cover template from Canva that I could use. Finding one that didn’t obscure the cover image was as easy as finding a blade of grass, half a centimeter shorter than all the rest. Eventually, I gave up on my search for a template and made the cover page on my own. I probably spent two hours, running the story title through dozens of different fonts and positionings until I was satisfied with the end result. Fortunately, I had late classes on the following day so I was able to stay up and work a little longer than I should’ve. But in the end, I finished what I wanted to do and had the introduction ready to be posted.

On August 30th (Friday), having had minimal contact with my main outline for almost the entire week, I spent a few hours of my morning before lunch rereading where I left off and revised/clarified a few things that I had jotted down beforehand. Notably, I revised an entire scene that involved a private exchange between two characters from conflicting organizations. I had noted along the margins that an anonymous tip had alerted law enforcement of what was going on for one of the members of the private exchange was a wanted criminal. Confused on why I added the anonymous tip and with no apparent lead/backstory on who sent it and why was it sent, it made the latter half of the scene play out as a matter of convenience, luck, and the third-cousin almost removed from Chekhov's family of things writers forget to include. Bothered that I included an anonymous tip so haphazardly into the scene, when it’s that anonymous tip that initiates the midpoint turn in the story, I knew I needed to clean things up. Fortunately, I had already begun that beforehand when I reread where I had left off, adding notes of clarification and fleshing out vague details that I had left behind. Now with a better understanding of how this arc progresses, I knew who the anonymous tip came from, why they sent it, and what the anonymous tipper wanted in exchange. Information is power, especially in a wip with psychological thriller vibes, so now I knew the motive and how events prior to this scene made sense and led up to this moment where law enforcement got involved. Afterwards, while still keeping the essence of the original scene’s intent and what happens, I revised how the second-half would follow and have a much clearer idea who and what triggers the midpoint turn in the story. The confrontation with the protagonist and antagonist — I would argue that there is no protagonist or antagonist in this story but for the sake of simplicity, I will refer to these two characters as such — is much stronger and more pivotal now that clarification has been addressed. Makes me really glad I’m taking my time outlining this story because these are the things that wouldn’t cross my mind if I began writing from the get-go.

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #writing update #survive said the prophet

[ajbrooks-writes]

Happy Storyteller Saturday! Tell us a little about how your OC sees themselves, versus how the world perceives them. Do they cultivate a specific image? Are they aware of how people think about them? Is there more to them than meets the eye?

Hello! Thank you for sending in the ask! And sorry it took me a while to get to it.

I really love this question, my characters are layered like onions, lets dive in.

How My OCs See Themselves - FTK Main Crew

Ryvaeryn/Ryn.

She sees herself as resilient, intelligent, loyal and intuitive. She tells herself she is confident and a strong public figure, but is constantly worried about people not seeing past her injury (she has a horrible scar on her face and is missing an eye), or seeing her as ‘The King’s Fiance’ instead of an intelligent being.

The world sees Ryn as an outsider with a short fuse. She is partially aware of this but doesn’t agree. The Outsider who came in at a tumultuous time, usurped the (old) king and proclaimed herself a queen. Her friends see her as strong, self conscious, generous and hurting.

Ryn is a protagonist, so the reader is aware of how she thinks about herself.

Elthian/King Elthian/El

He sees himself as a good king but not good enough. He is loyal to a fault and values his support system, but his mind is in upheaval and he doubts every second decision, even, sometimes, his choice to marry Ryn. A fledgling monarch, he is very aware of his history of giving selective truths and misjudging loved ones. He tries to present as confident and self-assured (like his dad was) which actually only damages him more because he doesn’t admit his faults.

The world sees Elthian as just and compassionate, self-assured, but perhaps not doing enough to pull his country out of it’s troubles with fires and uprisings. Elthian’s friends are aware that he has self-esteem issues but don’t know how deep the guilt goes. They see him as growing into his role and think he is relatively emotionally healthy.

Elthian is also a protagonist, but doesn’t acknowledge his struggles consciously.

Orrian/Prince Orrian

To borrow a quote from my favourite book*, Orrian is a ‘study in contradiction’. Every side of him is different and this is what he cultivates. To his father (especially) and to the Manthan court he presents as a loose cannon and a rebellious son, spending time and money on recreational drugs, alcohol and women. To his friends he is supportive, charismatic and easy going. To his little brother (Elthian) he is fiercely protective and loyal and will (and did) risk his life to save him. To his many foster kids he is patient, lenient, loyal, and open, and doesn’t let his temper get the better of him - a great foster dad.

A public figure since before he was born, Orrian is well-known in Mantha. The greater majority see him as the unreliable playboy. Everyone sees the side he presents to them, but no one questions the underlying motivations behind it all.

Joal

He sees himself as loyal and reliable, creative, smart, and quiet. He doesn’t explain many of his actions, but calls out his friends when they step out of line, and tries to be friendly with others, or fade into the background. He watches a lot, but there is a hell of a lot of history binding him to secrecy.

The world sees Joal as brooding and quiet, if they notice him at all. With no noble heritage, he is often overlooked. Ryn sees him as creepy and moody (they have things to work through). Orrian sees him as reserved but interesting. Elthian knows almost everything about Joal, and understands him.

Kalen/K

Yay! Kalen sees himself as friendly and fun, which he is. He is honest, caring and protective of his friends, though prefers not to be in the firing line unless he needs to be. He understands his past is a part of him, and tries to make sure no one else has to go through that.

The world sees Kalen as buoyant and happy-go-lucky, which is fine by him, but the problem being that they sometimes don’t take him very seriously. To his friends he is always there, a support they (*cough* Ryn) take for granted.

Ara (previously Val)

Ara knows herself well. Her confidence and dignity and psychopathy are high. She knows she is cunning and smart and witty and lethal, and she sees right past the bullshit. She keeps her cards close to her chest, and presents as warm and kind. She knows ten ways to kill you before you could flinch.

Other than Morryl (her husband) those around her see her as optimistic and kind, supportive and compassionate. She can be these things, but so much more. Having been in prison for more than half her life, with everyone outside thinking she is dead, the few people who do have access to her know less than they think they do.

I’ll stop there as I’ve said a lot. Thanks for the ask!

(Blood Ties tag list below the cut)

Tag list: @whisperswritings @stand-inthe-rain @fantasy-shadows @halrose @romanticatheart-posts​ @hopefulmoonobject @angelolytle @albarnesauthor @fantasy-penman @ofinscriptions @jynecca @venomouspen @finianwrites @half-explored @waterfallofinkandpages​

(if you would like to be added to or removed from this list please let me know)

--

*favourite book is Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder (goodreads link) 

#ask response #thank you for the ask! #storytelling saturday #blood ties #blood ties for the king #blood ties trilogy

[debramcdermitt]

Ok...time to just share and let go

The idea and letting it go... I do not have the $$ for this nor investors that I know of. But it is something that I have sought and do not see and believe would be of immense value for students, academics, and more especially in this increasing age of inter-disciplinary work.

Think pinterest, goodreads, a forum, communities, and blog.

For the "individual" you can create boards to which you add a post. A post would be your quote/excerpt (with citation information being prompted - req'd algorithms eventually for public boards/posts only prompt those with full citation information) and your added reflection/commentary/note.

It would be able to have tags added to help search for it if it may be able to be used for other boards or research of additional topics (finding it later for oneself or if made public others).

A person could just do this to keep track of their own research to easily create Annotated Bibliographies, organize research for writing papers/books, etc.

They could also choose to make the board/post public so others could find the quote/excerpt in their own research on said topic. That choice would be just for the quote or also the reflection.

They could choose to add their post to a community board for subjects - this part could just be the search component. However organizations, businesses, etc could create specific boards asking for researcher/resource pins.

They could choose to make their post public or shared with particular people if they are collaborating on a project, book, article, etc.

They could choose to make their post be able to have commentary/discussion and in doing so could choose a time period such as keeping it open to commentary for say 14 weeks during the semester they are researching said topic or keep commentary open longer/shorter.

Community Boards could be fully public for the ability to research and spread such research (and reflection) and these boards would be like forums or a discussion with threads so people could point to other resources (with citations).

I suppose one could say this exists possibly through reddit or other sites in portions but the key components I see are the citation information (when you do a quote or post you are prompted to state author, website or book or self, date (original and probably accessed as well, and other information).

There would of course be different levels of membership. The primary audiences would be students (especially the personal level to help organize their research for annotated bibliographies), scholars/academics, and authors.

As I do not have funding and yeah I have unlimited domains and what would be a good enough place to start with my WestHost account this is not something I am chasing after. However, I feel that if I share it out there perhaps someone else will have the resources, ability, interest and in time there will be a site I can use and suggest to students.

#research #students #websitedevelopment #appdesign #HelpingAcademia

[i-want-my-iwtv]

heyyy yy i’ve been out of the fandom for a while but i heard a new book about lestat and atlantis has been published. now, i don’t think i’m going to read it since i was pretty disappointed by the previous one so, could you please give an honest opinion on the book, if you’ve read it?

Hey, welcome back! 

Indeed, we have Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis (PLROA). It’s the most recent book. We’re expecting at least one more installment after this one, no date has been given yet. 

@bluestockingcouture — Ok I can’t phrase this very well, but tumblr won’t let me tag them, so I made a link to my reblog of their post in which they share that they wrote a 1,800 word review of PLROA that quotes Rousseau, so you might want to check that out on goodreads. (spoiler cut is there)

Here’s another by Kirkus Reviews 2016-10-19. (spoilers in full view)

To be honest, near the end of PLROA I had to put it down bc it was about to launch into a monologue from a new character who I don’t really feel much affection for, and so I still haven’t finished it, but I am thoroughly spoiled as to what happens bc I love being spoiled. 

There were many moments where I smiled bc it reminded me of the way the characters behaved in earlier books, there’s some development as to their current status, there’s some great little moments between them, and I think it’s worth reading for those gems.

I’ve always been able to read VC and cherry pick the things that I like (a good chunk of dialogue here or there, or something that seems to give more clarification to the established world/characters, etc.) and I have a flexible headcanon, so I can accept or not accept things based on the fanfic I’m reading, too, depending on what canon it relies on. 

Having said that, PLROA feels very much like what would happen if one novel you were working on needed life support and you added your much more popular character(s) into it as a means of rescuing it. 

“I was working on a novel called Born for Atlantis, and I just couldn’t get it to work. I thought, “What if I could somehow combine this with Lestat and the vampires?” And it was like, everything worked. Something happens to me when I write from Lestat’s point of view. There’s no question about it. By the time I was done, it felt inevitable, like it always had been…. It was a rare experience.”

^Anne Rice, Entertainment Weekly (August 5, 2016) [X] I’m glad that she shared that with us, because it explains why she brought these things together. Even if she hadn’t admitted as such, I think we would have been able to piece that together. 

Some things are good on their own, some ideas can be brought together and the result is wonderful alchemy! But I think in this case, it felt like someone had dumped a river of ketchup on an icecream sundae. PLROA might count as what the fandom used to lovingly call the Vampire Crackicles.

Back then, we could have a good time, even when canon was wild. We could make fun of Lestat being a huge baby about his foot size in Blood Canticle:

Seldom did I see my feet in black socks. I knew almost nothing personally about my feet. They looked rather small for the twenty-first century. Bad luck. But six feet was still a good height.

Or, also in Blood Canticle, Lestat fixated by ice cubes:

…the sparkle in the ice cubes, the Miracle of the Ice Cubes.

^Our old familiar canon Rice Caps! Why can’t these things be funny anymore?

Or are the wacky things in PLROA too wacky to even find endearing? We do tentatively joke about PLROA, but not as robustly as we did over those older Vampire Crackicles. Maybe in a few years we’ll be more vocal about it, bc there will be even crazier canon. Lestat goes to Mars! Lestat ages backwards like Benjamin Button! Lestat accidentally destroys Alaska! 

So IDK, I always recommend that ppl read the books before they judge them, but I think it’s easier to enjoy the wackiness if you can take it less seriously. 

#Anonymous #anon #ask #review #bluestockingcouture #kirkus reviews #PLROA #prince lestat and the realms of atlantis #Lestat #Lestat de Lioncourt #the Vampire Lestat #vc #vampire chronicles #vampire crackicles #iwantmyiwtv has opinions #memeything #crossover #arrested development

[vsuvo768523]

DO YOU NEED A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT?

As an author, you are always juggling. Not only are you writing the next book, but you are promoting your latest book, writing a monthly newsletter, keeping up with your blog (or other blogs), and updating your website. And that’s just for starters.NEED A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT This is where a virtual assistant (sometimes called an author assistant) comes in handy. They can help you gain some breathing space and may even boost sales with their knowledge of promotions. These assistants—who don’t have to be in the same office, or even same city, as you—handle a multitude of tasks, including: Marketing, from writing press releases and newsletter to coordinating contests and giveaways. Some virtual assistants have graphic artist experience and can create the promotions for you. Social media management. VAs will handle social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, YouTube, etc., creating content and replying to comments. Scheduling. An assistant can help you with whatever you need to schedule, from speaking events and book signings to blog tours. Website and blog management. VAs may update websites as needed (new books, events, photos of you, etc.). They can also write content for your blog, or help you by brainstorming ideas.NEED A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT Database administration. If you need to maintain any sort of database—for NetGalley requests, Goodreads giveaways, newsletter signups, etc.—an assistant can keep track of these.NEED A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT Online research. Some assistants do research and fact-checking. Other assistance. This can include monitoring email, sending out cards and letters, ordering supplies, and making travel arrangements. Depending on their skills set, some offer book formatting services. Most authors seem to use virtual assistants to develop marketing plans and run promotions. You could, as an author, do this on your own. But experienced virtual assistants have already done this for other clients and know how best to promote your book. How to work with a VA NEED A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT Most virtual assistants charge $25 to $50 an hour for their services. You don’t need to hire them full-time, although you can. You may need them just for a few hours a month, or to work on a specific project. “Each virtual assistant will have a different skill set,” said Jenel Looney, who works full-time for three authors. “For example, Looney, who works with mystery author Kate Carlisle, designed a custom deck of cards for one of Carlisle’s books. Each face card held a different murder weapon. It was used for a giveaway for members of Carlisle’s mailing list. In addition, Looney created a video revealing each day’s random winner. It was so popular that “she had a lot of readers asking if they could buy the cards,” Looney said. “I offer a wide variety of services that come down to this: helping authors get more organized and feel less stressed,” said Mel Jolly, who has assisted multiple New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors. “The clients who utilize my services best keep me in the loop for everything involving their business. When it comes to things that need to get done (website updates, blog interviews, social media posts, newsletters, launch plans, ad booking, etc.), I either do the thing or I make sure the thing gets done.” Another assistant, Amanda West Kassis, who also works as an editor, focuses on publishing weekly newsletters and growing subscribers. “I am in the publishing industry, which gives me unique skills and knowledge,” she said. She will help an author post on social media, write newsletters, and do other marketing. Is it worth hiring a VA?NEED A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT You may have written a wonderful book, but it won’t go anywhere without marketing. And marketing may take away time spent writing the next book, which is crucial in a series. Most virtual assistants said this is the beauty of having help—the author can concentrate on the writing. Having a virtual assistant, said Looney, “isn’t going to magically make you a bestseller. In my opinion, authors should not hire a VA until they’ve reached a stage in their career when it makes financial sense, and that’s a decision each author must make for herself. When you’ve reached the level of success that leaves you too busy to have a life, consider hiring a VA.” Sarah Merchant, who specializes in social media and website/blog management, said that what may take someone else hours to do might take her minutes. “Is it worth it to you to struggle through those hours simply because you think it will save you money? Isn’t your time worth more than that?” she said. “I have a lot of respect for authors, and love putting my skills to work for them, so they can concentrate on their writing.” She can’t say how much her work has helped with sales, but pointed to a recent Facebook promotion she did for an author. Her work resulted in an immediate increase in clicks. Looney also said it’s hard to pinpoint whether her work has boosted book sales. “The frustrating thing about marketing is that you will rarely be able to draw a straight line from a specific promotion to specific sales,” she said. “I will say that I don’t take any credit for my clients’ success. That always, always, always comes back to the book. They write books that readers love. My work is not responsible for their success; rather, I help them manage that success.” An author first needs to consider the budget and her priorities, said Jolly. Most of her authors only need her for five or so hours per month. “We all wish we could outsource SO MANY THINGS, but the reality is that we have to start small and outsource just one or two things at first,” Jolly said. “That’s best for a small budget and for building trust. “Quickly, let’s talk quickly about math. Let’s say an author can afford to hire an assistant for 10 hours/month. That’s 120 hours per year. How many more words can that author produce with an additional 120 hours per year? Let’s estimate low and say that’s one additional novella per year.NEED A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

“If the author is paying the assistant a rate of $40/hour, that’s $4,800 for the year. How much can the author make by self-publishing that novella? Or selling it traditionally? At this point, there are too many variables for me to continue with the math, but do you see where I’m going with this?” Author’s experience One author, Susan Mallery, has worked with Looney for nine years and considers her indispensable. As an example, she mentions her latest book, Secrets of the Tulip Sisters. Looney created the content for TulipSisters.com, sent 200 copies of the book to a “Review Crew,” created a sign-up form for mailing list members to receive bookmarks, then sent out the bookmarks to 30,000 fans (Looney also designed the bookmarks). In addition, she created quote-of-the-day shareables with quotes from the book, created videos and graphics to use in Facebook ads, and executed the Facebook campaigns. During all this, she coordinated with Harlequin’s PR and digital marketing departments on the book promotion. NEED A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT Read the full article

[morganhazelwood]

2017 Retrospective

2017 was a year unlike any other. For a lot of people, it was scary, stressful, and a struggle to get through. But that’s not all it was.

I may not have ended my year with a signed agent, but I definitely made some forward progress.

I queried 31 agents, attended 2 writing conventions (including my 1st trip to Europe!), finished my second novel, wrote a third novel, and revised my first novel twice, (then edited it twice, cause you kinda got to after revising). I even got an R&R (Revise and resubmit) request from one agent!

Between Balticon and WorldCon: Helsinki, I hit 29 panels, 6 workshops, 2 presentations, 2 book launches, and 2 autograph signings. (Despite mostly having to queue up an hour before each Worldcon panel!) Plus, I met up with/made 3, no, 4 new writing friends in person. 🙂 And that doesn’t include the dozens of new friends I chat with weekly.

That all sounds pretty impressive! But, let’s look at the numbers.

My Writing Goals Last Year

I made sure to set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time-bound) goals.

By January 12th of last year, I was already starting to slip. But I didn’t give up.

Here are my admittedly mediocre results.

2017 Goals

☑ Edit my first novel with editor ☑ Finish rough draft of my second novel  [minimum 5k a week until done] – Knocked this out quickly!

☒ Edit my second novel [minimum 50 pages a week] — Nope. Didn’t touch it. ☒ Send my second novel to beta readers — Nope. ☒  Write a short story —HaHaHa. Well, did this in October and December, instead. ☑ Attend Balticon

☒ Revise my second novel [Notecards, rip to shreds, rebuild] — Nope ☑ Attend some-other con – Like WORLDCON!

☑ Plan my third novel – I did! ☑ NaNoWriMo my third novel [writing 50-75k words] – I finished the rough draft at just over 51k. ☑ Revise my first novel or my second novel as needed ☑ Keep querying? or R&R if requested? – Had FEEDBACK from a reject letter about my opening chapter, with what I believe was a R&R, so I worked on that.

Monthly Goals

■ Post 1 book review on Amazon/GoodReads – Fell short. Overall, I reviewed 5.5 books (the last review didn’t go up until this year) and ranked 25 books.

■ Submit 3 Queries for both my first novel and picture book- Fell short. Overall though, I queried 31 agents, which was only 5 short of my target. If you ignore that I’m combining totals from both books’s queries…

Morgan in a “Burr Shot First” shirt, holding a book on “The Guide To Literary Agents” and the print-out of her latest draft shrugging and wondering if she should query again.

Morgan smiling at the camera with the river at Thingvellar behind her

WorldCon panel, featuring George RR Martin

Morgan in a red top, showing the crowd at George RR Martin’s panel

Top Lifetime Post

Posted towards the end of 2016, this post only had 53 views that year, but it became a sleeper hit and is now the main reason people who aren’t already following me find my blog. In 2017, it had 1,092 views!

10 Questions To Ask Your Beta Readers

In fact, I submitted an edited version of that blog post to the “Insecure Writers Group” for their essay anthology and it was selected! Becoming the first essay in the anthology and my first published work. (Free on Kindle!)

My Top 10 Posts of 2017

PitchWars is Coming! #PimpMyBio

Top 10 Tricks For a Better Query Letter

Confession: I’ve Been Struggling

How To Handle Rejection Letters

Morgan’s LASIK adventure

Writing Diversity

The #1 Reason I Won’t Let You Read My Manuscript

When Your Rough Draft Is Really Rough

3 Things That Make a Great 1st Line

A Message To My Fellow PitchWars Hopefuls

My Top 3 Posts of 2016

5 Stages of a PitchWars Hopeful

5 Big Things I’ve Learned About Editing

An Outline to Write By

My Top 3 Posts of 2015

Packing: Editing Your Life

I’d Make a Good Henchman

Handling the Unavoidable Info-dump

Social Media Stats

I like stats and tracking progress, so here are my numbers for 2017. I tried to be both engaged and engaging, but outside of Facebook, I may have been more of a creator than a consumer of content.

(Click HERE to answer 3 multiple choice questions on what you’d like to see more/less of in this blog!)

Followers

First off, I worked on getting more followers for my twitter and FB Page. Then, I started my own Youtube channel! Between all my social media accounts, I added 3,099 followers, with over 2/3rds being twitter followers.

The FB groups I run are where most of my engagement is, though. So, if I want more of my followers on twitter to even see my posts, I should probably post there, and actually reply/retweet people’s posts a little more regularly.

Content

This year I continued to keep my streak of blogging at least once a week. Once I started the vlog, I added to it at a weekly rate as well. My Goodreads stats are a bit deceptive as I added a bunch of books I’d read in years gone past when I created my account last year.

Some thoughts: I don’t see me posting here on the blog more often unless it’s quotes or images, but I should post to Instagram at least once a week. And if I’m going to use Pinterest, it would make sense to make mood boards for all my Works-In-Progress. Both for myself, my beta-readers, and my future fans! 😉

Account Break Down

WordPress – I started this blog in April of 2015.

Of my 81 posts, 21 of those were video versions of the weekly post. I think I’m going to combine these from now on.

Altogether, this blog had 7,778 views, 5,211 visitors, 912 likes, and 210 comments.

 Twitter – MorganHzlwood – I joined in March of 2016

 Tumblr – MorganHazelwood – I joined in June of 2016

In 2017, I posted 213 times. I counted. No clue how many posts prior.

 Instagram – MorganHazelwood – I joined in 2015

 Pinterest – MorganHazelwoo – I joined in 2015

 Facebook Pages – MorganHazelwoodPage – I joined in 2015

 Facebook – MorganSHazelwood – I joined in 2013.

 Google+ – Morgan S Hazelwood – I joined in 2013

Stats!  28 likes and 2 comments. I counted.

 GoodReads – Morgan Hazelwood – I joined in January 2016

I did 3 reviews and 27 ratings last year, for a total of 7 reviews and 279 ratings.

In Conclusion

I didn’t do as much as I’d hoped.

Some of that was external. People who are reading your work out of the kindness of their hearts and working around their own schedules aren’t necessarily going to adhere to your schedule.  (Speaking of… I’ve been sitting on a 2 chapter critique since OCTOBER. Bad Morgan!)

Some of the was consequences of decisions.

I had LASIK in May, which impacted the amount of time I could read/etc.

In the fall/early winter, I applied for and got a new job. That required prep time, reviewing computer languages I hadn’t played with in 6 years, and some stress.

I’m running 2 Facebook PitchWars support groups and administering another SFF writer’s group. That takes time, energy, and spoons.

I’ve scheduled social time with friends Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights. Add in my blog post writing and uploading Wednesday nights and full weekend social schedule and I’m simply not making my writing a priority. Most of the social stuff is low key, not more than dinner and TV time, but it’s still a major time chunk. I love my friends and family, but I might have to talk with them about changing this schedule.

And some of it was clear, outright laziness. Binge watching the West Wing and cheesy Christmas Movies. Spending hours staring at facebook…

However…

I DID do a lot of writing, more revising on my first novel than anticipated, started a vlog, critiqued novels for friends and family, and read an average of more than 2 novels/novella’s a month. I queried my first novel on average more than twice a month and my Picture Book 4 times.

I may have fallen short, but you know what Les Brown says about that?

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” – Les Brown [Image of Milky Way by A. Fujii, NASA]

How well did you do on your goals?

Had you given up on them in January, did you rock the BLEEP out of them, or did you do okay but think you might do better with concrete, SMART goals?

2017 Retrospective

2017 Retrospective 2017 was a year unlike any other. For a lot of people, it was scary, stressful, and a struggle to get through.

[thisdiscontentedwinter]

Just curious and I don't know if you've ever answered this before- Is TW the first fandom you've ever written for, or have you written for other fandoms under different names? If you've never written for other fandoms is this the first you've been heavily into fandom for at all, or just the first you've ever been on the creating side for? And if so, what other fandoms have you ever been into?

I’ve often said that Teen Wolf is the only show that hit the sweet spot for me when it comes to fan fic: enough potential in the characters and storylines to hold my interest, and so many massive failures of storytelling in canon that it just makes me itch to fix it. So it’s true that it’s the first fandom I’ve written for, but it’s not the actual reason I got involved. 

The reason I got involved (and I’m sure this wills surprise nobody who knows me) was spite, pure and simple. Back in December 2014 something happened in fandom that I’ll call the Goodreads Panic. It was basically where a shitload of fandom writers demanded Goodreads pull the listings of their fics. Now as someone who had a lot of friends who read and reviewed fanfic on Goodreads, it was upsetting to me to see them so upset. Because when a fic was removed from Goodreads (and just the listing, let’s be clear–despite the panic, I’ve never seen any proof that actual fics were uploaded there) it didn’t just remove the listing, it removed the reviews, and the pages and pages of discussions on those reviews. 

My friends were upset. So I said “Fuck it, I’ll write them a Sterek.” And Balloon Animals are Awesome was born. 

I wrote about it in 2014, which was before I had a tumblr account. It didn’t stop a shitload of people on tumblr from calling me entitled and wishing I was dead, of course. So, spitefully, I wrote even more fanfic. 

And to this day nobody can tell me why it’s so terrible to have discussions of fanfic on Goodreads, but it’s okay to do it here or on some other platform. And funnily enough, the entire Goodreads Panic was started by a Sterek BNF who didn’t like that someone had pointed out on Goodreads that her published novel was P2P and had originally been fanfic and a lot of readers won’t buy P2P.  The BNF immediately began convincing others to have their fics pulled from GR. More fool her. We just talk about her P2P books in a secret group now. 

Anyway, here’s the post I wrote: 

My (generally disorganised) thoughts on the current fanfiction shitfight on Goodreads

Anyone who knows me knows that I love my Sterek fanfic. For those who don’t know me but have somehow stumbled upon this post, Sterek is fanfiction based on the slash pairing of Stiles/Derek from the TV show

Teen Wolf.

I’m also quite fond of Steter, which is Stiles/Peter. And I’ve read a few Stisaacs I totally enjoyed, which is Stiles/Isaac. You guys have all spotted the common denominator right? Yeah, I just love Stiles. And who doesn’t? 

But back to the shitfight. 

Lately, a lot of enthusiastic readers have been adding Sterek fanfiction to the Goodreads database. This has upset some fanfiction writers. I don’t know how many, and I don’t know how representative they are of the fanfiction community.

Fair warning: I may be quite vague in this post, because I’m not going to name names, and I’m not going to link to Tumblr posts. Why? Because I’m writing this post to get my thoughts in order, not to call out anyone whose opinion may be different to my own. I welcome discussion or debate wherever you find this post, but I won’t be taking it to anyone else’s virtual doorstep. 

What is Goodreads? 

Initially, it seemed like some of the fanfic writers thought that their works were being uploaded to Goodreads. This is absolutely not the case. Goodreads is a catalogue, and any published work including work published online can be added by users. And, once it’s in the database, any user can review any work. That review is then shared on a timeline with the reviewer’s friends. It is also visible under the work’s main page. Users can like reviews, and comment on reviews, and reviews show up in our timelines. I found a lot of great Sterek fics because friends raved about them, and I’m not going to apologize for that.

One thing I will say about GR is that it’s not just meant for professionally published and edited works. It’s meant to be a database of, well, everything, from Shakespeare and Chaucer to web comics to fan fiction. 

What was added to author profiles and book pages? 

Here’s the part I’m not clear on. I understand that artwork was added as covers to fanfic that was either unattributed, or wasn’t intended for that fic. And that’s wrong, and shouldn’t have happened. A simple email to GR support or a request to a librarian would have sorted it out in minutes though.

There’s also been some talk of writers worrying about being outed, and stories of people who’ve lost jobs and custody of kids for writing “smut”. Erotica writer here, you’re preaching to the choir. But I don’t think that linking from a GR author page to an AO3 profile is suddenly going to bust the whole thing open. How could it? If any information other than that was added, then yes, that was wrong. But I’m not aware of any incidents where that happened, and I’m not sure how it

could

happen if the information wasn’t already available online anyway. 

Fanfic is for fandom 

You read Sterek? You recommend Sterek? You spend a lot of time at A03 leaving comments and kudos for Sterek? Surprised to find you’re not part of the fandom? So were many of us. 

I’ve spoken to a lot of people in private groups who are absolutely gutted, because all the Tumblr posts going around about “fanfic is for the fandom only” make them feel like they’re not allowed to be part of the club when their only crime was to love something they read and want to share it with their friends.I can’t pretend to be an expert on the fandom culture, except to say that I’ve seen enough posts in the last few days from writers who have no problem with their works being added to the GR database to suspect that the writers acting as the gatekeepers of fandom have no mandate to do so. And, as one prolific fanfic writer put so eloquently:

Fandom is where fandom goes.

Well, here we are. 

The culture clash

I understand that the fanfic community is very different than the one on GR, but most of the people reading and reviewing fanfic on GR are doing it because they love the fandom. It may be accepted practice on AO3 not to offer any criticism, constructive or otherwise, and I have some sympathy for writers who have checked out their works on GR and suddenly discovered they have star ratings. 

But that’s how we do things here. That’s how we approach what we read. And as a writer, you can’t actually control how readers interact with your work. To those of us on GR, reviewing and recommending fics here is no different than doing it when we connect on Facebook or Tumblr or anywhere else online. GR is how I’ve found so many wonderful fics that I otherwise would never have read. And that is why they were added to GR – because people were so enthusiastic about them that they wanted to share them with their friends. 

“Someone that reads gay fiction and goes to GR is not the same as someone from the TW fandom that reads gay sterek fic with mpreg on AO3”

That’s an actual quote from an actual Tumblr post. Google it if you want to find it. Like I said, I’m not linking. And I’ve only got one thing to say in relation to that statement anyway: Bullshit. Bull-fucking-shit. 

I read gay fiction. I read and write m/m fiction (not the same as gay fiction BTW. Ironically, m/m fiction has its origins in slash). And I also read gay Sterek fic with mpreg, A/B/O, and whatever other tropes you want to throw in there. I love them all. 

And so do the hundreds (possibly more, I haven’t counted) of other GR members who are part of the various fanfiction groups. But you just go on worrying that we don’t understand the tropes you’re using because apparently fanfic is a different language that we can’t possibly, you know, pick up by reading it. Like you all did. 

You do not own fanfiction. 

In the past few days I’ve seen a few writers claiming their “intellectual property” is being shared without their permission. And here’s where I have a real issue. Yes, you wrote your fanfic, but you don’t own it. In the case of Sterek, MTV owns those characters. 

Sidenote: I also saw a particularly hilarious disclaimer on A03 that stated:

“

I do not give permission to this work being read aloud and/or shared with the press, or anyone working on said production of Teen Wolf, including but not limited to cast, crew, writers, or producers. I also do not give permission share this work on third-party websites such as Goodreads, which I believe is a resource intended for published works outside of fandom.”

I read it aloud anyway. Like the fucking rebel I am. Again though, here’s the misunderstanding of what Goodreads is. Goodreads is for any published works, and yes, that includes works published online. And yes, that includes fanfic.

I absolutely believe that fanfiction only exists because studios and copyright holders

allow

it to exist. It’s an act of goodwill, and most copyright holders recognise the fact that fanfiction, in all its forms, is good for their bottom line. I know that I’ve dropped money on the

Teen Wolf

DVDs because of Sterek, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. 

I also believe though, that once fanfic writers start calling fanfiction their “intellectual property”–something I’ve seen thrown around in a few places the last couple of days–it will cause copyright holders to sit up and pay attention. 

P2P 

If claiming ownership will cause copyright holders to sit up and take notice, it will be P2P that might just force them to take action. In my opinion, fanfiction writers who think they own their fanfic and who pull it to publish will be more damaging to the fanfic culture that anyone reviewing and sharing recs on any platform including GR will ever be.

Interestingly, one of the most vocal of the fanfic writers is a writer who is publishing a non-fanfic book soon. This book, which will retail for around $12 on Amazon, is a former Glee fanfic that has been pulled to publish. Except last time I checked it hadn’t actually been pulled, it was still on AO3. In short, she has an issue with people sharing fanfic recommendations on Goodreads, but no issue attempting to make money off something she built using someone else’s intellectual property. And it doesn’t matter if the thing is as far removed from the original as Fifty Shades was from Twilight. In my opinion, it’s ethically wrong. 

Maybe a Find & Replace of all the names is actually legally enough to get the work considered transformative. Legally and ethically aren’t always the same thing and,

personally

, I hate P2P fanfic and refuse to purchase it. 

But hold on, isn’t Goodreads removing fanfics? 

Yes, yes it is. Despite their own guidelines, GR has been removing fics at the request of fanfic authors. They don’t have to, but they are. Which means that all of those lengthy reviews with hundred of comments and gifs and pics are also being removed. And people are upset about that. 

On GR we make friends over the reviews were share and the books we love. Those reviews and those conversations are now being deleted. Some people have lost tens of reviews, if not more. That’s a lot of hours of work, and you know why they did it in the first place? Because they loved a story and wanted to share it. 

Oh, and I write fanfic too. 

Yeah, I do. Just started, but it’s going to be a thing for me. Because it’s fun, and I like to share it with people, both on AO3 and here. And I know a lot of writers who do the same. AO3 and GR aren’t oil and water. They aren’t matter and anti-matter. You don’t have to pick a side, really. 

You’ll find me on AO3 as Discontented Winter. 

Feel free to share, recommend, or rate my fics any way or anywhere you like. 

#goodreads #fanfic #fandom policing