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peachdues · 5 months

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This shit is annoying asfk.You have all ur followers sitting here waiting on netherwood and all u keep doing is pushing back,I get you have a life and all but if u really don’t have time for it to be done then tell us that instead of doing things like “going to try to have it done this weekend”or the week after that.i understand u may have a life and things outside tumblr but u can’t blame people when u literally created a mini fic that people are waiting for,if u knew there was going to be multiple parts you should have saved them in ur drafts and then published them once they were all finished instead of leading us on with mini little parts that u post of things in the story..

And instead of trying to start new fics..maybe finish the ones people are waiting on?Like why are u posting ur written fics about other characters and starting on new fics when people are sitting here with their notifications on for netherwood because u said it may be dropping soon.

If u don’t have motivation to finish something,then don’t lead people on with ur little mini spoilers.

You know, I went through a range of emotions while reading this. Annoyance. Upset. Anger. I thought of a plethora of replies that ranged from whiny to downright hostile.

And then it clicked.

You’re not a follower of mine and you’re not someone who enjoys my writing.

You don’t want me to finish Netherwood at all.

You want me to quit and leave tumblr.

That has to be it — because any true supporter of mine wouldn’t send this shit. Any true supporter or friend I’ve made on here would know and understand that I have a life and beyond that, that the writing process is not linear. There are fics I have teased since July that are still WIPs — why? Because writing takes time. I don’t write things from start to finish (so your insipid little suggestion to ‘save in drafts and post in installments’ is as useless as you are).

My followers — my friends, mutuals or not — know this and respect this. They have been so supportive of me since I first debuted on here. They were here cheering me on while I studied for and took the Bar exam. They celebrated my becoming an attorney. They ask about my writing and my personal life because they are sweet and kind and successful in every way you aren’t, you miserable quim.

Your lack of reading comprehension makes me question the school system in whatever country is unfortunate enough to bear your existence. Because I’ve never said I’d lost motivation to finish Netherwood (no matter how much it is clear you hope I do). It is my top priority among any of my works; that I work on other fics has no bearing on that and is frankly none of your pathetic concern. I have never asked anyone to turn on their notifs — turn them off and fuck off if it bothers you so much. No one is forcing you to be here.

As much as it’s clear you want me to give up and leave, I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you once more — I’m not going anywhere. I will finish Netherwood on my time and on my terms and if that means you lose interest, then so fucking be it. It’s not for you, anyways. If you had a modicum of creativity, you’d understand that, but your brain, much like your life, is so devoid of any true substance that I feel sorry for you. You pathetic, miserable little speck of wasted dirt.

On behalf of writers everywhere that have to deal with this shit, and as disrespectfully as possible, fuck off, you wart. 🤍🤍🤍

And next time, at least put your name on your ask so I know who to block 🤍 at least you can’t send this bullshit on anon anymore. Now you have the freedom to say it with your whole chest 🤍

PS — you’re likely lonely and single and ugly as sin, and your ask is precisely the reason why 😘

#and have a new year as miserable as you #writing #fic writing #writers on tumblr #🍑’s asks #demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #sanemi shinazugawa #kny x reader #kny #kny fanfic #kny sanemi #sanemi x reader

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181patheticpaperclips · 1 month

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having thoughts about marlene mckinnon for way too many words

In honour of breaking up the fanon characterisation of Marlene a little, here’s every bit of information I could find about Marlene from canon, and variants of Marlene that aren't a Marauders' year Gryffindor that I think could be really fun to write! As a fandom we all seem to stick to the same few traits for the characters like Marlene, to the point where it almost creates a kind of ‘canon’ which kind of defeats the creative freedom which makes writing in the Marauders era so interesting.

And please note that this is not a criticism of fanon at all, headcanon what you want to headcanon, there are so many talented writers and artists who do amazing Marlene work within her fanon characterisation as a Gryffindor classmate in the Marauders’ year. I just had a lot of thoughts.

So anyway, here’s the three quotes we have that mention her:

“No one lived after he decided ter kill ‘em, no one except you, an’ he killed some o’ the best witches an’ wizards of the age - the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts - an’ you was only a baby, an’ you lived,” - Hagrid, The Philosopher's Stone

“That’s Marlene McKinnon, she was killed two weeks after this was taken, they got her whole family,” - Moody, Order of the Phoenix

“Wormy was here last weekend, I thought he seemed down, but that was probably the news about the McKinnons; I cried all evening when I heard,” - Lily, The Deathly Hallows

Let’s get into it. Alright, so to get an indication of what Hagrid means when he’s talking about “the best witches an’ wizards of the age,” we can look at the Bones and the Prewetts.

“That’s Edgar Bones… brother of Amelia Bones, they got him and his family, too, he was a great wizard” from Order of the Phoenix. Apparently, his mother and father were also murdered by Voldemort (fandom wiki). It’s unclear whether “great” refers to magical skill or strength of character; however, we know Amelia Bones, his sister, was a fair and principled woman, so it probably includes elements of both.

“Gideon Prewett, it took five Death Eaters to kill him and his brother Fabian, they fought like heroes.” Combining this with the Hagrid quote, we can gather that the “best witches an’ wizards” likely refers to prodigal magical skill, as well as strength of character - generally acting like a hero.

So from these quotes, we can gather that Marlene was either a great witch herself, or at the very least, most of her family was skilled at magic, and that they all had great strength of character. By strength of character, I guess, from looking at the type of people the Prewetts and the Bones were, I mean that she valued stuff like justice, compassion and courage, and also, to put it simply, had a backbone and could stand up for what she believed in.

I don’t think this necessarily makes her a Gryffindor, although it does make it more likely. The Bones family was known to be affiliated with Hufflepuff (Susan Bones), and people of every house can exhibit these traits. Although still very much possible, I find Slytherin to be the most unlikely house for her, as Hagrid does tend to harbour certain biases towards Slytherins (i.e. he tells Harry that there wasn’t a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn’t in Slytherin) so would be less likely to describe a Slytherin-affiliated family in such a positive manner. However, realistically, all four houses are open options for Marlene.

Now, onto her relationship with Lily Evans. Lily does not refer to her by name, only as part of a collective “the McKinnons,” implying that to the extent Lily knew Marlene, she was also associated with more than one member of the McKinnon family. Her death is also mentioned in a throwaway sort of line, as an explanation of Peter’s sadness, meaning she had to be somewhat close to Peter for it to be reasonable that he’s at least as sad as Lily about her death. This also reads like it’s the first time Lily has discussed her death with Sirius, and it’s been about a week. This, to me, seems to indicate a relationship that isn’t necessarily very close, more like coworkers than anything - if they were closer, I think we could expect more of a specific comment about Marlene rather than a generalised one about her family. As this letter is addressed to Sirius, it’s also likely that Sirius wasn’t particularly close with Marlene either, as Lily offers no attempt to comfort him about her death, which occurred sometime close to “last weekend.” Given Lily is often shown as quite a caring character, if either Lily or Sirius were extremely close to her, I think you’d expect more from Lily. However, Lily still does “[cry] all evening” when she hears, so it isn’t completely detached news of something happening to a stranger. Casual friends or acquaintances, maybe, but probably not a deep friendship.

We’re looking at a relationship close enough to warrant an initial shock reaction from Lily, but not close enough to warrant continual intense grief for more than a week, with a connection that was to the whole McKinnon family, not simply Marlene. In my personal view, while being Gryffindor classmates fits this model (allows Lily, Peter and Sirius to all be familiar with her, and could have a similar level of detachment as Harry has from Dean or Seamus), I’d think sharing a dormitory for seven years and also fighting in a war together would form a deeper connection between Marlene and Lily (think of Harry’s connection with Neville by the end of Deathly Hallows), or at least warrant a mention of Marlene in particular rather than “the McKinnons” in her letter.

Moody also doesn’t point out additional members of the McKinnon family in the photo, implying that they were absent when the photograph was taken or were not members of the Order. I think it likely that more McKinnons than Marlene were in the Order, as this would allow Lily, Sirius and Peter to be connected to the family. There are three scenarios: the McKinnons are in the Order photograph and are simply not mentioned by Moody, the McKinnons are in the Order but not the photograph, and the McKinnons are not in the Order. In the first scenario, Marlene is singled out as the most significant member of the McKinnons, as she is the only one named and the others are referred to as “her family” - she could be more involved in the Order than the others, or she acts as some kind of leading figure for the household, or she was simply better known to Moody than the others. In the second scenario, she is mentioned as the only one present, while the others are absent - they could be in hiding, although Lily and James were in hiding and were still present for the photograph, or are on some kind of Order activity (like Lupin, who is also not mentioned as being in this photograph). In the third scenario, Marlene is the only Order member in her family. The way Moody describes her death as “got her whole family” also suggests an element of being caught, as if the whole family was wanted to some extent by the Death Eaters. Hagrid also says that Voldemort had “decided ter kill ‘em,” further implying that the whole family were targets, not just collateral damage from targeting Marlene. For these reasons, I find it more likely that she is not the only member of the Order in her family.

Lily, James, Sirius and Peter are seated in the same row of the photograph - from this, we can gather that there likely wasn’t arranged seating and people sat with those they were friendly with. Marlene is standing nearby to Dedalus Diggle, Frank and Alice Longbottom and Moody, implying these were the Order members she was closest to, not the Marauders. For this reason, I think it’s reasonable to interpret Marlene as older than she often is portrayed. Frank and Alice’s ages are unknown, but they are well-accomplished Aurors, repeatedly stated throughout the series to be an extremely challenging career with training for at least three years after graduation to even enter the position, although they are not too old to have Neville (the average age of first-time mothers in 1981 was about 25, but given that Alice was a well-established Auror by the time Neville was born, she was probably a bit older), likely placing them somewhere in the mid twenties to thirties range. Dedalus Diggle could be any age, but he is quite an eccentric and cheerful character, wearing a purple top hat, known for enthusiastic displays like summoning shooting stars in Kent upon Voldemort’s downfall, bowing to Harry in a shop, and attempting to be friendly to Vernon Dursley (a monumental task). Her association with Dedalus Diggle implies she isn’t bothered by this kind of behaviour - or maybe she is, and she’s unfortunately stuck standing near him. Moody is described as having grey hair, and just generally comes across as an older man (grizzled appearance, gruff, battle-hardened cynic). Given Moody is also nearby, Marlene is now associated with at least three Aurors, so she could reasonably be interpreted as an Auror, or Auror-in-training.

So, in conclusion:

Marlene is a member of the Order, likely at least a few years older than Lily and James. Her family members, whether that be her children or parents or siblings, are also in the order, and she is probably fairly close with them, given they were all murdered together. The McKinnons are highly skilled wizards and have strength of character, standing up for their beliefs, to the extent that they become a specific target for Death Eaters. Her closest associates in the Order are probably the Longbottoms and Dedalus Diggle, as well as Mad-Eye Moody.

Marlene Variants!!

I think being described as one of the best of the age, not her age, but the age, might imply that she was either a younger member of a well-known magical family like the Potters (James Potter’s parents), or was an older, well-accomplished witch in her own right.

Marlene, part of a large family affiliated with the Order, who knew Sirius, Lily and Peter through having been the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor one year. We know that, in Harry’s time, Dumbledore asked at least two former Order members to teach DADA in a six year time span (Moody and Lupin, from Harry’s first to sixth year), so it isn’t unlikely that Order members could be asked to fill in the role for a year. Professor McKinnon, who puts her students through almost military paces, but who sits on her desk while teaching, who knows which students are friends, who arranges her seating plans accordingly to make sure everyone has someone they can ask for help nearby. Marlene, who teaches the first years how to duel and goes tramping through the forbidden forest searching for Hinkypunks and takes her third years to the lake with Gillyweed to hunt for Grindylows, because doing is the best way to learn.

Marlene McKinnon and Dedalus Diggle as friends; whether Marlene is similar to him in being enthusiastic and just generally kind of extra, or whether she’s a kind of down to earth character foil for him, just… I think those two would be very interesting to see interacting. Marlene and Dedalus as old schoolmates, who love magic for the wild and the untameable, who charm rain into shooting stars and charm autumn leaves to fly in dizzying dances.

Marlene as an Auror. Marlene as Moody’s colleague, as around his age, as Frank and Alice’s colleague. Marlene who can hold her own against any given Death Eater, even when caught by surprise. Marlene, who can cast spells so powerful they make the floor crack under her feet and sear the walls with energy. Marlene McKinnon, who makes Death Eaters flee when she appears in the doorway, who can never be ambushed and can never be beaten, who decimates the ranks of every opposing force. Marlene, who isn’t afraid to kill where Moody spares, who can snap from kind to deadly in an instant.

Marlene who is delighted when Alice tells her she’s having a baby, who comes around for lunch on Saturdays, who helps design the wards, and patches loopholes in the magic until it's impenetrable, and who makes Neville a quilt that is never finished. Marlene, who would have been an incredible aunt figure to Neville Longbottom.

Marlene as an Auror in training, with parents who are already Aurors, potentially siblings too. Marlene who goofs around with Moody, who Tonks reminds him of years later, Marlene who dies despite her training. Maybe Evan Rosier is the one who kills her; maybe Moody remembers this when Rosier refuses to come quietly; maybe Marlene McKinnon is half the reason Rosier ends up dead that day.

There’s my brainrot analysis! This turned out a bit longer than I intended it to be. Feel free to use any of this in anything you make (maybe I’ll cough up some art eventually… tag me if you do, I’d love to see). And a friendly reminder that if you do headcanon Marlene differently, in the end, it’s all for fun, and you’re free to view her any way you’d like. And who knows, maybe I’ll get around to doing this for the other characters one day.

#*aggressively points at a fictional character*#“listen i just think she's neat”#marauders era #marlene mckinnon #the marauders #marauders fandom #marauders girls #mad eye moody #alice longbottom #frank longbottom #dedalus diggle #lily evans #lily potter #order of the phoenix #mwpp era #my post #marauders

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that-ari-blogger · 29 days

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No Cat Can Walk Out Of Her Own Story (Once Upon A Time In The Wastes)

To those who have read my posts before, you may have picked up on my complicated relationship with the concept of genre, in that I don’t really believe in it.

Don’t get me wrong, genre is definitely a thing, it just exists from the perspective of a reader, not a writer. Genre allows audiences to categorise their preferences, and allows librarians to categorise their catalogues. But from the angle of a writer, I find that trying to stick to a genre often leads to restrictions that limit creativity.

The tricky thing is, this is my opinion. Art is not science, and does not jell at all with ubiquitous statements. There is evidence to back up my claim, but at the same time, evidence that completely contradicts it. Funnily enough, She-Ra and the Princesses Of Power count as both, especially Once Upon a Time in the Waste.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD (She-Ra and the Princesses Of Power)

First, a few framing devices for this post.

I have been analysing the series as a whole through the lens of tragedy, which isn’t quite a genre, but it’s close enough that I feel the need to explain myself.

Tragedy is a vibe. It is an end goal for the story, a trajectory that it will try to hit. She-Ra is most definitely on this trajectory for most of its runtime, which plays into its themes of trauma and the cycle of abuse. The core question of the story is whether love will be enough to overpower that trajectory. Agency vs fate, like Romeo and Juliet.

A genre, meanwhile, is a collection of tropes, which can include a plot structure, but it doesn’t have to. They are different concepts that relate to each other, and overlap occasionally, but they are distinct.

Now, genre is, first and foremost, a literary tool. Tropes give expectations and implications, and often have meaning ascribed. So a story written in a specific genre can make use of that for its own purposes.

Part of the reason I am so chwit-chwat about my position on this is that I have a friend who excels at writing genre stories, and that has benefited their work immensely. Their ability to subvert expectations is predicated on the groundwork that they are writing within, that being the framework provided by each genre.

Cliches have a bad name, but there is genuinely a place for stories that are exactly what you expect. Not every art piece has to be thought provoking. Sometimes you just want to sit down, relax, and watch an adventure, and the Guardians of Ga’Hoole movie is engineered to suit your every need. If you want to think about what you are experiencing, read the Guardians of Ga’Hoole books, because they really play around with the genre.

So, what is my point?

Well, I will come back to this at the end of the series, but I think She-Ra is on both ends of a spectrum, it can be classified as a ton of genres, but also none at all. Once Upon a Time in the Waste is a microcosm of this.

So, I’m going to argue here that this episode is a western story. As in, the archetype with lone wanderers and such. But I’m also going to argue that it isn’t.

Buckle up, this is going to get complicated.

Westerns are technically just stories set in outback America in the late 1800s. But we can all agree that there is more to the genre than that. Duels at dawn, train heists, riding into the sunset. Think Rango, the third Back to the Future movie, and the 1960 version of The Magnificent Seven film. There is a framework to play around in.

The genre doesn’t so much carry the theme of freedom as collapse under its weight. Protagonists in these stories are usually on the run from the law, or seeking a new beginning, and plots have a tendency to bear a distinct anti-colonialist message. Mostly. The golden age of the genre was between 1940 and 1960, and modern writers have, for the most part, got better at writing this over time.

So, this episode has an implied theme of freedom, that goes with series as a whole’s discussion of agency. It also draws on the idea of a new beginning and the promise of an empty world. All it has to do is make itself clear, and it does this off the bat with two of the most western shots ever to western.

The amount that is being communicated by these two shots is astounding. Obviously, the vultures are circling Catra, and she’s watching them. Catra is aware that she is at rock bottom, and that death is closing in on her. Or at least, she thinks she is.

However, the worldbuilding element is there as well. Multiple moons instantly signals that this is a fantasy setting, and if you look closely, those aren’t actually vultures.

So, this is a western story with a bit of that fantastical flavour, right? Or is it a fantasy story with a bit of western flavour? Yes. The answer to both of those questions is “yes”.

This episode is told from Catra’s perspective, and I think there is a bit of unreliable narration going on here. Not in the sense that events aren’t playing out as we see, but in the way that the cinematography surrounding those events influences us. This might not be a western story at all, those birds might have just found a column of air, but doom and gloom is what Catra sees, so it's what the audience sees.

On a side note, Catra’s dialogue in this episode is written like she has spent the last month listening to nothing but Linkin Park’s Crawling In My Skin on repeat. I have a deep love for angsty emo storytelling, but I think it is a stroke of genius to translate that exact energy into something so aesthetically at odds with being emo.

“You know what? It doesn't matter. Nothing matters anymore. You know what I see here? All my hard work, ignored because of one mistake. My dreams, turning to dust in front of my eyes. But mainly I'm looking at that?”

This is Catra’s first little speech of the episode, and she gets a few of these. Here, she is venting at Scorpia, which I will comment on in a bit, but it is important to note that Catra fully accepts responsibility for her fate. Yes, the world was against her, but she was the one who messed up. Which is interesting.

In my reading of this story, Catra has intellectually recognised that the Horde was abusive, but emotionally, not so much. She convinced herself that if she was perfect, she could just coast above, because the moments in-between the abuse were half decent. But that wasn't possible.

I feel it is important to understand that Catra doesn’t crave safety, she craves the feeling of being safe. She is chasing the high of security, and she was able to push through Shadow Weaver’s abuse and to ignore Hordack’s obvious red flags enough to obtain that feeling from authority. The high never lasted, but she has convinced herself that she could have made it work.

Back to the western thing. Protagonists in western stories are rarely good people, although they aren’t usually villainous. They are heroes, but their defining character trait is that they were capable enough to take control of the situation. Sometimes, they will save a village from some bandits, but half the time this is to save a love interest or because they have a grudge against the bandit leader or even just because the village pays well. Morality isn’t really a thing in western films.

In other words:

“There are only two rules in the Crimson Waste. One, the strong make the rules-” (Laughing) “So, here's the thing. I've done this. The whole “threatening people” bit, the intimidation. I've been there. And I just don't care anymore. Some people have a bad day. I've had a bad life. If I want something, it's taken from me. If I win a fight, I lose the war. Threats only work on someone who has something to lose. But me? I've already lost it all. And you can't be any good at this, because you just let yourself get distracted.”

What I said about Catra from before works here as well. This also meshes rather nicely with the western protagonist. Catra has rocked up out of nowhere and demonstrated her capability.

However, that capability lies in force of personality, and in her allegiance with Scorpia, someone who exists to prove Catra wrong. Catra still has her friendship with Scorpia, and thats what this episode exists to show her.

This episode actually show Catra getting to be happy with herself and the world around her, because her worldview is rewarded. She has no higher authority, she can be mean in the way that the Horde has taught her to be, and it pays off.

Granted, it’s not exactly healthy, but it's better than what she had before.

So, Catra can feel safe, even in a place that is objectively more hostile to her than anywhere else. The ground tries to eat her, multiple times, but she is fine, she has her force of personality, and she has Scorpia.

“We make a good team, that's it.”

Scorpia makes Catra feel safe, she protects her, and she raises her up to make her own choices. The only other person that has done that, was Adora.

Before I continue, however, I feel the need to stress something. How Catra treated Scorpia up until this episode wasn’t great. It will get worse after this episode, and I will talk about that when I get there (If you know the show, you know which episode will prompt my full diagnoses), but for now, Catra hasn’t seen Scorpia as an equal until this point.

This is based on her upbringing. Whether you like her as a character or not, it is hard to disagree with the fact that Catra is mean. But that comes from a place of fear and of discomfort. Catra has no idea how to socialise with anyone, because she has never had a parental figure to show her. She was nice to Adora, and Adora left, so being nice was clearly not the right decision, in her mind.

On a similar note, it never occurs to Catra that anyone might like her. As in, she assumes at all times that people are trying to one up her or outmanoeuvre her. She was betrayed by Adora, in her mind, and Shadow Weaver never treated her with any dignity. Why would anyone help her? She has to force her way through everything.

Except, here is Scorpia. Scorpia, who offers a guiding hand to Catra to save her from the quicksand, even when it would be wiser to let Catra die and take over. Scorpia, who will follow Catra into the desert. Scorpia, who makes Catra feel safe and asks nothing in return.

The episode even gets in the duel at midday and the standoff with the bandits, with the reward for victory being more underlings. Catra builds herself a support network.

The sartorial detail of the jacket. Catra starts the episode clinging onto the cloak from the Horde. But it's too big for her. She then sheds it and steals the jacket when she starts fitting into the Horde and finding belonging. The jacket fits her perfectly, and she looks really good in it. She then offers a similar jacket to Scorpia as a gesture of friendship. "I belong with you."

“A toast to driving Huntara out of the Waste! A toast to finding all this new loot, huh? And a toast to Boss Catra, best leader we've ever had!” “Scorpia! A toast to Scorpia!”

So, about that new beginning then. I spoke at length in a previous post about how character development and allegiance relate to location. Adora changes location and can develop as a person. Shadow Weaver makes the exact same decision, and refuses to change, mostly. Now we have Catra, who has likewise shifted scenery, and she is making big strides in terms of relationships.

There are people who cheer her name unprompted, people who will keep her safe. This is everything she wants, right? Hold this thought.

Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but this is the first actively altruistic thing Catra has done. Yes, she shared the blanket, but that felt more like paying back a debt than actual kindness. This feels like growth, like Catra is finding a new place to start.

Catra's body language in this tiny scene is really well done. She starts off clutching the sword like a teddy bear, like she is taking comfort in having it. Then it falls to her side as Scorpia gets through to her and she subconsciously stops needing to have that victory.

“We've got the most important thing right here. You heard that hologram. This is the key to the whole planet. When I bring this back to the Fright Zone, Hordak will see me for what I'm worth and I'll be back on top.” “Or, you know, counterpoint, we don't go back at all.” “What? Why wouldn't we go back?” “Uh... Because you hate it there?” “I don't.” “Hear me out, okay? Within like, a day, you've defeated the gangs ruling the Crimson Waste and made yourself their leader. This is the happiest I've ever seen you. Scratch that. This is the first time I've ever seen you happy, period. So, why would we go back? Let's stay here. Forget Hordak. Forget Adora. Forget all of them. We could rule the Crimson Waste together, just the two of us. We could, you know, be happy.” “I… I don't… I have to go check on the prisoner.”

I think Catra actually considers this option. Again, the idea that her emotions and her thoughts are at separate levels of understanding comes back. But in a very real sense, this is what Catra wants, she has her life’s goal. So why can’t she stay?

For that, we need to talk about why Catra and Adora are such good foils.

Catra and Adora are the two tragic heroes of this story, but they exhibit their hamartia in completely opposite ways. For clarity, hamartia is another term for a heroic flaw, the thing that causes things to go wrong. She-Ra has a really interesting way of writing that, simplicity.

Every character in this story has a greatest strength that is also their greatest weakness. Glimmer is unyielding, which means her courage is second to none, but her adaptability is lessened. Huntara is both idealistic and cautious, when balanced these traits carry the crew, when unbalanced, these traits cause trouble.

Adora and Catra are opposites. Adora thinks incredibly quickly, which means that she is a remarkably good short-term tactician, but she struggles to think on the wider scale. Catra, meanwhile, is always planning five or six steps ahead of everyone else, but she can’t see the moment for what it is.

However, there is one more facet to these two, and it is the thing that joins them. Both Catra and Adora have a binary worldview. Something is either good or bad, someone is either a hero or a villain. Or, in Catra’s case, affection is exclusionary.

“Catra, Shadow Weaver is in Bright Moon.”

Catra is wounded by Shadow Weaver, more than she can possibly imagine. She wants to feel safe, and even while she is in the Crimson Wastes, she is not immune from her abuser’s ability to take away her security.

The news that Shadow Weaver is with Adora brings back all of Catra’s insecurities. It reminds Catra that she isn’t good enough, and that she can’t be safe. Most of all, it coalesces the two people who left Catra into one force, the Princess Alliance. Now, there is a single entity that Catra can fight, and her desire to feel safe means that she cannot think clearly until that entity is removed.

The final sequence of the episode is so unbelievably well written. The heavy breaths and deep, foreboding music drowning out everything. Pair that with the revisiting of the episode’s early shots, but this time with a Dutch tilt, and you have a sequence of a character in inner turmoil.

This could be a western story. This could be a tale of two outcasts seeking out a living in the vast wilderness, disappearing and being happy. But Catra can’t ride off into the sunset.

When Catra looks up, there are tears in her eyes, and the camera shifts to punctuate her words and decisions by zooming in, until all you can see are Catra’s eyes, and the tears that weigh them down.

Speaking of trauma, this episode is also the introduction of Mara, and that happens in a really interesting way.

The comedy of Adora's wacky expression in this shot is pulling double duty here. It's funny, but its emphasising the fact that Adora's apparent success in finding answers is being undercut.

“Of course it's on a loop. Of course it is. Because why would a hologram ever give me a straight answer? Solve a puzzle. Train. Let go. I do everything they tell me, waiting for answers, And all I'm left with is... is... Why was I taken from my family? Why was I forced to become a soldier? Why did I come here if this was nothing but another dead end?”

Aimee Carrero is officially a god, because the line delivery of this is gut wrenching. This season has seen Adora spiralling downwards, and Catra gradually building herself up. That’s why this episode cuts between them both, its juxtaposing their opposite arcs.

So, here is Adora, shouting at her last hope of answers, and getting no response.

I want to point out that the monologue is the series’ thesis statement. The cyclical thing, the agency, the trauma. This is everything rolled into one.

The loop thing is a metaphor for the whole series, a metaphor made clearer by She-Ra itself.

When Mara is introduced, she is transformed, and she is a failure. She is the warning that Light Hope gives to Adora. When we meet her in this episode, we get that same image.

“I am Mara, She-Ra of Etheria, and I am gone.”

It towers over Adora, looking down on her. Adora is beneath the vision of even a failure like Mara. At least, until she lets go of the sword.

This is Mara. She’s small, about as tall as Adora; she’s wounded and dying; and she’s sorry.

“I couldn't stop them before, but I can now. Hiding is our only option. Maybe it's been a week. Maybe it's been thousands of years. I never wanted to be a hero. I won't be remembered as one.”

Mara’s character thematic can be summed up by one word: Legacy. Not how she will be remembered, but what effect she will have on the future.

Again, she is wounded, but she has managed to lock away an entire planet. Mara saved Etheria, once upon a time. I’d put that as pretty heroic.

But this also spins the perception of Light Hope. Adora can now see the alternate side of Light Hope’s words, and she can see the lies and the mistruths. So, by leaving a message, Mara pushed Adora away from destroying the world. She created a failsafe for Etheria, by telling the next She-Ra to think and take their own agency.

Mara was living in a tragedy, her fate was to die, but she twisted it. She broke free, and she saved people. I wonder if that idea will be revisited.

Final Thoughts

This episode could have been a season.

The second and third seasons of She-Ra are short, and I think the series would have been more interesting if they had been linked. Drop a few of the episodes, relocate some others, and make the whole thing about the Crimson Wastes. You get more time to Catra’s rise, and the fall feels more impactful.

I am mostly joking here. The series we got is the series we got, and this blog doesn’t analyse what could have been.

To that end, this episode falls short for me, because there isn’t enough of it. Catra’s improvement lasts for half an episode, and I think that if it had had a little more time to breathe, the gut punch at the end would have hit so much harder.

That is my critique, it’s a good episode, but it’s paced a bit too fast for me. You are welcome do disagree in the replies.

Next week, I will be looking at the absolute highway to hell (in a good way) that is Moment Of Truth, so stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

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justjensenanddean · 2 years

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Jensen Ackles | JIBCon, Solo Panel, (Rome, Italy, August 28 2022)

(x)

Jensen panel. Will he do any more theatre? No, that was a huge mistake. A musical? “A musical??? ” (x)

Would Jensen do more theater work? “Nope, Few Good Men was a mistake, that was 120 pages long and I was on like 100!” And musical? “Um, maybe” You sing so well, and act! “Yeah, I can do both…” (x)

He likes challenges, so maybe… but he doesn't plan that far in the future (x)

Jensen recently saw Music Man with Hugh Jackman. Was blown away. It was a lot of fun. Made him think if he wants to do that. Answer? “Nah. I’d have to do jazz hands.” But we’ll see. He doesn’t know what he’ll do in 6 months. (x)

He loves directing because it makes him think in a different perspective and it’s challenging. So maybe to the musical. The only musical he’s ever done is West Side Story. (x)

One thing Jensen doesn’t miss is being trapped in the Impala with Jared after Jared had a burrito. Yellow Fever is an ep that comes to mind because it was funny through and through. But funniest scene is “the whole show”. (x)

Jensen panel: Every scene over the past 15 years was the funniest scene #jib12 (x)

(x)

They were able to do risky storylines and go meta thanks to the fans. Because we stuck with them. (x)

Q about iconic lines. Does he realize they’re iconic when he reads the script or when he films them? Both. Sometimes it will come up filming. SB was more on the page but one day Kripke was in set & he & Kripke brainstormed lines on the spot. #jib12 (x)

There’s a freedom to be creative. Healthy work environment, The Boys is not a toxic set “of which there are a lot of”. Sometimes he doesn’t realize a line will be iconic, other times one will not hit. (x)

Jensen thinks the writers just wrote SB that way and hoped he can deliver. Doesn’t think Kripke demanded it. Kripke came up with “can’t go in dry” on the spot. Jensen mentions Paul Reiser had a lot of iconic lines too. (x)

The audition scene for SB was the scene with The Legend, Paul Reiser. So many good lines. (x)

The legend dialogue was the audition scene for Jensen. (x)

How was it being Dean again? “Like slipping into an old pair of sneakers. Just leaning against that car again…” There will not be a lot of visible Dean in it though. They reshot some of the Pilot. John Schowalter (sp?) stepped in 4 Sigriccia.He’s excited for us to see it. (x)

Favorite beer in Family Business? He doesn't know, because there's a rotation of beer types and he hasn't been home for 2 months... but he likes Grackle (x)

Fave beer on tab? Since he hasn’t been home in 2 months, he doesn’t know what’s on tab right now, but the Grackle is always on and it’s his go to. “But don’t drink too much of it, it’ll get ya.” (x)

(x)

‘Is it time for apple juice? Someone let me know when it’s 12’ (x)

Does he want to be the lead on another long running show? Yes, he has no problem with it. A few projects in early development with him as lead, particularly a movie he’s excited about. But he doesn’t talk about things until they’re a sure thing, so no teasers. (x) He just likes good stories, to entertain. That’s his thing. (x)

JENSEN TALKED ABOUT THERE BEING PROJECTS. AT LEAST ONE MOVIE. AND THE LEAD ON A TV SHOW. NOTHING FOR SURE YET. BUT THEY'RE SITTING DOWN AT TABLES. HE JUST DROPPED THAT BOMB? (x)

‘I would take a lead again, if the story was right’ (x)

Jensen wants “apple juice” and two of the three bottles are actual apple juice. “You tricked me. What is going on here.” (x)

‘It’s actually apple juice - you tricked me!’ (x)

At his first con in the UK, a multi fandom con, he thought he was just a face in the crowd and Jensen and Wayne were overwhelmed with the reception. First time Jensen thought “we might get another season” (x)

How is Jensen practicing his voice drop? He never had any proper training, never did any work, it just naturally went down. It’s JDMs fault. “He’s so cool. I wanna be him when I grow up. I’m still waiting for that.” (x)

Jensen says that in the first season of SPN admired Jeffrey Dean Morgan so much that he wanted to be like him when he grows up. (x)

He doesn't think his singing voice has changed that much over the years, his speaking voice has changed more. And he never took singing lessons or anything like that! (x)

#Jensen Ackles #JIB12 #JIBCon2022 #Jensen: Panel Highlights #ah Jensen in a movie... I will enjoy that so much #*

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mjsakurea · 2 years

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On Guardian and Creativity (we could all use to be a little more handwavy sometimes)

I’ve been ruminating for some time on why I find the Guardian fandom one of the most creative ones I’ve been in during my long tenure on Tumblr and other fandom spaces. After much thought (and some encouragement on Discord *waves to everyone there*) I decided to write out my feelings in a little bit of an analytical essay meta. So, I will begin this reflection under the cut

But the TL;DR of it can be summarized in this meme:

So, Guardian. A fairly small fandom with just over 4,000 English-language fics in the general tag on AO3 (as of October 2022). Although the show aired in 2018, I only started watching earlier this year and quickly fell into a deep hyperfixation. I devoured every fic I could get my hands on like Ye Zun devours his enemies (I know, bad joke, sorry). I can wholeheartedly say I have encountered some of the most creative fics I have ever had the honor of reading--fics I return to over and over and over again and new ones that completely blow me away. So, just how does one small fandom manage to contain so much creativity? I would like to point to some reoccurring fandom AO3 tags to explain why.

1) Handwavy-ness 👋

Let’s be honest here, the ending of the Guardian drama is painful, agonizing, brutal, all of the above. If anyone walked away from it without tears falling down their face they’re a stronger person than me. So, what can one do when canon throws you into the pit of despair and kicks you while you’re down? Look for fix-it fics of course! And oh boy does Guardian have plenty. The generic Fix-It tag has 308 fics in it, and the Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies tag has 137, undoubtedly with some overlap. But this is not what I want to focus on; I would like to draw your attention to some of the tags I have collected below:

[ID: a series of screenshots of AO3 tags that read in order, handwavy post-canon, (handwavy everybody lives), hand-wavey fixit, Handwavey Post Canon, assume a handwavy fix, But Hand-Wavy Fixed, (the handwavey fix-it version), (of the handwavy everybody lives kind), Hand wavy post canon happy ending, handwave-y post-canon, (just a bit of handwaving), handwaving the canon timeline, and handwaving canon events. End ID]

These are all just from the first 21 pages (aka 10%) when sorted by kudos, and some repeat multiple times within that. Sometimes you don’t want to have to do the work to fix the tangled mess of the ending, it is a lot of work! I have seen it done and it is insanely admirable, but it no doubt takes a lot of brain power that my two brain cells just cannot keep up with. So herein lies the Guardian fandom’s alternative--just handwave it! Nothing is stopping you from writing a post canon fic and just never explaining how we got here. All you need to know is that everyone is alive and happy. I have been in other fandoms where this technique would be questionable at best, but not here. There is such an overarching acceptance for this attitude of handwavy-ness and I think this is a large part of where the abundance of creativity comes from. But let’s also look at some more tags.

2) Dixing powers can do what they want

Although we can all laugh at how the show turned ghosts into mutant aliens with dark energy powers, I for one love this choice, the dark energy powers especially! They add a completely new avenue for creative freedom. The Dixingren powers in the show that come up during various cases are so random and contrived, there is no judgement whatsoever for making a character in a fic have the most random and contrived dark energy power either. We have a guy in canon whose power is literally “hardening the lower body” for goodness sake! On top of that, we have a main character who can learn any power he sees. ANY. Including the lower body hardening one if he so chooses to. The amount of options this gives fic writers? Unparalleled I tell you! You can give a Dixingren OC any power you want and make Shen Wei learn any power you want. Fic authors in this fandom have already taken full advantage of this! Cue part two of tags in the top 21 pages by kudos:

[ID: a series of screenshots of AO3 tags that read in order, Dixing powers do whatever I want them to, Dixing powers work how I want them to, Handwavy Dixing plot device, Dark energy does what I want it to, completely contrived Dixing plot devices, Dixing powers do what I want them to, dixing artifacts do what I want them to do, and weird dark energy powers. End ID]

I have seen similar handwavy logic applied to the Hallows in fics too, because they are also the most random and contrived things in existence, but I wasn’t able to encounter any tags for those, so I will not get into it here as much.

In any case, already with just the freedom of handwavy-ness and Dixing powers, the Guardian fandom already has such a big playground to mess around in! It is absolutely no wonder why Guardian fandom creators are some of the most creative people out there. I am so happy to be a part of this amazing fandom and I hope it stays active for many more years to come. Current and future Guardian fandom friends, go forth and be as handwavy as you want! You have a permit to do so!

Thanks for reading

#guardian #zhen hun #镇魂 #zhen hun cdrama #guardian cdrama #meta #fandom meta #creativity

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nanowrimo · 9 months

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Back to School: Interview with Aly Mirasol, Young Writers Program Educator

NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers Program helps over 85,000 kids, teens, teachers, and families set creative goals and tell stories they care about. We asked some of our amazing YWP educators to share how they take on the NaNoWriMo challenge in their classroom. Today’s advice comes from Aly Mirasol, a middle school Humanities teacher in West Seattle, Washington.

Q: What grade/ age level do you work with? What type of NaNoWriMo group is it (whole class, club, homeschool, elective, etc.)?

A: 6th-8th grade

Q: How long have you been doing NaNoWriMo with your students?

A: 2 years

Q: How do you structure the entire project (for example, do you start prepping in October and write in November, do you have kids work on it all year, etc.)?

A: We start prepping at the beginning of October, write all of November, and edit in December/January! I then send the books to be published in February and they usually arrive in March.

Q: What does a normal NaNoWriMo day look like for your students?

A: We'll do 15 minutes of writing to start class—some instrumental music to set the tone—but since it's a combo English/History class, we move into other curriculum after. The first and last days of November are full writing days; other than that, they're encouraged to keep writing at home, and most of them really go for it.

Q: How do you set and manage word-count goals?

A: We have conferences at the end of October to determine individual goals. They'll do a 15-min practice session to see how many words they can get in that time, and then we'll look at examples of different story lengths. Halfway through the month, they have the option to change their goal if they talk to me and provide ample reasoning.

Q: How do you manage grading? Do you grade?

A: I grade based on effort—are they trying to write every day?—and then we have an editing checklist for after November. I try to keep the month itself low-stress and more about their creative process, less about worrying over a grade.

Q: How do you approach revision/ publishing (if at all)?

A: I use Barnes & Noble, which we really enjoy since the books come out looking very professional! They'll grab an editing partner and work through formatting, grammar, etc., and I help them with that as well.

Q: Any NaNoWriMo tips or tricks to share with other educators? Hard-won lessons? Ah-ha moments?

A: We made a progress chart that the kids could opt-in for, and they really seemed to enjoy coloring their graphs each day with how much progress they made!

Q: Have you ever run into resistance from your administration about doing NaNoWriMo, and if so, how did you manage it? What do you say to people who don’t see the point of having students write novels?

A: Luckily, no resistance. To people who question it, I just talk about the passion that comes out of it & how great it is for the kids to have the freedom to write about whatever they want and come out of the process as a published author.

Q: What are the most meaningful things you or your students take away from the project? What's your best NaNoWriMo memory?

A: I had an 8th grader this year who I was having trouble connecting with at first-- very withdrawn, quiet-- but he went all-in on this project and just started to shine. Now that he's graduated, he still emails me and is working on publishing a short story now, and we started a book club for over the summer! I just think it's so great to see kids come into their own during this project.

Q: Anything else you'd like to add?

A: I love NaNoWriMo so, so much, and my kids do, too. Thank you for everything you do. :) Aly Mirasol is a middle school Humanities teacher in West Seattle, Washington. Aside from all things reading and writing, they like to spend their time swimming in the ocean, coaching, playing outdoors, and relaxing with their two cats. Their current project is building a massive bookshelf to hold an ever-growing collection of books—some of which are their students' own NaNoWriMo projects!

#nanowrimo #ywp #nanowrimo ywp #back to school #by nano guest #aly mirasol

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deadpresidents · 11 months

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You read a lot non-fiction what I call "colon books" ("Title: Longer Subtitle"). What are some of your favourite or latest fiction books that you've read?

Even if it’s not your ideal genre, there has to be a more pleasant way of talking about non-fiction titles than calling them “colon books”, right? That sounds like a pretty gross section of the library.

I must admit that I’ve never been a big reader of fiction. I read a lot of books, but fiction has always been a pretty small percentage of them. I don’t have anything against fiction books and, quite frankly, I wish I had more of an interest in them because I believe reading from a broader, more diverse group of genres opens up your mind to a wider array of viewpoints. But I just can’t lose myself in fiction as easily as I do in non-fiction — and I know that not only sounds ridiculous but kind of proves how important it probably is for me to actually read more fiction in order to expand my horizons and build a healthier imagination.

When I do read fiction, it usually is because I like the work of specific authors and don’t want to miss whatever they write. One odd thing is that while I very rarely (almost never, in fact) re-read non-fiction books, when it comes to fiction, I usually stick with the same small collection of favorite authors and often re-read their work.

And if I’m not reading non-fiction, there’s a pretty good chance that I’m reading poetry instead of a novel or some sort of traditional prose fiction. Like I said, it’s probably more of a failure of imagination than anything, but while I respect and appreciate great literature and creative fiction, I just prefer reading stuff that feels more realistic. I couldn’t even guess what the last science fiction book I read was. I have several thousand books in my personal library, but I’m willing to bet that I have less than a half-dozen sci-fi books. My taste in movies or TV shows is pretty similar; I rarely watch sci-fi or fantasy. Even as a kid I was never able to get into them.

So what type of fiction books do I read whenever I actually do pick up something other than non-fiction?

I’ve been pretty vocal over the years about my appreciation/admiration/awe for the work of Sam Shepard. Everything he wrote — from his plays to his prose to poetry to his short story collections — amazes me as a reader and makes me insanely jealous as a writer. I have every book he ever published and just about every play or collection of plays, and I re-read him more than anybody else.

I’m also a huge fan of John Steinbeck and Joan Didion. I think I have just about everything that Steinbeck ever published and I have phases when I fall into a Steinbeck rabbit hole and just tunnel through my Library of America collection of his work, which are treasures. I didn’t get into Joan Didion’s writing until later, so I’m still reading some of her stuff for the first time. I think the fact that I’m from Northern California like Steinbeck (from Salinas) and Didion (who was from Sacramento originally, just like me) helps me put myself in their work in a more intimate way than when I’m trying to read most other writers of fiction. I need that kind of connection to lock on to fiction in the way that I’m able to do with non-fiction. Plus, Steinbeck and Didion also wrote some great non-fiction, so I can get the best of both worlds. Two other authors that I’ve read and re-read many times are Cuba’s heroic founding father, freedom fighter, and martyred revolutionary José Martí and the ingenious, acerbic Ambrose Bierce whose satirical The Devil's Dictionary (BOOK | KINDLE) has miraculously maintained its edginess and razor-sharp humor despite being originally written over 125 years ago.

There’s really not a lot of contemporary fiction that I read. I’m sure I’d find some great stuff if I gave it the chance, but there’s only so many hours in the day that I have to read, so I do tend to give it over to non-fiction, as you might notice when I answer the questions about the books I’ve been recently reading! So, if I am reading fiction, it’s almost always older stuff that I’m finally getting around to reading. During the pandemic, I got lost in the work of Jorge Luis Borges, who I had not spent much time with previously, but I pored through his fiction and poetry. Two more books that I also frequently re-read or pull of the shelves to read pieces of are Baltasar Garcián’s The Art of Worldly Wisdom (BOOK | KINDLE), which was first published in 1647 but still feels fresh 375 years later, and Fernando Pessoa’s brilliant, posthumously published The Book of Disquiet (BOOK | AUDIO | KINDLE).

As for the poets you’ll find on my shelves, it’s probably who you’d expect: Pablo Neruda, Langston Hughes, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Hafiz, Matthew Arnold, William Blake, and Federico García Lorca. Like I mentioned earlier, Sam Shepard and José Martí are two of my favorites for their prose and poetry. I’d especially recommend Shepard’s 1973 book Hawk Moon: Short Stories, Poems, Monologues and Motel Chronicles (BOOK | KINDLE), published in 1982 by the legendary Lawrence Ferlinghetti at San Francisco’s iconic City Lights Books. José Martí’s greatest work is Versos Sencillos (BOOK | KINDLE), originally published in Spanish 1891 but I recommend the excellent dual-language edition translated by Anne Fountain and published by McFarland & Company in 2005. One other poetry book that is always pretty close to my desk is Yevgeny Yevtushenko’s wonderful The Collected Poems, 1952-1990.

And last but not least — but certainly the least surprising — is William Shakespeare. I love Shakespeare. I don’t think that this is a controversial opinion, but Shakespeare is fucking amazing. You guys can share that secret with other people if you feel the need to do so. If someone put a gun to my head and told me I had to pick only three books to read for the rest of my life, the first thing I would do would be to choose Shakespeare’s Complete Works. Actually…the first thing I would do would be to ask why that person felt the need to put a gun to my head just to choose three books to read. That seems unnecessarily aggressive and wildly inappropriate for the task at hand. But after chastising them for their needlessly dangerous tactics, I would choose Shakespeare’s Complete Works — specifically the latest Norton edition with Stephen Greenblatt as general editor (BOOK | DIGITAL).

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girl4music · 2 years

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I’ve just listened to the entire Win With Black Women Twitter Spaces podcast with executive producer and lead writer Felicia D. Henderson and the cast of the entire Burns family of ‘First Kill’. And I just gotta say that I absolutely love how much thought, feeling and passion the writers and the actors have put into the characters of this show and specifically of this particular family dynamic. These characters… the black and POC characters especially… they’re multidimensional. They’re full of charisma and emotion and intelligence… and everything that matters. They’re whole ass human beings.

As it should be! Black and POC characters should have that dimensionality in art/entertainment, especially of the visual kind, so the audience can see for themselves the amazing range these talented human beings have but never usually have the opportunity to showcase due to discrimination in the work place and in the industry. And listening to the executive producer and the cast talk about all the representation they have in this show… I gotta say, I really trust them. I trust them to deliver us a fantastic Season 2. I trust them to deliver us a happy WLW ending between our main protagonists - our beloved Calliette. I trust them to deliver great representation.

I can hear and feel the authenticity in their voices and words. I can sense their conviction. I. TRUST. THEM.

I’ve got a lot of love and respect for a writers room that has got a lot of love and respect for each other and for the work that they do in bringing forth full authentic representation to marginalised groups of people. That is so fucking rare to get and to have. I’m just floored. I’m very invested in this show now because I’m realizing that it’s not a show with a cast/crew that doesn’t like what they do and only does it for the money. It’s a whole ass family of like-minded people with the same ultimate goal that are very determined on achieving it. And I will happily, without any hesitation or condition, give them every ounce of my love and support to help them achieve all of it.

What particularly really amazes me is the showrunner; Felicia D. Henderson is really listening to the cast’s ideas and views and wishes and choices for their characters. I haven’t seen that level of creative freedom and acceptance from the head of any TV show since ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’. So I know in my gut that this is something very special I’ve discovered and have become a very loyal part of. You guys have to trust me when I say this is worth it. Just listening to this podcast alone will convince you. They come from a very genuine and humble place. I very much doubt they’ll become corrupt or power hungry which happens so often in the art/entertainment industry.

‘First Kill’ will have extremely loyal and intense supporters and I’m proud and honoured to be one. God I am so happy that I took a chance on this show.

Finally, to Netflix,…

if you’re reading.

Don’t let us down. Renew this show for a Season 2. Because I will fucking cry my eyes out if you cancel it and you will not receive my custom ever again!

#first kill #win with black women #twitter spaces #burns family #felicia d henderson #imani lewis #aubin wise #jason r moore #dominic goodman #phillip mullings jr.#mk xyz #black representation #poc representation #black lives matter #I’m so impressed with this cast/crew #we’re getting that season 2 if it’s the last thing I do #netflix

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i-am-hughesgroup · 9 months

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AN (UN)OFFICIAL INTRODUCTION

I got hit with the FanFic bug about two months ago for Thai actors MewGulf who represented a BL novel called TharnType. My passion for this has been endless. Everyone has to be hot potatoes about something right? ***Sigh***

Believe me when I say that I had never heard of FanFic as a writing platform before this! The idea of writing for someone else’s hard work seemed disrespectful. I didn’t understand it as a useful writing tool like prompts. Slowly I realized that sometimes readers become so enthused that it creates a void others try to fill.

Seriously, I’ve heard so much in conjunction with these apps authors use to publish. Watt Pad and Medium are the two I have ventured into. With AI emergence I’ve been hit square in the face, that as a new, trying to be published author, the creative space is wearing thin. The ideas are flowing but constantly in the back of my mind is ‘AI’ can do it better. I kind of feel like the most important part of me, the part that puts words to paper has gotten lost to the shuffling of time. I was always hoping others can relate, and no one, when reading my work, would be looking for the color of my skin. You got what you got. Simple.

Now I feel that writing is definitely for the young.

At this moment just from introductions I have read on Tumblr alone, it seems a writer must dig into to the very heart of themselves just to be heard. The inquiries expected when reading my work have expanded. It’s no longer whether I’m old, or I’m black, or a little too strong in vocalizing my thoughts into something easily read. It’s about influence in numbers or worry that I may not have enough influence to get those numbers. May not have enough views or likes. As I was slow at one time to understand, FanFic, is vicious! If you go there…be prepared! Social Media has definitely made it real.

Goddess I love it!

Maybe I should have said that with a little more professional candor. But I am hoping that you see my point in the messy message.

I can fight AI.

AI is the toolkit that has nothing to do until someone picks it up.

It’s prophetic future is indeed coming with a wave of solutions and societal changes. It can imitate our speech and talk about religion. It can even tell us how to solve life’s problems. But always I am reminded that with all its miraculous possibilities, it still has no heart. FanFicis a perfect example of this.

MewGulf, these FanFic idols, created The Waanjai, “Sweethearts” for the non Thai speakers, of which I am a shameless member. My crazy found a home in millions of people from all over the world! And I got my writing groove back because of it. For weeks I stood outside the light because I couldn’t answer a simple question…who am I?

For now, I am a writer, a poet, and an artist for whatever reason I may need. I love being able to better visualize my characters. I love being apart of the writers community. More importantly, my happiness comes from being a WAANJAI.

Why?

Because every writer, has so much to offer. Without writers a suffering voice can go unheard. Freedom to express yourself or fight for your rights would go unnoticed. Words are a powerful tool that move society forward. I love being apart of collective. If I had only today to tell anyone who I am as a person, as a writer, I would say I am a collective communicator. I don’t want to write just for one woman of one community. I want to want write in the voice of all women everywhere. Sharing like FanFic is shared and loved by many. Our footsteps are the same no matter where in the world we live.

As I gain my public voice and broker the silence, I can only hope my characters reach as many people as I am, with humility, allowed.

S.A. Hughes

#writeblr #writers and poets #writer tumblr #writing #writerscommunity #fanfic #get to know me #get motivated #send me asks #ask me anything #send asks

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lostlambs-ifgame · 2 years

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The Semi-Important Announcement

Hi everyone long time no see! I thought it’d been only two weeks but then I blinked and it was almost two months. Did not mean for that to happen. But I’m back (for now until life gets in the way again) and with a semi, somewhat, sort of important announcement.

I’ve decided to “revamp” the setting of Lost Lambs! This probably isn’t too surprising if you’ve seen my other posts where I’m whining about history being history lol. So, I’ll be changing the setting from the real world to a realistic fictional world. Nothing too crazy or drastic. Just something that would save me a lot of unnecessary stress and a lot of time. Long story short/tldr - what would this actually change?

Almost nothing! Other than a little worldbuilding and edits to the current demo, the overall plot wouldn’t change at all. The setting would just go from actual Gilded Age/Edwardian era to a world inspired by said eras instead (which is basically what it already was but this time with more creative freedom.)

Under the cut is some more rambling and an explanation behind this decision if anyone is curious.

Lost Lambs was never supposed to be super historically accurate and I’ve said that before so no one expects it but it’s been bothering me more than I expected. The more I write the more it bothers me and then the less I actually want to write. It got to the point where I’d write dialogue and every five seconds I’d stop to ask myself: “Oh no, is this accurate? Is this too out place?” Then I’d go down a rabbit hole of research and all my excitement would be drained by the end because I’d overwhelm myself. I’m sure a better, more experienced writer could’ve handled this but as an amateur who is doing this for fun, it was sapping away exactly that – the fun.

I tried to stick it out, but if it’s getting in the way of actually finishing anything - I’d rather make a world of my own where I can have as much fun with the setting as I want. The new setting won’t be anything too out there. It’ll still be inspired by the American East Coast but any references to real world locations will be scrapped. This is going to be Jaymee’s Earth: Jarth (this is a placeholder joke name).

I’ll have the updated demo ready and posted in October plus the beginning part of Chapter Two! I wanted to post Ch 2 in its entirety because I feel bad that it’s been a whole year since Ch 1 dropped. But since I have to rewrite almost all the dialogue I don’t think it’ll be completely finished until the end of the year 😅Again, thank you all for reading and sticking with me! I say this all the time but I really appreciate each and every like/ask/comment and all the quiet, subtle support. It means the world to me as someone who has always wanted to share my writing but has never had the opportunity to do so. Much love and thank yous!! 🖤🖤🖤

(also a special thank you to @hpowellsmith who was kind enough to answer my random question about settings!)

#trying to resist the urge to go crazy w/ worldbuilding #must resist #gonna try to be more active too #nursing is killin me #lost lambs update #ramblings

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crystallinestars · 10 months

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Hi! I hope you're doing well!

Firstly just wanted to say I absolutely love how you write, your stories fill me with great comfort and warmth <3. Thank you for providing us with amazing content!

And secondly, I was wondering if you'd ever considered opening written commissions? I'd definitely be down to slam my credit card because your talent has me 😩💳💥 yk?

Regardless thank you sm for taking the time to read this!

Aww Anon, thank you for taking the time to write such a sweet message! I’m so glad my writing gives you comfy feelings, it’s the greatest compliment anyone could give me! It makes me happy to know something I make brightens someone else’s day.

As for commissions, I’m not sure if I’m the best person for them. I deliberately didn’t label myself as an ask blog because I wanted the freedom to write things the way I want without worrying about meeting an expectation of a requester. I know my creativity would tank if I’m constantly stressing about whether the requester liked what I wrote or not. I’m not a very confident writer 😅. On top of that, I have a very busy life with a full-time job and other obligations that take up a good chunk of my weekends. I know I don’t have the time to write and fulfill commissions frequently even if I wished I did. And if I do take commissions, I won’t accept money for them. Again, I’m not a confident writer and I don’t want to make people pay for a product they might not like.

I can consider taking on a commission or two if I get ideas for the prompt and you wouldn’t mind waiting a long time for me to complete the piece (I’m talking like a month or two. I don’t have the energy to write every day, sadly). If you’re alright with these criteria then I’m open to receiving your request, though be warned that I’ve never fulfilled commissions before.

#Lunaria answers

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andagii-writes · 11 months

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Revisions are chugging along!

Honestly, it’s kinda exciting to get these revisions going, because I feel like I can see how my writing has both matured and healed with me.

Yep. Healing. Allow me to be vulnerable for a bit here.

CW: depression, alcohol

At the beginning of the year, I once again spiraled into those familiar dark places you may have seen me mention both here and in my A/Ns. The spiral this time, however, twisted so sharply that I was semi-regularly breaking down into horrid sobs in the middle of work. My thoughts at that time were that oh-so-timeless concoction of self-hatred, self-invalidation, self-criticism, rage, apathy, and a whole lot of lying to other people about how I was feeling.

My strategy back then was to wait it out.

“One of these days I’ll feel better.”

“I’m just PMS-ing.”

“I’ll just grab some junk food or some liquor.”

Writing, at that time, made me physically ill. Brainstorming, no problem, cloud nine. Editing and revising? Slam my head against a wall over and over again. The less I wrote, the more I hated myself, and the more I hated myself, I wrote even less.

Me? Depressed? No, no, I can’t be. Burnout, sure. Depressed, no, no, no.

So why, I kept asking myself, did I wake up every morning with a profound sadness weighing like an anvil on my chest?

Not depression, I kept telling myself. Sure, I had episodes of The Big Sad, but I knew what happiness felt like too. I had that during lockdown, when I didn’t need to answer to anyone but myself.

I’m sliding back. I can’t slide back. Please don’t let me slide back to before that!

So, in the middle of work, in a numb haze, I signed up for online therapy. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew what I wanted: to NOT slide back to those dark places and to stop lapsing into those sad cycles. Even if a therapist told me I’d have to live with this grayness for the rest of my life, as long as I could get some kind of guidance to help me through it, I was going to take my signing up for therapy as a win.

I was matched with a therapist that not only talked me through my issues, but also guided me along a meditative process that helped me reach some deep roots to my sadness. I worked with her for a few months, learned new tools, remembered some old ones, and came out of therapy in June-ish feeling like I’ve really, actually processed the worst of my scars.

I’m still applying those same strategies to other issues as they crop up, and the progress I see myself making have been... extraordinary.

I have goals now. A little bit of ambition. I can take better stock of my emotions, understand them, and work through them to reach the core of what those emotions mean. Sure, I can still be cynical and maybe a little anxious, but those things don’t rule me anymore.

I now have a very profound freedom in and from myself, which is how I’ve been able to get the writing gears going again. I know what my meditative and creative states feel like, and I’ve figured out that pesky work-life balance a little too!

The places I’ve been kept me away from replying to reviews, but please know - if you’ve read this far - that your positive comments, kudos, and bookmarks over at AO3 have constantly buoyed me. Some readers have told me that A Drop Echoes helped them through some tough times, and I’m so glad and thankful that I’ve been able to repay your support through my writing.

My goal is to finish some projects. Like before, Within the Hearts of Sunset Stars is at the top of the list - I don’t want to keep you all hanging on that one.

With Chapter 4, though, I think you may notice a difference in quality. I really and truly hope you will enjoy the evolution that’s taken place.

Thank you again for your time and support, everyone! This writer has nothing but gratitude for you all!

#writing #writeblr #amwriting #mental health #actual blogging #cw: depression #cw: alcohol #i feel much better and peaceful these days #even if the world is going to shit i hope that my stories will keep everyone going #thank you!

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bad-surprise · 1 year

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For the writer ask game! (answer however many you want I'm just way too curious lol)

❤️💥🚀🥳🌻💛🔮(asking for a friend for that one 😅)🎨

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

again, i can’t pick a definitive favorite, but i’m really proud of this bit from chapter 4 of the shark in your water

If ever a need should arise for Galadriel to provide a full physical description of Halbrand— if he were to go missing or something— she feels certain she would struggle to provide a cohesive image. Her mind breaks him down into pieces, as though the sum total of the man is far beyond her processing capacity. Every attempt to consider him as a whole leaves her stranded in the same limbo she encounters when peering at her own reflection in the bathroom mirror for too long. He exists as a hand on her skin, the curve of a shoulder, a set of smirking lips, or, most frequently, varying shades of green.

💥 What is one canon thing that you wish you could change?

i write a non-canon ship so i think i’d probably want to make that canon so we could end the silly arguments around it haha

🚀 Do you like to outline your fic first or create as you go?

up until a few months ago i was huge on outlining. now i tend to keep more of a loose, very flexible concept in my head, and i might write down key moments. i almost always know the ending before i begin, but so many of my favorite bits of my fics have come about well into writing them.

🥳 Why did you start writing fanfic?

i abandoned a novel in 2019 and didn’t write a word for two years while dealing with some health issues that i still haven’t fully recovered from.

i really lost my confidence during that time and felt completely incapable of doing anything for myself, but decided i wanted to write again right around the time rings of power came out. i wrote a novel while reading other fics, then in december finally decided to take a chance and post my own work and now y’all can’t get rid of me.

🌻 How often do you read your own fics?

in their entirety? almost never. as they get longer i find myself needing to go back more frequently to check that the general shape of the fic feels correct, but i find it really cringe inducing to read my own work until a significant amount of time has passed. i generally think everything i write is trash until i have at least a month away from it.

💛 What is the most impactful lesson you’ve learned about writing?

i think i’ve found a lot more freedom in writing since i started writing haladriel. i remember sitting in college classes and feeling envious of my classmates because it felt like they had no internal censor. through writing this ship— and particularly writing dark content— i’ve really been able dismantle a lot of my preconcieved notions about myself and my writing. i don’t know if that’s a decent answer, but it’s the one i’ve got.

🔮 Any advice for writers working through burnout or writer’s block?

oof. i really struggle with this. the biggest thing i would say is that it’s a lot easier to write if you’re letting yourself be a full person. i always say i’m too busy to read, but when i find time for it, the difference in my work is incredible. i also would say maybe try another creative pursuit that isn’t writing?

but more than anything? just remind yourself that it will pass. you will write again, even if it feels impossible.

🎨 If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

i answered this in the last ask i got, but honestly, the idea of anyone making fanart for my silly little stories makes me smile.

#answered #fic writer ask game

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thatone-highlighter · 2 years

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as much fun as the 4K word CAWM post is I’m moving this to the ask box since I don’t have as much to say.

I would totally recommend looking through bmos room and the stuff in there ! There is just sooo many references in there it’s so cool, (and there is so much to pick through in the 1000+ theme song/intro)

Oh yeah 100%, BMO makes me sad in a way, how they r basically destined to outlive most of their friends (except for the few immortal bunch like Marceline n PB)

Heheheheeh I’m am gonna procrastinate on SO much stuff while infodumping about fern to you >:3

Oh yeah the Gumbald arc is definitely one of the ones that got most affected by it getting cut short, oh yeah the adventure time finale is pretty well received, even with some of the pacing issues n stuff, DEFINITELY WAY BETTER ECIVED THAN THE SU FINALE HO,Y SHIT, yeah I feel like people can be way to harsh on su, it’s definitely not perfect but god,

Lmao fanon lumpygrab is obviously a mixed bag like with literally every ship but it’s not really a ship i go seeking content for ? So when I do get it’s from accounts I already follow and stuff,. idk where I was going w this, you probably get what I mean, hopefully,

Tragic characters are my everything, just,, god I just don’t get people who don’t enjoy any angst at all. Like cmon I love my blorbos and wish for them to be happy but I also want to throw them into a fire and vivisection them and just make them go through so much shit.

Yeah yeah, the Finn losing his arm in golb thing is just intresting to think about, although is definitely not something I would have wanted in the show .

adventure time music grrrrrrrrrrrr

(Also I wrote this while listening to still alive from portal 1 on repeat. why did I tell you this ? Why not tbh)

I cant belige you could abandon the giant cawm post like this- /j

Okay so i actually just started having a look at the intro and bmo’s room so im just gonna say a bunch of stuff i noticed

I think its pretty cool that Shermy and Beth live in Marceline’s old house and then Finn and Jake also lived in Marceline’s old house too it seems poetic in some kinda way. I wonder how many other iterations of them shes leant her house to over the thousands of years, because thinking about that first introductory episode shes in, from memory if almost feels like shes done that before. So.

Why does BMO have a guillotine on the damn roof of their house . Is going around decapitating ppl a thing they just Regularly do or- . We got statue of KoO, the crowns, IKs drum but it looks kinda busted, lady rainicorns translator thing(?), bmo’s skateboard from that one episode, that soda girl, james baxters balls, the hat from the lady armour, oh the broken clock! , lsp’s number plate, amo just. Open on the table like its normal, one of those books looks like ones of the ones IK was reading on how to get bitches or smthn, is that lsp’s star??!??!, jake’s viola, a portrait of banana man?

Also that Is meant to be sweet pea right? The giant walking around?

The idea of characters who live forever is so sad to me. Im glad that bmo Isnt the only one because if they were it wiuld just be awful, Bonnie and Marcy have eachother but i hope they go visit bmo from time to time it would be really sad if they ended up all alone :(

I am taking this as a chance to go Insane over SU because somehow all this being insane over AT has made me want to do that. I could kinda i guess see how people could be unsatisfied with the ending of SU, i didnt have many expectations to be let down by by the finale but i also watched it when i was like 12 so. But even if you had issues with it once you found out that they got ruched into a finale and Why they got rushed into a finale you would think you’d cut the writers a but more slack but people Dont. And even outside of DD and CYM most of the issues people have with the show aren’t even that big a deal, “oh the art-style is inconsistent” okay? And? They let the storyboarders have a bit of creative freedom “oh the characters are off model a lot” okay?? As long as you can tell who they’re meant to be and as long as character a is taller than character b who cares??? “Oh the writing is really badly paced with a bunch of filler episodes everywhere all the time” 1. Thats not what filler means and 2. Its written like that because of the stupid fucking steven bomb format that it got aired in. Its a kids show thats just trying to tell a story about this kid with a magic gem in his belly that gives him super powers calm down okay tje first episode is about him thinking his powers come from eating ice cream(i mean this in the most affectionate way possible). No one is saying the show is perfect nothing is perfect if you personally dont like it just say you dont like it you dont have to try and come up with reasons why you dont and you especially dont have to insult and be mean people who do like it for no reason. Man

I get what u mean with the lumpy grab thing. Like most the stuff you see for it are from creators who make other content you already like so chances are when they make that content youll like it too even if you’re not overly fond of the ship itself. Brain to brain communication

TRAGIC CHARACTERS MY BELOVED. Weve been over this so many times but theyre so !!

Holy shit still alive!! I love that song i used to listen to it a bunch before id ever even played portal properly its such a vibin song i put it on whole i was writing this out <3 thank u for reminding me of its existence

#man we got all the good shit in one oost we got AT we got SU we got Portal all we need is minecraft and we set #i got. So into that SU rant for No Reason. i just rlly like it and the pol who critique it have such bad criticisms #wait fuck is this a theme i have #SU🤝ID things duck likes that ppl criticise for no reason and think liking them is cringe #well thats todays realisation down #i have a fucking encyclopaedic knowledge of SU or some shit someone will mention a scene in passing and i could tell you Exactly #when and where that scene is from its SO funny every time it comes up #Tree Man Posts #asks #and so the adventure time live blog continues

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bookstoreadbtr · 4 months

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Unveiling Creativity: A Journey through the Literary Universe with W.K. Lawrence

W.K. Lawrence, a versatile author with a passion for storytelling that spans across various genres, invites us into the depths of his creative universe in this interview. From poetry to novels, Lawrence's literary journey has been a vibrant exploration of creativity and self-discovery. Join us as we delve into Lawrence's insights on writing, publishing, and the inspirations behind some of his notable works.

1. When did you discover your passion for writing?

My passion for writing started with a passion for story. I always enjoyed reading, and being read to and being told stories as a kid. Then it was TV shows, movies, professional wrestling. I found a story wherever I could. My writing really started with poetry and lyrics in my teens and then evolved into short stories when I was in college. When I was about 24, I started to really take writing seriously. It’s part of who I am now. Even when I was writing a lot of nonfiction academic material, I was always dreaming of getting back to the creative work, and I finally did in 2014 when I started work on The Punk and the Professor.

2. What encouraged you to make the leap of faith to publish your first book?

My first book was a collection of my early poems. I just really wanted to share something with the world. I was young and the writing was raw and blunt. There are a few good ones in there, but most of those old poems are just exercises. My next poetry collection due out later this year is a world away from the poems in that first book. There is a lot of progress in the next one in terms of maturity in both the content and style.

3. How did you get started with the publishing process?

The process is different with each book. The first book was with an old extinct publisher that did just a few titles of local authors. I have eleven books out now and a twelfth and thirteenth on the way. Take for example, my nonfiction book, The Bell’s Book. That was a book written on accident. In 2019, I woke up with this crazy, rare, but temporary disease called Bell’s palsy. In my learning about the disease, I produced a guidebook to help others. Naturally, you take it right to a press you have connections to. As an indie writer, I like the small press options because you don’t have to compete or wait years to publish the book.

4. What were three things you learned about the publishing process?

Be patient in the process. Take another day to look things over. No matter how many people look at the book before it’s published, it’s going to have problems in the final version you discover later. And nothing is ever perfect. I also appreciate the artistic freedom indie writers have.

5. What was a mistake you made you have used as a lesson learned?

Give cover art more consideration. But honestly, every new book teaches me something about writing and makes me better at what I do. It’s no lie that learning by doing is the best way. You could go to all the lectures in the world, all the conferences, all the workshops, and they’re not going to do what the action of writing does for you. In fact, all of those things might end up confusing you more, taking up a lot of time, and costing a lot of money. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to hear what more experienced folks have done. Reflective introverted learners learn a lot just by seeing models and hearing great advice, but you have to do the lifting yourself to really apply those lessons.

6. What advice would you give an aspiring author?

If you really love to write, write. Don’t write about writing. Just write. You don’t need a degree, though a program is a great networking tool and a place to really gain some wisdom from experienced authors, and if you’re lucky you’ll meet fellow writers you trust to help critique your writing. But don’t spend too much time worried about what other people think. You have to read too. Read a lot. Reading a lot of different books is what matures our craft. I truly think everyone has a story in them to share with the world. Most won’t ever tell it though. Tap into it and find your story and tell it.

7. What inspired the book, “Highway Zero”?

Highway Zero is my fourth written novel, but second published. It’s the sequel to Punk and Professor, and I knew when I was finishing Punk that there would have to be a sequel. I actually knew exactly how it ended, and so the first page written was the last page or two of the novel. The sequel was on hold for a while and delayed due to the distractions of the disease that led to The Bell’s Book, but once it got going the book wrote itself. It was a quick, spontaneous, and adventurous writing that mirrored the story. I’m proud of it. I think it’s a better book than the first.

8. What is a brief summary/synopsis of “Highway Zero”?

Highway Zero is about a young man who wants to move on from everything he’s ever known, yet he’s haunted by everything and can’t really let go of it. On a quest for love and shelter, the character hits the road, explores America, and finally ends up at a university. But that doesn’t solve his problems. It probably makes everything worse with all the pressures and substances around. He goes through a monumental transformation.

9. What was the biggest lesson you learned during publishing “Highway Zero”?

Again, tap into it. Get into the groove of writing and let it take you away. I was hypnotized in a trance as I wrote it. Much of it was in the middle of the night. Don’t resist it. Ride the wave.

10. What inspired the book, “The Punk and the Professor”?

The first published novel was inspired by my own adolescent troubles. Jack really has a lot of me in him, yet there are differences. I published another book titled 89 Days, which goes into the differences between me and the fictional character, and it also shares a few outtakes cut from the final novel. The book is fiction, but as Camus once said “Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.” There’s a lot of real people and real problems in that book. Parents who read it would be horrified that that kind of stuff goes on with teenagers, just children really. It’s a sociological case study.

11. What is a brief summary/synopsis of “The Punk and the Professor”?

The Punk and the Professor is a school novel that shows a troubled introverted kid faced with a big decision about his future. It’s do or die. He sees a lot of trouble around his neighborhood and in his family but doesn’t know what to do about it. He’s pretty helpless, but he fights on. I’d like to think it’s an inspirational story that pays tribute to the good teachers and alternative schools.

12. Are there any book/author events for you in 2023/2024?

Maybe in late spring or summer, but probably not many in person events. That’ll all be explained in the fourth sequel.

13. Where can your future fans follow you on social media?

https://twitter.com/Wklawrence on Twitter or whatever it’s called now

14. Do you have a website?

15. If you were on a twenty-four-hour non-stop flight, what three books would you take with you, and why?

That sounds like a rough flight! I’d probably want to be immersed in a completely new book so they’d be mostly books I haven’t read yet. Since that flight’s probably taking me to Australia, I’d pick a nonfiction book about Australia. Maybe I’d reread a Carver collection of stories. The third book would have to be one from one of my indie writer friends. Reading fellow indie writers has given me a fresh outlook on reading. You get fresh ideas and fresh voices. They’re not pushed by some corporation or extensive marketing campaign, and they’re not a brand. I’d much rather support someone’s art rather than make wealthy writers wealthier. David Carter, Sean DeLauder, Ben Shaberman, Matthew McConkey, Dana Vacca, all have great fiction books to check out.

16. What lesson(s) have you learned in 2023 that you will use in 2024?

After getting really close to my characters using first person narrative in the first two novels, I’ve learned how to write better characters in third person. I got it out of my system and I’m ready to make a big transition to third person in the third one. It sets everything up for where I want to take the fourth book.

17. If you had the chance to have lunch and conversation with any author dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Dead, it might be Mary and Percy Shelley. Not sure how much fun they’d be, but I’d have a lot in common with them. For an author who is still alive, I’d sit down with someone, but you don’t know their name yet.

This interview with W.K. Lawrence has provided a fascinating glimpse into the world of a passionate and dedicated writer. From the early beginnings of discovering a love for storytelling to navigating the complexities of the publishing process, Lawrence's journey exemplifies the resilience and creativity required to succeed in the literary world.

Through his candid reflections on lessons learned and inspirations found, Lawrence offers valuable advice for aspiring authors, emphasizing the importance of perseverance, continuous learning, and staying true to one's unique voice. His dedication to the craft of writing shines through in each word, resonating with readers eager to embark on literary adventures that provoke thought and stir the imagination.

As Lawrence continues to enrich the literary landscape with his captivating narratives and compelling characters, we eagerly anticipate the release of his upcoming works and the development of his craft. With a website and social media presence inviting readers to connect and explore further, Lawrence's influence extends beyond the pages of his books, fostering a community of storytelling enthusiasts united by a shared love for the written word.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to W.K. Lawrence for sharing his insights and experiences with us, inspiring both aspiring writers and seasoned literary enthusiasts alike. May his journey continue to inspire creativity and ignite a passion for storytelling in all who encounter his work.

#books #book worm #bookworm #book nerd #reading #book life #book #readers #books to read #kindle books #authors #author interview #author interviews #reading community #reader community #books and reading #bookblr #book blog

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