#teaching mindful writers

[snapbookreviews]

Summer 2023 Behind-the-Scenes

We've got a graphic memoir from John Leguizamo, Jewish vampires, the Witcher, and Damon Runyon, as well as a big announcement about life events and things to come.

Ya boy is in grad school! I started on August 28! I have an office! Some changes have already begun. You probably noticed that this month’s review did not come out on the Wednesday schedule. That schedule has gone out the window. We’re now on a schedule based on how much and when I have things due. For these behind-the-scenes reading posts, the biggest change is that I’ve had to pump the breaks…

View On WordPress

#andrzej sapkowski #blood libel #brain jackson #frankenstein #ghetto klown #john leguizamo #leigh ann hussey #mary shelly #sword of destiny #teaching mindful writers

[crimeronan]

thinkin about these lines in the beginning of hollow mind:

and

just. god i love it so much. WHAT a clever-yet-subtle use of foreshadowing. like obviously the audience knows that luz is about to find something big, given everything about belos..... but these lines aren't Really about the overarching season-long plot at all.

luz starting the episode out saying "i need to show people who belos really is" and eda asking "and who is he, really?" what a fun way to say Haha. Luz Is About To Find Out.

This Sure Is An Episode About The Finding Out Part Of Fucking Around!

and the second exchange isn't about the general population of the boiling isles at all. it's about hunter.

thesis statements, themes, etc. hunter doesn't want to think he's wasted his life following the wrong person. luz is about to spend an entire episode searching for something big enough to change his mind. and she won't find it for a long time, because that's how cult abuse and cognitive dissonance and the sunk cost fallacy work.

luz and hunter are both so completely unequipped for what each of them is about to discover. it's gonna color their relationship and their individual senses of self for the Entire Rest Of The Show. they are NOT READY for how their lives are about to change, and neither of them know it.

but the writers do.

so the writers are saying.

:)

:)

:)

okay, kiddos. let's pull the pin on all these grenades.

#toh #toh meta #horrible mindscape trauma pals #hollow mind #i've been thinking about these lines since rewatching the ep just a couple days ago so. late meta #i'm sure other people have also pointed this out it's just. I Love It So Much #toh is one of those pieces of media that can teach you how to write if you analyze it enough #writers who Know What The Fuck Theyre Doing!!!! MY BELOVED!!!! #luz noceda #hunter toh #pulled out my computer to write this post now im going back to doing stuff.... will check my notes and inbox later

[idliketobeatree]

"he should be at the club" he should be sitting on the front porch with me, long limbs streched out on the last step, a cup of lukewarm black coffee by his hand, feet bare and buried in the overgrown grass. he should be wearing freshly washed linens still smelling of wind. and i should come up to him quietly, unhurriedly, resting a hand on top of that head, maybe even thread my fingers through his sun-bleached hair if he'll let me. it's midday in may and all is buzzing and content.

#good omens #crowley #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #ineffable spouses #south downs cottage #good omens ficlet #aziraphale x crowley #aziracrow #to be fair. i was writing this with at least three characters in mind so i'm tagging all of them. free of charge #ofmd #gentlebeard #stede bonnet #edward teach #doctor who #fourteenth doctor #14th doctor #dw #marcela writes #not me disguising yet another snippet as a funny.txt i beg myself to get serious with writing for a moment and that's how it ends #writing #writers on tumblr #memes

[highpri3stess]

"Skin so pale/translucent skin/looks white like a ghost/white skin/milky thighs"

Me *looks at my black ass self*: Damn I don't have any of those 😔

#anime x reader #being black means having it at the back of your mind that many white writers won't have you at the back of their mind when writing #which is kinda sad cause I don't want anyone to be excluded from my fics and I try to make it all inclusive #when you're black you always have to remember other people #a lot of white writers don't remember that black people read their stuff #no hate to you all but like if you're gonna write 'pale milky skin' just add white y/n in your labels thank you #jujutsu kaisen x reader #tokyo revengers x reader #x black reader #x reader #i'm so tired of enjoying a fic only to see 'white milky skin' #yes I blush cause I am light skinned (NOT WHITE) but it is still alienating to darker people too #this is a teaching moment #please remember us in your fics

[leg0joker]

Need ofmd fanfic beta ples

#ofmd s2 #ofmd frenchie #ofmd lucius #ofmd jim #ofmd edward teach #ofmd izzy #losing my mind about ofmd #ofmd fandom #ofmd #save ofmd #beta wanted #beta writer needed #ao3

[obessivedork]

TBH as a writer appreciating the set-up of a character I ADORE Vivienne but her lack of proper character arc & the inability to argue with her more is as infuriating as with most of your companions in DAI, if not more when you play a Mage because you CAN’T grab her by the shoulders and shake her and say Ma’am if you’d had worse luck and wound up literally anywhere other than the Circle you did wind up at you would be a fundamentally different person please for Maker’s sake admit out loud that you only like the Circles because you managed to etch yourself some limited social power out of the broken and corrupt system you might not otherwise have been able to get for yourself and therefore you have not suffered the true effects of it!!!!

#not to mention real world issues with her being one of the VERY FEW important POC but I'm too white to discuss that well #just want it mentioned that I am aware of that #She's SO interesting I'm rotating her in my mind but I want to DRAG her to the fucking gallows circa pre-Hawke's rise to champiion!!!!! #I want to drag her to Kinloch and have her look the innocent children the Templars wanted to murder in the EYES #and tell them they deserve this for the crime of being born #She is SUCH a product of Chantry fearmongering and brainwashing it's so fascinating!! #Also the fact that her little story revolves around her lover and only her lover? bite bite bite maim kill BAD WRITERS >:( #/SHE/ should've got the Tranquil plot line. The realization that those people are lobotomized for profit and no actual REAL reasons #This is CANNON the Tranquil exist to FUND the circle and also because the chantry would rather fearmonger than teach to control magic #Like I don't expect her to pull a complete 180 on the Chantry and Circles but for fucks sake give me A LITTLE GROWTH PLEASE #She's the same bad bitch (affectionate) that she was in the beginning at the end! Just a little more politically powerful! It's SO BORING! #IDK. She could've been the divine that bans the practice of tranquility or something. #But bioware want us to forget the tranquil because they make their mage vs templar '''grey''' OBJECTIVELY AND CLEARLY NOT GREY #anyways the way DAI /WASTES/ its most interesting character concepts makes me SO mad and she's the biggest example imo #She & Sera PISS ME OFF with their wasted potential #tagging for my blog's sorting system not here to be a dick #dai #dragon age

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

last post I rb’d got me thinking soooo much about community & writing, especially in fiction. a huge part of being a poet is the community itself, there’s an aspect of craft that relies on collaboration. I think people mistake inspiration and recreation as plagiarism. a couple years ago I had a couple very, very minor issues on writeblr with plagiarism (you might remember my plagiarism disclaimers that I still see ppl use!), & while obviously don’t plagiarize, there’s a difference between copying and honouring or emulating. I love that there’s an entire genre of poetry called “honouring poems” (at least that’s how I leaned about them) & that there exists a type of writing practice where intertextuality and collaboration in recognition of work you love are integral! so a note that if you like my work and would like to emulate things I do, etc, I LOVE that! not the same thing as copying so don’t steal my work lol, but I learn a lot by trying techniques from other writers or testing out ideas that intrigue me. it makes me wonder if there’s a subsection in the original fiction community that DOES write “after” or in honour of work they love… it’s easy to see a poem honours another by reading the subtitle or the notes, but I don’t see that in fiction… and I would like to!

#btw not all writers like when ppl write ‘after’ them even some poets so I try to ask permission when I know I want to #seek publication for something (but not everyone does that it’s just a personal choice) #& honestly I am also just anxious so that gives me peace of mind lol #anyway re the plagiarism thing if ur like omg was she talking to me no LOL I am not! & idec those ppl were just having fun #not to diminish that plagiarism can get real serious but it’s clear to me that what happened back then wasn’t malicious #anyway I think it’s all about what you bring into the writing like #I always bring respect and admiration into my work when I pull from other ppl #& anyway writing school teaches writing as such an insular process but it doesn’t have to be #I like being inspired by others and inspiring others like that makes me so excited! #art that inspires other art that inspires other art #anyway this isn’t the most coherent post lol but I just wanted to say that!

[gaydryad]

accidentally getting a little too into my pedagogy class and starting to wonder if I should pivot and go into education (academic field)

#from the writer's den #void talks #not me seeing a paper on co-constructed rubrics as a potentially more positive route for writing assignments and pogging a little.......... #I'd be embarrassed but it was actually a really interesting read #and at multiple points while reading I was like wow I would love to try this in class as part of Contributing To The Science #like deadass... #specifically for creative writing I would be interested in merging it a bit with the stuff in the anti-racist writing workshop (book title) #about collaboratively defining craft terms with students as a means of community building #like that'd be interesting to look at! rubrics shmubrics frankly I don't think they have a place in creative writing but like #if we expand it to thinking generally about assessment--which is inevitable in any credit-giving class--I think it applies #ESPECIALLY !!! since one of the things that the authors talk about is how rubrics in general are a useful way of standardizing grading #and guess what !! non-standardized grading is also a big issue when it comes to equalizing across race class etc #so like genuinely I think there's something there #and I would love to do a little study on it #frankly I might just do so since I'll be teaching next year and have basically free book on course design #at very least will be keeping this in mind for later in the semester when we'll be talking about assessment #but anyway. marge meme (holds up the field of education studies) I just think it's neat #and I have so much respect for it

[epitomeofreal81]

Buy me books…

#books #new books #read to me #teach me #guide me #lead me #educate me #sapiosexual #words #ttm #tell me stories #expand my mind #quotes #poetry #latoria #love #art #writer #twitter #black twitter

[theeladyking]

#just sayin... #i'm not gonna say the specific fic premise i'm thinking of...yet #but know that i have one in mind #also #he doesn't talk like that #i feel like in an effort to keep from aziraphale-izing stede's speech too much a lot of writers dumb ed's speech down #to keep a contrast between their speaking patterns #which first of all is gross #and second usually doesn't work anyway #it's bad is what i'm saying #ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd fic #ofmd fanfic #ofmd fanfiction #edward teach #blackbeard #twitter

[ruegracieuse]

this is random and a little embarrassing but i was curious about ur blog so i read a little and then was charmed by the way you write and express yourself and found myself relating a lot to how you have described your relationship to creativity, to the daunting challenges by the actual praxis and being a midwife to one's own creative visions and dreams and i hope you have cultivated and realized more of your courage in actualizing your ambitions as i can already tell they would be delightful to experience and witness ! I hope life is being kind to you 🤍

Hi! Please don't be embarrassed - this message is so lovely! I've been in a bit of a funk today and it sounds silly but reading this really made the clouds break a little bit :-) I really love the way you express yourself as well, this message is so well-written and the beautifully written. I love the phrase 'midwife to one's own creative visions' - it is really true that fostering and sustaining both creativity and courage is a delicate, ongoing and often exhausting task, but one of the most precious things we can do.

As far as realising courage in my own life is concerned - there are so many ways I've been wanting to till and sow and raise the seedlings of my own creativity. I want to learn how to knit, I want to do my watercolours more regularly, but most of all I want to share my writing. That last one absolutely requires the most courage, and the most work - I'm pretty good at regularly writing little snippets in my notebook or on my phone, but I am desperately shy about sharing them. I also want to build short stories rather than keeping things as little creative micro-pieces or paragraphs. But perhaps beginning by sharing some of my small, off-the-cuff writings will help.

I'm in the thick of applying for PhD programmes at the moment, which I do think is a creative venture - all good scholarship I believe requires just as much creative thinking and practice as it does analysis. Contacting scholars I admire and asking if they'd like to supervise me and pitching my idea and growing it into a fleshed proposal has required a little courage, so hopefully I'm not fully failing myself on the courage side of things - it's just taken a slightly different form than what I was anticipating. This message is a little spur to put myself out there in the areas I care about, too - it really is so lovely, and so humbling, to think that someone else out there enjoys the way I have thought about and expressed something.

I hope life is being kind to YOU, and have a lovely day/evening, wherever you are <3

#qu #this is so nice #I've been reading a LOT of theory lately and doodling little illustrations from passages or images the writers use #mostly as an exercise to keep me paying attention ha but it's very satisfying #also once we FINALLY move out and get our own place I'm getting some knitting needles and op shop yarn and teaching myself how to knit! #I want little knitted headbands and a scarf so big and thick it borders on unwearable! #<3 I'm sending flowers to you with my mind!

[akexplorer]

9 Tips For Overcoming Public Speaking Fears

There are thousands of people suffering from a phobia of public speaking. Generally, social anxiety disorders or social phobias are classified as such. The body's physiological response to perceived threats can be triggered by a stressful situation, such as speaking in public. It is possible for some glossophobia to suffer debilitating physical symptoms as a result of their speech anxiety. There are many causes of glossophobia, such as low self-esteem or a fear of rejection, embarrassment, and judgment. People suffering from glossophobia typically experience debilitating symptoms when they have to speak in front of an audience. In addition to experiencing an increased heart rate when the prospect of speaking in public, glossophobia may also experience dry mouth, nausea, headaches, breathing difficulties, sweating, or stiff muscles. Public speaking anxiety may cause panic attacks for those who suffer from it.

9 Tips For Overcoming Public Speaking Fears

1. Passionate Topics.

The more passionate you are about something, the easier it is to talk about it and make others interested and passionate about it as well. Consider your passion when choosing a topic for your presentation. Choose a topic that has had an inordinate impact on you, one you wish to share with others, one you think others would find useful, and one you can speak passionately about.

It is possible for other people to benefit from your unique experiences. Your nerves will be calmed and your confidence will be boosted by combining your passion with your desire to make a difference in front of an audience.

2. Start Small.

Starting out in public speaking can prove difficult when you're new. Make sure you practice with a few friends and family members. You should begin by speaking to small groups and build up from there. Audience size does not matter. Having a clear idea of the topic will quickly ease your pre-speaking anxiety.

3. Get organized.

Prepare the information you intend to present, along with any props, audio, or visual aids, in advance. Your fear will decrease the more organized you are. To keep yourself on track, draw an outline on a little card. If feasible, go to the vicinity wherein you will be speaking and evaluate to be had device before your presentation. Write out your speech's essential points after making a list of them. Your speech's opening thirty seconds must capture the audience's interest.

[more]

#tips for writers #Speaking #talking #public speaking #communication #selfhelp #psychology #teaching #Public Speaking Fears #business #mindset #mind

[westywrites]

A Valentine's Day excerpt

In honour of a day about love, I'd like to share a little excerpt in which the kids realize Lennox is aromantic. From The Corvine book one - Essence of Stars

Cambridge lingered in Helio’s room, holding the box. 

“It’s kind of like a fairy tale, don’t you think?” she said softly. “A magic box to remind someone of their love.”

“It’s romantic,” Lennox agreed.

“However, one might question why a faithful lover would need such a reminder.” Helio made a good point.

“Yeah, isn’t true love supposed to be ever-lasting?” 

“You know nothing about love outside of your stories, Lennox.” Cambridge’s words had an edge of bitterness to them. 

“Woah, okay,” he said, holding out his hands. “No need for that.” Whatever that was.  

She crossed her arms. “Name one person you’ve ever loved.”

“I love all of you.” He shrugged. “And Mevrou Geheim.”

“Not like that.”

“Then like what?”

“Like the kind of love that makes your heart fly up into your throat when they look at you,” she said, quiet but passionate. “The kind of love that makes you want to kiss them, to hold them close. The kind of love that makes that person the most special one in the whole universe.”

He couldn’t answer. He knew it had been too long when Cambridge sighed. 

“We’re only fifteen,” he argued, “are we supposed to have felt love like that? I kind of thought that was just a thing in stories.”

“Lennox, you idiot,” she said. “I was in love with you for years. Real, romantic love.”

“Oh.”

“You never once saw it. It feels like you’ve never really seen me.”

Helio cleared their throat. Both of them looked over, and Helio smiled awkwardly. Their face was flushed red. “Apologies for interrupting, but I would like to offer some information you might be lacking.”

Cambridge hesitated. “Alright.” 

“There are people who do not ever feel that type of love,” they said. “There are those who are attracted to women or to men or to both, and there are those who are not attracted to anyone.”

“Like how you’re not a boy or a girl.” Cambridge said it more directly than Lennox had ever dared. He’d worried it would be a sensitive subject.

“Gender and love are complicated things.” Helio turned to him. “It is up to you to decide how you feel.”

Lennox shook his head. “I don’t know. I didn’t even really realize there was something that I wasn’t feeling. I’m sorry, Cam.”

“No, I should be the one to say sorry.” She let her arms drop to her sides. “I always thought you didn’t respond to my feelings because you were being dumb, or because of something about me. It never occurred to me that you might not feel that way about anyone.”

He laughed softly. “To tell you the truth, I can’t even imagine feeling the way I describe love while telling stories.”

“I guess I made things awkward, didn’t I?” She pulled at her dress sleeve. 

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, hoping she could tell he was genuine. “Goodnight, Cam, Helio.”

“Sleep well,” Helio replied as Lennox shut the door.

---

Check out The Corvine masterpost here

Taglist: @undrthesummerstars @ratracechronicler @leonajasmin-writeblr @frenchy-and-the-sea @rho-nin @starlitesymphony @written-by-yours-truly @ambiguouspuzuma

If you’d like to be tagged in (admittedly infrequent) updates about this WIP - including mood boards, excerpts, and worldbuilding - please let me know, and I’ll add you to the list!

#west's words #writeblr #writers of tumblr #amwriting #aromantic #queer #the corvine #the word of the raven #lennox #cambridge #helio #I need to keep in mind this is a very YA story at heart #'cause sometimes i look at things like this #and i'm like hmmm #is this too direct? #like does it feel too much like it's teaching? #but it's intended for a teenage audience #a decently young teenage audience at that #like these characters are just 15 #babies! the whole lot of them! #I might still make this convo a little less hit-you-over-the-head-with-it before i finish this third draft though...

[minteayoongimakesmewoozi]

sometimes i think about genderbent tanyame but then i realised nothing would change, except ayame's reverse harem would be a harem and she'd be a prince charming, and tanjirou would still be bubbly and a bit of an idiot. although ayame could finally be taller than tanjirou... by like 2cm

alternatively: they keep their canon heights and ayame's just resigned to tossing his taller girlfriend over his shoulder when she's doing something ridiculous

#mind drabble #me as a writer #fog in the summertime #fits #fits au #fits genderbent au #tanyame #higuchi ayame #kamado tanjirou #nothing would change tbh #except maybe ayame would hit tanjirou less #bc his parents did not teach him it was okay to hit girls #even if they're absolute boulder brains

[bumblingbabooshka]

Forever curious about the extent of Tuvok’s powers. In ‘Meld’ he tries to communicate telepathically with Kes but she says he can’t compel her because they neutralized his telepathic abilities. If they hadn’t done so, would he have been able to control her point blank or would he just have very loudly gone “Ooohhh you wanna drop the forcefield so bad its craaaazy” on loop in her mind until she did it?

#Tuvok can hear anyone on the ship no matter his location - control a candle's flame - compel people to do things without touching them #and yet he does none of it <3 and that's NOT a 'grr why didn't the writers use this?' thing - I think its funny and cool that he doesn't #He also implies that being able to control a candle's flame is like - NOT the hardest thing he can do #like he's not as powerful as Kes obviously but I love the thought that he can do semi-wild shit and just doesn't bc its so normal for him he #forgets its useful or notable in any way #being able to control a candle's flame is just 'A vulcan exercise' to him....that's just whatever in his mind #child's play honestly - his kids can do that :/ #*I say its not the hardest bc he says they've progressed past 'This Particular Vulcan Exercise' and begins to suggest something else #which implies to me that he thinks he can still teach her stuff...which is wild to me #TUVOK...YOU BEAUTIFUL MYSTERIOUS BASTARD!!!

[pollen]

do you remember back in december when i was brought on for this rebrand and had to like. rewrite this entire brand direction and voice in the span of a month. and then i had to write every single piece of text on their website in like two months. and then i was like "i hate this client!!! i hate this account!!" well maybe giving birth feels like that because now i love this account more than anything. this client is my baby. i will drop anything to do work for it

#they're having a huge national conference we're all freaking scrambling etc #i have a social writer who asked me for a consult for some copy she's working on and usually i'm stoked to work with her #because it's so fucking rare in marketing to find a writer who actually wants edits. but she loves when im constructive #because she knows it gets the client a better product and she wants to improve her writing and everything so it's like. idk it reminds #me of teaching a bit. anyway. i miss working with composition students ough #i literally have not given her post more than a fleeting thought because i was like oh? a 40 page ppt to proof for [BELOVED CLIENT]? #don't mind if i do B) ugh today's such a good day at work i love when i can do my job #i love when they let the editor edit