futurity-writing

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Reblog if you're not homophobic

Every url that reblog’s will be written in a book and shown to my homophobic dad. 

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Def a lot happier now. Thanks for tagging me @pzos13 !!! I actually shaved the bottom half of my hair but oh well haha.

Zos already tagged one of my peeps, but how about @watermelons-writings and @tracle0 ? It’s been a while my dudes!

hey! do your past vs current self!

tagging: @rcris123​ @samwrittenbysam​ @the-goblincore​ @void-of-anarchy​ @kampfhomo​ @thecowboyswife​ @un-official-artist​ @gottawritethatdarkshit​ @journal-of-an-outlaw​ @yeterah​ @yeralrightboah​ @yaystew​ and u!

#not writing #rambles #punk kid #me #my style hasnt changed at all lol #now its just a whole lot edgier

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i don’t care what anyone says, the “multiple floating weapons controlled by telekinesis/whatever” is, has been, and always will be cool as shit

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danny phantom au where ghosts dont exist

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A writer’s brain agonizing over whether an idea has been done before:

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THE STICKS

GENRE: post-apocalyptic drama

CONTENT WARNINGS: violence, death, the worst parts of humanity, religious cults, politics, hunting depictions, guns, murder, kidnapping, coercion, kids in danger, natural disasters, violent kids for survival, genocide mentions, fire

also. this is a short story collection using the mother mother album, THE STICKS, as inspiration. with lyrics about self-harm, body dysmorphia, drugs and sex. 

SUMMARY: After a devastating flood that destroys his home, a man leaves Old Maine and travels across the barren states to find a place to settle down. He searches for good soil. He searches for solitude. But religious cults and political groups seeking to establish a new order have different plans.

this is the link to the wip intro post (there is a “teaser trailer” with guns, drugs, house fire, tsunamis, and flooded towns (devastation)) (not on autoplay)

wip: the sticks is the tag. (there is aNOTHER teaser with blood, slight gore, implied torture, and a house fire)

Like/Reblog/Reply to be added to the taglist

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Introduction

I’m Raven. You can refer to me by they / them pronouns, which I won’t put much emphasis on here, but … yep. I’ve been a part of Writeblr on and off for … two? years now, and life has shoved a ton of shit my way, drowned me in it, and I’m still struggling to dig my way out.

I write in a variety of genres, some that struck me by surprise, but inspiration takes me in many directions and who am I to deny it? So you can expect anything from gothic / dark fantasy, thriller / mystery, contemporary / realistic, and science fiction. 

I have an affinity for music and sometimes that’s my only source of solace [and many of my WIP titles are inspired by song titles :p]. 

Enough about me, though, yes? 

My WIPs are all over the place right now, and sometimes not at all. I’m bouncing back and forth between … a lot of ‘em, as well as several AUs featuring many of @reeseweston‘s morons and jackasses [whom I fucking adore beyond anything I thought possible]. 

I won’t go off on a tangent about all of my WIPs right now, because I don’t have the time or patience, and still need to set up pages for most of them, but … these’re the ones I’ve got active on here right now : 

Time is Running Out & Moonage Daydream, both part of the same universe, both science fiction and riddled with space gays and polyamory. Oh, and lots of mature content … that’s … you should expect that in anything I write. 

Basically, I’m looking for more writeblrs to follow, though I can’t promise I’ll be involved in this like I was back when I first joined because the aforementioned shit. 

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Writeblr Intro

Hi everyone, I actually made this blog back in late 2018 but haven’t made a proper introduction for it or for myself, so here I am! I’m Jay (or James, whichever you prefer), I’m 17 and from the Western USA, and I’m in my final year of high school currently. I write fiction with a lot of fantasy elements in a style sort of similar to classic literature!

I’ve got one main story, called And Onward Into the Bright Bright Future (AOItBBF)–it’s a story set in another world with lots of fantasy elements, plenty of in-depth worldbuilding, and political, religious, and supernatural themes; it’s currently much longer than any story has any business being. I finished the first draft in late 2019 and started the second around the same time! The WIP page for AOItBBF is here! 

I also draw frequently, play the violin II and viola, and love chatting about cars, dogs, insects, and calculus. I follow from @brightbluesubaru !

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Lissajous curve table

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Happiness Will Come To You.

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Someone Illustrated the Best News Stories From 2019 and Now Our Hearts Are Warm

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A professor, a CEO, and a janitor are in a forest when they discover a magic fairy.

The fairy says “I will give you what you most desire if you do someone else’s job for a day.”

The professor says “I’ll be an elementary school teacher. What can be so hard about teaching a bunch of 6-year-olds how to read?” so he is teleported into a classroom. After a few minutes, all the kids’ screaming gets to his nerves, so he throws all his supplies and gives up.

The C.E.O says “I’ll be a waiter. All you do is carry food back and forth. This’ll be a breeze” so he is teleported to a restaurant. After about an hour, all the annoying customers drive him insane, so he smashes his plates on the ground and gives up.

The janitor says “I’ll be an artist” so he is transported to an art facility. He glues all the classroom supplies and shattered plates to a canvas, then sells it for a billion dollars. The fairy asks the janitor how he was so clever.

The janitor says “I got a masters degree in art.”

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I spent my two-hour layover mourning the two halves of my Ovation. Help me save others from the same fate!

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Writing Tropes Well: Chronic Hero Syndrome

A good hero helps those in need, right? So the best heroes help everyone in need!

….Is probably what these kind of characters are thinking, but the reality is a little different. The Chronic Hero Syndrome mainly affects the good and (at least partially) naive protagonist who thinks that every problem around them needs to be solved, usually by them. Some stories like to portray this kind of character in a purely positive light since “always ready to help others” is thought of as a positive trait. Sometimes it works, often because it’s a simplistic story, deals with black-and-white morality, it’s a video game with fetch quests, etc. However, when you look beyond the surface level this “affliction” has some interesting consequences for the character.

(NOTE: This trope shares a similar name with a real-life affliction “Hero Syndrome” where someone intentionally creates bad situations in order to save everyone and appear as the hero. The real syndrome is not the same as the trope!!)

To start, let’s take a look at the trait itself. Mentioned before, the desire to help everyone sounds like a great trait, however by thinking that way you’re boxing in how you’re defining characters. Traits shouldn’t be sorted into “good” and “bad”; they should be lumped together and thought of as “strengths” or “weaknesses” relative to each situation (link embedded). Strengths can become weakness and weakness can become strengths depending on what’s happening. Flaws are circumstantial.

All aspects of a character should have consequences, “consequences” being positive, negative, and even neutral effects from who they are. Most often, those consequences are found in the choices that the character makes. Even a choice made with the best of intentions can have a negative impact, and any character with Chronic Hero Syndrome can’t be making perfect choices 24/7 because nobody can realistically do that.

A protagonist, or any other character, with Chronic Hero Syndrome may see negative consequences like (but not limited to):

Manipulation. It’s easy to take advantage of someone who’s wholly predictable in their choices. The antagonist can easily set up a trap for this type of character.

Sticky situations due to naivete. Though it’s possible for a character to be less naive by critically examining the situations they end up in, just blindly believing and helping anyone who asks for it can land them in troublesome situations.

Consequences of the Law. Sometimes helping others isn’t always legal, though legality does not have a direct correlation to morality. If this character breaks laws then it should be addressed realistically for the story.

Burnout (especially of friends). It takes a lot of time and energy to commit to the level of help they offer and it’s not easy to sustain. A friend or partner may also not be as enthusiastic about that character’s choices as it bites into their time together.

Blunders. Helping doesn’t always mean succeeding. This character can (and should) fail once in a while. Sometimes, even succeeding at a task can have negative effects, especially if the character was tricked or failed to see the big picture.

Potentially incorrect self-image. Let’s be honest, this character thinks that they can help everyone. To reach that conclusion you need to think you’re really the best choice to get something done, which anyone with a healthy sense of self-esteem knows isn’t always the case. The character may point the person in need to better help, but a good chunk of having CHS means the character personally provides aid. In some stories, the “I’m the best option” thought can be justified, especially if the character has an ability that the average person does not, but it takes a level of arrogance, tunnel vision, and/or obsession to genuinely believe you’re the best option to personally help. Even if the character is just “too nice” so they feel like they always have to offer, someone genuinely interested in helping the best way possible would be willing to admit that they aren’t the best choice, and would be willing to pass off the task to someone who is. There’s a reason that Chronic Hero Syndrome isn’t called “person who likes to help others”; the afflicted character crosses the line between reasonable help to an almost weird sense of duty.

All that said– it’s okay if you want to write a character with Chronic Hero Syndrome! This post is meant to get you critically thinking about the character trait, not say that it’s bad to have someone with it in a story. Tropes are not bad, but they need to be understood or else the writer runs the risk of writing a poor story.

When writing a character with CHS, make sure you can address these things about them to make sure they’re well-rounded and interesting (especially if they’re a main character!):

What’s the source of the CHS? It’s one thing to want to help your friends when you can, but a hero with CHS is over-willing to help strangers and maybe even those they don’t get along with. This isn’t a common trait in reality, so it’s best to have an explanation or source of why they are who they are.

Do they genuinely think they’re the best option to help or is the constant desire to help a sign of something else? One character may punish themselves by helping everyone around them, depriving themselves of personal time and fully knowing that it could have been done better by someone else. Another character might be harboring guilt and tries to take care of it by being aggressively helpful to everyone else. Someone else might be obsessed with a certain image of being useful (but they don’t create the situations and then save people from them, that’s the real-life Hero Syndrome).

How does the CHS integrate with the rest of the personality? “I want to help everyone” is not a personality, it’s a choice of values. This character still needs to have thoughts and traits outside of their Syndrome.

How could the CHS cause problems? All choices have consequences, and a character who truly has CHS is probably sacrificing a lot from other aspects of their life. Maybe their partner starts feeling abandoned, maybe the hero tries to help and makes something 10x worse! Every single trait should be free game for causing issues in a story.

Tropes can be a useful part of storytelling, particularly when done well. Because Chronic Hero Syndrome most often affects protagonists or other main characters, writing it well means understanding the reach of the “affliction”. It’s fine to write a simplistic story (a lot of children’s novels do this) where the protag wanting to help everyone is just a sign of a good, helpful person. But if you’re looking to write a realistic story, particularly with character realism, then you’ll need to address the consequences that this kind of character can bring to a story.

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Forgive me.