jaidknox

[jaidknox]

transgender genocide in the usa , the right to abortion has been revoked, cops dont have to read miranda rights anymore, border patrol can search your premises without a warrant, access to contraceptives & legalization of gay marriage & right to privacy in the bedroom are being re-examined, militia is guarding our supreme court made up of unelected officials who can only be removed from office by death or retirement. tell me where, is our freedom?

[jaidknox]

people need to stop leaving intersex people out of conversations about reproductive justice. 

intersex people are routinely sterilized at birth, and the choice of whether or not we want to have children is taken from us before we even can reach an age where we would be ready to make that choice. 

intersex people and their families are lied to about surgeries that have no medical benefit, because doctors are so worried about making sure that they uphold the binary system and create people who look “normal” instead of preserving our right to consent to what happens to our bodies. 

intersex people are often denied access to fertility treatment, or have many barriers to accessing infertility treatment because it is believed that we will not want to have children, or that we should not want to have children. 

yet, intersex issues are rarely, if ever, brought up in the context of reproductive rights, despite the fact that bodily autonomy and reproductive justice is a huge issue for the intersex community. 

if you’re fighting for reproductive justice, please consider fighting for our rights to choose as well.

[jaidknox]

It was always me.

I know monsters when I see them now. 

Liars 

Thieves 

You thought you could come for me? 

But darling, I am on fire, electrified. 

Touch me, and you’ll ignite 

Burning in jealousy, 

You’ll always miss me. 

[jaidknox]

When you are not fed love on a silver spoon, you learn to lick it off knives.

After Laure Eden

this is what happens

when love is

held back

as a reward

you'll never feel worthy of love.

my teeth are coated with blood

tearing open the scars

which your claw-like fingers

carved out of me.

isn't blood synonyms

with love?

as long as i am bleeding

i am alive, right?

-Anina

[jaidknox]

BLUE

last tuesday you gave me flowers

it was pouring and zephyrs were shrieking

today they still sit in an old vase on my shelf

wasting away like everything else

i didn’t want the piece i had of you to die

so i painted the flowers on paper

so they wouldnt become the victims of time

but i couldn’t get any of the colours right

you question the ways of my sick mind

but how could the healthy understand?

you live in colour and you’re made of all sorts of hues

and i only know blue

-by ann

[jaidknox]

" The shackles that hold us down.

A scream so loud, 

We can’t hear ourselves think.

On the brink of destruction.

They tell us we’re nothing;

But how would your business survive if it weren’t for me clocking in my time?

Don’t tell me it’s not my business to mind. 

We can see through the lies 

And deception.  

The taxes piled so high, 

Another way to make a slave. 

So you hardly lose a dime.

These shadows in my mind. 

How do I face them when I can’t see them?

Maybe we can’t see them since that would mean we have to look at ourselves; 

and 

don’t really look at me. 

The facade I have will come crumbling down.

Just take a look around. 

Slaves.

To ourselves.

To the system. 

To the pain. 

To the fact that we all just want someone to know our name. 

To have someone to blame. 

Are our names to blame?

Since birth we’ve had to match these labels so innately attached.

Didn’t seem to be our choice.

Or was it? 

Were we aware of the life we were being given? 

Or is it -  

a coincidence;

a random toss of dice. 

And yeah, maybe it’ll be nice; 

but we can’t be too sure cause -

there’s not enough to go around and, 

Some of us might get left out;

but,  

It’s all apart of the cards you were dealt, right?

Learn how to play and maybe some day you’ll get out, right?

Get out of the chains that hold us down. 

If you took a good look around, 

you’d see it was us the entire time. 

Slaves.

To the system.

To the pain.

To ourselves. 

All just trying to play the cards we were dealt. 

Wanting to find someone who knows our value; 

but they’re too busy doing the same,

so there’s no exchange of energy.

No feeling of what it means to be. 

We got so lost wanting to be -  

Something.

For the truth to not be that we’re nothing -

we seem to forget that we’re

apart of something. "

Alessandra

[jaidknox]

Art by Maéna Paillet.

[jaidknox]

Characters

Character Flaws

❃

What is a Character Flaw?

a limitation, imperfection, problem, phobia, or deficiency that affects actions, abilities, motives, and social interactions.

❃

Creating Character Flaws

⤷ Fears:

⟿ What past traumas affect current behavior?

⟿ What are they irrationally afraid of?

⟿ What are they secretly afraid of?

⟿ What are they publicly afraid of?

⟿ What fears relate to current problem?

⟿ What fears effect current problem?

⤷ Prejudices:

⟿ What were they taught to dislike?

⟿ What do they believe is wrong?

⟿ What are they intolerant of?

⟿ What will they fight for/against?

⟿ What are they ashamed of?

⤷ Strong Traits:

⟿ What positive trait could become a flaw?

⟿ What positive trait could cause issues?

⟿ What trait annoys other characters?

⟿ What trait could hold them back?

❃

List of Flaws:

⇸ absentminded

⇸ abusive

⇸ addict

⇸ aimless

⇸ alcoholic

⇸ anarchist

⇸ angsty

⇸ arrogant

⇸ assertive

⇸ bossy

⇸ callousness

⇸ carelessness

⇸ childishness

⇸ competitive

⇸ conceited

⇸ confirmation bias

⇸ controlling

⇸ cowardice

⇸ cruelty

⇸ curiosity

⇸ cynicism

⇸ deception

⇸ defiance

⇸ dishonesty

⇸ disrespectful

⇸ dramatic

⇸ egotistical

⇸ entitlement

⇸ forgetful

⇸ greed

⇸ guilibility

⇸ hostility

⇸ ignorance

⇸ immaturity

⇸ impatience

⇸ impracticality

⇸ impulsive

⇸ inconsiderate

⇸ indecisiveness

⇸ indulgence

⇸ jealousy

⇸ laziness

⇸ manipulative

⇸ mean

⇸ meddlesome

⇸ messy

⇸ mischievous

⇸ naivety

⇸ nosy

⇸ obnoxious

⇸ offensive

⇸ paranoia

⇸ pettiness

⇸ pretentiousness

⇸ prideful

⇸ rageful

⇸ rash

⇸ rebelliousness

⇸ recklessness

⇸ ruthless

⇸ sadistic

⇸ sarcastic

⇸ secretive

⇸ selfishness

⇸ sensitivity

⇸ sexism

⇸ slothful

⇸ sneaky

⇸ spoiled

⇸ stereotypical

⇸ stubborn

⇸ superstitious

⇸ undependable

⇸ unorganized

⇸ unreasonable

⇸ unsympathetic

⇸ vain

⇸ vengeful

⇸ violent

⇸ wasteful

⇸ whiney

⇸ wrathful

[jaidknox]

some character developments i want to see more

the quiet one snapping 

the bully realising their mistake and turning to a protector instead

the traditional one accepting a change

the cold one giving a soft hug

the angry one being most calm

the reckless one being most cautious

the chaotic one being calm in the most desperate situation

the hopeless one being the symbol of hope 

the stupidest one giving the brightest idea

the selfish one giving their things to the needy

the disciplined one causing most chaos

the homebody travelling around the world

the winner losing a game and realising life isn’t always about winning or losing, it’s about enjoying the game

[jaidknox]

Every writing advice ever: If you’re having trouble with a scene, skip it and write a different part of the story.

Me: If I don’t write in chronological order, I will die

[jaidknox]

some fun writer things to do instead of writing

make a playlist for your character

make picrews of them

draw them

have two characters play Twenty Questions

make a travel brochure for your setting

pretend to be your character and play some personality quizzes

from MBTI, Enneagram to “What colour am i” and silly quizzes

interview your character

give them an aesthetic

make moodboards for them

or Pinterest board

daydream about them

or imagine scenarios

assign three things that remind you of them, for example, A is the day and B is the night so when A falls, B rises and they are hardly together

imagine them having tumblr. what would they blog about?

make incorrect quotes about them

and most importantly, enjoy

[jaidknox]

POV and Tense in Your Writing

Hello hello HELLO tumblr, I am once again posting writing advice after like 2 solid months of not doing that!

Today's topic is, obviously, POV and Tense in your writing. Specifically, I want to talk a bit about what expectations, feel, & narrative distance certain choices with your POV & tense can create.

First:

An obligatory reminder that the only set rule to writing is "break the rules that don't work for you" and that anything can work if you're determined enough to pull it off. This post is just me talking about what is usually signaled by which POVs and tenses. Additionally, I will not be talking much about second person or future tense, as those are both uncommon in published novels and I have very little experience reading & writing them. Now, on we go. (This post got long, so I put it under a keep reading.)

What is POV?

"POV", or "point of view", is used to describe who the story is being told through and how. You must have at least 1 POV character, or there's no story, and you can go all the way up to omniscient POV. Unless they're omniscient, POVs usually switch instead of happening at the same time. POV can be told in the following ways:

First Person stories are told directly by the character who's eyes you're seeing it through--they will use I, Me, We, My, Myself, etc. ("I go to the movie theatre and I eat popcorn.")

Second Person POV is when the author directly addresses the audience--the story is about YOU and will use you, your, and other second-person pronouns. It's not common. ("You go to the movie theatre and you eat popcorn.")

Third Person Limited is when the story is told in from the eyes of the specific POV character/characters (one at a time) and uses he, she, they, and other third-person pronouns. ("They go to the movie theater and eat popcorn. He would prefer a sci-fi next time; he wonders what she thought of it.")

Omniscient POV/Third Person Omniscient is when the narrator has access to the thoughts and feelings of everyone in the story. It is essentially a story told by god; they know all, and you will find yourself in the heads of many characters at once. ("They go to the movie theater and eat popcorn; she thinks the movie is great, but he'd prefer a sci-fi next time.")

Single POV is when there is only 1 POV character; everything else is multi-POV (or omniscient, but that's technically multi-POV as well).

What is Tense?

Tense is used to express time reference, i.e. whether the story happened before, after, or during its being told.

Past tense is used to tell stories that have already happened. ("I went to the movie theater and ate popcorn.")

Present tense is used to tell stories that are happening as they're being told. ("I go to the movie theater and eat popcorn.")

future tense is used to tell stories that happen after they are told. ("I will go to the movie theater and I will eat popcorn.")

literary past tense is used to tell stories in past tense, but with the feeling that they're happening now. This one is trickier to explain, but basically, past tense can & will reference the present and acknowledge that it is telling a story that has already happened; literary past will act like it is a present tense story, but use past tense words. (Many people who say they're writing in past tense are specifically writing in literary past tense.) Percy Jackson is in past tense; Six of Crows is in literary past tense.

What Effect Do POV and Tense Have On The Story?

Different POVs & tenses have different strengths and weaknesses. Whatever POV/tense you choose should be one that you think will best fit the story; your YA book does not have to be in 1st person single POV present tense just because that's common in YA, I promise. There are more logical choices. (Though again, skilled writers can make anything work.)

Present tense, single-POV, and first person tend to do very well in stories that need to feel immediate, close in narrative distance, emotional, and/or high stakes. Present tense, by virtue of presenting itself as if it's happening right now, can feel very easily like the character's future is uncertain and no one knows what's next, even though the story is already cemented in what will happen. Single-POV makes it easier to have a close narrative distance, and therefore be more emotional (and high stakes); this is because you can focus entirely on one character, and you don't have to worry about the weird feeling of ripping the reader from one distinct mind and into another. First person also has a closer narrative distance (there's NONE, they are telling the story) and therefore is easier to make feel emotional.

Thrillers, romances, contemporaries, and dystopians are often (though not always) told using one of these 3 forms of POV or tense, as those are genres that highly benefit from little narrative distance and from a feeling of immediacy or uncertainty. (The Hunger Games [dystopian] and Can't Take That Away [contemporary] are told in 1st person, present, single-pov; Karen McManus' thriller/mystery books are often in 1st and present.)

Past tense, literary past, multi-POV, omniscient, and third person limited do very well for stories that need to be on a grander scale or that require a more fairytale-esque feeling to them. Past tense, as it presents itself as having already happened, is good for stories where you want to truly remember that someone is TELLING this and it's a STORY. Literary past has that story-like or less immediate feel of past, without pulling the reader directly out of their immersion, and tends to be a happy medium between past & present. Multi-POV stories let you get more done and see more things, as well as sort of naturally having a bit more narrative distance because you're not constantly in 1 head, really close. Omniscient is how many folktales/fairytales are told and therefore has that feeling; it also has all the benefits of multi-POV. Third person limited is more removed/distant than first person is, and pairs well with multiple POVs. It again allows you to feel more storylike, less immediate, or have a grander-scale story.

These 5 forms of POV and tense are often used in SFF, historical fiction, and literary fiction, as those are genres that benefit from larger scale, more people telling the story, or a bit more distance. (The Six of Crows duology and Darker Shade of Magic trilogy [fantasy] are in literary past, 3rd, and multi-pov.)

It is important to note that you can of course write a heart-wrenching & emotional or immediate and high-stakes story with things that are not present/single-pov/first person, and you can write a grand, epic or fairytale-like story with things that are not past/multi-pov/3rd person--this is entirely about what the tenses & POVs tend to naturally lend themselves to. You can and should play around with them as you see fit. All of this is, you know... learn the rules before you break them.

I hope this was helpful for someone! :D

[jaidknox]

Ready for summer to kiss my skin, to heal what I believe are bruises

💌 Me

[jaidknox]

Throbbing veins

Before there was heartache and an emptiness,

There was haze of the night illuminated,

With the soft lamplight overhead.

There were flowers brushing the side of my hand,

And the weight of a head resting on my shoulder,

Hair grazing my neck.

There were whispered exclamations in response to,

Loud music through blaring phone speakers,

And taps of the fingers against the mental bench.

And then there was what one always tries to avoid,

Heartache in bright red, quite as bright as our love was dull,

Powdery pink, a mist of sorts.

And splattered sleeves with black of pain,

The odor of a rotten relationship in the,

Humid air of vaporised tears.

Forevermore cemented your place as the muse,

For my poetries and my lamentations,

The memory of my joy laced with the sound of your laughter.

But then there's this,

There's now and here as I lie on the terrace,

With wind quiet, cold blowing across my face.

Now that the rain is ascending from the south,

Breeze finding spaces between the braided browns of hair,

A dull ache rises in my temple.

The throbbing vein bulges out,

A crescendo of pain washes through,

I hold my head together at the distressing thought of you.

[jaidknox]

untitled

inspired from I Promised You The Moon

text:

We are missing a lot of days  So busy with our new lives You’re not always with me So I’m forced to find another ways to see you Having an object, your initials, or your vows imprinted in me That makes me think of you It's comical And I couldn't stop myself from crying Because I know that no matter how much I complain or explain it to you, the loneliness you have caused me will never go away. Until then, never let me go.

[jaidknox]

You’d think I would support my fellows by highlighting trans or disabled characters. But really, what turns me on is writing myself in male, healthy form, and giving him the life that I was denied. If I can’t live vicariously through him, why write at all?

[jaidknox]