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burntoutdaydreamer · 6 months

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Things That May Be Causing Your Writer's Block- and How to Beat Them

I don't like the term 'Writer's Block' - not because it isn't real, but because the term is so vague that it's useless. Hundreds of issues all get lumped together under this one umbrella, making writer's block seem like this all-powerful boogeyman that's impossible to beat. Worse yet, it leaves people giving and receiving advice that is completely ineffective because people often don't realize they're talking about entirely different issues.

In my experience, the key to beating writer's block is figuring out what the block even is, so I put together a list of Actual Reasons why you may be struggling to write:

(note that any case of writer's block is usually a mix of two or more)

Perfectionism (most common)

What it looks like:

You write one sentence and spend the next hour googling "synonyms for ___"

Write. Erase. Write. Rewrite. Erase.

Should I even start writing this scene when I haven't figured out this one specific detail yet?

I hate everything I write

Cringing while writing

My first draft must be perfect, or else I'm a terrible writer

Things that can help:

Give yourself permission to suck

Keep in mind that nothing you write is going to be perfect, especially your first draft

Think of writing your first/early drafts not as writing, but sketching out a loose foundation to build upon later

People write multiple drafts for a reason: write now, edit later

Stop googling synonyms and save that for editing

Write with a pen to reduce temptation to erase

Embrace leaving blank spaces in your writing when you can't think of the right word, name, or detail

It's okay if your writing sucks. We all suck at some point. Embrace the growth mindset, and focus on getting words on a page

Lack of inspiration (easiest to fix)

What it looks like:

Head empty, no ideas

What do I even write about???

I don't have a plot, I just have an image

Want to write but no story to write

Things that can help:

Google writing prompts

If writing prompts aren't your thing, instead try thinking about what kind of tropes/genres/story elements you would like to try out

Instead of thinking about the story you would like to write, think about the story you would like to read, and write that

It's okay if you don't have a fully fleshed out story idea. Even if it's just an image or a line of dialogue, it's okay to write that. A story may or may not come out of it, but at least you got the creative juices flowing

Stop writing. Step away from your desk and let yourself naturally get inspired. Go for a walk, read a book, travel, play video games, research history, etc. Don't force ideas, but do open up your mind to them

If you're like me, world-building may come more naturally than plotting. Design the world first and let the story come later

Boredom/Understimulation (lost the flow)

What it looks like:

I know I should be writing but uugggghhhh I just can'tttttt

Writing words feels like pulling teeth

I started writing, but then I got bored/distracted

I enjoy the idea of writing, but the actual process makes me want to throw my laptop out the window

Things that can help:

Introduce stimulation: snacks, beverages, gum, music such as lo-fi, blankets, decorate your writing space, get a clickity-clackity keyboard, etc.

Add variety: write in a new location, try a new idea/different story for a day or so, switch up how you write (pen and paper vs. computer) or try voice recording or speech-to-text

Gamify writing: create an arbitrary challenge, such as trying to see how many words you can write in a set time and try to beat your high score

Find a writing buddy or join a writer's group

Give yourself a reward for every writing milestone, even if it's just writing a paragraph

Ask yourself whether this project you're working on is something you really want to be doing, and be honest with your answer

Intimidation/Procrastination (often related to perfectionism, but not always)

What it looks like:

I was feeling really motivated to write, but then I opened my laptop

I don't even know where to start

I love writing, but I can never seem to get started

I'll write tomorrow. I mean next week. Next month? Next month, I swear (doesn't write next month)

Can't find the time or energy

Unreasonable expectations (I should be able to write 10,000 words a day, right????)

Feeling discouraged and wondering why I'm even trying

Things that can help:

Follow the 2 min rule (or the 1 paragraph rule, which works better for me): whenever you sit down to write, tell yourself that you are only going to write for 2 minutes. If you feel like continuing once the 2 mins are up, go for it! Otherwise, stop. Force yourself to start but DO NOT force yourself to continue unless you feel like it. The more often you do this, the easier it will be to get started

Make getting started as easy as possible (i.e. minimize barriers: if getting up to get a notebook is stopping you from getting started, then write in the notes app of your phone)

Commit to a routine that will work for you. Baby steps are important here. Go with something that feels reasonable: every day, every other day, once a week, twice a week, and use cues to help you remember to start. If you chose a set time to write, just make sure that it's a time that feels natural to you- i.e. don't force yourself to writing at 9am every morning if you're not a morning person

Find a friend or a writing buddy you can trust and talk it out or share a piece of work you're proud of. Sometimes we just get a bit bogged down by criticism- either internal or external- and need a few words of encouragement

The Problem's Not You, It's Your Story (or Outline (or Process))

What it looks like:

I have no problems writing other scenes, it's just this scene

I started writing, but now I have no idea where I'm going

I don't think I'm doing this right

What's an outline?

Drowning in documents

This. Doesn't. Make. Sense. How do I get from this plot point to this one?!?!?! (this ColeyDoesThings quote lives in my head rent free cause BOY have I been there)

Things That Can Help:

Go back to the drawing board. Really try to get at the root of why a scene or story isn't working

A part of growing as a writer is learning when to kill your darlings. Sometimes you're trying to force an idea or scene that just doesn't work and you need to let it go

If you don't have an outline, write one

If you have an outline and it isn't working, rewrite it, or look up different ways to structure it

You may be trying to write as a pantser when you're really a plotter or vice versa. Experiment with different writing processes and see what feels most natural

Study story structures, starting with the three act structure. Even if you don't use them, you should know them

Check out Ellen Brock on YouTube. She's a professional novel editor who has a lot of advice on writing strategies for different types of writers

Also check out Savage Books on YouTube (another professional story editor) for advice on story structure and dialogue. Seriously, I cannot recommend this guy enough

Executive Dysfunction, Usually From ADHD/Autism

What it looks like:

Everything in boredom/understimulation

Everything in intimidation/procrastination

You have been diagnosed with and/or have symptoms of ADHD/Autism

Things that can help:

If you haven't already, seek a diagnosis or professional treatment

Hire an ADHD coach or other specialist that can help you work with your brain (I use Shimmer; feel free to DM me for a referral)

Seek out neurodiverse communities for advice and support

Try body doubling! There's lot's of free online body doubling websites out there for you to try. If social anxiety is a barrier, start out with writing streams such as katecavanaughwrites on Twitch

Be aware of any sensory barriers that may be getting in the way of you writing (such as an uncomfortable desk chair, harsh lighting, bad sounds)

And Lastly, Burnout, Depression, or Other Mental Illness

What it looks like:

You have symptoms of burnout or depression

Struggling with all things, not just writing

It's more than a lack of inspiration- the spark is just dead

Things that can help:

Forget writing for now. Focus on healing first.

Seek professional help

If you feel like it, use writing as a way to explore your feelings. It can take the form of journaling, poetry, an abstract reflection of your thoughts, narrative essays, or exploring what you're feeling through your fictional characters. The last two helped me rediscover my love of writing after I thought years of depression had killed it for good. Just don't force yourself to do so, and stop if it takes you to a darker place instead of feeling cathartic

#writing #creative writing #writer problems #writing advice #writing community #writing a book #writing problems #novel writing #on writing #writing tips #writing help #writers on tumblr #writers block #female writers #writers of tumblr #writers blog #adhd writer

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bonefall · 1 year

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Creation Myth; Afterlives

I wonder how humans fit in with your rewrite's mythology with the four gods and stuff, like there is this whole other sapient species running around, how much does someone like Midnight have to do with them? Do they have a known afterlife?

@halogenwarrior

I have a rough draft, but I haven't committed to it yet because I go back and forth on how powerful the Gods of the Seasons (Sharptooth, Sol, Midnight, and Rock for the newcomers) should be.

But here's my thoughts,

The Origin Story

Midnight scoured the island from the sea and crafted the mountains, the hills, the forests, and for each predator, she created a partner. The fox and the badger hunt the rabbits above and below the ground. The wolf chases the sheep and the twoleg is there to catch it. The owl flies by night and the hawk flies by day.

But when she came to the cat, it was too perfect to pair. She could create no equal-- it was her finest work.

So she gave them a special task; to appreciate the world for what it is, to rest and to sample all the pleasures of creation. It's why cats are so hedonistic and think they're so perfect.

But Sol was BORED. There was harmony and nothing ever went wrong, it was too easy. So he gathered up the twolegs and the dogs and taught them about games, and the silly, arbitrary rules that come with them.

They had so much fun they made more and more rules, more and more games, until they couldn't tell their rules from their reality. It's why twolegs seem so crazy, and why dogs don't know how to stop playing.

Midnight was MORTIFIED. He RUINED her hard work with silly lies like money, and politics, and not-England! But worse... there was joy in these new concepts. Cats did the task they were assigned to do and they sampled the pleasures of creation. Midnight has never forgiven her brother Sol for what he's done.

Cats are on the same level as humans-but-not-quite. They have the capacity they need to enjoy the world to its fullest, whatever happens to be IN the world at the time.

So... other answers;

Do humans have an afterlife?

I think all the animals do, but I'm not sure how it works for them since Warriors is about the cats. At the very least, dogs and humans are able to become ghosts.

I go back and forth on how powerful I want the gods to be and how their shifting power works. @troutfur gave me a suggestion a while back about the idea that there is a 'veil' that shifts, and whichever god is in control during that shift has more power than its siblings.

But I do also know that I want gods to be able to easily conjure up "pocket dimensions". Like the Dark Forest, which Sharptooth created while he was One-eye.

Additionally, the human afterlife isn't nearly as powerful as the cat one. That's a given I'm working with. StarClan can make trees grow fast, chase clouds, and make new spirits... but wherever they go, humans don't get to do that.

How much do the four gods interact with humans?

As a result of the story being focused on cats, there has to be some reason why they don't care much about them, right?

The simplest and funniest reason I can imagine is that they just don't like them. They just like cats more. Or, in One-eye's case, he got roped into a bloodfeud with this specific group of cats and he won't just give up because his pride is wounded.

Sol probably plays with humans a lot, but when he met Harry it was just. Magic.

I also go back and forth on how powerful these four really are, if they're truly CREATION GODS or just demigods, like Hercules. If it's just these four, or if there's more beyond this particular landmass.

In any case it's beyond the scope of my rewrite, lmao.

#Bonefall Rewrite #Harry #Sol #Midnight #Sharptooth #Rock

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queenofbaws · 8 months

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If you haven't answered them yet numbers 31 and 35 for the weird writer asks 💖

ohohoho~ don't mind if i do! (gonna switch the order around on this one too, if it's all the same ;)c )

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

oh god, where to start. beginning sentences with "and" or "but," for sure. i'm firmly of the mind that if it flows and things sound natural or fit your style, go for it. that sort of stuff is so arbitrary anyway, and as long as what you're writing sounds good, feels good, and entertains, then like...why not start a sentence with "and" or "but." pffft hehehe.

truly, though, my personal belief is that the "rules" of writing are there to give you something to learn from. know the rules, learn how to play by them, know WHY they're there...and then take a baseball bat to them. once you know the basics of writing and storytelling, the world's your oyster, kid. the only wrong way to write is the way that feels wrong to you.

31. Write a short love letter to your readers.

o readers, shall i count the ways i love thee...

hi there, you. yeah, you. you know who you are. the commenter, the chatter, the asker, the spam liker, the prompt sender, the kudos giver, the silent lurker, the reader-and-nothing-elser - you guys are the ones who make this weird, sometimes frustrating, hobby of mine very, very fun. you're the ones who make flipping through synonyms worth it, the ones who i think of first when it's 3am and i've woken up in a cold sweat because i finally know how to make that plotline work, jfc let me write this down before i forget it. i know that sounds cliché, but there's a reason clichés end up cliché, and that's that...well, there's truth in there.

from the bottom of my dusty, crusty heart, if you've ever taken time out of your day to read something i've written, be it a oneshot or a longfic, whether it was back in ye olde kingdom hearts days or now as i dig deeper and deeper into every horror fandom i can grab with both hands, please know that i do truly think on you fondly, and whether we've ever spoken or not, you've helped get me through some tough times.

without all of you, i'd...let's be real here, i'd be screaming all this nonsense into the void unchecked. as a writer, it's very nice to know that sometimes, when sometimes screams back, it's not just an echo. and as a horror writer, yeah, i...yeah that came out a certain way, didn't it? ah well.

you knew what you signed up for with me :) <3

weird writing asks for weird writers!

#pocketchina #asks #you guys are the real mvps 😭#blowing a tender forehead smooch to everyone out there #and miming a tender high five to everyone for whom forehead smooches are less than ideal

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multi-lefaiye · 2 years

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hi multi, i hope u feel better soon! is there any symbolism in fragile things or modern ghost story?

thank you, bat, i really appreciate that ❤

alright, i wanna talk about fictional people, so i'm gonna ramble a bit!! and i'm gonna talk about fragile things first <3 my sad little gay people make me so so happy <3 then i wanna talk a bit about a modern ghost story as well. both!!!

Fragile Things:

so at the moment there's not too much in the way of direct or obvious symbolism for Fragile Things that isn't Massive Spoilers, but there's one thing i've thought about that's like... really been rotating in my head rent so fast. so i'll try to talk about it as vaguely as possible to avoid giving away too much.

so the supernatural elements in fragile things, which haven't come up yet in what i've shared, might seem kinda arbitrary at first but they're very much meant to mirror the troubles in arthur and noah's relationship, especially as they get worse. i don't know how to explain the details without just outlining exactly how arthur dies, but i'll go ahead and just say the realization i came to without explaining it too deeply (cw suicide mention):

i realized recently that the entire story of fragile things, and then bleeding over eden (which takes place four years later), reads as a metaphor for the guilt and devastation that comes with someone you love taking their own life.

like that's not what happens, but it's not a difficult interpretation and honestly i think i might... lean into that, a bit? it's definitely dark and sad but that's what this whole thing is, babey!!!

even though the supernatural elements of fragile things/bleeding over eden aren't as important as the relationships between the characters, they serve a very important symbolic purpose for those relationships.

alright i'm making myself a little sad here, but anyway here's a list of other little symbolic touches:

a few months after arthur and noah finally do get together romantically, they adopt a cat together (i'm still deciding on a name for her, but i've got some ideas), and the cat is a very not-subtle symbol of the good in their relationship. the cat's health starts declining around the same time that the cracks in the foundations of their relationship start to show.

this might be a little silly but i'm attaching some symbolic value to noah's hair as well--at first, he hates his hair so much and wants nothing more than to cut it all off, but as he becomes more comfortable with himself he grows it out more and takes better care of it. like... noah's hair length correlates roughly with his self esteem as the story progresses.

a big theme in the story is the idea of the expectations placed on you by your parents, and this is most obvious with arthur. there's a lot of little things that arthur does as the story progresses to go against his parents' expectations, and essentially that's like. his whole thing for a while. i can't think of a specific example off the top of my head but trust me on this.

okay i'm getting in my feelings about these two so i'm gonna try and write about them, but first! a little about A Modern Ghost Story as well <3

A Modern Ghost Story:

okay so most of the symbolism i have in mind for a modern ghost story centers around roach tbh- roach is just my favorite <3 but my favorite thing i've done with roach is that i'm like... trying to very much associate them with wings imagery, and i have a Couple Of Reasons for this.

the obvious choice is the association with freedom, because so much of roach's personality is their desire to be free from others' expectations and judgments of them. kind of an obvious reach but yeah <3

without going into why too much just yet. i think there could be some icarus parallels here. don't worry about it.

also the wings imagery ties back to their ex, vulture, and how much he shaped their life and outlook. they downplay it a bit whenever they talk about him, but he had a huge impact on them that hasn't gone away. i'm thinking that as they move on more from vulture, the less and less wings will be associated with them.

also this is a little sidenote but uhhh fun fact roach has tattoos of wings on their back <3 i'm not subtle <3

#talk to the bunnykitty #long post #bat time all the time #a modern ghost story #fragile things wip #roach my beloved #thank u for the ask! sorry for the delay!

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stop-entropy-lie-down · 2 years

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i hate gender. i fucking hate they way we're divided against ourselves. the constant puerile my-side's-better-ing and all the different ways we say that these people are special and these people are left out.

the only thing that attaching a gender to a sentence does half the time is leave half the people out of it. why do we do that. i thought the whole point of feminism was breaking down all the arbitrary barriers we put up in our own identities. broadening our communities.

and yes, part of this sentiment comes from having grown up male in feminist spaces, and been the victim of the hate-all-men men-are-pigs rhetoric that nowadays we like to palm off on terves but which was a staple of on- and offline jokes throughout the 2010s. it's not yet gone. I don't know if I'm nb or trans or male or whatever, because i haven't yet been able to extricate the push and pull factors, the masculinity of my actions from the horror of being called a man by my feminist friends, of having to constantly apologise for the actions of rapists and paedophiles and criminals as if i was one of them. of finding that as long as i still called myself male there was no way for me to self-reflect and theory-read and action-change enough for me to be able to appease the next new person who sees my maleness and knows already that i am trash and a chauvinist and a pig and a cruel patriarchal abuser and oppressor.

what is in the word Girl except a collection of roles. why do we confine ourselves to those roles. why do we say that performing those roles confers anything more than the performance of those roles, rather than the additional cultural baggage of Girlhood. and the extra baggage we pile on every day.

all this culminates in an opinion which i don't fully understand, and in which i would appreciate your understanding. i am not denying anyone's experience of themselves or of the world, etc etc. I don't understand why binary trans people perform gender to themselves and to each other. as far as i understand, we as feminists want genders to mean as little as possible, such that anyone of any gender can do anything. men can wear dresses, because Man doesn't mean anything. women can be CEOs because Woman doesn't mean anything. this is the utopia which we work towards - and the reason Man and Woman still mean things is because we live presently in a gendered society, with sexism and all-encompassing kyriarchy, which gives genders their sparkle and their difference. and so, in presenting to and in conversation with that society, we use its terms to describe our experiences of ourselves and the way we want to interact with it. but if we talk to other feminists, other trans people, who understand the restrictiveness of patriarchal gender roles and who have decided to go against them - why, then, do we uphold a little bit of those roles? why is girlposting so popular? why do we (they? i still don't know) call ourselves girls if we want to communicate our trans experience, which is breaking all of those patriarchal gender roles. what is the word doing. i think this is a very popular unchallenged bias, which has snuck under the antipatriarchal radar by asserting that girlhood is good (thus pleasing the antimasculist criterion) instead of challenging girlhood as an institution. and they're jokes, yes, but out entire lives are cultural praxis. we are creating this little corner of culture, and if we want it to be free of patriarchy we have to do that on purpose.

sorry that's a bit of a diary entry and a bit of a stream of consciousness from my sertraline-withdrawal insanity. ignore or detest as you wish. i am open as always to having these ideas challenged, so please try to be constructive and criticise cogently. mockery won't help me change for the better - and i want, as anyone does, to be the best version of myself.

#gender #sorry #it was write this or cut myself

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luckynumberg · 2 years

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Why are you alive?

"Two people who dont even like each other anymore got horny."

"To make my friend suffer."

"Because the universe started out with a lot of parts and they came together over billions of billions of years and gained sentience and allowing them to be self conscious and able to preserve their life and the universe. Life making life."

To prove old me wrong.

"I'm alive so I can be a tether for other people, to show that even if you're in the darkest most hollow abyss someone will to be there to help pull you back out."

"To give my body back to the earth once it’s fully matured."

"Because someone has to feed my dog and let her out, and hopefully soon to give my girlfriend all the smooches she deserves."

"I don’t really know why I’m alive, I don’t really care about my life. As I don’t matter to me, I need something to matter, and that is the people in my life. I live just to bring other people up, and that is what I am best equipped to do. I spend all of my time learning and developing as much as I can, and just having experiences with other people. I exist to teach, give people good memories, help them develop and live through their struggles, and keep meaningful relationships. I’ve excused the most heinous things for the sake of my goal to bring others to be the best they can be. My life otherwise has been sorta arbitrary and meaningless. I am not here. I really don’t have to be alive, but someone needs to be the person to be the good in the world. Someone has to help, and it might as well be me, I guess."

Because, even with all the bullshit, I don't know what happens tomorrow.

"I was bullied a lot when I was younger. For the longest time. I've had teachers who belittled me and did not help my self esteem. I didn't grow up the richest kid on the planet, but I we had enough. My parents worked their asses off to give me a good childhood, and I got it... kind of. 23 almost 24 years old and I'm loving myself for the first time. I have wonderful, amazing friends, a best friend who I call my sister, a partner who loves me wholeheartedly, and two parents who love and support me for who I am (furry, gay, weeb, video game lover and dnd player. They support it all). I am alive because I want to make people smile. For the longest time, all I've ever wanted to do is to help. To be kind to others. I want to make my friends feel loved and appreciated. The world needs more kindness and all it ever takes is a compliment. I am alive because I want to move in with my partner someday. I want to meet my friends in person. To meet people I look up to. To travel to China or Hawai'i. I want to someday turn to my younger self and tell her it's okay. That all that bullshit you're going through will pay off in the end. That's what I live for."

"Suppose I’m alive just to be here, after all attempts to not be here have failed. Must be some reason I’m here even if I can’t figure it out and continue to stay alive in pain. Just alive till it’s decided that I’m able to leave everything, which I’m sure won’t be anytime soon, so for now I’ll continue to be here for friends and family even if they don’t appreciate it in the end. I assume that’s why I’m alive."

"I haven't died yet I suppose"

"Spite. The abysmally absurd amount of spite is keeping me immortal."

"By some very random and wildly unlikely chance of dust forming & forming this particularly flavored consciousness. To perpetually wonder why I exist in this society, as my true nature is dust. To make art true to my dustform, sharing life’s universal joy and pain with my also incredibly unlikely dustcommunity. To be an embodied expression of my unique dustmakeup in all its existential grief and burning glory. To help other dustbeings feel less alone amid this painful blissful livingdust heaven/hell. To die and return to dust having attempted the inconceivable task of being livingdust to the best of my ability."

"Because there are some people worth living for."

"Why? Because naturally all people should live as long as this world let us (when to die is not our choice. In most cases.). And about what for do I live: even though this world never was nor completely safe nor completely fair, it still has some beautiful people and interesting things that are worth living for."

"Spite and the power of being unbelievably sexy. Next question."

"It's 'cause my parents decided to fuck back in march of '99. And now I'm here."

"Probably a healthy dose of fear of death."

"Why not?"

I'm alive to answer this question!

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juicemitio · 4 years

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Alright I went to Louisville Galaxycon and saw Travis and Clint twice, for their worldbuilding workshop and their Q&A. Here's some interesting stuff I learned (I didn't include stuff they talked about that's pretty common knowledge or they talked about on the last ttazz)

Graduation

Fitzroy was originally going to be a jock that was weak bc he no longer had a team, Travis told Griffin that that didn't really work for the world so they reframed it as him training to be a hero, was great academically and behaviorally, but had a problem no one had seen before and no one felt like dealing with. It specifically wasn't "barbarian fails bc he can't keep his rage in check," it was that no one was willing to deal with his magic so they shipped him off

Someone asked Travis to explain fitzroy's magic, so from the DM's mouth- he's a barbarian subtype with elemental magic which has a random effect while raging, which we haven't seen yet (path of the wild soul if you want to look it up and see what he can do) and he took a feat which gives him the ability to cast 3 cantrips of his choosing. What I thought was interesting was that Travis described Fitz's magic using the word "elemental" twice, even though that isn't specifically stated in the path of the wild soul entry

Travis knows Argo's secret and is very excited about it

Clint has a pirate fiction book he reads every night before they record to get into the headspace to play Argo, he told us the name but I forgot it

There is one small little concept that made the whole of graduation make sense to Travis and is what the arc will be about, and he only figured it out a few days before recording. Obviously he didn't tell us what it was

Originally it was going to start with everyone starting at age 11 and slowly killing the other kids off, but Justin didn't feel comfortable playing a game surrounded by kids dying

The accounting scene is already one of Travis' all time favorite taz scenes

The pegasus scene informed Travis on exactly how he was going to treat the firbolg

Also Travis referred to Justin's character exclusively as "the firbolg," which means "master firbolg" is solely a thing going on with the npcs in the game which I find hilarious. They just all decided to give him a dope title bc he deserves it, meanwhile no one will call Fitzroy "sir"

To Fitzroy, social threats are an extremely real and serious thing, like the Biggest thing to him (we were talking about what characters found threatening in the workshop, for context)

There's some big concept/idea that comes up in the next episode that travis almost let spill and had to quickly stop himself from saying it

Someone mentioned eating breakfast in their question in the workshop and Travis goofed on it for a second, then said "cereal world" suddenly, and Clint had to pick up the question bc Travis had to take a second to make a note of it in his phone

Travis started brainstorming graduation in March and they recorded the first episode in October, and his main job in that time was working on graduation

Before Buckminster was adapted for graduation he could not fight at all, if he got into a fight he would die, he poured everything into charisma and could talk his way out of any fight (even the big bad of the game he crit 20d his check and the big bad walked away from the fight)

Travis is really into psychology and how if you assign a label to someone they're going to act more like it (ie you tell a kid they're amazing and smart and talented and they become more like that, you tell a kid they're annoying and dumb and a problem they become more like that), and how that was a major contributor to play into hero/villain/sidekick/henchperson dynamics, you get assigned this arbitrary title of good/evil/subservient and you become like that to fit the role, and then the inevitable pushing against that mold

Travis is fully aware of his story being compared to harry potter and he doesn't care bc it's apt (people in a school arbitrarily divided into four groups and one of them is the Bad One), also he knows people describe it as "sky high meets Harry Potter meets my hero academia" and he actually finds that really flattering bc he thinks that sounds cool and like something he'd want to watch

On that note, Travis is a self-identified Slytherin and he's always upheld that the reason Slytherin is depicted in a bad light is bc Rowling decided she didn't like them, and he's always sympathized with the idea of a first year Slytherin working their ass off following the rules and doing their work and getting points, and Dumbledore rewards three idiots for breaking like every rule and pulls the trophy away from you. This was a big inspiration for graduation, of one group getting a bad rep and being portrayed as evil for literally no reason

Amnesty

Clint & Travis's favorite scene they've ever done together was Ned & Aubrey's final scene together

Aubrey and Dani do move in with each other at the end of amnesty

Balance

Travis' main emotion around taz is pride and he's most proud of the scene in stolen century with the spirits in the robots, bc they had to record it a second time bc it got way too dark and ended in a really grim way and about 20 min after they finished they all decided that they weren't happy with it, that it didn't fit the tone, he's really proud they didn't just leave it be and they took the second pass at it to make it right

I'm pretty sure he's talked about wanting to kill Magnus off at the beginning before but he mentioned that it was only at the end of petals to the metal he actually realized he wanted Magnus to live, bc Hurley had to sacrifice herself to save Magnus bc Magnus had been so reckless, that hit Travis really hard. Travis realized that Magnus' recklessness was getting people hurt and so Magnus did too, so Magnus become a bit more cautious and took up rogue training to try not to get anyone killed again

Dust

Dust wasn't designed to be anything more than a one off and the workload was completely unsustainable, the document of notes for dust was about 100 pages and only about 10% of it got used

The reason Travis loved it so much was bc it was a mystery and he found it really fun

Commitment

Clint would love to revisit commitment, but probably not in podcast form bc he didn't find himself really being in the moment as much bc of all the different things he had to keep track of, he'd like to see a comic adaptation/continuation if possible

It was based of a comic he wrote that never got published bc the company producing it failed (he still cashed his paycheck) so he reused it bc he still liked it a lot, it was about how America was founded as a monarchy instead of a democracy and what that changed in the usa's (united sovereignty of america's) history, and how people now were fighting to establish a democracy. Also there were cowboys and spaceships and other cool stuff he put in there bc he liked it

General adventure zone

The reason why they're are able to do romantic relationships w/o being weirded out by it (they joke about it but they don't actually care) is bc it's never done in an explicit or sexual way and since it's the decision the characters would make to pursue the relationship then that's the decision they make. He reframed it as it wouldn't be weird if a family were writing a script together and there was a romance and one person wrote lines for one character and the other wrote lines for the other. He did mention that two siblings playing characters in a relationship as actors on screen wouldn't be cool though

They sometimes get comments that some of the stuff they do is "fanservice," but they feel that they owe their success to their fans and they owe some to them

They are both aware of and proud that Justin is the best at character creation, Clint specifically really was talking about how Justin's strong suit is definitely character creation and characterization

General mcelroy stuff

They walked pretty close to me when they entered the stage room for the q&a and like… they're short, like shorter than you think

Travis referred to his unborn child as "baby dod" (I'm not 100% certain but I'm pretty sure) which I looked up and is a nickname for George, and given with their older kid being named Barbera and nicknamed BeBe and Travis talking before about how he and his wife like classic names with cool nicknames it makes sense

Travis had an earing in his right ear, I didn't get to see his left ear and I couldn't tell if it was an actual piercing or a fake, it looked really good though. Also his tinted glasses look a lot cooler irl than they do in pictures

Clint told the teenage mutant Ninja turtle story with the signatures that griffin told on mbmbam, but Clint remembered it as happening at King's Island, not Disney. This story was prompted by the question of the biggest lie he ever told his kids, and he only came clean about this a few months ago

Travis told a story about how he finished a videogame when he was younger and was so excited that he picked up a plastic knife, yelled "throwing knife!" threw it directly at Griffin who dodged it and it hit and shattered a window

#taz #taz graduation #taz amnesty #taz balance #taz commitment #taz dust #travis mceloy #clint mcelroy #mbmbam #mcelroys #also i left out the actual worldbuilding tips bc the workshop is something you pay for and it wouldnt be fair if they wanted to do it again

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neubauje · 7 years

Conversation

Ancient jewish puns

[3:59:44 AM] neubauje: lol you should have seen me today

[4:00:07 AM] neubauje: I went on a mini-rant about my "own" religion to my innocent bystander friends

[4:00:17 AM] neubauje: they didn't say a WORD

[4:00:32 AM] Spazfox: Fun times.

(this is where I would insert a line break if I knew how)

Nie, [25.04.17 13:56][throws cold ham at]

Randy Skayvage, [25.04.17 13:56]um

Nie, [25.04.17 13:57]Thats what im eating

Randy Skayvage, [25.04.17 13:57]what's ham made out of dumbass

Nie, [25.04.17 13:57]Pork, but last i checked you didnt eat kosher

Randy Skayvage, [25.04.17 13:57]bruh I haven't eaten pork in 10+ years

Nie, [25.04.17 13:58]Bruh you never told me that

Nie, [25.04.17 13:58]Just that you hated bacon

Randy Skayvage, [25.04.17 13:58]and what is bacon made of

Nie, [25.04.17 13:58]You can hate bacon without hating pork dumbass

Nie, [25.04.17 13:58]Dont try to guilt trip me for you not tellin me shit lol

Randy Skayvage, [25.04.17 13:59][ 😟 Sticker ]

Doom, [25.04.17 13:59]Funny story that shows my Spanish has clearly deteriorated. So I'm at a cafe and they have 'pata' for sale and I'm like 'ah, a duck sandwich. I fucking love duck I'll have it'. So there I am happily eating my sandwich and my mum pops back from some sort of appointment and she's like 'you know that's pig's foot right?'. Pata means foot. Pato is duck.

Nie, [25.04.17 14:00]LOL

Doom, [25.04.17 14:00]I was wondering why it was so fatty and stringy

Nie, [25.04.17 14:01]well now you know you like the taste of pata

Nie, [25.04.17 14:01]Maybe not the texture though

neubauje, [25.04.17 14:23]I don't prefer most pork things, but I'll eat it if that's what's for lunch iykwim

neubauje, [25.04.17 14:23]Keeping kosher is waaay too much trouble in america

neubauje, [25.04.17 14:24]And I do like a good cheeseburger

Randy Skayvage, [25.04.17 14:24]pork is the easiest to avoid so that's what I cut out

Randy Skayvage, [25.04.17 14:24]but you'll pry my cheese and meat tacos from my cold dead hands

neubauje, [25.04.17 14:24]What about shrimp and catfish

Randy Skayvage, [25.04.17 14:24]never been a fan of seafood

neubauje, [25.04.17 14:25]Well there you go

neubauje, [25.04.17 14:25]What I always found ridiculous about keeping kosher is the "building a wall around the torah" aspect... When they build a wall around the wall and then a wall around that wall

neubauje, [25.04.17 14:27]Like they take the line "don't boil a calf in its mother's milk" and instead of taking away "hey maybe we shouldn't be unnecessarily cruel and thoughtless to animals" they ended up with "don't mix milk with meat"

neubauje, [25.04.17 14:27]Including chicken meat, which doesn't even lactate??

neubauje, [25.04.17 14:27]Noooo problem mixing chicken meat with eggs though

neubauje, [25.04.17 14:28]As for which animals are/are not kosher? Totally arbitrary. They were based on classifications at a time when bats were still considered birds

Randy Skayvage, [25.04.17 14:29]Not necessarily. If you consider it in terms of which foods would/wouldn't spoil quickly or have the potential to be dangerous health-wise.

neubauje, [25.04.17 14:29]At the time? Maybe. These days, no longer relevant

neubauje, [25.04.17 14:30]But that's all the ranting about my own religion that I have time for right now I got to be going to work

[4:04:25 AM] neubauje: do NOT feel obligated to read all that

[4:04:31 AM] neubauje: the top bit is mostly for context

[4:04:55 AM] neubauje: as it turns out, I still silently hold a grudge against my more conservative family members

[4:06:39 AM] neubauje: the reasonings they give for still being as observant as they are have always seemed like indoctrinated bullshit based mostly in faith and tradition

[4:07:03 AM] neubauje: like, I GET tradition? as in, a way to spiritually connect with your ancestors? but like... there's a line, yo.

[4:07:16 AM] neubauje: and faith, I just have zero patience for

[4:07:33 AM] Spazfox: It's almost like rules dreamed up in the bronze age and sold as being holy are kinda dumb. :P

[4:07:45 AM] neubauje: almost!!

[4:07:56 AM] Spazfox: Bats are birds, ya know.

[4:08:02 AM] neubauje: -_-

[4:10:37 AM] neubauje: so do I consider myself jewish? kinda. if one can be a secular jew, that's what I am. in the spirit of understanding and acknowledging my ancestry, I learn the history, I learn the rules and the reasons, I learn the Hebrew. but I make my own decisions and lifestyle from there thank you very much.

[4:10:51 AM] neubauje: and honestly, if you ask me, the best parts of Judaism are all about that kind of mindset anyway

[4:31:28 AM] neubauje: aha, after doing some more research on the passage in question, I see now that there are TWO words in the "birds not to eat" section which both have very little context elsewhere in the torah... so scholars are pretty much guessing that at least one of them means "bat" but they aren't sure which one, and what the other one would be

[4:31:53 AM] neubauje: that's the trouble with dead languages :/

[4:32:28 AM] neubauje: I wanna know how they managed to figure out what the Hebrew word for "hyrax" was... I don't recall there ever being any other context for a hyrax

[4:32:57 AM] Spazfox: You know, somebody should come up with a method for working out how the world actually functions instead of just using guesswork and folk wisdom.

[4:33:07 AM] neubauje: you mean science?

[4:33:16 AM] Spazfox: Something like that.

[4:35:53 AM] neubauje: yeah basically this whole chapter reads like a beginner's guide to virology

[4:36:08 AM] neubauje: they even mention carcasses falling into earthenware which must then be shattered

[4:36:20 AM] neubauje: because it won't air out like clothing or wooden vessels will

[4:36:36 AM] neubauje: they were TRYING to science, they just weren't very good at it yet

[4:37:51 AM] Spazfox: Yeah, it kinda took people a while.

[4:38:11 AM] Spazfox: And, like, books and stuff.

[4:39:01 AM] neubauje: yeeeahhhh about four or five thousand years, give or take

[4:48:09 AM] neubauje: oh my god are you kidding me

http://thetorah.com/meat-and-milk-origins-in-the-text/

[4:48:24 AM] neubauje: okay so the milk and meat thing? turns out it has nothing to do with cooking at all

[4:48:34 AM] neubauje: it's just a turn of phrase for "hey don't procrastinate"

[4:48:42 AM] Spazfox: HA!

[4:49:17 AM] neubauje: even the guys looking at it in the second context have completely missed that it STILL works as "hey don't procrastinate" just a little more of a pun based on what they were saying not to procrastinate about

[4:50:00 AM] neubauje: (which was don't WAIT until the animal has already died before you eat it, make sure it dies by your hand... because illness is a thing that might have killed it)

[4:50:27 AM] neubauje: omfg

[4:50:32 AM] neubauje: I just... I can't anymore

[4:50:44 AM] neubauje: the ancient jews made a fucking pun

[4:50:55 AM] neubauje: and people are like "hurr durr no more cheeseburgers"

#judaism #kosher #kashrut #the torah #hebrew #my judaism #long post is long

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