#i lack creativity as you can see

[utilitycaster]

I just want to say, that I agree with almost all of your Critical Role takes and you have 1000% better and more nuanced takes than all of Twitter and I greatly appreciate it! The takes over there regarding Liliana and the gods are just wild and you bring some much needed sanity to the content I see

Thanks! I hope you don't mind because I've been thinking about this re: the Twitter takes but the thing about Twitter and Liliana specifically that I've seen is that there's this really bizarre fetishization of like, the fact that she is a (white) southerner (this also weirdly happened for Birdie though to a much lesser extent, and the person who spearheaded that wasn't even American so I have to assume this is a specific corner of Twitter Culture At Large). And like, here's the thing. It's true that fantasy tends to be very British in its accents, and it's also true that accents in a fantasy world are used to convey the same things we'd assume in our world - RP British for educated, southern American for rural, Cockney for rougher types, etc.

It's also true that laying the exact socioeconomic parallels from our world onto, say, Liliana and Orym (who reads to me as non-regional but I, like Liam, am from the Northeast originally) is a recipe for disaster. Or rather, it's not, but it is going to reaffirm your own biases, some of which are dangerous to reaffirm.

There was a popular post on Tumblr a while back, probably not long after Trump was elected, of someone talking about how they were convincing a relative with the confederate flag towards socialism by appealing to the idea of "isn't in unfair how uneven wealth distribution is and how a small group has so much control" and a number of people were rightfully like "uh, maybe you should focus on the racism" or "hey OP ask your relative who they think that small group in control is because I'm getting a really bad feeling they're going to say it's The Jews." And I feel that a lot of the empathy for Liliana from those spaces feels like that OP. Or in other words: I get that you see your relatives in Liliana. Unfortunately, I cannot help but see me and mine in Orym.

You see someone trapped by circumstance and desperation in a dangerous ideology. I see the fact that I haven't gone to a synagogue in easily 6-7 years without there being a security guard present and usually, the doors locked with someone looking through the window to let you in, and then in the sanctuary there's been an installation so that you can quickly bar all the doors in case an alarm goes off or you hear shots in the lobby.

I think there's a great case for seeing yourself in Imogen, who is in a painful struggle with the fact that her mother does love her very much but is in dangerously deep and has done a number of incredibly terrible and harmful things. That latter point is important, incidentally; I get that cult members sometimes rise through the ranks but all but the leader are being manipulated. But the fact remains that a brainwashed person can still commit atrocities, and in this story, they have, many times over. It's especially true because like...sure, plenty of people are like "I lost my relative to a cult and I just want them back and I couldn't harm them," but also, as we've seen, this cult can and will harm Imogen! Plenty of people are also like "yeah I gotta cut them off, it hurts but unfortunately my horribly bigoted and violent relative, while a victim of brainwashing, is a threat to me too." It's not even the full picture of the Temult side of things, let alone the picture that includes the Vanguard's victims.

I also think the Southern gatekeeping is unhinged because it's like. guys there's QAnon members and other cults across the country; the Confederate flag example above was actually notable in that OP wasn't even Southern so you couldn't even write the flag off as deeply misguided heritage but rather was explicitly being used as a hate symbol. It's awfully presumptive to assume all southerners have the same experience (especially since the Temults are portrayed, physically and in accents, as white southerners, not that the experiences of white southerners aren't also incredibly varied). It's awfully presumptive to assume that people find Liliana threatening because they have no personal experience with people like her; often, it's because they have all too real experience with people like her, and it says something even worse about you if you can say "but you guys, I see me and my family in Liliana" when people are telling you that they see them and their families in Orym. I would not, personally, publicly admit that one's empathy extends to the people who remind you of your family but runs out before it reaches their victims. Nor would I publicly admit that I assume everyone who disagrees with me clearly has never had personal experience with this topic.

I should also note that, as I've noted a number of times before, that these are fictional characters and not real people. Twitter seems to be really fucking bad at grasping that. Like, yes, this is the other thing; I do not think that OP should kill their Confederate flag-toting relative, whereas if Imogen did so to Liliana I'd be like "hell yeah." The former is a real person who I do hope gets deprogrammed, just, you know, maybe adjust those priorities; the latter is a fictional character in a story.

#answered #anonymous #if steel had a southern accent do you think people would feel differently about her? sound off in the comments i guess. #cr spoilers #it really is like. with the people who can't separate characters from real people...there's this assumption #that everyone who doesn't agree with them lacks the same experiences or is bigoted #don't like liliana? well it's because you're not southern. don't like laudna? it's because you're neurotypical and straight and hate women. #notice how none of these carry within them any argument within the text? notice how they just rely on the assumption #that you can only understand things through direct personal experience and not like...thought and empathy? #that if you fit certain demographics you obviously Will hold these exact opinions bc clearly all nd people or wlw are a monolith? #it's like. yeah man i see why you have more sympathy for the vanguard than their victims...you think like a cultist even if you're not one #you say There's Those Who Understand And Have The Mandate of Heaven Because We're (southern or nd or queer or whatever) #and then there's Them The Ones Who Don't Get It And Never Will Bc They're Not Like Us (even though plenty of times...they are) #anyway. as always i am sorry that twitter sucking hurts the careers of countless creatives #but i think it does foster this sort of no-nuance no-argument Me First thinking so. can't be too sorry. #long post

[katyspersonal]

Tumblr sorta needs a 'Mute' feature in my opinion. Like what if I don't want to block this user, what if I don't want to become enemies and in some days I'd like to interact. But also most of the time seeing how they avidly encourage everyone else whereas I get the passive-aggressive 'oh yeah very uhh... interesting... (please leave me alone I don't like your art lol)' makes me want to unfollow every single fan of these characters and never draw them again.

I remember two years ago the exact same thing happened when someone liked the same character and the same ship and I swear I was the only person in the fandom they bluntly left out and could not spare a single good word for. I can't even blame this on my art being "ugly" because this type of user always aggressively praises all art styles and all levels of skill, it feels more like 'a personal thing except we never fought a single time'. And now my toxic trait of needing approval from [cool person name] is back to haunt me years later! Add the unability to "abandon" this character/ship/whatever despite wanting to after facing so much unspoken passive spite, because I am a contrarian and the best way to trap me into doing something is to try to exclude me from it. I didn't face attempts to very aggressively bully me out of the yard/class/community/etc, sometimes with physical violence included, only to let something mid like passive aggression online finally do it.

I am really stupid and naive person despite my age, but in like 5% of the cases I will still understand the hint and understand what is going on. Yet I have to pretend to be clueless even in rare situations when I know someone hates me, because since they never admitted it, quitting will be perceived as me being "paranoid". But dear goooood, it hurts sometimes. I hope that one day I will be numbed to being treated as a tumor on an otherwise healthy body of society that someone is dying to amputate- and always a person whose approval I want, of all people. Knowing that this day will come is one of the things that keep me going as both a person and a creator. Things like viruses and diseases still try their best to persist, so even if I am actually one, I should persist. It doesn't matter whether I actually rot everything around me or this is just my self-depreciating delusion upon focusing on people that mistreated me and not people that loved me. What matters is persisting, I just still feel angry that it hurts. I can't respond spite with spite or passive aggression with passive aggression, I can't do the 'smug asshole' when I become aware that someone tries to starve me until I "die". I can just fall over and cry about it like a kicked dog, despite being so old, especially when it is a person I didn't have anything against.

And really.. It is as simple as turning the internet off, so I don't see The Person and can focus on doing stuff that I like, as if they never existed and can't crash my self-esteem. It is just annoying to keep doing this, a feature to not see them unless I am in the mood would be better. Like.. blocking is not an option. Not only it implies being enemies which is not my intention, but also it will be like an "evidence" that I was "crazy". They didn't do anything, right? Well, they know what they did, but it was never verbal, so it is my fault I "imagined things", right?

#/vent #/negative #/HEAVILY negative #fandomry rambles #like I started crying typing this do not read it unless you already know #it is just stupid how I don't even need any sort of drama to *just* annoy people to THIS severe point #like I said even before everything there was a very similar situation #I just evoke some primal hatred in specific type of people #it is probably what happened with maasanox but they apologized and moreover felt bad vibes from the stalker bully idiot #it is more like that meme from Lilo and Stitch #'ah yeah all artists and other creative fans deserve knowing they are liked and talented and supported...' #*katya walks in* 'EXCEPT THAT ONE!!!!!!!' #the punchline is that the two years ago guy and todays guy are fans of the same character #I swear the fictional bastard has abnormal ability to reveal the ugliest truths and bring out the worst in people #like the last time someone kinned the twink every single person here showed their true face and that was painful #not a single person got spared of showing what they were made of and me lacking spine was the LEAST of the sins brought up for judgement #you see this is why truth hurts. because people are terrible. truth is always ugly because WE are always ugly #I kinda love him for that but seriously can he stop making the worst things surface for FIVE minutes lol #in my excuse I am TRYING to kill my 'inner child' because these problems are too stupid but it seems impossible #I am a kicked dog with rabies in the past today and always

[lenteur]

one of my biggest kpop pet peeves is the way some teasers do not match the song at all. i'm mostly talking about pictures, but it happens with the mv teasers as well. like, i've seen teasers that hinted at a bubbly pop song and then...................... it's a r&b song. like, come on! teasers are supposed to both hype the public up and hint at what the song might sound like. whenever the teasers don't match the song, i don't want to be there for the artist's new comeback. i'm just tired of it all man...

#i do have a problem with teasers in general #i know kpop is based on visuals a lot #but you don't need 324787452121 versions of teaser pics for a new song/album #especially because most companies lack a clear and cohesive direction #for example: rv's chill kill teaser pics are very different when it comes to quality #the first pics were excellent amazing totally unique so creative and every variation of the word #these should have been the only teaser pics because the rest were lacklustre #when it comes to mv teasers it's less visible because you literally listen to a part of the song #but for some songs you can clearly see they decided to only put the best part as the teaser so people will listen #when the song comes out you end up realising that the only good part of the song was the teaser #sorry i had to let that out #smal talk

[thedisablednaturalist]

Unfortunately all chatgpt is good for is interview/job application stuff which I think says a lot about the hiring process as a whole

#wrenfea.exe #as an actual artifical intelligence? no its horrible bc it really ISNT one #its a writing synthesizer it generates writing based on data searches and boundaries from training #thats what a neural network is its a very convoluted input-output sequence #it has no capacity to understand the meaning behind what it generates #it is simply generating the specific things that the user is looking for #the job interview process has become so robotic and automized that ai fits in perfectly #but employers HATE that people are turning to chatgpt for cover letters and interview answers #so it was fair for them to use filtering programs to accept/deny applications before it got in front of an actual human being #and its ok for them to use ai and pre-written formats to make job announcements descriptions and interview questions #but god forbid we are forced to use those exact same tools to get a humans attention so we can get a job and not starve #pushing aside the whole copyright debate on chatgpt and the environmental impact of its power usage btw #im soley analyzing how its become commonly utilized on both sides #by interviewer and interviewed #the mechanization of the whole process is now on both sides #it just seems very inhuman.. #its also how some people have figured out how to somehow become employed multiple times by the same company due to lack of human oversight #and how automated theyve made their hiring process #probably should have made these tags into a separate reblog oops #also disclaimer do not cut and paste right into your application materials bc chatgpt often just lies #also many places now can tell you used chatgpt due to how similar its answers are #i only use it to make a template and see how things can be phrased to be more professional and buzzwordy #id never use it for something actually creative #and dear god do not write academic essays with it #i tried using it to supplement my own cover letter template but it was too robotic even for a cover letter #it is very good at accessing and summarizing publically available information #thats all it does not make sure the information is true or good

[yelloworangesoda]

gotta get off the internet and only interact irl with people who were 30 before they got their shit together i cant keep doing it like this

#like this being. feeling like i have no future and nobody likes me #‘youre only 19’ only goes so far when i dont know any other fail 19 year olds #im not gonna be a damn dentist for sure but like. and ive said this a thousand times. what am i gonna do. i cant live a worthless nothing #life where i work a shitty job i hate. i have to like something #i hate my art. i hate my lack of creativity. my art is so bland i just dont think its in me anymore #i finished. and i hate it #i have other hobbies. i like to cross stitch. i like to sew. i like to paint. i like to make dolls. do you see the common theme here #i have a few more than that i technically could do but i cant create anymore and it kills me. i want to. i constantly want to but i cant #it doesnt help that even if i havw ideas i dont even want to do them #i was gonna draw some characters from a game i played when i was little but i just #didnt want to. at no point did it not feel like a chore #ill try to go to new mediums! its fun to mess around and then itll feel boring again and going back doesnt feel any better #idk. googling it is useless. ive tried all the things. for years. ive been TRYING to draw consistently and like. doodles are fine theyre fu #but theyre not what i want to do i want to make something im proud of. i drew almost every single day for like 2 years #and its not burnout bc its been like. 2 more years! and ive barely wanted to at all!!! #i want to be creative and i also want people to recognize it. different complaint but it sucks so bad #i feel like nobody likes me. still. nobody cares about what i do. nobody would care if i stopped #like except me but i can only support myself so far!!!! im so tired of it!!!! someone PLEASE be here for me and just say ‘hey i love this #drawing :)’ like you have no idea what that would do for me #not always. but yknow especially if its been a while. if you like it. if you dont like it :( idk. you should tell me that too i guess #yknow so i can have some confirmation so i dont feel like im crazy. idk. dont actually id never go online again. i would probably. well. #i dont like to say the words #simons spouting #vent :(

[asteralien]

"free verse and not having to rhyme or keep a meter in poetry makes writing poetry more accessible for anyone to write it" we are surrounded by rhymes and meters the stupidest pop song on the top 40 is riddled with rhymes and meters anyone can do that shit anyone can fucking rhyme

you can rhyme

i can rhyme

rhyming is

a real good time

there rhyming poem done and dusted a single word over one syllable and it took me 7 seconds. it's a stupid poem but guess what it's still a poem. anyone can write fucking rhymed and metered poetry and it's insulting 2 me that people are still up free verse's ass when rhyming is so much fun and artificial restrictions that you choose for yourself can sometimes make creativity bloom so much more effectively than if you're only ever doing notes app poetry and calling it good. try doing a rhyme sometime or searching out different poetry forms. for gods sakes. can we be done with instapoetry yet are we over it can we move on can we have a new thing

#i fucking love free verse. btw #there is nothing wrong with free verse it can be everything #but the fact that it can be everything means that it can very easily be nothing #and people think line breaks make a free verse poem and like. sure. but we can all see the lack of creative effort #and i just dont see how poetry that lacks creative effort is worth part of my one wild and precious life #like if you the poet cannot be assed to care. why should i. what are we communicating except lack of respect #for each other and for the artform #mythtakes #sorry i am going to take my meds now and go to sleep #and hopefully get a hard reset for the weekend #and for gods sakes again i am not trying to be some weird trad about poetry there has been mediocre poetry of all kinds for all of time #rhyming doesnt make a poem good meter doesnt make a poem good #but the like abandonment of rhyme in poetry These Days is such a loss to me personally and i don't know why were so afraid of it #havent we killed the beast of prescriptivism and formalism and pretension yet. why can't we do some rhymes again. #bebe rexha gets to rhyme ed sheeran gets to rhyme maroon 5 gets to rhyme. these idiots get to rhyme and poets dont???

[medicinemane]

Now it looks like fuckall, but this is the first time in a long time I've wired any redstone up

Like to be clear, this isn't me making up any redstone, that's all in the door I made and to a lesser extent some shitty bullshit wiring I did in another area; this is just copying redstone from another part of the world that I built there using a tutorial

Just been a long time since I felt like doing even this much with it

Obviously it's not hooked up to a proper button yet, not gonna trigger it with that lovely piston/redstone block set up, especially since it won't even open from this side, it's exit only

...but it's wired up now (it's not worth me making a video of or anything, literally just 3 1x2 hipster doors stacked next to each other

#...maybe I'll finish up the redstone in a bunch of areas while I'm designing this #...would be good to get it out of the way #just redstone still makes me feel kind of shitty for the same reason it has for some time #...and of all the posts to bother tagging; this is just me talking to myself; but I feel like tumblr might pick up redstone in the tags #and this isn't even the interesting thing I've been designing in creative to import to the survival server #it's the massive underwater cavern just to the left of this that I finished shaping the other day and now need to retexture #that's the actually good looking part #if you somehow see this while browsing some tag and you want to see that; I don't know; drop me an ask or something #I just didn't bother tagging it cause it wasn't worth it #hopefully this isn't tagged either; this is just me rambling to myself #but drop me an ask if you really want to see it; or something like that; I can share some pictures of the cavern #it has it's shape; but it lacks the depth adding mossy and andesite will give it

[iwantyoursexmp3]

pantsing has to be my least fave writing term ever WHY is that the popular term for "writing without an outline". it literally tells you NOTHING about what that kind of writing process entails !!! no wonder some writers and self proclaimed teachers of writing have such an obtuse take on "plotting" vs "pantsing"

#wtf does fly by the seat of your pants even mean...... #to be honest i dont think Plantser would need to be a term really if people weren't being taught that pantsing was primarily #writing with No plan at all #to me 'pantsing' (discovery writing for me) is that you prioritise working with the draft as you draft it #to understand what it needs as you go. you need to be within the draft to do that #rather than working with an outline ahead of time #bc the reason i struggle with outlining beyond like. worldbuilding for genre fiction is its too bird eyes view for me #so i prefer it for editing #i think we should focus on what that entails rather than define a writing process by what it doesn't include #not to dismiss the people who are really elitist about discovery writing because they are out there #but i feel like a lot of the Generic writing advice i see #contains a lot of multitudes in regards to outlining and the different ways you can outline #but treats discovery writing as only being defined by the lack of an outline #but also just generally i think both 'sides' are often treated really shallowly by generic writing advice #because the fact there's a dichotomy takes away the complexity from both #i think people would understand outlining better if it was treated as like #why can an outline benefit someone creatively? what kind of story/writer can it benefit this way? #rather than Outline Is When You Know What Happen Going In #So You Write Book Faster (???) #also remove the idea that a draft is messy because you dont have an outline and you'll need to edit more #even when that is the case - i would rather edit than outline because editing works with my brain better than outlining ahead of a draft #i want to make a post about this but idk how to word it better than this rn or make it more organised so tag essay for now #the dallonwrites substack on this would hit though #like i know its the popular term so thats why people use it but i kind of just dont engage with any writing advice that uses pantsing #unless i know the person behind it well enough to know #they are going to treat it - and outlining - with the complexity it deserves #how many people ACTUALLY know what pantsing means

[birb-reblogs]

I’m seeing lots of ar/t figh/t stuff going around for July, and I always wish I had the motivation to participate. It seems so cool and fun! But I feel like a fraud b/c I have such a dispassion for my own OCs.

I have OCs- all older- just little interest in drawing them. Most of my characters were created for RP-adjacent groups on dA back in the day, and while I think I'm decent at thinking up concepts/stories and chars within a framework or based off a premise, I've never had any particular (original) passion projects I wanted to bring to life outside of that. (A few v vague ideas, but nothing of substance or that I'm attached to, anyway.)

This is kind of a meandering post but like, it's part me wanting to join a fun creative bandwagon (even if idk how much I'd actually vibe with the crowd), and more than that me feeling weird about not having more interest in my own work.

#embracing fanart and letting go of seeing it as 'lesser' than original work has been freeing in a lot of ways #but so many artists have stories they care deeply about and I've always felt lacking that I don't #less valid or like an impostor as a creative #a studio or network could bankroll me right now and offer to make any pitch I wanted a reality and I'd have nothing for em #I also think it sometimes makes it hard to connect w/ others over original work or OCs #b/c not a lot of reciprocity and mutual enthusiasm/sharing can happen yk #even if I think I'm not lacking anything and there's nothing wrong with just drawing stuff that makes you happy I still get caught up #personal post

[burntoutdaydreamer]

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

[beroidae]

ngl now that i've had a nice long break from tw*tter i kinda regret deleting my acct there .. i don't think i was the only one drawing t4t stuff out yhere but man it sure did feel like it

#txt tag #nsft #(in the tags sowwy) #but god it was almost always cis/cis or cis/trans and always piv piv piv piv ENOUGH WITH THE FUCKING PIV #the lack of creativity was ASTOUNDING like ok you made a character trans? that's great- oh you only made him trans so he can bottom for piv #oh you made this lesbian character trans? that's awesome- oh more piv. not even gonna make them both trans and frot it out i see how it is #and this is coming from someone who likes piv too like after a certain point enough is enough it's just too much

[causticsunshine]

hii thank you for your reply abt your WIP! i only started scrolling through your blog after sending that ask, and realised that you’ve been talking (in the tags lol) about being burnt out :( rly sorry to add to that anxiety & ofc i’ll be very excited to read anything you come up with, whenever you come up with it!

hello again and ofc ty for the message! please don’t worry about it; it’s not like you had any malicious intent besides curiosity and it wouldn’t be fair or realistic of me to expect people to just Know when i’m busy or not feeling well or anything like that in the first place either, so no harm, no foul. also i really appreciate your support and understanding, so thank you again for the message and i hope to be in a better state for creating and updating soon 💗💗

#don’t mind me rambling here but to add onto my last reply: #also my hell job that i don’t want to be working but need to work at for $$ also doesn’t help my lack of artistic drive so #couple that with how much i did this year and still have left to finish + not having finished or been happy w my art #in awhile (again) and it’s inevitable i would end my year very drained and with things to carry over into the new year #but my fic plans for 2023 are finishing this year’s wips and only signing up for the #two fests i’m already signed up for so. here’s to hoping next year will actually be better for me at the very least creatively speaking #so i can wrap up my fic wips and get next year’s pieces done in a timely manner and #make some art fr like that’s all i can hope for — getting to actually do things w my art and find enjoyment in any creating i do #especially seeing how the current online landscape treats artists and other genres of creatives and how disheartening it often is these #days to try and just like make your stuff and hope it goes somewhere and pray the pressures of constantly posting and catering to an #audience don’t get to you too much…. even in fan spaces the treatment of creatives these past few years has been Bonkers so like #@ anon i really do appreciate your understanding and support ! #anon #answered

[holdoncallfailed]

rpf tier ranking

tier 0: actors. too easy. actors fall in love all the time due to proximity and amount of time spent together, especially if they are playing characters who are themselves in a relationship.

tier 1: bands (post-80s). writing songs together is incredibly intimate and requires emotional vulnerability. tours are great opportunities to spend a lot of time in an enclosed space together. sometimes they will sing into the same microphone at the same time so their mouths are close together which is basically making out if you think about it.

tier 2: bands (pre-80s). see above. however this requires slightly more mental fortitude because a lot of their fans will insist on their heterosexuality and get really mad when you say simon and garfunkel were kissing on each other or whatever.

tier 3: contact sports team. sports can be emotionally intense if you care about that sort of thing and obviously there are a lot of opportunities for intricate rituals wrt touching another's skin and locker rooms and all that. but this requires more imagination because there is less text (i.e. songs or correspondence) to use as evidence.

tier 4: solo artists. this is where things can fall apart. you have to choose both figures in the ship wisely and exercise a decent amount of creativity because they are not compelled to be together all the time (see above). you can cast a wider net but that lack of specificity may hurt those with weaker imaginations. also they don't always write their own songs.

tier 5: historical figures. this varies a lot both in terms of plausibility and social acceptability. depending on how old the figures are you could legitimately turn this into an academic dissertation if you wanted to commit that hard to it. however you may also come up against a lot of opposition among your colleagues. one must be intellectually prepared to present concrete evidence and argue one's point. (however, you are also more likely to convince people b/c the figures are old and dead and can't deny it. and probably didn't know what rpf is.)

tier 5.5: historical figures who have been fictionalized in media. this depends on the tone you take but unfortunately you will always be up against thomas jefferson hatsune miku binder as the starting point for the general public's thoughts on your hobby. so good luck.

tier 6: racecar drivers. if you are into racecar rpf i assume you are capable of seeing colors that are not visible to the ordinary human eye. they are literally in cars. the creativity required to wring a [romantic] narrative from people driving cars around a track is beyond my comprehension.

tier π: living politicians. you are a pariah among even your most deranged peers. no one respects you. you are categorically a weirdo and beyond help.

#text

[sapphia]

The thing I love about Hbomberguy’s latest video essay on plagiarism is it really gets to the root of why someone plagiarises, which in turn reassures the audience of the soundness of their own creative process and that of the creatives they love. He spends so much time praising and analysing the difference between derivative works (non-negative) and plagiarised works that it reassures and broadens the knowledge of other creatives and of the audiences consuming their works, which in turn helps assuage any unconscious reactionary feelings of “But this other creative I love does something slightly similar”.

As someone who writes, and as someone who went through the churn-em-out of the modern university degree system and all the plagiarism anxiety that comes with that, the topic of copying and mimicking other creatives is a heavy and ill-understood topic in so many spaces. The education system, at least in my country, went from encouraging rote-learning and copying by rewarding those who best memorised answers previously learned (e.g. exam answer schedules, memorising the wording of pre-practiced essays) to encouraging original thought in extensively-written about topics for essays. It’s very hard not to feel like you’re plagiarising when you’re one of 300 first year law students writing about a a topic from one very in-depth source that you’ve studied in class and three smaller ones, and Turnitin has put in your mind that the MOST important thing you can do for this essay is not to pass it, but to reword it well enough not to get caught up in this plagiarism detector. And I can recognise my behaviours in what Hbomberguy identifies - I remember minute-before-the-deadline essays where I was guilty of padding out my biography with sources from my sources, and can think of phrases or techniques of writing I’ve read in books that I sometimes worry might come through in my writing in a way that feels like stealing.

Plagiarism anxiety is real, and it’s fed by a lack of understanding around what plagiarism is and where it comes from. Hbomberguy is so right for complimenting a bunch of lame youtubers for the enthusiasm with which they openly bounce off of other people’s ideas. This collaborative method of creating where ideas are taken and passed on due to love of the craft can feel derivative eventually - but taken within a body of work where the creator is riffing or paying homage to and not merely regurgitating others success is at the heart of where any meaningful success and love for the medium lies. Creators need to be coming from a place of genuine enthusiasm and respect - it’s when they dont, when they’re looking down on others, that we see these behaviours emerging.

And that helps identify the urges within ourselves, and know more firmly whether what we’re doing is tribute or theft, including the many not just acceptable but positive ways of referencing back to sources and inspiration. It helps us tell when we ourselves are genuinely trying to pay homage and when we are treading the more murky waters of unfair attribution. So thanks Hbomberguy for dumbing down this topic in the most relatable but inaccessible-by-length way possible, as per usual.

#continually impressed with the way he manages to add to conversations tbh #hbomberguy #breadtube #video essays #james somerton

[daportalpractitioner]

taurus degrees in the natal chart (2°, 14°, 26°)

2° = really connected to your physical senses, strong + stubborn preferences, naturally gifted + can easily attract money, gets money but doesn't necessarily know how to sustain it, self worth is connected to what the planet represents, hoarder, consumes without much discernment, creativity comes easy, attractive, gluttonous, strong innate connection to the earth, strong values instilled from childhood, usually traditional, stubborn attitude it comes to your missions on earth, don't let the world rush your process, naive, here for a good time + a long time, strong libido, sexually immature, make sure your taste grows as you continue to grow, naturally clairaudient

14° = strong attachments, hard to move on, here to develop your self-worth, changes in values that are more authentic to you, loyal to a fault, need to learn how to manage utilize sexual energy to your advantage, blocked throat chakra, stand on your values, hedonist, struggles with poor diet, people usually see your worth + potential before you do, tendency to overwork self, earth witch, struggles with stagnancy, strong sacral energy, values strong foundation, establish strong boundaries, too practical + too little faith, being gaslit for strong boundaries, craves peace, young mom vibes, lack of patience, enjoy the journey, great taste but pockets need to match that, promiscuous, stubborn + picky eater, affirm yourself: i deserve this!

26° = overcome poverty mindset, self-sustenance is a big theme in life, money savvy, empress energy, strong values, the marriage type, strong fertility, oshun archetype, meant to be wealthy, generational wealth, disciplined + dedicated, the stronger the self-worth/values the more money you accumulate, alchemize with the elements, knowing what's best for you + standing on that, very bougie, can manifest with ease using womb/sacral energy, emotionally grounded, use sex to create your dream life, sugar daddy/mommy vibes, family looks at you for financial support (set boundaries), findom, your creativity supports your lifestyle

#daportalpractitioner #astrology observations #astro observations #astrology #astro notes #astrology notes #astrology predictions #astrology community #astroblr #taurus #taurus degrees #spirituality #taurus placements #taurus sun #taurus moon #taurus rising #astro tumblr #astro placements #astrology readings #astro community #astrology signs #degrees in astrology #astrology degrees #astro predictions #astrology tips #astroloji

[abnerkrill]

fantastic rebuttal to "writers don't deserve better pay because the stuff they write is terrible/unoriginal", full thread here

(to explain, the "Unknown" under his name is from a add-on bot detector; it usually can assign a percentage likelihood that a user is a human being and not a bot, but I think the blue check system disrupted the add-on so it says "Unknown" underneath his name now.)

[image id under the read more:

May 7, 2023 tweet thread from Tom Vaughan @/storyandplot

With #WGAStrong rightfully in the spotlight this week, I've seen some less-than-sympathetic comments focusing on the lack of originality in our projects. This is a fair criticism of the system, but not the writers. A quick history of how we got here (thread emoji)

The first thing to understand is that Hollywood has NOT run out of new ideas. The studio’s preference for I.P. has nothing to do with regurgitating ideas and everything to do with MARKETING.

The late 60s-70s is generally considered the artistic high of the studio system. Ironically, many contribute this to corporations buying up the studios! The corporations knew they had no idea how to run a movie studio, so... they put creative people in charge.

This is how you got the run of so many great films the studios would never make today. They also took bigger chances on young, promising talent (the first "film school generation" of filmmakers.)

But with the success of JAWS and STAR WARS, the corporations demanded more of those kinds of hits. The creative folks insisted such things were unpredictable, and the business folks said let's make them less so.

(Sidenote: This was also the same time a completely different phenomenon was happening. A/C was becoming the norm for theatres, making summer movie-going much more attractive.)

Over the next decade, more and more MBAs and marketing people gained influence in the studio system. Being business folks, huge hits were not a creative problem as much as a product/marketing problem.

The 80s is when the “high concept” became pre-eminent because it narrowed a sales pitch to one sentence, a trailer, and a poster. This made everyone a marketing agent for a movie because everyone could explain what it was about!

In the 90s, marketing became just as important as the film itself (reflected in their respective budgets) when Hollywood discovered they could profit from fifty years of pre-existing awareness for old TV shows and movies.

This allowed the marketing department to move away from pitching a movie and convincing you to go see it (lower success rate), to simple “audience awareness” and building anticipation. (higher success rate.)

The audience knew what THE FLINSTONES the movie was. They just needed to know the casting and when it opened. No one needed to have the remake of GODZILLA explained to them. They just needed to know when it opened.

The marketing department prefers AWARNESS over SELLING because awareness is something you can throw money at. Selling is harder, and it’s less predictable. This is why franchises are so valuable.

Whenever someone says, “That’s something I can sell!” It’s usually something that can sell itself. What they mean is, "I just have to let people know about this!"

Hollywoods's reliance on property the audience is already familiar with is 100% because... the audience is already familiar with it. It is easier to market the product and this increases its chances of success.

This focus on I.P. has become so pervasive, many, including executives themselves, have forgotten WHY it's valuable. They'll option an unknown comic BECAUSE it's I.P., forgetting that it's unknown and lacks the main asset of I.P.

Writers do love writing on an I.P. that means something to them. Every Star Wars fan who became a filmmaker would love to work in that universe. But we do not love it more than our own original work. We would always rather work on that.

So when you see another remake, or reboot, or adaptation, and think, "Can't they come up with something new?"

Remember, the answer is yes. Yes, we can. And we want to. You can blame the market or the marketing, but either way, the widespread production of truly original content is just not the studio business model we're in right now. #WGAStrong

end ID.]

#wga #wga strike #NOW WITH TRANSCRIPT PEOPLE REBLOG THIS ONE