thinkingheron

[thinkingheron]

One of the hardest things for me to learn and practice in my writing is that people do not say that much.

My characters frequently have tailored conversations about their inner struggles. They open up to partners, maintain perfect communication with friends, and remember to hold back exactly the right information from enemies. Yet irl I've observed and contributed to much miscommunication, lost opportunities, and unconscious distrust of friendly motivations. Natural speech is not tailored, and appropriately expressing abstract thoughts takes uncommon skill.

We've heard film media fans deride "therapy talk" wherein characters uncharacteristically divulge their inner struggles to others and receive perfect, textbook advice in response. This feels inauthentic because most humans don't talk like that! We skirt around our problems, we feel uncomfortable when others vent, we want to avoid conflict and rejection, and our well-meant words often do more harm than good.

People also tend to talk a lot, but say little. As writers, we generally don't want our stories stuffed with useless conversations, banter, and small-talk that don't advance the plot—we want that story grown up and moved out! lol. But please, include those things. Have scenes where friends hide thoughts from friends by joking around or discussing hobbies instead, where a rival saves the MC's thoughtless speech for later, where a happy couple argues over a minor miscommunication. These aspects can add depth to a story that feels manufactured, or life to characters that sound scripted.

If this is you, take your time; natural dialogue takes a while to finesse. Currently, I try to write the meaning behind the dialogue first and make it messier and more natural in redrafts. Conversation scenes where "nothing" happens can still tell the reader about the characters. As with all the lessons I've learned/shared, each piece of writing advice should come with a "Daily Value" label affixed, lol. Balance is needed and adjustments should be made until you have the story you want.

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#as someone not good with feels #i have more trouble writing characters open up #it is so easier to have them hide things #writing tips #dialogue

[thinkingheron]

#lol #but also fr #sometimes you're surrounded by similar introverts #or extroverts who also don't like to be in charge #and it turns out you have the least patience for wasting time #i don't want to be in this situation any longer than i have to so i will steer this boat to at least get things moving #introvert problems

[thinkingheron]

I am slowly losing my mind over the shift towards video as the default media format.

I do not find this to be an efficient way to absorb information. I am bored and distracted by the time the largely unnecessary introduction is over. I can't use ctrl+f to find the specific information I'm looking for. If there are instructions to follow, I don't want to have to constantly pause and back up to the part I need.

At least give me a fucking transcript.

#this #stop with the lengthy intro riddled with stupid jokes #i understand the importance of having an introduction #it's the same as with writing #but introductions and pointless ramblings are different #i hate it when the speaker in these supposed informative videos think they're being funny when they're not #i also don't want to sit through 15 minutes of video just to find one piece of info #real world problems

[thinkingheron]

Ahem-

#don't call me out like this #writer problems #writing woes

[thinkingheron]

I'm starting to think listening to sad piano songs nonstop for hours to get inspiration and focus may not have been very healthy for my mental wellbeing.

...

*contnues to listen to sad piano songs*

#i mean who doesn't want to feel like they're alone in the wide wide world at 2 am in the morning #why am i like this #writer problems #writing woes #heron rambles #2am thoughts

[thinkingheron]

2024 Whumpuary #1. Snow

Prompt: Snow Fandom: Transformers Characters: Prowl Pairing: Jazz/Prowl

******

The moon they had landed on was covered in ice and snow. It was a good enough pit stop as any—the moon was big enough to have its own atmosphere and received enough sunlight for their solar harvesters. Its low temperature should not bother them too much, as long as they stayed inside the ship.

Prowl escaped outside, leaving the engineers to set up the harvesters around the ship and ignoring their offer for protective field generators. Not the most responsible thing for a commander of what may be the last of the remaining Autobot force to do, but Prowl was done being responsible. Being responsible had done nothing for him in this war except get others killed.

As soon as he left the safety of the ship's force field he was greeted with howling wind. It did not take long for his internal temperatures to start dropping to dangerous levels, but Prowl went on. The icy chill biting into his protoform and the cold stares stabbing on his back were nothing compared to the hollow coldness in his spark.

Cold sparked. That was what everyone called him. Some went further, whispering that he did not have one at all. Some did not even whisper.

Perhaps they were right, because Prowl was not feeling much right now, not even the cold outside. It seemed as if the temperatures on his frame were starting to match with the ones within him. Prowl embraced it--this freezing numbness was better nothingness.

Something caught in his foot and he stumbled. His knees sank into the snow,  soon followed by the rest of his frame. Prowl shuttered his optics as he lay in the snow. At least these were not acidic like the rains in Praxus. His systems beeped an alert on low temperature, insisting that he find shelter immediately or risk stasis.

A hand caressed his doorwings like a breeze.

"What are you doing here, sweatspark?"

Jazz. Prowl did not open his optics. "Waiting for you," he murmured.

A quiet laugh. Ghostly. "You know this ain't the right way to do that."

Prowl wanted to lean in to the touch, but his frame, now frosted over, was too heavy. A warning that he was going to go into stasis if the core temperature did not stabilize at once appeared on his display with a countdown.

"Come on now," Jazz said. "Back to the ship."

He felt himself get pulled up, but Prowl made no effort to move.

"Prowl, don't do this."

"If I open my optics, will you be there?" Prowl asked, watching the countdown tick steadily.

Without looking, he could imagine Jazz cocking his head slightly. "Sure."

Prowl blinked. Bluestreak's worried face came to full view. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were on either side, their expressions hidden under battlemasks as they tried to pull Prowl up out of the thick snow.

Jazz wasn't there.

"Liar," Prowl whispered as the countdown reached zero.

He was only responded by an apologetic laugh in the wind, far more real than the snow itself.

Of course Jazz wouldn't be there, Prowl chided himself as oblivion took over. Jazz was gone.

Because of him.

#starting 2024 with angst because why not its already looking to be an insane year #whumpuary2024 #whumpuaryno1 #snow #mentions of potential death #heron writes #transformers #transformers fanfic #autobot prowl #maccadam

[thinkingheron]

Writer’s culture is agonizing for weeks over how to describe the most mundane detail and then coming up with the best sentence you’ve ever written while brushing your teeth

#and then forgetting it the moment you rush to write it down #writer problems #writing woes

[thinkingheron]

Just found a forgotten wip in drafts which stopped at a cliffhanger and I've never been more mad at myself.

#writer problems #where was i taking this #nobody knows

[thinkingheron]

#black cats #if i ever get a cat #i'm getting a black one #cuteness overload

[thinkingheron]

Fluffy February 2024 Prompts

Welcome to Fluffy February 2024!  In our fourth year, we want to spread fluff and good feelings throughout all of February. The guidelines for submissions/content are here.

We are using the one prompt-a-day format. As in previous years, no one is obliged to write/draw/create every single day -- do as many as you want!  2024 is a LEAP YEAR so we have an extra day of fluff to celebrate!

You are totally free to reinterpret the prompt in a different way.  Please tag @fluffyfebruary​​ so we can reblog your creations!

Soooo here we go!  Happy creating!!

Snow

2. Eavesdrop

3. Entertain

4. Learn

5. Planet

6. Fire

7. Recovery

8. Smile

9. Storm

10. Care

11. Quest

12. Discipline

13. Splurge

14. Free space!

15. Craft

16. Spontaneous

17. Pleasure

18. Pain

19. Shadow

20. Partners

21. Reward

22. Sacrifice

23. Dance

24. Apology

25. Kiss

26. Rain

27. Protect

28. Shy

29. Fresh

#just gonna challenge myself to these things until one day I succeed #fluffy february #fluffy february prompts

[thinkingheron]

Finally watched Transformers Rise of the Beasts and

Honestly can't remember much of the story but I really like Mirage.

#tf mirage #didn't care much for the power ranger suit up scene #or the humans tbh #i don't like humans as saviors kind of vibe #and really hated the suit up scene #like what #tf rise of the beasts #really the movie needed more Mirage and Bumblebee #and less humans airing their woes to each other

[thinkingheron]

not submission. I really hate the "My OC, my rules" thing. Cause like, no? Just because they are your oc doesn't mean you can do whatever you want with them. If you want to make your oc suffer and not like them get help, you deserve to lose rights over them. Especially if you only do that stuff to purposely trigger people. Once you do that, your oc no longer belongs to you. they belong to the public who will take better care of them instead

Making a comment to get this to post.

#i am genuinely curious what causes ppl to become this entitled #is this something that has always been there and just now coming to surface #or did something happen over the decades that caused this in the long term #fan entitlement #entitlement issues #this is why we can't have nice things #fandumb

[thinkingheron]

So, I follow this “bad commercial interior design” Facebook page and-

#i don't see the problem #this looks perfect for a children's hospital #lol #color theory #this joke will never stop being funny for me

[thinkingheron]

This is very important research so I can figure out how to arrange my books

#a mix between author and preference and just what feels right #books #reader problems

[thinkingheron]

"But you already wrote that trope."

#yes #tropes #writer problems

[thinkingheron]

I'm curious about readers' interaction habits! Please pick the option for what you do typically. That's right, I'm not giving you an "other" or "see results" option; if you don't read fic then this poll isn't about you; if it depends, vote for what you do most often and clarify in the tags. And consider reblogging for a bigger sample size!

#kudos unless there's something i didn't like specifically #comment if i have energy for it #reader stuff #ao3 stuff

[thinkingheron]

its so shiddy when u have to convince yourself to do your hobbies. like, its fun, you like it, why cant you just do it. do it. do it. but what if.... mindless media consumption instead....

#don't call me out like this #writer problems