per aspera

leo/leon/leonie, I'll answer to them all. mid 20s. accidental master's student (history), aspiring-yet-procrastinating fantasy author.

[solarsthoughts]

listen i may take 4 weeks to write a 3k word chapter, and i may take 45 minutes to decide whether i should use “laugh” or “chuckle”, but at least i don’t use ai and whatever you’re getting is pure chaos from a human brain

[warmfigure]

seasonal shelf change complete

[soulmvtes]

chasing the warmth of early autumn light

[urgetocreate]

Chris Cyprus (British), Last of Summer, 2025, Oil on canvas

[lezquality]

I see so many young girls with their studyblrs all motivated and determined about their education and future, and I am so proud of all of you wonderful ladies. Keep up the good work. You’re gonna change the world.

[dotsz]

art takes so long and its so tiring but if i dont make art for the rest of my life ill die

[louisegluckpdf]

i lowkey carry within me an ancient sadness

[jawnkeets]

Addison’s Walk, located in the grounds of Magdalen College, Oxford, was regularly frequented by C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien; whilst walking together they discussed philosophy and literature. It’s so magical in Autumn 🍂

[elumish]

How do you write friendly teasing like between friends or siblings? When I try to write it, it always comes out a bit mean

To me, there are a few key pieces:

Avoid the pain points. If it's something that someone is sensitive about or that is part of an existing marginalization, the teasing will probably come out as mean rather than friendly/familial. Teasing a fat person about not fitting in a chair, teasing a trans person about whether or not they pass, teasing someone about bad grades when they worked really hard to get good grades--all of those will come out as mean in the vast majority of cases.

Lean on inside jokes. Someone misspelling something in the group chat, or that time they got all the way over to their friend's house carrying their little sibling's backpack, or the way they refuse to eat meatballs because one time they got high and thought that they were eyeballs.

Establish reciprocal teasing. To some degree, things like teasing can become like a script--I say x, you say y, and we know that this is how it goes. It's a comfort as much as anything.

Let people take part in teasing themself. If they are part of it, it will come across as less mean, because they're clearly participants.

[heywriters]

If the relationship is strong or the individuals have a cultural history of teasing and insults, some teasing can appear mean to outsiders. If an outsider attempts the same teasing, it may be taken as mean. Some personal jokes can only be made by trusted friends and family because they know the boundaries and don't cross them.

[01libra]

snow in central oxford

[thelailasblog-deactivated202501]

[strangebrew]

filter on ao3 that only shows fic by women in their 40s who has a degree and works an office job and probably leaves authors notes that are like “sorry for the wait on the chapter guys! i had to give birth to my third kid😂”

[fixyourwritinghabits]

What To Do About Filler

I am deeply frustrated at the increasing usage of the concept of "filler" in writing, partly because how people are using it is completely separated from what it usually means, and partly because few people explain what they actually mean when a story lacks "filler."

So, in short, when this comes up, what people usually are talking about is:

A lack of subplots. Subplots are essential background to developing your story beyond the main action points. Subplots include romantic storylines, internal journeys (learning to deal with a trauma, for example), plots that are critical for secondary characters, etc.

No room to breathe (aka pacing). Keeping up the tension is a common piece of advice, but if every single scene is filled with tension, you're going to exhaust the reader (and yourself). Quieter moments allow characters to reflect, realize things (like feelings for each other), and give you space to establish worldbuilding and mood.

Rushed or missing character development. Giving your characters space to learn things about themselves, confess or realize feelings, and moments to make decisions and change are essential to a story. Defeating the big bad is important, but usually the inner strength to do so comes from the character changing over the course of the story.

I am losing the battle against using the word filler when you mean a story lacks other things. Other than shaking my fist at the youths, I suggest that if you get feedback about "filler," see if you can get specifics. Is it an issue with pacing? Character developments? Not enough description or worldbuilding? If a romance seemed rushed, at what points does the reader think there should be more interaction? Etc.

A note for fanfic writers: Your goals are often different from someone writing to publish, but hammering down what filler means can still help you as well. Narrowing down the point of your story ("in this drabble, these characters flirt without using words" or "sexy coffeeshop AU") and making sure to ask your beta readers if what you're writing fulfills that goal can help you figure out if your story is making the impact you want.

[wakewithgiggli]

Doesn't filler just mean "bits that were boring" or "useless padding"?

[fixyourwritinghabits]

Filler, in the main context of the word, does mean that. Originally used to describe anime episodes or TV episodes made to pad out the run time or fill-in a required number of episode slots, a big point of filler is that it is meant to be entertaining, but you're not going to get any story or character development from it.

Think of, for example, the vampire baseball scene from Twilight. What does this tell us about the characters? What point does it have in moving the story forward? Nothing and very little, other than to exist as a set piece. But (arguably), it's a fun scene to have, and there's certainly nothing wrong with enjoying scenes or episodes like that.

Filler in itself isn't a bad thing, or something that should be shunned. Having fun moments in your writing is great and you should write those if you want to! But it is not helpful to use as advice when you actually mean to say that a story needs moments to breathe, quiet conversations, or more inner reflection from characters to make your story more rounded. All tools in your toolbox are good tools, as long as you clearly understand what they're for.

[bebx]

[forestgreenlesbian]

december……

[mobydyke]

we need 15-20 episode seasons again these limited series have the worst pacing in the world and none of the character decisions hold any weight

[mobydyke]

we are slowly killing the difference between television and movies. tv seasons have 6-8 hour long episodes. movies are part 1 and part 2 and both halves are nearly 3 hours long. both of them have too much time and not enough time for the characters to struggle and grow and change. what makes a story better suited for television or film is becoming irrelevant because we are erasing the distinctions and that's bad for both of them!!!

[almostreading]

lately