I love your writing. Everything flows together so nicely and everything about it is actual genuine perfection. How do you get so good at writing do u have any tips😢😢😢😢😢 I love rereading cities and I’m planning on starting the green bone saga so I can read ur other fics and understand them instead of rawdogging🥹🥹🥹🥹
Oh my goodness, this was an absolute DELIGHT to receive in my inbox. Thank you so, so, so much for your kind words; you have no idea how many times I’ve reread this message. 🥹💖
To be honest, I don’t know if I’m qualified to talk about writing as I’m very much an amateur hobbyist—and very much still learning. Grad school made me a proficient academic writer, but after graduating I realized I no longer knew how to write fiction (triggering several breakdowns lol). My previous therapist taught me it was okay if I no longer knew how to write; I could simply just. . . start over and learn how to write again. It was kind of daunting at first, and I was scared I would never reach the level of proficiency I’d been at during uni. But treating myself like an absolute amateur saved my writing (and also snapped me out of several bad writing habits).
Here were the things I did those first few years, many of which I still do to this day. Mandatory we’re all different disclaimer, so take what resonates, leave what doesn’t, etc etc:
Read, Read, Read. Read within your genre, read out of your genre, and read actively, by which I mean you try to articulate exactly what you liked and didn’t like in a book or fic you’ve read. Could really be as simple as, “I liked their characterization,” or “I think their prose is pretty.” The more you do this, the more specific you’ll get. (e.g. “I enjoy this fic’s take on this character because their depiction of the character’s anger and reactivity feels very similar to canon, especially in instances X,Y,Z.”) I exclusively write fanfic at this time, and have of course enjoyed hundreds of fics at this point, but I’m a huge believer that there’s no substitute to reading published books/fiction/poetry.
‘Good Writers Borrow, Better Writers Steal.’ (T.S. Eliot) One thing that helped me immensely in trying to reverse-engineer other authors’ works was this thing that’s called copywork exercises. Basically, you copy a passage or page from a book you like, word for word, either by hand or typing it. What it does is train muscle memory for cadence, and sentence and paragraph construction. One of my weaknesses as a writer is over-reliance on just two narrative modes: action and dialogue. Doing this exercise helped me get into the habit of varying my paragraphs and sentences, incorporating more introspection and description, and also knowing when and where to summarize/tell rather than show. Here’s an example of a copywork exercise I did many years ago:
Write, Write, Write. Sometimes you will have to force yourself to sit down. Don’t get discouraged if you can barely scratch 500 words in a whole day; it took me many years to work up to being able to comfortably crank out 1500-2500 words per writing session. You build writing stamina the way you train for a marathon: by increasing the amount or difficulty of what you’re doing gradually.
Be Patient With Yourself. ‘It’s normal to take a while, you’ve just got to fight your way through it.’ (Ira Glass) I spent many, many years churning out subpar writing that didn’t look anything at all like the vision I had in my head; many years feeling discouraged. I wouldn’t say that I’m good at this now, or as good as my ambitions—we’ve still got a ways to go before then, but I don’t feel the despair I did freshly graduated, ready to return to writing, and sitting in front of a blank document realizing, ‘I don’t know how to do this shit.’ Over time, my goals have also changed: rather than being a good writer (nebulous, unspecific), every project I ask myself: ‘What am I trying to say here? Am I able to tell the story I want to tell? Is the vision translating on paper?’ And if it isn’t: ‘Why doesn’t this story read and feel right? How could I fix that? Do I have the skills or tools to pull this off; and if I don’t, how do I go about learning/gaining them?’
Some of my favorite resources on writing:
K.M. Weiland's Secrets of Story Structure Series and Creating Stunning Character Arcs Series;
Blake Snyder and Jessica Brody's Save The Cat! Writes a Novel
Lisa Cron's Story Genius (most helpful resource for me in terms of conceiving of an internal character arc and connecting it to an external arc);
Donald Maass’ The Emotional Craft of Fiction;
Ellen Brock’s Basic Story Structure and Advanced Story Structure Series
I’m not an expert by any means, but I love learning and studying craft, I love reading and good writing, and I love trying to figure out how other authors do it. So if you wanna chat some more about writing and fic, I would love to do that!
Also, just quickly because I know this post is already long enough 😔: Very, very sorry cities ch10 is taking a bit of time. I know I said three chapters before the New Year’s—and believe me, no one is more disappointed by my inactivity than I am—but the truth is I’m just dealing with some irl bullshit at the moment that’s making me sad and unmotivated to write (or do anything else, really). I am still writing daily, though not at the level or speed at which I usually do, but I promise I’m on it and will try to update my tracker more frequently.
And I’m glad to hear that about GBS! It’s a very different world and story from TPW, but it’s SO good and well-done, with excellent characters and world-building. Whether or not you get into my specific ship, I highly, highly recommend it. I’d stumbled upon it because Kuang recced it herself, so I knew it was gonna be good. 💚 My GBS fics and ship have a very different vibe from cities and Rinezha, and I enjoy being able to work on them together because they scratch very different itches for me.
Ily, thank you so, so, so much again for this ask, for your kind words, and your love for cities, it’s genuinely made my entire month. 💖🥰🤗
i am shrunken down and brought to the gnome world and when i attempt to assimilate to their culture I use an acorn cap as a hat and they all laugh cheerfully at my silly mistake of wearing what they use as a bowl like a cap and though this is a transgression that would have humiliated me in my human life I am instead laughing alongside them at my humorous misunderstanding
they ask me what I would like to eat and knowing that gnomes enjoy fruit i ask for my favorite fruit, an apple, and they all laugh raucously and say that i must be very hungry indeed to desire an entire apple rather than just a small chunk, and i go along with their joke and say that while my body may have shrank my stomach has not! and they all guffaw with delight until their faces turn red and see that my request is met and we all sit around a toadstool and share many apple slices together
over my time spent with the gnomes, my antics are still regarded with much delight. though i am past the age in which i am confused by their customs and norms, i occasionally pretend to be clueless about simple and easily understood things, such as shock at how toads are as tall as I am. they all continue to laugh at my feigned surprise, and sometimes join in, asking me if I need any help distinguishing what berries are for eating and which are for painting. i laugh, too. there is a sense of grace that comes with my shortcomings amongst the gnomes. they are entertained by my misunderstandings, yes, because life is to short to not be jolly.
i wake up one morning back at my original size. the small cavern in the roots of a tree that i lived in is destroyed in my sleep. my clothes, tailored from cut-up scraps of fabric, are shredded around me. i am a human again. i am horribly embarrassed.
the gnomes of the community gather around where i sit, all looking at me and exchanging glances with each other, none of them speaking the obvious. i can no longer stay here, now that i am not their size. but i was part of their community. i became one of them, indistinguishable from these people only from my past. how am i supposed to return to the world of the humans now? there is no life left for me there. that is not a life where i may fish for minnows in a babbling brook and feast off a bounty of raspberries. i am distraught. i cry.
my community comforts me. friends, all minuscule to me now, pat me wherever they can reach, nimbly dodging the tears that fall from my face. one of them offers me water. they don't have any containers that are big enough for me, they apologize, so just this acorn cap filled with morning dew will have to suffice.
i take the acorn cap and look at it in my hands. it is so small now. with a sniff, i put it atop my head.
the gnome chuckles. then laughs. then bends at the waist, bellowing with laughter, supporting himself on my knee. then i am laughing too, face red, tears still falling, and my community of gnomes laughs with me as well, so loud that a flock of birds takes off in the distance, and i am still laughing even as i stand to my feet and lumber away, back to where i once came.
if you don't know where to go, just wander! go to the store and don't buy anything, go to the library just to sit and do whatever you were going to do at home, go to a park and just walk around/sit outside for a bit (weather permitting, of course)
just put some headphones in and walk around the block a couple times if you really have nothing else to do, just getting a bit of air and change of scenery is so good for you
if you’re offline or away and i message you something (like a link to a meme or a picture or w/e) honestly just assume that i’m just leaving it there for when you get back and not expecting you to answer straight away. i don’t need you to respond with “hey, sorry, i wasn’t at the computer!” or anything. i was leaving u a gift for later.
This also applies if you’re online and just don’t want to or have the energy to deal with humans in the moment. Just because we have the ability to reply in real time does not mean we have the obligation.
This used to be all written communication. Once upon a time it took 3 months for a letter to get from Australia to England and another 3 months for a reply. Now my mother can send me memes instantaneously.
We have got too used too quickly to the idea that just because communication can be instantaneous, that that means it has to be.
anyways (I say this as someone who is deeply critical of the united states government, military, unchecked capitalism, police, etc) I am SICK of people treating america as if it has no cultural value or positives so….. I love u 85 million acres (bigger than italy) of national parks. I love u harlem renaissance. I love u groundhogs day. I love u sweet tea and fried chicken and jambalaya. I love u apple cider donuts and maizes on crisp autumn days. I love u 95k miles of coastlines and new england fisherman and hand knitted sweaters. I love u halloween where millions of people dress up and give candy to strangers and carve jack o’lanterns. I love u small talk and small towns and potlucks and bringing over casseroles to your struggling neighbors. I love u cowboys and ranch hands and arizonian cactus. I love u appalachian trail and dirtbikes and divebars. I love u sparklers and fireflies. I love u mark twain and toni morrison and emily dickinson and henry david thoreau. I love u rock n roll i love u bluegrass and hippies i love u jimi hendrix and nirvana and CCR and janis joplin. I love u victorian houses and jonny appleseed and john henry and mothman and bigfoot. I love u foggy days in the pacific northwest and neon signs and roadside attractions. I love u baseball and 1950s diners and soft serve. I love u native american art and pop art and poptarts. I love u blue jeans and barbecues and jazz musicians
honestly one of my favorite things about fanfic is when you can see the canon influences come out in really subtle ways. like a canon line thats mentioned once as a throwaway is suddenly the entire premise for a fic or it influences the characterization or something. its just so cool to see how people weave their ideas around a source material, especially if its not a detail i'd thought about before
Jaime: She’ll Never Trust Me 😩😩😩 She’ll Always Judge Me Just Like Everyone Else ❌😷❌ And I Know Why 😤😤😤😡😡 It’s Cause I’m The Kingslayer Isn’t It 🗡️👑💀 She’ll Never Trust A Kingslayer 😔😔 It’s My Curse I’ll Have To Bear Forever 😢
Jaime: [constantly acts like a rude lil bitch to Brienne]
Jaime: hm maybe I shouldn’t be rude to her this time
Jaime: h-hi Brienne :) your dress looks nice :) do you want a free sword :)
Brienne: What are you doing? You’re acting kind of weird and I don’t get it
Jaime: 😑🙄😑 I Should Have Known Better 😩😩 Than To Think She’d Ever See Me 😩😢 As Anything More Than The Kingslayer 🗡️👑💀🩸 I Cannot Stand This Judgement For Even A Second Longer 😤😤😤❌❌❌ You Try To Reach Out To People But Sometimes They Just Stab You In The Back 🗡️🗡️ With Their Rudeness 👺 And Stubbornness 🐂 And Wenchiness ❌👱🏻♀️❌ Guess I’ll Always Walk This Lonely Road Of Being An Outcast 😔😔😔 And A “”””Kingslayer”””” 🗡️👑💀🩸 As Long As I Shall Live ⚰️⚰️⚰️
if you see me liking contradicting headcanons for the same character just know it's because I do not give a fuck and I have an active imagination #hewouldsaythat
Brienne doesn’t need to be the object of passionate desire. she’s the woman who teaches Jaime a better way to love. that’s infinitely more meaningful than reducing their relationship to physical attraction. to me, that actually cheapens what makes her unique. she’s not the intoxicating, all-consuming love. she’s the peaceful one. she’s the woman jaime chooses once he grows up. that’s the entire point of his arc.
Man, idk how to tell u this, but they want to fuck. Like, they want to fuck each other’s brain out. They want to bone. They want to have SEX. And then probably cuddle a little cause they are clingy like that but after that they want to have more sweaty steamy very loud sex, you know? Like they want to fuck for real and then some more.
Idk what’s up with this purity take. Stripping physical desire away from Jaime and Brienne doesn't elevate their relationship; it completely sanitizes it. Saying that physical attraction "cheapens" Brienne’s uniqueness feels like a veiled excuse to desexualize her just because she’s ugly. Sorry, she’s ugly and Jaime still wants to fuck her and she wants to fuck him too.
(I’m not even going to enter here on the concept of Brienne serving only as Jaime’s self help book and therapist because again, is she even a character to you or just an accessory to Jaime’s path of self rehabilitation?)
And again I ask: what’s peaceful about their feelings for each other? Like, where this idea that their feelings are “peaceful” (name: boring) came from? Because that’s not on page. Like at all. There’s nothing peaceful about how they make each other feel. They get under each other's skin in a way nobody else can. Their feelings deeply unsettle them precisely because they are so incredibly strong. It is the definition of an intoxicating, all-consuming love, one that completely rewires Jaime's brain and troubles him from the moment he meets her and one that shatters Brienne's pre-conceived notions. It’s a crisis of faith for both of them.
A connection can be spiritually profound, emotionally transformative, and also incredibly horny, which they are you know. Horny. For each other.
A moment for one of my favorite lines of one of my favorite fics, by @chickren who always delivers no matter what:
@chickren yeah like, I get the appeal of the courtly love trope, but… that’s just not what George wrote here. 😭
I think people sometimes mistake “they’re not toxic” for “they’re chaste,” and those are completely different things. Their love is incredibly sincere, but it’s also messy, hungry, and very much rooted in the fact that they desire each other. George never treats those things as being in conflict and he’s so much in your face about it.
Something neuroscience-y that helps with prose: attention is selective. A character will not notice everything in a room. They will notice what matters to their goal, fear, desire, training, wound, or obsession. A jealous character notices hands. a hungry character notices food. A soldier notices exits. A lonely character notices pairs. Description becomes character when attention has a bias.
who cares if you don't fully "get" the weird postmodernist novel on your first read, or if the experimental arthouse film is opaque to you on your first viewing? you are not being graded. you are not being scored. there is value in the attempt. every time i've read House of Leaves or watched Blue Velvet, I've gotten something new from it. the idea that you might not "get" something and therefore shouldn't bother with it is so silly to me
when you get crazy enough about The Character you'd think the situations you imagine them in would get more elaborate and lore intensive. but no. imagining my wizard pacing around huffily being slightly peeved at a mild inconvenience. I don’t even know what the inconvenience IS. and it's giving me enough joy to power a city for a month
