fuck i can’t believe i wasted my entire life being moved by art and beauty and the indomitable human spirit ugh i should’ve been making money through internet scams
This will be long, sorry. I will put a part of it under the cut.
Anyway, the conclusion I’ve come to after years of interacting with wanna-be writers (both online and in person) is that many of them don’t like writing at all. I’m not talking about “I’m a writer, I hate writing” kind of people. Artistic steads are pretty much fertile ground for neurodivergent individuals, so yeah no surprise that kind of jokes are so popular. Our brains can’t do shit. Generally speaking, a lot of people (broadly generalising here) turn to writing for the sake of telling a story rather than the skill itself. They want to be heard and writing is the simplest, cheapest, more accessible tool there is. The poorest people you can think of can afford a piece of paper and a pen and write something down.
From this I believe comes the fixation with original ideas. Modern-day hype culture only corroborates this belief of originality as an intrinsic guarantee of quality. Because every market is saturated and because the cost of everything has ramped up (even in the literary world) big companies are striving for maximizing profit, which leads to ideas that are perceived as safe (already known IPs, trope-y YA fiction that feeds off the Ao3 ecosystem like a parasite) and cutting corners (generative IA being the most glaring example of this). Because you need to make money you have to make the next Big Thing. A fantasy series is the Next Harry Potter; a fantasy book is the intermixture of ASOIAF and Insert Popular YA/Romantasy. As a fantasy lover who doesn’t disdain a good romantic subplot, I have pretty much recoiled from anything TikTok-friendly because it’s highly assured to be some regurgitated take with the same tropes and archetypes. The “enemies to lovers” that is at best academic rivalry; the “LGBT rep” that is a battleground for moral purity where everything is monitored and these people are not allowed ambiguity, often resulting in flat, boring, and dull characters. To say nothing of the supposedly feminism of the female characters that’s basically just misogyny repackaged in a pink box with glitters and ribbons.
All this boils down to the industry being the way it is now. I’m not from the US, but I can see that mentality seeping in my smallest circle as well. Now, I’m the biggest advocate for destigmatising fan activities, and I don’t think the fanfiction-to-booktok pipeline is devaluing the merits of fanfiction because, let’s be real, fanfiction has no reputation to lose. It was always looked down as a cringe activity performed by nerd losers, and I’d prefer it to remain like that. Not everything needs to be normalised. Sometimes you have to accept that people have prejudices and move on with your life. I don’t want to escape the cringe that comes with fandom activity, but neither do I want it to be conflated with genre fiction. Mainly this is because fanfiction is a hobby with no entry-level skills. We taciturnly agree not to tear each other down because we understand that we are sharing our crafts for free.
The same cannot be said for genre fiction. I want to read good stories, and in order to write a good story you have to understand that the written word is not simply a tool. Writing is a language, just like cinempatography or paneling in comics is. The reason a great writer Must be an educated reader is because only writers use written words in their purest, unembellished form. There’s no music, no art direction, no visual input to make up for lack of poor writing. You have to choose your words carefully and you have to understand that what you’re doing is essentially lying to your audience. As Le Guin put it best: “I talk about the gods, I am an atheist. But I am an artist too, and therefore a liar. Distrust everything I say. I am telling the truth.” Le Guin was a visionary for her times, still is, but I have never read a single academic praising her originality. Or rather, they do, but only in relation to how she recombined existing influences into something distinctly her own. Her anthropological and philosophical studies made up for great character introspection. This could only be enhanced by good prose and sensible writing choices.
I talk about fantasy because it’s the genre I know best. Most fantasy writers I know have what I’d call serviceable prose: the writing is telling you a story, and no more than that. That’s not a bad thing. Some would say it’s even good, for there isn’t one objective truth on what “good prose” is. But to me, disregarding good prose is a disservice to a writer as much as ignoring good art direction in a videogame, or good cinematography in a film.
I’m playing it safe here, but I’m gonna quote Jonathan Strange & Mrs. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. The two opening paragraphs are:
Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians. They met upon the third Wednesday of every month and read each other long, dull papers upon the history of English magic.
They were gentleman-magicians, which is to say they had never harmed any one by magic – nor ever done any one the slightest good. In fact, to own the truth, not one of these magicians had ever cast the smallest spell, nor by magic caused one leaf to tremble upon a tree, made one mote of dust to alter its course or changed a single hair upon any one’s head. But, with this one minor reservation, they enjoyed a reputation as some of the wisest and most magical gentlemen in Yorkshire.
This is excellent. This to me is great prose. The cadence mimiques that of the 19th century, providing you with a framework of spatial collocation as well as geographical. The narrative voice has the tone and the authority of a historical account rather than the usual flashiness of fantasy (which is not a bad thing, it just doesn’t suit Clarke’s book). Clarke’s intention to establish a pseudo-historical realism is clear from the first page. There’s also the subtle humour in “read each other long, dull papers” and “They were gentleman-magicians, which is to say they had never harmed any one by magic” that quickly undercuts the expectation and anticipation built up in the reader by the first sentence. It injects just a hint of liturgy into an otherwise ordinary scene. That book is long, but I was immediately drawn in. Not many writers can do that.
But that doesn’t mean that it can’t be done in other ways. Jonathan Stroud is a writer who, despite having only written for the YA genre, has the deliberately sharp prose that many of his colleagues lack. He presents many ideas that can be summarised into tropes, but he always maintains a good balance. His Bartimeus trilogy strives boldly away from usual YA expectation and it’s in my opinion his best work by far.
All this yapping to say that to me good prose is very important, but prose alone doesn’t undercut good execution. The reason why I think they are strongly related to each other, if not intrinsically tied, is that good prose is always functional to the story, and a writer who has spent a sum of their life reading good books will gain a sixth sense for good writing, which means good execution.
I don’t very much care for ideas. Originality is overrated; all art is derivative. What I want instead – while reading, while engaging with every form of art – is getting that feeling that the person behind the story wanted to tell that story, and made sure to pour all their efforts into it. I am much more forgiving of accidental failure than the safe, facsimile stories being pumped up by the publishing industry nowadays. The reason I insist a lot on this aspect is because when discussing good vs bad ideas, people almost always refer to what’s popular and trendy, and those things suffer a lot from all the things I mentioned.
I tend to get a little annoyed at the ever growing rebuttal “You don’t actually need to read to be a writer” because to me it’s just another step towards artistic stagnation. Every writer needs, desperately and undoubtedly, to read. We also need to watch films, to read comics, to watch theater plays, to study history and anthropology and psychology – we need to open ourselves to everything that pertains to the arts. That’s a belief I stand by, but the emphasis I put on writing on account of the unique power of the written word of which I talked before.
This is so beautiful and really summarises the core enjoyment of reading and writing. It’s hard to word frustration about writing when reading a book without sounding like I’m just bashing it but this is truly what I love about my favourite books and what I value when I look for something to read and you really worded that perfectly.
continuation/aftermath of danny pulling nightwing out of a dumpster
don't let danny fool you with his innocent geek act. that's a working ectogun that he made to look like a phaser. he's absolutely a geek but he's not innocent
And the rebels! I still have to pick an official name for them as a group, but they left Konoha to start their own team/society of shinobi who still want to help the people and fight injustices, but do not agree with the villages systems and the kages.
Originally inspired by the "lone wolf" Hatake Tara, the three of them were joined by other small groups of shinobi from different lands and build a sort of guild. Nia from Suna is one of those, Nanako and Dei from Iwa also visit and work with them from time to time.
Coral is their unspoken leader, the people from other lands each have their own leader figure, so they can mediate business. Coral is quiet and observant, she is very good at seeing all sides of any situation and thinking of solutions. Jason is curious and easygoing, he's usually the one to welcome new people and introduce the members, the most communicative. Asuka is the big sister, the one to make sure everyone is comfortable and safe, she's also the most fierce in battle.
Their dogs are all a team, each pair that matches up for missions and fights have different dynamics and attack styles.
Aki was Coral's original partner when they left Konoha, he can speak to humans, he's very friendly, so much so that he managed to team up and work with Jason and Asuka as naturally as he did with Coral, and started their whole dynamic.
Ash is very shy, Tara found her as a puppy and took to the Inuzukas, Jason and Aki took interest in her and helped her slowly overcome her fears. She doesn't usually fight, but Coral has managed to develop some powerful team ups with her.
Arian, Asuka's original partner, has the perfect match to her personality - strong willed, outspoken and caring for her close friends. Despite her tiny stature, she can be quite bossy and is the leader of the ninken team.
Amber is Jason's original partner, he's a very energetic one, always ready to go on patrols, join the girls on missions, train with Jason, you name it. Just like Jason, Amber's the first choice when in need of sending messages, in his case though, also because he's fast.
Alba joined the group after they left Konoha, not much is known about her before that, but she's kind and has a good sense of humor. Alba is their first line of combat, she will assist any member of their team. (She can also speak in human language, but no one's ever heard her talk).
another washi tape Yona. Still working on how to photograph the metallic tapes. It's really lovely in person just take my word for it. Inspired by a lovely piece by Aki Yehuo.
supplies: washi tape, alcohol marker, colored pencil. clip studio
gamechangershow
gracieabrams
turnnoffyourmind
yousharknotpass
vaporwave
jimmyeatworldofficial
dailybridgerton
romaincrisis
kianamaiart
