Writerly Musings

[ladyzephroar]

You know how I wrote that post about the whole editing thing where I was questioning whether I was editing or rewriting?

... Um, yeah... I am rewriting, not editing.

[niqvassieart]

Sleeping on the dining chair as everyone else gets ready for bed.

[ladyzephroar]

This is such a beautiful piece. Kudos to the original artist!

[ladyzephroar]

Before I leave and go get some writing done...

This is going to make me seem really nerdy, but I bought myself a new book of dinosaurs. Not for a fic or anything. I already have a collection of dinosaur/prehistoric life books, but this book has been one that I've had my eye on for years because it discusses the physiology/descriptions of dinosaurs. Even if a lot of it is based on conjecture because I don't actually believe we'll really know what dinosaurs truly looked like.

And it's not like paleontologists can even agree with one another. Dinosaur debates are my favourite types of debates. They are like the Egyptologists of the scientific community... I can sit for hours listening to them debate about things.

But anyway, this book got me thinking about a fic I have been thinking of writing for the Amazing Spiez fandom. It's centred on the Caveman as a villain and of course, dinosaurs... Because I noticed that there were a lot more dinosaurs that weren't seen afterwards, and Lee, Tony, and Megan only dealt with the carnivores (Tyrannasauruses? Possibly? The heads are Tyrannasaurus Rex, but I suspect that one of them might've actually been an Allosaurus)... And yes, details matter!

For both the dinosaur species AND the fact that I noticed that there were more dinosaurs that weren't taken out. But I've got my list of dinosaurs and I am going to rewrite thefight scene. Mostly out of spite because HOW WAS THE SAUROPOD TAKEN OUT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

I get that it's such a silly little thing to be hung up about, but you can't be teasing a dinosaur lover with all these dinosaurs and not show what happened to them afterwards. That's like declaring war on my brain.

Now, I have my eye set on this book I found while I was browsing all the dinosaur books I want, but can't get right now. It's about the plants of the Mesozoic. See, I have books on dinosaurs, I have books on early mammals... I have general books that discuss both, while also mentioning plant life. But I have nothing that discusses prehistoric plants... And now that I know this book exists, I want it... I want it more than the updated version of Brusatte's Dinosaur Paleobiology whose price makes me cry. Because even second hand copies at my local second hand bookstore that caters to the university crowd is way over $100

*coughs* Anyway, I just wanted to tell everyone and their mother that I got a new dinosaur book because I am celebrating my nerdy passions instead of being ashamed of them. Very long story...

[ladyzephroar]

Why does this happen???

So, I have a story I am writing. And I have done a lot of editing and rewriting... Mostly rewriting. Or maybe it's editing? I don't know what to call it. I think it would be editing because I am not going back to the beginning to rewrite everything because perfectionism is the bane of my existence.

But... Here's the thing. My doc is long because my chapters are long, and I love long chapters. However, I went from 11,600 words to 12,130 words and they are all necessary. Mind you, I am still editing. So there is a possibility that the doc will have less words than 12k at the end of the day.

But still, the point of editing was to not only make the writing better, but to also reduce the word count, and somehow I made the word count higher.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

a list of "beautiful" words for april

to try to include in your next poem/story

Anfractuous - full of windings and intricate turnings; tortuous

Baldachin - a rich embroidered fabric of silk and gold

Casuistry - specious argument; rationalization

Dépaysé - situated in unfamiliar surroundings; astray

Éboulement - landslide

Edulcorate - make pleasant

Gramarye - necromancy, magic, enchantment

Intercolline - situated between hills

Katabasis - a going or marching down or back; retreat

Mortiferous - deadly, fatal

Mythopoeia - a giving rise to myths

Nephelococcygia - the act of seeking and finding shapes in clouds

Oblivescence - an act or the process of forgetting

Prairillon - a small prairie

Quassia - a drug from the heartwood and bark of various tropical trees of the ailanthus family used especially as a bitter tonic and remedy for roundworms in children and as an insecticide

Redivivus - brought back to life; reborn—used postpositively

Stelliferous - having star-shaped markings

Tonitruous - thundering, fulminating

Upaithric - hypaethral (i.e., having a roofless central space; open to the sky)

Vorago - an engulfing chasm; abyss

More: Lists of Beautiful Words ⚜ Word Lists ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[tearsanctuary]

“why are you getting frustrated with your characters? you write them, they can do whatever you want”

NO THEY CAN’T. this little fuckers have some psychological power over me i CANNOT MAKE THEM DO SHIT

[ladyzephroar]

Just a question about primordial beings...

Now that I have vented about how much of a mess my personal life has become, let's get to the reason for why I have come back to Tumblr.

I have a character that I've created for a story that I am currently writing that is a primordial being (Ancient Greek Mythology Centric/Inspired) that is older than both the Titans and the Olympians even though it does have a Greek sounding name. Now, I just have a question about the gender/genderless thing because I am not sure what to call this one even though this primordial being goes by they/them/it pronouns.

So, in its natural form, this being does not have a gender. Its like other primordial beings in that it is a concept that emerged from both void and chaos. It is extremely powerful. But when it does take on a form, its masculine (hence some of the names that humans have chosen to call this being in my story).

My question is this: If this primordial being takes on a masculine form, would that still make it genderless because it doesn't actually conform to gender/gender norms. It doesn't have a gender identity attached to it despite the form it takes on when it deems it necessary.

Or would the being be considered Androgynous/Dual Nature?

ETA: I think that if this being was considered androgynous that it would be taking on characteristics of both male and female sexes? Not sure if that is what I was envisioning when I drew up this character since the being would take on characteristics of one gender when it takes on a form.

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

[mycroftscafe]

how do i tag the people on tiktok who complain about the content they see on ao3…

“ao3 should censor this kind of stuff :/”

ao3 is an ARCHIVE. go on wattpad if you want censorship! you CHOSE to not read the tags and warnings telling you this fic was NOT FOR YOU.

harassing someone over what they write will not “change their mind”. just block and move on. learn to scroll.

[sureyourdeathissecondtonone]

Yeah, it's so fucking stupid that I had to put disclaimers because of people being weird with my shit and complaining about it. Gonna write. See ya!

[ladyzephroar]

I fucking hate TikTok. It's a cesspool that manages to destroy everything. You love books and literature and find BookTok... Yeah, it's destroyed by BookTok. You love adult colouring books because it allows your brain to destress. Yeah, it's destroyed by 'ColoringTok'. You love fanfiction. You walk into a minefield of entitled POS that think they are above God and can police what 'belongs and what doesn't belong' in fandom.

When I made the decision to delete my TikTok, I never regretted it and I never looked back. There's so much I can say about TikTok and how it's destroying fanfiction communities, but I don't have the time and I don't want this turning into an essay.

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

ship wars are sad to me because the original point of shipping used to be just for fun and for the comfort of a fan, not “whose ship is canon” or “attacking the other side”. it used to literally be just “I like this ship so I am going to enjoy my ship. you like your ship so I hope you have a good time enjoying your ship”.

fandoms used to not be a high school full of bullies, popularity contests, cancel culture and petty drama.

[ladyzephroar]

The sad reality about fandom history is that ship wars have always been a thing. Look at the early days of the Harry Potter fandom, for example. There was a lot of hatred aimed at Hinny (Harry/Ginny) fans, especially in the early days with The Fucking Problematic Shit Face that I will never name here... And No, I am not talking about She Who Shall Not Be Named, either.

And don't get me started on the horrors I've heard about in the early days of the Percy Jackson fandom. Or the Star Wars fandom...

This kind of thing has always been a problem... And yeah, it's fucking sad because we all enter into our fandom communities with our own ideas and visions. It never makes sense to me. I would prefer a comment saying 'I am not a fan of the pairing, but I do love your writing and your plot is amazing' than receive a comment that hates on me for a pairing I choose to write.

I just feel that a lot of the people doing these shipping wars/causing drama don't truly understand what it means to be in a fandom. Like yeah, you can be a fan of something, but if you are attacking others for what they like in the same fandom space as you, then clearly you don't understand what it means to be in fandom space in general. Just my two cents...

[sureyourdeathissecondtonone]

Yeah... And then there's people who cling to your original character parasocially by saying I wrote them in my fanfic when I didn't. Especially when said character existed long before meeting a specific person. I just pick my names from a baby book and build from there. I really don't see the problem. Humans can be fucking petty.

[ladyzephroar]

I feel that this opens up another discussion regarding the poor reception that Original Characters often receive in fandom as well. It's always so disheartening to me to see people automatically brand OCs as Mary Sues or as wishfulfillment fantasies of who the author 'wants' to be.

Which I get it. A lot of writers in fandom are learning how to write, so they don't understand how to develop a character yet. And that's okay... Because they are still contributing to fandom and they belong within the fanfiction community.

However, I tend to find that in some of the fandoms I've been in, that there are those that view Canon Character/OC pairings as an attack against their fandom and go on attacks against the writer.

On one last note, I feel that just because you are writing an OC character... One that you created as a writer, that it doesn't mean that you and your OC are one and the same. And I feel that a lot of the pushback I've seen against OCs in fandom are making the assumption that Original Character automatically equals the writer.

[ladyzephroar]

That moment I decide I want to take a break for a few hours from reading Fanfiction only to pick up a book and belatedly realize that it is Greek mythology fanfic.

So guess who returned to AO3 and lost time for the last six hours when I should have been writing??? Or better yet, taking a break from fanfiction for a bit???

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

ship wars are sad to me because the original point of shipping used to be just for fun and for the comfort of a fan, not “whose ship is canon” or “attacking the other side”. it used to literally be just “I like this ship so I am going to enjoy my ship. you like your ship so I hope you have a good time enjoying your ship”.

fandoms used to not be a high school full of bullies, popularity contests, cancel culture and petty drama.

[ladyzephroar]

The sad reality about fandom history is that ship wars have always been a thing. Look at the early days of the Harry Potter fandom, for example. There was a lot of hatred aimed at Hinny (Harry/Ginny) fans, especially in the early days with The Fucking Problematic Shit Face that I will never name here... And No, I am not talking about She Who Shall Not Be Named, either.

And don't get me started on the horrors I've heard about in the early days of the Percy Jackson fandom. Or the Star Wars fandom...

This kind of thing has always been a problem... And yeah, it's fucking sad because we all enter into our fandom communities with our own ideas and visions. It never makes sense to me. I would prefer a comment saying 'I am not a fan of the pairing, but I do love your writing and your plot is amazing' than receive a comment that hates on me for a pairing I choose to write.

I just feel that a lot of the people doing these shipping wars/causing drama don't truly understand what it means to be in a fandom. Like yeah, you can be a fan of something, but if you are attacking others for what they like in the same fandom space as you, then clearly you don't understand what it means to be in fandom space in general. Just my two cents...

[only-cat-memes]

[ladyzephroar]

Or the cat wakes up from a nap, stretches and walks in a full circle only to lie down the same way and falls back to sleep.

[bylrweltmann]

Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your story is sit down and write.

Do not wait for inspiration to come, for inspiration is a fickle thing.

Dedication, however, will bow to your needs.

[ladyzephroar]

I love this post. Sometimes waiting for inspiration to hit you causes more damage than good. However, if you sit down and write whatever comes to you in the moment, this is a great way to get more words out. ^^

[an0neemouse]

That book ain't gonna write itself, babes.

[sureyourdeathissecondtonone]

@ladyzephroar :)

[ladyzephroar]

The amount of time I spent talking, eh? Anyway, I was able to make up for it! I wrote 1,739 words today. Going to put away my current project and work on another one. ^^

[ladyzephroar]

Opinions...

What's everyone's thoughts about prologues? I am debating whether a story I am writing needs to have one or if I should do without it... But I am leaning towards having it because it's a damn good introduction to my story.

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

[ladyzephroar]

I freaking love reading old fanfics. Just because they are older doesn't mean that they aren't good stories. It might take awhile to find them, but they are so worth the read when you dig them out or discover them on the favourites page of other writers. That's how I found quite a few of my favourites.

For example, I got into writing CSI: Miami fanfiction after I read a story in the fandom that was posted in 2004. I got into the Criminal Minds fandom after reading a fic that as posted in 2009 (so during the series' fourth season). Then I got into reading more Sherlock Holmes fanfiction, and am inspired to write in that fandom after reading a story that was written in 2008.

Old fics are just such an amazing thing to read. I just love reading them, not only because they are part of the history of the fandom, but because they provide such amazing stories that can be read and reread over and over again.

[alxnxllix]

Reblog if you're grateful for your internet friends

[ladyzephroar]

I am very, very grateful for my internet friends. They keep me sane and grounded, and hold me accountable when I need to get a much needed reality check.