Ouroboros Spiral

Dualities, contradictions, synchronicities, and accidents. And stuff I think is cool.

[sosuperawesome]

Katerina Marchenko on Etsy

[roach-works]

terrible years really make you understand the point of a new year. i know nothing much will have changed between dec 31 and jan 1, but we need to be able to partition off everything that’s happened to us, we need a moment to say, ‘that’s done, we’re done with it, it’s over’ and have a little hope that the future will be different. we need to be able to stop and take a breath and sing, in the middle of winter, and prepare ourselves for spring.

[desolationsuperfund]

All the naysayers going “you know it’s not just 2020 and that the events of this year are actually the result of decades and 2021 won’t be magically better” Ahhh yes, strawman naysayer in my head and on my fb tl, I see you are very intelligent. But pal, it’s absolutely not the point at all. Hope has nothing to do with logic. We need celebrations the most when there is seemingly nothing to celebrate, which is why, even when everything is dark and bleak and we can’t even be together with the people we love, we put on our silly little party hats on december 31st, say “good riddence 2020 you absolute trash bastard” and perform this silly little ritual of giving a big ol cheers to whatever fresh new hell is coming next

[findingfeather]

A phrase that literally became a call and response with someone very important to me when I’m in very bad depression places is, “there is tomorrow, which is not today.”

He couldn’t promise me that anything would be better in the next moment. But because it wouldn’t be this moment (which was bad), it was POSSIBLE that it would be. Or the next day.

Or the next year.

My actual new year is in November. Were several months into it. But that new-unit-of-time FEELING really is very important for helping your brain LET you move away from Bad Shit. And when an entire culture also marks it - as we do with the so called secular new year* - that’s a lot more help.

(*it’s not secular, btw. It’s the last incredibly persistent remainder of Roman worship. Everything from the date to the ceremonies to the parties to the booze is the ritual worship of Janus, the God of Thresholds, and the last remnant of pre-Christian traditional Roman religion to hold true continuity into the modern era. )

[blurds]

Terry Pratchett started his career as a crypto-monarchist and ended up the most consistently humane writer of his generation.  He never entirely lost his affection for benevolent dictatorship, and made a few classic colonial missteps along the way, but in the end you’d be hard pressed to find a more staunchly feminist, anti-racist, anti-classist, unsentimental and clear-sighted writer of Old White British Fantasy.  

The thing I love about Terry’s writing is that he loved - loved - civil society.  He loved the correct functioning of the social contract.  He loved technology, loved innovation, but also loved nature and the ways of living that work with and through it.   He loved Britain, but hated empire (see “Jingo”) - he was a ruralist who hated provincialism, a capitalist who hated wealth, an urbanist who reveled in stories of pollution, crime and decay.  He was above all a man who loved systems, of nature, of thought, of tradition and of culture.  He believed in the best of humanity and knew that we could be even better if we just thought a little more.

As a writer: how skillful, how prolific, how consistent.  The yearly event of a new Discworld book has been a part of my life for more than two decades, and in that barrage of material there have been so few disappointments, so many surprises… to come out with a book as fresh and inspired as “Monstrous Regiment” as the 31st novel in your big fantasy series?  Ludicrous.  He was just full of treasure.  What a thing to have had, what a thing to have lost.

In the end, he set a higher standard, as a writer and as a person.  He got better as he learned, and he kept learning, and there was no “too late” or “too hard” or “I can’t be bothered to do the research.”  He just did the work.  I think in his memory the best thing we can do is to roll up our sleeves and do the same.

[some-triangles]

This post seems to be making the rounds again so here it is on the word blog

[odonata523]

GNU Terry Pratchett

[mirthfulrealist]

GNU Terry Pratchett

[scent-ofbooks-deactivated202201]

GNU Terry Pratchett

[datsderbunnyblog]

GNU Terry Pratchett

[quadriviummuse]

GNU Terry Pratchett

[nowthisnews]

These 2020 races will decide who controls the Senate. Can former Democratic governors top GOP incumbents? How vulnerable are Republicans like Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins? Check the cheat sheets.

follow @nowthisnews​ for daily news videos & more

[thoodleoo]

i really love being someone who studies history on tumblr because the way some people talk about history on here is fucking WILD and hearing history discussed with tumblr terminology will never not be hilarious to me. there’s absolutely no nuance on this site and i love it. one time i got a message asking me if julius caesar ever did anything problematic and i think about it every single day of my life

[theambassadorposts]

know your history

[kyrfiore]

this is also true in canada. Regina, sk used to be called Pile Of Bones, hell, the cree word for regina is literally “where they pile the bones” or something to that effect. it was genocide.

[tiktoks-for-dead-pope]

[duxuebing]

Photography by Xuebing Du

[writerinahat-deactivated2022051]

Don’t Worry About ‘Strong Female Characters.’

In a world where a woman showing her chest is somehow pro-feminist and anti-feminist at the same time, it’s easy to see why any writer would stress over their female characters.

Relax.

Chances are, if you know anything about writing, your fictitious females are fine, even if they are fine. But if you’re still worried, I have two good examples from Disney coming up. (Hint: They’re sisters.)

But first…

The term ‘Strong Female Character’ is ludicrous and makes writing worse.

There’s more scrutiny and expectation placed on female characters than male characters, and at a risk of writing a twenty-paragraph essay about who is to blame for that, let’s just say I think the term ‘strong female character’ is part of the problem. It isn’t just a case of high expectations that are impossible to meet, but also about the stress it puts on the author that halts the creative process.

So again, relax.

Stress aside, it can also lead to this:

“I want to write a strong female character. Someone inspiring. Someone every little girl can look up to. Someone…”

No. Stop right there, Idealist. This is why there are so many more Mary Sues than Gary Stus.

You didn’t even know Gary Stu was a thing, did you?

Let go of the idea of representation. You don’t represent anyone. Your character doesn’t represent anyone. You are you, and they are them. Write people.

What does ‘strong’ even mean?

Mentally strong? Physically strong? It can mean just about anything.

The vagueness of the term hasn’t helped.

A lot of people have taken it to mean – and stop me if you’ve heard this before – a fiery, no-nonsense woman, who don’t need no man.

That was good for the first, what, twelve times? Heck, I take that back. It’s still a good archetype, when done correctly. Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley are beloved examples of this. Iconic, even. Since then, it’s been turned into a formula by people who don’t understand why those characters are liked to begin with, and repeated to the point of yawn-inducing parody.

A character who makes you yawn is not a strong character.

Remember: In writing terms, strong = well-written.

So what makes a well written character?

Let’s look at that example now.

Disney… Sisters… Eldest sings a famous song…

I’m sure you already know. It is of course…

Lilo and Nani.

…What? Who else did you think it was going to be?

Lilo and Nani are, hands-down, two of the best characters Disney has ever put out. They have interests, hobbies, and jobs. They love each other, make each other laugh, but also get on each other’s nerves. They have good qualities and they have bad qualities - and not bad as in Elsa’s ‘oh, I’m so insecure’ or Mulan’s ‘gosh, I’m so clumsy.’ They are flawed. Nani is short-tempered and irresponsible. Lilo is stubborn and violent. Yet, they’re still likeable because their situation makes it clear why they are the way they are. We can relate to them.

In short: They feel like real people.

And possibly the most important thing for any character: They drive the plot forward.

“Wait, Ashlee!” those of you who have seen the movie cry out, “What about Stitch? He’s the main character. He’s the one who drives the plot forward, surely.”

Stitch is the catalyst. The point of attack. The first plot point. The inciting incident. etc. At the start, its Stitch’s escape from the prison ship and crash landing on Hawaii that causes the plot. After that, it’s largely Lilo and Nani who control the story and the tension.

Speaking of tension…

Good characters have stakes. Raw bloody stakes!

Lilo and Nani have the most to lose. If Nani doesn’t get a job and Lilo doesn’t train the born-to-be-wild Stitch, they lose their home and each other.

To sum it up…

Character Checklist:

Vulnerable

Flawed 

Relatable 

High stakes and the ability to overcome them

Thank you for reading. Comments, criticisms, and trolls are welcome.

[urbanfantasyinspiration]

Interesting

[atreefullofstars]

I don’t agree with all of this. There aren’t more Mary-Sues than Gary-Stus, it’s just that Gary-Stus are more often called “protagonists.” For every girl writing bad fanfic there’s a straight white male self-titled Author convinced that his hideous self-insert who broods broodily and bangs every two-dimensional pair of breasts in the book is Great Literature.

There’s nothing wrong with making a girl hero everyone can look up to, if that’s your genre. “Strong female character” isn’t a completely useless term if you UNDERSTAND it, although yes, it does lead to some fuckery if you don’t.

But the point of the post–making real, raw, flawed female characters with real skin in the game? Hell to the yes.

[surroundedbypearls]

On Writing: Dialogue Tips

It’s only natural that novels and short stories are usually dialogue heavy - it’s a written medium. We need the characters to talk. However, a lot of the time we have difficulty writing dialogue. 

Hopefully these tips will help some people!

How to Make Your Dialogue Better:

Relationships and voices matter. Unique voices matter, and character relationships will affect how they speak. Think of how strangers or friends or siblings would interact. Even friendly strangers will hold themselves back a little. Think of how Iroh and Zuko from ATLA talk, for example. Their relationship is clear from how they speak, and they have unique voices. Iroh frequently spouts wise idioms and is generally calm and serene, while Zuko is all anger and urgency. Think about how your characters feel about each other and how they might interact.

Summarise the boring parts. A common mistake in bad writing can be to repeat in the dialogue what was just described in the inner monologue…exactly how it was just described. You don’t need to do this; summarise it. Reword it. And you don’t need the characters to go through the usual motions of small talk every time they meet. It’s boring and a waste of words.

Avoid name drops and dialogue tags. At least, don’t use them too much. People don’t say each other’s name constantly in dialogue without a reason (see Captain Holt repeatedly saying “Rosa” in B99 because he didn’t want her to feel dehumanised. This was for comedy but the point stands). Dialogue tags are fine, but they should feel invisible. Try to use verbs more extravagant than “said” or “asked” sparingly, and don’t end every piece of dialogue with a dialogue tag. As long as every new piece of dialogue is on a new line, it should be clear who’s speaking, and it won’t bore the reader. This will also help vary your prose/sentence structure.

Create pauses through narrative. By breaking the dialogue up with narrative, the characters will pause in the reader’s mind without you having to specify that they’ve paused. This is a handy way to avoid using dialogue tags too much. It can also make the dialogue easier to read if it’s not all smushed together with no breaks. Especially if you have a long passage of one person speaking; long, rambling speeches aren’t that popular anymore (not that they have no place, but that’s another story).

Dialogue isn’t perfect. People make mistakes; they forget words and lose their train of thought when they speak. They change topics and get lost in the moment. This can add realism to your dialogue, and can be a fun way to show character. But don’t do it too much or the scene will go on too long without getting to the point. And try to avoid too many ‘um’s and ‘er’s - they may be common in real life but they can drag the prose down if used too much.

An example I have is from Big Hero 6 (a movie I love by the way, but this was bad): Tadashi: What would mom and dad say? Hiro: I don’t know. They’re gone. (this is good, this is fine) Hiro: … They died when I was three, remember? (NOOO)

Dialogue should show something important. There’s a common idea that dialogue has to move the story forward or get cut out. This isn’t necessarily true. However, dialogue should tell the reader something about the characters or the world they live in. This comes back to cutting out the usual mundane small talk. Dialogue doesn’t have to move the plot, but it should be there for a reason, even if it’s to show the relationship between two characters, or how they feel about something that isn’t central to the plot. It doesn’t have to move the plot forward, but there has to be some reason for the reader to see it.

Fantasy/Sci-Fi Writers: use apostrophes! “I am not”, “I did not”, “I do not” - this can feel unnatural if all your dialogue is like this. You don’t need to write all your dialogue like this. Don’t be afraid of the apostrophe! Apostrophes are great! It won’t make your characters seem too modern, I promise. Don’t make the dialogue too awkward or stiff. After a while, they’ll stop sounding human.

How to Make Writing Dialogue Easier:

Write your dialogue like a script. If you’re struggling with the dialogue in a scene, try writing it like a script and omit the narrative (aside from very basic actions). I’ve done this once or twice; sometimes it’s easier to figure out what you want your characters to say when you’re not bogged down by writing the narrative, especially in a scene where the dialogue is especially important. You can incorporate the narrative later.

Read your dialogue out loud. Reading out loud can help you see how your dialogue will sound to the reader. It can help you spot weird sentence structures, or if something sounds out of character or inhuman. You can also get an idea of the characters’ voices. If you have a willing friend (and you’re not too embarrassed), try to get them to read with you!

Colour-code your dialogue. This is a trick you can use for scenes with more than two characters. By colour-coding the dialogue, you can clearly get a sense of each character’s voice, see who’s speaking the most or the least, etc. You can use this to redistribute roles and dialogue in the scene, or maybe experiment with adding or subtracting characters depending on their contribution to the scene. It can also help you keep track of all the characters, which is generally harder in written medium when you can’t see the group in front of you.

Like these posts? See more Writing Wednesday tips Request Writing Wednesday topics here

Leave a comment if you want to be tagged in these posts!

[aziraphalebookshop-deactivated2]

i just fell in love for this artist. it’s so dynamic … [Darya Guryeva]

[raisinchallah]

also thinking about this like gay sephardic poet from like the 13th century who wrote that moses would not have written down the laws against being gay if he had seen how beautiful his lovers face was and im like god the layers the romance the religious emotions..

[jewfrogs]

the poet is rabbi yehuda al-harizi/judah ben solomon harizi! it’s from his book of taḥkemoni iirc, and the quote is “if Moses had seen the way my friend’s face blushes when he’s drunk, and his beautiful curls and wonderful hands, he would not have written in his Torah: do not lie with a man”

[larygosomens]

Aziraphale had learned a dance called the “gavotte” in a discreet gentlemen’s club in Portland Place in the late 1880s. After a while, he had become fairly good at it, and was quite put out when, some decades later, the gavotte went out of style for good.

[cartiercocaine-blog]

wнαт тнe ғυcĸ ιѕ тнιѕ?

[dont-touch-my-fandoms]

Elmo’s voice saying “I’ll fuck u up” is the best and worst thing ever

[blocboybucciarati]

YO I SWEAR THIS SHIT IS TOO FUNNY😭🤣

[lesbianskunkrat]

I WATCH THIS EVERYDAY

[cogitaeworks]

I CANT BREATHE

[kiefbowl]

Reblog if you were ever told to “sit like a lady”

[neo-trickster]

[chocmartini-deactivated20210419]

why is it not more wellknown that women can have an actual literal disorder that not rarely makes them literally suicidal for up to 10 days every month before their period lmao like… teach this in class? it’s not a joke?

[lunasdarling]

Wait what??

[chocmartini-deactivated20210419]

here here here (there’s more sites saying the same thing)

it’s called PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) and it’s basically PMS but make it Super Hardcore, it’s a hormonal disorder and to my knowledge they’re not exactly sure what causes it - there’s theories tho - but there seems to be little research on anyway. As I said it’s similar to PMS in terms of symptoms [mood swings, lethargy, cramps, changed sleeping pattern, libido, appetite] but the symptoms get so severe that they are interfering with your daily life and impacting it negatively. Especially in terms of psychological symptoms, it doesn’t go that far for everyone who has it and not every month but a lot of the people who experience it are sent into a severe depressive episode beause of it and it’s really not rare at all for them to experience legitimate suicidal thoughts because of it that go away the second they get their period (or up to two days in from what I’ve read).

I’ve read different claims on how many people it affecte, some sources say 5%, other 8%, others say 2% so I don’t know about that, but menstruating people need to know this lmao. Not knowing that your suicidality is caused by a literal physical disorder that you have can be so dangerous, especially when you already struggle with such issues anyway or are trying to recover from mental illness and don’t realize that your “relapses” are symptoms of an actual disorder.

also I originally said women but of course this applies to menstruating trans men and nb folks too.