#waffling on

[fangirlynjunk]

You know I feel like there’s something to be said about the levels of music diegeticness in the hatchetverse because it really seems to differ

In TGWDLM it’s all diegetic but obviously it is weird hence why Paul is freaked out. All except, perhaps, the intro song depending on how you interpret it. Is it a vision of what is to come to Paul? Is it there as a framing device for the audience (as in placed there by the lords in black)? Hard to say, but other then the first song they are pretty straight forward

In Black Friday it’s more complicated, I mean it follows the general rule of musicals where the songs either tell us about something important to the character or move the plot forward, but generally it’s more the first.

What Tim wants isn’t diegetic, Tom isn’t just standing and singing, he is driving to the mall and this is his inner turmoil put on display for the audience.

CaliforM.I.A is Lex’s motivation BUT Ethan and Lexs reaction to Hannah doing the smokers club choreo implies some of that was diegetic.

What do you say seems to be for the audience but it also seems diegetic (because of course hatchetfield people are gossip mongers lmao)

Black Friday feels like it bounces between diegetic and nondiegtic the whole way through

And NPMD feels almost completely diegetic ( oh nooo she’s snapping again) like I can’t think of a scene where I don’t think the song is happening in universe

Like somehow Pokotho has permanently altered the timelines with TGWDLM

[writcraft]

Do you have advice how to "read like a writer"? I get why it would be useful but have no idea how to do it.

Hi Anon. Keeping in mind I’m no expert, I’ve elaborated on this below the cut as it got a little long. Some of this might seem really basic but I think it’s helpful to explain it fully. 

Feel free to message if you have any other thoughts/queries. Thank you for the ask!

I first heard the phrase ‘read like a writer’ when I was observing a Creative Writing module taken by English Literature undergrads. This context is useful because the lecturer was differentiating between the way a literature student might analyse a text and the way a creative writing student would analyse the same text, although there are of course some overlaps. The difference is essentially all to do with the things you pay attention to when you’re reading.

Examples of what I think of as ‘read like a writer’ features include the point of view (POV), i.e. who is telling the story, use of first person, second person, third person, omniscient narrator or alternating points of view, the tense (past, present or future) and the narrative structure (story arc, beats, pacing, chapters, sections etc.). These are ‘read like a writer’ features because it’s the sort of stuff we would think about when writing a story.

Let’s take point of view as an example. The choice of who gets to tell the story is crucial because you need to think about whose perspective best serves the story. Your POV character will shape your reader’s view of the world they inhabit and the people they encounter. Do you think the story would be better served if the reader has access to the inner thoughts of one main character as opposed to another? Once you’ve taken that decision, what are the advantages and disadvantages of first, second and third person writing and which one best suits the story you want to tell? Assuming you’re not switching POV, do you need your protagonist to find out information that they don’t already know? What techniques might you use to give them access to that information? Reading like a writer when you explore POV doesn’t just involve thinking about what we learn from the character themselves, but also the ways information they’re not privy to is shared with them, for example through letters, diaries, old newspaper articles, an overheard conversation, dialogue with another character or something else entirely.  

Even with fanfic where much of the structure might be in place in terms of characterisation, world building and so on, the POV character is essential. I’ve gone back and forth on fics with just two characters interacting (Harry and Draco for example) deciding whose perspective best serves the story, and I have had stories that weren’t working until I changed that around. One thing you could do is pick a story you really like with your favourite ship and then jot down some notes that focus on identifying why the writer has chosen to give us access to the inner thoughts and perspectives of one character as opposed to another.

For me, when reading, I often get really invested in a writer’s style, their way with words, their use of language. That means that once I’ve enjoyed reading something I actively need to go back to think about the ‘read like a writer’ elements. They often won’t be the first things you’re thinking about because the story is good enough that you just want to read it as a reader. That’s why when I’m ‘reading like a writer’ it works best (for me at least) to go back to something I’ve loved as opposed to on the first read. On my second read, I’ll be thinking about those features I mentioned above and investigating how the author handled them throughout the story.

If you enjoy a particular genre, you could pick several books that you’ve enjoyed and perhaps one you disliked within that genre (e.g. romance) or several stories that follow a recognisable narrative arc (e.g. hero’s journey) and identify how the authors follow structures and beats for that particular kind of story or thinking about whether they subvert it in some way and whether it’s successful or unsuccessful. You might like so-called ‘literary fiction’ which can tend to be more experimental in style and structure and you might be approaching that asking how the author has experimented with their writing strategies and analysing why it works, why it doesn’t or why it’s been marketed as something that doesn’t fall within a specific genre.

If you’re not sure about things like beats and arcs you can find lots of helpful stuff online with a quick Google, but to be honest if you’re approaching ‘read like a writer’ fresh I personally would avoid getting too bogged down in the theory initially. Others may disagree, but I find I can get overwhelmed by that and go down a rabbit hole. I would say, grab a book you love read it again and jot down some observations about things like the POV, tense, structure and focus on pacing, when information gets revealed, where ambiguity is created and so on. Perhaps do the same exercise with a book you enjoyed less too. Ultimately it’s all about reading a story in a way that focuses on those elements you grapple with whenever you sit down to write.

[theinconvenientlifestyle]

So Miranda Sings the strange, humorous youtube personality had a Netflix show for two seasons because she’s huge in the youtube world and it is honestly so bloody heartbreaking to watch, I mean for a comedy and just generally but it is good and weird and it has a very specific vibe. But yeh it hurts my heart to watch cos Colleen Ballinger is some sort of bizarre genius.

[writsgrimmyblog]

21 questions

Tagged by @nightwideopen - thank you Adri! Rules: answer these 21 questions, then tag 21 people you want to get to know better 

Nickname: Writ

Height: 5ft6

Last movie I saw: Fyre Festival documentary on Netflix (SO MANY THOUGHTS!!)

Last thing I Googled: Gretna Green 1960s for a fic I was working on about Molly Weasley and Poppy Pomfrey, Until My Bones Are Tired.

Favorite musician: Impossible to answer, but at the moment I’m listening to a lot of CVRCHES, Florence and Jack River.

Song stuck in my head: I can’t stop singing Lizzo’s Good As Hell. It makes me so happy :D

Other blogs:@writcraft for Harry Potter, Destiel, Johnlock and a bunch of fest blogs for fests I moderate ( @grimmyappreciation, @grylesexchange, @hpkinkfest @hpdarkarts @harrydracobang and one for HP Wand in A Knot once we get the blog fixed).

Do I get asks: Not a huge amount, usually if I prompt them by blogging an ask meme, ask for prompts or have just posted fic or something. I get them on the odd occasion if Nick’s doing something people are feeling chatty about, but not loads like that. I like asks as long as they’re nice, LOL. I’m always happy to chatter on about stuff, talk about writing, academic things, Nick’s hair...

Following: 600 or so. A really random mix I should probably check who I’m following and who I’m not following.

Amount of sleep: Usually around 4 - 6

Lucky number: 13

What I’m wearing: Harry Styles concert t-shirt from Melbourne which I asked lovely @silveredsound to get for me when she went to the concert and joggers.

Dream job: Professional Fanfiction Writer and Senior Tumblr Scroller. Please pay me a million pounds to do fandom stuff, thanks :D

Dream trip: Japan and Canada. I’d also love to get back to New York at some point soon.

Favorite food: Fish and Chip Shop Chips with salt, vinegar and curry sauce.

Play any instruments: Clarinet, Tin Whistle, Recorder, Guitar and Sax. Some well, some very, very badly.

Languages: English and basic French.

Favorite songs: At the minute King Princess ‘Talia’ is on repeat and I have been putting together a playlist of 90s/noughties Brit Pop and Indie for two fics I’m working on set in Northern England and it’s giving me loads of teen me feels and reminding me of concerts at grotty venues drinking cans of Red Stripe and wearing head to toe adidas with bright pink hair.

Random fact: I once went to see Nick DJ and sat at a table next to the Clique and was too awkward to go and ask for a photograph so I pretended I didn’t know a Nick and hadn’t specifically booked a table for that evening so I could watch him DJ and have regretted it ever since...

Describe yourself as aesthetic things: a bed with crumpled sheets by a window with a view of London in the rain

21 people is a lot to tag so I’ll just tag a handful! @half-light-01 @lordendsavior @dikolasgrimshaw @fapfapfashion @thedrarryarchives @lettersbyelise @nifflers-n-nargles @keyflight790 @breathofmine @ticklefightharry and @missytearex

[writcraft]

20 and 21 for the writer ask meme?

Thank you so much for the ask!

20. Any advice for young writers/advice you wish someone would have given you early on? One piece of advice that’s stuck with me, is to learn to read like a writer. Reading as a writer requires a focus on aspects like the structure of the story, the POV, the techniques the writer used to generate responses in the reader and so on. Reading that way differs from literary criticism or reading for pleasure without giving those technical aspects much thought. I don’t approach everything I read with that kind of study technique (that would be exhausting) but I often look at stories I love to identify what it is about the writing that I found so enjoyable as a reader. I try to do that across different authors, styles, genres, story length, fiction, non-fiction, creative non-fiction and so on. It helps me to develop a good sense of storytelling techniques and working out the technical aspects of writing I’m drawn to and examining what has been successful in a story (and what hasn’t) has helped me sharpen my own voice as a writer.

21. What aspect of your writing are you most proud of? It’s not really a writing thing like dialogue, characterisation or plot, but being able to tackle difficult topics and find joy and hope amidst the anger and pain I suppose. Is being relentlessly hopeful anything to do with writing? I don’t know that it is, but capturing it matters to me because in a world like ours it pushes me forwards. Hope. I would like to think I write that in a way that resonates.

writers ask meme

[writcraft]

12 and/or 28 and/or 40 for the writer ask meme, please and thank you!

Thank you for the asks! I’m just going to answer the first one as it ended up being quite a lengthy answer, but I might come back to the others in a separate post as they’re really good questions!

12. Which story of yours do you like best? At the moment I would say The Beauty of Thestrals and Other Unseen Things.  A short fic I really like is Turn and Face The Strange (Remus Lupin/James Potter). I find Remus tricky to write and because James/Sirius is such a fave of mine, I wasn’t sure how I’d get into the feels for James/Remus (I wrote it for a prompt) but I was actually really pleased with how it turned out. I like ‘Thestrals’ because although it’s heavy it balances out that weightiness with hope and it’s ultimately about falling in love and getting to be yourself against all the odds and I think there’s something cathartic about that. A bit more waffle on that point beneath the cut.

writers ask meme

I have been thinking about why, particularly lately, I am increasingly drawn towards telling stories where it’s not easy or effortless to be queer. They certainly don’t appeal to everyone and I know for some people that kind of story doesn’t give rise to particularly positive feelings or is an active ‘do not want’, so I was mulling over why, for me, a story like ‘Thestrals’ felt so cathartic to write. The other day when I was doing thesis things, I found a quote by Heather Love that really spoke to me. She’s not talking about creative writing, but I think it applies to how I’ve often felt about LGBT literature and media. She says “a lot of the art and literature that meant the most to me...was not at all about affirmation” and she discusses how it was through exploring negative feelings she herself experienced she discovered “it was possible to share feelings of exclusion in a way that I found profoundly consoling.”

She describes sharing those negative feelings that are inextricably part of queer history as “dark, tender thrills” and explores how they are bound up in our history together of course with the joy, courage, activism and resilience that is just as important. Perhaps it’s growing up as a closeted teen in Thatcher-Era Britain during Section 28, the amount of time I spend with literature written about the HIV/AIDS crisis, the issues I continue to see today as a result of my volunteer work or something else entirely, but it resonated. I fully appreciate it’s not a quote that will work for everyone and nor should it, there’s plenty of space for all kinds of stories and sadly an awful lot of LGBT literature and media has that association with sadness or tragedy, I’m certainly not doing anything new or different by exploring the impact of closeting or feelings of uncertainty, fear or shame. However, the quote, particularly the “dark, tender thrills” made me think of the process of writing and researching ‘Thestrals’, together with the queer literature I’m often drawn to. I’m still really proud of how that fic turned out and it’s a really special one to me, because the process of writing it still sticks with me today.

[writcraft]

#1!!!

Thank you for the ask Anon!!

1. Tell us about your WIP! I have three WIPs that I’m seriously working on at the moment as opposed to drafts I haven’t picked up in a while. One Drarry, one Snarry and one Prongsfoot. I won’t expand on the Drarry or Snarry as there’s a chance they might be submitted for anonymous fests, but I’m excited about both of them and they’re both pretty long fics. I’m hoping I’ll be able to post the Sirius Black/James Potter over the next couple of weeks. It’s set in the 1970s around Earl’s Court and the Old Brompton Road in London. I really wanted to write a coming of age piece about two boys in the middle of a magical war trying to work stuff out, all that messy confusion of growing up and finding yourself, their relationship to Muggle spaces and so on and I wanted to do that outside the Little Compton Street universe where I had to stick close to their canon timeline which gives a v narrow window to explore any James/Sirius.

I have also been itching to write a short one shot Drarry outside of my longer WIP so that might end up getting written if I have a good writing day at some point! No fixed idea, just all the feels nagging at me to write them.

writers ask meme