🦋

sideblog for writing

[thekatydids]

really quick pinned hi ^_^

im katydids/schoolSEKAI on ao3 im an adult and i write for pjsk and idv and other unserious things. It is for fun. i made this blog to collect writing inspiration posts and to document my thought processes and fandom thoughts… just talking to myself mostly. Feel free to send asks or requests or just talk to me cuz i love talking LOL

i do not like seeing incest rape or pedophilia fictional or otherwise so if youre blocked thats why

[mikkeneko]

PSA to fan creators who don't have a lot of regular contact with children: They are almost always bigger than you think. A 1-year-old baby may already be walking. A toddler is likely already hip-high. A 10-year-old may already be taller than at least one of their parents. A 14/15 year old may already have reached their adult height.

[amarguerite]

Via @watertightvines

[wildjuniperjones]

Here's the link. It was actually not immediately easy to find, so I thought this might help.

[daisywords]

not everything in a story has to or should be "realistic" but in my opinion there's a level of illusion that should be maintained, and I think that's the actual problem that many people try to pinpoint with the "unrealistic" criticism. Dialogue shouldn't be written like an actual transcript of human speech, but should contribute to the illusion of a real person speaking. A character is a tool of the story, not a narrative, but we're trying to maintain the illusion that they are a person. Worldbuilding should exist to serve the story, not to be a perfect simulacrum of how every aspect of nature/society etc. would actually play out for real. But there should be the illusion that it could be real, that organizations and systems would operate in such a way, that people might behave in such a way.

in conclusion: "Is this realistic?" <<wrong question. "Does this serve the illusion or disrupt it?" <<now we're talking

[best-of-inspirobot]

[tearlessrain]

this is in perfect iambic meter and sounds like the first line of a weird poem

[tearlessrain]

Rule #2

Don’t ever hug a lobster when you see one on the street,

For decorum is essential when a lobster you must greet.

You may comment on the weather, compliment his choice of hat,

But crustaceans like their space if one should stop them for a chat.

Don’t ever hug a lobster when you’re strolling down the coast,

Simply nod and give a greeting, or a handshake at the most,

For a lobster’s first priority is formal social graces,

And one seemes over-familiar if a lobster one embraces.

Don’t ever hug a lobster when you meet one in the sea,

For a lobster’s spines and chitin make it difficult, you see,

And he might become self-conscious if you bring that fact to light,

So don’t ever hug a lobster, simply put, it’s impolite.

[interkellar]

[taraxippos]

Had been thinking about this post (which is a fake excerpt from an imaginary narrative written to mock 'tumblr prose'), and how most "no actually this is good" comments are highlighting how the construction of individual sentences is interesting, how some of the language is evocative, how it Goes Hard. Because that post is written badly in a very thoughtful manner that focuses on core structural issues rather than going for low hanging fruit of poor technical proficiency with the written word, it is not bad in the most "obvious" of ways. So I think this is a legit learning opportunity, but also I don't want to dunk on anyone so instead I will just preach to the choir of My Followers.

But yeah like to be more constructive than just going "lol tumblr prose bad", really the issue in Large part that characterizes "tumblr prose" (which to be clear I don't think is a discrete thing and at most is a combination of several writing tendencies influenced by the medium of Online) comes down to the lack of real contrast in Any aspect of narrative construction, and an obsession with being quotable and constantly being at 100% of Going Hard (which go hand in hand).

In that post, the character voice is indistinct from that of the narration, and the characters quote one-liners that look Meaningful as excerpts and are borderline nonsensical as dialogue. There is no more than the faintest, most generic hints of characterization; these people exist as vague concepts to say deep words for the reader. The sentence length has little variation from its staccato beat, and so it is awkward to read and fails to complement the action or accomplish anything with the pacing (save for the slight slowdown when the torturer feels all that damp animal electricity). The timing is awkward and exaggeratedly dramatic. The description is a flowery kind of tryhard visceral and seems avoidant of describing anything too directly ("something dark and arterial" where there's nothing being accomplished by conveying uncertainty about what is currently gushing out of the injured character and the simple use of "blood splashed across the stones" would actually be 10x more effective), in a way that does disservice to what is supposed to be a torture scene, and leaves it weightless and ungrounded. In fairness to the people saying "this is good", that is MUCH easier to say when reading this fake excerpt as the standalone piece it actually is, but this kind of writing Cannot function in an actual narrative and is not what an excerpt from well constructed narrative fiction is going to look like basically ever.

It reflects a lot of very typical amateur writing issues that just about everyone has to grow out of (the minimal diversity in sentence length, simulated non-attention to scene pacing and timing), and issues common to fanfiction-influenced writing on social media (allergy to paragraph lengths of more than two sentences, little to no description of the characters or setting because, in fanfiction, the reader already knows their physical characteristics and mannerisms and it doesn't need to be lingered upon, Unlike In Original Fiction). But this particularly hits on an issue I think is semi-unique to narrative writing in the social media milieu, which is a focus on being quotable. This may not even be a conscious impulse at all But It's There. This kinda apparent terror of any moment not being as beautiful and hard hitting as possible (or for comedy, any moment not being A Joke). Everything "Goes Hard", so nothing actually does. A lot of "tumblr prose" type writing is less a narrative, more a string of quotes loosely assembled into narrative that vaguely gestures at things like Plot and Character. It substitutes depth for Suggestions of depth by utilizing stock symbolism without building it into the narrative, and by gesturing at weighty contexts without actually engaging with them. There can be little contrast or effective use of tone, pace, description when your story is a series of Hard Hitting Quotes.

I'm reading Watership Down right now and I think it's a great novel overall and can work as an example of how important it is to utilize contrast in your writing.

This segment is the lengthy first description of the titular down, which the rabbits are now encountering for the first time:

Adams is slowing the pace here to introduce us to the setting of the next segment of the book. The average sentence length is very long and keeps us lingering in the sensory detail, while still varied and thus smoothly readable. This new place is introduced by simultaneously conveying its physical description in vivid detail and conveying its feeling and character, and getting the most out of every described feature to do so. The thorn trees are "wind stunted". The air is "scented". The language takes on a very flowery character and heavily utilizes simile and metaphor. Woodland is "tumultuous with evening", sunlight filters through grass "like a wind" to the small creatures below, in contrast to laying "like a gold rind" on the hill when seen from a distance. This grandiose description is heavily functional and conveys both exhaustive physical detail and a feeling that this place is beautiful, awe inspiring to something like a rabbit, and full of life, though not without quiet hints of danger. It hits because Not Everything In The Book Is Described This Way. It means something that we're lingering like this and stopping to get a sense of this place on every possible level, and moving away from more direct, simple prose to convey the feeling of the place in depth.

This segment describes the rabbit Bigwig being found caught in a snare:

The prose here here has the opposite approach of the first excerpt. The language is concise, direct, and brutal. It only veers slightly away from the literal to describe Bigwig's voice as 'bubbling out' from his mouth, both conveying that the saliva and blood in his mouth is literally bubbling as he speaks, and implying the unsettling way his voice sounds as he's being strangled. The sentences are much shorter on the whole, as fit for the pacing of a tense and rapidly changing scene, and the timing closely complements the action - "There was a pause" not only conveys That There Was A Pause but interrupts the rhythm of this segment; the moment of uneasy stillness is echoed in the act of reading itself.

The scene this is excerpted from is extremely effective and does in fact Go Hard, it's well constructed in of itself but its effectiveness mostly lies in its place in the narrative. It's the culmination of a long, tense buildup as the reader becomes more aware that something is deeply Wrong about the place the rabbits are in, and the payoff is effective in being blunt and visceral, which hits because Not Everything In The Book Is Described This Way. Nothing about these excerpts are particularly quotable because that is actually not what good narrative writing is about.

[what-even-is-thiss]

Sometimes fiction doesn’t have a moral to the story. Sometimes fiction points at something and goes “Ever thought about THAT???” And you look at what it’s pointing at for a bit.

[eagans]

[have-you-read-this-webcomic]

Have you read PMD: On Borrowed Time by Woo?

Yes, completely!

Yes, partially

No

I've never heard of it

Voting ended onMay 29

"Malachi, a partially evolved Shinx appointed by the mysterious 'Maelstrom' as her champion, is working to rescue a dying world slowing to a stop with the theft of ancient relics. Problem is, neither of them quite know what has to be done to save the world. Matters are only complicated when an amnesiac Alolan Vulpix washes ashore with her own mysteries to solve. As our heroes meet new friends and foes alike, they find that they may be involved in something much greater, much larger, and much more sinister than any of them bargained for."

Read it here!

[watermotif]

id: Perhaps the greatest horror of Jackson's haunting is not that the house seduces Eleanor into literally sacrificing herself for the sake of belonging, but that having done so, it still does not let her belong. Eleanor may imagine herself to be joining the ghostly children who try to enter her room, sing to her, hold her, and ask her for help, but this promised intimacy is as delusive as any other in Hill House. In Kahane's terms, Eleanor has given her life to become "everything" and has become nothing. The house does not want her any more than anyone else does; it wants her dead. After all, whatever walks in Hill House walks alone.

tricia lootens, whose hand was i holding?: familial and sexual politics in shirley jackson's the haunting of hill house

[chaumas-deactivated20240115]

I think one of the worst things a story can be is unproblematic.

Nothing makes a story more unreadable than being able to see the author squirm apologetically for the story they actually want to write—wringing their hands and imploring the reader please, please don’t be mad, I know it’s ideologically questionable but I need you to not be mad at me!

For example: a Good King™️. It’s one thing for a story to present a fictional monarchy and ask me to root for it. It’s another thing for a story to say, hey, I know what you’re thinking—but don’t worry! I can justify this premise! I have introduced a lot of convoluted self-aware political justifications for why my king is good and likable without actually asking any risky ideological questions! These characters aren’t actually problematic! Don’t be mad at me!

Commit to the bit. Apologetic, defensive writing designed to bypass obvious criticisms often winds up offending me far more than stories that are just kind of surface-level problematic. If I’m gonna be a hater you cannot stop me; the more you insist that a character is actually a good oil tycoon because of all these exceptional situations and beyond my reproach, the more I resent you and hate your stupid book.

[vonbabbitt-deactivated20260203]

Hi Von! First off, I love tetro and you've done a great job! This fangan has actually inspired me to create the fangan ideas that have been rattling around in my head for the past year. I'm currently trying to do the character building and thought asking you a few questions could be helpful! First, how did you go about things like plot and character building/character design? Second, how did you go about assembling a team for tetro?

im glad youre enjoying it! thank you for the high praise! this got long, so ill put my answer beneath the cut!

one tip ill give before i say ANYTHING ELSE because this is my strongest gripe in the fangan universe: if youre planning on making something like tetro, or any fangan at all, DO NOT CAST UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO GIVE OUT CONSISTENT WORK. one of the biggest pitfalls in fangans is that fangan directors cast WAY before they actually need voice actors. if you arent yet in a place where you are going to be able to CONTINUE REGULARLY GIVING OUT SCRIPTS, you dont need to cast yet. focus on the other tasks!

in terms of plot/character building, you should consider what roles need to be filled in the story and what types of characters will be needed to keep the story interesting/moving forward. a lot of fangans struggle with having characters that dont really do a lot - not every character needs to be bombastically doing things all the time, but every character needs to have some sort of point in being there. it can be really tricky when youre working with the usual danganronpa numbers of 16 characters per cast, but take your time and really consider how you want your story to play out.

another thing i advise strongly is to make sure you're writing your characters in a way that lets the audience connect with them. the whole drive of danganronpa is that characters will die, so your audience needs to care when that happens. one of the biggest pieces of feedback i get with tetro is people saying that they like the whole cast and dont want to see anyone die - when you can cultivate that kind of cast, death matters. give each character something the audience can relate to in some way. you can still get interesting and specific with backstories and lore, but make sure the core of the character is something that someone can connect with. for example: harada. a lot of people probably cant relate to the idea of bullying people in their youth. however, many people can relate to the idea of doing something you regret down the line because you wanted to fit in or avoid trouble. the core should be something people can connect with. focus on that core!

in terms of assembling a team, i put up a casting call page! there are a couple different websites you can use, but this is the one i find to be the most effective. i only cast voice actors for tetro - other roles ended up getting taken on by people who were eager to do more work in the project or help out. i always say that if there's a job that needs doing in your fangan, you should be prepared to do that job entirely on your own, because the odds of getting help for free are slim. other people who know nothing about you or your project arent going to want to give you free art, video, music, animation etc., and from my experience, a lot of VAs will see a casting call full of calls for animators and artists and view that as a red flag. fangans are chronically unfinished, so make sure you can do every job by yourself if need be. learn whatever skills you need! there are tutorials everywhere!

hope this was helpful in some way!

[tossawary]

Chatting with someone about recent Pixar films compared to "golden age"(?) Pixar films... I don't really have coherent examples of this, but I feel like some of their weakest films (and weak speculative fiction generally) get too caught up in... the metaphor? The allegory? The underlying theme?

Like, I think "Finding Nemo" is a great film. And people will say, "It's not JUST a film about cartoon fish! It's also about parent-child relationships and suffocating overprotectiveness and learning to let your child be independent!" Which is true. I think that's a very true statement. That IS the emotional core of the movie.

But I also think "Finding Nemo" is great and works as a film because it also respects and explores the setting in a straightforward way. It's also a movie about how genuinely scary it would be to be a small fish in a big, wonderous, terrifying ocean. It's asking, "What would it be like to be a fish going through this experience?"

The original world of "Toy Story" is compelling and delightfully disturbing, because it's asking, "What would it be like to be a toy?" And "A Bug's Life" is similarly asking, "What might it be like to be a bug?" And "Monsters Inc." is asking, "Why might monsters scare children at night?" All of these movies have strong emotional cores and allegories and all that jazz, but they're also engaging with these speculative prompts in a forthright way.

I'm reminded of a joke post that I saw about "The Hobbit" in which Bilbo says, "Ohhh, I get it! The dragon is a metaphor for greed!" And Thorin replies, "Bilbo, it's a real dragon and it's in my house." Like, there IS a lot about Smaug that's neat thematically, for sure, but also... for the fantasy setting to work, you do have to keep in mind the dangerous, logistical realities of a big, fire-breathing, man-eating lizard, which Tolkien obviously very much does.

Like, I saw "Elemental" and I kind of thought... the movie was maybe too caught up in being a metaphor for interracial relationships, possibly at the expense of the speculative worldbuilding. I don't think the movie engaged enough with the fact that marginalized fire-person Ember lives in a city full of water features that could apparently injure or even kill her. I think that the movie pulled a lot of its punches in regards to structural racism.

I thought that "Onward" was particularly disinterested in its own setting and the logic of it. Most of the fantasy elements were gags. It's a "normal" generic modern setting with speculative elements pasted on top, rather than a new world with the speculative elements integrated in unique ways that changed the way that people did things, you know? A society disregarding clearly very powerful magic (and all magical history) in favour of mildly more convenient lightbulbs doesn't actually make sense in-universe. It's, idk, the story forcibly simplifying itself just to call modern society lazy and incurious, which isn't an interesting statement.

I don't remember "Luca" and "Soul" very well, so I won't really comment on them here. I liked "Turning Red" well enough and I think its specific Chinese-Canadian setting worked fine for it. And I think "Inside Out" generally works as well, because it's specifically about how messy it inwardly feels to be even a "normal" preteen / teenage girl; a lot is smoothed over by it all being inside Riley's head. "Lightyear" was... I don't know how to get started on that mess, so I will not start.

Anyway, my point is: I think that with speculative fiction, it IS good and important to keep your themes and messages and emotional cores in mind! I just think you do have to also engage with the reality of the world you have going on, so that the story actually feels logical and well-grounded and unique. Sometimes, a dragon has also got to be a literal dragon, you know?

[waterloggedsoliloquy]

Litany of the Webcomic Artist:

-KEEP MOVING -DON'T REDRAW THAT PAGE UNLESS YOU'RE GETTING PAID TO -FIND OUT WHAT CORNER-CUTTING MEASURES YOU CAN LIVE WITH AND USE THEM AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE -DO NOT USE HOMESTUCK AS A METRIC OF SUCCESS OR FAILURE

[aquilacalvitium]

Write it badly or it'll never be written

Write it badly or it'll never be written

Write it badly or it'll never be written

Write it badly or it'll never be written

Write it badly or it'll never be written

[aquilacalvitium]

Please keep interacting with this post because when I come to tumblr to procrastinate, this shows up again in my notifications and guilts me into writing again

[truestoriesaboutme]

I can't quite explain it, but Clue (1985), The Princess Bride (1987), Galaxy Quest (1999), and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) are all the same genre

[short-and-angry]

They aren't a spoof (roast) or a love letter (tribute), but a best man's speech; an expression of love with a gentle ribbing on ocassion.

[creatingblackcharacters]

Your recent(ish) post that mentioned Children Of Blood and Bone reminded me that its been sitting on my shelf waiting to be read, so I finally picked it up and oh my GOD it's so good!! Really makes you feel the tension- I can't wait to read the rest of the series. Tomi Adeyemi is such a good writer

Good!!! It's truly one of those easy examples of "read somebody Black in fantasy" that I'm always saying. Like. Everyone swears they love fantasy and wanna learn how to write Black characters, but actually picking up a book seems like it's too much. Meanwhile the answers are there! The genre is there!

[orteil42]

i always love when a horror movie is like ohh we are a group of people from various backgrounds stuck together in this motel/gas station/roadside diner/grocery store/shopping mall/warehouse/underground bunker/fallout shelter/research facility/military compound/prison/police station/office building/apartment building/school/hospital/church/bar/music club/amusement park/resort/boat of some kind. the baddies are coming. quick! let us organize into some sort of social commentary