Wredundant Writer

Another writer trying not to be completely redundant.

[wredundant-writer]

About Me

Hello! I’m Raena or Rae and, as my bio said, I’m trying not to be completely redundant. Not exactly sure how well that’s working, but I’ve come a long way.

I use she/her pronouns, I’m Enneatype 4w5, and I’m a dog person (guinea pig person at heart, but sadly, I’m INCREDIBLY allergic).

I write a lot of fanfiction (don’t discuss my fandoms on here very often, though) and a lot of realistic fiction. I read fantasy action and romance, and my favorite authors are Leigh Bardugo and Taran Matharu.

My content is (mostly) writing based, with memes, advice, discussions, and creative writing by my mutuals and favorite accounts. It’s a mix of original content and reblogs, but MOSTLY reblogs.

My ask box is open! I’ll do my best to answer any questions you have, and if I don’t have answers, I can point you to some writers that might. I’m best with questions about character relationships, scene ideas, and fanfiction, but don’t hesitate to ask me anything.

My Tags

[#writing advice]: My own original advice

[#piggyback advice]: Advice I give which is created in discussion or response to what someone else says

[#writing memes]: Original writing memes

[#writing resources]: Materials which may be useful to go back on and reference later

[#my writing]: My original writing

[#raena reads]: Discussions about whatever book I’m reading now; typically made sometime after 11 pm, so they may or may not be coherent. If you want to avoid spoilers for any books, you may want to blacklist this, if not...

[#{whatever book I’m reading} spoilers]: Tagged on #raena reads posts, but rather than lumping all of my reading together, it’s specific to the story. I put out a post announcing when I’m starting a new book so you have the chance to blacklist it, and my currently read is always in my bio

trigger warnings: I try to tag common triggers, but it often slips my mind, so don’t hesitate to ask me if you need to tag something. When I do tag a trigger, it’s [#tw {trigger}]

[#cursing]: Posts with cursing (this one slips my mind a lot, sorry)

[#hadestown]: This one is included because I post a LOT about Hadestown; it’s just part of the package of this blog

[#not writing]: Anything which isn’t directly related to writing or [#raena reads]

My Writing

“Raena!” you say. “Where can I read your writing!”

First of all, thank you! I love knowing that people want to read my writing

Second of all, I don’t have very much writing out there. I post snippets and quotes occasionally under the tag [#my writing] occasionally.

You can find my short story Lightning on my Wattpad, @RaenaHunter.

You can find my short story Why Did You Do It? on my Wattpad or on Tumblr at this link.

Will I ever talk about my larger WIPs on this blog? Maybe, maybe not. To be honest, I don’t feel the need to. I love being in this community regardless and I have a feeling that if I were to start sharing my writing, I’d burn out pretty quickly.

Other

People of color, LGBTQ+ people, Jewish and Muslim people (and people of any other non-Christian religions), and any other minorities/marginalized voices are welcomed on my blog. I don’t believe in exclusion and I try to make my posts as welcoming and inviting to everyone as possible. Please don’t hesitate to call me out if you see me say/reblog something wrong/offensive. I have anon on if you don’t want to do it publicly.

I’d have a DNI but I don’t think it makes a difference; if you’re an exclusionist/bigot/TERF/racist and you feel okay with following this blog then clearly I’m not being welcoming enough to the people you dislike to much.

If you use neopronouns and I slip and address you as they/them, I promise I’m not trying to ignore your identity. I follow a lot of people and I often can’t remember all of them, especially because I tend to go on following sprees. I default to they/them unless I’m absolutely sure, so if you feel uncomfortable being referred to as they/them, again, don’t hesitate to call me out.

Feel free to spam like on my blog, but preferably don’t spam reblog (one or two things is fine, though, and if you queue it up I probably won’t notice).

Finally, wear a mask until this pandemic is *actually* over.

[wredundant-writer]

.

[wredundant-writer]

When I was in middle school, I spent a lot of time assuming my future was built on who I would end up with. One thing I find particularly weird about this is that I, at the time, did not want to be married. I didn't, and still don't, think marriage was worth it except perhaps legal/financial reasons. Perhaps I always hinged my future on my current crush because of compulsory amatonormativity, but I think it may just have been a product of being a 13 year old girl.

Now, though, I look at my future and it rarely contains the prospect of a long term romantic partner, whether or not I'm actively crushing on anyone. I imagine a future where I go somewhere far away for college, where I come back after and get my own house and a job as an English teacher, where I travel during the summers and foster elderly dogs during the school year and garden and take motorcycle riding classes even though I never actually want a motorcycle.

I wouldn't be upset if I did have a long term partner, of course. But I'm glad my future is only burdened with wanting for things that I can actively achieve if only I work for it.

[wredundant-writer]

Hot take but often when a character is "obviously queer" it's bc they fit a few stereotypes that cishetallo people can relate to (and should absolutely be allowed to relate to). Things like women having short hair/rejecting makeup and feminine clothing/not forcing herself to fit the "standard" image of a feminine women, or men having long hair/participating in "feminine" activities/being more caring, empathetic, etc.

And if those things are all seen as inherently queer, you're gonna turn a lot of people off from living true to themselves, and stereotypes surrounding these actions and traits WILL persist.

I know it's easy to say "well if cishet people aren't afraid to called queer then it's not a problem" but that's a very idealistic view of the world. While 100% true, it isn't going to foster the change that is necessary for everyone to move on.

And on a more individual level, it is EXHAUSTING to be have stereotypical queer traits and still be cishet. My social circle is 98% queer and I'm happy to keep it that way, but I don't fit in with cishet ppl on account of being gnc and I don't fit in with queer people on account of not being queer. And sometimes I want to see characters who are like me, who are female and cishet and masculine and gnc. But whenever I do, I see people like me online saying they're "obviously queer." And I get it, they're the way that a lot of queer people are, but they aren't "obviously queer" any more than I am.

[writingat-night]

yknow, speaking as a person with 10+ half-siblings, i think we (the pjo fandom) need to recognise that half-siblings you meet as a teenager are, for the most part, an inherently different relationship to siblings you were raised with

[writingat-night]

[wredundant-writer]

I haven't read PJO in a long time and I don't have nearly the same experiences with half siblings that you do, but I definitely think the same could be said for how the fandom treats half siblings linked by the non-godly parent. Percy and Estelle come to mind; they're, what, 17 years apart in age and only share a mother? That's resoundingly similar to my situation, where I'm 20 years younger than my half siblings and we only share a mother.

I know the fandom wants Percy to be the best older brother ever who's always there for Stella and plays with her and does everything, but I'm not sure how many half-siblings with large age gaps have that type of relationship.

When I was young, my sisters were in college. Some of my only memories of them are when they came home for Christmas. They probably don't have all that many more memories of me.

I didn't understand our family dynamic until I was 8 or 9. I don't think I ever believed we shared a father, but it certainly never clicked that they had a father outside my very small circle. (They also have other half siblings from their father's side, but that's something most people don't understand and isn't exactly relevant.)

The issue is that people lord the nuclear family dynamic over all else, and anything different is "lesser." My relationship with my half siblings is not lesser than my relationship with my full siblings. It's different. And not necessarily in the ways you expect.

From what I saw and see of headcanons surrounding Percy and Estelle, lots of them are trying to fit them into the box of "normal" siblings. After all, if they're anything less than normal, they're not good enough, right?

I'm not gonna personally detail how headcanons are "right" or "wrong" surrounding all of this because I haven't been in the fandom for years and I don't particularly care to do something that isn't my job. I just think that there needs to be more acknowledgement of the fact that Percy and Estelle have a unique relationship, one you don't typically see. And they should have a unique dynamic because of that.

[wredundant-writer]

Hot take but people rarely just "happen" upon good things. Like I know it's tempting to see life as one beautiful coincidence after another, and maybe on some level it is, a very meta, cosmic level, but you don't just accidentally end up eating delicious food or staring at a gorgeous tree or taking a soothing nap. These things happen because of deliberate choices: the deliberate choice of Sumerian people to learn farming techniques that eventually paved the way for that good food you're eating; the deliberate choice of someone to plant that tree, or to not knock it down, or to tend the branches when it gets out of control; the deliberate choice of the person who made your mattress to do so and to sell it to people to buy, and your own deliberate choice to buy that mattress.

Songs don't just come on the radio. They're chosen. And in much the same way, life does not just happen, and for every fallen domino you can always find a million hands knocking things into action.

[wredundant-writer]

No one:

Non-native English speakers on Tumblr with better grasp of the language than anyone I proofread in my high school English class: Sorry if there are any mistakes! English is not my first language. Please feel free to correct me!

[wredundant-writer]

The person who wrote The Epic of Gilgamesh, seeing any other story: Woah! Getting a real plagiarism vibe here

[wredundant-writer]

(Image ID: A list of ways to troubleshoot issues with video playback. The last one on the list is "Use Chrome." End ID.)

This is such a backhanded way to get me to go back to Chrome and you know what you google fucks? I'm never doing it. Kiss my adorable fucking ass, you pricks.

(Sorry for the lazy image ID to anyone who can't see the photo, I'm tired and didn't feel like doing it properly. The other items on the list don't matter and I've barely read them myself.)

[wredundant-writer]

Unpopular opinion but sometimes writers make posts that are something along the lines of, "Writing is a skill to be learned and it takes a long time and a lot of hard work, not everyone can do it, and people who do shouldn't be undervalued." And that's all true! And it's great to point out all of that!

But the phrasing of that is very ambiguous and it very much so seems like it could deter people looking to get into writing for the first time.

I understand the frustrations about it, lord knows. I know that writers are often disregarded because "what we do is easy" since it doesn't take any physical skill (other than typing, handwriting, or using a voice-to-text app). And that's unfair to us.

Writing is undervalued because people take the writing they're surrounded with for granted, and we do need to work together to stop that.

But the way people talk about it almost deters new writers from joining. "It takes years to get good at it, and people don't appreciate it! We are undervalued and it is so hard to be a good writer and not just anyone can do it!"

Those statements are all half-truths at best. It does take years to master the art of writing, but to be satisfied with your own writing is as easy as taking pride in the work you do. Writers are often underappreciated, but there's a great community to be found, and what more does one need than that? It is hard to be a writer that gets recognized as great from the outside world, but outside validation is secondary. And no, not anyone can write the way that Shakespeare could; not everyone has the skillset or knowledge set to live up to the greats. But anyone can do it. It's an artform. That's the point!

When you're talking about how writers are underappreciated, don't use it as a chance to bloat your ego. You can point out someone's entitlement to artforms without making writing into a technical sport. It's not a competition, and prioritizing "goodness" turns it into one.

I don't have all the answers. It's a fine line to walk, and there will be people who straight up refuse to acknowledge their own lack of writing skill. But instead of saying, "It takes years to become a good writer," you can say, "A lot of time goes into every story, especially the better ones" (which doesn't make new writers feel excluded). Instead of saying, "Oh, I always thought I'd become a brain surgeon once I retire," say, "Most writers take many years to become good enough to publish, so retirement may not be the best time to start" (which doesn't discourage them from writing that novel at all). Instead of saying, "Writers are undervalued," say, "A lot of people don't realize how much writers do for free and how much writing goes into the world around them" (which raises awareness without placing blame and also leaves room to acknowledge the awesome people who do support writers).

I just think that a lot of the common quips about the undervaluing of writing, while true, make the writing community out to be this hostile, competitive, quality-focused community, which isn't true to my experience. There are better ways to go about this issue, IMO.

[modern-politics111]

Hold off on the McChicken. Support fast food workers.

[chillgamesh-the-swing]

The strike is set for May 19 in the following cities:

LA

Sacramento

Oakland

Miami

Tampa

Orlando

Chicago

Milwaukee

Detroit

Flint (MI)

Kansas City

St Louis

Houston

Raleigh-Durham

Charleston

Vice article

People’s Dispatch

[wredundant-writer]

For clarity: Kansas City, Missouri, not Kansas City, Kansas.

[wredundant-writer]

I understand there's a lot of history behind British accents and a lot of elitism and racism and anti-Catholic sentiment and propaganda. I get that. But also, you are not even as big as Texas. You're not even double the size of my state. You are a small-ass country. Yes, you have a disproportionate impact on history, but you're still tiny.

And yet you expect me to be able to comprehend the difference between a Northern accent and a Southern accent? Between a London accent and a rural accent? I once watched a Swedish youtuber for a month and assumed he had a weird british accent until he finally said he was Swedish. I can't tell the difference between a Carolina accent and a Texan accent. The difference between those states is about as wide as your entire country. How do you expect me to tell the difference between two accents which are supposedly distinct but exist within a three hour car drive of each other?

[avi-why]

i wonder if there’s a correlation between telling people about your wips and actually working on them? does it help or detract?

hey writers, for science feel free to respond to this with 1) whether you make a formal introduction for your wips on social media, 2) how frequently you work on the wips you do introduce vs those you don’t, and 3) whether you feel any peer pressure to write by introducing wips and whether that’s a good thing for you

[wredundant-writer]

So. For me. It depends HIGHLY.

I actually just posted about this a few days ago but there was a period of my life where I shared info about my WIP online and it basically killed my motivation to write it. I was so committed to getting it done, and for all the wrong reasons. Not only did I burn out on this one story, I couldn't write like "normal" for a year. That's right, there was a YEAR of recovery for me.

Now, part of this was that I was younger and it was the first time I'd shared my story online so I didn't really know to remind myself that I'm not writing for other people, I'm writing for myself, it's okay to let other people down, etc.

But I don't think I do well if I'm writing a story that other people hear about. It's why I never share my WIPs on Tumblr, because I never want to go through that experience ever again. (I might post an excerpt of my writing, especially for a last line tag/Heads Up Seven Up, but I post it with the expectation that people may enjoy the prose, not the characters or the plot. I often remove specifics of character/plot because of that.)

However. If I'm actually sharing the writing as I go, my motivation way increases.

This past month and a bit, I've been writing a fanfic that I'm posting to AO3 as I go. I have a few loyal readers and friends who consistently comment and enjoy and it's made me way happier with the product and way more motivated to finish. I'm nearly at the climax of the story, what everything's been building up to, and I don't think I would have gotten to this point without my fandom friends helping me along. It's not that I don't like the story -- I love the story -- but I tend to burn out if it takes too long to get to the pivotal moments.

So for me, it depends on whether I'm actually writing a story for an audience or just sharing my plot/characters with my friends.

I also think that it may vary day-to-day and story-to-story. One of my big theories on writing is that a great writer is someone who learns to live with the inconsistency of their own needs, and learns how to recognize and accommodate that inconsistency. Whether or not you actually need to share your story with others is part of that inconsistency for me and many other people.

(That being said, I think we live in an age where we see a lot of writers sharing their stories and WIPs online and naturally we don't see a lot of writers who don't do that, because how would we see them? So a lot of writers, young ones especially, assume that's the "norm" which is why I'm somewhat committed to deconstructing and combating that idea. Visual artists have this worse, though, in my opinion, because with writing you aren't necessarily expected to have a finished product more than once a year if you're a novelist, while young artists see their favorite artists constantly churning out pieces and assume they should be doing the same thing. That's more of a ramble than a cohesive thought but I thought it was worth mentioning anyway.)

[wredundant-writer]

People will literally say shit like "I support writers who create self-inserts and Mary Sues" and then turn around and in the same breath criticize Divergent for being cringy

[wredundant-writer]

I also feel as though a lot of criticisms over Divergent is caused by confusing the books and the movies, which is TOTALLY unfair to Veronica Roth. She told you that Tris is plain and you said "No, she's beautiful!" and then pointed at the facial features that were never actually described in book? You cannot criticize Veronica Roth for a casting director's choice made years after the book was written.

Say that Tris complied with a eurocentric standard of being, arguably true (but again, I sincerely doubt you can prove that on anything other than skin color and hair color/texture. Not that those aren't important, but they're only a factor). Say that Tris complied with a fatphobic standard of being, which is most certainly true and proveable.

But neither of those things actually equate being beautiful. Maybe she's not considered ugly but that's exactly what was said in the books: she's plain. She's unnoticeable.

Tris in the books doesn't look like the actor that was eventually chosen to portray her. You can't judge Veronica Roth's way of describing Shailene Woodley because Veronica Roth did not describe Shailene Woodley. And if you didn't see the movies and you still imagined Tris as being beautiful and perfect? Then you've probably been influenced by seeing a total lack of unattractive characters on screen. And while that's not your fault, it is a) your responsibility to unlearn that and b) absolutely not anger to be directed at Veronica Roth.

And when you're talking about the trend of people describing their characters as plain, I think we also need to talk about how this is a result of society teaching girls that. This could be several things, like girls never seeing actually plain people on screen when they grow up or thinking that maybe it would be better to be plain because then they'd never get unwanted attention from men or things that I haven't even done a deep dive into. Could be a combination of those things.

The point is that Divergent is not, and never was, the problem. There are issues within the publishing industry, within the film industry, within society, etc. that have created the Mary Sues you hate so much. So get angry at those issues. Don't direct your hate at harmless traits of a novel written for fun, okay?

I have no doubt in my mind that Divergent has LOADS of problematic content in it that is genuinely worthy of criticism. But Tris being a Mary Sue isn't part of that problematic content, and while Veronica Roth may not see your criticisms, the teenage girls writing self-insert OCs do and they are internalizing that.

[wredundant-writer]

People will literally say shit like "I support writers who create self-inserts and Mary Sues" and then turn around and in the same breath criticize Divergent for being cringy

[wredundant-writer]

Why did the phrase "take that L, lover, cuz this is over" just pop into my mind

[wredundant-writer]

Anti-parenthetical sentiment pisses me off so much. There's nothing wrong with parentheses and if you believe there is then you've fallen victim to an English teacher, sorry. The reader's eyes don't automatically skip over parentheses, that's a you problem, and just because the information is in parentheses doesn't mean that it's not important information. Parentheses convey tone! They convey how the information relates to everything else! They can tell the reader, oh, this is coming from the narrator in the future, or they can tell the reader that it's meant to be a bit humorous, or a million other things.

Every single time I've been told not to use parentheses, I've cut the parentheses from around the text, not the text itself. Nothing has changed except the information is not conveyed in the way that I intended it.

I understand that parentheses come with a specific tone around them that not every writing style accepts (in the past, I've written in styles where parenthetical statements seem misplaced and awkward), and maybe they don't work in academic contexts. But if parentheses were bad then why would they exist at all?

This is a pro-parentheses blog. DNI if you are anti-parentheses.