A Creative’s Lament

Bring back illustrations in books.

I want full page art that makes me pause mid-sentence and go “oh.”

Bring back little drawings at the start of chapters. Bring back weird decorative headers. Bring back maps that are slightly confusing but I will stare at them like I’m planning a military campaign anyway.

Where is my glossary. Where is my pronunciation guide. I am tired of guessing. I want to know if I’ve been saying a name wrong for 300 pages so I can feel betrayed properly.

Give me marginalia. Give me fake documents. Letters. Diagrams that look important but are emotionally suspicious. Let the book look like it’s been handled.

Why did we decide everything had to be Just Text. Who voted for this. Show yourself-

I want footnotes that feel like the author is whispering additional lore directly into my ear. I want diagrams that explain nothing and somehow make everything worse.

Give me endpapers with art. Give me symbols that repeat until I start connecting dots like a conspiracy theorist. Give me one illustration halfway through that alters my brain chemistry permanently.

Books used to come with bonus content like they were slightly haunted objects and now we’re just… behaving? No.

If I am committing to 300 pages, I deserve enrichment.

Let the text do things. Let it shift. Let it breathe. Give me a page that’s just one line in the center so I can sit there like I’ve been personally attacked.

We have the technology. We have the printing capabilities. Why are we acting like books have to behave.

Also imagine the DRAMA. A character dies and suddenly the chapter header symbol changes. A map detail you ignored becomes relevant. A little drawing you thought was decorative is actually foreshadowing. Hello???

Anyway this is my formal petition to make books a little more unhinged again. Add the art. Add the maps. Add the weird glossary entries.

✧ Keeping a running list in their head of things to tell someone, even though there's no one to tell.

✧ Talking to the cat. Not in a playful way. In a confessional way.

✧ Lingering at the checkout counter a beat too long because the cashier made eye contact.

✧ Watching the clock on Friday evenings and feeling something they can't quite name drop in their chest.

✧ Answering "what did you do this weekend?" with something tidied up and social-sounding, leaving out the two days they saw no one.

✧ Muting their TV just to hear how loud the silence actually is.

✧ Ordering too much food and eating alone with the plates set out, taking up the whole table.

✧ Spending longer than necessary in public places (bookshops, grocery stores) because being around strangers is close enough.

✧ Re-reading old messages from people who don't talk to them anymore, not out of longing but out of proof they existed to someone.

✧ Getting very invested in strangers' lives online: their updates, their kids, their ordinary days.

✧ Starting conversations with service workers and then feeling ashamed of how much they wanted it to continue.

✧ Making plans they know won't happen just for the brief warmth of having something to look forward to.

✧ Dreaming about people they barely know.

✧ Waking grateful, then embarrassed.

Alchemical & Occult Names!!

What's your blog title from?

What movie have you watched most recently? What did you think of it?

what are you looking forward to right now?

if you could do anything at all today, what would it be?

What's your drink of choice? (Coffee/tea order, alcohol of choice, pop, etc)

What's your hair routine like? Anything special?

what's your favorite way to travel? Is there a mode of travel you haven't done that you want to experience?

favorite month of the year and why?

favorite time of day and why?

do you play or follow any sports? & elaborate on that?

what kind of music is stuck in your head a lot lately?

dishes or laundry?

what's something you learned recently?

if you could give a TED talk on anything, what would you talk about?

What's a piece of advice you find yourself giving a lot?

what's a piece of advice you would give to yourself five years ago?

do you believe in luck and superstition? Do you carry any lucky items or follow any lucky rules?

Are you musical? Play any instruments or sing? Would you ever perform for an audience?

Write, type, or speak?

Things to consider when writing about Romance!!!

⊹ Why do these two people actually like each other. "They're both hot" is not enough. What specifically draws them together? Shared trauma? They make each other laugh? They challenge each other? Similar worldviews or completely opposite ones that balance out? Give them actual chemistry based on personality not just physical attraction!!

⊹ What's stopping them from getting together immediately. External obstacles like war, forbidden love, wrong timing? Internal ones like fear of vulnerability, past trauma, thinking they're not good enough? Both?

⊹ How does the romance affect the main plot. Does it help or hinder the protagonist's goals? Create complications? Give them something to fight for? Romance subplots that are completely separate from the main story feel tacked on!!

⊹ What's the pacing. Do they fall for each other slowly over time or is it fast and intense? Slow burn is great but you need moments of progress. Instant attraction is fine but the actual relationship should still develop.

⊹ How do they communicate. Do they actually talk about their feelings or just pine silently for 200 pages? Can they have difficult conversations? Do they understand each other or constantly misread situations?

⊹ What do they disagree about. Couples who agree on everything are boring. What are their fundamental differences? How do they handle conflict? Do they fight fair or is it toxic? Can they compromise or does someone always give in?

⊹ How do other characters react to the relationship. Supportive friends? People who think it's a terrible idea? Jealous exes?

⊹ What does each person bring to the relationship. Is it balanced or does one person do all the emotional labor? Do they make each other better or worse? What do they each need vs what do they want?

⊹ What are their love languages. Physical touch? Words of affirmation? Acts of service? Quality time? Gifts?

⊹ How does their past affect this relationship. Previous heartbreak? First love? Trust issues from family stuff? Abandonment fears?

⊹ What's the power dynamic. Are they equals? Is one person in a position of authority? Does one have more experience? Unbalanced power dynamics need to be addressed not ignored!!

⊹ How physical is the relationship and when. First kiss timing? Is there sexual tension? Do they hold hands? Are they touch-starved and finally have someone? What's appropriate for your genre and audience??

⊹ What's at stake if the relationship fails. Just heartbreak or something bigger? Will it destroy the friend group? Ruin the mission? End an alliance?

⊹ Do they have lives outside each other. Friends, hobbies, goals that have nothing to do with the romance? Couples who only exist for each other are codependent and boring :(

⊹ What's the "oh" moment. When does each person realize they're in love? Is it dramatic or quiet? Same time or does one person know way before the other? Multiple realizations?

⊹ How do they support each other through the plot. Do they have each other's backs? Believe in each other? Or does the relationship become a weakness enemies exploit?

What do writers suffer from each spring?