#booktip

Happy Sunday everyone! Today I want to set the record straight about something.

During my years on the internet, I’ve come across many creative people, who seem to have a skewed idea of where creativity comes from. They seem to think that all creativity comes from within. That you need to protect your creativity from the outside world, less it get tainted, or contaminated with mundane experiences. I’ve seen young creative people get discouraged because they can’t write or draw with the skill of someone who’s been practicing ten time longer than they have.

Art is a living being. You need to feed it in order for it to grow. Yes, that means you need to practice at drawing, or writing, or playing an instrument to get better, but that also means you need to open your mind to your senses, and take in the world around you. Creativity can’t live in a bubble. How will you know what a rose looks like, if you’ve never viewed one in person? How will you know what traits a stubborn person has if you’ve never seen how they behave? 

Of course, there’s always exceptions to this rule. In my story, my main character gets stabbed with a sword. Now I have never experienced being stabbed in my life (and I hope I never will), but if I just wrote “She got stabbed.” into my book, that would be terrible writing, because there’s nothing to relate to in that sentence. In order to convey what that experience felt and looked like, I had to do a lot of research on injuries and swords. However, I opened myself to new information, and now my story has that much more life in it. 

Basically, what I’m saying here is that researching is NOT bad. Drawing inspiration from the world around you is NOT bad. Using references to draw, or to write a new song is NOT bad.

Now, I’m not here to say go plagiarize other people’s work. Don’t upload “Starry Night”, slap your name on it, and call it a day. What I am saying is use “Starry Night” as a base of inspiration. Why did Van Gogh use those colors? What did he do to breathe life into his works? What was his panting techniques like? Then, apply what you’ve discovered to your own work. 

Study. Learn. Keep growing, and trying. The more you experience, the better your art will be. 

(And to anyone who give you a hard time about using references, you should pity them, because their work is probably stagnant and lifeless.)

Much love

Hello my dears I have a new book tip for you!

What more could young readers ask for than a teen book that is full of pace and emotion - and also has a lot of depth? Valentina Brüning gives them all of this. The author mixes the turbulent emotional world of adolescents with profound questions - above all about the true value of friendship. With Fritzi, Valentina Brüning has created a main character who is likeable from the outset, who makes many a mistake but always acts with her heart in the right place. The author also tackles the subject of "prejudice" very well: on closer inspection, her main character has to throw her previously cherished prejudices against her new classmates overboard.

Chaos Queens is a very good book about friendship.

Hey my dears I have a new book tip for you!

Tokyo Everafter is a great book about a girl who becomes a princess from one day to the next. Definitely worth a recommendation.

If you've already read the book, please let us know what you thought.

Here are some of my favorite books that I read this year. They are all from different genres if you’re wondering. I also added why I like them so much. Have fun <3

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

a lot of tension

action throughout the whole book

betrayal, so that’s good for your mental health :)

enemies to lovers trope 

I’m a simp for Maven and Cal

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

lovers to enemies to lovers and back to enemies

situated in Shanghai; it’s nice to learn something about the culture there

daggers to the throat present so that’s a pluspoint :))

A Thouch Of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair

it’s a Hades story and I love Hades soooooo

modern representation of the Greek Gods, and she did it absolutely amazing

I also recommend her other book in Persephone's pov, A touch of ruin

A Game Of Fate by Scarlett St. Clair

Hades’ pov so we get to see things from his perspective and not only from Persephone’s

there’s, like, a lot of smut

overprotective Hades makes my heart melt

“if you touch her I will kill you” vibes

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

it’s a novel situated somewhere around the 18th century

secret romances 

may be boring in the beginning but after a hundred pages or so things get fun

classic language yet not too difficult

The Art of Breaking Glass by Matthew Hall

more of a psychological thriller

no happy end; it’s nice to have some variation instead of always a good end

TW: mentions of abuse (not much but still) 

different perspectives so you get to see different sides of characters

overprotective Bill is what I live for

Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton

very interesting to see how the protagonist’s brother doesn’t speak

time span of a few years so we get to see the characters evolve

the protagonist and his brother grew up in bad living conditions so it’s interesting to learn about that

love the friendship between Slim and Eli

literally simping for Alex, Eli’s pen pal, and Darren Dang 

Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan

again a modern representation of the Greek gods and heroes

demigods in the lead

popular myths are discussed

three best friends who always save the day

lots of action

My friend will do a part two. Stay tuned!