#rescribo

Since this summer I've been on a sci-fi streak with a focus on language that invariably slides into discussion of humanity (and identity within cultures) and sanity. I didn't even do it on purpose.

Not really a rec, but an honest recollection of this era, coming to an end because the successions of post-apocalypse is quite depressing. I would recommend the first two though.

La Horde du Contrevent - Alain Damasio: I was advertised this book as a must-read if you love authors who play with language and yeah, I get it. We call that une claque in french. It's an arduous but incredible journey if your understand french.

After - Auriane Velten: Loved the world-building. The themes. The humanity. The conscious choices made with the style and language. The hope. It reminded me of The Left Hand of Darkness in places, but it's more like a tale. It's far too short though.

Always North - Vicki Jarrett: It's a book to read for the vibes and ambiguity more than the worldbuilding and characters. I liked it bc I'm fascinated by arctic expeditions, but the ambiguity could be very frustrating for readers who enjoy puzzle solving.

The Embedding - Ian Watson: I have still a lot of questions about this one, and I think that's the point. Not every aspect of it has aged well, but I liked the fact that I was incredibly confused by the end. I do wish the author had folded language like the narrative.

Each of this author shaped language or the narrative in a specific way to explore their thesis, and to depict their character's sanity within a specific cultural/environmental setting: letting it twist and boom and run like the wind for Damasio, rebirthing it to show what comes after humanity for Velten, breaking linear time to explore trauma for Jarrett, and embedding narratives for Watson.

Thank you for tagging me @woodytwig

currently watching: very slowly Babylon 5 which is the bomb and more quickly The Diplomat, which I enjoy but I'm not completely sure what to think of.

currently reading: The Embedding by Ian Watson. Apparently I'm confined to sci-fi with a focus on linguistics at the moment.

last song: Beautiful that way by Miley Cyrus. The whole album is fantastic.

last song sang aloud: The Pokemon opening credits from the 90s in french because one colleague made a reference to it.

currently craving: working on my fic! Also a lot of quiet.

coffee or tea: plain tea. I may have a slight addiction to tea.

earbuds or headphones: Bluetooth noise-cancelling headphones like Woody. Sometimes I just don't put music on to enjoy the quiet.

last place I went: The Casino shop around the corner for grocery.

favorite chip flavor: I don't really eat chips so I wouldn't really know. Probably something cheesy?

colors that look good on you: Green and blue because that's practically all I wear.

Hello and thank you ! 3. Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic I ride my bicycle, I get an idea, I stress out because I'm commuting and cannot exactly come down from my bike, so I start repeating keywords of the idea like a strange tropical bird on a bike and in a raincoat until I arrive at destination and can write down the words to expand on later. Repeat ad infinitum. More seriously, the idea in itself often comes from meta analysis of certain themes that I want to expand on. The plot is something I come up pretty quickly, although the scaffolding is never that solid in my writing, meaning I don't solve everyting before starting to write. Also I tend of write strong scenes that come to me first. It can obviously lead to some dead end, but I have never been a true plotter and no amount of spreadsheet will change that. It works the same with chapter or fic, although on a different scale. 39. Share a snippet from a WIP I have already shared one here but have another one from the Siuan POV of that fic:

"She could have lived with hurting Moiraine for something, but she had done so for nothing and used her vows against her. The vows Moiraine had taken with her to the Eye of the World, where she thought she would die. The vows that were for all to witness in the Hall and for Siuan to carry in her heart until darkness consumed her soul.

How could Siuan forgive herself ?"

25. What fic do you wish you got more of a response on?

39. Share a snippet from a WIP

56. What’s something about your writing that you pride yourself on?

Hello! Thank you for saying so! I should write more meta, I love that. To answer your ask: 25. What fic do you wish you got more of a response on? I have no idea. I write to process things, so it's difficult to evaluate what people outside of myself might get from a story. Perhaps Dioramas since I consider it my last venture into writing River. It's like a eulogy for her character (and her story with the Doctor): although I didn't know it at the time, perhaps I would have enjoyed sharing that feeling with more fans.

39. Share a snippet from a WIP An exercpt from a longer episode tag for 207 to 208 that turns into a fix-it for everything:

"Moiraine could understand and forgive anything, but if Siuan had gone that far, taken that control from Moiraine, Moiraine knew precisely what she severed in Siuan and how it could never be rewoven. Siuan had seen in her the most abject creature fathomable and it was not a hide Moiraine was comfortable inhabiting on the way to the Last Battle.

Hello!

22. Are there certain types of writing you won’t do? (style, pov, genre, tropes, etc) 

I'm not a confident fluff and romance writer, so I will often dilute it with other genres and styles. First person is something I'm not terribly fond of as well. High school AU, kid fic, RPF really don't personally interest me at all. There are obviously genres and styles I have never tried, so I cannot rule all of them out. 

23. Best writing advice for other writers?

Comparing yourself to other writers is poison. Whether to their success or skills. I will always find authors beside whom I am lacking. Always. Instead, I try to think in terms of enjoyment -- what do I enjoy in that author's writing -- and to find ways in which I can adapt those elements in my writing. For example I admire Aki Shimazaki's economy of words, so I try to think of how to make that economy mine. 

46. How would you describe your style? (Character/emotion/action-driven, etc)

Character. It's extremely character driven although I often use writing to process emotions. I tend to write slow plots, even for short stories, because although I admire that skill in other writers I enjoy myself most while letting the characters exist and talk and experience all kinds of emotions. I do think I favour symbolism over psychology because people are complicated and I am less trying to psychanalyse them than I am trying to reach out to them.

Hello little grey face! I had to think on those questions.

13. what’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

I sadly do not follow writing tips because I am an idiot, but perhaps have fun? Do the thing because no one else is going to do it like you do. It's genuinely so important to play with language in your own way. Also if you are stuck at a point in your story the problem is located way earlier than you think.

56. What’s something about your writing that you pride yourself on?

I'm quite proud of the way I write people thinking. Perhaps because I have a tendency to exist in my bubble, but I really enjoy character sinking their teeth into their thoughts and emotions. Other than that my dialogues aren't bad.