#writerly things

I keep your ghost in empty chairs, in half-filled cups and borrowed prayers, in the way the morning light still falls across the outline of your halls.

I loved you like a man who drowns in rivers wearing summer gowns — reckless, warm, and unaware the water doesn't know to care.

And now the silence fills the room the way a tide reclaims the dune, erasing all the prints we left, and I am standing here — bereft.

Yet somewhere underneath the grief, a stubborn, quiet, greening leaf is reaching through the broken stone — not asking much, just asking: home.

I do not want to mourn forever. I do not want to call it never. I want to learn to hold the ache the way a river holds the lake —

present, but not swallowed whole, a wound that teaches, not controls. So let me grieve you, let me feel each jagged edge until it's real —

and then, when morning finds me standing soft-eyed, slower in my landing, let me be the kind of man who loved, who lost, and rose again.

Not because the pain was small. But because I chose to after all.

and then i think about how if i was in a book store reading my cool shit and 40 people showed up to listen to me read it, i would be floored.

May whump event!

I know this is very last minute, but I wrote it up so might as well put it out there! Based on the idea of curses :) #maycurses

cw: some have religious connotations

1. may your hands be cut with thorns - Unconventional restraints | Nature | Crawling

2. may food turn to dust on your tongue - Vampire | Starvation | Loss of appetite

3. may you always lose your way - Escape attempt | Disorientated | Led astray

4. may you be cursed - Magic | Holding a grudge | Bargain

5. may the wind blow against you - Storm | Sailing | Defiance

6. may the road fall away from you - Cave in | Cliff edge | Stranded

7. may you be rich in misfortune, poor in blessings - Desperation | Bad luck | Tortured

8. may your god forsake you - Abandoned | Loss of faith | Fall from grace

9. may those who love you, hate you - Betrayal | Loneliness | Lied to

10. may your family disown you - Scorned | Found family | Exile

11. may darkness fall over you - Underground | Collapse | Unconscious

12. may you meet evil on your way - Monster attack | Ambush | Paranoia

13. may your water be bitter, and your food rotten - Poison | Choking | Hunger

14. may roots tangle your steps - Ensnared | Exhausted | Trap

15. may death darken your door - Grief | Too late | Near death

16. may you seek your downfall - Self destruction | Tragedy | Self sacrifice

17. may your eyes be blinded - Loss of senses | Poor judgement | Lied to

18. may those who strike against you, succeed - Falling in battle | Scars | Failure

19. may a plague be upon you - Sickness | Fever | Infection

20. may all hope leave you - Despair | Panic attack | Broken

21. may the rain fall heavy, and the sun be gone - Flood | Drowned | Hypothermia

22. may everyone you touch be made sick - Corrupted | Immune | Touch starved

23. may your ancestors forget you - Amnesia | Brainwashed | Buried

24. may animals flee from your presence - Unnatural | Predator | Fight or flight

25. may the ones you trust be false - Betrayal | Bad advice | Possessed

26. may all you seek be lost - Kidnapped | Missing | Failed rescue

27. may your crops fail, and your animals die - Famine | Begging | Sabotage

28. may revenge consume you - Blood stains | Murder rampage | What have I done

29. may you die young and alone - Left behind | Prophercy | Forgotten

30. may children weep at the sight of you - Monster | Mutilation | Terror

31. may your lands fall to ruin - Royalty | Inheritance | Coming home

Extras:

(Blessings that are curses)

1. may your sword never rust - War | Violence | Fighting ring

2. may you heal every wound - Painful healing | Fatal wound | Chronic pain

3. may the sun always shine - Parched | Burns | Drought

4. may all who meet you, adore you - Inhuman beauty | Objectification | Intimate

5. may you never grow old - Immortality | Death wish | Lab experiment

6. may you tell no lies - Brutal honesty | Insults | Driving everyone away

7. may your every wish be granted - Regret | Spoiled | Enslaved

8. may all your enemies die at your feet - All powerful | Dictator | Guilt

9. may you never feel pain - Numb | Sheltered | Whipping boy

Then that cockwarming thing? Nice in theory but if you know anything about it, you'll go, uh...chafing?

The message was sent to you because someone loved your writing and stories. ❤️

▪️What are your writing suggestions for newcomers, or what would you have liked to know when you first started?

▪️How do you write different personalities and perspectives? Could you explain how you came up with the manner you written your favorite or any character?

▪️What do you do when you have writer's block?

▪️How do you come up with new ideas and develop them?

▪️Any messages for your readers or fellow writers?

You are welcome to answer if you have the time and desire, or you can simply respond to the questions that come to mind.

💐Thank you for your work as a writer and as a member of this fandom!💐

this was asked over two years ago 🥲 hopefully you're still around! Thank you. ♥

What are your writing suggestions for newcomers, or what would you have liked to know when you first started?

My best advice sucks.😔 Sorry. But you gotta start writing. No ifs, ands, or buts. Write. Write for the first time or for the 100th, but get to it!

You can't get better if all you have is a blank page. You can't edit, rewrite or review nothingness. You can't get a vibe check from a friend. I know the temptation to research/plan, but more often than not, if you're a beginner or struggling, you just gotta throw yourself in, screaming, berserker-style, and work with the result afterward.

My second piece of advice—read books. Of every kind. Read books that comfort you, but also books that kick your ass. Read books that make you feel like a child on an adventure and read books that give you an appreciation for being an adult. You're constructing a food pyramid for your mind and that means as much variety and experimentation as you can manage.

How do you write different personalities and perspectives? Could you explain how you came up with the manner you written your favorite or any character?

I learned how to do that as a roleplayer, but I think the "trick" is universal. And it's to have sympathy for each character. Even the ones you dislike or aren't written well. Within the kayfabe of portrayal, they're all people worthy of your interest. They came from somewhere. Sometimes you know their backstory, sometimes you don't. Poke and prod and turn them over and have Thoughts about them. Pin those thoughts up on a cork board. Reference and use as needed. Throw some conspiracy red string all over that sucker.

But in a more direct way—listen to how they talk and learn their rhythm. Are they verbose? Sly? Lighthearted? Honest? Do they change how they speak when addressing a specific person? How well-educated are they? You can get away with murder if you can successfully mimic speech patterns.

Because at the end of the day, if you can't make the reader go, "that character WOULD say that," then it's just as good to earn an, "I CAN believe with the way you're writing that character that they WOULD say that and I am intrigued. Continue."

▪️What do you do when you have writer's block?

Weep inconsolably. Rage against the heavens. Then I go read books/watch movies for a few days. Burnout is real and you need to fill up your tank with joy and creativity again.

For milder bouts of writer's block, I either force myself through or review what I've written so far. Sometimes writer's block is your instinct going :/ I Don't Like That, Actually, and That might be a choice a character made, the scene, or just the last few lines you wrote. Something has gone wrong and you gotta figure out how to fix it.

(Occasionally with the invaluable aid of a rubber duck.)

▪️How do you come up with new ideas and develop them?

I rewatch/reread the original material and notice a new or forgotten detail that spins off a concept.

I watch/read something unrelated that makes me go !!! I want to write something like this!!!

Discussing the blorbos or canon with friends and going "I just had a TERRIBLE idea."

Vicious assault out of nowhere by the Muse of WOULDN'T IT BE COOL IF—

▪️Any messages for your readers or fellow writers?

I will be holding a group meeting tonight for survivors of Bad Writing In Your Favorite Book/Game/Podcast/Movie/Show in room 313. It's recommended that you bring a snack, a piñata stick, and an 8x10 headshot of your beloved/beloathed creator as is relevant. Booze is optional, but welcome.