#writing thought

When the villain becomes the hero and the hero becomes the villain.

And not in that bullshit “oh, the good guys were really the bad guys the whole time uwu”. I mean when a real villain, a dark and cruel monster genuinely sees the error of their ways and strives to be better in tandem with a real and true hero sliding down the path of hate and evil and then, one day, they look at each other and realize they’ve swapped places.

Like, it’s the symmetry. The monster becoming human and the human becoming a monster. The villain starting to see clearly, understanding that even if there’s no forgiveness for them they have to rise above what they were and try to be better. Meanwhile the hero deludes themself further and further, isolating and growing bitter with every step until they finally snap and become the very thing they fought against.

This isn’t really fanfic related but I found all these old drawings from when I was trying to draw.  It makes me...sad?  That might not be the right word, but it’s weird looking at something you don’t do anymore.  I really thought drawing would be my thing, but it turned out to be writing.  Writing is something I’ve really come to enjoy in my free time.  I’ve even played with the idea of publishing some original work (once it’s finished) but honestly, I could go either way with that. 

I have found that I really enjoy writing in my free time, and looking back on my time drawing, it didn’t really feel the same way.  Plus, I’m such a visual person that it always felt like drawing was the only way for me to be creative.  I’m wiser (older lol) now, and I find the challenge of trying to paint a picture with words more enjoyable.

You guys ready for the cliché?  It’s crazy how things change as you get older.  I would’ve never thought I would be writing of all things (that just always felt like my sisters thing, and you tend to unconsciously pick different hobbies when you’re a twin).

Anyway, I posted the art under the cut.  It’s all original, no fanart in sight.  Take a look if you like, but this feels like a release of that part of my life.  Don’t get me wrong!  I’m still a doodler at heart, but done are the days where I would spend hours on my tablet (Wacom!  You lasted for a long time lol) 

Also, lower your expectations 😂I’m not Picasso and I wasn’t as diligent as I should’ve been either.

imo surreal nightmares get short shrift in fiction

like eeeeeveryone loves to use “nightmare, but Super Realistic, so it’s a HUGE SHOCK when it turns out to have been a DREAM” because they’re too cowardly to commit to doing certain things to their characters

but let’s be real, MOST nightmares (and dreams in general) aren’t “things that could Conceivably Happen In Real Life”, they’re weird jumbles of ideas and scenarios and people, and things just happen without any apparent chain of cause and effect

which can be REALLY GOOD! pros of surreal dreams include:

randomness of events is frightening and disorienting to both character and reader

explore themes and symbols that aren’t significantly present in the experiences being dreamed about, but can be associated subconsciously or added by way of Dream Logic

link MULTIPLE traumas by way of mashing them all into a nightmare together. now your character associates them with each other and any trigger is twice as bad!

provide New character info via the dream that wasn’t shown in the actual experience

the scene can change without you having to show the changes happening (because that’s how dreams work), allowing you to get right to the juicy parts

i personally enjoy it greatly