Footprints in the Fire

So, I’ve mentioned recently that I was going to be launching a Patreon page, and here it is! It’s been a little nerve-wracking to figure out—what can I offer? How much should I offer? What’s a reasonable, sustainable amount for me? What’s a fair price to ask for? 

So, in short: I’ve launched a page that’s specifically about helping writers. Writers of fanfiction and original fiction, mostly, but there’ll be some stuff in there about poetry and non-fiction, too. The overall tone is “tools, not rules”, because good writing isn’t so much about Right and Wrong as it is using all the different elements—word choice and punctuation, grammar and tone, pace and symbols and motifs—in a way that’s effective, that helps you achieve whatever your goal is with what you’re writing. 

And I picked this particular topic for a couple of reasons: firstly, because I have a lot of thoughts about this, and have been very willing to help my fellow writers by sharing those thoughts, as anyone who’s ever shared a Discord DM with me can tell you. Secondly, because I think a lot of professional writing programs and books and courses have their methods, and those methods are often rigid and don’t work well for a lot of us, to say nothing of the fact that I’ve heard of a heartbreaking number of people who come out of MFA programs having lost their words. And I think that’s both a tragedy and a crime. I’m a writer, and I want to help other writers along their journeys and move towards their goals—and I want to do it in such a way that feels helpful and encouraging, but also, above all else, constructive. Discouraging someone from putting words on the page is the exact opposite of my goal, here. 

The other reason I picked this topic is that I’ve come to realize I have some knowledge that isn’t necessarily common, and that would probably be beneficial to a lot of writers: specifically of English grammar, but in layman’s terms. And also some advice on how to approach and structure sex scenes. Because English is a bastard language that chooses violence, and its grammar is an ouroboros that seems to require knowledge and understanding of every other English grammar concept in order to grasp This One Thing. And also because sex scenes are tricksy fuckers (heh) to write, and I know it can feel intimidating to just dive into the deep end with them, because “failing” at them can feel very vulnerable and very discouraging in ways that “failing” at an action scene or piece of dialogue often doesn’t. 

Which leads into those final points, about sustainability and price. I’ve noticed a tendency to want to help and support as many writers as I possibly can, and it’s meant I’ve overextended myself in the past. To say nothing of the fact that I can only provide so much in-depth, one-on-one help because of time constraints, and also because I only personally know so many people who are both interested in and open to that kind of help. A Patreon page, where it’s more widely available, where the tools I want to provide can be lined up and amassed like some kind of writerly gardening shed, is a more sensible, sustainable way to offer those tools, and might feel more comfortable for writers who don’t want to share their writing with me personally but do want to pick my brain for useful bits. I won’t lie, it also feels weird to monetize those skills, especially when I know that a lot of useful knowledge and tools for writers are inaccessible due to high costs and paywalls. 

This. This is why it's been so hard to get help or a diagnosis. Over a decade of choral and theatre training and my lungs are seem like they’re totally fine -- Super Strong even! -- until I jog one (1) flight of stairs.

Hang on lemme just try that now. Imma take the stairs, then come back, then hilariously fail at this.

PLEASE take the time to learn about what is happening in Turkey at the moment

this is not a joke.

TURKEY IS BEING BURNT DOWN! and It’s not a natural disaster, it’s arson. literal terror. a crime. there are 81 fires going on in 23 different cities. this has been going on for 2 days. people are dying, losing their homes.

helicopters, drones, planes and thousands of firemen are currently trying to control fires in 10 different locations in southern Turkey. so far, three people have died, hundreds of animals have perished and several settlements are being evacuated.

A WHOLE country is on fire please that is not something you can underestimate.

please use your voice for us.

please dont stay in silence.

YOU CAN READ THIS THREAD FOR MORE INFORMATION

TWITTER TAGS

#TürkiyeYanıyor

#PrayforTurkey

SIGN THE PETITION

HOW TO HELP

You can deposit your cash donations by typing “MANAVGAT YARDIM” in the explanation section, to the account numbered Adalya Health Education and Culture Foundation, Vakıf Bank Lara Branch (TL) IBAN: TR22 0001 5001 5800 7273 6305 85.

(USD) Iban No: TR02 0001 5001 5804 8019 7521 30

(EURO) Iban No: TR83 0001 5001 5804 8019 7521 27

ALSO YOU CAN ADOPT SAPLINGS IT IS FREE !!

since the post above, three more people have died and thousands of more homes have burned down, but thankfully some of the fires have been extinguished. but this doesn’t mean the fight is over.

these photos were taken in the province of Antalya, one of our biggest tourism centers. for decades, people have been setting entire forests on fire in touristic places to make room for their huge, 5-star hotels and resorts. everyone knows this. the government knows this.

for anyone that doesn’t know, our government is as corrupt as it gets (i’m not gonna go into details, or we’d be here all day and i’d probably get arrested). they’re trying to cover up these news with the resignation of the minister of education. what’s more, so far, the only fire-extinguishing planes we have were sent to us by Russia. not our own government.

they don’t care for us.

our only hope is you. even a single Euro/Dollar you donate would make a difference.

Turkey needs all the HELP it can get right now. If this shows up on your blog please don’t just ignore. Reblog it, if you can, donate.

you go to the well to get some water, and here’s Miriam’s boy, staring at the sky, completely still. his expression is unreadable. you hazard a hello and ask how he’s doing, and he slowly, unblinkingly, lowers his gaze on you (he’s 8 and is missing his frontal teeth, not that this is making you any less uncomfortable) and says “I cannot speak of the state of my being, Nathan son of Saul, my brother, but rejoice for the water you shall take today will be as pure as the soul of the children of Heaven”

*sees J boy, 8 yo, staring at you from across the street*

kid JC, coming home at twilight, a single white dove following him and chirping with weirdly human-like precision:

 moth̫́er,̦͌ ̮̉i h͙̉av͔̽e ͓͗b̘̃r̞̓o̮͘u̲̒gh̟͒t̺́ you a do̗͐ṽ͙e̢͘ ͈̾m͒͢a͈̽dē̝ ỏ̘f ͈̓c̆͜l͔̂aỷ͇ aṋ̑d̳̿ g͢͞i̹̾fted̖͡ ̻͐it ͓͂w̖̿it̎͜h t̥̃h͙͒e ̨̒m̧̂i̡̍ŗ͒â̫cḷ̔è̤ ̛̻of̞̅ l̘̈i̛̦fè̳

Miriam: ! that’s my little boy :) now let’s go get ready for dinner :) 

her husband Yosef, a carpenter who only marginally got signed up for this: 

Tara Houska (zhaabowekwe), social media, 8 July 2021. Text reads:

Inspired by In Case of Damage by Charientist

First image: The flowchart itself. It is large and complex. It leads the viewer through the process of determining a map’s age depending on the countries present. It also includes determining the source of assorted fictional maps.

Second image: A bubble cropped from the flowchart, containing “Saint Trimble’s Island”. The “no” option leads off screen. The “yes” option has the comment “No, I made that one up.”

Third image: A series of bubbles from the flowchart. The first one reads “Are you sure this is a map?” The “no” option leads off screen. The “yes” option leads to a second bubble, which reads “Did you make it yourself?”. This bubble has only a “yes” option, which leads to the third bubble. It reads “It’s very nice.” It has “Thank you!” below it in the same style as the flowchart options.

End image descriptions]

“Colorado” or “Danger-Radioactive Exclusion Zone-Avoid”?

Colorado: 2014-21

Danger -> Does the warning mention the spiders?

No: 2022

fic hopper: working on a wip and don’t know where to go next? easy, just work on a different wip, then if that one doesn’t work out, open a different one, it’s foolproof!

all my tropes are dead: there are only so many ways you can describe a kiss, and you’ve written so many between this pairing that you’re running out of ways, don’t talk to me about the words ‘chaste’ and ‘soft’ ever again

unsung hero: im writing a fic under a certain set of tags or concepts to get more hits but the real story is about __ extremely specific thing that only i and two of my closest friends care about 

rarepair hell: self-explanatory 

wlw rarepair hell: like rarepair hell but one level worse

my last braincell: you’re a perfectionist so you’ll either post this chapter when it’s perfect or not at all 

wandering eye: a side element or original character you introduced in your story is now near and dear to your heart but no one else will care about it 

im well educated and will kick your ass: you’ve done so much research for this but can’t seem to write the damn thing 

~

I keep seeing youtubers talking about how the new algorithm on their creative dash is so detrimental to their mental health, both in terms of how they feel about themselves as creators and the content they make—dreading to find out their performance rating, regardless of whether they enjoyed it or not. And it’s the same across multiple other platforms, TickTock, Facebook, Instagram. Fuck, I’ve even seen people with business accounts complaining on Twitter.

Okay, so Padmé's politics don't make sense, but her motivations do. Here is a woman whose planet was invaded at fourteen. Here is a woman who was a battlefield general—who had people die because of her miscalculations–before she'd even finished her growth spurt. Here is a woman who would do anything to keep that from happening again. Here is a woman who helped start a galaxy-wide war.

And she doesn't have a way to fix it.

At every turn, Palpatine sabotages her efforts to even get the Seperatists to the table. At every turn, he makes sure her plans fall through. So what happens when he pushes a little too far? What happens when Padmé finally figures out that she's not going to be able to solve this with stubborn belief and inspiring speeches?

May your fingers dance along the letters upon your device with ease, may the devil of distraction stay far from you, and may your work not need much editing.

“Rhydor startled, so absorbed in mixing his Uj cake batter that he hadn’t noticed Jaster’s approach, tiny flecks of batter splattering out of the bowl and peppering Rhydor’s frilly pink apron that was layered over the top of his battle scored beskar’gam.”