It’s crazy and fucked up that being yourself is actually the solution.

It’s like. When I was told to “just be yourself” as a kid I thought it was a passive thing. Like oh easy I just have to sit here and be myself. but the reason so many people think that “being yourself” is bullshit advice is because you actually have to make active choices to do this and it WILL make your life way more fun. You have to wear t-shirts of bands that were popular ten years ago because you like them. You have to do your hair in a way that you find cute or comfortable even if it’s “so nineties”. If your friend says a food you enjoy is gross to them, you can’t be afraid to admit you casually disagree. You have to do hobbies that you’re interested in even if you’re bad at them and you cant feel like you have to get good at something before you tell people it’s an activity you do. You have to read manga and comic books in public and get piercings your relatives think are unattractive. You don’t have to tell people you dislike that you dislike them, but you don’t have to give them your time and attention either. You have to rewatch that kids show you’re nostalgic for even if you’re in your 30s. You have to change your name if you hate it, even if only a few close friends can know. You have to get fun girly drinks at the bar. You have to order hot chocolate when you don’t like coffee and black coffee when you don’t like sweet things. I am still bad at practicing this but it is the only way to make it all tolerable.

Heads up, we've got another submissions period coming your way!

(AOTO Issue 6 opens Sept 15!)

tumblr users love reading. you literally stopped for this post just because it has words in it

this is one of my favorite bits about tumblr

the users seem to actually prefer text posts to anything else, and treat it as a chore to play a video especially with sound

Are we coordinating Yuletide noms this year? If it's just me, I'll pick another fandom.

I planned on trying to coordinate things with the community page and discord too, but Tumblr search hates the yuletide blog for some reason, so I haven't seen if nominations are opened yet ><

I will likely be nominating: scholar, Jasper, the Matchmaker, and Sayra

Ooooh it’s Yuletide season!

I can nom the chaperones! And I can also set up posts both here and in the community with info for people who don’t know what we’re talking about and to keep track of which characters have been nominated, if that’s cool with you, Hazel.

-Mod Tina

Noms opened today! I've been keeping track in the Yuletide Discord server.

I'd be happy to let someone else coordinate. I'm still formulating my nomination, so I'll probably pick whatever characters are left. I do tend to gravitate towards minor characters.

Noms close on the 20th, BTW.

The two most romantic lines in cinema history are "As you wish" from the Princess Bride and "I can fix that" from Holes.

Somebody wrote to ask me for advice on writing. This is what I told them:

I'm terrible at giving writing advice. I know that the best advice for one person can be the very worst for another, so feel free to ignore all of this except for the very first bit:  

There are a lot of people who will tell you they can help you write better, get your manuscript edited, get your book published.  A lot of them just want your money. As a general rule, don't give people your money for what you write -- make people give you THEIR money for what you write.  I've heard this called Yog's Law:  Money Should Flow to the Author.

Check out the Writer Beware site run by SFWA.

Not every writing program is a scam, but don't think you have to have an MFA or attend a famous writing workshop to be taken seriously as a writer.  You don't.

Decide who you are writing for before you start.  It's okay to write for yourself.  It's okay to write for that one person in high school with whom you shared fanfiction.  (I did that, it was The Thief).  It's okay to aim for a worldwide audience and it's okay to write for the three people in the entire world who will appreciate your story.  When you run into criticism (and you will) you want to be able to ask yourself if the criticism is coming from your audience.  If it's not, take it with a big grain of salt.

Writing can be hard work and it feels good to work hard, but it's okay to do it for fun.  Maybe you just want to write craptastic fanfiction -- you should do that and I hope you enjoy yourself.  Don't let other people dictate what "worthwhile" writing is.

Don't be afraid to write badly. Don't be afraid you'll "waste" that really good idea you have because you couldn't write well enough to do it justice.  You'll have another good idea.  

You have to write to be a writer.  That sounds obvious, but you have to figure out for yourself what makes writing happen and then you have to do it.  Some people will tell you their way of writing is guaranteed to work.  Do not believe them.  Some people can set themselves goals -- they write 2,000 words a day and they are good words!  Some set themselves a goal and they waste an entire day squeezing out 2,000 garbage words. Sometimes the conditions that you need in order to work will seem silly.  Friederich Von Schiller kept rotting apples around to sniff while he wrote.  I don't know if that would work for you. Only you know the way for you.  

Good luck,

~mwt

High grade natural java moss agate from Indonesia

Photo: @ROCKINJAVA

My latest Guardian Books cartoon

I believe even healthy&wholesome ships need a distinct note of fucked upness to them that does not negate the otherwise positive nature of their relationship but enriches it by giving it nuances that prevent it from becoming too saccharine. Yes, maybe their love is ultimately good for each other, but if they don't become deranged about it and willing to kill or die for it I won't care.

Same for the other way around. Even the most twisted and sick ship dynamics must have an element of unambiguous wholesomeness in the middle of all that filth. If two characters are just bad for each other I won't care unless you have them do something for one another that makes you go "that was... oddly cute".

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