I survived this shit once I'll survive it again and that is a fucking threat
Me posting my shitty fics on here when I’m mutuals with some of the most amazing writers I’ve ever met
Pssst... they feel the same way about you...
One of the most painful, torturous, agonizing, soul-rending parts of writing is spending WEEKS on a chapter (WEEKS, I TELL YOU!!) Only to belatedly understand that it's not working, you're trying too hard, and that it must go into The Pile.
While most of the internet is still fighting over the results of last week's election, I've written 6 pages and now have the concept of cover art for my next book. Now I'm considering getting back into drawing so I can provide actual artists with roughs so they have something to work with when I have money for more commissions. While the world is currently afire I'm using the flames to make s'mores.
What I'm saying is "turn off the TV, mute your notifications, block social media and GET BUSY MAKING ART." You're not going to solve the world's problems by arguing with trolls, bots and incels - you solve them by MAKING THINGS and THRIVING OUT OF SPITE. Is art going to fix anything? I don't know, but it sure as hell is a better use for your time and energy AND you get that juicy dopamine hit that'll give you the strength to go on.
Also, it really pisses them off when you don't respond to their bullshit which is SUPER funny.
writing is just signing up to emotionally hurt yourself for fun, and if that’s not dedication idk what is
So, he's gonna win. Nothing can stop that, it seems.
This means that we all, collectively, have a job to do. Namely, get in the fucking way.
They want to fuck with your queer friends? Get in the fucking way.
They want to deport the immigrants in your community? Get in the fucking way.
They want to stop someone from getting an abortion? Get in the fucking way.
The only way we survive this, and all that comes with it, is mass collective action. We fight together, for all of us.
Get in the fucking way.
THIS 👆👆👆 Civil disobedience is a thing. If a law is stupid, you have a moral obligation to break that law.
"Have you seen any immigrants?" Nope.
"Do you know anyone who may be getting an abortion?" Nope.
"Is anyone in this bar trans?" Nope!
Lie. Lie your ASS off. As far as you know, your neighbor moved here from Kansas twenty years ago. Your cousin/sister/aunt is a virgin. Sorry, you've never been good with faces. Can't help you, officer, have a nice day.
"Fuck it, we ball" has done SO MUCH for me throughout my life.
"What if I don't get into college?" Fuck it, we ball.
"What if I don't get an A on this paper?" Fuck it, we ball.
"What if I don't get an interview?" Fuck it, we ball.
"What if I can't do this on my own?" Fuck it, we ball.
"What if he doesn't like me? I'll be alone forever!"
Fuck it. We ball.
"What if I ask for this raise and they say no?"
Fuck it, we ball.
"What if no one likes my books?"
Idk about y'all, but I'm too goddamn stubborn and annoying to quit. Fortunately, I also take immense glee from existing out of spite. It's been working for 35+ years, I'm gonna ride it into the ground until I hit bedrock.
Fuck it, We Live
what they don’t tell you about writing is AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! AAAAAAAAAAHH!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH indeed.
This weekend I made a Tandoori roast chicken for my work lunch and let me tell ya, it was
I spatchcocked it (cut the spine out and laid it flat), rubbed it all over with tandoori spice paste, then laid it in my reliable turkey roaster where I cooked it in the oven at 375°F and turned it every 30 minutes for 2 hours. The skin got all crispy because I used the wire rack in my pan and it got these really nice "scorch" marks from the tandoori paste caramelizing. The bones pull right out of the meat, so I've been eating it with long grain white ans wild brown rice and it is FANTASTIC.
The only thing I will do differently next time is marinate the whole chicken in a tub with plain yogurt and tandoori paste - that should make the chicken juicier and more deeply infused with flavor. My next endeavor is Hyderabadi Biryani 😁
First chapters are so fucking hard because you have to (not necessarily in this order):
I have the day off tomorrow, this is now Monday's problem.
But you can't do TOO MUCH or it's just info-dumping and that is Bad.
Currently struggling with leaving just enough 'breadcrumbs' to keep the reader interested without overwhelming them with an encyclopedic explanation of everything from economics to botany.
Have to remind myself constantly that I can't give away all my secrets yet 🫢
HEY GUYS GUESS WHAT
SECOND CHAPTERS ARE HARD TOO
Update:
Update 2: Electric Boogaloo:
*muffled swearing in several languages*
It's all part of the process, even if the process makes me want to scream and bite someone. I'm just not going HARD enough and need to break through this mental wall so I can make progress the way I want to!
May the rage inside of you burn brighter than the darkness around you.
“This representation was groundbreaking for the time and a lot of people liked it” and “This may have aged poorly and many modern audiences from the group don’t feel represented by it and are bothered by aspects of it” are not mutually exclusive
see also: “it’s okay to feel uncomfortable with these pieces of media due to their clumsy—if not harmful—depictions” and “some people still enjoy them, despite their flaws, especially older people who grew up without the same amount of representation we have today, and it’s not your place to tell someone they can’t like it”
To add: "This is offensive to me because I live in a time when we deem them unacceptable, therefore I will use this example as a measuring stick for how far we've come" AND "now I know how to spot this in my real life so I don't perpetuate outdated ideas"
You NEED exposure to challenging and unpleasant things to understand why they are unpleasant.
"Fuck it, we ball" has done SO MUCH for me throughout my life.
"What if I don't get into college?" Fuck it, we ball.
"What if I don't get an A on this paper?" Fuck it, we ball.
"What if I don't get an interview?" Fuck it, we ball.
"What if I can't do this on my own?" Fuck it, we ball.
"What if he doesn't like me? I'll be alone forever!"
Fuck it. We ball.
"What if I ask for this raise and they say no?"
Fuck it, we ball.
"What if no one likes my books?"
Idk about y'all, but I'm too goddamn stubborn and annoying to quit. Fortunately, I also take immense glee from existing out of spite. It's been working for 35+ years, I'm gonna ride it into the ground until I hit bedrock.
I recently overcame one of my Greatest Fears and touched a shark!
Granted, he was only 2.5 feet long and couldn't bite through a wet paper bag made out of lettuce and manatee farts, but I touched it! And I survived! With all of my fingers and my pride!
Then Beloved Husband asked me if I wanted to touch one of the big ones and I told him I'd rather stick my head in a bell jar full of pissed-off hornets. My limit on sea creatures is 3 feet - anything bigger can fuck right off, thank you very much. That includes seaweed, crocodiles and stingrays.
where do we go from here?
we look out for each other.
This may seem silly but this is what I needed to hear in 2016, so I’m going to say it now. It’s okay to feel hopeless or angry or scared or betrayed or even just mildly nauseous. However you feel is the right reaction for you. You’re just not allowed to kill yourself. You are too good, too valuable, too important for this to be the thing that takes you. Yes the world is a mess, but taking one good person out of it isn’t going to make it any better.
So take care of yourself. Wrap yourself in that blanket. Get that hug. Eat that mug cake. Find your life preserver whatever it may be and keep going. You are stronger than you realize.
Deciding to do something when you’re feeling defeated is hard. If all you can take care of is you today, focus on doing that. Tomorrow or a week from now you can look at what your community needs to do to weather the storm in the long term. Yes communities are hurting now, but having to grieve one more person isn’t going to make anyone’s life any better. Please keep going. Please don’t let this election take you too.
