Mary Oliver, "From The Book Of Time." Devotions

And i know it is a silly reason and many people like me do end up surviving but those "people like me" are barely thriving, barely breathing because there is no other way, because they havent caught a deadly disease yet, because killing yourself is a disgrace, because they had a responsibility to bear they didnt ask for but was born for.

And yes my very self cant end my own life too because the hope strangles my throat, loosening its grip just to let me breathe oxygen enough to survive, so ironic how the very "hope" which is keeping me alive will eventually be the murderer of what I visualised myself to be, living but not living enough, yet I have no choice but to keep breathing, because that is what my body knows to do, but this conscience demands meaning, humanity, and this heart can beat if it is supplied with love, affection and appreciation.

If it doesn’t impact the rest of the story, you didn’t raise the stakes

              I recently went back to a chapter at the midpoint of my novel and changed a huge detail of it because I thought it didn’t raise the stakes enough as it was. Because of this change, I had to go through every single scene and chapter beyond that point and edit it to fit in and make sense. It was annoying, but that’s how I knew I achieved what I wanted to.

              Raised stakes change everything about a story.

              If your characters can continue on as they were, then you didn’t really raise the stakes at all. This heightened pressure or danger has to be heightened enough that their lives as they know them are different now.

              Consider this: at the midpoint, you introduce a mutated form of a monster your characters have been facing that’s more deadly and intelligent than its predecessor. It’s a super scary scene, but after that, your characters go back to their safe house to talk over how best to kill it.

              Suddenly, this new monster doesn’t feel as much of a threat. It’s just another element of the same threat they’ve already been facing.

              To properly use this element as a way to raise the stakes, it should take away something the characters rely on—safety, allies, powers, etc. Something they can’t get back, and don’t get back for the rest of the story. They now have to adapt to new circumstances, and things will never be as easy for them again.

              So maybe instead, they flee to their safe house only to discover that it’s no longer safe—the monster is smart enough to get through their hidden entrance and corner them. Now they’re stuck out in the open, taking turns keeping watch and slowly deteriorating to sleeplessness and stress.

              That’s a delicious steak.

Genres

What is a genre?

A genre is a category that your story belongs to based on form, style, or subject matter.

Action/Adventure 

Your book belongs to this genre if your characters are on a quest or journey to reach a concrete goal. Take The Lighting Thief  by Rick Riordan. The goal is to return the lighting bolt to Zeus before summer solstice, or there will be war.

Fantasy

Your book belongs to this genre if the world in your story has a type of magic system, or includes mythical creatures. Think of Dragons, Centaurs, Pixie dust, et cetera.

Mystery

Your book belongs to this genre if the story centers around a question(Who, What, Where, Why, and How). Think of Criminal Minds, Mondays Not Coming, Lucifer, etc. 

Romance

Your book belongs to this genre if your story centers around the romantic relationship of two or more characters. Think of Five Feet Apart, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Love, Simon, etc.  

(Keep in mind, your story can belong to more than one genre. There are no limitations.)

If anyone has any questions, or feels as though I’ve left something out, feel free to let me know! 

Don't ever hesitate. Reblog this. TUMBLR RULE. When you see it, REBLOG IT.

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creemore, ontario david herzog + should have known better, sufjan stevens

Saw this advice on Twitter today, and I think it's going to end up being useful for me. 🥹 Thought I'd share it with y'all, too.

Ko-Fi

Hello Darlings,

As you might of noticed, I’ve had serious issues with my laptop lately, and honestly it’s frustrated me to tears multiple times. It’s been on its way out for a long time, we all know that, and whilst I really didn’t want to do it, I think I finally need to just make this post.

First let me say that you are by no means obligated to donate to me. I am not withholding my usual content from you, nor am I saying that you have to support me in this way. Even once this laptop gives out completely, I will still try and find a way to get my writing done and ready for you all, it’s just going to be much harder to do so.

That being said, if you could donate even $1 I would be incredibly grateful. Even if only half of you did so, I would be able to purchase the laptop I need.

Please don’t donate if it’s going to put you in a bad position, but if it isn’t, then please consider it.

I don’t like asking this, and you’re more than welcome to simply ignore this message and carry on, or even block the tag #motherfuckingdonations if you don’t want to see this post, or posts like it in the future, because I am going to have to start reblogging this semi regularly until I get what I need. I apologise for that in advance.

Please help me if you can Darlings. 

https://ko-fi.com/its_me_darlings

The fact that Microsoft Word has to be a subscription is upsetting. I already paid for it why do I have to pay again

Hi, I'm Anne!

A handful of my posts are from a period of my life when I aspired to be a novelist. I will not delete those posts, so feel free to scroll if you're curious.

My desire for writing has not wavered, but my career path has changed. I still have so much I want to talk about and so much I wish to share with whoever wants to listen.

I don't like when able-bodied people refer to disabled people in positions of power and they say something along the lines of "this person has a disability, but they still can do this" or "this person may be disabled, but they never let that stop them". Like, I understand that people have good intentions when they say that, but phrasing it like that enforces the narrative that people with disabilities need to live in spite of what makes them "different" and they don't have to. Of course, everyone's experience is different, but I live alongside my disability and I'm not ashamed of that.

"Your disability doesn't define you" Okay but what if it does? What if my disability is inherently entangled in who I am and how I experience my life? Would that dehumanize me in your eyes? Because then that's a you problem you shouldn't project onto me