Listen To Me: You Get Good At Things By Being Bad At Them. You Learn By Failing. You Gain Competency

"And I had to explain a lot of stuff to him." It amazed me how Johnny could get more meaning out of the stuff in there than I could— I was supposed to be the deep one."

The Outsiders, SE Hinton

“writing fanfics is something I do in my free time for fun. I will not treat it like a job and will instead treat it like a hobby because that’s what it is.”

also how it feels being a fanfic writer:

Start romanticizing chaos…

Messy notes, hundred of tags on books, a desk covered with papers of different subjects, unsolved math problems and unfinished projects.

While I’m on the subject, I want you guys to learn this…

Did you know that how you talk to yourself alters your DNA?

The way you speak to yourself, your thoughts, emotions and inner dialogue—impacts your DNA through epigenetics. Negative self talk raises cortisol, triggering genes linked to inflammation, aging and diseases. Conversely, positive self talk activates genes for healing, resilience and longevity. Chronic stress and emotional trauma can alter DNA expression and even be passed down to future generations.

This also applies to what you hear. Negative words, insults and toxic conversations increase cortisol, rewiring neural pathways to make stress a default state. Constant exposure to negativity, whether through people or media, can impact gene expression.

Just how stress harms DNA, gratitude, affirmations and meditation can rewire it positively. These practices lower stress, trigger DNA repair, and activate genes for immunity and anti aging. Consciously shifting self talk can change your biology. "It is not that easy!" Yes, it is.

Research suggests binaural beats and solfeggio frequencies influence brainwaves, promoting focus and emotional balance. Mantras, prayers, affirmations can impact cellular structures, proving sound vibrations affect genes.

How long does this take, you ask?

Immediate (Minutes to Days): A single thought can raise or lower cortisol almost instantly.

Short Term (Weeks to Months): 6–8 weeks of daily gratitude, mindfulness, or affirmations can shift gene expression.

Long Term (Months to Years): Consistent mental reprogramming strengthens immunity, reduces disease risk, and slows aging.

Your thoughts shape your body at a genetic level so choose them wisely.

The Reader’s Four Horsemen of the Bore-Apocalypse:

This would have been a really intense scene if there had been proper build up prior to it.

This would have been a really intense scene if it wasn’t a repeat of a scene from four chapters ago.

This would have been a really intense scene if I cared about the characters more.

This would have been a really intense scene if it wasn’t an over dramatic mess of miscommunication and out of character angst. 

Bonus points if the scene includes all four at once.

5/31/24

sorry guys for the breif break, but school got out and I decided to allow myself a bit of a break. for the past two weeks I have had the luxury of being a slug, but i start my job in two days and decided to begin to acclimate myself to being a functional human. throughout my break i was proud of myself because i wrote every day, weather that was journaling or working on something publishable, and i read daily.

being home was an unwelcome change, me and my mom don't get along, and thankfully she had been working in office the past 2 weeks, but now that shes working from home I've decided to spend as little time as possible at home. my mom is generally unsupportive of anything that she doesn't seem as valuable, and sees my hobbies as a waste of time unless she can brag to her friends about it.

in other good news, i've found a new eq barn and am trying it out tomorrow, I've been drinking water consistently and i found my bracelet and necklace that i thought i loss. they belonged to my dad before i 'stole' them, and have become very important to me, despite my hatred of working retail, i am excited to have some structure in my life, i find that when i have appointments or schedules it makes me more productive so working again should be good for me, anyway here's to what i did today

whay i did today:

wahsed hair

oiled scalp

read only the brave washed and put away clothes

washed dishes

cooked

journaled

went through storage bins

drunk a crap ton of water

another tip, if you forget how to write, read your favorite book

writing tips from your friendly neighborhood author whos about to get published (yay me!)

sorry from the brag in the title but I'm very proud of myself and how much my writing has improved in the past year so i thought I would share some tips that helped me

read alot

analyize the style of authors you enjoy or want to write like (ie: story structure, diction, voice, tone, sentence structure, figurative language) i have a template i use if anyone wants

write daily ( it could be journaling, fanfiction, or even a blog post, writing daily builds a habit, and anything, any words on paper, is better than nothing at all)

if you're stuck, find a quote and write a short story around its use

your first draft is allowed to be crappy, hell it should be, it will never be perfect

it probably will be, but its only supposed to be first one, edit and revise as many times as you need to

tell what happening, show emotions

" she yanked the chair from underneath the desk, and sat down starring at the floor, before putting her forehead flat on the desk" sounds better than " she pulled the chair from underneath the desk, and sat down starring sadly at the ground."

your writing doesn’t have to be perfect. it just has to make someone feel something.

always go back to this qoute when i feel like my writing is bad

“Be willing and unafraid to write badly, because often the bad stuff clears the way for good.” — Jennifer Egan

hi! if you’re feeling especially depressed, or anxious during these times, or just in general, i’ve compiled a list of things that are sweet and hopeful and might help you smile!

tumblr posts

How To Feel Again by @wowanothered

make a Hot Honey Drink with @fierybluebeacon 

love is via @battlechick

little notes for when you’re sad by @flowerais

asks

Make Me Admit Stuff by @jreadhd

Lighthearted Questions by @definegodliness

Soft, Stay At Home Ask Game by @serotoninsuggestion

Let’s Get Personal by @castielwinchester83

Fantasy Asks by @spectral-ask-memes

Flower Asks by @thatsthepositivitea

videos

Some Good News with John Krasinski

Reasons To Smile by Thomas Sanders 

Homemade with Steven Lim

Ambient Worlds (a channel dedicated to the background music of different places you’ve wanted to visit, i.e- each Hogwart House common room, Disney World, etc.)

Walkthrough Disneyland

books

Tea Dragon Society: Katie O’Neill (cute graphic novel about tea, and dragons)

Extra Yarn: Mac Barnett (a cute picture book about a little girl and her magic yarn)

The Astonishing Color of After: Emily X.R Pan (YA novel about grief, and love)

All Out: Sandra Mitchell (short story collection about LGBTQIA+ characters)

Counting By Sevens: Holly Goldberg Sloan (a middle grade novel of grief and family)

The Prince and the Dressmaker: Jen Wang (an adorable YA graphic novel with a non gender conforming character, and a soft, teen love story, set in the middle ages time period, with loads of lovely dresses and magic~)

Winnie The Pooh: A.A Milne (we all know our beloved winnie the pooh)

The Hidden Life of Trees: Peter Wohlleben (a rly interesting nonfiction book about trees and how they communicate)

Bloom: Kevin Panetta (a soft, cute, gay graphic novel love story)

movies

any Studio Ghibli film

the classic, animated Winnie the Pooh 

any old, animated Disney movie

Legally Blonde, 2001 dir. Robert Luketic

Miss Congeniality, 2000 dir. Donald Petrie

High School Musical (we all know the one)

Princess Diaries, 2001 dir. Gary Marshall

Wall-E, 2008 dir. Andrew Stanton

shows

The Good Place

New Girl

Schitt’s Creek

One Day At A Time

Hilda

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts

Merlin

podcasts

Welcome To Nightvale 

The Two Princes

activities

pick and press flowers

heres some basic homesteading skills that are pretty fucking cool via @martinihomestead

knit/crochet (same link as ^)

read 

(heres another link for free books and essays from @diabeticlesbian)

listen to music (links via @vivienvalentino)

bake

cook

art things with @artsyskelly

redo your room

sketch

learn a new language

lie on the floor with your window open and listen to the world

read through wikipedia articles

host an online game night/day

get ahead on schoolwork

say fuck this and go on a run

make tea

make face masks

sew

plant shit

make a discord server

generate cool mansions/cities via @mostlysignssomeportents and @vesperlionheart

yoga

water your plants

create an oc with @kannibalprinceref

paint by numbers

call someone and either talk, or watch something together, or do your own thing, still on the call, as if they were with you

clean

write letters and save the USPS

catch up on the news (but in bursts, perhaps find some good news too)

make sidewalk art

talk to your plants

play a boardgame with someone (online or with the people you’re living with)

clean out your room

make your room/house into a place you feel safe

dance

write a song

write a story

(writing prompts via @veronicabunchwrites)

call someone

learn to play DnD

paint your nails

paint someone else’s nails

go adventuring

make a youtube channel

make a podcast

talk to yourself

learn to bake bread

garden

paint your room a new color

lie on your floor

lie in bed

sleep

watch a crappy free movie on youtube and make fun of it

exercise (but stretch first)

go on a walk and take pictures of things you think your friends would like

scroll through social media and send things to your friends

cover your wall with pictures, quotes, artifacts

make lists

find a pen pal

clean shit

you dont have to be productive, babe

these are just things i’ve seen/read/thought of- so if anyone else wants to add on- pls do! 

this isnt complete! so pls add on things that help you feel good, or stuff for people to do whilst stuck in quarantine!