So I Edited Another Chapter Of My Wip That Burned The Heart Out Of Me. Decided To Do Some Sketches This

First drafts are fun, easy, as long as I don’t extensively read what I’ve written. I’ve been sitting in libraries. Yesterday I had my first ever chai tea latte.

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”

— Louis L'Amour

i don't know who needs to hear this, but 'perfect' writing is a trap. all writing is subjective. what we create today, we may see as flawed tomorrow. what we see as flawed today, we may see as perfect tomorrow.

writing is the act of transmuting the human experience through words. and the human experience? it's a messy, chaotic thing filled with rough edges and uneven lines and mistakes and failures. you can erase all of that. you can. but then you're left with something sterile and artificial. you've effectively squeezed the soul out of your work, and i can think of nothing less appealing.

this isn't to say don't edit your work. please do. but keep it within reason, and make sure you're moving forward and not backward. momentum is key.

don't sit on an idea for three decades waiting for that dance with inspiration, or that dynamite first line, or that eureka plot twist, or the words to flow like magic from your fingertips. because it won't happen. and if it does, it'll strike like lightning and disappear twice as fast. the only surefire way to finish a story is to start.

so write. for the love of god, just write.

along the way, things will fall in line. i promise. and if they don't? then they already have. the magic of art is that everything we create is a snapshot of who we are at the time of creation. it's like a time capsule of human experience, and there's a beauty in that authenticity-- in the mistakes we make and the wrong turns we take. don't run from them. embrace them.

let their lessons flow through you and channel them into something tangible. if it's hard, then start with one word and keep going. don't erase it. don't start over. don't let yourself believe your story isn't worth telling because if you don't tell it, then no one else will. and that'd be a damn shame.

so one word a day. one sentence a week.

whatever it takes.

it might be tough letting go of the idea of perfect. silencing your inner editor. your inner critic. it might be tough realizing that your story will never meet your standards, not completely, but it won't be half as tough as looking back and wondering where all the days, weeks, and years went; that in the pursuit of perfection, you forgot to ever write a story at all.

so leave perfect behind. readers don't want it. why would they? they can't possibly relate to perfect-- none of us can.

instead, give readers a window to your imagination, stormclouds and all. you'll be surprised by how many stick around for the rain, how many relish the sound of your thunder, and how many cherish the worlds that only you could bring to life.

Hi! I know Yellow Houses is on the back burner project wise, but damn if I'm not curious about it! Could you tell me a bit more about the university that Ellen attends? Anything really from how it looks to the types of classes they offer to they types of unhinged students you'd see milling about?

Happily! Thank you for your interest.

Yellow Houses takes place in a “college town”, where you only have a handful of locals. The university is an old rickety building shaped like a cylinder. It’s not aesthetic to say the least, blocky with lil AC units jutting from the windows, etc. The vast majority of the students are in the environmental resource management program.

Excerpt:

Half the town was made up of rich college kids who enjoyed nature photography, skiing, shot-gunning beers before noon. During the winters they jumped in the lake in negative forty weather. There would be an ambulance parked up the street if Henry Baker were to have a stroke again; ready to drag him out of the lake by his blued, freckly legs.

student writeblrs! what are your writing plans/goals for the rest of your break? my plan is to finish drafting/editing a climate change short story and submit it to some literary magazines and hopefully, hopefullyyyy.. draft chapter eight of my lit-fic novel which keeps. not. working. feel free to use this post for accountability! <33

Ecstatic to say that I’m in that particular writing flow state again. You know which I mean—the one where time and space do not exist.

tolstoy, vladimir nabokov (trans. dmitri nabokov)

Ok, but who else is drooling over this prose???

HOUSE PLANTS, CHAPTER 20: GLASS, DIVERTED

DISCLAIMER: this is my original writing, do not use / repurpose / plagiarise the excerpt in any form or way.

hello i was feeling very proud of this chapter— wrote this at one am, too! what a vibe!! who needs a stable sleep schedule anyway!!!— and wanted to share it + also you guys have never actually gotten a full chapter excerpt before so enjoy!! also this is one of the vignette chapters™ so that’s why it’s so short + is told in present tense and in the fictive present. i hope you like it as much as i do! [transcript + taglists under the cut]

Keep reading

This is so interesting, please add me to your taglist! :o)

To find but morsels of what the world used to be spurs an odd feeling of nostalgia deep within your core; it surpasses your hard shell, delving until it tickles something gleaming, innocent, and something some would dare say is childish – hope. Hope for a future crafted with compassion but founded on destruction.

Funny, to experience nostalgia for a past that isn’t your own.

You live in Angelwood; a city like many others, yanked by the leash that is MERCY. You know about MERCY. Magnificent Emergency Relief and Care for Yourself, it stands for. It rose from the ashes of a worldwide epidemic of organ failures, constructing artificial organs which would ultimately save pockets of humanity from extinction – at a price. With the devastated economy and government, MERCY’s growing finances and following, MERCY soared to power. Then came the monopolisation of medical services – even if it was under a different name, you knew it was collared and walked by MERCY – and the subtle lacing of bodily modifications, or “augmentations”, into contemporary fashion and style. For those who still suffer from breakouts of organ failures, or for those who feel the stroke of MERCY’s marketing and manipulation warm on their cheek, they can pursue avenues paved by MERCY. Oh, but for those who cannot afford such grandiose costs? Well, need not worry, they offer simple contractual signups where you can pay back in smaller instalments. While this all seems lovely and altruistic when spoken with the honey-lathered words of MERCY agents, you know all too well that should someone miss one too many instalments, they’ll pay for it in more than just their money.

Will you conform and live a life that is shadowed by MERCY? Or will you fight? Both sides have their positives and negatives, yet death lurks at either door. Do you want to go out swinging, or go out plodding?  ―  THE ORGAN OPERA

OVERVIEW.

GENRE  ―  sci-fi (cyberpunk);  queer romance.

DEMOGRAPHIC  ―  (new) adult.

NARRATION  ―  third person;  past tense.

THEMES  ―  capitalism;  fascism;  anticapitalism + antifascism;  body augmentation;  human experimentation;  dystopian earth but struggling to make a better future.

STAGE  ―  revamping and plotting;  worldbuilding.

SUMMARY  ―  Years ago, a manmade virus raked its teeth against humanity  -  an epidemic of organ failures swept nations, devastating economies and governments alike. From the ashes of millions, select few megacorporations loomed over those who remained with malicious intent. Many of these megacorporations now control particular districts. Angelwood is controlled by the medical monster that is MERCY and is currently facing its latest threat  -  yet another uprising. And this time, they’re not going to stop until they burn MERCY to the ground.

MAIN CHARACTERS.

LEONARDO SONG  ―  Often referred to by his nickname of ‘Leo’, Leo is of mixed Korean and Filipino descent. He is the originator of the latest wave of rebellion against MERCY and his fire is something that can’t be quelled. He’s suffered severe facial disfiguration at the hands of a MERCY agent but wears it with mixed pride and anger.

CYRUS MERCER  ―  A black man who was one of many orphaned and taken underneath MERCY’s wing  -  under the condition that he partook in their PERSON program. On the surface, it seemed benevolent and altruistic… But MERCY never does anything nice without later ripping it to shreds. He’s now immune to the virus and wields more power than anyone in MERCY could’ve anticipated.

COCO DOOLEY  ―  A trans woman and close friend of Leo, she partakes in the uprising against MERCY and their control over Angelwood. She’s an expert hacker and has been steadily building her pool of information of and against MERCY.

MURDOCH MURRAY  ―  A trans man and close friend of Leo, like Coco, he too is part of the uprising against MERCY’s control over Angelwood. While Leo is fiery, Murdoch wields the cool charisma and allure akin to that of a skilled conman. He’s often the first to go into a situation, to procure or to defuse.

TAGLIST. if you’d liked to be added to the list, let me know via message, ask, or reblog! @mxxnwrites

Yess! Been looking forward to your nano vloggg!

A writing major attempts NaNoWriMo and fails duh | Writing Vlog #25

watch me fail nanowrimo because why not