Writingwickedwitch - I Like Witches And Writing

This is such an awesome analysis!

How to use in-betweens and arcs: A study of Rue and Duck’s pas-de-deux in “Princess Tutu”

This is based on a little talk I gave to students during a one-week animation crash course at Cambridge a few months ago. The project was to create a character and animate it performing a simple looping dance. I first briefed them on the very beginnings of the process, looking at reference and collecting research materials to inform their creative choices, and explained and demonstrated the basic tools they needed to use, including keyframing, in-betweening, and timing. Then I showed them this clip from Princess Tutu on the morning before they actually started drawing their animations.

I used this bit in particular because I thought it was a really accessible way to demonstrate a key difference between communicating with moving image compared to still image. While many of the same principles apply (in particular, to your keyframes, which I’d already done my best to drum into them), the in-betweens can carry a lot of weight and really change how the action reads.

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I simply adore her!

smol plant witch at the supermarket with her mandrake familiar… finally finished! phew… @@

if people like the character I might do some character sketches…

Dog’s favorite view

self-editing for fiction writers

Showing vs Telling

Do you have any narrative summary, or are you bouncing from scene to scene without pausing for breath?

Characterization & Exposition

What information do your readers need in order to understand your story? At what point in the story do they need to know it?

How are you getting this info across to your readers? Is it all at once through a writer-to-reader lecture?

If exposition comes out through dialogue, is it through dialogue your characters would actually speak even if your readers didn’t have to know the information? In other words, does the dialogue exist only to put the information across?

Point of View

Look at your descriptions. Can you tell how your viewpoint character feels about what you’re describing?

Proportion

Look at descriptions. Are the details you give the ones your viewpoint character would notice?

Reread your first fifty pages, paying attention to what you spend your time on. Are the characters you develop most fully important to the ending? Do you use the locations you develop in detail later in the story? Do any of the characters play a surprising role in the ending? Could readers guess this from the amount of time you spend on them?

Dialogue

Can you get rid of some of your speaker attributions entirely? Try replacing some with beats. 

How often have you paragrapher your dialogue?Try paragraphing a little more often. 

See How it Sounds

Read your dialogue aloud. At some point, read aloud every word you write.

Be on the lookout for places where you are tempted to change the wording. 

How well do your characters understand each other? Do they ever mislead on another? Any outright lies? 

Interior Monologue

First, how much interior monologue do you have? If you seem to have a lot, check to see whether some is actually dialogue description in disguise. Are you using interior monologue to show things that should be told?

Do you have thinker attributions you should get rid of (by  recasting into 3rd person, by setting the interior monologue off in its own paragraph or in italics, or by simply dropping the attribution)

Do your mechanics match your narrative distance?(Thinker attributions, italics, first person when your narrative is in third?)

Easy Beats

How many beats do you have? How often do you interrupt your dialogue?

What are your beats describing? Familiar every day actions, such as dialling a telephone or buying groceries? How often do you repeat a beat? Are your characters always looking out of windows or lighting cigarettes? 

Do your beats help illuminate your characters? Are they individual or general actions anyone might do under just about any circumstances?

Do your beats fit the rhythm of your dialogue? Read it aloud and find out

Breaking up is easy to do

Look for white space. How much is there? Do you have paragraphs that go on as much as a page in length? 

Do you have scenes with NO longer paragraphs? Remember what you’re after is the right balance. 

Have your characters made little speeches to one another? 

If you’re writing a novel, are all your scenes or chapters exactly the same length? -> brief scenes or chapters can give you more control over your story. They can add to your story’s tension. Longer chapters can give it a more leisurely feels. If scene or chapter length remains steady while the tension of the story varies considerably, your are passing up the chance to reinforce the tension. 

Once is usually enough

Reread your manuscript, keeping in mind what you are trying to do with each paragraph–what character point you’re trying to establish, what sort of mood you’re trying to create, what background you’re trying to suggest. In how many different ways are you accomplishing each of these ends?

If more than one way, try reading the passage without the weakest approach and see if it itsn’t more effective. 

How about on a chapter level? Do you have more than one chapter that accomplishes the same thing?

Is there a plot device or stylistic effect you are particularly pleased with? How often do you use it?

Keep on the lookout for unintentional word repeats. The more striking a word or phrase is, the more jarring it will be if repeated 

Sophistication 

How many -ing and as phrases do you write? The only ones that count are the ones that place a bit of action in a subordinate clause

How about -ly adverbs?

Do you have a lot of short sentences, both within your dialogue and within your description and narration? Try stringing some of them together with commas

something my mum always taught us was to look for the resources we're entitled to, and use them. public land? know your access rights and responsibilities, go there and exercise them. libraries? go there and talk to librarians and read community notice boards, find out what other people are doing around you, ask questions, use the printers. public records offices? go in there, learn what they hold and what you can access, look at old maps, get your full birth certificate copied, check out the census from your neighbourhood a hundred years ago. are you entitled to social support? find out, take it, use it. does the local art college have facilities open to the public? go in, look around, check out their exhibit on ancient looms or whatever, shop in their campus art supply store. it applies online too, there is so much shit in the world that belongs to the public commons that you can access and use if you just take a minute to wonder what might exist!!!

She-Ra Where’s Micah?

So, obviously the rumors of Micah’s death is greatly exaggerated or misunderstood. We’re never shown exactly how he ‘died’ we just know he did and Angella feels responsible since it is implied it was her plan or decision that lead to his supposed death. Which is why Angella has a fear of making another bad decision that she didn’t make any decisions leading ( or contributing) to the original Princess Alliance to fall apart.

So, Micah isn’t dead. Then where is he? If he was a prisoner of the Horde he would’ve been used as a bargaining chip by them already. To get Angella and Castaspella to comply with whatever demands in order to ensure Micah’s safety. Both have a strong emotional and personal relationship with Micah, they would’ve done it. Two kingdoms submitting with little to no resistance at the same time would be a huge advantage for The Horde.

I theorize Shadow Weaver somehow has him under her own secret and private improsonment. Without Hordak’s or anyone else’s knowledge. Why would Shadow Weaver hide this from Hordak?

Simply because Shadow Weaver cares about her own magical power first and foremost. Even if giving Micah to Hordak would gain her approval and favor, Shadow Weaver has shown again and again, Hordak and his mission means nothing to her. Hordak is simply convenient for her goal.

The way she used Glimmer as a living magic battery while crude, but given the rushed circumstances she seemed to be comfortable and at ease with the situation. While showing disregard for Glimmer’s physical well being during this, it shows she has the knowledge to perform this and a lack of empathy to take magic from other’s regardless if it’s hurting them.

It also helps show that she’s hypothetically done it to Micah and possibly still did while she was in the Frightzone. Shadow Weaver probably has a complex spell or magical device that’s keeping him imprisoned (and out of sight) but alive enough to serve as a magic battery. Her being kicked out of the Frightzone has possibly cut her off from his magic.

Though, if he’s not being held by Shadow Weaver he’s possibly stuck or trapped in whatever area of the mission he ‘died’ in or he has amnesia as a result of the injuries he received on said mission.

Girls are amazing. Being friends with girls is equally amazing.

The Tatler, England, April 22, 1903

Please buy this comic, be it trades, issues (physical or digital) this is a super feminist LGBT+ comic for all ages.

Raven the Pirate Princess is Sinking

I despise doing posts where I ask for help, but here we are.

About two years ago I started a new creator owned project.  It began as a spin-off of Princeless, but the reality is this - Raven The Pirate Princess is its own thing altogether.  I knew this from the first issue and if you’ve been reading, so have you.

Sure, the first few issues of Raven: Pirate Princess had that heroic lady feminist banter for which Princeless has become known both among its fans and detractors.  I mean, Raven had this scene:

and issue 1 had this scene:

But perhaps much more importantly, the first issue of Raven had this:

but that wasn’t where that ended.  This is a book about a community of diverse queer women actively claiming their place in the world and taking what’s theirs.  It’s about Raven, who is desperately in love with her childhood best friend Ximena

It’s about Ximena, a girl who was held captive for years by a pirate king who pretended to be her liberator.  Who fell in love with the pirate’s daughter, only to be left behind by that father when she outlived her value.

About Sunshine, the thief that chose the wrong target and ended up falling in love with a woman already hopelessly in love with somebody else.

It’s about Katie, the bisexual second in command who’s motivated by honor…and occasionally beating the snot out of a dude or two

Oh and in case I forgot to mention, Katie is also incredibly muscular:

And Jayla, the asexual science genius who’s tired of being treated like a little sister

and Cid, the deaf engineer who quietly keeps the ship running

and of course, these two:

The socially awkward poet and the angry sword fighter who couldn’t stand her who have somehow become these two:

But here’s the thing: this comic is failing.  It has a very dedicated and exuberant but at this point SMALL fanbase.  Today I had a hard conversation with Action Lab about the reality of the numbers on this book versus what it costs to produce this book and, suffice it to say, Action Lab isn’t ready to cancel the book, but they aren’t ready to greenlight year 3 either.  After Year 2 #13, Raven is set to go on the shelf until numbers can support continuing it.

This is where I need your help

If you care about this book full of queer pirate ladies and you want it to continue, we need to find a way to spread the word about it.  We don’t need to sell single issues (it would be nice) but ultimately we need the trades sales that back up the continuation of this big YA Pirate/Revenge/Adventure/Romance thing.

Digital copies can be bought instantly right on Comixology: https://www.comixology.com/Princeless-Raven-The-Pirate-Princess/comics-series/46971

You can buy the physical volumes on amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/bookseries/B01BF7U91Q

In fact, if you’ve already purchased volumes 1-4, volume 5 is available for preorder there right now! 

Maybe you’ve bought all the issues already.  Thank you!  If you still want to support Raven, you can review the books on Amazon or other retailers, you can share, reblog or retweet this post.  You can tell a friend about the book! 

If you have a comics review site or, say, a blog where you talk about LGBT media, contact me for review links or interviews.  Please, help us save our ship.