thebibliosphere:

Aannndd I realized that it was A-DOLLAR-FRICKIN-NINETYNINE and I am so much angrier because what the hell, TWO DOLLARS?! Most people lose more change than that in the couch!

THE STRUGGLE IS REAL Y’ALL LEMME TELL YOU.

There’s hundreds of articles out there aimed at first time authors, telling them not to aim too high in their prices. And I have to wonder if they were written by people in publishing/marketing who are scared shitless that there’s authors out there who are realizing they don’t need them anymore. So you get advice like “Sell all your books for 99cents, people will buy them!” Except they don’t because most people look at a book worth 99cents and go “What’s wrong with it…I’m frightened…I think I’ll go back to Established Author and buy their $20 hardback instead. Ugh why is there nothing New and Different to read :(”

People will drop $20-$50 dollars easily on fan art commissions. And good! I am so glad that they do! If I had any money I’d be throwing it at my artist friends all the time like Scottish rain (persistent light drizzle that eventually adds up). But writers are told “well…it’s, I mean it’s words innit? Anyone can do words.”

Which yes I suppose they can. In the same way that anyone can draw stick figures and call it art. Except no one is going to get very far in life with stick figures. Unless you’re the xkcd guy, but he’s pretty much cornered the market on that one.

The other reason I had to delete the post was because of the veritable flame war starting in my comments from people like yourself who saw those other comments and went ‘??????!’ and went absolutely livid on my behalf. Like, out of this world how dare you livid. It was extremely touching, in a “holy shit never piss this person off” sort of way.

Which is why Hunger Pangs (e-book) is going to retail at $5. So for the penny pinchers who think words don’t cost much to make. That’s 50cents per chapter, roughly, and it takes me maybe…a week…to do each chapter? So that’s 50 cents per week. So in days that’s….*counts on fingers* 0.071 cents per day, which, I work 8 hour a day so *counts on toes*…0.0089cents per hour.

But yea. Sure. Tell me I’m Overly Optimistic about my worth. Go on. I dare you.

I charge 99 cents for a small handful of short stories. To date, hardly anyone has bought one. The ones I give away for free, each October, are very popular.

Everyone loves free stuff.

My novels on Smashwords are $2.99 - just a little shy of $3 because I figured people had that to spare on something unfamiliar. I sell, on average, a novel a week. Usually it’s The Amity Incident.

I’m pretty sure that if I charged even $10 (or close to it) that my sales would plummet.

I lack the money to advertise. Without advertising power, I can’t convince people that my books are worth anything at all. So I have to keep prices low and hope.

There is a general sneer towards fiction. I think it’s because many people dismiss creative writing as something they used to do in school. But unlike mathematics or debate, it falls into disuse once they’re out in the “real world”. People who try to do it for a living are therefore ‘childish’ or otherwise immature. And nothing is worth anything unless it’s on TV or in the theatre.

…never mind that playing pretend is also something we all did as kids. That’s work for beautiful people whose lives we own because we bought a few tickets…

Ahem.

I’ve actually met someone who told me that fiction -especially science fiction- was a waste of time. My first thought was wondering what -if anything- made them happy.

My own mother-in-law once said that she expected me to 'grow up’ and grow out of wanting to write at all. She later told me that I use too many words that she can’t understand 9_9

Writing is not easy. Making a novel is not easy. Getting people to pay full price for something that they already devalue is downright next to impossible.

Gender Neutral/Queer Titles

transtalk:

Taken from @genderqueeries​ – there was no “reblog” option.

[NOTE: currently this page has written titles in mind. Some titles are gender neutral when spoken, ie fiancé/fiancée, as the pronunciation does not change.]

Family Titles

Mum/Dad

• Parent; neutral, formal.
• Per; neutral, short for parent.
• Par; neutral, short for parent.
• Dommy; queer, mixture of mommy and daddy (note: sounds like Dom/me, a BDSM term)
• Maddy; queer, mixture of mummy/mommy and daddy.
• Muddy; queer, mixture of mummy and daddy.
• Moddy; queer, mixture of mommy and daddy.
• Zaza; queer, based on mama and papa/dada.
• Zither; queer, based on mother and father. (Note, zither is also the name of a musical instrument.)
• Baba; neutral, based on mama and dada. (Note, baba means dad in some languages and grandmother in others.)
• Nini; queer, based on the N in NB, similar to mama and papa/dada.
• Bibi; queer, based on the B in NB, similar to mama and papa/dada.
• Cennend; neutral, Old English (Anglo-Saxon) meaning parent.
• Cenn; neutral, short for cennend.

Sister/Brother

• Sibling; neutral, formal.
• Sib; neutral, short for sibling as sis and bro are short for sister and brother.
• Sibster; queer, combination of sibling and sister.
• Sibter; queer, combination of sibling and brother.

Aunt/Uncle

• Pibling; neutral, your parent’s sibling.
• Auncle; queer, combination of aunt and uncle.
• Cousin; neutral, as sometimes people say aunt/uncle for parents’ cousins, or much older cousins.
• Titi; neutral, from the Spanish for Aunt (Tia) and Uncle (Tio). (however, it is often a diminutive of aunt.)
• Zizi; neutral, from the Italian for Aunt (Zia) and Uncle (Zio). (Note: zizi is also a French children’s ‘cute’ word for penis.)
• Nini; queer, based on the N in NB, similar to Titi/Zizi.
• Bibi; queer, based on the B in NB, similar to Titi/Zizi.
• Untie/Unty; queer, combination of uncle and auntie/aunty

Niece/Nephew

• Nibling; neutral, combination of niece/nephew and sibling.
• Chibling; neutral, the children of you sibling.
• Cousin; neutral, as sometimes people say niece/nephew for cousins’ children, or much younger cousins.
• Sibkid; neutral, short for sibling’s kid.
• Nephiece; queer, mixture of nephew and niece.
• Niecew; queer, mixture of niece and nephew.
• Nieph; queer, mixture of niece and nephew.

Daughter/Son

• Child; neutral, formal.
• Offspring; neutral, formal.
• Sprog; neutral, informal.
• Oldest; neutral, refers to age instead of sex/gender.
• Youngest; neutral, refers to age instead of sex/gender.
• Kid; neutral, informal.

Grandma/Grandpa

• Grandparent; neutral, formal.
• Grandwa; queer, based on grandma and grandpa.
• Grandy; neutral, short for Grandparent, Grandma or Grandpa.
• Nini; queer, based on the N in NB, similar to nana and papa.
• Bibi; queer, based on the B in NB, similar to nana and papa.

Granddaugter/Grandson

• Grandchild; neutral, formal.
• Grandkid; neutral, informal.

Godmother/Godfather

• Godparent; neutral, formal.

Goddaughter/Godson

• Godchild; neutral, formal.
• Godkid; neutral, informal.

Relationship Titles

Girlfriend/Boyfriend (non-serious relationship)

• Date; neutral, the person you are dating.
• Datefriend; neutral, the person you are dating, but fitting the boyfriend/girlfriend pattern.
• Datemate; neutral, a rhyming version of datefriend, the person you are dating.
• Lover; neutral, often implies sexual relationship, but simply refers to someone you love/who loves you.
• Boifriend; queer, boi is a particular gender identity.
• Girlboyfriend; queer, for bigender or androgynous people, or perhaps binary trans people.
• Boygirlfriend; queer, for bigender or androgynous people, or perhaps binary trans people.
• Paramour; neutral, someone you are having a sexual relationship with.
• Bothfriend; queer, for bigender or androgynous people, or perhaps binary trans people.
• Genderfriend; queer, based on boyfriend and girlfriend.
• Sweetie; neutral, slightly cheesy.
• Sweetheart; neutral, cheesy or old-fashioned.
• [name]friend; queer, based on girlfriend and boyfriend.
• Cuddle Buddy; neutral, cheesy.
• Birlfriend; queer, mix of boyfriend and girlfriend.
• Feyfriend; neutral, leaning towards queer.
• Personfriend; neutral, leaning towards queer, based on boyfriend and girlfriend.
• Enbyfriend; queer, based on boyfriend and girfriend. (note: enby comes from NB, non-binary)

Girlfriend/Boyfriend (long-term/serious relationship)

• Partner; neutral.
• Significant Other; neutral, quite formal.
• S.O.; neutral, short for significant other.
• Other Half; neutral, informal, and implies monogamy.
• Boifriend; queer, boi is a particular gender identity.
• Girlboyfriend; queer, for bigender or androgynous people, or perhaps binary trans people.
• Boygirlfriend; queer, for bigender or androgynous people, or perhaps binary trans people.
• Paramour; neutral, someone you are having a sexual relationship with.
• Bothfriend; queer, for bigender or androgynous people, or perhaps binary trans people.
• Genderfriend; queer, based on boyfriend and girlfriend.
• Sweetie; neutral, slightly cheesy.
• Sweetheart; neutral, cheesy or old-fashioned.
• [name]friend; queer, based on girlfriend and boyfriend.
• Cuddle Buddy; neutral, cheesy.
• Steady; neutral, as in “going steady” or “steady girlfriend/boyfriend”.
• Soul Mate; neutral, slightly cheesy, implies belief in soul mates.
• Birlfriend; queer, mix of boyfriend and girlfriend.
• Feyfriend; neutral, leaning towards queer.
• Personfriend; neutral, leaning towards queer, based on boyfriend and girlfriend.
• Loveperson; neutral, a person that you love.
• Enbyfriend; queer, based on boyfriend and girfriend (note: enby comes from NB, non-binary).
• Epox; neutral, from the French ‘époux’ which means husband/spouse.
• Companion; neutral, reference to Doctor Who’s companions, or Firefly’s Companions.
• Imzadi; neutral, from Star Trek, a Betazed word similar to beloved.

Fiancée/Fiancé

• Betrothed; neutral, formal.
• Partner; neutral.
• Significant Other; neutral, quite formal.
• S.O.; neutral, short for significant other, a tad formal.
• Other Half; neutral, informal, implies monogamy.
• Sweetie; neutral, slightly cheesy.
• Sweetheart; neutral, cheesy or old-fashioned.
• Cuddle Buddy; neutral, cheesy.
• Steady; neutral, as in “going steady” or “steady girlfriend/boyfriend”.
• Soul Mate; neutral, slightly cheesy, implies belief in soul mates.
• Loveperson; neutral, a person that you love.
• Epox; neutral, from the French ‘époux’ which means husband/spouse.
• Companion; neutral, reference to Doctor Who’s companions, or Firefly’s Companions.
• Imzadi; neutral, from Star Trek, a Betazed word similar to beloved.

Wife/Husband

• Spouse; neutral, formal.
• Partner; neutral.
• Significant Other; neutral, quite formal.
• S.O.; neutral, short for significant other, a tad formal.
• Other Half; neutral, informal.
• Sweetie; neutral, slightly cheesy.
• Sweetheart; neutral, cheesy or old-fashioned.
• Cuddle Buddy; neutral, cheesy.
• Steady; neutral, as in “going steady” or “steady girlfriend/boyfriend”.
• Soul Mate; neutral, slightly cheesy, implies belief in soul mates.
• Loveperson; neutral, a person that you love.
• Epox; neutral, from the French ‘époux’ which means husband/spouse.
• Companion; neutral, reference to Doctor Who’s companions, or Firefly’s Companions.
• Imzadi; neutral, from Star Trek, a Betazed word similar to beloved.

Official Titles

Ms./Mr.

• Mx.; queer, from mix or X as opposed to M or F.
• M.; neutral, short for any and all titles. (note: M. is also short for Monsieur, making it masculine in French speaking countries)
• Misc.; queer, the word miscellaneous.
• Msr.; queer, mixture of Ms. and Mr..
• Mq.; queer, based on the M beginning of Ms./Mr..
• Ind.; neutral, short for Individual.

Miscellaneous Titles

Ma’am/Sir

• Comrade; neutral, not suitable for all situations due to leftist/communist connotations.
• Friend; neutral, very informal.
• Citizen; neutral.
• Tiz; neutral, short for citizen.
• Mirdam; queer, a mix of Sir and Madam, although it still sounds similar to Madam.
• Mistdam; queer, a mix of Mister and Madam.
• Sir’ram; queer, a mix of Sir and Ma’am.
• Laddam; queer, a mix of Lad and Madam.
• Mir; queer, a mix of Sir and Madam.
• Sir; neutral, Sir is used neutrally in the military, although this doesn’t work as well outside of that.

King/Queen

• Monarch; neutral.
• Ruler; neutral.
• Sovereign; neutral.
• Your Majesty; neutral, a way of addressing royalty.
• Quing; queer, mix of King and Queen.
• Caln; queer, created word based on the K/Q sound of King and Queen.

Prince/Princess

• Prin; queer, based on the Prince/ss ending.
• Prinxe; queer, based on the Prince/ss ending.
• Princet; queer, based on the Prince/ss ending.
• Princette; queer, based on the Prince/ss ending.
• Princev; queer, based on the Prince/ss ending.
• Princen; queer, based on the Prince/ss ending.
• Princus; queer, based on the Prince/ss ending.
• Your Highness; neutral, a way of addressing royalty.
• Heir; neutral, refers to future monarchy.
• Princex; queer, based on the Prince/ss ending, POC-coined and POC exclusive.

Lord/Lady

• Lairde; queer, based on the sound of La in Lady and rd in Lord.
• Layde; queer, based on the sound of La in Lady and rd in Lord.
• Ruler; neutral.
• Liege; neutral, term of address for a Lord/Lady.
• Sovereign; neutral.
• Suzerain; neutral, a feudal equivalent of Lord/Lady.
• Potentate; neutral, a Latin word for someone in power.

Khal/Khaleesi (A Song of Ice and Fire / Game of Thrones)

• Khalsine; queer.
• Khalse; queer.
• Khalof; neutral, created by David J Peterson who developed the Dothraki for the show.

God/Goddess

• God; neutral.
• Goddex; queer, based on the God/dess ending.
• Goddette; queer, based on the God/ess ending.
• Goddeq; queer, based on the God/ess ending.
• Deity; neutral, another word meaning god.

Boy/Girl

• Kid; neutral.
• Enby; queer, from the sound of NB, non-binary.
• Neut; neutral, short for neutal.
• Newt; neutral, variation of neut.
• Null; queer, refering to someone whose gender is ‘null’.
• Gul; queer, a mixture of boy and girl.

Fanboy/Fangirl

• Fanenby; queer, using enby as a replacement for boy/girl.
• Fanby; queer, a mixture of fanboy/fangirl and enby.

(via toobertpoondert)

Challenge #01314-C219: The Long Days

Long days are extremely trying.

memelordrevan:

emotionalmorphine:

barbex:

pagerunner-j:

donotchoosesidesyet:

The amount of posts I’ve seen in the last few months about how people need to reblog fic and leave comments and kudos and just show appreciation for fic makes me so fucking sad.

It’s like fandom is realizing that they’ve let the Tumblr platform and the fandom trends thereof to devalue and minimize fic so much, and now that folks have noticed, they are scrambling to undo the damage done.

But most folks still don’t leave comments and don’t reblog fic.

If fandom’s still using Tumblr as its primary platform in three years time, I assume the number of fic producing fan folk is going to plummet. There is no incentive to work on this skill and share it when you get nothing in return. The fandom economy doesn’t stop at “share this content with fellow fans;” the reciprocity of “and receive feedback and enthusiasm” is necessary. If the second half of that equation doesn’t happen, the fic will stop happening too.

“I don’t know what to say!”

Your fic author has spent hours to weeks to (speaking from personal experience) months crafting something for you to consume and enjoy. To share something intensely personal with fandom. And you want to tell me you can’t work up the length of a small comment in reciprocal recognition? Anything from “I loved this part because X” to “I wonder what’ll happen with Y” to even “Wow I loved this”?

Then, at the risk of sounding callous, don’t expect fanfic to be a prevalent fannish artform in another three years.

I feel guilty even reblogging stuff like this anymore because I’ve gotten crap for it. Still valid, though. And I’ve been getting so discouraged at how devalued writing is getting EVERYWHERE – like, say, the layoffs I’ve had and struggles finding work because no one wants to pay writers or editors anymore and just wants to “curate” (God, I hate that word now) bloggers who are supposed to be sooooo happy writing for exposure…

It’s getting harder and harder to do the thing I’ve always loved, and I don’t know how to fix it.

Raising hand to agree with all points. I have avoided posting these calls for comments on fics for a while because I feel like most people think that fic-writers are just whining.
I don’t know why writing is getting so devalued lately, why everybody seems to think it’s so easy that it needs no praise or payment.

Everyone is free to have that kind of opinion of course and I’m in no way suggesting that creators of fanart don’t have a difficult time to find praise for their art either. But as donotchoosesidesyet has said up there, there will be fewer fics for readers to enjoy. Speaking from personal experience here, the one reason why I even continued to write that silly one shot that turned into a 47 chapter story was the encouragement I received.

The current cold culture on tumblr and AO3 is hurting fic writers and in return it will hurt readers.

I’ve read thousands of tags relating to my post about valuing fan writers and it’s absolutely heartbreaking how many people have given up writing because they feel like no one cares. “No one ever comments”, “I don’t see the point because no one cares”, “I gave up because I figured people hated my work”.

And it’s horrible and fandom has done it to itself! If you can’t take two seconds to click the kudos button on something you finished reading then you shouldn’t be allowed to read fan fiction. And if you enjoyed something so much that you need to reblog it/bookmark it then for gods sake take some time and write a comment! Otherwise all those writers you like and fics you enjoy will disappear and you will only have yourselves to blame.

If you didn’t enjoy a fic - fine. Move on. But giving just a little something in return - a simple “thank you” - which doesn’t actually cost you anything, is just basic etiquette when someone has given you something.

And if you do regularly leave comments and reblog authors’ works then you have my unquestionable respect and gratitude. You’re a good one.

Yeah, as pagerunner-j has pointed out, this isn’t just a fandom problem. This is a problem for all writers. My work is devalued as a writer, and people expect to receive entire manuscripts, entire first novels, for free because “exposure”.

Writing is not looked at as an art. People look at stories and media as something that they are owed, something that they deserve to have without having to pay because “anyone has a novel in them” or “anyone can write a fanfiction”, which simply isn’t true.

Let’s be honest about writing – writing is hard. Knowing what good writing is requires study, and it requires practice, and not everyone who spits out a fic or a novel is writing good content, but because the market is flooded, and because there’s such a great volume of work available for consumption, the work of people who know our craft well is really devalued.

Nobody (read: most people) treats beginner artists or people who can’t draw very well like they’re an anomaly, and though beginner visual artists should be and often are encouraged, nobody treats them like their art is perfect or coddles them off the bat. Furthermore, people often joke about being bad at visual art, and it’s something that everyone recognizes not everyone can do.

But writing isn’t given the same respect. It’s considered terrible to actually give people constructive criticism because it might be seen as mean-spirited. Beginner writers are coddled, and people who just can’t write throw a fit when people tell them that if they want to write well they should actually bother to learn the craft instead of just thinking they can throw some words onto a page and be good.

Writing is work.

I work every single day at writing, and I can still improve more, and I’ve been writing for years. I’m also naturally talented and have a really good instinct when it comes to what sounds good, flows well, and makes narrative sense.

In order to fix the way fanfiction is seen, we need to fix the way writing in general is seen. People need to stop feeling like they’re owed writing, and they need to recognize the sheer amount of work that goes into it. They also need to recognize that, much like visual art, it is a skill, one that someone can have a natural proclivity for, but something that one can build up and that one has to practice and study to increase their skill in.

Writing needs to be put on the same tier as visual art. It needs to be treated like an art form, a craft, some people’s liviehood and passion – and most importantly, people need to recognize that it is not something everyone can do. Not everyone has a novel in them. Not everyone can be a poet. One’s writing skills can improve, but just like not everyone can draw, not everyone can write, either.

And that’s okay.

That way, writing will be seen as valuable and special again – as it should be.

I wrote my first indy story in 1990. I was eighteen, and I thought I had myself some genius. It’s probably somewhere in my piles of debris, but I can tell you honestly - it’s atrocious.

But it’s still a landmark because it’s the first time I sat down to do something that wasn’t an assignment. I sat down every morning for an entire year and scribbled a coherent story into a notebook. That takes willpower. And a certain amount of determination.

Many people will never do that. They never get much past an idea and the barest outline of a plot.

I started my first real fanfiction the next year. Palm-sized notebooks are my crack and I wrote a multitude of shitty stories in those tiny pages [One such story is up on my AO3 account]. In tiny, cramped, spider-scrawl. In bus stops. On busses. In-between classes and, very likely, when I was supposed to be doing assignments.

Many people tell me they would love to write something, but they never have the time. They lie. If they really love to write, they will squeeze seconds out of their precious time. They will wedge words onto paper in the moments when waiting idly is expected of allegedly normal people.

To me, at least, it doesn’t really matter if my writing in fanfiction is visibly loved. I write because I can’t NOT write. A thousand ideas gnaw holes in my skull and the only way to get rid of them is to pour them onto the world through a keyboard. Comments are a bonus. I write to give my demons a playground. To set an idea down in a nice pasture. To explore the things I could do.

But I’m a bit strange. I can, have, and will chose words because of how they taste inside my head.

Admiration is coin for writers. It is a bright spot of light in an otherwise dull existence. It is a reason to keep on when depression bites (and it bites often, trust me) it is the difference between giving up halfway and continuing on to an end you just can’t quite figure out how to reach.

Hell, _interaction_ is coin for writers. I remember the days of FFN before it went to crap, reading through the comments people had left before I posted yet another chapter. People used to rave at fanfic, in those days. They would yell at the characters. They would sometimes yell at the authors. But they would _interact_.

And when you think you’re alone and throwing parts of your soul out into an uncaring void… a response -any response- is enough to replenish your spirits.

Yes. I did mean to say ‘parts of your soul’. Writing is work. Writing can be hard. Writing can be… naked. And not in a sense of writing while nude. It’s opening up parts of yourself and bleeding experiences onto the page. Transforming them, sometimes, into something wonderful.

Writers deserve to know that their hard work is appreciated. Next time you want to click a heart and run away… share your thoughts instead. It will mean the world.

(Source: callmearcturus, via guernica322)

Prompts!

internutter:

I NEED PROMPTS!

Whatever your wild imagination desires, I will write it! {Disclaimer: bear in mind that I work on the oldest prompts first, so I can be fair to all}

NO logins necessary, you can submit as an anon
NO spam will flood your inbox from my site, anyway
NO fees or charges, this is completely FREE
NO smutty prompts, please. Kids can browse my site.

All you have to do is follow the link, and start a new thread. Big or small, your idea is welcome. I will take almost ALL kinds of prompts [see warning against smut above] even if you threw a dart at a dictionary and picked the five words that made the most coherent sentence.

You can send me word salad and I will turn it into a story.

Challenge me. Make me do something new. Try to trick me.

Results from my muse will be posted here.

Prompts!

I NEED PROMPTS!

Whatever your wild imagination desires, I will write it! {Disclaimer: bear in mind that I work on the oldest prompts first, so I can be fair to all}

NO logins necessary, you can submit as an anon
NO spam will flood your inbox from my site, anyway
NO fees or charges, this is completely FREE
NO smutty prompts, please. Kids can browse my site.

All you have to do is follow the link, and start a new thread. Big or small, your idea is welcome. I will take almost ALL kinds of prompts [see warning against smut above] even if you threw a dart at a dictionary and picked the five words that made the most coherent sentence.

You can send me word salad and I will turn it into a story.

Challenge me. Make me do something new. Try to trick me.

Results from my muse will be posted here.

WANTED: NY Spec Fic Lit Agent

I am a writer of some small merit, and self publishing isn’t netting me the income I need or want.

I have one finished and edited novel entitled _Kung Fu Zombies_ ready for your inspection. It’s horror-parody, with a dash of urban fantasy if you look hard enough.

I have another finished novel in the editing cycle entitled _Adapting_ which is soft Sci-Fi with some fantasy elements. The theme is sufficiently advanced science versus sufficiently interesting magic.

As you might guess, I write Speculative Fiction and take journeys into sub-genres from there as my whims decree. What I really need is a literary agent who wants to handle all of that.

I have heard from other authors that, if one wishes to Make It into the global literary scene, one must attain the services of a Literary Agent in New York. I have my eyes on the stars, and I want all the success that my writing is worth.

If this is not the case, I welcome guidance in the right direction.

However, I also welcome anyone willing to take me on.

If this is not you, reblog this so it can find someone who fits. If this is you, please get back to me @internutter. Thanks in advance for your patience and time.

I write stories for you!

All 290 of my followers know that I deliver fresh stories on a daily basis, all based on prompts that come to me via my website.

The people who aren’t porn blogs must be enjoying them, because -hey- I have 290 followers. And loads of y’all are really, really quiet. [I stop complaining now]

What I need to deliver fresh half-baked stories to you every morning is PROMPTS. Anything you want to see done. Anything you think might be amusing. Hell, I’ll take word salad and attempt to make a story out of it.

You don’t have to become a member of my site to give me prompts. I welcome Anon Guests to drop by any time they like with the plotbunnies of their choice. If I’ve heard of a thing, I’ll have a go at writing the story there. If I haven’t, I will make something up.

Your prompt might just alter the fabric of my pet universe. Others have done so.

And now that I’m down to less than fifteen prompts, I need you! Challenge me. Throw me a curve. Double-dog dare me to write a thing. Stretch my limits.

You might not get the story you want, but you will get a story out of it. I have yet to have a prompt stump me. You’re welcome to try.

Submit a prompt!

lokisweboflies:

roane72:

Honestly, I think the whole “don’t pay the writers” thing boils down to the notion that everybody thinks they can write. It’s the old saw about the novelist at a cocktail party having to hear someone say, for the millionth time, “I’d love to write a book someday.”

Someone–Stephen King? Pretty sure I saw this in a Stephen King foreword–once said they’d like to say to a brain surgeon, “Boy, I’d love to do brain surgery someday.”

We treat “the ability to put words into a sentence” like it’s just the same as “the ability to form a coherent narrative that engenders a variety of emotions within the reader and puts them in a scene and shows them what they didn’t see before”.

And that’s like me drawing a stick figure and saying I’m an artist.

Writers are constantly devalued because everyone thinks they have a book in them and don’t realize the level of skill and commitment it takes to finish even a short story, much less a whole book. 

This goes well beyond fandom, but man, I would’ve hoped fandom would know better.

***REBLOGS AGGRESSIVELY***

You want to write a book “one day”?

Great!

The average novel is 120 000 words. You can do it in ten months at 3K per week. Go to it!

(via meefling)