— 11/1 // e.l.

Was reading “The Accidental Sith, the Confused Jedi Masters, the Eager Padawan, and the Rebel Senator” by ClawedandCute (Adi_Fire) on Ao3

Suffice it to say that I had to make a love letter to that masterpiece through fanart.

Freedom fighter & huttslayer Anakin!!!

[Background from Arcane] @clawedandcute

I'M LOSING MY MIND OVER THIS EVERYONE COME LOOK AT THIS REPRESENTATION OF MY LIL GUYYYYYY

You wouldn't hurt a guy with glasses I'm DYING

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS

FRIENDLY REMINDER TO EVERYONE TO READ THIS STORY IT IS SOOOO GOOD (AND SO IS THIS ARTWORK)

Here’s the link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45297214

watching Seven Samurai

i wonder how many they'll need

i hesitate even to speculate

did you guys know that when you are in bed at night time, you can turn on a lamp, put a really soft blanket around your shoulders and read your book?? and sometimes it will rain??? did you know that???? the wonders of this life do not cease!

This feels like a good time to post a reminder about the NaNo-inspired spreadsheet I made, based on the old website:

It's available here for download - free if you want, any support is appreciated because it means I can keep making trackers and helps with my website costs, but I know times are tough for a lot of us. I've also put it up on Google Sheets here, but it looks a little different because the fancier chart effects aren't supported. You'll have to download it or make a copy to be able to use it. (Please don't ask me for edit access, that won't work. File > Make a copy, and you'll have it on your own Google Drive.)

I also made this in four other designs, available here. They all come with character and plot development sheets, and pages for novel info, chapters, timeline, etc. And there are versions for every month, so we're not confined to November!

And finally, because I always loved seeing everyone's word counts and accountability really helps me personally, I made a basic spreadsheet that you can use as a group to collectively track word counts or goals. This version's made for up to 8 people. Again you'll have to make a copy in your Drive to use it, and you'll need to give edit access to your whole group as well.

If there's interest, I'll keep making these as well for each new month. I can also expand it or add more columns/features, so feel free to let me know if you're interested and what you'd like to see!

Fanfiction is becoming people’s primary form of entertainment right now because most media right now is so cheap, bland, recycled, and sponsored by people who love money more than the source material. Fanfiction is written for free by people who genuinely love what they’re writing about. That’s why it’s better. That’s why it’s more satisfying. Fanfiction is a home-cooked meal made for yourself and for your friends. Media today is junky fast food spoiled by too much grease and the knowledge that the people producing it are being criminally mistreated and underpaid. 

FANFICTION IS A HOME-COOKED MEAL

WOW. BRO.THAT’S. 

Also, we don’t try to make everything in fanfiction canon. We can explore alternate universes to our hearts’ content, but we don’t try to insist, “That’s the way it is now, and if you disagree, you’re a terrible person.”

Interest Check!

If anyone would be interested in helping me run this event, message me either here or over at @maglor-my-beloved

Hone your writing style. One of the few writing exercises I use to hone my writing style is to copy an author's writing style. It is very simple. You find an author you like, for me it was Cormac McCarthy, try and remember a scene or moment in a book of theirs, remember it the best you can, and then write it down without looking back, or reading, the scene.

When reading the original author's scene, you will notice a difference between yours and theirs. Now you analyze. What are the big differences? What differs in descriptions? Do you not describe things more, but they do? What about word usage? How is the tone different? What do they do differently that you want start doing? What is something you do that makes the scene better?

When you do this exercise, it shows you what you might want to improve on. Better descriptions, natural sounding dialogue, a tone you want, etc. But instead of improvement, you might notice things about your style that you actually enjoy. I found that my tone of writing is very atmospheric and poetic, while McCarthy's is gritty and real. And as much as I like McCarthy's writing tone, I enjoy mine more. In trying to get that gritty and real tone, I found that I enjoy reading it but not writing it.

It is a very fun exercise to do, for improvement or not. It also helps to recognize writing styles and tone better. Give it a try! Which author would you use in this exercise?

thinking about the rancor handler at the beginning of ROTJ mourning his monster's death is foreshadowing for Luke and Vader

@dandelionsandderivatives yes of course!

We're all familiar with the scene at the beginning of ROTJ where Luke beats the mighty beast that looks like something out of space Jurassic park. It has a face that one might say only a mother could love.

Everything about this creature emphasizes how monstrous it is. There's obviously the design, but there's also the fact that it is Jabba's method of destroying those who displease him. The horror is mild, but there are undertones of monster movie-esque themes in the scene. Luke waiting for the rancor to emerge from the shadows, etc etc. For all that, it's typical action movie stuff, and it ends in a moment that the audience might find a little humorous. After Luke defeats the rancor in a Jedi hero moment, the movie turns to the rancor keeper - who cries over the monster's death.

It's a ludicrous contrast, and although perhaps a bit touching, more funny than anything else. Monsters are meant to be beaten - what else would you do with one? Even this monster had someone who loved him is the underlying message, but there is a little bit of "pet owner of savage dog" type thing going on. I would say it's primarily meant to be humorous in the moment. After all, who would mourn the death of a brutal monster?

Fast forward to the last part of the movie, though, and all of a sudden...

Much like the rancor keeper, Luke is alone in his grief. A major theme of ROTJ is how solitary his journey is. He's set apart from the others. Although I would argue the potentially scorching hot take that Leia would also feel grief over Vader (just an entirely different grief), Luke stands alone.

If we turn back to the rancor keeper and his grief for an attack monster now (notably, a monster kept at the beck and call of a corrupt ruler), it suddenly has a new light, and the question implicit in the moment - monsters are meant to be beaten; after all, what else would you do with one? - suddenly has a new answer.

@muse-write

Look. Even if you don’t like the horror in crimson peak, you have to admit the movie looks great and the costumes are fabulous. That moth vs butterfly symbolism?? Amazing.

those dresses ate. that’s it. send post

I like it when the character is really really cool and a total nerd loser. That's my favorite.

I think we collectively (and me, myself, specifically) need to stop reacting to the thought of, "I should be reading my Bible/praying right now" with a guilt or shame response, and start remembering that the Holy Spirit is living and active inside us.

If we hear our Friend and Comforter saying, "hey. pause what you're doing right now, and spend some time with me - I'm here to help," He really means that. He's telling us this not to shake a finger at us or deprive us, but because He loves us.

" You fool "

paschaltide

Sun glinting gold on the grass outside My window, and bumblebees bumbling In the warm spring air, but I—

I am a frosted windowpane, Looking out on the fresh green World in all its glory whilst I—

I freeze deeper and greyer inside, And I take my heart in my Frostbit, stiffened hands and give it—

Give it over to chilling winds and Gasping, grasping roots cold as The thoughts that creep through my mind—

My mind, bitless and reinless and unrestrained, But it deigns to slumber as the Earth In winter, in a never-ending winter of

Death.

—

Lord, Creator of the ‘wakening spring, Stretching these days with fingers deft, Pulling them gently to give life and birth—

Birth to a season of hope renewed, As of children roused by sunrises pink And sweet, out of slumber of lingering nightmares—

Nightmares of breathing that is shallow and choked, Of eyesight fading, fleeing, to black; Of frozen lips and tongues and hearts—

But Your kiss is warm and Your face is bright As the golden sun in summer nigh On glistening waters and brown, tilled earth—

Earth, it covers so many graves, And I am buried in a bottomless tomb Of my own making, but Lord—

Lord, Who died and rose again, Who swept through hell and captives saved, I reach out, cold and almost dead, for

Life.