Final for my Time Arts class. Nothing gets you in touch with your own anger quite like listening to this and thinking about all the times you’ve been objectified and belittled.
Month: December 2013
23 Things That Aren’t Writing
There are a lot of things that writers pretend count as “writing.” Sorry, but I’m here to rip off the veil and expose the truth. There are things that are NOT writing and are likely holding you back from finishing your book (or even starting it):
1. Answering email.
2. Reading books written by other writers.
3. Watching TV shows and movies related to your current project.
4. Facebook/twitter/instagram/tumblr.
5. Laundry (even though you may need clean clothes to write in).
6. Getting a snack to help you write.
7. Doing online “research” all day long.
8. Trying out recipes that might be used by characters in your book.
9. Making outfits that might be worn by characters in your book.
10. Imagining the fanfic that might be written about characters in your book.
11. Planning out your imaginary book tour.
12. Rereading fan mail from your last book.
13. Trolling the internet for bad reviews of your last book.
14. Writing your own outtakes.
15. Planning out how you will spend the millions of dollars in advance you will get from your next book.
16. Thinking about how many books in this series you could write.
17. Writing a fake author bio for the pseudonym you intend to use next.
18. Playing an RPG you’ve invented from your book.
19. Taking an on-line poll to decide what should happen next in your book.
20. Plinking out theme songs for each chapter of your book on the keyboard you keep near your computer for just such a purpose.
21. Making lists of character names for your next project.
22. Inventing a new language for your elves to speak.
23. Writing epic songs and poetry that will never appear on paper.
I am not saying there is anything wrong with doing any of these things. They are fun! I’ve done plenty of them, especially the imagining the crowds of roaring fans at my next book’s movie premier. It can be really useful to keep yourself interested in writing and having fun with the writing. But just be aware that there is a line between things that are actually getting words down and things that aren’t.
You’ll notice I didn’t include things like “staring off into space while sitting at the keyboard,” because I think, strangely enough, that this IS part of the writing process for almost all writers. But if you’re distracting yourself from the hard work of writing, you’re avoiding doing the work of getting the words on the page. What you’re basically doing is trying to keep from doing it wrong, because as soon as you start writing, you’re going to have to accept that you haven’t done it right, and that’s the most painful thing of all.
beING SUPER SUPER IN LOVE WITH YOUR FRIENDS BUT IN A FRIEND WAY but also a little bit in a gay way but also in a frIEND WAY
Screw writing “strong” women. Write interesting women. Write well-rounded women. Write complicated women. Write a woman who kicks ass, write a woman who cowers in a corner. Write a woman who’s desperate for a husband. Write a woman who doesn’t need a man. Write women who cry, women who rant, women who are shy, women who don’t take no shit, women who need validation and women who don’t care what anybody thinks. THEY ARE ALL OKAY, and all those things could exist in THE SAME WOMAN. Women shouldn’t be valued because we are strong, or kick-ass, but because we are people. So don’t focus on writing characters who are strong. Write characters who are people. [x]
I was awesome and totally broke my comic site. Don’t worry, I’m fixing it. I slept for like 14 hours so for once I don’t feel like I’m dying.
that’s the benefit of being too sick to be stubborn
i a c t u a l l y slept. thank god for nyquil
Since the start of 2013 I have:
Gotten a new piercing.
Dyed my hair.
Ended a relationship.
Started a new relationship.
Been on a long car journey.
Passed an exam.
Cried on someone’s shoulder.
Had a massive fight with a boyfriend/girlfriend.
Received flowers.
Had a Valentine.
Written a letter using pen and paper.
Gone to see a therapist.
Been prescribed medication by a doctor.
Read a really good book.
Gone to the zoo.
Spent too much money on unnecessary things.
Traveled by train.Cried over someone.
Spent a day out in the sun getting a tan.
Slammed a door out of frustration.
Had an anxiety attack.
Had a BBQ.
Gone to the fair.
Gone bowling. (going on friday, though!)
Seen a film at the cinema in 3D.
Gone on a date.
Been the only sober one on a night out.
Helped someone home after they’d had too much to drink.
Stayed up all night.
Talked on the phone for over 2 hours.
Supported someone who’d received bad news.
Watched some kind of live sporting event.
Read an entire book in one day.
Bought a DVD the day it was released.
Eaten McDonald’s more than four times in a single week.
Cried as a result of exam stress.
Met some incredible new people.
Fallen backwards off a chair.
Broken my glasses.
Cried over someone in my past.
Spent hours aimlessly browsing the internet.
Thrown up.
Cried over a film.
Gone out of my way to avoid an ex-significant other.
Fought with someone in public.
Been in a relationship for a year or longer.
It’s been a busy year. Huh.
talents include
- fucking everything up
- having no motivation
- being a loser
- anxiety
- hating myself
- disappointing people
- not sleeping
- ugly
- being dumb
- crying
- socially awkward
- annoying everyone
- having no actual talents
I love that I identify with this post in ways that I cannot adequately express and yet… disagree with everyone I’ve seen reblog it. I love you guys. I think you’re all perfect. Maybe we need to be nicer to ourselves, just a bit.
Women have hair all over their bodies. Their arms, their legs, their backs, their necks, their cheeks, their abdomens, their chests, everywhere. Why does this shock people.
Because most of us see literally zero representation of this reality besides ourselves — leaving so many of us feeling disgusting and dirty just for inhabiting our own skin.
Oh no… we’ve discovered that we both like the same cookies. This may be the start of the biggest fight we’ve ever had in our marriage. :’(