I Try Not To Post Commissions On My Main, Because I Know They Aren't Writing Related, But Look At The

Um…

I know, once again art instead of advice, but @janeopries ugh just look at this. Look at them!

Close up WIP of a commission for @sinedra! ♥

Finally, some good news.

👉🏿 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/16/health/abortion-pills-fda.html

Eight rules for writing fiction: 1) Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. 2) Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. 3) Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water. 4) Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action. 5) Start as close to the end as possible. 6) Be a sadist. Now matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them — in order that the reader may see what they are made of. 7) Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia. 8) Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

– Kurt Vonnegut

Erotica vs. Porn.

Warning: this is not my area of expertise and more of an observation. Dime store romance novels get a bad rep, being called “porn for woman”. I disagree but that doesn’t mean I like it. It usually feature the damsel in distress being rescued by the perfectly built hero (who usually is a vigilante or a mysterious stranger). I wouldn’t call them porn, most only have short sex scenes that last for a page or two and are done. Mostly, they’re the same plot with cardboard cut-out characters. Notice the key word? Plot.

Erotica has a plot, a story. No matter how overdone and unoriginal it is story driven. Sex does not fill it cover-to-cover. This doesn’t excuse shoddy writing but it is it’s one saving grace (granted there are some good ones).

Again, don’t be mistaken, erotica is it’s own genre. If you find a book in the fantasy section and it has sex in it, it’s still fantasy. Erotic specifically aims to incorporate sex and sexual tension; it’s the promise of at least one intimate, explicitly detailed (but for the most part tastefully worded), romantic moment between the two main characters. Another key word: romantic.

Porn is not tasteful. Porn is beginning to end sex with hardly any plot, or a horrible plot. There does not need to be any romance. The writing, more often than not, make dime store novels look like a “New York Times Best Seller”.

If you enjoy porn, it’s your life and your choice. I’m not trying to criticize a person’s life, but I bring this up for a few simple reasons: 1) Porn does not need to be video or images, stories can also be porn. 2) Woman in Erotica at least are (for the ones I’ve read) truly loved and are in love. Some are even very independent characters and CAN be likeable. Woman in porn are not like this. They are weak and submissive, bribed or coerced into their relationships. 3) Again, erotica is story driven with a fairly solid (no matter how dull) of a plot. They go through editors and a publishing house to end up on shelves. Porn is written strictly for the sex with little to no imagination put into it. The writing not up to par with erotica. 4) Fifty Shades of Gray is porn and, I admit, the reason for my post.

Sorry if this is overdone, but Fifty Shades of Gray is NOT erotica. It may be published, but it’s all about the sex with no plot. The romance is more of a hoax as Anastasia IS brided back into a relationship with Gray and emotionally blackmailed. And really guys, what other proof do you need than it was a Twilight fanfiction that was even less story and all sex.

I envy writers.

As an artist I can give you a snapshot into a world.

But a writer.

A writer can take you there.

They can weave together words and create a portal to anywhere. You can visit those places instead of looking out a window and wishing to be a part of it.

I envy writers.

THINGS WHICH MAKE WRITERS ANXIOUS:

not writing

writing

people reading their stories

people not reading their stories

Notes For Writers:

1. Write what you like without shame

2. Your writing doesn’t have to be morally “just” to be good writing/storytelling

3. Being “good” and being “righteous” are not one and the same

4. Your writing doesn’t have to meet any guidelines to be good - just write it

5. It doesn’t matter if your writing sucks now. Get the words down; you can always edit later

6. We all have self-doubt. Yes, even the famous author you think could never possibly because you think they’re that incredible. One day, if you don’t already, there will be people that think like that about you. Keep going.

7. Your writing is not less important than anyone else’s. All writing has its purpose. Yours may not be something that’ll start a social movement, but it has a purpose to the people it matters to.

8. Stop comparing your writing to others. You’re insulting yourself and them. Your writing isn’t meant to be like theirs. Your writing is meant to be like yours.

9. You are better than you give yourself credit for.

10. ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE PROUD OF YOUR WRITING WITHOUT FEELING SHAME. It is not self-centered, conceited, selfish or anything similar to be proud of what you create. YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF IT.

11. You’re allowed to be proud of your writing, even if you think it sucks. You are allowed to be proud of your writing, even if you think it sucks. Be proud of the growing you’ve done. Be proud of the fact that you push forward in spite your self-doubt. Even terrible writing has things to be proud of.

Remember: What you do is incredible and hard. Let yourself feel pride. Let yourself struggle and find what does and doesn’t work for you. Allow yourself to learn and grow. That’s what life is about - growing into yourself. That means creatively as much as any other way. <3

Happy writing, my friends.

🤍 H

Book Review 1: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

I (again) apologize, as I've never done an official review or anything. Since that's out of the way I'll do my best to bring forward a decent amount of points on both ends. If I need to improve, please tell me. On to the review!

I'm a huge fan of the YA fantasy genre, if there isn't some fantasy in it then I'm likely to not even pick it up. Safe to say, Seraphina is fantasy through and through. Rachel Hartman brings in refreshing elements to a subject over-done in every form of media/genre: Dragons.

As a short summary, the story follows the young protagonist: Seraphina. She's delved out of her comfort-zone (and guiltily ignoring her father's wishes) and begun working at the palace. Before she moved in, the crown prince is killed and everyone believes it was the dragons that did it. Seraphina finds herself pulled into the mystery with the help of Lucian Kiggs, captain of the guard and nephew of the killed prince. The treaty between the dragons and humans hangs in the balance.

Without spoiling the plot too much, let's just say that the dragons (who we see mostly in compressed human forms) are a wonderful relief. They definitely don't feel human and don't have a perfect peace with the humans. The tension and distrust is felt from cover-to-cover, it's honestly wonderful because it isn't a stagnant world and its future doesn't depend on the protagonist to fix or cause trouble. For a fantasy world, it come off as extremely realistic.The world itself is a mix of medieval European and fantasy setting that pulls you right in. Nothing felt awkward or out of place.

Seraphina, herself, is also a well rounded character. She's not beautiful, socially exceptional, or even well known. She enjoys being in the background and prefers it. Granted, like most YA protagonists, she certainly could benefit from a few more flaws, but she's a model for many of the Mary-Sue cut outs being sold on the shelves. I'm also not one really for first-person in stories, but I actually enjoyed being in her head.

On the opposing end, the plot is a bit overused. Hero/heroine gets involved when country's peace is threatened and heads off to fix it. I personally felt like I had too many characters thrust at me at the beginning, it was hard to keep track of at first. And there were certainly a few scenes that didn't need to be in the novel at all (sadly they're spoilers so I can't mention them), but they only succeeded in making the novel longer rather than pushing the plot along.

As a final comment, I would certainly recommend it. I love it as a whole, which makes it easy to ignore the bad points. I'm certainly keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel and will probably read it again.