Notes From the Abyss – Part Two Drafts

Oh, this is so late it’s embarrassing. Here it is, though! I’m going to be working on this or Out of Thyme for Wednesday probably.

I got caught up in reading Girl Genius again, so…yeah.

Hope you like this!

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[Open Thread] Problematic Tropes

Tropes form the backbone of writing conventions in all mediums. We know who the hero is, who the villains are, what the setting is, and what the genre is thanks to tropes. A lot of tropes are good, many are useful, but a lot of tropes are problematic. Things from the Femme Fatale to the animation age ghetto to Men Are Dumb, Women Are Emotional there’s lots of tropes that support negative and false stereotypes that affect how people think of and interact with media of all types.

What are your thoughts on problematic tropes? What are your “favorites”?

An Attempt Again At My Novel

This is the first chapter of Out of Thyme, a novel I’ve been trying to write since November. This is not, however, the novel I started for NaNoWriMo – I still have that version but this is a rewrite. Different beginning, different style, different feel. Changing how I’m approaching the characters. I hope you like it.

In other news, there’s a possibility that I may be shopping for investors soon. Looking forward to that. I still need all of the help I can get for the mean time, though, so if you’ve got a few dollars to spare please consider Donating or Subscribing to The Writing Engine on your Kindle. It’s all greatly appreciated.

Also, this post is prepared ahead of time and I’m telling you this and ruining the illusion because I’m seeing The Hunger Games tonight and I’m very, very excited. I will probably be exuberant about it tomorrow if you catch me on G+, Facebook, or Twitter. I read the entire trilogy a few weeks ago and I loved it. The movie looks amazing. I’m kind of squeeing, at least as much as my sardonic and stoic countenance can squee.

To the story!

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Reciprocity

Not long ago, the delightful Aly Hughes nominated me for a Liebster Blog Award. This is rather touching, since I don’t participate with a lot of blogs here on WordPress (more from time than anything) and it found me when I was feeling pretty dark about a lot of things. So, here’s to Aly! And here’s to the Liebster in general!

 

Liebster is a German word meaning dearest, and the award is given to up-and-coming bloggers with less than 200 followers who deserve some recognition and support to keep on blogging.

The rules are simply:
1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
2. Reveal your top five picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4. Hope that the people you’ve sent the award to forward it to their five favourite bloggers and keep it going!

My Liebster Blog Award Nominees:

I only have one, unfortunately, but it’s a friend.

The Hypothetical Bus Stop

There’s Always More Problems To Fix

So today is a bit of a fantasy piece, technically, in my fantasy setting Royan. I’m not sure how I feel about it right now but, y’know, what the hell! Let’s put it up here. I wrote it yesterday and I’m pretty happy with it right now. Can’t ever tell what the crowd’s gonna think.

My readership may or may not be falling lately, though. I need your help, my reader’s help, getting the word out if you can. Please share the blog with someone today? In fact, if you ask me nicely I’ll write a short story just for you if you’ll share it with your social circles. ‘Cause amplification is the name of the game; if I’m going to start supporting myself on my swan’s song, it’s going to take a lot of people paying attention to me. With enough people paying attention, if I start getting donations, I may be able to move this to its own server, start hosting ads, and start trying to be a real self-supported writer. Commission covers, browbeat editors, y’know. Pretend I’m an author on the big stage.

In the mean time, though, I hope you enjoy our own version of community theater that we’ve got going on here.

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Today I’m taking kind of a cop out.

I don’t have anything to write on today. The words just won’t come to me.

So, I’ve got a couple of things for you here. First, a discussion; help me plan a good fantasy story. I’m talking about really, really high level planning. Hero saves the girl, hero gets a magic weapon, hero is a girl who saves a boy and a girl. I don’t know. Just ridiculously high level plot stuff. Then I’ll fill it in with later posts here on the Engine.

The other thing, below the fold, is a game I’ve been playing. Though the one I’m working on right now is a doozy. Here are the rules.

You give me A Name, A Gender, A Writing Genre, and Three Things You Like About Yourself.

In return, I give you a brief description of a character. Easy as pie. Check out what I’ve done so far after the jump.

In Which A Plague Is Discussed

Today’s a weird day. I’m feeling especially vulnerable for a lot of reasons, mostly emotional ones, and I’m not sure what to do with myself. I also couldn’t shower this morning because the building the shower’s in was locked. So I feel grimy as well as insecure and kind of worthless. It’s been stars all around, let me tell ya’.

I also missed even starting my post for today by almost an hour, let alone finishing it and posting it. Once more, you get fresh and unedited work thanks to my ‘lifestyle’. Today, though, it’s a little bit of insight into my physical condition through my steampunk mouthpiece, Patience Argyle. I hope you like it. Or at least learn something interesting.

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Surviving, Or The Price of Being Poor

Occasionally, having a very limited diet makes things difficult. In this case, I’ve been suffering from food poisoning or a stomach flu for the past day or so and I think I’m largely back to normal but it’s after a day of being violently ill and asleep for most of it. I also missed out on a few things I wanted to do yesterday and I’m not sure when I’ll have the chance to do them again but, c’est la vie, there’s always tomorrow no?

Today I’m going to be trying to relax and hanging out with some of the local atheists in Orange County, which if you happen to be going to OCA tonight I’ll see you there! If not, well, I’ll think about you all the same. I’m going to try to do some writing, I think, but I don’t know if I’ll get any done. Given how my stomach still feels. At some point I’m going to try to eat solid food again too; yesterday I consumed only ginger ale and I’ve just added green tea to my consumables list but no solid food. Not yet.

Now, other than that. A big thanks to Aly Hughes for the nomination for the Liebster Blog award. I’m not exactly sure what to think yet, between being sick and being surprised, but I’m both honored and touched. I didn’t think anyone would think that much about my blog so soon into it, given I started it in early January. Hopefully, though, this is a milestone in my road to success as an author. I’d be a lot happier if that were so; I could use a real apartment with running water and electricity. And a regular internet connection that isn’t through my phone.

I hope your day finds you well. Feel free to discuss whatever you’d like in the comments if you feel like commenting.

Today, Patience Argyle Defends Himself.

A little dark this time. I had to get out some of my aggression I guess with a fight scene. I really like this character, too, I just have to build a better story around him. Around the movement he’s apparently a part of.

So, like always, let me know what you think. Send it to your friends and colleagues. Like me on Facebook, Circle me on Google+. Follow me on Twitter @Luarien.

Also, enjoy yourselves. It’s a tough world out there.

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The Cycle of Bullying: Repeated Here

The Cycle of Bullying: Repeated Here.

A wonderful blog post worth reading. A wonderful blog worth reading.

I hope that, whatever happens, CJ grows up to be just as fabulous as he is now. It’s hard but there are allies, even behind the Orange Curtain like we are.

Much love and support from another card-carrying member of the LGBTQ club to CJ and his allies, his family.