BC WRITING
Saved by @Jacobtldr

I can second this observation through personal experience. I was only able to start writing because "it's just dumb weeb fanfiction quests, who cares." 100,000 pages of dumb weeb fanfic later, and I actually got better... but only because I was trying my best with every page.

 "It's dumb weeb fanfiction" gave me permission to be bad, to vomit things onto the page that I knew fell far short of what I wanted it to be. To just write and write instead of laboring over six paragraphs for weeks like I'd always done before.

But I still *wanted* to be good.
Writing is HARD. And unfortunately, most people don't appreciate just how hard writing (or communication in general) is, and that cultural attitude infects writers, too.

You must give yourself permission to be bad. And realize that all writing is practice.

IT. COUNTS.
And as the folks in my mentions are pointing out...

https://t.co/5kyxA5Ezm2
... it's an excellent way to find out what actually resonates with other people - putting work out there. Even your early bad stuff you'll cringe at later.

What resonates is NOT easy to tell, because we all, inherently cringe at ourselves, a lot.

https://t.co/g5Nt5LGTNN
Writing is inherently indulgent. We're plumbing our Id and dredging up the things we like and care most about after all; and inside our brains we're still six year olds playing with toy airplanes and wanting to be cowboys when we grow up, without a trace of self-consciousness.
But even then...

Not long ago I was in the Greenfield Village train museum, watching a young boy who reminded me much of myself. Despite his youth he clearly knew his shit about trains; he knew terminology I only vaguely recalled myself, as an adult.
And yet, despite being encouraged by everyone, and having a very receptive (and plainly thrilled) senior engineer happy to talk about trains and answer every question he could, the kid was very plainly painfully shy and had to be coaxed into talking about it.

It's always there.
Even at that age, it's already apparent that you like things others don't. Most kids don't play with airplane toys. They run out to the playground to play Power Ranger or whatever. They're into things you can actually see on TV.

Somehow, you always know.
It's always hard, then, to write about what you *really* want to write about. To turn people into dinosaurs instead of curing cancer, which is what Conventional Wisdom says you should do with your skills.

But if you do, you'll find out just how many people think like you do.
And if you're tempering your indulgence; if you're subjecting your deeply-held beliefs to the bite of reality, and exploring how they can be resolved, if ever, you're just mirroring the internal struggle of most human beings. It's perhaps the essence of the human condition.
Dumb fun indulgent things sell well. And I don't mean just "hurr cute" like Strike Witches; I mean the stuff your inner seventh-grade chuuni still loves and unironically thinks is cool as hell.

But we're ALL like that, deep down. We all have the inner chuuni, still lurking.
That's the stuff we really, truly love. Nobody loves being an adult, stuck on this bitch of an earth where dull pragmatism and soul-crushingly boring routine labors dominate, all so we can perpetuate existence till we're in a pine box.

We all *want* that magic back again.
But you have to remember that vast tension between our imagination and our reality is what has driven our civilization ever-onward. You'd have to be a chuuni to be a fighter pilot; bolting your ass to a supersonic fuel tank with a lit torch on one fucking end.
You have to be even more insane to do it with a moon rocket - especially given how mind-numbingly hard they are to engineer and build.

But that's where the hard-working, pragmatic adult and the chuuni have a meeting of minds; the former can realize the latter's ambition.
And that, IMO, is why I was pushing the limits and always *trying* for serious things even when I was writing what was effectively a weeb crossover fanfic romantic comedy.

Because I simply couldn't help myself. Because I really DO believe we can realize our chuuni dreams.
I'm not saying that pure fluffy escapism fantasy is bad. I'm certainly not qualified to judge. But I DO think that if you wall off your own work like that, because you think those nice things can never be realized, not even a little, in real life - you're going to live a sad life
I went through a very dark period after my grandmother died a few years back; what little I produced during that period was just an existential scream. I thought I'd embraced that philosophy wholesale, swallowed the blackpill.

But eventually I realized, I couldn't accept it.
Whatever your inner chuuni ambition is, you have to embrace it. *Fully,* and without shame. Use whatever excuse you have to, to start out with. But shed them, when you're ready. In the end, you can't outrun yourself. And really, you shouldn't try to.

Say what you truly believe.

More from Writing

Julian Shapiro
Julian Shapiro
@Julian
How can some people write so beautifully?

I think I've figured it out.

THREAD: The four elements of writing style:

Pardon me while I open a wormhole into your brain and thrust style advice into it.

See, that’s an example of style.

I could have just said: "And now let’s learn about style."

Four elements of style I'll cover:

• Your voice
• Your presentation
• Engaging the senses
• Engaging the imagination

Part 1: Your voice

Ask your friends what it's like to talk with you.

Perhaps they’ll mention your:

• Tone of voice
• Sense of humor
• Eccentricities
• Viewpoints

Convey those traits in your writing, and readers will recognize your voice.

In other words, voice is not your choice of words. Voice is your unfiltered self.
WRITING
Sandra Proudman \U0001f4a7\U0001f608\U0001f680
Sandra Proudman 💧😈🚀...
@SandraProudman
As we’re heading into the #PitchWars showcase and since the conversation seems abuzz...here’s a thread of questions I would recommend you ask not only potential agents during The Call, but references, and clients you reach out to personally:

1) What happens if we don’t sell this project? Are you willing to look at a pitch in the same genre?

I heard a panel recently where half the writers were dropped by their first agent after they pitched their second project. Be sure to ask around outside of the agent on this one.

2) Are you an editorial agent? Why or why not?

Meaning, will they revise the manuscript with you beforehand or just do small edits and send it off to editors. Both have their pros and cons, and one might matter to you more.

3) How many clients do you have and how do you juggle your workload with your clients?

In other words, how much time do they have to devote to you and your career. You can also ask, on average how long does it take to get a project on sub?

4) How would you describe yourself as an agent? What are some ways that others have described you as an agent?

This one I think is rarely in questions lists, but I think it’s a fun one to see how passionate an agent gets about their career.
WRITING
Advertisement
Flying_Rodent
Flying_Rodent
@flying_rodent
Things we don’t learn in this article: that the author wrote David Cameron’s speeches during the period when they were intentionally underfunding the NHS and other services, directly creating the problem the author is concerned about now.


We also don’t learn that the paper it’s written in stridently supported those measures and attacked junior doctors threatening strike action over NHS cuts and long working hours, accusing them of holding the country to ransom.

We aren’t reminded that NHS funding and the future of health provision was a central part of previous election campaigns, and that attempts to highlight these problems were swiftly stomped on or diverted and then ignored by most of the press, including the Times.

I’d underline here that “corruption” doesn’t just mean money in brown envelopes: it describes a situation where much of an organisation is personally motivated to ignore, downplay or divert from malfeasance for personal reasons - because highlighting them would be bad for careers

Foges was Cameron’s speechwriter at the height of austerity; Forsyth is married to the PM’s spokesman; Danny F is a Tory peer; Parris is a former MP; Gove used to write for them regularly, and that’s before we get to professional mates-with-ministers like Shipman or Montgomerie.
WRITING
Nicolas Cole
Nicolas Cole
@Nicolascole77
[THREAD]: Here are 10 (painful) lessons I've learned writing 3,000+ articles on the internet over the past 7 years.

On writing advice, growth hacks, going viral, and feeling fulfilled in the process 👇

1/ There is only 1 secret to online writing.

Volume wins.

There isn't a writing platform on the internet where this ISN'T the case. Social platforms. Major publications. Every growth period of my writing career happened during months/years of consistent volume.

Period.

2/ Growth hacks are overrated.

In my early 20s, I spent a LOT of time reading digital marketing blogs about how to get 50% more views here, or 20% more subscribers there.

A lot of it is mental masturbation.

You're far better off just consistently creating new content.

3/ Writing that engages/goes viral is emotional.

You don't have to "air your dirty laundry," but you do have to say something that makes the person on the other side of the screen pause, *feel you*, and engage.

This can be done through story, tone, before/after photos, etc.

4/ You don't go viral by getting lucky.

You go viral by publishing day after day, week after week, year after year.

My Quora dashboard is a great example. Out of 1,200+ Answers, less than 100 have gone viral.

That's not luck. That's rolling the dice 1,200+ times.
WRITING
Cory Doctorow #BLM
Cory Doctorow #BLM
@doctorow
I've been talking to @polygon's @TashaRobinson about my books for nearly two decades. She was one of the reviewers to dig into Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, my debut novel, all the way back in 2003 when she was at @theonion's @TheAVClub.

https://t.co/t55DCpCNAl

1/


She's always had smart things to say about my books (and is never shy about criticizing them) so I was delighted to talk with her about my latest, ATTACK SURFACE, for an interview: "Cory Doctorow on his drive to inspire positive

As the title suggests, the interview digs into the relationship between our narratives about the future and the future itself when it arrives - the delights and perils of dystopianism, a philosophy that I find seductive even as I reject it.

3/

Many conversations and books disabused me of dystopianism, but the turning points came from a pair of woman historians. First: Rebecca Solnit's "A Paradise Built In Hell" - a gorgeous, brilliantly researched book about the true histories of

And second was @Ada_Palmer's legendary end-of-year event with her undergrad Renaissance history students at the University of Chicago:
WRITING

You May Also Like

The Troll Zoo
The Troll Zoo
@TrollZoo
1. This is "Hollie The Card".

She's a Doctor, Physician, PhD, MA, Clinical Psychologist, Hospital Consultant, PTSD consultant, Long Covid Consultant.

(Thread)


2. Although sometimes she’s also an AUTHOR and English Academic.


3. A Hospital Consultant and ex Gymnast.

(Pinterest public profile)


4. A Physician, Doctor, or hospital consultant.

A “Hospital Consultant”, would probably mean a senior doctor, in the UK at least.


5. Hollie changes her Twitter picture and bio so often, it’s hard to keep up with her qualifications.
TWITTER
Anu Satheesh
Anu Satheesh
@AnuSatheesh5
Sri Mridanga Saileswari Temple Muzhakkunnu, Kannur KERALA

The temple is established by Parasurama and it is one among 108 Durga temples.
Devi will answer all the prayers of her devotees who pray to her with utmost devotion lighting the ghee deepam.


It is the family diety of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja.
Devi is present in three forms Kali, Saraswati and Lakshmi.

Legend...👇
Once a Mridungam ( musical instrument) shaped rock fell from heaven here.
@SriramKannan77


Devi originated in the form of Mridangam and Parasurama captivated the essence of Devi into a Vigraham. Vigraham is made of Panchaloham.
Kathakali, an art form of Kerala originated here.


Temple Vigraham was stolen 3-4 times, but because of power of Devi all the attempts were failure. Police records says that Whenever the thieves try to steal, they lose their senses, and they will be in a confused state. So they will abandon the idol.
🕉
ALL
Advertisement
Simon Wardley #EEA
Simon Wardley #EEA
@swardley
X : Our executive team is concerned that we need to up our game in order to out innovate Amazon.
Me : Do you map?
X : Yes
Me : Like this?
X : No. What's that?
Me : A map of a tea shop.


X : Why is that a map?
Me : Long story, all to do with how space has meaning. To keep it short, maps help people to focus on user needs, the components involved, to communicate missing components and scenario play ideas like staff becoming robots.


Me : They’re also good for measuring and managing capital flow, making investment decisions, removing bias and getting rid of duplication.
X : I don’t see how that helps with innovation?


Me : Well, innovation is a tricky word because we use it to describe many things. If you’re talking about differentiation with the adjacent unexplored then you’re experimenting in the “uncharted” space e.g. immortality with magic provided by the special custom built kettle.


X : That sounds like nonsense.
Me : A lot of what people think will be the next great innovation is nonsense. Actually, most of it is. That’s the nature of the uncharted space, it’s experimental, high risk and generally results in failure.
X : We need more reliable innovation.
TECH
\U0001d54d\U0001d560\U0001d56a\U0001d552\U0001d558\U0001d556\U0001d563
𝕍𝕠𝕪𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕣...
@V0YAGERTWEETS
Ｇａｕ Ｍａｔａ Ｉｎ Ｖｅｄｉｃ
Ｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ

It is said that the one who bears the dust thrown from the hoof of Gaumata on his head, as if taking a bath in the water of the teerth sthalam and getting rid of all sins.


Ved and all other Hindu scriptures venerate the cow. The Vedic dictionary, Nighantu, gives amongst other synonyms of 'Gau' [ or cow] the words 'Aghnya', 'Ahi', and 'Aditi'.

Yaska the vedic decoder and commentator on Nighantu, defines these as-

Aghnya —— the one that ought not to be killed
Ahi —— the one that must not be slaughtered.
Aditi —— the one that ought not to be cut into pieces.

These three names of cow signify that this is an animal which should not to be put to tortures. These words appear frequently throughout the Veda in context of the cow.

But in due course the falsehood of killing cows spread far and wide and they became even more deep rooted when western scholars with their half baked knowledge of Sanskrit transliterated these interpretations of commentaries of Sayanacharya ,
ALL
The Troll Zoo
The Troll Zoo
@TrollZoo
1. This is "Hollie The Card".

She's a Doctor, Physician, PhD, MA, Clinical Psychologist, Hospital Consultant, PTSD consultant, Long Covid Consultant.

(Thread)


2. Although sometimes she’s also an AUTHOR and English Academic.


3. A Hospital Consultant and ex Gymnast.

(Pinterest public profile)


4. A Physician, Doctor, or hospital consultant.

A “Hospital Consultant”, would probably mean a senior doctor, in the UK at least.


5. Hollie changes her Twitter picture and bio so often, it’s hard to keep up with her qualifications.
TWITTER