I think it’s important to know, there’s an older picture of David signing stuff, with his father-in-law WHO WAS THE FIFTH DOCTOR, holding a very similar sign behind David’s back. I don’t have the pic, but you can probably find it if you look a bit.
[ID: You find yourself painfully pushed against the wall, apprehensively lower your eyes to see whose hand it is that pushes you, and, with a new pain in which the old is forgotten, recognize your own contorted hand holding you with a strength it never had for good work. END ID]
Hi Neil Gaiman, you don't know me and I don't know you and probably never will, but in my opinion you are the best person to talk to about this, a one sided conversation? Yes, but for me it's still a conversation.
Well, I'll get straight to the point, I feel lost and behind on what I want to do with my life, you know? Like I was ALWAYS sure of what I wanted and I had the whole path to follow in my mind, only now I asked myself why and I don't know. I don't know myself Mr.Gaiman, I don't know what I am. I feel lost and delayed. Late because I know I'm last in this race and I don't have the breath to catch up with my opponents.
Will I die without purpose? Is my life so insignificant?
I get so obsessed with other things, worrying about the future, fantasizing about it, filling my head with anything other than myself, that I just can't think about myself and not cry, because I feel purposeless, and I feel like it's too late to look for him, because everyone is in front of me and life discards those who stay behind.
I don't think you'll ever read this message, but if you do: thank you <3
It’s not a race. You don’t have opponents. It’s just you. You get a life and you get to make things and you get to experience things and you get to try to be happy. (The journey is always more enjoyable than the destination.)
We’ve all got them. Share 3 then tag your writer friends. Here are mine:
1. Whenever I’m struggling with a chapter, I always pull up a blank document and begin writing all over again…from scratch. It helps me detach myself from the stuff that wasn’t working. However, this does mean that I end up with a million Google Doc files with titles like CH4 THE VERSION THAT BLOWS, CH4 THE ACTUAL FINAL THING, and CH4 FUCKING CHRIST LET’S TRY THIS AGAIN. It’s a hot mess lmao.
2. Even after publishing my most polished drafts on AO3, I’ll read the newly uploaded thing obsessively and continue making small edits here and there, whether it’s to continue refining my syntax, diction, or even formatting. This can happen up to ten times within one day. I’m a perfectionist and nothing is ever good enough 🤦🏻♀️
3. I have the weirdest fucking brain farts, and sometimes I’ll just…not complete a phrase. My most recent ones have been the phrases “I cannot emphasize enough” and “in a deadpan manner” — for whatever reason, I always leave out the last word and I’ll end up writing “I cannot emphasize” and “in a deadpan,” EVEN THOUGH I’LL COMPLETE THE PHRASE IF I SAY IT IN A CONVERSATION. Whenever I go back to read any old bits of correspondence or previously posted chapters and see these errors, I just end up looking like the gif below because I’m just like LOL WOW I SOUND LIKE A DOOFUS, BUT AT LEAST PEOPLE ARE STILL NICE TO ME:
aaaa thank you for the tag mittens!!!! i 100% feel your hundreds of docs LOLL i do the same thing HAHAHA
okay here are my silly writing quirks LOL
1. i almost ways have to write with music in the background. sometimes ill just have a single song on repeat for hours while i write, or i listen to classical music (aka: the Hannibal playlist lmfao). something about the music really itches my brain and helps me get into the gRoOvE
2. washing the dishes/walking my dog/on the cusp of sleep is where i come up with my vest one liners and fic ideas. and all of those things are when my hands are busy or my phone out of reach so im chanting whatever’s in my head so i don’t lose it LOL
3. more often than not, a fic is centered around a single line or small detail that i became obessed with. like the smallest thing (ex: Sakura’s eyes, a specific metaphor) will trigger an obessive and relentless writing session where time literally doesn’t exist and it’s just me, the screen, and the test on whether my fingers can keep up with the racing stream of thought LOL
1. I need coffee to write. Doesn’t have to be when I’m writing, but if I don’t have caffeine in my system, it’s just not the same. Sure, I prefer sipping on it as I write, but often it just means I’ve had coffee two hours ago and now I’m feeling alert and ready to put some words down.
2. When I’m inspired, I don’t plan a piece. Usually there is a vague beginning/end or beginning/middle/end, so I start writing and let it flow. Most of my stories write themselves, I often feel like there’s a void that controls me from which most my stories are born. Sometimes I get ‘writing comas’ in which it feels like I’m running on autopilot and then I return to myself several thousand words later—rereading those pieces is often surprising; almost like reading them as the reader and not the author because I don’t remember exactly what I’ve written.
3. I can’t write with music unless my inspiration for that piece came from a song, then I’d have it on repeat until that song is dead haha. But usually anything with lyrics is too distracting; I’ve found ways to work around this—I play music in any langauge but English when I’m writing for that reason. It doesn’t always work, but sometimes it does.
