Katherine Frances's Blog, page 13
September 4, 2018
scribbledwriting:Writers that die and go to hell have to watch their numbers go up but never get any...
Writers that die and go to hell have to watch their numbers go up but never get any reviews.
writer-jokes-for-u:
Writers are seen as cool intellectuals who can literally spew novels from their...
Writers are seen as cool intellectuals who can literally spew novels from their mouth, but really we spend half of our days trying to figure out if it’s layed or lied.
Kim Shimmers and the Deathly Hallows
A Harry Potter fanfic by me (and the 5th, final installment in the Kim Shimmers series)
She was like Voldemort in at least one way. They were both of the same make now. Dead,
alive, the two of them were some cross between. Perhaps he had even felt it in
her.
This Harry Potter fan fiction (as long as all goes according to plan) will be posted by the beginning of every week. The pictures above are not mine, though I edited some.
Chapter 5
Unmeasurable
In the following silence Kim could hear nothing over the crashing of her heart in her ears. She clutched her stomach and bent at the waist, breathing in heavy to try and control herself. I’m okay. I’m okay. Voldemort is gone. For now…
We need to get out of here.
Her eyes snapped open again and she staggered forward. She could now hear the sounds of a sloppy approach, more than one pair of feet, and neither of them very graceful.
“George!” Kim breathed as Lupin came stumbling into the clearing with a broom in hand and George, in his true form, hung over his shoulder. “Is he all right?” Then he tilted into the moonlight. Kim didn’t gasp, because she couldn’t breath. George’s head was hung, slumped to the side, and appeared to be wholly supported by Lupin. The side of his head was covered in a shiny dark liquid. It coated his hair, dripping down his neck, blossoming in his shirt.
“Take my arm,” panted Lupin. “We need to get him back. We’re far enough from any underage that there won’t be a trace, so there’s no point in trying to catch the port key. We’ll apparate.”
“Can you take the both of us?” Kim asked, grabbing his arm. He didn’t answer, but rather sucked them all away into black abyss and then popped back into existence, feet pressed against long, bent grass and soft, moist earth.
Harry and Ginny were there, running over to them, and Mrs. Weasly was just behind them.
“Harry, thank god you’re all right,” Kim breathed as Harry rushed forward and lifted George’s legs, helping Lupin to carry him into the house. They moved him through the kitchen and into the sitting room, laying him on the sofa. With the light of indoors the blood was vibrantly red, and it was clear that George was barely hanging on to consciousness. She bent down by his side as Mrs. Weasley hurried over with a box of herbs.
Kim put a hand on his chest and nudged him gently. She needed to know that he was alive at least. His eyes opened a sliver and his gaze drifted to her lazily. “Hey,” she smiled, relief billowing out with her breath. She petted the side of his head that wasn’t covered in blood, shifting his hair to the side.
“You’re all right,” he murmured.
“Yeah,” she said in the same gentle voice as before, a breathy high sound. “I’m all right. Thanks to you.”
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said, putting his hand over hers, clasping it against his chest where it still lie. He must’ve seen it on her face; the painful guilt, the terrible feeling of uselessness. He was in the state he was in because he’d come back for her.
“I’d do it again,” he muttered. “I already lost you once and I can’t… again…”
Kim’s face grew very hot as his eyes rolled back under his closing eyelids. Her heart raced. She glanced up at Mrs. Weasley, both afraid and embarrassed for all that was happening. She didn’t seem to notice, but Ginny looked at Kim in an unreadable way. There was a ruckus going on in the kitchen, and suddenly Kim felt she should leave George in the capable hands of his family and move herself out of the possibly wary gaze of Ginny.
“I’m sorry, Harry, but I had to check,” Lupin was saying to Harry tersely. The collar of Harry’s shirt was bunched, so he yanked on the hem, resituating himself a bit hotly as Lupin continued. “We’ve been betrayed. Voldemort knew that you were being moved tonight and the only people who could have told him were directly involved in the plan. You might have been an impostor.”
“So why aren’ you checkin’ me?” panted Hagrid. He was so large it was a miracle he fit inside the kitchen at all.
“You’re half-giant,” said Lupin, looking up at Hagrid. “The Polyjuice Potion is designed for human use only.”
“Where’s Fred?” Kim interrupted. Worry worked its way into her words. Harry just looked at her.
“He hasn’t come back yet,” he said.
“Shouldn’t he be back by now?”
Harry’s silence was answer enough.
k-frances:
Ironic, right? A tumblr post about not listening to tumblr posts. What I’m going to talk...
Ironic, right? A tumblr post about not listening to tumblr posts. What I’m going to talk about might get a little touchy, but I feel like it’s my job on this blog to go where other people don’t because they’re overly worried they might offend someone. So disclaimer, if this offends you, I don’t care. That sounds harsh, but let me explain. I’m going to do everything in my power to express my views in a way that is non-offensive. If my views still offend someone, I did everything I could to not offend them and I can do no more, so for that reason I won’t feel guilty or bad because someone else doesn’t like something.
That’s lesson one. Tumblr has created a real environment of fear around offending people. Yes, it’s good to try your damnedest not to offend people, but guess what. It’s still going to happen.
Advice on Writing MethodThere are hundreds of posts talking about how the ‘rules of writing’ are not so much rules but guidelines, so I won’t go into incredible detail with it. I’ll simply leave it at; if someone’s writing method doesn’t work for you, don’t do it.
On the flip side, if someone says that, in their opinion, certain writing methods don’t work well for x,y,z reasons, don’t get offended. Just don’t. Don’t waist your energy on it. Either read what they have to say and consider, or don’t! If you know what you’re doing is working for you, then why would you need advice about it in the first place?
Advice on Things Not to Write About (because it will offend someone)Hi. I’m a doctoral student in a clinical psychology program. So as far as sensitivity training goes, I have more than you (almost definitely). I probably have more than 90% (made up statistic lol) of this website. Here is what is important to consider:
As a writer, we will always be touching on experiences that aren’t identically our own, because otherwise we would be writing biography. Sometimes we might go so far as to write about different races, religions, or traumatic experiences that we have never experienced. It’s important that we are very careful when writing about these topics. Remember, we are doing our best not to offend someone. That means doing the research, asking (politely) if you have a recourse to ask, and reading about what that minority group has said about representation. We should try our absolute best to include those voices in our consideration of the topics we’re covering. Not only will it make minority people feel better, it will also make your writing more authentic and palatable for everyone.
However, you are likely to still offend someone. That’s right. You can do it all, and some people will be upset simply at the idea you, a Non-whatevergroup, is writing about them, and your writing doesn’t match up with ThEiR ExPeRiEnCe™. You could ask 100 people of a minority group, and 99 would love what you did and not find offence at all, and one of them would skin you alive with their words of pure outrage. And that one person would for sure have a tumblr account.
[A small lesson about sample sizes. For the most accurate information about a demographic, you need a random sample. Tumblr is not a random sample. It houses the most offendable people on the planet, and you will likely find that people in your real life of the same exact demographics are somehow not nearly so.]
So if your main source of advice is from tumblr, let me give you a few guidelines for what advice not to take:
-advice which tells you to ‘never’ touch a topic at all, and gives absolutely no reason, caveats, or clarification. If someone isn’t willing to express their opinion beyond saying (my favorite) “If you’re going to write about X, just don’t.” (when X is a broad topic or theme, not a specific trope) then their opinion is either poorly formulated in their own head and based on automatic, emotional responses, or at the very least poorly expressed to a point where it isn’t helpful critique to use.
-Their reasoning is nothing beyond ‘I don’t like it’. Even if they use fancy language, just not liking something is not reason enough to ban it from all literature. If something is truly problematic, there’s going to be a clear and easy to convey reason.
-If the person is an ass hole about it. That’s it. Simple. If someone is expecting you to listen to them and they’re spouting, you don’t have to listen to that. They’re expecting you to tread carefully around them while screaming at you.
And lastly, in the hopes of creating a better environment, here’s some advice when wanting to approach the type of ‘please don’t write about this’ post that will actually get people to take you seriously and listen:
-realize that you don’t know other peoples’ ‘groups’ on face value. Almost everyone is in a minority group. (Whaaaaa?!) Yes, its true. Even CIS White Men™ may have a learning disability or past trauma. The fact is, you don’t know. Don’t imply that no one knows what it’s like to be the sad man, when what you really mean is ‘my experience differs from yours because I am X, and here’s how’. (No I’m not saying having trauma is the same as being Black or gay. I’m saying they’re different, but not better or worse, it’s not a competition and there’s no assigned value of struggle. They’re just complexly different.)
Aside: I am so sick of struggle dick measuring contests on this site!
-Avoid ‘never’ statements unless it’s something very specific (ex: never refer to a Black character using term X). What I’m saying not to do is ‘never write about the struggles of a Jewish person if you’re not Jewish’.
-Give your reasoning! No, you don’t owe anyone an explanation for how you feel, but you are expecting people to listen to you and do as you say. They don’t even know you, so if you want to be taken seriously, just explain yourself a little. It will also help to clarify, stop unneeded arguments due to miscommunication, and help writers actually discern what it is that is offensive so they can apply that understanding to other scenarios that might also be offensive for the same reason.
-Realize that people are going to make mistakes and don’t skin them alive for it.
-Also, please stop saying things like ‘if you can’t see why this is offensive then I can’t help you’. First of all, that’s inflammatory. No one needs your help. You’re trying to impart your opinions on someone else, it’s much easier for them to just ignore you, so stop acting like you get the final stamp of approval on their work and they need you.
They don’t need you. We need each other. We need to communicate positively with each other if we’re going to make this medium a better, more inclusive environment. Lastly, you’re whole argument is that other people can’t understand minority experiences they’ve never lived, so why would you turn around in the second breath of your point and say ‘if you can’t understand, there’s no help for you’? That creates an environment that clearly says; if you aren’t X, you don’t understand, if you don’t understand you are garbage.
That is some fucked ups cyclical shit right there.
September 3, 2018
adorhauer:
The two reactions authors want from their readers:
“Oh my gosh! It’s perfect and makes...
The two reactions authors want from their readers:
“Oh my gosh! It’s perfect and makes me so happy!!!”
“How DARE you!!!”
"Good fiction creates empathy. A novel takes you somewhere and asks you to look through the eyes of..."
- Barbara Kingsolver
(via theliteraryarchitect)
Ironic, right? A tumblr post about not listening to tumblr posts. What I’m going to talk about might...
Ironic, right? A tumblr post about not listening to tumblr posts. What I’m going to talk about might get a little touchy, but I feel like it’s my job on this blog to go where other people don’t because they’re overly worried they might offend someone. So disclaimer, if this offends you, I don’t care. That sounds harsh, but let me explain. I’m going to do everything in my power to express my views in a way that is non-offensive. If my views still offend someone, I did everything I could to not offend them and I can do no more, so for that reason I won’t feel guilty or bad because someone else doesn’t like something.
That’s lesson one. Tumblr has created a real environment of fear around offending people. Yes, it’s good to try your damnedest not to offend people, but guess what. It’s still going to happen.
Advice on Writing MethodThere are hundreds of posts talking about how the ‘rules of writing’ are not so much rules but guidelines, so I won’t go into incredible detail with it. I’ll simply leave it at; if someone’s writing method doesn’t work for you, don’t do it.
On the flip side, if someone says that, in their opinion, certain writing methods don’t work well for x,y,z reasons, don’t get offended. Just don’t. Don’t waist your energy on it. Either read what they have to say and consider, or don’t! If you know what you’re doing is working for you, then why would you need advice about it in the first place?
Advice on Things Not to Write About (because it will offend someone)Hi. I’m a doctoral student in a clinical psychology program. So as far as sensitivity training goes, I have more than you (almost definitely). I probably have more than 90% (made up statistic lol) of this website. Here is what is important to consider:
As a writer, we will always be touching on experiences that aren’t identically our own, because otherwise we would be writing biography. Sometimes we might go so far as to write about different races, religions, or traumatic experiences that we have never experienced. It’s important that we are very careful when writing about these topics. Remember, we are doing our best not to offend someone. That means doing the research, asking (politely) if you have a recourse to ask, and reading about what that minority group has said about representation. We should try our absolute best to include those voices in our consideration of the topics we’re covering. Not only will it make minority people feel better, it will also make your writing more authentic and palatable for everyone.
However, you are likely to still offend someone. That’s right. You can do it all, and some people will be upset simply at the idea you, a Non-whatevergroup, is writing about them, and your writing doesn’t match up with ThEiR ExPeRiEnCe™. You could ask 100 people of a minority group, and 99 would love what you did and not find offence at all, and one of them would skin you alive with their words of pure outrage. And that one person would for sure have a tumblr account.
[A small lesson about sample sizes. For the most accurate information about a demographic, you need a random sample. Tumblr is not a random sample. It houses the most offendable people on the planet, and you will likely find that people in your real life of the same exact demographics are somehow not nearly so.]
So if your main source of advice is from tumblr, let me give you a few guidelines for what advice not to take:
-advice which tells you to ‘never’ touch a topic at all, and gives absolutely no reason, caveats, or clarification. If someone isn’t willing to express their opinion beyond saying (my favorite) “If you’re going to write about X, just don’t.” (when X is a broad topic or theme, not a specific trope) then their opinion is either poorly formulated in their own head and based on automatic, emotional responses, or at the very least poorly expressed to a point where it isn’t helpful critique to use.
-Their reasoning is nothing beyond ‘I don’t like it’. Even if they use fancy language, just not liking something is not reason enough to ban it from all literature. If something is truly problematic, there’s going to be a clear and easy to convey reason.
-If the person is an ass hole about it. That’s it. Simple. If someone is expecting you to listen to them and they’re spouting, you don’t have to listen to that. They’re expecting you to tread carefully around them while screaming at you.
And lastly, in the hopes of creating a better environment, here’s some advice when wanting to approach the type of ‘please don’t write about this’ post that will actually get people to take you seriously and listen:
-realize that you don’t know other peoples’ ‘groups’ on face value. Almost everyone is in a minority group. (Whaaaaa?!) Yes, its true. Even CIS White Men™ may have a learning disability or past trauma. The fact is, you don’t know. Don’t imply that no one knows what it’s like to be the sad man, when what you really mean is ‘my experience differs from yours because I am X, and here’s how’. (No I’m not saying having trauma is the same as being Black or gay. I’m saying they’re different, but not better or worse, it’s not a competition and there’s no assigned value of struggle. They’re just complexly different.)
Aside: I am so sick of struggle dick measuring contests on this site!
-Avoid ‘never’ statements unless it’s something very specific (ex: never refer to a Black character using term X). What I’m saying not to do is ‘never write about the struggles of a Jewish person if you’re not Jewish’.
-Give your reasoning! No, you don’t owe anyone an explanation for how you feel, but you are expecting people to listen to you and do as you say. They don’t even know you, so if you want to be taken seriously, just explain yourself a little. It will also help to clarify, stop unneeded arguments due to miscommunication, and help writers actually discern what it is that is offensive so they can apply that understanding to other scenarios that might also be offensive for the same reason.
-Realize that people are going to make mistakes and don’t skin them alive for it.
-Also, please stop saying things like ‘if you can’t see why this is offensive then I can’t help you’. First of all, that’s inflammatory. No one needs your help. You’re trying to impart your opinions on someone else, it’s much easier for them to just ignore you, so stop acting like you get the final stamp of approval on their work and they need you.
They don’t need you. We need each other. We need to communicate positively with each other if we’re going to make this medium a better, more inclusive environment. Lastly, you’re whole argument is that other people can’t understand minority experiences they’ve never lived, so why would you turn around in the second breath of your point and say ‘if you can’t understand, there’s no help for you’? That creates an environment that clearly says; if you aren’t X, you don’t understand, if you don’t understand you are garbage.
That is some fucked ups cyclical shit right there.
