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kittkestraOne of the things that I'm trying to give myself some freedom to do is just... have fun.
That's always been part of the goal, of course: to have fun with the writing itself! I want to write the stories that I want to see, and to have fun doing it!
In this case though, I mean more the freedom to have fun with the things surrounding the writing.
(This did come up in conversation with a friend on my main account, so this is pretty well making my identity obvious to him if he ever comes across it, haha. Hiiiiii *waves*)
Our conversation largely came down to how long both of us had spent in writing spaces that had really looked down on any sort of aesthetic enjoyment. There was a prevailing attitude that if you wanted to romanticize the idea of writing, if you wanted to post aesthetic pictures of a fancy notebook, or a cute latte, or moody "dark academia" moodboards, then you were inherently unserious. That enjoying aspirational content, whether that was daydreaming about your WIP being published or fantasizing about your writing career, meant that you clearly weren't interested in actually doing any of the writing. Liking that romantic idea of spending a day in a café and writing the story of your dreams was treated as ridiculous, childish, absolutely anathema to being a "real writer."
And on the one hand, I get it! I think that basically everyone has run into people who are far more interested in the vibes than the doing. "Earn your -er" - that is, that you have to write to be a writer, is a fair bit of advice and criticism.
If what you most want to do is sit in a cozy coffee shop with a fancy latte complete with art in the foam, and you want to let that latte get cold while you get the perfect instagram-worthy picture of it... power to you, and you do you, but that in and of itself does not make you a writer or get the words on the page!
At some point, as unfair as it feels, you have to do the writing in order for the writing to get done, lol. (Precisely what I'm trying to do right now!)
Every once in a while, it's frustrating to realize that some particular person curating those aesthetic moodboards is getting more attention and shares than most of the people earnestly working at their craft, trying to get their work out there. That isn't even getting in to the people who turn their aesthetics and vibes into grifts; who sell the idea of them as a writer to a paying audience, but never actually end up with any writing to show for it, or only offer a substandard, poorly-edited mess.
It's also frustrating when people get so tied up in the aesthetics that it becomes insufferable pretension: a composition book from the grocery store, or loose printer paper, or sticky notes pilfered from your day job are going to work just fine to write on, and you certainly don't have to put off writing until you have the perfect Moleskine(TM) notebook. You don't need to try and force yourself to drink tea you don't like because that's what you're ~supposed~ to like.
All that said, I do think it's a mistake to swing so far back away from the "vibes" that you basically demand that the experience of writing be a joyless misery. The idea that enjoying the life surrounding the writing is wrong... why? If you want to light a candle and make a cup of tea to set the mood for your writing, do it! If going to a cafe for the little treat of your choice makes you enjoy the process of sitting down to get the words down, why wouldn't you? If making moodboards and playlists for your own works makes you feel more connected to the stories and characters, you should do that!
I'm hoping to just... allow myself to indulge a little. I want to be self-idulgent in the content of the writing, but also in the process itself. To let myself have a little aspiration, as a treat. To lean into the vibes and the aesthetics and all the other surrounding things that can be enjoyed.
That's always been part of the goal, of course: to have fun with the writing itself! I want to write the stories that I want to see, and to have fun doing it!
In this case though, I mean more the freedom to have fun with the things surrounding the writing.
(This did come up in conversation with a friend on my main account, so this is pretty well making my identity obvious to him if he ever comes across it, haha. Hiiiiii *waves*)
Our conversation largely came down to how long both of us had spent in writing spaces that had really looked down on any sort of aesthetic enjoyment. There was a prevailing attitude that if you wanted to romanticize the idea of writing, if you wanted to post aesthetic pictures of a fancy notebook, or a cute latte, or moody "dark academia" moodboards, then you were inherently unserious. That enjoying aspirational content, whether that was daydreaming about your WIP being published or fantasizing about your writing career, meant that you clearly weren't interested in actually doing any of the writing. Liking that romantic idea of spending a day in a café and writing the story of your dreams was treated as ridiculous, childish, absolutely anathema to being a "real writer."
And on the one hand, I get it! I think that basically everyone has run into people who are far more interested in the vibes than the doing. "Earn your -er" - that is, that you have to write to be a writer, is a fair bit of advice and criticism.
If what you most want to do is sit in a cozy coffee shop with a fancy latte complete with art in the foam, and you want to let that latte get cold while you get the perfect instagram-worthy picture of it... power to you, and you do you, but that in and of itself does not make you a writer or get the words on the page!
At some point, as unfair as it feels, you have to do the writing in order for the writing to get done, lol. (Precisely what I'm trying to do right now!)
Every once in a while, it's frustrating to realize that some particular person curating those aesthetic moodboards is getting more attention and shares than most of the people earnestly working at their craft, trying to get their work out there. That isn't even getting in to the people who turn their aesthetics and vibes into grifts; who sell the idea of them as a writer to a paying audience, but never actually end up with any writing to show for it, or only offer a substandard, poorly-edited mess.
It's also frustrating when people get so tied up in the aesthetics that it becomes insufferable pretension: a composition book from the grocery store, or loose printer paper, or sticky notes pilfered from your day job are going to work just fine to write on, and you certainly don't have to put off writing until you have the perfect Moleskine(TM) notebook. You don't need to try and force yourself to drink tea you don't like because that's what you're ~supposed~ to like.
All that said, I do think it's a mistake to swing so far back away from the "vibes" that you basically demand that the experience of writing be a joyless misery. The idea that enjoying the life surrounding the writing is wrong... why? If you want to light a candle and make a cup of tea to set the mood for your writing, do it! If going to a cafe for the little treat of your choice makes you enjoy the process of sitting down to get the words down, why wouldn't you? If making moodboards and playlists for your own works makes you feel more connected to the stories and characters, you should do that!
I'm hoping to just... allow myself to indulge a little. I want to be self-idulgent in the content of the writing, but also in the process itself. To let myself have a little aspiration, as a treat. To lean into the vibes and the aesthetics and all the other surrounding things that can be enjoyed.
Thoughts
Date: 2025-08-29 06:37 pm (UTC)Good plan.
>> That's always been part of the goal, of course: to have fun with the writing itself! I want to write the stories that I want to see, and to have fun doing it! <<
There are lots of options for that. DW in particular has many challenges, exchanges, bingo fests, etc. to evoke the enjoyment of writing for fun. Plus wider things like Whumptober or Junicorn.
>> In this case though, I mean more the freedom to have fun with the things surrounding the writing. <<
If you like pens, paper, notebooks, bullet journaling, or any of that stuff on the physicality of writing / journaling, then check out
>>There was a prevailing attitude that if you wanted to romanticize the idea of writing, if you wanted to post aesthetic pictures of a fancy notebook, or a cute latte, or moody "dark academia" moodboards, then you were inherently unserious.<<
Only if you do that instead of writing, and you still claim to be a writer. If you just enjoy fantasizing or dabbling, that's fine. If you use it as inspiration to whack out lots of words, you're a writer.
>>That enjoying aspirational content, whether that was daydreaming about your WIP being published or fantasizing about your writing career, meant that you clearly weren't interested in actually doing any of the writing. <<
Well, that's bullshit. Visualization is a major goalsetting skill.
>> Liking that romantic idea of spending a day in a café and writing the story of your dreams was treated as ridiculous, childish, absolutely anathema to being a "real writer." <<
I've known multiple writers who routinely write in cafes or similar because that is where they could write without interruptions and/or they found the space conducive to production. That includes one of the extremely few people who writes as much as I do, and could knock out multiple stories or chapters in one session.
>>I think that basically everyone has run into people who are far more interested in the vibes than the doing.<<
That is true. But it harms no one.
>> If what you most want to do is sit in a cozy coffee shop with a fancy latte complete with art in the foam, and you want to let that latte get cold while you get the perfect instagram-worthy picture of it... power to you, and you do you, but that in and of itself does not make you a writer or get the words on the page! <<
Sometimes it's just a matter of correctly identifying what you enjoy and do well. Is it the act of writing, the finished literature, or the ambiance? Because if it's the ambiance, then your true calling may be in aesthetics rather than writing, which is fine -- and there are lots of folks who have figured that out and gone on to create a viable business in it.
Also, if you're writing you're a writer -- it doesn't matter what you're writing. Worldbuilding is a hobby that routinely gets dissed as a waste of time. But if what you love writing is descriptions of imaginary worlds, that is totally fine. I've done a shared world worldbuilding project, Torn World, and it was awesome.
>> and you certainly don't have to put off writing until you have the perfect Moleskine(TM) notebook. <<
*laugh* I bought a leather-covered 6-ring binder recently. My plan is to use it for writing down the open hours of stores and restaurants we visit. Writing, but not literature.
>> All that said, I do think it's a mistake to swing so far back away from the "vibes" that you basically demand that the experience of writing be a joyless misery.<<
If you're not enjoying it, there's no reason to do it, because you certainly won't get rich or much respect.
>> The idea that enjoying the life surrounding the writing is wrong... why? If you want to light a candle and make a cup of tea to set the mood for your writing, do it! If going to a cafe for the little treat of your choice makes you enjoy the process of sitting down to get the words down, why wouldn't you?<<
In fact, memory links strongly to smell/taste, so if you have a "writing candle" or the smell of coffee and pastries revs your brain, that's a very effective tool for productivity.
>> If making moodboards and playlists for your own works makes you feel more connected to the stories and characters, you should do that! <<
Me, I save picture references. Yes, it takes time, but it prevents mixing up details and can be reused for the same character or location later. I have hundreds if not thousands of characters and locations; it's the only way I can tell them apart. Often I include a picture of what clothes they wear, because they have very different styles, and that tells things about the character as well as distinguishing them. One never wears skirts. One always wears suits, business at work and track at leisure. And so on.
>>I'm hoping to just... allow myself to indulge a little. I want to be self-idulgent in the content of the writing, but also in the process itself. To let myself have a little aspiration, as a treat. To lean into the vibes and the aesthetics and all the other surrounding things that can be enjoyed.<<
Go for it. Use it as inspiration. Hell, there's a series of books about time travel based on the amount of time it takes for a cup of tea to cool.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2025-08-31 04:51 am (UTC)I definitely understand the sort of knee-jerk reaction that some people have to the "aesthetic" or "vibes" things, because like you mention, some people do go for that instead of the actual writing, while still making "writer" their entire identity. That can certainly be grating, especially when you've seen it really frequently.
But looping around into declaring all the "accoutrements" of writing - the cute journals, aesthetic pictures, moodboards, cafe dates, etc. - forbidden on the grounds of "some people like this stuff without being serious enough for my taste" is a pretty dramatic overreaction!
It frustrates me a bit that I took that attitude too much to heart for too long.
Ooh, the fancy leather-covered binder sounds lovely! I'm definitely a big fan of fancy notebooks (though I've had to also specifically seek out ones that feel "mid-grade" fancy. The ones with metallic and embossed designs are too intimidating, but it's nice to have something a bit nicer than a basic school-supply notebook, haha.) But I've got multiple notebooks I use daily for different things, whether it's habit tracking and journalling or jotting down ideas and to-do lists.
The picture reference thing is definitely one of the things I plan to do. Being able to easily distinguish between settings and characters is super important! Especially when you have a lot of different works, or may take a long break from something, it's good to be able to come back and have helpful cues to reorient yourself and make sure that your grasp of the character/location/tone/etc. is consistent.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2025-08-31 05:20 am (UTC)It's worth a try.
>>But looping around into declaring all the "accoutrements" of writing - the cute journals, aesthetic pictures, moodboards, cafe dates, etc. - forbidden on the grounds of "some people like this stuff without being serious enough for my taste" is a pretty dramatic overreaction!<<
Too true.
>> It frustrates me a bit that I took that attitude too much to heart for too long.<<
You learn as you go along. It took me a ridiculously long time to figure out I should round up prices in the Poetry Fishbowl to avoid dealing with half-cents in sales.
>> I'm definitely a big fan of fancy notebooks <<
I like the look of them, just the ones I actually use are plainer. I write scheduling notes in my desktop calendar. For writing on road trips I use a spiral-top notebook.
>>The picture reference thing is definitely one of the things I plan to do. <<
Good idea.
>> Being able to easily distinguish between settings and characters is super important! Especially when you have a lot of different works, or may take a long break from something, it's good to be able to come back and have helpful cues to reorient yourself and make sure that your grasp of the character/location/tone/etc. is consistent.<<
There are 28 poetic series plus 5 shared worlds, just of the ones that have landing pages; not all of them do yet.
I like the character sheet from the PDQ game engine, though I use the one from Truth&Justice. I like how the Qualities and one Disadvantage help shape a character.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2025-09-25 03:10 am (UTC)And thanks for the links to the character sheets! I haven't really tried sticking my characters onto an RPG character sheet, though it makes sense to do so.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2025-09-25 04:41 am (UTC)I'm happy I could help. New fests usually go up on the first of the month, but occasionally it's a little earlier or later. October will be the Fall Fest.
>>And thanks for the links to the character sheets! I haven't really tried sticking my characters onto an RPG character sheet, though it makes sense to do so.<<
I've seen many character sheets, both for RPGs and for creative writing. The PDQ format just seemed most useful for my needs.