last post for April!

OMG, IT'S ALMOST MAY.





WHERE DID A THIRD OF THE YEAR GO?!

Terrible, tragic things happened (I can't read an article about the Sewol disaster without fucking crying - why do awful things happen to good people? They were only kids, dammit!), the world is still crazy, and it's already (only?) May. Can 2014 please be kinder?

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In other news, author Chuck Wendig dishes some brilliant advice for young aspiring writers. So much gold in this post!

You’re not actually meant to be good. Not being good is how you get better. Not being good means you’re in that formative, fundamental blobby parthogenesis period where The Authorial You just starts to emerge. Not being good is how we are forced to take the time to not just Get Good, but also Become Us. You’re not yet the Author That You Will Become. This is all normal. Be bold enough to suck with gleeful abandon — but also know that your critical urge to be better-faster-now is a good one. Don’t quit. Don’t rest. Force yourself to improve.

You find your voice by doing. And by rewriting. You won’t want to rewrite now. You won’t want to edit. Edits feel like you’re not good, like you’re being insulted, like having to fix it means it was broken to begin with. But recognizing broken things is a value. A skill. You get as many shots at the goal as you want. Let that be freeing, not punishing. 

In writing a lot and rewriting a lot, your voice will find you.

Author Natalie Whipple also shares her wisdom:

Sometimes You Have To Cut Your Losses 

I've grown to kind of dislike the "Never Give Up" advice. Sometimes you gotta give up on something to move forward. Maybe not on writing as a whole, but on a story idea that is not strong enough to hold its own. Or on a novel that's been on sub two years. Or on that first novel you ever wrote that has seen 200 rejections. Moving on can open up a new world. I've done it a lot. Never regretted it. If you find yourself pining over something from the past, you can always go back, too.

So here's to rewrites and new beginnings, the pain of letting go and moving on.

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And because I really don't want this post to end on such a heavy note, here are some happy things for a Monday:

Funny signs

Advice from children

Life hacks to make life simple for girls

Cool wedding ideas (not that I'm dreaming of my own)

Pretty pictures:

Swooooon. Those colours!

Atypalaia, Greece - this is what fantasy stories are inspired by.

Oh, you sweet sweet boy

And lastly, a lovely song:

I may not understand the lyrics, but Donghae's voice! As sweet as his face.

Have a great week, everyone! And happy Labour Day!