One Of These Days

Intro post ₍^. .^₎⟆

♡: My name's Laila.

♡: I'm 18 years old, and I've been a writer for 3 years.

♡: I made this blog to meet writer/artist friends, advertise my works, and make helpful posts!

♡: I love angst and making my characters suffer.

♡: I enjoy making Spotify playlists and Pinterest boards for my stories and ocs, which I will totally be sharing on my blog once I'm happy with them!

♡ My current WIPs are ♡:

-Silver / I [Remastered]

-Emerald / II

-Leonardo

-Chess is a Game for Six

-Warfarin

-Psychology 101

-A+ [Remastered]

♡ My published works are ♡:

-Silver / I

-A+

(but i dont like either of them so I'm rewriting (ᵕ—ᴗ—))

Find me on wattpad and discord with the same username!

(enlightened-feline and enlightened.feline)

Navigate through my blog using the following tags:

-🌸wips

-🌸rbs

-🌸polls

-🌸writing tips

-🌸daily reminders

-🌸sillies

-🌸prompts

That's all! Bye now sillies ≽^• ˕ • ྀི≼

No no you don't understand! I want to watch this show/movie, read this book, listen to this podcast, etc.! But I must be in the right mindset and the exact head space to begin, or I just can't!

Teenage Wasteland Chap. 2 Snippet

Sunlight streamed into Samantha’s cavernous garage, illuminating a lone scarlet-colored toolbox and stacks of cardboard boxes which smelled faintly of dust and old newspapers. Yet more pervasive of all was that stench of motor oil which clung to the air, a thick, greasy perfume even the strong breeze couldn’t quite shift. This emptiness came with a strange comfort, the perfect canvas for Sam and Tegan’s rehearsal space; the quiet hum of the neighborhood traffic added a low background thrum to their afternoon. Samantha’s parents’ absence, a welcoming situation, stretched out before them like a long, open road.

“Yeah, we both should sing, right? Like, If’n it makes you feel better. I can be the lead, but you got to be my back up.” Samantha offered the well-used can turned weed-bowl towards Tegan. “I can’t be singing alone, ya know?”

The metallic clang of the can against the lighter echoed as Tegan inhaled deep of the weed’s smoke, the butane’s sharp scent stinging her nostrils. She sat the can down on a rough, large cardboard box, its texture a sharp contrast to the smooth metal. “I can’t sing for shit,” she mumbled, her voice husky from the smoke. “You are the one with the beautiful voice.”

“Hah! No! I’m going to go all punk with this shit. Because this isn’t ‘bout beauty. We’re going to make music and say, ‘fuck the man,’ all at the same time.” Samantha’s passion took over as she strummed the V-shaped guitar strapped around her. “Now let’s make some music!”

With a snorting laughter, Tegan nodded. “Fuck yeah! We’ll be the next Bratmobile or Bikini Kill. But before we get to that point, co-band leader, what’cha playing?”

“I don’t know! Fuck it! Let’s jam!”

Not saying a word, Tegan moved over to Samantha, the soft brush of her cheek against Sam’s a fleeting whisper. An almost secret smiled played on their lips; they both smelled of Teen Spirit, the Romantic Rose scent, that is. They’d tried to conceal their affections from the older generations—a hushed giggle, a furtive glance, but here they could do what they wanted. Being so far back from the road, no one could see them.

****

@fablesandfragments @seastarblue @vesanal @theink-stainedfolk @leahnardo-da-veggie

@aalinaaaaaa @an-indecisive-nerd @write-with-will @the-ellia-west @carb0n-m0n0xide

@inadequatecowboy @kitkins13 @watermeezer @shepardstales @bardic-tales

@dyrewrites

a few great films that are free on the internet archive

in decent quality too!

here is the archive collection of these films so you can favorite on there/save if desired.

links below

black girl (1966) dir. ousmane sembene

the battle of algiers (1966) dir. gillo pontecorvo

paris, texas (1984) dir. wim wenders

desert hearts (1985) dir. donna deitch

harold and maude (1973) dir. hal ashby

los olvidados (1952) dir. luis bunuel

walkabout (1971) dir. nicolas roag

rope (1948) dir alfred hitchcock

freaks (1932) dir. tod browning

frankenstein (1931) dir. james whale

sunset boulevard (1950) dir billy wilder

fantastic planet (1973) dir. rené laloux

jeanne dielman (1975) dir. chantal akerman

the color of pomegranates (1969) dir. sergei parajanov

all about eve (1950) dir. joseph l. mankiewicz

gilda (1946) dir. charles vidor

the night of the hunter (1950) dir. charles laughton

the invisible man (1931) dir. james whale

COLLECTION of georges méliès shorts

rebecca (1940) dir. alfred hitchcock

brief encounter (1946) dir. david lean

to be or not to be (1942) dir. ernst lubitsch

a place in the sun (1951) dir george stevens

eyes without a face (1960) dir. georges franju

double indeminity (1944) dir. billy wilder

wild strawberries (1957) dir. ingmar bergman

shame (1968) dir. ingmar bergman

through a glass darkly (1961) dir. ingmar bergman

persona (1961) dir. ingmar bergman

winter light (1963) dir. ingmar bergman

the ascent (1977) dir. larisa shepitko

the devil, probably (1977) dir. robert bresson

cleo from 5 to 7 (1962) dir. agnes varda

alien (1979) dir. ridley scott + its sequels

after hours (1985) dir. martin scorsese

halloween (1978) dir. john carpenter

the watermelon woman (1996) dir. cheryl dune

For real. And the amount you should show versus tell will also heavily rely on the type of story you're telling and the style in which you approach it.

Someone once told me if you learn to properly show AND tell, my writing would improve dramatically and I could do it without thought. At the time, I thought they were full of shit. That it would be a struggle for the rest of my days. Lo and behold, they were correct. It does become easier.

Also, remember showing EVERYTHING is not needed. There are millions of reasons to tell something in a story. Don't let the internet convince you that you need to show everything. Even the greatest writers in history didn't show all the time.

Me writing Every Hero Needs a Villain like "maybe this is too self indulgent" and encouraging myself to sprinkle in even more self indulgence everytime I think that.

This ended up longer than I expected, so I apologize in advance if any of my points came out jumbled. I am also neurodivergent, so if I sound harsh, I assure you this is not my intent. I just struggle with tone at times.

Firstly, here's a thought I want to present to the table, one that's honestly made me grow a lot as a writer, and one that I think is relevant to this topic; why should readers read our works the way we want them to? Writing is a conversation, and though that conversation may begin with us, it certainly doesn't end that way. You may want to surprise your audience with this content, but shouldn't it be up to them whether they maintain that surprise or prepare for it? To you, the surprise is important and adds to the weight of the dark subject matters you cover. It might even be enjoyable and the way you view this content for yourself, but that will not always translate to your readers. Let's also not forget that, for some, a list of trigger warnings makes them more excited to read a work. In general, as writers, let's not forget how diverse our audiences can be, and that the reactions of our readers or what helps our readers feel more engaged will not always mirror our experiences.

Let me put this into another context. As someone who needs trigger warnings, I think this explains my experience rather well, and why I personally don't agree with the idea that trigger warnings ruin the surprise. It could also be argued that flashing lights and affects lose their surprise factor if they are warned about, but creators of visual media understand the risks of not warning viewers, and that this is more important than the surprise factor. As someone who isn't affected by flashing lights, I can assure you this warning leaves my mind almost the second after I read it (more of scan it like "yeah, yeah, take me to the game"), and I still end up surprised. The game Mi/side warning me about flashing and glitch affects did not stop me from nearly jumping out of my skin everytime I was suddenly met with one. The context is what makes these flashing lights so shocking moreso than whether someone knows about them ahead of time or not. Being suddenly triggered can make someone go to extremely dark places, and that's worth avoiding. Though I think how trigger warnings are presented can be more flexible than flashing light warnings.

In my opinion, at their best, trigger warnings are extra material readers can consult if they want to, but also something they can avoid if they want to go in completely blind. The important thing is that the audience member consented to either experience. Since I've used the word, let's discuss the matter of consent and art. I think it's often not discussed enough within creative spaces, despite how important it can be. In my opinion, it is everyone's right to have enough knowledge to be able to fully consent (engage with the work) or not consent (not engage with the work) to reading about certain sensitive subjects before being exposed to them. The thing is, when you're an indie creative, readers can't just use a site like doesthedogdie, or other similar tools. Providing optional trigger warnings can help readers have a better experience, as they are given more agency towards what they consume. Encouraging agency shows a respect for your readers time and energy. However, I do feel for writers that use websites like Wattpad, as, unlike AO3, there aren't many good places to put these warnings. So that's definitely worth acknowledging.

Secondly, as someone who had to deconstruct this notion within myself, I think it's worth acknowledging that trigger warnings are viewed as deflating the seriousness of something, or making something seem "childish", for two reasons (I know you only said the former, but the latter is an opinion I've seen as well). One, they are yet to be normalized, mainly for reason two. Two, the experiences of certain trauma victims are so terribly misunderstood that big parts of them are believed to be over exaggerated or "actually not that bad", which causes the tools we need to be treated as "not that important". I wish I was kidding when I say I have literally seen people laugh at accurate depictions of PTSD flashbacks, because they know so little about our experiences they think it's just a funny over exaggeration. I've even had some expect me to laugh with them before, because that " obviously can't be right".

Logically, there is no reason why trigger warnings should be seen as any different than a description or blurb about your story. For instance, writing an informative description about my horror works doesn't take away their scare factor, a description just requires me to put it into different packaging. It won't feel as poignant as the actual horrors within, but that's okay, because the point of a description is to intrigue and inform. They help future readers decide if they'd be interested in a work or not, and properly set their expectations walking in. They are a tool for drawing in audiences just as much as they are a tool for scaring away anyone who absolutely would not enjoy the experience.

And let me be clear, I personally believe it is impossible to warn against every possible trigger, as some triggers can be very personal or obscure. However, I do think it is important to offer a warning for the "obvious" triggers, such as the covering of sensitive topics like abuse. And yeah, I think trigger warnings can be that straight forward, such as "this work covers themes of abuse and may not be suitable for some audiences". You don't have to spoil the important parts of your works in trigger warnings, just make people aware certain content is there if they don't want to consume it. Us creators may overlook some things, as we're only human, but, for me personally, it's the effort that matters.

As for how bad being triggered by a work can be, I can speak to that, as someone who has been suddenly triggered before. It can ruin an entire week, sometimes more, and throughout I essentially have to deal with a plague of horrific memories, or experience several nightmares about my trauma. To summarize, it is extremely distressing and essentially makes me non operational. It feels like being put into a mental coma where the only thing you can have is nightmares, and when you eventually do wake up, you still understandably feel awful and extremely fatigued, emotionally and physically, from all the stress. I've literally been made bed ridden and physically ill from being triggered unexpectadly. I am now reminded of how little this experience is understood, and I am putting it into my latest writing project effective immediately. I do my best to make informed choices with the media I consume, but this recent trend I've noticed of surprising the audience as much as possible with sudden triggering content, these works often having no warnings whatsoever, makes it extremely difficult to do so. Because, you know, until that point, the work gave off the impression of not planning to cover that kind of content at all.

This got more wordy than I intended, and I apologize if my frustrations concerning the topic came through. My intent is to inform, not to ridicule, and I hope that was made clear, though I know my neurodivergent self can sometimes sound harsher than I intend. As a writer in the horror space, it can be rare to find another horror writer who uses trigger warnings, so I am usually wary towards reading their works. This can certainly make it harder to connect with fellow writers. And when I do try to read ones without warnings? Well, I am so prepared for anything to the point I end up focusing on that more than whatever I'm reading, and typically just end up dropping it altogether. So yeah, that's my experience, take it or leave it. At the end of the day, writers are free to add or not add trigger warnings, but, I personally strongly advocate for their use when it comes to sensitive subject matters. I will also always try to educate about how bad the experience of being triggered actually is whenever I am able.

Poll time!!

hihi, just posted a scene from a wip and figured i should add trigger warnings, but that made me curious so

my opinion about this may be a tad controversial, id prefer not add trigger warnings, but i do add them just out of understanding and to avoid triggering others.

all my WIPs include heavy themes, and i know that i will always be writing heavier angstier stuff, i dont like adding TWs on wattpad or wherever i publish my stuff because i feel like it takes away from the seriousness of my story. when youre going into it, i dont want you to know what to expect, i want you to be shocked and feel negatively about certain events or characters, and imo trigger warnings just take away from the shock value.

i will admit my privilige though, i have been through traumatic things but nothing that triggers me, so i dont understand how bad things could get for someone to be triggered about certain things in stories.

if you wanna discuss this or comments or reblogs please remain respectful, because this is a conversation i want to have and i want to be more educated on the topic of TWs, but i will not engage with things i deem as disrespectful.

eci.ec.europa.eu

European Citizens' Initiative

Give your support !

EVERYONE(!) I’m blazing this post because at this pace we might barely hit 1,000,000 signatures—or just fall short. PLEASE reblog this post, no matter where you are from, so we can reach as many EU citizens as possible and end this horrible practice!

i see "men bad" jokes as very similar to suicide jokes. like making them every once in a while isn't the worst thing, but if you Keep making them constantly. it DOES shape how you start thinking and you WILL become a more unpleasant and bitter person and also make people around you uncomfortable. and sometimes you just gotta choose to not make or engage with certain jokes, even if they are amusing to you, because its just not who you wanna be