Young Writers Society

If you're an eligible US voter, please for the love of god go out and vote today.

This YouTube channel also has well researched and specific instructions for how to vote in your US state (even if you're not currently living in the state you're registered). No matter your political stance, voting is your right and civic duty and our country gets better when EVERYONE votes.

Also a good reminder to check your voter registration is still active, since we've been seeing reports of voter data being lost and/or purged. I believe that's a thing you can check out on vote.org!

niteowl wrote:Just a friendly PSA for those of you in the US who are eligible to vote: I think the deadline to register for the next elections is this week in many states. I know young-me didn't care as much about mid-term elections, but I absolutely intend to vote this time. https://www.vote.org/ has some handy information on rules for your state and can help you register. Also, if you're a student currently living away from your home address, that might affect whether you can vote absentee.

I'm not telling anyone who/what to vote for, just encouraging you to find the relevant information so that you can vote come November 6.

Link to original comment

Congrats to @BlueAfrica for winning 21,810 of my points! They were all the points I had at the time of making the offer, so my few review month reviews after that have netted me a sweet sweet 350 points. I owe a bunch of you reviews, so be on the lookout for that because I've not had this few points in YEARS.

@StellaThomas and @Sachiko both tagged me in #wipinspo so here I go! I fell out of LMS (and writing in general) and am back to working on my primary project, Fox Who Stole Her Name:

1. End of the world stories. TBH it seems like every novel I'm working on has some apocalyptic element, but this novel in particular came about originally because I was interested in seeing a story that explored what happened AFTER the end of the world once all the dust had settled. I used to describe this book as post-post-apocalypse which I moved away from a bit in the middle drafts, but I think I might be coming back to a little in this one.

2. My relationship with my brother. A brother-sister relationship is at the core of this story. While there are a lot of differences in circumstances, I see a lot of myself and my own little brother in Fox and John-bear. We were incredibly close as children, and have grown apart some as we've gotten older, which I think is mirrored a bit in the relationship my characters share.

3. Journey stories. I had a class in grad school with the prof who became my thesis adviser all about story structure. It has been and continues to be the craft element I struggle with most as far as understanding and being able to see the shapes of stories. I know not everyone wants to understand fiction as all of these intentional pieces of craft, but I think it's made me a better writer for having this depth of knowledge. Anyway, the structure of a journey story is often in three parts with a significant change at the end of each act that drives characters into a new place. Most journey stories, of course, also involve a physical journey and my characters are basically walking across the US so there's that element of a journey as well.

4. People who walk across the US. This is apparently a thing, which of course it is, but I stumbled across it when I was trying to determine how long it takes to walk across the US. I have read TOO MANY blogs about how to prepare for these kinds of trips and how to stay safe on them in our normal not-apocalyptic world and that has definitely fed earlier drafts of this story in terms of the ways they travel, where they go, and what supplies they carry on them.

5. Doomsday Preppers. Both the TV show and the concept. Before I started the very first draft of this story, my partner and I got OBSESSED with this show Doomsday Preppers and all the convoluted ways people thought the world would end. And all the not-so-convoluted ways. I think this is where the main story seed of Fox Who Stole Her Name came from, but I definitely drew inspiration from the people who anticipated economic collapse and/or losing important systems like the power grid. My story also includes a bit of warfare, but that is mostly the instigator and everything else comes about because systems collapse and there's no one around capable of restoring them. This show also influenced how I write some of the people who have survived to this point in the end of the world. There are people who were prepared, and people who were not. And it's not so much that the people who were prepared are better off, but they sure are scarier.

Everyone I would have tagged has been tagged, so I tag whoever has been waiting for someone to tag them. @You!

My offer remains UNCLAIMED. Get out there and review!

Lauren2010 wrote:I have 21,810 points. I will give every single one of them to the first person who reviews:
--10 chapters
--that are in the green room when you start the review
--and prove it to me via a PM including links to all 10 reviews
--before the end of RevMo

Link to original comment

I have 21,810 points. I will give every single one of them to the first person who reviews:
--10 chapters
--that are in the green room when you start the review
--and prove it to me via a PM including links to all 10 reviews
--before the end of RevMo

Hi Lauren ~

I felt too awkward to just reply to all on the post, but I still really wanted to thank you for your support and suggestions. The rest of this week has been still up and down, but I think it's starting to stabilize out a little more. But generally, I really appreciate you advice. (I actually took some of it, with regards to emailing professors and trying to actually ask questions when I'm confused -- wow <.< Who would've thought). But I just appreciate your kindness in general, so thank you <3

Slate and Earth Chapter 5.2

@PrincessInk @BiscuitsLeGuin @Cadi @Sonder

I got a bit overzealous wanting to wrap up the chapter, so it's almost twice as long as the LMS weekly goal SORRY NOT SORRY enjoy Ana not listening to directions.

Me @ my LMS: You are a first draft so if I want to use the word "sigh" in every paragraph WELL I JUST WILL.

To everyone I owe reviews: I will get to you soon I promise! I went camping and then got the wildest head cold so once my brain is no longer full of mush I'll be coming your way <3

PrincessInk told me to tag people, and it was a good idea. So here goes:

Slate and Earth Chapter 5.1

@PrincessInk @BiscuitsLeGuin @Cadi y'all are my most consistent reviewers (I know some of you are reading along, but you already hear me ramble on about it enough when I post). If you want to be added/removed just let me know!

Hello friends! Thank you for all the birthday wishes <3 I ran away to the forest for a few days but now I am BACK and tainted with an ancient and unfathomable magic!

Happy birthday! Thanks for all you do. <3

Happy birthday dear ily <3