This May Be The Cat Tattoo I Was Looking For

few things more humbling than the realization that you really do write the same fic(s) over and over again

fast forward

Can I just get to the part of my life where I own a bookstore, 3 asshole cats, and drink coffee all day?

(via Saturday Morning Cartoons: Baopu #15) by Yao Xiao

words to remember

You know how when you’re in a car and it’s pouring down rain, you go under a bridge and everything stops. Everything goes silent and it’s almost peaceful. Then you finally get from under the bridge, and everything hits you a litter harder than before. You were my bridge.

(via written-on-polaroids)

reblog to give your mutuals a burned cd

via

Sharing my writing with other people is always going to feel vulnerable, no matter how many times I do it or how others respond. I doubt I'm the only one that gets nervous when posting online, so thought I'd share this:

Things that help when sharing my fics

1. Make sure I have a project or something to work on straight after posting

gives me something to think about other than how my fic is doing

stops me sitting there constantly refreshing ao3

ideally something not related to ff (so no WIPs)

2. Try to not look at tumblr/my ao3 until at least the next morning

gives me (hopefully) something to look forward to in the morning

keeps me from constantly checking if I know I'm going to check it all at once

my ao3 comment emails are disabled for this reason

having any other fics that I want to read open in their own tab also helps so I don't have to click on my user

3. Post about an hour before I'm planning to sleep

posting close to bedtime makes #2 easier, but

I also need to factor in time to calm down after the initial nerves

4. Read some other recently posted fics

partly I do this regardless of whether or not I've posted recently

but also it's nice reading other people's work knowing they're probably out there at that exact moment experiencing something similar

I've found some of my absolute fav ff writers this way

careful that if you do this you're not comparing

5. Be extra kind to myself

chances are my anxiety is going to be running high

this means I tend to be extra critical of myself for about a day after posting something

it helps to remind myself that there's a reason my inner critic is in hyperdrive

but that also means no reading, writing, or editing my own work

6. If nothing else, remember I had fun

remind myself that once the anxiety has passed I'll have a new chapter/fic from my favourite ff writer (me) to look forward to

and if even one other person reads it and enjoys it, I've made a new friend :)

Of course this is a checklist for the ideal scenario. There are other factors and days when my anxiety is already running high for other reasons. This isn't a set of commandments or a rulebook, it's a guide to help myself.

If it's not helping in the moment, I do something different.

if you ever feel like you are stuck with whatever choices you make when you’re young, please remember that:

van Gogh didn’t start painting until his 20′s

Alan Rickman got his first movie role at age 46

kentucky fried chicken was launched when colonel sanders was 65

Charles Darwin was going to be a Preacher

Mick Jagger studied accounting and finance.

J. K Rowling was 32 when Harry Potter and the philosopher’s Stone was published

passages that make you whisper "oh my god"