Dr Sues will see you now
why are they called sexual orientations? is it like “i am facing due gay with a slight turn to boobs are still fun”
Bryan Fuller’s remake of the Munsters is absolutley the most wonderful thing I have ever watched on television falling only below Firefly and Lost. Watch it. Please please please let this be successful, it is charming, witty and clever. Wonderful cast and beautiful writing. Don’t let Bryan Fuller go back off TV again. He needs more than two seasons on anything.
Date a girl who writes.
Date a girl who may never wear completely clean clothes, because of coffee stains and ink spills. She’ll have many problems with her closet space, and her laptop is never boring because there are so many words, so many worlds that she’s cluttered amidst the space. Tabs open filled with obscure and popular music. Interesting factoids about Catherine the Great, and the immortality of jellyfish. Laugh it off when she tells you that she forgot to clean her room, that her clothes are lost among the binders so it’ll take her longer to get ready, that her shoes hidden under the mountain of broken Bic pens and the refurbished laptop that she’s saved for ever since she was twelve.
Kiss her under the lamppost, when it’s raining. Tell her your definition of love.
Find a girl who writes. You’ll know that she has a sense of humor, a sense of empathy and kindness, and that she will dream up worlds, universes for you. She’s the one with the faintest of shadows underneath her eyelids, the one who smells of coffee and Coca-cola and jasmine green tea. You see that girl hunched over a notebook. That’s the writer. With her fingers occasionally smudged with charcoal, with ink that will travel onto your hands when you interlock your fingers with her’s. She will never stop, churning out adventures, of traitors and heroes. Darkness and light. Fear and love. That’s the writer. She can never resist filling a blank page with words, whatever the color of the page is.
She’s the girl reading while waiting for her coffee and tea. She’s the quiet girl with her music turned up loud (or impossibly quiet), separating the two of you by an ocean of crescendos and decrescendos as she’s thinking of the perfect words. If you take a peek at her cup, the tea or coffee’s already cold. She’s already forgotten it.
Use a pick-up line with her if she doesn’t look to busy.
If she raises her head, offer to buy her another cup of coffee. Or of tea. She’ll repay you with stories. If she closes her laptop, give her your critique of Tolstoy, and your best theories of Hannibal and the Crossing. Tell her your characters, your dreams, and ask if she gotten through her first novel.
It is hard to date a girl who writes. But be patient with her. Give her books for her birthday, pretty notebooks for Christmas and for anniversaries, moleskins and bookmarks and many, many books. Give her the gift of words, for writers are talkative people, and they are verbose in their thanks. Let her know that you’re behind her every step of the way, for the lines between fiction and reality are fluid.
She’ll give you a chance.
Don’t lie to her. She’ll understand the syntax behind your words. She’ll be disappointed by your lies, but a girl who writes will understand. She’ll understand that sometimes even the greatest heroes fail, and that happy endings take time, both in fiction and reality. She’s realistic. A girl who writes isn’t impatient; she will understand your flaws. She will cherish them, because a girl who writes will understand plot. She’ll understand that endings happen for better or for worst.
A girl who writes will not expect perfection from you. Her narratives are rich, her characters are multifaceted because of interesting flaws. She’ll understand that a good book does not have perfect characters; villains and tragic flaws are the salt of books. She’ll understand trouble, because it spices up her story. No author wants an invincible hero; the girl who writes will understand that you are only human.
Be her compatriot, be her darling, her love, her dream, her world.
If you find a girl who writes, keep her close. If you find her at two AM, typing furiously, the neon gaze of the light illuminating her furrowed forehead, place a blanket gently on her so that she does not catch a chill. Make her a pot of tea, and sit with her. You may lose her to her world for a few moments, but she will come back to you, brimming with treasure. You will believe in her every single time, the two of you illuminated only by the computer screen, but invincible in the darkness.
She is your Shahrazad. When you are afraid of the dark, she will guide you, her words turning into lanterns, turning into lights and stars and candles that will guide you through your darkest times. She’ll be the one to save you.
She’ll whisk you away on a hot air balloon, and you will be smitten with her. She’s mischievous, frisky, yet she’s quiet and when she has to kill off a lovely character, when she cries, hold her and tell her that it will be alright.
You will propose to her. Maybe on a boat in the ocean, maybe in a little cottage in the Appalachian Mountains. Maybe in New York City. Maybe Chicago. Baltimore. Maybe outside her publisher’s office. Because she’s radiant, wherever she goes. Maybe even outside of a cinema where the two of you kiss in the rain. She’ll say that it is overused and clichéd, but the glint in her eyes will tell you that she appreciates it all the same.
You will smile hard as she talks a mile a second, and your heart will skip a beat when she holds your hand and she will write stories of your lives together. She’ll hold you close and whisper secrets into your ears. She’s lovely, remember that. She’s self made and she’s brilliant. Her names for the children might be terrible, but you’ll be okay with that. A girl who writes will tell your children fantastical stories.
Because that is the best part about a girl who writes. She has imagination and she has courage, and it will be enough. She’ll save you in the oceans of her dreams, and she’ll be your catharsis and your 11:11. She’ll be your firebird and she’ll be your knight, and she’ll become your world, in the curve of her smile, in the hazel of her eye the half-dimple on her face, the words that are pouring out of her, a torrent, a wave, a crescendo - so many sensations that you will be left breathless by a girl who writes.
Maybe she’s not the best at grammar, but that is okay.
Date a girl who writes because you deserve it. She’s witty, she’s empathetic, enigmatic at times and she’s lovely. She’s got the most colorful life. She may be living in NYC or she may be living in a small cottage. Date a girl who writes because a girl who writes reads.
A girl who writes will understand reality. She’ll be infuriating at times, and maybe sometimes you will hate her. Sometimes she will hate you too. But a girl who writes understands human nature, and she will understand that you are weak. She will not leave on the Midnight Train the first moment that things go sour. She will understand that real life isn’t like a story, because while she works in stories, she lives in reality.
Date a girl who writes.
Because there is nothing better then a girl who writes.
This November, YW will be publishing its first of many literary magazines.
This is a great oppurtunity to have one of your stories published!
As a former art student and avid do-er of things that are ridiculous and silly, I can tell you that no one wants to hear that what they are doing isn’t generally liked or given the proper adoration we feel it deserves. I am hear to tell you also, that even though you don’t like hearing it, you need to. Here are a few things to consider the next time you feel you’ve been unfairly “flamed” or even when you’re unhappy about a review/critique that someone has given you.
1) “Kill it with fire!” is not critique - Anytime anyone says something to you in this vein of malcontent, ignore it. This kind of “critique” is designed to demean you and make the giver feel better about themselves, especially if they can get someone to laugh at what they have said. Real critique offers advice on how to better yourself, no matter what that might be. Even in real world menial jobs you are given performance reviews. Without critique, the world would be stuck with ideas that are only just good enough for the general populous. While one cannot go without critique, it is important to be able to distinguish between what is critique and what is not.
2) Be wary of friends and family - In no way does this mean keep your work/activities private and secretive. By this I mean, be aware that your friends and your family may tell you what you want to hear, without giving you any real substance to move forward with. Be aware of phrases like “Oh that’s really good!” “I like it” and other patronizing commentary. When met with “I like it” simply ask why they like it, invite them to share with you the elements of the work they really like. Critique is a doorway to discussion and learning and should not be sullied with argument and coddling. Instead of merely being satisfied with praise, seek ways to improve.
3) Take it down a notch - No one likes hearing that someone doesn’t like something they have made but in no way does that permit you to behave like a child and scream and cry and wish injury and sickness upon that person. There are a hundred billion things in the world, tangible and intangible and someone has to like them and not everyone likes the same things. If you are passionate enough about something, let that be your satisfaction. If you are happy with what you have done there is no need to berate those who feel differently. This is not to say do not defend your work when it needs defending. Choose your battles, keep your calm and you will be the better person for it.
I have a new affiliate and they are a brand spanking new Tumblr page. I only want to give this person a shout out because I think they are rather brave and need some support which I know my followers to be full of.
Please give your lovin’ to Roleplayer Reviews 101.
This blog gives critique not on the character, but on the roleplayer themselves, critiques their style, their understanding of a character and apparent ability. When I say apparent ability, I mean what we can measure from what we see written. This is a hugely subjective measurement but I say Kudos all the same and I would be tempted to throw in my own hats, but I no longer role play.
The blog is clean, neat and professional and above all, the admin will take you down if you’d rather people not know you suck or whatever your hangups might be. The link to the page is under affiliates if you all are curious. I know I sure am!
Sometimes life catches up to you in unexpected ways and rips you away from the internet for a few months. I regret that I had to leave you with little to no notice about my disappearance but all is well in Dr. Sue’s world now. On that note, I have some updates to make:
1) I will complete the character reviews I have in my inbox and after that I will close character reviews for a short time so that I can recharge my critiquing skills and begin to amend my rather unfair review process. I intend to reopen review at a later date but at present I need some time to catch up.
2) Dr. Sues will now feature more articles! I intend to make up for my lack of character review content with more articles for you to read and enjoy. I intend to take up topics such as “how to handle taking critique” and “how to commit to character actions.”
Once more I sincerely apologize for my absence to all those affected. I am back in full steam and ready to win your hearts back. Hope to hear from you all soon.
Anon asked me for my character development questionnaire. It’s actually a variation of this one, that I’ve found here. I cut out a few questions that I thought were unimportant for the stories I’m going to write (such as everything related to having children), grouped a few others that I thought were too repetitive and added a few that I considered important. I’ve also divided them in two major groups: required and not required - you can’t skip a required, no matter how hard it seems to be to answer it.
I think you all should feel free to do the same, both with mine and with the original.
- Giu
Read everyone, this is heinously useful! I intend to use this model for my own personal work for when I can’t quite get that well rounded character smell.
This character I can’t even begin to express the amount of “WHAT?” I did while reading this. Submitted anonymously for my viewing pleasure and now displayed for yours in astounding Ridiculous Vision 3D, let us take a look at the miracle that is Charles Iana JaxPiterre
I know a few of you are probably wondering “what’s the difference?” I am here to tell you that there is a significant difference between the two and that though the two tend to go hand in hand, they are not interchangeable.
Immortality is achieved when a being is unable to die or cannot be killed. Fatal wounds might be inflicted, the corporeal form may even be rendered unusable by said being however the being in and of itself in its most base form will survive and return to full “life.” Many reincarnated gods can be considered immortal if only because their earthly forms might die, but the essence of what they are is preserved on the spirit plane until such a time that they are able to return to earth in a host body. While the being might be incapacitated for a short time, it is always going to be alive even if it lay in dormancy for long periods of time.
An excellent example of an immortal being is the monster from Jeepers Creepers franchise. The monster “awakens” every twenty third Spring for twenty three days to feast on human body parts which later become a part of its own body. The “Creeper” as it is affectionately known has done this for centuries and as such it has presumably developed the ability to sustain and mend any injury inflicted up on it as well as heal itself by replacing its own body parts while it is hunting. In the sequel the monster is unable to escape and is restrained, however the beast has not been eradicated and a simple but vindictive farmer is now charged with keeping the monster ensnared for the remainder of eternity. Though this being even had its head impaled the monster simply obtained a new head though it seemed to be more an act of convenience rather than necessity to continue living. This is an immortal being.
Agelessness is defined as a being who does not appear to ever age. Typically something has occurred in his or her life to bring about this effect such as vampirism or magical influence. The recipient of this gift or curse depending on the character’s view of it is most often stuck at the age when they received agelessness. Though the being appears immortal because they cannot die of aging, they are not in fact truly immortal.
There are several decent examples of this, nearly every vampire ever created is ageless and not immortal as they can be killed by stakes, fire, silver, sunlight and a varied number of mythos. An excellent example of an ageless vampire is Claudia from Interview with the Vampire and she always resented being stuck in a child body for the remainder of her life. Vampires, with their superhuman abilities often become cocky and arrogant in the face of their agelessness and often call themselves immortal, however there is always a way to kill them.
An example of an ageless human is Richard Alpert from Lost. I will not spoil his history for those who are still interested in watching the show, however Richard was given his agelessness by the islands protector Jacob in exchange for his services as a liaison to places off the island as well as a sort of steward or keeper in Jacob’s stead. Richard often expresses a genuine fear of dying, as he regularly attempts to avoid being shot by various cast members. Many of the cast think he is immortal and while the character never dies in the plot, it is indicated that it is possible for him to die and he is concerned about his self preservation.
When considering this kind of ability for a character, consider what immortality really means and how overpowered it is for a character to be “immortal” simply to keep them young and healthy forever. Most immortal characters express a wish of wanting to be able to die and some even attempt to find ways to kill themselves because they are tired of living. Take into consideration what immortality means and see if its even plausible for your character to have this super power. Consider how its going to affect them in the long term and if that is not what you want for your character, agelessness is the way to go.
