Not Me Rushing To Work On My Wip 10 Minutes Before Midnight Last Night So I Can Feel Like I Did Enough

Not me rushing to work on my wip 10 minutes before midnight last night so I can feel like I did enough work in 2023.

Ooh, this is a tough one. On the one hand, no one owes anyone an explanation of their sexuality. On the other, it’s really shitty for authors to pretend to be queer just to sell more books.

I feel like it depends on a few different things: intent and interpretation. Like if you are intentionally queerbating for profit, then yeah that’s on you and you suck. But also fanbases can interpret things wrong and make assumptions. For example, I’ve seen people accuse Taylor Swift of queerbating because some of her fans say she’s gay but she’s never made a statement. I’m sorry but everything about that discourse is delusional and it’s not queerbating. If anything, it’s taking away from the actual topic.

I don’t think we can gatekeep people from telling queer stories if they’re not. If they’re respectful and do their research, I see no problem with it. I actually think this is a good opportunity for straight authors to foster their understanding and empathy for the queer community. And even if they’re not queer, they can still share similar experiences. We should be trying to help people see eye to eye and not build walls between them.

So yeah, intentionally queerbating is not good, fans assuming content creators’ sexualities is not good but it’s also not the creators’ fault, and authors should write be able to write the stories that speak to them without having to expose their private lives.

(This is just my opinion, don’t come for me)

SPILLED INK SATURDAY 》 Writeblr Discourse Series

Session 3: "Queerbaiting"

For more information on what Spilled Ink is go check out our first session post.

As always, to participate in the discussion, you can do so one of two ways:

➸ Return to the OG post (which will always be linked in the title of the post) and reblog with your take on the topic, either in text or in the tags

➸ If you see someone’s take on your feed and you want to chime in on something they said, feel free to reblog their response

If you choose to participate, please be respectful when providing your opinion or when responding to someone else’s. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, no matter how strong it is, but there’s a difference between being opinionated and being borderline rude and antagonizing. Racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia or hateful speech of any kind will not be condoned or tolerated.

What are your thoughts on authors "queerbaiting" their readers? Is it a valid criticism? 

Some guiding questions below the cut if you aren't quite sure where to start with this one. Topic and questions inspired by/drawn from this video.

How much of their private lives do creators owe if they profit off of queer content?

Who has the authority to tell queer stories?

How do we differentiate between protecting a marginalized community versus gatekeeping people from freely exploring their identities?

Now that I have an intro post for my wip, Spiritwalker, I want to get more in depth with my posts.

There are seven different clans of witches, each with a different set of powers, culture, and physical traits. So I'm going to make a post describing each of the clans. For the first post we have my mc's clan.

Spiritwalker Clan

Colors: Dark blue and silver

Symbol: Scythe

The Spiritwalker Clan is known for being the most structured clan. Witches of this clan can be serious to the point of aloofness because their magic revolves around the dead. Most of them work to bridge spirits, with each subfamily taking a different region of the country and the head family taking the most dangerous spirits.

The only exception is the Wisp subfamily, who train since birth to serve the head family. They are willing to do anything for their leaders as they believe their lives are only useful if it means serving them.

Spiritwalker powers include being able to see and communicate with spirits, being able to travel to the Spirit World at will, and being able to steal a spirit's magic. Their powers are strongest in the Spirit World.

The most notable physical traits of Spiritwalkers are black hair with some sort of white in it; black, blue, or purple eyes; and pale skin.

The Spiritwalker Clan posses a relic unique to them called the spirit dagger. Usually made out of precious gems, each heir to the clan has one made specifically for her. Its purpose is to cut between the living world and the Spirit World to draw out its energy. The first matriarch's spirit dagger was the scythe that became the clan's symbol.

The Spiritwalker Clan gets along best with the Psychic Clan and worst with the Fang Clan

I’ve read 32 books this year. Some were mysteries, some were thrillers, some were realistic fiction, and most were fantasy. So here’s my top 5 out of every book I’ve read!

But first, my honorable mentions

This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi has some of the most beautiful descriptions and wordings that I have read. I also love the Persian culture in it. I'm always fascinated when reading about different cultures and this is one I don’t know much about. It felt unique and authentic. The reason this one isn’t in my top 5 is because I felt it relied too much on tropes and the plot was a bit cliche. The second book especially suffers from this.

Going Dark by Melissa De La Cruz is a mystery I thought was so good it helped to inspire my own. It touches on important topics like racism and mental illnesses. I love how social media is used to find clues and I was so invested in the story that I stayed up late every night to know more. The only thing keeping this book from being perfect to me is that about halfway through, the backstory is told to the reader. I would have rather the characters find it out for themselves.

When I tell you I loved Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao so much I wrote a three page paper on it and submitted it for my communications final (I got an A). I love character driven stories and Xifeng is one of my favorite characters of all time. Her arc progresses at a perfect pace and I love seeing her use the few skills she possesses to get what she wants. As a dark fantasy writer, I appreciate that the book doesn’t shy away from gruesome aspects. The reason this book isn’t in my top five is because I wanted to see Xifeng’s rule as empress. That’s it. I just wanted more Xifeng.

And now my top 5 under the cut

5. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This is not the type of book I’d normally read, but it blew away all of my expectations and I absolutely adored it. At first, I didn’t really like Monique’s character. I wasn’t interested in her failed marriage and I was pretty annoyed every time she didn’t understand what was being said to her (which happens way too often), but as she learned from Evelyn I was really rooting for her.

It was Evelyn’s story that wouldn’t let me stop reading. It was similar to Xifeng in a way where she started as a girl who was pretty, but had nothing, and manipulated her way to becoming a superstar. I was especially gripped by Evelyn’s insistence that Monique will hate her. I just needed to keep going to find out why.

There were a lot of unique aspects that I liked, such as the chapter titles. They were so fun and I kept repeated them in my head. I also like how parts of the story are told through forums and news articles. Other than the fact this this is a unique aspect, I liked it because we got to hear a different perspective than the person telling the story.

Also, yay for a bisexual main character! It was done so well and respectful, and not the stereotypical cheater character. I have been waiting my whole life for this type of representation.

The last thing I want to say about this one is that Reid really makes an art of writing. There are so many quotable lines and you can tell so much thought was put into every word.

4. The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

It’s a pretty cliche story: a princess must reclaim her throne. But The Queen of the Tearling works so well because of its main character, Kelsea. She’s such a beautifully complex character. On one hand, she wants to prove herself as queen. But on the other, she wants to be free to be a teenage girl. She rules with compassion for her people. But she also has an underlying ruthlessness and short temper. She looks to the future by examining the past, and how can you not root for a character so strong that she demanded her throne with a knife in her shoulder?

I appreciate that this book didn’t go the trope route and have the ruler of the rival kingdom become Kelsea’s lover. It’s fine one time, but it’s way overdone, and Kelsee’s strengths shine through more without this trope.

I like how each chapter opens up with a quote. Like the articles in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, this gives the reader insight into what other characters think.

I have to say that even though this book blew me away, the last book has the worst ending I have ever read in my life. It was lazy, dismissive of the themes throughout the series, and just exasperating because it erases the growth of the characters and kingdom. I have no idea why Johansen would write it into existence and it somewhat tarnished my view on the series.

3. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Is it really surprising that a Hunger Games book is in my top 5? I was hesitant at first to read it because I thought it would be a sympathy story or a cash grab, but I'm so glad that I gave it a try because it was so much more than I thought.

I feel like it's a theme on my list that I like to see stories where something small slowly evolves into something big. That's a big part of why I love this book. We get to see how the games went from something no one liked to the sporting event we know it as. It was a bonus to see that Snow's impact on the games as well.

I loved getting back into the Hunger Games universe, especially now that we get more of what the capitol is like. I have to admit that I haven't read the original trilogy in almost a decade so my memory is a little shaky, but I don't remember anything about the capitol being poor at one point. I liked this detail and getting to know capitol kids like Clemensia because it makes the capitol more complex. Before, I only knew it as a completely evil, selfish, privileged group of people, but now we can understand it better.

I love Lucy Gray's character. As a former musician, I appreciate that her power is through song and I enjoyed reading the meaning in her lyrics. I was kicking my feet reading about the Hanging Tree song and her teaching Snow about katniss roots because they live on to haunt him 60 years later. As always, Collins knows how to incorporate so much meaning into her writing.

The only thing I disliked is that it started to drag in Part III.

2. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

This one was heavy, but I'm thankful to McCurdy for being vulnerable and sharing this raw story. As someone who grew up on iCarly, she was an important part of my childhood. I listened to the audiobook version, which just made it all the more personal.

You can tell from the writing that McCurdy was meant to be a writer. She somehow manages to make such a sad story humorous, and I found myself getting lost in her the way she describes background information that I didn't even notice that she deviated from the main topic until she brought us back. Not to mention, the writing sounds like she is telling a story directly to you. It reminds me of experts like Bell Hooks, someone who I have described as having a style like talking to a close friend.

McCurdy also has a deep understanding of herself and her emotions, even during times in which she didn't understand nor want to understand the harm that was done to her and how she copes with it. It's obvious to the audience what's going on, but not to her, and she writes it in a way where we can understand the truth of her circumstances while also understanding her point of view from when she was experiencing trauma. I doubt many people can understand themselves this well.

Each chapter had me hooked. I kept telling myself that her life couldn't get worse, but then it did. There were times when I nearly cried, and once when I was so shocked that I involuntarily covered my mouth with my hand and couldn't move it back for a minute. This book will make you feel everything.

I hate how some people are shaming the book just because of the title because this is such an important story, and if you just read it you would understand the title completely.

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

Fantasy, sci-fi, and mystery all in one? So much diversity that you can swim in it? Quite possibly the cutest romance to ever exist? I didn't know the perfect book existed and yet here it is.

I knew this book would be a favorite of mine from the moment I saw it. You have a beautiful, colorful cover on one side, and a description on the other saying a girl has to destroy her first love in order to get magic. I still can't believe that this is Sambury's debut book.

One thing I love about Blood Like Magic (and its sequel) is that despite all the fantastical elements, the books feel so real. Voya's family feels so real because they aren't rich, they aren't powerful in a social aspect, and they aren't perfect. The cast of characters feel real because POCs, gay, and trans people are going to exist no matter what. The romance feels real because they don't instantly fall in love. The plot feels real because sometimes everything will go wrong, no matter how hard you try to make it right. And of course there's the realest aspect of them all: all Black grandmas are going to have attitude.

Ok, I have to talk more about the romance because Luc and Voya are so stinking cute. I was actually squealing and kicking my feet while reading because it's so obvious that they adore each other and can't even tell. I didn't even like the enemies to lovers trope before I read this book, but Sambury does it perfectly. I also like that she makes a distinction between physical and romantic attraction because I think it gets muddled in a lot of popular books these days.

Voya's such a relatable character. We all struggle to make decisions sometimes. We never want to be left out or hurt the people we care about. Also, her name is so pretty and it doesn't even mean anything?!

Do I even have to mention that all the different types of magic are so fun and creative? Do I even have to mention that all the advanced technology seems like it could really happen? Everyone go read Blood Like Magic and Blood Like Fate right now.

Happy STS!

What is your favourite genre to read? Is it the same as your favourite genre to write?

What subgenres within that genre are your favourite to read? Are they the same ones you like to write?

Happy STS!

My favorite genre to read and write is fantasy. Within it, I like dark fantasy and high fantasy. I’ve only written dark fantasy because high fantasy can be a lot to keep track of!

This is the third of my wip's clans. Here is my first post and my second post.

The Fang Clan

Colors: Brown and gold

Symbol: Paw Print

The Fang Clan is known for being the feistiest clan. Witches of this clan are physically stronger than those of any other clan, and they love to entertain themselves by having fights. They are not a fan of rules and are quite spontaneous. This is one of the two clans that doesn’t have a secret.

Fang powers include strong, animal-like senses, each witch having a familiar, and the ability to communicate with animals. Their physical traits include blond or brown coarse hair; gold, brown, or hazel eyes; and sharp canine teeth and nails.

The Fang Clan gets along best with the Arsonite Clan and worst with the Spiritwalker Clan.