The Temeraire Story The Diplomat's Dragon By Indecisive_lotus Is Such A Joy To Read.

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 29: Join Your Fellow Wrimos at a Write-In

It's the penultimate day of NaNo 22 and it's time for that final push to get to your finish line! Find your fellow wrimos and let's encourage each other. A (virtual) write-in is a time and place where we all come together to write our stories. We can do this! If you have already completed your work: cheer your fellow wrimos on. If you haven't: let's buckle up and Get.This.Done. It's two days & one night left and every word you write in your story is one you did not have before.

Day 29: Join Your Fellow Wrimos at a Write-In

Who do your characters go to for support and encouragement? Who is cheering them on? Consider what you and what your characters need to conclude their story. Find companionship and comfort in the fact that people around the world are writing together with you in this challenge. Let's put pen to paper & write!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day

The first words are on paper! It’s time to resist the urge to go back and make them prettier. Let’s keep writing instead!

Day 02: Inner Editor? Don’t Worry! They are Taken Care Of

For anyone who is worried about their Inner Editor wanting to join in: there’s a brilliant sanctum sanctorum for Inner Editors where they are welcome for the entire month! There are books on grammar, story writing, effective plotting, character development, vocabulary, drafts to experiment on and lots more! They can enjoy themselves tremendously while you can keep writing away! Have your Story Ninjas bring them safely there and your Inner Editors will be returned unharmed and well fed in December. Have a blast!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 5

NaNoWriMo is a personal writing challenge and a massive community event at the same time! I enjoy the knowledge that there are so many others who are typing away with me and finding their own stories to tell.

Day 05: Checking in with Our WriMo Buddies!

Let’s shower ourselves and our buddies with encouragement and good vibes. We are approaching the end of our first week and everyone who is still here: you are marvelous! The courage of putting your story to paper is to be applauded and celebrated. Any word you’ve written is more than you had and I cheer you on!

As always: I am always happy to hear from anyone if you enjoy these cartoons. I hope to bring a smile to your faces and encourage you even when the goings get hard. Let’s keep being awesome together.

Sometimes, when the world is sad & filled with horrors, I just want to read something heartwarming & feel-good. This Timeless Food Truck AU called Amehrana by @timelesshonesttrailer (RedGold) is a story of found family, the struggle that goes into building & maintaining relationships, and the support and love we offer one another.

Our beloved characters are in love with food, cooking & serving it. Lucy struggles against her mother's expectations. Flynn suffers from PTSD from the war and his marriage to Lorena broke down because of it, but they are still loving friends and co-parents because they both put in the effort & work. In Lorena's words: "And getting where we are... it wasn’t as easy as we make it out to be.”

Emma is snubbed by Rittenhouse (reimagined as a huge & unethical food conglomerate) and carries a grudge against Lucy because of it. Jess is fabulous & brilliant & strong. I particularly love her quote regarding her history with Wyatt: “I tried to be supportive, but if he wasn’t going to help himself, well, it’s not the woman’s job to fix the man.”

This story is heartwarming, but not all smooth sailing. There is conflict, and struggle, and self-doubt. But there is also support in community together. A love for one another in a found and created family. An acceptance & exhuberance that comes from doing what you love while putting in the work.

It's a wonderful story for days when the world feels harsh to be reminded that community and heart is build together through kindness and hard work.

Today's reread is Blood Sins - A #FlynnFriday Imagines Series by @doctorliamsr, @timelesshonesttrailer & @ununpredictableme. A Vampire AU focused on Lucy, Garcia, Lorena, Rufus & Jiya.

I love reading stories about Lucy & Garcia as well as stories about Lorena & Garcia - so when it's the three of them together - it's absolutely marvelous. There is such respect, love & caring in this relationship here that it is wonderous. The Vampire AU aspect is nicely done and the mystery intrigues me: what happened? What is going on with Nicolas sort-of-aging-but-not-really? What will Karl's research into Lucy & Rufus turn up? When can we meet Iris? (pretty please *puppy eyes*?) Why are they suddenly after Lucy so desperately? How will Lorena, Garcia, Lucy, Jiya & Rufus handle the continued attacks & fight back against Rittenhouse?

Lucy gushing over history is always fun. Rufus being a brilliant researcher & scientist is always brilliant! Jiya being powerful, lovely & accepting no nonsense. Lorena & Garcia honouring & encouraging Lucy's setting of boundaries & having her choose actively - I am here for all of it.

In these pandemic times, the Timeless story A Butterfly Garden by @vita-s-west is particularly graceful. The focus on Lucy & Flynn returning to a quiet life after all the experiences in their fight with Rittenhouse mirrors in some ways my experience in the current pandemic & the way I battle my anxieties by returning to creativity, stories & nature.

There are many evocative descriptions in the story, and there's a kind of quiet attention throughout that I particularly enjoy.

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 24: In Need of Medical Help?

Adventure comes with a price and as writers we often do like to make our main characters pay it. When they get injured, is there a doctor available? Medical staff? Decent supplies? Some painkillers? A nice suite in a hospital or a cold and windy little hut in the middle of nowhere?

Day 24: In Need of Medical Help?

As writers we face our own health challenges: are your wrists strained yet from the excessive typing or are your hands cramping up? Perhaps you tackled a really bad cold or had the flu during November. *waves hi!* NaNoWriMo should not come at the expense of your health, so I wish you all well. We still have a stretch of month to go, so get a good night sleep if you can & let's get this done!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - 3

No matter how well you prepare, the process of writing allows for surprises and unexpected events! Let’s embrace the unknown and sail away in this adventure.

Day 03: The Best Laid Plans: Sailing Away to Uncharted Waters!

Find your crew, craft your lifeboat and sail away heedlessly of any dangers ahead! We’ll weather the storms when they come. For now: write whimsically, adventurously, and most importantly: take a moment to enjoy it all!

The Timeless story No End, No Beginning by MandyCandy is endlessly fascinating. It's a powerful what-if? A reimagining of our history if at certain tipping points things happened differently.

One person's utopia is another's dystopia. This is one of the most far-reaching options I have read on fighting Rittenhouse by dismantling the very structures that made & kept them powerful in the first place.

By whom is history recorded? Lucy is a historian multiple times over in this story and it's powerful & real. Tecumseh is a wonderful character and seeing him in glimpses to see the impact he could have had is powerful. There is so much history & research that went into this story - there's a full bibliography & maps in the final chapter - and it is marvelous. As a European, American & Canadian history is not something that was touched upon a lot and stories like these bring me tipping points that I like to read more about.

Jiya is so resourceful & necessary to the plan in this story & Rufus likewise has a tangible effect on history.

It's a powerful reimagining. The story takes a bit to come into its own (as it was written & revised on the go as we often see with fanfiction) but stick with it. It's well-worth it.

Marianne' Cartoons: Day 2: Are You Having Fun?

Day two of NaNoWriMo is upon us! The early beginnings of a project can feel giddy and exhilarating and fun. We get to meet our characters and write our hearts out. It's like being a kid at a playground and having a blast. Perhaps you have build up a nice cushion of words and face the NaNo challenge with confidence. Give yourself a pat on the back and keep writing. Perhaps yesterday was a struggle and self doubt is creeping in early. Give yourself a nice warm hug and keep writing. Your story is your playground. It is wild, and limitless in its possibilities and you get to play! Sometimes it's scary; mostly it's fun. Sometimes we fall, but we always get back up and keep going! What brought you joy today? What inspired your characters? You got this. Let's write!