Optimism & Too Much Caffeine [Belorehalla's Progress Thread]
Jan 10, 2021 2:49:57 GMT -5
Lunae, Roisin, and 3 more like this
Post by belorehalla on Jan 10, 2021 2:49:57 GMT -5
Welcome to the Belorehalla progress thread!
Word count goal: 175,000
Word count goal: 175,000
Hello! I go by a few couple different names. My real name is Jonah, and most people online call me Valhalla. I'm twenty years old, my pronouns are they/he, and I'm bi + transmasculine nonbinary. I'm also disabled, neurodivergent, mentally ill, and mixed race! I'm white and Native (primarily Cherokee) and currently trying to reconnect with my culture.
Being a minority affects how I write, and it's also why I have such a passion for having diverse casts and why I enjoy calling out bigotry in my fiction. I'm an intersectional feminist and a communist, which are crucial parts of my outlook of the world and how I present certain things in my writing. I have also unfortunately been the victim of severe abuse for most my life starting from before I can even remember, which has led to numerous mental health issues - but on the bright side, I'm capable (and usually drawn toward) exploring these things in realistic ways through my writing! Ultimately, I write with the end goal of being able to help people with it, and the difficult things I've been through only help make that more possible.
I used to favor high fantasy because writing was pure escapism when I was younger. By now, I've reached a level of maturity where I can reevaluate my goals and analyze why I do the things I do, which has pushed me away from using writing in this way. Not to say that writing for escapism is immature by default - I just mean that it takes maturity to truly analyze the things you write, why you write them, and what your ultimate goal with writing is. It's not something with an age limit, just another form of self discovery. Either way, that process of analysis, for me, mostly shifted me away from specific genres and pushed me toward a focus on subject matter. Whatever genre I think is best for the subject(s) I want to explore is the one I choose.
I like writing fanfiction as well! It's usually whatever I'm feeling like, and sometimes I post my things on AO3! Same name as here ("belorehalla" is my brand, really), but there is very adult content on it. You can find me on Twitter, Tumblr, and TikTok under the username belorehalla as well!
Other assorted fun facts: My middle school emo "phase" turned out not to be a phase; I'm from Oregon but I reside in Arizona (but I plan to move to NH!); I love classic lit and my favorite author is John Steinbeck; I have two actual pets but I also consider any spiders in my house my pets; I adore axolotls and most marine life (especially the brainless ones!); my favorite bands are Hollywood Undead, Breaking Benjamin, Adelitas Way, and Shinedown; and my favorite video games are World of Warcraft and Octopath Traveler!
Writing goals for this year!
I envy anyone who can confidently make monthly goals. I'm already at 12,822 words and I only started writing anything for this year, but I'm prone to getting tripped up by my mental health or by just getting distracted by other things (ASD/ADHD gang rise up). Specific commitments are really difficult. I'm considering fanfiction commissions because I currently really need extra money and I'm pretty sure I could have the focus for anything if I'm being paid to since I can't exactly work - but I also don't know how the heck pricing works. (That'd be sure to help with my word counts though!)
My writing goals for this year are more in terms of projects rather than a schedule for how much to write when. I'll write however much whenever I do.
This year's projects are as follows:
Progress on my projects:
My writing goals for this year are more in terms of projects rather than a schedule for how much to write when. I'll write however much whenever I do.
This year's projects are as follows:
- matches burning holes in my soul - Literally just an Octopath Traveler fanfiction. It's a lot of confronting mental illness and trauma, with a nice, healthy dose of loving, supportive, domestic fluff and platonic bonding. The trajectory is worked out, but I'm terrible at figuring out how to divide up chapters when it comes to fanfic (but my current estimate is ~10-15 chapters). I plan to start posting chapters weekly once I've gotten maybe ~6-7 written.
- On Bloody Knees - Contemporary fiction about a boy who is subjected to religious trauma from a very young age and begins to understand it's not normal when he's allowed to go to a secular public school for his senior year. It explores sexuality, gender, religion/faith, mental illness, abuse of boys and men, childhood trauma, and eating disorders (specifically anorexia) in boys. It's certainly not going to be for everyone as it will contain graphic depictions of abuse, bigotry, and severe mental health issues, but all of these things are why it's a project so close to my heart.
- The Breakup Letter to Anastasia - Contemporary new adult fiction about a fresh-out-of-high-school boy and his abusive girlfriend. It's a take on anorexia recovery through the lens of viewing the disorder as an abusive partner. Because of that, I'm also using it as a way to explore how domestic abuse (in straight relationships, at least) is treated/viewed when the woman is the abuser rather than the man.
- Promptober 2021 - 31 one-shot fanfics for the month of October of this year! I know myself so I already know it's going to be entirely not safe for work.
- Etc - Finishing my 2020 Promptober fics (four to write/revise/post, ten to revise/post); some poetry, perhaps, to get better at it; worldbuilding for other things I'm planning.
Progress on my projects:
- matches burning holes in my soul - 12,822 words, 2 chapters finished, ch.3 in progress.
- On Bloody Knees - 2/4 Toyhouse profiles finished, loosely plotted, most major plot points sorted out.
- The Breakup Letter to Anastasia - loosely plotted, detailed outline partially finished all major plot points sorted out.
- Everything else - N/A