This is going to take a while. I'm a fantasy author. We have trouble with the concept of brevity. - Brandon Sanderson

No one who bothers about originality will ever be original; whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring two pence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it. - C.S. Lewis

No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader. - Robert Frost

Your plot is only as strong as its weakest point. - James Scott Bell

Do not hesitate to give your hero lusts of the flesh, dark passions, impulses to evil; for these dark powers, fused with their opposites- the will to do good, the moral impulses, the power of the spirit- will do to your character what the opposite powers of fire and water do to the sword blade. - William Foster-Harris

Beware of your dreams, for dreams make dangerous friends. . . Dreams are, I believe, misplaced longings. False lovers. Why? Because God is enough. - Phil Vischer

The swordfish has few predators to worry about in the wild. Except for the seldom seen penfish, which is said to be even mightier. - Unknown

The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug. - Mark Twain

When you can state the theme of the story, when you can separate it from the story itself, then you can be sure the story is not a very good one. The meaning of a story has to be embodied in it, has to be made concrete in it. A story is a way to say something that can't be said any other way, and it takes every word in the story to say what the meaning is. - Flannery O'Connor

Story Status: (Updated 5/11/20)

True Grit- updated 10/24: Currently writing the final few chapters (156-onward). Chapter updates may be sporadic as I wrangle the finale.

Wholehearted: True Grit prequel novella. Currently writing chapter 3. No set release date. Considering releasing this one on Wattpad as a part of my original universe.

The Ties that Bind: Unfortunately, I may have to throw in the towel on this story; I had a cool premise for the lore, but not much in the way of actual plot and I've struggled to get it off the ground. If you're interested in adopting the story, please let me know and I'll see if I can gather some of my old notes for you.

We'll Start Here: No one-shots planned. But I'll take suggestions! :)

Don't judge me based on my old works, please. XD It's been a long journey to get to where I am now, and I've improved with time

Other places you can reach me: (some links didn't work so they'll have just my username)

YouTube

Deviantart: CupOTea16 - Go there for occasional one-shots, art, and character tags/OC interviews

My True Grit Pinterest board (You can reach me there at caitlynn0529, or copy and paste this link without the brackets: www(.)pinterest(.)com/caitlynn0529/true-grit/ )

Twitter, @FFAstrid16

My Facebook page, Go Ninja Go

Tumblr: blueastrid16 (currently empty but I plan to post poetry eventually)

Are they really "just words" strung across paper,
Or are they answers to questions we've not learnt to ask,
If they're really "just words" then how come when we read them,
We feel like somebody has seen through our mask,
I don't think "just words" can hold such a power,
That make us believe there really is hope,
There has to be something in words that will help you,
Hold on when you're reaching the end of your rope,
The people that write them are dealing with magic,
They change the whole world with a paper and pen,
And that I may be one is a dream I keep having,
If given the chance to live my life again,
They can't be "just words" when you stop feeling lonely,
As if the author is someone that you've always known,
Like a hand has reached out to wipe a tear from your cheek,
When you're reading the words in your room all alone.

~e.h (Erin Hanson)

Recommended Writers:

StoneByrd (Also the artist of my wonderful avatar!)

Kira Vulpes

Woodswolf

Tips: How to Use FanFiction Succesfully! (copy-n-pasted from PrincessKitty1)

- When reading a story, check the published date and the date of the most recent update before you decide to offer criticism. The author may be long gone, or so much improved that any advice would be redundant.

- Read the author's notes!

- Visit the author's profile for info on whether or not they may be on hiatus, how to contact them, and other useful things.

- If an author's work has gotten fan art and they link to it, please comment on the artist's piece!

- Always, ALWAYS, ALWAYS ask permission if you want to do a translation or something else.

- Help your favorite authors: If you find a plagiarized work (in other words, a copy/translation of a story that does not state permission granted by the author), contact the original author FIRST. Check their profile page to see if they have given permission there before messaging them. Allow them to handle the reporting.

- Do not flame.

- Reviewing is polite. :D Long reviews are welcomed and appreciated! But you must never attack an author through a review.

- When reviewing, don't just tell the author that you liked the story or chapter, tell them what you liked about it. Constructive criticism is very helpful to an aspiring writer, but go about it nicelyand if the author says not to give it to them, don't.

- Don't harass an author about updates. If we have not outright stated that the story is on hiatus or has been dropped, we're probably just busy in that scary world outside of our bedrooms.

Found this little gem from my NaNo days:

Beware, sweet, innocent, aspiring writer. People aren’t telling you this, and they should be. NaNoWriMo participants are being deceived into thinking that being an author is a good thing. But you don’t know. You don’t know the horrors you might face as a professional, published, full-time author.

I could tell you. I could go on for hours about all the things that threaten my peace of mind. I could for you a tale unfold that would harrow up your carpal tunnels and chill the very marrow of your finger bones: tales of the constant questions, the unending deadlines, the mind-bending task of deciding each and every day which hours you will spend writing.

But never mind all of that. Best not to dwell on the worst. Instead, let us concentrate on what you must do to avoid this horrible fate, and save yourself agonies untold.

First and foremost, and I cannot stress this enough: do not sit down at the keyboard and write on a regular basis. This is a trap. You can tell yourself that you’re only doing it to scratch an itch, that you only need to get a few hundred words written and then you can set it aside—but the siren clickclickabulation of the dancing keys will do more than merely produce words on a page. It will condition you to want, nay, to need to do it each and every day.

And if that happens, there is simply no way, in the long run, to avoid the most lamentable and horrible fate of finishing a novel.

Whatever you do, do not seek feedback from readers and other writers. Bad enough that you work in a vacuum, allowing the authoric energies to work their demonic way on your thoughts—if you add to that the feedback of the work’s intended audience, you will only establish the primary mechanism of making your writing more effective for those for whom it is meant.

This is a doubly pernicious practice! Not only does it seduce you to create more material for your audience, but it creates more audience for your material in an infernal feedback loop. I cannot stress to you enough how much you need to avoid this part of the process! Save yourself!

A further horrible mistake I can recognize only in retrospect: do not inform yourself about the publishing industry and the demons who labor therein. Oh, certainly, those people, those editors, may seem to be witty and charming and friendly at writing conventions and on workshop panels, but make no mistake. Their only purpose in life is to draw you into their evil plans, and force you to labor for them while they help you hone your writing craft.

Many aspiring writers are intimidated by editors, and I cannot help but emphasize how much credit you should give to these instincts, placed there for the protection of your sanity and whole mind. If you allow yourself to overcome this natural inclination, it may be too late for you to escape your fate.

Finally, I can only encourage each and every aspiring author out there to quit writing at the first opportunity and never look back. This seemingly harmless activity is anything but, and if you cannot break its hold on you, if you continue to make up one excuse after another to keep typing, if you find yourself promising yourself “just one more novel” and never draw away from it, you will inevitably be drawn into published perdition.

All you need do is quit! Just say no! And you will be saved! But if you continue, and continue, and continue despite all the sane voices trying to sway you, you will be drawn into the maelstrom of madness that is the life of a professional writer.

Dear NaNoWriMo participant, I beg of you, listen to me! You cannot know the horrors you will face! Run! Flee! Turn aside from this dark road!

For if you do not, I fear that one day, you will find yourself writing with other damned souls like me.

-Brandon Sanderson

"I walked from Abamabar to Urithiru. In this, the metaphor and experience are one, inseparable to me like my mind and memory. One contains the other, and though I can explain one to you, the other is only for me.

"I strode this insightful distance on my own, and forbade attendants. I had no steed beyond my well-worn sandals, no companion beside a stout staff to offer conversation with its beats against the stone. My mouth was to be my purse; I stuffed it not with gems, but with song. When singing for sustenance failed me, my arms worked well for cleaning a floor or hogpen, and often earned me a satisfactory reward.

"Those dear to me took fright for my safety and, perhaps, my sanity. Kings, they explained, do not walk like beggars for hundreds of miles. My response was that if a beggar could manage the feat, then why not a king? Did they think me less capable than a beggar?

"Sometimes I think that I am. The beggar knows much that the king can only guess. And yet who draws up the codes for begging ordinances? Often I wonder what my experience in life- my easy life following the Desolation, and my current level of comfort- has given me of any true experience to use in making laws. If we had to rely on what we knew, kings would only be of use in creating laws regarding the proper heating of tea and cushioning of thrones.

"Regardless, I made the trip and- as the astute reader has already concluded- survived it. The stories of its excitements will stain a different page in this narrative, for first I must explain my purpose in walking this strange path. Though I was quite willing to let my family think me insane, I would not leave the same as my cognomen upon the winds of history.

"My family traveled to Urithiru via the direct method, and had been awaiting me for weeks when I arrived. I was not recognized at the gate, for my mane had grown quite robust without a razor to tame it. Once I revealed myself, I was carried away, primped, fed, worried over, and scolded in precisely that order. Only after all of this was through was I finally asked the purpose of my excursion. Couldn't I have just taken the simple, easy, and common route to the holy city?

"For my answer, I removed my sandals and proffered my callused feet. They were comfortable upon the table beside my half-consumed tray of grapes. At this point the expressions of my companions proclaimed that they thought me daft, and so I explained by relating the stories of my trip. One after another, like stacked sacks of tallew, stored for the winder season. I would make flatbread of them soon, then stuff it between the pages.

"Yes, I could have traveled quickly. But all men have the same ultimate destination. Whether we find our end in a hallowed sepulcher or a pauper's ditch, all save the Heralds themselves must dine with the Nightwatcher.

"And so, does the destination matter? Or is it the path we take? I declare that no accomplishment has substance nearly as great as the road used to achieve it. We are not creatures of destinations. It is the journey that shapes us. Our callused feet, our backs strong from carrying the weight of our travels, our eyes open with the fresh delight of experiences lived.

"In the end, I must proclaim that no good can be achieved of false means. For the substance of our existence is not in the achievement, but in the method. The Monarch must understand this; he must not become so focused on what he wishes to accomplish that he diverts his gaze from the path he must take to arrive there."

- The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson

My mom got pregnant with me when she was sixteen. I can’t imagine what kind of pressure she went through.

“You’re too young!”

“What about school?”

“You need to live your own life! Don’t be stupid!”

My grandmother pressured her to have an abortion- I think she even had an appointment scheduled. But in the end my mother rejected it. I still don’t know why.

It’s amazing that she kept me, considering the way she was raised, and the public school setting she was in. I couldn’t have survived all the peer pressure, gossip, and teachers who persecuted her just because she didn’t kill me. Because she chose to give birth to me instead of ‘living her own life.’

Can you imagine how it feels to be me?

By our society’s standards, I didn't deserve to live. I was a reject. Expendable.

My mother’s high school diploma was a higher priority to popular culture than the life (ME) growing inside of her.

I am so thankful that my mom had me.

And for the record, my mom did not ‘give up her life’ to have me. She’s smart. Way smarter than me. She’s hard-working. She’s a blessing to me. She loves me.

Throughout the ages (even today!) there have been religions that believe in sacrificing children, often to a 'fertility god’. They would murder their own children so that their ‘gods' would hear their prayers and give them bountiful crops and riches.

It’s no different than today with abortion. Women want to live their own lives- have a job and wealth. They believe having children will get in the way of that, so they go to a clinic and have their baby killed. They sacrifice their children to the ‘fertility god’ of our day (Planned Parenthood) so they can live how they want, with wealth and so-called comfort.

Is having money to buy a home more important than human life?

If you really were so poor that you couldn’t support yourself and a child, is it acceptable to kill the life growing inside of you?

My parents were poor for years after they had me. I spent my childhood wearing hand-me-down boys clothes and playing with a handful of stuffed animals I got as gifts from relatives. But my parents persevered, and now my dad runs his own business (large enough to support the seven children currently in the house!). I am well on my way to having a career of my own.

I do sympathize with those of you who struggle financially right now, but being poor is no excuse to kill your baby. My parents survived.

I’m going to survive, too.

-Astrid16

THE LARGEST MASS SHOOTING IN US HISTORY HAPPENED December 29, 1890. When 297 Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota were murdered by federal agents & members of the 7th Cavalry who had come to confiscate their firearms “for their own safety and protection”. The slaughter began after the majority of the Sioux had peacefully turned in their firearms. The Calvary began shooting, and managed to wipe out the entire camp. 200 of the 297 victims were women and children.

Wounded Knee was among the first federally backed gun confiscation attempts in United States history. It ended in the senseless murder of 297 people.

The Second Amendment, the right of the people to take up arms in defense of themselves, their families, and property in the face of invading armies or an oppressive government. The Second Amendment was written by people who fled oppressive and tyrannical regimes in Europe, and it refers to the right of American citizens to be armed for defensive purposes, should such tyranny arise in the United States.

Wounded Knee is the prime example of why the Second Amendment exists, and why we should vehemently resist any attempts to infringe on our Rights to Bear Arms. Without the Second Amendment we will be totally stripped of any ability to defend ourselves and our families.

-Jennifer David