On October 1, 2016, I published my very first blog post on my old blog, The Cheapskate Bibliomaniac. This means that a week ago, on October 1, 2019, I hit my three-year blogging anniversary.
I still remember how ecstatic I felt when I hit Publish for the first time on that short, introductory post. :') Adding the number of posts from my old blog to the number of posts on this blog (so far), it turns out that
I've written and published 151 blog posts in all.
Um, excuse me? O_O
I guess my next goal will be to continue blogging until I've hit 200! And that shouldn't be a problem, because I have no intention of giving up this hobby. Yes, I predict long hiatuses and drastic changes in the future, but if I managed to hold onto blogging for three years, I'm sure I can hold on for at least three years more.
Now, before I start making promises I really shouldn't make (because nobody knows the future and tomorrow isn't even promised, etc.), let's get into the celebration! I don't have a Q&A, or a giveaway, or any of that epic stuff other, more epic bloggers host for their blogiversaries. Today, I thought it would be an appropriate time to
react to another of my old blog posts. Blogiversaries always make me nostalgic for my old blog and my early blogging days (even though I didn't have much of an audience in those early days haha), so let's enjoy a blast to the past - complete with commentary and gifs.
As I mentioned in
Part 1, I didn't know about gifs back then. Any gifs you see in this post are part of my commentary. One thing that's
different this time is that instead of my commentary being in bold and the old post being in normal text, I decided it would be less confusing to put the old post in bold and leave my commentary in normal text. Because #consistency.
WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, here are some tips and advice from Younger Lila on...
HOW TO DEAL WITH A CRUSH (on your own character)
Hopefully, you think your character is amazing. Otherwise, writing a story starring that character wouldn't be very much fun. But that's not exactly what I'm talking about in the above title.
I'm beginning to see a trend in these old posts. They all seem to start with some kind of BLATANTLY OBVIOUS statement.
In my fairy tale twist, Peter Pan is an important character. I love that I created my own version of the boy who doesn't grow up, and I think he's AWESOME. I love him so, so, sooooo much!
Can you tell I loved my Peter Pan? 😂 I still love him that much, not gonna lie. Also I'm pretty sure that at the time I wrote this post, Dusted Red didn't have a name! I just referred to it as "my book" or "my fairy tale twist." In fact, I spent the majority of my very first draft (and maybe some of my second draft) with the document titled "My Book" because I had nothing else to call it. XD
Unfortunately, this became a little bit of a problem, and I'll eventually need to tackle said problem in editing (but more on that in my next update).
Aaaahhh, when Peter Pan's
cringey personality was my biggest editing concern. He's experienced soooo much growth since that first draft, let me tell you.
You see, one of my fellow writer/reader friends, who was reading the first draft as I wrote it, mentioned to me that it was kind of obvious how infatuated I was with my own darling character.
*sigh* Yes, some of my friends did indeed read my very first draft. Friends, I am SO sorry I put you through that torture. And to the one who claims she still has that document in her possession, I beg of you:
via Tenor
Looking back at his actions and dialogue, I quickly realized what she meant. I was bringing Peter's awesomeness into the open too much, sugarcoating everything he did, practically whacking the reader on the head with his sheer amazingness. (This is dramatic and probably exaggerated, and my friend will deny that it's that bad. But it really is an issue.)
It's... not an exaggeration.
I'd like to take a moment to thank my friend, because after she pointed it out, I was able to tone down a little bit, pushing aside what I thought of him and focusing on just him. Thankfully, he came out much better toward the end of the draft, which means I'll have less of it to worry about once I get to that part of editing. Thanks, friend! :D
So many shout-outs to my friend, lol. Also those edits never happened. Because after I finished the very first draft, set it aside, and came back months later, I realized I needed to scrap the whole thing and completely rewrite it. Which was honestly the best decision I ever made. 😂
Do you have an infatuation similar to mine that perhaps may pose a similar problem? It might just be me, but in case I'm not the only one, take a good look at your manuscript with these couple questions in mind.
via Tenor
1. Do you keep mentioning their twinkly eyes, their wind-rustled hair, their dazzling smile, or any other give-away descriptions?
These could very well be the most obvious signs of a crush.
via Giphy
It's going to be especially hard getting it just right with Peter Pan, seeing as he's a legend and all. His stories positively pelt him with charisma. Whenever he returns, everyone is expecting him to have the twinkly eyes, wind-rustled hair, dazzling smile, and so forth that his old stories speak of.
Look, something that hasn't changed throughout all the rewrites and edits since this blog post!
Your character shouldn't have a perfect outward appearance, no matter that all crushes tends to look that perfect in the eyes of the person with the crush. Try to focus on your character's traits rather than their outward appearance, and if you have a romantic interest in your story, be especially careful. A few "good looks" descriptions are wonderful, but if you don't watch yourself, you may get carried away. I should know.
You can tell that I'm trying to sound like this isn't the most ridiculous thing to act all professional about.
*headdesk*
2. How charismatic are they?
This is where I tripped up the most. Charisma. Peter is definitely a professional charmer, but I can't have him too charming because that's unrealistic and annoying. I mean, look around you. No one is completely and perfectly attractive. And besides, readers appreciate flaws.
Baby Writer Lila. She's so... cute.
via Giphy
You know what I like? A sense of humor, goofiness that doesn't stretch so far as immaturity, and preferably excellent swordsmanship. Peter Pan has all of that, but I layered it on way too thickly. There wasn't a single serious bone in his body, and as a result, he was laughing quite a lot.
So much laughing, guys. So much.
(Fun fact: Peter Pan doesn't have a sword anymore. XD)
Pinpoint the qualities you love in that "one special character" and make sure you aren't exaggerating them. Weave in those beloved traits; don't pile them on.
WEEEEEAVE THEM IN.
A smart reader such as my aforementioned friend will be able to pick up on an author's love for their character if it's too obvious. Let the characters be themselves so that your readers can form their own opinions. They want to see the story through the characters' eyes, not the author's. Does this make any sense?
The moment I finally acknowledge how ridiculous I am. 😆
So tell me - from what you've learned of him in this post, what do you think of my Peter Pan? And have you ever had this problem, or a similar one? I feel like it's just me, but who knows? Maybe you and I are kindred spirits!
Funny how I was desperate to know what my non-existent audience thought of Peter Pan after spending the entire blog post explaining why he was problematic. XD I left questions like this even though I never got comments because I figured the surest way to get an audience was to act like I already had one. It wasn't until later that I learned the actual surest way to get an audience was to seek out other, similar blogs - you know, reach out and connect with people. I thought readers would just randomly find me via Google searches or whatever and that I could hide in my lil corner of the internet all I wanted.
But I did learn my lesson, and now I have all of you! And I love you all so, so much. <3
~~~
So that's that! I hope you enjoyed this strange little celebration. XD I'm incredibly excited I've been blogging for three whole years, and I'm looking forward to an epic fourth!
The Lord's Truly,
What is your reaction to this ancient blog post of mine? What are your thoughts on this topic of crushing on your own characters which my younger self believed herself such an authority on? XD Comment below, and we'll cringe about it together!
