Tuesday, 29 May 2018

29/5/18 - Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompts

Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompt!

Today, 29/5/18, is the next instalment of University Inspired Writing Prompts. Since my first year at university, I have been compiling a collection of writing prompts inspired by my time studying in Derby. I hope that these prompts help you create your own works!


All of these prompts are dialogue based, and are inspired by real conversations I have been part of whilst at university.

PROMPT #21

"Only thing to do is jump over the moon~"

"Haha, hey ___, look over there,  ___ is wearing a cow onesie!"

"Hey! Hey ___! Moo with me!"

This was based upon one of my experiences watching RENT with several of my friends. For those who are unfamilar with the "Moo With Me" scene, one of the characters, Maureen, is protesting consumerism and capitalism, and the end of an age of bohemia in New York City. She does this as an old friend of hers is evicting homeless people from a space in which they were living. During this, she tells the story of her meeting a cow in a dream that jumps over the moon to escape the tyanny of 'Cyberland'.

During the end of this scene, one of my friends, noted that another member of our viewing party was wearing a cow onesie, to which we harrassed her, demanding that she moo-ed along with the protesting audience in the musical.

I hope that this prompt inspired something - even if it was just a smile

Thank you for reading!

And remember:

Per Ardua Ad Astra

- Imogen. L. Smiley


Saturday, 26 May 2018

26/05/18 - Song Of The Week Sunday

Song Of The Week Sunday:

Today, 26/5/18, is the day of the next instalment of Song Of The Week Sunday - where I will be sharing a piece of music that I listened to more than any other during the space of the previous. In this instance, from week beginning 21/5/18 and ending today, 26/5/18, the song I listened to the most was the following:
Come To Me by Sebastian Ekstrand
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7Tdk-wbRjk

The above song was my Song of the Week for this week due to the emotional resonance in the lyrics and how they related to character dynamics in which I am writing at the moment within a collaborative character building exercise on discord with one of my friends from my degree course.

Within the wider context of the characters and their relationship, some of the lyrics contain much more weight. For example, the idea of one being "all [the other] ever needed" is very powerful when one considers that both characters were abused by their former spouses and therefore, the beginning of this potential relationship would demonstrate an immense contrast between what they were previously accustomed to and how much they appreciate and value legitimate and honest affection.

Due to writing a large volume of content for this relationship over the past week, this song was on loop for the majority of the time. It was, therefore, the Song Of The Week with no competition whatsoever.

Thank you for reading!
And remember:
Per Ardua Ad Astra!
- Imogen. L. Smiley

Wednesday, 23 May 2018

23/5/18 - Writing Advice Wednesday

Today, 23/5/18 is the _'s installment of Writing Advice Wednesday, where every two weeks, I share some advice to other writers that I have happened to learn along the way and would have rather known earlier on in my writing journey.

It is important to remember that any opinions I express are not law in any way, shape or form! Not everyone has the same experiences as I do in this field, but it is valuable to share opinions on topics in order to help others.

After a class presentation in April, I decided it would be worthwhile to provide you with my presentation script, with incorperated writing advice on the topic we were set to discuss for the presentation. This is completely fine, you don't need to worry as this assessment is formative and I will not be jeopradising anything by sharing what information I gave my class, with you today. But I would like to apologise for the lack of familiarity in the content presented today as I had a page quota to fulfil.

So, what is the actual topic today? I will be discussing exposition and how it relates to dialogue!

Exposition is a term used to describe a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory. When applied to storytelling, the term relates to the insertion of important background information within a piece. This can be done in many ways, and one of the most common forms of conveying expository information within a work of prose is through dialogue.

Expositional dialogue is most common in the genres of science fiction and fantasy as the entire world that surrounds the characters could be of the writer’s creation. This is usually hard enough to do without having to explain everything to the characters to maintain suspension of disbelief. What a writer doesn’t want is for readers to poke holes in the logic behind the systems in place. 

Many writers have established skilful ways in which to provide readers with expository information in their pieces of prose. For example, in Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling, expository information is dealt to the protagonist from the inciting incident in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to almost the end of the series. Most significant plot related information is given to Harry through dialogue. For example, the iconic “You’re a wizard, Harry.” – this quote from the first book of the series, is what sets the ball rolling in terms of world building. Not only was it simple but it immediately provided context for the peculiar experiences that Harry had experienced during the story, prior to Hagrid’s introduction.  

What Rowling does especially well with the first book is to take advantage of Harry’s lack of knowledge about the workings of the wizarding world and his age as a first year student at Hogwarts in order to provide the reader with significant information about the world and lore surrounding this universe. Rowling takes advantage of the fact this; as by having Harry ignorant means that the reader gets to learn everything as he does – this is a method that is carried on for the rest of the series too. The reader knows not of why Sirius Black is so determined to reach Harry Potter until he learns of this himself. We also do not know about the prophecy until Harry does.

It can be argued that Rowling took advantage of setting this story in a school environment for the sake of context as it meant that the readers could be “taught” by her about the world she had created. It meant world building could be condensed into a Q&A section and also push the plot forward as Harry learned more about what he had become involved in.

The idea of introducing a foreign character into this world is a common method used for exposition as it aids the education and emersion of the reader. As, in an ideal situation, a character that is new to this space is going to have similar if not the same questions as a reader would to the writer. This method allows the reader to know everything they need to know. 

I have used this method myself in several pieces of science fiction. The most prevalent being when I wrote a space opera, where a character from Earth managed to find themself stranded on an alien spaceship hundreds of thousands of lightyears away from their homeworld.With surprise, surprise, a huge case of amnesia. In that text, the first thing that the other characters did was gag the human and inject a universal communicator into the nape of their neck so they could understand what everyone was saying around them. Once they could actually comprehend things, the questions just kept coming. But instead of getting answers, the human was at a loss because the aliens that recovered their body from the wreckage of another ship, had no idea how they got there! I did this in order to establish an arc in which the character, Atlas began to learn of what happened to them. 

I found that the aforementioned method of exposition was ideal for that kind of scenario, where a character is new to a world and needed to learn things in quick fire ways, and with the communicator in their neck, it was easier to justify Atlas learning from these aliens and the pace in which that happens. 

This form of exposition and dialogue is less common in realistic fiction, where the pieces are set within this world. Instead, exposition in the form of backstory is conveyed to the reader via dialogue. This means that information tends to be revealed through passing comments and elaboration. For example, in Becky Albertai's novel Simon Versus The Homo Sapien Agenda, also published under the title Love Simon after the film adaptation, exposition is given in reference to Simon's sexuality, where Martin declares that he knows that Simon is gay, after reading and screenshotting his emails to Blue, another gay student at their school whom Simon was yet to meet.

*INSERT EXCHANGE FROM BOOK*

The above exchange between Simon and Martin is in place, not only to set the plot into motion, but also to allow the reader to know things that wouldn't immediately come to mind, had there been no stimuli to bring them forward. This is important as real people to not just walk through life thinking "I'm gay. I'm gay. I'm gay, I'm gay, I'm gay, I'm gay", no. The human mind isn't like that unless provoked to think such things. And albeit, Blue's coming out via social media does provide Simon with stimuli, but it is fully addressed in its full force when Martin speaks of it, as Simon is not out as a gay person.

So, after all of this context, published examples and personal anecdotes... What exactly, in my experience, do I suggest that a can a writer to do optimise their use of dialogue for the sake of exposition?

1. Do not forget that dialogue needs to sound like an actual person is saying it. Real people do not speak in flowing eloquent sentences unless they are in a scenario under which it is necessary. Such as a class presentation. Otherwise, people would use colloquialisms and fillers when speaking. They stutter, and drop letters when they speak. It adds to the authenticity of the voice and the believability of the dialogue.
For example:
*INSERT EXAMPLES FROM NEON BLOOD*
But! There are always exceptions, insults tend to be more eloquently constructed as they are put together in order to cause offence! If you are providing exposition into a general opinion, sometimes there is no better way to do it than to throw in an insult!

2. Sometimes, being simple with establishing an area of exposition is easier than actually explaining backstory and context all in one go. It can be easier for a reader to comprehend if the exposition is jotted around here and there, as opposed to being thrown at them all at once. This is usually referred to by the company I keep as an "info dump" and I am infamous for them in early drafts of my prose! They don't tend to be well received.
An example of scattered exposition goes as follows:
*INSERT EXAMPLE FROM NEON BLOOD*

3.




Tuesday, 22 May 2018

22/5/18 - Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompt!

Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompt!

Today, 22/5/18, is the next instalment of University Inspired Writing Prompts. Since my first year at university, I have been compiling a collection of writing prompts inspired by my time studying in Derby. I hope that these prompts help you create your own works!


All of these prompts are dialogue based, and are inspired by real conversations I have been part of whilst at university.

PROMPT #20
"Hah! I don't save seats for TRAITORS!"
"DUDE! I haven't seen you in a year! Let me sit with you?"
"Nope! I don't sit with TRAITORS!"
"But I want to catch up!"
"You should have thought about that before you changed unis and ended up against us!"

Like last week, I figured that I should finally start sharing prompts that derive from my experiences in Leicester for UniSlam back in January! I have been trying my best to use the quotes from years ago before recently and have finally ran out of appropriate ones that could be used as prompts! Praise!

The above prompt is a paraphrase from a conversation I had with one of my teammates from UniSlam. The two of us knew a poet from one of the opposing teams, they used to go to Derby Uni last year, and switched. Only to end up competing against us in the first bout of UniSlam! We were delighted to see them, and horrified when they named their univeristy as we would be facing them that night at Bout One! We were mortifed. Turns out every time my teammate saw them and they sought to catch up, she sassed them, calling them a traitor for betraying Derby Uni and competing against us!


I hope that this prompt inspired something - even if it was just a smile

Thank you for reading!

And remember:

Per Ardua Ad Astra

- Imogen. L. Smiley

Monday, 21 May 2018

21/5/18 - Monday Book Review! - Small Things

Today, 21/5/18 is the next instalment in a series of Monday Book Reviews, expressing my personal opinions on works of fiction. Today, I will be looking upon a piece called 'Small Things' by Mell Tregonning!



This book was a gift to me from my mother for my 20th birthday. I was really intrigued by it as she said this book would help me with coursework for a module in which I was discussing mental health. It confused me greatly that my mother could speak so highly of the portrayal, especially considering that the book was wordless. But I relented and gave the book a read. Yes, you can count it as reading as the book relied heavily on inference.

The story itself was about a young boy and how his mental health was being impacted by stimuli that surrounded him. The boy could see how he was being worn away at by what surrounded him, but not anyone else. This is an accurate representation as to how nobody can truly understand another's mental state and that stimuli can impact different people at significantly different levels.

I adored this book as, without words, it seemed to portray one of the easiest to access and understand ideas of mental health that I have ever seen. It is, therefore, a book that I hold in immensely high esteem. I am grateful for the opportunity to read it and hope to use it as a resource for many future writing projects.

Thank you so much for reading!
And remember:
Per Ardua Ad Astra!
- Imogen. L. Smiley

Sunday, 20 May 2018

20/5/18 - Song Of The Week Sunday!

Song Of The Week Sunday:

Today, 20/5/18, is the day of the next instalment of Song Of The Week Sunday - where I will be sharing a piece of music that I listened to more than any other during the space of the previous. In this instance, from week beginning 14/5/18 and ending today, 20/5/18, the song I listened to the most was the following:
Cut To The Feeling by Carly Rae Jepson
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qlsu7RhOnsQ

I was introduced to this song after watching the Monique Heart versus The Vixen lipsync from RuPaul's Drag Race Season Ten and was surprised that I hadn't come across this song prior. I ended up playing it a lot after the outcome of that lipsync, but it declined in volume as I had to focus on listening to songs that would set the tone for my coursework pieces toward the end of the semester.

Now at home for the summer, I have the option to listen to any music I want. And so, I played this song a lot over the last week. I felt that this song was especially uplifting and summery. I found that it really set the mood for the upcoming season and warm weather that is on its way!


Thank you for reading!
And remember:
Per Ardua Ad Astra!
- Imogen. L. Smiley

Friday, 18 May 2018

18/5/18 - Favourite Character Praise Friday WITH A TWIST

Today, 9/3/18 is the tenth instalment the series of posts praising my all-time favourite characters for their quirks and flaws etc. called Favourite Character Praise Friday. I will be sharing these posts every two weeks to gush about fictional characters in a proactive environment. With this segment, I intend to demonstrate what makes characters great so you and I alike can use these facts to improve our characters!

HOWEVER, there is a twist! As suggested by my best friend, every fifth Favourite Character Praise Friday, I will be praising characters that I absolutely despise! This is to demonstrate how it takes great skill from a writer to create a character that the reader comes to hate and not sympathise with! I hope that I can create characters that readers hate just as much as I hope that I can create ones that readers adore!

So who is the subject of my second Hated Character Praise Friday?

Kazuto Kirigaya AKA Kirito from the Sword Art Online franchise.


I can admit that Kirito is not a character that seems to have been written with the intention of being disliked, unlike my previous Favourite Character Praise Friday WITH A TWIST segment on Daisy Buchannan from Gatsby. Instead, he appears to be a character likened to marmite within the fanbase, and so him being likeable, had not necessarily been intentional but I happen not to be a fan of him. 

And in saying so, why do I dislike Kirito as a character? 

His treatment of female characters when he is in a relationship with Asuna
During Sword Art Online, Kirito happens to befriend and become a potential romantic interest for the majority of female characters he happens across. Whilst in this game, Kirito happens to take a liking to Asuna Yuki. They end up getting married in-game and intend to pursue a romantic relationship in the outside world. However, despite his romantic feelings toward Asuna, he does not immediately discourage female characters from pursuing him as a romantic interest, explaining he is in fact, married to Asuna. This reflects badly upon him as a character as it demonstrates a general disregard of his wife and other women. 

Due to the constraints of the narrative, the viewer barely got to see Kirito train and gain power in Sword Art Online
In the first arc of the show, Kirito is overpowered. This fact is justified by the fact that he previously played this game during the Beta-Testing process. However, by episode four, he is on level seventy-eight. That is an immense level of progress that the viewer is unable to see. 

Now, as Kirito is, in essence, a marmite character, in the world of anime fans, I have decided to discuss why he is not complete trash! He does have redeemable qualities - quite a few too! So here are some of them:

The character of Kirito demonstrates that people with PTSD are brave for carrying on.
In Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale, the severity of Kirito's trauma is acknowledged when he realises that Asuna has forgotten the time in which she spent with him when they were trapped in Sword Art Online. But despite the anguish that he feels about his wife's situation, Kirito makes the decision to continue to work to keep the fellow SAO Survivors safe. He carries the burden of responsibilities that are unrealistic to force upon someone as young as him, takes them with grace and carries on with his life.

Kirito demonstrates that people can internalise behaviour from an online persona.
As someone who slowly seemed to become more like the figure that I attempted to present myself as when I was just starting off in the online writing world, I have to acknowledge that Kazuto and Kirito are two different sides of the same coin that slowly seem to merge together. After Sword Art Online, Kirito and the other survivors of the game had to catch up on two years of education, and so a school is erected to focus on teaching the people left behind after SAO launched. And so, Kazuto is surrounded by familiar faces and stimuli with the potential to provoke him to behave more as he had whilst in Aincrad. After all, having such an infamous legacy as The Hero of Aincrad, because Kirito was the one who released everyone from the game, he had a lot to live up to as Kazuto again. He, therefore, internalises more traits and behaviours of his online persona in order to keep up the impression that he is a heroic person.

Despite the facade, Kirito put on during his time in Sword Art Online, he was compassionate and did care for other people
On multiple occasions throughout Kirito's time in Sword Art Online, he made himself out to be a stony cold figure who would just move on with his life regardless of the people that happened to surround him. However, that was not actually the case, in several situations throughout the story, some of which the abridged series wholeheartedly mock, Kirito is seen to be going out of his ways to help others. Although he usually had motives on the side.
For example, when Kirito helped Lisbeth forge a new sword after he broke her best piece, he did it so he could receive that sword.
However, the most prevalent time Kirito is seen to help others is when he took on the Level Seventy Four Boss with the help of Klein and Asuna in order to save the lives of the people who went in before them. Those players had been marching for hours and were weary but were brought to the front lines and almost completely slaughtered by the boss. Instead of leaving them to die, Kirito intervened and saved a number of players' lives, even when he wasn't under any obligation to. 

Tuesday, 15 May 2018

15/5/18 - Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompts!

Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompt!

Today, 8/5/18, is the next instalment of University Inspired Writing Prompts. Since my first year at university, I have been compiling a collection of writing prompts inspired by my time studying in Derby. I hope that these prompts help you create your own works!


All of these prompts are dialogue based, and are inspired by real conversations I have been part of whilst at university.

PROMPT #19
"The picture on the hotel keycard looks like an avocado"
*door refuses to open*
"Dear Avocado God please allow us a quick and safe transition from the world of the conscious to the world of sleep!"
"Dear Avocado God, let us in the fucking room!"

I figured it was about time that I began to share quotes that derived from my experiences in Leicester as part of Team Derby for UniSlam 2018! This quote focuses on a conversation I had with my roommate during our trip - Grace, who insisted that an image on our lousy keycard was of an avocado. Every time we said a prayer to the Avocado God, the crappy door would finally decide to open, despite up to twenty attempts to open the blasted door! We were always so amazed that the stupid prayers would allow us access to our rooms and give us the chance to sleep!

I hope that this prompt inspired something - even if it was just a smile

Thank you for reading!

And remember:

Per Ardua Ad Astra

- Imogen. L. Smiley

Sunday, 13 May 2018

13/5/17 - Song Of The Week Sunday!

Song Of The Week Sunday:

Today, 13/5/18, is the day of the next instalment of Song Of The Week Sunday - where I will be sharing a piece of music that I listened to more than any other during the space of the previous. In this instance, from week beginning 7/5/18 and ending today, 13/5/18, the song I listened to the most was the following:

First Burn by Arianna Afsar, Julia Harriman, Lexi Lawson, Rachelle Ann Go
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2ys-AimNbE

I have been actively discussing this new Hamildrop with my friends and fellow fans of Hamilton, Emma and Ammie since it came out. Hell, I was at the breakfast table when I played this song for the first time and Emma and I just gaped at the lyrics.

Discussing the pain and power behind the lyrics that didn't make it into the final cut of the musical was interesting as it demonstrated how clever Lin-Manuel Miranda was with his creations!

Not only was this piece powerful, but this song is very important to me, as a writer and a creator of content. First Burn is, in essence, an earlier draft of Burn from Hamilton: An American Musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda. This was an incredible insight into the writing process of the writer. It was amazing to get such a glaring view into what Burn could have sounded like.

Not only is this song super catchy and addictive to listen to, you get great insight into how the rest of the musical could have been by the lyrics and delivery by the five actresses, all who play the role of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton in one current version of Hamilton: An American Musical. This version of a song which, prior to the start of the month, was associated with Eliza being helpless and heartbroken as she was forced to acknowledge her husband's infidelity, has a completely different attitude.

In Burn, Eliza is low, crushed and reacting out of sadness. Her heart is broken. Her primary emotion is upset, although she is depicted to be angry when she repeats "you" three times in succession toward the end of the song. She is crushed to know her husband slept with another woman, but in Its Quiet Uptown, Eliza finds it in herself to forgive her husband for his misdeeds.

However, in First Burn, Eliza is resentful and angry. She is frustrated with what Alexander did. She "can't be trusted" around her husband. This line is a double meaning; in which Eliza cannot trust herself to not lash out, but she also doesn't trust herself to stay angry about what happened. This song is spiteful and vengeful, Eliza is furious that after everything that has happened between the pair, Alexander has betrayed her by sleeping with Maria Reynolds.

What does this mean for Lin-Manuel Miranda's drafts? One can imply that if Eliza was so angry and upset by the affair, which was exposed to "protect [Alexander's] legacy", it may have been harder for viewers to believe that after Philip Hamilton, their oldest son, had died due to George Eaker disparaging the Hamilton legacy and the subsequent duel, Eliza would be forgiving.

It demonstrates that sometimes, perfectly good explorations and expressions of work are not always going to make their ways into the final draft of a piece, no matter how amazing they are. Sometimes things need to change for the sake of the bigger picture:

Eliza erased herself from the narrative in Burn, she forgave Alexander in Its Quiet Uptown and then finally put herself back in the narrative in Who Lives Who Dies Who Tells Your Story.

Her character arc could have been skewed if she had been as aggressive as First Burn implied her reaction was, and so the decision was probably made to start adjusting the lyrics to create the version we all know and love!


Thank you for reading!
And remember:
Per Ardua Ad Astra!
- Imogen. L. Smiley

Wednesday, 9 May 2018

9/5/18 - Writing Advice Wednesday!

Today, 25/4/18, is the next instalment of this series of posts; Writing Advice Wednesday, where my advice to new writers will be shared once every two weeks. 

It is important to remember that my opinions are not law in any way, shape, or form! Not everyone has the same experiences as I do in this field but it is valuable to share opinions on topics to try and help others!

So what is today's topic for Writing Advice Wednesday? How do I build characters?

Today I will be informing you of one of my most extensive methods of character building. It is a tactic I have used multiple times. This method is character RP!

It sounds daft, I'm sure. But if you happen to know other writers, you have a chance to maybe find a new RP partner!

I used to RP back in college, throwing characters into scenarios I would have never considered to put these characters in. But there they were, my innocent Christian pacifist was having to throw her beliefs aside for the sake of self-preservation! It was an immensely clever tactic to test how a character would react to stimuli that you yourself wouldn't have necessarily considered. But my old partners all happened to retire from the site we used due to their own personal lives taking over. I later did the same.

It was only two months ago that I returned to the world of RP on discord with my friend and coursemate Skylark. She and I have a server in which we RP our characters in several AU's, none of which, are technically canon. Although, we acknowledge our original thread to be the canon storyline for these characters.

We have developed our characters by putting them in social situations they otherwise wouldn't be written into. For example, Sky's three main RP characters, Sol, Sab and Jack are all LIVING UNDER ONE ROOF in a scenario she likes to call the "Bro's AU". Expanding from there, I am working with the AU in which my character Gary, is not only a substance abuser, he is actively physically abusive toward his wife and kids. Putting these characters in the same town has resulted in several black eyes.

Our RP style as a pair is rather extensive. In the space of two months, we have written a total of four days worth of events. In larger RPs that would be regarded as immensely quick pace but considering this is only between the two of us, we are taking a very long time. Not that there's a problem with that. Except when you have already planned the fact that your characters will be doing things in weeks and months in the future within that universe. Hell, we joked that the wedding between two of my characters will probably take place after our graduation from university in 2019!

Now, what benefits are there in building characters via RP?

1) Like I have previously stated, writing characters in RP environments allows the writer to put the character in a scenario which they otherwise would not find themselves in within the constraints of their canon universe.

2) Due to RPs being spontaneous, for you cannot see what the other party is writing ((unless you are like me and Sky and just sit there with discord open during lectures, and typing replies during class on our laptops when our lecturers, inevitably, go off on tangents. As we sit together in class, there is an option to glance at the screen for an inclination as to what will happen next)) you tend to learn things about your characters that you otherwise wouldn't have thought to ask.
For example:
I never considered why my character, Michaelis, was so determined to avoid losing his inheritance until after he discussed his dreams with Sol. Turns out he wants to start a non-profit. Who would have guessed? Certainly not me!

3) Due to RPs existing within their own pocket dimensions, you get to use these worlds to flesh out potential tidbits of backstory you could use for the original canon your characters derived from.
For example:
I intend to add the more proof to demonstrate that Gary was a selfish and corrupt man: he was addicted to narcotics, was physically abusive to his wife and kids, and actively cheated on his wife with women he'd pick up at bars in the city. This would make hus quest for redemption both noble and futile in the eyes of the reader, which was what I wanted. I, otherwise, wouldn't have considered infidelity to justify why Gary was such an unlikable character! 

Thank you for reading!
And remember:
Per Ardua Ad Astra
- Imogen. L. Smiley

Tuesday, 8 May 2018

8/5/18 - Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompts!

Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompt!

Today, 8/5/18, is the next instalment of University Inspired Writing Prompts. Since my first year at university, I have been compiling a collection of writing prompts inspired by my time studying in Derby. I hope that these prompts help you create your own works!


All of these prompts are dialogue based, and are inspired by real conversations I have been part of whilst at university.

PROMPT #18
"Is there any real way to have a productive all-nighter before term starts?"
"Don't think so, all I've done is read smut..."
"Phew - I thought it was just me. I was on Netflix non-stop til 10am yesterday..."
"Jesus Christ!"

This conversation took place during the Christmas Break between me and my housemates. The topic of all-nighters had come up in reference to a friend who had spent over two weeks trying to reset her sleep schedule post New Years' and managed to leave her struggling to sleep properly. During the fortnight of attempts to stay up late if not up all night, methods of staying awake were tested for them. They struggled to stay awake whilst reading fanfiction as they struggled to find a finished piece they were unfamiliar with and instead sought comfort in the "student's best friend", Netflix!

I hope that this prompt inspired something - even if it was just a smile

Thank you for reading!

And remember:

Per Ardua Ad Astra

- Imogen. L. Smiley

Monday, 7 May 2018

7/5/18 - Monday Book Reviews - Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda


Finally, I've had enough time to go back and re-read this amazing book! I absolutely adored it the first time around and the movie was great, you can find my review for it here! So now, FINALLY, it's time to turn around and review this book!

There were many aspects of this book that I would like to praise:

For one - the fact that Simon and his love story is not trivialised in any way shape or form for being a same sex relationship. Albertalli works hard to make sure that this love story is no different from any other. Not only that but the fact that the story featured other LGBT characters such as Blue and Leah demonstrated that statistically, there are more LGBT+ people that surround you than you probably think.

I was also delighted to read such a diverse social group.As someone who comes from a diverse group of friends of different races, religions, gender identities and sexualities, it was refreshing to see a mixed group of friends that was similar to my own in such a way. After all, it's just as Simon so eloquently says within the story:

"White shouldn't be the default any more than straight should be the default. There shouldn't even be a default."

The plot itself is immensely captivating. The reader, like Simon finds their-self stuck in a back and forth, attempting to work out which character is Blue. You could be like me, who struggled to crack it until right before Simon worked it out himself, or like my friend Emma, who cracked it with half a book to go by examining conventions in YA Literature. Regardless of her guessing correctly at the halfway mark, she enjoyed it too!

A book like this was something that the LGBT+ community ever so desperately needed, and it has become an international phenomenon, with quotes from Albertalli's story and the film adaptation of her work, striking chords with LGBT people and allies alike.

I would 110% recommend reading this book! It is amazing!

Thank you for reading!
And remember:
Per Ardua Ad Astra!
- Imogen. L. Smiley

Sunday, 6 May 2018

6/5/18 - Song Of The Week Sunday!

Song Of The Week Sunday:

Today, 6/5/18, is the day of the next instalment of Song Of The Week Sunday - where I will be sharing a piece of music that I listened to more than any other during the space of the previous. In this instance, from week beginning 30/4/18 and ending today, 6/5/18, the song I listened to the most was the following:

The Nights by Avicii
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtF6Jej8yb4

I decided that I would allocate SOTW to my favourite song by Avicii after the word got out about his cause of death. It was so sad to hear that yet another face in the public eye lost their life due to suicide. I was greatly moved by many songs by Avicii but this one took the cake.

Before I continue to discuss this, I would like to inform you that I am a content creator that has both personally dealt with mental health issues and supported friends with similar problems. Not only that, but I write a lot of pieces to raise awareness of mental health and suicide. A prominent example is my UniSlam solo which can be found here (<- Video Cred to Tyrone Lewis / Process Productions) So yes, I am not some preachy sad fan whining about how they might deem an artist's suicide as selfish or something - not in the slightest.

As someone who has experienced the sensation of wanting to die, I have to acknowledge the significance of music and how important it was personally to me keeping my head above water. The Nights by Avicii was one of those songs which kept me grounded. It reminded me of some of the lessons people who have passed had taught me. The song reminded me that there were things out there in the big wide world worth living for. There are things in the big wide world worth living for!

I chose to allocate this song as SOTW to honour the memory of such a talented artist. This was because I was greatly saddened when I heard about Avicii's passing. However, he lived a life that touched the lives of millions of fans, including some of my friends. It was saddening to see one of my friends pay homage to one of his favourite artists after he lost the battle against his mind, as my friend also struggled with suicidal ideation which derived from his depression.

And so, I felt it would be appropriate to share a few lines of this weeks SOTW to highlight what I meant by honouring him and the messages he gave his fans via music.

He said one day 
You'll leave this world behind
So live a life you will remember
My father told me when I was just a child
These are the nights that never die 
My father told me 

May he rest in peace. He will not be forgotten. When the creatives fall, their words remain, after all.

Thank you for reading! I am sorry for such a sappy post and tribute to Avicii.
And remember:
Per Ardua Ad Astra!
- Imogen. L. Smiley

Thursday, 3 May 2018

4/5/18 - Favourite Character Praise Friday! - Seto Kaiba

Today, 4/5/18 is the ninth instalment the series of posts praising my all-time favourite characters for their quirks and flaws etc. called Favourite Character Praise Friday. I will be sharing these posts every two weeks to gush about fictional characters in a proactive environment. With this segment, I intend to demonstrate what makes characters great so you and I alike can use these facts to improve our characters!


So who is the subject of my ninth Favourite Character Praise Friday?

The subject for today's Favourite Character Praise Friday, is a character that has been close to my heart since my childhood, the anti-hero of the original Yu-Gi-Oh Franchise; Seto Kaiba!

Honestly, I have no legitimate reason to justify why I adored Kaiba as a child. I just did! I ended up having his starter deck when I began to play Yu-Gi-Oh! and my deck ended up having three Blue Eyes White Dragons, and a Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon within it. Albeit, I cannot justify exactly why I was enamoured with his character originally, I can explain why he remains to be one of my all-time favourite characters.



So, why is Kaiba one of my all time favourite characters?
Warning! There will be spoilers!

Seto Kaiba is a more complicated character than he is given credit for 

When exploring the backstory that surrounds the Kaiba brothers, especially when rewatching the series, one learns that Kaiba's story is a lot sadder than one might think as a child, the idea that Kaiba was an orphan and he had to run a company at age fifteen could be very much foreign concepts to children in the target audience. They would likely see him as his archetype, the rich antagonist that can get pretty much anything he wants. However, as the show goes on, the viewers learn to expect that Kaiba is not destined for the same greatness as Yugi. 

But regardless of what the audience may believe, Kaiba constantly strives to defeat his rival and demonstrate that he is apt. This is significant due to the content produced by his company since he took control, he turned a company which manufactured weaponry into one that endorsed technology advancements and built theme parks to make people happy! It's really interesting to explore Kaiba and the way he behaves as he is not motivated by this same obligation to the Pharaoh that resides within Yugi's Millennium Puzzle. 

Exploring Kaiba's loyalties is very simple - which is not only realistic but also gives him more depth

Throughout the series, Seto Kaiba is a character that rarely goes out of his way to engage in the central conflict of the story until the conflict appears on his doorstep. For example, he does not actively seek out Pegasus in the first season until his younger brother is kidnapped, and does not pursue the members of the Orichalcos movement until his company was under threat. Kaiba is a very practical young man, mature for his age and acknowledges that the most important things at hand are his younger brother and his company; Mokuba because he raised him and the company because it is the only income the pair have considering they lost their inheritance.  


Kaiba is, despite how the show depicted him - a huge philanthropist! 

Kaiba's actions in terms of being a philanthropist are demonstrated in the way he changed the company he inherited. As I have previously stated, Kaiba Corp. prior to Seto acquiring the position as president, manufactured weaponry and heavy machines used to create weaponry for the military, to a company that could inspire children that were in similar circumstances that he grew up in - wanting to create things that would inspire the imaginations of the children that went to the Kaiba Land theme parks. He actively strives to motivate those around him and do good for the world around him. He will not let antagonistic forces try to spoil a company that he had only just redeemed.

So, what can we learn about writing anti-heroes from Seto Kaiba?


  1. Providing younger audiences with a complex character which derives from an archetype gives them enough content to comprehend but a backstory reasonable enough to make sense in the eyes of the parents who tended to have to watch these programs too. 
  2. Just because a character has all of his cards on the table in terms of who he trusts, does not mean that the character is any less interesting - sometimes having simple ideas and executing them well means that the characters can learn 
  3. Anti-heroes need not appear to be bad people, they merely stand in the way of the protagonist meeting their goals. 

Thank you for reading my reasons that I adore Seto Kabia! I hope I influenced the way you perceive your own characters!


Until next time!

And remember: 

Per Ardua Ad Astra! 


- Imogen. L. Smiley

Tuesday, 1 May 2018

1/5/18 - Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompts!

Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompt!

Today, 1/5/18, is the next instalment of University Inspired Writing Prompts. Since my first year at university, I have been compiling a collection of writing prompts inspired by my time studying in Derby. I hope that these prompts help you create your own works!


All of these prompts are dialogue based, and are inspired by real conversations I have been part of whilst at university.

PROMPT #17

"I can't believe a party of ten people got kicked out because you didn't have ID"
"I can't believe that they only decided to ID us after we had ordered food!"
"I can't believe that we've had to stand outside while the others ate their food!"

The above conversation derived from perhaps one of my most memorable university experiences - being kicked out of a pub / restaurant after being at a spoken word event, because the eldest member of our party, aged 21, managed to forget his ID and got the entire group removed due to it being past 10pm! It was hilarious! And none of my friends will allow him to live it down! We had ordered food and all just settled down to laugh together when we were suddenly approached and asked for ID to sit in the bar, regardless of whether we were eating, drinking etc. We tried our best to argue against it but eventually just left, laughing hysterically.


I hope that this prompt inspired something - even if it was just a smile

Thank you for reading!

And remember:

Per Ardua Ad Astra

- Imogen. L. Smiley