2025 Writing Log, Part 41
Oct. 18th, 2025 09:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynling- I posted my annual Halloween story for the Legend of Zelda fandom. It’s called “Silence,” and it’s about the dysfunctional relationship between Hilda and Ravio prior to the beginning of A Link Between Worlds. The story has all sorts of angst and pining and middle-school goth vibes, and I had a fantastic time writing it. It’s on AO3 (here), and it has a lovely illustration by the magical Lucifeena.
- I’m afraid the Zelda fandom is at a bit of an ebb at the moment, so this isn’t going to get much positive feedback, but “Silence” is a good story. It’s nice to feel like my writing is finally approaching the point where I wanted it to be ten years ago. I wish I’d been able to achieve this with visual art instead of writing, but what can you do. People say “talent” doesn’t exist, but listen. I just think you’re more likely to spend hundreds of hours getting good at something if you’re at least a little good at it to begin with.
- Anyway, speaking of approaching a level I was aiming for ten years ago, I drew an illustration of Setzer Gabbiani from Final Fantasy VI in the style of an artist I used to admire (and I still do, but they’re not really active anymore). This took about two weeks of study, which was a lot of trouble for a portrait of an unknown character, but it made me happy to finally see this handsome gent as I used to imagine drawing him. The illustration is on Tumblr (here) if you’re curious.
- I’ve been feeling all sorts of cozy fall vibes this week, so I started writing a new full-length original short story called “The Garbage Plumbing of Anórien the Silver.” It’s about a disgraced royal wizard who tries his hand at necromancy, ruins his plumbing in the process, and ends up falling in love with the local plumber who cleans up the mess.
- I finished the story “Acorns,” which is about a woman who encounters a baby boar in a depopulated rural town, for my Ruins zine. I also started collecting references for illustrations of the zine stories.
- My annual roundup of free-to-play retro horror games on Itch.io is now live on Sidequest (here). Huzzah! I’m very honored to have been able to commission a banner illustration from the sweet and shining Teller-of-Tragedies, who shares gorgeous and immersive dreamcore pixel art on Tumblr (here).
- At the beginning of the year, I wrote an essay about the gentle anti-capitalist use of cultural nostalgia in the French graphic novel Onibi, which is an autobiographical account of a summer the artists spent in rural northern Japan. It’s a solid essay about an interesting book, but it’s been a nightmare to pitch. Finally, through a series of personal connections, I was able to get the piece published on Shelfdust (here). The head editor of the site is wonderful to work with, by the way. Always a pleasure when that happens.
- And speaking of cultural nostalgia, this week’s post on my book review blog (here) is about NonNonBa, an autobiographical graphic novel drawn by Shigeru Mizuki, one of the most influential manga artists in postwar Japan. The book is about Mizuki’s childhood in a small town in western Japan, and it’s a coming-of-age story guided by his relationship with a family friend who was a walking repository of local folklore. NonNonBa was originally published in 1992, but it feels remarkably fresh thanks in part to an extremely skillful translation.
- This is wild, but this past week the Instagram account associated with my book review blog gained more than a hundred followers overnight when it was featured on a story by the official account of... the International Booker Prize...
- I queried An Unfound Door with another agent this week. I’m still not getting anywhere, but that’s to be expected. It’s a really good novel, though, and it’s worth advocating for. If nothing else, I’ve noticed a major uptick in traffic to my public-facing blog, and I’d like to think that hopefully this is related to the recent queries. Fingers crossed I guess.
Finally we’re getting some nice fall weather here in Philadelphia. My Pomeranian, who has matured into a perfectly round ball of fluff, is living her best life, and I’m happy to be along for the ride as we go on long walks around various neighborhoods in the city.
Meanwhile the lazy corgi just naps on the couch. She is also living her best life.
- I’m afraid the Zelda fandom is at a bit of an ebb at the moment, so this isn’t going to get much positive feedback, but “Silence” is a good story. It’s nice to feel like my writing is finally approaching the point where I wanted it to be ten years ago. I wish I’d been able to achieve this with visual art instead of writing, but what can you do. People say “talent” doesn’t exist, but listen. I just think you’re more likely to spend hundreds of hours getting good at something if you’re at least a little good at it to begin with.
- Anyway, speaking of approaching a level I was aiming for ten years ago, I drew an illustration of Setzer Gabbiani from Final Fantasy VI in the style of an artist I used to admire (and I still do, but they’re not really active anymore). This took about two weeks of study, which was a lot of trouble for a portrait of an unknown character, but it made me happy to finally see this handsome gent as I used to imagine drawing him. The illustration is on Tumblr (here) if you’re curious.
- I’ve been feeling all sorts of cozy fall vibes this week, so I started writing a new full-length original short story called “The Garbage Plumbing of Anórien the Silver.” It’s about a disgraced royal wizard who tries his hand at necromancy, ruins his plumbing in the process, and ends up falling in love with the local plumber who cleans up the mess.
- I finished the story “Acorns,” which is about a woman who encounters a baby boar in a depopulated rural town, for my Ruins zine. I also started collecting references for illustrations of the zine stories.
- My annual roundup of free-to-play retro horror games on Itch.io is now live on Sidequest (here). Huzzah! I’m very honored to have been able to commission a banner illustration from the sweet and shining Teller-of-Tragedies, who shares gorgeous and immersive dreamcore pixel art on Tumblr (here).
- At the beginning of the year, I wrote an essay about the gentle anti-capitalist use of cultural nostalgia in the French graphic novel Onibi, which is an autobiographical account of a summer the artists spent in rural northern Japan. It’s a solid essay about an interesting book, but it’s been a nightmare to pitch. Finally, through a series of personal connections, I was able to get the piece published on Shelfdust (here). The head editor of the site is wonderful to work with, by the way. Always a pleasure when that happens.
- And speaking of cultural nostalgia, this week’s post on my book review blog (here) is about NonNonBa, an autobiographical graphic novel drawn by Shigeru Mizuki, one of the most influential manga artists in postwar Japan. The book is about Mizuki’s childhood in a small town in western Japan, and it’s a coming-of-age story guided by his relationship with a family friend who was a walking repository of local folklore. NonNonBa was originally published in 1992, but it feels remarkably fresh thanks in part to an extremely skillful translation.
- This is wild, but this past week the Instagram account associated with my book review blog gained more than a hundred followers overnight when it was featured on a story by the official account of... the International Booker Prize...
- I queried An Unfound Door with another agent this week. I’m still not getting anywhere, but that’s to be expected. It’s a really good novel, though, and it’s worth advocating for. If nothing else, I’ve noticed a major uptick in traffic to my public-facing blog, and I’d like to think that hopefully this is related to the recent queries. Fingers crossed I guess.
Finally we’re getting some nice fall weather here in Philadelphia. My Pomeranian, who has matured into a perfectly round ball of fluff, is living her best life, and I’m happy to be along for the ride as we go on long walks around various neighborhoods in the city.
Meanwhile the lazy corgi just naps on the couch. She is also living her best life.
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Date: 2025-11-09 05:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-11-09 03:00 pm (UTC)