Tag: fan fiction

Laughable things I’ve heard in my life

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funny lightbox with popular text slang lmao
Photo by Renee B on Pexels.com

You probably heard the expression, ‘kids say the darnest things.’ But the reason they say laughable things is that they haven’t lived long enough to know things. They don’t see life as adults. You don’t get defended, you just think, well, they’re just kids, and you let it go.

But when adults say or do laughable things behind your back or to your face, it’s not as nice. You get offended and maybe cry, and at the time, it’s not laughable. You feel as if that hurt feeling won’t go away. You might think there is something wrong with you when people say or do offensive things to you.

What’s great about becoming an adult is when you begin to think about how laughable other people’s behaviour against you was. Life experiences change you, and you see life differently. Things that happened when you were a kid and a teenager are irrelevant when you become an adult. People who were in your life then, like schoolmates, are just laughable now. If they hurt your feelings, then you laugh at it now because the people were laughable. The next time, the words or actions bounce off you.

I’ve heard many laughable things during my 48-year-old life. They weren’t laughable then, but now they are when thinking about it. I won’t understand why people can’t keep things to themselves. They probably felt better about themselves if they said it or whispered it to their friends. Toxic people don’t have a place in my life. In anyone’s life.

The first one I remember was when I was probably in 3rd grade, and one of the boys in my class told me I had dirty teeth. That’s hurt me, so I didn’t go to class because of it. I was a sensitive and shy kid. So, I hadn’t brushed them, but so what? No need to point it out.

In 1997, I studied business for a few months. There was this guy in my class who asked me if I had been in a horror movie. I asked why, and he said no reason. So he didn’t like my appearance. It wasn’t like he was an oil painting. I didn’t care about his stupid comment anyway. I should have asked if he’s been in one, but I didn’t think about it then. It really was laughable. Strange that some people criticize someone’s appearance when themselve don’t look anything special. They should keep it to themselves.

One case that wasn’t anything personal, but it was quite laughable when I think about it now. I studied web design in 2017. We had on-the-learning period where we had to find clients to design websites. I got contacted by a possible client. But they said they wanted an more experienced designer. Now, that doesn’t make any sense. I was a student, and I did it for free. If you want an experienced designer, you need to pay for one. No professional does it for free.

The latest laughable thing was when I got a comment in a fan fiction that I’m writing. I don’t remember exactly how it was since I deleted it. Something like I’m wasting my life, and others are living their lives. And yadda, yadda. Who’s wasting their life for real? People who waste their time on commenting on fan fiction, that’s who. Perhaps they don’t like real person fiction or how the story goes. It doesn’t matter. I want to have real comments about the story, and not people complaining about other things. The comment wasn’t only a few lines. The person used a lot of energy on their comment, so they must have a lot of time on their hands. I won’t stop writing because someone says something negative. Writing fan fiction is my way of relaxing and learn writing in English. If everyone who writes stopped at negative feedback, no one would write anything, and the world would be a boring place.

Certain people have negative energy, and they don’t want anyone to try anything. You can’t do this, or you can’t do this. Nice attitude there. Luckily, people still do different things no matter what others say. You might not like what people do or how they look, but you should still have respect for others. There is too much negativity in the world anyway, so spread some positivity instead.

How I became a storyteller

MiaLeave a comment
open book
©Mia Salminen 2015

I’ve never been a book reader, and I prefer watching things on TV. If I read something, it isn’t novels. I’ve read a lot of autobiographies, and when I was a child, I read books for kids. The kids’ books were written in Swedish, and they were easy to read, too. I’ve read books in Finnish as well. The book I read the most was a book about Heidi. It was adapted from a movie. I reread it last summer in a day or two. I own some books, but I go to the library when I want to read a book. I own the ‘Lord of the Rings’ book but have never finished it. My late dad bought it for Christmas, and he read it in one evening. It’s too long for my taste. I prefer the movies. The book that I have read by Tolkien is ‘The Hobbit’. I’ve read that a couple of times. I own one in English, but I have also read it in Finnish once. I’m not patient enough to read long books. Unless it’s a fascinating book or an autobiography.

I’ve always wanted to write and was pretty good at it in school. I didn’t want to write a book, as someone thought I would when I said I wanted to write. I wanted writing to be part of something else. The same goes for photography and graphic design. I don’t want to do only one thing. There are different ways to be a raconteur than someone writing books. I became a storyteller after I found my fascination with fan fiction. I didn’t find stories I wanted to read, so I started to write my own. That’s where I shine the most. But writing fiction is only a hobby and doesn’t pay the bills. It’s also a learning curve for learning English, and I don’t need to read books to keep my imagination running. Some might say that reading books teaches you to use words, but you can also learn words by watching movies or TV shows. I want to write with words that anyone can understand. You don’t need fancy words to write a good story. Writing fiction is easier for me than writing about facts.

For example, I struggle with what to write on social media right now. It’s supposed to be in Finnish, but it doesn’t come naturally to me. I’m so used to writing in English, so writing it in my language isn’t easy. The other thing is that Swedish is my mother tongue, so I find it hard to find words to describe something in Finnish. Knowing three languages can sometimes confuse your vocabulary. When I write fiction in English, the inspiration comes quicker, and I could write for hours. But I get stuck when writing about facts about myself and what I want to achieve. The challenging part is writing about it in Finnish. I’m just not a storyteller when it comes to real life. Things would be easier if I could tell a story the way I write fiction. I guess it’s about getting used to things instead of giving up because something is too difficult. You live, learn, and become a better raconteur when you write as often as possible. That’s the way you learn other things in life. That’s how I learned to write in English in the first place. Practice makes you better at what you do.

Let’s not jinx it

Mia3 Comments
jinx
Made in Canva

Have you heard the saying, if you talk about it, you might jinx it? If there isn’t, then there should be. The sports commentators usually talk about how things might go, and the next, it does happen. For example, in alpine skiing, the commentator says, I hope they don’t drive off, but then the skier does. The same goes for having plans. You shouldn’t tell about them to anyone before you make sure it will become something. But sometimes that doesn’t work either.

I believe I have jinxed a lot of things without knowing it. Or maybe I’m just jinxed. I never get lucky in anything. I shouldn’t expect too much from others. Just because you have things to say, it doesn’t mean everyone else has. Like in writing fiction. When I post my stories online, I don’t get many comments. Even if I have written the story, I would have reactions to them. Sometimes one person might react to them, but not so many others. If the story has a drama part, I don’t get any comments. If I was the reader, I would have things to say. It’s not the end of the world if no one comments, though. I usually write the stories for myself anyway. But sometimes it would be nice if some did give some feedback. Mostly I get likes, but I wish people would comment more on them. Compared to what other stories get, the other writers get much more reactions to their stories than mine. It feels my stories are not good enough to comment on. Therefore I am jinxed. Sometimes it feels I shouldn’t post any stories online. Why am I wasting my brain on writing fiction if I don’t get any likes or comments anyway? But then why shouldn’t I? I love writing fiction, so why should I stop. It doesn’t matter if someone else gets more. I write stories I want to read. That’s the reason why I do it. It’s great if someone likes them too.

I think I’m jinxed on social media too. Not in most places, but on Instagram, mostly. I won’t take it personally if I don’t get likes to my posts. I think the more you have followers, the more you get likes. I only have 23 followers. I don’t know how many of those are real. I use many hashtags and all that, but still, I get only a few likes. I don’t know how it works. I have this love/hate relationship with Instagram. I’ve had it since 2016, and now I have a newer and better phone too. I guess I can be happy I get at least some likes. I also have a business Instagram, but I don’t have much to put in there. I don’t know if I want to post much in there because I’m a bit paranoid it will go the same as it has with the other account. I don’t know how you can promote your business on Instagram anyway. You can’t even click on links in the posts. You need to go to the profile to see links. Facebook would be much easier for that. It feels like anything I put online; it all disappears into nowhere. Someone must see it because why would I get any likes anyway. At least I get likes from my cousin. I’ve used social media mostly for fun, so I haven’t stopped posting there. Too many people only use it to get likes and followers. I think I wrote in a blog post about Instagram being a popularity contest. I can’t find it now. Anyway, that’s what it is. Getting likes does make a person feel loved, but that feeling doesn’t take long.

Jinxed or not, at least I get to photograph a duck.

I better put the kettle on and repost this since this post didn’t get a single like. I guess I have to like my own posts then. Maybe I jinxed it. Perhaps I should make this blog private. It’s like talking to a wall sometimes. Like on social media, in general. Maybe I should take off the like button altogether. I’m so disappointed right now. So bye bye.