This site is made by just one person, which makes me both the Bard and the Wizard lol. I go by Mortaki, though I suppose Mordecai and derivatives are okay too. I use she/they pronouns, but I'm not actually picky so long as I know it's me that's being referred to. You'll see me favor she/her for Mortaki and he/they for Mordecai; this is just a weird quirk on my part tbh.
What else could some rando on the internet possibly want to know about me? I'm in my 20s so not underage by most standards. I've been writing (and reading) my whole life and I'm very passionate about it. I also like music and video games, though I've been told I have peculiar taste in the former. I like space and science and history and honestly learning in general. I have very strong opinions and I'm sure you'll see that in my writing if you care to look for it. I also have like a million sweaters. No, seriously, it's a problem.
If you'd like to talk to me, please direct yourself to my tumblr. You can also find me in the Neocities Club discord. I don't have comments on my site because I'm not ready to do the things that I want with them quite yet. Both of these alternatives can be found in the "find me elsewhere" section on my homepage. I don't mind people just saying hi or talkng to me about book/fic recs or about my own works. Just keep it respectful and decent because otherwise I will ignore you. I do technically take constructive feedback, but generally speaking if I don't ask for it, I'm not looking to get any. Grammar and spelling mistakes are free game though.
I honestly have no idea how to describe my own writing. I am not "finding" my writing style; I already know it when I see it. I do have trouble settling into it naturally and thus it can take a few tries to get it right. The most I can say about it is that I write what I want regardless of any established "rules". It's not that I don't try to understand common advice and try to apply it. It's just that I trust my instincts much more than the conflicting information you can find on the internet. BUT I do have some guiding principles on both how I write and what I write, and I've very generously decided to share them with you.
inspiration over outlinesI am not a "pants-er" by any stretch of the imagination because anyone who's ever witnessed my writing process could tell you that it's very meticulous. But I've found that outlining makes it incredibly difficult for me to actually write out the scenes planned. I don't know why this is, but that's just how it works. So instead, I decided not to waste a second of inspiration. I drop everything to write down an idea. I wake up from a deep sleep to knock out the next paragrph in a chapter. I write when my mind compels me to, even if I were in the middle of something else. It's what works and it has the best results yet. There's something to be said about an artist's intuiton, I think.
fuck a kiss, make it intricateYou know the K.I.S.S. method? Keep It Simple, Stupid? Yeah, we don't do that here. Not because I don't see the wisdom of it because I do. I just don't care. It's all good for English papers and Harry Potter, I guess, but typically speaking, "simple" bores me. I am perfectly capable of banging out some run-of-the-mill, Hero's Journey, Three Act novel. I just don't find it compelling to write. I lose interest, I don't finish. But something intricate? Something that requires months of worldbuilding and hours of refining? That's my shit. I do better when my work is deeply immersed within itself. I do better when my characters have long histories and intricate lives. I just do. Maybe it's harder. Maybe it's overwhelming to some. Maybe it's bad form. I'm still going to do it because I know my stories are better for it.
make it countYou know that one meme about English teachers and blue curtains? Yeah, throw that out. Your teachers were right; the curtains are blue for a reason, shut up. If you've never been a writer then you probably won't ever understand, but more often than not, there is intention in every detail we choose to share. Otherwise, we wouldn't waste the time adding it. I never write anything that doesn't mean more than what's on the page. And not just one or two different meanings, try six or seven. I got my start by writing in a diary. That should tell you everything you need to know. If it doesn't matter, then why am I writing it?
make it FUNIf I'm not having fun, I'm not writing it. If it stresses me out, I'm not writing it. Period. This is just how my mind works. If twelve years of English teachers couldn't beat it out of me, there is nothing that will. So. I keep it fun. I let my enjoyment guide my creative process. If it's not fun, then it's not working and I try again. The stuff that I write under duress always turns out garbage anyway, so why force it?