The Casual Fanatic

Welcome to the Casual Fanatic: a blog for people who like TV shows like Doctor Who, Sherlock, The Office, Parks & Rec, Castle, and many more. I also love Singin' in the Rain, Michael Bublé, Tom Hiddleston and umbrellas.

[everybidenjusthavegoodtime]

YOU’LL SEE!!!! THEY’LL ALL SEE!!!

a passionate eye doctor as he throws glasses into a screaming crowd (via richarcl)

[fixyourwritinghabits]

Can you hit me up with your best editing tips for novels when you have no beta readers? I've reached the point where I feel like I'm just banging my head against the manuscript without actually fixing my problems. Or knowing my problems.

Read it Out Loud - I use Natural Reader Free to run through chapters. It helps you catch errors, but since it’s not natural sounding, you’ll still want to do some reading on your own. Especially dialogue - it might seem natural to have a lot of ‘um’ and ‘ah’s in there, but it breaks up the flow when reading.

Look for Big Stuff - There’s no point in banging your head over the length of a paragraph you might delete later. Make sure your plot is consistent, you didn’t change names and locations and forgot, that you can understand why A+B=Z. If you don’t have an outline, this is a great time to make one, to keep track of what you need to know.

Destroy the Passive Telling - ‘She realized he was looking for something’ can be greatly improved by ‘He was looking for something’ or ‘He was rooting around in her sock drawer.’ There are always times when you’ll have to say ‘He walked across the room’, but often, the biggest problems can be fixed with rephrasing.

Note the Slow Parts and Start Snipping - Cutting things is inevitable. If a scene drags, note it. You can probably make it better by cutting out the stuff that gets your character nowhere. If a character seems completely pointless, consider removing it. If it’s too painful to do that, note those things down - chances are when you do get beta readers, they’ll tell you what you already know. 

This is just a start, but hopefully it helps!

[maryxglz]

Wimbledon 2018

Source

[maxheron]

That’s it. That’s the best tweet. We can all go home now.

[colorfeels]

Took a bunch of candles from my church’s Christmas service because I am CRIMINAL

MERRY CHRISTMAS SUCKAS LIGHT IT UP

[playgrounder]

But my friend you left so early! Surely something slipped your mind… You forgot I gave these also! Would you leave the best behind?

[hygienequeen-deactivated2016021]

Ive never laughed so hard at a post

[casualfanatic]

Check out this item in my Etsy shop

[casualfanatic]

What's Past is Prologue (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction) - Chapter Twenty-two (on Wattpad) http://my.w.tt/UiNb/Z8y67EH6JD Ellie is starting over. On what was supposed to be her honeymoon trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, she meets Tom, a handsome actor who she can't seem to stop spilling her guts to. Over the years, their friendship blossoms. But if they're only friends, why is it Ellie can't stop her heart from pounding whenever Tom is near? Follow this story on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhatsPastTH

[maisonlilprairie-deactivated202]

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[maisonlilprairie-deactivated202]

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[everybidenjusthavegoodtime]

YOU’LL SEE!!!! THEY’LL ALL SEE!!!

a passionate eye doctor as he throws glasses into a screaming crowd (via partybarackisinthehousetonight)

[casualfanatic]

I just published "Chapter Twenty" of my story "What's Past is Prologue (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction)". http://my.w.tt/UiNb/l0JScrS2Qz

[casualfanatic]

What's Past is Prologue (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction) - Chapter Seventeen (on Wattpad) http://my.w.tt/UiNb/HOrXUZkvwy Ellie is starting over. On what was supposed to be her honeymoon trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, she meets Tom, a handsome actor who she can't seem to stop spilling her guts to. Over the years, their friendship blossoms. But if they're only friends, why is it Ellie can't stop her heart from pounding whenever Tom is near? Follow this story on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhatsPastTH

[casualfanatic]

What's Past is Prologue (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction) - Chapter Sixteen (on Wattpad) http://my.w.tt/UiNb/vnqSCeBuwy Ellie is starting over. On what was supposed to be her honeymoon trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, she meets Tom, a handsome actor who she can't seem to stop spilling her guts to. Over the years, their friendship blossoms. But if they're only friends, why is it Ellie can't stop her heart from pounding whenever Tom is near? Follow this story on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhatsPastTH

[casualfanatic]

What's Past is Prologue (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction) - Chapter Fifteen (on Wattpad) http://my.w.tt/UiNb/2u7CoVuscy Ellie is starting over. On what was supposed to be her honeymoon trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, she meets Tom, a handsome actor who she can't seem to stop spilling her guts to. Over the years, their friendship blossoms. But if they're only friends, why is it Ellie can't stop her heart from pounding whenever Tom is near? Follow this story on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhatsPastTH

[casualfanatic]

What's Past is Prologue (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction) - Chapter Fourteen (on Wattpad) http://my.w.tt/UiNb/yURnouescy Ellie is starting over. On what was supposed to be her honeymoon trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, she meets Tom, a handsome actor who she can't seem to stop spilling her guts to. Over the years, their friendship blossoms. But if they're only friends, why is it Ellie can't stop her heart from pounding whenever Tom is near? Follow this story on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhatsPastTH

[casualfanatic]

What's Past is Prologue (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction) - Chapter Thirteen (on Wattpad) http://my.w.tt/UiNb/UbOLmJgVJx Ellie is starting over. On what was supposed to be her honeymoon trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, she meets Tom, a handsome actor who she can't seem to stop spilling her guts to. Over the years, their friendship blossoms. But if they're only friends, why is it Ellie can't stop her heart from pounding whenever Tom is near? Follow this story on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhatsPastTH

[youareiron-andyouarestrong]

This is the best interaction between two of my favorite writers I’ve ever seen @neil-gaiman and @linmanuel

[neil-gaiman]

Ah yes. But why a BEAVER?

[rionsanura]

That’s not a beaver, that’s a giant vole. You can tell by the tiny nose.

This is a beaver.

[neil-gaiman]

Oh hive mind of Tumblr. So much wisdom.

[badhandful]

As a rodent biologist, I couldn’t resist putting in my two cents. I have no idea how old this thread is, but here goes. So, it’s hard to see in the original tweet if the rodent of interest is a vole or a muskrat. Now, I think we’ve all adequately described why it isn’t a beaver (though I didn’t see mention of the pronounced lids over a beaver’s eyes, or the high positioning of the eyes on the head, or the almost invisible ears, all of which I find more reliable than the big naked nose).

Above is a muskrat (photo credit: OliBac on Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/olibac/14592789583/in/photolist-mS9ftg-oevRWp-dNr86K/))

And above is a water vole, (photo credit: Peter Trimming on Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/peter-trimming/6134138178/))

Sometimes even biologists have a hard time identifying one rodent from another with just a picture to go on. My final verdict for the rodent of interest, though, is muskrat, solely (and I mean solely) because of the size of the water reed in its hand. Now, it could be a really tiny reed (though it’s heavy enough for one end to sink) and if it’s a really tiny reed that could very well be a vole…but I’m going with muskrat. Tough call.

Muskrat faces (not to be confused with the coypu/nutria) look A LOT like vole faces, to the point that I find myself hard pressed to identify a key factor other than size to differentiate the two faces. Muskrats do have more of a lid over their eyes, but when their eyes are wide open the lid is not visible. So when you do a Google image search of a vole, you’ll sometimes come across a muskrat, and vice versa.

The most consistent way to get correct photos is by using the animal’s scientific name in your Google or Flickr search. Not fool-proof, but better than using the common name.

[neil-gaiman]

I just want to point out that a joke on Twitter has caused a tumblr post beginning “As a rodent biologist…” that then goes on to unleash wisdom.