oozey mess
JVL
One Nice Bug Per Day
Peter Solarz
ellievsbear
tumblr dot com
todays bird
Misplaced Lens Cap
Product Placement
★
noise dept.
$LAYYYTER
we're not kids anymore.
⁂
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ojovivo
Sade Olutola
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda
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"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
seen from United States
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@cdgrayofficial
Being a writer is so inconvenient at times, because why does my brain drop a perfect piece of dialogue/exposition/world building explaination right as I'm about to brush my teeth?
Now I have to go rush to my phone and write it down before it's lost forever in the realm of forgotten thoughts
Like? I wanted to brush my teeth...
Juvia☔️
Write if you can.
If you can't write: Edit.
If you can't edit: Outline.
If you can't outline: Brainstorm.
If you can't brainstorm: Rest.
Writing is many tasks. Do whichever ones you can handle and you'll still be making progress.
Opening my author email these days really is just some variation of "hello influencer, we have noticed your [product] and that you are very good at it. We would like to talk to you about a way you can expand your audience using our unique subscription service training people how to self publish there book," and that's great and all, but I'm doing that shit for free.
Anyway, in light of Draft2Digital implementing fees for new authors or authors who do not make the yearly threshold of sales (I get why they're doing it, and it's still less expensive than Ingram by a country mile. But it still sucks for the people affected by it and it will drive more people to Amazon :/), you can publish your digital media directly through Kobo.
They do not offer paperbacks or hardbacks at this time.
But their digital market has the same e-book and audio market reach as D2D/Ingram and allows for library lending. So if you are an indie author who was mostly using D2D for that library access, and for whom the maintenance fees would be prohibitive against your earnings, you can use Kobo for free.
I haven't used it, because I'm not affected by the D2D fees and I didn't want to mess up my market listings by having duplicates, but when I heard about the D2D fees, I started researching so I could hopefully find a free alternative with comparable market reach. And good old Kobo was there.
Anyway. Hope that helps someone.
Also, to any authors still using Kindle Unlimited, I'd highly suggested thinking about moving over the Kobo+.
It allows for the same subscription model as KU, but doesn't enforce an exclusivity clause, so you can still mass sell through the global market and also be hosted in libraries.
I know it seems risky when KU is so established, but Kobo+ subscriptions are increasing quite a bit as even the most stalwart of Kindle fans get sick of Amazon, and my Kobo+ numbers are starting to eclipse Kindle, which is delightful.
The more we as authors push readers to Kobo+, the more freedom we'll have, so I think it's a worthwhile endeavor, for us and them.
Anyway, that's your two bits of free indie advice for the weekend.
Your Kobo numbers are outpacing your Amazon? That's great! (sorry, librarian here with a vested interest in Kobo XD)
I switched to them last year after Amazon pulled its 'no more side loading bullshit' and have been watching them closely. They were already Amazon's primary competitor before but last year saw them really starting to get up there, I feel. If they keep going how they are (and if bookshop.org finally does their Kobo support) finally there might be something that takes a hard bite out of Amazon's monopoly at least in the e-book department.
There's been a real jump to Kobo over the last year or so!
It's always been a bigger source of income for me in Europe compared to Euro/UK Kindle sales, but there's been a marked increase in that revenue compared to previous years overall. It's an encouraging trend to watch :)
things I won’t let ai take away from human writers
em dash
“not x, not y, but z”
short sentence stacking as a stylistic choice
none of these belong to ai. these are all what human writers have been writing since day one, way before ai was invented. ai was trained to mimic how human writers write — so em dash, not x not y but z and short sentence stacking would never have been used by ai at all if ai hadn’t learned and mimicked them from human writers.
no, you are not “fighting against ai” by accusing every work that has em dash, not x not y but z or short sentence stacking in it as ai-generated, you are helping ai harm the writing community by engaging in witch hunt and scaring human writers away from creating/sharing their works for fear of being wrongly accused of using ai.
speculations, accusations and ai witch hunt harm the writing community as much as ai does, if not more.
Everything human writers do, they do for a reason:
Em dash: elaboration or embellishment on the current thought, emphasis on a particular part of the statement, sudden change in thought or direction.
"Not x not y but z": defying dichotomies, emphasizing something unexpected or undefinable, discovery of nuance and gray area
Short sentence stacking: Emphasizing concrete realities and common knowledge in the world of the story, demonstrating urgency or heightened awareness, irony of noticing the banal in the midst of the extraordinary
Every human writer chose those words, that punctuation, and that sentence structure because it was important to the story they wanted to tell. AI just steals the tools from the toolbox; it doesn't really understand what to do with them. A monkey playing with a chisel doesn't lessen the artistry of Michelangelo's David.
I'm gonna go check on my WIP. just in case it wrote itself while I was gone. You never know.
How to create an atmosphere
How to create an atmosphere: Coffee Shop
How to create an atmosphere: Library
How to create an atmosphere: Supermarket
How to create an atmosphere: Train Station
How to create an atmosphere: Club
How to create an atmosphere: Forest
How to create an atmosphere: Beach
How to create an atmosphere: Haunted House
How to create an atmosphere: Christmas Market
How to create an atmosphere: Airport
How to create an atmosphere: Lecture Hall
What kind of place would you like to see next?
20 ways characters can show sadness without saying it
Habits change: suddenly no energy or motivation to do so.
Rereading old texts from someone that used to be special.
They let their hot drinks go cold beside them.
They apologize for things that aren’t their fault.
They linger after everyone else has already left.
They keep checking the door wishing that anyone will walk through.
They sit in parked cars for a long time before going inside.
Avoiding eye contact; gaze never lingers for long. Staring at the floor, instead of at people.
Rubbing the back of their necks or holding one arm with the other. Closed body language & posture shrinks.
They take deep breaths like they’re steadying themselves.
Hesitation before letting go of a hug.
Movements feel slower than usual.
Trembling fingers and limbs and shaky breath.
Sitting on the shower floor, contemplating.
Voice cracks when they speak & hesitate before responding to simple questions.
Avoidance and deflection when speaking such as “It doesn’t matter now” / “Don’t worry about it” / “I just need some sleep.”
Lingering in doorways instead of entering or lingering at the edge of the group.
Sleeping with noise or lights on to avoid feeling alone. Or as a distraction.
Fixating on small, meaningless tasks to keep busy.
A smile when being spoken to, but it fades when the other person looks away.
Alternatives to 'said'
When character is angry:
Snapped
Spat
Snarled
Hissed
Barked
...or sad:
Choked
Mumbled
Managed
Croaked
Murmured
...or if they're feeling nervous:
Stammered
Babbled
Rambled
Muttered
Squeaked
...and even when flirting:
Coaxed
Purred
Teased
Hummed
Crooned
sorry theres not a single person on this website id pay to follow idc if we’ve been mutuals for six years, if you put up a paywall we’re done
{ID: an image of Bernie Sanders captioned with text saying "I am once again asking my mutuals to complete the Post+ survey to keep Tumblr free. Post+ is a terrible idea and WILL fuck over anyone who could possibly benefit from it"}
Wait there's a survey where is it?
https://tumblr.survey.fm/post-feedback-form
Hi There :-) As you might have noticed, we’re beta-testing something new, Tumblr Post+. Post+ is our new subscription feature that allows y
OH ME GOD TY
GUYS YOU CAN ANSWER MULTIPLE TIMES
DON’T DO THAT. Look. I’m a researcher that uses online surveys A LOT. You know what happens to a flood of replies from the same IP? They get flagged as a bot/ballot box stuffing and deleted.
Answer once. Answer clearly. Don’t try to be clever or cute. I guarantee whoever came up with this BS will be just itching for any reason to toss stuff that doesn’t reflect well on their idea. “Cause corporate entities aren’t bound to data ethics the same way academic researchers are.
Just took the survey. Be sure to be concise.
Rb if you pinky promise not to join Tumblr+ and won’t hide your content behind a paywall
controversial writing tip
open a document and start writing
unrealistic. blocked,
me: yes i know gay villains are a dangerous trope
me when villains are straight: this is boring. who cares
Solution: make ALL the characters gay
This is a legit thing that some people don’t seem to get about queer coding villains
Queer coding requires all the heroes to be straight coded. That’s the point. They’re making a sub-textual statement that queer people are immoral and straight people are moral
But if your media has heroes of various sexualities and villains of various sexualities then the queer villains aren’t queer coded. The subtext of queer coding can’t exist if there are queer heroes
Happy Asexual Awareness Week! Here are some canon a-spec ladies of lit.
Felicity Montague: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. Author confirmation.
Ling Chan: The Diviners.
Sandrilene Fa Toran: Circle of Magic. Author confirmation.
Nancy: Every Heart a Doorway.
Keladry of Mindelan: Protector of the Small. Author confirmation on aro rep. Author confirmation on ace rep.
Natalie Oscott: The Tropic of Serpents.
If you're reading this...
go write three sentences on your current writing project.
# my favourite part about this post # is that nowhere does it say to reblog this # but we’re all reblogging it # because if we have to suffer # so do other writers
Ah shit. :(
COME ON @poisonedapples @raiseafuckingglass @romansleftshoulderpad
I’m going to kick your ass
Hah, guess what I was going to do anyways this afternoon
would you like a nice glass of
@dancetothestoriesinyoursoul
Victorian Slang for Steampunk Characters
Whether your character is a thief, sailor, noble, engineer, or average citizen in the 19th century, dialogue can be the quickest (and the funnest!) way to paint their personality and circumstances.
Here is short list of resources I’ve found to be the most helpful, plus a compilation of 108 Victorian slang terms that happen to be my favorites.
Victorian Slang Resources
Passing English of the Victorian era: a Dictionary of Heterodox English, Slang and Phrase (1909) is a book of slang from all levels of society, categorized by origin and dates of use.
Vocabulum, or the Rogue’s Lexicon (1859) is a book of slang published in the Victorian era itself, specializing in the slang of criminals and miscreants of all sorts.
An online list of 19th century American and Civil War era vocabulary, particularly helpful for military slang and for characters with an American background.
And a list of equally delightful slang from the Edwardian era, technically not Victorian but with reasonable room for overlap—and besides, who’s going to do as much research as you?
Now for my favorite slang terms, most of them compiled from Passing English. You’ll find some bias toward a roguish vocabulary, since my steampunk novella Aliferous is centered around air pirates!
108 Victorian Slang Terms
Above-board – Frank, open. From sailors’ lingo. Not between decks or in the hold, but above all the boards in the ship.
Ah, dear me! – ejaculation of sorrow
Alexandra Limp (approx. 1872) – An affected manner of walking seen for several years amongst women. Said to have been imitated from the temporary mode in which the then Princess of Wales walked after some trouble with a knee. (See Buxton Limp, Grecian Bend, Roman Fall.)
All his buttons on (approx. 1880 on) – Sharp, alive, active, not to be deceived. He is eighty-three years of age, but as we say hereabouts, has all his buttons on.
All a treat – Perfection of enjoyment, sometimes used satirically to depict mild catastrophe.
All over red (approx. 1840 on) – Dangerous, to be avoided.
Anti-Tox (approx. 1885) – A drug to sober a drunken person. Tox is, of course, the abbreviation of intoxication.
Balloon-juice (1883) – Soda-water; presumably suggested by its gassy nature. It’s as good as a bottle of balloon-juice after a night’s hard boozing.
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