be kind to yourself

3

[aster-is-confused]

my favorite genre of bird picture

[recreationaldivorce]

im a sucker for stories that are good trapped inside stories that suck. im always like i can save her

[sleepy-nook]

henry 🐸💚

[retrogamingblog2]

[writingwithfolklore]

Writing Resources to use instead of AI

For coming up with character names:

Behind the name (my absolute fav)

Allows you to choose the origin of where you want the name to be from, whether you want a more feminine vs masculine vs androgenous name (as voted by users), random surname generator, and clicking on the name gives you important info like if there are any famous people with the same name, where it’s from, how common it is, and how people tend to see it, etc.

You can also search their name database by letter or meaning or origin, so if you know you want a character who has a name/surname that starts with an A from Ireland, there’s a whole list for you to choose from.

Census sites

Especially useful if you’re looking for a name from a specific place and/or time period. Just search “(country) census (year)” and you’ll find a database of real people who lived in that place at that time. No one can ever call your names unrealistic again.

For coming up with place names:

Fantasy name generator

This site can basically come up with any name for any person, place, or thing you might ever need. There are also specific generators for different fandoms if you’re looking to make an OC in an established world.

For finding that one word on the tip of your tongue:

One Look Thesaurus

This is my go-to. Not only can you find synonyms like a regular thesaurus, but you can also describe words like “unhappy smile” or “quiet laugh” to find the more specific word you’re looking for.

For coming up with ideas:

Word cloud

When I need to inspire a new idea, I write down all the things I’m interested in (hauntings, academia, lesbians, etc.) and put them into a word cloud to shuffle them next to each other. Sometimes seeing a concept in a new context can spark new ideas!

WWF Discord

This is my discord channel (shameless plug) for when you need to brainstorm off other people but don’t have anyone irl to talk to. We’re also happy to read and give feedback on writing, answer writing questions, or just chat!

For visualizing places and characters:

Pinterest

Pinterest can at times be a bit too sterile for my tastes, but if you use the right words, you can find more realistic photos of places. For example, adding “aesthetic” after basically any word will bring up a more broad collection of photos to help you flesh out places.

This is also a great way to find photos of people and fashion to help visualize characters. I’m bad at describing clothes, so I usually collect photos of outfits to help me know what my characters are wearing. Searching up “character inspiration” will collect more interesting photos and drawings of people who might not exactly be of our world.

(However, to make Pinterest not show you AI results, you have to go into your settings and check the “reduce AI” box. Luckily, it does mostly work.)

Death to Stock

Like pinterest but completely AI free (hooray!) Only drawback is that you have to pay a monthly subscription (about $20 CAD).

Cosmos

Very similar to pinterest but slightly more "artsy". I'm not super familiar with this one but I believe all the photos are human and you can save them and create collections with a free account.

Dupe Photos

Royalty-free stock image site with very Pinterest-core photos!

Minecraft

If you haven’t built your entire fictional city in Minecraft instead of writing, why not? It’s fun.

The Sims

This one is dual purpose because you can not only create your characters in Create a Sim, but you can design their houses. If you really want to go for it, you can bulldoze all the lots in your town and build your world from scratch.

For checking grammar:

Grammar Girl

Easy to follow definitions and examples, and if you learn better by listening, every article comes with a podcast to follow along with instead.

Grammar Monster

This one is my favourite for checking grammar rules because there’s tons of examples in graphics that helps for any situation.

Reedsy

Among other things, reedsy can connect you to professional editors within your budget.

For writing advice:

One Stop for Writers

This one was recommended from my discord channel and has all sorts of tutorials and resources for the writing craft.

My Blog Directory

Another shameless plug, but if you need writing advice on something specific, you can search through my directory to see if it’s there. If it isn’t, you can always send me an ask about it!

For an alternative to Google Docs:

Ellipsus

Think google docs but without AI. Yay!

(will update this list with any more suggestions or resources I discover 😊)

[just-a-readthrough]

A great resource

[mckitterick]

V.E. Schwab's advice for creating memorable characters - works for both protagonists and villains

source post: X

[dduane]

This is really good advice.

It also ties neatly into the simplest version of the formula for getting people emotionally engaged with your characters: or how to build the moment in which your character starts moving from their initial state to the state in which they'll start changing their own lives.

First, you figure out the one important thing the character believes that they're wrong about. There's usually a core misperception that they haven't examined. Once they're forced to engage with it, it'll start to change everything about their perception of the world they're inhabiting and/or the people in it.

Then, as V.E. says, you identify the character's great desire and their great fear: the thing that character wants more than anything, and the thing or situation that terrifies them, and that they'll go to any lengths to avoid.

And having identified these two objects or situations, you build a situation in which the two forces will be in close, direct opposition to one another... then drop the character down in between them, and squeeze. Those two opposing forces become the jaws of a vise... and you crank the vise more and more tightly closed until the character has no choice but to acknowledge those opposing forces, and start (even in a small way) to deal with the pressure being exerted and push their way through.

This does not have to be, initially, a great climactic moment. In fact, it works better if it's not. It's more effective if your character has a brief low-intensity brush with these conditions-in-conflict early on. That way, when your big resolution scene comes along about two-thirds or three-quarters of the way along through the story arc, you'll have set up a resonance between that earlier hint or intimation of what's to come, and the really big blowoff. Your readers will recognize the resonance—the throb of tension between the two occurrences, like the vibration of a plucked string—and will find satisfaction both in the true resolution having been partially telegraphed earlier, and in how it's now being experienced and resolved in full.

This approach also allows you to set up more minor resonances between the realization of the conflict and its final resolution. These can serve to bind the structure of the work more closely together: to make it look (and be) less like a series of loosely strung-together plot events, and more like a unified whole, in which ripples of story business flow backwards and forwards, interpenetrating and influencing one another, and hinting at the big one to come.

But none of this can happen until the paired and opposing what-do-they-most-desire, what-do-they-most-fear axes have been defined. So that's a subject it's smart to spend some while thinking about (and for all your characters, not just the major ones), to be sure you're getting it right.

It's not unusual to get the wrong answers, or merely superficial ones, while you're still working out what's actually going on with the characters. So take your time. Eventually you'll find a set of answers that feel unquestionably right... and you can then nail those down in your notes and get on with making the kind of "good trouble" for your characters that will see them made complete.

[cherryspeakers]

my first code post! here's some fridge designs from my island! they also look cute on wooden boxes and the storage shed! ♡

꒰ MA-4955-3299-5908 ꒱

[ginger-bay]

[ginger-bay]

New Prairie!

DA- 8577-2062-0530

[cottoncandylesbo]

[krystalkatpaws]

Happy Friday from 🍅彡Tomatoִ ࣪𖤐.ᐟ 🍅! I’ve uploaded a few new designs I’ve been playing around with! These include planks, blankets, rugs, and newspapers with doodles of crops on them! Enjoy!🤗💕

[quenepacrossing]

hopkins’ home

[quenepacrossing]

running by the canal insp. by sparksby

da: 6421 - 9347 - 7269

[mngiwara]

blather’s and celeste’s study and observatory 📝🔭💫

[thealdersgateoffice]

I’m trying to document all the signs in Slough House (inspired by this from @your-mighty-words-astound-me)

If anyone with better eyes than me can read some of the ones below that I can’t decipher, that would be wonderful! Here we go:

The classic ‘NO WET SPOONS IN THE SUGAR!’. This was definitely scribbled onto this post-it angrily by Catherine after she had once again found a wet spoon in the sugar.

‘NEVER REMOVE THIS PLUG ⬇️’ with plug underlined twice. That plug is probably keeping the whole building from exploding or something.

‘OUT OF ORDER’ on the lift, which has probably been there for about ten years.

‘If the water bottle is empty PLEASE REPLACE IT’. And a no smoking sign above it.

‘NOTICE TO ALL. WHEN USING SPONGES OR CLOTHS PLEASE SQUEEZE OUT WATER FIRST BEFORE LEAVING IT ON WORKTOP.’ Poor Catherine having to deal with these messy children.

‘LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, PLEASE HAVE SOME RESPECT WHEN USING THE KITCHEN AREA. DO NOT LEAVE UNWASHED DISHES IN THE SINK AND PUT YOUR DISHES AWAY.’ Thank you @abubblingcandle! The last bit is too obscured to read it clearly.

Think this one may be ‘Keep This Door Clear. Nothing to be leant ^up on this area.‘ It’s in Catherine’s office.

I just enjoy that there’s one of these on Catherine’s and Jackson’s office doors. She definitely put them there.

There’s also a written No Smoking sign on the landing - you can see it here behind Aimee in one of Gisele’s photos, and I’m pretty sure it’s visible in one of the episodes too, I just forget which one!

Thank you for reminding me of this one @too-many-rooks. ‘Your designated smoking area is NOT HERE’. Once again, this was definitely written by Catherine.

Thank you @daincrediblegg for reminding me of this one, and @timrousbeastie and @thebeigelunatics for their explanations. I wasn’t aware that this meme existed, but it’s highly enjoyable that the Slow Horses have stuck this up in the kitchen. According to @your-mighty-words-astound-me, the number scribbled on to indicate how many days it’s been since the last incident is 25,915,655,XXX (twenty five billion, nine hundred and fifteen million, six hundred and fifty five thousand, and an indecipherable three digit number that's been crossed out and another number written above).

This one made me laugh. ‘HELPFUL REFRIGERATOR CHART’ is so Catherine after her lunch has been eaten (by Lamb, probably) or one of the Slow Horses complain to her about their lunch being eaten. I can’t read it exactly, but the first line is ‘Did I bring this in?’ followed by arrows to Yes and No, which presumably point to ‘Eat or drink your lunch’ and ‘don’t’ Lol.

‘FIRST AIDERS C. Standish (3rd floor)’ ⛑️🩹

I’m guessing Moira scribbled her name out? I could also see Lamb doing it angrily and drunk when he realised she might not be coming back, or when he received the third letter from HR that required his signature to finally dismiss her, but at the same time, if he was holding out for her return, I can’t see him scribbling her name out. Also, I wonder if Catherine has ever given first aid to anyone in Slough House.

Another one from the kitchen, nicely spotted by @your-mighty-words-astound-me. ‘KEEP THIS AREA CLEAN. (YOUR) MOTHER ISN’T HERE (SO) CLEAN UP (AFTER) YOURSELVES.’ Another one definitely put up by Catherine.

‘Our aim is to keep this bathroom clean… Gentlemen… Your aim will help. Stand closer - it’s shorter than you think. You can do it!’ Of course, this is hung above Jackson’s toilet in his bathroom. I do wonder how many years ago Catherine put this one up, because I can’t see her having entered that bathroom for a while.

[remodelproj]

Bedroom desk with wall mounted mirror -> to make it a make-up desk. Like it when closed - acts as artwork.

[perpetual-summer]

What to read next?