life as a rough draft

Lauren. 33. Ohio. Teacher. I needed an organized (albeit scattered) way to sift through and share things I've written, read, discovered, or found that relate to teaching, literary analysis, media, and the writing process. I have my certification in 7-12 ELA and have always had an insatiable curiosity for stories.

[theloneclarinetist]

extremely unpopular opinion:

paperbacks > hardbacks

[sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog]

with a little help from his older brother, Hank Green has invented an absurdly enjoyable word-spelling game called smush.

[faemorrigan]

im realizing very fast that people do not in fact know that sometimes things in stories suck on purpose and it sucking is the point

[faemorrigan]

"this story is misogynistic!!"

>looks inside

>about the pressures of societal misogyny and how its bad

[digitalkiddo]

If you're writing anything involving cons, scams, heists, or morally questionable characters who are very good at lying, here are some free resources I've been using for research. Saving you the "why is this in my search history" anxiety.

1. The FBI's Famous Cases & Criminals archive (fbi.gov/history/famous-cases) has detailed breakdowns of real fraud cases, Ponzi schemes, and confidence operations. The language they use is clinical and precise, which is perfect for getting the procedural details right.

2. The FTC Consumer Sentinel Network publishes annual reports on the most common fraud tactics in the US. Great for understanding how modern scams actually work and what makes people fall for them.

3. The Smithsonian's American Art Museum has a free digital collection of forgery case studies. If your character forges documents or art, this is gold.

4. Court Listener (courtlistener.com) is a free legal database where you can read actual court transcripts from fraud trials. Want to know how a real con artist talks under oath? This is where you find out.

5. The Internet Archive's collection of old newspaper crime sections. Search for "confidence man" or "swindle" in papers from the 1920s through 1960s and you'll find incredible real stories that would feel too dramatic for fiction.

Bonus: The Psychology of Fraud section on the Association for Psychological Science website has accessible articles about why people trust, how deception works cognitively, and what makes someone a convincing liar. Essential reading if you want your con artist characters to feel psychologically real.

Reblog to save for later. Your WIP will thank you.

[pearl-in-vinegar]

'i asked chatgpt' yeah well I asked the three witches and now I'm the king of Scotland. so

[lactating-deactivated20220703]

“make friends” who am i doctor franking stein

[werewolf-transgenderism]

on my slides for my class about Frankenstein today

[laurenloveslearning]

we definitely don’t think house of the dragon is perfect, but we both agreed that first episode was DEVASTATING.

(a knight of the seven kingdoms was beautifully done, but wow, it was so much less heavy.)

[laurenloveslearning]

the best part of having a small dog that is obsessed with me is that i can use her as a combination weighted blanket/heating pad when things hurt a lot.

[laurenloveslearning]

now that it is summer, i am awoken every morning around 8:00 by a strange little dog who wants to go pee and then snooze in my lap on the couch. god forbid, we go back to the bed. it must be the couch and i much sit with my coffee and the television.

[greatmaster3]

Loving Vincent

[laurenloveslearning]

spent half an hour fretting about how to do my hair for field day tomorrow, even though there’s like an 80% chance i just wear it the same way as usual. one day, maybe i’ll learn cute styles.

[laurenloveslearning]

i used to get ear infections all the time as a kid, but somehow i don’t remember having my ear drum rupture. which is a little wild when you think about it, because one time we went to a theme park and my ear infection was so bad that i couldn’t stop throwing up. there is no way this is the worst one i’ve had.

anyways, this is not a fun experience. i am not a fan. i just want to do normal sunday activities and keep having to sit down. too tired and dizzy to be myself.

it did make an interesting and gentle noise when things started draining, though. i’ll admit that. like a rain stick filled with sand.

[laurenloveslearning]

so is the ballad of songbirds and snakes movie the way it is because the studio thought the audience would be too stupid to realize what was happening without having everything explicitly stated, or…?

also, the film adaptation really missed the opportunity to showcase that snow’s entire issue is his entitlement. his belief that he is inherently superior. they almost paint it like he’s made a monster by the ordeals he goes through, but in actuality, he’s a monster all along.

[laurenloveslearning]

Student: “Did you guys know I’m just a kid?”

Me: “And life is a nightmare?”

Student:

Me:

Student:

Me: “Oh, you don’t know that song, got it.”

[teathattast]

[laurenloveslearning]

when i don’t see my best friend for a while, i forget how much i enjoy being around him. messaging isn’t quite the same. he gives the best hugs. i also got to meet his newest puppy, and it seemed like his oldest doggy remembered me because she wanted to hang around between us.

[laurenloveslearning]

walked into science at the end of their microscope lab and one of my sixth graders (12 years old) turned to her partner and said, “you are the reason i have gray hairs.”