Maharani-to-be

I'm an author who is currently working on her first book. This blog will contain all kinds of stuff related to writing & reading but also random musings. Have fun here.

[mjjune]

How To Have a Good Beta Reading Experience (or: what I've learned from 3 years of beta reading)

So lately I've been having a lot of discussions about beta reading with my discord groups so I thought I would write it out here and also share some resources I've used over the years.

This is mostly by and for writers, however readers can learn from this post as well!

DISCLAIMER: I'm by no means a writing expert, but I have been either beta reading others' books, or having my own stories beta read consistently since 2020. THIS IS ALL PERSONAL EXPERIENCE/OPINION. Others may agree or disagree ❤️

Here are the main points I'm going to talk about in this post, and I'll do it under the cut to save your dash space:

Understanding Alpha vs. Beta Readers

Choosing Readers

Being Clear About Feedback

Swapping / Compensation

The Importance of Writing Community/Groups

Websites/Resources for Finding Beta Readers

1. Understanding Alphas vs. Betas

So this is extremely important and for me, this may be the difference between me finishing your book or not. Many times, especially from new writers who had never had anyone read their work before, had extremely rough drafts that were barely coherent and were NOT beta ready, but asked me to beta read. I am not a person who can look past extensive grammar errors, nor am I the kind of person who will sit and fix all your grammar line-by-line for you.

Alpha Readers - for first/second drafts

Beta Readers - for polished drafts

It is ok for alpha reads to be unpolished and have grammar issues, and it's even ok if they have plot issues, continuity errors, etc. Because alpha readers are there for that purpose: to be the first eyes on your story and help you find and fix those issues.

The issue I have had over and over, though, is people asking for a beta reader when what they really needed was an alpha. I went in expecting a polished draft and got someone's Draft 0. In some cases, I got 100k drafts where the writer obviously had no idea how to format dialogue grammar and every single dialogue was wrong. Obviously this made me slow and in many cases, unable to finish.

Alpha readers will go in expecting it to be unpolished, and will be prepared to look past grammar/stylistic errors in order to focus on the big picture issues (plot holes, character consistency, pacing/engagement issues, etc). A Beta may be too frustrated by an unpolished draft to finish it or provide the feedback you're looking for. If you have been experiencing a lot of betas backing out and not finishing your work, you might consider this as a possible reason why.

I would also recommend, if you have never had anyone read your work before, even if you have had multiple drafts, it might be safest to ask for alphas rather than betas.

A quick way to see if your work is beta ready (again, personal experience): Pick up a published book from the shelf in your genre. Does your book read similarly? Does your formatting & grammar look the same? Bonus: read it out loud! If reading the published book out loud is significantly easier than reading yours out loud, you're probably in the alpha stage.

TL;DR: Understand your draft and which level of reader your draft is ready for. Know the difference between polished and unpolished, and be upfront about it.

2. Choosing Alphas/Betas

You may not like it but: Just because someone is your friend, real life or online, does not mean they will make a good reader for you.

#1 MOST IMPORTANT: GET READERS WHO LIKE & REGULARLY READ YOUR GENRE!

I cannot stress this enough. As someone who writes vampire content, I cannot begin to express to you the amount of useless comments I got from readers who had clearly never read a vampire book in their life.

You need someone who is familiar with your genre and you likes your synopsis/blurb.

Caveat: that said, I did find a few great betas who had never read vampire content before and gave awesome feedback. However, these readers knew and admitted they knew nothing about the paranormal genre, and because of that did not make any comments on worldbuilding, instead sticking to plot and character development only. Some readers can't make this separation.

Another thing I would recommend, especially if you are swapping or the beta reader is also a writer/on writeblr, I would recommend reading their writing before having them beta read. If you read their excerpts and see that it's really unpolished or a style that's vastly different than yours, that might change whether you want them to read for you.

In my most recent beta round, I used a google form to do a quick survey to see who was interested in beta reading. This worked really well for me and I would recommend it! You can also use this to make all potential readers agree to not share/distribute/plagiarize your work, so you have it in writing just in case someone were to try something.

This was also a great way to see which genres they usually read and how many times they have beta read in the past!

TL;DR: Get readers who LIKE your genre. Read their writing and see how they write. Use an online signup form to narrow down.

3. Be Clear About The Type of Feedback You Want

This is perhaps the second most important thing when you get readers. Many readers will shy away from reading your work if you have nothing in mind for them to look out for. Also, being clear about this shows that you 1) know it isn't perfect and needs work and 2) you have insight into what the issues already are.

For Alphas, these traits are what I have found to be the most helpful:

Immediate inline reactions - particularly emotional engagement and pointing out lines that resonated with them

NO grammar/stylistic comments (unless incomprehensible)

Questioning of worldbuilding, character decisions, and character development - particularly if confusing or unclear

Comments on action sequences & their readability

Comments on believability of the plot points/progression

For Betas, these are what have been most helpful to me:

Comments on grammar, especially if repetitive

Stylistic comments, particularly for over-used words or noticeably repetitive sentence structures

Comments on pacing

Comments on plot initiation point and buildup/execution of the climax

Not questioning my worldbuilding/plot and trusting that what I have written is intentional. Only pointing out areas that have on-page evidence of inconsistencies.

Everything above is simply personal preference. You might find other comments to be better for alphas/betas. However, being upfront about which comments you want or don't want can drastically change which people want to read for you!

Some readers are obsessed with in-depth inline grammar/style comments, some aren't at all. Some writers LOVE these in-depth grammar comments, and some don't. Being clear about what you want is the best way to make sure you and your readers are compatible for the stage of editing you're at.

4. Swapping / Compensation

So this one I might have a bit of an unpopular opinion, but I wanted to cover it because so many people talk about it on here and other sites.

Again, based on my personal experience, swapping and compensation does not mean you're going to get better feedback or have a better experience or relationship with readers.

For the record, for everyone who beta reads for me—and finishes—I always offer to read theirs, even if it's a genre I don't like.

Personally, I have never tried compensation (re: money) for beta readers. However, there are a few issues I've come across with swapping:

Mine was beta ready and theirs was unpolished first draft

Our types of feedback didn't align

Our genre preferences didn't align

Their feedback was nowhere near as high quality or constructive as mine

In these cases, one or both of us burnt out on reading the others' work, and then we'd both bail. Especially with #4, it was very disheartening for me to spend hours finding their plot holes, helping them come up with ways to fix them, for them to then write 1 paragraph about what they thought of my story that was extremely surface level. To me, that wasn't even a swap, and was practically worthless. There was even one who got sensitive about the feedback I was providing (which was a queer sensitivity read) and then left almost identical comments on my story, which weren't even relevant. It was like revenge-commenting.

All this to say: I have had positive experiences with swaps. My alpha for twtr was a swap and I really enjoy her work and she enjoys mine, and we will probably continue to swap forever.

This goes back to #2 above: be picky & choose your readers well. Your story is your baby, and it deserves to be critiqued by people who value you and your story, and want to help you make it the best possible version of itself.

To summarize, I have had two good swapping experiences. I have had 10+ good uncompensated betas—with an offer for me to read their stuff when it's ready. Do with that what you will.

5. Writing Community / Groups

On to a more positive note! I have had the best experience here on writeblr, and this is coming from someone who has tried multiple other communities (which I discuss in the last section below). Having my own discord server from tumblr, joining a few other writers' discord servers, has completely changed the game regarding finding consistent betas, more resources, and just having an overall much more positive time writing and editing.

Writeblr keeps me grounded, keeps me hopeful, and even if I share something that doesn't get tons of notes, it's so nice to have interaction. It's so nice to give and get back, consistently.

I do want to emphasize the importance of giving to get back. If no one is liking/interacting with your excerpts, tag/ask games, etc. then that's probably because you're not interacting with them! It's very important to show interest in other people's work!!

I'm not saying you need to jump onto everyone's taglists for all their wips, but join the ones that genuinely interest you the most. Play in ask/tag games consistently. Follow writers back who follow you (if they post things you're interested in, ofc).

I have the same amount of followers as the people I follow right now, and I think that goes to show that people reciprocate here on writeblr! It's a lovely community and don't be afraid to reach out ❤️

I have found almost ALL my recent betas from my tumblr and discord groups. They have been lovely so far and I would highly recommend building up community here if you are interested in finding betas.

6. Websites/Resources for Finding Betas

Alright, last section. Thanks for bearing with me. I'm going to go through the sites I have used, and why I still use them, or why I dropped them.

Scribophile

So, for starters, this is one I don't use anymore. This was the site I first used when I had a polished draft in 2020 and had no idea how to get feedback. Essentially, they have a point-system. The more comments you make, the more points you get, and then when you have 3 points, you can post a chapter. It continues in a cycle.

Pros: Personally, I think the site helped me a lot in realizing what a bad critique looks like (which is helpful!) and also helped me learn which comments/feedback types work for me, and which don't. I don't regret my time there by any means, and I found one life-long friend and beta reader there I wouldn't trade for the world. It also allows you to post/remove your story and the readers don't have direct access to it—meaning if they want to download/steal/plagiarize, they'd have to copy and paste or screenshot chapter by chapter. It's a little safety precaution.

Cons: It's not the best place to get constructive feedback. The issue with their system is it encourages quantity over quality in critiques. Because of that, you'll get strangers rewriting your entire chapter in their own style so they get 2-3 points for one critique, but... was any of it actually helpful to you? Maybe, maybe not. It's also random, so you can't control who comments on your stuff, and they might just comment to get points even if they hate your genre. I also don't think it's fair to have to do 3-5 chapter critiques in order to save up enough points to post ONE chapter of your own. And if you want to post your story for full beta reads and control who reads it and who doesn't, you have to subscribe monthly.

So I keep an eye on it occasionally to look through their forums on writing, agents, publishing, etc. But most of the forums gets nasty, because there are a lot of really pretentious writers who think they know all the rules. If you join small groups (e.g. sub-groups based on diversity, etc) they tend to have better and more meaningful discussions.

Personally, I would never use it for beta/alpha/feedback ever again. This is the site where most of my bad swaps came from. But you might find it useful! So I thought I would share it.

Nanowrimo Forums

This is another one I don't use anymore, but might consider reusing in the future. The biggest issue I have with nanowrimo is that a lot, and I mean A LOT, of these participants are first-time writers and have no concept of what polished vs. unpolished even means. I did find two really good swaps there (actually the only two good full swaps I've had) but those were very hard to find.

There is also the issue that a good chunk of them only write during November, not year round. So for finding consistent, year-long partners, this is not the best option. I'm a member of 2 discords that have all fallen silent as soon as Nano actually ended.

Also, in my experience, asking questions about anything related to "controversial" topics (especially trans and minority ethnic groups) becomes toxic very quick, which is unfortunate. There are even a few moderators who seem to be contributing to the toxic/immature discussions rather than fixing them/shutting them down, which is the main reason I stopped using it.

However, it's a GREAT place to get free, simple covers! Their artisan section is fantastic and there are a lot of people there willing to make basic covers/banners for you for free.

BetaBooks

I've only been using this one about a month so far, but I'm really liking it. It's set up that you can invite betas to your story specifically, or you can look through a beta reader library, read their profiles, and invite them to see if they're interested.

This is essentially an alternative to Scribophile. It allows you to post your story online and find betas and become a beta.

Why I like it better than Scribophile: it's not a point-based system, meaning it's uncompensated so the readers have nothing to gain other than enjoying/helping your story. There's no hard feelings if someone bails. It allows you to see all comments in one place (which Scrib can't do). (And with discount codes found through google, it's cheaper, too. Message me if you need help with this 👀)

It also is all online, easily removable, so readers would have to copy/paste or screenshot chapter-by-chapter to steal it. So again, just a little safety net that makes me feel better.

Writeblr

Yep, that's right. Right here. Actually right here on tumblr has been where I have found the most beta readers and in the shortest time. I talked about this in the section before so I won't regurgitate. But there's a reason why this community is so long-lasting. It really is the best one out there I've found.

TL;DR / IN CONCLUSION:

Know where your book is in terms of reader-readiness. Know the difference between alphas/betas and polished/unpolished. Know the types of feedback that work for you and specifically request it when recruiting betas.

Interact with a community. Give interaction in order to receive, and don't expect people to reblog/like your content if you don't reach out first. Join small, niche writing community discords. Find like-minded writers.

Decide to swap or not, but this won't make or break you.

There are many writing communities out there designed to help you not only find betas, to provide beta-reading feedback forms and commentary. Try them out and see what works best for you.

And above all, thank Writeblr for being such a lovely community ❤️

[lolawashere-deactivated20240904]

Meanwhile, on Twitter:

Brain farts, a thread

[mindblowingscience]

Stanford Medicine scientists pinpoint COVID-19 virus’s entry and exit ports inside our noses

A discovery by Stanford Medicine researchers and colleagues may pave the way for a “morning after” or prophylactic nasal spray to prevent infection.

Somebody just coughed on you. On a plane. At a dinner party. In a supermarket line.

If only there were a “morning after” nasal spray that could knock out respiratory viruses’ ability to colonize your nose and throat.

In a study publishing today in the print issue of Cell, Peter Jackson, PhD, a Stanford Medicine professor of pathology and of microbiology and immunology, and his colleagues brought that possibility closer to reality by pinpointing the routes that SARS-CoV-2, the COVID-19 virus, takes to enter and exit cells in our nasal cavity. “Our upper airways are the launchpad not only for infection of our lungs but for transmission to others,” Jackson said.

Continue Reading

[what-even-is-thiss]

I’m volunteering for a literary journal right now and there’s two things I think you all should know.

1. Most people that submit to literary journals are cis white men. We know this because our journal has an anonymous survey about demographics for people that submit.

2. Most things that get submitted to the creative non fiction section are on the level of middle school “What I did over the summer” essays.

I cannot see the demographics of the people whose essays I’m reading, but guys, if you are wondering if you should submit your work to a literary journal or not, I promise you that just in terms of statistics there are a lot of mediocre cis white men and people in general confidently submitting weird crap that isn’t literature to literature magazines. Do it. Submit your work. Please. If you want there to be more diversity in literature, be the diversity. Do it. Do it do it do it.

[what-even-is-thiss]

In general literary magazines want to include more diversity, but if poc, queer people, disabled people, etc. don’t submit their work then they aren’t gonna get more diverse because we just won’t have the material necessary to get more diverse. Submit your work. Do it. Do it. Do it do it do it.

[what-even-is-thiss]

Here’s a list of university run literary journals. Do it. Get published.

[what-even-is-thiss]

[wilthered-dreams]

Many indie lit mags also welcome works from BIPOC and LGBTQIA creatives because the editorial staff themselves are in that demographic. Quarantine brought on the start of the SO many indie lit mags - it’s almost a golden age. Don’t be afraid to submit — there will always be so many niches and aesthetics that one will bound to be the one that fits your style. 

There is so much work from marginalized narratives in litmags these days — people lament there is no representation in media, but that disregards the progress and diversity of the works of editors and writers who help make these litmags possible. 

There is representation, and it is flourishing. They are waiting to be read. 

The Lumiere Review compiles a list of submission opportunities every month, and it are always very useful: 

https://lumierereview.com/sub-sep-oct-2021

List of Litmags that Specifically Look for Work from Marginalized Creators or is Run by Marginalized Creators:

Warning Lines: https://warninglines.com/

With Confetti: https://with-confetti.com/

Giving Room Magazine: http://www.givingroommag.com/

The Bitchin’ Kitsch: https://www.talbot-heindl.com/

Tealight Press: https://www.tealightpress.com/

Tipping the Scales: https://www.tippingthescalesjournal.co.uk/

The Winnow Magazine: https://www.thewinnowmagazine.com/

perhappened: https://www.perhappened.com/

AZE Journal: https://azejournal.com/

Honeyfire Lit: https://honeyfirelit.com/

and so much more!!

(And even if some litmags’ mission statement isn’t specifically for marginalized creators, they will always welcome these narratives.)

So please, please submit!

[what-even-is-thiss]

Independent magazines are great too! I’m more familiar with the university journal scene so I appreciate this addition.

[locusimperium]

[swan-archive]

locusimperium:

A few years ago, when I was living in the housing co-op and looking for a quick cookie recipe, I came across a blog post for something called “Norwegian Christmas butter squares.” I’d never found anything like it before: it created rich, buttery and chewy cookies, like a vastly superior version of the holiday sugar cookies I’d eaten growing up. About a year ago I went looking for the recipe again, and failed to find it. The blog had been taken down, and it sent me into momentary panic. 

Luckily, I remembered enough to find it on the Wayback Machine, and quickly copied it into a file that I’ve saved ever since. I probably make these cookies about once a month, and they last about five days around my voracious husband - they’re fantastic with a cup of bitter coffee or tea. I’m skeptical that there is something distinctively Norwegian about these cookies, but they do seem like the perfect thing to eat on a cold day. 

Norwegian Christmas Butter Squares

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 egg 1 cup sugar 2 cups flour 1 tsp vanilla ½ tsp salt Turbinado/ Raw Sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Chill a 9x13″ baking pan in the freezer. Do not grease the pan.

Using a mixer, blend the butter, egg, sugar, and salt together until it is creamy.  Add the flour and vanilla and mix using your hands until the mixture holds together in large clumps. If it seems overly soft, add a little extra flour. 

Using your hands, press the dough out onto the chilled and ungreased baking sheet until it is even and ¼ inch thick.  Dust the top of the cookies evenly with raw sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees until the edges turn a golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Let cool for about five minutes before cutting the cooked dough into squares. Remove the squares from the warm pan using a spatula.

[brawltogethernow]

So I tried this recipe.

And it is GREAT.

It basically makes the platonic ideal of commercial sugar cookies, only in bar form. When I give them to people (which I do a lot, because this is one of those simple recipes where the results seem very impressive), I just tell them they’re sugar cookie bars.

[davetheshady]

Life hack: add white chocolate chips and sea salt

[mxxnlit-witch]

I made these today for the equinox with sea salt caramel chips and they are simply amazing. Let’s see how long they last with six people in the house!

[dduane]

Noting for later (as we need more butter for this, and probably won’t do a grocery shopping till the weekend).

[amyamychan]

The OP version of this has become my go-to cookie for basically all things and I have a whole cohort of friends and colleagues who would murder each other to get them. Haven’t tried any add ons yet, since the base recipe is SO GOOD.

[g1sunstreaker]

I’ve reblogged this before and I’m reblogging it again because I’m about to make it again tomorrow and I wanted to add my own tale of just how amazingly delicious it. it was SO incredibly simple to bake and with an extra dusting of brown sugar on top and served warm and soft they gift you with the taste of the nectar of the gods when paired with a small glass of milk. this image is from when I first made them a couple years ago:

GO. MAKE THESE !!!!

[mikkeneko]

Needed to make a dessert in a hurry to bring to Thanksgiving, and this recipe worked excellently. I did not have the right kind of sugar for the topping, so instead I used a packet of lemonade powder, which gave it a nice citrusy zing.

[dduane]

Forgot to mention: I made these. They were very high-end indeed: somewhere between a butter cookie and shortbread.

…Hmm. Maybe I’ll make some later after I finish wrestling with Lightworks.

[maharani-to-be]

Does anyone else think that maybe the red beads influence how fast the world is falling apart? Saving the Neverafter is not only difficult but also time sensitive so the beads could be used to track the progress of the group in either direction. It was established that their survival and staying together is critical if they even want to have a chance of success. Given that deaths are expected in the campaign while several characters were set-up as the "only hope" I think they will have to come back somehow. Having deaths directly impact the fate of the Neverafter would allow for resurrecting characters without robbing their death of a consequence.

The only thing I can't make sense of is why Brennan would let them choose to fail the charisma saving throw ...

[obi-troll-kenobi]

Picrews I use for online RPG

Mermaid MakerMermaid MakerGot into online roleplaying? Your DM needs a character token and you want something else than google-searching random people’s art that may fit your character’s description? Or are you a DM looking for quick NPC tokens and portraits? Try these picrews!

(This is a completely personal post, my intention is to keep these as in-setting as possible so I’m omiting the overly simplistic styles and anime styles)

Humanoid characters:

Baydews avatar maker V. 2.0 - Supports characters in fantasy settings. Supports heterochromia.

Tiefling maker - Great for characters in fantasy settings, not only for Tieflings!

Djarn’s character maker - No clothing choices for fantasy settings, but it’s a very detailed realistic portrait maker.

Bright’s picrew hell - A bit more cartoonish but has a lot of options for humans and fantasy creatures. Supports heterochromia.

Cute D&D character creator - Something more lighthearted if you want to see your OCs as cute chibis.

Murmur Character Creator - Not many “fantasy” options but it’s good for creating a nice female character portrait.

Dragon Age elf/human maker - For fairly realistic female elves and humans

The Dragon Prince Elf creator - The Dragon Prince style, elves/elvish characters, has horn options too. No clothings.

Hadingley Hill maker - medieval/renaissance portrait maker

Fantasy Icon Maker - For fantasy characters. Supports heterochromia.

Fantasy icon maker - another nice maker with many options

Fantasy girl - elvish/human female characters

Fantasy Hero Creator - Simple maker with some nicely detailed elements

Female human&elf / Male human&elf - a detailed fantasy maker

Muscular female / Muscular male -  a detailed fantasy maker for buff characters

Fairytale duet M/M | F/F | F/M - Humans/elves, realistic skin tones only.

Mystical elf maker - Cute elf girl portrait maker

Elvish character creator - Elf lady. Limited realistic skintones but nice clothing and background choices

AATAVEITH CHARACTER CREATOR - Human/elf female. Natural human colors only but many clothing options.

Mermaid Maker - Female mermaid or humanoid

Witch Doctor - Female only

Victorian Steampunk Dressup - A detailed steampubk character maker

Elven Fashion - Female elf only. Realistic skintones and some nice clothing.

Enchanter Maker - Female elf/human

Deity maker - Lots of creative options for inhuman characters. Base/lineart only

Makowka character maker II - Not many fantasy option but ir’s a cool maker anyway

Nellseto’s maker - cute portrait maker

Black Centered Picrew - Very nice maker with huge variety of black haistyles

Wervty’s Chime Picrew - portrait

Wervty’s Gasp Chara Creator - waist up character

TTRPG Isometric Token - Full fantasy character token.    Base/lineart only

TTRPG Portrait Token - Same as above but for character portraits.    Base/lineart only

Sci-Fi fantasy portrait maker - Fantasy and sfici/Star wars themed character portraits

Non-humanoid characters:

Dracthyr Maker - For all your dragons and dragonkin

Dragon PNGtuber Base Generator - Dragon base/lineart only. 

DnD Frog Maker - Frog people

Catfolk Maker - Cat people

Dragonborn - dragon people

Wolf / werewolf designer - Wolf face portrait with many nice options

Werewolf - fantasy werewolf

Anthro character creator - Various animal people

Animals:

Wolf&dog - Fluffy friend custimizable with apparel

felidaze’s cool cat creator - Cats with lots of options

Wolf Maker - simple wolf creator

My Froggie - Fantasy frogs

Mouse Warrior - For all you Mouseguard/Mausritter players!

RATS!! - Realistic rat portrait maker

gay rat maker - realistic fullbody rat with apparel

Mouse Guard Maker - Creator for Mouse Guard characters

Dream Horse Maker - Horses

Cat Maker - Cats

Avian Creator - Birds

Fantasy Bird Creator - birds

Realistic Goat maker - realistic goat with lots of options

serval creator - Serval portrait

This is a resource for private online gaming between you and your friends, no commercial/advertisement usage!

[dailyadventureprompts]

Dungeon: How Grief Blooms

After the tragic death of his wife, the halfling Earl of Eastbrook has become a recluse, abstaining from social functions, seldom seen in public, and conducting much of his concerns through various agents. Agents like you, paid well so that you conduct the Earl’s business promptly and without asking too many questions. However, after some weeks of gruntwork and strange favours, you can’t help the feeling that something rotten is going on at the Eastbrook estate.

Adventure Hooks:

Most of the party’s assignments are doled out by a Mr. Moiler, a functionary of the Earl’s who always seems to be under the weather and insists that they have their meetings while he takes lunch at a local tavern. Presumptuous and frequently unpleasant, Moiler is quick with the money when he has proof the work’s been done not wanting to waste any more of his finite time with the party than he has to.  It’s during one of these meetings that the functionary begins choking and coughing like he’s going to hack up a lung, and right there on the dinner table spits up a mass of rotten plant matter that bears an uncomfortable resemblance to a human hand. While the party is paralyzed with shock, the limb begins to skitter away, barely recovered Moiler demanding that they catch it before it escapes or the other inn patrons see it.

Eastbrook has many concerns that need tending to: Mines that must be checked on, merchants that must be negotiated with, monsters that must be driven off from tenant lands. Then there the more unusual jobs: travelling to nearby towns and escorting a member of the royal horticultural society to the Eastbrook estate without ever being invited in themselves, having a stern chat with a local priest who’s rabblerousing about all the body-snatchers that’ve been plaguing local cemeteries lately. These odd jobs pay the best, but there’s only so much weirdness the party can take right? … Right?

Dressed fancy and forced to leave their weapons at home, the party are finally given a chance of meeting their employer when tasked with escorting him to a social function at which he needs to show some muscle. They’re given a very brief impression of the earl: tired eyes, fingers are stained with green and soil as if his servants plucked him out of the garden and threw a bit of finery over his thinning frame. Leaving them to attend whatever business he left his secluded estate for, the party are approached by a young woman with a knowing smile and a lot of interesting questions about Eastbrook. If the party are willing to do a little snooping on her behalf, she’d be ever so grateful, and is sure she can arrange some work for them in the future should  their current arrangement fall through.

Weiterlesen

[the-griffons-saddlebag]

🛡 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺! Protector’s Ward
Armor (shield), uncommon ___

This shield depicts a pair of knights reflected across its center. While holding this shield, you can use your reaction when a friendly creature that you can see within 15 feet of you is hit by an attack from a hostile creature. You then teleport to the friendly creature’s space, pushing it 5 feet away from you to an unoccupied space of your choice when you do. You take the damage from the attack, even if the total of the attack roll doesn’t meet or exceed your AC. Once this property of the shield has been used, it can’t be used again until the next dawn. ___

✨ Patrons get huge perks! Access this and hundreds of other item cards, art files, and compendium entries when you support The Griffon’s Saddlebag on Patreon for less than $10 a month!

[123haha321-studying-deactivated]

Hello everyone! Since I have finished uploading all my notes from Anatomy & Physiology I, I decided to make a masterpost for the files. 

Chapter 1| An Introduction to the Human Body

Chapter 2| The Chemical Organization (Biomolecules) 

Chapter 3| The Cellular Level of Organization

Chapter 4| Tissue: The Living Fabric

Chapter 5| The Integumentary System

Chapter 6| Bones & Skeletal Tissues

Chapter 7| The Skeletal System: The Axial Skeleton

Chapter 8| The Skeletal System: The Appendicular Skeleton

Chapter 9| Joints

Chapter 10| Muscular Tissue

Chapter 11| The Muscular System

Chapter 12| Nervous Tissue

Chapter 13| The Spinal Cord and Spinal Nerves

Chapter 14| The Brain and Cranial Nerves

Chapter 15| Autonomic Nervous System

Chapter 16| Sensory, Motor, and Integrative Systems

Chapter 17| Special Senses

[languagesnerd]

Chemistry Resource Masterpost

Videos

Crash Course Chemistry

Sci Show Chemistry

Energy/Fuels

Khan Academy Chemistry

Khan Academy Organic Chemistry

Experiment Videos

Royal Society of Chemistry

Tyler DeWitt Chemistry 

Resources

Interactive Periodic Table

History of Chemistry

How to Balance Equations

Simulations

 Glossary

 How to Lab Reports

Revision/Papers

Lecture Notes

Chem Collective

That Tutor Guy - Chemistry 

Chem Revise - A level revision guides 

Royal Society of Chemistry - Learn 

Chemistry for Dummies 

AP Chem notes

AP Chem notes

Cliffs Notes Chemistry 

Xtreme Papers - A Level Chemistry 

Spark Notes Chemistry 

Khan Academy - Chemistry 

Khan Academy - Organic Chemistry

Master Organic Chemistry

Chem Guide

Libre Texts - Chemistry

Physics and Maths Tutor - Chemistry

[languagesnerd]

Hey look I made a chemistry revision tips post 

[inkskrivener]

big subject masterpost!!

ENGLISH & ESSAYS - lit, lang, essays

ap lit

english literature masterpost

english literature tips

ap literature reading list

literature masterpost

ap lang

how to study for the ap lang exam

ap language and composition

another ap lang mp 

essays

a guide to outlining essays

academic writing resources

writing last minute essays ​

SOCIAL SCIENCES - hug, gov, econ, ush, euro, world

ap hug

ap human geography

another ap hug masterpost

ap hug masterpost

tackling ap human geography

ap gov

how to do well in ap gov

ap govt and politics resources

ap gov and politics

ap gov resources

youtube ap gov review

ap econ

ap macro econ sheets

how to survive ap economics

lets get economical

ap ush

how to procrastinate for the apush exam

apush resources

ap us history masterpost

another apush masterpost

all the topics u need to know for apush 

ap world

ap world history

ap world masterpost

how to study ap world history

one more world masterpost

ap euro

ap euro masterpost

ap euro crunch time

european history masterpost

ap euro tips

SCIENCES - comp sci, psych, chem, physics

computer science

pltw masterpost

coding masterpost

typing masterpost

coding online

learn to code

how to study for computer science

psychology

ap psychology: a masterpost

teach urself psychology n neuroscience

more psychology

ap psych resources

masterpost of psych notes

ap psychology

chemistry

how to organic chemistry ​

science resources

another org chem masterpost

ap chemistry

high school chemistry cheat sheet 

chemistry resource masterpost

ap chemistry masterpost 

chemistry resources 

physics

physics links

studying for ap physics

ap physics 1

ap physics c

physics resoures and links

MATHEMATICS - algebra, precalc, calculus, general

algebra

algebra 2

algebra masterpost

precalc

precalculus review

resources for precalc

precalculus masterpost

calculus

how to study calculus ​

mega calculus masterpost

ap calculus formula sheets

general

how to study math

complete math masterpost ​

NON ENGLISH LANGUAGES - specifics, general

specific

spanish resources masterpost

spanish resources

swedish resources masterpost

italian learning

learning turkish masterpost

beginning with japanese

japanese masterpost

german learning tools

romanian masterpost

learn hebrew in 200 words

learning latin

french masterpost

a french masterpost

chinese masterpost

learn korean  

general

languages dictionary masterpost

how to learn languages

languages masterpost

what to do after duolingo

how to learn a language knowing the basics

MASTERPOSTS OF MASTERPOSTS

masterpost of everything

studyblr resources

the really big studying masterpost

masterpost of masterposts

study masterlists

the imperfect guide on ap classes

ap cram packets

MISCELLANEOUS - art, printables, apps, organizing

art

mini art guide

paper recommendations

how to survive ap studio art

fifty ways to improve ur artwork

helpful (art related) websites

useful art masterpost

printables

printables masterpost

another masterpost

how to make a printable

apps / websites

websites u didnt kno

study apps n websites

organization

cleaning out binders

time management stuff 

how to be more organized

time management

[docholligay]

Coming from a state champion baker:

If y’all use a decent box mix and use melted butter instead of vegetable oil, an extra egg, and milk instead of water, no one can tell the difference. I sure as hell can’t. 

Also, if you add a little almond extract to vanilla cake, or a little coffee to chocolate cake, it sends it through the roof. 

This concludes me attempting to be helpful. 

[meowjorie]

yo I can vouch for this I’ve done this for the last few cakes I’ve made and holy crap it makes suuuuch a difference the cake is still fluffy, but it also seems more dense, and it doesn’t dry out like at all you can leave it uncovered on the counter all day after being cut into, and it won’t get all crusty and dry this is an amazing way to take your cakes to the next level

[leaper182]

Does this count as cake hacks?

[haberdashing]

cake: hacked

[nentuaby]

OK but if you’re adding all that to the mix why not just scratch bake? There are literally only four ingredients you’re NOT adding yourself at this point.

It’s always so baffling when mix hackers give you a whole ass cake recipe. Like there’s some kind of magic to mixes that needs to form the core of the thing instead of just, a couple dry ingredients and powdered milk.

[zerofarad]

presumably as a step of intermediate complexity between mix baking and scratch baking, when neither of those fits your complexity needs exactly?

[condensed-theorem-shop]

In particular, this is a useful technique for people living in dorms, or traveling, or similar situations!

Baking from scratch means you’ve got to buy a whole tin of baking powder and only use a spoonful, and a whole thing of flour, and maybe multiple kinds of sugar, and maybe cocoa powder, maybe spices, and there’s no way you’re going to use up any of those, you’ll just have to pitch them when you move out.

Not to mention that you’ve got maybe one measuring cup, and there’s no way you’ve got a sifter, and you probably don’t have measuring spoons and how sure are you that your eating spoon is actually the right size…

Scratch baking is great if you’re going to do it regularly! But for situations where it doesn’t make sense to invest in all the tools and ingredients, cake mixes are very practical.

[bigscaryd]

Scratch means you have to worry about ratios. Scratch means you have to keep cake flour on hand. Scratch means you don’t get the benefit of some of the CHEMICALS in the mix that are 100% beneficial to excellent cake.

I bake some things from scratch. Anything requiring creaming a mix is basically a sad joke because all the work is the creaming. Standard cake is not one of them.

Of course, me being me, a standard cake is usually just a component - I don’t actually like “just cake” that much and canned frosting is terrible. So while I don’t scratch bake cake, that cake is getting saturated with tres leches, or put in a trifle, or getting add-ins before baking anyway.

But in a larger sense, who cares? Baking is hard and for fun anyway. Why bake-shame someone?

[audreynical2]

Just FYI… A LOT of professional bakers (probably more than half) in the US at least use doctored mixes rather than scratch ingredients even for their more expensive cakes like wedding cakes. There are whole forums where they talk about this amongst themselves.

In taste tests they’ve found that while customers may ask for a cake from scratch they often end up preferring the taste and texture of the doctored mixes when all is said and done.

Unless you have some particular allergies or some other reason to avoid box mixes they are often the better way to go.

I’ve been looking into opening up a home bakery and part of the task of producing food for the public is making sure your items are standardized so that every person who gets a cupcake (for instance) is getting the same quality, size, etc., etc.

Doctored mixes really help with that since big companies like Duncan Hines buys in larger quantities, can afford to test/discard bad batches and will rarely have a one-off batch of flour or flavoring that are bad or go bad like you can at home.

[condensed-theorem-shop]

Nice seeing this going around again!

My standard cake is box mix + milk for water + melted butter for oil + dash vanilla extract + frosting from scratch. This really seems to hit the right spot for people of “mmm, homemade” but also “exactly like Mom used to make.” (Do that for a yellow cake with chocolate buttercream frosting, add candles, and serve to a college student, for the maximum “this is exactly what I didn’t want to admit I wanted” potential.)

Seconding the addition of coffee to chocolate cake; a tablespoon of instant coffee powder in a dark chocolate cake makes it taste chocolatey-er without actually adding a perceptible coffee flavor (I don’t like coffee flavor, personally, and I still do this).

Another good option is a box lemon cake mix plus maybe 3 lemons. Zest the lemons, set the zest aside, then juice them and use that in place of the water; then use the zest to flavor the frosting. Adds a nice fresh kick.

Chocolate chips can be dumped straight into chocolate cake mix without fussing with anything to compensate. Sprinkles can go into white cake mix to make your own “confetti cake” with any specific color combo you like. Any kind of dried fruit can be chopped to raisin-size, soaked in hot water (or, better yet, hot juice with a couple of citrus peels added) for an hour, drained, and then added to batter.

Replacing part (up to maybe 1/3) of the water with yogurt (and then the rest with milk as usual) will give you a denser cake; make sure to check if it’s cooked through, and bake a little longer if necessary.

Swirling things through batter for that fancy marbled look is easy. Consider melting chocolate chips with butter, or mixing brown sugar with cinnamon and a little melted butter, or making up two different cake mixes and swirling those together.

I swear by the Cake Mix Doctor’s two cookbooks (one’s general, one’s specifically for chocolate cakes). I think every birthday cake I had as a child was out of those.

[petermorwood]

I started in my early days by using Betty Crocker mixes - an expensive import in Northern Ireland at the time, but very convenient since some of them were complete kits including a foil cake-tin. They also included cakes I’d never heard of - Red Velvet, Devil’s Food and Angel Food (why not Angel’s Food?)

NB, Angel Cake over here is a completely different thing made up of coloured layers.

After a while, with my Mum’s help, I started tweaking with an extra egg here, a bit of cream there, and the results were always good.

Though @dduane is a far better cake-baker than I’ll ever be, she also uses mixes to see how they stack up against made-from-scratch versions especially if the mixes produce something Really Nice - like, for instance, Betty Crocker brownies - or are more convenient with no huge drop in quality…..

Here’s an example: about 10 years ago Kremówka Papieska / “The Pope’s Cream Cake”  was mentioned as one of the EU 50th-birthday cakes, and DD made it from scratch.

Here’s her recipe and a photo of the result, which was great..

A bit later we found Gellwe-brand mix in one of our local branches of Polonez, and tried that too. The home-made one was definitely better, but the boxed version was also very good, needed only basic extras - milk, butter, sugar etc. - and took far less time to make (though after tasting the custard we added a bit extra vanilla extract…)

That’s why we still have a box in the store-cupboard.

Just in case one or both of us feel like pontifficating… :->

[louderminds]

10 Ways To Beat Procrastination And Get Things Done

[read-thebuzz]

From time to time, even the most conscientious and productive individuals procrastinate. For some, pushing off a deadline is a rare and anxiety-inducing situation; other people thrive best under the pressure of waiting until the eleventh hour. However, when your tendency to procrastinate is starting to make your overall quality of work and life suffer, it’s time to do a reality check and break yourself of the habit.

Keep reading

[aneternalfangirl]

DO Y'ALL BITCHES KNOW ABOUT ANYBOOKS??

It’s guys, I cant even

I don’t know how its legal (is it?)

Know how you spend money on books, then agonize about not reading them for ages?

Anybooks is an app.

A FREE LIBRARY APP

No credit cards, personal details. And no, the books are not old, boring public domain books.

Please someone more popular than me reblog this so people know about it.

[johnnylists]

9 Free Online Courses You Should Take

1. How to Reasons and Argue – Reasoning is important.  This course will teach you how to do it well.

2. Learning How to Learn – Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects.

3. Introduction to Computer Science – An introduction to the intellectual enterprises of computer science and the art of programming.

4. Science and Cooking – A public lecture series that discusses concepts from the physical sciences that underpin both everyday cooking and haute cuisine.

5. Negotiations – Negotiating helps you reach agreements, achieve objectives, strengthen your relationships, and ultimately be more productive.

6. Introduction to Statistics – Learn techniques for visualizing relationships in data and systematic techniques for understanding the relationships using mathematics.

7. Introduction to Finance – Through both theory and real world examples learn how to value any asset.

8. Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies – This course assists aspiring entrepreneurs in developing great ideas into great companies.

9. Principles of Project Management – If you’re looking to move into management, or want to gain some project management skills for your current role, this is the course for you.

[little-tealeafs-nook]

Ha, why not!

[academla]

harvard has free online courses too. look at edx for MIT and Harvard courses. coursera for other universities

^ yep! and here are a couple other helpful links:

9 free online classes you should take

info on online classes

online courses: a guide

learn things! for free

learn more outside of class

educational youtube channels