ParagadesLuster

Currently in Cassaric/Tethreghast hell Prompts are always welcome Other ships include: Cullen/inquisitor, Dorian/inquisitor, fenris/hawke, isabela/fenris Message me if you want to chat! :)

[eroscestlavie]

This just pissed me off so baaaad 😂

[denise-elviras]

''what if my writing isn't good eno--'' what if it's a reflection of your soul. what if it has a place in this world. what if you write it anyway

[luna-azzurra]

Most writers don't have a writing problem. they have a finishing problem. and finishing is its own completely different skill that has almost nothing to do with talent. finishing requires you to be okay with the thing being real, being done, existing in the world where people can have opinions about it.

And a lot of people would rather keep it unfinished and perfect in their head than done and flawed and out there. an unfinished draft can still be anything. once you finish it, it becomes one specific thing with specific failures that specific people can point to. so you keep tweaking. you keep saying it's not ready. you go back to the beginning again.

And the years pass and you are a person who is always working on something and never the person who made something. and those are two completely different people with two completely different relationships to this thing they claim to love.

[ouidamforeman]

my hot take on the fantasy genre is that it's not inherently bad to do a medieval europe based fantasy world or really any european inspired fantasy world, in fact i like that stuff and think it can be very cool and while yeah definitely diversify the historical cultures the genre bases fantasy worlds on, that's always good and having european culture be the default for everything ever is bad, the problem here i never see anyone talk about is that people keep somehow making medieval and early modern europe boring as fuck and not understanding anything about it

[heimeldat]

yessssss! Please can we have actual medieval fantasy instead of vaguely renaissance with modern flair? Can we have a bunch of randos traveling together to avoid dragon attacks on their pilgrimage to see the gold-plated skull of a famous paladin who died calling down fire from heaven on the pagan hordes? Have a guy in the marketplace selling penis and vulva charms guaranteed to protect you on your way to bathe in the sacred sulfur springs? Some lads hanging out carving promise spoons for their lady friends and talking about those weird foreigners who keep insisting "nothing" is a number? A female character who serves as a castle chatelaine and spends her time keeping account books and overseeing storage and organization? Merchant caravans traveling the Spice Road and avoiding phoenixes and giant ants along the way? A princess spending an entire year working with her ladies in the solar to sew and embroider that special gown for her wedding? Strangers sharing a bed at the inn, ladies in waiting sharing a bed with their queen (or sleeping on the trundle bed beside her), entire families sharing a bed in their little thatched house, because yes there often was only one bed? Collective cultural obsession with the proper order of all things and the natural hierarchy built into the world from the lowest insect to the divinely appointed king, with heated scholarly debates about where magic-users fit into this scheme? Widespread excitement about the invention of a new type of plow and how this will completely change farming techniques? Multiple generations working to complete a hundred-year building project? Constant arguing and politicking and back-stabbing and boot-licking between the church and the state? The philosophical joy of knowing your rightful place in the grand spinning harmony of the cosmos? The apothecaries and alchemists taking the first awkward steps into developing the scientific method? The all-pervasiveness of song and worship and moral debate?

Also for the love of God hide your characters' hair! There are a million incredible, ludicrous, delightful types of medieval headgear. Loose flowing locks are out of the question please.

[sainamoonshine]

All this, and also:

Put some fucking respect on the textile arts

[imsobadatnicknames2]

One of the reasons why I'm so annoying about the "why does this otherwise medieval europe-inspired setting have potatoes as a staple crop" is not only for the reasons I've talked about before wrt authors treating things that europe obtained through colonialism as universal timeless constants that have always been part of their cuisine, but also because like. medieval european culture is inherently linked to the material conditions of the feudal mode of production, and the introduction of potatoes as a crop to europe was such a game-changer for agriculture that like. I'm completely sure that, in a world where medieval europe had access to potatoes, feudalism (and consequently the entirety of medieval european culture) would have developed in a radically different way. So when someone inserts potatoes into their medieval-inspired world without any speculation about how this would alter these conditions it betrays a complete refusal to interrogate why things are the way they are from authors who usually claim to pride themselves in their in-depth worldbuilding.

[mikkeneko]

PSA to fan creators who don't have a lot of regular contact with children: They are almost always bigger than you think. A 1-year-old baby may already be walking. A toddler is likely already hip-high. A 10-year-old may already be taller than at least one of their parents. A 14/15 year old may already have reached their adult height.

[amarguerite]

Via @watertightvines

[wildjuniperjones]

Here's the link. It was actually not immediately easy to find, so I thought this might help.

[gavelenvy]

Some of you on this site are so scared of writing fairly conventional anatomy-based sex porn because of the cringe-words and general discomfort with sex. It helps to have had sex, but that's not necessary. After the break, as it is somewhat explicit, here is all you need to do, and it is not a list of euphemisms for penis or vagina or xenoapparatus:

Choreograph it in the same respect that you would any scene. If you can do this, you can have some confidence that your porn is exactly as good as your fights, your key gambling maneuvers, your political oneupsmanship, whatever. The key to writing any scene is to know where everyone is and what they are doing and impart this from the lens of the point of view character. If something feels "off" or weird, check in with yourself: what is the point of view character doing? Say it. She has her nails digging into her lover's shoulders. Was that, what she's doing, the last sentence? Let her react to it instead: the thrill of hot blood against her fingertips is intoxicating.

Many of the "porn mistakes" are just writing mistakes, and writing is an unending dialogue between the material (what is physically happening) and the ideal (how a perspective processes the material, with human and personal limitations but also human and personal additions). When you've firmly established the material, you move back to the ideal, the thought-space, the recollection-space, the processing. Then back to the material. Each action spins out and away from the earth, into the ether, where it is reintegrated, leveraged, subverted, and then returns, changed, to collide with the earth again, changing it in turn.

You do not have to say words for penis over and over any more than you need to keep clarifying proper names in a dialogue, and in fact, even less than this. Remember, unless your character is specifically having sex with the penis, she is in fact having sex with a woman, and her feelings and reactions and ideal likely center that woman more than her penis. Put her in dialogue with the woman rather than the penis and you have your answer: you only need to say cock as many times as you would say "rapier" in a swordfight. Once you know what sword it is, you move to sensation, movement, "large scale choreography", and processing.

The unique thing when talking about genitals is that most people don't think much about genitals when they are having sex. They think about sensations: what feels good, unexpected, painful, pleasant, intimate, jarring, etc. Saying "her cock" over and over is not just a little offputting because it's excessively repetitive; it's like putting "gauntlet" in five subsequent paragraphs. We get that there's a gauntlet and a penis. It feels wrong because the gauntlet is an extension of the striking-appendage and the penis is an extension of a character.

To avoid saying gauntlet over and over, as in any writing, you either get vaguer or get specificer. You describe the interaction with the wrist-plate, where the rapier rebounds from the shape of the steel, or the fingertip sliced-through by the superior blade, just barely shallow enough to spare the digit beneath (specific). Alternately, you get vaguer and describe the strike itself - the reader knows there's a gauntlet there! - a fist thrown in desperation after losing hold of a dagger, the weight both pulling down the blow and putting momentum behind it until it meets the enemy's helmet with more of a thud than a clang as the cheap steel crumples into the leather padding beneath, dented skull-deep.

Neither of those used "gauntlet". Both used the concept of the gauntlet. This can be done with anything that you establish - once it's on the stage, it's not off until you take it off.

Of course it helps, to an extent, to have had the kind of sex you are describing. It helps more to have been thoughtful about your own sensation and reaction and action during sex in general; few people really do this, but doing it is extremely useful for writing, the same way riding a horse and not thinking about it will lead you to over-describe the tack you're familiar with vs. riding a horse and thinking about it will help you develop a coherent material dialogue with the content of your own narrative. To an extent, to write about sex, you need to have some level of comfort thinking and reading about sex. Anyone can do those two things, and allow themself to think: at the moment of being penetrated, is her shaft sliding into my fragrant blossom? Or is the sensation more like pressure, more like pain, more like an insistent heat, more like an awareness of her and her shape or an awareness of myself and my limits or my pleasure?

As in sword fights, it helps to imagine yourself in the scene rather than only observing it, when it comes to blocking out a scene like something other than stage directions or a video game novelization.

The last thread this leads me to is pussy. No one wants to write pussy, unless they do. So they write entrance, which you can only really write once before it sounds goofy. Or cunt, which not every character would say. There is not really a cock of pussy, at least in my literary opinion. So how do you say this stuff? How do you say "into her pussy" if it causes you physical pain to write pussy?

You may not need to specify at all. When penetrating someone, you are penetrating a person, not just an organ. Depending on the nature of the sex, you may want to get into more or less detail, but I'm not talking to the people who are already writing about the color of the labia and the specific tactile sensation of a blood-flushed clit, okay? I'm speaking to you if you have stopped and made a terrible face at the thought of "pussy" and then deleted it and written "cunt" and cringed again.

My hot tip, as connects to all the rest of this, is that if there is not a word for the place you are stabbing her, you are just stabbing her. You are dragging your fingers over her until she yields. You are lining yourself up with her, pressing in, adjusting cautiously until she wriggles her hips, urging you to get on with it already. You are drawing your hips back against the friction of her trembling body. Could any of these be her asshole? Her neovagina? Her alien hole where she excretes salt waste? Of course! If it's important to specify, specify! If what's hot about fucking someone is the logistics of the hole, then by God, logistics the shit out of that hole without shame. But what makes porn hot is not the hole itself. It's the interaction with the hole, gone warm and molten as her desperate breaths come quicker. It's how the hole makes you feel. Fuck you.

Word choices for describing sex organs are an expression of how the perspective character feels about them. A heavily euphemistic description may either reveal something important about the character and her misgivings or set the narrative itself up for subversion - the girl who winces and thinks of her penis as "her manhood" is going to have something to unpack later or even during sex. The dispassionate "shaft" could either reflect disinvestment, to be dramatized later on, or set up that disinvestment to be subverted, as the humble shaft becomes the instrument of orgasm.

Think of how anime often has internal-monologue turning points to explain where a character's last reserve of energy comes from - the setup, the dead parent, the tragic past, the loss of a friend, it comes from somewhere, and the payoff to winning the duel is catharsis. It's just a more straightforward way of illustrating the point of most building-to-a-climax, which porn often deliberately does: you can only pay off on what you set up. Otherwise you revert to tropes and the underdog-hero wins for no reason and the girl-hero cums and it doesn't even matter because ten thousand she/hers have cum exactly that way in ten thousand prior okay scenes. The difference in payoff is all in a setup that the payoff can reintegrate: a material and an ideal that unite in a moment of pure emotional release.

I can't make you better at writing sex scenes than you are at writing fight scenes, but if you follow this advice you can be just as good.

[lakesbian]

i genuinely love that the way k.a applegate resolves the issue of needing the alien on the team to be able to drop plot crumbs without totally solving everything for the human kids is by making aximili-esgarrouth-isthill a jock who only tangentially paid attention to when his teachers were explaining, like, the andalite equivalent of how to find the cosine of a triangle, and now he's in an astronomically rare circumstance where the fate of an entire species depends on him remembering how to do that. and he's cold sweating trying to recall the answers to homework problems he didn't do. and also he's always lying.

[lakesbian]

ax is literally experiencing like if you got teleported back several hundred years and everyone was expecting you to explain the precise mechanisms of how cell phones work to them and if you don't come up with a sufficient explanation they're all going to die. And he's not enjoying it.

[lakesbian]

every day this happens to ax

[thirdity]

“You write the beginning and then you go back and rewrite the beginning, and you never got off page one. It’s kind of a syndrome, and I have a rash piece of advice which is — Go on, page two, page three, and never look back. Get something finished, no matter how lousy it is. […] Perfectionists cannot get going unless they kind of do violence to their own instincts, and just blast ahead.”

— Ursula K. Le Guin, The Last Interview and Other Conversations

[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

[miyuliart]

Trying to figure out how to draw armour. These are some of my notes I uploaded on patreon. A lot more to come since I really want to figure this one out.

[bookished]

( a collection of too close for 'just friends' prompts. adjust phrasing as necessary.) feel free to make edits to better suit your muse.

They’ve always hugged, but lately those hugs linger just a beat too long.

Sharing a bed during a trip—neither of them sleeps much because they’re too aware of the other’s presence.

Accidentally slipping into couple habits (buying each other food, remembering their exact coffee order, fixing their collar, etc.).

Friends teasing them for acting like a couple… and both of them freezing because it hits a little too close.

One notices the other’s dating profile and feels irrationally territorial.

The line between “friendly banter” and “flirting” has gotten blurry.

A partner/bystander points it out bluntly: “You know they’re in love with you, right?”

A fight about boundaries—because one of them wants more, but is terrified of losing the friendship.

A drunken kiss that neither of them can stop thinking about.

Everyone else assumes they’re together already… and they can’t quite correct them.

“Do you have any idea what it does to me when you look at me like that?”

“You’re supposed to be my safe place, not the reason my chest feels like it’s going to explode.”

“We can’t—God, we can’t cross that line.”

“Say it. Say you don’t feel it too, and I’ll drop it.”

“You don’t get to touch me like that and still call it friendship.”

“Stop smiling at me like I’m yours.”

“If this is just friendship, then why can’t I breathe when you’re this close?”

“You’re going to ruin me, and you don’t even know it.”

“One more second like this, and I’m not going to be able to stop myself.”

“Tell me you don’t want me, and I’ll believe you.”

“Don’t kiss me like that and pretend it means nothing.”

“We’re not supposed to do this. We’re not supposed to feel this.”

“I’d rather lose my mind than lose you, and right now I think I’m losing both.”

“Do you want me to beg? Is that what this is?”

“If we cross this line, nothing will ever be the same. And God help me, I still want to.”

“If you keep touching me like that, I won’t be able to stop.”

“Friends don’t ache when the other leaves the room. So what does that make us?”

“Tell me to go, and I will. Please—say something before I do something we can’t take back.”

“Don’t call me your best friend when you’re looking at me like I’m more.”

“If this is nothing, then why does it feel like everything?”

“You don’t get it, do you? Every time you smile at me, it feels like a promise.”

“You’re in my head all the time, and it’s killing me. Friends aren’t supposed to feel like this.”

“If we cross this line, you’re not just my friend anymore. You’re my downfall.”

“You’re standing too close.”

“Do you even know what you’re doing to me right now?”

“Stop making me want something I can’t have.”

“I can’t lose you to this, but God, I can’t stop wanting you either.”

“You’re looking at me weird.”

“That wasn’t a… friendly thing to say.”

“Do you always stand this close?”

“Why does it feel different when it’s you?”

“You’re supposed to be my best friend, not the one making my heart race.”

“That… didn’t sound like a joke.”

“Stop holding me like that. Friends don’t hold each other like that.”

“Do you even realize how you’re looking at me right now?”

“Don’t call me yours. You don’t mean it.”

“I can’t breathe when you touch me like that.”

“Say we’re still just friends. Lie to me.”

“We’re not supposed to want this.”

“If this is nothing, then why does it feel like everything?”

“One more second and I’m not going to be able to stop myself.”

“Every time you laugh, I forget we’re not allowed to be more.”

“Tell me you don’t feel it. Please. Tell me I’m imagining this.”

“You can’t just kiss me and act like it means nothing.”

“I’m trying so hard not to want you, and you’re making it impossible.”

“If you keep looking at me like that, I swear I’ll ruin everything.”

“Tell me to go, or I’m not going to.”

“You’re mine. God help me, I don’t care what we call it—you’re mine.”

“I’d rather destroy this friendship than pretend I don’t want you anymore.”

“Do you want me to beg? Because I will.”

“We’ve already crossed the line. The second I realized I loved you, we did.”

“Stop staring at me like that. You’re my best friend.”

“You can’t just… say stuff like that. We’re supposed to be friends.”

“Friends don’t make my heart do backflips when they smile.”

“Why does it feel like I’m cheating when you go on dates?”

“Don’t hold my hand if you don’t mean it.”

“We’ve been friends for years, so why does it suddenly feel different?”

“Don’t kiss me like that if you’re going to pretend it didn’t happen.”

“You’re supposed to be the one I tell about my crush, not be the crush.”

“That’s not a friendly kind of jealousy.”

“If we’re just friends, then why do I feel like you’re mine?”

[adhdwannabewriter]

Other ways to say ‘walk’ based on a vibe:

Neutral:

Strolled- Walked at a steady, leisurely pace. Moved - Simply walked from one place to another. Went - A basic term to say walked. Wandered - Walked without a specific destination.

Happy:

Skipped - Walked with a light, bouncing step, often out of joy. Bounced - Walked with energetic, lively steps. Sashayed - Walked with a confident, cheerful flair. Pranced - Walked in an exaggeratedly happy or playful manner. Danced - Walked with movements full of joy or rhythm. Amble - walking at a slow relaxed pace, good for describing walking for pleasure (Curtesy of @scribbl3dog )

Angry:

Stomped - Walked with heavy, forceful steps, showing frustration or anger. Marched - Walked with purpose and determination, often angrily. Stormed - Walked quickly and angrily, often leaving a situation (stormed out). Trudged - Walked heavily, with anger or frustration weighing down the steps. Charged - Walked aggressively, moving quickly and with force.

Sad:

Shuffled - Walked slowly, dragging the feet, often indicating sadness or exhaustion. Plodded - Walked with heavy, slow steps, as if burdened by sorrow. Trudged - Walked slowly and with effort, weighed down Slumped - Walked with a hunched posture, showing sadness or defeat. Dragged - Walked with effort, as if every step was a struggle.

Surprised:

Froze - Stopped mid-step in reaction to shock or surprise. Stumbled - Walked clumsily due to being caught off guard. Jumped - Took a quick, startled step. Skipped a step - Momentarily hesitated in walking due to surprise. Backpedaled - Walked backward quickly, often in shock or surprise.

Fearful/anxious:

Crept - Walked slowly and carefully, trying to avoid being noticed. Tiptoed - Walked quietly on the balls of the feet, trying not to make noise. Slunk - Walked with a low, cautious posture, trying to remain hidden. Hesitated - Took a few tentative steps, unsure or fearful. Paced - Walked back and forth, often in thought or anxiety.

Shy:

Shuffled - Walked slowly, with small, unsure steps. Hesitated - Paused slightly before walking, unsure or nervous. Slipped - Moved quietly and quickly to avoid attention. Hovered - Stayed near a spot, hesitant to walk forward. Inched - Walked very slowly, as if unsure or reluctant.

Thoughtful:

Wandered - Walked without a specific destination, lost in thought. Paced - Walked back and forth while thinking deeply. Strolled - Walked slowly, enjoying the time to reflect. Meandered - Walked aimlessly, with no rush, often in contemplation. Paused - Stopped briefly during a walk, considering something.

Commanding:

Marched - Walked with purpose and authority. Strutted - Walked with confidence and a sense of power. Advanced - Walked forward with a deliberate, commanding stride. Charged -Walked quickly and forcefully toward a goal. Led - Walked at the front, guiding others behind them.

[antigonehappy]

character who is sun-coded but not in the traditional ray-of-sunshine way. character who is sun-coded in the sense that they burn hot and bright and powerful, that they're a raging fury of fire and passion, and that maybe, just maybe, they are destroying themselves as they do so.

[binabees]

character who is moon-coded but not in the moody grumpy way. character who is moon-coded in the way they shine brightly in darkness guiding others. a character that is moon-coded with all their darker sides no one else can see. that they are lonely and lovely. doomed to watch on as the the person who gives them their light slowly destroys themselves taking the light with them.

[writing-prompt-s]

A knight clashes with a ferocious beast dozens of times over the years, only to finally be bested. “It is done, foul beast! Eat me and begone!” The beast tilts its head quizzically. Why would it eat its best friend?

[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

[wintergrey]

I use Wiktionary.org for so many writing-related purposes.

[the-one-who-lambs]

They should invent a being a writer that doesn't come with being isolated and diminishing returns on what you are given back compared to how much you give

[aughtpunk]

So there's this story I love about Paul Williams, right? Famous musician who has done a ton of super popular work over a very long career. Well one thing he really poured his heart and soul into was the movie Phantom of the Paradise which fucking BOMBED. Like, mere words cannot describe how bad this reimagining of Phantom of the Opera But At A Disco went. It absolutely crushed Paul Williams. Broke his heart. His biggest failure.

Except during a tour of his he met who described as a young, nerdy Mexican kid who brought him a copy of the Phantom of the Paradise for him to sign. The kid wouldn't stop talking about how much he loved the soundtrack, and how much it inspired him. This kid was literally one of the few people in the world that loved the movie

It wasn't until Paul Williams ran into the kid all grown up did he realize it was Guillermo del Toro.

And it happened again, too! He also met a pair of young French men who wouldn't stop raving about how much they loved Phantom of the Paradise and how much it inspired them and their own band, Daft Punk. The three of them ended up doing an album together. An album that I would listen to on repeat while writing the early drafts of my book.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes the creative process seems cruel, unforgiving, and thankless. You can pour your heart and soul into something only to make zero waves. But even a so-called-failure can inspire and lift up someone that needs it. So you gotta keep creating, if only to be the next link in the chain of creativity and art.

Also I don't know about you but I haven't seriously written in months and I honestly feel like I'm going to explode from too many words so like, you also gotta keep relating or else you might explode.

[super-ion]

Concept: cursed blade rehabilitation center. Destroying a sentient weapon is expensive and highly unethical, so adventurers bring them to the center where highly trained staff can care for them and eventually find them forever homes. It turns out most cursed weapons are products of trauma and are not strictly evil themselves. Some blades turn out to be fiercely protective companions. Others don't even want to be weapons at all, finding joy in simple work like blacksmithing or farming. Most blades just need to be loved.

[super-ion]

A pack of bandits descend upon a seemingly undefended town. But the blacksmith's hammer, the farmer's scythe, the woodsman's axe, they have not forgotten what they once were, and they *will* defend the town that they have come to love.

[super-ion]

This sweet girl has been with us for seven seasons. She was forged in the heart of a volcano and would be ideal for anyone with a preexisting fire affinity (she's a cuddler and is guaranteed to keep you warm in winter). She still loves burning, but it turns out you can only reduce the world to ash once. She would be perfectly suited for forest management that regularly requires controlled burns.

[super-ion]

This weary old soul has grown tired of bloodshed and would much rather spend his days as an ominous decoration in a tavern or common room, a perfect fit for an adventurer looking to leave their dungeon crawling days behind. He likes peoplewatching with his single glowing eye, preferably from high, prominent locations with views of entrances and exits.

[flagellant]

While it's fair to say that most rehabilitated weapons are not recommended for first-time wielders, this +2 Defiling Dancing Greatsword might be an exception that proves the rule! Once tempered in the blood of orphans, Greta has had a past that she's sought to grow beyond, and is eager to take a more proactive role in protecting her future lifetime companions. We're looking to find her a forever home with a group of young, earnest adventurers or a single child destined to thwart the legions of evil darkness, where Greta's protective and motherly instincts can really do good and fulfilling work.

[down-sizing-redux]

For experienced swordbearers only! Lady is a 6-foot zweihander with severe abandonment issues after a previous wielder died in the lowest level of the Lich King's least-favorite summer crypt, where Lady went undiscovered for nearly 300 years. She is looking for a forever home where she can always be close at hand to her person. While she doesn't mind mowing down the odd bandit gang, she has taken surprisingly well to ornamental hedge trimming, and enjoys observing tai chi.

[ingridverse]

Sword that glows in the presence of its enemies now working as a child's nightlight now that it has accepted Darkness That Makes Children Scared as an enemy.

Darkness That Makes You Trip On The Way To The Bathroom is also an enemy.