#my articles

[arimiadev]

"I want to make a visual novel but don't know how"

visual novels are one of the most diverse and varied mediums out there and can be so much fun to make. if you've ever wanted to make one, it's pretty easy to get started!!

Overall Guide

this is a lengthy guide I made going over different parts of visual novels and how people make them! now let's go over some parts~

How to Make Visual Novels, a guide by arimia

A quick overview on how to make visual novels including terms, engines, communities and more. You can get started making your own visual nov

What Are Visual Novels?

Visual novels are a medium of video games focused on storytelling through the use of static or low-gameplay mechanics. Most can be considered a subsection of interactive fiction. A lot of visual novels have no gameplay or minigames, but some do feature light gameplay. The important aspect is that the gameplay in visual novels is never the focus, and instead the game focuses on a story delivered through dialogue & narration in textboxes on the screen.

Some visual novels are romance, some are fantasy, some are mystery, some are NSFW, some are cutesy, some are kiddie. Visual novels come in all shapes and sizes.

Visual Novel Misconceptions

Visual novels have been around for several decades now, but parts of them are still misunderstood by wider audiences. Here’s some frequent misconceptions about visual novels.

"Every visual novel has sexual content."

Visual novels come in all shapes and sizes, which includes content. Not every visual novel has sexual content, nor is it required to sell well. Visual novels are a medium for storytelling rather than a genre, so they can be anything you want them to be.

"Every visual novel is a dating sim."

Similar to the last one, some people think every visual novel is a romance game or a dating sim. Not every visual novel has romance in it, nor is it required to sell well.

"Every visual novel has choices and multiple endings."

Some of the most popular visual novels out there like Umineko When they Cry don’t have choices. Choices and multiple endings aren’t required to make a visual novel—completely linear experiences are fine.

"Visual novels need to be long."

Some of the top visual novels on itch.io right now are under 25k words, which puts them under 2 hours of playtime. Visual novels don’t have to be a certain length—they can be as long or as short as the story needs them to be. There’s even an annual visual novel jam, O2A2, that focuses on making a visual novel under 1k words with limited assets.

"Visual novels don’t sell well."

This is very much your mileage may vary. Some visual novels sell very, very well, such as how the recent Our Life: Now and Forever Kickstarter gained almost $300k. Marketing is an entire field just like art and writing and isn’t something you can skimp on or push to the end.

"Visual novel players hate reading."

A vast, vast majority of visual novel readers want a visual novel—they want a game that is light on gameplay and heavy on reading. You don’t have to add gameplay to a visual novel to keep people interested. Rather, minigames added at random can deter players. Visual novel players want an engaging story—if you’re worried of losing their attention, then focus on a tighter script or cinematography.

"Visual novels need to be anime style."

Visual novels originated in Japan and most do have an anime style, but visual novels do not need an anime style to sell well. The art style for a game will change the audience for the game—players who want something anime style probably won’t be interested in a semi-realistic style, but other people will be. It’s all about finding the right style for your story and finding the audience who responds well to it.

Visual Novel Terms

Here’s a list of terms you might encounter in visual novel and game dev communities.

EVN / OELVN – stands for English Visual Novel and Original English Language Visual Novel. Two terms used for describing Western VNs that are made in English, although EVN is used more frequently nowadays. An EVN/OELVN is specifically a visual novel made in English first, not a visual novel that has an English translation (and was made in a different language first). There are several variations of this, such as JVN meaning Japanese Visual Novel and RVN meaning Russian Visual Novel.

Kinetic novel – a visual novel that’s linear with few or no choices. Has only one ending. Also called a linear visual novel, linear game, etc.

Game jams – an event where developers have a set amount of time to make a game, ranging from a weekend to several months. Some jams have themes that the games must follow as well as other restrictions while others are more freeform. Nowadays, most jams are hosted on itchio. You can find a list of visual novel game jams here.

Game engine – a piece of software used for developing video games. The most popular ones for making indie VNs in English-speaking areas are Ren’Py and Unity, though Tyranobuilder is very popular in Japan for indies.

Text/code editor – when programming, you’ll need another piece of software to edit and write code that works with the game engine. Some popular text editors are Visual Studio Code, Sublime, Atom, Notepad, and more.

Character sprite – the individual character art that changes expressions and can move around the screen. Can include multiple outfits, pose changes, and more.

CGs – although it typically stands for Computer Generated, CGs in visual novels typically means the cut scene art where no sprites are shown (unless there's a side sprite on the textbox). CGs are usually reserved for special scenes and are the type of artwork you’d see in a CG Gallery or as promotional artwork.

UI / GUI – the User Interface / Graphical User Interface. This is what the player interacts with such as the textbox, main menu, save / load screen, settings, and more.

ADV mode – the standard reading mode for visual novels, short for Adventure mode. The textbox is located at the bottom of the screen. Popular examples of this are Steins;Gate, AI: The Somnium Files, and Amnesia.

NVL mode – a different reading mode for visual novels, short for Novel mode. The textbox covers most of the screen. Popular examples of this are Fate/stay night, Tsukihime, and Umineko When they Cry.

Dating simulator – dating sims are some of the oldest forms of visual novels and are essentially stat raisers where you spend time with various characters with the goal being to romance them by getting your stats high enough. In Western spheres dating sim has become synonymous with a romance game, where stat raising is not involved, but it’s important to note that dating sims refer to stat raisers a lot of the time. Unlike otome, a dating sim doesn’t refer to a specific sexual orientation.

Otome / Otoge – roughly translates to “maiden’s love” and is used to describe games with a female demographic, usually dating sims & romance games which feature male love interests and a female protagonist. Some otome games feature female and other gendered LIs, but male LIs are still the primary focus.

Eroge – an erotic game. If a game has sexual content in it, it’s an eroge. The original Fate/stay night (not the remastered version on Steam) is a popular example of an eroge.

Resources

And now, let's look at some tools and links for actually making visual novels.

Engines & Programming

Ren’Py – free visual novel engine

Twine – free text-based game engine (usually used for interactive fiction)

Naninovel – Unity-based tool for making Unity VNs

tiny tools – collection of various game dev tools

Ren’Edit Add-On – Ren’Py script editing & feedback tool

Ren’Py Accessibility Add-On

Feniks Ren’Py resources – various add-ons and tutorials by Feniks

Game Jam & Short Dev Advice

Game Jam Survival Guide - Essential Tips and Tricks

Releasing 8+ games (ft. game jams) and when to take a break

making game development backup plans

Advice for Leading VN Game Jam Teams

How to Make a Visual Novel Solo

How to Finish Your Visual Novel

Design

How to Make Visual Novels

Visual Novel Conference Talks

Visual Novel Cinematography & Design

Art Direction & Execution in Visual Novels

Making Impactful, Impressive Character Sprites

Post-production Techniques for VNs

Vimi’s Visual Novel Design

Writing

Writing Interactive – guides for narrative games writers

Visual Novel Conference Talks

Writing Mystery Visual Novels

How to Design Interesting Choices in VNs

The Intrigue of Ambiguity

Artwork

Clip Studio Paint

Krita

FireAlpaca

Medibang

GIMP

FastStone Photo Resizer – batch photo resizer and editor

FotoSketcher – various settings to apply artistic filters to photos

Marketing

How to Market Visual Novels

Marketing Visual Novels FAQ

Marketing Fundamentals for Indie Game Developers

Marketing your first indie game – What we learned from releasing the same game twice

The stairstep approach to indie game marketing

Marketing your Visual Novel for Kickstarter

Visual Novel Press-Kits

Audio

Eric Matyas music & SFX

Vita-chi SFX & graphics

Free Music Archive

Free Sound

dova-syndrome

Misc.

Lemmasoft Creative Commons Forum

itch.io visual novel resources

Google Fonts – free fonts

Uncle Mugen backgrounds

Canva – browser & desktop graphic design tool

Unsplash – free photos

Wrapping Up

all in all, visual novels are a fun medium to explore and play around with. if you want to make something short as a test run, try joining a game jam! if you want to see how varied visual novels can be, try playing some indies from itchio! at the end of the day there's no bad way to start making your own visual novel. hit the ground running and go for it!!

I've been developing visual novels for over 10 years now, blogging about them on my own blog and releasing visual novels through my studio Crystal Game Works. I hope this guide helped shed light on how to get into the medium!

— Arimia

[strangebiology]

My baby angel Bijou is famous!

Look for this magazine at your grocery store and get it to enrich your cat’s life! And you can train your cats to do tricks just like I did. There are some decent YouTube tutorials that can help!

[herbaklava]

The Cult of the Pinterest Curated Generation

What is it about the human fascination with living vicariously through the lives of others?

Here’s my recent article that unfortunately never got published, so I uploaded it to Substack.

[forsythiajo]

Happy birthday to Moumen al-Natour (born 12 December 1995)! Al-Natour is a Palestinian lawyer and activist from the Gaza Strip who has been a harsh critic of Hamas. He has been arrested by the group at least 20 times. As a lawyer, he has represented journalists arrested for criticizing Hamas, and women seeking to leave abusive marriages. As an activist, he has been an organizer of the We Want to Live movement, which has organized protests against Hamas, and the founder of Palestinian Youth for Development, which has organized aid distribution to Gaza residents since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.

I hope that he and his family remain safe, and that his next birthday sees a Gaza Strip free of oppression and violence from any army or political party.

[understandingevanbuckley]

What could we expect to see for Evan "Buck" Buckley's arc in season 9 of 911?

Season 8 was a rough one for Buck on 911. What could we see in season 9 and what would we like to see happen for his character coming up?

First in a series of articles I am doing for the main characters! Here's what we hope to see for Buck and some of my feelings in regards to his storyline.

[arthuntblog]

Longevity does not rest on repeating a successful formula, but on experimenting within clearly defined artistic and ideological boundaries.

— John Paul Jonah “A Comprehensive Aesthetic as the Key to Survival”

[the-witchy-housewife]

Workings of Justice: Mundane & Divine

Workings of Justice: Mundane & Divine - The Witchy Housewife

(Image Credits: Tingey Injury Law Firm via Unsplash) I’m not sure how to put this gently, so I’ll just say it plainly: Humanity is at war. W

This is an article from my website, The Witchy Housewife. You can read it at the source here or look under the cut to read it here on Tumblr. If you enjoy my work, please consider subscribing (at the bottom of this page) to receive articles as they're posted via e-mail, exploring the shop, leaving a tip, or reblogging this post. I run this all myself, so all support is greatly appreciated. 💜🔮✨

I’m not sure how to put this gently, so I’ll just say it plainly: Humanity is at war. Whether you believe this war is a purely physical one between those with humanity’s best interest in mind and those who don’t or you believe there are spiritual elements involved matters little. The injustice all around us is apparent to everyone, and though I come at this from the perspective of someone living within the United States, I have spoken with people from all over sharing similar sentiments. Things are simply not right at the moment, and there is only so much we can do when the systems in place meant to correct injustice is no longer function as intended. While protesting in numbers is certainly the surest and most important step we can take in the right direction, today, I wanted to share my thoughts on what we can also be done energetically to help bring justice back into the world around us.

Justice & Morality

I want to begin this article by noting that justice and the consequences that come with it is not the same as hexing or cursing. When we consider hexes and curses, the general goal is to cause misfortune. While those who practice these types of magick are comfortable and certain in their own judgment of a situation and corresponding actions taken, there are others still who don’t feel comfortable putting out that sort of energy. For those of you who fall into the latter category, we may instead consider justice more generally. In this case, the goal of a working instead becomes truth, accountability, and proportionate consequence as determined by cultural/societal beliefs and/or Divine ideas of justice.

As far back in history as we have access to, there have been deities presiding over the domain of justice and this idea that there is a very general blueprint for “right” and “wrong” which exists on a Kosmic level – that there is some sort of objective Divine morality as well as a subjective mundane one. Now, this is a more philosophical discussion to be had which is not the intended purpose of this article, but if you’re reading this section with concerns about justice workings, it’s likely that you fall into the camp which feels that there are, at least, some morals which seem inherent. The reason I mention this is that, if you are absolutely afraid of subconsciously misinterpreting what proportionate consequence might look like, you can safely leave that part up to the gods you put your trust in and focus the majority of your attention on the truth and accountability portions of your justice-related workings.

Deities of Justice

If you’re going to call upon deities in your justice workings, you may do so through prayer, petition, and/or offering. Below, I have compiled a list of the deities that I personally turn to for justice workings on the Khthonic Wiccan/Hellenistic path. Alongside those deities, I’ve also included a list of parallel deities from other paths. Please note, however, that deities included as a parallel are not necessarily the same deity as that mentioned from the Hellenistic pantheon and the comparison is not necessarily 1:1. Likewise, the simplified titles given here do not even scratch the surface of the full domain of these deities.

Hekate (Hellenic Goddess of Witchcraft): Hekate is one of the three primary figures of the Khthonic Sacred Triad in Khthonic Wicca. As the Queen of all realms, she is who I turn to for all matters of guidance and empowerment. She is also who I would consider the best to approach for any sort of justice working, as her approach is fair, her counsel is wise, and her approach is never just gentle for the sake of being gentle.

Trivia (Roman Goddess of the Crossroads)

The Morrígan (Celtic Goddess of War & Fate)

Hel (Norse Goddess of the Underworld)

Isis (Kemetic Goddess of Magick & Motherhood)

Kali (Vedic Goddess of Cycles & Liberation)

Ọya (Yorùbán Orisha of the Winds & the Dead)

al-Lat (Arabian Goddess of Love & the Mysteries)

Izanami (Shinto Kami of Creation & Death)

Themis (Hellenic Goddess of Morality): Themis is one of the 12 Titanes born in the early days of physical creation to Gaia and Ouranos, and her domain is over Divine Law & Order. When referring to an objective Divine morality in the previous section of this article, Themis is who I might consider seeking the counsel of.

Brigid (Celtic Goddess of Wisdom)

Ma’at (Kemetic Goddess of Kosmic Order)

Varuna (Vedic God of Kosmic Order)

Astraia (Hellenic Goddess of Divine Justice): While Themis determines and maintains the Kosmic and Divine laws which keep our existence in good order, I consider Astraia to be the one who carries it out.

Justitia (Roman Goddess of Justice)

Forseti (Norse God of Justice)

Mithra (Zoroastrian Goddess of Justice)

Michael (Abrahamic Angel of Justice)

Itztlacoliuhqui (Aztec God of Justice)

Dike (Hellenic Goddess of Justice): Unlike the justice of Astraia, Dike’s justice is a more worldly justice. She holds domain over the legal and social consequences of injustice.

St. Oscar Romero (Catholic Saint of Justice)

St. Ivo of Kermartin (Catholic Saint of Law)

Ares (Hellenic God of War & Courage): We may think of war in a strictly negative context, but when we consider the full breadth of war, two other things come to mind: Courageous self-defense and the destruction of what no longer serves us. When we think of planetary magick, Mars is often the planet we turn to when seeking victory in conflict. You may also like to call on Pyroeis who holds direct domain over the planet itself.

Mars (Roman God of War)

Týr (Norse God of War Council)

Montu (Kemetic God of War)

Kartikeya (Vedic God of War)

Ògún (Yorùbán Orisha of War)

Al-Qaum (Arabian God of Protection)

St. Joan of Arc (Catholic Saint of Soldiers)

Zeus (Hellenic God of the Sky): As the King of the Gods himself and of this existence at large in its current iteration, it goes without saying that Zeus also holds domain over justice. When we think of planetary magick, Jupiter is often the planet we turn to when seeking victory in the pursuit of justice. You may also like to call on Phaethon who holds direct domain over the planet itself.

Jupiter (Roman God of the Sky)

The Dagda (Celtic God of Cycles)

Thor (Norse God of Thunder)

Ra (Kemetic God of the Sun)

Indra (Vedic God of Weather)

Shango (Yorùbán Orisha of Strength)

Shamash (Mesopotamian God of the Sun)

Tláloc (Aztec God of Rain)

Susanoo-no-Mikoto (Shinto Kami of the Sea)

Eris (Hellenic Goddess of Strife): In Works and Days, Hesiodos notes that are certain days which are more unkindly. On these days, it’s thought that Eris, Horkos (Hellenic God of Oaths), and the Erinyes (Hellenic Goddesses of Retribution) come to haunt those on the surface of the earth who have committed crimes against natural order. Where Dike is concerned with the social and legal consequences of injustice, it is Eris who holds domain over its psychological consequences.

Discordia (Roman Goddess of Strife)

Loki (Norse God of Chaos)

Set (Kemetic God of Disorder)

Eshu (Yorùbán Orisha of Crossroads)

Samael (Abrahamic Angel of Destruction)

This is by no means a complete list of deities concerned with matters of justice. Considering the human history of this planet, there are an absurd number of myths from an absurd number of cultures – and that’s to say nothing of myth that’s been lost to time or what might exist beyond the realm of human comprehension. Still, it’s a good starting point for most.

One common concern (and rightly so) when discussing gods and injustice is this: Why – if the gods are omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent – does evil and injustice exist at all? If you want my theory on the matter, I would suggest that this is, perhaps, an incorrect assessment. While the gods were all born from same pool of Kosmic energy that is Primordial Khaos, they do not transcend it; rather, they are emanations of it – individual iterations of Kosmic energy with their own perspective and energetic influence. The further down the Kosmic tree of life you delve, the more pluralistic these things become. Humans emanate from these emanations, as well. While the gods are certainly very powerful and very wise beyond our comprehension due to their “age” and experience in the grand scheme of things, we carry those same energetic capabilities made more complex only by the experience of a physical existence. This is why, I believe, things like magick and manifestation work in the first place – and not just at the hands of a select few, however unfortunate that may seem.

I also think about the mechanics of magick in general. Successful magick, typically, requires extended steady focus. Then I turn my attention to the mythos of the gods, and I see that there is distraction and trickery among them. My theory here is that the closer toward a physical existence you move and the more categorized and organized things become, the more the concept of focus becomes a crucial part of the Kosmic creation process. This suggests to me that there is, perhaps, some form of focus among the gods that perhaps isn’t as concentrated as it is in the physical realm. This is evidenced, as well, by the division of domains which the gods oversee. Their focus on their particular domain seems integral, to me, to the continued order and proper functioning of the Kosmos.

Finally, as Khaos made Kosmos encompasses and permeates all things, there would not be evil in people if evil did not already exist. Further, the existence of evil spirits is described quite regularly across global mythos. It is my belief, then, that there are also evil gods. Just as well, there are gods who may not necessarily be “evil” in the way we define it, but whom are simply not on the same page as other gods about how physical existence should be run. This gets into ideas like spiritual warfare, which I’ve discussed before. It is my belief that many evil people also align themselves – knowingly or unknowingly – with these more unpleasant gods, just as we might align ourselves with the more pleasant ones.

This brings us, as well, to the idea of free will and concept of freedom at large. Is it more “just” to live within a Kosmic dictatorship wherein all things run on scrupulous micromanagement and not a single human being has agency or is it more “just” to ensure freedom knowing that this means that some people will use that freedom for evil? To rid the world of evil is also to rid it of freedom in the name of the cause. I would advise you to consider the caged animal and the trauma that naturally develops as a result. Now apply that to the complex psychology of the human being. There is much more discussion that could be had here, but I don’t want to veer too far from the topic of this article. The point I am trying to make is that I believe existence is a lot more complicated than we’re aware of from our limited human perspective. The experiences I have personally had with the gods have painted the theories and beliefs I hold today, and it is these experiences that drive me to continue down this path.

Justice Correspondences

I’ll break this section up into four separate planetary energies which may be beneficial to your workings, and we begin with Jupiter, which is the most commonly channeled planetary energy when conducting workings for justice. Specifically, we want to channel the fiery energy of Jupiter, for which I think bay laurel and linden are the most appropriate plant to work with if you’re doing herbal magick. Jupiter would be an especially important ally when the target for change is political in nature, as Jupiter’s reign exceeds that of worldly rulers and leaders. Its magick also works against Saturnian influences, which could likewise apply to any oppressive and binding systems that have been put into place by the people in power, for which you might also like to utilize Saturn’s seal. If you practice Solomonic magick, you might choose to implement the Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter for protection and defense against those with ill will towards humanity or the Seventh Pentacle of Jupiter if you intend to fight back against those responsible for our current economic ruin. The best day for a Jupiter working is Thursday.

I would next suggest working with the energy of Sol, the Sun, to invoke Divine Masculinity in the form of the Warrior as a means of bringing victory to the side of the people. It is also the planet of truth, as it sheds light upon everything which exists beneath it. Additionally, it can be channeled in tandem with the energies of Jupiter to really pack a punch to your working. Gold is the appropriate metal to use here; jewelry or currency will work just as well as a piece dedicated to your workings, so long as you cleanse the pieces thoroughly before and after your work with it. If you practice Solomonic magick, you might choose to implement the Second Pentacle of Sol to combat the arrogance of those who view themselves as untouchable, the Fourth Pentacle of Sol to reveal the truth of anything being hidden from the public eye, or the Seventh Pentacle of Sol to free society from the chains of programming and circumstance. The best day for a Sol working is Sunday.

The third planet that may be invoked for workings of justice would be Uranus, but I do advise one to be careful in doing so. Uranus is the planet of rebellion; it can result in the total upheaval of current sociopolitical systems. The change that may result from these workings, however, can be quite chaotic and violent. This, too, is a planet which can work against Saturnian influences, and in the case of a justice working, I would actually recommend doing a Uranian working on a Saturday to, perhaps, reel it in a bit to avoid things getting too crazy. More traditionally, the airy aspects of Saturn are quite aligned with Uranus. Still, I consider the way our world is right now and the amount of information that has come to surface recently that has gone totally unaddressed. The people in power are bold. Perhaps the only thing that will completely free us from our chains is the total upheaval of everything as we know it.

Finally, Saturn could be a useful ally here but only, I feel, in the way of binding those in power from continuing to harm society at large. I recognize that the planet can be a bit uncomfortable to work with, as its influence has been used against us in order to put us in the restrictive position we find ourselves in today. This, however, doesn’t prevent us from using that energy right back in their direction – a return to sender working of sorts. I would use tools like hematite and moss for workings like these. If you practice Solomonic magick, you might choose to implement the First Pentacle of Saturn to force political leaders to submit to the will of the people, Third Pentacle of Saturn to bind and protect against large scale sociopolitical schemes, or the Seventh Pentacle of Saturn to strike fear into the hearts of those in power at the anger of the people over the wrongdoings committed against us. Be mindful that any workings you do with Saturn may be counteracted by the energies of Jupiter, Sol, and sometimes Uranus, so I would recommend doing such a working on a separate day from workings involving those planetary energies. I also think conducting these workings after the previous workings would yield the best results. The best day for a Saturn working is Saturday.

If you’d like to take your working a step further, consider the auspicious days outlines by Hesiodos, which I’ve written about in the Sabbats section of the Digital Grimoire (though I may move this information to its own section later; I’ll update this article if and when that becomes the case). As I mentioned earlier in this article, Eris, Horkos, and the Erinyes are thought to haunt the surface of Gaia on the 5th, 15th, and 25th days after the new moon. These are typically considered unlucky or unkindly days as a result, but it is my feeling that they are actually fantastic days to conduct justice workings – particularly if the justice you’re seeking pertains to crimes against humanity. You can see the current days luck on the Chronomagica page which I’m currently having built and optimized. Otherwise, if you don’t want to do the calculations for yourself, I have the whole 2026 year outlined in a PDF included with my Year Ahead Forecast on Patreon.

To tie this section of, here are a few more correspondences for you to work with: The colors gold, blue, and brown, the numbers 8 and 9, shapes like the circle, square, and pentagon, the psephoi tiles for eta and psi, and/or the Justice, Judgment, and Temperance tarot cards. (Note: Some of the linked sections of the Digital Grimoire may be currently in progress, but I plan to forgo a new article next month so I may solely focus on completing the Grimoire.)

Ideas for Justice Workings

I’ve already shared an extended ritual which takes place from the new moon to the full moon that had some pretty interesting results when I performed it. I’ve named it the Gaian Army Ritual, and it’s available for free here on Patreon. I would consider this a “gentler” working than what I might conduct today, so I think this one could be especially useful for those who prefer to avoid inadvertent harm that may be caused by consequence of heavier workings. To pack a punch to this working however, you may wish to include planetary energies on particular days alongside this working. This can be as involved as getting more candles, creating sigils using planetary squares, and using imagery of the planetary pentacles or as simple as meditative visual work. It’s worth noting, though – as with all magick – that the more sustained focus you put towards a magickal goal, the more likely you are to see meaningful outcomes. Likewise, the more people putting energy into this, the better. As I said, I think there are certain protections and empowerments put into place up top.

If you want something longer term, since justice is something that always needs to be maintained given the inclinations for humans to become corrupt, I suggest getting yourself a notebook to bless and dedicate to your preferred deity/deities for the purpose of continued justice workings. Keep all your gripes and concerns written on its pages – your ideas and desires for a better world. Tape, glue, or draw the appropriate relevant imagery within the covers or beside your writing. Enchant it regularly.

Something has got to give eventually; the way the world operates currently is simply not compatible with human nature. I know it’s difficult to find the time and energy to give to the cause right now when we’re all struggling to varying degrees each and every day. I empathize, for I am there, too. Yet, it is only our united efforts which will turn the tides in our favor. Otherwise, I don’t think any of us are going to like what happens when people finally begin to snap nor how Mother Nature chooses to deal with the species causing her ongoing grief.