#writing reference

[mysticdragon3md3]

Writing reference

[novella-november]

Blueprint Maker | Free Online App

Create blueprints, floor plans, layouts and more from templates in minutes with SmartDraw's easy to use blueprint software.

I found an online blueprint maker :D

You need to make an account to save projects, and you have to buy a subscription thing if you want to export the files, but I am happy with the free version and being able to visualize the areas in my book without having to draw everything individually, and it has a grid with measurements!

[wuxiaphoenix]

Worldbuilding: Biology Matters

The Silk Road hath delivered tribute to my door!

...AKA red apricots were in the grocery store, nom.

Apricots are one of many, many things that made it from China to Rome and Europe by way of the Silk Road. And not by accident. What traveled across continents came by human will and tenacity, yes - but also because of the realities of human evolution. This shows up most dramatically in spices, fruits, and... well, silk is the classic, but really anything light and shiny.

The quest for spices (of the seasoning variety, not the trade meaning of “small, light, and valuable”) is a quest to make things taste different in an appealing way. And yes, this goes back to evolution. No one’s entirely sure if the baseline mammal ancestor was a plain omnivore or a mostly-insectivorous beastie, but our branch of the mammal line falls squarely into the omnivore bin. We come from an ancestry that had an incredibly broad tolerance for what constituted “edible”, and ate to match. Seriously, we eat alliums. Those can flat-out kill carnivores that get too much of a nibble. Their livers can’t detoxify onion relatives. While humans, and probably the whole hominid line went, “ooo... spicy grass. Nom.”

Fruits have been a quest of humans since before there were humans as well. Primates have full color vision, unlike most mammals, and it’s believed one of the reasons that evolved was for us to find ripe fruit to eat. Sugars, other good vitamins yay; unripe fruits can be toxic, or at least Not Good for you digestion-wise. We eat so much fruit, in fact, that primates are one of the few mammal groups that can’t synthesize our own vitamin C. No, really. Unless something goes drastically wrong, dogs and cows and other such critters will never get scurvy. Humans? Go without fresh fruit and veggies a while, and it’s bad.

Shiny things like silk... that we think goes back to possibly the first hominids in savannah environments. One of the most critical things for a hominid to find on the savannah? Rippling, shiny, sparkly water. We are drawn to Shiny. For survival.

People seeking trade have logical goals of profit and loss, of course. But all trade is based on wants as well as needs. And we often want what evolution says is “yes, more of this to live, thanks”.

So if you’re setting up a situation in which people want things, consider these. Especially if you’re setting up a situation where people who are not human want things. What did their evolution select for? What is their “yes, more of this please?” A red dragon might want things that evoke the heat and sulfur of a volcanic vent; a ki-rin, the calm of a secluded valley. An alien race? Something their ancestral ecology had as a critical resource.

Trade. You can’t live without it!

[septembercfawkes]

Using Character & Theme to Fix a Scene

Recently I rewatched the original Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy (if you haven't noticed from my latest posts), and it really holds up: complex and sophisticated plotting, iconic characters with sturdy arcs, and nuanced themes about honor and freedom.

This trilogy did so many things right. It's no surprise it was a huge hit. (Do they even make movies like this anymore?)

While I could go on long about everything that it does right, today I actually want to zoom in on what I consider its weakest element: Davy Jones's Locker.

This is one (1) scene in the whole trilogy, but it's always felt off and just . . . weird to me. To the extent that it sort of taints my memory of the last film (which, revisiting it again, is actually quite well written).

Don't get me wrong--I get it's meant to be weird.

But it's weird in the wrong way.

It's weird in a weak way.

What could have been a major opportunity to add depth and dimension to the series' themes, and to Jack's character . . . 

. . . is nothing but a strange, delusional 8-minute experience that actually could be cut without really affecting the story.

And that's the main problem. It's not doing enough.

Yes, it did what it needed to on the plot level: The point of the scene is to show Jack trapped, slipping into madness in Davy Jones's Locker. It does that.

But it doesn't do that in a resonating way.

Really, if that's all it's doing, the filmmakers could cut the scene and simply show the crew arriving at the Locker to interact with a delusional Jack. (Though I don't quite like that idea either.)

Watching this film again, I realized, on a subconscious level, I always look forward to Davy Jones's Locker because it's a fate Jack spent the whole previous installment trying to avoid. And now he's trapped there.

I also think I subconsciously look forward to it, because it's a scene loaded with opportunity--because this is where we see (or could have seen) Jack in his most vulnerable state. It's begging to be used to develop character and explore the themes.

But instead, we get a (basically filler) madness trip--one that's trying to be comedic yet doesn't quite deliver--and some rock crabs that don't carry enough significance beyond helping move the ship (yes, I get they relate to Calypso. . . . They aren't terrible, but . . . )

Not as satisfying.

Let's go over what could have been done differently, and maybe it will help you with your own less-than-satisfying scenes. . . .

The bones of storytelling are character, plot, and theme.

And the best ideas for your scenes, are going to be those that hit on at least two--or preferably all three--of those.

When you understand that, you can produce more meaningful scenes (and stories).

Digging into Character & Theme to Revise the Scene

One of the most important aspects of any main character is his wants. His motives.

If you've followed me for a while, you may know I refer to this as the "abstract want."

The abstract want (or wants) exists behind nearly every major concrete goal the character pursues in the plot. (Or it should.)

Katniss wants to survive and save others. That's why she aims to win the Hunger Games. That's why she volunteers to take Prim's place and risks her life to save Peeta.

Luke wants to become, or be part of, something great. That's why he plans to go to Academy, become a Jedi, rescue Leia, and destroy the Death Star.

To add depth to a character, it's often a great idea to dig into this abstract want: What does it mean to the character? Why does fulfilling it matter? And how come the character has it in the first place?

In Pirates of the Caribbean, Jack's abstract want is to live free, preferably forever (as I wrote about somewhat recently). This is why he wants The Black Pearl back, and to be its captain, in the first installment. This is why he wants to avoid Davy Jones and the Kraken in the second installment. And this is why he wants to replace Davy Jones in the third installment.

Every major concrete plot goal Jack has, ties back to being free (and alive).

And so do many of his minor ones. ("You will always remember this as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow.")

Also noteworthy is that in the first installment, it's said that The Black Pearl symbolizes freedom.

So, having a scene where Jack is trapped in Davy Jones's Locker, with The Black Pearl, would have been the perfect opportunity to explore his abstract want more deeply.

Instead of slipping into madness and envisioning copies of himself on The Pearl, it would have been more meaningful to delve into why freedom matters so much to Jack, and even better, why he has that want in the first place.

Often there is a key backstory (referred to as a "ghost" or "wound") that typically explains the origin of the abstract want.

For example, the reason Katniss wants to survive and save others, is because her dad died and that left her family starving; and after Peeta saved her by throwing her burned bread, she determined she was going to be a survivalist and save her own family.

While Jack's backstory of being marooned by his crew (as told in the first installment), relates to losing freedom (he's trapped on an island, without the Pearl), it doesn't explain the origin of his abstract want (since he wanted freedom via The Black Pearl before that). I don't consider that a flaw, but the Locker would have been an amazing time to go further back into Jack's past and reveal why freedom is so important to him to begin with.

The reason he's trapped in the Locker, is because he made a deal with Davy Jones to raise The Black Pearl (and himself) out of the ocean, so he could be its captain for 13 more years. 

That's how much freedom means to Jack. He's literally willing to sell his immortal soul (in addition to working 100 years on The Flying Dutchman) to have 13 years of freedom.

That's a big want.

The trilogy does hint at other aspects of his past, like how he refused to deliver people in the slave trade, and that's why Beckett branded him a pirate in the first place. The writers had the right idea in giving Jack this backstory, as it's ripe with the concept of freedom (vs. bondage). But this is mainly left in subtext. Again, not an innate flaw.

But again, wouldn't it have been great if the film had delved more into that while Jack was in the Locker? Maybe his experience with slaves is what led him to value freedom so highly to begin with.

Or, maybe that was one moment in a whole string of moments that defined his desire. Maybe his abstract want has origins even further back. Maybe as a child, he was somehow trapped, and feared he'd somehow become a slave.

Maybe instead of just having a bunch of copies of Jack in the Locker, we should have had Jacks from different parts of his past--maybe different parts of when he felt trapped. Jack who was marooned. Jack who was imprisoned. Jack who was punished for helping the slaves. Jack who was trapped as a boy.

Surely that would drive Captain Jack Sparrow mad.

The scene would have been so much more interesting if Jack had been haunted by his past. And if the Locker was an opportunity to compound the concept of being trapped.

Naturally, one of the main themes of this film is freedom (vs. bondage): Jack wants to get out of the Locker, Will wants to free his dad, Barbossa wants to release Calypso, and Beckett wants to capture (and kill) all pirates.

So this would have made the film feel more thematically resonant as well. But there are other options too.

The main theme of the whole series explores what it means to be honorable (vs. dishonorable). The nuance (and irony) comes from the fact that pirates, like Jack, ultimately end up being the most honorable. Despite all the (selfish) piracy they engage in, when it comes down it, they're more honorable than Beckett and his men.

And the reason Jack ended up in the Locker at this specific point in time, is because he chose to be honorable, rather than dishonorable, at the climax of the previous film.

Jack could have fled to land and saved himself, letting his crew die, as he'd planned.

But when it got down to it, he couldn't--he came back and saved them.

(. . . before Elizabeth--of all people--betrayed him. . . .)

So this moment in the Locker could have also tapped into the theme of honor (vs. dishonor). It could have questioned if honor was worth it, because look at where it got Jack. Being trapped is likely Jack's worst fear, since it's the opposite of his deepest desire.

For the pirates, the concept of honor comes from keeping the code. Later in the film, we learn that Jack's father is the strict keeper of the code--outright killing a man for even suggesting they don't follow it.

The writers could have delved into that--Jack's relationship with his father, who had always been strict in honoring the code, even when Jack was a young boy. "And look, dad, look at where it [honor] got me!" Jack might've yelled, while wasting away in the sand.

Symbolism & Imagery

But let's say, for some reason, the writers didn't want to do any of that. This is an adventure film, and maybe they didn't want to lean into that directly. They could have worked with more symbolism, tying into character and theme that way instead. The Black Pearl symbolizes freedom, and it's trapped in the Locker. Sure, we get a little bit of symbolism with just that--it's a ship stuck on sand, and it's too heavy for Jack to move.

But there could have been more. 

We don't need the rock crabs. Or if we do (to show Calypso helping move the ship), they should have been sea turtles instead--ya know, the creatures that were rumored to free Jack off the island in the first place?! Maybe they should have been used to move the ship (and if we wanted to be silly, with ropes of human hair too 😜).

Or, there could have been more imagery related to being bound--other ropes, chains, cuffs, or bars--driving Jack crazy. Maybe he keeps getting stuck, trapped, or bound somehow.

And rather than these things seemingly randomly moving the ship, Jack should have had a thematic epiphany that apparently led to that, or he should have done something that seemingly caused that to happen (even if it's really revealed it's Calypso later).

In his hallucinations, Jack stabs himself in the heart. We get a brief line about that, but it's not very thematic. If it had tied into one of the themes more, that image would have landed better.

We also get some weird stuff with him eating a peanut, laying an egg, and moving closer to a goat. It's meant to be funny, but it's not very meaningful. Interacting with sea turtles would have been much funnier, since it would have been a callback to the first film. And I get the peanut is meant to emphasize the lack of food . . . but it would have been better if instead, the filmmakers emphasized a lack of rum . . . since that's what he had when trapped on the island, and it was a drink that Elizabeth tied to honor vs. dishonor in the first film (i.e. with a little more work, rum could have been made into a thematic symbol).

Heck, I would have settled for imagery related to Elizabeth "haunting" him--since she's the one who betrayed him, by pretending to reward him for being honorable. Or even traumatic flashbacks of Davy Jones, Jack being eaten by the Kraken, or Jack arriving in the Locker.

That would have aroused more sympathy, for me.

Really, this scene could have been used to emphasize Jack and his vulnerability so much better--rendered in a way that made the audience feel something deeply.

Unfortunately, though, it does little in the way of that.

Now, you would think, based on this post, I positively hate this scene--I don't; it's just a huge missed opportunity.

Yeah, it gets its plot job done.

But it misses out on character and theme.

Regardless, though, this is still a great trilogy.

And despite this post, it's easy to forgive it for fumbling one scene.

Nonetheless, I thought this was a good opportunity to illustrate what character and theme can do for a lackluster scene.

Story isn't just about plot. It's also about character and theme.

If you find a scene lacking luster, you might want to try digging there.

[wuxiaphoenix]

Worldbuilding: Moving Freight

When you’re writing a story, you have to keep track of where your characters are when, and why. Or you end up with that bit played for humor in The Emperor’s New Groove: “Wait. How did we get here before them?”

On a more background scale, though, you also have to keep track of where objects are, and why, and if or when they move. That’s part of your story continuity, and readers will be left with a nagging sense of something Not Right if you ignore it. It’s also part of your worldbuilding, because a lot of things move because people move them. And that tells you a lot about the culture, the history, and day to day life. Fishing boats move with the tide, or the sea and land breezes, or both. Or don’t move, if there’s a bad storm coming. Or rush out of the harbor in a near-tangle of rigging when a rich school’s been spotted.

Objects moving is the heart of trade, and trade shapes (and is shaped by) the cultures trading. If your character’s cooking with a calamansi (a distinctly southeast Asian/Philippines citrus) when the local grocery store’s in the USA, that’s going to take some explaining. Likewise if your character’s in Japan and orders fries - and gets them hot with ketchup instead of cold with mayo. And never forget the Great S’mores Controversy, when a famous chef described that legendary campfire dessert as “something like a meringue with ganache between two digestives”.

...Britain, you see, has neglected to import graham crackers. And from that woeful failure horrible misunderstandings have flowed.

Ahem.

Point being, whatever’s going on in your story, a lot of what’s going on in your world will  be the ongoing background movement of Wanted Things to people who want them and are willing to pay the costs of transport. This gives you wonderful opportunities!

Your main character’s coffeehouse is out of their favorite bean. He staggers into the next store decaffeinated, and promptly stumbles over a body. Cue the mystery.

The Great Demon Lord has awakened, and can only be slain by a sword forged from star-metal! ...We think a meteorite may have landed in the Howling Wastes. Quick, retrieve it before the Demon Horde can!

Your heroes are up against a Ticking Clock to rescue an innocent, they’re going to make it just under the wire-!

On the harbor bridge in front of them, a freak waterspout turns over an Amazon truck, causing immediate traffic jams and who knows how many lost packages. Now what? (Yes, this has actually happened.)

And don’t neglect bits that can give your world awesome backstory. Like the breast ornament of Tutankhamen, made of beads of Baltic amber; meaning trade between the Baltic Sea and Ancient Egypt happened, even if we don’t know how long any step took. Which in turn means that if you want an ancient Egyptian artifact to have been hidden “beyond the ends of the earth” - maybe your heroes should try looking north!

[3muske-tears]

Hey every! Have a compilation of all the canon and officially released depictions of big shot Spamton as a reference resource! It's all so scattered so I thought I'd try to put everything in one place ❤️📧

To anyone as accuracy-brained as I am, note that there is a lot of variety between artists in officially approved material released by fangamer, the materia collective with the music albums, etc. Just look at Spamton's height for instance

In game he's not that much shorter than Kris (his head is just too big for his ice cream cone body lmao), but compared to Kris and Ralsei in the artwork he is tiny. The littlest sponge 🤏

I think of it as primary and secondary sources. Deltarune's text and pixel art are king. Any other artwork has been approved and is meant to inform, but it's not as accurate as something firsthand.

Speaking of Spamton's height, he states that he was always shorter than the other Addisons

I take the Sweepstakes not being canon to mean that Spamton didn't actually host a fundraiser in the timeline of Deltarune or take questions from its players, but I see no reason why all the information he gives about himself wouldn't be intended to fill in what we know about him.

The air freshener provided in Spamton's own bag of garbage invites a pretty direct before and after comparison. It kinda looks like he got some really botched plastic *rimshot* surgery, but he was really insistent that they DO NOT TOUCH THE NOSE!! The nose stays!!!! Long ass nose forever!!!!!!

I feel like this pasted-over poster is the clearest, most unbiased source. It's ostensibly just a picture of him, and we can see how his later appearance exaggerates it. Same hair, little round blush, big smile. Also has a decidedly long nose

Here we have a recreation of Spamton's face by someone who knew him. The nose is less pronounced, but it's implied that Tenna made it smaller intentionally to... make him less attractive I guess. With regards to the shnoz, I'm inclined to trust the poster over Spamton's bitter former partner. Especially since Tenna's own nose is possibly fake

I don't have fun commentary on these I just think it's so funny that when they released that SNEO art initially they cropped out the part where Spamton is crying on the floor. Diabolical

This is an outlier to me because it's the only time he has glasses and the only time he's not drawn like a little munchkin. I personally think this is Spamton's wishful caricature of his current self. He tries using it to catfish during the sweepstakes. But I don't know that for certain ofc

And I believe that's everything so far! Have a bonus (incomplete) compilation of times characters describe what he was like!

I'm kind of obsessed with the electronic lighter one. Why was your nose in there. All text and images brought to you by the deltarune text dump and the glorious strings attached website

[macgyvermedical]

Hey, I had a couple questions about schizophrenia. I know one person's experiences aren't necessarily universal, but there are different types, right? And how do they impact day to day life? (Also this is an out there question, but I'm fascinated by neurochemistry, do you know how antipsychotics work, or are they one of those psych meds that no one is really sure about? I know psych meds aren't always the answer, but they interest me)

Different Types of Schizophrenia:

There used to be different types of schizophrenia outlined in the DSM (paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, undifferentiated, and residual). Some people who were diagnosed more than 10 years ago might still have one of these types attached to their diagnosis, but the DSM-V kind of just lumped everything in together. Some mental health professionals still use the types to plan treatment, though.

Paranoid schizophrenia was the "classic" most common type of schizophrenia. It involved delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, trouble concentrating, behavioral impairment, and flat affect (inability to display emotions).

Disorganized schizophrenia mostly had "negative" and "cognitive" symptoms, without hallucinations or delusions. This type of schizophrenia included: flat affect, speech disturbances, disorganized thinking, involuntary or unexpected emotions or facial reactions, and trouble with daily activities.

Catatonic schizophrenia was rare, and catatonia itself can be a symptom of a lot of different mental health problems, so it wasn't a great descriptor. It included: immobility, mimicking behavior, inability to speak, and stupor.

Undifferentiated schizophrenia basically means the person had a combination of the symptoms of other types of schizophrenia.

Residual schizophrenia was basically a period of partial remission.

How schizophrenia impacts day-to-day life depends a lot on the individual. For example, while I do consider myself to have a psychiatric disability that limits me in certain ways, when I take the right meds (risperidone FTW), I am very functional. I live with my wife, work (at a very specific job), and go to (online, asynchronous) school.

But I also know people with my same diagnosis who, even medicated appropriately, live in assisted living or other supported housing arrangements and who are unable to work. It's definitely a spectrum.

Prior to getting the right medications I had trouble holding a job, thought someone had poisoned my walls, and that other people could hear my thoughts. I had many conversations with my wife where neither of us could understand the concepts the other was trying to get across. I still have trouble when people ask me verbal questions that require long answers- I simply forget what they asked a few sentences in and forget what I'm trying to say in response. I struggle with focus and motivation (you would not believe how many times I tried to make a Schizophrenia Awareness Day post). These are all schizophrenia things.

How Antipsychotics Work:

There are 3 types of antipsychotics. First generation, second generation, and next generation.

There are a lot of disrupted brain processes in schizophrenia. One of the main ones, and the one likely responsible for a lot of the "positive" symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, etc...) is the presence of dopamine.

You and I rely on dopamine to make things interesting and assign meaning and importance to our world. In people with schizophrenia, certain parts of the brain have too much dopamine. Because of this, the brain assigns meaning where there is none. This causes delusions and paranoia, because normal things get "tagged" as important when they're innocuous, and the brain tries to explain that importance by making something up- and does it... badly. Cigarette stains on a wall become "someone poisoned my walls". A car going around a block twice becomes "the CIA is watching me". Etc... There are lots of theories as to why hallucinations occur, one of which is a misinterpretation of "noise" signals in the brain, which also has to do with dopamine.

First and second generation antipsychotics work by blocking the D2 dopamine receptors in these regions. Because of this, the excess dopamine can't cause as much misinterpretation, and the psychosis diminishes.

HOWEVER. We don't have a drug that can perfectly block D2 dopamine receptors only in the areas of the brain that are affected. And dopamine does a lot more than just make things interesting. So you get things like movement disorders and hormonal disorders and weight gain too since the drugs block dopamine everywhere in the body.

First generation (drugs like haloperidol, chlorpromazine, and loxapine) typically have more movement-related side effects, like tardive diskinesia. Second generation (drugs like risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, and aripiprazole) typically have more metabolic side effects like weight gain and diabetes.

Then there's next generation antipsychotics. Well, antipsychotic, singular, because there's only one of them on the market right now. This is xenomaline/trospium. As far as we know, it stimulates different kinds of receptor, called M1 and M4 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, which indirectly impact dopamine production. Because it is not blocking dopamine receptors, it has a lot fewer side effects than first and second generation therapies.

[candorarchives-references]

Hi, this is literally a reference blog, mostly reposting references for writing.

Also yes I had to remove the Emps posting that happened it was an accident—