©耳朵_du_Lac
Xuebing Du
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
Sade Olutola
Aqua Utopia|海の底で記憶を紡ぐ

祝日 / Permanent Vacation
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occasionally subtle
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Love Begins
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oozey mess
Show & Tell
YOU ARE THE REASON
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year

Kaledo Art

Janaina Medeiros
Mike Driver
I'd rather be in outer space 🛸

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art blog(derogatory)
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@the-penman
©耳朵_du_Lac
i’ve been doing my homework on how to break into a writing career and honestly. there’s a Lot that i didn’t know about thats critical to a writing career in this day and age, and on the one hand, its understandable because we’re experiencing a massive cultural shift, but on the other hand, writers who do not have formal training in school or don’t have the connections to learn more via social osmosis end up extremely out of loop and working at a disadvantage.
like, i didnt know about twitter pitch parties!! i didnt know about literary agents and publishers tweeting their manuscript wishlist, in hopes that some poor soul out there has written the book they really want to read and publish!! this isnt some shit you learn about in school! you really need to know the ins and outs of the writing community to be successful!
for anyone interested, here’s what i’ve learned so far in my quest for more writing knowledge:
1. Writer’s Market 2019 is a great place to start– it gives you a list of magazines and journals that you can send your work to depending on the genre as well as lists a shit ton of literary agents that specify what genres they represent, how you can get in contact with them and how they accept query letters. this is a book that updates every year and tbh i only bought it this year so i dont know how critical it is to have an updated version
2. do your research. mostly on literary agents because if you listed on your site that you like to represent fluffy YA novels and some asshole sends you a 80k manuscript about like…gritty viking culture, you will be severely pissed off. always go in finding someone who you know will actually like your work because they’re the ones who will try to advocate for you in getting published.
3. learn how to write a query letter. there are slightly varying formulas to how you can write an effective query letter. you’re also going to want to get feedback on your query letter because its the first thing the literary agent will read and based on how well you do it, it could be the difference between them rejecting you outright and giving your manuscript a quick read
4. unfortunately, you’re gonna want to get a twitter. Twitter is where a lot of literary agents are nowadays, and they host things like twitter pitch parties, where you pitch your manuscript in a few sentences and hashtag it with #Pitmad #Pitdark, some version of pit. a lot of literary agents and publishers will ALSO post their manuscript wishlists, which is just the kind of books they’d like to represent/publish, and they hashtag this with #MSWL (it is NOT for writers to use, only for agents/publishers)
5. connect with other writers, literary agents, publishers at book events. you will absolutely need the connections if you want to get ahead as a writer. thats just kind of the state of the world.
Important info is important -.-
UPDATE: so i just got signed by an agent bc of twitter pitch parties. for any aspiring writers, you dont HAVE to go the twitter pitch party route, its just another way to get noticed a bit faster
Rebloging for my own benefit, but anyone else who wants to be a writer needs to know this too.
Hey runners (and walkers)! Thought this might be helpful :)
Shoelace Voodoo
The heel slipping one is awesome if you have to wear orthotics because it stops them from slipping round inside your shoe
Oh! I’ll have to try this
i knew this screenshot would come in handy one day
What’s a “Working Outline”?
When you send a novel proposal to a publisher or a movie proposal to a studio, you’ll often be asked to send an “outline” with your package. The word outline is used rather casually, and it often can be misleading.
Many publishers and producers really want a “synopsis,” a brief description of what happens in the book or screenplay, often told in as little as a page. However, a good book publisher will often leave the length of that synopsis up to you, or they might ask for three pages or maybe even five. I’ve known some authors who will write up to 50 pages. But all that the editors want is a brief description. I like to break it up like this:
Paragraph one answers the following questions: Who is my protagonist? (Sixteen-year-old Desiree McConnel.) Where is my story set? (64 million years ago beside Lake Gunaya which is current-day Saint George, Utah.) And what is my major conflict? (Desiree is a time-traveling sightseer who has come to watch the destruction of the Jurassic world as a huge meteor is about to strike Earth, when an angry triceratops trashes her transporter.)
That first paragraph launches the story. Now, I might want to elaborate on these things. For example, I might explain that Desiree’s mother has just died, and her father brought her on this trip to bring her out of her funk. Or maybe I’ll explain that she’s fascinated with dinosaurs and secretly wishes to avert the coming decimation, or she’s attracted to a hunk named Beckett who has also tagged along.
Or maybe I’ll want to heighten the conflicts. Sure, there are going to rampaging Utah raptors, but Desiree’s growing attraction to Beckett will surely become an important conflict, and that funk is just going to get worse when she sees her father killed. And when she finds herself struggling to breathe air filled with micro-carbons from the destruction of the Earth and gets to see first-hand why everything died on the planet for the next three hundred thousand years, the whole story is going to become more and more grim. Especially since she realizes that she and her new boyfriend won’t make it—humans didn’t evolve 64 million years ago.
But that opening will be important.
The next couple of paragraphs become just as important. You have to answer the questions: What conflicts arise out of the situation? How do they morph and grow? What does my protagonist do to try to handle them? And how are all of these going to surprise your editor and reader. This is where the art of storytelling really becomes important. This is where you have to begin blowing your editor’s mind, throwing surprising twists into the mix.
This mid-section will also be the point where I begin weaving things together. Maybe our protagonist flees the devastated time-travel vehicle and tries to climb into some hills to find shelter. I could detail how her father checks out a cave and is killed, not realizing that even raptors need shelter. I might get into how she has to huddle with Beckett for warmth, having their first romantic interludes, and that they soon find themselves hunted by a raptor that has developed a taste for human flesh. Then the meteor strikes, sending shockwaves around the world and micro-meteors go blasting into the atmosphere, so that the air becomes unbreathable. Huge lightning storms begin striking, setting forests afire, and a global ice-age sets in.
The conflicts need to weave together and build, and our protagonist needs to grow through her struggles, until we reach the climax of the book. This is our final paragraph or two. Is Desiree saved by a rescue team? If so, is she sixteen or ninety-two when it happens? Does her boyfriend become a lover, a husband, a meal for a T-Rex? Could she possibly decide after living a life in the Jurassic age, that she wants to stay? What does she learn from all of this? Does she find happiness?
That’s the conclusion of your synopsis, and you really can put an entire book into one page.
Writing a great synopsis is an art in itself, and it is one of the most valuable skills you can develop. When an editor wants to buy a manuscript, he might show your synopsis to the publisher and the marketing department, and if you’ve got a stellar outline, it can add a zero or two to the amount you’ll be paid on your advance. It can also motivate the entire publishing company to push your book big before it is even purchased.
Think of your synopsis as an advertisement for your book. You want it to sell the reader, hook them into reading the longer manuscript.
Often the publisher or movie studio wants something longer than a page. For example, I recently got hired by a producer to put together a proposal for a movie, and I got to outline it in twenty whole pages, single spaced! (That’s called a movie “treatment,” but it’s much like a synopsis.
For big books, ones where the publisher is going to invest millions of dollars, the publisher might want a detailed synopsis that is seventy or eighty pages. I’ve only ever heard of a publisher asking for an outline this long once, but you should know that it happens.
A “working outline” is different from a synopsis, though, and I recommend that you write one for every novel you write, and often even for short stories. The working outline is a document that I use as a writer. In it, I like to break my novel down scene by scene and plan who will be in the scene, what significant action will occur, and make any notes to myself. Here is an example of such a scene:
Chapter 9—The Appetizer—With the time machine damaged, Desiree tries to help Beckett repair it, but her father warns that the radioactive power source is dangerous. It can damage her reproductive system. Her father doesn’t want her to get near it. Beckett gives her a look and she realizes that he is thinking, “We might be stuck here forever.” He might even be thinking of the family they might raise. She doesn’t want to consider such things—they’ve only ever kissed— but feels she should worry about her health. So she goes to a small rise and stands guard while her father and Beckett work. She’s terrified of the pack of Utah raptors that are hunting in the area, when suddenly the sky lights up and a huge meteor blazes across the horizon. There are several deafening explosions as pieces of it fracture, and she watches it for ninety seconds until suddenly it impacts. The ground bucks and seems almost to liquify as it begins to roar, and in seconds she sees huge dust clouds exploding up in the distance, crowned by lightning. Dinosaurs roar and hoot and whistle in terror, and flocks of pterodactyls take flight out over the lake, while freshwater fish seem to try to leap out of the lake. Note to self: Make the end of the world spectacular.
With each scene in my outline, I put in the name of the point of view character in color so that I can track my POV characters visually over the course of the novel. (This is important if you are using multiple POVs). I also put in the actions that they take and the things that happen to them. I put in the new conflicts that arise or the ones that are resolved or the conflicts that escalate or broaden. I want to make sure that I keep track of rising stakes, mysteries that are bought up or solved, romances that bud, and so on. I might also make notes to myself about how to handle the scene, emotions to evoke, and so on.
When I finish writing a scene, I will go back and make a notation, showing how many pages the scene came out to be, so that I can see how well I’m controlling the pacing.
A working outline can easily be twenty pages long. I will even add in bits of dialog or description that come to me in the middle of the night, so that my working outline might grow to be a hundred pages. No one but me will ever see that outline. It’s just a tool that I use. Yes, I’ve got a working outline for my latest book, and no you can’t see it.
In fact, there is some good software that writers use for this. Scrivener for example will help you track your scenes and characters and write a nice summary for each scene, and then you can expand each description into a scene pretty easily. There are a lot of other programs that do the same, but I haven’t used most of them to make comparisons.
Still, learning to write a great synopsis is a valuable skill, and every writer needs to learn to throw together a working outline and keep developing even while you’re in the writing process.
***
Writer’s Peak—
Many soon-to-be great authors suffer from writer’s block. Which is the number one problem troubling young and old writers alike. David Farland, along with NLP Trainer Forrest Wolverton, are providing a training that has been designed to help you change all that.
We will be streaming this event live and providing a taped recording afterward so if you cannot join us in person, join the feed! You are encouraged to take notes and actively participate during your time with us.
This workshop is coming up fast! Writer’s Peak will take place on November 16th in Provo. That’s next Saturday! Don’t miss your chance to break that writer’s block and get back to doing what you love. You can find it at https://mystorydoctor.com/live-workshops-2/.
Writers’ Bundle—
Due to some unfortunate technical issues, I am extending the Writers’ Bundle for one more day. Quite a few people had software problems that prevented them from purchasing the bundle. Now that we have solved the problem, I want to make sure that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in this sale.
You’ll get access to the audited versions of my online workshops and receive copies of his books on writing, all for a special price. These materials together would normally cost more than $1800, but for this sale only you can get them all for the low price of $89. This year’s bundle includes some new items as well.
You’ll get one-year access to all material in these workshops, meaning you can work through courses at whatever speed you like, and even complete assignments alongside friends and writing groups (my personal recommendation to get the absolute most out of this bundle deal).
You can learn more here at https://mystorydoctor.com/pi-the-writers-bundle/
Or if you just want to go straight to purchasing, you can do that here at https://mystorydoctor.com/pricing/oc_checkout/?s2p-option=10
RODRIGO NO
So I’m currently enslaved employed by a cable company, and I can offer a few pointers:
Find a copy of the customer agreement online. Read it. Have the “big cats in boxes” YouTube video on standby so that you can renew your will to live periodically while reading it.
Focus on the sections about cancellation
Examine any terms regarding early termination fees, notice required, proration of the time between cancellation and the end of the billing period, and equipment return policies.
Send a letter requesting cancellation to your carrier via certified mail. Include the date you wish for it to be cancelled. If you are not the account holder but have power of attorney, or the account holder has died and you are managing their estate, send copies of the relevant documentation with the letter.
The day after, when it isn’t cancelled, call back. Ask for “retention” or “loyalty” and when asked why, state that you wish to cancel.
They’ll ask you why you want to cancel. Say “I don’t want to discuss it, I just want to cancel my service.” (note: there are times when it pays to disclose your reasons; my company will waive all early termination fees and penalties if the account holder is being entering military deployment or a nursing home. Check their policies.)
They’ll offer something nice. Bundles, discounts, free channels, etc. Say “as nice as that sounds, and as much as I appreciate the offer, I just need to cancel my service.”
When they deflect again, ask how to return any leased equipment. They’ll launch into another spiel about that, thankful that you aren’t making them process the cancellation. Write down the process – they’ll either tell you to bring the equipment to a local office, or they’ll state that they are sending recovery kits. If it’s the latter, ask for the address that the recovery kits return to and write it down (you want to use the recovery kit if you get one, since it’s prepaid, but if they aren’t sent you’ll want to be able to return the equipment yourself.)
After all of this has transpired, state “As I stated in the letter sent via certified mail on [date], I am ending our contractual relationship and terminating this subscription. Has my cancellation order been processed?”
If the cancellation order has not been processed, tell them to process it. Listen to their spiel. Ask for the date that it will be terminated.
Hang up, wait thirty minutes. Call back, ask if your account is pending cancellation or not. If not, ask to be transferred to retention and ask for a supervisor. Demand that your cancellation be processed and advise them that a complaint will be filed with the FCC if it is not.
If more than an hour has been spent on the phone, file a complaint at FCC.gov. Forcing a customer to continue a service outside of the terms stipulated by the contract is illegal and the FCC hates it.
This went from really funny to “holy fuck what kind of nightmare dystopia do we live in that we need to be educated on how to get a company to actually cancel an account with a company that bills you monthly” really fast.
Grog: Listen, if we do run across a dragon, remember we have the dragon slayer longsword, which is a plus one to attack and damage rolls, and if you hit a dragon or a dragon creature, it gets an extra 3d6 of damage.
Vex: What are you reading? How did you even know that?
Percy: That’s the most complicated sentence I think I’ve ever heard you speak.
Grog: Sorry, I blacked out for a little bit.
d&d spells as memes. i’ll start
power word kill
heroes’ feast
Mirror image
dissonant whispers
counterspell
Vicious Mockery
Charm Person
magic missile
@tomthefanboy
Summon Elemental (Earth)
Delayed Blast Fireball
Polymorph Other
Psychic Scream
Astral Projection
This is my fav post.
Zone of Truth
Intense Perception Check
Guardian of Faith
Magic Missile as a 9th level spell
Expeditious Retreat
Comprehend languages
find familiar
Compelled Duel
Tasha’s Hideous Laughter
@draumboosky
“Writing is something you do alone. It’s a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don’t wanna make eye contact while telling it.”
— John Green
Bro, it's like 4PM in São Paulo right now and all the smoke made it look like it's already night...city of ashes indeed.
That's POLLUTION for you guys. It's what you get when people burn the Amazon rainforest to make farms.
Ok so, the cloud of smoke over the city is from the burning of Amazon rainforest in Rondonia. Sao Paulo is 3300km (2052 miles) distant from Porto Velho. Athens is closer to London than Sao Paulo is to Porto Velho. Just to give you an idea of the damage they are doing to the forest right now, with the permission from the human trash president. Just so you guys from other countries have an idea of what's happening here in Brazil.
If you can reblog this to make people aware of the situation, I'll be really glad.
Look they've been burning the forest it's been 15 days now and people have died already in the fires. So the least I hope that the media will actually pay attention to Rondônia and the forest now that's affect São Paulo. The media here in Brazil is trying to take the attention away from the fires saying that what covered SP today as fog because of a cold wave, but many people already said: it's not fog, it's smoke. And if you're shocked about São Paulo sky, this is Rondônia where they are burning the forest:
So yeah, they are destroying the biggest ecosystem that is the Amazon right now. And the world must know.
Because if we depend on the media, the death of the Amazon won't be televised.
Drafting
The Draft Notebook
Be More Productive with Ambient Noise
How to Steal: Know Your Tropes
How to Steal: Good Writers Borrow
Write What You Know (Not What You’ve Experienced)
The Best Way to End a Writing Session
How To Finish a Draft
A Few Tips on Chapters
Language, Description, & Dialog
“To Be” Or Not “To Be”: What Exactly Is Passive Voice?
Tagging Dialog
Narrative Voice
Writing Better Descriptions
Basic Rules for Metaphors and Similes
Character, Plot, & Setting
Creating Characters: a 4-Step Process
Writing Relationships Your Reader Can Get Behind
Informative Character Names
The Strength of a Symmetrical Plot
How to Foreshadow
Crafting Homes of Paper, Ink, and Neutral PH Glue
Motivation
On Writing Flawed Books
How to Return to Your Manuscript
The Acknowledgements Page
Staring at Blank Pages
What to Do When You Can’t Write
Motivational Writing Posters
Publishing
Writing the Perfect Query Letter
How to Write a Synopsis
How to Pitch Your Novel in Under a Minute
A Glossary of Publishing Terms: Vol 1
Writing Tools
Why You Should Give Scrivener a Try
Outlining, Brainstorming, and Researching with Scrivener
Drafting with Scrivener
Editing with Scrivener
CTRL+F
The Forest Productivity App
Editsaurus
NaNoWriMo
Why Try NaNoWriMo
October Prep
Why Listen to Writing Podcasts
Pick a New Daily Word Count Goal
How to Write 2000 Words a Day
How to Plan a Novel without a Story
Pacemaker: Custom Daily Word Count Website
NaNoWriMo Master Post
Other
How to Read an Absurd Number of Books
Writing Workshops: An Introduction
Writing Groups
Different Types of Fantasy Novels
Ambient Soundscapes Based on Famous Writers
Ko-Fi & Other Support
If you enjoy my posts and can afford it, I would greatly appreciate it if you donated to my new ko-fi page! Each of these posts represents multiple hours of unpaid labor. I love writing for this blog, but I’m also an underpaid 20-something trying to stay afloat. I’ve made this master post of every essay I’ve written for this blog as a way to show my appreciation in advance of any support. If you donate, to further show my gratitude and appreciation, I’ll take requests for essay topics in the ‘messages of support.’
If you can’t afford to donate via ko-fi, another great way to show your support is simply by reblogging posts that you find useful and helping my blog reach new writers.
Thanks so much!
(source)
Unsplash - photography, illustration, and art
Pixabay - same as unsplash
Pexels - stock photos and videos
Stockvault.net - stock photos
freepngimg - icons, pictures and clipart
Veceezy - vectors and clipart
Kissclipart and kissPNG - more vectors and clipart (often transparent!)
Getdrawings - simplistic images and drawing tutorials
Gumroad - photoshop brushes (and more)
Canva - needs login but has lots of templates
Library of Congress - historical posters and photos
NASA - you guessed it
Creative Commons - all kinds of stuff, homie
Even Adobe has some free images
There are so many ways to make moodboards, bookcovers, and icons without infringing copyright! As artists, authors, and other creatives, we need to be especially careful not to use someone else’s work and pass it off as our own.
Please add on if you know any more sites for free images <3
It's almost like guns are tools designed to kill people, and having a tool designed to kill people makes it easier to kill people.
wait is this true
did we actually have gun control at some point in the recent past?
yes. there’s a study for you on the effect it had as well conducted by the natn’l institute of justice.
LIT THANKS!!