~Advena's Writing Corner

The name's Advena and this is my side-blog for my projects whatever they may be. Main blog is @themildestofwriters. Icon by @trashmuh, header by @Bevsi OC Masterlist

[kesterite]

morally questionable party

[themildestofwriters]

Chrysalid Hidden in the Leaf

Summary: Naruto had invented the Centrefold Jutsu for the soul purpose of causing mischief. However, when the Hidden Village of Konoha continues their neglect, Naruto decides that, perhaps, it would be better to just not be Naruto all together. Along the way, he discovers himself.

Links: Archive of our Own | Spacebattles | Fanfiction.net

[themildestofwriters]

Chrysalid Hidden in the Leaf

Summary: Naruto had invented the Centrefold Jutsu for the soul purpose of causing mischief. However, when the Hidden Village of Konoha continues their neglect, Naruto decides that, perhaps, it would be better to just not be Naruto all together. Along the way, he discovers himself.

Links: Archive of our Own | Spacebattles | Fanfiction.net

[themildestofwriters]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 1/1

Fandom: ゼロの使い魔 | Zero no Tsukaima | The Familiar of Zero

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Characters: Louise de La Vallière (Zero no Tsukaima), Original Characters, Cattleya de La Fontaine, Éléonore de La Vallière

Additional Tags: Prayer, Old Norse, Paganism, Pagan Gods, References to Norse Religion & Lore, Self-Harm, Mild Blood, Self-Sacrifice, Boarding School

Series: Part 2 of Exerpts from the Saga of Zero

Summary: It is night, eve of the Kallandi Dag summoning, and Louise Arendel van der Vallijáre prays to her gods before bed.

Another in my series of excerpts from my The Saga of Zero project. Hope you enjoy! Any comments, I'd love to hear. Particularly, I'm interested about y'all thoughts on the religious elements within the excerpt, but also anything else you can think of!

[ghostflowerdreams]

Writing Research - Viking Age

The Viking Age is the period from 793 AD to 1066 AD in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, following the Germanic Iron Age. It is the period of history when Scandinavian Norsemen explored Europe by its seas and rivers for trade, raids and conquest. In this period, the Vikings also settled in Norse Greenland and Newfoundland, and present-day Faroe Islands, Iceland, Normandy, Scotland, Ireland, Russia and Anatolia. [1]

Names

Behind the Names: Old Norse Origin Names

20000-NAMES.COM: Male Norse Names

20000-NAMES.COM: Female Norse Names

Viking Names

Viking Place Names

Viking Given Names 

NOVA Online - Write Your Viking Name in Runes

National Museum of Denmark - Names

Old Norse Women’s Names

Old Norse Men’s Names

Old Norse Names

Norse Names - Top 100 Norwegian Names

Society & Life

National Museum of Natural History - Vikings

A Timeline of Scandinavian History Centering Upon the Viking Age

Misuse of the Term “Viking”?

Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga

British Museum - Vikings

BBC - Viking’s Family Life

Viking Pets and Domesticated Animals

Female Vikings

How Tall Were the Vikings?

Families and Demographics in the Viking Age

Social Classes in Viking Society

The Role of Women in Viking Society

Viking Women, Warriors, and Valkyries

Valkyries, Wish-Maidens, and Swan-Maids

National Museum of Denmark - Viking Women

National Museum of Denmark - Children in the Viking Period

Viking Children

Courtship, Love and Marriage in Viking Scandinavia

The Vikings and Homosexuality

Homosexuality in Viking Scandinavia

Viking Women

Women and Magic in the Sagas: Seior and Spa

NOVA - Who Were the Vikings?

Daily Life in the Viking Period

Viking Everyday Life

Viking Life

Norse Lands in the Viking Age

Settlement of Iceland in the Viking Age

BBC - Viking Towns

BBC - Viking at Home

National Museum of Denmark - Viking Homes

Farms and Village in the Viking Age

Longhouses in the Viking Age

Turf Houses in the Viking Age

Towns and Trading in the Viking Age

Norse Mythology

Norse Cosmography and Cosmology

History - 10 Things You May Not Know About Vikings

The Aurora Borealis and the Vikings

What are some of the major inaccuracies of the show The Vikings?

Vikings Masks

National Museum of Denmark - Viking Religion, Magic, Death and Rituals

National Museum of Denmark - Power and Aristocracy in the Viking Age

National Museum of Denmark - Viking Raids and Expeditions

Land Travel in the Viking Age

Viking Ships

The Vikings - Ships, Seafarers & Life at Sea

Types of Viking Ships

Why did the Viking Age end?

What happens to the Vikings?

National Museum of Denmark - Viking Weapons

The Viking Invasions of England - 793 AD to 900 AD

The Vikings in Britain

The Viking Age in Ireland

The Vikings in Scotland

Vikings in America

Odin’s Castle of Dreams & Legends - The Vikings

Commerce

BBC - Viking Money

Viking Age in Iceland - Money, Currency, and Skreith (Dried Fish)

Units of Measurement from Viking Age Law and Literature

Entertainment & Food

The Viking World Cookbook

Food, Diet, and Nutrition in the Viking Age

National Museum of Denmark - Viking Food

Preserved Foods of the Viking Age

Viking Foods

What did Vikings Eat?

Alcoholic Beverages and Drinking Customs of the Viking Age

Archaeological Finds of Ninth- and Tenth-Century Viking Foodstuffs

Games and Sports in the Viking Age

Honor, Dueling, and Drengskapr in the Viking Age

Stories, Poems, and Literature in the Viking Age

Viking Poetry in Scandinavia and the North

Viking Barley Bagels: Unleavened Barley Buns

Music in the Viking Age

Viking Age Music

National Museum of Denmark - Music in the Viking Age

Styles of Art in the Viking Age

Woodworking in the Viking Age

National Museum of Denmark - Games and Entertainment

Viking Games, Pastimes, and Recreation

Norse Holidays and Festivals

Hygiene, Health & Medicine

Health and Medicine in the Viking Age

Vikings Health

Vikings Health and Hygiene in Jorvick (York)

Cleanliness - Did Vikings Take Baths?

Medical Care in the Viking Age

Viking and Saxon Surgery & Medicine - Vikings of Middle England

Life Expectancy in Viking Age Jorvick (York)

Before Toilet Paper - Vikings

Fashion

Clothing in Viking Age

Viking Men’s Clothing

Viking Women’s Clothing

Quick and Dirty Guide to Viking Women’s Clothing

An Archaeological Guide to Viking Men’s Clothing

“But That’s How They Look in the Book!” - Viking Women’s Garb in Art and Archaeology

Colors, Dyestuff, and Mordants of the Viking Age: An Introduction

Clothing in the Viking Age

Introduction to Viking Age Arms and Armor

Viking Arms and Armor

Personal Grooming in the Viking Age

Men’s Hairstyle in the Viking Age

Women’s Hairstyle in the Viking Age

Viking Beads and Necklaces

Þóra’s Basic Viking Hat

Viking Tattoos

National Museum of Denmark - Appearance

National Museum of Denmark - Clothes and Jewelry

Viking Medallions and Pendants 

Viking Women were First to Wear Bras

Dialogue

NOVA - Viking Runes Through Time

British Library - Viking Words

Runes and Writing

Encyclopedia Mythica: Norse Mythology

Viking Age Star and Constellation Names

Vikings of Bjornstad - English to Old Norse Dictionary

Vikings of Bjornstad - Viking Runes

Do You Speak Viking?

Samples of Viking Language

Old Norse Language, Alphabet, and Pronunciation

Old Norse for Beginners

The Language of the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings

How to Curse in Norse

Old Norse Numeric Reckoning

Symbols of the Norse Vikings

Ægirshjálmur: The Symbol Called the Helm of Awe

Pronunciation of Old Norse (Standard)

Arild Hauge’s Runes and Vikings

Justice & Crime

Viking-age Laws and Legal Procedures

The Vikings and the Law

National Museum of Denmark - Slaves and Thralls in the Viking Age

National Museum of Denmark - Social Order in the Viking Age

Viking Law and Government 

Honor, Dueling, and Drengskapr in the Viking Age

Berserkergang

Sacred Space in Viking Law and Religion

The Thing

BBC NEWS - Were the Vikings really so Bloodthirsty?

The Independent - The Vikings: It Wasn’t All Raping and Pillaging

The Spectator - Sorry – the Vikings really were that bad

About.com - Viking Raids: Early Medieval Practice of Viking Raids

BBC - Viking Raiders

Wikipedia - Lindisfarne

BBC - Why the Vikings Came to Britain: Lindisfarne Sacked

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne - The Viking Raid on Lindisfarne

English Heritage - The Viking Raid on Lindisfarne

[ghostflowerdreams]

Writing Research - The Middle Ages

Middle Ages (or Medieval period), lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: Antiquity, Medieval period, and Modern period. The Medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, the High, and the Late Middle Ages. [1] [2]

Keep reading

[ghostflowerdreams]

Writing Research - The Renaissance

The Renaissance from French: Renaissance "re-birth", Italian: Rinascimento, from rinascere "to be reborn" was a cultural movement that spanned the period roughly from the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. Though availability of paper and the invention of metal movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century, the changes of the Renaissance were not uniformly experienced across Europe. [1]

Names

Peiraeus Public Library - Renaissance Names Galleria

Peiraeus Public Library - Renaissance England Names

Peiraeus Public Library - Renaissance Italy Names

Peiraeus Public Library - Renaissance France Names

Peiraeus Public Library - Renaissance Ireland Names

Peiraeus Public Library - Renaissance Netherlands Names

Peiraeus Public Library - Renaissance Iberia (Spain and Portugal) Names

Italian Renaissance Women’s Names

Wikipedia - List of Renaissance Figures Names

About.com - Italian Last Names: How to Decipher an Italian Surname

Wikipedia - Italian Names

Behind the Names: Italian Names

Society & Life

Annenberg Learner - Renaissance

Encyclopedia Britannica - Renaissance

HistoryWorld - History of the Renaissance

PBS - Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance

History Today - Why Renaissance? Why Florence?

HISTORY.com - Italian Renaissance: Facts & Summary 

Duckster - History: Renaissance for Kids

The American Heritage Book of English Usage - The Renaissance

History World - History of the Renaissance in Europe: A Rebirth, Renewal, Rediscovery

University of Massachusetts Amherst - Renaissance Period

Google Books - Italy in the Age of the Renaissance: 1300 - 1550

SmartHistory - Florence in the Early Renaissance

Life in Italy - Life in Italy During the Renaissance

About.com - The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy

Rice University - Family Life in Florence

Metropolitan Museum of Art - Birth and Family in the Italian Renaissance

Manatee County School - Family Life During the Renaissance (PDF)

Duckster - Renaissance for Kids: Daily Life

University of Houston - Life in Renaissance England

Victoria and Albert Museum - Women in the Renaissance

Academia.edu - The Place of Women in Renaissance Italy and Women’s Opportunities for Making a Life of their Own

State University of New York at Oneonta - Women Renaissance Florence

Clark College - Women in the Renaissance (PDF)

Illinois Valley Community College - Women from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment

Cedar Crest College - Gender Roles of Women in the Renaissance

Stetson University - Renaissance Lady: Politics and Culture

About.com - Biographies of Notable Medieval and Renaissance Women

Cedar Crest College - Renaissance Family Virtues and Their Significance to As You Like It

Cedar Crest College - Parents and Children: How Renaissance Parenting Differed From Today

123helpme! - Childhood During The English Renaissance

H‑Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online - Childhood in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

Pratt Institute - Children of the Renaissance (PDF)

Metropolitan Museum of Art - Weddings in the Italian Renaissance

Cedar Crest College - Wives in the Renaissance

Project MUSE - The Renaissance of Marriage in Fifteenth-Century Italy

Folger Shakespeare Library - Historical Background of Marriage Customs in Renaissance (PDF)

Metropolitan Museum of Art - Courtship and Betrothal in the Italian Renaissance

Prezi - Courting in the Renaissance Era (Video)

The Neu.com Blog - Dating in the Olden Times: How Renaissance Men Courted

The Garn LeBaron Writing Project - Sexual Relations in Renaissance Europe

Columbia University - Homosexuality in Renaissance England

The Huffington Post - 8 Bizarre Renaissance Practices

Pravda - The Free Sexual Morality of the Renaissance

H‑Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online - A Gendered Lens On The Renaissance

Institute of Historical Research - Black Africans in Renaissance Europe

History Today - The Black Face of Renaissance Europe

BlackPast.org - Africa and Africans in the Imagination of Renaissance Italians, 1450-1630

Walters Art Museum - Revealing the African Presence in Renaissance Europe

Academia.edu - Domestic Slavery in Renaissance Italy

The Economist - Africans in the Renaissance: Hue were they?

H‑Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online - Black Africans in Renaissance Europe

Reddit: Ask Historians - I am a Renaissance Blacksmith, what am I likely to be making outside of the obvious arms and armor and how much knowledge of metallurgy I have?

Commerce

Wikipedia - History of Coins in Italy: Middle Ages and Renaissance

Abagond - Money in Leonardo’s Time: Prices

Reddit: Ask Historians - In Renaissance Italy, how much would it have cost to commission a painting from one of the famous artists?

Entertainment & Food

HISTORY.com - Renaissance Art: Facts & Summary

Encyclopaedia Britannica - Renaissance Art

About.com - The Renaissance Art Period

Hanover College - Renaissance Art

Oxford Art Online - Renaissance Art and Architecture

Art Institute of Chicago - Renaissance and Baroque Art

National Gallery of Art - The Early Renaissance in Florence

Stanford University -  Optics and Realism in Renaissance Art (PDF)

Reddit: Ask Historians - How come in Renaissance style paintings (and even further back with Greco-Roman art) all the women who are nude are hairless? Was it an attempt to just show purity, or did higher class women shave their bodies?

Victoria and Albert Museum - Africans in Medieval & Renaissance Art: Duke Alessandro de’ Medici

Wikipedia - Renaissance Music

Washington State University - Renaissance Love Songs

Victoria and Albert Museum - Renaissance Music 1400-1600

Iowa State University - Medieval and Renaissance Instruments

About.com - Top 8 Composers of the Renaissance Era

Duckster - Renaissance for Kids: Music and Dance

The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Music in the Renaissance

Wikipedia - Renaissance Dance

American Memory - Renaissance Dance

Renaissance Food Recipes

Renaissance Cookbooks

Renfaire - Renaissance Cooking & Recipes

Academia Barilla: The Italian Food Academy - The Food of the Renaissance

Duckster - Renaissance for Kids: Food

Society for Creative Anachronism - What People Drank in The Middle Ages and Renaissance?

Victoria and Albert Museum - At Home in Renaissance Italy: Food

Reddit: Ask Historians - Which relatively common commodities today were highly valuable during the middle ages/renaissance?

Reddit: Ask Historians - How common was beef in the diet of Medieval and early Renaissance peasantry?

Wikipedia - Renaissance Literature

Baruch College - Renaissance Literature

James Madison University - Renaissance Literature

Carson–Newman University - English Authors of the Renaissance

Popular Sports and Games of the Early Renaissance

Prezi - Sports and Games of the Renaissance (Video)

Renfaire - Renaissance Games

BellaOnline - Games and Sports in the Renaissance

Hygiene, Health & Medicine

Medieval and Renaissance Hygiene

Women and Medicine in the Middle Ages & Renaissance

Medieval and Renaissance Dental Hygiene and Mouthwash Products

Cornell University Press - The Culture of Cleanliness in Renaissance Italy

Reddit: Ask Historians - How effective were medieval or renaissance doctors, really?

Medical News Today - What Is European Medieval & Renaissance Medicine?

Wikipedia - Medical Renaissance

Explorable - Renaissance Medicine and the Increase of Anatomical Knowledge

PlanetSEED - Renaissance Medicine

Harvard University - Doctors and Medicine in Early Renaissance Florence

Prezi - Medical Practices During the Renaissance (Video)

Mount Holyoke College - Renaissance Medicine

Victoria and Albert Museum - Renaissance Childbirth

Museum of Menstruation and Women’s Health - About Women and Menstruation in 17th Century England

University College Cork - The Art of Death and Childbirth in Renaissance Italy

University College London - Life Expectation of Italian Renaissance Artists (PDF)

Plagues and Sickness in the Renaissance

Academia.edu - The Culture of Death in Late Medieval and Early Renaissance Italy

International Journal of Epidemiology - The Black Death Transformed: Disease and Culture in Early Renaissance Europe

The New England Journal of Medicine - The Great Pox: The French disease in Renaissance Europe

BBC - Renaissance Surgery and Treatment (Video)

The Scoop on Hygiene - Get Clean with Renaissance Women!

Fashion

History Today - Renaissance Fashion: The Birth of Power Dressing

Duckster - Renaissance for Kids: Clothing

Renfaire - Renaissance Faire Costume Guide

Victoria and Albert Museum - Renaissance Women’s Clothing

Metropolitan Museum of Art - Renaissance Fashion and Dress Code

Central Washington University - Renaissance Costume History

Cambridge University Press - Renaissance Clothing and the Materials of Memory

Children’s Fashion in the Renaissance

Prezi - Women and Children’s Fashion During the Renaissance (Video)

eHow - Children’s Fashions in the Renaissance Time Period

LoveToKnow - Renaissance Footwear

Cosmetics and Perfume in the Italian Renaissance

Making Up the Renaissance - The Renaissance Makeover

BellaOnline - Renaissance Beauty Tips

The Beauty Biz - Beauty Through the Ages: The Renaissance

Medievalist - Make-Up as Understructure: Renaissance Cosmetics as Renaissance Self-Fashioning

Perfume Shrine - Perfume Use in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance: Myths and Truths

Antique Jewelry University - Renaissance Jewelry

eHow - Hairstyles in the Renaissance Period

The History of the Hairs World - The Hair in the Middle Ages & Renaissance

Dialogue

Renfaire - Language: Forms of Address

Renfaire - Language: Vocabulary

Renfaire - Oaths, Curses, and Insults

ehow - How to Talk Like You Belong at the Renaissance Faire

The Heart of the Forest Renaissance Faire - Language Guide

Justice & Crime

Northwestern University School of Law - Law and Punishment in Early Renaissance Venice (PDF)

EyeWitnessToHistory - Crime and Punishment in Elizabethan England

Cambridge University Press - Crime, Society and the Law in Renaissance Italy

Northwestern University School of Law - Crime and Punishment in Renaissance Florence (PDF)

Prezi - The Renaissance: Crimes & Punishments (Video)

JSTOR  - The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology: Crime and Punishment in Renaissance Florence

[ghostflowerdreams]

Do you have any helpful links about manipulating people? I have a character that does a lot of psychological manipulation and I could use the help on whatever information you find.

What we know about psychological manipulation is that it is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at another’s expense, such methods could be considered exploitative, abusive, devious, and deceptive. 

Social influence is not necessarily negative. For example, doctors can try to persuade patients to change unhealthy habits. Social influence is generally perceived to be harmless when it respects the right of the influenced to accept or reject and is not unduly coercive. Depending on the context and motivations, social influence may constitute underhanded manipulation. [1]

Here are some sites that explain further about who are the kind of people to use manipulation, how they do it, how to recognize their methods and examples of it.

wiseGeek - What Is Psychological Manipulation?

Psychology Today - Are You Being Influenced or Manipulated?

Counselling Blog - 10 Types of Emotional Manipulators

How could one play a manipulative character?

Writing Questions Answered - Character Development: The Master Manipulator

Mel Menzies - Creative Writing Plot Ideas: Dealing With Manipulative People

Cyrus Assist -  How to Portray a Impolite, Manipulative Type of Character

Counselling Resource - Gaslighting as a Manipulation Tactic: What It Is, Who Does It, And Why

WikiHow - How to Pick Up on Manipulator Behavior

Psych Central - How to Spot Manipulation

Cassiopaea - Spotting Emotional Manipulation

Manipulation-People.com - Manipulation Tactics: A Closer Look

Psychology Today - How to Handle Manipulators

Psychology Today - How to Free Yourself From a Manipulator

Psychology Today - How to Spot and Stop Manipulators

Psychology Today - How to Recognize and Handle Manipulative Relationships

Lifehacker - How to Manipulate People

Lifehacker - Three of The Easiest Ways to Manipulate People into Doing What You Want

Activist Post - 6 Examples of Media Manipulation

TV Tropes - Manipulative Bastard

[ghostflowerdreams]

Writing Research - Symbolism

Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense.

Symbolism can take different forms. Generally, it is an object representing another to give it an entirely different meaning that is much deeper and more significant. Sometimes, however, an action, an event or a word spoken by someone may have a symbolic value. For instance, “smile” is a symbol of friendship. Similarly, the action of someone smiling at you may stand as a symbol of the feeling of affection which that person has for you.

Symbols do shift their meanings depending on the context they are used in. “A chain”, for example, may stand for “union” as well as “imprisonment”. Thus, symbolic meaning of an object or an action is understood by when, where and how it is used. It also depends on the reader as each person may have different interpretations of a symbol. [1] [2]

It is recommended that you take advantage of the CTRL+F (or Command+F on a Mac) function on your keyboard. It will make searching for a particular symbolism much easier.

Keep reading

[writeworld-blog]

Researching Orphans and Orphanages

Anonymous said: Opinions on orphanages and/or orphaned characters? Cos I’m writing one but IT’S SUCH A CLICHE I’M DEAD

Well, don’t die. That’s the first thing. This is not even a little bit worth dying over.

I don’t know what time period you’re talking about, or where your story is set. That’s not so great news, since it makes helping you out very difficult. WriteWorld isn’t a research blog, but I’m willing to do a few Google searches for you because you seem a bit overwhelmed. In the future, please don’t ask us to do research for you. We’re not really into that.

As far as our opinion on orphanages and orphaned characters goes, I (C of WriteWorld) think that if you want to write about them and you can pull it off, then you should write about them. Orphans have always been popular in stories, especially stories aimed at young people for some reason, but just because an orphan is a popular sort of character doesn’t mean you can’t write about them. Popularity doesn’t necessarily indicate a cliche, though a popular trope can sometimes become cliche. Cliches arise when a lack of original or deep thought eats a hole through the heart of a particular subject, making it groan-worthy and/or disrespectful. You can read over the topics on the TVTropes page linked below and find clear examples of tropes that have become cliched. But I’ll leave you to that. For now, let’s talk research.

Where should you start? Well, how much do you know about orphanages generally? Did everything you know about orphanages come from stories in movies, TV, and books? Read these articles on orphanages, adoption, etc. to gain a very broad understanding of the subject.

Orphanage from Wikipedia

Orphaned Index of TVTropes

How Adoption Works from HowStuffWorks

Do you know the difference between orphanages and group homes? Yahoo Answers user Wildgrl explains the general difference very well:

An orphanage is run by a private organization, such as a church, ministry, hospital, outreach clinic, etc. It provides long term care for children with no known parents, but also supports runaways as a safe-house / halfway house and shelter. A group home is a facility that is jointly run by the states Dept of Family Services and the Dept of Corrections. They are often dual-use facilities in that they house foster youth and transitional kids that are coming out of a juvenile corrections center.

These aren’t the only valid definitions for orphanage and group home, and both are worth exploring more deeply, but I understand that you just want to know more about orphanages. So, on that note…

I’m just going to assume that you’re talking about modern-day, privately-run American orphanages for children with no living biological parents. If that’s the case, I recommend that you check out these articles and resources as well as do research on your own:

The Modern Orphans of Mississippi from The Atlantic

Foster Care versus Modern Orphanages from the NCPA (based on this article by Richard B. McKenzie)

Don’t Misjudge Modern Orphanages from the Chicago Tribune

A Place to Call Home: The Amazing Success Story of Modern Orphanages by Martha Randolph Carr

Are There Any Traditional Orphanages in the US? from The Huffington Post

Best Kept Secret of Something We’re Doing Well in America by Martha Carr

IamA an orphan who grew up in crazy abusive foster homes, ran away from home, became a pro wrestler, military veteran, graphic designer and amazing dad! AMA!

IAMA Orphan who has lived in over 30 group homes and facilities (and radical psychological treatments). AMAA

Orphanages from FAQs

Or how about actually visiting the websites of modern-day orphanages?

Maryville Academy

Thornwell

Mercy Home

Jerkins Institute for Children

Appalachian Children’s Home

Boys Town

Or just… You know what? Here. And here’s a list of Christian orphanages all over the world, including the US.

You could even look up an orphanage near you and volunteer! Ain’t nothin’ quite like going to a place and actually experiencing what it is like to be there.

And here are just a few articles, resources, and IAMAs on modern-day orphanages from around the world:

Orphans’ Lonely Beginnings Reveal How Parents Shape A Child’s Brain from NPR

An Orphanage Once Called Home from The Washington Post

I grew up in a Russian orphanage, AMA!

I live in and am employed by a Chinese orphanage. AMA.

I run an orphanage in Nepal AMA

There are TONS more resources on this topic on the internet. You could also check your local library for resources on orphanages, group homes, adoption, foster care, etc. You could research experts on this topic and interview them. There might even be a few fellow writers here on Tumblr who could help you out, either with research of their own or from their personal experiences with orphanages and/or group homes.

Remember, you’re writing about real things that affect real people. Please do more research than this. Please. I’m begging you. I literally just pulled together some articles I thought were interesting from the first few search queries I made. That’s barely enough research to write a Tumblr post on this subject, let alone an entire book.

If you need some help learning to conduct your own research, check out our research tag. There are great resources there to get you started.

Thanks for your question, and I hope this helps!

-C

[ghostflowerdreams]

Writing Research - Bow & Arrows

The purpose of this research post is to be helpful, more importantly educational. I certainly don’t condone the use of this knowledge for malevolent reasons. I want to help writers with their stories and I figured this would make their search for such information easier. 

This is great for the stories that take place in ancient times, apocalyptic setting, and/or contains characters that are archers. Maybe you’re writing fanfiction and it’s about one of these characters: Legolas Greenleaf, Bard the Bowman, Kili and Tauriel (The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit), Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games), Kagome Higurashi (InuYasha), Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (Arrow), Princess Merida (Brave), Susan Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia), Link (The Legend of Zelda), Hawkeye, Robin Hood, Lara Croft, and so on. 

This information would help make them believable. For example, if they are teaching another character how to be an archer it would be difficult to write about it without first knowing how it’s actually done in real life. The same can be said about when they are wounded by an arrow, just how would they deal with it? Or if your character is a survivalist or prepper and their story is set in an apocalypse world, they would probably know how to make weapons (like the bow and arrows) from the things around them in order to survive.

So this post is meant to make a writer’s life a little easier by giving them a starting point. It doesn’t contain EVERY information about bows, but if you know what you’re looking for than I encourage you to look it up. 

How To Make A Bow and Arrows

WikiHow - How to Make a Bow and Arrow

WikiHow - How to Make Arrowheads

WikiHow - How to Make a Bow from Green Wood

WikiHow - 2 Easy Ways to Make a Composite Longbow

WikiHow - How to Make an Archery Bow

Expert Prepper - Bushcraft Survival: How to Make a Bow and Arrow

Bushcraft UK - Primitive Arrow Making (PDF)

Survival Mastery - How to Make a Bow and Arrow: Part 1

New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies -  How To Make: A Replica Native American Bow (PDF)

The History of Archery - The Making of the Native American Bow and Arrow

The Project Gutenberg -  Hunting with the Bow & Arrow: How to Make a Bow (PDF)

The Project Gutenberg - Hunting with the Bow & Arrow: How to Make an Arrow (PDF)

The Project Gutenberg - Hunting with the Bow & Arrow: Archery Equipment (PDF)

Primitive Ways - Grow Your Own Bowstring

Nature Skills - Survival Bow Making

Mother Earth News - Making a Bow and Arrow for Bow Hunting

Bushcraft Days - How To…Make a Flint-Tipped Arrow

Bushcraft Days - How To…Carve an Ash Flatbow

Bushcraft Days - How To…Carve a Holmegaard Bow

Bushcraft Days - How To…Build a Bhutanese Bow

Sensible Survival - Primitive Bow Making: Part 1

Sensible Survival - Primitive Bow Making: Part 2

Sensible Survival - Primitive Bow Making: Part 3

Sensible Survival - Primitive Bow Making: Part 4

Sensible Survival - Primitive Bow Making: Part 5

Youtube - Making a Primitive Bow, Part 1 (Video)

Youtube - Making a Primitive Bow, Part 2 (Video)

Youtube - Making a Primitive Bow, Part 3 (Video)

Youtube - Making a Primitive Bow, Part 4 (Video)

Youtube - Survival-Bow Made With Bare Hands (Video)

Youtube - How to Make a Primitive Bow, Part 1 (Video)

Youtube - How to Make a Primitive Bow, Part 2 (Video)

Youtube - How to Make a Native American Comanche Arrow for Primitive Archery Hunting (Video)

Youtube - Making Primitive Arrowheads For Beginners (Video)

Youtube - How to Make Bow and Arrow the Old Way (Video)

Sensible Survival - Making Arrow Fletching from Whole Feathers

Native Way Online - A Basic Method For Making Self Bows

Martin Survival - Primitive Archery - Arrow Making (Videos)

Primitive Archer Magazine - Making Arrows Naturally

Alderleaf Wilderness College - Survival Bow Making Instructions: How to Make a Quickie Bow from a Sapling

Alderleaf Wilderness College - Making Arrowheads: The Art of Flint Knapping

Primitive Ways - Fletching By Hand

Sigma 3 Survival School - Build Your Own Primitive Arrow Quiver

eHow - How to Make a Primitive Bow and Arrows

eHow - How to Make an Indian Bow & Arrows

eHow - How to Make an Original Indian-Style Bow and Arrow

eHow - How Did American Indians Make Bows & Arrows

eHow - Trees That Are Used to Make Bows & Arrows

eHow - How to Make a Wood Hunting Bow

eHow - How to Clean & Preserve a Recurve Bow

eHow - How to Care for an Archery Bow

The Archery Library -  How to Take Care of Your Bow and Arrows

The Archery Library - Making Self Arrows

The Archery Library - Stringing or Bracing the Bow

The Archery Library - Making Bowstrings

The Archery Library - Bow Woods and Bow Staves

The Archery Library - Arrow Woods and Arrows 

How To Use A Bow

How To Write Fight - Weapon Primer: Archery

Wikipedia - History of Archery

Wikipedia - Bow and Arrow

The Archery Library - Common Archery Terms

Merlin Archery Centre - Jargon Busting

Merlin Archery Centre - Choosing Your First Bow And Arrow

Merlin Archery Centre - Correct Shooting Technique

The Archery Library - How to Aim

The Archery Library - Shooting the Bow

Youtube - How to Shoot a Bow and Arrow (Video)

Youtube - Archery for Beginners (Video)

Youtube - How to Avoid Common Shooting Mistakes (Video)

Shootingtime.com - Archery Form: Stance, Grip, Shot Execution

WikiHow - How to Shoot an English Long Bow

WikiHow - How to Pull an Archery Arrow out of the Target

WikiHow - How to Shoot an Arrow

The Art of Manliness - Taking Aim: A Primer on Traditional Archery

Alderleaf Wilderness College -  How to Shoot a Bow Instinctively

The Project Gutenberg - Hunting with the Bow & Arrow: How to Shoot (PDF)

Survival Mastery - Bow Hunting Tips: Get Better, Faster

eHow - How to Keep Your Bow Hand Steady While Shooting Arrows

eHow - How to Choose the Right Long Bow

eHow - How to Tell the Difference between Left & Right-Hand Bow and Arrows

eHow - How to Shoot With a Bow 

eHow - Difference Between Compound and Recurve Bows

eHow - How to Make a Crossbow

Discovery.com - DIY Survival: Make a Crossbow from Scratch (Video)

Survivalist Magazine - Build a Survival Crossbow (Video)

Before It’s News - DIY: How to Build a Crossbow

Mother Earth News - How to Make a Crossbow: The Classic Crossbow

Sigma 3 Survival School - How To Build a Survival Crossbow

Instructables - How To Make An Extreme Powerful Wooden Crossbow

University of Oxford - Simple Archery Mistakes

ArcherZUshot - How To Write Credible Fantasy & Historical Archery

Benjamin Rose - Can Arrows Penetrate Medieval Armor?

Reddit: Ask Historians -  Would English archers during the Hundred Years War make their own bows and arrows or would they be made by other people?

Reddit: Ask Historians - How were wooden arrows in medieval battles kept perfectly straight?

Reddit: Ask Historians - What would archers/crossbowmen do in the rain?

Reddit: Ask Historians -  Did poisoned weapons (especially arrows) ever got used in warfare?

How To Write Fight - Can a character really grab a arrow out of the air coming straight at her from afar?

Archery World - How to Shoot Your Bow in Archery

Outdoor Life - Shooting a Bow: 7 Tips For Better Long-Range Accuracy

Oakland University -  How Was the Bow and Arrow Invented? (PDF)

Ancient Fortresses - Medieval Bow and Arrow

Medieval Life And Times - Bow and Arrow

How To Treat An Arrow Wound/Injury

Journal of the American Revolution - Battle Wounds: Never Pull an Arrow Out of a Body

eHow - How to Remove an Arrow Wound

The Rebel Prepper Network - SHTF Medical Article of the Day: How to Treat an Arrow Wound

Medscape - Arrow Shaft Injury of the Wrist and Hand

Michigan Bowhunter Education Course -  First Aid: Bleeding and Arrow Wounds

Reddit: Ask Historians -  How Hard was it to Supply Arrows to Archers in Ancient Battles? &  TokyoBayRay Explains How Medieval Doctors Treated Arrow Wounds

Reddit: Ask Historians - How Have People Treated Arrow Wounds Throughout History?

Reddit: Ask Historians - Treating Medieval Injuries

Quora - How do Bullet Wounds Compare with the Wounds Inflicted By Bow-and-Arrows and Those By Crossbows?

National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine -  Arrow Wounds: Major Stimulus in the History of Surgery

Medical Scene Writer - Arrow Wounds

The Bowsite - Wound Management

John Wiley & Sons Online Library -  American Anthropologist, Volume 3, Issue 3: Arrow Wounds (PDF)

Mythic Scribes: The Art Of Fantasy Storytelling - So I Was Shot By An Arrow…

Ciara Ballintyne - How To Properly Remove An Arrow: Crazy Things I Learned Researching Books

AbsoluteWrite - First Aid for an Arrow Wound

AbsoluteWrite - An Arrow in the Gut?

AbsoluteWrite - Cauterizing an Arrow Wound

Slithering Ink: A Writing Advice Blog -  Advice on Arrow Wounds

How To Write Fight - How would an arrow affect bone? Break it? Bounce off?

How To Write Fight - My character is hit by an arrow to the shoulder from a considerable distance. Would it be possible for the arrow to hit a muscle and somewhat incapacitate her arm? If so, how long would it take to completely heal, if ever?

Reddit: Ask Historians - Movies show men getting hit with an arrow and immediately dying. How accurate is that?

[transcriptroopers]

Enlisted Ranks: Army

There’s nothing I hate more than a story that didn’t even try to get its ranks right. Why is a major giving orders to a colonel? Why is a first sergeant working with a bunch of fuzzies? Why the hell did you just call the sergeant major ‘sir’? 

Military ranks are different across the branches, but if your story features the U.S. Army, here’s a breakdown of enlisted ranks and rank etiquette. (other branches coming soon!)

Basics Ranks in the army follow a numerical pattern, so if you’re ever not quite sure what the name of the rank higher is, you can reference them by nomenclature. E-series: E stands for enlisted. This refers to soldiers from private to sergeant major.  O-series: O stands for officer. This refers to soldiers from second lieutenant to general. O-series post coming soon! W-series: W stands for warrant officer. This refers to soldiers from warrant officer 1 to chief warrant officer 5. W-series post coming soon! In ACUs, (army combat uniform) the rank is worn in the center of the chest via a velcro patch. In class-A uniforms, the rank is worn on the shoulder. Each pay grade earns slightly more per month than the one before it. Officers make significantly more money per month than enlisted. Time in service also affects pay, meaning a sergeant who’s been in six years will make more than a staff sergeant who’s been in three years.

E-1: Private Most people who enlist come in at E-1 unless they were in JROTC, have a college degree, or performed some other feat with their recruiters prior to enlisting i.e. volunteer work, good P.T. scores, etc. This is the lowest pay grade and has no rank. Soldiers who are E-1s do not wear a rank.  also known as: PV1, fuzzy (because they wear no velcro rank, there’s a patch of bare fuzz in the middle of their uniform. You can buy a patch to cover it.) Title: Private, PV1 E-2: Private Yes, there are two ranks by the name of private. You reach E-2 automatically after six months of enlistment. If you enroll in the Delayed Entry Program or have an acceptable P.T. card with your recruiter, you can enlist as an E-2 instead of an E-1. At E-2, you more or less have no more power than an E-1.  also known as : PV2 Title: Private, PV2

E-3: Private First Class The final “private” class. You reach E-3 automatically after 12 months of enlistment, assuming you’ve been an E-2 for at least four months. If you were in JROTC for four years, you enter automatically at this rank. This rank still doesn’t have much power, but may be put in charge of other privates and may assist their team leader with tasks, and on occasion may be a team leader themselves. also known as : PFC Title: Private, PFC. E-4: Specialist/Corporal The last “junior enlisted” class. You reach specialist automatically after 24 months of enlistment, assuming you’ve been a PFC for at least six months. If you enlist with a completed four year college degree, you can start out as an E-4 instead of an E-1. Specialists tend to be team leaders and may be in charge of other specialists and privates. When no NCOs are present, the senior specialist is in charge. 

Corporal, while technically the same pay grade as specialist, is actually an essentially higher rank. It’s a special rank only bestowed on those who are in leadership positions and are awaiting the appropriate time in service/time in grade to be promoted to sergeant. Corporals are considered NCOs while specialists are considered junior enlisted.  Strictly speaking corporals and specialists are the same rank, but in most situations, corporals out rank specialists. also known as: shamshields, (specialist only) SPC, CPL Title: Specialist, Corporal —

Intermission!

Man, all of that text is boring. Let’s break it up a bit with some rank etiquette, shall we?

• Lower enlisted (E-1 thru E-4) tend to call each other by their surname regardless of rank. Even an E-1 will probably be calling a specialist just by their name. The exception is Corporals, who are considered NCOs and are referred to by rank.

• E-5 and above are referred to as “NCOs,” or non-commissioned officers. 

• NCOs with similar ranks might call each other by their surnames and will call lower enlisted by their surnames. When discussing another NCO with a lower enlisted, they will use that NCO’s proper rank. So a sergeant speaking to a PFC will say “Sergeant Smith needs you,” not “Smith needs you.” Freshly promoted sergeants who still hang out with lower enlisted might not mind their friends calling them their surnames in private, but formally and professionally they’re expected to address their senior properly. 

• Lower enlisted ranks are often called “joes,” especially when an NCO is addressing another NCO about their squad or platoon. “Have your joes had chow yet?” = “Have the soldiers directly under your command eaten yet?” 

• It’s considered inappropriate for lower enlisted to hang out with NCOs and it’s discouraged, especially in the work place. 

Are you all rested up? Great! Let’s get back to the ranks. 

—

E-5: Sergeant

Finally: the NCO ranks! Unlike the previous ranks, you cannot automatically rank up to sergeant. You must attend special courses and be seen by a promotion board where you’ll be expected to recite the NCO creed and have knowledge appropriate for an non-commissioned officer. From this rank on, lower-ranked soldiers will refer to you as “sergeant” and you will likely be a squad leader or in another leadership position. 

• Lower enlisted do NOT refer to sergeants by their surname unless it is paired with their rank. “Sergeant Smith,” not just “Smith,” or your private will be doing a lot of push-ups. 

• No one calls them “Sarge.” Like… just don’t do it friends. 

• Some pronounce sergeant in such a way it sounds as though the g is dropped entirely. Ser-eant, or phonetically, “saarnt.” 

also known as: SGT

Title: Sergeant

E-6: Staff Sergeant

Sergeant Plus. You probably will have similar responsibilities to an E-5, meaning probably a squad leader unless you need to fill in for a platoon sergeant. Don’t misunderstand; in lower enlisted ranks, private and private first class aren’t that much of a difference. E-5 and E-6 are a definite difference though. It is acceptable to call an E-6 either “sergeant” or “sergeant (name)” instead of staff sergeant. 

also known as: SSG

Title: Sergeant

E-7: Sergeant First Class

At this point the ranks become known as “senior NCO.” E-7 and above cannot be demoted by normal means. It actually requires a court martial or congressional approval to demote an E-7. Like, it’s surprisingly hard to demote people after this point. I once knew an E-7 who got busted with a DUI and STILL didn’t lose his rank.

Anyway, it’s still appropriate to call an E-7 “sergeant” or “sergeant (name)” instead of sergeant first class. SFCs may be platoon sergeants or in some circumstances may hold a first sergeant position. While positioned as a first sergeant, they should be referred to as “first sergeant.” Unless you work at battalion level or higher, this is probably the highest NCO rank you’ll interact with regularly, and in some cases interacting with an E-7 can be as big a deal as interacting with an E-8. 

also known as: SFC

Title: Sergeant

E-8: First Sergeant/Master Sergeant

Another dual-rank. First sergeants are the NCO in charge of a company and are usually the highest ranking NCO soldiers will interact with regularly. They run the company alongside the company commander. All NCOs answer to them and most beginning of the day and end of the day formations will be initiated and ended with them. It is only appropriate to refer to a first sergeant as “first sergeant” or “first sergeant (name).” Do not just call them “sergeant.”

Master sergeants are E-8s who are not in a first sergeant position. Typically these people wind up working in offices in battalion or brigade. It’s only appropriate to refer to a master sergeant as “master sergeant” or “master sergeant (name).”

also known as: 1SG, FSG, (first sergeant only) MSG (master sergeant only)

Titles: First Sergeant, Master Sergeant.

E-9: Sergeant Major or Command Sergeant Major

We finally reach the end of the list: Sergeant Major, the highest ranking NCO. Sergeant Majors will be found at battalion level and higher. Command Sergeant Majors are those that hold a leadership position in a battalion, brigade, etc, like first sergeant vs master sergeant. It is appropriate to refer to E-9s as “sergeant major” or “sergeant major (name).” Typically, a command sergeant major will be referred to AS command sergeant major.

In the U.S., the plural form of sergeant major is “sergeants major.” Outside the U.S., “sergeant majors” can be correct. 

also known as: SGM, CSM

Title: Sergeant Major

Now, for the most important announcement:

Soldiers NEVER, and I mean NEVER, refer to an NCO as “sir” or “ma’am.” Forget what the movies tell you; if your first sergeant is chewing you out, you do not say “ma’am, yes ma’am!” You’ll earn yourself some push-ups and some cleaning duty and probably a counseling. Do you see how under every rank I’ve provided a “title” section? That’s how your soldiers address that rank. Period. The only people who get called “sir” and “ma’am” are civilians and officers. Cannot tell you how many movies I’ve rolled my eyes into my skull because some snot-nosed private is calling their squad leader “sir.” Please cease this immediately. Thank you.

That’s all for scriptsoldier’s rank breakdown of enlisted ranks! Stay tuned for our breakdown of officers, warrant officers, and how your rank affects your standing in your unit!

[drferox]

Fantasy Biology Masterlist

It was about time I made a simple list of all the Fantasy Biology posts I’ve done so far, collected in one place. Some of the oldest ones are a different format, before I started doing them regularly, but I’ve included them anyway.

The species for these posts have been chosen by my wonderful Patreon supporters, from as little as $1 a month.

Mermaid Biology

Octopus Mermaid

Stingray Mermaid

Jellyfish Mermaid

Amphibious Mermaid

Monotreme Mermaid

Pegasus

Wyvern

Werewolf

Infectious Vampirism

Phoenix

Pixies

Unicorn

Cerberus

Naga

Griffin

Centaur

Satyr & Glastig Ecology

Manticore

Winged Humanoid (feathers)

Kelpie (water horse)

Cockatrice

Chinese Dragon

Winged Dogs & Cats

Banshee

Disembodied Hand Monster

Hurrok

Gorgons & Medusa

Porcine Orc

Owlbear

Dryad

[drferox]

As an unrelated topic, I love seeing the comments and tags on the Fantasy Biology posts. I think every one has been someone’s favourite, except perhaps the unfortunate manticore. These are some of my favourite comments you’ve made.

I’ll let you figure out which comments go where

[howtofightwrite]

Q&A: How To Punch

How can I properly show the difference in size/ability/personality when two characters are fist fighting? Do a bigger and stronger guy throw a punch differently than his younger shorter opponent? Is that even a thing in real life?

The great irony, despite all media has taught you, is that two people of different heights, weights, and genders will actually fight (mostly) the same way if they are they are trained in the martial same style. Everybody learns the same move set, what makes the difference is how well they execute it and how disciplined they are when they start to flag.

The easiest are with people who don’t know what they’re doing versus people who do. For trained fighters, a lot of personality is going to get shed when they settle in and focus. You can have a cocky shit who talks a lot of trash outside the ring before the match and then say absolutely nothing inside it. Talk wastes air and you need oxygen to keep your endurance up. The person who talks during the fight gets punched, and should because they’re not focused. They deserve it.

No, they really do. Competitive fighters will take advantage of that kind of distraction. If someone’s talking in the ring, they’re doing it at a safe distance (at starting distance/outside arms reach) while both they and their opponent are searching for an opening.

The best fighters are the ones with the highest technical proficiency and the least amounts shits to give about their opponent’s future.

Let’s talk about technical proficiency for a second:

Technical proficiency relates to how skilled your character is i.e. how good they are at executing their techniques. What is technique?

It’s more than just a punch. It’s every minute movement involved in the movement of your body as it executes that punch. This includes

A) Your stance: the width of your feet in comparison to your shoulders, the degree at which your knees are bent, creating a centralized point of balance as you move.

B) The twist of your hips as you punch. This is, in combination with your shoulders, is your main generator of momentum i.e. power. (Yes, this has nothing to do with how many muscles you have.)

C) The position of your hands in relation to their distance from your face before you throw your punch. (This would be part of the fighting stance.)

D) The twist of your shoulders in time with your hips. Did they move together or are they out of slightly sync?

E) The position of your elbows. Were they inside or outside the body, is your arm in line with your shoulder when it extends?

F) The extension of your arm. Did you overextend past that front foot in your stance and put yourself out of balance?

G) Did you properly lock your fist when you punched? This is all five fingers clenched together when you punch, locked by your thumb. If your thumb is inside your fingers or outside your hand, you’re at risk of breaking your fingers. (Yes, beginners do this.)

H) Did you lock your wrist in line with your fist and your elbow and your shoulder? (Yes, beginners also do this.)

I) Did you do lock up at the fraction of a second before you struck your target? Thus applying maximum force? Momentum = movement + speed. If you lock too early, you slow down in the critical instant before striking and blunt your force/create more opportunity to be blocked.(Yes, beginners do this. They also flinch.) Punching a target, even a soft target, hurts. It will hurt when you do everything perfectly. That’s before we get to the psychological aspect of hurting someone else and the affect of that indecision on your physical body.

J) Did you return to resting or flow smoothly into your next combination/strike? Or did you just stand there like an idiot?

K) How quickly did you manage it? Again, this entire move happens within a fraction of a second, often too quickly for the untrained eye to follow. It’s fast. (Fun Fact: film cameras lose frames of professional martial artists/martial arts actors like Jet Li and Jackie Chan when they go full tilt.) Most of the time, audiences at professional matches mistake and respond to the secondary, follow-up strikes rather than the actual winning hit.

These are only some of the considerations toward basic technical proficiency, there are more and more ways you can screw up a simple, basic punch. When we say someone has “flawless technique,” we mean they can execute every aspect of the technique flawlessly from start to finish. The best contenders will all be in that range, especially when looked at by outsiders. A strong technical foundation is essential to success. In fact, it’s necessary. Strong foundations aren’t just needed for strong defenses, offenses, or executing your techniques successfully, they’re also energy efficient. A fighter with an excellent foundation and high technical proficiency continues when the their opponent with a shoddy foundation flags. You can win when you’re opponent is tired.

If you have a poor foundation, you are poor in everything. You’re technique is inefficient, you’re slower, your defense has more openings, your movements are bigger and thus have more tells, wasted movements means you’re wasting more energy. You’ve essentially hobbled yourself.

Now, poor foundations can be fixed. Technique is tightened with practice. The more experience a fighter has, the more they’re willing to address their flaws and work toward improvement then they have a chance to become better. Martial arts is skill based, not talent based. The person who works the hardest, the longest, and is the most determined is one who eventually stands among the best.

The best way to address this in your writing is to start looking at different how to videos on YouTube from martial arts masters discussing how to perform different techniques. You’ll be able to see the breakdowns, have them explained, and see what it looks like when a person with experience does it right. If you’re trying to write a character describing another character as inexperienced, it helps at least get a window into what the technique is supposed to look like.

I must say though, that even with a technique as simple as a single punch (whether front hand or backhand) there’s a lot of variation in technical detail between different martial styles. So, different characters could punch in different ways depending on their backgrounds.

-Michi

This blog is supported through Patreon. If you enjoy our content, please consider becoming a Patron. Every contribution helps keep us online, and writing. If you already are a Patron, thank you.

Q&A: How To Punch was originally published on How to Fight Write.

[simplyoriginalcharacters]

How to Write Characters in Realistic Polyamorous Relationships

Earlier this week, an anonymous follower asked: Any advice for writing a REALISTIC poly relationship?

Friend, you are in luck. As a polyamorous person, I’m always looking for more stories that include good poly representation! So first, we’re going to dig into some information about what poly is and what it isn’t, go over some vocabulary, and discuss how polyamorous relationships function in the real world, and then I’ll get into some dons and don’ts for writing polyamorous relationships. Read on under the cut!

Keep reading

[writingquestionsanswered]

WQA’s Guide to Internet Research

One thing I hear a lot here at WQA is, “I Googled such and such topic and I didn’t find anything.” Regardless of what the topic is, I know that’s not true because there’s a ton of information about every topic imaginable on the internet, all of it accessible via a simple Google search. So what’s happening here? Simple: people aren’t sure what they’re looking for, don’t know how to find what they need, or they’re overwhelmed by the pages and pages of results. But, honestly, researching your topic via the internet isn’t that difficult. Here’s what you need to do…

1) Know what you’re looking for.

The first thing you need to do is create a small summary of exactly how your topic fits into your story. For example, “My story is about a woman who survives a laboratory accident, but she becomes permanently blind due to eye trauma experienced in the accident. Now she must learn how to cope with losing her eyesight and learn how to navigate her world without it.”

2) Break it down into sub-topics.

Now that you have your topic sorted out, break it down into sub-topics that will make the research easier to do. In the above summary, there are three obvious phases of this woman’s situation. There was the initial trauma where the eyesight is lost, there’s coping with learning that her eyesight is lost, and there’s learning how to live without her eyesight. So, the sub-topics would be:

- losing eyesight due to trauma

- coping with lost eyesight

- learning to live with lost eyesight

3) Identify keywords, key phrases, and key questions.

The next thing you want to do is boil your topic summary and sub-topics down to keywords, key phrases, and questions that will help you find information. Start by underlining the important things in your summary:

My story is about a woman who survives a laboratory accident, but she becomes permanently blind due to eye trauma experienced in the accident. Now she must learn how to cope with losing her eyesight and learn how to navigate her world without it.

Keywords:

Blind/blindness eye trauma eyesight loss Key Phrases:

Coping with loss of eyesight Living with blindness Key Questions:

How do people learn to live with blindness? What happens when someone becomes blind? What is it like to permanently lose eyesight? What is it like to be blind? How do you adjust to being blind?

4) Go to Google and search.

Go to Google and type in your keywords, key phrases, and key questions. Not all at once, obviously, but one at a time. It works best if you tackle one sub-topic at a time. Sift through the first few pages of results and use “right-click, open in new tab” to open the most promising links.

Keyword: blindness (click here for example)

Keyphrase: living with blindness (click here for example)

Key question: What is it like to be blind? (click here for example)

5) Sift through the results.

Here are some of the results for “what is it like to be blind?”

Just on the first half of the first page there are already resources that would be very handy, including videos, an in-depth article, medical information, and a forum thread which may have some firsthand experience.

6) Read, watch, and take notes.

Now it’s time for the hard work. You need to go through the most promising results, read through them, watch the videos, and take notes. Remember to focus on one sub-topic at a time. You may want to get a multi-subject spiral notebook with folder dividers, which will allow you to organize your notes by sub-topic, and if you want, you can print out any interesting articles and highlight the important details. Be sure to take notes while watching videos, too. You may want to create a folder in your browser where you can bookmark articles/sites/videos you’ll want to refer back to.

7) Resources to look for…

Articles - online newspapers, magazines, and news sites often post in-depth articles about a variety of topics. These articles often boil topics down to their most important elements. Sometimes they zero in on specific points of a topic, which can be really helpful when doing research.

Reference Sites - there are lots of different online references that cover a variety of topics. Encyclopedias, like the Encyclopedia Britannica, are available online. There are also wikis like Wikipedia, and topic specific wikis like TV Tropes and recipe wiki.  Educational Sites - lots of topics, especially those having to do with health, lifestyle, and medical issues, have web sites dedicated to educating the public about that topic/issue. For example, the American Heart Association has a site dedicated to teaching people about heart disease and heart health.

Enthusiast Sites - sometimes, enthusiasts of a particular topic will put together a whole website dedicated to delivering information about that topic. 

Blogs - blogs dedicated to a particular topic can be an incredible resource. For example, if you’re writing about a character who is living on their own for the first time, I guarantee you can find blogs written by people who are living on their own for the first time, all about their experiences and the ups and downs.

Forums - forums are another great place to find information. Not only are there forums dedicated to just about every topic imaginable, but if you have a question about that topic, odds are good someone has had a similar question and asked it. When you can find a forum dedicated to your topic, you can do a search there on your keywords or your specific question and see if someone already posted about it.

Videos - YouTube, Vimeo, MetaCafe and others offer videos on every topic imaginable. Sometimes you can find actual documentaries on your subject. Other times you can find overview videos. You can also find panels, exposes, lectures, and other videos about various topics.

Google Maps and Google Earth - if your topic relates to a place, viewing it in Google Maps or Google Earth can give you lots of interesting information. Not only can you get a street view of the location, but you can also get pictures and other important information. Some places like museums and historical sites even have online walk-throughs.

Online Exhibits - if your topic is something related to arts, science, or industry, there’s a good chance you can find an online exhibit relating to your topic via a museum online. For example, the fashion and textile museum has a digital collection you can look through. The Dittrick Museum of Medical History has several online exhibits an photo collections.

Digital Books and Magazines - sometimes you can find digital books and magazines dedicated to your topic. For example, if you’re writing about an 1800s whaling captain, you may be able to find digitized books about whaling, sailing, and life in the 1800s.

8) Other places to look.

Although this post is about doing internet research, remember that there are other places to look for information about your topic. Here are some to keep in mind:

The Library - whether it’s your school library or your local library, libraries are still one of the best places you can go to get information about any topic. Not only are the chalk full of books, references, and other resources, they’re staffed with knowledgeable people who are trained to help you find the information you need. Even if you plan to research your topic online, don’t hesitate to stop in your local library for supplemental information. Librarians want to help you! That’s what they’re there for!

People - the people in your life have had a variety of different experiences and learned all different things. Look for people in your life who might have firsthand information about a particular topic. For example, maybe your friend’s grandfather is blind. Perhaps you could ask for an interview, or talk to her family members about what they know about his experience. 

Books - obvious, I know, but you’d be surprised how rarely people think of finding books about their topic. The library is obviously a good place to start, but sometimes you can find pertinent information in books already on your shelves. If not, see what’s available on Amazon. Sometimes you can get used copies at a reduced price. Or, go see what’s available at your local bookstore.

TV Shows and Movies - while you should certainly never assume something you see on TV or in a movie is real or accurate, they can still be a great place to go to get a general overview about a particular topic. Watching a movie about a blind person can give you insight that will help make your research a little easier, because the topic will be more familiar to you.

Museums, Historic Sites, and Other Locations - if you can learn more about your topic by visiting a place, and if you can get to that place, go! If you’re writing about a noble woman who lives in a big manor house, nothing beats visiting an actual manor house for an idea of what that might be like. Even if the manor house (mansion, estate, etc.) you have access to isn’t quite like the one you’re writing about, just being there can still give you vital details that will help make your story more authentic.Or, your museum might have an exhibit on furniture from the Edwardian era. Getting a look at all that fancy furniture will help you recreate those details in your story’s manor house.

The most important thing of all is to not get frustrated. Take the time, do the work, and research can be the most rewarding part of writing your story! :)

[ghostflowerdreams]

Research For What Did People Use Before Toilet Paper?

The reason this post on What Did People Use Before Toilet Paper? came to be was because I wanted to know how in the ancient times did people do their business so that my story would be more accurate.

This of course led me down a rabbit hole and I ended up finding out a lot more. I thought to myself I should make this a post because I might need this info again. It’ll also be convenient to have it all in place. However, at the time I forgot to include sources so I can’t recall all of them exactly.

But I do know that it was a mixed of articles on artifacts, historical documents and old texts, such as literature, personal accounts like journals and so on, because they contained brief mentions of what the people used as toilet paper in them, etc.

Sapien.org - What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

The Washington Post Company - Ever Wondered about the history of toilet paper?

Phys.org - What toilets and sewers tell us about ancient Roman sanitation

Farmers’ Almanac - The Hole In The Farmers’ Almanac

Liberty Hall Museum - The Colonial Privy (Toilet) at Liberty Hall Museum [PDF]

University of Nebraska Press: Center for Great Plains Studies - Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition | A Natural History | Chapter 2

North Carolina Cooperative Extension: Hoke County Center - Cowboy’s Toilet Paper

Smithsonian Magazine - These Archaeologists Were Looking for Tombs, But They Were Totally Psyched to Find Toilets

ResearchGate - Toilet hygiene in the classical era [PDF]

The University of Texas at Austin - American Wasteland: A Social and Cultural History of Excrement, 1860-1920 by Daniel Max Gerling [PDF]

Cottonelle - What Did We Use Before Toilet Paper?

Living History Farm - 1930s Farm Life: Indoor Plumbing

Lancaster Farming - Pondering the Privy: A History of Outhouses

National Park Service - Outhouse-Sauer Beckmann Farm [Picture]

Penn State University Libraries - The Greatest Missed Luxury: Scott Toilet Tissue

Ancient Accounts of India and China by Eusebius Renaudot [Book]

Ars Technica - 2,000-year-old toilet paper gives us a whiff of life on the Silk Road in China

Archaeology Southwest - Of Poop, Toilet Paper, and Worms…

The Plumber - Toilet Paper: The History ‘Behind’ It

Medievalists.net - The Medieval Invention of Toilet Paper

World History Encyclopedia - Toilets in a Medieval Castle

Corinium Museum - Roman Toilet Paper

The Vintage News - What Did People Use Before Toilet Paper?

CBS News - Toilet Paper Factoids

Kapiolani Community College - Where’s The Toilet Paper?

Wellcome Collection - How Brits went soft on toilet paper [Pictures]

Smithsonian Magazine - Ancient “Poop Sticks” Offer Clues to the Spread of Disease Along the Silk Road

Dig It With Raven - What Did We Use Before Toilet Paper?

Scientific American - Toilet Issue: Anthropologists Uncover All the Ways We’ve Wiped

Italy Magazine - Ancient Romans May Have Used Flat Stones As Toilet Paper

Vintage Ad Browser - Toilet Paper

Discover Magazine - What the Earliest Toilets Say About How Human Civilization Has Evolved

Japan This! - Japanese Toilets

The Archaeology of Sanitation in Roman Italy: Toilets, Sewers, and Water Systems (Studies in the History of Greece and Rome) by Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow [Book]

BBC - A potted history of the toilet

JSTOR - The Early History of Human Excreta

Popular Science - Nature’s best toilet paper substitutes

The Mariners’ Museum and Park - A Head of Its Time: A Brief History of Going at Sea

Museums Victoria - Immigration: Journeys to Australia - Privies & Hygiene

RealClear Science - What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

The University of New Hampshire (UNH) - Ancient Toilet Hygiene [Video]

The Open University - Health and Wellbeing in the Ancient World: What did the Romans use for toilet paper?

National Geographic - What did people do before toilet paper?

National Museum of American History - Toilet

Berkeley University of California: Archaeological Research Facility - The Archaeology of Toileting

Ancient Origins - No Toilet Paper! Do Any of these Ancient Methods Work for You?

LiveScience - What did people use before toilet paper was invented?

HISTORY.com - All the Ways We’ve Wiped: The History of Toilet Paper and What Came Before

Youtube - The Remarkable History of Toilet Paper | Told by The History Guy | History at Home [Video]

Country Life - Curious Questions: What did people use before toilet paper?

Reader’s Digest - This Is What People Used Before Toilet Paper Existed

Free Library of Philadelphia - Unrolling the History of Toilet Paper

Hearthstone Historic House Museum - Flushed with Success: Milestones in Toilet Paper Development

Academia - Evolution of Toilets Worldwide Through the Millennia [PDF]

Ohio State University - Common Mullein- Mother Nature’s Answer to Our Toilet Paper Shortage?

Gastrointestinal Society - The History of Toilet Paper

Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences: Powerhouse Collection - Toilet roll made in Australia

Minnesota State University: Centennial Student Union - Potty Talk: Understanding International Bathroom Etiquette

Health Digest - What Did People Use Before Toilet Paper?

BidetGenius - Complete History of the Bidet (Infographic)

Religion Unplugged - Islamic And Hindu Customs Wipe Out Need For Toilet Paper

Science Daily - Biblical Latrine: Ancient Parasites Show That Cleanliness May Have Been Next To Sickliness