Things trapped in my head

Almost everything here is not mine. But, i didn't steal it, I borrowed it because i love it. Now they are all the things trapped in my head.

[skyliath-blog]

Daughter tells her Dad he’s going to be a Grandpa [x]

[falenstar78]

When he says “really” ;’)

[bitt3rfruit]

Never leave this un-reblogged

[cumberbuddy]

What a dear human being he is. 

[rossana]

[mermaidsandcats29]

OMG YAY!

[skyliath-blog]

Daughter tells her Dad he’s going to be a Grandpa [x]

[falenstar78]

When he says “really” ;’)

[bitt3rfruit]

Never leave this un-reblogged

[cumberbuddy]

What a dear human being he is. 

[rossana]

[mermaidsandcats29]

OMG YAY!

[pinkcronut-deactivated20170614]

So true?

[deznaomi]

“It takes 2 business days to convince your parents”  LMAO soo true!

[shawntie94]

Going through all of this for this weekend smh y'all just dont know lol

[radicalbehavior]

This is too accurate

[thedarkestlovee]

I’m in college with 2 jobs and I’m still being oppressed like this 😒

[kidbuudha]

8bithoodrat

this is my life.

[agirlnamedally]

The Dalai Lama’s 18 Rules For Living:

  Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.

Follow the three Rs:

Respect for self

Respect for others

Responsibility for all your actions.

Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

Spend some time alone every day.

Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.

A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.

Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.

Be gentle with the earth.

Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.

Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

[agirlnamedally]

Positivity and Optimism: A guide by agirlnamedally

This is for the anons that asked :)

Here is a little how-to guide that I have compiled over time from various books, websites, advertisements, advice and my own personal experiences - I hope this helps!

Have goals. Long or short-term, dreams and objectives can help to keep your behaviour in check and give you a sense of motivation, something to get out of bed for in the morning. It might be ‘ace that maths test next week’, ‘become a better listener’ or ‘go to culinary school’ – anything! Just write down (or think about) where you want to see yourself in the future, that way you always have something to work towards and shape your actions.

Make plans to be happy.  Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.  Just like in any other life domain, the successful pursuit of happiness requires planning. Just like setting goals, be sure to schedule social events (meeting up for a coffee, sleepovers, study dates, movies, dinners, trips, game night, parties, etc) to keep things on your radar and give you something to look forward to.

Take out the trash. Since misery likes company, limit your exposure to severely pessimistic people. Is there someone in your life who makes you feel inferior, down, depressed, unworthy, or anything other than exceptionally special? If a friend isn’t treating you right and you know you’d be better off without them, consider taking a step back. If you can’t sever the ties entirely – or simply don’t want to – you could try talking to them about it, maybe the hostility is based on jealousy, miscommunication or resentment. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

Appreciate!  Appreciation and acknowledgment from others is something we all innately crave – instead, try to value the things around you, such as the sunshine and weather, your food, your health, the people around you (friends, family, co-workers, just about everyone walking down the street), a great song, the roof over your head, yourself! Look at all the things you have to be thankful for, and you can instantly turn a sour mood into a gracious, useful and positive outlook, much more useful! It’s a win/win situation – you feel great because you are appreciating your world, and the people you appreciate feel great too because they know they are appreciated. By focusing on what we do have rather than what we don’t, our gratitude will instantly boost positivity

Invest time and energy in to your key relationships.  Happy people spend more time working on and in their relationships.  Happy people tend to be more supportive of other people in their life.  Happy people are more generous and altruistic.

Pay it forward. One of my favourite things in life is kindness from strangers, and it’s because the very notion of it demands nothing in return.

Indulge your passions. Discover what it is in life that makes you truly happy, then do it! Painting, playing the violin, reading, flying kites, creating robots, anything – just do what you love.

Identify and eliminate. Try to figure out what it is that mostly gets you down or stops you from being at your happiest, then work to cut it out of your life. Most often the root cause is simply a pattern of negative thoughts, which we just need to recognise, and tell ourselves that the thoughts are irrational and untrue. Then, replace them with positive, optimistic ones. The Dalai Lama has been quoted saying that “The central method for achieving a happier life is to train your mind in a daily practice that weakens negative attitudes and strengthens positive ones.”  Learn first to identify your thoughts and then begin to challenge those that are negative and unhelpful. 

Reach out. By helping others find the light in their lives (volunteering, cheering up a sad friend), yours will shine through as well. Be kind to yourself and others and make sure your inner thoughts reflect the way your outward statements would. You wouldn’t tell a friend “you’re worthless” or “you look unattractive today”, so don’t tell yourself either.

Keep a happiness journal. Set aside 15 minutes each day to write your thoughts down in a journal. Record all your notes, reflections and epiphanies. The happiness journal helps you to review your life and connect with what’s really going on. Studies on journaling show that recording your feelings can help enhance your physical and mental health. You can use the journal to review no your goals, progress and objectives in life, as well as venting out any feelings or simply writing down things that made you smile, so you can always remember how great you felt in that moment.

Make a positivity pinboard. Find photos, quotes, ticket stubs, postcards, anything that makes you smile, and put them all up on your wall somewhere. Then, whenever you’re feeling down, you can go straight to this one place and find a plethora of positivity. 

Live a healthy life.  Eat well and keep active.  Exercise regularly.  Although not impossible, it’s difficult to be happy if you’re constantly sick and not very healthy. By taking good care of yourself, you are proving that you can take control of your life and influence your own wellbeing. You’ll feel so much better psychologically if you’re doing well physically!

Manage your time and priorities.  Happy people tend to believe they’re more in control of their lives.  In doing so, they’re more likely to take an active approach to solving problems.  If something’s not quite right in your life, do something.  And further, make sure that what you’re doing is important.  Put first things first.

Ground Yourself. The most common reason why people think their lives suck is that they aren’t living their own lives. Look deeply into whether you are acting to please others - to please family, friends, and society. Realize that you need to get to know who you are and what your needs are, and make the choices to follow your own path. To know these things, a path of meditation and inner exploration is invaluable. This also comes to aid if you lose interest in things.

Prove those negative thoughts wrong. When you find yourself in a bad mood, you could think of the negative things such as, “I’m dumb and annoying”, “I’m better off dead”, “I’m ugly, I wish I looked different”, etc. Even though it’s not true. Change your mind. Look for your good features, think about the ones that you know love you, look on your greater side. Realize that nobody’s life is easy and that there will always be ups and downs, and moments of low self esteem. Don’t automatically assume that nobody cares. Every person matters to someone. You’re alive for a reason.

Develop a gratitude journal. It’s pretty simple. At the end of every day, write down five things that have made you happy or appreciative that day – not necessarily big things, even small ones count. For example: nice weather, being praised by my boss for getting an urgent errand done, my playful dog, kids and hubby kissing me goodbye before they went to school/work, a hilarious joke a mate shared, etc.

Listen to happy tunes. I have a playlist filled with my favourite up-beat, beautiful, happy songs that immediately improve my mood Whether you sing along, belt it out in the shower or car or just tune out with your headphones in, it’s a sure-fire way to clear your mind of negative thoughts and replace them with uplifting 

Feed your mind daily – or weekly – with great solutions and inspirational and useful information.Read great books on the areas of your life you want to improve. Maybe it’s it your financial situation or your health. Or maybe it’s your relationships

Fake it til you make it. Even when times are tough and all you want to do is curl up in a ball and cry,  plastering on a smile can be much more beneficial. Smile like you mean it – even if you don’t! Human beings are naturally social creatures, and even if we are in the foulest of moods, by interacting with other people in a positive manner, we start the slow or even sudden climb to feeling more positive. If you’re able to convince others that you’re happy, often you’ll convince yourself in the process. Smiling is the easiest and simplest thing you can do to change your mood and the moods of those around you. Even a fake smile can trick your brain into releasing feel good hormones that will have you feeling chirpier in no time. When you are feeling good, life’s hurdles will appear smaller and easier to digest.

  Have lots of whimsical adventures. Look for inspiration in the simple things. Make a gratitude list. Sing along with the radio or bust out your favorite song in the shower. Spread positivity. Make an effort to be friendly and kind. Don’t let negative people rain on your parade. Do at least one spontaneous thing today. Genuinely smile. Write down your favorite quote on a post-it and stick it up somewhere random. Pack your lunch and have an outdoor picnic. Send out a mass text message to your friends with wishes for a lovely day. Meditate. Have a bubble bath. Get a massage. Laugh out loud.

Here are some of my other posts on similar topics:

The Dalai Lama’s 18 rules for living Positivity and Motivation Are you okay? Optimistic attitude The question that sparked this post

Favourite quotes:

“Be the change you want to see in the world”

“Fear less, hope more; Eat less, chew more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Love more, and all good things will be yours” 

“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.”

“The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything.”

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

“Today, you have 100% of your life left.”

[adamjk]

SIMPLE TIPS FOR SUCCESS by Adam J. Kurtz

[etudiantt]

🌠Guide to Study Guides

Hi, so I make study guides when I revise as referenced to in this post/ask here. So in this post I’m gonna try and show you guys how I go about making a study guide like I did for sociology or philosophy, both of which are shown in that link there. This is my method so it probably is really complicated and stuff, I know for sure that my guides are overly “fancy” and whatnot, but it makes me happy and I guess the extra effort does pay off, at least aesthetically. 

Okay, yes, let’s begin…

1. Visit colourlovers.com to choose a colour scheme for your guide!

I’ve provided the link to the most loved palette page which is where I choose my colour scheme. In Word, you change your colour scheme by choosing Page Layout > Colour > Create New Theme Colours and you go from there!! I basically started making my own colour schemes after I went through all the ones already provided by Word, but to be honest you can start with those since they’re really nice too. I recommend: Apex, Composite, Foundry, Metro, Module, Slipstream and Solstice.

If you do want to make your own colour scheme, you should get ready to do some fiddling around because I still don’t get this really. Making a colour scheme on Word requires at least 10 colours, that’s okay because on colourlovers, palettes are usually made up of 5 so just choose 2 that you think suit each other :) After this you need to input the hex codes manually into the popup window of “Create New Theme Colours” starting from Text/Background - Dark 2 to Accent 6. 

So that’s what one of my self-made colour schemes look like, you should be aware that Word usually randomises these? I don’t really know how it works but basically sometimes the colours won’t necessarily be in that order when you go to select it to specifically colour a word, if that’s the case you’ll just have to fiddle and change it around to choose your preferred colour in the scheme. Also not all the colours will go into the textbox options so be aware of that too!

2. Font shopping

Next if I haven’t updated the font collection for a while I’ll go to dafont.com because I just…really like jazzy fonts. From here I’ll either check out “All The New Fonts” (option is at the bottom of the front page) or go to the menu titled Script, and check out Handwritten, Fancy or Various. Here are some links to asks about fonts that I’ve used in my shown study guides or just fonts I like in general!! 1 and 2.

Okay so as you can see in the Disney Princess Document/Sociology Study Guide I used at least five fonts, I usually average around 4? Once downloaded choosing fonts that you like for your guide is basically a trial and error process, I choose any fonts that I like or haven’t recently used or just recently downloaded that I want to try out and I match them with what I think would look nice! Here I’ll show you why I use around four or more fonts:

In order to make the process of typing up your guide with these fonts easier, highlight one, so for example the Big Title, right click > Styles > Save Selection as New Quick Style…and it’ll be available to you in the Quick Styles menu underneath a heading like Style1. After this to easily change a font to that particular font, just highlight, go to Quick Styles, choose that particular font and bam! I try to make my fonts match, so if one is bold, I aim for at least a thick-ish font in the rest of my choices. Now to go through what they’re for. 

So obviously the Big Title is for your BIG TITLE that could be your subject or your main topic, so if it was sociology (like in the first pic) I would use it for Key Concepts and Methods, I might later reuse the font for another BIG TOPIC, but really…it’s your choice.

The Subtitle is what I would use for well…your subtitle, so following my first pic it would be the subtitle of Positivism versus Interpretivism…Three Key Concepts, etc. The heading is therefore for the headings under the subtitle (this is only if you’re making a guide for something that is like intensely sectioned, like sociology), so I’d use that font for where it says Reliability etc.

It just brings something extra on top of all the later colour you’ll probably use, although I only use it for like a set theme, so dates, names etc. and only either a word or a phrase, if it gets too long it’ll just mess up the format of your sentence. 

3. Okay, so you’re happily typing away but now you wanna add the speech bubbles, you wanna add the textboxes and the Disney princesses! Don’t worry my  friend, I got you.

Basically I add textboxes or speech bubbles for 2 reasons, either to highlight a particular point or differentiate a piece of information from the rest OR to fill up space because of some particular study guide pet peeves. 

Pet peeve, when a particular sentence ends like this:

I know it might seem like a bit much, but to be honest, it throws the whole format of a block of text if a bit of it ends with like this huge expanse of space. So in this instance I either will insert a photo or I’ll try and delete a word or add a word until I’m satisfied. THIS IS JUST ME, IF YOU DON’T CARE OBVIOUSLY IT DOESN’T MATTER 👌

You can insert speech bubbles by going to Insert > Shapes > Callouts (you’ll find it there) and textboxes by going to Insert > Textbox > Draw Textbox (I draw mine since I don’t tend to use the ones provided by Word. With the speech bubbles they actually act as textboxes, but I’ve found that using it in that way takes up a lot of space as in your words won’t necessarily take up the whole of the speech bubble so it simply expands and it’s all messy. Therefore, I put a textbox on the top of it, make the background and outline transparent and type there to save space. 

Here are some examples of when I’ve used photos or speech bubbles to fill up space or solve the annoying sentence problem.

I generally tend to have themes around what photos I use, so for example my sociology guide was largely based on Disney/Cartoon Network depending on how I felt and I’d use particular photos to emphasise a point and make it more entertaining I guess… As you can see the speech bubbles with LSP are for filler purposes but also to differentiate information, it just adds something extra really. Also because I continuously indent my guides (since I type with bullet points) as they get further and further in they’ll leave gaps that can be filled with photos, seen here with what I’ve done with LSP. Also with the photos that I choose, I search for the ones with a grey, checkered background which means that they’ll be transparent, allowing me to put them in front of a textbox or just makes overall design easier, it means that I can have the Gangreen Gang in front of that textbox like that :)

4. Final step, going over your guide when it’s done.

I then go through the guide again and highlight, underline, italicise, bold, colour etc. particular points of a sentence/paragraph that I want to remember! I do this in order of the colour scheme that appears in the menu when you click to change the colour of a font, so I’ll highlight particular words for a portion of a paragraph before changing, achieving a sort of a rainbow effect, like so:

These are from my history study guide, where I made front covers (which I don’t usually do…I feel like all my guides really depend on how I feel and my subject). This is what they looked like if you wanted an idea for something you could do too!!

Um..so that’s pretty much it! I’ve tried to make this as extensive and as in-depth as I can, I’m sorry it ended up SO LONG, I’ve never made a post this long before so I’m really sorry. I would put it under a read more but I feel like the font on my blog is too tiny for when it’s redirected and I’d much rather not have everyone straining their eyes. If you guys have any more questions, please feel free to ask. If you want any more examples or screen shots of my guides, just hit up my ask box!! Sorry for this taking so long and being so long once again and I really hope it helps you all in at least some way! 

***As an addition, those washi tapes you see are digital washi tapes which you can get just by googling! I use the free ones which only require a lil’ searching for.

[englishlit-chic]

Simple guide with the best online tools to make studying easier (And to enjoy the process)

Note taking:

Google Docs: Online free note taking, what else do you want? It is very useful if you only create documents like essays or sporadic homeworks. They are saved in the google platform so, in case your computer dies or something, everything will be there as long as you have an internet connection. Excellent for group projects too, as anyone with a google account who is invited to the document can edit it.

Evernote: The great thing about Evernote is that it allows you  to create “notebooks” and file your notes under tags, so you can find any notes related to an specific tag just with a click. You can also add audio, photos and video. If you are super methodical and organized it could be great, if you are a bit messy it could get crazy.

Kustom Notes: KustomNote is a browser-based template system for Evernote notes. You can create fields, just like you would for a database, and then create notes that have these fields embedded in them, to keep your note-taking super organized.

My School Notebook: This one is simple yet great if you want to have your data online and well organized in case your computer dies or to work//study your notes anywhere as long as you have internet access. Its note taking does not require internet connection and you can print or save your notes as PDF. The organization system is really easy. You create a notebook, writes your teacher’s name for reference and start writing a lesson. Then you finish, you add another lesson or you can create another notebook. In addition, you can create mental maps and schemes inside this app.However, you cannot highlight your notes and fonts are limited. Still you have bold, italic and underlining options for your texts. If you are not an organization expert or are just starting to put your things together but doesn’t have much idea of how to do it this one is the best.

Presentations & Slides:

Pikto Charts

Canva

slides.com

Prezi

Emaze

Citing:

CiteMe:  This Facebook application from the Online Computer Library Center lets you search the world’s largest library catalog by title, author, subject, or ISBN and get properly formatted citations in APA, Chicago, Harvard, MLA, or Turabian style.

EasyBib:  EasyBib is one of the most popular online bibliographic tools, letting you automatically create citations in APA, Chicago/Turabian, and MLA styles. Over 218 million citations have been generated using the site since 2001.

Zotero:  If you need to cite your work in a more obscure style, then check out Zotero. This Firefox extension automatically collects your research sources and then lets you create citations in any of one of over a thousand different styles. Zotero also lets you take notes on your sources and is available in over 30 different languages.

Ref me: This iphone app is great. You just need to scan de code at the back of your books and it will instantly  and it will stantly cited it in the format you chose.

Mind maps & Brainstorming

Exam Time:  This is perfect for connecting the dots. It gives you the freedom and versatility to express ideas and information in an aesthetically pleasing and easy-to-understand way. Whether you’re brainstorming ideas with friends or mind mapping the life and death of Napoleon, having the information displayed in such a unique way allows you to make connections you never thought possible.

Popplet Popplet is a mind mapping tool that is perfect for visually curating your ideas and brainstorms. You can visually record your ideas, inspirations and thoughts, as well as upload text, videos, images and draw on your canvas.For those working in teams, Popplet allows multiple devices to connect to the same project. You can create Popplet presentations, use high-resolution images, create embeds for websites and blogs, and include tags, keywords and categories on all your Popplet projects to make searching easier.

Bubbl.us  Bubbl.us makes online brainstorming and mind mapping simple. To start, just type your central topic to start a tree, and then create another idea at the same level or as a sub-level. The Bubbl.us tree will automatically reposition itself to fit any new ideas you have, or you can move the bubbles around manually.

Coogle:  Coggle is a completely free, simple to use mind mapping tool that’s easy to get started with. Sign in with a Google account of your choice and you’re off and away. Double-click on any item to edit it, and click the plus signs on either side to add branches to your mind map. Click and hold to drag them around the canvas to design your mind map any way you like. Coggle will automatically assign different colors to your branches, but clicking on a branch will bring up a color wheel so you can personalize it yourself. When you’ve finished a map, you can download it as a PDF or PNG, share it with others who can just view it or, if you allow it, edit your mind map. You even get auto-saving and revision history, so if you want to see what your mind map looked like before someone you invited started working with it, you can. Best of all? Coggle is completely and totally free.

Sounds:

Rainy Cafe: A moderate level of noise enhances creativity compared to both low and high levels of noise. Moderate background noise induces distraction which encourages individuals to think at a higher, abstract level, and consequently exhibit higher creativity

Rainy Mood: Rain makes anything better. Relax and start your note-taking/slide making/etc… with these sounds.

Cofitivity: Emulate coffee shop sounds for those staying-in home days

Soundrown Choose your sound: coffee, rain, waves, birds or fire

Playlists

Ultimate Study Playlist More tha 80+ songs to listen to. Great for work like passing your notes to Word or other simple tasks. 

Soft Indie Music: great and soft voices such as erlend oye’s, Kate Nash’s and Feist’s among others. Really great because you might find artist/bands you didn’t know!

Study Playlist: Soft music for the background of you working session.

Books More soft voices with Alex Turner and Birdy included! great to relax and enjoy if you are doing stuff like organizing your notes or so.

[studyign]

yOOO finals + exams are coming up for almost everyone so here is a bunch of links and references to help study ~ this is for the beautiful alboms :]

schedule study time daily

make flashcards +[tag]

infographic about exams

>25 coffee recipes omg

use radass printables

5 day study plan @ exams

excel schedule studying

summary foldables +[tag]

dedicate time everyday

study playlists +[8tracks]

exam top 10 advices

strategies for studying

bedtime calculator [zzz]

general gcse advice

how to pull an all nighter

essay writing masterpost

bullet journaling +[tag]

sat help masterpost

best study advice ever

psychology resources

ap cramming packets

world history resources

stress relief masterpost

resources for any class

studying masterpost

good luck everyone!!!!!! xoxo sareena

[maxkirin]

Hello, writerly friends~ ♥︎

My Writing Advice Masterpost is back! Now featuring the best questions and answers from the last three years, along with all of the videos from my writing advice YouTube Channel!

This post will be updated every week with new writing advice videos, playlists, and responses! So, make sure to bookmark THIS page and follow my blog (maxkirin.tumblr.com) so you don’t miss a thing!

Writing Advice Compilations

The NaNoWriMo Survival Guide

Writer’s Life Vlogs (Newest Episode: Max Nerds Out)

WRITERS UNITE! A book of writing advice, inspiration, and tips! Written with the help of 248 Tumblr authors. FREE DOWNLOAD!

Writing Exercises & Prompts

Virtual Writing Academy (Newest Episode: Age & Character)

Daily Story Seed

Daily Weird Prompt

Daily Character Question

Your Writing Horoscope (Retired)

“Can I publish a story based on one of your prompts?”

Did you know that I have published a book of Story Seeds? Sounds interesting? You can learn more about it HERE! c;

Motivation & Inspiration

Daily Writer Positivity

How to Regain the Motivation to Finish Your Novel (Video)

The Truth About Talent, NaNoWriMo Pep Talk (Video)

Overcoming Your Inner *Perfectionist* (Video)

How to Finish Your First Novel (M. Kirin’s Origin Story)

M. Kirin’s Top 3 Tips for NaNoWriMo

The 7 Cardinal Rules of Writing Life

Neil Gaiman’s “Make Good Art” Speech

Neil Gaiman’s 8 Rules of Writing

Elizabeth Gilbert’s Inspirational Speech on the ‘Genius’

What Confidence Is and Is NOT

“I’m afraid writing is a waste of time”

“I’m half-way through this book and I’m stuck”

Stop Trying to Impress People

Stop Trying to Make Your Parents Proud of your Writing

Your Parents Disapprove of Your Writing?

You’re Not The Worst Writer In The World

English Not Your First Language? Neither is Mine

Are You Worried Nobody Will Take You Seriously?

Dealing with Hate and Harsh Criticism

Why You Need to Develop a Thick Skin

Feeling Down About Your Writing?

“I am not as good as other writers” (and other lies)

Be A Little Delusional

Planning, Outlining, and Getting Started

How to Plan Your Novel (Video)

The Best Distraction-Free Writing Software (Video)

Best Apps for Writers: Evernote (Video)

TOP 5 TIPS for Writers Using Evernote (Video)

The NaNoWriMo Survival Guide (Video)

TOP 3 TIPS for Getting in the Mood to Write! (Video)

How Much World-Building is Enough? (Video)

The *Right* Time to be Critical of Your Writing (Video)

Overcoming the Fear of Getting it “Wrong“ (Video)

The Story-Idea Test

M. Kirin’s Click-n-Drag Story Generator

Which outlining method is the best?

"I want to write a book but I have no idea where to start”

M. Kirin’s Secret for Starting books, and Finishing Them

M. Kirin’s Top 3 Tips to Start Writing and Never Stopping

Tips for writing Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Paranormal

M. Kirin’s #1 Tip For Improving Your Writing

Let’s Talk About: Show VS Tell

The Difference Between Character & Plot (The Marcy Rule)

Dialogue

TOP 3 TIPS for Writing Dialogue (Video)

The Art of Writing Dialogue Tags (Video)

M. Kirin talks about authentic dialogue

The grammatical side of dialogue

How do I write numbers in dialogue?

Editing & Revision

M. Kirin’s Top 5 Revision Tips

How to Love and Care for Your Beta Readers

M. Kirin’s (subjective) secret recipe for the second draft

When is the best time to edit a story?

M. Kirin Talks About Editing, and Speeding Up Your Story

M. Kirin Uses Evernote to Revise Books

“Kill Your Darlings” VS “Cut What You Love”

Writing Killer Plot-Twists and Mystery Novels

“How long is a Rough Draft compared to the Finished Draft?”

Hot-Button Issues

Let’s Talk About: Titles! (Video)

Let’s Talk About: Filler (Video)

Let’s Talk About: Purple Prose (Video)

Let’s Talk About: Pacing (Video)

Let’s Talk About: Deus Ex Machina

Let’s Talk About: Coincidence in Writing

Realism is a dirty word

Racist & homophobic language in fiction

Inaccuracy in Fiction (Video)

M. Kirin drops a few bombs on ‘creative vocabulary’

“I want to write but I don’t have the time”

Is it bad to have too many LGBTQIA or POC characters?

“My antagonist is POC/LGBTQIA, is this bad?”

“All my characters are LGBTQIA, is this bad?”

When to let go of a story

Is it rational to be afraid of what people will think of you?

Let’s Lightly Talk About: Plagiarism & Copyright

Writing About Things You Have Never Experienced

“Do you need to go to college/university to be a good writer?”

My book is similar to something already out, what do I do?

General Advice

M. Kirin’s Cure For Writer’s Block (and Life Block)

Overcoming Writer’s Block: The First Sentence (Video)

The Writer’s Tool Box (Video)

3 Practical Tips for Writing More (Video)

Which POV (Point of View) is the Best? (Video)

Getting to Know Your Characters (Video)

Keeping the Plot Twist Secret! (Video)

A [Strange] Tip For Writing More! (Video)

#1 Tip for Writing Memorable Characters (Video)

1.5 Tips for Hard-Hitting Writing (Video)

3 Ways to Add Character to Narration (Video)

Foreshadowing & Being Subtle (Video)

Writing Advice from: The Walking Dead (Video)

Writing Advice from: Aldnoah.Zero (Video)

World-Building Tips: Dystopian (Video)

World-Building Tips: Fantasy & Science Fiction (Video)

World-Building Tips: Life After the Apocalypse (Video)

World-Building Tips: Government & The Human Element (Video)

World-Building Tips: Spicing Up The Real World (Video)

Using Real People as Inspiration (Video)

When Should The Book End? (Video)

Writing Better Characters: The ‘Flawed’ Myth (Video)

Writing Better Characters: Unlikable Protagonists (Video)

TOP 3 TIPS for Writing a Large Cast of Characters (Video)

Overcoming the First Sentence (Again) (and Again)

Let’s Talk About: Pen Names!

Let’s Talk About: Reactive VS Proactive Characters

Let’s Talk About: Transitioning Smoothly From Scene to Scene

Let’s Talk About: Writing The Climax (& Resolution)

Let’s Talk About: Writing The End

Let’s Talk About: Spies

Let’s Make a Title (To A Story You Haven’t Finished)

The 10-Minute Rule

Making Boring Scenes FUN to Write!

Stories are like children

Let’s Talk About Titles (And Then Talk Some More)

M. Kirin Reveals the ‘Secret’ Behind Style

How much description/scenery is too much?

How can I write faster?

I want my readers to love my characters

I think my book may be too short for my genre

I killed one of my main characters by mistake, what do I do?

M. Kirin’s Writing Advice for Fleshing out Romantic Relationships

A warning about character names and meanings

Past or present tense?

Is swearing okay? And other muthafuckin’ truths

“What emotion do you find hardest to write?”

“What writing software do you use?”

Communication, a must for collaborative works

Researching illegal things, cousin? I got just the thing for you!

Joss Whedon’s Top 10 Writing Tips

M. Kirin’s Tarot Cheat-Sheet

Writing Tips for Storytelling in Video-Games

Fair Use In Novels (by thedancingwriter​)

Publishing

Publishing Battle: Indie VS Traditional

“How do I turn my book into an eBook?”

Writing Music & Playlists

Top 10 Songs For Writers

Writing In The Dark (Unobtrusive)

Writing About Love

Writing & Fighting!

Writing About Horror

Royalty And Noble Blood (Medieval/Fantasy)

Digital Reality (Cyberpunk/Futuristic)

Lost In The Wild (Survival/Nature)

No Hero (Action/Anti-Heroes)

Mermaid Magic (Mysterious)

After The Bomb (Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian)

Sorrow (Sad/Despair)

Upon Black Wings (Adventure/Dragons)

Haunted Mansion (Horror/Supernatural)

Childhood Friends (Happy/Uplifting)

In Time (Writing/Study Playlist)

Music For Writers: Portal 2 Soundtrack (FREE)

M. Kirin’s Favorite Music to Listen to While Writing

M. Kirin’s Secret For Making Playlists

Miscellaneous

M. Kirin’s 2014 AMA, Part 1 & Part 2 (Video)

The Kirin Games! M. Kirin’s characters murder each other in this Hunger Games simulation~ ;p (Video)

Max & Kitty Recommend: Top 10 Things You Should Read/Watch/Play Right Now! (Video)

Finally! An Ask-Meme for Writers! 

M. Kirin’s Philosophy for Running a Writing Blog

Last Updated: 06-20-15. Click HERE to see the latest update. Latest posts are in bold.

[crimsonscript]

Right, so we all wish we could learn a little extra, at our own pace, without getting stessed out by expectations. We all have academic subjects that interest us. but money or time or life get in the way of getting that knowledge. Here is a masterpost that might make it easier. Podcasts, lists, e-books, free online courses and lectures, and so, so much academic material from the best professors made available for everyone. Click them, look through them, have fun and learn! Enjoy!

Openculture’s list of online academic courses

Openculture’s language lessons

Openculture free textbooks

UCBerkeley’s courses on Youtube

Yale’s courses on Youtube

Open Yale Courses

NYU courses on Youtube

NYU Open Education

UCLA courses on Youtube

MIT OpenCourseWare on Youtube

Harvard Extension School

Columbia University courses on iTunes

Stanford courses on iTunes

Stanford continuing studies

Stanford on Youtube

iTunes U (basically all unis have uploaded courses on iTunes)

University of Texas online Ancient Language courses

Open University iTunes courses

Annenberg Learner

Duolingo

Coursera

University of Oxford open education (podcasts)

Free classic e-books

Michigan State University celebrity lecture series

BBC lecture series

Primary philosophy courses

Project Gutenberg

(NOTE): I haven’t fully categorised everything because there was just too much information. If any links are broken or not working, let me know.

[howtodropoutofschool]

4 Legal Ways To Get Free Textbooks.

1. Open Culture:  Not a large a selection, but high quality texts. If you just want to skim a book to brush up on a course you took in ninth grade, download one of these. I have yet to be disappointed.

2. Book Boon: Provides free college-level textbooks in a PDF format. Probably the widest range of subjects on the web. The site is also pretty.

3. Flat World Knowledge: The worlds largest publisher of free and open college textbooks. Humanitie texts are particularly difficult to come by, this site has a great selection in all disciplines.

4. Textbook Revolution:  Some of the books are PDF files, others are viewable online as e-books, or some are simply web sites containing course or multimedia content.

5. Library Pirate: I’ve always had an addiction to torrent based pirating. When this site opened a few months ago, I went a little overboard. After dropping two hundred on a paperback spanish textbook, I downloaded the ebook version illegally. I also got a great Psyc text i’m obsessed with.  It will be interesting to see how this site grows- they already have a great selection. 

[political-linguaphile]

College bookstores completely rip off their students, so ALWAYS reblog free textbooks! 

[noterize]

NOTERIZE GIVEAWAY! I will be giving away everything that is pictured: -Three adorable notebooks -Two packs of stickers -One pack of cute card stock cut-outs -One pack of sticky notes -One Planner Notepad -One pack of highlighters -One candle -Variety of Study Snacks!

To enter, simply reblog this post and follow me! :) *I will ship anywhere and winner will be chosen randomly!

Giveaway ends: September 1, 2015

[kimtivate]

1. Teach yourself a useful skill like HTML, JAVA, or Python

Free online instructional websites like codeacademy and w3schools are great.

2. Teach yourself how to cook

Reverse recipe look-up websites like gojee and supercook are imperative.

3. Change your Facebook settings to learn a new language

Remember when you thought changing your Facebook to Pirate was comedic gold?

4. Or read magazines online in another language

5. Explore Wikipedia Simple English

You can learn about complicated things in plain, jargon-free, regular, human English.

6. Wikiversity too

7. Go to a lecture without having to physically move

Academicearth.org has free lectures and course material from universities like MIT, Johns Hopkins, Stanford and Columbia.

8. Watch documentaries and TED talks on Netflix

Nonfics.com has suggestions for the best documentaries currently on Netflix and the best places to find documentaries online. PBS is also a great resource, as is thisTimeout ranking of the 50 best documentaries of all time.

9. If you’re a college student, look into discounts and free admissions deals that your school offers for museums/shows

10. Download an app that will restrict you from websites that you spend too much time on

11. Find books that you’ll actually want to read

12. Or catch up on the latest and greatest articles that are available on the web

Longreads collects magazine pieces and articles for you.

13. If you just can’t keep your brain focused for an extended period of time, catch up on some short stories

Free classics online at Classic Shorts and American shorts at Americanliterature.com. Resources for Gabriel García Márquez and Alice Munro shorts at Openculture.com and a list that includes George Saunders at Flavorwire.com.

14. Attempt to learn to do something artistic like draw or play the guitar

Drawspace.com and Justinguitar.com can help with that respectively.

15. Listen to podcasts while you commute, cook or wait in line

Try Radiolab, Stuff You Should Know, How To Do Everything, The History of Our World, or Neil Degrasse Tyson’s StarTalk. Check out more podcast suggestions from CollegeInfoGeek.com

happy learning! x

[things-trapped-in-my-head]

How could you not fall in love with sunrises?

[cassieisnotapie]

Found Here x

41 Emotions as Expressed through Body Language Unique

This list, while exhausting, is soooo not exhaustive; it barely scratches the surface. And each entry could easily become cliché (if it isn’t already). But, it should be enough to get you started....

[foxmouth]

Breathe, 2014 | Elizabeth Gadd