occasionally subtle
No title available
PR's Tumblrdome
ojovivo
$LAYYYTER
Interview Vampire Daily
cherry valley forever
Andulka
No title available
Misplaced Lens Cap
Origami Around
Sade Olutola
TMBGareOK. The Official They Might Be Giants tumblr
EXPECTATIONS
Cosmic Funnies
titsay
h
No title available
Cosimo Galluzzi
hello vonnie
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from Jamaica
seen from India
seen from United States
seen from Venezuela
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Brazil
seen from Brazil
seen from Venezuela
seen from Argentina
seen from Pakistan
seen from Canada
@unidentified-flying-sparrow
Master List: Book / Comic Reviews
Since that was the original intent of this blog, I figured i would create a master list of all the books/short stories I’ve reviewed, and shameless plugs for people I know. I should also go through and remove the Amazon Affiliate links, because that never really went anywhere and my account there died. (The list is getting long so I’m putting it under the cut)
Hey guys LiveJournal is rumored to be going down permanently, this guy is archiving pages and communities for people for free if you ask. He has a program to do it yourself but will help you if you only have a Mac and can't run it or something. Takes some time but 100% legit
LJ ArchivrI helped create an application to help those interested in Archiving archive their user & community Livejournals. You can find
It's still up ATM but welp, and please remember that Dreamwidth can import your entire LJ.
i never used this but if i had I'd want to know about this
ao3 turns 16 today.
reblog if you’re older than archive of our own
Reblog the writers’ fortune cookie for luck!
Guys I reblogged this and then wrote an 8000 word story I didn’t even have a solid plan for. Reblog this shit.
Please, great fortune cookie of writing. I beg of you.
I need this right now man!
🥺 I need some help breaking through writers block
Gimmie!!
I didn’t even reblog, just tucked it into my likes, and wrote 2.5K when I got home
you’re not “behind” on your story. you’re building something. and sometimes building requires standing in the ruins for a bit.
Out of curiosity, where did you guys read your first fanfiction ?
Ao3
Wattpad
Fanfiction.net
Deviant art
Livejournal
Tumblr
Quotev (wtf)
It was a Twitter threadfic (ok what the actual fuck)
Other
I don't read fanfic
Please participate in my research (also, if you say other, please put it in the tags/comments !)
Geocities, bitches.
WHAT I am shocked that AO3 isn't higher what the hell??
AO3 was founded in 2008.
It did not yet exist when many people first started reading fanfic.
I, for example, started reading fanfic online in the year 1996.
yep. 2007, quizilla. it was Fallout Boy fic. I didn't know who they were, but I read it.
hot artists don't gatekeep
I've been resource gathering for YEARS so now I am going to share my dragons hoard
Floorplanner. Design and furnish a house for you to use for having a consistent background in your comic or anything! Free, you need an account, easy to use, and you can save multiple houses.
Comparing Heights. Input the heights of characters to see what the different is between them. Great for keeping consistency. Free.
Magma. Draw online with friends in real time. Great for practice or hanging out. Free, paid plan available, account preferred.
Smithsonian Open Access. Loads of free images. Free.
SketchDaily. Lots of pose references, massive library, is set on a timer so you can practice quick figure drawing. Free.
SculptGL. A sculpting tool which I am yet to master, but you should be able to make whatever 3d object you like with it. free.
Pexels. Free stock images. And the search engine is actually pretty good at pulling up what you want.
Figurosity. Great pose references, diverse body types, lots of "how to draw" videos directly on the site, the models are 3d and you can rotate the angle, but you can't make custom poses or edit body proportions. Free, account option, paid plans available.
Line of Action. More drawing references, this one also has a focus on expressions, hands/feet, animals, landscapes. Free.
Animal Photo. You pose a 3d skull model and select an animal species, and they give you a bunch of photo references for that animal at that angle. Super handy. Free.
Height Weight Chart. You ever see an OC listed as having a certain weight but then they look Wildly different than the number suggests? Well here's a site to avoid that! It shows real people at different weights and heights to give you a better idea of what these abstract numbers all look like. Free to use.
Homie gonna share this
Writing References: Character Development
50 Questions ⚜ Backstory ⚜ Character-driven Story
Basics: How to Write a Character ⚜ A Story-Worthy Hero
Basics: Character-Building ⚜ Character Creation
Types of Characters: Key Characters ⚜ Literary Characters ⚜ Flat & Round Characters ⚜ Morally Grey ⚜ Narrators ⚜ Allegorical Characters ⚜ Archetypes ⚜ Stereotypical Characters
Worksheets: Backstory ⚜ Character ⚜ Kill your Characters ⚜ Antagonist; Villain; Fighting ⚜ Change; Adding Action; Conflict ⚜ Character Sketch & Bible ⚜ Protagonist & Antagonist ⚜ Name; Quirks; Flaws; Motivation ⚜ "Interviewing" your Characters ⚜ "Well-Rounded" Character
Personality Traits
5 Personality Traits (OCEAN) ⚜ 16 Personality Traits (16PF)
600+ Personality Traits ⚜ 170 Quirks
East vs. West Personalities ⚜ Trait Theories
Tips/Editing
Character Issues ⚜ Character Tropes for Inspiration
"Strong" Characters ⚜ Unlikable to Likable
Tips from Rick Riordan
Writing Notes
Binge ED ⚜ Hate ⚜ Love ⚜ Identifying Character Descriptions
Childhood Bilingualism ⚜ Children's Dialogue ⚜ On Children
Culture ⚜ Culture: Two Views ⚜ Culture Shock
Dangerousness ⚜ Flaws ⚜ Fantasy Creatures
Emotional Intelligence ⚜ Genius (Giftedness)
Emotions (1) (2) ⚜ Anger ⚜ Fear ⚜ Happiness ⚜ Sadness
Emotional Universals ⚜ External & Internal Journey
Goals & Motivations ⚜ Grammar Development ⚜ Habits
Facial Expressions ⚜ Jargon ⚜ Swearing & Taboo Expressions
Happy/Excited Body Language ⚜ Laughter & Humor
Health ⚜ Frameworks of Health ⚜ Memory
Mutism ⚜ Shyness ⚜ Parenting Styles ⚜ Generations
Psychological Reactions to Unfair Behavior
Rhetoric ⚜ The Rhetorical Triangle ⚜ Logical Fallacies
Thinking ⚜ Thinking Styles ⚜ Thought Distortions
Uncommon Words: Body ⚜ Emotions
Villains ⚜ Voice & Accent
More References: Plot ⚜ World-building ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs
Let's aknowledge how much time it took to write all of this stuff
"This is Ankh-Morpork, you know. We've got extra pronouns here."
GNU Terry Pratchett
The full quote is fascinating though, and adds an interesting context as it's Angua (a werewolf) and Carrot (human, but raised by dwarves) discussing a dwarf colleague, Cheery.
"Female? He told you he was female?" "She," Angua corrected. "This is Ankh-Morpork, you know. We've got extra pronouns here." She could smell his bewilderment... "Well, I would have though she'd have the decency to keep it to herself," Carrot said finally. "I don't think it's very clever, you know, to go around drawing attention to the fact." "Carrot, I think you might have something wrong with your head," said Angua. "What?" "I think you might have it stuck up your bum."
Sir Terry Pratchett - "Feet of Clay"
This is CARROT being the asshole. Carrot who has, throughout all the prior books, been depicted as basically the best of all possible people. He is noble, brave, considerate, kind. He is the good guy in the entire City...
... and yet, he grew up dwarf, and has picked up their more conservative views on gender identity.
Discworld dwarves start out in the books as basically a people without visible gender differences (thanks to the woman growing beards just like the men) and using "he/him" pronouns as their default. Anything else is seen as breaking the most basic of social conventions. (Dwarf dating is described early on as being two dwarves who like each other spending an inordinately long time trying to find out, as tactfully as possible, what gender the other dwarf is)
Carrot does immediately adopt the "she" pronoun for Cheery, which is but wishes she didn't make such a fuss about it. He's prepared to tolerate her choices, but he doesn't APPROVE of them, and thinks that that is enough.
Carrot, because he IS Carrot, does learn to open his mind on this subject, perhaps his final frontier of bias, but I do love that it's addressed as something he has to work on, and succeed.
And to Terry Pratchett's credit what started out as a throwaway joke about dwarf sex, gradually becomes a multi-volume subplot which is a fascinating exploration of gender and social identity as more dwarves start to "come out" as being female, and not just identifying as female, but changing their form of dress to something which matches who they are (they keep their beards though, because to a dwarf, that has nothing to do with gender, and everything to do with being a dwarf) and how their society has to adjust, with differing levels of comfort, to this new reality.
Carrot was also prejudiced against the undead early on as well. And the fact that he unlearns these views is a good example of a common theme in Pratchett's work
The overwhelming theme of Pratchett's work is change. Not good vs evil but progress vs stasis/going backwards. The protagonists of Pratchett's stories are people who can take on board new ideas and change and grow and adapt. Some of them start out as very stupid people with very stupid views in fact until they learn and grow and improve. The villains on the other hand are people who desperately want things to either stay the same or regress back to some imagined "Good old days" that they prefer.
While we're talking about Terry Pratchett gender, there's also golems, who are basically lumps of clay that have been brought to life but don't actually have any gender or secondary sexual characteristics so everyone defaults to male and he/him. As the books story goes on some of them decide to try being women just because.
Feet of Clay came out in 1996. I cannot overstate how pronoun discourse wasn't anywhere on the radar then. I'm fairly terminally online, active in fandom, and the first I can remember is some timid discussion of neopronouns in the mid-2000s, where "how could you tell other people to use them for you" was a major puzzle. (I still love neopronouns - zie/hir appeals to me in a way they distinctly doesn't, genderfluid though I am.)
ALSO also also
1) I don't have the book to hand, but when Cheery comes out she changes her name to Cheri, because "sometimes, when you shout who you are to the whole world, you need to do it quietly." It's such a beautiful expression of coming out being a process, and one that needn't be undertaken all at once.
2) Pterry had the best goyische take I've ever seen on golems, and I will die on that hill. It's not perfect, but it is really well-done, and it was done with respect, and to me that might be even more important than perfection.
I had the book to hand because I reread it recently. The quote goes:
When you've made up your mind to shout out who you are to the world, it's a relief to know that you can do it in a whisper.
THERE we go.
I'm reading an article in The New Yorker about potential plagiarism in romantasy land and they talked to a number of authors to provide context. Including . . . . Cassandra Clare.
I just . . . you talked to CC in a story about alleged plagiarism in fiction? I have passed away from a terminal case of irony.
I mean, if you want to talk with someone with first-hand experience plagiarising things, she's a solid choice.
“No writing is wasted. Did you know that sourdough from San Francisco is leavened partly by a bacteria called lactobacillus sanfrancisensis? It is native to the soil there, and does not do well elsewhere. But any kitchen can become an ecosystem. If you bake a lot, your kitchen will become a happy home to wild yeasts, and all your bread will taste better. Even a failed loaf is not wasted. Likewise, cheese makers wash the dairy floor with whey. Tomato gardeners compost with rotten tomatoes. No writing is wasted: the words you can’t put in your book can wash the floor, live in the soil, lurk around in the air. They will make the next words better.”
— ERIN BOW
Are you frustrated you can't leave second kudos on AO3? or third kudos? or whatever-who's-counting kudos?
Well, have I got the html for you!
Plop any of these in a comment (by copy&pasting the code) to make an author's day and show your appreciation!
Second kudos: <img src="https://i.ibb.co/tHMjbb6/second-kudos.png" alt="second kudos">
Third kudos: <img src="https://i.ibb.co/52bggQH/third-kudos.png" alt="third kudos">
nth kudos: <img src="https://i.ibb.co/6y7qGtC/nth-kudos.png" alt="nth kudos">
yet another kudos: <img src="https://i.ibb.co/wKtcj0s/yet-another-kudos.png" alt="yet another kudos">
It will look something like this (and will be transparent with white outline on dark backgrounds):
Feel free to spread and use these as much as you like! (and if you have ideas for other variations, let me know ✌️)
So happy to see people enjoying these and spreading the love 💖
UPDATE with some suggestions from the replies! And bonus: cookie kudos.
HTML codes under the cut.
let me tell you, I got a ‘kisses your forehead’ kudos and it absolutely made my day
HOW is it possible that I am seeing this for the first time? Now safely installed in my tumblr short cuts folder. I am SO bad at coding that this is a real life saver.
“It’s hard to put a number on how many books I’ve read that feature characters in the woods. Sometimes they’re fleeing, sometimes chasing, sometimes just looking for something to eat.
As someone who spends a lot of time in the woods, I should tell you that most authors get it wrong. Here are ten realities about the woods that every writer should know.”
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but modern guns won’t go off when dropped.
I’ve decided to expand on this so:
GUNS FOR WRITERS!
If you are not gun savvy (like me five minutes ago) or you think you know enough about guns, but all your knowledge comes from movies then here’s a post for you. If you want a watch mojo video dragging Hollywood movies then click here.
First of all I’m going to start with the basic rules of gun safety. Everyone who’s had any sort of gun training (or is from one of those families that hunt animals or keep guns around) should know this by heart (if they don’t it’s because they are ignorant). The lack of knowledge of firearms mechanics and operation increases the risk of making mistakes and causing accidents. This means that someone without this knowledge (say your YA MC who’s fighting the government) may cause an accident at some point.
There are four rules – to be observed like commandments by all shooters – which were laid down by Jeff Cooper over fifty years ago.
All guns are always loaded. (A trained person needs to always assume a random gun is loaded to prevent accidents. Also: if you take out the magazine or the clip, then there’s still a bullet in the chamber.)
Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (Duh!)
Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. (Because fingers are dumb and pressing the trigger on accident is a thing that happens.)
Identify your target, and what is behind it. (Because your character might miss the target like a stormtrooper OR they might hit the target and the bullet will make a clean exit and hit what’s behind. The latter is called an overpenetration and I won’t make any jokes because I’m an adult, but know that I’m thinking about it.)
Now that we’ve got those over let me start with one simple statement: Hollywood lied to you.
Modern guns won’t go off if they are dropped because manufacturers know humans are accident prone and created safety clips. Here’s a glock to explain it and you can click here to read more:
Blanks can kill people. Blanks are not like paintball bullets, they are primed casing filled with gunpowder, either crimped or covered with a wad, which is dangerous up to 15 feet. Police in riots have used blanks on people and left huge bruises on them in the best case scenario and left them blind in the worst case scenario.
Recoil! The first time I shot a gun I was told to be ready for it to try to hit me in the face. It didn’t hit me in the face only because my uncle was ready to help me. Small guns will kick back and scare inexperienced shooters (I was 13 so idk) and big guns might hurt people. Have you ever seen a sniper scope? No? Then google it quickly and come back here. If a dumb person is looking through the scope and isn’t holding the rifle correctly, then they’ll definetly lose an eye when it kicks back. Even when used correctly, a person’s shoulder will hurt from the recoil.
A silencer is not really that silent.
Cars aren’t bulletproof, but it’s still a good hiding place. Shooting a car won’t make it explode either.
There are two types of bulletproof vests: Kevlar (which won’t stop rifles) and armor plates made out of steel and other stuff (which will stop rifle bullets, but not all bullet types). Your character might get some serious bruises from being shot with a vest on or get a cracked rib.
If you shoot someone they will not go flying back. Like… no.
Research, and I cannot stress this enough, your character’s gun and how many bullets they have. No gun has infinite ammo.
One shot to the chest won’t kill anyone instantly. Even if you hit the heart, they’ll be alive for a while. They may pass out from the shock, but if they don’t then 30-180 seconds of oxygen deprivation will do the trick if you’ve hit the lungs or the heart.
Guns are really loud so hearing loss is possible.
Writing advice from my uni teachers:
If your dialog feels flat, rewrite the scene pretending the characters cannot at any cost say exactly what they mean. No one says “I’m mad” but they can say it in 100 other ways.
Wrote a chapter but you dislike it? Rewrite it again from memory. That way you’re only remembering the main parts and can fill in extra details. My teacher who was a playwright literally writes every single script twice because of this.
Don’t overuse metaphors, or they lose their potency. Limit yourself.
Before you write your novel, write a page of anything from your characters POV so you can get their voice right. Do this for every main character introduced.
This is legit good writing advice, especially the first bullet point! In playwriting class we did a bit where every bit of dialogue had to be an accusatory question and it was glorious.
➡️ Content warnings on fiction are a courtesy.
➡️ Not every medium of fiction and storytelling has or is expected to have content warnings or extensive tagging.
➡️ Print novels do not traditionally warn for content in any way.
➡️ Until AO3 came along, fanfiction did not traditionally warn for content in any significant way.
➡️ An author is only obligated to warn for content to the degree mandated by the format they publish their fiction on.
➡️ Content warnings beyond the minimum are a courtesy, not an obligation.
➡️ 'Creator chose not to warn' is a valid tag that authors are allowed to use on AO3. It means there could be anything in there and you have accepted the risk. 'May contain peanuts!'
➡️ Writers are allowed to use 'Creator chose not to warn' for any reason, including to maintain surprise and avoid spoilers.
➡️ 'Creator chose not to warn' is not the same thing as 'no archive warnings apply'.
➡️ It is your responsibility to protect yourself and close a book, or hit the back button if you find something in fiction that you're reading that upsets you.
➡️ You are responsible for protecting yourself from fiction that causes you discomfort.
So for over a month and a half I’ve been told in my Creative writing MA class that my writing is too poetic and abstract to work in the form of a novel and that I need to simplify my meanings and sentences. I did as I was told and lost all interest in writing if I have to write in the same style that every other novelist does. Today I received this note from a classmate and didn’t realise how much I needed to hear it. Don’t change your art just because other people don’t get it. Don’t change your style to fit in with everyone else. It’s your story not theirs.
This post is 4 years old, but for anyone who needs to hear it I want to tack on the advice my Creative Writing professor told the class I was in: "Not everyone is going to get what you're trying to do. So a lot of the advice your classmates write on your papers might feel Wrong to you. If it feels Wrong and you don't think they understand your story, don't take their advice because they are not your audience."
Sounds like the initial advice for OP to tone down her natural voice was incorrect, but thankfully one of her classmates that was part of the audience wants to hear that voice.
