BecauseReasons

In search of my creativity... | a writer? | polish and english | my writing | My blog of randomness |

[squeakitties]

i finished reading your story and i must say that, while it's alright, there's so many plot holes because the characters made irrational decisions and didn't think logically 100% of the time. consider fixing this next time please

[ehksidian]

also, the fact your characters weren’t able to overcome their internal struggles is a massive plot hole. everyone knows emotions are very easy to understand and sort, and the fact your characters acted on them was such a massive story contrivance it broke my sense of belief. please fix this.

[artisimpossible]

I used to work for a trade book reviewer where I got payed to review people's books, and one of the rules of that review company is one that I think is just super useful to media analysis as a whole, and that is, we were told never to critique media for what it didn't do but only for what it did.

So, for instance, I couldn't say "this book didn't give its characters strong agency or goals". I instead had to say, "the characters in this book acted in ways that often felt misaligned with their characterization as if they were being pulled by the plot."

I think this is really important because a lot of "critiques" people give, if subverted to address what the book does instead of what it doesn't do, actually read pretty nonsensical. For instance, "none of the characters were unique" becomes "all of the characters read like other characters that exist in other media", which like... okay? That's not really a critique. It's just how fiction works. Or "none of the characters were likeable" becomes "all of the characters, at some point or another, did things that I found disagreeable or annoying" which is literally how every book works?

It also keeps you from holding a book to a standard it never sought to meet. "The world building in this book simply wasn't complex enough" becomes "The world building in this book was very simple", which, yes, good, that can actually be a good thing. Many books aspire to this. It's not actually a negative critique. Or "The stakes weren't very high and the climax didn't really offer any major plot twists or turns" becomes "The stakes were low and and the ending was quite predictable", which, if this is a cute romcom is exactly what I'm looking for.

Not to mention, I think this really helps to deconstruct a lot of the biases we carry into fiction. Characters not having strong agency isn't inherently bad. Characters who react to their surroundings can make a good story, so saying "the characters didn't have enough agency" is kind of weak, but when you flip it to say "the characters acted misaligned from their characterization" we can now see that the *real* problem here isn't that they lacked agency but that this lack of agency is inconsistent with the type of character that they are. a character this strong-willed *should* have more agency even if a weak-willed character might not.

So it's just a really simple way of framing the way I critique books that I think has really helped to show the difference between "this book is bad" and "this book didn't meet my personal preferences", but also, as someone talking about books, I think it helps give other people a clearer idea of what the book actually looks like so they can decide for themselves if it's worth their time.

[autistic-af]

One of my favourite pop culture useless pieces of information that I know is the fact that trends in horror movies can tell you about the general fears of the world at any given time in cinematic history.

[autistic-af]

Sorta!

1940s - You have people still alive that remember Jack the Ripper, you have the Axeman of New Orleans and two world wars. The classics are being made for shock escapism and dark stalkers are also popular (usually trusting people turning out to be the enemy).

1950s - post-nuclear bomb. Giant monsters, or unknown blobs are the trend.

1970s/1980s - modern era begins, and serial killers are becoming known and prominent. Slasher films are the trend. The Cold War also drives the fear of invasion, so a few alien films come out in this time.

1990s - a horror movie lull, and lull in wars and disturbances.

2000s - fear of invasions and biological warfare. Zombie movies become the trend.

[autistic-af]

Here you go! It's just a random article, but it's a fun starting point. It outlines the ideas better than what I did above. Fears, politics etc all play a role.

Film has always been a reflection of our society. When world events occur or certain beliefs become widespread, they naturally shape our per

[boogerwookiesugarcookie]

I literally did a 100k PhD thesis on this. I can recommend you a different scholarly book for every decade of American horror.

[inky-duchess]

Writer's Guide: Writing about Alcoholic Drinks and Cocktails

Or how to write believable bar and nightclub scenes. I often find myself helping friends with their WIPs and often it as a bartender, I find myself having to correct them on bar and mixology terminology. So here's my quick guide to keeping your lingo on the straight and narrow.

Terminology

DASH/SPLASH: a drop of a mixer such as juice or flavouring.

MIXER: non alcholic beveraged served with the measure of alcohol in the same glass.

NEAT: Plain, without any addition of ice or a mixture. Just the alcohol.

ON THE ROCKS: Served over Ice.

STRAIGHT UP: The cocktail is chilled with ice and strained into a glass with no ice

DIRTY – if somebody asks for a dirty martini, you add olive juice, the more juice the dirtier it is

DRY- A dry martini includes a drop of vermouth and an extra dry martini contains a drop of scotch swirled in the glass and drained before adding the gin

BACK – a ‘back’ is a drink that accompanies an alcholic beverage such as water or Coke, but isn't mixed.

GARNISH – something added to a drink such as a lime or lemon or orange.

TWIST - a twist is literally a twist of fruit skin in the drink.

BITTERS – a herbal alcoholic blend added to cocktails.

RIMMED - the glass is coated in salt or sugar to enhance the taste.

VIRGIN- non alcoholic

MOCKTAIL- a virgin cocktail

DOUBLE - Two measures of the same alcohol in the same glass. A bartender can only legally serve a double in the same glass. They cannot serve you a triple.

Equipment

COCKTAIL SHAKER - it is a metal cup that fits into a glass, used to shake the components of your drink together with ice to chill it.

STRAINER- used to seperate ice in the shaker from the liquid within as you pour it into the glass.

MEASURES- these are little metal cylinders meant to measure out the pours of the alcohol. You pour the alcohol from the bottle into the measure and then put it into the glass. It's imperative that the right measure goes into the glass or the drink will taste of shit.

BAR SPOON – a long spoon meant to mix the drink.

OPTIC- it is a mechanism that attaches a bottle to an automatic pourer. The bartender usually fits the glass under the spout and pushes up to release the amount which cuts off at the single measure.

SHOT GLASS- a shot glass is a small glass to contain one measure

PINT GLASS- a glass used for serving pints of lager or ale

HALF PINT GLASS - a tulip shaped glass half the measure of a pint glass

SPEEDWELL/TAPS/DRAFT: are the taps used to pour beer from kegs stored under the bar floor.

SLIM JIM/HIGH BALL GLASS- It is a tall straight holding 8 to 12 ounces and used for cocktails served on the rocks such as a Gin and Tonic.

ROCKS GLASS - or an old fashioned glass, it is short and round. These glasses are used for drinks such as Old Fashioneds or Sazerac

COUPE GLASS- Are broad round stemmed glasses used for cocktails that are chill and served without ice such as a Manhattan, Boulevardier or a Gimlet

MARTINI GLASS - a martini glass is that classic stemmed "v" shaped glass, used to serve drinks without mixers such as Martini and Cosmopolitans

MARGARITA GLASS - is a large, round bowl like glass with a broad and a tall stem used for Margaritas and Daiquiris

HURRICANE GLASS- a tall tulip-like shaped glass with a flared rim and short stem. It holds 20 ounces which means it is the perfect glass to serve iced cocktails in such as Pina Colada, Singapore Sling, Hurricane

Alcoholic Drinks

Vodka- Vodka is made from potatoes or fermented cereal grains. It has a strong taste and scent. It is usually consumed neat with a mixer such as Coke or Orange juice or cranberry juice or in cocktails like Martini, Bloody Mary and Cosmopolitan.

Whisky/Whiskey- Whiskey is a distilled alcoholic beverage, made from fermented grain mash such as barley, corn, rye, and wheat. It gets its flavour form being fermented in casks for long period of time. When serving a whiskey, one asks whether they want ice or a mixer. Everyone has their own preference. I prefer mine like myself, strong and Irish. Scotch is Scottish Brewed whisky.

Rum- Rum is made by fermenting and distilling sugarcane molasses/juice. It is aged in oak barrels. It has a sweet taste.

Beer: is made out of cereal grains and served chilled in bottles or pulled from taps/speedwells.

Ale: Ale in the middle ages referred to beer brewed without hops (a kind of flowering plant that gives beer its bitter taste). It is sweeter and would typically have a fruity aftertaste.

Stout- is a darker beer sometimes brewed from roasted malt, coming in a sweet version and dry version, the most famous stout being Guinness.

Poitín- (pronounced as pot-cheen) is made from cereals, grain, whey, sugar beet, molasses and potatoes. It is a Dangerous Drink (honestly i still don't know how I ended up in that field with a traffic cone and a Shetland pony) and technically illegal. Country folk in Ireland used to brew it in secrets in stills hidden on their land.

Vermouth: Is made from infused with roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs, spices, brandy but vermouth is classed aromatized wine. It comes sweet or dry

Gin- is made from juniper, coriander, citrus peel, cinnamon, almond or liquorice and grain alcohol. Gin has a strong scent and taste and is usually served in a martini or a tonic water.

Schnapps- refers to any strong, clear alcoholic beverage. It is considered one of the best types of spirits because of its pure and delicate aroma. Lesson: never drink peach schnapps.

Cocktails and Drinks

Irish Coffee: an Irish coffee is adding whiskey to coffee and sugar and topping it with cream. As a bartender, I would honestly rather cut my arm off than make one of these.

Baby Guinness: Is a shot made by pouting Tia Maria or Kaluah into a shot glass and spreading Baileys on the top so it looks like a small pint of Guinness.

Silver Bullet: a shot of mixed tequila and sambuca.

Long Island Iced Tea:  The Long Island contains vodka, gin, tequila, light rum, lemon juice, triple sec and cola. It has a real kick.

Mai Tai: is made with light and dark rum, lime juice, orange curacao, orgeat syrup and rock candy syrup and served with a mint garnish.

Manhattan: The Manhattan is made with rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters.

Margarita: The margarita is made with tequila, cointreau and lime juice.

Mojito: a mojito is made with muddled mint, white rum, lime juice, simple syrup and soda.

Martini: a martini is made of gin, dry vermouth and garnished with a lemon twist or olives.

Mimosa: a mimosa is a made with sparkling wine and orange juice.

Mint Julep: Made with Kentucky bourbon, simple syrup, mint leaves and crushed ice

Pina Colada: is made with white rum, dark rum, pineapple juice and coconut cream

Screwdriver: Vodka and Orange juice

Tequila Sunrise: tequila, orange juice and grenadine

Tom Collins: made with spiked lemonade, sparkling water, lemon juice, simple syrup and gin

Whiskey Sour: is made with powdered sugar, seltzer, lemon juice and whiskey.

White Russian: made with vodka, coffee liqueur and cream.

Black Russian: made with two parts coffee liqueur and five parts vodka.

Gin and Tonic: gin served with tonic water

Bloody Mary: made with vodka and tomato juice mixed with lemon juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, fresh herbs, brown sugar and cracked black pepper.

Brandy Alexander: served straight up and made with brandy, cognac, creme de cacao and cream

Cosmopolitan: Made with citrus vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice and fresh lime juice

Daiquiri: made with rum, lime juice and sugar.

Gimlet: gin and lime juice

My Top 10 Bartending Rules and Responsibilities

Overpouring is never an option. You can seriously hurt somebody by overpouring, not to mention spoil the drink and ruin your sales. You only serve people what they ask and never more.

When somebody has had enough, you stop serving them. After a while, you know when to cut somebody off.

Never leave bottles on the counter or in reach of customers. Your expensive spirits should never be in reach of anybody but you.

If you tell somebody your selling them premium and top shelf alcohol, you cannot substitute with cheaper licqor. It's illegal.

As a bartender, your eyes always have to be scanning a crowd. You can't leave people hanging.

The golden rule - if you see somebody messing with someone's drink, you chuck it if you can or warn the person. And you get that son of a bitch out of your pub.

50% of the job is cleaning. You have to clean your tools constantly. You cannot reuse measures and spouts, you have to wash everything. Beer traps are clean out every night, rubber mats are washed and anything you have used has to be clean.

You have to hand dry your glasses. You never polish a pint glass as it fucks up the pint. You polish your cocktail glasses, shot glasses and straight glasses.

If someone seems down or on their own, you try make conversation. Often you'll hear some disturbing stuff but always try lend an ear or make everyone feel included.

If you break a glass in the ice bucket, you got to get rid of the ice.

[metamorphesque]

— Heaven, Mieko Kawakami

[text ID: I knew that it was cruel to be so optimistic, but, in my solitude, I couldn't resist the urge and spent entire days basking in idiotic fantasies, sometimes verging on prayer.]

[dailyhistoryposts]

Introduction to Pirates: Pirate Ships

The exact design of ships changes by the time and place of their manufacturing, but they had common builds and terminology.

Directions on a ship are:

bow or prow (front)

starboard (right, as seen when standing on the ship facing prow)

port (left, as seen when standing on the ship facing prow)

aft or stern (rear)

amidship (in the middle of the ship)

windward (the direction the wind is blowing)

leeward (the opposite of windward, sheltered from the wind or downwind)

Important places on a ship are:

bilge (the lowest part of the ship, the part most likely to leak and be filthy)

crow's nest (a small platform near the top of the mast for lookouts)

fo'cs'le or forecastle (the section of the upper deck in front of the foremast)

helm (the steering wheel. contains the bittacle/bitacola/binnacle, a box which holds the compass)

hold (storage space in the lower part of the ship)

hull (the body of the ship)

keel (the underside of the ship)

mizzenmast (the largest mast. on a ship with three or more masts, the mast aft of a mainmast)

poop deck (the highest deck, usually above the captain's quarters)

main (the longest mast)

quarterdeck (the aft part of the upperdeck)

Depending on the size of the ship, it may have one or multiple decks and masts. The flagship of Blackbeard, the Queen Anne's Revenge, was an English-built frigate. It was a 200-ton, 103 foot long vessel with three masts (the fore, the mizzen, and the main). It allegedly had 40 cannons, though only 30 have since been found (far more than most of the ships it attacked) and as many of four anchors, which could weigh up to 3,100lb and take over an hour to raise.

Vessels such as pirate ships cannot accurately be called boats, this is a pet peeve of many nautical workers.

[my-nameis-jasper-deactivated202]

I asked my kids if they’d prefer a secret garden or a secret library and my son shook his head and was like “I don’t trust the secret gardeners and librarians”

[my-nameis-jasper-deactivated202]

Me: what if there aren’t any gardeners or librarians.

Son: there’s always a librarian. Just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there. And it’s a garden, there has to be someone taking care of it or it isn’t really a garden.

Me:

Me: this was supposed to be lighthearted

[my-nameis-jasper-deactivated202]

Daughter: don’t trust the secret librarian.

Son: any librarian who hoards a library to themselves is hiding something.

Daughter: /nods seriously/

Me: why are you two talking as if from experience should I be concerned

[skiplo-wave]

The kids are right Jazz

[supreme-leader-stoat]

But what if I want to be the secret librarian?

[my-nameis-jasper-deactivated202]

Me: what if you were the secret librarian?

Son: wouldn’t be a secret library. I have nothing to hide.

Daughter: so not a secret librarian. A good librarian.

Me: you two are on a wavelength I can’t understand

[brawltogethernow]

What a way to find out your kids went on a whole-ass portal fantasy adventure at some point.

[ohcorny]

beauty and the beast au where belle’s dad is the one that breaks the spell by loving the beast like the son he never had

[cyclopette-blog]

what the fuck that’s adorable

[prismatic-bell]

……I want to write this now.

[fairy-anon-godmother]

Ok, ok ok ok ok ok ok. So, here’s my first thought for this story. Beast hosts the fairy, is a child tyrant at her, gets turned into the beast and all his servants become household objects ok. Check those boxes.

Then! Lets say he still gets the rose, and when the last petal falls he’ll lose the chance to turn back. But the fairy overlooked something critical in the spell, she turned him into a beast but didn’t set the magic so that he’d age. To her it was simple, he was an unlovely child and so he needed to learn to love - as a child. Which means that for however long the Beast spends in his castle, he’s still about eleven the whole time. He doesn’t mature, instead he gets progressively mopier and depressed, as children do when denied proper stimulation and excitement. The servants do their best to keep raising him and actually The Beast, as one of the last people in the castle with opposable thumbs, ends up getting brought along to help with a lot of normal chores the servants would ordinarily have never asked the master to help with. He at least grows closer to the servants, but its also a master-servant dynamic.

Ok so! Maurice rides by and gets thrown in the dungeon. He’s a bit confused that he’s locked in a dungeon but still keeps most of his possessions? He’s got his pocket knife, his food, a lot of his supplies… When the Beast comes to growl at him this time Maurice (because he’s a loving dad to his own eleven year old) realizes that he’s not dealing with an adult. So, inventor that he is, he comes up with a solution. Between visits from the master of the castle he puts together a few wind-up toys, and other small objects that might interest a boy Belle’s age.

They do their part and the Beast in intrigued. Then he drops the growling base and asks Maurice in a voice far more reminiscent of the eleven year old he is if Maurice can help them fix Mrs. Pots’ favorite rocking chair. Its hard for her to use now, but she still likes sitting in it in front of the fire during the long winter nights she, and the other staff, spend talking to each other and telling the Beast stories. They’ve tried to walk him through how to repair it, but its much easier when another person with human hands shows him.

Maurice obliges. Then excitedly the Beast takes him on a tour of the castle, and all the other things he’s tried to help his servants repair around the castle. Between Maurice’s technical skills and the Beast’s strength they spend a few days getting pretty far.

They talk the whole time. And Maurice figures out pretty quickly that he is being closely watched. A few of the suits of armor were once longtime guards over the family, and the doormat has no worries about tripping him up if it senses he means any harm to the master. Cogsworth spends time sharing all the long-winded stories of his travels abroad that everyone else in the castle has long since gotten tired of hearing, and Lumiere is thrilled he’s got a new audience to perform for. 

Its Mrs. Pots, of course, who first decides Maurice is good for the master. And her own Chip too, Maurice has a knack of working out which household items are children and including them in the gentle parenting he’s giving the Beast. She’s extremely appreciative of the way Maurice (who’s always wished for more attention to be paid to his inventions) constantly works out accessibility measures so children of literally all shapes and sizes can play and do things much more easily than they could before he came. A few weeks after Maurice is thrown in the dungeon the castle’s outfitted in a whole range of new mechanics and gadgets and doohickeys, and childrens’ laughter fills the place morning to night. 

Of course, Maurice knows he needs to get back to Belle. He left her some money to manage in his absence but it won’t keep her long. The Beast is heartbroken to lose him, but tells Mrs. Pots and Lumiere and Cogsworth that he knows how sad he was before, and he doesn’t want to do that to another kid by taking her dad away. 

So Maurice leaves.

And returns a few days later, Belle in tow (and ready to be introduced to the library) and all his schematics he left behind in his cottage rolled up in the wagon along with the rest of his tools.

“I think I can get the rafters in the south wing’s attic to stop leaking,” he tells the Beast and the small crowd that greets the wagon at the castle’s drawbridge. “But first let me take a look at this rope pulley setup you’ve got here. Its hard enough on the brooms to try to raise it, lets see if we can set up some sort of centrifugal force to make it easier to rotate.” He rolls up his sleeves and confronts the front gate. “And this can be oiled too. Son, can you hand me the can from the wagon?”

Cue sparkles as the Beast grabs the tools excitedly, while telling Belle all about the new princess suite he’ll make ready for her. And, after all the confusion and shouting and rejoicing is over - 

Maurice, Belle and the prince spend the afternoon throwing softballs around. Maurice wasn’t much of a sports fan in his youth, but he’ll do his best to give his kids the chance to at least see if they’ve got any natural talents. 

[pen-for-sword]

@jaimistoryteller

[votocis]

Okay, but like Exile by Taylor Swift and Bon Iver. That song is so freaking powerful. And I love and hate the fact it aligns itself so perfectly with my character’s relationship that’s falling apart.

The whole “You never gave a warning sign.” And she goes “I have gave so many signs.”

And I’m here like, stop making me cry! Because both of these characters love each other, they’ve been married for almost 15 years, but the guy has just recently became a senator, and before he was running a campaign and he’s always been so busy and she was trying so hard for him to be there more for her, to spend time with him, she wanted to go to couple’s therapy and they would and it would get better and then he would fall right back into his old work routine. 

It’s so heart-breaking, but she had to finally say “I’m not your priority, anymore.” And file for a divorce. 

Music, guys. What a way to encapsulate emotions and breathe life into a story. My heart is in pieces.

[ritikajyala]

I lost my best friend 3 years ago- not lost as in dead but lost as in we only text each other on our birthdays now. Movies and books don't tell you that a friendship dying is like the sinking of a ship, you try to get higher and higher and hold onto the rails and unanswered texts, the captain tries to steer it to safety and salvage pieces of two broken hearts until you're left with memories of what once was. We were friends for a decade and knew each other's diaries by heart, I still remember her phone number and the way she took her coffee. Seeing her in streets is like breathing in a scent you forgot you knew but it immediately takes you back to a summer in '07.

Movies and books also don't tell you that friendships don't just end after one fight or incident, it's like the rusting of a bridge, the slow decay of flesh and bones and secrets. It took weeks, months- until one day I woke up and I realized I hadn't thought of her in a while. And I wrote a poem that day and I titled it 'The dying of a best friend' and I put all my love for her in a tiny box with my half of the matching pendant of a dolphin we had and stored them in a corner of my heart under the heading Grief. Where else can one hide unspent love?

It's been 3 years since I lost my best friend, lost as in I still carry our secrets in a tiny box but we only text each other on our birthdays.

-Ritika Jyala, excerpt from The world is a sphere of ice and our hands are made of fire

Edit: here's the visualizer for this piece

[metamorphesque]

― Haruki Murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart

[kathrynhoward]

the time travel agency seamstress (that one Tumblr post) |  Karolina Żebrowska

[votocis]

I’ll be here reblogging beautiful female avatars for rpgs, almost glancing into what kind of lives I could cook up for them, and then I’ll remind myself that 90% of my rpg oc’s are males. 

[valtsv]

i hate having to give my own fictional characters jobs and hobbies because i barely have either of those things myself. like fuck man they're an oyster fisherman and their favorite activities are staring at the wall and making bombs. i don't know.

[snarktheater]

A great Twitter thread on character-driven stories, character arcs, and agency by Naomi Hughes

(The link she referenced is this article)

[the960writers]

ID: A twitter thread:

Naomi Hughes @NaomiHughesYA As an editor, I find myself spotting a few of the same big-picture issues over and over. So, a quick thread!

Top 3 big-picture problems I see most often: 1. Lack of agency 2. Impersonal stakes 3. No character arc 4. (Bonus!) For romance: no conflict

Agency= a protagonist’s (or any character’s) ability to act on the plot more than the plot acts on them.

Lack of agency results in plot-driven stories, where the characters are constantly just reacting to events & other’s people decisions.

Plot-driven stories are okay in some genres (mystery series, etc), but in most cases, you need a better balance of character- & plot-driven.

Character-driven stories= protagonist *causes* the plot. They’re active, going after a goal, causing plot twists w/ their actions & choices.

Character-driven stories (or ones that have a good balance between being plot & character-driven) have protagonists with agency.

Here’s a great article on character agency & how to know if your protagonist has it: http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/06/03/just-what-the-humping-heck-is-character-agency-anyway/ #writetip

On impersonal stakes: these are stakes that either *seem* to matter but don’t really, or stakes that matter but not to the MC personally.

Superhero stories often have impersonal stakes. “I must save the city!” Okay. Why does “the city” matter more to you than anyone else?

To make impersonal stakes personal, layer them into the character’s backstory and/or motivation.

Character arcs are arguably one of the best ways to take a story from “a nice read” to “THIS STORY MADE ME CRY/HAPPY-SIGH/HULK SMASH.”

Character arcs provide your audience with evidence that your story matters enough to change someone (the characters, & hopefully readers).

Character arcs are the process by which your plot challenges your characters & forces them to change & grow, for better or worse.

For positive arcs, the character starts with some internal problem or flawed world-view. They acknowledge it, try to overcome, & finally do.

Negative arcs (usually villains, or sometimes in literary fiction) are reverse: they eventually give in to or are seduced by their flaw.

Lastly, romances! I see MANY where there’s no actual conflict, nothing (or only a superficial thing) keeping the couple from being together.

Personal pet peeve: when a miscommunication, lack of communication, or sheer stubbornness is the only thing keeping the lovers apart.

A really strong, organic way to develop romantic conflict is to give your lovers opposing goals.

Okay, that’s it for today’s thread, as my preschooler is trying to abscond with my mouse.

[ghostflowerdreams]

Writing Research - American Frontier (The Wild West)

The American frontier began with English colonial settlements in the early 17th century and ended with the admission of the last mainland territories as states in the early 20th century. Enormous popular attention in the media focuses on the western United States in the second half of the nineteenth century, a period sometimes called the Old West, or the Wild West.

Names

Social Security: Popular Names (1880)

Cowgirl and Cowboy Baby Names of the Wild West

How to Pick an Alias for your Cowboy

Cowboy Name Generator

Famous Cowboys and Cowboy Names

Cowboy & Biblical Names for Baby Boys

Society & Life

Getting Started: Packing and Preparing For A New Life

The Little Old Shanty On the Claim: Creating A Home On the Frontier, Part 1

It Is Very Aristocratic To Have A Bed At All: Creating A Home On The Frontier, Part 2

Homesteaders, The Frontier, And Hopscotching Across America

Frontier Education And The One-Room Schoolhouse

American Elementary Schools in the Mid-1800s

Early American Schoolhouse

The Northern Pacific Railroad And Those Who Built It

America’s Frontier Forever Changed - The Railroads

Morgan Horses in the West

How Did the Pioneers Travel to the Frontier

Conestoga Wagon

Everyday Life in the Frontier - Tasks and Chores (PDF)

The Myth and Legacy of the Frontier

The American West

Old West Society Of Minnesota

History of The Wild West - Red Indians, Cowboys, Wagon Trails

Daily Life on the Frontier

American West - Life on the Frontier

What Kids Did On the Western Frontier

15 Tools That Helped Pioneers Survive on the American Frontier

The Code of the West

The Cowboy

Cowboys and Cowgirls of the Old West

African American Coyboys

1867: Places, People & Events - African American Cowboys

African American in the American West

The Black Frontier: A History of Black Americans in the Early West - Buffalo Solders (Video)

Black Fur Traders and Frontiermen

African Americans on the Frontier

Cattle, Frontiers, and Farming

The Significance of the Frontier in American History

American Frontier

Wild West

Women of the West

Women of the Wild West

Wild Women of the West

Legendary Women of the American West

Woman as a Pioneer

Pioneers in the American West

The Real Lives of Prostitutes of the Old West

Soiled Doves of the Old West

Prostitutes in the Old West

Painted Ladies of the Old West

Leading Madams of the Old West

19th Century Prostitutes Were Among the Freest, Wealthiest, Most Educated Women of Their Time

Where did prostitutes in the in the Old West boom towns come from, and who were they?

Women of the American West

Women on the Frontier

African-Americas on the Frontier

Native American Society

Native American Religion

The Culture of Violence in the American West: Myth versus Reality

History of Photography and the Camera

The American West: Photos by Timothy O'Sullivan

American West Photographs

Photos: Frontier Life in the West

American West 1860-1920: Photographys from the Collection of the Denver Public Library

Fur Trading in the American West

Saloons of the Old West

Old West - Western Union Completes the First Transcontinental Telegraph Line

The History of the Telegraph

The Telegraph was the Information Highway of the 1860s

History of the Telegraph

1830s - 1860s Telegraph

The Bicycle & The West - 1880

Bicycle History

Double-Action Revolvers & The Old West

Firearms for Cowboys

The Colt Revolver in the American West

The National Firearms Museum: The American West

Did the Wild West Have More Gun Control Than We Do Today?

The Most Famous Rifle of the Old West

The Revolver, a Gun that made History

Historic Photos of Saloons and Breweries (Wild West Utah)

Historic Saloons

High West Distillery & Saloon

Kansas Historic Trails, Old West Kansas

Cowboys & Indians Magazine - National Geographic Greatest Photographs Of The American West

Odin’s Castle of Dreams & Legends - Old West History

Commerce

Wells Fargo - Staging & Banking in the Old West

1880’s Wages and Every Day Expenses

Your Travel Guide to America’s Old West - Money & Wages

Wages in the 1870’s

Wages of Old West Lawmen

Saloon Fare

Food Prices in 1870

Cowboy Pay & Rope

How much did it cost to own and maintain a horse in the wild west days?

Entertainment & Food

How The West Was Fun: Recreation And Leisure Time On The Frontier

Cowboy Cooking Trail Recipes

Western Cookin’

The Food Timeline

Old Fashioned Recipes

Camping Recipes

Old West Recipes of the Chuck Wagon

Old West Recipes and Cooking Tips

The Whiskey That Won the Wild West

Cowboy Cooking

Cowboy Beverage Recipes

Cowboy and Western Recipes - Breakfast

Western Dessert Recipes

Cowboy Cooking - Meat Recipes

Soup, Stew and Chili Recipes

Native American Recipes

Without Peas And Things Put Into It: Food on the Frontier

Cowboy Poetry, Stories and Western Fun & Entertainment

Cowboy Songs and Poetry

Cowboy Songs and Frontier Ballads

Old West Saloon

Old West Saloon Food & Fare

The History of Poker in the Old West

Faro: Popular Card Game in the Old West

Native American Art

Native American Stories

Hygiene, Health & Medicine

Wild, Wild Doctoring in Frontier Medicine

Doctors, Healers, and Health: The State of Medicine in the Old West

Medicine in the Wild West

Frontier Medicine in the Territory of Wisconsin

Old Time Cures and Remedies

Doctors of the American Frontier

Frontier Healing

American Frontier - The Doctors

Deadwood Magazine - The Cure That Ails

Frontier Medicine

Women’s Health in Early 19th-Century Indiana

What European and American Women in the Past wore when Menstruating

The History of Midwifery and Childbirth - A Time Line

Medicine in the Old West: A History, 1850 - 1900

Medicine in the Old West

Was marijuana/cannabis smoking common in the Old West?

Fashion

Authentic Old West Clothing for Men and Women

History of Fashion and Dress - Clothing of the American Frontier

Domestic Frontier Clothing

American Frontier Reenactment Guild - Clothing Guidelines - Men

American Frontier Reenactment Guild - Clothing Guidelines - Women

How the West was Worn

Old West Fashion

Cowboy Gear

Men’s Old West Clothing

Ladies’ Old West Clothing

Western Apparel

Dialogue

Western Slang, Lingo, and Phrases

Old West Writer’s Guide - Slang, Phrases and More

Quotes and Words of the Old West

Evolvement of American-English

Old West Slang

27 Cowboy Slang Terms for the Things You Eat and Drink

Old West Melodrama - Jargon & Slang

Cowboy Quotes, Sayings, and Wisdom

Old West Wisdom

Old West Insults

Justice & Crime

Lawmen of the American West

Sheriffs Help Tame The Wild West

Gunfighters of the American West

Old West Gunfights

Notorious Outlaws of the American West

Wild West Outlaws and Lawmen

Feuds and Range Wars

Complete List of Old West Scoundrels

Complete List of Outlaw Gangs in American West

The Complete List of Old West Gunfighters

The Complete List of Old West Vigilantes

Lynchings and Hanging in American History

Gun Control in the Old West

Old West Law Surprisingly Sophisticated

Crime & Punishment: Bounty Hunters in the Old West

How would you prevent horse theft in the Old West?

[epees]

Some resources for those writing medieval-type stories:

list of medieval jobs

more medieval jobs

lords of the manor

ladies of the manor

medieval ladies

medieval weapons

medieval names

more medieval names

guide to medieval terms

more medieval terms

how to write sword-fight scenes

armor