Writing Tips and Tricks

Basically a place for me to reblog advice I find since I keep losing track. Feel free to follow if the page benefits you (:

[toastyhat-deactivated20180203]

I just discovered foodtimeline.org, which is exactly what it sounds like: centuries worth of information about FOOD.  If you are writing something historical and you want a starting point for figuring out what people should be eating, this might be a good place?

[rainbowbarnacle]

CHRISTMAS CAME EARLY

[badmadwolf]

this is awesome but the original link just turned into a redirect loop for me, here it is again (x)

[friendlyfrankenstein]

OH HELLO

[fixyourwritinghabits]

No more potatoes in medieval novels!

[brigwife-deactivated20240426]

[mangedog]

BREAD and SOUP have been around longer than alcohol and milk and domesticated chickens and tea and marshmallows (2000BC!!) and coffee and the Neolithic and the UK being islands and ancient Egypt and ancient Greece and Rome and Jesus… love for BREAD and SOUP is as old as time

[meli-writes]

vampire who likes being teased and dominated via the very catholic curses upon her soul (i.e using holy water for waxplay, binding her up with rosaries, making her a silver collar, etc) and her very confused but enthusiastic jewish girlfriend who loves how easy it is to submit her like this and also spiritually really isn't sure what to make of that.

[mightymur]

The final, brilliant word on passive voice.

“She was killed [by zombies.]” <— passive

“Zombies killed [by zombies] her.” <— active

[christinaroseandrews]

This is legit one of the best ways to identify passive voice.

[daysleftofsecondterm]

useful advice on 1,041 days left

[nasfera2]

I wish Americans fucked with more foreign music. You don’t have to know the language to appreciate a good record. Folks in other countries listen to our music and don’t speak a lick of english. Music needs no translator

[liltimmys]

yall wont trick me into listening to kpop

[emily84]

You can try Radiooooo.com - The Musical Time Machine!!

choose a country, pick a decade, and GO!!

you’ll get an endless streaming of songs (ad free!).

I personally found myself loving 1970s Ghana, Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire! Also 1920s and 1970s Japan for sure! Cambodian music: spectacular. Love Armenia and Mali as well. I’ve been told 70s Germany is weird and 30s Algeria is cool but I haven’t gotten around to those yet. Italy’s 1960s is bomb ofc but I’m biased ;)

[randomslasher]

This is the best website anyone has ever shared.

[zellkabellk]

For modern day radio you can also check out Radio Garden ! > https://radio.garden/<

Just move around the globe to check out plenty of big national or tiny local radios all around :>

[microsff]

"May I have your name?" the faerie said.

"William," she said with a smile.

"Ah ah!" The faerie gave a wicked laugh. "I have your name! Now no-one will call you by it!"

"Thank you," she said.

"To win it back, you must- what?"

"I will find me a new one," she said, "one that suits me better."

[anarchistmemedistro]

[dandeliont3aandsageleaves]

Transphobic faerie, not because of any "gender is what's in your pants" bs but because trans people keep ruining their tricks

[kestalsblog]

Not every story is about seeing yourself in it. Sometimes it’s about learning to see other people too.

[doesnotloveyou]

@tearyeyedcat this was beautifully written, thank you for adding it!

[charlesoberonn]

Another excuse for me to post Head Writer of ATLA Aaron Ehasz’s great characters board:

[unbearable-lightness-of-ink]

CHARACTERS SHOULD BE: FALSE GODS

[ainecdote-remade-deactivated202]

tired of cannibalism as a metaphor for love or sex. can we get into cannibalism as a metaphor for colonization.

[sloppity-bilepiper]

1. Europeans using Egyptian mummies as medicine

2. The Delectable Negro: Human Consumption and Homoeroticism Within US Slave Culture by Vincent Woodard

3. "Abolitionists turned the tables on Europeans by accusing them of being cannibals when they ate sugar tainted with the flesh and blood of slaves."

4. Zombies (which I would class as cannibals, since they were human and need to eat humans to live) have a root in Haitian folklore and represented enslavement.

[macspaguer]

[ajarofpickledtears]

[blizzardofjj]

Melon migration

[writing-prompt-s]

You got stuck in a time loop. Unfortunately, your life is so mundane and boring that you haven't noticed.

[iphysalian]

Small fantasy worldbuilding elements you might want to think about:

A currency that isn’t gold-standard/having gold be as valuable as tin

A currency that runs entirely on a perishable resource, like cocoa beans

A clock that isn’t 24-hours

More or less than four seasons/seasons other than the ones we know

Fantastical weather patterns like irregular cloud formations, iridescent rain

Multiple moons/no moon

Planetary rings

A northern lights effect, but near the equator

Roads that aren’t brown or grey/black, like San Juan’s blue bricks

Jewelry beyond precious gems and metals

Marriage signifiers other than wedding bands

The husband taking the wife's name / newlyweds inventing a new surname upon marriage

No concept of virginity or bastardry

More than 2 genders/no concept of gender

Monotheism, but not creationism

Gods that don’t look like people

Domesticated pets that aren’t re-skinned dogs and cats

Some normalized supernatural element that has nothing to do with the plot

Magical communication that isn’t Fantasy Zoom

“Books” that aren’t bound or scrolls

A nonverbal means of communicating, like sign language

A race of people who are obligate carnivores/ vegetarians/ vegans/ pescatarians (not religious, biological imperative)

I’ve done about half of these myself in one WIP or another and a little detail here or there goes a long way in reminding the audience that this isn’t Kansas anymore.

[anachronistic-falsehood]

i need to sit down every fanfiction writer who writes smut about trans guys and i need to explain to them the effects testosterone can and will have on a transmasc person's body and also explain how depictions of trans guys in porn can come off as extremely fetishizing when written carelessly and they really need to speak to transmasc people and see them as People before throwing them into a fic to get fucked by some extremely masculine cis man

[what-even-is-thiss]

Some stuff you may not know:

The clitoris gets bigger. Think like the top of one of your fingers above the top knuckle. Usually the pinky finger in terms of girth. Can vary from person to person though. Could be smaller or bigger. Will very rarely be big enough to penetrate but even then not much.

They make tiny fleshlights that fit people on T and intersex people with large clits

The vagina will probably be dry. Not for everyone but it’s very common. Without lube there could be damage

The vagina might atrophy for some people. This can cause sex to hurt or they might need to take it slow. This can also be helped with estrogen creams and/or doing certain kegel exercises.

Some people don’t want to be penetrated or prefer anal

Some people have had their vagina removed

If you’re doing anal, never move directly from the butt to one of the other holes without cleaning up or changing the condom. Just general life advice for you.

People on T smell like cis men, are hairy like cis men, and their skin feels the same as a cis man.

If you’ve still got boobs those will also be hairy

There are companies that make strap ons specifically for trans men. Some that look and feel realistic, some that have a tiny fleshlight in the end, etc.

If a person has had metoidioplasty (meta) their penis will be quite small and thin but it’ll still look like a penis. They may or may not have balls.

A person who’s had phalloplasty (phallo) will have a full sized penis. The two general options for them getting erect is a) them having a firm plastic insert that allows them to just point their penis up. This can make them look semi-erect all the time or b) having a pump in the testicles. You can look up videos of how this works.

[tenderwatches]

sometimes you need dialogue tags and don't want to use the same four

[catnykit]

THANK YOUUU

[walmart-the-official]

Hey, don’t cry. Free online database of Japanese folk lore

[bleu-guacamole]

Might I add, free database of mostly European folklore and myths

[walmart-the-official]

:0

Thank you!

[toastyhat-deactivated20180203]

I just discovered foodtimeline.org, which is exactly what it sounds like: centuries worth of information about FOOD.  If you are writing something historical and you want a starting point for figuring out what people should be eating, this might be a good place?

[rainbowbarnacle]

CHRISTMAS CAME EARLY

[badmadwolf]

this is awesome but the original link just turned into a redirect loop for me, here it is again (x)

[friendlyfrankenstein]

OH HELLO

[fixyourwritinghabits]

No more potatoes in medieval novels!

[brigwife-deactivated20240426]

[mangedog]

BREAD and SOUP have been around longer than alcohol and milk and domesticated chickens and tea and marshmallows (2000BC!!) and coffee and the Neolithic and the UK being islands and ancient Egypt and ancient Greece and Rome and Jesus… love for BREAD and SOUP is as old as time

[juliedillon]

"Fealty," a follow-up to this illustration: 👀

Art and ramblings from Julie

A secret rendezvous in the castle halls! 8)

[writing-prompt-s]

Humanity went extinct. However, the supernatural creatures pretending to be human were so good at it that no one realized there were no more humans for over 200 years.

[writing-prompt-s]

"you know you are only supposed to have 1 apprentice maybe 2 not 15." said the wizard council member "well until people stop leaving surprisingly powerful orphans at my doorstep I'll be taking care of my 17 apprentices." The council member snapped their wand "WHERE DID YOU GET 3 MORE!"