Writing Resources

[lauralot89]

Fuck the Laundry Industry

A Masterpost

Because I’ve seen one too many articles about stupid millennials who DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT DETERGENT IS and so I’d like to help everyone I can avoid all that price-gouged, extraneous nonsense.  So here’s everything you need to get your clothes all clean and nicely scented without spending an arm and a leg.

Recipes:

Powdered Laundry Soap Recipe

Vegan Powdered Laundry Soap Recipe (this is the one I use, and it’s just as good as commercial detergent)

No-Grate Powdered Homemade Laundry Soap Recipe

Liquid Laundry Soap Recipe

How to Make Washing Soda

Homemade Stain Remover

Homemade OxiClean

Homemade Bleach

Make Your Own Fabric Softener Crystals

How to Make a Scented Vinegar Fabric Softener Rinse

Reusable Dryer Sheets (wet)

Reusable Dryer Sheets (dry)

Washing:

How to Whiten and Brighten Laundry

Uses for Salt: Doing the Laundry

Top Uses of Vinegar in the Laundry

Stain Removal Chart

Laundry Guide to Common Care Signals

How to Do Your Own Laundry

How to Avoid Losing Socks in the Washing Machine

Missing Clothes in the Washing Machine

How to Hand Wash a Bra

6 Ways to Machine-Wash Your Bras Without Ruining Them

How to Wash Clothes without a Washing Machine

Drying:

How to Make Wool Dryer Balls 

Speed Up Laundry with Tennis Balls

Use a Ball of Aluminum Foil to Eliminate Static in the Dryer

5 Tips for Living Life Without a Dryer

How to Build a Kickass Clothesline

The $5 Indoor Clothesline

Make This Easy Ladder Laundry Drying Rack!

10 DIY Laundry Drying Racks for Small Spaces

Dry Cleaning:

How to Dry Clean

Wash Your “Dry Clean Only” Clothes at Home for Cheap

Dry-Cleaning Solutions

Ironing:

The Ultimate Ironing Guide

6 Ways to Iron Your Clothes Without an Iron

Folding:

The Illustrated Guide to the KonMari Folding Method

Shirt Folder

How to Fold Clothes

4 Ways to Fold Clothes

Clothing Repair:

How to Mend Clothes

How to Tailor Your Own Clothes

5 Ways to Tailor Your Clothes (Without Sewing!)

How to Alter Without a Sewing Machine

How to Patch Your Clothes

2 Easy Ways to Sew a Button

Machine Cleaning:

How to Clean a Washing Machine Naturally

How to Clean Your Front-Loading Washing Machine

How to Clean Your Dryer’s Lint Trap, Screen, and Vent

Portable Washing Machines:

Have You Ever Tried a Portable Washer?

Portable Washing Machines: No Laundry Room Required

The Best Portable Washing Machines of 2017

Reducing Costs:

How to Do Laundry on the Cheap

How to Save Money on Laundry and Reduce Your Cost Per Load

Let’s Talk About Saving Money on Washers and Dryers

How We Saved Money on a New Washer and Dryer

Saving Money When Buying a Washer and Dryer

[reprehensiblewombat]

A good thing to keep in mind when analizing fairy tales is the idea that “actually, your outsides DO match your insides, because if you’re ugly, deformed or disabled, it’s God’s punishment for being a terrible person.”

This idea was extremely persistent in western literature and lasted well into the 20th century. The idea of not being able to judge books by their covers is a pretty modern concept.

And if you’re wondering about Beauty and the Beast, the original* story wasn’t saying “don’t judge books by their covers.” The moral was closer to “don’t break your promises (doesn’t matter if your dad just died and you’d like to attend the funeral, don’t break your God damn promises.)”

Love at first sight makes a lot more sense when you can tell someone is a good person just by looking at them. Like, it’s not a coincidence that the most beautiful girl in the village was also the one kind enough to fall in love with the Beast. Cinderella’s stepsisters are ugly because they are evil. The Evil Queen isn’t just being vain, Snow White being fairer than her is a legitimate threat, and obviously, as her machinations to get rid of Snow White get more and more twisted, so does she. And this can happen in reverse as well. The Plain Princess is a story of a princess who is plain, selfish, and lazy. Scared that their daughter is plain, her parents send her to fairy godmother bootcamp, where she learns the value of hardwork, kindness, and becomes more beautiful.

I have never heard a fairy tale that doesn’t function on the beauty = goodness logic. So be aware of it when adapting a fairy tale, because if you aren’t using this logic yourself and you don’t replace this logic with something, a lot of your characters get their motivations reduced to “because we’re referencing this fairy tale and they did it in that one.”

*the oldest version I have found. If you are unfamiliar with the less Disney versions of literally any fairy tale Beauty and the Beast then I would be overjoyed to tell you.

[anais-ninja-bitch]

I think you're really fucking smart and appreciate that you use that smartness to be fandom trash with us.

i apply my intellectual talents, such as they are, to a lot of useless stuff. very little of it is as much fun as being fandom trash.

[anais-ninja-bitch]

dubious goals, friend. see, this ask prompted me to try to crossover being fandom trash with the arguably least useless thing to which i enjoy applying my intellectual talents: art history.

which has led to my latest headcanon: Steve Rogers is simulataneously deeply impressed and highly frustrated with the work and career of Andy Warhol. one of the things he regrets most about sleeping through the second half of the 20th century is missing out on yelling at Warhol and his detractors.

[allofthefeelings]

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I’M IN FANDOM FOR THOUGH?

[anais-ninja-bitch]

i feel like they would have had so much to talk about. skinny kids with fragile health from catholic working class families who loved art.

and then so many of the themes Warhol was obsessed with played out in Steve’s life: transformation of self image, fame, overexposure, violence, cartoonish caricature.

like, obviously this idea swims around in the old art imitates life-life imitates art primordial ooze of meta around fictional and fictionalized characters, but EVEN THAT is delightful in this particular context because that flattening of fiction and reality is huge part of what Warhol was all about.

and just imagine Steve getting a dose of some specialized whammy truth serum, and instead of confessing state secrets to HYDRA, the goons get an impassioned lecture on pop art instead.

[reprehensiblewombat]

Just fyi, I would LOVE a fic where Rumlow injects Syeve with truth serum and then has to endure a several hour long ramble on pop art. (That is probably, in reality, Steve distacting him because his enhancements mean the truth serum doesn’t work for more than six seconds.)

For Extra Crack: Rumlow is like “I don’t actually have any feelings about Warhol in particular but I am extremely knowledgeable and passionate about this tangentally related art topic. Lets’s discuss this forever while Natasha and Rollins fight to the death in the background.

Whatever happens, your ideas are GREAT ideas and I believe ypu are putting your considerable intellect to excellent use.

[anais-ninja-bitch]

ngl, rumlow strikes me as a real pollock stan. like, they’d be back-and-forthing on the emergence of American identity in art for a while, then

steve: i met Thomas Hart Benton once.

rumlow: no shit!

steve: yes shit. he was a real bastard, but he sure knew his comp-

rumlow: -postion.

nat and rollins: *pause fighting* ?????

[reprehensiblewombat]

I love everything about this

Rollins: Rumlow, are you interrogating him or is this a date?

Natasha: *punches Rollins in the face* Seriously, though if you two start on the ins and outs of Oldenburg and Bruggen, I will leave you here, Steve, I swear to God.

[anais-ninja-bitch]

me, walking up to captain america and crossbones: so which one of you is stuart semple and which one is anish kapoor?

[caitlynlynch]

CALLING ALL INDIE AUTHORS!

A new organization, the Indie Author Support Network, is forming to give indie authors a seat at the table with the important stakeholders in our business. If you’d like to be part of this exciting new effort to advocate for indie authors, let us know you’re IN by April 30. If we have 1,000 founding authors willing to move forward by then, we’ll make it happen (and we’re about halfway there in our first 12 hours). To show your support:

1. Email [email protected] 2. Tell us if you’d like to serve on a steering committee or volunteer another skill/service 3. Follow us on Twitter @author_indie

For more information, join the Author Support Network at facebook.com/groups/AuthorSupportNetwork (make sure to answer the three required entry questions).

This is being set up and steered by Marie Force, who, among others, is seriously fed up with the shenanigans being pulled by dodgy authors on Amazon at the moment (books stuffing to get extra page reads etc). She’s already talking to Amazon direct who are willing to listen if we get a serious force together.

At the present time there will be NO compulsory fees to be a part of this - though if you have $20 to donate to setup costs, they certainly won’t say no!

Please join us and add your voice to this growing movement to help indie authors be heard in the publishing world!

[ave-aria]

“What descriptions—or good ones, anyway— actually describe is consciousness, the mind playing over the world of matter, finding there a glass various and lustrous enough to reflect back the complexities of the self that’s doing the looking”

—

Mark Doty, The Art of Description

I talk about this concept in detail in my blog posts How to Make Your Descriptions Less Boring and How to Use Description to Show Character Development.

(via bucketsiler)

[theliteraryarchitect]

Hey, I'm currently writing a death scene, and I really want to add descriptions but it breaks the flow of the whole thing. Do you have any ideas how to fit in descriptions while still making it heartbreaking and painful to read?

Adding Descriptions to Intense Scenes Without Messing Up Your Story’s Flow

Hi! Hmm. This is an interesting question because to me, adding descriptions has the potential to increase the heartbreak. So I might suggest changing your frame of mind about what you consider to be a “description.”

A lot of people think of “descriptions” as long paragraphs that give static information about the setting or scenery.

But a description can be any sensory detail you add to your story. These can be woven in without much of a detour, especially if you follow the guidelines I laid out about dynamic descriptions in this post.

Example: 

Say your death scene is taking place in a hospital. Instead of taking a paragraph-long detour to describe the hospital room furniture, you can weave descriptive details into the dialogue and action. I’ve put descriptive elements in bold to show you what I mean.

“Dad?” Rain put down the book, reached across the bed, and grasped her father’s hand. His eyes were fluttering. Had it happened already?

“I’m just… so tired,” he replied. “Keep reading to me.”

Rain hesitated. As much as she wanted to honor his request, she hated the idea of spending her father’s final moments with her nose in a book, and, well… here. The hospital’s bright florescent lights, pale blue walls, and the awful smell of rubbing alcohol and sickness was getting to her.

“I’ll turn down the lights, at least,” she said, rising to flick off the light switch on the wall just above her head. The room instantly turned dark–darker than she’d expected. Only the light of the heart monitor remained, casting a strange green glow over both of them.

When you’re first getting started with this technique, the easiest thing to do is make a list of all the descriptions you want to include in your scene. Then find places to “sneak” them into the action. If pacing is a concern, you might not have room for all of them. But a sentence or two of well placed, dynamic description can really crank up the emotionally intensity of the scene!

A few other tips:

Remember to look for opportunities to use metaphors and symbolism to convey the emotionally charged nature of the scene.

Include sensory details like smells, sounds, texture, color, and tastes.

A little goes a long way. It’s better to use one great descriptive sentence than three okay ones.

Ok, that’s all for now. Hope this helps!

[writingguardian-deactivated2024]

Writing horses in your WIP

We see them all the time - horses in fiction. And there is so much to learn about them that it can be a little overwhelming! But I work with horses a lot so I thought I’d be able to help some of you guys out by going through the basics you’ll need for writing. (by the way, I only ride English style. If somebody wants to do something similar for Western riding, by all means, fire away.)

Horses and ponies - whats the difference?

It’s the height. Horses and ponies are measured in hands - 1 hand = approx 4 inches. A pony is anything below 14.2hh,(hands), a horse is anything taller. Any pony smaller than 14hh would really only be suitable for children. A stockier 14.2hh could hold teens or small adults, but most teens and adults would probably ride horses. 16hh would be an average size.

Stallions, mares and geldings.

A Mare is a female horse. They can be quite moody sometimes - which they show by being uncooperative and putting their ears back. A Stallion is a male horse that has not been castrated. They can be very, very strong willed, and are typically not suitable for the novice rider. A gelding is a male horse that has been gelded/castrated, They often have a more relaxed, placid nature. A colt is a young male, and a filly is a young female. 

Breaking

Training a horse under saddle is called ‘Breaking.’ A horse is typically broken around ¾ years of age, once it has finished growing. Breaking correctly is a long and patient process - not something that your character can do in a few minutes.

Gaits

Horses have four gaits. Walk, trot, canter, and gallop - in that order of ascending speed. Nobody trots away from danger. if your characters are fleeing, they are in a flat out gallop.

The tack

For describing scenes - you’ll really only need to talk about the reins and the bit. Pressure on the reins (held by the rider) should slow the horse down. The horse feels this pressure acting through the bit. 

All you really need to worry about for the saddle are the stirrups, and the girth. The girth is holding the saddle on, and the feet go into the stirrups.

Learning to ride

Is difficult! Your character won’t be a pro withing a couple of days. Its hard on your legs, and learning to balance can be tricky too. Somebody who is very comfortable in the saddle is relaxed and secure, and able to deal with however the horse acts. The rising trot, when the rider goes ‘up and down’ in sync with the horses movement in the trot, can be particularly difficult.

Ability

The average gallop is around 45km/h. So, bear i mind that a horse cannot outrun a car or anything like that. Jumping ability varies - a heavier horse will struggle over a 90cm hedge, but a quality animal could easily pop 1.60m (but only with a good rider.)  If your character gallops the horse on hard ground, it could easily go lame - they aren’t invincible! 

Feeding

Horses don’t eat the same way as dogs or cats. They are grazers - meaning they need to eat little, and often. Your character giving them a Handel of oats once a day is really not going to keep them alive. They need forage - grass or hay - and a lot of it.

Portraying atmospheres

Showing how the horse is feeling can be a really great tool for expressing the ‘mood’ of a scene. 

Relaxed - A relaxed horse will have its ears back lazily, but not pinned against its head. It will likely doze off and close its eyes, maybe while resting a hind leg.

Alert - Horses are super smart animals, and many say that they have a sixth sense that lets them know when something is coming. An alert horse stands up straight, and has its ears pricked forward.

Upset - If something bad is happening, the horse won’t be in  good mood. It might pin its ears flat back against its skull, and bare its teeth. It will flick its tail irritably, and a horse will kick out or bite at something if its unhappy.

Horses as friends

Horses are deeply empathetic animals. They are herd animals too, and can form deep connections with their people. A horse who is fond of a person may whinny when they see them, and nuzzle their face and neck. A real trust can form between horse and rider. To show this as your story progresses, the horse will become pleased to be with the character, and the character’s nerves aboard the horse will begin to fade.

—–

If you have any more specific questions, feel free to message me. All of this is very basic, and I am more than happy to help some fellow writers. 

Happy writing, Aoife - @writingguardian

[did-you-know]

Medieval castle stairs were often built to ascend in narrow, clockwise spirals so right-handed castle defenders could use their swords more easily. This design put those on the way up at a disadvantage (unless they were left-handed). The steps were also uneven to give defenders the advantage of anticipating each step’s size while attackers tripped over them. Source Source 2 Source 3

[severalowls]

Not really the best illustration since it totally negates the effect by having a wide open space for those ascending. Castle tower staircases tended to look like this:

Extremely tight quarters, with a central supporting pillar that is very, very thoroughly in the way of your right arm.

Wider, less steep designs tend to come later once castles moved away from being fortresses to simply noble family homes with the advent of gunpowder.

[mactiir]

Oh! Pre-gunpowder military tactics are my jam! I don’t know why, but this is one of my favorite little details about defensive fortifications, because the majority handedness of attackers isn’t usually something you think about when studying historical wars. But strategically-placed walls were used basically worldwide as a strategy to secure gates and passages against advancing attackers, because most of the world’s population is right-handed (and has been since the Stone Age).

Pre-Columbian towns near the Mississippi and on the East coast did this too. They usually surrounded their towns with palisades, and they would build the entrance to the palisade wall in a zigzag – always with the wall to the right as you entered, to hinder attackers and give an advantage to the defender. Here’s some gates with some examples of what I’m talking about:

Notice that, with the exception of the last four (which are instead designed to congregate the attackers in a space so they can be picked off by archers, either in bastions or on the walls themselves) and the screened gate (which, in addition to being baffled, also forces the attackers to defend their flank) all of these gates are designed with central architectural idea that it’s really hard to kill someone with a wall in your way. In every culture in the world, someone thought to themselves, “Hey it’s hard to swing a weapon with a wall on your right-hand side,” and then specifically built fortifications so that the attackers would always have the wall on their right. And I think that’s really neat.

[his-quietus-make]

Ooh, ooh, also: Bodiam Castle in Sussex used to have a right-angled bridge so any attacking forces would be exposed to archery fire from the north-west tower on their right side (ie: sword in the right hand, shield on the useless left side):

[petermorwood]

These tactics worked so well for so long because until quite recently lefties got short shrift and had it trained (if they were lucky) or beaten out of them.

Use of sword and shield is a classic demonstration of how right-handedness predominated. There’s historical mention of left-handed swordsmen (gladiators and Vikings), and what a problem they were for their opponents, but that only applies to single combat.

A left-handed hoplite or housecarl simply couldn’t fight as part of a phalanx or shield wall, since the shields were a mutual defence (the right side of the shield covered its owner’s left side, its left side covered the right side of his neighbour to the left, and so on down the line) and wearing one on the wrong arm threw the whole tactic out of whack.

Jousting, whether with or without an Italian-style tilt barrier, was run shield-side to shield-side with the lance at a slant (except for the Scharfrennen, a highly specialised style that’s AFAIK unique.) Consequently left-handed knights were physically unable to joust.

There’s a creditable theory (I first read it in “A Knight and His Horse”, © Ewart Oakeshott 1962, 1998 and many other places since) that a knight’s “destrier” horse - from dexter, “right” - was trained to lead with his right forefoot so that any instinctive swerve would be to the right, away from collision while letting the rider keep his shield between him and harm. (In flying, if a pilot hears “break!” with no other details, the default evasive direction is right.)

The construction of plate armour, whether specialised tournament kit or less elaborate battle gear, is noticeably “right-handed“ - so even if a wealthy knight had his built “left-handed” it would be a waste of time and money; he would still be a square peg in a world of round holes and none of the other kids would play with him.

Even after shields and full armour were no longer an essential part of military equipment, right-hand use was still enforced until quite recently, and to important people as well as ordinary ones - it happened to George VI, father of the present Queen of England. Most swords with complex hilts, such as swept-hilt rapiers and some styles of basket-hilt broadsword, are assymetrical and constructed for right handers. Here’s my schiavona…

It can be held left-handed, but using it with the proper thumb-ring grip, and getting maximum protection from the basket, is right-handed only. (More here.) Some historical examples of left-hand hilts do exist, but they’re rare, and fencing masters had the same “learn to use your right hand” bias as tourney organisers, teachers and almost everyone else. Right-handers were dextrous, but left-handers were sinister, etc., etc.

However, several predominantly left-handed families did turn their handedness into advantage, among them the Kerrs / Carrs, a notorious Reiver family along the England-Scotland Borders, by building their fortress staircases with a spiral the other way to the OP image.

This would seem to be a bad idea, since the attackers (coming upstairs) no longer have their right arms cramped against the centre pillar - however it worked in the Kerrs’ favour because they were used to this mirror-image of reality while nobody else was, and the defender retreating up the spiral had that pillar guarding his right side, while the attacker had to reach out around it…

For the most part Reiver swords weren’t elaborate swept-hilt rapiers but workmanlike basket-hilts. Some from Continental Europe have the handedness of my schiavona with thumb-rings and assymmetrical baskets, but the native “British Baskethilt” is a variant of the Highland claymore* and like it seems completely symmetrical, without even a thumb-ring, which gives equal protection to whichever hand is using it.

*I’m aware there are those who insist “claymore” refers only to two-handers, however the Gaelic term claidheamh-mòr - “big sword” - just refers to size, not to a specific type of sword in the way “schiavona” or “karabela” or even “katana” does.

While the two-hander was the biggest sword in common use it was the claidheamh-mòr; after it dropped out of fashion and the basket-hilt became the biggest sword in common use, that became the claidheamh-mòr.

When Highlanders in the 1745 Rebellion referred to their basket-hilts as claymores, they obviously gave no thought to the confusion they would create for later compilers of catalogues…

[chroniclesofrettek]

Also, muskets had their whole “Flint and steel and gunpowder” thing on the right side so if you tried firing it lefty you’d get a face full of fire. More recently, rifles eject their spent shell casings to the right, so if you’re a lefty you get some hot metal in your eye.

[systlin]

good post this is a gOOD POST

[sunderlorn]

FINALLY 👏 SOMEONE 👏 SAID 👏 IT. 👏 ALL OF IT.  👏ALL AT ONCE. 👏

(Thank you @fallingawkwardly​ for bringing this to my attention.)

[merak-zoran]

I guess but also a lot of this stuff seems really boring to actually put in your worldbuilding. Like, maybe figure it out and consider it as a supplemental, but sometimes a handwave is all you really need.

[teknon-deactivated20190112]

World building /=/ story writing. Only one of them makes for an interesting read when it’s all laid out on paper.

Handwaving is fine. Covering things briefly is fine. Making some assumptions is fine. Taking into consideration all of these aspects to make a more realistic in-world economy and system is great, but actually inserting every minute detail into the story takes away from the actual plot.

Balance is key.

[nyokoko]

I hate this thread because who the fuck cares who domesticated the fucking wheat in a novel about dragons burning a whole continent to ash, really. History buffas and Medievalists are some of the most insufferable when it comes to critiquing SFF literature. The point of specfic is not to be realistic. Go read literary fiction if you’re hung up on where horses fucking come from. However, I also feel like a lot of this is overblown reacting for the purpose of pointing out how a lot of historical and Medieval-inspired fantasy reads as the same because no one actually thoroughly researches the things that would exist in the analogous time period they’re painting. Then there’s that whole thing of if any of these details are particularly necessary to the story.

[becausedragonage]

I’d agree, and I’d also defend this in another way. If you’re not doing the research to twig into some of what the guy was tweeting about, you’re missing interesting ways to not just add details, but to build story and plot. The king not worrying about duke consolidating power for instance, if a person dived into that they’d have some great subplots that would add tension and intrigue. Maybe the beer-making or horse-breeding questions would lead to some neat cultural stuff that would distinguish the novel from every medieval-inspired novel.

[soothseay-deactivated20201009]

Agree with all my mutuals, and would push Dawn’s point that you could soooo definitely find a cool-ass story to tell from diving into a piece of mundane or background world building.

[professorsparklepants]

“Where does the food come from” is the most important part of worldbuilding, imo. You don’t need to have it plotted down to which field grows what kind of potato, but you do need the broad strokes, and sometimes that does require research. 

[out-there-on-the-maroon]

It’s also important to note what is being excused for the sake of “historical accuracy” (sexism, modern homophobia, inaccurate ideas about the stability of kings, modern atheism) and what is being waved aside for the sake of a “fictional story” (everyone has great teeth, nobody has diseases, farming is something that just happens offscreen, there is no “complicated” middle class merchant stuff happening.) Things like rape and general brutality are excused in fantasy novels for “historical accuracy,” however things like dysentery and bad teeth are not.

Of course a book that covers in detail farming and horse breeding and the soil content isn’t what anyone wants (ok I’m sure someone out there does but like, general audiences don’t.) However, a worldbuilding endeavor that decides to make everyone white, straight, and sexist, with good teeth in a medieval setting … is making a lot of deliberate choices in their worldbuilding. And we should be critical and aware of that. 

[dodgylogic]

Here are some actual excepts from a talk Terry Pratchett gave on how to build a fantasy world:

Terry opened the discussion on mapping your created SF/fantasy domain with the unforgettable statement: “How does the shit get out, and the clean water get in?”

Your characters have got to drink, eat, and shift by-products, so the design of Ankh-Morpork, on the Discworld, starts with the river (and what a river – that’s a lot of by-products, which it would be, for a heaving great city). Would a city on top of a mountain work, or would only a small village last in those conditions? How would a city in the clouds function, in plumbing terms? Your readers will want to know these things, and if there aren’t any satisfactory answers, you and your readers are both missing out.

A community functions on the basis of sanitation services, and provisions of food and water. Say, for example, you have a nomadic tribe living on a desert moon, who raise herds of giant herbivorous quadruped working-animals the size of double-decker buses. What are these herds of great land-creatures eating? Sand? Air? Where is their poop going? How are they kept from wandering off at night and trampling their biped masters in their sleep? How is the animal husbandry and midwifery managed? Enquiring minds will want to know.

Terry took a question from one of the younger audience members[…] “What advice would you give to anyone wanting to be a science fiction or fantasy author?”

Terry’s thoughts on this were strong.

“Don’t read too many books already published in your chosen genre. You don’t want to be writing imitations of what’s already out there. Read geography. Read history books. Read about science.”

…Research how worlds function, what shapes them, geologically and politically. How they progress through technology and learning, arts and culture.

Look at this: one of the most prolific and celebrated fantasy authors in the world is arguing, consistently, that good historical, political and geographic planning are central to building a solid fantasy world. Omitting these details often seems to be a cheap easy tactic to bring in current cultural biases such as sexism and racism, without ever having to address them critically or even question their role in our culture.

[heroes-get-made-deactivated2022]

Some ideas for bad things that are white/light:

lightning, very hot fire

snow storms, ice, frost on crops

some types of fungus/mold

corpses, ghosts, bones, a diseased person

clothing, skin tone, hair, etc. of a bad person

fur, teeth, eyes of an attacking animal/monster

bleached out deserts, dead trees, lifeless places

poison

Some ideas for good things that are black/dark:

rich earth/soil

chocolate, truffles, wine, cooked meat

friendly animals/pets/creatures

a character’s favorite vehicle, technology, coat, etc.

a pleasant night

hair, skin tone, clothing, etc. of a good person

undisturbed water of a lake

the case/container of something important

valued wood, furniture, art

velvet

Think to burn, to infect, to bleach vs. to enrich, to protect, to be of substance.

[noseforahtwo]

*slams reblog like the fist of an angry god*

the politics of light and dark are everywhere in our vocabulary…psa to writers: subvert this, reveal whiteness and lightness as sometimes artificial and violent, and darkness as healing, the unknown as natural

[attractthecrows]

“The truth finds more comfort in the dark”

[heywriters]

HEY, Romance Writers!

A few followers have asked for tips on writing romance into their stories or as the basis of their stories. Here’s a masterlist of sources that may help [UPDATED].

Romance:

What Defines Romantic Love?

How to Plot a Romance Novel 

How to Build a Romance Thread in Your Story

How to Write a YA Romance Without Cliché  

Writing Healthy Couples in Fiction

9 Romance Writing Mistakes to Avoid

An Antidote to “Love at First Sight”

How Attractive Should Your Characters Be?

6 Ways to Get Your Readers Shipping Like Crazy 

3 Great Ways to Show That Your Character Is In Love

Seven Great Sources of Conflict for Romances 

20 Tips for Writing Lovable Romance Novel Heroes

Six Steps to Stronger Character Arcs in Romances

How to Write a Kissing Scene in a Romance Novel

List of Ideas to Keep Romantic Tension High 

100 Questions for Character Couples

Romantic Development/Compatibility (ask)

Pinterest Board “Writing: Romance Arcs and Plots”  

Bad Romance:

Removing the Creeps From Romance

+ Why The Surprise Kiss Must Go

Possessiveness 101

10 Signs You May Be in an Emotionally Abusive Relationship

Edward & Bella Are In An Abusive Relationship 

Red Flags, Verbal Abuse, Stalking… | Script Shrink

5 Huge Mistakes Ruining the Romantic Relationships in Your Book 

General Tips for Writing Characters Love Interests:

How to Write from a Guy’s POV 

Writing Awesome Male Characters: What You’re Doing Wrong

7 Point-of-View Basics Every Writer Should Know

How Do You Describe a Character?

4 Ways to Make Readers Instantly Loathe Your Character Descriptions

3 Signs Your Story’s Characters Are Too Perfect 

Is a Quirk Just What Your Character Needs?

Six Types of Character Flaws

Is Your Character Optimistic Or Pessimistic?

5 Ways to Keep Characters Consistent

9 Simple and Powerful Ways to Write Body Language

10 Body Language Tricks for Deeper Characterization

Describing People Part Three: Gestures, Expressions, and Mannerisms

33 Ways To Write Stronger Characters 

Conveying Character Emotion 

Distinguishing Characters in Dialogue 

How to Make Readers Love an Unlikable Character…  

Characters: Likability Is Overrated

Relationships in General:

How to Create Powerful Character Combos

8 Secrets To Writing Strong Character Relationships

Character Relationships: 6 Tips for Crafting Real Connections 

Stereotypes, Archetypes, & Tropes:

Five Signs Your Story Is Sexist: Part 1, Part 2

Five Signs Your Story Is Sexist – Against Men

AlwaysFemale vs Always Male

Born Sexy Yesterday & Manic Pixie Dream Girl

7 (Overused) Female Love Interests

When Friends Fall for Each Other (ask)

Intercultural Romance:

How do I write an interracial couple accurately? (ask)

15 Common Stereotypes About Intercultural Relationships

Cross Cultural Relationships

[Ideas for] Your [Fictional] Cross-Cultural Relationship

Things to Avoid When Writing Interracial Romance

— — —

Ko-Fi // Wattpad // Goodreads // Pinterest

[heywriters]

Because, duh, why don’t I have more intercultural links, I the indolent offspring of an intercultural marriage? Actually weren’t that easy to find and I still had to pick and choose, so maybe I should try writing some of my own…

[best-blurst-of-times]

Deep Frog

[rasec-wizzlbang-blog]

do you think this is what lovecraft meant whenever he described something as being beyond description

[naidje-deactivated]

“It was a terrible, indescribable thing vaster than any subway train—a shapeless congeries of protoplasmic bubbles, faintly self-luminous, and with myriads of temporary eyes forming and un-forming as pustules of greenish light all over the tunnel-filling front that bore down upon us, crushing the frantic penguins and slithering over the glistening floor that it and its kind had swept so evilly free of all litter.”

— H. P. Lovecraft,

At the Mountains of Madness

[space-lord-joe-kewl]

This.. actually makes a fine reference to what a lovecraftian eldritch abomination SHOULD BE. not just.. tentacles and darkness. Perpetually changing, not cemented in form, with an otherworldly feel to it. Completely unrecognizable by most human descriptions, and only able to be viable perceived by those fine enough to be an adept wordsmith.

[canofstars]

I think that this is very nearly an ideal representation of a lovecraftian eldritch horror, because the video that we see is (I’m fairly certain) footage that has been fed through Google deep dream.

The reason the frog looks so weird is because the program is trying to look at the frog, figure out what it is, and then overlay other images of the same thing.

The the thing about lovecraftian horrors issn’t just that they look conventionally weird or gross or scary. Instead, they are things that are so utterly alien that the human mind cannot properly comprehend what it is looking at. They defy description because they defy understanding.

And here we have a video of a computer, a simple silicon substitute for the human mind, struggling to understand what it is looking at, in much the same way that you would be hard pressed to understand a shoggoth.

[swedishjazz]

If you're an artist looking to diversify your faces:

click this link

draw whomever you get

don’t worry about making it super-accurate, just focus on the characteristic parts of the face and have fun

the outcome might not look like the ref, but it will be different and more varied than faces you draw out of your head, an dprobably pretty rad on its own right!

feel free to reblog with your drawing, if you want!

[oyasumi-artykun]

You can also use this: http://artists.pixelovely.com/practice-tools/face-expression-practice/

It’s a gesture website, which means you can chose to do faces of whatever gender and whatever expression; bodies, clothed or not, of whatever gender; and you can do animals, and hands and feet! You have to set a time limit (or choose class mode which I love), but you can pause, and its random!!

[mevima]

List of Vocal Sounds for Smut

I present to you a - probably quite incomplete, I’m sure I’m missing a lot of speech sounds - reference list and a bit of a guideline for the different ways one can describe the sounds your characters make whilst writing smut. I’ll definitely be referring to it, because I sometimes get stuck on exactly how to describe a particular noise. (aka, “he can’t groan again, he just groaned last paragraph”)

Sounds (noun, both independently and describing speech): breath/breathe, gasp, moan, groan, pant, whimper, whine, shout, yelp, hiss, grunt, cry, scream, shriek, sob, growl, curse, sound, sigh, hum, noise, squeak, snarl, howl, roar, mewl, wail, choke, keen, purr

Sounds (noun, describing speech): rasp, husk, drawl, plea, murmur, whisper, beg

Descriptors (adjective): loud, hushed, quiet, low, high, high-pitched, little, tiny, soft, deep, unrestrained, restrained, strained, breathy, rough, sudden, short, drawn-out, sharp, harsh, hard, thick, smooth, thin, heavy, impassioned, insistent, hungry, passionate, repeated, filthy, debauched, sweet, slow, deliberate, guttural, languid, surprised, husky, distracted, happy, pleased, satisfied, wordless, cut-off, bitten-off, contented, hoarse, extended, long, depraved, aching, choked, strangled, broken, helpless, shuddering, shaky, trembling, urgent, needy, desperate, wanton, shattered, pained, eager

Combine a descriptor and a sound for best effect - for example, “needy moan,” “pleased hum,” or “sudden scream.” You can even use two: “low, rough grunt,” “sweet little cry,” “desperate, filthy noise,” as long as you don’t repeat a word that means the same thing, unless you really want to emphasize it. Avoiding repetition is pretty key here. You don’t usually want to say “hushed, quiet gasp” except on rare occasions when it’s very important how soft the sound was.

Use your own common sense, as well; some sounds and descriptors don’t generally work well together. “Deliberate shriek” probably wouldn’t work well, and neither would “languid grunt,” but again, this is all very situational - play around! Have fun.

Feel free to add to my lists, use for your reference or pass them around. It would be fun to see a randomized generator made, too, I’m just too lazy to do it myself. ;)

[amorphoussystem-deactivated2024]

How much longer until the utopic Solarpunk future where Capitalism is dead and we all live in ecologically sustainable high-tech forest cities? Asking for a friend.

[plantyhamchuk]

Until we make those ecologically sustainable high-tech forest cities ourselves. It’s going to take a lot of us to do it though, so best to spread the word (and gather native tree seeds).

[samiholloway]

And, like, get started now. Then our “weirdo houses” will be the only thing functioning when everything falls apart!

[plantyhamchuk]

The only reason why we don’t live in a solarpunk world right now is because no one has bothered to make it yet. 

We’ll have to make it ourselves, and we’ll have to help each other make it. That’s why it is solarpunk. 

Some resources to consider creating or joining or doing:

Repair cafes - create or join your local repair cafe! Repair stuff, learn how to repair stuff, teach others how to repair stuff.

Map of Makerspaces - make some things! learn how to make some things! teach others how to make some things!

Community Garden Map (note that this is US-only, and not a complete list) - join a local community garden

Support your local farmers / local economy (US only link)

Support or create a local Food Not Bombs chapter

Support or create a local Food Not Lawns chapter

Grow food in 5 gallon buckets

Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity (as a bonus you can learn extremely practical skills)

Volunteer via 350.org to help the environment / the planet / the place we live and depend on

Excellent-and-still-growing wiki from reddit’s awesome r/zerowaste community - great resource to learn how to live more lightly on the earth

Spread the word about solarpunk, especially to engineering students. Show them projects like Open Source Ecology - Global Village Construction Set and Bridges for Prosperity 

Learn how to Patch a Hole, Mend a Seam, and Fix a Hem

Learn how to repair a hole in the sole of a shoe

Learn some basics on passive solar design - clever use of the sun can create extremely energy efficient homes and buildings. You can use these principles to save on energy bills, even if you’re renting.

Free USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, 2015 revision - cut down on personal food waste! Learn how to safely preserve food. Very useful if you suddenly harvest / purchase for crazy cheap in season / dumpster dive a ton of perishable food.

Donate to One Acre Fund, which provides training and capital to farmers (making them more productive and pulling them out of poverty) in various east African countries

Donate to Bridges to Prosperity, which provides technical expertise, money, and volunteers, to help local people build and maintain their own footbridges in extremely isolated rural areas 

joining r/solarpunk, and sharing links/ideas/art/music with the community. Also, upvoting stuff for greater visibility. There’s over 900 members!

[bravestghost-deactivated2019070]

shading colour tips

hey yall its me the Art Mom™ to help you shade pretty

rule 1: DO NOT SHADE WITH BLACK. EVER. IT NEVER LOOKS GOOD. 

red- shade with a slightly darker shade of purple

orange- slightly darker and more saturated shade of red

yellow- i think like..a peach could work but make it a really light peach

green- shade with darker and less saturated shade of blue or teal

blue- shade with purple

purple- a shade thats darker than the purple you’re using and maybe a little pink (MAYBE blue)

pink- darker shade of red

white- a really light lavender or blue..or i guess any really light colour??

black- okay listen dont use pure black to colour anything unless you want to leave it with flat colours because you cant really shade black lol

grey- a slightly darker shade of purple or blue (less saturated)

brown- slightly darker and less saturated shade of purple or red

aaaaand thats all i got lol. let me know if there is anything i should add to this list!!

[valmoxium]

If you’re a visual learner…

I made some Balls of Colour to go with Art Mom™’s post:

[theangryblueone]

This is lovely and helpful but WHY IN THE DEVILS NAME IS LENNY HIDING IN THE WHITE BALL

[nimblesnotebook-blog]

Guide to Writing Steampunk

BASICS

Punk Genres: most common genres are in italics

Atomicpunk: Optimistic retro science fiction based on the Space Age. Think The Jetsons.

Biopunk: This genre is about altering genetics and DNA. These stories often take place in the near-future in which humans have been altered or in which human experimentation is common.

Candlepunk: Similar to clockpunk, but darker and with less technology.

Clockpunk: Think Da Vinci’s inventions, but more advanced while. This genre follows the aesthetics and technology of Western civilization during the mid to late middle ages, though sometimes it’s set in the Victorian era.

Cyberpunk: Has advanced technology and often focuses on artificial intelligence and the cyber world. The setting is often near-future rather than far-future. Blade Runner is an example.

Dieselpunk: Based on aesthetics and technology between World War I and World War II, sometimes up until the Cold War.

Decopunk: Ranges from the aesthetics of the 1920’s to the 1950’s. Decopunk aesthetic is heavily based on modernism. Less gritty than dieselpunk.

Elfpunk: Basically urban fantasy, but with common high or epic fantasy creatures put in an urban setting rather than vampires and werewolves.

Nanopunk: Similar to biopunk, but biotechnology is less available and nanotechnology is common.

Sandalpunk: Set in ancient worlds, such as Rome, but with advanced technology.

Splatterpunk: Extremely graphic and contains a lot of gore.

Steampunk: This genre gets its name from the heavy steam-powered technology involved. Aesthetics are based on the Victorian and industrial eras of the Western world, though other cultural elements may be used.

Western Steampunk: Similar to steampunk, but with Western (as in Wild West) aesthetics and settings.

So why are there so many sub genres? For starters, they help agents and publishers get an idea of what they’re in for if you’re going through the traditional publishing route. While bookstores usually just put these genres within science fiction or fantasy, you can still market your book through sub genres to reach a specific group of people who are looking for these genres.   However, there are a lot of sub genres, most of which many have not heard of. If you’ve written one of these genres and intend to publish it, the best would be to put it under another name (with the exception of steampunk, cyberpunk, and biopunk). For example, if you have written a candlepunk story, you can propose it as fantasy, alternate historical fiction, or any other genre it may fit in. While atomicpunk is quite common, it’s not well known by that name. If you have written an atompunk story, the best way to market it would be to call it retro science fiction.   But what’s the difference between punk genres and historical fiction? The technology is a big difference. It’s usually more advanced for the time it’s modeled after.

  TECHNOLOGY

The technology is one of the defining aspects of steampunk. It’s the basis for the world you’re writing in. For the typical steampunk story, technology will be (of course) steam powered.

  A Guide to Steampunk Gadgets and Technology

Airship

Steampunk Airships Inspiration

Steampunk Blimps

Technology Steampunk Instructables

Steampunk Technology Inspiration

How Steampunk Works

Steampunk Gadgets

100 Functional Steampunk Gadgets

CHARACTERS & FASHION

Another defining feature of steampunk is the aesthetics and the characters. Steampunk takes the latter part of the word (punk) to mean the opposition of the mainstream, though that’s not always necessary in your story.

Research jobs common in the Victorian age and add steam to it. Your characters will revolve around their setting and their clothing may be a part of that too.

Steampunk Archetypes

Steampunk Clothing References

Steampunk as Aesthetic

Steampunk Character Inspiration

Steampunk Character Building

Characters, Personalities, and Personas

READING

Best Steampunk Books

Steampunk

Best Steampunk and Gaslight

Favorite Steampunk/Alt History

Best Fantasy, Steampunk, and Science Fiction BDSM

Asian Steampunk

Buttkicking Female Steampunk

Best Steampunk YA Books

Best Unknown Steampunk

Steampunk Adventures

Gay Steampunk

Best Vampire Steampunk

Steampunk Novels and Short Stories

Best of Cyberpunk

Best Cyberpunk Books

Books with Cyberpunk Themes

Books About Video Games and Virtual Reality

MORE

Researching Steampunk

A Brief Introduction to Steampunk

Steampunk Tropes

What is Steampunk?

So You Want to: Write a Steampunk Story

Steampunk Inspiration

8 Tips and Tricks Every Steampunk Writer Should Know

Writing Steampunk Fiction Tips

Kady Cross Shares her Secrets to Writing Steampunk

Tips for Successfully Creating Steampunk

Steampunk Wiki

List of Writing Steampunk Resources

Steampunk: a List of Themes

How to Write Steampunk

Writing Steampunk

Tips for Writing Steampunk

CYBERPUNK

Cyberpunk

Technology in Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk Technology

History of Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk Esstentials

What Happened to Cyberpunk?

Cyberpunk Fashion (2) (3) (4)

Cyberpunk Attitude