This Is Literally Me. 

Faerie friend of the damselflies. ink and watercolor on paper. there’s tons of damselflies around the stream. It’s very hot out but that doesn’t seem to bother them. hope everyone is staying cool. Instagram | Store

Beautiful words but WHAT IS THAT PEN? I WANT THAT PEN!

Did some writing today :) these are not my words ! The author is unknown (yes, i researched and came up with nothing) so I’m not trying to take away from their work!

I need to start journaling again 🌙🌞

Apps For Writers I Wish I Had

So, as a writer who’s more lazy than my cats, I spend many a sleepless night thinking up apps for me to use to make the process much easier. These are a few of those. 

One: A app where you can enter a name and click ‘search’ and it will tell you if it’s okay to use in a project. You can specify wether it’s a person name, an establishment name, a place name, etc. to refine your search.  A possible name would be ‘Name Check’ or some variant.  Two: a face claim app. You can specify the basics of your character and it will pull up pictures/face claims matching the description. Eg. ‘hazel eyes’ ‘black hair’ ‘male’ ‘freckles’ and so on getting more and more specific. 

Three: an app for job research. You type in the job you have for your character and it pulls up real life accounts of people with that job. It would explain what the basics are, day to day routine, schooling necessary, hazards, time, etc. Note that this only applies to real life jobs, not fantasy

Four: a music app. You give the browser the themes, feelings, etc. of your project and it pulls up music that fits that. Also can define by genre. Also applicable for characters. 

Five: kind of goes along with face claim. A scene reference app. You give the feeling, genre, what you know about it, etc. and it pulls up pictures that match that for you to reference. To see it in front of you. 

Six: This one is sort of like three. Need to write a scene you’ve never experienced? This gives you kind of like a guideline Do’s and Don’ts, if you will. Someone who’s experienced it explains(to the best of their abilities) what they were feeling. You have to know your character well enough to change those feelings to fit your character.  Not for fantasy.   Seven: Character name checking. It’s a fucking pain to have to figure out if this awesome name is available to use in a book or anything that’s going to be written by you. With this, all you have to do is type in the name and if it turns green, it’s safe to use. 

Introducing: #BusinessForBC

Right now, a growing number of businesses are pledging to guarantee birth control coverage for their workers. Why? Because it’s essential health care that helps workers thrive, and because access to birth control fosters more equitable, inclusive working environments. 

Business for Birth Control’s call to action is so important right now, because sexual and reproductive health care is under threat in the U.S. and around the world. Any day now, the Supreme Court will make a decision on two dangerous Trump administration rules that would allow employers and universities — based on their personal objections — to deny birth control coverage to employees and students. And the Trump administration has tried to bully the United Nations to eliminate references to sexual and reproductive health as part of their global COVID-19 plans, ignoring the essential nature of reproductive health care during a pandemic and always. 

Businesses that pledge to be a #BusinessforBC are helping to educate and inspire others in the business community to show their support for accessible birth control for all people. These companies know that access to birth control improves economic and health outcomes. Nearly 90% of women of reproductive age have used contraception in their lifetimes, and access to birth control has been proven to increase education level and wage earning. 

Pledging to guarantee birth control access is part of a larger commitment to racial and gender equity, too: Women of color, especially Black and Indigenous women, face disproportionate barriers to accessing affordable health care. Access to a full range of sexual and reproductive health services is key to addressing historical disparities in unintended pregnancy, maternal mortality rates, and higher rates of breast and cervical cancer. 

Women of color also face greater institutional barriers to promotion in the workplace. Black women and Latinas in the U.S. today earn just over half of what their white male counterparts earn. We have a long way to go, but committing to birth control coverage is one step toward greater racial equity in the workforce and more inclusive economic growth. 

Businesses that have pledged to be a #BusinessforBC include:

Amalgamated Bank

Argent

Bad Robot Productions

CREDO Mobile

Female Quotient

Hims & Hers

Jaya Apparel Group, parent company to Cinq à Sept and Likely

Postmates 

The Helm

The Lede Company

Trillium Asset Management

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Learn more about #BusinessForBC at BusinessForBirthControl.org.

You know, just because you’re white doesn’t mean you can treat people who aren’t as less than human

10 Things I Hate About You (1999) dir. Gil Junger

The Ultimate Positivity Post

Things that make me happy

- drinking green tea - friday nights - reading books on rainy days - no homework - discovering a new tv show - waking up early but refreshed - running down the street when no one’s looking - washing my hair - smiling at strangers on the bus - spending time alone - wandering around my hometown - watching the stars - the smell of old dusty books - being wrapped up in a blanket on a cold night - talking with someone who understands - lying on the grass & cloud watching - picking up flowers - hiking - endless hot showers - first snow - understanding something in maths - being able to look at myself in the mirror - writing in a journal - the smell after rain - listening to music - watching sunrise - breakfasts in bed - adventures - finding the courage to open up to someone - crawling into bed after a long hard day - day dreaming - breathing in the cold air after a long run - taking bubble bath - wind in my hair - falling in love with life

How to write about Grief:

There is no right or wrong way to experience grief. Just as there is no right or wrong way to write it. Everyone is different, each set of circumstances are different. 

The point of this post is to show you how different people react in different ways, and give points on how you might write that, depending on your character and story.

Reactions to Grief

Numbness: Your character may go into auto-pilot and be unable to process the events that have unfolded.

Anger: This can be aimed at other people, at a Higher Being, or at nothing in particular.

Unsteady: Your characters may be unsteady. For example, unable to stop their voice from shaking or they may find it difficult to stand.

Focusing on Others: Your character may disregard their own feelings because they are so overwhelmed and instead concentrate on someone else’s well-being. 

Seek out routines: Amid upheavals, your character may seek comfort in tasks that are familiar and “safe,” such as working, cleaning, making their bed, making absurd amounts of tea or taking a morning walk.

Pretending that Everything Is Okay: Grief is viewed as an emotion that should cease or be concealed once the funeral is over. So people mention the news in an offhand comment, then talk and laugh as if all is right with the world.

Denial: Some people deny the reality of death and convince themselves that the news is a joke or can’t be true.

Reactions from people surrounding your character:

People may avoid your character as they do not know what to say or simply can’t find the right words.

Some may even go as far as to cross the street when they notice your character approaching.

Even people that the character has known for years may act strange or standoff-ish, simply because they don’t know what to say.

On the other side of that, some people may be overly helpful and friendly.

It is not uncommon for estranged friends, family or others to suddenly reappear in a person’s life after they have experienced grief. 

Either because those people want to offer their support and love  or because they’re being nosy and they want to be kept up to date on the “drama”.

Most people will move on from the event fairly quickly if they weren’t emotionally invested. 

Some people may even get annoyed at your character for still being upset weeks or months later.

When talking about the person they have lost:

Your character may recall a memory or tell a story about their loved one, these are possible reactions. (I have encountered all of them.)

Your character may being to cry or get upset at the thought of the person they have lost. 

The person they are talking to may become awkward and avert eye contact when your character brings up the person they have lost. 

Others may ask or tell your character to stop talking about the person they have lost. They may roll their eyes, cough awkwardly, or cut off your character mid sentences so that they can change the subject.

Some people may ask inappropriate questions about the circumstances in which the character’s loved one passed away. Depending on the personality of your character then may react differently. 

Other things to note:

Grief is not constrained by time. 

One of the main problems with grief in fiction is that a character is typically heartbroken for a couple scenes and then happy again. But grief does not evaporate because the world needs saving. 

Allow your character to wrestle with their grief. 

Your character may feel guilty. Your character may feel a twinge of guilt when they laugh or have a good time with someone else; when they do something to remind them that they’re alive, and their loved one isn’t. 

Grief is a game changer. A previously outgoing character may withdraw and isolate themselves. Some people may take grief and/or bereavement as a sign that life is too short; they may make big decisions in an attempt to make themselves feel better and grow away from their pain.

Sometimes grief can help you find your purpose.

At first grief can be all consuming. It hurts and you can’t really control it. It may seem unrelenting. Eventually the grief will become easier to deal with, your character may find the days to be better, but that doesn’t mean that when the grief hits it doesn’t hurt any less.

For most people, grief never really goes away. “Sometimes you have to accept the fact that certain things will never go back to how they used to be.”

It is rare that a person will ever give a long speech about their feelings, a lot of people struggle to even find the words. But that’s okay. Show the reader how your character feels, rather than just telling them.

Don’t pause the plot to deal with the aspect of grief. This could overwhelm the readers and drag the pace down. In reality, life doesn’t just stop due to grief, the world keeps spinning and things still need to be done. Use the character’s grief as a backdrop for the story’s events.  

Yes, grief affects the character’s day-to-day life, goals, and relationships. But it shouldn’t drive readers away or stagnate the story. Instead, should engage readers and produce empathy that keeps them turning pages.

You don’t need to tell your readers that everything will be fine. You don’t need to provide all of the answers.

“Skirting grief and treating it lightly is easy. But by realistically portraying it through a variety of responses and its lasting effects on the character’s life, readers will form a connection with your characters.“

Jez believes in justice

Aureli believes in mercy

Scipio believes in what the situation calls for

does your oc believe in justice, or mercy?

Welcome to the future, where you don’t own anything and the stuff you rent stops working once your phone has no signal.

The Fuck Is Happening?

So usually I suck—and I mean suck—at naming characters. It takes me forever and a plethora of research before I even get a working name. Now? I’ve come up with three off the top of my head, only looking up one name(Aysha) which is fair because of the rarity of it.  Though I came up with some…odd surnames. Greenbay and Greyborn. Like…what? Where did those come from? This is contemporary. Set in real life.