83 posts
Post offices. Wild, I know. But give me the unhinged kind. Pingeons and little postal dragons all over the place. You enter. The most disgusting smell fucking assaults your nostrils. You know what it is. Letter in hand, you go up to the counter. The postal worker is just a slightly bigger pigeon. You shed a tear.
PLAYGROUNDS!! Create the most dangerous kinds of playgrounds, the ones suburban moms would TRIP if they ever saw one. Monkey bars that are way too tall, swings that go full circle... The metal slide stays the same, it's already painful enough.
PARKS!! MAKE IT ALIVE!! Show people going on walks, reading beneath trees. C'mon most of them are already hundred years old (And are going to die after that CR 15 creature wrecks the town) anyways!! Show couples and picnics, show a family enjoying the sunday, give me someone picking flowers for their loved ones.
A bakery! Do you know how much these places are underrated? And do you know how much plot potential they have? Every good story starts with food poisoning or granny's recipe! Give me a place your players/readers are going to treat like home and, for once, it's not a tavern or a guild.
Government buildings! Give me a town hall that has a kilometric line in front of it. Give me a registry that is as old as this town. Give me police stations! Give me courtrooms! Make one of your players get arrested and now all of the party has to go through burocracy like a bunch of normal people!
(Who am I kidding? You don't need to make them get arrested. They are going to do that for you.)
Touristic attractions! Give me a full-on statue of the country's leader! Give me museums! Give me streets, ruins and whatnot that attract thousands of tourists everyday! Give me an annoying city guide that tries to get the party's attention everytime!
Magazine stands! Magazines don't exist? Newspaper stands! From the Queen's Journal to the most questionable new piece of Fox's Tailtracker, you have it all! Make your players doubt what's actually happening, sprinkle a little fake news... Or is it fake at all?
...Toy stores. OK HEAR ME OUT. Make magic toys; miniature skyships that actually fly, metal toy dragons that expel fire, little wands that make little light spells, wooden creatures that can move and make noises... Make children happy! And your players too because they will waste their money on these stuff.
Instrument store!! Make your bards happy with special instruments or just weird ones! Give me a battle in one of those that is just filled with funny noises and the worst battle soundtrack ever!!
Not exactly a place but... Cleaning carts!!! Show me people cleaning the streets, picking up the trash, cutting trees!! Make the town look clean!! Give me an old man that is really proud of his work!!!
(or ways to make your players feel even worse when the villain destroys the town later on :) )
In some ways, this post's topic sounds obvious, in others . . . not so much. On the surface, the tip seems simple, and yet, it is easily and often overlooked.
Your protagonist must be a problem-solver.
Yup.
A problem-solver.
I don't care if she's the laziest, most passive, most dimwitted person on the planet, within the context of the plot, she must be a problem-solver (even if a reluctant one).
Otherwise, she'll feel like a weak character.
Otherwise, the plot will feel weak.
Of course, I'm sure you can find rare exceptions to this.
But 99% of the time, your protagonist needs to be a problem-solver.
So let's talk about why.
Why it's Important for The Character
Imagine a protagonist who doesn't problem-solve. She encounters the antagonist, reacts emotionally, but doesn't do anything to try to win the conflict, or at least gain the upper hand of the conflict. She won't be interesting for very long. It's hard to care about what happens to her, when she's putting no effort in to resolve it, when she doesn't care enough to try to fix it herself. It may start to feel like she's stuck in a loop--just circling the same internal responses over and over again, never really progressing, never really moving on.
Sometimes writers mistakenly think this makes her more sympathetic, but in reality, as counterintuitive as it may sound, the opposite is true. Audiences lose interest or become annoyed.
We've all met people who talk, and whine, and fume about their problems but don't do anything to better their situation. We may feel sorry for them at first, but eventually, we want them to take action to improve their predicament. Often we may even find ourselves giving advice (or in some cases, doing the problem-solving work for them).
We feel the same way about characters.
Your protagonist doesn't need to be the next Sherlock Holmes or Violet Baudelaire to be a "problem-solver."
At the most basic level, what this means is that when she encounters an antagonistic force (a problem), she's coming up with--or perhaps shifting--goals and plans (however big or small, or grand or modest), and taking action to try to make those a reality.
If she's not doing that, she's probably too passive in the plot and not exercising enough agency. The story is happening to her, but she's not doing anything to make the story happen. She's not influencing the direction of the story.
When the protagonist is the one coming up with goals and plans, and implementing them, the audience becomes more invested in her. They want to stick around to see if she's successful. She also now holds some accountability over what happens--the consequences--and that actually makes her more interesting and more sympathetic. What happens, good or bad, is on her. She holds responsibility.
If your protagonist isn't problem-solving, it may be a sign that her wants aren't strong enough. Solid stories will showcase the protagonist's deepest desires (however big or small, or grand or modest), what she would sacrifice almost anything to obtain, avoid, or maintain. If the right desire is in jeopardy, the protagonist should naturally be driven to problem-solve. Characters with strong wants are more compelling. And in reality, we all have powerful wants we house deep within our hearts.
Great stories will test and challenge the deep desires of the protagonist's heart. And if that's not happening, you likely haven't figured out your protagonist's deepest desires or you need to alter the character so that she desires what she desires more deeply. Don't settle on something she kinda wants. Find what she'd be tempted to sacrifice her life for--literally or figuratively (meaning her current lifestyle). What does she want to obtain, avoid, or maintain bad enough, that she'd consider doing things she wouldn't ordinarily do? That's the kind of want you should showcase--whether it be obtaining recognition as employee of the month, avoiding responsibility by taking on a new identity, or maintaining control by offing all rebels.
It's usually helpful to focus on an abstract want--obtain recognition, avoid responsibility, maintain control--that can then manifest into various concrete goals. Most people aren't going to give their "lives" to become "employee of the month," but many have gone to such lengths to obtain recognition; becoming employee of the month is just one way to obtain that. So even if the goal seems modest on the surface, tie it to a deep abstract want. (A bit of a tangent, but it's useful, so I left it in here 😉)
When the protagonist is problem-solving, it conveys to the audience what she cares about. If the rebels are increasing in power, and she doesn't do anything about it, then obviously she doesn't really care about being in control very much. That's not a deep desire of her heart. So we need the protagonist to problem-solve to help convey character.
And finally, if she's not struggling to overcome (problem-solving), she's probably not growing through a character arc. She's stagnant. She's not changing her worldview as she strives for success, nor is she wielding her beliefs, growing in resolve. This can make any attempt at an internal plotline feel repetitive or nonexistent, because the character isn't progressing on an internal journey. She's just stuck in the same spot.
Why It's Important for the Plot
Solid stories will showcase the protagonist's deepest desires, and even if those desires are abstract (obtain recognition, avoid responsibility, maintain control), if the character wants them bad enough, they will manifest into concrete goals (employee of the month, new identity, off the rebels) that have specific plans (show up on time to work, move to a new city, locate the rebels' base).
So the protagonist has a goal. The antagonist opposes the goal.
And since there should be an antagonist for nearly every scene, this means there are problems in nearly every scene.
If the protagonist isn't trying to solve those problems, by adjusting his goals and plans, then it's likely the plot isn't properly progressing. Like I mentioned with the internal journey above, the external journey probably feels repetitive, or in some ways nonexistent. It's just circling the same situation over and over, in the toilet bowl.
If you find yourself arguing against this, then it's likely because another character is the one doing most of the problem-solving, in which case, it's also highly likely that character is the true protagonist, and your "protagonist" is really more of a viewpoint character spectating the external plotline.
The plot needs conflict in order to progress properly. If the antagonist shows up, and the protagonist allows himself to just get beaten, it's not strong conflict. Sure, stuff is happening, but if the antagonist is hammering him to the ground without his resistance, it's not much of a conflict. It's passive victimization. And while that might work in a scene or two, it's not going to hold for a whole story, or even a whole act.
A passive victim isn't a problem-solving protagonist. Obviously.
So, suffice it to say, your protagonist needs to be a problem-solver.
Character Name:
First Name:
Last Name:
Nickname (if any):
Basic Information:
Age:
Gender:
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:
Nationality:
Physical Appearance:
Height:
Weight:
Build:
Hair Color:
Eye Color:
Scars or distinguishing marks:
Personality Traits:
Positive Traits:
Negative Traits:
Background and History:
Family Background:
Parents:
Siblings (if any):
Childhood:
Education:
School/College/University:
Major/Area of Study:
Favorite Subjects:
Least Favorite Subjects:
Career/Profession:
Current Occupation:
Previous Jobs (if any):
Career Goals:
Hobbies and Interests:
Hobbies:
Interests:
Relationships:
Marital Status:
Romantic Relationships (if any):
Friendships:
Closest Friends:
Relationship dynamics:
Strengths and Weaknesses:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Goals and Ambitions:
Short-term Goals:
Long-term Goals:
Fears and Insecurities:
Common Fears:
Insecurities:
Quirks and Habits:
Quirks:
Habits:
Beliefs and Values:
Religious or Spiritual Beliefs:
Moral Code:
Political Views:
Favorites:
Favorite Foods:
Favorite Books:
Favorite Movies/TV Shows:
Favorite Music:
Favorite Color:
Dislikes:
Disliked Foods:
Disliked Activities:
Pet Peeves:
Miscellaneous:
Talents or Skills:
Secrets (if any):
Motivations:
What drives the character forward?
What are their ultimate aspirations?
Character Arc:
How does the character change or evolve throughout the story?
Feel free to adapt and expand upon this template!
I got a laptop with Windows 11 for an IT course so I can get certified, and doing the first time device set-up for it made me want to commit unspeakable violence
Windows 11 should not exist, no one should use it for any reason, it puts ads in the file explorer and has made it so file searches are also web searches and this cannot be turned off except through registry editing. Whoever is responsible for those decisions should be killed, full stop.
Switch to linux, it's free and it's good.
Seems like the silliest question ever but every idea I have seems so unoriginal. Do you tips or exercises to get the creativity going?
I do! I have plenty of pep-talks and resources for this sort of thing, so I’ve organized them here by method (prompts/playlists/advice/inspiration/etc)
Articles
Coming Up With Scene Ideas
Coming Up With “Original” Ideas
How To Turn A Good Idea Into A Good Story
How To Motivate Yourself To Write
Reasons To Improve Your Lifestyle
Tips & Advice for Aspiring Authors, Writers, and Poets
Healthy Forms of Motivation
How To Have A Productive Mindset
How To Fall In Love With Writing
Writing Through Mental Health Struggles
Why “Burnout” Is Oay - The Creative Cycle
How To Actually Get Writing Done
Playlists
Things To Listen To When You’re Working
Classical & Instrumental
Ambient
Sad Scenes
Chase Scenes
Epic Scenes
Fight Scenes
Angst Scenes
Fun Montage Scenes
Climax Scenes
Calm Scenes
Resolution Scenes
Romantic Scenes
Action Scenes
Science Fiction
Our Day Will Come
Contemporary Poetry
MORE
Prompts, Prompt Lists, & Writing Challenges
Dark Quotes & Prompts
Challenges For Different Types of Writers | Part II
Angst Prompts
31 Days of Prompts : January 2018 Writing Challenge
20 Sentence Story Prompt
Dramatic Prompts
Suspenseful Prompts
Sad Prompts
Romantic Prompts
31 Days of Horror : October 2019 Writing Challenge
31 Days of Fantasy - December 2020 Writing Challenge
Fake Relationship Alternate Universe Prompts
Assassin Alternate Universe Prompts
Soulmates Alternate Universe Prompts
Advice & Pep-Talks
Restarting Your Writing Passion
On Hating Your Old Stuff
Depression As An Inhibitor
Dear Writers Who Are Hesitant To Start Writing
“All First Drafts Are Crap” – My Thoughts
Getting Back To Writing After A Long Hiatus
Wanting To Finish A Story You’ve Fallen Out of Love With
Getting Motivated To Write
Getting Burnt Out Near The Finish Line
–
Masterlist | WIP Blog
If you enjoy my blog and wish for it to continue being updated frequently and for me to continue putting my energy toward answering your questions, please consider Buying Me A Coffee, or pledging your support on Patreon, where I offer early access and exclusive benefits for only $5/month.
do you miss the charm of the 90s/00s web where sites had actual personality instead of the same minimalistic theme? are you feeling drained by social media and the constant corporate monopoly of your data and time? do you want to be excited about the internet again? try neocities!!
neocities is a free hosting website that lets you build your own html website from scratch, with total creative control. in their own words: "we are tired of living in an online world where people are isolated from each other on boring, generic social networks that don't let us truly express ourselves. it's time we took back our personalities from these sterilized, lifeless, monetized, data mined, monitored addiction machines and let our creativity flourish again."
web3 has been overtaken by capitalism & conformity. websites that once were meant to be fun online social spaces now exist solely to steal your data and sell you things. it sucks!! building a personal site is a great way to express yourself and take control of your online experience.
the best part about making your own site is that you can do literally whatever the hell you want! focus on a specific subject or make it a wild collection of all your interests. share your art! make a shrine for one of your interests! post a picture of every bird you see when you step outside! make a collection of your favorite blinkies! the world is your oyster !! here are some cool example sites to inspire you: recently updated neocities sites | it can be fun to just look through these and browse people's content! space bar | local interstellar dive bar creature feature | halloween & monsters big gulp supreme peanutbuttaz | personal site dragodiluna linwood | personal site patho grove | personal site
sound interesting? here are some guides to help you get started, especially if you aren't familiar with html/css sadgrl.online webmastery | a fantastic resource for getting started with html & web revival. also has a layout builder that you can use to start with in case starting from scratch is too intimidating web design in 4 minutes | good for learning coding basics w3schools | html tutorials templaterr | demo & html for basic web elements eggramen test pages | css page templates to get started with sadgrl background tiles | bg tiles rivendell background tiles | more free bg tiles
want your site to be cool? here's some fun stuff that i've found blinkies-cafe | fantastic blinkie maker! (run by @transbro & @graphics-cafe) gificities | internet archive of 90s/00s web gifs internet bumper stickers | web bumper stickers momg | gif gallery 99 gif shop | 3d gifs 123 guestbook | add a guestbook for people to leave messages cbox | add a live chat box moon phases | track the phases of the moon gifypet | a little clickable page pet adopt a shroom | mushroom page pet tamaNOTchi | virtual pet crossword puzzle | daily crossword imood | track your mood neko | cute cat that chases your mouse pollcode | custom poll maker website hit counter | track how many visitors you have
also, there's actually a pretty cool community of people out there who want to bring joy back to the web! melonland project | web project/community celebrating individual & joyful online experiences. Also has an online forum melonland intro to web revival | what is web revival? melonking manifesto | status cafe | share your current status nightfall city | online community onio.cafe | leave a message and enjoy the ambiance sadgrl internet manifesto | yesterweb internet manifesto | sadly defunct, still a great resource reclaiming online social spaces | great manifesto on cultivating your online experience
i want everyone to make a neocities site because it's fun af and i love seeing everyone's weird personal sites that they made outside of the control of capitalism :) say hi to me on neocities
i'm AWARE this is a stupid hill to die on, but like. trope vs theme vs cliché vs motif vs archetype MATTERS. it matters to Me and i will die on this hill no matter how much others decide it's pointless. words mean things
I needed this drag. Let’s change guys and not look back
We need like “unclench your jaw” posts but for eye strain. Like
Go look at something 20ft away for 20 seconds.
after eddie introduces a demogorgon to one of his hellfire campaigns, the kids get a little squirmy. they're nervously looking at each other and aren't engaging as excitedly as they usually do. when he calls time, he watches dustin rummage through his backpack and produce a walkie talkie.
he watches, a bit dumbfounded, as the kid demands a 'check-in'. all at once, multiple different voices come over the channel. stating a name and then saying 'safe.' ("nancy, safe." "robin, safe." "max, safe.")
"steve?" dustin demands. there's only static. "steve!" a little more frantic this time.
"he left to pick you up." a female voice replies, "he's probably fine. you'll see him soon."
none of the kids look particularly pleased, and pack up hastily. eddie and the other hellfire members all share confused glances. he, more morbidly curious than anything else, follows the little sheep as they hurry out of the school.
dustin is fucking restless as they all stand in the empty parking lot. he won't stay still and none of them are answering any of eddie's questions. and he only gets more confused when a brown beemer pulls in, windows down and playing depeche mode through the speakers. dustin goes to sprint towards it, and he has to hold him by the collar to stop him getting run over.
the beemer pulls up and steve harrington, in all his glory, steps out, frowning. dustin wrenches out of eddie's grip and all but bodies the guy, wrapping arms tightly around his midsection. steve, still looking puzzled, hugs back. lucas and mike trail after dustin.
"we called a check-in." dustin says, a bit muffled from where his face is smushed into steve's shirt. steve goes sort of pale, and- and presses a goddamn kiss to the top of henderson's head before tightening the hug.
"shit, i'm sorry." and eddie believes him. he sounds so guilty. "i meant to replace the batteries before i left. sorry, i'm okay." dustin pulls back and scrubs at his eyes. lucas takes his place, though the hug he gives is more like one of those bro-hugs jocks seem to love. steve smiles regardless. he just ruffles mike's hair, who pouts in response but looks relieved nonetheless.
"asshole." he mutters. "rule four, walkies on at all times." steve nods as the kid half-heartedly waves goodbye to eddie and hops in the backseat of the beemer. lucas follows. dustin seems reluctant to walk around the car, to take his eyes off steve for even a second.
"you wanna stay over tonight?" steve asks, warm and gentle. he folds his arms and in that moment eddie thinks they look sort of like brothers. "robin and me were gonna watch some films. we can call your mom from mine."
the kid nods, looking a bit happier. steve slaps him on the back and motions him to get in the car. dustin swivels to hug and say goodbye to eddie (who sort of forgot he was physically present in this moment) before doing as he was told.
steve turns to eddie. which- whew! hi pretty eyes.
"sorry." he smiles and eddie can't for the life of him figure out what he's apologising for. "they, uh- yeah. them." he gestures vaguely at the car and eddie just chuckles.
"hey, man, no worries." he says, a little breathless that he's having a conversation with the steve harrington. "they okay? never seen henderson look so rattled." steve nods, then seems to think better of it and just shrugs. cocks his hip to the side (stop fucking staring at his hips, munson, lord!)
"they will be." he glances back at the beemer, which is now full of childish bickering. pauses to think and then asks, "you using demogorgons in your campaign right now?"
eddie blinks at him. "yes? yeah. what the fuck- how do you know what that is? what-" steve just laughs.
"long story." there's a haunted look in his eyes before he continues, "just, uh- that's probably what upset them. demogorgons and us- them, i mean-" he waves his hand. "bad memories. hard to explain, but... if you could..." he doesn't need to ask, seems like he doesn't know how or even if he's allowed.
"got it, ill tweak the campaign." harrington smiles at him, something small and genuine, and murmurs a thanks. offers him a fucking lift, which eddie declines, motioning to his van. harrington just nods, tells him to get home safe and then clambers back into the car, yells at the kids to put seatbelts on with all the exasperation of a single dad, and pulls away.
eddie watches them go, having seen a side of harrington he'd thought dustin had been lying about. steve harrington, the caring babysitter, everyone's older brother, a changed man.
he starts escorting the kids to the parking lot more often.
Hey everybody it's me Natalie and it's been NaNoWriMo for a hot minute. It kinda snuck up on me this year so I don't think I've talked about what I'm doing this year. Well, you can come see for yourself over at https://www.patreon.com/posts/oathbreaker-ch-1-74022737 where I've posted Chapter One of Oathbreaker, A Crusader's Tale: Of the life and doings of Sir Reynold d'Morwen, Marquis of Eldur.
Oathbreaker is a return to my Nameless Queen universe (for y'all who've been reading along, it deals with events immediately before Brood and then immediately after The Carnival of Carnal Delights) during what can best be described as a highly fictionalized take on the Baltic Crusades. It follows the rather harrowing misadventures of Reynold d'Morwen, a boy from Morwen Vale who took holy orders to escape justice for a terrible crime and now finds himself part of a military order, the Knights of St. Vitus, where he's dragooned into a war of conquest and faith with the vicious and fearless barbarians to the north of his homeland. Thrown into a life wherein every moment of existence is an act of faith and war, Reynold is forced to grow up hard and fast and make some hard decisions about who he is, what he stands for, and what it means to do the right thing.
I'm me, so obviously there's going to be a lot of thud-and-blunder action violence wherein no swash remains unbuckled coupled with lots of queer pining and anticlericalism. Come see all the exciting attractions, such as: How Freydis' battle plan from Carnival worked out. Fantasy Cathars and Fantasy Bogomils. The omnicidal omnisexual cannibals (aka the good guys). Guys making bad decisions that end very badly for everyone involved. Guys who are just being bros with their bros who are definitely guys until it turns out they're girls. Giant spiders. Awkward teenagers in love bumbling into each other. And lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of religious trauma!
You can head on over to https://www.patreon.com/posts/oathbreaker-ch-1-74022737 to read Chapter 1: Four Hares and a Priest along with like . . . a shitload of other stuff for the low low price of $2 American. New chapters every other Wednesday.
Acacia: Since ancient times, acacia has been associated with purity and innocence. It is also a symbol of resurrection and new beginnings.
Amaryllis: Amaryllis is a symbol of passion and desire. It is also associated with strength and courage.
Anemone: Anemone is a symbol of grief and sorrow. It is also associated with hope and new beginnings.
Azalea: Azalea is a symbol of love, passion, and desire. It is also associated with beauty and elegance.
Carnation: Carnation is a symbol of love, affection, and appreciation. It is also associated with motherhood and childbirth.
Chrysanthemum: Chrysanthemum is a symbol of longevity, happiness, and good luck. It is also associated with death and mourning.
Daisy: Daisy is a symbol of innocence, purity, and simplicity. It is also associated with childhood and new beginnings.
Delphinium: Delphinium is a symbol of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. It is also associated with royalty and nobility
Frangipani: Frangipani is a symbol of love, passion, and desire. It is also associated with beauty and elegance.
Gardenia: Gardenia is a symbol of purity, innocence, and grace. It is also associated with love and admiration.
Gerbera Daisy: Gerbera daisy is a symbol of new beginnings, happiness, and joy. It is also associated with optimism and hope.
Hyacinth: Hyacinth is a symbol of love, passion, and desire. It is also associated with grief and sorrow.
Iris: Iris is a symbol of faith, hope, and wisdom. It is also associated with royalty and nobility.
Lily: Lily is a symbol of purity, innocence, and chastity. It is also associated with resurrection and new beginnings.
Lily of the Valley: Lily of the valley is a symbol of purity, innocence, and sweetness. It is also associated with new beginnings and springtime.
Magnolia: Magnolia is a symbol of love, beauty, and elegance. It is also associated with femininity and motherhood.
Orchid: Orchid is a symbol of love, passion, and desire. It is also associated with beauty, rarity, and luxury.
Rose: Rose is the most popular flower in the world and has a wide range of symbolism. It can symbolize love, passion, desire, beauty, romance, friendship, gratitude, and respect.
Tulip: Tulip is a symbol of love, passion, and desire. It is also associated with springtime and new beginnings.
Flowers can be used to foreshadow events or themes in a story. For example, a writer might use a white rose to foreshadow a character's death, or a red rose to foreshadow a romantic encounter.
Flowers can be used to represent characters' emotions or motivations. For example, a character who is feeling sad might be described as holding a wilted flower, or a character who is feeling passionate might be described as surrounded by roses.
Flowers can be used to create symbolism that is specific to a particular culture or region. For example, in some cultures, the lotus flower is a symbol of purity and enlightenment, while in other cultures, it is a symbol of death and rebirth.
There are so many great Tumblr Blog stories here! But things are best when organized! Here you are! I’m going to use Tumblr Blaze in a couple weeks to spread this to everyone, but if all of you can reblog this to everyone you know, we can spread the joys of Tumblr to EVERYONE!
Credit to https://www.tumblr.com/dannnnnnnnnnnnex/700073427344736256/love-how-tumblr-has-its-own-folk-stories-yeah-the
The God of Arepo (graphic novel 1 / 2 / 3) (ebook)
The Monster of Sentan
The Witch’s Cat
Raise Both Children
Stabby the Roomba (honorable mention)
Cinderella Marries the Prince (comic)
My Arch Nemesis Cynthia
Pirates and Mermaid
Eindred and the Witch
The Demon King
The Cornerwitch
Grandmother Beetroot
Apocalypse Daycare Worker
Grandmother Accidentally Summons a Demon
New Year Saga
A Story About Changelings
Ranger in the King’s Forest
The Difference Between a Hare and a Rabbit
Goblin Men (Canines)
Faceblind Prince Charming and Cinderella
The human who died of radiation poisoning after repairing the spaceship
The defeat of the wizard who made people choose how they’d be to be executed
Doctors Without Borders
The Queen with Three Cursed Children
25. Tiny Dragon with one coin hoard
26. Haunted house
27. Shark hero was about to go rogue
28. Grandma lives in the woods comic
29. A Different Aftermath comic
30. Battery (microstory but I love it so much)
31. It’s A Date comic
32. Supervillian kidnaps rival’s kid and they want to stay
33. Narrative Town
34. I have been hired to clean the wizard tower comic
35. Robot Apocalypse
36. The Statues That Do Not Weather
37. Kushiel
38. Tooth Fairy
39. Alien abduction
40. Felonious wish-granting
41. When humans met actual space orcs
42. Space cousins
Well, now they’re categorized.
https://www.tumblr.com/inkvoices/700033965299531776/love-how-tumblr-has-its-own-folk-stories-yeah-the
https://www.tumblr.com/lightningladybug/699931426130444288/love-how-tumblr-has-its-own-folk-stories-yeah-the
https://www.tumblr.com/blitzlowin/699840636252225536/love-how-tumblr-has-its-own-folk-stories-yeah-the
Also, this is a RWBY-positivity BLOG, so please watch RWBY
teach me?? how to draw?? the action of kissing????
Step 1. yearn
Part 1 of big "how to chibi-fy this flower????" guide is here!!! 🥰
I’m sorry friends, but “just google it” is no longer viable advice. What are we even telling people to do anymore, go try to google useful info and the first three pages are just ads for products that might be the exact opposite of what the person is trying to find but The Algorithm thinks the words are related enough? And if it’s not ads it’s just sponsored websites filled with listicles, just pages and pages of “TOP FIFTEEN [thing you googled] IMAGINED AS DISNEY PRINCESSES” like… what are we even doing anymore, google? I can no longer use you as shorthand for people doing real and actual helpful research on their own.
E.A. Deverell - FREE worksheets (characters, world building, narrator, etc.) and paid courses;
NotionByRach - FREEBIES (workbook, notion template, games, challenges, etc.);
Hiveword - Helps to research any topic to write about (has other resources, too);
BetaBooks - Share your draft with your beta reader (can be more than one), and see where they stopped reading, their comments, etc.;
Charlotte Dillon - Research links;
Writing realistic injuries - The title is pretty self-explanatory: while writing about an injury, take a look at this useful website;
One Stop for Writers - You guys... this website has literally everything we need: a) Description thesaurus collection, b) Character builder, c) Story maps, d) Scene maps & timelines, e) World building surveys, f) Worksheets, f) Tutorials, and much more! Although it has a paid plan ($90/year | $50/6 months | $9/month), you can still get a 2-week FREE trial;
One Stop for Writers Roadmap - It has many tips for you, divided into three different topics: a) How to plan a story, b) How to write a story, c) How to revise a story. The best thing about this? It's FREE!
Story Structure Database - The Story Structure Database is an archive of books and movies, recording all their major plot points;
National Centre for Writing - FREE worksheets and writing courses. Has also paid courses;
Penguin Random House - Has some writing contests and great opportunities;
Crime Reads - Get inspired before writing a crime scene;
The Creative Academy for Writers - "Writers helping writers along every step of the path to publication." It's FREE and has ZOOM writing rooms;
Reedsy - "A trusted place to learn how to successfully publish your book" It has many tips, and tools (generators), contests, prompts lists, etc. FREE;
QueryTracker - Find agents for your books (personally, I've never used this before, but I thought I should feature it here);
Pacemaker - Track your goals (example: Write 50K words - then, everytime you write, you track the number of the words, and it will make a graphic for you with your progress). It's FREE but has a paid plan;
Save the Cat! - The blog of the most known storytelling method. You can find posts, sheets, a software (student discount - 70%), and other things;
I hope this is helpful for you!
☕️ buy me a coffee! ☕️
me: *writes fic*
me: great! time to post to ao3-
ao3 summary box: *exists*
me:
ao3 summary box:
me:
ao3 summary box:
me:
Want more like this? May I please direct your artistic attentions to the NyxNaiaStock Romance Pack on my Ko-Fi shop for more. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
Things that will make your computer meaningfully faster:
Replacing a HDD with an SSD
Adding RAM
Graphics cards if you're nasty
Uninstalling resource hogs like Norton or McAfee (if you're using Windows then the built-in Windows Security is perfectly fine; if you're using a mac consider bitdefender as a free antivirus or eset as a less resource intensive paid option)
Customizing what runs on startup for your computer
Things that are likely to make internet browsing specifically meaningfully faster:
Installing firefox and setting it up with ublock origin
adding the Auto Tab Discard extension to firefox to sleep unused tabs so that they aren't constantly reloading
Closing some fucking tabs bud I'm sorry I know it hurts I'm guilty of this too
Things that will make your computer faster if you are actually having a problem:
Running malwarebytes and shutting down any malicious programs it finds.
Correcting disk utilization errors
Things that will make your computer superficially faster and may slightly improve your user experience temporarily:
Clearing cache and cookies on your browser
Restarting the computer
Changing your screen resolution
Uninstalling unused browser extensions
Things that do not actually make your computer faster:
Deleting files
Registry cleaners
Defragging your drive
Passively wishing that your computer was faster instead of actually just adding more fucking RAM.
This post is brought to you by the lady with the 7-year-old laptop that she refuses to leave overnight for us to run scans on or take apart so that we can put RAM in it and who insists on coming by for 30-minute visits hoping we can make her computer faster.
anyway just a reminder for the myth lovers out there
king arthur was welsh. merlin was welsh. camelot was in wales. the lady and the lake she pops out of; welsh. excalibur; magic inanimate welsh object. etc.
on the way to see family, i drive past a lake that in which is welsh legend, is the last resting place of excalibur.
i’m just saying in my experience a lot of these legends had been so anglo-fied in the past and it’s like, all this cool shit is celtic welsh legend.