hopefulworlds

[hopefulworlds]

Does a magic user generating themself a magic arm replacement, indistinguishable from a real arm to non magic users, fall under the robot arm ruling in?

Some two handed tasks could actually be easier just to do with magic, since this character is very skilled in magic, including fine motor skill style manipulation of objects, including but not limited to things like typing on a physical keyboard.

Full arm gone, lower and upper. The conjured arm is a constant drain in the mana/energy of the caster. Obvs the mana cost per minute and negative effect of it would differ per person, but the character in question is not bothered by it unless using large amounts of magic for other things. If they are under serious strain they would drop the spell and the arm would disappear immediately. The character generates this arm bc they want to, not bc of anyone else.

Hello,

Yes, that is a robot arm fix. Also, you might want to consider exactly how much control something as complicated as an arm would take. The character would need to consciously control every tiny micro adjustment of their shoulder, upper arm, elbow, forearm, wrist, the palm, the knuckles, and every single finger and every single joint. The amount of nerves and muscles and bones in the human arm that are required to make it work, perfectly replicating the function, especially for tiny actions like typing on a keyboard, would be nigh impossible if you had to manually activate your muscles and nerves to move your fingers and wrists just so. That doesn't just take power, it takes immense control and extreme amounts of concentration. Would it even be possible to do something that complicated, creating an entire arm to type on a computer, while also thinking about what you're typing?

Sure, it could be possible, but it would be a monumental amount of work and there is literally no reason for it when they could easier do things like summoning spells or telekinesis spells to do what they want to do. Those wouldn't take the amount of concentration the creation and perfect use of a magical arm would.

If your character is powerful enough to somehow perfectly replicate something as complicated as an arm, they're powerful enough to use magic to create accessibility and accessibility is going to be easier for them and for you as the writer. Plus, magic accessibility isn't a magic fix. Why not try for magic accessibility instead?

Mod Aaron

[hopefulworlds]

That writing advice that's like "if you get stuck, your problem is actually ten lines back" is the realest shit I've ever experienced.

[hopefulworlds]

Something that's been knocking around in my head for a while: I think a lot of new writers get thrown off by their assumption that writing will be anything like reading. Reading is a dreamy, passive experience--scenes, dialogue, and description flow over you as you are taken under the writer's spell. Writing, on the other hand (with the exception, sometimes, of the first draft), is the laborious, almost mechanical-like task of putting narrative elements together so that the reader can lose themselves in your story. In short, reading and writing are very different experiences, and the assumption that they will be, or even should be, the same, is cause for much angst among new and experienced writers alike. It's a frustrating thing, because a love of reading is usually what gets people interested in writing in the first place. I've been writing for several decades and I still feel confounded by this clash--it's part of why I don't read much when I'm deep into my writing, and vice versa. And when I am writing, I constantly have to remind myself: Writing is not watching a magic show. Writing is figuring out how to smuggle the rabbit into the hat.

[hopefulworlds]

🎉 NaNoWriMo is here! 😱 ✍️

Here's some tips on making sure you're all set for success these first few days:

1. Make sure you've set your goal for November! 

You can do this by clicking on your main dashboard. You'll see buttons to either join with a new novel or join with an existing novel.

2. Update your word count! 

When you're knee deep in writing, you might forget to update your word count! Remember to update it when you can, since it helps you track your goals for the month. If you need help updating your word count, check out our FAQ!

3. Connect with other writers! 

Find and join your local region on the NaNoWriMo website to connect with other writers in your area. You can even join multiple regions! You can also create or join a private writing group of up to 20 people. We've shared some tips on what makes a good writing group!

4. Join a NaNoWriMo event!

We're kicking off November 1st this year with a series of Write-Together-A-Thon livestreams where published authors share writing prompts and we all write together on YouTube. Plus, you can check out other virtual events happening through the rest of the month!

5. Have fun writing!!!! 

No matter what happens during this month, just know you already have whatever it takes to bring your story to life. You got this!! 💖

[hopefulworlds]

FINISHED MY MANUSCRIPT AND YEETED IT AT MY LIT AGENT time to get some slee - oh shit NaNoWriMo is here.

Erm.

Right, so if you're like me and you have the opening line of your NaNo project and a vague idea, I'd still like to encourage you to take part in NaNoWriMo. A large number of responses I get at this time are people who drop out in the first week. You have a whole month! If you need some nudging to stay in the game, please consider:

Any writing done by the end of the month is more writing than you had before. The biggest benefit of NaNoWriMo is having accomplished something, be it 50000 words or a couple of chapters. Using NaNo as a tool to carve out writing time can be really useful, and it's worth giving a try if you've had trouble figuring out how to get things done.

You don't have to write a book. You don't even have to work on the same project every day! Whatever needs writing - those fanfic drabbles, that personal essay you really want to publish, those three ideas you can't pick between - can be written during NaNoWriMo.

NaNoWriMo is a great way to connect with other writers, both local and online. Listen, it's hard to find other writers. My current group is spread across the world and we have trouble pinning down Discord meetups. Sometimes finding an in-person group can really help, but how to do that is hard. NaNoWriMo can be a chance to find people you vibe with - or don't vibe with, but can sit next to for an hour to write in silence. Anything helps.

No writing is bad writing. Even if you never look at it again, sitting down to write is like working out. You are practicing and improving your skills, even if you don't realize it. The only way to get better is to keep doing it.

You don't have to win. You don't have to write every day. You can even lower your goals to 300 words a day and still being doing NaNo, because you're putting in the work.

You can jump back into NaNoWriMo at any time. Have a bad day? A bad week? A final exam you must spend all your time and energy on? Don't give up on Day 3, Day 15, or Day 25. Every day of the month can be a new opportunity to write, no matter how many setbacks you have.

If you've never done NaNoWriMo before, give it a try! If you've tried it before and pounding out a novel in a month doesn't work for you, make NaNoWriMo your own thing. A paragraph a day, a drabble a week - whatever keeps your words flowing, this is the perfect month to set goals and try things out to figure out your writing styles.

Good luck!

[hopefulworlds]

Writing tips for long fics that helped me that no one asked for.

1.) Don't actually delete content from your WIP unless it is minor editing - instead cut it and put it in a secondary document. If you're omitting paragraphs of content, dialog, a whole scene you might find a better place for it later and having it readily available can really save time. Sometimes your idea was fantastic, but it just wasn't in the right spot.

2.) Stuck with wording the action? Just write the dialog then revisit it later.

3.) Stuck on the whole scene? Skip it and write the next one.

4.) Write on literally any other color than a white background. It just works. (I use black)

5.) If you have a beta, while they are beta-ing have them read your fic out loud. Yes, I know a lot of betas/writers do not have the luxury of face-timing or have the opportunity to do this due to time constraints etc but reading your fic out loud can catch some very awkward phrasing that otherwise might be missed. If you don't have a beta, you read it out loud to yourself. Throw some passion into your dialog, you might find a better way to word it if it sounds stuffy or weird.

6.) The moment you have an idea, write it down. If you don't have paper or a pen, EMAIL it to yourself or put it in a draft etc etc. I have sent myself dozens of ideas while laying down before sleep that I 10/10 forgot the next morning but had emailed them to myself and got to implement them.

7.) Remember - hits/likes/kudos/comments are not reflective of the quality of your fic or your ability to write. Most people just don't comment - even if they say they do, they don't, even if they preach all day about commenting, they don't, even if they are a very popular blog that passionately reminds people to comment - they don't comment (I know this personally). Even if your fic brought tears to their eyes and it haunted them for weeks and they printed it out and sent it to their friends they just don't comment. You just have to accept it. That being said - comment on the fic you're reading now, just do it, if you're 'shy' and that's why you don't comment the more you comment the better you'll get at it. Just do it.

8.) Remove unrealistic daily word count goals from your routine. I've seen people stress 1500 - 2000 words a day and if they don't reach that they feel like a failure and they get discouraged. This is ridiculous. Write when you can, but remove absurd goals. My average is 500 words a day in combination with a 40 hour a week job and I have written over 200k words from 2022-2023.

9.) There are dozens of ways to do an outline from precise analytical deconstruction that goes scene by scene to the minimalist bullet point list - it doesn't matter which one you use just have some sort of direction. A partial outline is better than no outline.

10.) Write for yourself, not for others. Write the fic you know no one is going to read. Write the fic that sounds ridiculous. You will be so happy you put it out in the world and there will be people who will be glad it exists.

[hopefulworlds]

a genuine question since I’ve seen this being debated a lot

feel free to give your reasons / thoughts on this but please also remember to respect other people’s opinions

[hopefulworlds]

How I've Won NaNo - Rebel Style

National Novel Writing Month - NaNo - is an event in November where writers aim to write 50K words towards the first draft of a novel. But the traditional way doesn't work for everyone! This is my 14th NaNo, and here are ways I've won other than 50K on a novel.

50K of fanfic

50 hours spent editing a novel

Completing an editing pass of a 68K novel

Completing a novella (30-50K)

50 hours of brainstorming characters, worlds, plots in an effort to refill a dry well

Get Her Done - lining up a list of WIPs and completing as many as possible, adding anywhere from 5K to 25K words to a story

Yes, traditionally you win NaNo by writing a brand-spanking new novel, holding aloft your 1st draft at midnight Dec 1st. But there are so many other ways to win! The goal is to make progress on a writing project, whatever that may be.

[hopefulworlds]

dissertation writing advice

[hopefulworlds]

A Simple Trick for Fic Writers

Hey, if you're a fic writer and a character speaks in a different language, you don't just have to add the translation in the notes. Use the following HTML coding to add 'text on hover' to the word(s). If the reader is on a computer they can hover over the text to see the translation.

<div title="This is the text in the box!">This is the text that shows in your fic!</div>

Here are some examples from a fic on my AO3.

This coding here <div title="a fool, idiot (lit. emptyhead)">Eyn utreekov</div> will show this on hover.

This next example shows that you can add a lot of text. The formatting is the same as above.

PS: When doing this, there may be spacing issues, but you can edit the text through AO3's html or rich text editor. From there you can add italics (like I did), bold, etc, and fix any weird spacing issues. Just be careful not to delete the coding that you worked so hard on 😂

[hopefulworlds]

Sometimes i think about the idea of Common as a language in fantasy settings.

On the one hand, it’s a nice convenient narrative device that doesn’t necessarily need to be explored, but if you do take a moment to think about where it came from or what it might look like, you find that there’s really only 2 possible origins.

In settings where humans speak common and only Common, while every other race has its own language and also speaks Common, the implication is rather clear: at some point in the setting’s history, humans did the imperialism thing, and while their empire has crumbled, the only reason everyone speaks Human is that way back when, they had to, and since everyone speaks it, the humans rebranded their language as Common and painted themselves as the default race in a not-so-subtle parallel of real-world whiteness.

In settings where Human and Common are separate languages, though (and I haven’t seen nearly as many of these as I’d like), Common would have developed communally between at least three or four races who needed to communicate all together. With only two races trying to communicate, no one would need to learn more than one new language, but if, say, a marketplace became a trading hub for humans, dwarves, orcs, and elves, then either any given trader would need to learn three new languages to be sure that they could talk to every potential customer, OR a pidgin could spring up around that marketplace that eventually spreads as the traders travel the world.

Drop your concept of Common meaning “english, but in middle earth” for a moment and imagine a language where everyone uses human words for produce, farming, and carpentry; dwarven words for gemstones, masonry, and construction; elven words for textiles, magic, and music; and orcish words for smithing weaponry/armor, and livestock. Imagine that it’s all tied together with a mishmash of grammatical structures where some words conjugate and others don’t, some adjectives go before the noun and some go after, and plurals and tenses vary wildly based on what you’re talking about.

Now try to tell me that’s not infinitely more interesting.

[hopefulworlds]

you love princess bubblegum bc she's an unethical woman in STEM blah blah blah. ok. I love princess bubblegum bc she gives things ambiguous names that confuse everyone, like 'science will save us' (science is her pet rat) or 'I will be back on the morrow' (the morrow is a bird)

[hopefulworlds]

Ten years ago everyone else on Earth disappeared. Now they are all back. Everyone says the same thing. Ten years ago, everyone else but them disappeared.

[hopefulworlds]

That's actually really common with Native characters, whether they're racebends or not, but there's always this need of people wanting to connect any fantasy elements of the characters, to Native American spirituality or culture, even when the same isn't done for other characters with the same fantasy elements as them.

Like we can't just have a Native American vampire, they feel the need to make this vampire turn into a Native deity. We can't just have a Native werewolf, their lycanthropy HAS to be linked to Native shape-shifting for some reason (& I'll admit this one has the most potential, but every attempt I've seen has STILL been butchered & racist). We can't just have a Native American who is also a wizard, their magic is somehow always linked to them being a "Shaman". There can't just be like a Native version of Superman or other superheroes, their superhero powers always somehow come from or are contact with Native deities.

I think people think theyre being inclusive & clever when they do this, and sometimes it IS out of a genuine desire to acknowledge the characters' culture rather than to just ignore it, but most of the time the cultural & spiritual aspects are butchered & bastardized anyways, so it still misses the mark & hits straight into The Magical Indian trope & Native mysticism. At this point its a pleasant surprise & subversive when their fantasy elements AREN'T linked to Native culture/spirituality somehow. There's ways to include Native characters' cultures into their backstories without stereotyping them & I wish this was understood & that creators strived for it more

[hopefulworlds]

I'm curious

[hopefulworlds]

we have to take immersive fantasy racist microaggressions out of writers' hands forever