meristudies

[meristudies]

btw the majority of your life will be lived as a adult. yeah i don't make the rules. go have fun in your 40s or 70s or whatever. no one expects you to accomplish everything at 17 or 27. you've got time and in the meantime get some life experience, it will pay off

[meristudies]

this isn't linguistics-specific, but it is very important and deserves to be known:

you don't have to have an institutional affiliation to use @jstor.

there is a free option that lets you read up to 100 articles/month online - which is a lot!! and even the individual subscription is only $19.50/month or $199/year as of july 2024, which is leagues better than having to purchase (or in many cases, "rent") articles individually from the publishers.

the only downside to the free account is that it doesn't allow downloads, which is tragic for those of us who enjoy hoarding pdves, but not necessarily a dealbreaker.

i've seen simply too much lamenting about jstor accessibility for non-affiliates. it's there to use!! go forth and inhabit your research rabbit holes!

[meristudies]

[meristudies]

Want to learn something new in 2022??

Absolute beginner adult ballet series (fabulous beginning teacher)

40 piano lessons for beginners (some of the best explanations for piano I’ve ever seen)

Excellent basic crochet video series

Basic knitting (probably the best how to knit video out there)

Pre-Free Figure Skate Levels A-D guides and practice activities (each video builds up with exercises to the actual moves!)

How to draw character faces video (very funny, surprisingly instructive?)

Another drawing character faces video

Literally my favorite art pose hack

Tutorial of how to make a whole ass Stardew Valley esque farming game in Gamemaker Studios 2??

Introduction to flying small aircrafts

French/Dutch/Fishtail braiding

Playing the guitar for beginners (well paced and excellent instructor)

Playing the violin for beginners (really good practical tips mixed in)

Color theory in digital art (not of the children’s hospital variety)

Retake classes you hated but now there’s zero stakes:

Calculus 1 (full semester class)

Learn basic statistics (free textbook)

Introduction to college physics (free textbook)

Introduction to accounting (free textbook)

Learn a language:

Ancient Greek

Latin

Spanish

German

Japanese (grammar guide) (for dummies)

French

Russian (pretty good cyrillic guide!)

[meristudies]

1 month of writing ideas for Spooktober

Spooky spooky skeleton season! It’s the best time of the year guys. We’re about to hit October, can you believe it?

1 - Write a story titled Pumpkin Spiced Lover

2 - Write a scene of a hectic morning in a family of witches

3 - Write 500 words for your main project

4 - Break

5 - Write a story from the POV of a centuries old vampire

6 - Write a story set entirely in a graveyard

7 - Write a story titled Maple Leaf

8 - Break

9 - Write a poem about the afterlife

10 - Write 500 words for your main project

11 - Write a story about two ghosts stuck haunting the same house, only they died two centuries apart

12 - Break

13 - Write a story where the protagonist is a zombie

14 - Write a story narrated by a Halloween pumpkin

15 - Write 500 words for your main project

16 - Break

17 - Write a story about a small town’s harvest festival

18 - Create a new character profile/sheet for one of your smaller characters

19 - Write a poem titled Sage

20 - Break

21 - Write a story set on Halloween night

22 - Write 500 words for your main project

23 - Write the opening of a thriller novel where a group of people are snowed in an isolated location

24 - Break

25 - Write a story featuring a black cat

26 - Write a story about a ghost in the attic

27 - Write 500 words for your main project

28 - Break

29 - Pick your favorite piece of the month and rewrite from a different perspective

30 - Pick your least favorite piece of the month and rewrite it from a different genre

31 - Go celebrate spooky holiday!

If you’re looking for a place to start with your novel, in a structured and clear-headed way, I have a free novel plan with extra email lessons that you can sign up to now through the [link here] or below!

[meristudies]

Self / Independent Learner's Guide to Language Learning From Zero

-a mini study plan I used this for Spanish, French and Italian, it is my favourite way of starting to learn. It won't teach you the langauge but if this is your first time, if you feel confused and don't know where to begin, this is for you! -this is kinda romance langauge based but might give you ideas if you are learning from a different family too -this is very notebook / writing based since i prefer learning that way Step 1: Preperation

First of all, ask yourself "do i already have some amount of immersion in this langauge?" As humans, we learn from immersion a lot. Songs, but especially visual media is incredibly heplful. I never studied japanese but after watching a few animes i picked up 5-10 random words. Passive vocabulary, being familiar to most common words will be your biggest friend. If the answer is no, before start studying ANYTHING do some immersion. e.g. I watched dix pour cent for French and learned arrêt which means stop because characters were shouting to each other all the time.

After making sure you have some immersion or if you already have some, PREPARE YOUR RESOURCES. Make a file in your computer, reblog tumblr posts, save links. Search for pdfs in google. (x language a1 pdf / x langauge a1 grammar book / x language a1 reading) Free PDF's and and useful websites. The more the merrier. Why? Because when you actually start learning you will slowly realise them half of them are not actually useful, too advance, too simple, not in your preffered style etc. You will en up using same handful amount of resources again and again but before that, you have to TRY EVERYTHING. You are unique and so will be your learning process.

Google x language A1 curriculum. (you can try adding "pdf" at the end of sentence as well) It "probably/ hopefully" exists. If you can't find that way, learn which offical exam is necessary (e.g. for French it's DELF/DALF, in english there is IELTS and so many more) If you are lucky, you can find a langauge teaching enstitute's curriculum and you can find in what order they teach things. This was very helpful for me because sometimes you don't know what to study next, or just want to visualise what do you need to learn, it is helpful. I printed one out and paste it to the back cover of my notebook. You won't need this one YET. I'll explain in a second. Keep reading.

Get a notebook. I don't prefer books while learning from zero because it will be filled with vocabulary you don't know. My pereference is no squares no lines empty ass notebook and colorful pens. I'm a person of shitty doodles. I love to draw and visualise things. It really helps my brain. In A1, your knowledge is absouletly zero and your brain is about the explode with realising GREAT MASS of knowledge you need to learn in order to be "fluent" . So keep things away from being "too much" if you want to avoid a burnout.

Set a timer. If you want to avoid burnout, the secret is always quit when you feel like you can go another round happily. Quit when you are dopamine high. If you study too much, next day you'll wake up tired, want to rest etc. and make it harder for you to create a habit. I did this mistake with French by studying 4-5 hours everyday for around 30 days. I completed my challenge, completly quit and then didn't come back for MONTHS.

You will be re-studying A LOT. Language learning is repetition. You will start by studying "the A1 curriculum". But, because this is your first time your focus will be on the vocabulary and general comprehension. You are trying to re-wire your brain, and learn a different way of thinking and living. It's not easy. It will take time. It will be painful at times. But it is 100% worth it.

After you finished studying your curriculum, you'll take a short break and then study the curriculum AGAIN. For a second time. Because you already know the basics, this time you will be able to focus more on the little things you weren't able to comprehend the last time. e.g. articles or whatever little frustaring thing your langauge has. Also focus more on basic prononciation and especially reading aloud. Find a realistic text-to-reader. Copy-paste a text. Listen and repeat.

Get a new Youtube and Instagram account dedicated to langauge study. How many good resources exists and where they are is really depens on which langauge you are learning. For english, youtube is better. For French, instagram is better. You have to see for yourself. If you get a seperate account for your langauge algorith will learn faster and you won't be distracted by other stuff. Short form engaging videos are the best for absolute beginners. Re-watch things and try to repeat them out loud. It's called shadowing and is your future best friend.

If you want to learn how to speak, you first need to how to write. If you can't write sentences without looking at google translate (or reverso) you won't be able to make up sentences in your head. If you want to learn how to write, your first need to learn how to read. You need to start in this order but also don't be perfectionist. Do it even if you do it wrong. They will be fixed eventually and won't stick. Record yourself speaking even if the text you are reading is 90% google translated. Why? Beacuse speaking will enhance your vocabulary in a way no other thing can and that's the core of reading. So this isn't a linear thing. It's actually a circle!

Step Two! Ok, Sadie, i got my notebooks and read through all the warnings where do i start? *First page: [] means written is target langauge

[x notebook] x= your target langauge

Add something cute and make you feel happy to open up the notebook. It can a drawing, a picture, anything. First page is your entrance to your new home. Make it welcoming.

*[My name is X. I am Y years old. I live in Z.] *Greetings. Main articles if there are any. Yes, no, please, thank you. *What is your name, what do you do for living, how are you, where are you from, how old are you, how many langauges do you speak, numbers from 0-100. If there are multiple way of saying these things and probably there are, just write one. You will eventually learn others. Baby steps. *write a basic ass text of two people having a conversation asking and answering these questions.

*the alphabet and how to pronounce the letters. basic letter combinations that change into a different sound. a youtube video about this 100% exists.

*personal pronouns and if there is a "am/is/are" verb the conjugation of it. (in spanish there is two unfortunately) *artciles and basic noun endings. a couple exemples of nouns in x form but takes y article. *first 5 most common verbs. learn the conjugation, try writing basic ass sentences. (e.g. to come, go, have, speak)

*three more verbs (e.g. to eat, can, to want)

*take some time to fully comprehend. check your curriculum list to look and see if you want to add anything. e.g.for spanish that can be ser vs estar, for spanish is can be "how to ask questions in french" becaue it's way harder compared to other langauges.

*take some break from grammar and learn some vocab maybe. it can be colors, or feelings. (i am sad, i am hungry etc.)

*start studying most common verbs. usually a form of categorization exists. usually it's verb ending. (unless it's a language like turkish where every verb either ends with -mek or -mak lol.) Start with 10- 15 most common verbs. You will also be learning some vocabulary by default. (try to stick to regular verbs if you can, if not that's fine) (Do not learn any verbs you won't be able to use immediately.)

*Learn basic adjectives and how they work so you can form more detailed sentences.

*After comprehending how to form basic positive negative sentences and some verbs, congratulate yourself, because you deserve it! *Learn how tell time. "What time is it? It's x'o clock."

*learn clothing and how to simply describe physical look e.g. hair color, eye color, beard, glasses...

*learn the verbs of daily routine. be able to write a generic ass "i wake up, i do breakfast, i eat lunch at school, i sleep" sort of text.

*demonstratives. this that. these. those. you can add some vocabulary you like. this is a cat. this is a tree. you can add placement adjectives now or later. (the cat is under the sofa. the bird is on the table etc.)

*Now you know a lot of things! Take some time and focus a bit more on the vocab, let your brain process things, do some passive immersion. avoid a burnout at all costs. *learn how to say "there is" (if you want more vocab transportation and city centre themes can be included.) *learn how to talk about your hobbies. This is the generic A1 curriuculum. You are able to understand basic things, you have a generic comprehension. That's all it takes to be considered A1. If you want to pass it though, what you need is a good grammar source. For French and Spanish Kwiziq was very useful. I couldn't find a good online grammar resource for Italian yet. (please ask more experienced langblrs for recs.) Slowly learn more vocab (since A1 is more vocab based. If you hate Anki and Quizlet stuff check Linguno. Actually check Linguno anyway it's a banger and i'm gonna die on that hill.)

If you don't have have native friend to ask questiones and you don't have any ethical concerns ChatGPT can be useful. I'm using it for French for months. Why are we using this particle here, why this and not that, can you give me some example sentences.... you can play guess the animal, ask for writing prompts and then make ChatGpt find and explain your mistakes to you. It's very handy.

*Don't be scared to share about your journey on Tumblr and most importantly ENJOY!

[meristudies]

OK, look, I guess I have to say this...

The killer's identity in a mystery/thriller/horror needs to mean something.

I think a lot of folks read a couple Agatha Christies and came away with all the wrong lessons. So let me clear this up for you: the mark of a good murder mystery is not that the killer is completely impossible to guess.

The response you are looking for from a reader is "ohhh, of COURSE! now it all makes sense!"

You are NOT looking for "wait, what? who the fuck is this guy?"

Introducing a walk-on role on page 5 and then patting yourself on the back for "foreshadowing" it when he's revealed as the killer is stupid, actually. Not only is that not really playing fair with your reader, it also fails to say anything interesting.

Look: The cozy mysteries where the victim is an asshole and everybody in town could plausibly be the killer because everyone has motive? That entire construct is saying something. It's a form that follows function.

The reason why "everyone in the slasher thought the killer was the weird guy who's in love with the final girl, but actually it was the rich/popular guy" is such a common construct is it is taking an expectation we have in society about who is trustworthy and inverting it.

If your killer is the weird creepy old dude, that delivers a message about your world-view.

If your killer is the rich handsome prep, or the scorned lover, or the trans person, or the quiet religious one, or WHATEVER, that is sending a message whether you intend it to or not. So you'd damned well better pay attention to the message you're sending and be willing to own it, or else change gears and put a different killer in the hot seat.

And, yeah, you absolutely can have the take-away message of your piece be "there is no meaning to this, the killer is not significant in any way" but if that's what you're going for, you have to commit to it and build it up through the narrative, not just tack it on at the end for a surprise shock value twist.

[meristudies]

do you feel that sudden, life-changing surge of confidence right before an exam? like, a kind of confidence that tells you that you are fuckin' capable of doing this and it's all in your hands. you have an accurate plan of how to go about it, work hard executing it, and mentally pat your back and cheer for yourself, saying it's all sorted out.

[meristudies]

What to do when you’re in a writing slump

Here are some suggestions on what you can do when that writing slump rolls around. We all have those times when we simply don’t feel like writing and it’s so important to let ourselves know that that’s okay, and that maybe that’s a signal we need to rest our mind.

In order to make sure you’re not letting yourself feel guilty, it’s good to substitue your writing time with a hobby or activity that still makes you feel like you’re growing as a writer, or gathering information for your project — such as doing contextual reading, or practicing your craft. This can really help mitigate that feeling of guilt that’s sure to come over any writer whenever they’re not actively writing.

Do you need help getting your WIP organized?

Pick up my 3 extensive workbooks for writers, with dozens of fully-customisable templates. These are my first ever original E-books and templates available outside of my coaching programs!

The Writer’s ToolBoox contains: The Character Bible, The Plotter’s Almanac, and The World-Builder’s Chronicle

Grab it through the [link here] or below!

[meristudies]

At the end of the day I’m just a girl who likes to bask in sunlight and read books and make silly little annotations and eat fruit and be grateful and find the joy in the mundane and understand that everything is temporary and be completely disconnected when the time calls for it

[meristudies]

[meristudies]

girlies don't forget to make yourself a little treat today little treats are so important for survival

[meristudies]

18/01/2023

Good morning everyone! Long time no see!

I know I have been missing for a long long time but life has just been hectic. Since I finished university already and I had to wait to enrol for my Masters degree, I started working. It’s my first job ever and I’m still trying to adjust to it, but I’m really happy about it!

Studying has been difficult lately but I’m trying to manage as best as I can, so here I leave you a couple of pictures of the books I’m currently (trying to) reading (+ a picture of today’s snowy morning)!

How have you been? I hope 2023 is treating you well and that you have an amazing year!

[meristudies]

27/10/2022

Hi everyone! How have you been?

I honestly meant to post days ago but I have a blister on my tongue that is literally killing me and I haven't done a single thing these days just because of how uncomfortable I am. But anyways, some days ago, I went to the library and spent a lovely morning there, between the warmth of the building and the crsip Autumn air of the outside and it was just amazing.

readingwithlunlun days twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five and twenty-six (I need to stop doing it five days at a time):

— do you let people borrow your books?

Usually yes, at least my closest friends because I've had very bad experiences with other people.

— share a website/app/platform that you use to download books

I will NOT tell you to use z-lib.org . Let me repeat, I will NOT tell you to

— is there a book in your native language you think everyone should read?

I loved La vida es sueño when I read it back in high school. It is a play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca written in the 17th century and, once you read it, you won't be able to stop thinking about it

— best place to read?

Any, as long as there is a candle, a hot drink and a rainy window near it!

[meristudies]

23/10/2022

Good evening everyone! Long time no see!

I have a good explanation for it tho. I recently took up drama and we actually performed yesterday! so I had many rehearsals and very little time to study this week. If any of you were wondering, we did amazing and we are all very happy with how it turned out!

As for studying, I think I have found my motivation for it again so I've been trying my hardest to advance. Moreover, I've begun reading Stephen King's latest novel Fairy Tale, so let's see if I like it better than his previous ones, which I didn't like at all.

How have you all been? I hope you have a great week <3

#readingwithlunlun days eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one and twenty-two

— which book made you cry your eyes out?

I remember literally SOBBING after finishing Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I had grown so fond of the characters that I genuinely did not want to say goodbye to them and see them be happy warmed up my heart a lot.

— which book made you laugh the most?

The house in the Cerulean Sea had some cracking lines, honestly. I expected for it to be a cry-worthy book and instead I found myself laughing out loud in several occasions.

— share a moment from a book where you had to put the book down and take a deep breath

Every single page of Normal People, I was so absolutely done with the characters that I couldn't do it anymore.

— which book did you expect to hate but ended up obsessed with it?

The invisible life of Addie LaRue! Everyone was speaking so highly of it that I was actually afraid of taking it up, especially because none of the other V.E. Schwab's books were actually for me, but I absolutely adored it.

— is there a book you just can't stop reading again and again?

Since I have already mentioned The Chronicles of Narnia and I have already talked about Harry Potter one too many times, I think I will have to go with Six of Crows. Honestly, I was not expecting to like it either but it soon became one of my favourite books and I re-read it any time I can

[meristudies]

18/10/2022

Good evening everyone! How have you been?

As for me, today has been an incredibly productive day. Since romanticising studying is the only way I get motivated to actually do something, I have spent the whole day in the library and let me tell you, it does wonders. Plus, color coordinating your sticky notes with the book you’re reading (since I have started reading The house in the cerulean sea in Valenciano for vocabulary) can make your day 100% better. I hope you have had a great study (or not) day as well!

#readingwithlunlun days fourteen, fifteen, sixteen and seventeen

— which book quote would you use to describe yourself?

The one that first comes to mind is C.S. Lewis's "some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again" so I'll go with that one

— share one of your unpopular opinions on a book/trope/author

I have two: I hated Normal People with a burning passion and believe that relationship is extremely toxic and, second, I do not read Colleen Hoover just because people talk about it too much and it is already annoying (to me! everyone is entitled to their own opinions! <3)

— do you like to read poetry? If so, share your favorite poem with us

I didn't use to like it that much but, being a literature student, I figured that I should try my hand at every type of text and I'm trying to get more into it. My two favourite poems are "Ítaca" by Konstantivo Kavafis and "No volveré a ser joven" de Jaime Gil de Biedma.

— what do you like to drink while reading?

I don't mind as long as it is hot: coffee, tea, milk, hot chocolate...

[meristudies]

14/10/2022

Good evening everyone!

Today’s been a looooooong day and I barely had time to do anything so both photos are from yesterday. After studying for some time, I went to the cinema to watch ‘Halloween Ends’! I was so excited for this movie that I came out pretty disappointed. I thought ‘Halloween Kills’ was far better than this one but, in any case, it remains one of my favourite franchises

#readingwithlunlun days twelve and thirteen:

— share the playlist you listen to while reading

I don’t really listen to any specific playlist. Instead, I look up for study ambiences on YouTube that match the mood of the book I’m reading

— what is the best weather to read?

Is this even a question? Reading while there is a thunderstorm outside is the best way to spend the day, no doubt