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Puidoux, Switzerland | by Martin Adams

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Look at these two, ready to help and or take the quartz right out of your pockets in the process!  Happy hunting!

A couple of NPCs here to help you track down giant flamingo herons.  I was real lazy by the time I started working on Ylmir down there, she deserves better :{ 

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Look at this wonderful artist and all her wonderful art! :3

Since everyone else is doing it I guess I’ll get in on the meme. #ArtVsArtist #artvsartist2018 #artvartist #digitalart #anime #gameart #fanart #furryart #furryartist #animeartist #digitalartist

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Cheddar, United Kingdom | by Thomas Tucker

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I'm worried about these awkward moments in my pairing's early relationship when they're both nervous and not sure what to say half the time. It's written from only one of their POV, so I could fill the awkward silence with MC's observations etc, but I don't really know where the line between tension and boring is for this type of situation. If this were a movie it'd be one of those uncomfortable lengthy scenes where no one does or says anything and at first it's funny but then it's just weird...

Finding that specific line for your story isn’t something you’ll find on the internet; you tease that sweet spot out with multiple thorough critiques because the answer is so context-heavy. 

However, I can still give you tips for general scenes like this:

There’s a difference between “observation” and “thought”. (This also might just be an interpretation thing on my end, but it’s worth mentioning.) When you say “observation”, I think of the narrator describing the scene whereas “thought” deals with personal voice. Description follows what your character is focusing on, so if they start describing other things then they aren’t focusing on the awkward moment at all– they’re just looking around. Voice would get more inside their head and can narrate literal thoughts (”She’s biting her lip– is that good or bad?”)

Make sure you know your character’s voice. Conveying the true awkwardness of the situation is going to come from how well you can write how this person would think in a situation that they personally find to be awkward. Not everyone freaks out. Not everyone cares. There are a wide spectrum of reactions and you should know the most appropriate one. Strong voice is what can carry moments like these, particularly by giving them flavor that helps avoid the “boring”.

You also avoid the “boring” by not dragging it out. This really shouldn’t take up a lot of space. I want to give a word count or sentence count, but there are multiple ways to write it and I don’t want to make you think that you’re struck writing it a certain way. In the end, remember that word count shows pacing, but I’d definitely not go beyond about 1 full paragraph or the word-count equivalent. I’d also not recommend you jam the moment into literally 1 full paragraph. This might be a good time to mess around with one-sentence paragraphs (link embedded) since they can show pauses. Writing structure affects pacing!

Be careful about trying to make it “funny”. Comedy is one of the hardest things to pull off in writing, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it. Being careful just means that you shouldn’t try and force the reader to laugh; integrate any “funny” to the point of where it doesn’t trip up the scene. It shouldn’t matter whether the reader laughs or not– however the character can definitely be in an amusing situation and react accordingly. 

Sometimes simplicity is best. You don’t want to over-write this moment because when something is awkward, you aren’t really thinking, you’re just… waiting… and too much thought can take away that ‘silence’. A well-placed one sentence paragraph helps use the blankness of the rest of the page to help convey the “blankness” of mind

I’ll reiterate the critique thing, because this question is touching on such a specific line that advice should really be given at a specific level– which I’m unable to do. Your character’s narration style should also affect how this is written out (related to voice).

Good luck and I hope you got some ideas!

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Hi, I need to describe terrain for my planet. You know, like ocean, desert, tundra, rainforest, savannah, etc. Perhaps give me a rundown of basic facts of everything like climate. How about changes between terrain like when ocean meets desert, you can't find sea caves here, right?

Miri: You don’t need to describe the entirely of your world, only the parts that the characters are seeing. Start there, and don’t bog yourself down in the other details.

Constablewrites: Doing it that way will give you more specific search terms to focus on. For the last part of your ask, you might try looking up “ocean desert transition zone,” or even just “sea caves”

What you’re referencing are called “biomes.” This site (http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/index.html) is aimed at kids, but has a pretty solid breakdown of the various types and how they’re defined. Looking at pictures or video of real world examples of the various biomes might help if you’re struggling with description.

Werew: http://octoswan.tumblr.com/post/77439447520/i-made-these-as-a-way-to-compile-all-the Useful Geographical Descriptors for Writers

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Look at these guys!  Just a few of many many variations of Terror Bird’s you can get in game and ride, except for the Mistral in the bottom left, he isn’t big enough to ride, but is a great pet :3

The terror birds never stop?  An inked painting dump of some bird heads I’ve been needing to do.  

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This is so amazingly fabulous.  Amazing.  Fabulous.  Love it so much.

Thank you so much to the amazing @tashataku  for this wonderful piece!!!  

Sorry for blasting this everywhere, but I’m just really happy with how this came out for the most part. 😭 If y'all enjoy the art I’ve been doing for Roshanri please be sure to checkout their game page! You can also get discounts for your own custom character art, by yours truly! www.Roshanri.com

#gameart #digitalart #dnd #DungeonsAndDragons #rpgart #rpg #magic #fantasyart

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How to write a kiss

Rebloggable version, as requested by davrosbro. :)

Oooh!  Yes!  I love kisses.  Kisses are where it all starts ;).

Okay, first, remember that a kiss is much, much more than just lips.  It is lips, but also tongues, teeth, eyes, faces, hands, noses, bodies, heartbeats,  breath, voice- and most importantly, a kiss is emotions.  A kiss without emotion is just wet mushy lips stuck together.  Ew.  Gross.  The most important part of a kiss isn’t the how, but the who- because of the emotions between the two people.

Okay so:

lips- Lips can slide, glide over each other smoothly, or they can be chapped and rough and dry and get stuck on each other.  They can match, top-to-top and bottom-to-bottom, or they can overlap, with one person’s top or bottom lip captured between the other person’s lips (yummy).  If there is lipstick or chapstick there is lipstick or chapstick flavor, otherwise, lips don’t have a taste (can you taste yours?).  Lips also can smack- the sound of two of them coming together or pulling apart, because they’re wet and warm and soft.

tongue- Tongues are always wet, and always warm.  They’re very versatile.  They can trace over lips, teeth, or another tongue.  They can be smooth and graceful or teasing and flicking.  When tongues are involved, there is drool.  It’s only sexy when you like the person you’re kissing, or else it’s kinda gross. :P

teeth- teeth can clack together awkwardly, or teeth can bite down sensually.  A person biting their own lip is cute, a person biting another’s lips is sexy.  A person biting gently is sensual, a person biting roughly is sexual.

eyes- Eyes can be wide open with surprise, half-lidded with desire, fully closed with pleasure.  Eyes can gaze lovingly, lustfully, wistfully, hungrily, seductively- it all depends upon the emotions of your characters.  Have them do whatever you like, but don’t leave them out- give them at least a mention!

faces- Faces are what the lips are attached to.  Noses bump, cheeks flush, ears turn red, foreheads either wrinkle or relax.  Kisses can leave lips, quite easily, and become kisses on chins, cheeks, noses, foreheads, ears, necks, throats.  Kisses on noses or foreheads are cute and adorable, kisses on cheeks are sweet, kisses on chins, ears, and throats are very sexual.  And a kiss on the lips can be all of those! <3

hands- Hands are super-important.  In order to describe a kiss, usually you want to also describe the hands.  Where are they?  Does one character have their hand behind the other’s head or back, holding them close?  Are they on someone’s shoulders pulling them near, or pushing them away?  Fingers brushing someone’s cheek or palms grabbing someone’s ass convey two very different kinds of situations, even if the kiss itself is exactly the same.

noses- Noses are annoying.  They easily get in the way, especially for first kisses!  People have to tilt their head to one side or the other, and if they don’t, noses bump.  I’d only mention noses if a kiss is supposed to be awkward or uncertain or nervous.

bodies- bodies are either close together, or far away.  Someone can be surrounded comfortingly by someone’s arms, or terrifyingly trapped by them.  Bodies are warm or hot, they are calm or nervous, relaxed or tense.  Body language says a lot.  Is your character pulling away, or moving closer?

heartbeat- Hearts can beat fast or slow, and that’s about all they can do- but there are lots of reasons why they do!  A heart can beat fast with fear or excitement or nervousness; a heart can pound with lust or race with terror or sing with joy.  Hearts can glow, cower, or shatter.  When you really want to drive the emotions of a character home, mention the heart.

breath- To me, the most consuming part of a kiss is the breath.  The air that someone else has just breathed going deep into your lungs is very intimate.  Lips and tongues don’t have a taste, but breath does.  Each person’s breath tastes different, smells different, and surrounds a person differently than anyone else’s breath.  Breath can be warm and sweet, breath can be hot and sexy, breath can be hot and frightening.  It is something that is very present and should not be left out.  A lot of writers leave breath out.  And it’s so important; it’s the most intimate part of a kiss.  Someone else is breathing into your lungs, and it’s either heaven or it’s hell.

voice- Voice conveys much, even without words.  A voice can groan, whimper, gasp, moan, catch, whine, scream, sigh.  Voice can convey emotion powerfully, and while some kisses are silent, usually they’re not.

emotion-  Emotion is the most important- and the thing you try not to say.  You want to describe it, through all of the things above, so that it’s perfectly clear what your characters are feeling, without you ever using the “feelings words”.  If they’re in love, their bodies will lean close, their eyes will smile, their voices will giggle softly.  If they’re nervous, their palms will sweat, their noses will bump, their voices will shudder.  If they’re afraid, their muscles will be tense, their faces will grimace, their lips will not open.  Emotion is the color that you keep inside your mind as you write; it’s the base line that drives the description behind everything else you say.

Wow, that was a lot!  Gosh I hope it wasn’t too much!  Keep in mind not every kiss has all these things- this is just a list of things to consider when writing a kiss, and based on how long of a kiss you want to make.  Keep in mind that typing “they kissed for a long time”…that’s six words, it takes half a second to read, so that’s a short kiss!  If you want a long kiss, you need long sentences that make the reader linger.

So maybe to start off, pick three things on the list to describe in your first kiss.  Don’t try to do it all- that would be too much for even the most epic kiss.  Just pick what’s most important to this particular scene, to these particular characters, and describe those parts along with the lips, and you’ve got yourself an awesome, emotional kiss. <3

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hey there! do u have any advice for clearing up loose ends in writing? my MC needs to abandon someone to an uncertain fate for the story to progress but i feel like i just kinda, left that there and it feels weird. or is a little ambiguity a good thing? advice would be awesome, thank you!

You don´t need to tidy up anything if you made it clear why/ out of what reasons they had to abandon the other character. If that is given, then that´s fine. The good thing about a little ambiguity is that you could bring the character back at any point if you feel it would benefit the story. 

If you didn´t you might need to either rewrite the scene(s) where they chose to abandon the character, or give the readers a conclusive ending (maybe they find traces of their survival or death etc)

I hope that somewhat vague answer answered your question! Feel free to send in another one though!! 

-M

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Why artists and writers reblog their work multiple times:

They posted it late at night and want people to see it in the daytime

They want others to reblog it

They want more attention for it

THEY WANT OTHERS TO REBLOG IT

They have followers in different timezones and want everyone to get a chance to see it

THEY WANT OTHERS TO REBLOG IT

IF THEY REBLOG IT MULTIPLE TIMES, THEY’RE DOING IT BECAUSE THEY WANT ATTENTION FOR IT AND THEY’RE LIKELY NOT GETTING ENOUGH, SO THEY KEEP REBLOGGING IT IN THE HOPES THEY’LL GET SOME

BE A COOL BRO AND REBLOG

THEY’LL LOVE YOU FOREVER

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Squaw Peak Trail, Provo, United States | by Devin Justesen

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Hello (please pardon my poor english), I wondering if this is the right place to ask, my research has led me nowhere. Do you know if climates of countries affect the traditional way of dress? I am trying to find the factors that influence the way a people group would dress, weather, religion, but I cannot find knowledge on google. Are you able to help me?

Constablewrites: Weather is definitely a factor. The very most basic function of clothing is to keep the elements from destroying our hairless fragile bodies, so materials and cuts that keep a person comfortable in a given climate are essential. One thing you might be able to search is “history of fashion in X”, where X is a real-world country or region with a climate and/or culture similar to the one you’re trying to create. Using “fashion” rather than “clothing” in your search terms might help you find more relevant results, as “clothing” tends to refer to individual pieces while “fashion” looks at more widespread trends and conventions. If your local college/university has a fashion department, they probably have classes in the history of fashion or costume.

Also check out this awesome resource from Google: “We Wear Culture: The Stores Behind What We Wear.” https://artsandculture.google.com/project/fashion It pulls information from tons of different museums covering over 3,000 years of fashion history. The header on origin stories might be of particular interest.

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Kelingking Beach, Indonesia | by Tiraya Adam

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Blue blood moon | by Josh Kahen

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“I just might have to treat myself.”