#best drafting software

[resdraft]

Why AutoCAD is considered the Best Tool for Drafting Services?

AutoCAD’s combination of precision, specialized tools, scalability, and flexibility has solidified its position as the best drafting tool for structural design. It is a comprehensive solution that meets the demanding needs of engineers, architects, and contractors, allowing them to produce accurate, detailed, and well-documented structural drawings.

[awesomebutunpractical]

I decided that it'd be Fun and Not Awful to try and design some of my One Piece Ladies as Sims. It got into sunk cost philosophy pretty quickly and now you have to look at them. (I do NOT like trying to get good poses out of sims for photos.) What we have is a 7 ft deposed queen out to try and save her son before he ends up a puppet king, a bubbly alchemist castaway who brews and drinks the worst tasting elixirs you've ever seen, an idiot hired thug who just barely loves her many brothers more than she loves a brawl, and an up and coming pop star who joined the Marines after touring the Grand Line.

I'm done pitching, I'm done typing, this was NOT relaxing. I am NOT relaxed. I only KIND OF had fun.

[nehamariamelvin]

Design Smarter with ZWCAD and SketchUp: The Modern Choice for 2D & 3D CAD Excellence

In today’s fast-paced digital design landscape, professionals across architecture, engineering, and construction are always on the lookout for efficient, affordable, and powerful CAD tools. Choosing the right design software is more than just about creating visuals—it's about productivity, accuracy, and seamless communication.

ZWCAD and SketchUp have emerged as top-tier solutions for 2D drafting and 3D modeling, trusted by millions of users globally. Both tools offer user-friendly interfaces, extensive toolsets, and flexible licensing models, making them ideal for businesses and professionals seeking high-value design platforms. Let’s explore what makes these software options stand out and how they can enhance your workflow.

ZWCAD: A Trusted Solution for 2D Design and Drafting

ZWCAD is a professional-grade 2D CAD software that has earned the trust of over 900,000 users across 90 countries. It delivers an impressive balance between functionality and affordability, offering features comparable to industry leaders but with significant long-term cost benefits.

Familiar User Interface

One of ZWCAD’s most appreciated strengths is its intuitive interface. Users can seamlessly switch between Classic and Ribbon layouts, catering to both traditional CAD users and those familiar with newer design environments. This flexibility ensures that users experience a minimal learning curve, allowing them to focus on productivity right from day one.

Compatibility with Popular CAD Standards

ZWCAD supports DWG/DXF file formats, making it highly compatible with files from other CAD platforms. If you’re transitioning from another tool, there’s no need to worry about file compatibility or losing valuable project data. Most commands and aliases remain the same, which means there's virtually no re-learning cost.

Performance and Precision

Designed with a powerful engine, ZWCAD ensures smooth operation even with large files. Features like SmartMouse, SmartSelect, and File Compare boost productivity by reducing repetitive tasks. With native support for LISP, VBA, and ZRX, it’s also highly customizable.

Perpetual Licensing Model

Unlike subscription-only software, ZWCAD offers a perpetual license—a one-time payment that gives you lifetime access. This model is especially valuable for small businesses and freelancers looking to avoid recurring costs.

SketchUp: Bringing Your Ideas to Life in 3D

While ZWCAD handles precision 2D drafting with excellence, SketchUp takes creativity to the next dimension. It’s known globally for its simplicity, speed, and versatility in 3D modeling.

Intuitive 3D Modeling Tools

SketchUp is designed to be the most intuitive way to model in 3D. Whether you're sketching out a new architectural concept or refining product designs, its interface lets you focus on your idea—not on navigating a complex toolset. This means faster iterations, better collaboration, and more efficient project development.

Versatile Design Applications

From architecture, interior design, and construction, to landscape design, film set modeling, and even game development, SketchUp finds applications across a wide array of industries. Its flexibility makes it an ideal fit for both conceptual designs and detailed construction models.

Accuracy from the Start

SketchUp isn’t just for aesthetic presentations. It allows users to design with real-world dimensions and accuracy. You can define materials, set shadows based on geographic coordinates, and even create construction documents from your 3D models. This makes it not just a design tool but a comprehensive project planning solution.

Perfect Combo for Modern Designers

When combined, ZWCAD and SketchUp offer a powerful synergy: 2D precision from ZWCAD paired with the visual storytelling and 3D capabilities of SketchUp. This makes them a dynamic duo for AEC professionals, design studios, educators, and product developers alike.

Whether you're preparing floor plans, creating construction documents, visualizing interior layouts, or building prototypes, the integrated use of both tools can streamline workflows, reduce rework, and enhance collaboration.

Why This Matters to Businesses

Choosing the right tools can significantly impact team performance, project timelines, and overall costs. Here's how ZWCAD and SketchUp provide a competitive edge:

Lower Total Cost of Ownership with perpetual licenses and no mandatory subscriptions.

Quick onboarding due to intuitive UIs and familiar command structures.

Cross-platform compatibility with popular CAD and 3D model file formats.

Scalability for growing design teams with flexible deployment options.

These features make ZWCAD and SketchUp accessible to startups, educational institutions, and large-scale enterprises alike.

Supported and Distributed by Tridax Solution

These industry-standard tools are provided and supported by Tridax Solution, a reputed name in CAD/CAM/CAE services. Tridax ensures seamless deployment, training, and support for its clients, making it easier for organizations to adopt these tools with confidence.

For more information, specifications, demo requests, or purchase inquiries, you can https://www.tridaxsolutions.com/product/zwcad/

Final Thoughts

In a world where design timelines are shrinking and client expectations are rising, adopting the right tools can make a world of difference. ZWCAD and SketchUp are two such tools that empower designers, engineers, and creatives to work smarter, faster, and more efficiently.

Whether you're just starting in design or are an experienced professional looking for a cost-effective upgrade, these platforms are well worth considering. Invest in performance, precision, and flexibility—with ZWCAD and SketchUp, you’re not just drafting or modeling; you’re shaping the future of your creative potential.

[luisfmiramontes02]

Design Your Dream Home with Custom Residential Building Plans

 Luis F. Miramontes provides the perfect architectural plan for your dream residential building. Our expert architects design functional and aesthetically pleasing layouts that cater to your unique needs. From spacious living areas to innovative designs, explore our collection of residential building plans and turn your vision into reality. For more information visit our website.

[fixyourwritinghabits]

AI, Plagiarism, and CYA

Shout-out for all the students gearing up to go back to school in increasingly frustrated times when dealing with all this AI bullshit. As you've probably noticed, lots of institutions have adapted anti-plagiarism software that incorporates AI detectors that - surprise - aren't that great. Many students are catching flack for getting dinged on work that isn't AI generated, and schools are struggling to catch up to craft policies that uphold academic rigor. It sucks for everyone involved!

As a student, it can really feel like you're in a bind, especially if you didn't do anything wrong. Your instructor isn't like to be as tech-savvy as some, and frankly, you might not be as tech-savvy as you think either. The best thing to do, no matter how your school is handling things, is to Cover Your Ass.

Pay attention to the academic policy. Look, I know you probably skimmed the syllabus. Primus knows I did too, but the policy there is the policy the instructor must stick with. If the policy sets down a strong 'don't touch ChatGPT with a ten-foot pole' standard, stick to it. If you get flagged for something you thought was okay because you didn't read the policy carefully, you don't have ground to stand on if you get called out.

Turn off Autosave and save multiple (named) drafts. If you're using Microsoft Word because your school gives you a free license, the handy Autosave feature may be shooting you in the foot when it comes to proving you did the work. I know this seems counter-intuitive, but I've seen this bite enough people in the ass to recommend students go old-school. Keep those "draft 1234" in a file just in case.

Maintaining timestamped, clearly different drafts of a paper can really help you in the long-run. GoogleDocs also goes a much better job of tracking changes to a document, and may be something to consider, however, with all this AI shit, I'm hesitant to recommend Google. Your best bet, overall, is to keep multiple distinctive drafts that prove how your paragraphs evolved from first to final.

Avoid Grammarly, ProWiritingAid, etc. All that handy 'writing tools' software that claims to help shore up your writing aren't doing you any favors. Grammarly, ProWritingAid, and other software throw up immediate flags in AI-detection software. You may have only used it to clean up the grammar and punctuation, but if the AI-detection software says otherwise, you might be screwed. They're not worth using over a basic spell and grammar check in both Word and GoogleDocs can already do.

Cite all citations and save your sources! This is basic paper-writing, but people using ChatGPT for research often neglect to check to make sure it isn't making shit up, and that made up shit is starting to appear on other parts of the internet. Be sure to click through and confirm what you're using for your paper is true. Get your sources and research material from somewhere other than a generative language model, which are known for making shit up. Yes, Wikipedia is a fine place to start and has rigorously maintained sources.

Work with the support your school has available. My biggest mistake in college was not reaching out when I felt like I was drowning, and I know how easy it is to get in you head and not know where to turn when you need more help. But I've since met a great deal of awesome librarians, tutors, and student aid staff that love nothing more to devote their time to student success. Don't wait at the last moment until they're swamped - you can and will succeed if you reach out early and often.

I, frankly, can't wait for all this AI bullshit to melt down in a catastrophic collapse, but in the meantime, take steps to protect yourself.

[winterarmyy]

Steal Me Away

Glimpses of the grumpy chubby alpha!bucky's love life.

Summary: When Bucky was stuck in an unpleasant lunch with his co-workers; he thought about how nice it would be if someone comes and steals him away.

Navigation: Prequel || Main Story I || Main Story II || Main Story III

Pairing: chubby alpha!bucky x omega!female!reader

Words: 2.6k++

Warnings: a/b/o dynamics. no plot, just fluff. low-key body shamming, bullying, bucky and his omega being adorable. (tell me is there's anything else I missed)

P/S: Impulsive writing at 3am in the morning because I couldn't sleep, then left the draft to rot for weeks, now posted. Also tagging @serendipitouslife90 because she's the biggest fan of this au. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this short fic and happy reading! 🤍

Read my other works here: Masterlist

The morning sun filtered through the blinds of Bucky’s cubicle, casting narrow strips of light across his cluttered desk. The office was its usual sanctuary of muted tones and hushed conversations. Colleagues navigated the aisles like cautious explorers, their brief nods to Bucky barely concealing their unease.

He didn’t mind. In fact, he preferred it this way. Solitude was his comfort zone, and he relished the uninterrupted focus on his work.

Bucky tapped away at his keyboard, the rhythmic clacking serving as his meditation. His thoughts were like the lines of code he worked with; orderly, precise, and devoid of unnecessary embellishments. Socializing was a distraction he neither wanted nor needed.

The occasional murmurs of sympathy about his less-than-ideal body shape for an Alpha like him, or the prosthetic arm he wore to make up for his imperfection, had long since ceased to bother him. They were background noise in the symphony of his workday.

Two weeks had passed since Bucky had last seen y/n, their second date now a vivid but distant memory. Their time together had been cut short, both of them consumed by the relentless demands of their careers. Especially for Bucky, the high-pressure world of software engineering was unforgiving.

Ever since he was in school, he always had the knack for tech but as he grew up, his path lead away from it. Then after his abrupt release from military service, he was lost for a moment. He lost his position and quite literally his limb. After he was introduced to Stark Technologies for is prosthetic, his interest in tech bloomed once more.

Fast forward, he had transitioned to civilian life with a single-minded focus on his career. The transition from soldier to software engineer had been a challenging yet rewarding shift, one that demanded every ounce of his dedication.

His days were a blur of client meetings, coding marathons, and sleepless nights, leaving him barely enough time to recharge. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't escape the gnawing sense of guilt that tugged at him.

Y/n had been understanding, insisting that they could take things slow and that she was patient. Yet Bucky felt a pressing need to make up for the lost time, to show her that she was more important than the endless stream of work that consumed him.

His longing for her was a constant undercurrent in his daily routine, a reminder of the connection he cherished and the promises he hoped to fulfill, even amidst the chaos of his demanding schedule.

Lunchtime arrived with an uncharacteristic intrusion; Brock’s insistent presence. Bucky had settled into his usual corner of the break room, anticipating a quiet meal alone.

But Brock, with his usual smirk, plopped down across from him, completely unfazed by Bucky’s visible discomfort.

“You know, Bucky,” he started, his tone laced with false camaraderie, “maybe you should join us for lunch this time. Walk off that fat in your belly, and maybe, just maybe, might help you lose a few pounds and get that soldier body of yours again.”

The comment triggered a ripple of reactions around the break room. A few colleagues, particularly those who fancied themselves as superior alpha, snickered behind their coffee cups, enjoying the moment at Bucky’s expense. The rest of the room fell into an awkward silence; some looked away, unable or unwilling to get involved, while others exchanged nervous glances, wary of crossing the line with either of the alpha males.

Bucky’s mind raced with a mix of frustration and contemplation. Brock’s taunts were nothing new, but the timing was particularly irritating. With his packed schedule and the constant pressure of meeting deadlines, Bucky had barely had a moment to breathe, let alone deal with petty office politics.

The jabs felt like an unnecessary complication in an already strained day. His thoughts were a whirlwind of frustration; he wondered why he always ended up the target of Brock’s remarks and whether it was a reflection of his own choices or just Brock’s way of asserting dominance.

The palpable tension in the room only added to his mounting irritation.

Bucky’s jaw clenched, his irritation simmering beneath a thin veneer of politeness. “Yeah, sure. Why not?” He didn’t bother hiding the grumble in his voice. His work would have to wait, and so would his patience.

The café buzzed with conversation and clinking dishes, an atmosphere of forced cheerfulness that did little to mask the underlying tension. Bucky took his seat with a sigh, his mind already drifting to y/n, the image of her smile a soothing balm to his frayed nerves.

Brock wasted no time in launching his passive-aggressive jabs, each comment about Bucky’s weight or his vibranium prosthetic arm more cutting than the last. Bucky could feel the rage bubbling up, but he forced himself to stay calm, focusing instead on the thought of y/n. The warm glow of her presence seemed to wrap around him, even in the midst of Brock’s taunts.

Brock leaned back in his chair, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. “You know, Bucky, it's always something watching you eat alone. Maybe if you spent less time working and more time mingling; hit the gym with us after work or something. Who knows you might actually find yourself a date for once.”

The remark seemed casual, almost playful, but it carried a veiled sting. It wasn’t just about Bucky’s solitary lunchtime habits; it was a pointed jab at his single status, suggesting that his lack of romantic success might be due to his social ineptitude and undesirable body.

Bucky’s patience snapped. He leaned forward, his voice cold and controlled. “I don’t know, Brock. Honestly, it’s much better to be alone than to ‘mingle’ with someone who’s all bark and no bite.” He fearlessly maintained his cold gaze; eyes seemingly bore the words his lips never spoke. “…Like you”

Brock's face flushed a deep crimson, and his jaw tightened in a futile attempt to maintain composure. He muttered something about needing a smoke before hastily exiting the room, his pride stinging from the unexpected jab. The rest of the team sat in an uneasy silence, the tension almost tangible.

They watched as Bucky’s eyes bore into Brock’s retreating figure, cold and unyielding. There was something almost feral in his gaze, a silent promise of consequences that only someone with true authority and control could convey.

Everyone knew better than to provoke him further; Bucky's look was a chilling reminder that he played by his own rules.

Brock stepped out of the café, his frustration boiling over as he lit a cigarette. With each inhale of nicotine, he muttered darkly under his breath, cursing Bucky and grumbling about how that fat-ass loser like him had the audacity to undermine his clearly more superior alpha status.

His anger was a tempest, raging against the affront to his ego.

As he paced, his gaze drifted to the sidewalk next to the café, where a striking woman in a sundress was engrossed in her phone. The late afternoon sun highlighted the gentle curves of her figure, and her unblemished skin glowed softly, exposed at the back of her neck.

Brock’s eyes raked over her with a predatory appreciation, the male gaze undeniable in his scrutiny.

Her poised stance and soft demeanor hinted at an aura of femineity that intrigued him. A smirk curved his lips as he took another drag from his cigarette, already imagining how he might woo her, hoping that a little charm could be the distraction he needed from his bruised pride.

Back in the café, Bucky was still seated at the table, surrounded by the typical midday hustle, yet he remained ensconced in a bubble of tranquility. His attention was focused solely on his phone, where a soft, contented smile played on his lips. The noise of the café faded into the background as he read through y/n’s messages.

Each word from her was a thread that connected him to a part of his life that felt more real and meaningful than the relentless grind of his daily routine.

Y/n had inquired about his lunch, her questions laced with genuine curiosity. “How was your lunch?” “Was it any good?” “How’s your day been so far?” The inquiries seemed almost innocent, yet they carried a warmth that enveloped him.

And then, the message that tugged at his heartstrings: “I miss you.” It was as if her words had the power to reach through the screen and touch him directly, offering a solace that was hard to find amidst the chaos left from the prior event.

He missed her deeply.

The absence of her voice, the comfort of her presence. He wished that she could just steal him away; or perhaps he would be stealing her away?

Eitherway, he just wants to get out of here.

As he glanced at the time, noting that he still had about thirty minutes before he needed to return to the office, he made a quick decision. He would step outside for a moment, away from the unnecessary drama, and maybe give her a call.

The thought of hearing her voice, even if only for a brief conversation, was a beacon of light in his otherwise frenetic day. As Bucky stepped out of the café, his gaze remained fixed on his phone, where y/n’s last message glowed softly on the screen.

Unbeknownst to him, the scene unfolding just a few paces away was far less pleasant. Brock, still nursing his bruised ego from their earlier encounter by relentlessly flirting with the girl. “Come on, sweetheart, just one date.” Brock said, his voice low and laced with insincere flirtation.

He leaned in close, a smirk playing on his lips as his hand reached out, brushing against her exposed shoulder. Y/n recoiled slightly, her discomfort palpable. “I’m really not interested,” she said firmly, though her voice carried an undercurrent of unease. “and I have a boyfriend.”

Brock’s persistence only grew more insistent. “I doubt that. I can see you do not have his mark here,” he persisted, his hand lingering uncomfortably on her shoulder, close to where her mating mark supposed to reside. Despite her attempts to shrug off his advances, Brock didn’t relent. His touch was intrusive, and his words edged on harassment. And she can sense the scent of arousal coming from the alpha.

Y/n’s eyes darted around, seeking an escape from the unwanted attention. As her gaze fell behind Brock, she caught sight of a familiar figure; one that seemed to offer a lifeline amidst her distress.

“Bucky?” she called out, her voice tinged with both relief and surprise. The name escaped her lips before she could fully process the situation, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of Bucky walking toward them.

Bucky knew that voice. It was a sound that resonated deep within him, as familiar as his own heartbeat. He lifted his eyes from his phone, and the world around him sharpened into focus. The scene before him was both infuriating and unmistakable: Brock, with his sleazy smirk and inappropriate proximity, stood uncomfortably close to Bucky's omega, his hand hovering dangerously near her exposed shoulder.

A surge of primal fury shot through Bucky, a blaze of anger that burned through his veins and coiled tight in his chest. His eyes blazed with a fierce intensity, a low, guttural growl forming in his throat as he prepared to confront the intruder. His body tensed, ready to pounce.

But before he could make a move, y/n was already in motion. She leaped into his arms with a mix of desperation and joy, catching Bucky off guard. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her, holding her securely against his chest.

Her arms clung tightly to his nape, her face burying itself into the crook of his neck as if seeking refuge; shamelessly scenting him. Her warm breath and soft sighs was a soothing cure to his simmering rage.

The anger that had been boiling inside him began to fizzle away, replaced by a profound sense of relief and love. The sound of her happy purrs, the feel of her soft body pressed against his, and her intoxicatingly sweet scent; all of it made his anger dissolve into a tender, protective affection.

A soft chuckle escaped his lips, his arms tightening around her waist as he relished in the comforting closeness. “Hi, sugar.” he whispered, his voice thick with affection and relief.

Bucky's hold loosen as he leaned down, his gentle smile never faltering as he closed the distance between them. His eyes softened with affection, and he pressed his lips against y/n's in a kiss so tender it felt like a whisper. It was a soft, loving caress that spoke volumes more than words ever could.

But before he could pull back, y/n’s playful energy erupted. She cupped his cheeks in her delicate hands, pulling him down to her level with a sudden, joyful enthusiasm.

Her lips attacked his with a flurry of kisses; quick, warm, and full of exuberance. Each kiss left behind a trace of her strawberry-scented lipstick, creating a trail of smudged rosy color across his face. The marks dotted his forehead, his cheeks, his nose, and even his lips, a vibrant testament to her affection.

Amused laughter bubbled up from Bucky, the sound a rare and delightful departure from his usual stoic demeanor. His eyes twinkled with genuine mirth, his grumpy alpha persona completely melted away in the face of y/n’s loving onslaught.

He reveled in the smothering of her kisses, his initial tension and anger forgotten. A satisfied rumble vibrates on his throat, across his chest. The contrast between his earlier anger and the unrestrained joy he now experienced was stark; the shift was almost palpable.

Lost in their own world, the two seemed oblivious to their surroundings. Their display of affection was unabashedly public, a stark contrast to the earlier tension. Y/n looked up at him with bright eyes, her voice filled with eager excitement as she asked if he still had time.

“I want to steal you away.” she said with a playful smile.

Bucky’s smile widened, his heart swelling with happiness. “Of course, sugar. Anything for you.” he replied, his voice tender and filled with genuine warmth.

But as Bucky’s gaze shifted away from y/n and landed on Brock, his soft features momentarily disappeared. His expression hardened, the warmth in his eyes turning to ice. The switch in his demeanor was chilling; an instant transformation from the tender lover to a menacing figure.

The coldness in his eyes was a silent, yet unmistakable warning. It was as though a dark storm cloud had settled over him, a clear signal that Brock's earlier arrogance had crossed an unforgivable line.

The intensity of Bucky’s stare spoke volumes, a silent promise of retribution and a reminder of the strength behind his calm exterior. The abrupt shift in his demeanor was a jarring contrast to the affection he had just displayed, sending a clear message to Brock that any further provocation would be met with unspeakable consequences.

As Bucky and y/n walked hand in hand away from the café, Brock stood there, fuming and humiliated. His attempt to belittle Bucky had backfired spectacularly.

Inside the café, Bucky’s colleagues had their jaws dropped. They were astonished not only by y/n’s ethereal beauty but also by the sight of Bucky, usually so composed and reserved, smiling so openly. They were completely stunned by the unexpected display of vulnerability and affection from the grumpy loner.

The couple continued down the street, their hands clasped together. The afternoon sun cast long shadows as they headed towards their next destination.

Bucky’s smile was genuine, a rare and precious sight as he looked down; memorizing the way her hand perfectly intertwined with his. At that moment, he couldn’t help but think how much he wished y/n would steal him away more often.

End.

Read my other works here: Masterlist

A/N: Thank you for staying to the end of the fic. Hope you enjoy reading it!

[alexanderwales]

One of the software concepts that I found useful to bring over to writing is the concept of technical debt.

Technical debt is the additional work that gets created when you choose a fast option over a good option. It's "debt" because there's a very good chance that at some point you're going to have to repay it: you hardcode in some variables, deciding that you'll figure out the proper way to do it later, and eventually, surprise! It's later. You have to implement the solution you were putting off. And because you've been using the kludge for so long, sometimes that kludge has become load-bearing, and you have to spend quite a bit of time unraveling and refactoring. One of the reasons it's called debt is because you have to pay interest on it.

And the thing is, it's not always wrong to accrue technical debt. Sometimes it helps you get to working on the important thing, and can clarify design details or implementation concerns, and sometimes you can just ship without ever having to do it the "right" way. Sometimes you can wriggle out from under that debt and never suffer any consequences from it, even if there were theoretical consequences when you made the decision to do it the fast way.

The way that this applies to writing is mostly in terms of worldbuilding, character building, and plotting. You can sit down and map a whole novel out without writing a single word, whipping up character bibles and setting details and everything that you might possibly need, all before you write a single word.

... or you can accrue some debt and just gun it, writing as you go, making things up, adding them to some kind of tracking document or just not even doing that.

And as with code, there will come times you have to pay that debt back with interest.

Sometimes you skimp on a character's backstory, and then a few chapters down the road you need to make a decision about it, and suddenly there's a bunch of editorial work as you have to make sure that everything you just decided on matches up with what you've already written. A more extreme example would be writing a mystery novel where you haven't decided on what the answer to the mystery will be until very very late: it would either produce a bad mystery or require tons of rewriting.

As with code, the difficulty is knowing when you're incurring technical debt for a good reason and when you're shooting your future self in the foot.

Here are my rules of thumb for writing, in terms of what's acceptable technical debt:

Plot stuff should not wait. You should have a resolution for your story within the first few chapters of writing that story, and ideally, before you even start.

Everyone (and everything) gets a name the first time it appears. You cannot say "the gardener" a dozen times because you don't want to think of a name for the gardener.

All magic systems and superpowers and whatnot should be rigidly defined before they come onscreen. This doesn't need to be known to the characters, and "soft" magic has less of a requirement, but having rules be thought up midway through a fight scene is essentially the definition of generating technical debt.

Descriptions take little effort to bring into alignment, so can be skipped on first draft, so long as there is a description there. Having descriptions written afterward can help to understand mood and requirements of the scene.

Backstory is really variable, depending on how relevant to the plot it is. If it's going to be driving conflict, it needs to be worked out ahead of time. If it's flavor, it can be winged.

I am, of course, not the best follower of my own advice, and sometimes for very long webfic it's impossible to plan that much in advance. And of course I never go into every work having had every idea I'm going to have, and some of those ideas are good enough to include even if they disrupt a plan and require some refactoring.

[bkblaise]

hello i love ur art <3 may i ask how you shade/render? or if you can share any helpful tutorials you learned from ^^

Unhinged Art Tutorial

Well, anon and @merlucide! I'm not sure if I'm the best person to learn from (I'll attach some video links at the end to people who I personally look to for art advice) but I happen to have a series of screenshots for how i render with a strawpage drawing I did recently(at the time I drafted most of this a month+ ago), so I'll go over what I do, at least in this case.

Warning: A bit rambly. Not sure if intelligible.

Tutorial..? Explanation? under the cut.

I have a few different shading styles based on ease of program usage and effort level, but in this case i had to individually streak the shadows. I'll be focusing on hair and skin for the most part here.

My sketches are pretty poor, because I'm hasty:

Honestly I find the better the initial sketch, the easier the final profuct will come. So take your time, use layers when sketching to be clean. The airbrush layering shows vaguely how I tend to shade hair.

Backlighting *Applicable mostly when there is a bright background, light behind the subject, or in neutral lighting.

The 'underside'/inside I tend to use a peachier, brighter tone closer to the skin color (for tanned skinned characters I'd use a shade closer to a rosy orange, since that's just a more saturated peach. For darker skinned characters, I'd recommend a slightly redder & brighter version of their skin tone. This works pretty well with dark hair+dark skin, but in the case that your character's hair color is a lot lighter compared to their skin tone [also in the case of a fair skinned character with WHITE hair] it's totally fine to ignore the natural undertone of the character and shade it with a pinkish white.) This works for any hair texture but can be more time consuming for coily hair textures. (2c-4c)

Lineart when I take my time / Old rendering video

It looks more stable if you start off with a solid lineart base because you won't struggle with big-picture placement issues.

"Lineart" when I just try to pump out a drawing

I first did a rough sketch, kept it as an overlay layer and drew over it.

(Chickenscratching is valid though, honestly. I think it has a look to it!) I usually block out base colors, and vaguely where I want the shading to go, unless I need a special type of lighting, which then I'd do the base colors and either choose to wait until I'm finished rendering or do light processing* (*will discuss this later in this post) with different blending modes and layers.

For example if I'm doing the colors mostly FIRST (Choosing a grayed out palette) and then rendering, it'd look a little something like this: Left (Trackpad, on FireAlpaca) / Right (iPad, on Clip Studio & Procreate)

Sometimes, I'll shade with a dark, grayed out tone and then fill it in with something slightly more vibrant. This kind of gives it a bounce-light feel? Also with a lot of pieces I do recently I try to block out entire parts as white because lighting especially on white background pieces looks better if you pretend that it's white behind the character due to an intense sunlight.

Also, I use gradient layers to tweak with the colors. It's pretty useful and looks nice!!!! Gradient maps are available in every software I use: Procreate, FireAlpaca and Clip Studio Paint.

I find that the more intense the light (but not scattered, as in the source is either very bright or it's very close) the darker the shadows usually look? And if there's a brightness coming from behind the figure and the hair is splayed out in some way, it will appear semi translucent because it's just a bunch of strands made of keratin and collagen, something like that....

Anyway this is all very messy but I hope it helped

Here's a process photo for how I shade if that helps too.

More examples..

I broke down my thought process in my lighting so here's a close up of that.

i totally forgot about the video links so here's my idol the one and only:

And I think this guy makes quick but concise tip videos:

Finally I really like the in depth professional explanations from a long time illustrator:

I've personally taken advice from all three's videos and used them to improve my own art, so take a peek!!!!

[jinmindeulle]

proven chemistry | lee juyeon

𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 lee juyeon x fem!reader

𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 1.3 k

𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆 fluff | college au

𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 none

you see juyeon laughing with someone else and, driven by jealousy, you finally admit how you feel about him.

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ 　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　 ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚

You have always known that Juyeon wears his heart on his sleeve. He couldn’t hide his true reactions even if he tried, and that’s something you loved about him. Sometimes it could be hard to get explanations out of him, but you can usually guess what’s going on by how his eyes light up, stare in deep thought, or just avoid your gaze. 

“Why is he so giggly?” 

Your best friend looks at you with a tiny smirk, and you know what comes next.

“You’re jealous” she giggles, nodding her head.

“I’m not!” you cease to look at the scene displaying just a couple of meters from you and face Jihye, who is waiting for you to elaborate “It’s annoying how he just flirts with her in the middle of the library.”

“Relax, dear Jesus. He’s just laughing at what she said! They are partners in Mr. Choi’s project, they have to interact with one another. Remember?”

Your Chemistry professor had randomly assigned your partners for your final project. You got lucky enough to have been partnered with Jihye, not only because she was your best friend, but also because with her, choosing the topic was fairly simple: it was either related to environmental or green issues. However, as you sneakily look at the pair again, you wished you were in that girl’s place. 

“What’s so funny about molecules?”

Juyeon had told you everything about their project and how well their first trials on the software had gone. They had decided to simulate molecules and predict their properties, but instead of experimenting physically, they did it virtually. Now, they just had to write down the first draft to hand in.

“I don’t know, but we still have to narrow down the conclusions on this thing, or else Mr. Choi will dump this paper right in front of our eyes!”

Although your chosen topic was way too interesting for you, esterification (making esters for flavors and scents) and how to replace the acid catalyst with an enzyme/greener catalyst to eliminate hazardous byproducts was proving to be nowhere as entertaining as looking at Juyeon from across the room. 

“I think I need to get out of here”

The rest of the evening was spent back at your dorm, surrounded by lab trials on paper, coffee cups, various sweets, and the typing sound in two different laptops going on for the longest time you’ve ever heard. 

“Last one?” Jihye asked with hope, looking at you with reddened eyes. The topic was no longer of you guys’ interest. You just needed some sleep.

“Think so! ‘For the last approach…’” You took the lead, ready to get over with it “‘Lipases (enzymes) were used to catalyze the reaction under mild conditions.’

After typing for some minutes, your best friend added “And we conclude that… ‘Every method proved to be efficient’?

“Well, they all were so…”

“Are we done?”

“Hell yeah”

Your celebratory dance was interrupted by a knock on your door. You checked the time — 9:48 PM. Had your roommate forgotten her key? 

You stretch out on your way to the door, finally feeling your butt after hours of sitting down in the only chair you could bear. You were in the middle of a yawn when you opened it, and of course, he would be there, laughing at you in that state. 

“Still working for Mr. Choi?” Juyeon asked, giggling at the sight of you. 

“How did you guess?” you hid your face behind your hands, trying to make your burning cheeks less obvious. “What are you doing here?”

Completely ignoring your question, he walked past you and greeted your friend, who was already packing all her ‘study pack’, as she liked to call it, to go back to her dorm. 

“You guys have a good night! I can’t handle myself any longer”

Juyeon got himself comfortable on your small couch and eyed you as you started putting your stuff away. “How did it go?” he asked in a low tone, well aware of how strict quiet hours were in your campus buildings. 

“We’ll hand it in on Monday. The topic was fun at the beginning but after writing so much about it, it just fell out of my interest. What about you?”

“We finished it in the library a couple of hours ago. I thought you guys would be there as well.” When you finally sat down next to him, he pressed his back on the armrest so he could better see you. 

“Hye and I decided to leave-”

“Because…” he inquired.

“It was too loud”

“The library?” he smiled, not tearing his eyes away from your increasingly reddened cheeks. “I know you were looking at me. At us” he corrected, his smile turning into a bigger grin.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” You looked away, busying yourself with the hem of your top. 

“Your cheeks seem to know” 

“You were being too loud” you murmured, unable to return the gaze. 

“What? I didn’t hear you” Juyeon replies, clearly messing with you. By this point, it was obvious that he knew more than you’d like to. He showed it, proved it, and said it. 

But how could you just tell him the truth? How could you admit that your heart beats faster when he’s near you? How could you preserve the amazing friendship that had blossomed over college years if you had to tell him that you like him more than that?

“Do you promise not to panic after I tell you?”

“Y/N…” he sighed, making the small distance between your bodies disappear. He took your hands in his, and kissed each one with a care you could’ve never seen coming “I like you too.” And if your cheeks had been red before, you now probably looked like an extra spicy hot sauce bottle. How…? When…? 

“I-I… what?”

“I was testing you out before I said anything. It may have slipped from Jihye at some point…” he giggled at the face you made. That little bastard…“But I wanted to make sure that it was not just another of her ideas. Well… this afternoon, it was pretty clear to me”

“I couldn’t disguise it, huh?” 

“You were shooting daggers at her.” Juyeon chuckled, playing with your fingers. His touch felt so intimate and gentle that you couldn’t stop looking at the way he caressed you “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I felt relieved in so many ways. I had been in the dark about your feelings for way too long and that was a very evident sign.”

“Are you sure you like me?” you whispered, too shy to look at him. 

It had been hard enough to picture what being romantically with Juyeon could look like, that you never wanted to have to do that again. So many different scenarios, so many ways in which he showed his love for you, and so many caring stares that you didn’t want to imagine anymore. Cuddling with him? Kissing until your lips hurt? Meeting his family? Sharing a home? It had to be real, or else… 

Your heart wouldn’t be able to handle seeing him in any other way than being yours.

“Do you want me to prove it?”

You snapped out of your thoughts, ready to finally have a taste of what you have longed for so many years. “Please”

Your whisper was rapidly cut short by his soft lips on your own, his big and rough hands cupping the sides of your face to angle you better. You couldn't help but smile in the middle of the kiss, too entranced in his touch to care to hide your true feelings. He took his mouth away from yours with the cutest smile you have ever seen.

“I might need a little bit more convincing, sir. Just to make sure… ” Your grin was now sly, daring. It was ridiculous how down-bad you were for him. 

“Lee Juyeon at your service, madam” 

His kiss was confident and eager. His lips moved at your pace, making sure he never crossed your boundaries. 

“I’m officially addicted to your kisses” He whispered in between pecks, leaving your lips a little to continue pressing them all over your face and neck.

“How could we miss this for so long?”

“Better later than never, darling.” 

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ 　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　 ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚

back at it! missed writing for my boyz so much 💙

[nanowrimo]

Write Smarter, Not Harder: 5 Ways to Conquer Chaotic Writing

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. ButterDocs, a 2023 NaNoWriMo sponsor, is an all-in-one writing app built for productivity, collaboration, and a more joyful writing experience. Today, the folks at ButterDocs share a few tips on organizing your writing to meet your goals:

NaNoWriMo is about to start, and you're champing at the bit to get to 50,000 words. But that's no easy feat! Because life doesn't stop when NaNoWriMo starts.

You're still going to have climb a mountain of chaos to reach your goal: Chaos like not being able to find your notes and outlines when you need them since they're scattered across multiple apps, or the constant lure of internet distractions.

And of course, once NaNoWriMo ends, the writing process continues. You'll need to get feedback, be able to actually easily take advantage of that feedback, and make revisions (especially if your ultimate goal isn't just a rough draft, but a polished novel).

Here are five tips from ButterDocs to beat the chaos and make your writing workflow less work and more flow.

1. Know what you're about to do.

We know you want to start maximizing your word count from Day One, but you'll thank yourself on Day Twenty if you lay the groundwork for yourself. Take some time to organize your research, develop your characters, lay out your major plot points, and consider your themes.

You don't need to buy and learn advanced plotting software. A digital whiteboard can be as intuitive as pinning index cards to a cork board.

2. Write in the best environment for you.

You're about to spend a lot of time writing. It's a good idea to get comfortable.

Think about what environment you write best in. Do you need the hubbub and energy of a busy coffee shop? Or the serenity of a cozy nook?

Once you find the right place, put the same effort into finding a writing app you'll actually enjoy writing in.

3. Stay in your writing flow.

Focus and dedication during NaNoWriMo is the whole ball game. Lose either, and your chances of hitting 50,000 words are harder.

Whatever your NaNoWriMo goals are, give yourself the best chances to succeed with tools that will help you get and stay focused. A timer, word counter, and goal tracker will help you with timed writing sprints and hitting daily writing goals.

4. Recover from distractions.

Distractions will happen. Chaotic writing aside, the human brain wants to wander for dopamine. And life inevitably gets in the way.

What's important is how you recover. Don't let one distraction or missed writing day snowball into another and another. Give yourself tools that help you get back on track. A simple notification to come back to your writing can be a big help.

5. Pull others in to help you move forward.

You may be participating in NaNoWriMo as an individual, but know this: you are not alone.

You have the entire NaNoWriMo community, among many other writing communities and groups you can turn to for any genre of writing.

When you feel stuck or need feedback on a draft, don't be afraid to ask for help. Just be sure to invite people into a writing app where you have control over the collaboration.

ButterDocs Early Access + NaNoWriMo Resources

Conquer chaotic writing by using a writing app built for exactly that. With ButterDocs, you can plan, write, share, and edit your writing all in one place, without the chaos. It's by the team that built Arc Studio, a leading screenwriting app with hundreds of thousands of users.

ButterDocs launches today in early access and we'd love to invite you to check it out for NaNoWriMo.

All NaNoWriMo participants can receive a free year of ButterDocs if you sign up by December 1st, 2023.

We're running a free online event on October 25th for everyone who signs up: "Getting (and Staying) in Your Creative Writing Zone During NaNoWriMo." with Grant Faulkner (Executive Director of NaNoWrimo), Matt Trinetti (founder of London Writers' Salon), and Allison Trowbridge (founder of CopperBooks). If you can't make it, we'll email ButterDocs users the recording afterward.

Visit https://butterdocs.com/NaNoWriMo to learn more about ButterDocs, claim your free account, and enter an exclusive sweepstakes giveaway for NaNoWriMo participants!

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Cookbook

Whether you want to turn your own recipes into a cookbook as a family keepsake, or work with a publisher to get the most viral recipes from your blog onto paper and into bookstores, making a cookbook is often a fun but work-intensive process.

How to Make a Cookbook

The process of making a cookbook will depend on your publishing route, but in general you’ll need to work through the following steps:

Concept: The first step of making a cookbook is to figure out what kind of cookbook this will be. Your cookbook can focus on a single ingredient, meal, region, or culture. It can be an educational tome for beginners, or a slapdash collection of family favorites for your relatives. If you’re looking to get your cookbook published, a book proposal is a necessary step towards getting a book deal, and can also help you pin down your concept.

Compile recipes: If you’ve been dreaming of writing a cookbook, chances are you probably already know some recipes that have to be included. Make a list of those important recipes and use that as a jumping-off point to brainstorm how your cookbook will be organized and what other recipes need to be developed. If you’re compiling a community cookbook, reach out to your community members and assemble their recipes.

Outline: Based on your guiding concept and key recipes, make a rough table of contents. Possibly the most common way to divide a cookbook is into meals (appetizers, breakfast, lunch, dinner) but cookbooks can also be divided by season, raw ingredients (vegetables, fish, beef), cooking techniques, or some other narrative structure.

Recipe development: Flesh out your structure by developing beyond your core recipes, if needed, and fine-tuning those recipes which need a bit more work.

Recipe testing: Hire recipe testers, or enlist your friends and family, to test out your recipes in their home kitchens. Have them let you know what worked and didn’t work, or what was confusing.

Write the surrounding material: Most cookbooks include some writing other than the recipes. This may include chapter introductions and blurbs for each recipe.

Photography and layout: If your book includes photography, at some point there will be photo shoots where the food will have to be prepared and styled for camera. Traditional publishing houses will likely want to hire stylists and photographers who specialize in food photography. Once the images and text are both ready, a book designer will arrange them together and make the cover design, but you can also make your own cookbook design using software like InDesign or old-school DIY-style, with paper, scissors, and a photocopier.

Editing: If you’re working with a publisher, there may be several rounds of back and forth as your editor works with you to fine-tune the recipes and text. The book will then be sent to a copy editor who will go through the entire cookbook looking for grammar and style issues, and indexer for finishing touches. If you’re self-publishing, give a rough draft of your book to friends and family members to proofread.

Printing: After everything is laid out and approved, your cookbook is ready to be printed. If you’re printing your cookbook yourself, you can go to a copy shop to get it spiral bound, or send it off to a printer for more options.

Common Types of Cookbooks

More so than any other kind of nonfiction book, cookbooks lend themselves to self-publishing. Of course, cookbook publishing is also a huge industry, and a professional publisher might be the best route for your book depending on the scope and your reach as a chef.

Self-published: This is a cookbook made of up your own recipes, which you might give as gifts to family and friends. You can easily self-publish a cookbook online as an individual. But if having a print book is important to you, there are many options. You can print and staple together a short cookbook, zine-style. Many copy shops will also offer options for wire-bound cookbooks, and there are resources online that will print bookstore-quality softcover or hard-cover books for a fee.

Community cookbooks: A special subset of self-published cookbook made up of recipes from multiple individuals, usually to raise money for a cause or organization. Working with a group has the advantage of a large pool of recipes and testers, and is a great way to share your recipes with a larger audience while also supporting a cause you believe in.

Through a publishing house: If you think your cookbook has a wider audience, you may want to seek out a mainstream publishing house. Get a literary agent who can to publishers who can connect you with publishers who are interested in your cookbook. Large publishing houses don’t usually accept pitches from individuals, but you can reach out to small, local publishers without an agent as intermediary. To publish a cookbook through a publishing house, you’ll typically need a book proposal outlining your concept, audience, and budget.

Things to Consider Before Making a Cookbook

Before embarking on your cookbook project, it’s a good idea to get organized, and to figure out what kind of cookbook you want to make.

Photography: More so than other texts, cookbooks often include visual accompaniment. Beautiful pages of full-color photos are expensive, which is one reason publishers like to work with bloggers who can style and photograph their own food. Not all cookbooks need photos, however. Some of the most iconic cookbooks rely on illustrations, or words alone. Figure out what role, if any, visuals will play in your book.

Audience: Are you turning recipe cards into a keepsake family cookbook, or selling this cookbook nationwide? Your intended audience will greatly influence how you write and publish your cookbook, whether it’s vegans, college students, or owners of pressure cookers. You’ll need to consider your audience’s cooking skill level, desires, and where they buy their food.

Budget: Once you have a vision for what you want your cookbook to be, budget your time and resources. Do you need help to make this book? The answer is probably yes. Assemble a team of people who understand your vision and know what kind of commitment will be involved.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[the960writers]

Do you think it's a good idea to try and get away from Google Docs when it comes to writing? I really can't afford any other fancy program to write my drafts in, and it honestly seems like the easiest - not to mention, most convenient - program to use to share my manuscript with beta readers. I could use advice on this matter because I keep seeing things across the net about it being a bad place to work on writing, but I have no idea what to turn to to make things easy for me and my future beta readers.

This is such a good question. Thank you.

So, a little backstory. Ever since Google removed their motto "do no evil" they have gone down the rather predictable path of all big players of the rot economy: putting profits over user experience.

A little while back, there was rumor that Google trains AI with the content of google docs, then they said they don't really, they only scan the content and do nothing with it, and then they started blocking access to documents with sexy images. Do we believe that Google has our own best interest at heart? That's something everyone has to decide for themselves.

Back then, I made a post with alternatives for Google Docs, you can find it here, also check the reblogs for more options:

Now, is it a good idea to switch from google docs? I think it is, but I'm also not consistent with it. As you mentioned, it seems to be the easiest to share writing with beta readers, and I also still often use it for fanfiction.

But there are alternatives, and they require very little adjustment in the process. Let me give you two free options.

Ellipsus is webbased, meaning you can write in it in the browser on any device. They have sharing, specifically for beta reading, and an export function for AO3.

Reedsy (marketplace around everything self-publishing) has an editor. It is webbased, and they also have an option for sharing with beta readers. This software is aimed at book type-setting and exporting but it works just fine for copying to web.

Personally, I'm currently switching everything to LibreOffice (also free!) files in some cloud connected folder. I used to do a lot of mobile writing on my phone with a bluetooth keyboard but currently, I'm taking my laptop everywhere so LibreOffice works great for me. If I have to use my phone or tablet for some lightweight mobile writing, on vacation for instance, I can still use something webbased.

So, I hope I gave you some interesting options. Do I think it's a good idea to make us less dependent on Google? Yes, I do. I don't trust them.

We have alternatives, and they cost us nothing more than a little adjustment.

~ barbex

[dragonmuse]

How to be a Dirtbag Fic Writer

I got to do some talking about writing today and I couldn’t stop thinking about it so here are my full thoughts on the matter of being a dirtbag fic writer.

Being the disorganized thoughts of someone two and a half decades into the beautiful mess that is writing fanfic (and a few non-fanfic things too).

What is a dirtbag fic writer? 

 I am talking about someone who is not cleaning up anything. We show up filthy, fresh out of rooting around in the garden of our imaginations. We probably smell a little from work. We will hand you our hard grown fruits, but we have not washed them and we carried them in the bottom upturned parts of our t-shirts. The fruit is a little bruised. It’s not cut up or put in a bowl yet. But we got it in the house! It’s here. Someone can eat it.  

Why dirtbag it? Because the fruit gets in the house. If you’re hemming and hawing, if the idea you want to do seems to be big or you want it perfect and shiny. If you’re imagining a ten thousand step process, so you’re not taking the first step? Dirtbag it. 

How do I dirtbag? 

That’s the best part. You just write. Sit down. One word after the other. No outline, no plan, no destination. No thought of editing. Just word vomit. Every word is a good word. It’a word that wasn’t there before. Grammar sucks? Who cares. Can’t think of the perfect word? Fuck it, put in the simplest version of what you mean. 

Write the idea that you love. The one thing you want to say. Has it been done 3000000 times? WHO CARES human history is long, every idea has been done, probably more than twice. YOU have never written it before. It’s your grubby potato that you clawed out of the ground and guess what someone can still make it into delicious french fries. 

Now here’s the critical part. Write as much as you can squeeze out of your brain. One word in front of the other. 

And then I challenge you this: at most, read it over once and then put it into the world. Just as it is. AND THIS IS IMPORTANT: DO IT WITHOUT APOLOGY OR CAVEAT.  I challenge you, beautiful dirtbag to not pre-emptively apologize. Do not make your work lesser. THAT IS YOUR POTATO! It has eyes and roots and dirt clinging to it because that is what happens.  We are dirtbagging it today. Hell really confused people at do #dirtbagwriter on it.  

Dirtbag writes id, base, lizard brain. Dig in the fertile garden of your imagination. What is the story you tell yourself before you fall asleep? What’s your anxiety this week? Your fantasy? What is going well? What do you wish things looked like? Who is the feral imaginary character you’ve been crafting to take your frustrations and joys out on? 

But, VEE, I wish to have an editor and an outline, use a cool software like scrivener instead of retching up onto a google doc and making it look NICE and PRETTY!

COOL! DO THAT THEN! IF YOU’RE ACTUALLY DOING IT! You should have a process! That’s cool and healthy and necessary for sustainable writing. But if you’re not writing because all of that seems too much? THEN DON’T. 

Did you know fic is free? That we do this from love? From sheer desire? For the love of the game? If you have a process, and the words are flowing, amazing, I love that for you, you don’t need this essay.  If you don’t, let us continue. 

What does dirtbag writing look like? 

It’s messy. It’s a little raw and tatty around the edges sometimes. It’s weird.  It’s someone else’s first draft. Maybe it winds up being your first draft, Idek, that’s your business. 

It’s jokes that make YOU laugh. It’s drama that would make YOU cry if you read it. You are your first commenter. You are your first audience (and possibly continuing pleasure! If you don’t go back and reread your own work sometimes, you might be missing out on one of your favorite authors cause you wrote it for you! Wait until you’re not so close to it. Years sometimes. Then hey, maybe some of this is pretty dang good actually.) 

It has mistakes. 

Dirtbags make mistakes, but dirtbags have published pieces. They have things other people can read out there. 

What if I don’t get good feedback? 

Look, the most likely outcome of any new, untried fic writer (and even established writers trying something new-ish)  is that you get no feedback. That’s real. Silence. It’s eerie, it’s terrible, it sucks. I don’t want to pretend it doesn’t. But nothing is not negative. It’s a big fic-y ocean out there and we are all wee itty-bitty-sometimes-with-titty fishes.  

You should still do it all over again. And again. And again. You get better at writing by writing. You just do. Nothing else replaces it. If your well is dry? Fill it with new things. Go do something new, read a new kind of book, watch a new film,  (libraries have so much good shit, you don’t even have to spend money for so many things if you have a library card), just go for a walk in a new direction. Stimulate yourself. Got a cup of something hot and eavesdrop on conversations. Refill yourself with newness. 

And hey, speaking of, do you leave comments? Because you get what you give. You can build relationships with people by commenting and that builds community and community means places to get feedback in the end. Comments are gold. They are all we are paid in. Tip your writers with ‘extra kudos’ or ‘this made me laugh’. And hey, when you go back for a re-read so you can tell them your favorite part? Ask yourself how they made that favorite part? What do you like about it?  Tone? Metaphor? The structure? Reading teaches us how to write too! 

BUT, okay. Sometimes. Sometimes there is actual bad feedback and people suck. 

You know the best part about being a dirtbag? Unrepentant block, delete, goodbye. You don’t own anyone with a shitty opinion any of your precious time on this earth. You did it for free, you gave them your dirty, but still delicious fruit and they went ‘ew, this is a dirty strawberry, how could you not make a clean tomato?”  Because you didn’t plant fucking tomatoes, did you? Don’t fight, don’t engage. Block. Delete. Goodbye. 

If someone in person, looked you in the eye when you brought them a plate of food to share at a party and they said “Why didn’t you bring me MY favorite? This isn’t cooked well at all.” You would probably write up a Reddit AiTA question about it just to hear five thousand people say they were an asshole.   Fic is no different 

And hey, when you dirtbag it? You know you did. It’s not your most cleaned up perfect version. So who cares what they think? You might make it more shiny and polished next time! You might NOT. 

Ok, but what if I don’t finish it? 

Fuck it, post it anyway. 

What if it’s bad? 

Fuck it, post it anyway. 

What if it doesn’t make sense? 

That’s ART, baby. Fuck it, post it anyway. 

What if what I want to write doesn’t work with current fandom norms? 

Then someone out there probably needs it!  And what the hell is this? The western canon? FUCK IT POST IT ANYWAY* 

*Basic human decency is not a ‘fandom norm’. Don’t be racist, sexist, ableist, fat shaming, classist or shitty about anyone's identity on main, okay? Dirtbag writers are KIND first and foremost. Someone saying you are stepping into shit about their identity is not the same as unsolicited crappy feedback about pairings. In the immortal words of Kurt Vonnegut: "God damn it, you've got to be kind.”

You’re being very flippant about something that’s scary. 

I know. I know I am. I know it can be scary. But no risk, no reward and hell, you aren’t using your goddamn legal name on the internet are you? (please for the love of fuck do not be using your legal name to write fic) You’ve got on a mask. You’re a superhero. With dirt on your cape. 

That niche thing that you think no one cares about? Guaranteed you will find someone else in the world who wants it. Maybe they won’t find it right away. Maybe they will be too shy to comment or even hit a button. But your dirty potato will stick with them. They will make french fries in their head.

You have an audience. But they can’t find you if you have nothing out there. 

Go forth. Make. 

You have some errors in this essay. 

PROBABLY CAUSE I DIRTBAGGED IT.  But I picked this strawberry for you out of my brain, so I hope you run it under some cold water and find the good bits and have a nice snack. Or throw it away. Or use it to plant more strawberries (I know that’s not how strawberries work, metaphors break when stretched).  

#dirtbagwriter 

Go forth and MAKE

[ipso-faculty]

Five new autistic flags! And a nautilus as a symbol of the spectrum 💛

My current autistic hyperfixation has been the question of the autistic flag. By this I mean a flag for autism specifically rather than a broader neurodiversity flag.

Between autistic flag designs that look too similar to the Métis flag to a new flag design that looks annoyingly similar to intersex flag designs, none of the designs I've found for an autism-specific flag I've found have felt right.

So, I've made a whole bunch of alternative flags, varying from tweaks to existing flags to ground-up redesigns. Here's my current shortlist. Feel free to use any or all of them, or remix as desired! <3

I'll start with describing the flags that are tweaks of existing designs, and work my way to the nautilus, which I'm introducing as an alternative symbol for the autistic spectrum.

Flag Idea 1: golden infinity symbol on white background Most neurodivergent flags I've seen is a rainbow infinity (usually an infinity loop) on a white background; this is the oldest kind of design, from 2005. Many people are already using a gold infinity symbol (ideally an infinity loop) as a symbol for autism, because Au = gold.

I took the gold infinity symbol used to represent autism in the 2023 Autistic Progress Pride Flag, and stuck it on a white background, in the style of neurodiversity flags. I tweaked the infinity loop a little bit to further visually distinguish it from the Métis flag.

Flag Idea 2: fixing the red-yellow-green autistic flag This one takes the 2021 red-yellow-green autistic flag and replaces the problematic white lemniscate infinity symbol (which has been used to represent the Métis since 1815) with a dark red infinity loop. Red is another popular colour in autistic designs as a fuck you to Autism Speaks (fuck Autism Speaks).

Flag Idea 3: recolouring the Disability Pride flag (AuTiSTiC) There are two ideas in this flag. The first is to take the Magill disability pride flag and recolour the diagonal stripes to represent autism.

Since gold is used in autistic designs because Au->Autistic? Let's go all in. This flag has the colours of: Au: gold Ti: titanium (light grey) S: sulphur (light yellow) Ti: titanium (light grey again) C: carbon (off-black)

This is unashamedly dorky and I feel like if any minority group gets to have a dorky flag it should be us autistics.

Flag Idea 4: golden infinity + disability pride flag These flags represent the accumulation of the ideas thus far. Gold infinity symbol plus disability pride flag. I tried putting the infinity directly on the diagonal stripes and it was too busy, so I've moved them to the corners.

On the left is a version with the disability pride flag colours. On the right is a version using a yellow-white-yellow stripe design from the 2021 neurodiversity flag that's based on the disability pride flag.

Flag Idea 5: the rainbow nautilus for the spectrum After showing earlier drafts of all of these flags to a bunch of my autistic friends, a consistent feedback was that none of us were actually that keen on the infinity symbol as a symbol of autism (even without the Métis issue).

I think flags are an opportunity to tell outsiders about what we’re about. One thing I want to convey about being autistic is that the autistic spectrum does NOT mean a gradient from autistic to non-autistic. Here’s a visualization I like:

So I got to thinking about how to visualize that polar graph. I realized a nautilus shell works on a number of levels:

To convey the polar graphs in a stylized way

A fractal shape keeps with the theme of infinity

We autistic folks tend to live in our metaphorical shells =)

Best as I can tell from google text & image searches, the nautilus is not used by any minority groups or geographic regions for flags. A handful of businesses and software projects have nautilus logos, so I iterated design to be nice and distinct.

Here's another version with the gold-and-white neurodiversity stripes:

I also wanna note that as somebody who has ADHD and autism that I am 100% fine with anybody who wants to use the nautilus for AuDHD - the very idea of the autism spectrum was to unite highly intertwined diagnosis categories and personally I think it's reasonable to include ADHD in the autism spectrum.

If you would like alternative versions / tweaks to these flags, let me know in the comments. I also want to be explicit that I release all of these designs in the public domain, so you are free to reuse and remix as desired! 💛

I've tried to provide a nice range of options from remixing existing designs to new ideas, and I hope everybody can find at least one autistic flag they like that is also distinct from other minority groups (e.g. Métis, intersex). I've also posted a detailed overview on infinity symbol design for anybody designing new flags! 💛

If you have any favourites or ideas for flags let me know! I'm curious which ones people will like most. edit: uploaded the SVGs to Wikimedia commons for anybody who wants to play with them.

[sweaterkittensahoy]

As Long as I'm Thinking about Job Interview Stuff

Here's my general pattern for answering the "Tell us about time you failed / dealt with a bad co-worker / had to struggle to complete something /etc."

These questions are asked to suss out if you're an asshole. The reason there's more than one of them is to see if you have a shit talking problem that can take a little time to show itself. Basically, interviewers are trying to get a sense of if you're gonna be a fucking problem once you're comfortable at a new workplace.

I literally once watched myself lose a job because the managers asked, "How do you deal with people who might be temperamental at times?" It was a software company, so I figured they meant "At least one of our engineers is a huge asshole, but we think he's worth keeping around even if he yells at people." And so I said, "Look, we all have our moments, and I do my best to be understanding if someone's having a tough time. I think it's important to remember we're all working together and trying to make something succeed. That being said, if the problem is I'm getting yelled at because someone else is being unprofessional, I'm not going to stand there and allow that abuse. I will be talking to HR, at a minimum, and if that doesn't resolve it, I will take care of it myself."

And, let me be clear, the moment any positive vibes left the room was when I said, "I'm not gonna stand there and allow that abuse." Which told me EXACTLY how they were handling the situation currently.

Anyway, sorry for the recipe blog wander. Back to the point. Here's how I handle the questions where they want you to discuss something negative.

I take a moment to think. Yes, I know the question is coming and already have a few options picked for an answer, but taking a moment to think before answering means I'm not gonna stumble over my words when I start.

Start with the negative. If the question is, "Tell us about dealing with a difficult co-worker," Start at the problem. "Well, I remember once I worked with someone who really didn't like answering questions via email."

Explain why it made the job difficult. "Given that what I do is focused on getting things written down, I prefer sending questions via email whenever possible so I always have a clear starting point on the information I use, even if the information changes a lot through conversation."

Restate the problem as the beginning of the solution. "But, this person didn't like to answer questions in writing, so I started going over to his desk and asking him the questions."

Say something nice about the problem. "He was great face-to-face. Always happy to help."

Explain the solution. "And it turned out he was happy to read anything I would print out and hand him. So, I'd go ask him the questions, go back to my desk and do a first draft based on what he'd said, and then give him a physical copy to mark up."

Stamp a positive final remark on it. "Once I realized how to best communicate with him, he was very open to helping. If I walked over with a first draft, he'd just look at it right then so I could make updates as quickly as possible. And he started letting me know if there were any major design changes on the way and explaining it to me earlier in the process, which made it easier to make updates."

That's my technique. The biggest thing of it, I think, is to make sure your answer is sincere. Don't use a situation where you still want to shove someone into traffic. Pick a situation where you feel like it actually turned out well in the end.