#directing advice

[thefirsthogokage]

Since my dream would be to be WGA one day, I am saving this here.

(video link)

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Edit: John Rogers post actually lead me to that thread:

Gonna have to look into that book.

[hisbucky]

Maddie: So did you take my advice? Buck: Y-yeah! Thanks, Maddie. Maddie: So? Any updates for the being the best sister in the whole world? Buck: Well, me and Eddie are cool now... Maddie: And...? Buck, shyly: And Tommy kissed me. Maddie, blinking aggressively: ...What.

[softerhaze]

quick birthday party side quest to hook alvin up with jay's neighbor since alvin and sasha got a divorce (womp womp)

[3hks]

How to Avoid "Talking to The Reader"

A lot of people will often tell you to avoid talking to the reader, but why? How? And what does it mean? "Talking to the reader" is a technique used by an author when they want to specifically address the reader directly. Depending on your writing level and style, there could be several drawbacks to using this, such as a sense of informality and sudden awkwardness. However, I'm not saying that you shouldn't talk to the reader, because how you write is ultimately up to you!

But if you're genuinely looking for some tips on how to avoid talking to the reader, then I absolutely got you! As both a frequent reader and writer, I have advice based on experience and knowledge! These simple tips can seriously elevate your writing (especially if you're pretty new), or at the very least, make you aware of certain things and offer new ideas!

Replacing the 'you' with...

A VERY common factor in talking to the reader is using the word 'you' to reach out to your reader (dialogue from characters don't count). Although you should avoid this when you're trying not to talk to the reader, there is something behind it. Majority of the time, we include this word in a story when asking a rhetorical question. This creates a certain effect that reaches out to the reader while making them think, which can't be exactly duplicated.

Okay, so how do we fix this? Well, my advice is to simply replace 'you' with the word 'one'! Let's go a bit into depth, shall we? When dealing with a rhetorical question, the first step is to rephrase and reform the inquiry into a statement that answers what you're asking. Remember that this is a rhetorical question, meaning that there IS technically a right answer that you're looking for! Next, remove the 'you' and slap the 'one' on top of it! The replace-you-with-one method also works when you're not including it in a question, but instead a statement! Let's look into some examples, shall we?

Prompt: A lot of people will often tell you to avoid talking to the reader, but why?

Let's examine this example that I took from the top of this post, shall we? While this sentence is indeed in the format of the question, I am not directly asking you to give me an answer and there isn't really just one right answer. So how do we fix this? Replace 'you' with 'one' and boom! Done!

Fixed: A lot of people will often tell one to avoid talking to the reader, but why?

Alright, how about a much more direct question?

Prompt: The king's way of ruling was incredibly biased and unfair, wouldn't you agree?

For this prompt, we can see that 'you' is in "wouldn't you agree?" so it's pretty clear that we are seeking for an answer from the reader. In this type of context, the answer is almost always "yes," so we will have to take the longer route of rewording the sentence.

Fixed: The king's way of ruling was incredibly biased and unfair, one might argue.

As you can see, the phrase "wouldn't you agree" got altered into "one might argue." Why did I choose this? Well for starters, the sentence is now a statement, not a question, and it does indirectly answer our questions of "wouldn't you agree?" because it distinctly demonstrates that they agree with the opinion that the king's rule was unjust. Now, why did I choose "might argue"? Our previous question may have been rhetorical, but not everyone is going to say "yes, the king was unfair," so adding "might" and "argue" helps include the fact that it is indeed, an opinion!

Now that we have gotten the 'you' part out of our system, let's talk about another thing that can really help you improve on your writing (while avoiding talking to the reader)!

Stop Using...

Stop starting the sentences with "he/she is or has" (including past forms) when describing someone. I can safely say with first-hand experience that repetitive use of the sentence starter can feel a bit unnatural and too straightforward. In other words, you can most definitely do better!

When writing one's attributes, instead of starting with "he is" or "she is," try starting out with a possessive form of the pronoun, such as "his" or "her"! After that, it'll work itself out; let's look at an example to clarify!

Prompt: She had long, luscious, brown hair that fell over her shoulders in waves.

Fixed: Her long, luscious, brown hair fell over her shoulder in waves.

Simple, right? There may seem to be hardly any change, but this can seriously improve your writing when used correctly! Of course, continuous use of "his," "her," or "their" will also sound repetitive, but it's a good place to start! As experience follows, you'll get the hang of creating more varied sentence styles! Let's look at an example!

Prompt: He was new to the school. He didn't know how to interact with those his age because he was homeschooled his whole life. He was nervous even when thinking about his classmates and didn't know how he was going to survive.

Does it sound choppy? Too direct? Let's fix that!

Fixed: He was new to the school. Having been homeschooled his whole life, he struggled to interact with those his age, and even thinking about his classmates made him anxious. He had no idea on how he was going to survive.

Look at the second sentence; that's the most major change. As I combined a few different parts of the other sentences and rearranged them, it should seem much smoother now!

Be creative with how to form your sentences--that's all there really is to it! Experience will be your biggest guide and best friend when it comes to this!

Did this help? Keep in mind that my advice won't work with every sentence because a lot of it mainly depends on context! Happy Easter Sunday!

Happy writing~

3hks :)

[rqbossman]

Hello, Alex!

I'm new-ish to the TMA universe, so I apologize if you've answered this one twenty times already.

I was recently re-listening to Ep. 118 The Masquerade, and I wondered if you would talk a bit about how you approach directing scenes in which you're also performing, especially really visceral ones like the one between Elias and Martin?

Thank you!

It's quite annoying really. it's easier these days since I have more help so producers and editors can call me up on stuff. Mostly it was just a case of going by feel. If it felt wrong then I need to figure out if it was me or someone else and go from there. Truthfully though I never really developed a system beyond "really pay attention" which isn't great advice really.

[dawnthefluffyduck]

feeling of being watched

[hadesoftheladies]

sure you need to exercise and sleep and eat well. but gyns, you really, really, really need to de-stress as much as possible. if that means deleting your social media, or regulating/restricting it severely, or cutting off idk how many other toxic relationships you need to get on that. you need to find or build a healthy community. that is an integral part of your health.

it is toxic to your body to be bombarded by horrifying news each morning you log onto your phone. it is toxic to your body to be in constant hypervigilance. it is toxic to your body to be hyper-aware of all the awful things that are happening or could happen. your brain should not be in constant hypervigilance.

if you want to do activism, it needs to become less reactive and more strategic. meaning, no replying to ugly comments. read a feminist book instead, donate to feminist organizations instead. you don't have to stay in radfem IG, twitter, tumblr, reddit or whatever to continue being feminist. yes, perhaps these are the only places you can access feminist community where you're at right now, but even then, you've got to get in control of it.

cut off the males in your life that leech your energy, whether mental or otherwise. stop negotiating about it. it doesn't have to be a dramatic bridge-burning. you could just disengage. (this applies to your mother or any other codependent relationship) remain friendly without being a friend. even toxic female friendships. if your negative friendships outweigh your positive ones, you have serious house cleaning to do. because those are affecting your health.

put more energy into making positive connections (they do not have to be deep or dedicated, just positive) with the women around you. the woman who works at the pharmacy, or the plumber, idk. just foster positive attitudes with the people around you.

and de-stress, de-stress, de-stress. practice mindfulness, keep a clean gut, sleep better. this is your life we're talking about.

[thatsbelievable]

[sensiblethingtodo]

Kendrick recalls how a blunt conversation with a famous friend snapped her into action. "I spoke to Brittany Snow on the phone, and she, in a very role-reversal way of our relationship, gave me the most casual pep talk, which was literally in a very flat voice: 'You'll get on set, and you'll know what to do,'" Kendrick recalls of her Pitch Perfect costar. "And it was just like, 'Yeah, okay.' That's usually how I find myself talking to her, and I think I was expecting this flowery, long pep talk, and she so cut to the chase that I was like, 'Okay, damn girl. I'll just figure it out, I guess.'"

[ursiday]

Okay im being so real do you mind if I use your art of cats as a reference? I’m trying to relearn on how to draw cat faces and I’m using your art to help me out. I’m not sure if you would be okay with that???

If you'd like to sure I don't really mind, but if you post anything referencing specific pieces I've done I'd appreciate credit! Though I'd be cautious in general about primarily relying on art when learning to draw something, especially any particular artist. I get that it's easier to reference drawings a lot of the time since they're already broken-down/stylized more than a photo, but you'll also be referencing whatever quirks and inaccuracies the artist has intentionally or unintentionally put in the drawing, and my cat drawings are certainly not perfect and also tend to be anthropomorphized lol

If anyone is interested in good sources for cat reference photos these are some of my faves :-)

https://www.warrenphotographic.co.uk/set12ff/1/cats-kittens

https://catza.net/en/

https://cfa.org/top-cats-2023-regions-1-9/

https://tica.org/breeds/tica-s-top-cats/2023-top-cats

(CFA and TICA have a bunch of pages of top cats from the last decade, as well as galleries for each breed)

[offkilterkeys]

It sucks that Jane and Kanaya got shoved into the mommy friend roles cause they’ve got such potent exasperated older sister and bug eyed younger sister energy respectively

[loganslowdown4]

Logan: The quickest way to a man's heart is through the fourth and fifth rib.

Logan: The quickest way to a woman's heart too.

Logan: Anyone, really.

Virgil:

Logan: Oh, you wanted romantic advice.

Virgil: Yes, thanks!

Logan: Ask Roman.

[sugaredoleander]

i say this with love. house fanfic writers, if you ever want me to beta something for medical accuracy, i'll fucking do it no questions asked

[vacantgodling]

✨preferences should not be standards for writing advice✨

[stil-lindigo]

I work for a Palestinian man at his small business. It's just me, him, and two others doing env. testing. He is old and has family in the region. I've shown my support already, donated money for medical supplies etc. Do I go on strike, or would causing him problems at this time be counterproductive? I feel like I'm in one of the few situations where I'm behooved not to go on strike for this specific instance.

hi - yes, in this situation, i absolutely agree with you here. I can't imagine what your employer must be feeling right now, and I think if there's anything you can do to minimise his burden, that would be wonderful.

If at all possible this week and if you're in a situation where it's doable, I think it would also be a good idea to try do something nice for him. And, if you feel comfortable about it and his business takes donations, feel free to share a link in the replies.

[librarycards]

what can you do if you want to become a therapist but are a communist lol like i feel like i would probably end up losing my license but i did so much school for this before i was radicalized :\

so, i'm basically recapitulating what my current therapist - an avowed abolitionist and anarchist who does not institutionalize anyone, including pts in 'medical danger', unless they explicitly request it (and even then she'll offer alts first).

you either have or will have to do some kind of rotation/trial period, probably in a congregate carceral setting. you will experience abuse at the hands of your employers. you will witness, facilitate, and/or be powerless to stop the abuse of patients.

when you're done with this, you'll have a few limited choices. you can stick around. you can join somebody else's practice, and possibly be able to accept more insurances / have stability. you can also go solo, which dramatically increases the likelihood that you will not be able to accept insurance, medicaid, etc.

you will have to charge too much for appts. this is inevitable, because everything should be free. but even sliding-scale services offered by private practitioners are unjustly high and out of reach to those who need it most. there is virtually no way to rectify this, while still affording rent, *and* maintaining a commitment to your values (that said, i have a few leads. dm me and i can try to put you in the right direction)

you will be reifying an approach to disability/noncompliance that is irredeemably vile.

you will be offering Madpeople a vital space of growth and intimacy not currently offered elsewhere, and filling a huge need (there are very few abolitionist practitioners and many, many people who want them)

tldr: you will be culpable for grievous harm. you are also, as an abolitionist practitioner, deeply necessary given contemporary social conditions. you will never forgive yourself. patients will be suspicious of you. you will, if you put your values first, save and improve a lot of lives. you will not fix anyone or anything. you will, at your best, understand those you work with as comrades and interlocutors, but you will, inevitably, be aware of the fact that your power places a wall between you & them. you will, hopefully, commit together to carving out a space of exchange-care-possibility within all of the above constraints.

good luck man this sucks but we love you need you etc