#look i love the tips pages because they can be genuinely helpful sometimes

[trident-dragion]

Every Yugipedia tips page has at least one or two of these: "This card can be searched by {20 different cards, very few of which are actually good}" "I saw an anime character do this once" "This card pairs extremely well with {card nobody in their right mind would use in the same deck as subject}" "If you're playing a modern deck and your opponent is playing a deck from 2005, you can try this" "This card has a weakness that can be addressed with this card that has no use outside of that particular case. You can simply just draw it after you have the subject on your field"

[fluentmoviequoter]

Dodgers Date

Requested Here!

Pairing: Tim Bradford x shy!fem!wife!reader

Summary: For your weekly date night, Tim takes you to a Dodgers game.

Warnings: incorrect descriptions of baseball (I can watch it but I can't speak it), pure fluff!!

Word Count: 1.5k+ words

Masterlist | Tim Bradford Masterlist | Request Info/Fandom List

You’re on the couch with Kojo when Tim returns from work. He smiles at you, and his smile widens when you duck your chin at his unhindered attention. So far, you haven’t found a way to avoid getting shy around your husband. Which he takes full advantage of.

“Comfortable?” Tim asks after he changes.

“Me or Kojo?” you ask.

Tim shakes his head at your question and sits beside you. Kojo shifts so he’s lying between your side and Tim’s, and you lay your hand on his back. Tim leans over Kojo to kiss you quickly, then sits back and sets his hand on yours.

“What do you want to do this week?”

You furrow your brows and point out, “I thought you were picking this week.”

“You’re still okay with that?”

“As long as it’s not karaoke again.”

Tim’s head tips back as he laughs. It had started as a joke, an attempt to make you shy while you were still dating, but then you told him you’d never go out with him again unless he participated in the karaoke. He took a page from Lucy’s book and performed “Da Noise” by Flex and Flow. By the end of the song, you knew you wanted to spend the rest of your life with him, even if he did embarrass you.

“I promise, no more public performances,” Tim answers. “I have tickets behind home plate for the Dodgers’ game this week.”

You smile at his promise and lean toward him as he brushes his hand over your cheek.

“Would you like to go on a date with me to see the Dodgers win?” he proposes.

“I’d love to,” you answer softly. “But no foam fingers.”

“We need something to tell the grandkids,” he jokes.

You fall forward and rest your forehead against Tim’s shoulder. He rubs your back as he whispers an apology. Sometimes you don’t know which apologies are genuine, but it doesn’t matter because you love Tim. And weekly date nights are the highlight of your marriage.

When Tim texts you that he’s leaving work, you walk into your shared bedroom to get ready. Despite the ring on your finger, going on dates with Tim still makes you giddy, overwhelmingly happy, and occasionally shy. Life with Tim Bradford is never dull, and his insistence to keep your relationship alive and to never fall into monotony makes life fun, too. With the few minutes you have before Tim gets home, you change clothes – and maybe steal a Dodgers shirt from Tim’s side of the closet – then fix your hair the way you like. As you check your outfit in the bathroom mirror, Kojo walks in and approves by licking your hand.

“Thanks, buddy,” you murmur as you pet his head.

The front door opens as you put your shoes on, and you sit up quickly as Tim walks down the hall. He pauses in the bedroom doorway to look at you.

“You look beautiful,” he says.

You smile and thank him, then kiss him as he passes. He tells you about his day and asks about yours while he changes, but when he emerges in jeans and a Dodgers jersey, you fall silent.

“What?” Tim inquires. He looks down to check his clothes before he shrugs.

“Do you always have to look better than me?”

Tim takes your hands and pulls you to stand. He looks into your eyes as he asks, “When’s the last time we took you to the eye doctor?”

You try to pull your hands away after his bad joke, but he uses your linked hands to pull you closer. With an arm wrapped around your shoulders, Tim leads you to the door. He picks up your bag and opens the door for you, the picture of a perfect gentleman. As he helps you into the passenger seat of his truck, there’s a bouquet of white roses and blue carnations with a keepsake Dodgers ticket in place of a card.

“Thank you,” you tell Tim as you pull the cellophane-wrapped flowers into your lap. “They’re beautiful.”

Tim takes a picture of you holding the flowers without drawing your attention, then runs the flowers back inside so they don’t stay in his truck all night. When he returns and holds your hand over the console as he drives, you somehow fall more in love with him.

Your hand remains comfortable in Tim’s as he leads you through Dodger Stadium and to your seats behind home plate. Tim leaves you to go buy food and drinks, but you suspect he played the I’m an Army vet turned cop, could I jump the line? card because he’s back in under fifteen minutes. He passes you a foam finger with the Dodgers logo on it, and you groan before you set it aside.

“Have a little team spirit,” Tim chides playfully. “A pretty girl like you brings good luck, but your heart has to be in it.”

“Stop,” you request quietly.

Tim sits beside you and only smiles in reply. He passes you your drink and balances the food so you can reach it easily.

“How many innings?” you ask as you take a piece of popcorn from the overflowing bag.

“Nine,” Tim answers. “You know that.”

“Not in the game. I mean, how many innings until you forget I’m over here and just watch the game?”

You smile and Tim rolls his eyes. You’ve been on enough dates to know that it’s rare, but not impossible, for him to get so caught up in a game he forgets about you and the date you’re on. Tim doesn’t reply before the crowd cheers as the announcer welcomes everyone to Dodger Stadium.

By the time the game starts, Tim has his arm around your shoulders and the foam finger is waiting on your lap. The Dodgers are batting first, and you shift slightly so that Tim can stand and cheer whenever he wants. He tuts quietly and pulls you close again.

“I’m not forgetting about my date,” he says over the noise of the crowd.

“When are you going to tell your wife?” you reply boldly.

The woman sitting behind you gasps, and you immediately regret joking about that. Tim tries to hide his smile as he looks back to the field, but your eyes are on him. When Shoehei Ohtani steps up to bat, Tim joins the rest of the crowd in cheering. You look away from Tim long enough to see him bat, then watch Tim’s face light up as Shoehei runs to first base.

“Do you want this?” you ask Tim, raising the foam finger.

He looks at you quickly, and you sigh as you slide your hand into the opening. When you raise it, Tim cheers louder than before. This is one of your favorite date nights, you decide.

After the first half of the ninth inning, your voice is nearly gone from yelling alongside Tim, your foam finger is discarded beside you, and Tim’s arm is still wrapped around you. He took a picture with you between the last two innings (though he did have to explain to the woman behind you that you are his wife and were kidding earlier before she agreed to take the picture for you). As the game nears its conclusion, and you’re sure the Dodgers will win, you lean against Tim. His arm tightens around you, and he kisses your temple.

“I love you,” you tell him.

“I love you,” he replies. “Are you having a good time?”

“With you, always.”

“The Dodgers win!” the announcer yells.

The crowd stands to cheer, and you jump up with Tim. He doesn’t celebrate the win for long, however, before he opts to kiss you instead. You’re aware of all the people who can see you, but at the moment, you don’t care. When he pulls back and the guy beside Tim congratulates him, that changes, and you duck your head behind Tim’s shoulder to hide your smile and warm cheeks.

“You ready to go?” Tim asks as the celebration continues.

“Whenever you are.”

Tim takes your hand and leads you through the stadium once more. In the privacy of his truck, under the fireworks and the dimmed parking lot lights, he kisses you again. Dating Tim will never get boring.

“Thank you,” Tim says as he pulls back but keeps his hand on your cheek.

“For what?” you inquire.

“Loving me. Helping the Dodgers win… maybe not in that order.”

You shake your head as Tim turns in his seat. His hand rests on your thigh while he drives, and you discuss your favorite moments from the game.

“Any ideas for next week?” Tim asks.

“Kojo and I were thinking a family trip to the pet store would be nice.”

“That’s not a date.”

“Everything’s a date with you, Bradford.”

Tim nods as he turns into the driveway. “Just because I love you.” He watches as your eyes drop and smiles to himself. “Pet store it is, Bradford.”

[krispycreamcake]

Laito Sakamaki bf headcanons♤♤

🃏- Ok so uhhhhh let's all just be honest with ourselves

🃏- I really really do enjoy his character and its development, but this man would not exactly be the best boyfriend

🃏- Obviously all diaboys have their extremely toxic flaws, so I'm gonna be as unbiased as I can and give him a worthy depiction

🃏- Depending on your personality and how you've acted towards him, I see him as someone who usually seeks out your comfort in trying times

🃏- It's moments like these where he's so unaccustomed to being vulnerable that he'll have a slight panic attack that you'll betray him

🃏- Luckily however, the more your relationship grows, the less that feeling will be there, but it will definitely take time

🃏- He's definitely asked you to shower with him multiple times, but for different reasons

🃏- Like sometimes he's genuinely so at peace to finally be naked and not hate himself after, or to share something so intimate with you that isn't sex

🃏- Let's be real, sex isn't something special for him, it's just a regular Saturday night

🃏- But knowing that he gets to share it for the first time in his life with someone who he feels safe around, is something he can get behind

🃏- Has you sit on his lap while you both do crossword puzzles together

🃏- Doesn't seem like the type who enjoys making big meals, so he prefers to take you out to eat if it's a special occasion

🃏- Honestly loves talking to you late at night(?) Or morning or whatever it is

🃏- He enjoys the honesty of the conversations and the fact that he doesn't need to see through you, you're just reading to him the pages of your mind

🃏- Watches shows like NCIS, Law and Order, Dexter, etc. He begssss you to watch it with him and catches you up to speed with the episodes

🃏- Realistically, he doesn't always want to cuddle and be in your space. Some nights he just needs time alone for whatever reason and teases you when you get lonely

🃏- Extremely clingy when he's having a hard time keeping his mask on so he tries to play it off as just his normal behaviour (if you know him well enough, you'd immediately catch on)

🃏- Give him well thought out gifts and he'll start planning your future together

🃏- Talks about growing old together and having kids

🃏- Speaking of, you're not dying to old human age on his watch. Whether you want to become a vampire or not, he will turn you into one, you are not leaving his side

🃏- Dry ass texts when he's fully awake and long ass convos when he's about to pass out

🃏- Helps you learn how to play sudoku but will purposely give you wrong tips the first time around so he can flaunt how good he is

🃏- Doesn't understand why you like it when he wears his glasses and insists he looks like an otaku

🃏- Late night walks away from the manor so you both can moon gaze and enjoy the serenity of nature

🃏- One time when Ayato bit you, you insisted that instead of causing drama, he try something more civil (He put laxatives in his Gatorade before a basketball match against another school)

🃏- Also on a related note, really enjoys pranking you and encourages you to prank him back

🃏- For some reason I can imagine him getting really into butterflies and their anatomy. I personally think he has his own sketchbook where he draws them and makes notes on the different species

🃏- Loves to fly kites, he does not care whether you're with him or not, will fly a kite because why not

🃏- Watches mukbangs with you and even chooses the next couple videos

🃏- Jokes about you starting an OF, but had a nightmare that your dream partner found you and whisked you away from him like a prince in shinning armour

🃏- He enjoys playing hand games with you. Yeah idk why I thought about this but it seems to fit

🃏- Enjoys seeing you wear modest clothes. Not because he's picturing the underneath, but he knows you're gorgeous because you can pull being modest AND being naked off

🃏- Wants a Shiba Inu as a pet someday

🃏- He really tries to love you even if he does hurt you from time to time

[signanothername]

hhhhhhh i love your art so much man it's just so rrrrrrrrg words can even describe it 💥💥💥

butt like like genuinely how do you figure out poses and shit that fit who you draw so well likeee

idk me personally i just struggle with that stuff, yk always stuck with the -looking front on with hands in pockets- or the dreaded -peace sign with hand in pocket- fjdjdj

sorry for the yap sesh butttt any advice would be like so cool

also the way you portray killer and nm is like godly just 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

HDHDHHDHD THANK YOU <333333

And oooh that’s a very valid struggle, cause the thing is, I used to struggle a lot with posing characters in a way that actually satisfied me, going for the stiff front look a lot dhdhhdhdh

But the thing is with art, is that it isn’t just lines on a page y’know? At least, I stopped treating my art as such, every time i draw an artwork i want the artwork to tell who sees it something, I treat every artwork as a story in of itself

Ok imma generally give you what I learned from my art journey so far, i’m gonna start with a more general advice and then get to how I choose poses for certain characters, and imma try to explain the best I can but I can be really bad with wording things so bear with me

Art can be difficult cause different art concepts are interconnected with each other, so sometimes you need to think of so many things just to be able to do something as simple as posing a character

Before we start tho, here are 2 tips:

-everything you know about anatomy? Throw it out the window, no i’m not joking I’m being completely serious

The reason many artists suffer with making dynamic poses is cause they think too much about anatomy, they think the anatomy should look correct and perfect, and no, anatomy is the biggest reason the pose you draw is going to be stiff, you need to forget “correct” anatomy if you want your poses to feel alive and dynamic

- practice gesture/figure art, IM ON MY KNEES I BEG YOU, cause it teaches you to let go of perfect anatomy and actually learn how to draw figures in motion (which is extremely important for fluid and dynamic poses!)

———

With that in mind, here are a few things i keep in mind when posing a character:

1- line of action

You hear these three damn words a lot yet no matter how much you research them you can never find a good explanation for what they mean (me after i researched this bullshit so much shbdhdhhs)

But simply put, think of the action line as the spine in a human, the more you bend it outta shape the more dynamic the pose is going to be

And it’s genuinely so important cause it can make a very simple pose such as a character standing doing nothing much more dynamic when you put line of action in mind

Even a very slight bend in the line can make the pose more natural/dynamic, because an action line dictates the movement of a character

So if you want to avoid a stiff pose? Avoid a straight action line (you gotta make that action line Queer af💅✨✨✨✨)

But here’s a mind fuckery, the tricky thing with action lines is that it’s better if you keep them in mind but not consciously think of them if that makes sense

You gotta understand them and implement them and practice them, but when you draw a character posing a certain way, thinking too much of the action line can actually make it difficult to maintain and in turn, makes your art stiff af too

Like you got to internalize this concept and to keep it in your subconscious rather than actually consciously think about it when you draw your artworks

Ok Anó, how the fuck do i do that? Start with practicing them consciously by actually drawing the action line and then the pose in art studies, and then level yourself up by practicing them by drawing characters posing a certain way WITHOUT putting an action line first, i’m sorry to say there’s no way around it, there are no short cuts

Here’s a helpful visual guide/summary of what i mean by the paragraph above cause words suck

(but sooner or later, what you learned gets burned into your muscle memory, and your hand would start doing all the work without you consciously thinking about it, then congrats!! Action lines are now part of your subconscious)

Ok but does that mean straight lines are bad/should never be used?? NO

I can never emphasize how important straight lines can be

One thing that’s beautiful in art is that there’s no such thing as “bad” or “wrong”, art is subjective, and something that’s perceived as “wrong” by one artist, can be right/ something implemented in another artist’s artstyle that makes it unique

In fact, straight action lines can be great to use depending on what you wish people to take/understand from your art (a simple example: a turn around reference sheet for a character tends to use straight lines, cause in a reference sheet you focus on clarity, and drawing with queer lines can cause that clarity to be thrown out the window)

But I especially love to use straight Action lines with Killer, I sometimes make him stiff as a fucking rock and it’s completely intentional on my part, cause i love to use stiff poses to enhance the uncomfortable/unnatural atmosphere Killer gives, or to further emphasize an already uncomfortable situation

So to summarize, if you wish your poses be more natural/dynamic and to avoid stiff poses, use queer Action lines, but straight lines are also great to use depending on what you want people to understand from your art

———

2- perspective (camera angle)

Variety is key!

What is the perspective you want to focus on? I know this seems like it doesn’t have anything to do with posing a character, but it does, (remember, art concepts are interconnected!) cause the perspective you decide to draw from can also influence the pose you decide to draw or vice versa, and help you make the pose more dynamic

Hell sometimes, perspective can do the poses justice even if they’re literally the most boring stiff poses you’ve ever drawn chchchhcch

Like are you going to draw the character from an upper perspective? Lower? Fish-eye? Third person? First person?

Is the perspective tilted? Is it normal?

What is the perspective you want and why did you choose it? What are you trying to tell the people who see your art?

Here are a few tips when it comes to perspective:

-More dynamic perspectives (upper/lower) are good for artworks that have tension in them, or have some sort of stakes going on (fights, horror, uncomfortable situations)

That of course doesn’t mean they can’t be used to simply make your artwork look cool :D

-choosing how many vanishing points there are (one,two or three points perspective) can also make your art tell a different story depending on the situation you’ve chosen them for

-and most importantly, when you draw a pose, foreshortening is going to happen to the body depending on the perspective!!

But my point is, I make sure i draw in variety, sometimes I draw the character from upper, lower, tilted or even a mix of all of them, all to enhance my poses to look more dynamic/natural

Ok Anó, got it, but what if I don’t care to include a crazy perspective and i want to draw in a normal perspective? Then how do i make my poses more dynamic?

That brings me to my next 2 points

———

3- camera shots

Same as perspective, there has to be variety!

Your art doesn’t always have to be full body, try to draw different shots, draw a headshot, draw closeup shots draw half bodies

If you go for different shots then you’ll be forced to think of different poses to fit such shots :D

———

4-bodies are like little toys, break them

One thing you can do to bring more variety to your poses is to have different body parts facing different directions, not all limbs have to face the same direction >:)

Generally the characters don’t have to face front! Try to mix it up and draw from the side or back

———

5-emotional weight and a story to tell

And this is where i’ll bring my point about treating my art as a story back

A really good way to actually put variety in your poses is to treat any sort of artwork/sketch you make as a story you’re trying to tell

Before you draw a character posing a certain way ask yourself, why is this character posing this way? What are/were they doing before that pose? Are they alone or are they reacting to something/someone?

Is there a point to them posing this way? (It’s ok if there’s no actual point to it! But the poses still would need to tell a story regardless)

Cause if you’re posing them reacting to another character (off screen for example), you pose them in a way that makes sense for their emotions of the other character right? (So if the character has negative feelings towards the other one then it makes more sense to draw them in a defensive stance or a fight or flight pose)

If you’re drawing them all alone then what are they doing alone, are they doing something important or is it their off time? If it’s their off time what are they doing for their off time? Do they like to spend it reading a book for example? What are they reading? Is it a horror novel that makes them scared? If yes then how do they deal with fear? Do they throw the book across the room or do they hide under a blanket?

Cause a pose also holds emotional weight, it shows you what emotions the character is exhibiting, it’s not just the expression of the character that tells you about their emotions, it’s their body language, and body language can be translated through poses

Let’s say they’re doing a peace sign pose for example, why are they doing it? Are they taking a picture with someone they love or are they doing it to annoy someone? Hell maybe they’re being forced to do it, and so they do it half heartedly maybe?

Get what I’m trying to say?

———

And now with all of the above in mind, time to get to the most important thing and the main point of this post

How do I choose poses for certain characters?

6- personality

who am I sketching? Cause each character is unique and each character is gonna act a certain way other characters won’t, and depending on the situation, the poses change too

Understand the character and how they act, try to analyze them and take in their quirks and behaviors, and before you draw a pose for them actually ask yourself, would this character EVER do this pose?

Like you say you fall in the peace sign trap right? Now think about a peace sign pose, but with Nightmare… it doesn’t make sense right? Cause the pose is an absolute striking contrast to Nightmare’s personality, like Nightmare would never do a peace sign till the day he dies, hell i’m sure if he’s forced to choose between death and doing a peace sign he’d choose death (it’s a lot more mercifull than the humiliation he’d feel making a peace sign hcchchch)

See what I’m getting at?

For example, I draw Nightmare with his hands behind his back a lot, but you won’t see me do the same with other characters often, not cause other characters would never put their hands behind their backs, but because it’s a quirk in Nightmare’s character, Nightmare TENDS to do that a lot, he acts so formal and royal like, and so i draw him do it a lot

But here’s the thing, if i draw other characters having their hands behind their backs like i do with Nightmare, i do it in a way that makes sense for them! An example is how i draw Nightmare and Dream with their hands behind their backs :D

But I also keep in mind Nightmare’s character, so whenever I pose him a certain way, I ask myself “would Nightmare actually stand/sit/lie down like that?” If the answer is yes, then I continue, if not then i change it to fit Nightmare

To further explain, I tend to think Nightmare is defensive in nature, so you’d see that I also pose him in a way that reflects that, with his hands crossed in front of his chest for example or generally his hands close to his body, sometimes hunched in on himself, I also think Nightmare is egotistical and self centric, but most importantly, he sees himself as an elegant King, and so I draw him crossing his legs or generally have him sit in such a formal manner or a hand on hip kinda pose etc

So when you draw a pose ask yourself if it fits the personality, mindset, and pattern of behavior for said character!

———

With all that being said, while it’s amazing to be able to do a variety of poses, I think it’s also important to keep in mind that art is supposed to be fun, take your time trying to learn, don’t overwork or frustrate yourself with learning new things, and it’s completely fine to not do poses that have meaning sometimes (do that peace sign to your heart’s content <333) it took me 10 whole years to get where i am today, and compared to many other artists my own progress is extremely slow, and it used to bother me cause I treated art like there was some sort of deadline above my head and that I should learn things in a timely manner (which is absolute bullshit), my point is, take your time with learning poses, even if it takes you years, the important thing is that you will get there eventually <33333

———

Finally, here is one art resource for poses that i think is really good/useful

Keep on creating and hope my endless ramble helps a lil chchchchchch <33333

[a-fox-studies]

Hi! I struggle with how to study efficiently. Any study tips you can give? Thank you! you're an inspiration <3

Hihi! Thankyou for the compliment :)

I'm disabled, so my study techniques have changed a lot over the years, so I'll give you both — when I was able-bodied and what I do rn.

(able bodied)

Reviewing lecture notes

📝 So the first thing I do is, review the day's lectures after coming home before doing any other leisurely activities. I come home, eat something, then look through the topics that have been done for the day, and make sure I understand everything. I don't STUDY it, but only read through.

Posing deadlines for myself:

⏳ I do this for a few days until a significant amount of portion is done, and THEN I start studying. I finish one chapter per day, or if it is a huge one, split it for two or three days. I usually pose a deadline for myself — if i have 5 hours to complete this part, and it has 25 pages, so i need to complete 5 pages in one hour, which is 1 page every 12 minutes. I know this is very specific but giving specific deadlines for myself help me complete things faster. And breaking up big chapters like this also make em less intimidating.

Pomodoro:

🕑 I used a 60-10 pomodoro, give and take a few minutes — and it worked because when I was able bodied, I could focus for longer periods of time without any difficulty.

Making notes: Is it required?

✒️ One important thing to think of while taking notes is— do you really need to take seperate notes in order to study, or is reading from the textbook enough for you? Personally, my textbooks have information that's spread through pages and I like my study material to be concise and to the point. I zone out really quickly while reading from the textbook because the information is EVERYWHERE. Abd also the lack of color makes it boring lol. This is why i make seperate notes. If you have no problem with reading from the textbook or any other printed material, I think making notes would be a waste of time.

Physical vs Digital notes:

⌨️ I extensively take physical notes. I love writing down information, color coding them, and highlighting key points. The colors help me visualize the page during the exam, and sometimes I remember an answer only because it was written in a different color than the rest of the page.

I know people who take digital notes, but that doesn't work for me because again, I zone out while reading things from a screen XD. But there are a lot of advantages like easy portability, better organization etc.

(disabled)

Start early

📝 I start studying from the first day. Since my health fluctuates a lot, I don't know when I will go down with a flare and not be able to study. So I start early and try to be ahead of the lecturers so even if I take a few days off, I'm not lagging behind.

Pomodoro:

🕑 Sitting for a long time messes up my hips, so I use a 20-5 pomodoro. I study for 20 minutes and then walk around for 5, stretching a little etc.

Posing deadlines:

⏳I make a schedule but not a very harsh one. Because I need to make it flexible as my health fluctuates a lot. So I usually assign study days for two days, then take a day off, so that I don't get burntout easily. I usually start with assignments the day it is assigned, so that I can do a little everyday and complete it before the due date without tiring myself out.

Making notes:

✒️ Even if I am disabled, I take notes (this does not apply to everyone, I'm just giving my experience). I've tried taking digital notes, and although the stylus and/or typing is much easier on my hand, I allow myself the pleasure of taking physical notes whenever I have the energy to. Because I genuinely cannot study from digital notes lol. I color code my physical notes so I can remember and recall information easily, and it also makes any topic less boring :D

These are all the tips that I use(d), I hope they help you anon!

[greycappedjester]

Hi!! I really admire you as a writer, your ability to world build, foreshadow, create parallel characters, pretty much everything is so inspiring!! I wanted to ask about how you go about starting a new story idea, as to me that seems to be the most intimidating part of it. Especially creating new characters and giving them depth and personality and backstory, do you have any tips? I guess when it comes to fanfics it is easier because you already have the character for the most part, and you’re just expanding off of that. Have you ever written original works? If so, how do you go about creating new characters and making them feel like actual people?

Thank you for the ask! I'll try to answer these as best I can.

How do I go about starting a new story idea?

So to be honest, I get a lot of story ideas pretty randomly when watching other things and going hey, I wanna write something in that genre! I think I was watching like Pirates of the Caribean and went "pirate stories cool!" and then I got an idea for Shuffling the Deck. Best advice I can give for getting ideas is to engage with things you enjoy and think hey do I wanna write something like this? If so, which ideas from this genre do I like? Which do I want to twist? How can I make it my own? How can I surprise people? What about this feels cathartic? What elements do I really love in this genre?

After I get an idea that won't leave me alone, I pull up a word doc. To start with, I genuinely just write all the ideas I have for a story in a big list on the paper. It's messy and unorganized and really just to get all the ideas in one place so that I can see them.

Then, I start sorting them--often by time (as in what needs to come first) or by sub-plot (what story ideas should be grouped together). Slowly, I start to get an idea for how the plots are going to work and then I start filling in details between the major plot points.

How do I plan out characters?

Pretty early in this plot stage, I also tend to make character pages. This is where I put important details about the character that I need to refer back to. What's important can vary: sometimes it's ages (like Cards), sometimes its Houses (like Hq at Hogwarts), often it's sparse background details. I also think it's pretty important to look at th character's strengths and flaws. I'm a big advocate to strengths and flaws always being related. If a character's pride is their strength (as in being able to stand up for themself, self-determined, etc.) it is likely also their weakness (blinded by pride). Same for other character traits: loyalty, forgiveness, level-headedness, caring for others. All can have both strengths and weaknesses associated with them.

By looking at this, I can see how that character might grow and learn through the story. I can also get a better idea how they'd act in certain circumstances, which can give me cool plot ideas and help me develop the plot more.

Mainly though, this also helps keep me organized which is a huge thing for me while writing. I need to have things laid out in a way where I can see them and know where they are when I need to refer back to them.

(For coming up with original characters, honestly I think this is a point where I'm still trying to grow as a writer. There's a reason I mainly do fanfic)

Do I write orginal fic?

I'm trying to write an original series. Sadly without the deadline-ish structure I set up for my fanfics I'm really bad at setting goals with it.

I also write poetry. Often as a way to explore themes I've been considering.

Anway, hope this helps! I think the key is finding the way that works for you. For me, it's organization and a heavy amount of planning before I start writing. For a friend of mine, I think they more like to start writing more immediately. Amazing but no clue how they do it, writing without planning notes stresses me out.

[fruitcoops]

Hello Eve! How are you? I’ve been thinking about the head canon of Finn having ADHD. And I was wondering if you could please write something about that? Maybe him struggling during college, talking to Logan about it and Lo listening to him, helping him however he can, or just something along those lines. Thank youu! 💛

Harvard FinnLo my beloathed (affectionate). Combined with a prompt for Logan struggling to remember English, because obviously they aren't suffering enough. Character credit goes to @lumosinlove <3

“Can you sit still for one fucking second?” Logan snaps.

Finn fixes him with a withering look across the table. “I’d love to, but you’re breathing so goddamn loud that you’re about to blow me away.”

The bouncing of his knee grows faster, rattling Logan’s chair. He grinds his teeth. It’s worse when he knows it’s on purpose. “Real mature.”

“Like you’d know.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What do you think it means?” Finn counters snottily.

Logan feels his face heat. “That’s not an answer.”

“Duh, it’s a question.”

He doesn’t like it when Finn does this—twists his words around, upside down and backwards until Logan can’t keep it straight in his head anymore. Finn plays with words like a toddler in a sandbox and it’s fun, it’s fine, it’s fascinating. English sounds so interesting in Finn’s mouth. But then he pulls this bullshit, and Logan has no patience for it. “Can you put a crumb of effort into an actual answer, please?” he grits out.

Finn’s gaze is back on his book. His brows knit in the middle and he flicks to a new page as if Logan isn’t worth the second it’ll take to look at him, and that grates at him more than the knee-bouncing and word-spinning put together.

“Hey,” he demands.

“What?” Finn mimics.

“You’re being a dick. Stop it.”

That gets him a disbelieving glance. “Okay, projection.”

It takes him a moment to make sense of that, but when he does, he clenches his fists on the plastic cover of his economics textbook hard enough to make it squeak. His brain is tired. He’s tired. Technical English makes him want to tear his hair out and scream, even though he can’t do that, because Finn is there and studying and Logan is polite.

“What’re you all worked up about, anyway?” Finn mutters, slumping in his chair.

“I’m not worked up.” It comes out petulant. Even Logan can tell.

“Yes, you are. You’re bitchier than usual.”

“God—I am not!” Finn’s knee is bouncing again. Briefly, Logan wonders if his textbook is heavy enough to do real damage, or if it’ll just leave Finn’s forehead with a nice reminder to shut the fuck up sometimes. He straightens his legs out and kicks Finn under the table.

“Ow!”

“Stop bouncing!”

“Stop being an asshole!”

“It’s impossible for you to be nice, isn’t it?”

Finn reddens from his neck to the tips of his ears. “I’m not the one biting people’s heads off every five minutes!”

“I’ve never bitten anyone,” Logan says hotly.

“That’s not what that means, Logan!”

Mortification hits him like a fist to the gut but it is far too late to stop now. Embarrassment is gasoline to Logan’s fire. “I don’t care about your stupid words! They don’t make you any less annoying!”

Logan snaps his mouth shut a split second too late. He wishes he could trap the words with it. For a moment, he thinks Finn is going to hit him, but the look of genuine upset that shifts over his face hurts worse than a punch ever could.

It’s gone as fast as it arrived. Finn closes his book, not bothering to mark his page, and sets it on the table. His hand trembles lightly. Logan wants to combust, just so he doesn’t have to watch Finn forcibly control his expression. He takes his bag off the chair and leaves without a word.

The front door closes with the gentlest sound he’s ever heard. He stares at his textbook, shiny paper covered in black ink he can only begin to make sense of after hours upon hours. He hadn’t been brave enough to ask Finn to help him work through it; it seemed like an imposition. An interruption. Finn had enough on his plate already, and Logan had no right to ask him to drop everything to help him do something a first-grader could handle.

“Dude.”

Logan jumps, slamming the book closed.

In the doorway to the kitchen, Percy watches him like he’s a cornered lynx. “You good?”

He seems to regret asking, if his immediate wince is any indication. Logan’s stomach turns. He doesn’t bother taking his bag when he leaves.

--

He finds Finn on the Commons, a speck of shiny copper against a sea of spring green. It’s chilly today. A few groups dot the field, but Finn is mostly alone in his sun patch. His hands are folded over his stomach and his head is pillowed on his bag. It can’t be comfortable. Logan knows how many books he packs in that thing.

He wishes he had brought his backpack, just for something to hold.

Finn’s taken his shoes and socks off, he notes as he trudges closer. One knee is bent, splayed to the side at a casual angle that shows the flex of his thigh beneath a layer of denim. The wind gusts over him and flutters the hem of his shirt.

His eyebrow twitches when Logan hits the meter mark, but he doesn’t so much as breathe differently.

Logan stops next to his shoulder. His shadow cuts over the top half of Finn’s face. “You’re going to get a sunburn.”

Finn doesn’t answer.

“You’re not annoying. I don’t think you are.”

Finn doesn’t answer.

His chest constricts. It’s so stupid that seeing Finn in the slightest bit of pain makes him want to throw himself over a grenade. Especially when he’s the cause of it half the time.

More than half.

He’s so stupid.

He flops on the grass by Finn’s shoulder and folds his legs up, resting his chin on top. It’s a nice day despite the wind. “I’m sorry, Fish.”

A few heartbeats pass. A sparrow flits between the trees. “I can’t help it.”

“I know.”

“Do you?” Finn cracks an eye open at last, and it’s so pleading. It’s so horrible. Logan wishes he was one of the ants marching along through the tall grass, incapable of feeling the guilt that drowns him.

“I do.” The worst part is, he does.

“ ‘Cause I try.” Finn clears his throat and opens his eyes, though he keeps them trained on his hands. His usual fidgeting—which Logan has sort of always appreciated as a comfort—is absent. “I really try, Lo.”

Lo. That’s good. That’s progress. It’s not forgiveness, but it’s more than Logan deserves. He stretches out along Finn’s side, studiously ignoring the root poking his back and maintaining a respectful distance of two inches between them. “You’re nicer than anyone I know,” he says quietly. “Because you try. You share coffee and headphones and—and whatever the fuck else someone asks for. You’re so nice. I didn’t mean what I said.”

Finn turns that over in his head, watching the sky with half a squint. “Then why’d you say it?”

“I’m an asshole.”

“Yeah.” A smile wiggles loose at the side of his mouth. Finn tilts his head just enough to glance at him before straightening again. “Yeah, you are.”

“And I do care about your words, by the way.” I care about you. “So that was also a lie.”

Finn snorts under his breath. “Anything true?”

“…you were being kind of a dick.”

A pointy knee jabs into the meat of his thigh; Logan reaches out and whacks him blindly on the stomach. They’re both laughing by the time he brings his hand back to his own body and Logan has never been so glad to see Finn’s nose wrinkle the way it does. He can do damage, but he can fix it. With Finn, it’s never irreparable.

“I’ve been stuck on page 135 for an hour and a half,” Finn finally says with a shake of his head. “Just…stuck. I hate that feeling.”

“It took me five hours to get to page six,” Logan admits. The bitterness of shame is lighter in his mouth when Finn hums. Funny how that works.

“That boring?”

He swallows, lacing his fingers together over his navel. “Can’t fuckin’ read half of it.”

Finn pauses for a second, then turns to look at him. “You could’ve asked me.”

“You were busy.”

“You can always ask.”

Emotion builds in Logan’s belly and threatens his chest. He presses down to keep it there. “Like I said. You’re nice.”

“Lo, you’re my best friend.” There’s a rustle in the grass as Finn shuffles over, prodding him with gentle insistence. “Come on, you know that. I want to help.”

“I want to be able to read.”

“I want to be able to sit down and focus for more than twelve minutes at a time, but here we are, on the grass, not doing any of that.”

Logan smiles down at his hands. A butterfly soars over the toe of Finn’s sneaker. It’s a shit hand to be dealt, suffering through every class that requires complicated English. It’s demeaning. It’s frustrating. He’s getting better, understanding more, but it always feels like he’s not doing it fast enough. Things keep changing and years keep passing and the material just gets harder every time.

Except Finn. Finn doesn’t go anywhere at all.

He lays his head back in the grass; the muscles of his neck relax and he sees Finn do the same in his periphery. He waits until a bird-shaped wisp of cloud floats the width of the field before nudging Finn’s ankle with his shoe. “I’ll balance your budget if you read me the first chapter of my textbook.”

“…tempting.”

“And I’ll get you a pork sandwich.”

“Deal,” Finn says without hesitation.

[deoidesign]

Two things

Any tips for line work?

Any tips for drawing eyes?

You’ve got a killer style for that and I struggle for things like that, so was wondering what you do for that and have any advice for a young artist? Also Steve is gender goals and me and him have the same haircut which makes me happy. Comics with an older queer character are nice, makes me happy to see someone like me get to get older like that :]

This ended up really long, sorry...

"Style" is really just an amalgamation of every decision an artist makes. When you're starting to learn, your brain is processing a LOT on the technical and fundamental side. In time, these will become tools for you to use as you please.

Your style is in you already, I assure you. It's the clothes you love, your favorite color, the season that makes you comfy... Art is a form of communication, and the first person you have to learn to communicate with is yourself. It's a lifelong process of growth, self love, and personal expression. It's nothing to rush!

these are from 2011, 2016, and 2023!

(13, 18, and 25 years old)

You can see how my skills have evolved, but my tastes are rather much the same. I've still got an absolute ton to learn.

When it comes to lineart, if you find yourself regularly struggling with "losing energy from the sketch", then making your lineart thicker might be a solution; thicker lines are a lot more forgiving!

This is a common issue many artists struggle with. It happens because the sketch has multiple lines, so the brain gets to choose which one it likes most. When you do lineart that choice isn't up to the brain, so it's not tricking itself to seeing all its favorite lines anymore.

Lineart can also help you define depth. Generally speaking, thicker lines tend to be on closer objects, and further away objects have thinner lines. You'll also lose more and more detail (and sometimes edges) the further away an object gets.

It can also define light in your lines. solid blacks can block out entire sections of shadow. Another option is hatching, and another is stippling. It doesn't have to define light, though, many styles define their light through various other shading methods.

My biggest tip for lineart is to practice "line confidence." fill a sketchbook page with lines that span the entire length of the page, evenly distanced, as straight as you can, without lifting the pen. Do this every day. Fill a page with ellipses, fill a page with circles. Do this every day. Eventually, you'll learn to 1: draw with your entire arm, which will save you a lot of quite literal pain in the future, and 2: you'll be able to draw the right line the first time more often, which will save you time and frustration!

I didn't have an example offhand so I did this to show what I mean, but I highly suggest doing this on paper in ink and not on the computer, if you can.

When it comes to eyes, definitely look lots to real people, and also pay attention to how artists stylize them! There's generally 4 main things to keep in mind:

1: the top lid. This one is major for defining the expression, so it changes a lot depending on context.

2: the bottom lid! this one doesn't move nearly as much.

Each lid has a vertex, and changing where the relative high and low points are on them between characters can change a lot about what the eyes are saying.

3: the sclera (whites of the eyes), iris (color of the eyes), and pupil (the hole we see out of)! These change an absolute TON based on style.

4: the eyelid!

and here's me just moving each of the elements around! it changes a lot about what the eye is saying as you change each element, play around with them! try not to always go with your first choices.

There's a lot more to eyes than this, and a lot more to lineart as well... but I hope this is something of a starting point! Getting better about art is about learning to think and study everything you see. I genuinely see the world differently than I did 10 years ago, and I'm much happier for it (and a much better artist!)

And when it comes to writing stories about queer characters who get to be older and still happy, I hope to someday see you making stories that bring someone the same sense of comfort you had reading my work. I hope it someday becomes normalized, mundane even. And I know it starts with people like you deciding it's important! We're here, we've always been here, and we're not going anywhere.

Best of luck on your artistic journey, I wish you a long lifetime of growing closer to yourself through your art.

[morgana-ren]

Do you have any tips on increasing word counts in fics?? Or is it just something that develops overtime? Thank you!!

So, for me, my wordcount comes from two different sources:

1: My erroneous belief growing up that the average chapter of a FF was around 7.5k words.

2: My overly flowery, pretentious purple prose.

I have a massive problem with going on for too long as opposed to not long enough. You know that writing advice that will tell you not to get too up your own ass with the details? Yeah, I do the opposite of that. I'll go on for eight years about how the rosy-wood sheen of a desk and by the time I've finished jerking my own writing brain off, no one is interested in the story anymore.

My advice to you would be don't worry about length. It's not quantity-- it's quality that matters. I've seen 2k stories that hit hard over 50k ones that just... drag. I would argue that length doesn't matter in the long run as long as you're getting across your point effectively, efficiently, and emotionally.

The only reason a fic should be incredibly long is if there is genuinely that much information to convey. As writers, and especially neurodivergent writers, sometimes we get a little carried away. A common mistake is people getting so caught up in the details that they forget to tell a fucking story. An obsession with word count really contributes to that in my opinion, because if it's not needed, it becomes invasive filler nonsense, and believe it or not, people can tell.

If the line doesn't fit, isn't needed, doesn't help, or isn't useful, cut it. Trim it like a hedge. Sculp a good story from the dirt with blooming aspects, not dead leaves and rotting twigs. Descriptions can be great, but they can also be a fuckin' anchor weight yanking your story down into the depths.

Think: Is it important to the perspective? Is it something the character would notice, subconsciously or not? Does it contribute in one way or the other to the story or the environment? Don't get me wrong, there are amazing authors who write the most useless shit (Victor Hugo is famous for writing like 8 pages of description about characters that literally don't matter) but when you're grasping the basics, it's best to try to keep it simple.

Another piece of general advice I can give you is to emulate the greats. Read FF authors that you love and adore, figure out what about their style that it is that you admire so greatly, and try to blossom your own style from it. Something about it deeply appeals to you, so figure out what and why!

If you're taking commissions and they want a specific word count and you're having trouble reaching it, there's a few reasons that could be. Maybe the idea just doesn't speak to you, or maybe you skipped over some detailing that you could have gone into. Re-read it outloud. Are the emotions being properly conveyed? Picture yourself in their shoes. What would you notice?

For example, say you have a character that is crying, and you have written them crying. What else about crying makes it hit home? The large, intangible lump wedged in the throat that makes it hard to swallow. The way your nose gets runny, especially when you look down and it's humiliating in front of another human. The way it blurs your vision and clumps your lashes together. That horrible, aching rake of razored claws down the inside of your chest that makes your body almost literally collapse on itself like a singularity. Being unable to breathe between heaving sobs and fighting for breath over your body's need to just completely break down. Maybe the character is prideful and spends a good two paragraphs trying to hide it. (These are bad deliberately, as you take them, fine-tune them, and then place them properly. Just write something general at first.)

Think about what descriptions really hit what it is that you're trying to sell. Tend to the environment around the characters to play positively into the story. Sneaking metaphors for whatever it is that's happening to them occasionally works well, but can be rough to pull off (say, leaky pipes dripping incessantly driving the character mad even though it's barely audible when they're remarkably stressed over a billion things and it's a breaking point. Drip. drip. drip. into a puddle that pools on the floor one measly drip at a time.)

I'm no professional, but these are just things I've picked up over just talking too fucking much and writing things that I am interested in, and it kills me every time I cut some useless bullshit from my stories because I like the way they sound even though I know it's just filler or even nonsense to the readers.

[ghostlysleuth]

I follow you on twitter & all I gotta say is, I love the diversity in your drawings so much, I hate when people make girls all stereotypes & your art makes me feel so comfortable it’s like a warm feeling not to mention your nsfw art. It doesn’t just show the list it shows the love & affection each character has for eachother it shows how intimate & hot the moment can be but also sweet? I’m not sure I love your art too much it really makes my day to see it, but any tips on anatomy?♥️

thank you so much!! i totally get what you mean by a list, that really is what diversity can feel like sometimes. my weight and figure have fluctuated so much over the years and i've gotten enough shit from family about eating habits and how chubby i've gotten, to the point of dysmorphia, and turning to art (and not to mention seeing the vast majority of fat butch rep) to remedy it has done wonders for my body image, and i'm really glad people like how i do things.

in terms of tips, as someone who went to school for this sorta thing, i'm gonna try to make this as accessible as possible aka free resources.

timed figure drawing!

legit, you gotta draw naked people posed in intricate ways. there's literally no avoiding it, you have to draw from life and not from tutorials. obv, i'm not saying go out and attend a life drawing course -- that's expensive shit -- so here's a few options:

i use a site called quickposes, since most figure drawing galleries require subscriptions.

you can set a timer for how long you want on each pose/reference. i recommend challenging yourself with shorter times as it helps you to get rid of any hang-ups about getting the anatomy exactly right. the drawing's got to get done by the end of the timer, don't focus on the details. just draw, be done with it, move on to the next drawing.

there's also a youtube channel that we'd use in class when a model couldn't show called new masters academy and they have a bunch of timed daily drawing exercises.

as a general rule, don't lean on the amount of time you have. what you're wanting to do is get a FULL PICTURE on your paper as soon as possible, regardless of a long or short time. get the full figure onto the paper then use the rest of the time to fuss over details, shading, editing, etc.

do studies!

kinda similar to the last one but in the more time-consuming sense.

use pinterest. it has a lot of uses for a lot of things but i use it quite a bit for both anatomy refs and costume design inspiration. this is legit what my home page looks like now because of it.

here's a board i made on anatomy, pulling from different body types; obviously i get a little gay wid it, but there's a verrrryyyy clear lack of certain body types in a lot of body refs like muscular women, fat women, just overall people who higher fat content than the lean, almost 0% fat of the figures seen in most tutorials and galleries:

this is where pinterest really shines because you can find literally everything on it.

in particular, there's an account called character design references, that is basically a stockpile of references for artists. i wouldn't normally recommend artist tutorials when it comes to wanting to learn anatomy because it can get a little echo-chambery (side-eyes the male vs. female tutorials that float around on twitter all the time) but there are actually some boards that have genuine studies on the human form, even from a medical point of view.

LITERALLY JUST DRAW A LOT.

I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH IT'S GONNA TAKE A LOT OF TIME AND PRACTICE TO GET TO A CERTAIN LEVEL OF SATISFACTION.

like that's it, full stop, draw often. if you're feeling rusty, go back to basics. if you're art blocked, go back to basics. if you're bored, go back to basics.

[firstkanaphans]

hii! i'm a big fan of your fanfics, and as an aspiring writer myself, sometimes I feel sad 'cause I know and feel like I won't ever be as good as you are ☹️ I know I shouldn't compare myself, and I'm trying to get better at it, so I would genuinely like to ask, are there any tips you'd give to authors out there trying to improve? either their writing skills, plot ideas, planning and stuff. thank you, either way, love you! can't wait for your next work ❣️

So, the first thing I want to say is that I have been writing for a long time. I published my first fanfic when I was 12 years old and I’m 31 now, so I’ve been actively writing for the past 19 years (!!!) with almost no break. The way someone explained it to me once was to look at your years writing like levels in a video game. I’m currently at level 19. If you’ve been writing for ten years, you’re at level 10 and it’s certainly not fair to compare yourself to me because the only thing that’s truly going to make you a better writer is to write.

I’m assuming since you called yourself an “aspiring writer” that your eventual goal is publication, so I’ll gear my recommendations towards that. Fanfiction is a completely different animal, but a lot of these tips are applicable to both. The biggest difference is that there’s a lot more freedom in fanfiction. You can write what you want without worrying about three-act structures and you don’t have to invest any work in making people care about the characters because they already do. It is worth noting, however, that if you write, you’re already a writer. 

First, I highly recommend that you read “Save the Cat” by Blake Snyder. It changed my life and I’m not even kidding. It’s an absolutely fantastic book on writing and although it’s geared towards screenwriting instead of novels, everything is still applicable. (There’s actually a newer version called Save the Cat Writes a Novel, but I’ve never actually read that one so I don’t know if it’s as good.) He goes over how to plot a story and also how to write likable characters, which is surprisingly one of the hardest parts of writing original fiction.

The second biggest tip I can give you is to let yourself write badly. Editing is easier than writing. The most important thing is to get words down on the page. You would not believe how bad my first drafts are—and that’s not just me being coy. Honestly, the next time I sit down to write a fanfic, I might save my first draft for anyone who’s interested to read because my first drafts are always bad. Like legitimately. There’s a lot of freedom in letting yourself fail and your writing will turn out better for it.

I would also recommend getting a professional critique if you are able to because you’re never truly going to know what it is you need to improve upon unless someone tells you. Signing up for a writing retreat is a great way to do this or you can look for online critiquing services. I’ve gotten several chapter critiques from Scribbler in the past and I found them very helpful.

But truly, the most important thing is to just have fun. I heard Lin-Manuel Miranda talking about writing Hamilton once and he said that what he constantly kept asking himself was, “If no one else ever sees this, will writing it still have been worth it?” And for him, it was. That’s the kind of energy I try to write with. I write what I want when I want and if I find myself struggling to write a scene because it’s boring, I do something to make it not boring instead. Change things up! Have fun! Because otherwise, what’s the point?

About six years ago, a friend of mine said virtually the same thing you did in this ask: “I’ll never be as good as you.” She had been writing for less than a year at the time. We lost touch when I left fandom to pursue original fiction, but when I came back last year, I looked her up again. She has a Tumblr ficlet pinned at the top of her page with 10K+ notes. I could never.

So don’t count yourself out yet. Just keep writing.

[suspicious-whumping-egg]

Hi I really want to write but I don't really know how and I don't know how to start but I'm also really worried that people would judge me can you just help me and give me some tips

Hey anon! First of all there’s no right or wrong way to write! Good writing usually shares common characteristics like figurative language, literary devices, a strong plot, characters, and theme, etc, but different people like different things and if you write what you love, you’ll find your audience. There always may be people who judge you but that doesn’t mean their opinions are more relevant than those of who enjoy your writing, and those people may just not be your target audience. What’s important is that you genuinely enjoy writing it, because if you write to cater to an imaginary audience (or even a real one), you might find yourself losing passion or interest in the project while becoming more and more stressed, losing the audience your writing may have attracted if you’d just written what you enjoyed. Expanding your comfort zone is good, of course, but do it on your own terms, and know that you don’t need to treat all online writing advice like a rule, but a guideline. Writing advice, good, mediocre, and otherwise, can be a good tool regardless if you use it, because analyzing why someone might have come up with this advice or what they were going for can also lead you to develop more of your own helpful processes. I.e. back when people tried to avoid using the word “said” nearly at all because they didn’t want to repeat it— the goal ofc was to keep from being tedious and repetitive, but sometimes it’s best to keep it at “said” instead of trying to use different or more complicated words that don’t fit the point of the advice makes sense, even if the actual advice doesn’t.

Now, if you’re interested in having more detail or (literary) strength to your writing I definitely recommend researching literary devices, plot structure, character development methods, how to develop and communicate a theme, etc. What’s also very important is making sure you know how people in general work, if you’re looking for realism in your characters, so looking at some general psychology concepts can be helpful. If you’re looking to write with some type of structure, it can help to plan plot diagrams, write out character bios, etc. If you prefer to just let it all marinate in your mind and dump it out on the page, that’s great too! Discord can also be a nice medium because it gives the record keeping of the former but instead of structured documents, it’s just unhinged rants to your friends that still give you more concrete ideas. Personally I’m a bit more of the second type, although my avoidance of making documents or diagrams for my plot and characters does mean I have to do a lot of thinking, remembering, and planning in my head in order to keep a strong plot, proper character development, etc.

Last but not least, don’t be too hard on yourself! Many people you see writing, including on tumblr, have been doing so for a long time. I’ve been writing for maybe three years, and the first things I wrote were for my eyes only (and maybe those of a select few) and I certainly didn’t post it. Writing is a craft, and like any other, it takes time to develop and grow. There may be some rough spots at first, and that doesn’t mean you should give up. And if you do post it, remember that numbers do not equal worth. Many of us know the feeling of working super hard on a piece to only get a scatter of likes, maybe a reblog or two. But if you find yourself writing as a way of getting notes, or feeling like notes dictate the worth of your writing, it can be a good idea to keep writing but not posting it. Although taking a break can also be good and healthy! The best writing doesn’t often come when you sit down and force yourself to write, and trying to forge yourself to write when you’re not vibing it can sometimes just be more frustrating and can exacerbate burnout. Personally, when I have writer’s block, or anytime I’m trying to write, I spend a lot of time just thinking and daydreaming about scenarios until I feel that excitement and motivation to write again.

If you’d like more advice, feel free to send another ask or dm me here or at blue.e on discord! Happy writing <33

[mitochondriencocktail]

🎨

🌿

🎨 - link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it

Ohhh man this is so tough. There's such a plethora of talented artists in the fandom. This might be a copout answer, but genuinely anybody who's been kind enough to make fanart of something I've written. It never ceases to be the highest compliment ever. The ones I've gotten for Hockey AU, Star!Bojan, Good Omens AU and even the Monsterfucker one are all so so so dear in my heart because it means that something I did inspired someone else, and it's this beautiful feedback loop of art and creating.

🌿 - give some advice on writer's block and low creativity

So I wanted to sit on this one for a minute today and not just give a ramble, as I'm prone to do. Writer's block and low creativity happen to nearly every artist across the board and anybody who says different is a liar. So, trying as best as I can, here are my top tips for writer's block and low creativity.

1. Read books: This is probably my biggest piece of advice. I think of this like putting fuel in the tank. You can't go for a run if you're not eating properly, and writing is the same way. Sure, you can read fanfiction, you can watch movies/tv, you can look at art. All of these are fine and great, but nothing gets the brain going the same way as when you read a published, edited book. Exploring genres and styles you don't typically go for can bring about a lot of inspiration and help you:

a) Feel reassured about your own writing habits and -isms when you see that skilled authors also have repeat phrases they like or certain quirks.

b) Find new things to test out in your own toolbox.

When you engage with literature, like really slow down and read and study what an author is doing, you're learning so so so much just through that simple act. It can also bring about great ideas too, which is why I suggest a balance of both fiction and non-fiction.

2. Find what works for you: This is a bit vague, but let me explain. Some writers thrive under consistency while others need variety. Some, like myself, need both. I know I consistently need a somewhat quiet environment where I can feel alone, but staring at a wall all day can get dull. Sometimes switching the font up on your document can help. Or changing the background color. Putting on new music. Sitting somewhere new. It's adapting to your mood that day and working with it.

3. Write even when you don't feel like it: We all have off days. A really common obstacle for people who go to the gym is that you go through periods where you LOVE going, but then you have periods where you absolutely loathe it. Writing is like that. The brain is a muscle and creativity is the skill you're honing. Some days you'll have a great workout, others you'll have a shit one. That's fine!

It doesn't mean you're shit. What matters is that you're showing up and staying consistent. When I'm having a 'shit' writing day, I say, "Okay, just write one sentence." Usually that turns into a handful, sometimes if I'm lucky it turns into a paragraph. But that's all I'll do for the day because, hey, we're not gonna churn out 2k+ words everyday. That would be insane. Sometimes 200 is plenty.

4. Let go of perfection: This one is tough... I know. But practicing the ability to turn off the little critic in our heads is sooooo important. It comes easier to some than others, but it's still a skill you can work on. It's kinda linked with what I wrote above, but sometimes you can just write like shit and that's fine. Chances are it's not as bad as you think it is, but powering through and getting something down on the page is better than nothing, even if it's just a garbled half-formed idea. You can always come back and fill things in later!

I hope some of this made sense! I'm always happy to chat craft with people :) It can be very subjective, but I do believe in the old adage regarding art that once you know the rules, you can break them.

[alltimefail-sims]

Babe. I have been STALKING your page and boards for like a week now bc I’m obsessed with your stories ❤️ idk if you’ve been asked before but do you have any tips for making and building your stories? maybe like your process or something? Keep it up!! :)

My beautiful, kind anon friend!!! I want you to know that I have come back to this message three or four times unable to respond because I'm genuinely so touched that you would take the time to not only binge my boards and story content, but to message me with such kind words. It means more than I can articulate, so thank you so much. I'm so glad you're here!! ❤️

I've talked about this a little bit before, but honestly the best advice I can give is to (1) write what you love and (2) find the thing you enjoy the most about writing and start there. For me those go hand in hand because my favorite part of writing is developing the characters, so I start there and just expand from that point. I usually do this in a word/google doc, and it accidentally turns into an outline. As I develop my characters I will come up with scenarios, dialogue, memories, and plot points at random and jot those down in the doc. I really only ever go into the story knowing who my main character(s) is (are) and where/who/what I want them to be in the end. Everything in between are just stepping stones to get there. I hate the technical part of story-building; if I started with the traditional story-boarding and hammering at a rough draft chronologically from beginning to end I would lose momentum, get burnt out, and/or end up scrapping my story altogether due to discouragement. For me, starting with the characters kind of tricks me into creating a timeline and an outline over time. Your process might be different than someone else, it might look batshit crazy to someone else, but that's okay! Take your time, don't feel like you are on a strict timeline. Some writers write a book a year, some have 10 year gaps in their works. Do what works for you!

At the end of the day, if you love your characters and you have a theme or message (or multiple themes or messages) that mean something to you, writing will come easier. Sometimes I (and I'm sure other writers as well) can get bogged down by what we think people want to see or we worry that what we are creating isn't "enough" in some way or that it will be compared to other things or is something that has "already be done." Those fears only ever stop us from creating the art that we want to make, exactly how we want to make it. I would say that if you have a story and you have something you want to say, you should share it and be encouraged that it will mean something to someone. But hell, even if it only means something to you, that's okay too! I'd argue that creating any kind of art is a labor of love, it's giving a piece of ourselves to the world and saying "Here's a part of me, have at it." So just be sure that whatever you write, whatever you create, is something that you love. The rest will come naturally.

And, in my case, remembering to take my meds probably helps with the "focus" required of writing as well. Whatever works! 😂

Thank you so much again. Sending ungodly amounts of love your way. Good luck in your writing endeavors!! ❤️

[merrock]

Ok so I'm really bad a plotting. Well I wouldn't say "bad" I just don't have any experience. and I'm glad people come up to me and ask to plot. I just don't feel like I offer much idea wise. any tips for coming up with really good plots?

Hey there, anon!

Before I get into any kind of advice about plotting, I wanted to make a suggestion of a totally different kind. If you're struggling to come up with a plot idea, or how someone could be connected... don't! I know that in recent years, pre-plotting out connections and coming up with elaborate backstories has become really popular, and there's nothing wrong with that! But there's also nothing wrong with you just tossing up an open starter with your character asking for help picking out a pair of shoes, or offering to pay for someone's lunch. (I actually super big time do recommend doing open starters, just because it gives everyone the chance to throw a random reply at you and see what shakes out!)

Speaking for myself, I absolutely do not mind just interacting with someone and seeing where chemistry goes. Most of my best, most long-lasting friendships (and ships!) end up developing this way, just from interacting with someone's character and getting to know them over time, having fun with them.

But! If you really want to be able to offer up some plot ideas, I think a great place to start is where your character came from: are they local to Merrock? If the other person's character is, too, that normally gives you a good starting point. Maybe their families were close growing up, they went to school together, they were childhood sweethearts. If your character is brand new to town, it's sometimes harder to plot things like that, but... that also means you're sorta fresh into things and can develop fun plots as you go!

Take a look at others' pages, too. A lot of our characters have plot pages that have suggestions for wanted connections or general plot ideas, and maybe something will speak to you, or even inspire a totally original, different idea that you hadn't thought of before! And it can be a good idea to create your own page, too, and think of what kind of connections you could see your character having to make them well-rounded. What's their love life like, and what sort of connections could you see being filled? Are they a relationship type of person, do they go for hook-ups, or are they a loner? How about friendships? Do they make friends easy and have a huge friend circle, or maybe just a handful of friends that they really adore? Do they have any kind of enemies, whether it be someone who never gave their toy back in third grade, or someone who got a job they wanted? And speaking of jobs, that's another good way to make a connection! Either a co-worker, or maybe someone who comes into their work a lot, or someone's work they would visit often, too! Is there an important figure from their past, or someone you feel would make them open up now in the present? Hobbies that your character shares with someone else?

Basically, to sum it up: contribute what you can, but if you genuinely feel stuck for ideas, offer to interact, write and chat and see where things go! I think we've all been there where it can be frustrating if someone's giving you nothing when talking out plots (and frustrating if you're stuck with ideas!), but it's a huge relief if they're still interested in writing with you and seeing where things go! xx

[throwawayforanaskcauseanxiety]

On the stumbles of fantastical ships and (character) writing

This is about to be the final nail in my controversial opinion cancel immediately coffin, but I desperately need to let this fly into the open void of the internet.

Writing fanfics is fun! We all love our fantasy, bigger than life relationships and couples, often coming with their rather supernatural problems. One is special and the other is not. One's whole life is their job basically and the other one hides away his centuries lived and people met. They have their ups and downs, relatable communication issues even, but they come back together despite the rocky patches. Sometimes they banter about the plotTM, sometimes they kiss.

It's romantic, heart-wrenching even. But I can't help but wonder, what the fuck would these characters even talk about outside of that?

And this goes for any big fantasy/not dominantly romance couples, to be fair. Looping back to our immortal x mortal pair, considering one's immense knowledge and expertise, one character would definitely dominate the conversation with stories or wise-cracks, but how many times could that happen. What could they share with one another? If they were sat in a room, not discussing the plotTM, doing side-couple things way off screen (yeah so they went on a trip. Yes, and?? I want to know who rolls his eyes at the obnoxious tourists or drops tips for the coffee) or just being dramatic for the relationship drama to keep your eyes glued onto the book(s), what would they say to one another? If there was silence, how would they handle it?

I'm interested in these simple moments, because that's where the character writing and established dynamics could really shine. Nevertheless, if there is not enough substance, no amount of imagination can help you and even fanfiction starts to look stale and repetitive. A couple can be tropey, but if all of their scenes together are shallow, then what tropes can you really make use of? 1278th popular x nerd au that works absolutely the same? I suppose that my biggest gripe with all of this is the genuine, they kissed and cause the author said so, it works forever now.

The setting goes hand in hand with this, we don't need to worry about how the couple handles mundane (hah) things, because they don't have time to handle things on screen as a side couple. Look magic, look spooky evil demons, whoops now there's stupid drama shit to resolve. They loved each other very much because see, they made out passionately and they save each other in pages 14Xz and 885P, don't forget the one paragraph cameo in book thirteen. Maybe I'm just jaded.

How many scenarios can you even derive, aside from cannon adjacent things (the nth breakup imagine)? Is there enough content (characterization, varying dynamics, just any sort of interesting character details) outside of problems/other characters being mentioned/drama/smut/the same two fluffy scenarios over and over again? Authors should do a better job to show their care for these characters and not create a relationship as shallow as a wikipedia summary.