#problem-solving framework

[awesomengers]

First Principles Thinking: The Key to Creative Problem-Solving

Have you ever wondered how some people seem to see the world differently? They don’t just accept things as they are; they question, they explore, and they innovate. One powerful tool that fuels this ability is called “first principles thinking.” But what exactly is it, and how can you use it to unlock your creativity and solve problems? Let’s dive in and find out. What is First Principles…

[lgbtlunaverse]

Everytime I see that "fandom is worse now because all the POPULAR KIDS got into it" post or any of the bajillion similar ones I die a little on the inside. You all sound like a 34 year old white cishet self identified gamer scoffing about how "all these girls pretend to like anime when IN MY TIME they would have bullied me for being a nerd" before he goes on to watch 4 more videos from a youtuber who participated in gamergate.

[exopelagic]

my players don’t know it yet but the adventure we’re doing rn is me being silly goofy bc they hadn’t made their characters in time for me to plan around them. now that I Know Things the game can really start

[borngeniusworld]

🧠 Ready to Think Smarter? Master These 7 Critical Thinking Exercises!

Saarthi For Success 🔍 A Step-by-Step Guide to Sharpen Your Critical Thinking SkillsCritical thinking is like a muscle—the more you use it, the sharper it gets! 🧠 Here’s a practical roadmap to boost your ability to evaluate arguments, spot logical flaws, and make better decisions.🛠️ Step 1: What is Critical Thinking?Ever tried defining it yourself?Exercise: Write your own definition.Identify…

[malcolmschmitz]

The Insider and Outsider Detectives

So there's a lot of discourse about detectives floating around, ever since 2020 shifted a lot of people's Views on the police. Everyone likes a good mystery story, but no one seems to know what to make of a detective protagonist- especially if they're a cop. And everyone who cares about this kind of thing likes to argue over whether detective stories hold up the existing order or subvert it. Are they inherently copaganda? Are they subversive commentary on the uselessness of the police?

I think they can be both. And I think there's a framework we can use to look at individual detectives, and their stories, that illuminates the space between "a show like LAPD straight-up exists to make the cops look good" and "Boy Detective is a gender to me, actually".

So. You can sort most detectives in fiction into two boxes, based on their role in society: the Insider Detective and the Outsider Detective.

The Insider Detective is a part of the society they're investigating in, and has access to at least some of the levers of power in that society. They can throw money at their problems, or call in reinforcements, and if they contact the authorities, those authorities will take them seriously. Even the people they're investigating usually treat them with respect. They're a nice normal person in a nice normal world, thank you very much; they're not particularly eccentric. You could describe them as "sensible". And crime is a threat to that normal world. It's an intrusion that they have to fight off. An Insider Detective solving a crime is restoring the way things ought to be.

Some clear-cut examples of Insider Detectives are the Hardy Boys (and their father Fenton), Soichiro "Light's Dad" Yagami, or Father Brown. Many police procedural detectives are Insider Detectives, though not all.

The Outsider Detective, in contrast, is not a part of the society they're investigating in. They're often a marginalized person- they're neurodivergent, or elderly, or foreign, or a woman in a historical setting, or a child. They don't have access to any of the levers of power in their world- the authorities may not believe them (and might harass them), the people they're investigating think they're a joke (and can often wave them off), and they're unlikely to have access to things like "a forensics lab". The Outsider Detective is not respectable, and not welcome here- and yet they persist and solve the crime anyway. A lot of the time, when an Outsider Detective solves a crime, it's less "restoring the world to its rightful state" and more "exposing the rot in the normal world, and forcing it to change."

Some clear-cut examples of Outsider Detectives are Dirk Gently, Philip Marlowe, Sammy Keyes, or Mello from Death Note.

Now, here's the catch: these aren't immutable categories, and they are almost never clear-cut. The same detective can be an Insider Detective in one setting and an Outsider Detective in another. A good writer will know this, and will balance the two to say something about power and society.

Tumblr's second-favourite detective Benoit Blanc is a great example of this. Theoretically, Mr. Blanc should be an Insider Detective- he's a world-famous detective, he collaborates with the police, he's odd but respectable. But because of the circumstances he's in- investigating the ultra-rich, who live in their own horrid little bubbles- he comes off as the Outsider Detective, exposing the rot and helping everyone get what they deserve. And that's deliberate. There is no world where a nice, slightly eccentric, mildly fruity, fairly privileged guy like Benoit Blanc should be an outsider. But the turbo-rich live in such an insular world, full of so much contempt for anyone who isn't Them, that even Benoit Blanc gets left out in the cold. It's a scathing political statement, if you think about it.

But even a writer who isn't trying to Say Something About The World will still often veer between making their detective an Insider Detective and an Outsider Detective, because you can tell different kinds of stories within those frameworks. Jessica Fletcher from Murder She Wrote is a really good example of this-- she's a respectable older lady, whose runaway success as a mystery novelist gives her access to some social cachet. Key word: some.

Within her hometown of Cabot Cove, Fletcher is an Insider Detective. She's good friends with the local sheriff, she's incredibly familiar with the town's social dynamics, she can call in a favour from basically anyone... but she's still a little old lady. The second she leaves town, she might run into someone who likes her books... but she's just as likely to run into a police officer who thinks she's crazy or a perp who thinks she's an easy target. She has the incredibly tenuous social power that belongs to a little old lady that everyone likes- and when that's gone, she's incredibly vulnerable.

This is also why a lot of Sherlock Holmes adaptations tend to be so... divisive. Holmes is all things to all people, and depending on which stories you choose to focus on, you can get a very different detective. If you focus on the stories where Holmes collaborates with the police, on the stories with that very special kind of Victorian racism, or the stories where Holmes is fighting Moriarty, you've got an Insider Detective. If you focus on the stories where Holmes is consulting for a Nice Young Lady, on the stories where Holmes' neurodivergence is most prominent, or on his addictions, you've got an Outsider Detective.

Finally, a lot of buddy detective stories have an Insider Detective and an Outsider Detective sharing the spotlight. Think Scully and Mulder, or Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. This lets the writer play with both pieces of the thematic puzzle at the same time, without sacrificing the consistency of their detective's character.

Back to my original point: if you like detective fiction, you probably like one kind of story better than the other. I know I personally really prefer Outsider Detective Stories to Insider Detective Stories- and while I can enjoy a good Insider Detective (I'd argue that Brother Cadfael, my beloved, is one most of the time), I seek out detectives who don't quite fit into the world they live in more often than not.

And if that's the vibe you're looking for... you're not going to run into a lot of police stories. It's absolutely possible to make a story where a cop (or, even better, an FBI agent) is an Outsider Detective-- Nick Angel from Hot Fuzz was originally going to be one of my 'clear-cut examples' until I remembered that he is, in fact, legally a cop! But a cop who's an Outsider Detective is going to be spending a lot of time butting heads with local law enforcement, to the point where he doesn't particularly feel like one. He's probably going to get fired at some point, and even if his badge gets reinstated, he's going to struggle with his place in the world. And a lot of Outsider Detective stories where the detective is a cop or an FBI agent are intensely political, and not in a conservative way- they have Things To Say about small towns, clannishness, and the injustice that can happen when a Pillar Of The Community does something wrong and everyone looks the other way. (Think Twin Peaks or The Wicker Man.)

Does this mean Insider Detective Stories are Bad Copaganda and Outsider Detective Stories are Good Revolutionary Stories? No. If you take one thing away from this post, please make it that these categories are morally neutral. There are Outsider Detective stories about cops who are Outsiders because they really, really want an excuse to shoot people. There are Insider Detective stories about little old people who are trying to keep misapplied justice from hurting the kids in their community. Neither of these types of stories are good or bad on their own. They're different kinds of storytelling framework and they serve different purposes.

But, if you find yourself really gravitating to certain kinds of mysteries and really put off by other kinds, and you're trying to express why, this might be a framework that's useful for you. If your gender is Boy Detective, but you absolutely loathe cop stories? This might be why.

(PS: @anim-ttrpgs was posting about their game Eureka again, and that got me to make this post- thank them if you're happy to finally see it. Eureka is designed as an Outsider Detective simulator, and so the rules actively forbid you from playing as a cop- they're trying to make it so that you have limited resources and have to rely on your own competence. It's a fantastic looking game and I can't recommend it enough.)

(PPS: I'm probably going to come back to this once I finish Psycho-Pass with my partner, because they said I'd probably have Thoughts.)

(PPPS: Encyclopedia Brown is an Insider Detective, and that's why no one likes him. This is my most controversial detective take.)

[river-taxbird]

There is no such thing as AI.

How to help the non technical and less online people in your life navigate the latest techbro grift.

I've seen other people say stuff to this effect but it's worth reiterating. Today in class, my professor was talking about a news article where a celebrity's likeness was used in an ai image without their permission. Then she mentioned a guest lecture about how AI is going to help finance professionals. Then I pointed out, those two things aren't really related.

The term AI is being used to obfuscate details about multiple semi-related technologies.

Traditionally in sci-fi, AI means artificial general intelligence like Data from star trek, or the terminator. This, I shouldn't need to say, doesn't exist. Techbros use the term AI to trick investors into funding their projects. It's largely a grift.

What is the term AI being used to obfuscate?

If you want to help the less online and less tech literate people in your life navigate the hype around AI, the best way to do it is to encourage them to change their language around AI topics.

By calling these technologies what they really are, and encouraging the people around us to know the real names, we can help lift the veil, kill the hype, and keep people safe from scams. Here are some starting points, which I am just pulling from Wikipedia. I'd highly encourage you to do your own research.

Machine learning (ML): is an umbrella term for solving problems for which development of algorithms by human programmers would be cost-prohibitive, and instead the problems are solved by helping machines "discover" their "own" algorithms, without needing to be explicitly told what to do by any human-developed algorithms. (This is the basis of most technologically people call AI)

Language model: (LM or LLM) is a probabilistic model of a natural language that can generate probabilities of a series of words, based on text corpora in one or multiple languages it was trained on. (This would be your ChatGPT.)

Generative adversarial network (GAN): is a class of machine learning framework and a prominent framework for approaching generative AI. In a GAN, two neural networks contest with each other in the form of a zero-sum game, where one agent's gain is another agent's loss. (This is the source of some AI images and deepfakes.)

Diffusion Models: Models that generate the probability distribution of a given dataset. In image generation, a neural network is trained to denoise images with added gaussian noise by learning to remove the noise. After the training is complete, it can then be used for image generation by starting with a random noise image and denoise that. (This is the more common technology behind AI images, including Dall-E and Stable Diffusion. I added this one to the post after as it was brought to my attention it is now more common than GANs.)

I know these terms are more technical, but they are also more accurate, and they can easily be explained in a way non-technical people can understand. The grifters are using language to give this technology its power, so we can use language to take it's power away and let people see it for what it really is.

[lostconsultants]

Navigating Complexity: Introducing the Cynefin Framework for Effective Decision-Making

🔍 Unlocking the Power of Decision-Making: Introducing the #CynefinFramework! 🚀 In today's fast-paced world, navigating complexity is a must for every organization. 🌐 Discover how the Cynefin Framework can help you make informed decisions.

In a rapidly changing world, businesses and organizations often face complex challenges that defy traditional problem-solving approaches. In such dynamic environments, leaders and teams need a reliable framework to make sense of complexity and devise effective strategies. This is where the Cynefin Framework comes into play. Coined by Dave Snowden, the Cynefin Framework is a powerful sense-making…

[high-priestess-house]

𝕾𝖎𝖒𝖕𝖑𝖊 𝕸𝖔𝖔𝖓 𝕻𝖍𝖆𝖘𝖊 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖙

New Moon

Appearance: The moon is not visible in the sky.

Duration: Lasts about 1-3 days.

Energy: New beginnings, fresh starts, setting intentions.

Activities

Intention Setting: Write down or meditate on your goals and desires for the coming month.

New Projects: Initiate new projects or start new habits.

Cleansing: Perform a cleansing ritual to clear away old energies and make space for the new.

Waxing Crescent

Appearance: A small sliver of the moon begins to appear.

Duration: About 7 days.

Energy: Growth, expansion, gathering energy.

Activities

Manifestation Work: Focus on the growth of your intentions and desires.

Affirmations: Use positive affirmations to strengthen your goals.

Action Steps: Take practical steps towards achieving your intentions.

First Quarter

Appearance: Half of the moon is visible.

Duration: About 1-3 days.

Energy: Decisions, challenges, taking action.

Activities

Problem-Solving: Address any obstacles that have arisen since the new moon.

Courage Spells: Perform spells to boost confidence and courage.

Reevaluation: Adjust your plans if necessary to stay on track.

Waxing Gibbous

Appearance: More than half but not fully illuminated.

Duration: About 7 days.

Energy: Refinement, patience, and persistence.

Activities

Refinement: Fine-tune your goals and work out the details.

Patience Rituals: Practice patience and stay focused on your long-term goals.

Energy Work: Perform rituals to boost your energy and motivation.

Full Moon

Appearance: The moon is fully illuminated.

Duration: About 3 days.

Energy: Completion, celebration, illumination.

Activities

Manifestation Rituals: Perform powerful rituals to manifest your intentions.

Gratitude Practices: Celebrate your achievements and express gratitude.

Divination: Use tools like tarot cards or pendulums to gain insight and clarity.

Waning Gibbous

Appearance: More than half but decreasing in illumination.

Duration: About 7 days.

Energy: Reflection, gratitude, sharing knowledge.

Activities

Reflection: Reflect on what has been accomplished and learned.

Sharing: Share your knowledge and experiences with others.

Gratitude Rituals: Focus on giving thanks for what you have received.

Last Quarter

Appearance: Half of the moon is visible again, but decreasing.

Duration: About 1-3 days.

Energy: Release, letting go, forgiveness.

Activities

Release Rituals: Let go of anything that no longer serves you.

Forgiveness Practices: Practice forgiveness for yourself and others.

Decluttering: Clear out physical and emotional clutter.

Waning Crescent

Appearance: A small sliver of the moon is visible before disappearing.

Duration: About 7 days.

Energy: Rest, recuperation, introspection.

Activities

Rest and Recuperation: Take time to rest and recharge.

Introspection: Reflect on your inner self and spiritual journey.

Dream Work: Pay attention to your dreams and subconscious messages.

Additional Tips for Baby Witches:

Moon Journaling: Keep a journal to track your activities and feelings during each moon phase.

Crystal Charging: Use the full moon to charge your crystals by placing them under moonlight.

Moon Water: Create moon water by leaving a container of water under the moonlight to absorb its energy, especially during the full moon.

This chart provides a basic framework for how you can align their practices with the moon phases. As you grow in your practice, you may find additional or alternative activities that resonate more with your personal path.

[plaidos]

IMO, the biggest videogame opinion red flag is something being unfavourably compared to “unmodded skyrim”. i agree with the baseline assertion that Skyrim is a bad & boring videogame, but i think it’s laughable to say these problems could be solved though modding. sure, you can mitigate how uninteresting and broken Skyrim is, but the issue isn’t just the content, the entire framework & engine is the sloppiest, sludgiest, mushiest take on an open world fantasy rpg i can even imagine. the entirety of every system in Skyrim would have to be thrown out to make it worth playing

[codingquill]

Essentials You Need to Become a Web Developer

HTML, CSS, and JavaScript Mastery

Text Editor/Integrated Development Environment (IDE): Popular choices include Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text.

Version Control/Git: Platforms like GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket allow you to track changes, collaborate with others, and contribute to open-source projects.

Responsive Web Design Skills: Learn CSS frameworks like Bootstrap or Flexbox and master media queries

Understanding of Web Browsers: Familiarize yourself with browser developer tools for debugging and testing your code.

Front-End Frameworks: for example : React, Angular, or Vue.js are powerful tools for building dynamic and interactive web applications.

Back-End Development Skills: Understanding server-side programming languages (e.g., Node.js, Python, Ruby , php) and databases (e.g., MySQL, MongoDB)

Web Hosting and Deployment Knowledge: Platforms like Heroku, Vercel , Netlify, or AWS can help simplify this process.

Basic DevOps and CI/CD Understanding

Soft Skills and Problem-Solving: Effective communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills

Confidence in Yourself: Confidence is a powerful asset. Believe in your abilities, and don't be afraid to take on challenging projects. The more you trust yourself, the more you'll be able to tackle complex coding tasks and overcome obstacles with determination.

[sheeezu]

-The congo line straight to death-

▪︎Shifting research papers - 1▪︎

(yeah, ha. Don't freak out the title came to me in a dream. Actually you can just NOT read this, there really isn't anything interesting, im just posting this sort of like im a researcher, oh! If you were to read this, imagine me as a mad scientist or something)

Human behavior in shifting:

If someone is adopted well into an environment, coming out of that mentality could be in a matter seconds- new thoughts new mind, new reality.

But the way a human learns and interact with environment is one of the leading factors of the struggle to change reality.

Social dependence:

A person grows up watching the people in its environment, parents, fellows and learns and tries to mimic their behavior. They may already have a framework of what a successful human being is like; therefore when an individual comes to shifting, it tries to logically deal with the situation. When the individual can't find an answer, it tries to copy off of others.

Conclusion:

While any other problem can be solved with this approach; shifting is unlike it. Shifting is unlike anything, it's concept, applications, and principles are even more unheard of than a human's interpretation of magic.

A person should keep its reliance on a source material only up to the beginning stages of purging out the human mindset; taking inspiration from others, but should never become fully reliant on it;

It will only lead to a mass cycle of repetition, and melting into the human ways.

Instead with surface-level human computing, the person should prepare to reach its higher consciousness, separating it's reality, its identity from being a worldly human being.

I'm making a series, sort of, just going to organise my knowledge into single posts, and make a masterlinked post later on.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Worksheets: The Antagonist

Worksheets & Templates Antagonist; Villain; Fighting

ANTAGONIST

Treat your antagonist as a real person. Their sole reason for existing should not be to act as a foil to your protagonist.

It is the framework of your story that sets the antagonist in opposition. What happens when the antagonist becomes the protagonist?

Have you imbued your antagonist with some of your own good & bad characteristics?

Use a real-life antagonist for inspiration, and give them some love too.

My antagonist wants:

Why they want it:

They will sacrifice these to get what they want:

Others judge them too harshly because:

But they act like this because:

I can sympathise with my antagonist because:

They could change if:

They can't change because:

They are good at:

They are bad at:

Who else loves/loved your antagonist?

Why do/did they love your antagonist?

Antagonist - works against the goals.

Villain - a “bad guy” in the story, often working for evil purposes to destroy a heroic protagonist ⚜ Writing Notes: Villains

While there can be villainous protagonists, villains are antagonists when they’re not the main character of the story, but instead the main source of conflict for the main characters.

VILLAIN

Defining characteristics:

General mood/disposition/outlook:

Motivation/s:

Do they consider themselves a villain?

Do they feel mistreated?

Who or what do they blame?

What is their aim?

How do they plan to achieve it?

How does this cause conflict with the protagonist?

Why does the protagonist dislike them?

Why do they dislike the protagonist?

What advantages do they have?

Are they isolated?

Do they have henchmen?

Do they change? Do they succeed?

How do they...

Treat their subordinates?

Unnerve others?

Try to manipulate others?

Try to hurt others?

Try to antagonise others?

Pursue their victims or wait for them?

Create a contrast with the protagonist?

Change the course of the story?

Create drama and suspense?

What made them a villain? Was it...

An event?

A person?

A belief or world view?

Their environment?

Something else?

FIGHTING

Who gets involved in the fight?

Why do they start fighting? Who starts?

What is at stake for each party?

What is the aim of the fight for each party?

Do all parties fight fair?

Why couldn't the problem be solved without fighting?

Are there any onlookers or arbiters?

Is the fight pre-planned or spontaneous?

Does anyone try to flee? Why or why not?

How does the fight end? Is there a clear winner?

What do they do after the fight? How do they feel?

Does the fight end the conflict between them?

Physical Elements

Do they have weapons?

How does the method or choice of weapon influence the fight?

Is the fight part of a ritual or rite of passage?

Where do they fight?

Does the fighting ground play a role in the outcome?

Is anyone injured or killed?

Are they evenly matched in skill? In strength and stamina? In resources?

Do any other factors come into play?

How does the fight play out?

Sources: 1 2 ⚜ More: Worksheets & Templates ⚜ Writing Exercises: Antagonist Fight Scene ⚜ Hate ⚜ Word List: Fighting ⚜ Morally Grey Characters

[borngeniusworld]

🧠 Ready to Think Smarter? Master These 7 Critical Thinking Exercises!

Saarthi For Success 🔍 A Step-by-Step Guide to Sharpen Your Critical Thinking SkillsCritical thinking is like a muscle—the more you use it, the sharper it gets! 🧠 Here’s a practical roadmap to boost your ability to evaluate arguments, spot logical flaws, and make better decisions.🛠️ Step 1: What is Critical Thinking?Ever tried defining it yourself?Exercise: Write your own definition.Identify…

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

Hello! I've been getting more and more tips for writing thanks to your post about character flaws in my FYP. I was wondering, do you have any posts about character strengths/virtues? Thanks!

Rin's Character Strengths Masterpost ✨

Hey there, fellow writer! 💖 So glad my character flaws post found its way to you! You've asked about one of my FAVORITE topics to explore - character strengths and virtues! And guess what? I've been meaning to write this companion piece for ages, so THANK YOU for the nudge!

Let's dive DEEP into character strengths that go beyond the basic "brave protagonist" or "loyal sidekick" tropes we see everywhere in fiction. Because memorable characters need memorable strengths!

Why Character Strengths Matter Just As Much As Flaws

We often focus SO much on giving characters interesting flaws (which, yes, super important!), but their strengths are what make readers root for them and fall in love with their journey. Strengths are what make your character SHINE in those pivotal moments! ✨

The key is making these strengths SPECIFIC, NUANCED, and sometimes even PROBLEMATIC. Yes, strengths can cause problems too - that's where the juicy storytelling happens!

Beyond-Basic Character Strengths for Your Characters

1. CONTEXTUAL COURAGE 🔥

Not just "bravery" but courage that manifests in specific contexts:

Social courage (standing up to peer pressure)

Intellectual courage (questioning deeply held beliefs)

Physical courage despite specific fears

Quiet courage (the kind that doesn't look heroic but IS)

Moral courage (doing the right thing when it costs them personally)

Creative courage (risking failure and ridicule for their art/ideas)

2. RADICAL EMPATHY 💭

Not just "understanding others" but:

The ability to understand even villains' motivations

Cross-cultural empathy that bridges different backgrounds

Empathy that extends to those completely unlike themselves

Empathy that causes them to make difficult choices others wouldn't

Empathy that allows them to anticipate others' needs before they're voiced

Empathy for those society has taught them to fear or distrust

3. ADAPTIVE INTELLIGENCE 🧠

Not just "being smart" but:

Pattern recognition in chaotic situations

Intuitive problem-solving under pressure

Cultural adaptability when thrust into unfamiliar environments

Emotional intelligence that helps navigate complex relationships

Street smarts that complement (or replace) formal education

The ability to translate complex concepts for different audiences

4. CREATIVE RESILIENCE 🌱

Not just "bouncing back" but:

Finding unconventional solutions to setbacks

Using humor as a coping mechanism during dark times

Transforming trauma into strength without romanticizing it

Building community resilience, not just personal

Learning from failures rather than being crushed by them

Maintaining hope in seemingly hopeless situations

5. PRINCIPLED FLEXIBILITY 🌊

Not just "having values" but:

Knowing which principles to bend and which to hold firm

Adapting moral frameworks to new information

Navigating ethical gray areas without losing their core

Growing their values through experience rather than rigidity

Finding compromise without betraying essential beliefs

Recognizing when rules must be broken for a greater good

6. DISRUPTIVE KINDNESS ❤️

Not just "being nice" but:

Kindness that challenges systems of oppression

Unexpected kindness that changes enemies' perspectives

Kindness as a radical choice in brutal environments

Kindness that requires genuine sacrifice

Kindness that sees beyond surface behaviors to underlying needs

Kindness that doesn't expect recognition or reciprocation

7. CONSTRUCTIVE SKEPTICISM 🔍

Not just "questioning things" but:

The ability to discern truth from manipulation

Healthy doubt of authority without cynicism

Critical thinking that leads to solutions, not just criticism

Questioning their own assumptions first

Seeking multiple perspectives before forming judgments

Recognizing patterns of deception or misinformation

8. STRATEGIC VULNERABILITY 💧

Not just "being open" but:

Knowing when vulnerability creates connection

Sharing weaknesses to build trust at critical moments

Using personal stories to help others feel less alone

Admitting mistakes to model growth for others

Asking for help when independence would be destructive

Showing emotion strategically to influence outcomes

The Strength Spectrum: Make It Complex!

Remember that any strength exists on a spectrum! The most interesting characters have strengths that sometimes function as weaknesses depending on the context.

For example:

Loyalty becomes enabling when taken too far

Curiosity becomes recklessness in dangerous situations

Honesty becomes cruelty without empathy

Ambition becomes destructive when ethics are compromised

Compassion becomes self-destruction without boundaries

Independence becomes isolation when connection is needed

Confidence becomes arrogance without self-reflection

Cautiousness becomes paralysis when action is required

Strengths in Character Arcs 📈

The MAGIC happens when you show how strengths evolve throughout your story:

The Dormant Strength - A character doesn't know they possess it until circumstances force it out

The Misused Strength - They have the strength but are applying it in harmful ways

The Costly Strength - Using this strength requires genuine sacrifice

The Transformative Strength - This strength fundamentally changes who they are

The Shared Strength - They teach/inspire this strength in others

The Rediscovered Strength - A strength they lost faith in that returns when most needed

The Evolving Strength - A strength that changes form as the character grows

The Collaborative Strength - A strength that only emerges when combined with another character's abilities

Writing Exercise for You! 📝

Take your protagonist and identify:

One strength they've always had and rely on

One strength they don't know they have yet

One strength that's actually causing problems

One strength they'll need to develop to overcome the main conflict

One strength they admire in someone else

One strength they've lost and need to reclaim

Genre-Crossing Character Strengths

These strengths work across ALL genres:

Perceptive Pattern Recognition - Seeing connections others miss

Adaptive Authenticity - Remaining true to themselves while evolving

Constructive Conflict Navigation - Using disagreement to build stronger relationships

Radical Responsibility - Owning their part in problems without self-flagellation

Generative Listening - Hearing beyond words to underlying meanings

Intentional Impact Awareness - Understanding how their actions affect others

Courageous Vulnerability - Risking rejection for authentic connection

Principled Pragmatism - Finding workable solutions that honor core values

Remember that in ANY genre, your character strengths should connect to their internal journey as much as their external conflicts. The most compelling characters have strengths that are tested, lost, rediscovered, transformed, and ultimately deepened through their story arc. 🌟

The most powerful character strengths aren't superpowers or extraordinary abilities - they're deeply human qualities taken to their most compelling expression. They're the things we recognize in ourselves but rarely develop fully. That's why they resonate so deeply with readers across all genres and age categories.

Hope this helps you craft characters with rich, nuanced strengths! Let me know if you want me to dive deeper into any of these - I could talk character development ALL DAY! 💖

~ Rin. T.

[thesiltverses]

Where do the ideas come from like it is so hard for me to WRITE. I have half baked ideas rattling around my head like hungry caged rats at night that run around in circles and chew on the bars but don’t really sit or finish whole stories. Some days there are more sentences than words but I don’t know when a story starts or ends, I don’t know how people do it, I think I used to but I don’t know anymore. I got less sure as I aged.

How do you KNOW.

How do you WRITE.

Please tell me I am dying. I mean I guess we all are dying all the time but I am not writing and I feel I am dying a little more dyinger.

You don't know! You'll never know! You gotta sit down and do it anyway. And when you don't do it, when you have one of those Charles Darwin October 1st 1861 days or weeks or months or years where you feel poorly and stupid and filled with self-loathing and nothing comes, you gotta at least come out of that funk with one good idea about what the problem might have been and then play about with the idea of how you might work yourself out of it, what a better writing process might look like for you. Is it about taking a nice walk in the morning or waking up early so you aren't distracted? Is it about setting tangible milestones or reading more?

You say you have no ideas, but it sounds like you definitely do have ideas, you're just struggling with story structure. A sentence is an idea in itself; ask any poet.

See if it helps to begin with an overly simple but firm story framework, a first sentence and a last sentence, and then work from one to the other. Alternatively, see if it helps to embrace structureless chaos, give yourself permission to forego beginnings and endings - try out Burroughs' cut-up technique, check out The Unfortunates by B.S. Johnson which can be rearranged chapter-by-chapter in any order. Solve by playing.

Equally, distrust confidence and that voice in your head that says you can't do it because you're too unsure of yourself. Don't separate yourself in your head from the class of people who innately 'know' how to do it; they don't, and fuck 'em if they do.

Martin Amis claimed that writers needed to have big egos because otherwise they'd doubt themselves too much and never write a word. Punch Martin Amis in the gut, then go on doubting yourself and ride the doubt onwards down the road of self-knowledge. The doubt won't help you write, but it will make you a better writer.

[sexhaver]

Magic the Gathering rules: a centralized, continually updated document built on a framework established by a math PhD 30 years ago that can be used to resolve literally any situation that could possibly arise, no matter how complex. "reading the card explains the card". literally Turing complete.

Yu-Gi-Oh! rules: a slapdash mess of individual card rulings and functional errata held together by spit, prayers, and bans. Konami didn't invent the concept of "reading the card explains the card" until 2011 with Problem-Solving Card Text and even then it's not 100% consistent. it's frankly a miracle that the game functions at all without exploding and injuring bystanders.

Hearthstone rules: there was a one-week period where having Fandral Staghelm on the board would allow you to cast Dark Wispers targeting yourself instead of a creature, which in addition to summoning 5 1/1 Wisps would also give your hero +5 max health, +5 attack (permanently, even on your opponent's turn, so you damaged any minions that hit your face), and Taunt (so enemy minions were forced to hit your face before hitting any of your minions, effectively making them untargetable). people argued over whether or not this was a glitch until Blizzard quietly patched it out