#scriptshrink

[cripplecharacters]

do you happen to know of any tumblrs that do what you do, but for other... types(?) of people? i'm struggling to find an active LGBT writing guide blog specifically at the moment but it'd be nice to have a masterlist of any blog of this variety, since tumblr's search is remissfully unhelpful..! tysm

Hi lovely asker!

So there used to be a whole lot of blogs that were labeled "Scriptx" blogs and of course others too. Good thing is a lot of them were archived! So while they're not open for new questions you can still use the search and use the information provided to other asks they answered. So I'm gonna tag the other active blogs or the ones that are just on hiatus and then I'm gonna link all the archived ones!

Active:

@yourbookcouldbegayer

@scriptlgbt

@fuckyeahasexual

@writingquestionsanswered

@scriptmedic

@blindbeta

@askablindperson

@writingwithcolor

@creatingblackcharacters

@howtofightwrite

@script-a-world

@scriptstructure

Not active/Archived:

scriptservicedogs-blog

actuallyservicedogs

scriptshrink

scripttorture

scriptveterinarian

scriptautistic

asexualadvice

scripttraumasurvivors

scriptpharmacist-blog

scriptpolitics

scriptpublishingindustry

scriptfirefighter

writenavy

scriptwitchcraft

scripthacker

scriptcriminaljustice

scriptgenetics

scriptflorist

scriptlawyer-blog

scriptastronomer

scriptchemist

scriptmyth

scriptspoonie

scriptkink

scriptequestrian-blog

scriptsocialwork

scriptbrainscientist

fantasticallyfactualforensics

scriptaccountant

scriptballerina

scripthistory

scriptlibrarian

scripteconomist

scripteducator

scriptlinguist-blog

I briefly scrolled through a few of these that I personally wasn't aware of but I can't vet and scroll through each and every individual blog in its entirety because well it would take a very very long time. Also of the active blogs some don't have their ask box open and/or some are on small hiatus'. Please be respectful of that, pretty please, everyone puts in a lot of time and effort and yeah.

~ Mod Virus 🌸

[heywriters]

Hey so I am sort of new, or more like re-introducing myself after so long a way I may as well be a new person, to writing side of tumblr. Do you have an recommendations on people or tags that be cool to follow?

Yep, sure do!

@writingquestionsanswered

@fixyourwritinghabits

@keepcalmandwritefiction

@wordsnstuff

@writingwithcolor

@theliteraryarchitect

@thewritinghole

@the960writers

@bookishdiplodocus

@thewritersspotblog

@questionprompts

@writtentelepathy

@the-write-type

@elumish

@insanitysilver

@howtofightwrite

@jstor (below blogs are inactive/on hiatus but good references)

@scriptshrink

@scriptmedic

@scriptcriminaljustice

I also have a side blog to this one @hey-writers for writer promos and the occasional posted fiction or poetry. I don't update it often, but it is there if you want to peruse other writeblrs.

Followed tags are touch and go as people will "tag spam" things that aren't relevant, but check these out anyway!

#writers on tumblr

#writeblr

#writing

#creative writing

Make use of the "Latest" and "Top" categories when checking tags.

Welcome back!

[scriptmedic]

Hi I’m new here idk know the ‘about books only’ part of asks works, but does it count if I ask for book recommendations? Because I was wondering if you knew (or had written) any books about eating disorders and how to write and/or support someone with one.

Hey! Sorry, I don't know any books on the topic, but for the overlap of mental health and storytelling, try @scriptshrink !

[ask-the-prose]

So it doesn’t look like scriptshrink is answering questions anymore. Could you either answer this question or direct me to someone else who can?:

What character traits would you expect from someone who was forced to be a caregiver for one of their parents while being verbally abused by the other? Is this character developing oppositional defiant tendencies unrealistic?

Thanks for the ask! Sorry it took so long to get to it, as it happens I do have a family member who is a therapist, and I wanted to consult her on this question so I could give you the best answer possible.

The short and uncomplicated answer is that you are comparing apples to oranges. Oppositional defiance doesn't make sense in this context because of the level of acquiescence required to both caretake and endure abuse.

That being said, I went a step further and asked a few questions to get some more information. The nature of the caretaking situation would definitely result in a certain amount of codependency, we see that often in situations where one person is caring for another.

On the other side, we have a verbally abusive parent, and depending on what the parent says and critiques about the child character, the character may develop a few different disorders and neuroses. Including but not limited to eating disorders, obsessing over certain things, and maybe an ingrained instinct to fawn. (This is in relation to the instinct when danger or the body perceives danger: fight, flee, fawn, freeze)

Another route would include aspects of borderline personality disorder. As explained to me the character could develop a need for attention, including negative attention, because their needs were fundamentally ignored when young. It wouldn't be unrealistic to describe this character acting out or making bids for attention in any way they can.

I say this all to those reading this without any judgment or intent to critique mental illness and victims of abuse. There are real people who go through similar situations, and it is not my place, nor is it my intention to place moral judgment on anybody who does exhibit these behaviors. And I would like to caution the writing community against "diagnosing" your characters unless that is specifically necessary for your story. These people are not real, and ascribing real, stigmatizing traits to characters can be incredibly dicey waters. Watch out for how the narrative treats your mentally ill and abused characters.

Hope this helps!

--Indy

[dreamwishing]

Currently reading through the outline I’m in the middle of for The Lost Crown, and I’m at almost 4 sticky notes of questions to ask various blogs. (Shout out to the @scriptmedic and the rest of the scriptx blogs, @authors-haven, @dukeofbookingham, and @oliviapaigewrites for being so awesome!)

[scripttorture]

I have a character who is gaslighted, and for around half a year. Her torturers aren't /too/ abusive physically, and the most that happens is she gets a humerus broken (and then set) when she does something that gets her FAR too close to finding out she's been gaslighted. However, later on in the story she /does/ find out. What effect would this have on her mentally- would she continue to believe the torturers or the evidence, and would she be able to think of a way to get free? Thank you!

I’m really sorry but this is too far outside my knowledge base for me to give you a good answer.

So I had a chat with ScriptShrink and I’m going to refer you to her. It’s a topic she knows a lot about so I’m confident you’ll get a good answer.

[plotlinehotline]

Hi! I'm writing a story with a character who has dissociative identity disorder but I know very little about it. Do you have any advice or resources to help me? Thank you!

I take it you missed my post last week on Writing About Mental Illness, so take a look at that to get started. I mention in the post that memoirs are a great way to familiarize yourself with actual experiences that people with the disorder have. If you’re going to write a character with DID, and you know nobody that has it, you have to read about it. And I find that memoirs are the most enlightening sources.

One rec I’ll give you is A Fractured Mind: My Life With Multiple Personality Disorder by Robert B. Oxnam. The reviews of this book are very positive. You can buy it on Kindle, or go to your library and pick up a copy for free. 

Someone commented on my last post, recommending @scriptshrink for these types of questions, so I suggest you visit them for some additional help. Thanks @0asissss for the tip!

-Rebekah

[scriptfeature]

thank you for drawing awareness to MDD as a newly ( i mean finally! 10+ yrs) diagnosed MDD sufferer when people write it or talk about it makes me sick usually cause they cant understand most of the time and they write characters as though they are just sad and damn it it makes it worse sometimes cause thats not what its like and in your head its a billion miles an hour or nothing in every direction and some days your fine and make people smile others you can barely breath

Hey, no problem, anon. The scriptX family is here to make inform writers in as many areas as we can. I’m glad we could do this for you. 

@scriptshrink , I think you might like to see this. 

[scriptsocialwork]

I'm unsure if I should ask here or at scriptshrink. It's a dystopia setting. My protag gets kidnapped from his family at 8 by a group of raiders, he spends 3 years traveling with them and watching them steal from and hurt people. Would this change his view of the world? Like, could them brainwash him somehow into thinking they're not doing anything wrong? Or would he remember what his parents taught him (they were loving parents). Would him escaping at 11 to find his parents be realistic?

I think @scriptshrink is who you are looking for. 

[writingquestionsanswered]

Any good resources for writing medically accurate fiction? x

The ScriptX blogs, though almost entirely inactive, are great resources if you will take the time to read through answered asks and previous posts:

@scriptmedic @scriptgenetics @scriptshrink @scriptpharmacist @scriptbrainscientist

Other than that, Googling your specific questions/interests is a good bet for lots of helpful resources. You can also try searching on tumblr or adding "tumblr" to your Google searches to see if dedicated guides or posts come up. :)

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

Learn more about WQA

Visit my Master List of Top Posts

Go to ko-fi.com/wqa to buy me coffee or see my commissions

[writing-if]

Masterlist for IF Writing

Don't mind me, just getting this writing master list ready ahead of time to make it easier to keep this blog organized! I've already got a few ideas on some things I want to share :) Come across something incorrect? Let me know, please! Also, please excuse any typos in this post - I'm a very exhausted human lol

Oh - if you got tagged in this list, just ignore me, and sorry for the bother!

General Writing Advice and Considerations

Strategies for telling writer's block to "Fuck Off" - coming soon :)

Setting goals that won't overwhelm you - coming soon :)

How long does a demo need to be?

Getting Started

Story Structure & Plotting - coming soon :)

My Outline Process + Outline Templates

Because we all make mistakes :)

Tools

Hemingway Editor - the online version is completely free!

Writer - Free Basic Proofreader

Grammarly - Free Basic Proofreading

NaturalReader - text to speech to help catch errors!

Self-Editing

How to Self-Edit Your Work - coming soon :)

Common Dialogue Mistakes - coming soon :)

Showing Not Telling - coming soon :)

Worldbuilding Resources

Food Timeline - history of food across many centuries

Script A World - @script-a-world

Script Myth - @scriptmyth

Inkarnate - can use free or paid to create a map

Developing Your World

Basics for Worldbuilding (AKA Get Started) - coming soon :)

Planning Celebrations (Festivals, Feasts, Holidays) - coming soon :)

Politics and Government in Your World - coming soon :)

Religion in Your World - coming soon :)

Main Character (MC)

Deciding How Much Control to Give Players - coming soon :)

Customization Options to Consider - coming soon :)

Developing Characters

How many characters are too many? - coming soon :)

Basic Character Development Questions - coming soon :)

Choosing Character Names - coming soon :)

Writing Romance: Tropes and Clichés - coming soon :)

Links to Character-Related Resources

ArtBreeder - use AI to create the faces of your characters

The Librarian's Sexuality Masterpost - @linklibrarian

Behind The Name - history and meaning of names

Blogs For Educating Oneself

These are helpful in addition to research!

Writing With Color - @writingwithcolor

A Guide to Writing Disabled Characters - @cripplecharacters

Script LGBT - @scriptlgbt

Rainbow Writing - @rainbowwriting

ScriptAutistic- @scriptautistic

Writing Questions Answered - @writingquestionsanswered

ScriptShrink - @scriptshrink

Writing Blind and Visually Impaired Characters - @mimzy-writing-online

Links to Other Things

WorkFlowy - outlining and list making

[pens-swords-stuff]

Hey Undine! I once again turn to you for advice, because you’re such a blessing to this community. That said, you owe me nothing, so feel no shame in deleting this if you don’t care to answer.

I’m writing a story that is not intentionally a metaphor for mental illness, but now something that could easily be understood as mental illness (a form of possession) is central to the plot. I myself have experience with depression and anxiety and feel comfortable representing those, but I’m very concerned about writing something harmful towards people with psychosis or personality disorders. I’ve done general research, but I have a lot of questions about my specific portrayal.

Because I’m 17 and this story either won’t get published or won’t get published for a long time, I can’t really hire a sensitivity reader. Can you point me towards any resources for this? Like, is there an equivalent to the writingwithcolor blog for mental illness? Do you know any individuals who might wanna help me out?

First of all anon, I think it’s fantastic that you had the self-awareness to realize that there is something in your WIP that you need to be careful of. Cultivating that level of self-reflection and awareness is a really important skill, and so impressive that you’ve managed to start developing it at your age!

I think doing research is a good first step. And when you’re doing research, be sure to find sources from people who experience psychosis or personality disorders! It takes a little bit more digging, but try to find stories, articles, interviews, videos created by the people with psychosis or personality disorders. They are the best source of information because it’s their experience. When you’re looking up mental disorders of any kind, it’s much easier to find scientific articles and things like that — I would know, I’m a clinical social work student! But while all of the knowledge can be helpful, what you really want is to hear from the people, not the clinician.

Next, take a deep breath! When you try to include something that is outside of your experience in your stories, you’re probably going to make mistakes. And that’s okay! Don’t let the fear of making mistakes paralyze you and your writing. Making mistakes is a part of learning, and as long as you are respectful, open-minded and really listen to the feedback that you’re given, it’ll be okay.

If you’re really nervous about accidentally portraying something harmful, don’t show anyone! It won’t get published in the near future probably like you said, so you have plenty of time to learn, make mistakes, and fix anything you need to before you reveal it to the world. And hopefully by then, it’ll have gone through several edits and sensitivity readers so it won’t be a problem!

There are probably more blogs out there but the first and only one that comes to mind for me is @scriptshrink.

That being said, a word of caution: Don’t rely too heavily on blogs like that to answer all your questions. (And I mean this with absolutely NO offense intended! Blogs like @scriptshrink that answer questions about a certain topic are a godsend, and they are such valuable, wonderful resources that you should absolutely check out).

What I mean is this: It is impossible to capture the intricacies of your story in an ask. No matter how good of a job you do explaining it in limited characters, no matter how many really helpful answers they may be able to help provide, portrayal comes down to how it is written. I’m sure they can help answer several questions about mental illnesses, let you know if they think your concept is problematic or not, and even give advice on how to write a specific mental illness, but blogs like that are not a replacement for sensitivity readers. 

I’ve done some similar consultation on representing people of my background before, and a lot of people want answers to questions about whether they are being problematic or not. And often times the answer really just is: It depends on how you write it.

It’s frustrating for both me and the writer to have this conversation. It’s my firm belief that it’s not enough to just talk about it and ask someone when you do have specific questions about portrayal. It really needs to be read in its entirety for a real answer.

That’s why sensitivity readers (plural! Note the plurality!) are so important. 

If hiring a sensitivity reader isn’t an option for you right now for financial reasons, that’s fine. It’s okay to write it, do as much research as you can, edit, revise and brush up on it so that when you can eventually afford to hire someone, you have a much better product for them to judge. Feel free to write it to the best of your ability until then!

Otherwise, I know that there are some people who do trades — instead of offering payment, you could offer your own services to someone. You could maybe offer to be a sensitivity reader for them for one of your identities, offer to be a beta reader for someone, or offer to edit something for them. That might be a more affordable option for you if you can find someone willing to trade with you.

Good luck!

If you’d like to ask me for advice on writing or running a writeblr, please check out my Ask Guidelines and FAQ first.

Ask Guidelines | FAQ | Advice Masterlist

[relatablegenzwriter]

tips on how to write mute characters so they have as much expression?

Hi! Great question. My initial advice would be to focus on facial expressions and body language—those can be very telling when it comes to communication. However, I myself am not nonverbal and haven't written mute characters before, so I don't have too much knowledge on this subject. Since I don't feel qualified to talk specifically about how to write mute/nonverbal characters, I'm going to refer you to some great resources that you might find helpful. Blog-wise, @cripplecharacters is a blog dedicated to answering questions about writing disabled characters, and there are a couple Script blogs that might be helpful as well (@scriptautistic and @scriptshrink come to mind for your question). There's also a great compilation of resources here that also includes resources for writing Deaf and Blind characters. Research is going to be crucial to your story. (If anyone knows of any other resources for writing nonverbal characters, or disabled characters in general, please feel free to share!)

[horrormoviecws]

Welcome to Horror Movie Content Warnings!

Who are you? Call me skeletoma (he/him pronouns). I’m a lover of all things horror, whether it’s movies, books, or art.

What’s this? It’s a database of content warnings for horror movies. The warnings cover both kinds of violence and potentially upsetting topics like sexual assault or physical abuse.

Where can I find the database? Right here.

Why horror? I’m glad you asked! Horror, by its very definition, contains things that are designed to be disturbing whether it’s on a physical or psychological level (or both). It’s like how an action movie is supposed to be exciting or a comedy is supposed to be funny. However, someone may go into a horror movie not expecting or wanting to see certain things and may not think to look it up beforehand.

Doesn’t giving content warnings just spoil the movies? While plot points or twists may be revealed if you look up a movie’s entry, I won’t be giving a detailed summary. If you want to avoid spoiling yourself while still checking to see if, say, Final Destination has a plane crash in it but you don’t want to know anything else about it, you can shoot me an ask and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. For more info about why content warnings are good things, check out @scriptshrink’s excellent post about them.

How can I request a movie or content warning? Just send me an ask!

What movies have you done already? Here’s a link to an alphabetized list!

Is there anything you won’t do? Yep. I won’t do: Non-horror movies TV shows or miniseries (because of the time commitment involved, I would not be able to guarantee that I’d finish them) The Human Centipede movies The Chucky movies A Serbian Film (do not look up the plot summary if you are sensitive to child sexual abuse or sexual assault)

If you cover a movie on your blog, does that mean that you like it? Not necessarily. I write down warnings as I watch movies (regardless of quality), and there are some films on here that I really didn’t enjoy.

Anything else? I’m still working on polishing the spreadsheet, so it may be a little rough in places.

[scriptshrink]

The ScriptX family as of 5/10/17

Have writing questions, but don’t know who to ask? Check out the ScriptX family of blogs, all of whom provide detailed writing advice on a huge variety of topics!

First, the Fascinating Feature, where you can get the best posts of all the ScriptX blogs, as well as updates and announcements about the family: @scriptfeature

The Matriarch of Medicine: @scriptmedic  The Astonishing Astronomer: @scriptastronomer The Caustic Chemists: @scriptchemist The Helpful Hacker: @scripthacker

The Saintly Social Worker: @scriptsocialwork The Shrewd Shrink: @scriptshrink  The Terrific Trauma Survivors: @scripttraumasurvivors The Tactful Torturer: @scripttorture

The Eclectic Economist: @scripteconomist  The Harmonious Historians: @scripthistory  The Laudable Linguist: @scriptlinguist  The Plucky Politicians: @scriptpolitics

The Amazing Accountant: @scriptaccountant The Breathtaking Ballerina: @scriptballerina The Fearless Firefighter: @scriptfirefighter The Fair Florists: @scriptflorist The Learned Librarian: @scriptlibrarian The Patient Pastor: @scriptpastor The Powerful Publishers: @scriptpublishingindustry The Sincere Sailor: @scriptsailor The Splendid Soldier: @scriptsoldier

The Autistic Answerers: @scriptautistic The Radiant Rainbows: @scriptlgbt The Shining Spoonies: @scriptspoonie The Wondrous Witches: @scriptwitchcraft

The Valiant Veterinarian: @scriptveterinarian The Eager Equestrians: @scriptequestrian

The Audacious Australian: @scriptaussie The Beautiful Brits: @scriptbrit The Charming Canadian: @scriptcanuck The Germane German: @scriptgerman

The Wonderful World-builders: @script-a-world The Stupendous Structurer: @scriptstructure

Inactive / archived blogs:

The Brilliant Brain Scientists: @scriptbrainscientist The Edified Educator: @scripteducator The Fantastic Foodie: @scriptfoodie The Gentle Geneticist: @scriptgenetics The Knowledgeable Kinkster: @scriptkink The Lively Lawyer: @scriptlawyer The Majestic Mythologists: @scriptmyth  The Phenomenal Pharmacist: @scriptpharmacist The Stalwart Service Dogs: @scriptservicedogs

This list is current as of 5/10/17!

The changes are:

@scripttraumasurvivors and @scriptpastor have joined the family!

Scriptecology has decided to leave the family and is now located at @flukedoesecology. We wish her well in her future endeavors.

Several blogs have gone inactive. 

To get the most up-to-date version of this list, be sure to check this link here: scriptshrink.tumblr.com/scriptfamily

Are you an expert in a topic? Interested in joining the ScriptX family? Apply here!

[city-of-all-tunas]

Writeblrs for Writers

Disclaimer: This is by no means a complete list. These are writeblrs I follow and I’d love to hear about other writeblrs :)

@scriptlgbt

@scripttorture

@scriptshrink

@scriptlibrarian

@scripthistory

@scriptchemist

@scripthacker

@scriptmyth

@script-a-world

any of the scriptX family lol

@writing-prompt-s

@writingwithcolor

@cripplecharacters

@needabeta

@develop-your-oc

@write-yourself-a-river

@ao3commentoftheday

@writingquestionsanswered

Feel free to add on with more writeblrs.