tsthrace

[tsthrace]

[tsthrace]

I don't have kids...but I love my friends' children!

I live by myself...but I'm very social!

Guess what? You don't need the but!

You're allowed to not have kids. Even if you're in your 30s or 40s. In fact, you're allowed to not particularly enjoy kids if that's true for you. And even if you do adore your friends' kids, you don't need to stipulate that when telling someone you don't have any.

You're allowed to enjoy living by yourself. In fact, if not seeing people for weeks on end is life-giving for you, that's totally fine! And even if you are very social, you don't need to stipulate that when you tell people that you live alone.

Let's stop making people—including ourselves!—feel bad for not following traditional or prescribed scripts for life.

[tsthrace]

The Barbie movie reminded me about how when I was little my parents were upset that I kept making my Barbie dolls kiss, so they bought me a Ken doll. The next day they found me having a funeral for poor Ken in the garden, he had died of tuberculosis. All the Barbies were in attendance and I buried him under our rose bush. The Barbies were too poor to afford a headstone (it was 1875) so I didn’t mark where the grave was and I never could find him again. He’s probably still there.

[tsthrace]

SAG-AFTRA (the actors' union) just released a list of all the A-listers who donated $1 million or more to the strike fund.

[tsthrace]

"True resilience in kids has ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS been the result of the support they receive."

Thinking about this conversation from Discord

[tsthrace]

[tsthrace]

I did not actively roleplay with my partner, but I was nonverbally fantasizing about the ship while engaging in a sexual situation.

(I was an "Other" vote.)

"Roleplay" is loosely defined - e.g., if you've called your sex partner by a fictional character's name on purpose or vice versa, or if you've discussed a hot scene from a fic you read/wrote and then acted it out together with the understanding that you're thinking about what the characters would do in the situation. The main thing is that your partner has to be aware & at least mildly participating; it's not secret/one-sided fantasizing.

"Ships it" - for the purposes of this poll - they're actively enthusiastic about the ship and think about it even when you're not around. I have partners who know the canon and enjoy my fic but don't otherwise think about my ship, and I wouldn't say they ship it.

If you want to describe an "other" situation but don't feel comfortable doing so in a reblog -- I have anon asks turned on/can keep asks private if you mark them as such.

[tsthrace]

Do you have any writing tips for newbies?

i only have one, and that's to change your perception of a project. nearly all writers approach their work with the goal to Complete A Thing. and for fiction writers, that makes sense: a completed narrative is one with an inciting incident, rising and falling action, a resolution, and a denouement. when the story is over, the project is over.

but that's not what a project is, and if you approach writing with the attitude of, "i'm going to write a novel," you'll struggle at best or outright fail at worst. finishing a story is an intermediate skill. finishing a story well is an advanced one. don't worry about completing anything until you come across a story that forces you to finish it.

you'll improve most by creating studies in discrete craft concepts. approach a piece of writing as a study in developing character, a study in setting, a study in the style of your favorite author. and when you focus on that thing, give up everything else. if you're studying character, fuck conflict. if you're learning how to build setting, feel free to begin every sentence with "there was." the focus is setting, not style.

every successful thing i've written began as a study in something. the story i wrote that got me into a bunch of residencies and a PhD program began as a study in similes. my first published piece began as a study in modernizing a short story i read that had been published in the 80s. my most recent successful story began as a study in widening narrative access. the novel i just finished began as a simple character study, because i'd never really allowed myself to do that before.

when you're drawing in a sketchbook, the goal isn't usually to make a whole-ass picture. the goal is to draw a hundred eyes, or hands in different positions, or your own face over and over again. when you're learning to dance or fight or any other athletic thing, you have to practice the steps and basic skills first. we take writing for granted in that we conflate basic literacy with writing skill, and because storytelling is one of the most innate aspects of being a human, many people tend to approach it from the wrong direction.

but by approaching writing as a series of studies in specific craft elements, you approach it with questions rather than answers. the stakes remain low--the goal is no longer to make something good, but to learn a skill that you can take with you to your next, hopefully even better, piece.

[tsthrace]

[tsthrace]

A full rainbow raken at 30k ft above the earth – @BazzaCC via Vian Lawson

https://aus.social/@vian1138/109935133385833217

[tsthrace]

[tsthrace]

Would appreciate reblogs to reach a wider sample size!

[tsthrace]

IT'S A TRICK. HE HAS NOWHERE TO GO. JUST BACK AND FORTH FOREVER WHILE YOU WATCH. HE'S JUST MANIPULATING YOUR LOVE OF CUTE PIXELLATED CREATURES.

[tsthrace]

The most AU thing about this is Clarke owning a jacket that covers her boobs.

Titus: For today's agenda...Heda? Are you paying attention? Lexa: Lexa: Raven: Uh, Clarke? Don't you have a jacket that actually covers your boobs? Clarke: You're wearing it. Titus: Perhaps you could return it so we can get on with this meeting.

[tsthrace]

I love tumblr so much.

Night in Mordor (Vincent Van Gogh style) by daobiwan_digital_artist

[tsthrace]

[tsthrace]

and yet...

I'm not sure who Tumblr thinks I am, but it's not this.

And yet, it seamlessly flows with so much of my other content...