wordsmithandwanderings

[wordsmithandwanderings]

Like to charge reblog to cast

[wordsmithandwanderings]

not allowed to say Harry Potter, but what was your book series obsession as a teen

mine was definitely Eragon

[wordsmithandwanderings]

please note the map here as the regions considered the south here are the places labled: deep south, upper south (missouri and illinois you’re basically the midwest but i’m letting it slide. parts of oklahoma can stay bc they have good bbq), mid atlantic south, lower appalachia (im sorry but not you ohio, i have to draw a line somewhere), gulf coast, acadiana, texas (actually just all of texas), and low country. the ozarks and other appalachian regions are in a weird gray area , florida is just florida and some of these areas are basically the north to me but im going for linguistic patterns and don’t feel like hashing out cultural regions that much)

tbh this poll is currently focused on region and to honestly get the most accurate results i’d need to do several follow-ups breaking down things like ethnicity, gender, class, age, etc. (for example AAVE/AAE and dialects influenced by it are more likely to say yall regardless of region as it can be considered a dialect, ethnolect, or sociolect so is not as regionally determined) but let’s see how this goes first. the research designer in me is suffering bc of how broad this is but i honestly doubt yall would wanna fill out a google form for an internet stranger with no IRB and is really only doing this out of curiosity.

as someone from the “deep south,” even when i mask my accent i still can’t imagine not using y’all regularly. i feel like the word has become more prevalent as it kinda fills a linguistic gap but i want some yummy yummy data. if i missed something or you would like to elaborate on your specific region pls feel free to explain

[wordsmithandwanderings]

I last watched My Melody and Kuromi so honestly I think I’ll be fine

The main character of the last TV show you watched is now your therapist. How’s it working for you?

[wordsmithandwanderings]

Spread The Love!

We're going to spread the love today. Take the time to make something for one of your favorite writeblrs!

Remember, writing is a lonely activity. Let's help give each other some joy!

[wordsmithandwanderings]

if you are writing a character who is morally reprehensible I promise you can convince everyone that they're awful without making them fat or "ugly", giving them poor personal hygiene, or otherwise labouring over descriptions that tell us how "disgusting" they are in appearance or behaviour.

[wordsmithandwanderings]

i love when you read/watch an influential piece of storytelling and you're like ohhhhhh ok i see. so everyone else was copying this guy's homework

[wordsmithandwanderings]

Hi everyone! Here's your Daily Reminder to Click for Palestine!

And if you can spare a dollar, donate to ANERA!

[wordsmithandwanderings]

settings I would love to see more in fantasy:

Deserts, but like, positive. Deserts portrayed as beautiful places full of life and wonder. Desert as homeland, desert as a place of beauty and intrinsic value.

Mountains. Andean-style settings where the world is mountainous and the land is organized into altitude zones, where uphill/downhill are more meaningful than east/west

Island archipelagos. We’ve gotten a few in fantasy recently but 1) I want More 2) I want someone to do a Fantasy Kula Ring

Something inspired by Tiwanaku or Chavín de Huántar

Independent city-states. They all are unified by basically the same culture but they are all also politically independent variously at war, making alliances, happily trading, in a trade war, conquered and subordinate to other city-states, founding new city-states, travelling to the central temples of other city-states’ patron gods, etc.

Full of prehistoric animals that never coexisted with humans but they do in this fantasy world because they’re Cool

[wordsmithandwanderings]

Ship dynamic: Expert scientist who always gets the response, “uhh English please?” When talking about their field of study x English professor who gets the same response whenever they exercise a large vocabulary.

[wordsmithandwanderings]

little design challenge for myself. designing dragons for different genres.

[wordsmithandwanderings]

...might've discovered a new genre to lose my mind about, hold please

[wordsmithandwanderings]

Fanworks vs. Published Works

Okay, so, I was on Reddit and there was this discourse of fanfic v. published work, and how the lines are beginning to blur more and more, particularly among readers, and how dangerous this is for fandom spaces because fanfic is not designed for the same sort of engagement one has with a published work. They look similar and feel similar, but equating them can be devastating for fanfic writers, particularly if people start reviewing and critiquing fanworks the same way they do published works.

The comparison on that subreddit—which I had never encountered but might well have been around forever and new to no one but me because sometimes I do live in a cave—was that fanfic is like a potluck. And I love that because it's 100% accurate.

At a potluck, you make something for people to enjoy out of love. It’s really shitty to go to a potluck, then walk up to someone who made what you believe is a subpar casserole and start in like you’re a food critic. You’re missing the point of the potluck. And you’re kind of a dick.

In a restaurant, the rules are different, just like in the publishing industry. You select a restaurant, you pay for a meal, and if the meal isn’t to your liking, you can leave the restaurant a review on Google or Yelp or the platform of your choice (assuming you didn’t just throw a tantrum in the restaurant itself, but that’s another discussion). And sure, YMMV from other diners’ experiences, but even if everyone loves this restaurant and you don’t, it’s perfectly acceptable to leave a subpar review listing the reasons why it didn’t meet your standards. It’s fodder for future diners to consider at this point, less for the restaurant itself. The way book reviews are meant to be for readers, not the author. The author will see it, they might get annoyed, but unless they want their career to go up in smoke, they won’t respond. Just like restaurant owners who go nuclear on bad reviews, word spreads when someone can’t take criticism.

And no, it’s still not cool to critique someone’s potluck dish even if that person is a professional chef. They still elected to invest their time, talent, and creativity to bring that dish to the potluck and are getting nothing out of it but the satisfaction of their dish being enjoyed. The potluck should be a safe space for everyone—the chef knows to expect unsatisfied customers at work; when they’re at play, when they’re relaxed and enjoying something with a chosen community, it’s really shitty to start acting like a customer in the restaurant. You don’t have to love what they brought but keep it to yourself and go try something else.

As a published author, it bothers me a lot more when people invade my fanfic space to be critical than it does any of the 20+ works I have for sale on Amazon and other vendors, and this is why. Fanfic is more personal because it’s unpaid labor created out of love and a desire for community. It’s not a commodity, and treating it like that is how you murder joy and, for some creators, sometimes the drive to ever create again.

So don’t be a dick at the potluck, okay?

[wordsmithandwanderings]

> be me

> discover queer liberation library, a free us-based digital library

> sign up in literally two minutes and they needed zero sensitive personal information

> already have libby and my account automatically connects to it

> check out a book with a main character that uses neopronouns

> sing praises of @queerliblib

> find joy in life

[wordsmithandwanderings]

Hey i’m a fashion design student so i have tons and tons of pdfs and docs with basic sewing techniques, pattern how-tos, and resources for fabric and trims. I’ve compiled it all into a shareable folder for anyone who wants to look into sewing and making their own clothing. I’ll be adding to this folder whenever i come across new resources

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16uhmMb8kE4P_vOSycr6XSa9zpmDijZSd?usp=sharing

[wordsmithandwanderings]

Actually I keep complaining about operational worldbuilding, so here are some recommendations for it:

Ask yourself "what is this organization accomplishing" and "would this organization, as written, accomplish that thing?" For example, magic academies/schools/universities for adults: what are they training their students for? Is it more like a vocational school or a university? Are students being trained for specific jobs? Is it a training for government? Is it primarily a place to foist the idle rich off to to get them out of the way? For a military training, is the goal primarily training or a weeding out process? Is it basic training or specialized training? If someone fails out of the training, do they end up in the regular forces or do they fail out of the military entirely?

Ask yourself "how did this practice come to be?" For example, a trial or competition system: why was this system established? Do the requirements for the trial/competition match what the end result is (e.g., fighting competition to win a fighting position)? If not (e.g., scavenger heart to become the consort), why is that the competition that is used? Do the potential outcomes of the trial (e.g., death) merit the rewards for it?

Ask yourself "if this system is horrible, why do people put up with it?" For example, a school or organization where people are allowed to attack and/or kill each other: why is it allowed to continue? Why do people send their children or voluntarily join it? If it is mandatory, do people fight against it, and if not, why not?