#Group brainstorming methods

[ismailfazil1-blog]

Brainstorming Technique: Generate Ideas, Solve Problems, and Spark Creativity

Are you struggling to come up with innovative solutions or fresh perspectives? This comprehensive guide introduces you to the powerful tool of brainstorming. Discover how to unleash your creativity, solve complex problems, and generate a wealth of ideas through effective brainstorming techniques.

Key Topics Covered:

• Understanding Brainstorming: Learn the fundamentals of brainstorming and its various applications.

• Essential Techniques: Explore traditional and modern brainstorming methods, including mind mapping, reverse brainstorming, and rolestorming.

• Facilitating Effective Sessions: Discover strategies to create a conducive environment for brainstorming, encourage participation, and capture valuable ideas.

• Harnessing Technology: Leverage online tools and virtual platforms to enhance your brainstorming sessions.

• Applying Brainstorming in Different Areas: Learn how to apply brainstorming techniques to business, problem-solving, creative endeavors, and personal development.

• Overcoming Challenges: Address common obstacles, such as groupthink and fear of judgment, to ensure successful brainstorming outcomes.

Whether you're a business professional, entrepreneur, student, or simply seeking to boost your creativity, this book provides practical insights and actionable advice to help you master the art of brainstorming.

[swordmaid]

spawn shri’iia constantly walking on the ceiling makes me laugh tho like what is she doing up there….who knows…..god forbid women have hobbies

[paarksunghoon]

Jake finally taking you after months of uncertainty whether you like him or not. Pushing you against a wall, rough and passionate making out, and him being a softdom. Pleaseeeeeeee.

It all started with a stupid semester project.

Jake hates group work. He hates relying on people and he hates when his partners don’t complete their portion of the work. Jake thinks they’re lazy and good-for-nothing, even though he knows he’s being dramatic. He hates being the only person to contribute to the Google doc and he loathes it when the grade is dependent on everyone as a whole and not individually.

He meets you in Advanced Research Methods. It’s a required class for mathematical and physics majors in order to graduate, and Jake has pushed off taking it for as long as he could because he hates the idea of researching data with a partner. He knows the professor well enough to assume that there would be group work (he assumes correctly) but absolutely nothing could’ve prepared him from laying eyes on you for the first time.

When Dr. Kang announces the partners for the semester-long research project, Jake’s tapping his pen against his leg when he starts to hear names being called out. His ears perk up when he hears his own. When your name is said, Jake looks up and finds that you’re staring right at him.

You look so put together. Jake doesn’t know what it is about you that makes you look like you’ve got it all figured out. Maybe it’s because your hair looks particularly neat compared to all of the other people sitting around him. Perhaps it’s your laptop and notebook right next to it. Whatever it is, he finds himself a bit nervous to inevitably approach you in order to begin working on the project.

Dr. Kang allows the students to mingle and get to know one their project partners during the last ten minutes of class to exchange information. When you take initiative to walk to where Jake is sitting and occupy the seat next to him, he finds himself stuttering.

“H-Hey,” he says pathetically. You’re prettier up close.

“Hi! Jake, right?”

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“Here’s my phone. Why don’t you put your number in.”

Jake’s hands are almost shaking as he holds your phone between his hands and settles with ‘Jake Sim - Research Methods’ as his contact so you remember him. When he hands it back to you, he watches you type away before he feels his own phone buzz.

Unknown Number: hi! it’s yn.

He saves the contact quickly before class ends and the two of you decide to wait until the next class to set a time to meet to work on the project.

Jake’s worries about group projects disappear when he begins working with you. You’re punctual, never a minute late when the two of you agree to meet after classes to work on it. You contribute to brainstorming sessions and crunch data numbers like you’re the best at it. Jake finds that he’s able to divide up the work evenly and sleeps at a decent hour because he doesn’t have to stay up late to finish an extra portion.

Your intellect is attractive to him. You’re able to explain difficult theories and statistical processes to him better than any professor he’s ever hard. Only, it becomes hard to listen to you talk because he keeps staring at your lips.

They’re so kissable. Jake wonders what they must feel like against his own. He imagines grabbing your face with his hands and planting one on you when you talk about SPSS but he doesn’t act on it, fearing that he may make you uncomfortable. Jake loves it when you start to wear shorter dresses and skirts because the weather is warming up. He likes seeing your thighs stick to the seats and watching you pull the fabric down to prevent flashing everybody.

As the months go by, he realizes he’s learned a lot about you. You’re not from around and you dream of working in astrophysics one day. You love the color green and you’re obsessed with tangerines to the point where he bought a bag just to present you with one at every session. You’re a night owl and you love all kinds of music except country, and you prefer coffee over tea.

Jake also knows that your body is gorgeous. Your legs look stunning in shorter skirts and your tits look beautiful when they almost spill out of your crop tops. He knows what your thighs look like when you sit and how your skirt rides up to accommodate the new angle you’ve put yourself in.

It messes with his head because sometimes, he swears you might like him, too.

You laugh at his corny math jokes and ask him to hang out with you on the weekends. You let him buy you coffee and meals when it’s late into the night. You let him walk you home and you even allow Jake to nap on your bed when he comes over to work on the project after long, hot days.

It all comes to a boiling point one Thursday evening when he’s alone with you in your dorm. Your roommate is gone until Monday and Jake is sitting on the bed whilst you’re sitting on the desk chair, stretching your arms above your head until your shirt rides up. He can see your skin and wonders how soft you must be.

For just a moment, Jake wonders what your bare skin would feel like against his palms. Your breasts look plush to the touch and he’d bet anything that your pussy would feel so amazing against his fingers and cock when you’re wet. He imagines sliding his dick in and out of your tight hole, pumping until he’s coming inside of you and making you messier than before.

But he regrets this thought because he’s half hard in his sweatpants and there’s no way to hide it.

“I, uh, think I’m gonna head back to my dorm,” Jake announces as he puts a notebook in front of his crotch.

“Already?” You turn around and pout at him. “But you got here thirty minutes ago.”

Jake shuffles to the door. “Sorry, Y/N. I think I’ll do my portion there.”

“Jake, I really need you here to complete my part. We’re supposed to turn in the second half of the report this week and I need your help to do it.”

God, you sound so hot when you’re asking him to stay.

He panics when you stand from your seat to approach him as he motions to open the door. The sound of your chair scraping against the floor startles him until he drops the notebook that’s been covering his semi-hard dick. You gasp.

“Are you hard?”

Bashfully, Jake sighs and tries to back away from you. “This I why I wanted to leave, okay? I…I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

You look at his crotch and then back up at him. “Why are you hard?”

Jake’s face heats up even more. “I-I don’t know.”

“Jaeyun.” Your voice sounds so delicate saying his name like that.

“It’s because I like you and you’re wearing shorts that leave nothing to the imagination, okay?!” He sighs. “I’ve liked you since the second time we worked on the project because that’s when I knew I could rely on you. Everything else was just circumstance and now I need to go to my dorm so I can take care of this.”

“I can help,” you tell him. You say it just shy of confidently and he can’t tell if you feel bad for him or not.

“You don’t have to say or do anything. I already made this weird.”

You force yourself to stop looking at his cock. Knowing Jake, he’s too embarrassed to realize that your proposition is genuine and that you’ve harbored a crush on him since becoming partners with him too. So you muster up enough courage to press your lips to his and hope the message is clear.

Jake’s eyes widen against your mouth and you pull back after a few seconds to see the astonished look on his face. “I like you too, dummy. Have since you started bringing me tangerines after knowing me for two weeks.”

“Really?”

You nod. “Mhm. Can I kiss you again?”

Jake captures your mouth in a kiss the way he wants to—his hands grab your jaw and he pushes his lips against yours until he’s turning you. You feel your back hit the hard wall and gasp into the kiss, allowing Jake to lick your bottom lip with his tongue. The sensation dances across your chest and you gush out a stream of wetness at Jake’s urgency.

“Could’ve been kissing you all this time,” he mutters against your neck as he drags his lips down your skin. “Feel what you do to me.”

Without detaching himself from you, Jake puts your hand on his hardened cock and hears you whimper at the feeling. He coaxes you to squeeze him through the fabric and moans against your neck when you do.

“Such a good girl, listening to me like that.” He pulls away and pushes his hips into your palm. “I’m always hard for you.”

“R-Really?”

“You’re so hot, Y/N. You have to know that.”

Jake doesn’t let you respond. He grips your waist and pushes his plump lips back on yours and kisses you with fervor until your own lips have become swollen. The two of you emit breathy moans in the quiet of your dorm room and your free hand pushes Jake’s sweats down until his cock springs free. The hand around his dick collects the precum that has oozed from his swollen head and you smear it over his skin.

“Fuck me,” he moans to himself. “You’re perfect.”

“Your cock is perfect,” you choke. “So big.”

“Yeah? Can you spit on it for me?” You do as he says, leaning forward until a wad of it touches his slit. Jake smiles at you lustfully and squeezes your hips. “Good girl. Always so good, aren’t you? Makes me wonder how good you’ll be for me when I fuck you.”

“I’ll be so good,” you whine as you twist your hand up and down his length. Jake resumes kissing your neck and the electricity makes your pussy quiver. “I want you inside of me now.”

“Now? You think you’re wet enough?” You nod. “We’ll just have to see, now won’t we?”

Jake’s movements are hurried as he pushes your shorts down until they’re at your knees. You aren’t lying. You’re really wet. The cute baby pink panties you wear are soiled and he feels it when his fingers come in contact with the fabric.

The short whimper you let out is enough for Jake to short circuit. He doesn’t believe this is real. Even less so when you maneuver his cock until the tip it pushing against your covered core, gathering your wetness to coat his cock.

“Fuck, you really are perfect,” Jake whispers against you. He pulls back to watch as you stroke him while keeping the tip plush against you as if to coax him into fucking your hole. Jake’s mouth hangs open at the delicious sensation of the wet fabric against his cock head and decides you’re wet enough to take all of him.

He relishes in your gasp when he forces you to turn around. You push your ass towards him and Jake slaps your right ass cheek with his big hands until the sound reverberates in the room. Jake pulls your panties down until they join your shorts halfway down your legs and pushes his cock against you.

“How are you so fucking wet?” he mutters.

“It’s all for you.”

“Fuck yes it is.”

Without bothering to pull his sweatpants off, Jake uses his hand to slide the tip up and down your slit until you’re arching your back and clutching the wall to the best of your ability. The wet splashes make him even hornier and he pushes the head into you until you envelop him.

Slowly, Jake pushes into you inch by inch and holds you by the waist. He rubs your bare skin and coos at you when you wiggle your ass to get more of him. The pain feels exceptional. You can’t remember a time where you fucked someone as big as Jake and you don’t want to live without his cock inside of you like this.

Jake takes his shirt off to prevent it from obstructing the view of his cock disappearing into your pussy. He pushes himself inside of you until he’s completely sheathed and catches you by surprise. Jake silences your moan with a kiss to your mouth and rubs soothing circles on your waist, kissing you like his life depends on it while you get used to the new stretch.

He pushes his tongue against yours and uses the spit to coat his lips. You taste exactly like the pink lemonade you’ve been drinking all night and the innocent flavor makes his hips buck into you.

“Fuck me,” you beg. “Please, Jake. Don’t make me wait.”

He obliges. Jake fucks into you with all his might and his strong, muscular arms hold you in place as you push your chest against the wall and hold onto the door handle. The string of moans you let out is surely loud enough to let the neighbors know what’s happening behind the door but neither of you care about that right now. Jake wants to make you come and he’s slinging his hips into you from an upward angle, bending his knees to make sure his cock impales your g-spot.

“You’re so hot,” he moans. “I think about fucking you all the time.”

“M-Me too,” you confess.

“Yeah? What do you think about?”

“I think about—Ah!—Fingering me in class and eating my pussy.”

“Fuck yeah. I can do that for you.” Jake grips your hips tighter. “I can make you cum.”

“Make me cum, Jaeyun,” you plead, pushing your ass back. “I wanna cum on your cock.”

Jake pistons his hips into you until you’re parallel to the floor, holding onto the handle for dear life. He pushes into you so hard that you’re afraid you’d fall if it weren’t for his strong grip on you. Jake pushes and pushes, saving his orgasm until you come first.

It hits you like a tidal wave crashing over the shore. Your orgasm is long and drawn out as he keeps his brutal pace. Your release seeps from between the two or you and drips down his balls. Jake bites his lip at the tingling sensation and smacks your ass when you clench around him.

“Use me to make yourself cum,” you tell him. “Please, Jake. Please cum for me.”

“Say less, Princess.”

His orgasm follows shortly behind yours. Jake pulls out after five more thrust and pumps his cock until his cum spurts all over the globes of your ass. The warm, thick liquid feels so good against your skin that you push your bare pussy against him until Jake is letting his hot cock rest on you too.

When he regains his breath, he spots a roll of paper towels and gives your cheek a quick kiss before cleaning the both of you up. His touch is gentle, juxtaposed to his fucking just a few minutes prior. Jake cleans himself up before wiping the cum off of you and wiping your pussy gently too. He coaxes you to change into fresh undergarments and lets you collapse onto the bed with your eyes on him.

“I really do like you,” Jake says. “I didn’t say that just to fuck you.”

You pull him down and kiss him until all that’s left is soft pecks and the sound of lips smacking. Jake lets you pull away to lay on top of his chest and you feel him kiss the crown of your head.

“Sleep, Y/N. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

***

comments and reblogs are appreciated! x

[windvexer]

Using Tarot to Identify: a Person From a Small Group [1/2]

Any tarot card can be assigned a variety of indicators that help identify a single person. Most commonly the court cards are used, but old-school methods (such as assigning specific appearance traits, like gender presentation, race, and hair color) may fall flat.

Instead, you can develop and assign your own indicators according to your reading preferences, and the situation at hand.

Suppose you need to identify one person out of a small pool, such as a group of friends. What information would allow you to single out one from the rest?

If all of your friends are equestrians, it's useless to have indicators for athletic, loves animals, likes the outdoors.

What differentiates them? Maybe some of your friends compete, and others just enjoy trail riding. Indicators for competitive; victory and relaxed; nature might be helpful.

Each tarot card has the potential to carry vast amounts of meaning. For any reading, you must identify the relevant meanings to the question, and discard the rest.

This is true also for identifiers. Suppose we think the Knight/Pentacles relates to an outdoorsy nature and connection to animals. A useless card to identify a single equestrian friend. Therefore, those meanings are irrelevant and should not be included in the reading.

Instead, we can focus on other indicators which do not apply to all friends. The Knight/Pentacles can also refer to a very responsible person, someone who is steadfast and slow to act, or someone set in their ways and uninterested in new ideas.

Here we may begin to have indicators which can actually begin pointing to individuals; Kori is very responsible, but so focused on getting every detail right that she barely meets deadlines to sign up for competitions, and refuses to change her ways.

In order to help gather this information, focus on the way you frame your questions, and what spreads you use.

"Who is going to win the next competition" is a weak question, in that it lacks a support structure to hold desired answers. Craft questions in such a way that they are the perfect mold to cup the jiggly jello of the answers you desire.

You must craft your questions to support your reading style, and what makes sense to you.

Does using personality indicators make a lot more sense to you than physical traits? Frame your questions that way.

"Of our friend group, describe the personality of the person who will win the competition." There we go - a solid support structure to encapsulate the exact sort of information you desire.

Be creative. Brainstorm ahead of time and think about what traits make sense to work with, and assign them in a balanced way to the cards you want to use.

Here is where playing with the structures of tarot can be useful. Do all King cards represent authority in some manner, whether legitimate or otherwise? Maybe all Page cards relate to how the person sees and interacts with the world; Page/Swords can be an observant learner, while Page/Pentacles is someone who must learn through hands-on experience, and values experiences highly.

Then you can start to get somewhere.

The winner of the next competition will be an emotional, poetic person (Page/Cups) who must do things for themselves in order to learn (Page/Pentacles) and always helps others with understanding manual tasks (Queen/Pentacles).

This is perhaps someone you can identify, especially when you apply other techniques of tarot. (Two Pages - maybe they come off as innocent or naive, despite their developed knowledge of horses. Two Pentacles - they are probably very down-to-earth and invested in a hands-on career or trade school, they would never just sit behind a desk doing spreadsheets).

The key here is being crafty with your card meanings, and making sure they align to your reading style.

Suppose that you need to identify someone out of a huge pool, such as someone's future husband.

Here the game changes.

Read about it in part 2.

[destinationtoast]

Come join the Fandom Data Projects community! (You don't need to have a project or any relevant background... just curiosity 🤓)

Apparently I can't reblog the community post I made outside the community, so to quote myself:

Hello, fans of fandom data science, fandom research, fandom stats, fandom surveys, fandom data visualization, and everything related! 🪭📊📈📋📓🎉🎉🎉 I run a blog called @toastystats , and I love fandom data! I am starting this community for folks with a personal or academic curiosity about fans/fanworks and a desire to answer questions with data 🧑‍🔬. All of the following are welcome here: * Sharing questions about fandom and brainstorming ways to gather relevant data; * Sharing analyses & insights; * Trading tips on how to gather or analyze data; * Chatting about methods; * Asking for volunteers to participate in surveys or help gather data; * Anything else related!

Learners and lurkers are welcome. Drama and discourse are not; please be thoughtful and generous in how you participate in the group, and try not to stir controversy. (That's not to say there aren't valid fandom research topics that involve controversies -- but the goal of this space is to focus on people helping each other with research and learning in a low stress environment.)

(Honestly I'm starting this partly because I'm curious about the Tumblr community feature, and I like to learn by trying things. 🤓 We'll see how this goes.)

[andrewmfriday]

Create a Word Palette

When creating a scene for the first time, I have a list. And I try to hit as many points on that list as possible:

Point-of-view character

Establish setting

Have a purpose (introduce a character, move the story along, etc.)

Create conflict

Build suspense

The list goes on …

But before writing the rough draft of a scene, I have practiced a step I got from a thin, little book called Every Writer Has a Thousand Faces by poet David Biespiel. He encourages the use of “word palettes.”

The word palette method starts with brainstorming words and group of words for future use. Like a painter’s palette where colors are mixed, phrases are written down. Will the writer use these words and phrases? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe now, maybe later. Biespiel would use items from his word palette in his poetry.

I thought, “Why not use this same idea for creating a scene?” I mean, sometimes coming up with a scene for the first time can be tough. I can jump right into it sometimes��creating a setting, striking up some dialogue, or jumping into a character’s actions. But sometimes, I stare at the computer screen. And stare. And stare.

Biespiel encourages noodling and tinkering with words and emotions before doing the actual writing a poem. Why not with a scene. Rachel Aaron, sci-fi and fantasy author, says in her book 2,000 to 10,000: How to Write Faster, Write Better, and Write More of What You Love to sit for five minutes before writing a scene. She claims thinking about the scene before writing hit cuts the writing time significantly.

I want to juxtapose Biepiel’s word palettes and Aaron’s sit and think. I propose before writing a scene for the first time to:

Set the timer for ten minutes.

Meditate on the upcoming scene.

Write down anything that you want to see happen in this scene: actions, emotions, descriptions, and so on.

When the timer goes off, you’ll have a word palette for your scene.

Plug items from your word palette into your scene checklist of choice.

I don’t always use everything from my scene word palette, but at minimum, it gets me started.

Sometimes, I feel like I’ve burnt out the artistry of writing by being too concerned with word counts and writing deadlines. I’ve found a word palette for a scene helps me connect with my verbal Van Gogh.

My Linktree

[softlyfiercely]

making Know Your Rights cards for immigrants

a few weeks ago, i made a post asking for help brainstorming something that young people can do to meaningfully support people in our communities being targeted by our fascist government.

i also reached out to local immigration rights organizations, and one of them said that they are seeing a huge demand for laminated, wallet-sized Know Your Rights cards. i organized a time and day for our young people to create them. within an hour, the kids were able to make about 300, and later a group of adults at my house was able to make about 500. we are already seeing a very positive response from these as we are distributing them.

here is how we did it, so you can do it too! it works well if you have a sort of 'assembly line' setup, so you can organize a group of people to get together and make them.

MATERIALS:

-a laminator like this one. you can buy one for about $50, but i was able to borrow a handful by posting on my local Buy Nothing group and asking around at my church. if you know any teachers, they might be able to help!

-lamination pouches that go with your laminator

-bright colorful paper to print on - we used red. you do not need to use cardstock because of the way they print out they get folded in half

-a printer to make printouts from this website. NOTE: pay attention to how the 'double sided' thing works with these printouts - you slice them, then fold them in half. if you are someone who is skilled with this sort of thing, you can use their template to futz around with fitting more on a sheet of paper, trying to get them to print double sided on cardstock, etc.

-paper cutters and/or scissors

STEPS:

-print out the sheets

-cut the sheets, paying attention to how the cutting and folding works. NOTE: if you are doing this with children, they will need guidance and supervision to understand this at first, as the dotted lines do not make clear where is to cut and where is to fold

-fold the strips in half. NOTE: this cutting and folding must be done neatly for the cards to look nice and be effective. you do not want weird overlapping folds or parts of the words cut off. if doing it with children, have a conversation about why you are making these cards and why it's important to take this seriously so people who need them can use them.

-lay the folded cards out on a lamination sheet. we found that you can fit 12 per sheet if you lay them in a 3x4 grid "hamburger style." NOTE: be sure to leave enough room between each card that you can cut around them once they are laminated - you'll need like a half cm of lamination around the paper to preserve the lamination. and once you've laid them out nicely, carrying it to insert into the laminator takes some caution. this is not an ideal task for younger children.

-run the sheet through the laminator.

-cut the cards out, being sure to leave enough laminated edge to preserve the lamination. NOTE: we found it was better to use scissors rather than the straight cutter for this step because of the way the cards liked to get a little crooked going through the laminator.

-sort the cards into rubber-banded stacks, boxes, or some other method of storing them. NOTE: if you are creating cards in multiple languages at the same time, know that they are really annoying to sort out after the fact, because all the cards will have English on one side. so try to set up a system where you are keeping the different languages separate.

DISTRIBUTING THEM: although i did identify a specific local organization to give them to, once we made them, we saw a lot of organic interest in them with people taking handfuls to give out to people in their own lives or other groups they were connected with. so you don't have to have a specific plan to distribute them before you make them, but you can also search for immigration rights groups in your area and contact them to see if they want these cards.

[airplanned]

In the fight against the writer's block I'm having, I have decided to 1. start working on a novel in earnest, and 2. blog about it.  It's the first full week of summer, and my kid and I went to the coffee shop to work for an hour.  I worked on my novel, and he copied the map from Link's Awakening onto graph paper and then worked on recreating the Merry Go in Minecraft.  

For ages I've been having a lot of trouble with middles, and I'm very in my head about it.  The last couple weeks, I checked out like six books from the library about spooky houses and now I'm picking them apart structurally to see what they do in the middle.  The tldr answer seems to be "whatever the fuck they want."  Middle seems to be much shorter than I'm trying to make them.  It's not the bulk of the story, it's the bridge from beginning to end.  (I can talk more about this research if anyone's interested, but right now that's not the point.)

So I sat down today with my pages of analysis, and decided that this week was going to be dedicated to pounding out an outline and figuring out where I was going so I wouldn't get stuck the way I usually do.  I am not an outliner.  I have no idea how to do it.  I find it really helpful to analyze a story for structure and story beats after it's a draft in order to figure out what's not working.  But I've never been able to make it work with "And now the turn!"  "And now the dark night of the soul!"  A lot of my stories naturally follow modern story structures, but planning it with an eye towards coming up with a scene that will fit a story beat has never worked for me.

It's never worked for me, but whatever the hell I've been doing for the last two years hasn't worked for me either.  So let's try it!

I wrote "Part 1-Arrival and unfolding of Mysteries" to try to get away from the three act structure I've been trying to impose on myself and then gotten nowhere.  I then wrote "Mysteries" and made a bullet pointed list of all the weird, spooky mysteries that are going to pop up and keep the story moving forward.  This went really well, and I was able to really get into it.  I actually have a lot going on here!  I can picture a bunch of scenes with these.  Then, I abandoned organizing by parts and made another list, which was how the character was going to gain skills.  As he gains skills, mysteries will be resolved and vice versa.  This finally brought me to the climax.  From my analysis of other novels in the genre, the final act is usually an action scene after all the mysteries are unveiled and the main character needs to really take initiative and act.  I don't have this climax fully fleshed out, but I have a whole bunch of brainstorming ideas and I know emotionally what needs to happen.  

Not an outline, but hot damn!  I can work with all of this.  I can go back to my tried and true "write whatever scene is speaking to me today" method, and then I don't need to worry about the middle at all.

Then finally, I have a list of issues I can see with what I've come up with so far.  For example, a lot of what I have going on is my main character refusing the call.  I need to be wary and make sure that this isn't super frustrating for a reader, and I made some notes about how to make this work.  Also, my character starts out at a very low point.  He's a determined guy and he's worked hard to achieve his dreams, but the novel starts with those dreams having been ripped away from him.  So now he's purposefully not dedicating himself (because what's the point?) to anything and just going with the flow.  This is problematic for the reason I just stated, but also I need to be wary that I'm not just telling the reader (and not showing) that he used to be focused and determined.  I made some notes about how I'm going to handle that too.  I think knowing there are potential issues and just monitoring their temperature as I go will be good.  It'll be something to ask my critique group about.

So!  Good work today!

[wowie-zowie-art]

Warrior Cats bloat and character lifelessness;

(A kinda guide I made on a whim for fun, written as if I was addressing a writer!)

Are you struggling to read through the endless pages of allegiances? Being confused when characters seemingly pop up out of no where, or disappointed that a cat you got attached to didn't have any lines?

Or perhaps your a fanfic writer, and want to rewrite the books or write within their canon, and you end up floundering with the excess background cats and not know what to do with them? Are you tired of all the INBREEDING?

If you are a fan of warriors in any capacity, you have definitely run into this issue before, or at least have seen people complain about it. I've definitely have!

Obviously we can't control the books and get rid of the actual problem, but we can come up with solutions on how to deal with the bloat for if you need to make a family tree, au, fanfic and more!

Now I had a goal in mind; reduce bloat and make the additional cast feel more life-like. But how would I go about doing that?

So in my quest to brainstorm some ideas, I decided to list down every single modern Thunderclan cat in the most recent book; The Elder's quest!

KC = Kate Cary/Old team

NT = New Team

Leader: Squirrelstar (KC)

Deputy: Ivypool (KC)

Med.cat/s: Jayfeather (KC), Alderheart (NT)

Warriors:

Whitewing (KC)

Birchfall (KC)

Mousewhisker (KC)

Bayshine (NT)

Bristleclaw (NT)

Poppyfrost (KC)

Lilyheart (KC)

Nightheart (NT)

Wafflepelt (NT/fan submission)

Bumblestripe (KC)

Cherryfall (KC)

Molewhisker (KC)

Stemtail (NT)

Cinderheart (KC)

Finchlight (NT)

Graywhisker (NT)

Blossomfall (KC)

Eaglewing (NT)

Dewnose (KC)

Stormcloud (KC)

Hollytuft (Both technically)

Fernsong (Both technically)

Honeyfur (NT)

Sparkpelt (NT)

Sorrelstripe (Both technically)

Twigbranch (NT)

Finleap (NT)

Shellfur (NT)

Fernstripe (NT)

Plumstone (NT)

Flipclaw (NT)

Leafshade (NT)

Lionblaze (KC)

Spotfur (NT)

Queens:

Daisy (KC)

Sunbeam (NT)

Thriftear (NT)

Myrtlebloom (NT)

Elders;

Brambleclaw (KC)

Thornclaw (KC)

Cloudtail (KC)

Brightheart (KC)

Brackenfur (KC)

Kits:

Moonkit (NT)

Shinekit (NT)

Goldenkit (NT)

Hazelkit (NT)

Sunkit (NT)

(Sorry if I accidentally missed anybody!)

As you can see, this group is massive! With 31 cats created by the new team, and 25 cats created by the old team kicking around, leaving us with a total of 56!! Many of these characters barely get get screen time, and if they do become important, they are often discarded right after they are used. There's also the issue of characters that are given personality being killed off, and the fact that there are very few deaths overall leads to a over full cast.

So, what to do about the bloat?

Here are some very simple ideas that I came up with, many of which are ones that other people have used or continue to use! I no way am trying to say that I am fixing warrior cats or I am super original, but I wanted to try a fun thought experiment, and if this turns out useful to some, then that's great!!

(Also I apologize if I come off as condescending or patronizing, that was not the intention!)

Idea 1; Keep the large cast, but give everyone at least two individualized personality traits, and a few cats that they have UNIQUE interactions with that aren't their direct family members and aren't related to hunting, patrols, or training. Make use of this cast to diversify everything, which will make the characters feel more alive. This method can even apply to former main characters. To go along with this, everyone should have at least one major line so they don't get lost in the crowd.

(Obviously this doesn't apply to major or main characters, and you should pre-plan their traits and their relationships so their isn't any inconsistency. You can even give them their own motivations and reasoning if your feeling spicy!)

(Ex; Bristleclaw is talented and snooty. Mousewhisker avoids Lionblaze and Poppyfrost because they are xenophobic towards him, despite being from the same generation. Thriftear, her mate Bayshine, and their close mutual friend Plumstone, have a few lines each discussing recent gossip they obtained from the gathering from Shadowclan. Wafflepelt hates birds because he finds their songs annoying, and complains about it to his former mentor.)

Idea 2; Kill off your characters more frequently. This can be done in between arcs, before the story itself starts, to drive the plot forward, what have you. The killed character could have a major personality, could not if you don't really care. This most important thing with this method is to make the deaths memorable, and effect the cats around them. This allows the cast to be smaller, add drama to your story, and raise the stakes. Having cats grieve also makes it feel like the relationships of the characters are more real and deep, even if we don't see them all that much. However, don't kill off your characters all the time, especially if your doing it for shock value. It'll lose weight after a while, and potentially could drive readers away.

(Ex; Stormcloud dies in a similar storm that killed his brother, making their deaths an echo of each other. Cherryfall feels conflicted over his death, as they had a weird complicated romance going on that was never resolved. Sparkpelt, his best friend, is in deep distress about it because it reminds her of Larksong. Molewhisker is glad he's gone. Sorrelstripe, Stormcloud's former apprentice, is sad but quickly recovers.)

Idea 3; Add an age ranking system on the allegiance list, or at the very least give some of them reasons to be listed so high on them. Mess around with the allegiances in general actually, have more cats retire, more cats as queens. This is the closest you can get to modifying the allegiances without adding new roles if your not into that sort of thing! You can have have the younger warriors and the older ones sperated by giving them titles like "Senior" or "Fresh-paws", you can even include a middling rank for cats in between the two. Make sure to explain why some cats are in these categories despite their age or experience. Is it due to special talents or skills? A highly respected family? Are some lower down because they are disgraced and have done something wrong? What are the qualifications of these ranks? Play around with it, there's a lot of ideas to explore!

(Ex; Whitewing and Birchfall are currently the eldest clan warriors, so they rank on top of the senior rank. Shellfur is rather young, so he's a Fresh-paw. Graywhisker ranks pretty high because of his parents, Stemleaf and Spotfur, despite being younger than Shellfur. Thornclaw refuses to retire.)

Idea 4; If your stuck, running out of traits and relationships to give a character, or you feel the cast is a bit TOO big for your liking, than you can always combine characters. This method works great if you have big litters, or characters that are too similar to each other. This'll massively help reduce bloat because not only can you remove at least one kitten from every big litter, but it'll also allow you to give everybody more attention and how their relationships might change because of this combined character! You can do this with any kind of character, including main ones!!

(Ex; Combining Leafshade and Honeyfur together. Or Fernsong with one of his siblings.)

Idea 5; Similarly to the method above, you can just remove a character from the story or books entirely. You can even save them for later to use if you need them for a generation that's looking pretty sparse! It's always good to have backups!

(Ex; Removing Eaglewing for later use.)

Idea 6; Keeping track of everyone's familiar relations to prevent a "super couple" from producing too many litters, and then those litters having even more children, and etc. Having a tree or recording down character's family will make so the clan isn't entirely related to each other, allowing more complex relationships and believable romance, and help everything feel a little more clean. You can even adjust your cast even further if your still not happy with it's size. However, if you still want to keep the litters, try to stagger them a little so everyone has a chance to develop.

(Ex; Cinderheart and her mate don't need so many kittens. Brightheart and Cloudtail's second litter is swapped to someone else. Myrtlebloom's litter's sire is unknown.)

Idea 7; And finally, give the characters routines and special places you can find them on the territory, either in camp or around landmarks. This method could make the characters feel less like NPC's who only react to things or the plot in camp, and again give them that smidge of extra personality. Having the chance to randomly bump into somebody on the territory through the eyes of our POV could allow us to explore those background characters more and depth and evaluate what their interests are. This is something applicable to patrols too! Who wants to go with whom what pair or trio work best together? Who shouldn't be put on the same patrol as each other and why?

(Ex; Brambleclaw often goes to stomp around the forest randomly in anger because he's an elder, Squirrelstar tries to steer clear of him when this happens. Flipclaw likes to climb around on rocks near the territory outskirts, sometimes joined by his mother Ivypool or his little niece Moonkit and her parents. Sunbeam and Finchlight are super chatty when paired together, but are really good at duo hunting in exchange. Stemtail doesn't like eating with other cats, and sits in a secluded corner in camp. Brackenfur loves to sleep in a sunny spot in front of the Elder's den.)

Now with all of those ideas in mind, here's an allegiance list constructed using most of those concepts, baring the ones that aren't applicable on it;

Leader; Squirrelstar (Temperamental and passionate)

Deputy; Ivypool (Level-headed but avoidant of personal problems)

Med.cat/s; Alderheart (Anxious and sensitive)

Senior warriors;

Thornclaw (Crotchety and stubborn)

Birchfall (Dependent and easily impressed)

Poppyfrost (Calculated and cold)

Bristleclaw (Talented and snooty) (young)

Mousewhisker (Submissive and quiet)

Middling warriors;

Bayshine (Jolly and upbeat) (young)

Lilyseed (Lily + Seed, grandmotherly but prone to panic)

Dewnose (Reserved and thoughtful)

Blossomfall (Gossipy and rude)

Hollytuft (Snappy and pessimistic)

Cherryfall (Flirtatious and non-committal)

Spotfur (Justice-oriented, righteous) (young)

Stemwhisker (Stem + Gray, pressured and longing) (young)

Sunbeam (Helpful and a people pleaser) (young)

Sparkpelt (Energetic and adventurous)

Young warriors ("Fresh-paws");

Twigbranch (wise and knowledgeable)

Shellfur (rude and abrasive, but learning to be kinder)

Flipear (Flip + Thrift, silly and scatterbrained)

Honeyshade (Leaf + Honey, passive-aggressive and patronizing)

Finchlight (A problem solved and a thinker)

Plumstone (Popular and friendly)

Nightheart (Whiny and entitled)

Apprentices;

Wafflepaw (Endearing and naive)

Goldenpaw ("Golden child", and attention-seeking)

Shinepaw (Confirmative and indecisive)

Moonpaw (Weird and a daydreamer)

Queens;

Daisy (Stern and compassionate)

Sorrelsong (Fern + Sorrel, sweet and nurturing)

Fernstripe (Creative and talkative)

Myrtlebloom (Blunt and honest) (young)

Kits;

Sunkit (Myrtle's, undecided traits)

Oak-kit (Myrtle's, undecided traits)

Hazelkit (Shell's and Fern's, undecided traits)

Elders;

Brackenfur (Responsible and dutiful)

Cloudtail (Sassy and hot-headed)

Brightheart (Elegant and poised)

Brambleclaw (Irrational and bitter)

"Missing" warriors; Jayfeather, Whitewing, Stormcloud, Molewhisker, Bumblestripe, Cinderheart, Eaglewing, Finleap, Stemtail, Thriftear, Fernsong, Leafshade, and Lionblaze.

The cast is now down to a nice 40 instead of 56! (unless I did my math wrong somewhere or forgot somebody which could definitely be the case.)

Obviously the personality traits wouldn't actually be included in the alligence list, but I provided them to be used as examples! I'm really happy with how this turned out, and I hope some people try these methods out for themselves!! It's honestly very fun!

This list is also free for public use, so have fun with it! :)

If you've made it all the way down here, thank you for clicking on this post, and reblog it if you'll liked it! I put a lot of time and effort into it!

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

Cradle To Grave: Part Three

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.1k

Summary: Your experience in prison isn't what you thought it would be. You're feeling everything and you don't know if you'll be okay when you finally come out of it. Meanwhile, the team notices a change in Spencer as he tries his best not to miss you too much.

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Season Five Masterlist

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there are any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them.

x

The next morning, JJ is the first one in the station with Penelope on the phone. She didn't get much sleep last night much like the rest of the team. Her room is right next to Spencer's, and she heard him crying most of the night. She feels so bad for him. She wishes there was something she could do to either help you or make Spencer feel better. Her hands are tied, and she doesn't know how to get them untied. She has a coffee in her hand that she sips on as she talks to Penelope.

"I know it's a long shot, but Monica's parents said that she was heading west. Maybe she made it part of the way when she was kidnapped. Try running her DNA against adoption records in the surrounding states."

"I think you're brilliant! Hey, JJ, if we find this little girl, what's gonna happen to her?"

"If something illegal transpires during the adoption process, the court nullifies it, and the child gets returned to the closest blood relative. If it helps, I have met with the grandparents. They're wonderful people."

"Oh, I'm sure they are," Penelope sighs. "It's just... I don't know... I lost my parents. Granted, I was older than she was, but what got me through were the people closest to me. If Monica's daughter is with a good family, and we take her away from them..."

"Are we doing more harm than good?" JJ finishes for her with a sigh.

"Yeah."

"Garcia, I don't think we have a choice. These people have a right to their granddaughter."

"You're right. This just sucks."

Derek walks into the station, also on the phone. Hotch, Spencer, Emily, and Rossi follow right behind him.

"Yes, right away, please. Thank you." He hangs up and looks at the team. "That was CPS. I asked them to send over infant mortality files. It's another group for us to eliminate."

"Good," Hotch nods. He has a piece of paper in his hands with red markings all over it like annotations. Hotch brings Derek to an empty office to speak to him privately. "This is your profile. I disagree with your analysis."

"Hotch, are you serious? It's not a law review article, it's just something for us to brainstorm."

"You only focused on one angle, Morgan. That the prenatal drugs indicate the presence of a wife or a girlfriend. We need more options."

"Which I can give you once we make the proper deductions. Hotch, you're asking me to guess."

"Morgan, in order for the profile to be useful, it has to generate multiple scenarios about what the unsub is doing. Rewrite it," Hotch orders and hands the paper over to him.

Derek can't believe this but takes the paper without another word. JJ knocks on the door and pops her head in.

"We got Monica's daughter. She was adopted four years ago. Her name is Lisa."

"How did Garcia find her? She cross-referenced the entire New Mexico system."

"She isn't in New Mexico. She's in Arizona."

This opens up all new avenues. Hotch and Derek leave the office and join the others in the main room to discuss the case more.

"So, all the mothers were abducted and dumped in New Mexico, but he keeps the babies in Arizona. He knows the police with stop looking at the state line."

"The adoption agency's gonna be our best lead to the unsub. Who handled the case?" Hotch asks.

"That's bomb number two," JJ sighs. "She didn't go through an agency. She was dropped off anonymously at a church. Hospitals and churches are safe havens. You can drop a baby off, no questions asked."

"Child Protection Services would look for the closest relative."

"Another search that ends at the state line," Spencer says. "If CPS doesn't find one, the baby will go into foster care, which is what happened to Lisa. She was lucky. The adoption process happened within a month."

It makes him think of your parent's foster business and how children are getting adopted in weeks. It can happen, but not at the rate their children are. Thinking about your parents brings him back to you, and he grows sad once again.

"So, this unsub had the opportunity to make money off this infant. When he doesn't, he drops it off at a church because he knows the state will take good care of the child."

"That's awfully considerate," Emily scoffs.

"Outside the murder, nothing about this unsub's behavior profiles like a sexual sadist... As I wrote," Derek says and looks at Hotch.

"Yeah, Morgan's right. It's the actions of a caretaker or a mother. Could our unsub be a woman?" JJ wonders.

"Only a man would torture his victims this much. Men get off on this kind of violence. Women don't. He could be married, though, with his wife being a passive participant and taking care of the moms and babies."

"Alright, we need to split up. We'll give the profile to the Arizona and the New Mexico state police. Rossi, Reid, and Prentiss, I want you to head to Phoenix. Morgan, you're here with me. We'll finalize the profile."

Spencer gets up but his phone rings. He doesn't recognize the number but answers it anyway.

"Hello?"

"Hello, this a collect call from Virginia Correctional Center for Women for inmate Y/N. Press one if you'd like to accept the call."

"It's Y/N!" Spencer gasps and quickly presses the button. Everyone stops what they're doing to look at him. He holds his breath and waits to hear your voice. The call connects and he hears you breathing on the other line. "Y/N?"

"Spencer?" Your voice sounds so small, so distant that it breaks his heart. "Is that you?"

"I'm here. I'm right here. God, I miss you."

"I miss you, too," you sniffle. "How are you doing?"

"How are you doing? I wish I was there with you."

"I'm going to be fine, Spencer. I'm okay here."

"I love you so much. Please hold onto that."

You lean your head against the wall and let the tears fall. You try to keep your voice neutral so he doesn't sense how fucking scared you are.

"I know you do. I love you, too. I know you're worried about me, but I need you to continue to work on the cases Hotch sends you. I want you to use that big brain of yours to help people who need it."

"You need it. Who is going to help you?"

"Baby, I have faith that I will get out soon. I didn't kill those men, and I believe I will get justice. I will be home soon and in your arms before you know it."

"We're in New Mexico right now. I am going to visit you as soon as we are back in Virginia."

"Okay," you whisper. One of the guards calls your name to get you back to where everyone else is. "I have to go now. I just wanted to hear your voice."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

When you hang up, Spencer looks at everyone with tears in his eyes.

"Kid," Derek sighs.

"She's scared, Morgan. I could tell by the sound of her voice. She's scared out of her mind, and we work for a company that has the resources to help her. Screw my job if it means I can get her out of prison. Hotch?"

"You need to get to Arizona. We'll talk about it after."

Spencer is so frustrated and emotional but he doesn't want to make it worse or cause a scene. He grabs his jacket and leaves the station with Emily and Rossi following behind him. When the three agents get to Arizona, they gather the Phoenix PD to give the profile just as Derek and Hotch give it to the NMPD.

"The unsubs that we are looking for are a couple. Now, the man in the relationship most likely has a history of sexual violence. He started with stalking and then moved his way up to assault and rape. That violent streak ended temporarily when he found his wife. For the first years of their marriage, she submitted to his torture."

"Look for wives who came into the ER repeatedly with obvious signs of spousal abuse. You're gonna have to go back about five years because, around the time of the first abduction, the visits stopped. Sexual sadists can't find satisfaction from a willing participant," Emily explains.

"He eventually got to a place where he couldn't escalate his violence against her without killing her, so she made him a deal. He gets to kidnap, rape, and kill each of the runaways while she gets to keep the children. She's been giving the victims a series of prescription prenatal drugs, so you're gonna want to look at the obstetric fields such as nurses and OBs."

"The wife needs these children. At first, they were the lifeline that kept her alive. As long as he had other targets for his abuse, she avoided his rage," Rossi says.

"So, if these children protect her from abuse, why is she putting them up for adoption?" an officer asks.

"We believe the unsubs want children who resemble them physically, who no one would question as their own. All of the runaways have been blond which means the unsub may be as well, but the first child we found in the system was a brunette."

"Whatever the physical characteristic--the color of the eyes or the skin type--if the baby doesn't have it, he or she ends up in the foster care system," Rossi adds to Emily's point. "Wives of sexual sadists need outlets as a denial mechanism to cope with what their partners are doing."

"Motherhood, especially taking care of a helpless infant, is this woman's way of coping," Spencer says, his mind drifting back to your parents.

When the profile is done, JJ walks off to the side when she gets a message on her phone. Monica's grandparents are here and they are looking for answers. She walks outside to greet them, and they look at her with hopeful eyes.

"Have you found her?"

"Yes."

"How is she?"

"She's great. She was adopted by a young couple. No reports of physical or emotional trauma."

"When can we take her?" Conrad asks.

"Right now, we're in touch with her adoptive parents' lawyer, but the law is on your side."

"Can we talk to the parents? We could discuss this with them," Jane asks.

"They don't want to initiate contact. They've been through a lot right now."

A look of realization comes across Jane's face. Her smile falters and falls at the thought of taking her grandchild away from the only family she's ever known.

"They're her parents. Of course, they don't want to give her up."

"If she wants to see them, we can work that out. We're her family."

"What are the risks here? If we claim her, are we hurting her?" Jane asks JJ.

"It's impossible to tell. Some kids do great. Others have trouble."

"Why are we talking about risks? She's Monica's daughter," Conrad argues. "She's not their blood."

"Stop it," Jane hisses. "Thank you, Agent Jareau, but my husband and I need to discuss this."

Jane and Conrad leave the police station in quiet arguments, and JJ walks back inside the police station. She texts Spencer to ask how he's doing but he doesn't respond. He's been working hard to distract himself from thinking about you. He's working on the geographical profile when Rossi joins him. There is a map on the bulletin board with red and blue markings on it.

"What's this?"

"It's the pattern I've been looking for. The unsubs hid their tracks with the mothers, but they weren't so careful with the abandoned babies."

"Did you find more children?"

"DNA-wise, no but deductively, yes. I gathered all the records for all infants who entered foster care in a two-week window following each mother's death. Then, I narrowed it down to babies that were abandoned at churches. This is where the guesswork begins. Monica's daughter was abandoned at a Presbyterian Church. Let's assume the unsub, or the wife at least, is Presbyterian. That means all other unwanted children are gonna be left in the same denomination, right? That narrows it down to three babies left at three different Presbyterian Churches all within this twenty-mile radius. This is where they live."

Spencer points out the circle he's drawn on the map. Rossi grabs the files of the three kids and looks through them all.

"Have you looked at their files?"

"No. Right now, I've only been tracking churches. Why?"

"Because you just uncovered another pattern. These are all girls." Rossi calls Hotch immediately. "You guys need to come to Arizona. We found another pattern."

"Yeah, we're packing up now. We can be in Phoenix in two hours. What pattern did you find?"

"Reid found more children put into foster care. Lisa, Elizabeth, and Amanda. We profiled there'd be a type they'd keep and a type they'd put into foster care. They're keeping the boys."

"We'll be there soon."

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[whencyclopedia]

The Scientific Revolution

Before class, students will be asked to read two World History Encyclopedia articles.

Introduction (10-15 minutes)

Hook: Start with a thought-provoking question: "How would you determine whether something is true or not? What process would you use?"

Write students’ responses on the board to highlight different approaches, such as personal experience, advice from others, intuition, or logical reasoning.

Explain that before the Scientific Revolution, people often relied on methods like tradition, philosophical reasoning, or religious teachings to determine the truth.

Introduce the idea that the Scientific Method emerged as a new approach to discovering truth, emphasizing that this method is based on observation, experimentation, and evidence rather than solely on abstract reasoning or accepted beliefs.

Hands-On Activity (25-30 minutes)

Present the following scenario to the class: "A farmer notices that some crops in his field are growing poorly while others are thriving. He wants to understand why this is happening."

Divide the class into an even number of small groups. Half of the groups will receive Handout 1: Philosophical Approach and the other half will receive Handout 2: Scientific Method Approach.

Instruct each group to brainstorm solutions to the farmer's problem based on their assigned approach.

Philosophical Approach: Groups might suggest reasons based on general principles, such as the alignment of the stars, the will of the gods, or moral interpretations of natural events.

Scientific Method Approach: Groups should focus on making specific observations, forming testable hypotheses, designing experiments, and collecting data.

Pair each Philosophical Approach group with a Scientific Method Approach group. Have the paired groups present their ideas to each other. Encourage them to discuss and debate the differences between the philosophical reasoning and the scientific method.

Class Discussion and Reflection (15-20 minutes)

Reflect on the activity, highlighting the strengths and limitations of each approach and the importance of the Scientific Method in advancing knowledge and solving problems.

Summarize key takeaways from the lesson, emphasizing how the Scientific Method has led to a more systematic and evidence-based approach to knowledge.

Reflect on how the Scientific Method has shaped modern knowledge and technology and ask students how they might use the Scientific Method in their own lives or future careers.

Homework/Extension

Students will pick one scientist from the collection of 12 Great Scientists of the Scientific Revolution, read their biography, and answer questions on the worksheet (see below). If needed, further research can be done to complete the worksheet.

Continue reading...

[gimme-blueeyes-n-harrystyles]

ok so your blog totally has me thinking of the chaotic power of buck and alex meeting while tommy and henry have to ensure their dumbass boyfriends don’t destroy something.

you know tommy and henry would be smitten and totally in love but they got to keep it together because someone has to have a brain cell in this friend group.

they would get roped into the shenanigans by buck and alex though and everyone around them would be stunted at the fact that there is two disaster bisexuals.

the super six and 118 meeting would just be unreal and could you imagine the interactions?

anyways I’ll be off in my own delusional world where this is a reality.

Oh I love this idea!

I have so many ideas that work with these four and so little time to write. But I hope to make it happen (as soon as I get the opportunity to read the book, I might need to make this AU happen).

Alex and Henry are both fascinated with Buck and Tommy's jobs as firefighters. They have so many questions and want all the stories. They find news clips of some of the rescues and taunt Buck and Tommy about some of them (think Buck tackling the baby napper+ Tommy and the rooster type calls).

Buck and Alex would not only "torment" Tommy and Henry (lovingly), but they would drive the 118 crazy.

The four of them at a pride parade where Henren are introduced would be total chaos... maybe I should add Tarlos, too. Just imagine the 8 of them all in one place. They might need Athena on standby, haha.

Eddie and Alex meet, and suddenly, it's a game of "who is the best Diaz" and "you have to choose a favorite" (blame it on the alcohol they consumed on this outing).

Tommy and Henry's text exchange is full of "how do you tame your bisexual disaster because my normal methods are not working right now" type commentary and questions.

Buck and Alex brainstorm new ways to be a menace to their boyfriends, encouraging each other to dumb things.

Not to mention the chaos that would be that group chat. I could see both Buck and Alex playing the " my boyfriend said he didn't love me anymore because..." and it's over something silly like Tommy or Henry doesnt want to listen to that song for the 800th time.

I need my library hold to be available so I can read this book and start this chaos, lol.

[writingquestionsanswered]

ADHD & Starting a New WIP

Anonymous asked: i've been using chatgpt to avoid clogging your inbox, but it wasn't much helpful since it sent me in loops. I remember you writing about having ADHD which is why I felt you were qualified to answer this.

Please never worry about clogging my inbox... I'll get to everything in time. ♥ And yes, I do have ADHD, so here goes...

I have a problem that is more relevant to my autism/adhd: choice paralysis and indecisiveness. It is impacting my writing too much. No matter what advice I read, nothing is helping. I can't come up with/decide on a plot. I don't have a "feeling" like I used to anymore to just go with something. My brain HAS to explore EVERY option before deciding. There's just too much power in creating a story, and I don't think I can handle it. Do you have any tips to handle this indecisiveness and just actually do something? Do you mind sharing your own process when you start a brand new WIP and the only characterisation you have is "This is John, he wants to be a writer" and nothing else?

[Ask was edited for length...]

Dealing with Indecisiveness and Competing Ideas

Step 1 - Get Everything Out - Start with a brainstorming session and get all the ideas out on paper. All of those "explore every option" ideas... write them all down. Write down ideas until you can't think of anything else to write.

Step 2 - Take Stock - Next, count up all your ideas and organize them if need be... for example, if some of the ideas are related to character but others are related to setting, group them into their specific groups. Then, count up how many ideas you have in each group. Like, 17 character ideas, 10 world ideas, 4 plot ideas.

Step 3 - Eliminate by Half - I find it very helpful to eliminate my ideas by half just as a disciplinary means of keeping things in check. So, I would need to eliminate 7 or 8 character ideas, 5 world ideas, and 2 plot ideas. This is hard but it has to be hard. The point is to force yourself to not overthink it. Set a timer for a minute if you have to and say that you have to circle 8 character ideas before the timer goes off. Any ideas that aren't circled by the time the buzzer goes off will not be considered. Again, it's harsh, but for me it works.

Step 4 - Save the Ideas You Eliminate - This is KEY. Having a notebook or document where you save discarded ideas makes it easier to eliminate them because you don't feel like you're throwing them out. You're just saving them for later to be recycled for future projects.

Step 5 - Play Around a Bit - Look at your remaining ideas... let's say the 8 character ideas... is there anything you can discard right off the top? Are there any ideas that thrill you more than the others? Can any ideas be combined somehow? Can any of these ideas easily be fleshed out a little further?

Step 6 - Eliminate by Half Again and Again- The idea above is to try to condense things by combining ideas and/or seeing which ideas speak to you and which really don't. Take those 8 character ideas and narrow them down to 4. Set the timer again if you have to. Then, do it again until you have only two ideas.

Step 7 - Look at Pros/Cons - Now it comes down to picking between two ideas. Do a pro/con list for each. Does one idea thrill you more? Is one idea more fleshed out? Does one idea require more research? Does one idea feel too close to a previous story? Once you have a pro/con list for each idea, you can see which idea is probably better. And, once again, the idea that isn't used goes into the document to be saved for later.

Starting a Brand New WIP with ADHD

My process is always a little bit different, but I do usually start with a brainstorming session where I just write down all the random ideas I have. From there, I narrow things down (using the above method) to just the ideas I want to move forward with, then I usually free write a general summary of the story as I see it playing out in that moment. Depending on the idea, this can be just a couple vague paragraphs or it can be pages of detailed events. Either way, having some idea of the beginning to end story is important. Once I know the needs of the story, I can start to think more about the characters and their needs based on the story. This is where it's pretty essential to understand things like Plot Driven vs Character Driven Stories, Understanding Goals and Conflict, Basic Story Structure, and How to Move a Story Forward. The more I know about the needs of my story (the story conflict, my character's goal, who or what stands against them, etc.) the easier it is to flesh out the story. I'm a planner, so from there I will usually draw out a general timeline and a scene list, but some writers may find it easier to just start writing from here.

Three of the biggest game changers for me--which honestly I still struggle with sometimes--are:

-- Setting up a routine: having a specific time, place, and duration to write. Even if it's sitting on my bed for ten minutes in the morning to write. Just having something set makes a difference.

-- Eliminating Distractions: no phone, no TV, no music with lyrics, no internet, nothing that will draw my attention away from writing.

-- Good Vibes Only: I'm not a fan of toxic positivity, but negativity and self-criticism will surely take the wind out of your writing sails. I try to give myself small, reachable goals, but if I don't reach them or don't feel like writing on a given day, I don't beat myself up about it. Instead, I try to find something fun to do that's related to my story, like saving pictures for a mood board or auditioning songs for a playlist. That positive reinforcement (and sense of accomplishment for moving the needle forward in some way) keeps writing from becoming something I dread, and that positivity will hopefully follow me into the next day and help me to write.

I hope that helps!!! ♥

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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!

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[scotisfr]

Effective note-taking while learning an online course

Taking effective notes is more than just jotting down what you hear in a lecture or read in a book: it's a strategic process that enhances your understanding and retention. Whether you're a student, professional, or lifelong learner, mastering the art of note-taking can elevate your ability to learn and apply new concepts.

Understand how you think to adapt your note-taking style

Verbal thinkers:

Process information through words and language.

Excel with text-heavy, sequential note-taking styles.

Visual thinkers:

Object visualizers: Think in detailed images, excel in hands-on fields like art or engineering.

Spatial visualizers: Think in patterns and abstractions, thrive in areas like physics or architecture.

Mixed thinkers:

Combine both styles to adapt based on the situation.

1) Understand the purpose of notes

Before diving into techniques, it's essential to know why you take notes. Effective notes serve three main purposes:

Capture key ideas: Focus on main concepts, not every word.

Aid recall: Notes should act as memory triggers.

Support active learning: Writing notes forces your brain to process information.

2) Prepare before the course

Preview material: Skim the syllabus, course outline or key readings to anticipate important themes.

Gather supplies: Notebook, pens, digital tools (laptops, apps like Google doc, Notion, OneNote, or Evernote).

Verbal thinkers: Use lined notebooks or text-based apps like Word or Google Docs.

Visual thinkers: Use blank notebooks, mind-mapping tools or apps like Milanote.

Mixed thinkers: Use a combination of both formats to capture ideas flexibly.

Set goals: Know what you want to achieve from the course.

3) Choose a note-taking method

a) Linear notes (basic listing)

Write down points in sequential order.

Best for: Simple lectures or storytelling. Best used by: Mixed thinkers

b) Cornell Method

Divide your page into:

Main section: Notes during the lecture.

Cue section: Keywords/questions later.

Summary section: Key takeaways at the bottom.

Best for: Structured review. Best used by: Verbal thinkers

c) Mind maps

Create a visual map with the main topic in the center and branches for subtopics.

Best for: Complex concepts or brainstorming. Best used by: Visual thinkers

d) Outline method

Use bullet points with indentation for hierarchy.

Main Topic

Subtopic

Details

Best for: Well-structured content. Best used by: Verbal thinkers

e) Flow notes

Combine visuals, arrows and text to show connections.

Best for: Dynamic, fast-paced lectures. Best used by: Visual thinkers

4) During the lecture

Listen actively:

Focus on understanding, not transcribing verbatim.

Identify cues:

Look for emphasis (repeated ideas, instructor tone, slides).

Use abbreviations:

Shorten common words (e.g., “w/” for with, “b/c” for because).

Organize on the fly:

Use headings, subheadings and bullet points to keep things structured.

Verbal thinkers: Group ideas under headings or bullet points.

Visual thinkers: Sketch concepts or relationships between topics.

5) After the lecture

Review notes:

Fill in gaps, clarify confusing points and ensure everything makes sense.

Summarize:

Write a brief overview of what you learned.

For verbal thinkers:

Write summaries in your own words to reinforce understanding.

Use mnemonics or word-based memory aids for recall.

For visual thinkers:

Recreate diagrams or visual models from memory.

Annotate your notes with additional visuals to deepen understanding.

For mixed thinkers:

Pair visual summaries (like flowcharts) with verbal descriptions.

Practice explaining concepts both visually and verbally.

Test yourself:

Turn your notes into questions and quiz yourself for better retention.

6) Use digital tools for efficiency

Google docs/Word: Collaborative and easily accessible.

Notion/OneNote: Organize notes by topic with multimedia support.

Audio recorders: Complement notes for revisiting missed points.

7) Tips for retention

Revisit regularly: Spaced repetition improves memory (Ankis cards).

Condense notes: Create cheat sheets for quick revision.

Teach someone else: Explaining the material reinforces your understanding.

Review often: Reinforce your learning by revisiting and reorganizing your notes.

8) Stay organized

Label notes: Course name, date, topic.

Keep sections clear: Separate topics/modules with dividers or digital tags.

Backup notes: Use cloud storage for digital notes.

9) Adapt your style

Not every method works for everyone. Experiment with different approaches to find what resonates with your learning style. You may prefer digital tools, visual techniques like mind maps or traditional handwritten notes.

Bonus : Make note-taking fun!

Learning doesn’t have to feel like a chore. Add creativity to your process:

Gamify learning:

Create quizzes with tools like Kahoot or Quizlet.

Challenge yourself with timed note summaries.

Go visual:

Use colorful infographics or mind maps to highlight connections.

Turn complex ideas into visual stories.

Role-play and scenarios:

Pretend to be an expert and explain your notes to an imaginary audience.

Apply concepts to real-life situations to deepen your understanding.

Mix it up:

Use flashcards for quick reviews.

Watch videos or listen to podcasts on your topic to reinforce learning.

Collaborate:

Discuss your notes with peers or teach someone else for better retention.

Establish a routine:

Dedicate 20–30 minutes daily to review notes.

End each session with a mini-quiz or creative recap.

Bonus : Mastering layout and formatting for effective Notes

A) General layout principles

Start with a clean slate

Use consistent margins for a neat look.

Leave ample white space between sections to avoid visual clutter.

Margins create a visual boundary that organizes content, helping your brain process the information in chunks.

Leave at least one blank line (or 1.5 spacing in digital notes) between different topics or ideas.

They provide room to add comments, symbols or questions during reviews without cluttering the main content.

Number your pages to keep notes in order.

Add descriptive titles for easy navigation.

Include date, course title or lecture topic in the header.

Prioritize legibility

Choose readable fonts if typing (e.g., Arial, Calibri).

Write neatly if using pen and paper.

Use headings and subheadings

Bold or underline main headings.

Use numbered or bullet-point subheadings for organization.

Color coding for clarity

Assign colors to categories (e.g., red for key terms, blue for examples).

Avoid overusing colors: stick to 2–3 for consistency.

Use bold or underlined text for essential ideas.

Highlight terms, dates or definitions for easy scanning.

Handwritten: Invest in multi-colored pens or highlighters for emphasis

Digital: Use formatting tools like bold, italics, and bullet lists.

Visual coding for enhancing the important part

Add icons, images or colors to make connections intuitive.

Insert tables, diagrams, or charts to organize data visually

[belgianjournalists]

Every other time my group does brainstorming about + writing questions about a scenario we get to a point where someone asks something about a word or a method or whatever and I answer them, and they ask "how do you know that??" and every time I can't say much else than "we had a lecture about this yesterday/this morning"

Every single scenario we have is connected to at least one lecture lol I truly don't understand why half of my classmates skip the majority of lectures 😭 it's Free Resources!!

[icebrooding]

Lengthy-ass post about Arbiter's worldbuilding. Should a fic need a whole other post to explain it? Not if you're a good writer. But I'm not one, so. Whole other post it is.

***"The Nightmare Judges". Since Trahearne in this universe is the founder of what is the counterpart to the Nightmare Court in canon, I felt I couldn't simply just copy-paste it. After all, the grandeur of the Court, with its name and titles and noble hierarchy is founded in Cadeyrn's desire to be something important, borne of his desire to have everyone look up to him instead of being looked down upon.

Since Trahearne's group is more actually founded in 'correcting' the perception of Ventari's Tablet as less a pacifist guidebook but rather one with moral ambiguity in its teachings, I brainstormed with @/eparch (thank u always) and came away with the concept of them being referred to as 'Judges'. Initially I had considered them also being Wardens, but scrapped it for it being too confusing even if both factions had Nightmare/Dream as a prefix.

As ones who view it within their moral right, or rather, duty, to excise violent and murderous people from society with the same methods, 'Judge' felt very fitting.

Although I wrote him very 'agreeable' in the story, the methods of Trahearne's faction is still supposed to fall on the more 'extreme' side of things. They are Cadeyrn's initial values, but taken further over the passing of time. Caithe is not actually wrong in her feelings towards her brother.

***Trahearne himself. In contrast to Faolain, who became the Nightmare Court's leader and perverted it into a sadistic and bloody affair, Trahearne is actually a more 'innocent' leader, who is somewhat unaware of the ill acts that are brewing amongst his people under his nose.

He genuinely believes in their cause, and he refuses to personally execute or allow the execution of someone he does not believe to have crossed the core value of the Judges; acts of extreme violence or murder. It is this reason that he exiled Faolain from the Judges, after realising she had begun initiating or causing actions which were antithetical to this core value.

Unfortunately, Faolain's actions had caused the widespread belief that the Judges were unjust and bloodthirsty, a reputation that follows them to the present day. While there are other Judges that do secretly partake of more aggressive acts of violence, the majority prefer to withhold aggression until either provoked, or given reason to believe it is in their best interest for survival.

***Cadeyrn. Having had his feelings validated, this Cadeyrn is considerably less messed up than his canon counterpart. Due to the recognition he receives, he is much less focused on his self-importance and need for validation, making him leagues more fearsome when needed. He has a genuine respect for Trahearne (he is not a Starscream) and his hatred for Caithe lingers from his canon counterpart, but this time due to believing her as the root cause for their poor reputation.

***Faolain. Just like in canon, she grew weary and angered by the supposed 'real' way to interpret the Tablet, and left in hopes of joining the Nightmare Judges, breaking Caithe's heart. As noted above, she brought considerable levels of violence to the ranks that had not been there previous; instigating attacks unprovoked and killing those that Trahearne would deem innocent. This reached a breaking point when Trahearne and Cadeyrn both agreed to have her removed from the Judges, leaving her to wander on her own, having no place to go between the Grove or the Judges. While she hasn't been since, there have been rumours that she has started her own faction following in her own, darker views.

***Caithe. Very tired and worn down, Caithe is deeply attached to the Valiant, finding a sense of responsibility in guiding them. She grieves the loss of her brother, and her lover, and deeply resents the Nightmare Judges for this reason. While not all tales she tells of the Judges are accurate or factual, they fully represent her perception of events. She has been captured several times by the Judges, but has escaped on her own each time. She has little interest in discussing anything with Trahearne or hearing him out.