#Nuts and bolts

[retrogamingblog2]

[dropoutconfessions]

generally not a huge pc shipper but the one exception is sundry sidney and big barry syx. part of it is that it's emily and murph but also i just think the nuts and bolts dynamic is cute and fun.

-

[merethessc]

Without your love I am a broken mess

[katherinecrighton]

Nuts and Bolts: Some Writing Advice

(Reposting a 2013 post from the Anna Katherine co-tumblr)

A friend of mine awhile back asked the aether for some practical, straightforward writing advice, which I assumed meant nuts and bolts stuff.

This is what I ended up writing to her.

(Caveat emptor: 1. The reason advice looks contradictory is because it literally is different for everyone — shit that works for one person won’t work for someone else. Just stick it in your toolbox and move along. 2. I will say obvious shit that you already know. Because it’s possible somebody else doesn’t. 3. You may totally disagree with anything/everything I say, oh my god, that’s fine.)

1. Use the word “said.” Throw in a “she declaimed” every once in a while if you like, but don’t do it all the time. Feel free to put in no dialogue tags at all, if it’s clear who’s speaking. But “said” is free and generally invisible to the reader (and the goal is to not remind the reader that they’re reading).

2. Writing advice for short fiction and writing advice for novels are and writing advice for one genre versus another are all going to tell you slightly (or wildly) different things. So, you know, watch out for that. I suggest switching mediums entirely, and try reading up on screenplays or three-panel comics.

3. Stick your finished draft into a Kindle or some other robot reader, and have a mechanical voice read the story to you. It’s a step removed, and you’ll hear where it clunks. Make notes as it goes.

4. If you don’t have a robot reader, read it out loud to yourself. Actually out loud. Put check marks wherever you cringe. It’s where the reader will likely cringe too.

5. Start your story at the point of change. It’s more interesting. Backfill with exposition a couple of paragraphs later.

6. Sometimes, if I’m writing a one-off, I pick a motif and stick with it as a lodestone for all my descriptions. It’s a way of creating a sort of subliminal mood and atmosphere for the reader, while at the same time maintaining a nice sense of continuity.

7. The English language likes to hear things in threes. Three bears, three nights, three wishes, and what with one thing and another, three years passed. English also likes iambic pentameter and any other rhyme or rhythm scheme it can get its hands on. Readers want language to both have a pretty meaning (three brothers seek their fortune) and a pretty sound (now is the winter of our discontent). The fastest way to do this, and not have it be totally obvious, is to combine the two. Have three lines of description, three examples of something, three jokes — and do it semi-regularly. It creates a rhythm in your work, like a heartbeat. Study other people’s stories and see if you can find where they’re doing the same or similar things. Count stuff.

8. Then, later, fuck with your readers by breaking the rhythm. Stop the heartbeat. Miss the step. The reader will get nervous and uncomfortable and have no idea why. Makes for good tension.

9. Other things that make readers uncomfortable: Set dressing. We’re used to visual mediums. If you want to set up a really uncomfortable scene, describe key things around it going in, and make it clear that it’s Not Okay. A pair of scissors that have been left half open. A door that is not entirely shut. A radio caught between two stations, the garden hose still left running. Nothing overt, nothing obvious – just stuff that feels uncomfortable to read. Do enough of those in a row, as you head toward a confrontation, and the reader will be a ball of avidly reading tension by the end of it. 

10. Graphic sex scenes are equal to action scenes. In both instances, know where everybody is, and what everybody’s doing. Describe with more physical action than you think is necessary. If the reader doesn’t know where everybody’s limbs are and what tools are being used, then they’ll get confused and bored. You can always edit later.

[lemonsandwisdom]

Rwby doodles… specifically nuts and bolts…

[legendaryvermin]

God damn, item fusion in Tears of the Kingdom is such a brilliant response to critics of Breath of the Wild's weapon degradation. It keeps the play loop of the original game intact, constantly giving you reasons to go find new places and things to experiment with, but gives you an expanded toolkit to address the same kinds of encounters.

The thing that weapon deg haters couldn't always articulate about why the system rubbed them the wrong way is still there, I think; this is a game about lateral thinking and exploration, and those modes of play won't necessarily satisfy longtime fans. This game now has more in common with the criminally overlooked Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts than it does with the rest of Zelda canon. To me, that's neat. BK:NB broke ground so ahead of it's time that it's taken a decade and a half for other major studios to try it's premise again, and I'm hopeful that other developers can take something from these new tools Nintendo is trying out.

Because it's a phenomenally whacky idea. Like, whoever proposed that had to have the backing of _tons_ of dedicated people to make it possible, because the original game already had dozens of interactive objects. Someone saying "it would be neat if everything could be glued together" is a pipe dream at most studios, and they fuckin did it!

I hope we haven't seen the last of more traditional Zelda style games, but gosh, this new frontier sure is neat.

[childishcrimson]

Protectors of each other's what we'll be

You saw my soul through the nuts and bolts

You're the friend I can trust , helped me see I'm not just a machine

And is this what " all the feels " means ?

- Friend by Jeff Williams | Volume 8 Original Soundtrack

[unironicallycringe]

immersion be damned that twink can drive a truck

[francesderwent]

Lent starts Ash Wednesday, February 14th! it’s sometimes hard to keep in mind that all good things are gifts from God, and so to help us remember that, we go without them for a season. the absence of those good pleasures reminds us that we aren’t guaranteed them, that we didn’t create them, and that they aren’t the source of our happiness—that they are meant to remind us always of the love of the One who gave them to us.

I won’t be here for the forty days of Lent. I’ve paused my queue. I might check in on Sundays, so feel free to tag me in things and message me, but I’m going to really, really try not to perform for an audience for a while! I really do love you all.

[stoicmike]

Okay, the damn "colendar" is a "colander." Further proof that my brain is spaghetti spilled on the carpet. -- Michael Lipsey

[talos-stims]

3d printed fidget bolt | source

[hyperioncorps]

eli vance stimboard for both myself and @burger-laboratories!

🔩🔩🔩 - 🔩🔩🔩 - 🔩🔩🔩

[thevampirediariesdiary]

alright THIS is how it's gonna go:

Round 1.1 (May 28-June 11th)

A. 1 v 2

B. 3 v 4

C. 5 v 6

D. 7 v 8

E. 9 v 10

F. 11 v 12

G. 13 v 14

H. 15 v 16

I. 17 v 18

J. 19 v 20

K. 21 v 22

L. 23 v 24

M. 25 v 26

N. 27 v 28

O. 29 v 30

P. 31 v 32

Round 1.2 (June 11th-25th)

WINNERS BRACKET

Q. Winner of A vs Winner of B

R. Winner of C vs Winner of D

S. Winner of E vs Winner of F

T. Winner of G vs Winner of H

U. Winner of I vs Winner of J

V. Winner of K vs Winner of L

W. Winner of M vs Winner of N

X. Winner of O vs Winner of P

LOSERS BRACKET

Y. Loser of A vs Loser of B

Z. Loser of C vs Loser of D

AA. Loser of E vs Loser of F

BB. Loser of G vs Loser of H

CC. Loser of I vs Loser of J

DD. Loser of K vs Loser of L

EE. Loser of M vs Loser of N

FF. Loser of O vs Loser of P

Round 1.3 (June 25th-July 2nd)

LOSERS BRACKET

KK. Winner of Y vs Loser of U

LL. Winner of Z vs Loser of V

MM. Winner of AA vs Loser of W

NN. Winner of BB vs Loser of X

OO. Winner of CC vs Loser of Q

PP. Winner of DD vs Loser of R

QQ. Winner of EE vs Loser of S

RR. Winner of FF vs Loser of T

Round 1.4 (July 2nd-9th)

LOSERS BRACKET

SS. Winner of KK vs Winner of LL

TT. Winner of MM vs Winner of NN

UU. Winner of OO vs Winner of PP

VV. Winner of QQ vs Winner of RR

WINNERS BRACKET

GG. Winner of Q vs Winner of R

HH. Winner of S vs Winner of T

II. Winner of U versus Winner of V

JJ. Winner of W vs Winner of X

Round 1.5 (July 9th-16th)

LOSERS BRACKET

WW. Winner of SS vs Loser of GG

XX. Winner of TT vs Loser of HH

YY. Winner of UU vs Loser of II

ZZ. Winner of VV vs Loser of JJ

Round 1.6 (July 16th-23rd)

LOSERS BRACKET

AAA. Winner of WW vs Winner of XX

BBB. Winner of YY vs Winner of ZZ

WINNERS BRACKET

CCC. Winner of GG vs Winner of HH

DDD. Winner of II vs Winner of JJ

Round 1.7 (July 23rd-30th)

LOSERS BRACKET

EEE. Winner of AAA vs Loser of CCC

FFF. Winner of BBB vs Loser of DDD

Round 1.8 (July 30th-August 6th)

LOSERS BRACKET

GGG. Winner of EEE vs Winner of FFF

WINNERS BRACKET

HHH. WINNER of CCC vs Winner of DDD

Round 1.9 (August 6th-13th)

III. Winner of GGG vs Loser of HHH

Championship: (August 13th-20th)

Winner of HHH vs Winner of III

[detroitlib]

Advertisement from Fifth Annual Tri-State Automobile Show program / published by H.M. Fechheimer. Title from cover. Printed on cover: Light Guard Armory, Detroit, Michigan. February 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 1906. Includes advertisements, list of exhibitors and locations, floor plans and musical programs by Finney's Famous Orchestra, directed by Fred S. Stone.

National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

[katherinecrighton]

Nuts and Bolts: Thoughts on Plotting

(Reposting a 2013 post from the Anna Katherine co-tumblr)

Here, have some really straightforward, practical thoughts about plots and plotting. Of which I have way too many, btw.

(Previous nuts and bolts caveats apply, naturally. Assume I have so many thoughts about this stuff because I’ve fucked it up pretty often.)

::::

1. A short story is a single idea, examined or played out. (Movies are also short stories. This is why turning books into movies leads to tears.) Figure out what your “idea” is – or the goal of your story, or the point you’re trying to make, whichever terminology floats your boat – and aim toward that without wavering.

2. Your plot and your characters go hand in hand. They inform each other – if you have one, you have the other. It’s one of the ways that storytelling is the least like real life. The entire plot might as well be a metaphor for whatever issues are going on in the characters lives – but once you realize that, you can use that fact to reverse-engineer your characters or your plot if you’re stuck without one or the other.

3. Frequently problems with plots are just problems with structure. Go find your favorite book (or rather, your favorite book that is most like the kind of book that you’re trying to write) and break it down, section by section, until you’ve got something really basic like “meet-cute” and “things go bad” and shit like that. Then see if you can’t just drape your plot right on over that structure like a brand new Sunday suit.

4. It’s okay to borrow structures. It’s okay to borrow stories, for that matter. Plots can come from a lot of places. “Write what you know” clearly meant “steal every anecdote in England” to Chaucer, and he became the father of English literature, so. 

5. Middle sections of books are terrible. They just are. Everyone wants to give up. This is the number one reason to have an outline or at least a game plan, oh my god. You want to see some hope of a way out, because the middle of a book lasts twice as long as the end of infinity.

6. To that end, once I’ve got some characters and a vague idea of what I want to do with them, I like to put together a list of “adventures”. It’s just stuff I’d like them to do during the course of the story. Sex scenes, car chases, dress fittings, amusing adventures with food, anything like that. Just stuff that I think would be fun to write, and that I know I will need to fill the endless fucking wasteland of the middle of the book.

7. (Those adventures? Should reflect the issues of the characters. Because characters and plots are the same thing. See point 2.)

8. For short stories, have an end point to aim toward, along with a general emotional zone to wallow in. I had a short story whose working title was literally “and then somehow, making out,” which was indeed the end point I was aiming at. The emotional zone I wanted to stay in was fairly light with some emotional dips into heavy stuff for contrast. But mostly what it said on the tin.

9. For books, writing the last scene right at the start of your process is sometimes nice, because it gives you a sort of mark to aim for. (You can always rewrite it later.)

10. Try to capture some really vivid mental pictures of strong scenes. Add those to your “adventure” list, or, better, just write them down. It doesn’t have to be perfect – if you want, just bro it out like you’re describing your favorite badass robot move from Pacific Rim to someone who’s never seen it. At that point there are barely any characters, there’s just the broad sweeps of movement across the page.

+1. Remember: You are the god-king of the book. If worse comes to worst, have a plague of shrews suddenly appear and make your characters deal with it. You can do anything! If you don’t know what to do, do anything. It’s better than doing nothing, and frankly, if it doesn’t work, at least you’ll have written something. You can always delete it tomorrow.

+2. No, seriously, I was writing a book and I could tell there needed to be some kind of big turn in the narrative (because of structure!), and I couldn’t think of what, so I literally wrote down a list of random shit I could make happen to the characters. Just because I could. That list included:

set house on fire airplane explosion hunting accident heatstroke

I was willing to set a house on fire, possibly by having a plane explode on it, just to get my characters doing something for another twenty pages. And the best part was: All I had to do was write the consequences, and add some foreshadowing, and I’d get away scot-free. The perfect crime. GOD-KING, Y'ALL.

[turquoisephoenix]

Commission for RobTheAlien! I was asked to do

The Lord of Games/L.O.G. from Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts had some pretty interesting designs in the concept art before they went with the floating television man in the final game.

Honestly? I like this guy. We should've kept God of Games, he would've been a riot.