#StepsTo

[lexximi]

[swaps55]

I have never heard of an epithet before! What does it mean?

This is a great question! You have probably seen many of them, and just not heard them referred to as epithets.

An epithet is more or less a descriptive word or phrase that stands in the place of a name or a pronoun, such as, “the taller man,” or “the brown-haired woman.” In my experience, fanfic writers in particular tend to latch onto them, especially when trying to create variety in scenes with two characters who share the same pronouns.

I’ll put my thoughts on them under the cut, because I have Opinions on epithets, but I am not An Authority. I’m not your mom. I’m not here to tell you what to do or how to write, and I’m not here to ruin your fun, but we all have the hills we’ll die on and this one is mine. If you are a fan of epithets, just give this post an eyeroll or the finger and scroll on. If you want to know more about epithets and why I think writers can and should avoid them, read on!

Let me get this out of my system: I loathe epithets. Do whatever you want with your oxford comma, but take your epithets out back and shoot them.

Okay, now that’s out of the way, I’ll be a little more constructive about the purpose epithets serve and why I think they are so frequently used poorly.

In my experience, they’re often used as a tool to avoid pronoun confusion, but it’s an inelegant tool that can become a crutch. You have two characters of the same gender in a scene, you have already used their names in a sentence, but the pronoun antecedent is unclear unless you name the character again. You don’t want to do that because it feels repetitive, so you pick out a physical quality and use that instead. Problem solved! Except instead of solve the problem, you’ve potentially introduced new ones.

Nuance is important, and to talk tools we should be using the same toolbox, so for the sake of this argument I’m going to assume we’re talking about 3rd person limited POV, because that’s what I generally see, read, and write the most of.

Chances are very high that the descriptor you chose for your epithet derived from you the writer’s perception of the character being described and not the POV character. This is important, because if you are writing in 3rd person limited, the way you describe other people is how the POV character sees the person being described.  

Now tell me. Have you ever thought of a close friend, a lover, or someone whose name you know as, “the taller woman,” or “the dark-haired man?” Have you ever thought about YOURSELF in these terms? Probably not. I have never looked at my Real Life Romance Option and thought of him as “the brown-eyed man” or “the taller man.” I’ve also quite frankly never consciously thought of him as “my lover.” Is he all of those things? Yes. But from my POV, those are never descriptors I would use for him. Once you know a person’s name, they tend to become Their Name and not ‘Random Characteristic” in your mental picture of them.

So when you default to Random Characteristic, it’s usually the writer talking, not the character. And chances are high that the characteristic you choose to represent is not something that is important to the POV character or the scene in that moment. Therefore, is it significant enough to the reader that it clearly identifies the character, or does the reader now have to stop and think, ‘wait, which one is taller?’ So instead of eliminate confusion, you may have actually introduced more of it.

And even if it is an important detail, stating it as a fact is generally a lot less effective than making it part of the character work being done in the scene. For example:

“Can you help me reach this?” Jed asks the taller man. Leo stops chopping vegetables to oblige, and snags the wine glass the shorter man couldn’t reach off the shelf.

Vs.

Jed sighs as he makes another futile swipe with his fingers and barely grazes the bottom of the shelf. He looks over at Leo, blissfully chopping vegetables in a world where stepstools are for other people. “Can you help me reach this?” Leo sets the knife down and looms behind him, effortlessly snagging the wine glass and handing it to Jed with a grin.   

Hopefully, the second example feels more impactful than the first, because the height difference became part of the scene, and not just a descriptor cosplaying as a pronoun.

Epithets become even more distracting when they become part of a prose style rather than just a means to avoid pronoun confusion or name repetition. I see a lot of writers make the stylistic choice to have a POV character refer to themselves as an epithet right alongside the epithets being thrown around for other characters, and there are so many crammed into a paragraph or two I can’t figure out who is doing what.

At best, epithets are distracting. At their worst, they’re actively confusing when their purpose is to do the opposite.

“But Swaps, if I don’t use an epithet, how do I avoid pronoun confusion without wanting to throw myself out a window?”

This is a problem every writer contends with, whether you’re writing same gender smut, combat, or just have two people of the same gender doing things in a scene together. And unfortunately, this is one of those ways in which writing is hard. When you have some pronoun confusion in a sentence you can’t wriggle your way out of, the answer is probably to try a different sentence. Break the sentence up. Structure it differently. Finding the better sentence is part of becoming a better writer. 

If repetition is what you’re concerned about, know that just saying a character’s name and using their pronoun is okay. It’s like ‘said.’ ‘Said’ isn’t a trendy word that goes in and out of style. It’s a building block word that blends into the background. Can you get fancier than ‘said?’ Sure! But do it with purpose. Don’t be afraid to use a character’s name. It’s their name. It’s what you’re supposed to call them. Why are we fighting so hard to respect people’s names and pronouns if all we’re going to do is replace them with epithets? (Kidding. Mostly.) And if you’re using their name so much it’s interfering with readability…it’s probably time to revisit a few of those sentences and figure out what the better sentence is.

When can you use an epithet?

I joke that there are no exceptions to my There Are No Good Epithets stance, but there are. Sort of. Because rules are made to be broken, though I do believe you should understand why the rule exists before you break it, and you should break it with purpose.

Here’s the easy one.  

Epithets are useful when the POV character doesn’t know a character’s name. Now you have to use something else! And here’s the great thing about that: the epithet is now a vehicle for characterization. What about this stranger stands out enough to get the POV character’s attention? Do they notice a physical characteristic? Clothes? Attitude? What does the thing they notice say about the POV character and the character being observed?

For instance, my POV character is eavesdropping on a conversation between two people in a restaurant. You could grab the low hanging fruit and describe them as, “the brunet woman” and the “older man.” Or you could make your scene work harder. “The man with the punchable face,” or “the woman who makes eye rolling an art form.” Or how about, “the woman wearing fake pearls,” shorthanded to Fake Pearls Woman, and “the man with the name-brand suit that’s seen better days,” shorthanded to Shabby Suit. Now you’ve said something about the characters that place them in a more useful context than their hair color – you’ve said something about them that helps inform the scene, and how your POV character observes the world around them.    

Are there other instances where you can effectively use an epithet? Yes, if you are using them like this: with narrative purpose. And in those cases, is it really just an epithet anymore? It is in that yes, it is a descriptor taking the place of a name or pronoun, but it’s doing a lot more heavy lifting now. Maybe you have a character who chronically can’t remember or can’t be assed to remember people’s names. The epithet is now a means of characterization. Maybe you have a Jekyll and Hyde style character, in which a descriptor of those different personas becomes a means of setting a scene or crafting their relationship with the POV character. These descriptors are narrative vehicles being used with intention. “The other man,” is rarely a tool being used with any real intention. If there is an instance of it, I have never seen it.

Now, if reading this makes you second guess your own work, or to feel like you write wrong, or if the thought of going to painstaking lengths to rewire sentences you would typically use an epithet in gives you hives, there’s an easy solution: forget about this post.

Because fanfic is supposed to be fun. It’s your hobby. You are not getting paid for it. You don’t have to use a specific writing style, or meet anyone else’s expectations. That’s part of what makes fanfic such a beautiful thing. You can do whatever makes you happy. Not me, not anyone else. If you fucking love using epithets, use them. If you think I am made of bullshit, give this post the finger like I initially suggested and write five epithets just to spite me. No one will stop you, certainly not me. Though I will continue hating epithets, because you can’t stop me, either. XD

[primordialsoundmeditation]

“You received this card today because you, or someone close to you, have absorbed some energies of fear. They could have been self generated from your own foreboding or may have come from being with fearful people.Whenever you feel tired or have been subjected to substance abuse, (such as spending time in a pub or bar), take the time to cleanse away residual energies. You can conduct this process anytime or anywhere, even when other people are nearby. You can also conduct this “vacuuming” for other people – in person or remotely (just be sure to ask their verbal or psychic permission first).

Action StepsTo vacuum yourself or another person, just say: “Archangels Michael and Raphael, I call upon you and your healing Band Of Mercy Angels to come now with your spiritual vacuum cleaner. Please deposit the vacuum hose through the crown chakra and suction away any toxic, fear based or entity energy.” See and feel the vacuum hose completely cleaning the entire inside of the body (including organs, muscles, and bones) from head to toe. Shudders and other physical reactions are a normal and positive sign that the process is working. Continue until the body feels quiet, and then say:“Thank you, Michael and Raphael, for this healing. Please now fill the body with your diamond-bright white light to heal and protect.”

www.AngelicHealingByDanica.com

www.Power-Of-Angelic-Healing.com

[aprilmata08]

•ADVOCACY•

#ENVIRONMENT

Did you see the Environment? Can you compare it to before?

The answer is No. Papers, plastics and etc. can see around and even its just a little piece but it can have a big problem, Instead of cutting trees, we should maintain trees and

Instead of trashing papers everywhere, keep it and recycle it.

Environment is one of the most important aspects in our lives, we can’t live without it. If we compare it from before and after we can see the biggest difference from now. Keep trashing plastics everywhere, cutting trees, and air pollution, are the things we did. But beside of that, there are some of us who really cares for the Environment, it is very useless if there’s a person who really loves to care but there’s a person who are careless to it. People should realize the importance of it before it’s too late.

We can appreciate things if it is not available. We can still re-plant but it’s very late to plant trees when we have climate change and we are the cause of the opposite of it. We know that there are so many stepsto keep the Environment clean and be compared to before, as I end this, I would like to encourage you to keep catchy, clean, and greeny in comes of our environment. Appreciate it, because it has a big help for you to keep you alive and healthy. So let us be the inspiration to others. Be the example and be the idolized to others and TOGETHER let’s clean and keep the environment clean.

#12-SAGITTARIUS

#SCHOOLPURPOSES

[poetyca]

Coraggio - Courage

🌸Coraggio🌸 Il coraggio cura ogni feritae la speranza illumina i passiper lasciare alle spalle inciampi e dolore.03.05.2023 Poetyca🌸🌿🌸#Poetycamente🌸CourageCourage heals every woundand hope illuminates the stepsto leave behindstumbles and pain.03.05.2023 Poetyca

[nathanaelw]

his name on the leasewhere she takes me inshe takes the same stepsto get to it i’m guessing my keysused to be his and even in my bedhis name slips she wishesshe never… though his name on the lease& their anniversary is the wi-fi passwordand she wants to move to Portlandand she wonders why she hates it herewhere I am & I watched his name renewon their anniversaryon the new leasein the…

[mawrgorshin]

A short poem for the late Luciana Bohne.

[mawr-gorshin]

Luciana

Nowas youwalk upthese stepsto your all newresting place, doremember us downhere on Earth who lovedyou, learned from you, laughedat your witty barbs on the sad stateof our world down here, and felt your caringfor the downtrodden. We will never forget you, foryour absence down here is a black void we’ll never fillwill another comrade so great as you were. I don’t believein heaven, nor do many of…

[theoldcurator]

The Paradox of Goal Setting- Why It Sometimes Fails

The Paradox of Goal Setting- Why It Sometimes Fails Goal setting is a common practice, often touted as a key to success. It is a process thatstarts with careful consideration of what one wants to achieve, followed by specific stepsto attain it. However, despite its popularity and widespread use, goal setting does notalways guarantee success. Here are some reasons why goal setting might not work. 1. Unrealistic Goals: One of the primary reasons goal setting fails is because the goals setare often unrealistic. When goals are too ambitious or not achievable within the giventimeframe, it can lead to frustration and demotivation. This can result in a lack of progressand eventually, the abandonment of the goal. 2. Lack of Clarity: Goals that are vague or ambiguous can lead to confusion and lack ofdirection. Without a clear understanding of what needs to be achieved, it becomesdifficult to take the necessary steps towards the goal. This lack of clarity can lead toprocrastination and lack of action 3. Neglecting the Process: Often, people focus solely on the end result and neglect theprocess. However, achieving a goal requires consistent effort and action. When theprocess is overlooked, it can lead to a lack of progress and failure to reach the goal. 4. Lack of Flexibility: Goals are not set in stone and should be flexible to adapt tochanges. However, when goals are rigid, it can lead to stress and anxiety, especiallywhen unforeseen circumstances occur. This lack of flexibility can hinder progress andprevent the achievement of the goal. 5. Lack of Motivation: Setting a goal is one thing, but maintaining the motivation toachieve it is another. Without intrinsic motivation, the drive to reach the goal can waneover time. This lack of motivation can lead to a lack of action and eventually, failure toachieve the goal. 6. Ignoring Personal Limitations: Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Whensetting goals, it's important to consider personal limitations. Ignoring these can lead tosetting goals that are not aligned with one's abilities, leading to failure. 7. Neglecting to Monitor Progress: Regularly monitoring progress towards a goal is crucial.However, when this is neglected, it can lead to a lack of awareness about where onestands in relation to the goal. This can lead to a lack of progress and failure to achievethe goal. While goal setting can be a powerful tool for success, it is not foolproof. Itrequires realistic expectations, clarity, focus on the process, flexibility, motivation,consideration of personal limitations, and regular monitoring of progress. Without these,goal setting can lead to more frustration than success. Therefore, it's important toapproach goal setting with a balanced perspective and a comprehensive understandingof its potential pitfalls. Q: Is goal setting always a guarantee for success?A: No, goal setting does not always guarantee success. There are several reasons why it might not work effectively. Q: What is the first reason why goal setting might fail?A: Unrealistic goals are one of the primary reasons why goal setting fails. When goals are too ambitious or cannot be achieved within a given timeframe, it can lead to frustration and demotivation. Q: How does lack of clarity affect goal setting?A: Lack of clarity in goals can lead to confusion and a lack of direction. Without a clear understanding of what needs to be achieved, it becomes difficult to take the necessary steps towards the goal, resulting in procrastination and lack of action. Q: What happens when people neglect the process while focusing on the end result?A: Neglecting the process can hinder progress and lead to failure. Achieving a goal requires consistent effort and action, so overlooking the process can prevent reaching the goal. Q: Why is flexibility important in goal setting?A: Goals should be flexible to adapt to changes. When goals are rigid, it can cause stress and anxiety, especially when unforeseen circumstances occur. Lack of flexibility can hinder progress and prevent achieving the goal. Q: How does lack of motivation impact goal setting?A: Setting a goal is one thing, but maintaining motivation to achieve it is another. Without intrinsic motivation, the drive to reach the goal can diminish over time, leading to a lack of action and failure to achieve the goal. Q: Why is it important to consider personal limitations when setting goals?A: Ignoring personal limitations can result in setting goals that are not aligned with one's abilities, leading to failure. It's crucial to consider strengths and weaknesses when setting goals. Q: What happens when progress towards a goal is not regularly monitored?A: Neglecting to monitor progress can lead to a lack of awareness about one's standing in relation to the goal. This can result in a lack of progress and failure to achieve the goal. Q: Is goal setting still valuable despite its potential pitfalls?A: Yes, goal setting can be a powerful tool for success. However, it requires realistic expectations, clarity, focus on the process, flexibility, motivation, consideration of personal limitations, and regular monitoring of progress. Approaching goal setting with a balanced perspective is important to avoid frustration and increase the chances of success. Tags: .🟢 Ready, .📖 Article, 2wp July 17, 2023 at 08:23AM Open in Evernote Read the full article

[haikuandy]

haiku 20230609

overcast morningworkers powerwash the stepsto huntington park Like my haiku? Buy me a coffee!

[mhevarujta]

Rhaenys and Corlys in 1x07

It’s impressive how Otto is seen like a social climber and manipulator (which he 200% is), but people don’t see that Corlys is not any better. I won’t even go about how crowning Daemon King of the Stepstoes was a snakey move with implications that did not escalate only because Daemon handled the situation well. I won’t go into how only Rhaenys bothere to reassure their 12-year old daughter about her having sex with Viserys only when she was 14 (which is probably when they estimated her cycle to start).

I’ll focus only on this episode. Corlys has been Rhaenys’ biggest stan. He has been shouting from the rooftops about her claim and about how she has been mistreated. YET, Rhaenys herself has left it behind her in a sense. Sure, she wanted her son to be on the thron, but she understands why, in the society they lived in she hasn’t gotten her due. She pushes for her children, but she is not unquenchable. When Viserys went to them with his tail between his legs, she did not kick her sick cousin when he was down. Rhaenys is smart, she is not inambitious, but she’s also perceptive and has a good understanding of politics and societal conventions.

In this episode Rhaenys was the one comforting her granddaughters while Corlys only cared for ‘his’ grandsons and only cared about appearences when his son literally looked as if he wanted to follow his dead sister into the watery depths. 

Rhaenys did not hate Rhaenyra’s children, but she knew that they were not her son’s despite the fact that he cared for them. She knew that Laena had two daughters who would inherit NOTHING and would have to depend on a marriage of convenience to ensure themselves. She has asked for NOTHING except this: She wanted to ensure Baela and Rhaena. She even mentions that Laenor, even if he does not inherit Driftmark is a prince consort who has everything and Jace will sit on the Iron Throne. But all Corlys cared about was his ambition. He just wanted the next king to carry the Verlaryon name. He cared for his pride and ambition more than about his granddaughters. Ensuring them was THE way to do justice by Rhaenys and he did not care enough to do it

[smeloncurls]

magnification

on the first day we meti took shaky stepsto the station, i was scaredof failing, falling, lovingsomeone as great as youthen you took my hand and said ‘me too’, my handsat alone until it metyours, i became close to youbut we took baby stepsyet i knew i was in lovewith you, and that scared me, like a scaredanimal afraid to take your handand commit to lovingsuch a beautiful soul, if i hadn’t…

[mywifiextlogn]

Mywfiextlogn is an independent third-party service provider giving information,support, and troubleshooting stepsto help users fix issues related to WiFi range extenders and other networking gadgets.

[poetyca]

Controcorrente - Upstream

🌸Controcorrente🌸 Vanno strappati i mille copioni per restare in ascolto della voce del cuorePassi decisiper essere se stessiin un viaggiocontrocorrente16.11.2022 Poetyca🌸🌿🌸#Poetycamente🌸UpstreamThey must be torn the thousand scriptsto keep listeningof the voice of the heartDecisive stepsto be yourselfon a tripagainst the tide16.11.2022 Poetyca

[orbisetupnetwork]

How to Change the Orbi WiFi Admin Login Password?

In this article, I'll show you how to change the password on the admin page of your Orbi router. If you think you've set a very hard-to-guess password, let me tell you that there are tools that can crack passwords in just a few minutes. So, changing the password every two to three months is a good time. This will keep data from getting out of your Orbi Home network. No one can easily guess or break your Orbi router and WiFi network's password. Some people believe the myth that changing your password will refresh your network and make your internet faster. I don't think so, though. For security reasons, I think you should change the password.

This could cause your Orbi WiFi system to cut off all connected devices automatically. This will mean that all the devices you don't need to connect to your Orbi router will be cut off. That will make your internet faster. Let's move on to how to change the Orbi router's admin login password.

How to Change the Admin Login Password for an Orbi Router:

First, you need a desktop computer connected to the Orbi WiFi network. You don't do this task on a tablet or phone.

Now connect your laptop to the Orbi WiFi network.

Open one of the web browsers you usually use to surf the web, like Chrome, Firefox, or Opera.

Now, type Orbilogin.com set up into the address bar and hit enter.

Use this IP address if you can't get to the Orbi App Login page with HTTP://192.168.1.1.

Instead:

Now, go to the Orbi Admin login page and enter the right username and password. Then, click the "Login" button.

If you don't already know the default username and password for the Orbi router, I'll tell you. The default username is the same as the default password.

After you logged in, you could now see the dashboard of the Orbi router.

Click on Advanced > Administration > then set a new password.

Now, you can change the password for the Orbi app login page on the page set display.

Last, click the APPLY button. When you do this, your changes will be saved and made real.

How to recover the Admin login password for the Orbi Router?

Here are the steps you need to take to recover the old password for your Orbi router. Follow all the steps carefully, and don't miss them. Let's look at all of the steps below.

First, connect the desktop computer to the Orbi network.

Then, on the connected device, open the web browser.

Type this URL into the address bar: orbilogin.com.

If you can't get to the admin page of your Orbi router, try this IP address: HTTP://192.168.1.

Now you can see the window to log in to the Orbi router.

Now use the right username and password to get into the Orbi router.

Let me tell you if you don't know the username and password by default. The default password is a password, and the default username is a username.

The dashboard for the Orbi router will now appear on the screen.

You must find the homepage, click on it, and then move on.

The next step is to do Admin.

Now, a few security questions will show up on the screen. You have to give the correct answers. These are the same security questions you set up when you set up your Orbi router for the first time.

Now, click "continue."

You will be asked to write the old password in the next window. Just write down the password and use it to try to log in.

Now, use the username and password to try to log in.

Additional Steps

To log in to your Orbi account, open a web browser on any device that can access the internet and type in http://orbilogin.com.

It's time to sign in, and the window to do so appears.

The router's login screen will appear once you enter the username and password.

Bear in mind that "admin" is the username to use. The password you provide will be the default. Login credentials are case-sensitive.

When you click on the BASIC icon, the BASIC Home page loads. To change the password, go to the ADVANCED menu and then Administration.

The page to change your password appears.

Then, after you've finished filling out the form, hit the APPLY button.

Your preferences have been saved.

I hope you'll be able to log in now without too much trouble.