#WRITE EVERYTHING

[satzy]

Some heavy thoughts.

[badassunicorn2016]

Well, I started this blog 7 years ago with great intentions, and had a great almost 7 months posting and then I started grad school and anything other than grad school sorta fell by the wayside.

In the years between then and now, I’ve thought about picking up where I left off, but haven’t really found the motivation at the right time of the year.

So I’m sort letting the daily writing prompt/daily writing tip thing go after 7 years (it’s time 😂). While I stopped posting, I did continue writing (sporadically) and now that I am done with grad school I am actually taking a creative writing class for the first time ever and I am so excited!!!

It’s only just started, but one thing that my prof said that I’ve been ruminating over and want to share with you all is that a lot of people use backstory solely to justify a character’s actions. And if used like that, then it’s really easy to fall into common tropes and make your character feel very two dimensional. Instead, backstory should give your character depth. It can (and likely will) explain some of the character’s attributes/decisions/etc, but it should also add to the character in some way.

Idk I hope I’m explaining that right and in a way that makes sense.

For me, the example that comes to mind is from the show Miraculous Ladybug (I’m not caught up yet with what’s been released on Disney+ so PLEASE NO SPOILERS), where we have two characters, one of whom is a villain and one of whom is a superhero. Character one is a rich fashion designer with a wife who mysteriously disappeared and since then has rarely left his house and still grieves her. Character two grew up isolated, lost his mother as a child and his father is very distant, he was essentially raised by his father’s personal assistant. He was homeschooled, almost completely cut off from the outside world unless it was convenient for his father to parade him around.

Character one seems like he’s set up to be a Batman-like superhero, while character two is set up to be the villain with a chip on his shoulder.

But in reality, character one is the villain terrorizing Paris by preying on people’s negative emotions, while character two is an absolute cinnamon roll of a human who wholeheartedly accepts his role as second in command of a superhero duo, then a superhero team, led by a female superhero. He’s not even an antihero, he just absolutely loves Ladybug and is absolutely willing to accept that she is in charge from the get go. It does also explain some of his attributes/actions (why he loves being a superhero so much bc he finally gets the freedom he never got before; his worst nightmare is being locked up) but it *explains and adds*.

Like. They could’ve used his tragic Disney Princess background to justify making him an asshole. But they gave him the backstory while also making him the sweetest, kindest, ladybug simp possible.

There’s so many things this show gets right (this is just one of them) and even tho it’s a kids show I recommend everyone watch it (at least the earlier seasons… jury’s still out on what Disney has decided to do with it since they acquired it lol)

Anyway. Am hoping to share any other tidbits that I learn along the way, but based on that 7 year gap I am not making any promises 😂

[arson-jellyfish69]

AI disturbance overlays for those who don't have Ibis paint premium. found them on tiktok

[evidently-endless]

i think we should remind musicians they can absolutely make up little stories for their songs btw. it doesn’t have to be about them at all. you can invent a guy and put him in situations to music. time honoured tradition in fact.

[almondpiglet]

ppl were drawing mikus from all over so heres habesha miku and her lil twin sibs rin and len!!

[interstellarsystem]

Nonhuman expressions of affection are great. Purring. Exposing weak points as a show of trust. Head bonks. Preening and chewing. Nuzzling. Biting. Intertwining tails. Feeding each other. Little chuffs, chatters, beeps and squeaks. Fluffing up of feathers, fur or other things. Dancing to impress. Cleaning their fur, scales, feathers or skin. Sharing body heat. Ears pointing toward those you care about to show your full attention is on them. Slow blinking.

[lola-andheruniverse]

Write it out, write it all out, give it a break (a few hours or days) and then come back to it and READ IT OUT LOUD! Your brain process your thoughts and inner reading voice differently than when you're listening to someone or reading something out loud because these stimuli are external ones. So, while you're reading it out loud, your brain will try to interpret and understand what's being read and give you more clarity about what you were feeling and thinking at the time you wrote those words. This is an incredible self-awareness strategy that we use almost instinctively when we are children and teenagers (yes, I'm talking about those journals you kept hidden under your bed when you were young), but forget about it once we become grow ups. Lots of mental health professionals and therapists (me included) encourage journal writing from the go because it's not only helpful but very transformative.

[officialspec]

modern au but set in brisbane. is this anything

[gingerswagfreckles]

After 146 days, the Writer's Strike has ended with a resounding success. Throughout constant attempts by the studios to threaten, gaslight, and otherwise divide the WGA, union members stood strong and kept fast in their demands. The result is a historic win guaranteeing not only pay increases and residual guarantees, but some of the first serious restrictions on the use of AI in a major industry.

This win is going to have a ripple effect not only throughout Hollywood but in all industries threatened by AI and wage reduction. Studio executives tried to insist that job replacement through AI is inevitable and wage increases for staff members is not financially viable. By refusing to give in for almost five long months, the writer's showed all of the US and frankly the world that that isn't true.

Organizing works. Unions work. Collective bargaining how we bring about a better future for ourselves and the next generation, and the WGA proved that today. Congratulations, Writer's Guild of America. #WGAstrong!!!

[burquillos]

Post-war shenanigans. It's all the same to him

[mischievous-thunder]

Wade changed the entire narrative and saved their souls. In fact, he tied their souls together.

[3rdsday]

Tommy basically said "the DSMP was good because it was, and still is, loved" and that basically sums up my feelings on the matter too.

[magicicephoenix]

i finally finished reading I see you, Sundrop! by @shirajellyfish and IT'S SO GOOD I CAN'T BELIEVE IT TOOK ME THIS LONG TO FINISH IT RAAAAAAA

i will be gushing about it in the tags but here's a lil animation i made based on the below paragraph in chapter 6 that gave me such a strong mental image that i had to make it real :)

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

i'm begging you guys to start pirating shit from streaming platforms. there are so many websites where you can stream that shit for free, here's a quick HOW TO:

1) Search for: watch TITLE OF WORK free online

2) Scroll to the bottom of results. Click any of the "Complaint" links

3) You will be taken to a long list of links that were removed for copyright infringement. Use the 'find' function to search for the name of the show/movie you were originally searching for. You will get something like this (specifics removed because if you love an illegal streaming site you don't post its url on social media)

4) each of these links is to a website where you can stream shit for free. go to the individual websites and search for your show/movie. you might have to copy-paste a few before you find exactly what you're looking, but the whole process only takes a minute. the speed/quality is usually the same as on netflix/whatever, and they even have subtitles! (make sure to use an adblocker though, these sites are funded by annoying popups)

In conclusion, if you do this often enough you will start recognizing the most dependable websites, and you can just bookmark those instead. (note: this is completely separate from torrenting, which is also a beautiful thing but requires different software and a vpn)

you can also download the media in question (look for a "download" button built into the video window, or use a browser extension such as Video DownloadHelper.)

[thegirlhoodtheory]

I WILL BE GOOD AS LONG AS YOU WANT ME, 1/28/24

image from wikimedia commons