#doesn’t have the resources to seek professional editing. but STILL. even if it’s just you and a screen…… you’re telling me you can’t edit

[fingertipsmp3]

Reading an actual published book that is really, confidently bad gives me more confidence in my writing than just about anything actually

[slavemarcus]

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[kyokorambles]

Writing Characters with Mental Illness

This is just a general guide and please feel free to correct me and or add to the list! This is meant to be used as a cheat sheet for authors who would like some general guidance when it comes to the above topic.

I just read a statistic that stated  46.4% of people in the USA will experience some form of mental illness in there adult life time. That’s almost half of us! Yet its not something we to want to talk about, and it seems to be under-represented in mainstream media. 

If you are looking for a piece of fiction that focuses on a characters struggle with mental illness, you will have better luck with self published works or fan fiction. While some authors get it just right, I see more often then not authors that ether romanticize it, misrepresent it, or my personal pet peeve of making it a personality quirk. 

Here is a list of my personal Do’s and Don’t for writing mental illness. Again, feel free to correct me, add to the list, or share your thoughts! 

Things I try and avoid: 

Avoid Romanticizing or Eroticizing mental illness. This not only sends the wrong message to your readers who are from the 53.6% of the population that are not effected by mental illnesses, but it perpetuates harmful stereotypes. No one is going to swoop into your life and ‘fix’ you, and we need to stop setting that expectation… Panic attacks are not endearing or cute, self harm is a serious red flag, not something that makes you beautiful or unique. The person is suffering dont invalidate that. You know what is romantic and beautiful? Partners/friends/family that are encouraging you to seek professional help and going with you to your first doctors appointment, SO’s who help there partners fight there illness by reminding them to take there medication, eat, or rest, Partners who hate your self harm scars as much as you do, but remind you that YOU are beautiful and they aren’t something to be ashamed of. This last one is just as important but reversed. SO’s who remind you that your struggle is valid even if you don’t have battle scars that others can see.

Avoid writing outside of your understanding. This does not mean you have to suffer a mental illness to include one in your work, but research is key. Ask a friend who might struggle with it. If you don’t have one, just ask Tumbler. I am sure someone will be happy to give you an inside scoop. 

Avoid making the entire story about the mental illness. It’s not that you can’t… but remember that your MC is not there mental illness so its a good idea to have the main plot unrelated to their head space. Good news is that people live there lives every day with mental illness! So it’s far more realistic to write a main plot of Rags to riches, Voyage and return, or what every you fancy, and have the characters struggle with mental illness as a subplot. 

Avoid making any mental illness a quirk. Just like making it seem ‘romantic’ its just as harmful to write red flags off as part of a characters personality. When we do this we are minimizing the issue. The teenager that is constantly in there room and isolating themselves? The coworker that seems to constantly be frazzled and jumping from project to project without really completing one? The ‘wine aunt’ who pops in and out of the family and is always sloshed? Those are not “just the way they are” “There personalities” or “quirks.” They are red flags and again 53.6% of the population will probably assume that if the rest of your work is well written, you know what you’re talking about so it must be like that in real life too. 

Things I try to include: 

Accuracy!! I follow the ‘write what you know’ rule personally and I also shamelessly project onto my characters. I am brutally honest about the good, the bad, and the ugly and lay my characters bear to show exactly what is going through their brain so the reader is with them every step of the way. Sometimes that means showing them being irrational, selfish, afraid, or doing hurtful things to others/loved ones. if your MC is the one with the mental illness, then sometimes it means showing the reader an inaccurate picture of the situation through your MC’s pov and that is ok. Unreliable narrators are a thing and a useful tool! 

Do show them learning to manage and thrive with there mental illness!  Maybe they manage with coping mechanisms they teach themselves, maybe with medication, maybe they learn ways to recognize and redirect there behavior after going to therapy. You can do this in so many ways, but I always make a point to show that characters may still have bad days, weeks, or even months, but that they learned how to deal with there issues in a healthy way. A lot of personality disorders, mental illness and the likes have no cure. There are tons of treatment options to help manage, but learning to live with it and make it work is something that doesn’t get enough light. 

Subtlety is king and adds a whole new depth to your work. Here is the thing. When your depressed your are not thinking “man I am so depressed” most of the time. Some people don’t even realize that the way they feel isn’t ‘normal’. Ever head of show dont tell? I am sure most of us have gotten this critique on our work at one time or another, and this is really something to take to heart. Its one thing to say “I am depressed” it is another thing to walk the reader though what life is actually like when you are depressed especially if they have never been depressed. Take time to show how little things pile up over time until its ‘too much.’ Show the character as they hit there braking point after a hard fought struggle. 

Show how mental illness comes into play in a relationship both romantic and platonic. You can do this without romanticizing it I swear. As important as it is to depict mental illness accurately, it is just as important to show how trying to help someone with there mental illness can be a real struggle. There is a big difference between someone swooping in to ‘save’ the character, and an SO stepping up to help support the character. Also depicting healthy boundaries/support in platonic relationships is something we don’t see often.

These were just a few things that flew into my mind and pet peeves that irk me when I am reading a story. Just do your research and avoid harmful stereotypes and your piece will really stand out. 

Keep in mind that there is a lot of misinformation on the web. Some sources I like to use for mental health research are listed below but just remember to get your information from the most reliable source available.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition: DSM-5~  This is where you can find toooons of information about how almost all mental disorders are categorized, diagnosed, and the recommended treatment. I have a paper back copy that I picked up for under $30 on Amazon but there are free PDF versions available for download.  This is perfect if you want a holistic look at the topic, but can be overwhelming if you are not used to this sort of reading. 

The Mayo Clinic website ~ is another wonderful tool that is a lot easier to navigate. Rather then searching the site directly you can type the name of the disorder you are trying to get info on with the words ‘mayo clinic’ directly after into google and it will usually pull it right up. While they pull there info from the above source, they sort and organize it based on relevance. 

The National Institute of Mental Health is another good one to check out. NIHM’s site is very user friendly with lots of good information and resources. 

Public health is not one I have used but it has been recommended to me in the past. 

I hope this gets you pointed in the right direction. I plan on doing several of similar ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ for common mental health issues so feel free to let me know if you want anything specific.

[malafight]

hi im so sorry but i wanted to ask for help if u feel up to it. basically ive done next to no schoolwork (bare bare min) since we went on quarantine 4-5 weeks ago and i just missed two deadlines for big things and i still haven't done those assignments and i keep missing the online classes and i can't seem to make myself work and i feel terrified and awful and also like i have to hide it from my friends and therapist despite my anxiety and depression. what do i do? (again im so sorry. ty & ily)

hey, sorry it’s taken a bit to respond to this; i spent today recovering from a massive panic attack myself and probably wouldn’t have been able to provide good enough advice at the time. but i’m here now!

first of all, you’re not alone. you’re far from the only one terrified right now. and it’s okay to be terrified. you don’t have to apologize for your feelings or for asking for help -- i’m always willing to provide whatever advice i can, and hunt down things that might help when my experience hasn’t given me a good enough answer. we’re all doing our best out here right now, even if your brain is telling you you aren’t doing enough. you’re trying to survive, right now, and that is enough. it’s all most of us can do at this point. don’t let yourself feel bad for being afraid; we all are. don’t beat yourself up for not doing more, for yourself or for other people; you can’t pour from an empty cup. you don’t have to do anything but survive, right now. i give you permission to just focus on keeping yourself together as best you can, okay? it’s a tough time, but you’re not alone.

now for the actual school-related stuff. i know most people would tell you to be professional when communicating with professors, but now is not the time for your instructors to see you as an automaton. i’ve found that being genuine, honest, and polite helps humanize you to a professor who may only know you by your name in their system. i’ll preface this with the fact that it doesn’t always work, because sometimes teachers lack basic empathy, but it’s much easier on you, even, to be honest from the get-go.

now is not the time to put on a brave face. the world is hideously, pants-shittingly terrifying right now, and if people don’t know you need help, they can’t help you. some folks have the spoons or money to spare; folks like me have words and the Mom Friend Override. for some, being able to help others makes it easier for them to cope themselves. if you can’t bring yourself to reach out and look for support for yourself, remember that humans are a social species -- we need each other. so reach out and let your friends know that you’re scared. they’re scared, too. feeling afraid sucks, but feeling afraid and alone is even worse. you know the saying “misery loves company,” right? don’t look at it as a negative right now. think of it as instructions to seek out companionship and understanding in times of trouble. misery loves company. go find some company.

(also, tell your therapist -- what’s the use of having one if you don’t open up to them? you can’t treat an illness if your patient isn’t keeping you updated on the symptoms. if you had an injured leg, and suddenly it started inexplicably hurting even worse than before, you’d tell your doctor, right? same goes for mental health. please talk to your therapist. i’m not certified or even trained in this sort of thing, just someone who’s been fighting for decades with a brain that doesn’t work right in a world trying to kick my ass at every turn. there are things a therapist can help you with that i don’t have the resources for. use what you have at your fingertips! trust me, your therapist is hearing all about covid right now, and they won’t judge you for being scared.)

i also want to say that it takes a lot of courage to reach out for help like this, and i’m proud of you. i can tell that you’re doing your best. and i know how much it sucks to feel like your best isn’t enough. everything is awful and stressful, but we need to reach out to each other, if only to huddle under a blanket together to avoid the storm roaring outside.

i’ll provide here what i hope will be a useful template for asking your instructors for help with this situation. i know emailing them is even more terrifying, but you can’t get help from someone who doesn’t know you need it.

also, i suggest you edit the template a bit to fit your situation. in situations like these it is so, so important to humanize yourself to them.

(email template below)

[Instructor Name],

This is [name] from your [course] course. I know we haven’t been in contact much over the semester, but I need to ask for your help.

I’m sure by now you’ve noticed that my performance in class has started to slip, and I want to let you know that it is not because of your failure as an instructor, and it’s not meant in any disrespect. I’ve been enjoying your course so far, but with the current Coronavirus situation, it’s getting harder and harder for me to even function on a normal, human level. [provide some detail here about your mental state, ie: I’m freaking out, I’m stressed and terrified, and I feel like I’m falling apart, and that things are awful and hopeless. use your own words, preferably, but be honest.]

I hate bringing this sort of thing up, but [I’m mentally ill, I have depression and anxiety, I have a disability, basically explain your particular situation] and it’s making an already-terrifying worldwide disaster even harder to process and cope with. [give some example of how it’s harder for you to function -- your partner has to remind you to eat, it took a spatula to even get you out of bed, you keep losing track of the time to panic and find entire days gone with no memory of doing anything but freaking out, etc]

I promise I’m doing my best in your course, and I want to be able to complete it successfully, but I’m afraid I might fail under these present conditions. Is there any sort of help you can provide for me, like an extension on assignment due dates? I’m not trying to get out of doing my work, but under this much stress and fear, it’s getting harder and harder to focus on completing my assignments. Any sort of assistance you can provide would be helpful.

[you can also ask here if there are any resources the school can provide you in this situation. even if you look up resources on your own, your instructor may know about some things you haven’t found yet]

I know you’re probably scared, too, and I want to thank you for any help you’re able to give me.

Stay healthy,

[your name]

please keep holding on. we’re in for a long ride, and we can’t do it alone. humanity’s strength is its humanity. empathy, sympathy, compassion -- we need each other. don’t be afraid to reach out, because i guarantee you, there will be someone out there reaching right back to you

thank u for attending my anime power of friendship speech. please stay safe and healthy out there. we can get through this together.

[leahazel]

7KPP MBTI - over-long and completely unedited meta

I’m just copy/pasting this from my notes software with no editing. If you’re brave enough to read the whole thing, more power to you. It’s about 3K words all in all.

I was in a doctor's waiting room this morning (I have the flu and I was waiting for a chest x-ray) and while I waited, I was thinking about some recent thoughts I had about D&F, and how they've changed my mind on some MBTI typings I've had for the 7KPP NPCs. I've been musing on the MBTI subject on and off for as long as I've been playing the game (first post here: https://leahazel.tumblr.com/post/126655090075/congratulations-on-the-kickstarter-also-if), and I've typed most of my own MCs and other OCs. In fact, for some of them, their MBTI and enneagram types are pretty central to their character arc.

But some characters are more well-developed than others, and some are quite difficult to type. And, of course, impressions are subjective. Since I'm fluish and too tired to actually write any fanfic (I have several unfinished), I might as well do a proper post of all my typings.

If I were at full strength, I'd so a whole resources section with links about what MBTI is and how it works. Since I'm not, I'll give the bare minimum background. MBTI is a personality typing system based on Jungian cognitive function theory. You can find everything from official descriptions written by professionals, to jokey quizzes and Tumblr memes, all over the internet. My favorite fannish MBTI account is @funkymbtifiction. I love their character typings and I rely on them for nuanced takes on the different types.

Without getting too much into my typing philosophy, here are the 7KPP NPCs, grouped somewhat arbitrarily.

Introverted sensing types

The four types marked SJ use the introverted sensing function as either their primary or auxiliary cognitive function. Stereotypically, Si-using types are hidebound, dutiful and traditional, reliable but also stubborn and rigid. Certainly unhealthy SJ types act like this a lot of the time. More mature, healthier people of the same types have access to all of Si's strengths -- an eye for detail, conscientious work ethic, a strong sense of honor -- while being aware of their weaknesses, and compensating for them.

ISTJ - Cordelia and Jasper are both ISTJ types. They share some of the same strengths and vulnerabilities. Both are very emotionally contained, but have difficulty expressing affection openly. At the same time, they have a strong moral compass and inner sense of right and wrong. This is typical of the Te/Fi function pair in the secondary/tertiary positions. Both of them have personal dilemmas and character journeys revolving around the tension between tradition and novelty. When frustrated or at a loss, they're prone to retreating into loops of rumination (Si-Fi loop), or spiraling into anxiety about future possibilities and everything that can possibly go wrong (inferior Ne). Cordelia is the more stable of the two. When we meet Jasper, he's already in the midst of a personal crisis. I suspect Sayra is also an ISTJ and generally write her with this type in mind, but not enough is known of her to pin her type down.

ISFJ - Penelope and Ria are both ISFJ types. Both of them are kind, gentle and helpful as ISFJs often (stereotypically) are, and are prone to putting other people's needs ahead of their own, as Fe-users often are. ISFJs thrive on the power of friendship and community, and excel at promoting harmony for the benefit of all. Disharmony, cruelty and rudeness make them anxious and upset, but they also possess hidden reservoirs of both fortitude and courage, especially in defense of others. As Si-users, they have a keen appreciation for the aesthetics of small, everyday details, and as Fe-users, they feel a strong need to put up a persona that reflects what others expect of them. When their desires are at odds with group harmony, they can struggle to assert themselves. Both Penelope and Ria have character arcs that show them to be strongly motivated by a sense of justice and fairness, being stronger than they initially appear to be, and willing to come into conflict with established mores when necessary.

ESTJ - General Falon is an ESTJ, and I believe he's the only one out of the characters I've named here (there are some characters that I don't feel I know enough about to type). As Falon is a minor character and not very well-developed, he adheres closely to ESTJ stereotypes and doesn't provide much nuance. He's driven by duty and honor and values tradition, hierarchy and efficiency. When driven out of his comfort zone he becomes easily flustered. He has a hard time seeing things from other people's point of view, is weak at diplomacy, and his discourse style lacks tact. Many traits that are typical of the extroverted thinking function.

ESFJ - Emmett and Lisle are both ESFJ types, and both pretty typical, although in slightly different ways. Here's the controversial part: I now think Jarrod is also an ESFJ, and I'll explain why, but I want to start with the simpler, more linear characterization.

ESFJ types use extroverted feeling as their leading cognitive function. It's a powerful emotional function that excels at both reading people's behavior and intentions, and reflecting that behavior back at them. Fe-dom types, when healthy, switch handily between personas appropriate to their surroundings, they know how to read the room's mood, and when they want to influence people, they know how to form an argument that's tailored to their conversation partner. On the downside, Fe-users can get lost in their masks or lose sight of their own goals, because they read other people's desires so readily. When supported by Si, introverted sensing, their desire for stability and continuity can hinder them from considering the possibilities of positive change. They can be cautious to a fault. Lisle is a typical ESFJ and his difficulty in opening up about negative emotions can be attributed his the Fe-driven desire to promote social harmony above all. Emmett does not initially seem like an SJ type or a J type at all, because judging types are not usually perceived as being as open-minded and easy-going as he is. This however is more of an adaptation to the circumstances his family life thrust him into, not by his own decision, and Emmett several times expresses a desire for a more stable home and family life.

Now, about Jarrod. On the face of it, his behavior is more consistent with a thinking type than a feeling type. He has no patience for anything soft or tender, he's quite aggressive and demanding, comfortable handing out orders. These are behaviors associated especially with extroverted thinking, which would make one think he should be an ESTJ or ENTJ. Likely ESTJ, since he shows a clear preference for a stable subjective sensory environment, typical of an Si-user. In fact, I'd initially typed him as ESTJ and I was comfortable with that typing until recently. However! You can't type a character based only on a type's weaknesses. If he's really an ESTJ, he should have an ESTJ's strengths, too. Looking at General Falon, he might be hidebound and inflexible, but he's also hard-working, efficient, and has the kind of natural air of authority that's so useful to a general. Jarrod yells at servants, but struggles to get them to obey his orders. He's not very organized or efficient, and can't manage to wake up on time even with a battery of servants at his disposal. The only sphere he shows any discipline in at all is his physical training. He's... not very smart, and his week one dialogue shows a lack of basic strategic understanding, quite aside from being tragically ill-informed. Jarrod doesn't act like an ESTJ, he acts like someone trying to be an ESTJ and failing, badly.

In MBTI circles, a lot is made of statistics that show that thinking types are disproportionately men, and feeling types are disproportionately female. This affects a lot of people's self-typing, because it introduces bias. Gender norms in the 7KPP universe are based on our own, and while we haven't seen a lot of direct evidence of the idea that men are inherently more logical and less emotional than women... it's not implausible that this belief is just as common in the Seven Kingdoms as it is in reality. Jarrod's particular flavor of "rationality" looks a lot more like the rationalization of a feeling type, in the grip of his inferior thinking function. The Si/Ne function pair still fits, and so ESFJ is my conclusion. I would elaborate and say that the mimicking abilities  of extroverted feeling as a dominant function are especially suited to a young person attempting to emulate a stronger personality in order to gain acceptance and social cachet.

...Wow. That was long.

Extroverted sensing types:

SPs, sensing perceiving types, are very different from sensing judging types. The sensory cognitive function they use is extroverted, less subjective and personal than Si, more grounded in external reality. This makes them more flexible but also more disorganized. Part of the reason why so many cast members are Si-users is because the Summit itself is such a socially rigid environment, where perceiving types in general are less likely to fit in. Se-users especially are more impulsive and that's reflected well in the two main SP types in the cast, Hamin and Anaele. Both of them struggle with the strictures of the Summit's schedule and rigid behavioral codes, and are constantly seeking outlets for their enormous physical and social energy.

Aly has said explicitly that Hamin is an ESFP, and that tracks. His superficial behavior is driven overwhelmingly by the demands of the energetic Se function, which demands a lot of attention and forms most of his public persona, his reputation. His quieter, more hidden side is emotionally driven and has a strong moral core looking for an outlet, both in terms of his desire to do right in the world, and in terms of his strong interpersonal relationships. Subtler still, you can see the signs of his tertiary function, Te, in his leadership ability and his efficiency in accomplishing tasks -- as long as he deems them important enough to be worth his attention (Fi-Te). Thinking about the future makes him anxious, because his future-oriented inferior Ni function is weak and under-developed. That's the main thrust of his personal character arc.

I went back and forth on Anaele, but eventually typed her as an ESTP. ESTP and ESFP types can appear similar some of the time, simply because the leading function is so extroverted it can overwhelm the expression of the auxiliary function, especially in public. Ana's Ti function isn't always super obvious, but her tertiary Fe is evident in her constantly struggling with the idea of social consensus and social responsibility. Her reputation and the reputation of her warriors is important to her, as is Skalt's standing among the kingdoms and her standing with her mother. At the same time, she resents the need to fit in and to conform herself to other people's ideas about who she is and how she should behave. She also has some of the positive aspects of tertiary Fe, she can be charming and reassuring and supportive, and generally has a good grasp of how to influence the mood of the room, when she's willing to put in the effort. Her insistence on speaking with Skaltic cadences even though she knows they sound wrong to the speakers of the common language is exactly the kind of stubborn oppositional behavior typical of ESTPs who like to provoke a reaction, without necessarily thinking through what they're provoking.

Jaslen and Blain are also probably ESP types, but I'm not confident about their typing, at least not enough to pin a specific type.

Introverted intuition types:

NJ types are targets for all sorts of stereotypes and mystification in MBTI communities. In fiction, they often appear as extraordinary characters, world-changing types, great heroes or villains or even mentors. The Ni function is described as being big picture oriented, very abstract, intuitive and futuristic. Judging intuitives sometimes seem to be reaching for "a target no one else can see", which is probably why they're often seen as being intellectual or artistic geniuses. Or, at least, really good at faking it. NJ types in the 7KPP universe are usually characters who are hiding important secrets, mostly about things bigger than themselves. They're driven by great conviction and not easily derailed from their plans.

ENFJ: Aly has stated that this is her type and also Clarmont's type, and in fact a significant part of his characterization seems to revolve around it. Feeling types are more ethically-driven than thinking types, at least stereotypically, and Clarmont is not an exception. He has a vision for the future that he's willing to sacrifice for. He has deep convictions, but he's also able to dine and dance with his mortal enemies, without betraying his true thoughts or feelings. In fact, he so excels at hiding his intentions that the Matchmaker makes a point of remarking on it.

INFJ: Look, I know I just said that feeling types are ethical, but the prototypical INFJ in the 7KPP verse is Gisette. It's easiest to explain by contrasting her with Avalie. Both Gisette and Avalie show certain common traits: they are contained, composed, ambitious, manipulative, and unscrupulous. They both know how to pull people's strings and like peeking inside people's heads to see through to their true intentions. The difference is, the way they do it is different. Avalie is a thinking type, and she operates like a chess player. She sets people in scenarios that cause them to reveal themselves. Gisette is an INFJ, and her auxiliary function is extroverted feeling. To execute her grand vision (Ni), she manipulates people through social convention, using gossip to tear down reputations and carefully curating her own public image. Gisette's weak one event is absolutely typical of an amoral FE-user. She doesn't hesitate to use the power of social convention to position people according to her needs. He tertiary Ti function shines through in her tactical thinking skills, and her inferior Se function is apparent in her love of fashion, as well as her ability to pounce on opportunities when her carefully laid plans go awry.

As a side note, I believe that Countess Yvette is also an INFJ, but it's harder to gather evidence for it, since she has a fairly minor role, all in all.

INTJ: Avalie and Woodly are both INTJs. INTJ is often touted as the chessmaster type, and it makes perfect sense as a type for people who prefer pulling strings in the background, as opposed to openly passing out orders, like General Falon. Not much more to be said about that, except that the manifestation of INTJ functions can be affected by social convention. Avalie is an attractive young woman and Woodly is an older man who is much more socially established, and naturally this affects how agreeably they interact with others. Thinking types are not stereotypically known as being particularly polite or graceful, in the social sense. But, the introverted intuition function is very calculating, and the extroverted thinking function is results-driven. With time, a woman with a TJ type can learn to mimic behaviors that create the illusion of the feminine softness that's expected of her. Avalie in particular does this very well.

ENTJ: My second controversial typing, I insist that Zarad is an ENTJ. The persona he puts up is that of an ESFP, like Hamin, but as his opening narration says, no one whose reputation is that consistent can be exactly what he seems. Zarad's public persona, that of the careless flirt and black sheep, is a bit too much of a textbook description of an ESFP. It lacks the depth and nuance of Hamin's internal conflict. Putting up an elaborate facade for years on end is not something that an Fi-user, like an ESFP, is typically proficient in. A judging type is more likely to succeed at this, specifically either an Fe-dom or a Te-dom. The reason why I zeroed in on ENTJ for his true type, is that ENTJs and ESFPs have the same cognitive functions, but in a different stacking. This commonality would allow Zarad to more effectively access the thought process that would be typical of the type he's assuming -- it's all there under the surface, it's just not his natural, instinctual behavior. I also think part of the reason that he and Hamin collaborate so well is that they're not the same type, but rather they complement each other's strengths and weaknesses. The confounding factor is that the difference between Hamin and Zarad is not just in type, but in environment. Hamin definitely couldn't maintain the type of long-term deceit that Zarad engages in, but maybe an ESFP who was raised in the secretive and backstabbing Corvali imperial court could.

Extroverted intuitive function:

The only NP type in the cast, as far as I can tell, is Lyon. He is canonically an INTP, which Aly has confirmed is based on several of her family members. His introverted thinking function fixates on the idea of an internal, consistent and logical inner world, at the cost of interacting with the messy and subjective outer world. This causes him to rationalize emotional behavior patterns and close himself off. As part of his character arc, the auxiliary function of extroverted intuition opens up possibilities for him, because what Ne excels at most is offering up lots of alternative explanations based on existing parameters. For example, "what if not everyone hates me?" or, "what if sometimes things actually go right?" I'm being sarcastic about this because I'm an Ne-user myself, so I'm allowed.

Odds and ends:

Minor characters like Imogen and Mrs. White don't have types, because we don't know them well enough. Specifically, we don't get to contrast their typical, healthy behavior with their behavior under stress. Kade, Leala and Greer don't yet have types or enough characterization for typing, but based on my intuition and what I've learned about Aly's writing, I have preliminary predictions. Leala is probably an ESFP like Hamin. Greer is most likely an INTP, or else possibly an ISTJ or even ESTJ. I would guess that she's an introvert, but as her leading function is definitely a thinking one (as her blunt speaking style reveals), Te-dom is also a possibility. Kade is a bit of a wild card, but I'm placing bets on either ISTP or ENTP, just for the sake of novelty.

Among my own problem princesses, I have an assortment of at least three quarters of the types. Least represented are the FP types, excepting Princess Felicity, who's an ENFP, and widow Selene, who's an ISFP. If you add in the supporting OCs, they really run the gamut.

[its-a-writer-thing]

How to Build an Author Website – Learning to Build a Site

In our last installment of “How to Build an Author Website,” we discussed finding the right hosting provider, the details of securing a domain name, and how to ensure you were getting a good deal that has everything you need!

This time, we’re down to the nitty gritty – learning how to build a site. As mentioned in the “Budget” article of this series, you do have the option of hiring a professional designer who can handle all of this for you. For that matter, they may be able to make the site far more complex and ‘beautiful’ than what you can manage personally. They’re professionals, after all; it’s their craft. They could probably write their own very nice stories, but if they wanted a bestseller, they’d come to you!

Nonetheless, they want a pretty penny for their expertise, and if you lack the budget or have confidence in your self-teaching abilities, you can certainly create a fantastic author site all by your lonesome. After all, that’s what Lena did, author of Behind Closed Doors: Trusting The Unseen and the dynamite gal providing us with some insider knowledge on building your own author site.  

Here, we’ll dive into learning to build our own author sites, from scratch, with no previous experience.

Custom Build or Pre-Built

Now ‘from scratch’ can absolutely mean from scratch. However, we don’t recommend starting with a blank page and a dream, as this would require more coding knowledge than any of us are really willing to gain (unless you want to dual as a web designer and a writer; then by all means!). That leaves you with two other options:

Custom Build

This involves taking one of the most basic templates you can be given via your hosting provider and completely redeveloping it.

Pro-Tip from Lena: “I would suggest any of the WYSIWYG websites (“what you see is what you get,” in the industry’s shorthand). A lot of hosting providers offer these types of websites nowadays, and they are very easy and straightforward to build and design with. You design these sites with blocks and image or text boxes, and it’s so much easier to both build and edit the site with these functions. Many providers also offer functions with easy drag and drop function that can add things like dividers, social media galleries, videos, widgets, plug-ins, etc.”

Divi on Wordpress, for example, is one such plug-in. Though it does charge a fee to use, it makes web designing more intuitive and less coding intensive.

This option will also allow you to create, nearly from scratch, your own ‘shop function’ – should you decide to sell your works off the site itself, as well as link to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and so on.

Pre-Built

This one is about using an existing template that has the look and features you like, and then redesigning it to be personalized to your tastes. This will be less thorough than the above option, but can still achieve the purpose you’re seeking. So, for example, the template you choose may have a social media plug-in, two set dividers, and then a few pre-set locations for photos.

In this, you’ll mainly aim to change the color scheme, add a banner or picture section higher or lower in the layout, and customize what other features it allows you to work on.

Advantages

Less investment. You don’t need to buy plug-ins such as Divi for more advanced reworking.

Faster to set up. With fewer customizations and less time necessary for learning how to customize, you can have your site up and running in two days or less.

Leaves room for later improvement. As time goes on, if you decide you’d like to upgrade to a more customized layout, you have all the opportunity in the world. For now, it does the job pretty well.

Disadvantages

You may end up looking similar to other sites, who also sought to lower costs and time.

May not be as custom-tuned as you’d like it. Since this site will be your digital ‘first impression’ on readers, you may be disappointed that it doesn’t emulate your aesthetic as well as you’d prefer, or that it doesn’t provide as many options as you’d like to treat your viewers with.

Online Classes vs. General Internet Research

If you choose the custom-build site, or decide on a more in-depth approach to designing your own website, you’ll need some extra know-how.

Of course we rely on the internet for a lot of our answers, including some things that could put us on a watch-list (hey, that information about C4 was really important for the one scene!). But then again, the internet can only offer so much for a single query. Would you be better off seeking online classes to show you the ropes? Let’s weigh the pros and cons.

General Internet Research - Advantages

Well, it’s free! If you’re willing to type in enough queries, follow enough links recommended in articles or videos you find, and can Google terms that fly over your head (with a willingness to follow those rabbit holes as well), you can absolutely become more fluent in designing a site without spending a dime.

You get more opinions, and that means more options. While an online class will perhaps give you a more thorough look in a shorter span of time, you are limited to the knowledge and opinions of that teacher. Maybe they have a bias to a certain hosting provider, or perhaps they dislike certain widgets. Google will give you all sorts of insights and opinions, which translates to a better-rounded look at the practice. You may even find someone willing to offer you uncommon but useful hacks! (Life-hacks, not regular hacks. Those are in bad taste.)

More control over your learning process. If you’re quick to pick up new concepts, then general internet research allows you to go where your knowledge level takes you. Skip ahead and become well versed in the terms, take advice on one plug-in and run with it before exploring the others, or get a feel for the entire process and then dive into practice! You get to choose your own pacing, so while some may need a several-week class, you could arguably do it in a week.

Disadvantages

Unreliable, to an extent. The internet being the internet, not everything you find will be entirely helpful or factual. As such, you’ll have to look up multiple sources and then compare notes by yourself to decide what is really helpful and what can be discarded.

Beginner’s guides aren’t always beginner friendly. Since you’ll be asking a broad question in an even broader room, you won’t get a customized answer every time. This means you’ll have to swift through a lot of information and try to figure out what’s beginner friendly and what’s way over your head! That leaves you with the task of then finding something beginner friendly.

Takes time. Sadly, since you’re looking to glean knowledge ‘needle in a haystack’ style, this will take a fair amount of time – and time that you can’t necessarily schedule in advance. You just have to start and see when it is you feel confident enough to put that knowledge into practice.

Online Classes -  Advantages

Concise. By entering a class, you’re avoiding all the fluff and white noise of the internet. You know exactly what you’ll be taught and how long you can expect it will take.

You have peers just like you, and a teacher to answer specific questions. While the internet leaves you to ask the void over and over again until you find someone who maybe answered a question similar to yours, a class gives you a closed group of people just like you, who may ask the questions you’re thinking. At the minimum, you likely have access to a teacher who can answer your questions - or at least guide you to an answer.

Trackable. Most classes offer a promise of what you’ll find at the end; you’ll be able to do ‘this’ amount of web design, or build a site like ‘this.’.

Disadvantages

Costly. While you can certainly find free classes, most of those which give you the advanced tools necessary to fully customize your site will cost money. It’s an investment, but it still hits the budget.

Limited. Sadly, you will be limited to what this exact class teaches, and that may leave gaps in your knowledge that must be filled with other classes or even internet research! You may also be restricted to that specific teacher’s opinion on web design, which, while valuable, could result in you missing out on a life-hack that may have worked perfectly for you.

Time consuming. While this seems counter-intuitive to the facts above, a class will be scheduled over several weeks. It’s unlikely to find a quality one which takes only days, and that means you’re committed to waiting for more information. The internet could let you speed along at your own (perhaps much faster) pace.

Resources

Whichever you choose, here are a few great places to start:

Website Builder Expert

Research-Backed Web Design Tips

The Site Wizard

Free Web Development Courses

All in All

That finishes up this article, so check out our next installment in this five-part series, where we discuss how large or small your author site should be according to industry standards, as well as explore whether or not a site negates your need for social media.

Thanks for reading, and happy writing!

[thelazyeye]

oh okay, internet famous Losers, like they're all youtubers and insta famous kids doing really different stuff around the nation, what do each of them do? who connects with who and how?

Ooff I love this idea. I used to be moderately into youtube people. Mamrie Hart anyone? She cracks me the fuck UP. Anyway this got super long so its under the cut. I hope you enjoy anon! Thanks for sending something it!!

Okay. Here we go. 

Richie 

is a youtube personality. Duh. He started out vlogging and his Voices and somehow his channel picked up. He writes comedy bits, does personal blogging, and tests his voices. 

When he was starting out he had a bit where he was a weatherman that had multiple personalities (Voices) and it got insanely popular. He received some backlash due to the offensiveness of the bit and has since retired it, but references it from time to time to credit his fame. 

Now he focuses a lot on his comedy routines and improv acting with other members of the community. He does challenges from time to time as collabs as well

People are super invested in his personal life (bc people seriously get like that with youtube people) and started speculating about his sexuality. It took him a few years to address all the rumors that he wasn’t straight and how he was probably dating this youtuber or that youtuber. 

Eddie 

is an LGBT Activist that has a youtube channel as well (think Laci Green but LGBT and not sex ed, though he does do sex ed work)

He got his start when he was in college. He became the president of the LGBT club. He wanted to reach a large number of students and he figured the best way to do that would be youtube

The entire club helped him out. Every week he would have another club member on the channel to talk about their sexuality and experiences

It didn’t get big at the school but he got lowkey noticed by the HRC after about 6 or 7 videos. He was contacted by a social media manager on the team to commend him on his work

From then on out he started to work harder on his videos, including more in depth information and he included links to more resources

Eventually, his videos started to rack up views from young LGBT kids thanking him for his channel

He started to collab with famous LGBT youtubers (troye sivan, hannah hart) and that’s when he really blew up 

Bill 

actually got his start on Vine. He mastered the art of the 6 second story and when the platform went down he migrated to youtube, snapchat, and twitter. He’s got profiles on almost every social media platform and he’s written a couple of webseries, as well. 

His first webseries (pre-vine) focused on comedy. He and some college friends got together and wrote the script/acted it out. It wasn’t very big but the following for it had a cultish feel. 

It blew up after he became famous on vine

After that, he started writing more webseries and partnering with other youtube actors

He wrote and completed two successful comedy webseries before he got bored of it. He decided to make the jump to horror work 

Think Marble Hornets

He ended up getting a scholarship to a film school and has been working on becoming a movie director ever since

His youtube work is on a hiatus but he still posts blogs and updates of his life. He’s active on Snapchat and Twitter the most. He still does dumb, funny shit from time to time and tweets out very random jokes

Stan 

is an adventure youtuber. He travels all over the world, seeking thrills and exploring nature. His videos usually have some kind of educational component but they’re always entertaining. Stan has explored the Savanah and Rain Forrests, he’s sky dived and scuba dived. He’s done a lot

He has a side channel for his love of birds because how can I not throw this in here?

When Anti semites started showing back up in the world Stan started to dedicate more of his channel, and his other platforms, to Judaism. He’s uses his popularity and fame to educate people and create awareness around the issues Jews face

As a result, he blogged his Birthright to Israel. It was a weeks worth of videos, some candids that he just uploaded on the whim, and some he took the time to edit. They were adventurous, educational, and full of his personal journey

Stan has also faced a lot of backlash for his involvement with the jewish community. He voices this in his videos. To combat the threats against him, he recruits other members of the youtube community to collab with and talk about issues. He makes it fun. He’s cooked Jewish foods, celebrated Jewish holidays, and had fun discussions with other personalities. 

Bev 

is a famous fashion designer and makeup artist. She got her start on Instagram, posting her designs and outfits that she created. Sh started young. Like 15 years old. As she grew up and went to school, her fashion instagram grew. People got to see her skills improve and they watched as she turned into a teenager designing clothes in her bedroom to a design student to a professional

She gives fashion tips to people and her favorite hobby is making posts that help girls and boys create fun, new, and exciting clothes out of what they already have in their closet

She firmly believes that you don’t need to have money and status to dress well. She wants fashion to be accessible. 

She started a youtube channel out of request from her followers. She got a lot of comments about her makeup and she started to do makeup tutorials there (Think Sailor J)

People really started to see how funny she was, then. She would always throw little bullshit videos onto her story but this was the first time she posted video content that didn’t disappear after 24h

Her youtube is not nearly as active as her instagram. That’s where you can find all of her content

She is also a vocal activist against child abuse on her insta. She frequently donates to various organizations and she does it very publicly. She runs clothing drives for those in need and has even hosted makeover days for young girls whose families can’t afford good clothes/makeup. 

She has recently expanded her fashion designs to male clothing, promoting Non Binary, Trans, and other identities in her lines. She says “Clothing has no gender” and pushes that despite advice to lay low on the issue. 

Mike

is a super unlikely case of internet fame. His instagram is composed almost entirely of his farm animals. He really didn’t think he was going to get famous from it. He just loves his farm so fucking much

The first half of his internet fame just consisted of pictures and videos of his animals. Namely, his dog Mr. Chips and his cow, Barely. They were best friends and Mike posted pictures of them napping together, playing together, and helping him run the farm

Once he started to gain an unreasonable about of followers he would pepper in posts that were educational. He talked about the importance of farmers, the work that he does, and how he maintains his animals. He worked to debunk a lot of myths about farming and really promote the work that he does. 

He still posts a lot of videos of him with his animals being all cute, but he uses his activism to reach large numbers of people at a single time. 

He also promotes healthy eating on his instagram. He talks about balanced diets and how to moderate sweets intake. 

Eventually he talks about working out (because Mike Hanlon is ripped sorry I don’t make the rules) and helps build an all around healthy lifestyle for his following. He kind of accidentally becomes a life coach of sorts. Motivation, healthy living, and cute animals. 

He has no idea how it happened but he doesn’t regret a single minute of it

Ben

is a singer! This sweet old mother fucker started out on youtube when he was 16. He bought a Ukulele and started writing love songs for the girl he was pining after

We all know that one mother fucker who owed a Ukulele in high school

His voice was like velvet, though. He wasn’t popular enough for anyone to really see it so he didn’t get teased in high school for it. His first couple videos got only a handful of views

What kick started his fame is a cover video. When he decided he wanted to do an acoustic cover of Lady Gaga’s Love Game

He did it on Ukulele

It ended up being such a fun and unique cover of such a popular song that he got noticed. Like. The video fucking blew up. He ended up getting over 5 thousand views overnight and the number just kept growing

Ben ran with it. He covered other popular songs (I Kissed a Girl, Viva La Vida, So What, etc) 

He blew up so hard and fast that people started to notice his original works

He got noticed by a label and signed the summer after he graduated high school

His first album was a love album because it’s Ben come on

He doesn’t have much of a social media presence after his youtube channel. He has the mandatory instagram and twitter that all famous people seem to have but they’re fairly inactive

Collabs

Richie and Bill

Richie and Bill were the first to collab with each other. Richie acted in Bill’s first webseries and it built a friendship that lasts a lifetime. 

The two of them do stupid youtube challenges with each other whenever they’re in the same city

Bill used to guest on Richie’s channels and play improv games to help both of them work on their comedy. They always turn out ridiculously funny and normally involve some level of alcohol

When Bill lost his younger brother in a car accident (sorry georgie dies in like every single universe) Richie flew out to see Bill and spend time with him. The two of them filmed a vlog together where they talked about the loss and then they both donated to anti drunk driving campaigns and urged their followers to do the same and never drive drunk

Richie and Eddie

They met for the first time at vidcon when they were first starting out. Richie was already pretty big but Eddie was working on his following. They hit it off immediately and they filmed a video for Eddie’s channel that focused on Eddie debunking stereotypes surrounding the LGBT community. Richie added a tasteful comedic flair that brought in views and he taught Eddie that things don’t always need to be serious 100% of the time

They kept in loose contact after that, always meeting up at vidcon and filming a ridiculous video for Eddie’s channel

2 years later, Richie reached out to Eddie and asked him to film a video for Richie’s channel

He wouldn’t tell Eddie what it was until they were in front of the camera, but Eddie readily agreed. He loved working with Richie. He thought he was fun and witty

When they got in front of the camera Richie revealed that he was bisexual and that Eddie’s videos helped him learn about bisexuality and come to terms with it

They spent the video talking about Richie’s journey to self acceptance, why he decided to come out, and Eddie’s knowledge surrounding sexual identity development. The video ended up being 15 minutes long and had the highest comment numbers Richie had ever seen. Not every comment was positive, but he took the experience in stride and started doing little bits of advocacy here and there for his and other channels 

Richie and Eddie end up dating, but not for a long, long time after that video when they’re both living in LA and well established in their youtube careers. 

Bev and Mike

An unlikely combo for an unlikely youtube star! Bev and Mike do a collab that focuses on self esteem and loving yourself!

Mike gives health tips and Bev gives fashion advice, but both of them talk about the importance of self worth and how external image means nothing if you don’t love yourself first. They both talk about their own journeys. 

The collab starts because Bev finds out about Mike through insta and she ends up contacting him about wool. They partner up business wise and Mike helps provide wool for her fashion line while Bev promotes his farm work. 

They don’t do many intentional collabs after they one, but they do show up on each others stories and in pictures together very frequently. The two become best friends

Ben and Bev

They don’t collab. But they do get married. 

They meet through the fame and bustle of L.A. Ben’s music career makes him end up at the same Gala as Bev, where they’re introduced to each other. They hit it off immediately, connecting with their childhoods and such. 

They date for 3 years before Ben proposes via Flash Mob and song written just for Bev

Bev loves the song so much she insists Ben release it. It becomes a Billboard hit

Eddie and Stan

Stan finds himself in NYC where Eddie lives and he reaches out to do an educational collab on LGBT politics in the Jewish community. 

He takes Eddie rock climbing and the two film the video with go pros. 

Eddie is terrified at first and it makes for a funny introduction but he eventually gets his bearings and the two of them scale a cliff together, talking about issues and getting to know each other. 

Stan and Richie

Eddie introduces them after the Coming Out Video. 

They collab as frequently as they can

They do ridiculous shit and Stan films Richie’s commentary. Its hilarious

They have a natural chemistry and they feed off of each other. Stan didn’t know he was a funny guy until he met Richie. Then it just kind of came out of the woodwork. Richie really highlighted Stan’s eccentric sense of humor. 

Everyone

Richie and Bev are childhood best friends

Eventually, they all end up meeting. They don’t really film videos with each other. Sometimes there’s a vlog that includes more than two of them but very rarely are they all in the same video at the same time. 

It happened intentionally once. It was chaos. Everyone was drunk. The video had to be edited so severely that it was only 1 minute and 30 seconds

They do however show up in snapchats, insta stories, and pictures as a group. By the time they’re all 30 they’re very, very good friends

[rivershelms33-blog]

How to Make a Professional Songs Movie at Property

How to Develop Your Personal Professional Tunes Video from Property Today, a lot of who go web-surfing operate into spoof audio videos that get tens of millions of sights. Unfortunately, much more than half of those folks who acquired one,000,000+ views skipped an opportunity of earning $twenty,000 or far more from just that YouTube add. Why is this so? I will let you know around the conclude of this post. Shall we get back again to the subject? For those who think it isn't really achievable to make a large top quality audio movie from house like the ones you see on tv, I am here to inform you that it IS achievable to make even Much better video clips. You could not be capable to create one as very good on the initial attempt, but again who is? It takes perfection following these 5 steps: Phase 1: Music Of course a music online video isn't really a tunes movie with no tunes. Find an instrumental that you want to generate a tune to and download it. A very good system that I suggest for downloading instrumentals would be Frostwire. You can obtain it from frostwire.com. fl studio tutorial is completely free to down load and use. Or so it was the very last time I checked. Be watchful when downloading from Frostwire even though. The initial two or three data files at the prime are normally tricks, but you can easily inform them aside. The untrue kinds generally match your research phrase term for phrase, letter for letter, and are decrease scenario. Also check the file size to the right of each end result. Instrumentals and tunes are generally at an regular file dimension of 1,000 Kb for each moment of a music. So if an instrumental you're searching for is about 3 minutes long, the file size must be all around three,000 Kb. The false types at the top are generally at a small file measurement, about ten-30 kb. I utilised to use Frostwire till I began making my own tunes with audio generation application. If you want to make money from YouTube, I suggest you make your personal instrumentals like I do. Any individual can find out to make a easy beat. Some good tunes manufacturing computer software I suggest to use for the Computer would be Fruity Loops Studio. The most recent model is FL Studio 9, but FL Studio five, 6, seven, and 8 are just as very good. If you want to pay for it, you can acquire it at your local computer keep or online at flstudio.com, but if you want it for free, I propose you use Frostwire, considering that it can also down load programs for free too. For the Mac end users, your pc ought to already come with a music creation software referred to as GarageBand. In my opinion, GarageBand's instruments seem a lot more skilled than Fruity Loops. Both plans have consumer manuals offered in the support menu and Garageband has a novice tutorial. For any other tutorials, I suggest that you lookup YouTube for Fruity Loops Beginner Tutorials or Garageband newbie tutorials. Other Personal computer Tunes Creation softwares include Cause, Sonar, and Nuendo. Yet another Mac music manufacturing software is Logic Professional. The songs sector by itself specializes largely with a computer software named Protools. It's suitable with both Personal computer and Mac, but is typically the software program desired for studio recording. If you make a decision to use Protools at all, I advocate that you acquire it fairly than downloading it for a lot of causes. Have confidence in me on this one. Phase 2: Lyrics Of course, songs video clips do not Usually have lyrics, but if you do decide to, make confident you compose lyrics to the instrumental and keep them for the studio recording, which we will get to afterwards. (Lyrical suggestion: Maintain your lyrics fairly cleanse and it may possibly be a lot more marketable! Make it hilarious or comical, and it may get a lot more performs! Ex. Search "White and Nerdy" on YouTube) Stage three: Home Studio (Session) Recording The greatest application for studio session recording starters is Cool Edit Pro. Amazing Edit Professional is only Computer appropriate however. I discovered it on my very own via experimentation, but for tutorials, I'm certain you can uncover them on YouTube. There is also a person handbook in the support menu. You can also download Great Edit Professional for totally free employing Frostwire. For the Mac customers, once again, congratulations! You can document oneself employing Garageband! To do so soon after you have concluded making your instrumental on Garageband, at the prime simply click Track> New Track> Actual Instrument> Produce. You will notice that on the remaining, a observe for recording appears that is titled "No Results". If you have a microphone plugged in, check it out by talking into it. The inexperienced bar up coming to "No Results" need to rise every single time you talk. If not, verify your System Tastes for Seem and switch to Constructed-In Mic/Inner Microphone. Most Mac laptops have a built-in microphone. Most of them are discovered on the still left speaker at the bottom proper aspect, but only on laptops. For Personal computer laptops, your microphone may possibly be found in the leading of the keep track of in the center, remaining, or right corner. For more sophisticated customers, session recordings can be carried out with Protools. You can get microphones, but the low cost kinds are usually not very good recording microphones at all. If you have a built-in microphone, you're in luck since believe it or not, it is far better than most microphones underneath $fifty. Just make sure you change the volumes of each separate recording you do accordingly, regardless of which mic you use. You can make a bad mic audio much better than it does by altering the volumes. P.S Idea: How to Autotune Sadly, I only know how to do Autotune with the Fruity Loops customers and the Garageband customers. For the FL consumers, you have to obtain a plug-in known as Antares and drag it into Fruity Loops. As for the Mac and Garageband customers..... you guys are very blessed. GarageBand arrives with a developed-in Autotuning system. To use it, at the prime click Track> New Track> Real Instrument> Develop. If your Audio Area at the bottom is not obvious, at the top, simply click Control> Show Editor, or just press Apple+E. Turn the "Improve Tuning" in your Audio Area all the way up. Then search just beneath that change, and check out in the box "Limit to Essential". Action 4: Recording the video clip To report the video clip, you are likely to require a decent top quality digicam. But just because you have a good good quality digicam alone doesn't indicate that the video clip is likely to be excellent. It really is all about how you set it together. As considerably as quality goes, I recommend the Jazz Elite Hd Portable Digicam for starters. It is a $five hundred higher definition digital camera, but you can get it for only $240 at electrotech.totalwarehouse.com. I have not discovered a less costly higher definition online video camera on-line yet, but if I do, I will let you know. Also, seeking into getting a tripod would support for stabilization. You can locate individuals at Wal-mart for quite low costs. Also, if you happen to be making an attempt to make funds on YouTube, make certain to maintain other organization products' logos and titles out of the video as significantly as achievable. YouTube can stop funds producing from practically any logo being shown publicly in your video. This also involves logos on shirts, so just make confident that whatsoever apparel you select to dress in for the movie, that the emblems or logos of your shirt's producers are not noticeable. Step five: Putting the video together Hook up your camera to the laptop and transport all of your online video clips in a folder. For Laptop movie creation novices, I advocate employing Home windows Film Maker. It comes with each Home windows computer. If you are unable to find it, just click on Start (or the windows icon for Vista consumers) at the base left facet of the screen. Go to Programs> Accesssories> Home windows Movie Maker, or Programs> Accessories> Entertainment> Home windows Motion picture Maker. If you can not find it in both of people areas, go to My Laptop, open up up the Nearby Generate (normally C:), and go to the System Documents folder. Appear for a folder referred to as Home windows Movie Maker and search for the startup icon. For Mac consumers, there is iMovie. The video clip clips can be dragged or imported into both of these plans to use. 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[expertcelery98-blog]

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[esonetwork]

Timestamp #TW34: Dead of Night

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/timestamp-tw34-dead-of-night/

Timestamp #TW34: Dead of Night

Torchwood: Dead of Night (1 episode, s04e03, 2011)

The people of Earth have nothing and everything to lose.

Late at night, Brian Friedkin finds that his television is not only turned on, but that it’s also tuned to an Oswald Danes interview. When he switches it off, he is confronted at gunpoint by Rex. The agent is angry that the CIA is poisoned against him. Friedkin explains that his mysterious bosses have been around for decades and communicate on a single phone.

Rex secures the phone and rushes out to a car where Jack is waiting. Esther is on comms and Gwen is standing by with a spike strip to disable police pursuit. The raid is a victory.

Sometime later, Gwen watches a parade of masked people – the Soulless – who believe that the Miracle has robbed people of their souls. Gwen is both shocked and confused. She takes her groceries back to the hideout but laments that all she could find are bags of crisps.

Or chips, as she’s corrected by her new American comrades.

Jack informs Gwen that Rhys and Anwen are in a safe house under Andy Davidson’s protection. Gen worries about emptying Jack’s bank account, but Jack doesn’t think that it’s possible. He’s been gathering interest there for 109 years. Esther and Rex reveal they cannot trace the phone since the signal branches out repeatedly to prevent it.

The American members of this new Torchwood aren’t quite used to how Jack and Gwen operate. Jack decides that they should investigate the morphic fields since he feels a universal consciousness driving the world’s immortality. Esther finds out that Friedkin has blocked off a warehouse in Washington, DC, prompting the team to steal a car. After Gwen’s blunt approach (and Rex’s thievery of their victim’s dry cleaning), they’re on the road to the warehouse.

Gwen concusses the guard. Jack, Rex, and Gwen break in to find shelves upon shelves of non-narcotic painkillers. All of them are from PhiCorp. The warehouse is stuffed to the gills with the pills.

At the emergency panel meetings, the doctors realize that aborted pregnancies and miscarriages are impossible, and some countries are considering contraceptives in water supplies. Vera is also perplexed by the new definition of murder since people can’t die but the motivations to kill still remain. Later on, Jilly Kitzinger convinces Vera to visit PhiCorp.

Jack believes that the team needs to take on PhiCorp, so Rex leverages his CIA contacts for resources and allies. He discovers that his contacts are ready to betray him, so the team is on their own. A frustrated Rex argues that Torchwood is dead and that Jack got his team killed. Rex takes the car and leaves Jack, Gwen, and Esther standing in an alley.

On the way back to the base, Jack finds a bar and leaves the ladies to get a drink. Esther contemplates turning herself in because she’s not cut out for the Torchwood life. Gwen convinces her otherwise and they keep walking. Meanwhile, Jack gets his drink – a bowl on the bar is full of sobriety chips – and a companion for the night with bartender Brad. Of course, since a lifetime of regret just got a lot longer, Jack wants his encounter to have protection.

Vera returns home to find Rex asking her to dress his wound again. He collapses and she tends to him. They end up having sex despite both of them being exhausted. Afterward, they discuss PhiCorp’s connection to the Miracle. Vera explains her regret at letting her mother die a year ago, the tells Rex about Jilly’s offer. Rex asks Vera to spy on PhiCorp, but he botches the request.

In Atlanta, Georgia, Oswald Danes sneaks away from his protective custody to enjoy a slice of pie at a local diner. A couple ambushes him and is sent home by the police, but the officers take the matter into their own hands by beating him before dumping him at his motel. Jilly approaches him one more time, and this time he takes her up on the offer.

Jack calls Gwen and has a long discussion about their relationship and Torchwood. The call is interrupted by Esther, who has established a secure video connection to Rhys and Anwen.

Come the morning, the team gets back together. Vera agrees to be their eyes in PhiCorp, so Gwen introduces Rex to the Eye-5s. She also lies by telling him that the lenses are isomorphic and tuned to her biology. Everyone but Rex knows that she’s fibbing.

When Vera arrives at PhiCorp, she finds an auditorium full of medical professionals. Vera meets Gwen, who proceeds to Jilly’s office while Vera keeps Jilly distracted. Gwen spots Jilly escorting Oswald to a special meeting which piques Jack’s interest. As the main presentation commences, Vera broadcasts it on speakerphone to Torchwood.

The presentation is a video by a United States Senator who is pushing legislation to make all medicines prescription-free. Jilly leaves the auditorium and almost finds Gwen in her office, but Rex is able to pull Jilly away through Vera. Rex and Esther are surprised when the strange red phone rings, but the phone shuts off without a word when Rex answers it.

Rex and Esther pack up the operation as Jack sneaks away to meet Oswald Danes. At gunpoint, he asks Oswald why he met with PhiCorp and if they mentioned the name Jack Harkness. When Oswald would talk about it, Jack switches to his burning question: Why did Oswald lie about feeling forgiven?

Oswald exposes his most repugnant sociopathic self, praising his motivations for killing the young girl because she flaunted her innocence. She bruised so easily that Oswald imagined that he was “painting” her with each strike. He felt ecstasy as her life force drained away.

Jack recorded the entire conversation and threatens to publish it, but Oswald calls in the protection that he arranged from PhiCorp to seize it. Jack knows that Oswald’s life will never reach the high of murdering Susie Cabina, so now the murderer and rapist wants it to end on that high. The hired goons beat Jack and toss him on the street while Oswald attends to his interview.

Oswald endorses PhiCorp. He asks the world to join him as he offers solace in the storm.

Jack can only watch in disgust as Oswald Danes wraps the planet Earth around his finger.

The story continues to develop as the world’s sense of order has dismantled by the chaos of immortality. In a land of such confusion, people seek stability and PhiCorp is offering it in spades. What could make this even worse? Using a complete sociopath with absolutely nothing to lose as the messiah of this movement.

Oswald’s revelations about his despicable acts were chilling. He enjoyed the atrocity. He’s a sick and dangerous man.

There wasn’t much development for Gwen and Jack, but Esther’s decision to dig deep and stay the course after Gwen’s pep-talk was a great bit of growth for the CIA analyst. Despite the lack of character development, the story advancement was superb. I’d expect nothing less from writer Jane Espenson.

I wasn’t quite sure if Jack was being sarcastic about the warehouse being “bigger on the inside”. We’ll have to wait and see if dimensionally transcendental technology is in play.

Finally, there was a lot of sex in this episode. The fascinating angle was how it was treated in various broadcasts. The United States, Canadian, and Australian markets had no problem showing the scenes, but the UK took a different approach by editing Jack’s encounter and completely excising the scenes between Rex and Vera.

It was also the first time in Doctor Who history that a woman’s bare butt was seen on screen. It had to happen on Torchwood, didn’t it?

Rating: 4/5 – “Would you care for a jelly baby?”

UP NEXT – Torchwood: Escape to L.A.

The Timestamps Project is an adventure through the televised universe of Doctor Who, story by story, from the beginning of the franchise. For more reviews like this one, please visit the project’s page at Creative Criticality.

[marcuschan]

just gonna post this unfinished:

Alright, fine. Here's the status report, in no particular order:

I'm back in Seattle. I wrote a blog post on the flight back from Windsor, which I have to make a few edits to (adding a few links, etc).

A good number of months ago, I went to the dentist. (I still don't brush my teeth more than once a week, which in typical fashion I was thinking would change after I went. My track record for changing my habits by consciously trying to change my habits is, literally since as far back as I can remember, entirely failures.)

The dentist seems like a competent doctor and perfectly nice person – more than that, really, as he did go out of his way to ask patients if they didn't like dentist visits and what he could do to help. However, his bedside manner really doesn't work for me in that he doesn't give the patient any information or give really any opportunity for questions. So while I'm sure he's right in his medical care and all, I don't have any level of emotional trust for him.

This is a problem because he referred me to an oral surgeon to get my wisdom teeth removed. So I'm supposed to do that, but it sure is easy to avoid a major medical procedure when you don't have any information about it or trust in the one saying you should do it.

Similarly, I went to my GP a while ago and got a referral to a... I don't actually remember exactly what, but it's for my anus. Probably should follow up on that, but I haven't had as much of the problem it's for, so again, it sure is easy to avoid.

Thirdly in the "medical stuff" category, I feel like I should probably be going to regular therapy/counseling of some kind. For, y'know, the "avoiding stuff" thing, among what I'm sure is a multitude of other repressed things. And maybe consider an antidepressant or somesuch (which would be through that avenue as well).

In the small category of potentially enjoyable things, I'm tempted to look for piano lessons. I do have a long and storied history of hating things I'm not yet good at, but if I stuck with it, I bet music could be a really enjoyable thing. Oh wait, I haven't stuck with anything of any kind in my entire life. Potential problem there.

As far as school goes, I was supposed to sign up for [something] at Seattle Central College... let's see, it opened on the 21st, so a week ago. I did 'enroll' before I left for Windsor, but never having actually used my online account, it's screwed up in some way, which I presumably have to contact the college to fix. However, I didn't see anything on the class list that actually sounds enjoyable or useful, I don't know if anything will be available (very likely yes, but not being sure it's an easy excuse), there are probably a lot of unpleasant steps like getting my old transcripts sent to the college that I was supposed to have done ages ago, none of the people at the college were at all nice when I did go so I don't want to talk to them again, and anything involving being a student makes me have really avoidant, and usually self-destructive, reactions. So that's a good time.

Thanks, high school experience. Also, fuck you, high school experience.

(Nota bene: I've never had suicidal or dangerous urges, and if I ever do I'll seek a lot more help than I do now. Avoidance is obviously bad, but at least it doesn't really get worse than "don't do the thing or any related things.")

I am pretty angry pretty much all of the time, though. I have a really excellent mostly-finished post about this from the beginning of the year when I was planning to post something every day (didn't work out, obviously). But I think that's separate from the previous paragraph. Mostly I'm angry that so many things are unfair to and hurt people I care about and innocent people who I don't know but nevertheless care about in some abstract way. And that I feel helpless to change that.

...Well, and that my previously addressed issues prevent me from helping to change things. I take it back, it's totally connected to the previous paragraph.

I have a lot of guilt. I don't really know how much, because it's one of those things that's debilitating to try and fully consider and I've been down that road before in high school. I will absolutely grant that addressing your faults and stuff is necessary and that you can't just live ignoring them forever (common theme in fictional media, it seems), but pushing it down the road is nice compared to last time when it broke me. This is why I probably need professional help, I imagine.

Short list of topics, though:

...eh, actually let's come back to that. It's actually pretty difficult to enumerate them into a list, not even in the emotional sense, just in the "hmm what were they again" sense. I can just flag 'em as I remember 'em.

Continuing: Rebecca's mental and financial situation. Financial first: the poor treatment of and lack of opportunities given to ~minimum wage, what gets called "unskilled" even though that's fucking bullshit, workers pisses me the fuck off. Like I said, I'm always angry – and on reflection, I think I tend to come across as uncaring about things that actually make me angry because given the choice between expressing a destructive emotion destructively and not expressing it and trying to stay levelheaded, I pick the second. The "be constructive" and "express that the emotion is there to show people you care without letting it control and overwhelm you" options that logically I know exist are... well, difficult and risky.

I remember when my mom was basically like, "oh, so you get upset a lot about this one person's situation?" And: sure, yes, of course I do, why wouldn't I? But I see that situation applied to literally billions of people in the world and I'm upset on all of their behalfs. She almost certainly wasn't implying that it *only* bothers me because I have a personal connection with someone in the situation I'm upset about, but it kind of sounded like it in the moment, and I'm damn offended if anyone actually thinks that about me. Oh well. Anyway, hi, I have far left political leanings because apparently "people who have hard lives should have easier ones, we as a society can make that happen on a large scale so we should" is an extremist position? What?

Aaaaaaannyway getting back to the status report. I feel guilt (1) about my lack of educational credentials and independence because they would allow me to help Rebecca's situation, and those of all of my friends, and those of people I don't know too. I literally have a note titled "what to do when you have your own money" which basically just says "help people." That's the only way I could feel good about myself.

But when the only way you can feel good about yourself is (okay, 'feels', not necessarily 'is') behind a door that makes you want to react self-destructively... it doesn't feel like there's any path that'll make you feel good about yourself. It just makes you feel hopeless, and angry, and like you don't want it to be this way, and that's close enough to feeling like you want it all to stop that it's easy to conflate the two.

Remember, if you feel this way too: They're *not* the same. It's a normal thing to mix those feelings up, but it's not true. Remember that.

Moving on. Rebecca's medical situation is... hm. I'll kind of write this out backwards because it's easier to recount that way. The post I wrote on the plane (I'll post it after this) is about, among other things, finance, and how I make financial decisions with the indefinite amount of resources available to me.

Rebecca doesn't have sufficient medical care for their mental health. Not by a small margin or in an unimportant way. Some of the reasons for this are financial, and of course some are not. The ones that are financial are, in my mind, things I have the ability to solve, and that it would be the financially responsible thing for that to happen. I have zero doubts about this.

I won't go into much more detail for the reasons of privacy. But as we're listing unresolved things that are on my mind, if one were to ask me in this context, "are things okay," my answer is no, and to "do you guys need help," my answer is yes.

- hair

- promises

[oliverphisher]

Graeme Simsion

Graeme C. Simsion is an Australian author, screenwriter, playwright and data modeller. Prior to becoming an author, Simsion was an information systems consultant, co-authoring the book Data Modelling Essentials, and worked in wine distribution.

Graeme Simsion is the internationally bestselling author of The Rosie Project, The Rosie Effect and The Best of Adam Sharp. He also co-authored Two Steps Forward with Anne Buist.

What are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life? 

I’ve long forgotten the name and author of a book about career planning I read more than forty years ago when I was at university. The author spent all but one chapter describing in painstaking detail how to build and execute a career plan, and how to stay on track in the face of setbacks and changes. The last chapter was written by someone else: an alternative approach, based on opportunism. ‘Winging it,’ he called It and it was the first time I’d heard the expression: have broad goals, but be prepared to change the plan as opportunities arise; be willing to take on something for which you’re unprepared and learn as you go; invest in new skills as they’re needed. It was a revelation—and the philosophy has defined my professional life.

I was running a thriving consultancy business when I read film critic Joe Queenan’s The Unkindest Cut, his often hilarious account of his attempt to make an ultra low budget movie. I was hooked, and followed in his footsteps, dragging my partner and friends with me, undeterred by my utter lack of experience in any facet of filmmaking. The movie was forgettable (and best forgotten) but the screenwriting seed was planted. Within a year I had sold my business, and went on to enrol in a screenwriting course while I supported myself with freelance consulting work. That was the beginning of my transition from consultant and business owner to full-time writer.

What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)?

The answer’s always going to be a book; I’ll try to look beyond that. So…a backup battery for my phone. I’ve hardly ever used it, but it’s eliminated low-battery anxiety.

How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? 

I spent five years studying screenwriting and—throughout that time—working on a screenplay for a romantic comedy. It won a prize but the step to production for an unknown screenwriter with an original script was just not going to happen. I should have realised that from the start: most mainstream movies are adaptations of novels—generally bestselling novels. The studios let the publishers and public sort out the winners before they invest.

So I re-wrote The Rosie Project screenplay as a novel. At first it was a means to get the screenplay noticed, but I quickly became immersed in the novel as a work in itself (which was surely necessary if it was going to be successful). And now I’m a novelist first and only an occasional screenwriter.

Are there any quotes you think of often or live your life by?

Pay it forward. It’s the social contract, a basic principle to live by. In the context of writing, I’ve had a great deal of luck, and I do what I can to help others who are trying to break in. So teaching, talks, mentorship, endorsement, contributing to blogs... I encourage those who might benefit from such help to do the same for others in turn. I have a book on novel writing underway—I doubt it’ll make me money, but hope it’ll be helpful to at least some aspiring authors.

You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it. – Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. In other words, practise empathy. I taught consulting skills for many years, and if consultants could do this with their clients, most of their problems would disappear. In writing, you need to be able to do it for all of your characters—if you can’t answer the character’s question ‘What’s my motivation?’ with something deeper than a stereotype (‘he’s just a boss’) or a label (‘she’s a histrionic’) he or she has no substance. That said, when I’m writing, I don’t explicitly think about my readers!

What is one of the best investment in a writing resource you’ve ever made? 

I bought my first computer in 1984, and since then I’ve always typed; I can barely hand-write. You write differently when you use a word processor—and, unlike some of my generation, I’m well used to it. And I learned to touch-type—an undervalued skill.

Right now, I’m beginning a 10-day hike, and my i-Pad (with keyboard) will repay the weight it adds to my backpack: writing tool, research tool, communication tool (plus all the non-writing-related functions). For writers seeking the lightest computing solution, at present what I’m using seems to be it. 

What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love?

I still buy CDs and have a pretty big collection of them. I’ve got a bit of vinyl too, and that’s probably even more absurd but more fashionable. Plus the high-end turntable. I suspect it’s about being able to afford things that I couldn’t when I was younger. Our kids find my consumerism pretty distasteful, but they’re reacting against growing up with it, whereas I grew up having to save for that 7-inch single of Hey Jude…

In the last five years, what new belief, behaviour, or habit has most improved your life? 

A year ago, my partner bought me an Apple Watch (I’m sounding like a shill for Apple here, with the iPad and all). I set the ‘move’ goal (calories / kilojoules burned each day) to the highest setting and aim to hit it every day. I feel better; I’ve lost weight; I’ve been motivated to get back to the gym. I’m sure it won’t work for everyone, but so far it’s worked for me.

What advice would you give to a smart, driven aspiring author? What advice should they ignore? 

Get published. As you’re starting out, write a few short stories. Get them into competitions, submit for magazines, anthologies, whatever. Agents will be less quick to dismiss you if someone has rated your work. And it’ll improve your writing. That final look at the manuscript before it goes in the envelope frequently prompts another improvement.

Join a class and / or writing group. I’m a supporter of creative writing classes: there’s a body of knowledge relevant to writing and you should know it. Why should writing be different from every other trade or profession in this regard? Plus, you need feedback—and to get used to dealing with it. Critiquing others’ writing will improve your understanding of what works and what doesn’t.  And the group or class will help you keep to deadlines and connect with the industry.

Plan. OK, some writers write by the seat of their pants, but if it’s not working for you, plan. If it is working for you, meaning that you’re finishing novels, not just getting a great 30,000 words down, keep doing what you’re doing. Otherwise, do what just about every other profession does and introduce an element of top-down development i.e. plan.

Draft like it doesn’t matter. Don’t get it right, get it done. If you’ve a plan to follow, it’ll make sense, it just may not be pretty. But you’ll have a massive sense of progress and of satisfaction in getting it done.  You can then come back and apply your creativity to the sentence level. 

Rewrite. You should know that, but in the euphoria that accompanies the completion of a first draft, it’s easy to forget and to start sharing your work of genius. Don’t. Let it sit. Rewrite. Repeat until satisfied. I always go over what I’ve written the previous day before starting on the fresh work of the day. I can always improve it.

The best way for most of us to deal with rejection is to have more irons in the fire—another publisher to send to; another short story in competition; the new novel we’re working on.

Ignore, or take with a big grain of salt, advice on writing from anyone who isn’t a successful writer (defining ‘successful’ in the way that you yourself define success).

What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession often? 

Write every day. I don’t. But I work on my novel or other work-in-progress almost every day. That work may be writing, but it could be research, planning, editing, thinking about the opening sentence, solving a plot problem, reflecting on the writing process.  And yes, promotion. If you’re down to participate in a public debate in the evening, don’t expect to get a lot of writing done during the day. If you want to write every day, do it, but it’s not for everyone.

Build your presence on social media (see below). I mean, sure, if you want to, but it’s got nothing to do with being a good or successful writer.

Read this book – or movie or TV series that’s in the same space as what you’re writing. You’ll be intimidated (you’re comparing a final product with a first draft), feel you’re not original and become paranoid about stealing ideas. I’ve never watched The Big Bang Theory – any overlap between Sheldon Cooper and Don Tillman is entirely coincidental.

In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to (distractions, invitations, etc.)?

I’ve become slightly better at saying no to requests for endorsements. I’ve had to. I feel a responsibility to read new books (especially by debut authors) but it’s easy to become overwhelmed. If I don’t write myself, a blurb from me won’t have much cred anyway! 

What marketing tactics should authors avoid?

‘Buy my book’ messages on social media. In fact, with a few exceptions, using social media as a marketing tool at all. I’m an old data guy, and I’m here to tell you that Twitter doesn’t sell books. Your time will be much better spent writing a better book. In fact most ‘marketing’ effort on the part of authors would be better devoted to writing. Even book tours (especially in the US which is massively over-serviced by touring authors) generally have little impact.

Broadcast media is a different thing. If you get a chance to be on radio or TV, drop the computer and grab the microphone with both hands.

I know I’m out on a limb here, but I challenge any marketing people reading this to show me figures to disprove it.

What new realizations and/or approaches have helped you achieve your goals? 

It’s human, and often helpful, to be unsatisfied, to want to stretch further. We dream of being published, but when it happens we want to be a bestseller. Then we’re not happy until we’re number one on the NYT bestseller list. And then, what about the Pulitzer? Yes, this sort of thinking will drive us onwards, but it can also drive us nuts. When I was offered a publishing contract, I reminded myself that I had achieved my goal. Anything more was gravy. There’s been a lot of gravy, and as The Rosie Project sat at no. 2 on the NYT bestseller list, I was dreaming of that ‘No 1 NYT bestseller’ blaze on the cover. It didn’t happen (The Goldfinch kept me out) and I was disappointed, but only for about ten minutes. How lucky was I? So I’ve learned to enjoy the roller coaster ride (notably with movie adaptations) and not to pin too much on external achievements.

And, perhaps paradoxically, being sanguine about success has helped me achieve it; by not dwelling on failures, but moving forward with what I want to do.

When you feel overwhelmed or have lost your focus temporarily, what do you do? 

I don’t often feel overwhelmed. I spent a long time running a business, and you learn how to deal with overload: in my case, make a list and (in order) dump; delegate; defer; do.

And focus…hold on. I’m probably one of the more goal-driven, businesslike, organised writers around, but I’m hesitant to apply the rather American motivational model to what I do—and especially to recommend it to others. I lose my focus, I do something else. That’s a little glib, but I’m not driven by writing goals; I’m driven by a desire to write. There’s a huge difference.

That said, and being practical, I frequently find I have to force myself to sit down to the day’s writing (editing and planning are not so hard for me) but I’m soon into it. It gets easier the more you do it and have the feedback of it working. And ‘do something else’ can mean research or that blog that someone’s asked you to contribute to. It’s not an excuse for going to the pub.

Any other tips?

My most important advice to aspiring writers is that it’s a profession. Approach it as you would any other profession in terms of the amount of learning you’ll need to do and how long it will take to become expert. If you’ve worked in another profession, there’s your benchmark; if not, look to that friend who wants to be a neurosurgeon. There are more jobs for neurosurgeons than novelists. But if you have a modicum of ability and put in that level of work, you have a very good chance of success.

________

Enjoyed this Q&A? Want to discuss in more depth? Join Community Writers. You'll get access to 100+ exclusive writing tips. Q&As with successful authors, an exclusive ebook on building an audience and much more. Sign-up for free as a community writer here

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[wesleybates]

HOW TO FIND THE BEST WHITE PAPER WRITERS

A white paper is an in-depth informative guide on a technical or complex topic, such as a research study, process, product or issue. Your brand can hire white paper writers to illustrate a successful business outcome, cover an important topic in your industry, report on original research, offer a reference guide for your product or service, present a case study or educate readers about a process.

71% of business consumers report using another company’s white paper to drive a buying decision in the past year

75% of business consumers say they would provide an email address or other information in exchange for a white paper on a topic of interest, compared with just 49% for a video and 62% for an infographic

79% of business consumers say they are more likely to share a white paper with a colleague than any other form of content

60% of businesses that produce white papers say it’s their most successful content format

55% of business consumers say they use white papers and other forms of thought leadership to make business decisions

If you’re impressed by those numbers, use this guide to plan your white paper and hire a technical writer that meets your needs.

Reviewing the Characteristics of a Great White Paper

Graham Gordon’s 2010 book How to Pick the Perfect Flavor for Your Next White Paper describes three main formats used for business-to-business white papers:

A numbered list of points, questions or tips about an issue within your industry. This type of white paper strives to gain attention for authoritative content, build thought leadership, or highlight the benefits of a product or service.

Background information on your brand’s methods, tactics, products or services as part of a technical evaluation, business case or product introduction. This could take the form of comparing different items in your product line or levels of service available from your company, for example.

Problem and solution, in which you offer the client value with advice about a nagging issue. In addition to improving the authority of your brand, this type of white paper can help guide fresh leads into your sales funnel.

According to HubSpot, white papers usually range in length from just a few pages to 50 pages or even longer. However, even the shortest white papers should contain informative, trustworthy, research-based information. Unlike an e-book, designed for the reader to skim, a white paper can be dense and detailed. Even so, headings, bulleted lists and sidebars can guide your audience and help them digest your message.

You can also distinguish white papers from other types of content with a formal tone. While your blog posts may not cite other sources, your white paper will likely require a list of external references.

Setting Goals for Your White Paper

Because white papers often cover complicated topics, finding a writer with specialized knowledge can improve your chances of releasing a successful publication. When you decide to produce a white paper, think about how the publication will fit into your overall content marketing strategy. Assign two to three goals for your white paper accordingly. For example, you may want to release a white paper to:

Influence customers to invest in your product or service

Improve your brand’s SEO rankings for specific keywords

Inspire trust in your brand with authoritative content

Solve a pain point for your clients

Persuade readers of your point of view

The classic white paper drives new leads with its credible, helpful, well-researched content. Create a landing page for an optimized white paper to gather subscriber email addresses with an enticing incentive that solves a nagging issue or presents enlightening information. Natural goals to track include qualification rates, closing rates and conversion rates.

There’s one thing you should never do with a white paper: Directly sell your brand’s product or service. Doing so can damage credibility and weaken the efficacy of your content, creating the exact opposite of your desired impact.

Preparing To Hire a Technical Writer

SEO Arvada, CO recommends creating a detailed brief to guide white paper writers and improve your chances of receiving highly effective content. Before investing in content creation, make sure you document:

The goals of the white paper

The desired audience and their position in the sales funnel

The format of the white paper

The target keywords, if one of your goals for the white paper is to improve SEO rankings

Ancillary material for the white paper, such as figures, illustrations, research studies and graphs

The call to action, whether you want readers to sign up for a free trial, ask for a product demonstration or share your content with their networks

The more information you provide your white paper writers, the closer you’ll get to the content you envision. Consider giving your writer samples of white papers you like to serve as inspiration.

While the components of the white paper will vary based on your chosen format, topic and message, these documents generally include:

A short yet descriptive and compelling title

An abstract, which summarizes the main points of your content

A problem statement or thesis, which lays out the purpose of the white paper

Background to give your reader context for the key information

A conclusion where you provide your solution or viewpoint

References that cite the sources you used and provide an important resource for readers who want to learn more about the topic of your white paper

After investing in white paper creation, have a plan for promoting the finished product so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. Your marketing team should distribute the optimized landing page for your white paper through social media channels, including your email newsletter. Consider pulling digestible tidbits from the final content to use as promotional teasers on your blog, encouraging potential leads to provide an email address and download your white paper.

Finding Highly Effective White Paper Writers

When you hire a technical writer, screen for the ability to produce clear, direct, accurate, readable content that meets your specifications. In addition to robust writing skills, look for these attributes when reviewing applications from white paper writers.

Education and Background

While few university programs offer a bachelor’s degree in technical writing, many white paper writers have earned a degree in English, business writing, communications, journalism or a related field. Some specialized writers first earn a degree in a technical field, such as computer science, IT, or engineering, before entering the white paper realm.

You can also seek writers who have completed a minor or certificate program in technical writing. These programs typically cover topics such as scientific writing, writing for engineers, writing in the professions, information design and collaborative writing practices. As a result, a writer with this type of education usually has the knowledge and skills to create a clear, well-researched, detailed and engaging white paper.

Many writers also join professional organizations dedicated to technical writing. While these associations vary depending on the specific specialization, examples include:

Society for Technical Communication

International Association of Business Communicators

National Communication Association

Usability Professionals’ Association

Institute of Scientific and Technical Communications

American Medical Writers Association

IEEE Professional Communication Society

Members of these organizations can pursue continuing education opportunities such as conferences and workshops, which reflects a dedication to honing one’s craft. The Society for Technical Communication, the profession’s largest group, offers a series of Professional Technical Communicator certifications:

The Foundation level certification requires the applicant to pass a knowledge test that covers project planning and analysis, written communication, visual communication, organizational design, content development, editing, management and production.

The Practitioner level certification requires a Foundation level certificate along with the demonstration of skills such as managing content production teams, developing reader personas, planning usability testing, editing technical content, using appropriate graphics and data to illustrate concepts, finding and appraising evidence, and organizing content appropriately for a particular product.

The Expert level certification, still in development, will require applicants to provide work samples and undergo interviews with industry leaders. Applicants must also earn a Practitioner level certificate.

Research Ability

Ideally, your technical writer will have general experience writing white papers and scientific documents or specific experience within your niche. However, he or she may know little about the topic you plan to present in your white paper.

Great white paper writers have the research acumen to seek the background information they need for context as well as the granular details they need to understand and effectively express complex ideas to your audience. Check whether your applicants use credible sources and understand how to cite them correctly.

Systematic Approach

Because the content in a white paper can be dense with facts and statistics, you need a writer who can cut through the clutter and create a product that makes sense to your readers. Lack of a systematic, detail-oriented approach to white paper writing can result in omissions, oversights and inaccuracies, compromising your efforts to build brand authority. When reviewing a writer’s portfolio, look for well-organized content with a logical progression and clear presentation. It’s a good reflection of how he or she will likely approach your project.

Subject Matter Enthusiasm

White paper writers won’t necessarily be well-versed in your niche, and that’s OK. You’re the subject matter expert and will carefully vet the content before publication.

Look for a writer who demonstrates the interest and enthusiasm to dive into your realm and learn what he or she needs to know to produce high-quality content. That might mean eagerly tackling your background materials, asking lots of questions, interviewing subject matter experts, attending workshops and taking online courses to get up to speed.

Medium suggests screening writers for natural curiosity about technology and how things work. A diverse portfolio shows an ability to learn about new things and push the limits of one’s knowledge.

Business Concepts Savvy

Good business sense is a must for white paper writers. With deep comprehension of complicated concepts, the writer can distill these ideas clearly for your audience.

In addition, keen knowledge about ROI, analytics, SEO and other cornerstones of content marketing allows your writer to understand and address your goals in these areas. In fact, some experienced content marketing writers can provide statistics about the average ROI and conversion rate of their publications. A background in SEO writing services is an asset for your writer, especially if you want to use your brand’s white paper to improve your search rankings.

Long-Form Experience

Writers whose portfolios consist of shorter blog posts may not have the experience with long-form content necessary to maintain a compelling voice and strong organization. Look for white paper writers who have samples that reflect your desired tone, length and format.

Experience repurposing content can also be an asset for an effective white paper writer. If you have existing blogs, studies and content that you want to transform into a more formal document, ask your prospective writer about his or her approach to this type of project.

Solid Communication Skills

A successful white paper may require your writer to gather details from multiple subject matter experts. Pay attention to the writer’s communication skills during the application and briefing process to make sure you feel comfortable having that person interact with internal and external stakeholders.

When you speak with your writer about the project, do you notice signs of active listening? Engagement with the project and other team members will enhance the quality of your final product.

The best white paper writers should be able to learn about a new idea quickly, then teach that same idea to others. During the application process, ask how they approach the teaching and learning framework inherent in technical writing.

Ready To Hire White Paper Writers?

If it sounds like a tall order to hire a technical writer with these qualities, consider working with a specialized agency for SEO writing services like ADMS. With a team of experienced writers, we can match you with a content creator who meets your specifications. Contact us today to learn more about our white paper writers and request a quote for your next content project.

[alloftheimagines]

regina mills imagine | she tries to help with your eating disorder

masterlist | request

AN: WARNING: THIS IMAGINE CONTAINS SENSITIVE TOPICS SUCH AS EATING DISORDERS/ANOREXIA. PLEASE, DO NOT READ IF YOU THINK THIS WILL AFFECT YOU/TRIGGER YOU. ALSO, I HAVE NEVER SUFFERED WITH AN EATING DISORDER, NOR TALKED TO ANYONE WHO HAS, THEREFORE THE WAY I DESCRIBE IT HERE MIGHT [WILL NOT] NOT BE THE WAY IT TRULY IS. IF YOU FIND IT OFFENSIVE OR HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT, PLEASE MESSAGE ME AND EDUCATE ME. I DON'T WANT TO BE IGNORANT, AND I DON'T WANT MY WRITING TO BE IGNORANT SURROUNDING SUCH A PERSONAL TOPIC. I HAVE TRIED NOT TO ROMANTICISE THE DISORDER, BUT IF IT SEEMS AS THOUGH I HAVE, TELL ME. I WILL EDIT IT. ALSO, I AM WELL AWARE REGINA IS PROBABLY NOT AS HELPFUL AND LIFE-SAVING AS YOU MIGHT WISH HER TO BE HERE, BECAUSE THAT'S UNREALISTIC AND SOMETHING I DIDN'T WANT TO DO. LASTLY, IF YOU ARE SUFFERING WITH THE DISORDER, OR ANY DISORDER, PLEASE SEEK HELP. I PROMISE YOU ARE NOT BEYOND IT. SPEAK TO A FRIEND, PARENT, RELATIVE, TEACHER, COLLEAGUE ETC. LOOK FOR RESOURCES ONLINE. SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP.  MY INBOX IS ALWAYS OPEN IF YOU WISH TO TALK TO ME. I CANNOT HELP AS A PROFESSIONAL BUT I CAN LISTEN. 

words: 1409

warnings: MENTIONS OF EATING DISORDER/ANOREXIA.

prompt: Hi would you be willing to write an OUAT imagine with the reader having mild anorexic tendecies, like skipping meals and working out too much? With Gold and Regina in the best friend role helping them and lots of fluff please? :)

You thought no one had noticed. You thought you were being subtle: skipping only a few meals here and there and running a little more than usual. You were wrong. Regina had noticed, and had tried everything she could to prevent it without you realising. She had been bringing you lunch when you were at work, asking you to eat at Granny's in the evenings, all the while trying to make sure you were eating enough. It wasn't working.

You were sat at Granny's now, twirling your fork in your food so that it looked like you were planning on eating it. You were too tired from your work-out earlier, too lost in your own thoughts, to notice that Regina was watching. And then you looked up. "What?" you questioned at the sight of her disapproving stare. You tried to appear innocent, but your cheeks flushed with embarrassment at being caught out, and you wondered how you could talk yourself out of this one. "You know what," she answered with pursed lips. "It's happening again, isn't it?" "I don't know what you're talking about." You shoved a forkful of pie into your mouth to try and prove your point, fighting the urge to spit it back out. It was hard when you felt so guilty, so ashamed, so out of control. "Yes, you do." She lowered her voice, then. "Do you honestly think I haven't noticed? You're not eating properly, you're working out way too much, and you look exhausted." Your fork clattered to your plate as your defences went up. "I don't need you to babysit me, Regina, and I certainly don't need you to nag me. I'm not hungry, alright? Please, drop it." Her expression softened. "[Y/N], that's not what I'm trying to do. I'm just ... worried. And I don't want you to feel like you can't talk to me about it. I just want to help. Please let me help." "I ..." you tried to fight back tears, and pushed your plate away to busy your hands "... I'm alright, really. I'm controlling it." It was true; you weren't seriously harming yourself now, but you knew how quickly you could spiral out of control if you let those niggling thoughts in the back of your mind rise to the surface. "Just because you're controlling it doesn't mean it's not hard, and it doesn't mean that you can't talk to me about it." Her hand found yours across the table. You were expecting her to look pitiful, as though you were some hopeless case who didn't function properly as a person—which was how you felt—but instead, she just looked concerned and ready to listen, and you couldn't help but give her a small smile. "I'm fine, honestly." You looked around, afraid that someone had noticed or could overhear your conversation. Your palms were sweaty, a part of you wanting to scream that you weren't really fine at all because your whole life seemed to be ruled by food and the need to change the way your body looked. Regina noticed your unease and pushed her own plate away. "How about we go for a walk? I could do with some fresh air." You nodded and followed her out of Granny's, feeling relieved away from the pressure of the busy diner. Regina said nothing as the two of you walked, shivering against the cold night air, and you were thankful that she didn't pry. She knew that you would talk when and if you wanted to. And so you did. "You were right," you said quietly, burying yourself into your scarf. You wanted to shrink, but you also wanted to shout from the top of your lungs how awful it was to despise the one thing that you needed to keep you alive. Perhaps that was the worst thing about your condition, and mental illness in general; it was a paradox, one that could not easily be solved, and you never knew what could help you and what couldn't. "I'm afraid, Regina. I really don't want to slip back into that awful place, and I can feel that I am. I want to eat, but when I do I feel guilty. I want to skip meals, but when I do I'm afraid of what it means. Either way I lose." "I can't tell you the right answer," she responded, her gloved fingers lacing with yours. "That needs to come from yourself, and you know that. All I can do is tell you that I know you're strong enough to fight it, just like you always have been." You came to a halt, tears welling uncontrollably in your eyes. "But how many times do I have to fight? I'm tired of fighting. I shouldn't have to fight it. I look around and see people eating and laughing and wearing clothes that they're comfortable in, and I wish I could have something as simple as that. Why don't I have that?" Regina stopped, too, making sure that she could face you, that you had her full attention. "We all have insecurities. We all have things that we have to control. It's okay to want to control what you're eating, as long as you're doing it in a way that's healthy. What if we made a meal plan? It could help you find a balance, find a way to control what you're eating without it being a danger to you. You could make a work-out schedule, too. Make sure you're not exercising too much or too often." "I don't know," you whispered. "It's not that easy." "Look, whatever it takes to get you back on track, I'll be there with you to help you through it. I know I can't really help the way that someone else could, but I can listen. I can try. I'll work-out with you, cook your meals, whatever you need me to do. Just tell me what it is you need and I'll do it." Regina's brown eyes glistened with a determination you had never seen in her before, not even as the Evil Queen. "You would really do all that for me?" You frowned. "Of course I would." She pulled you into a hug, one full of warmth and love, and though it didn't remove all of the bad thoughts and feelings inside you, it eased them if only for a minute. You realised then that your mistake had been keeping it all to yourself. When she finally pulled away, she said, "We could start by booking an appointment with Dr. Hopper, if you're up for it. I could go with you, or take you. I'm sure he could help if you let him." The thought of therapy made you anxious, but you nodded anyway, knowing that if you didn't at least try it could never help. "Yeah. Okay." This pleased Regina, and she smiled appreciatively. "You'll be back to yourself in no time." You didn't tell her that you couldn't remember the last time you were yourself, the last time there wasn't some thought or other that darkened your spirit or made you feel uncomfortable in your own skin, but you didn't say this. You couldn't, not even to Regina. Not when she was helping you the way she was. Instead, you just said, "Thank you, Regina. Thank you for looking after me the way you do. I appreciate it." "Of course. I just wish there was more that I could do. I also wish you would stop listening to those voices in your head, because they're wrong." "I'm still not certain they are," you mumbled. Regina's hands cupped your face lightly then. "You are the most beautiful, strong, warm person I know, and I'll tell you that every day if I have to. If anyone can survive this, it's you. This pain isn't permanent, and there will come a day where it feels so much easier to deal with, where you can smile without forcing it and see yourself the way that everyone else does. I truly believe that. Alright?" You nodded, a tear rolling down your cheek, for the way she had said it had made you want to believe her, had made those voices that told you you were unworthy quieten down for a moment. "Alright," was all you said. You were saving your breath; you knew that in battling with your mind, you would need it.