#why are typewriters so difficult to draw </3

[balaniese]

A creechur in Lové is capable of many things... Things like bank robbery

[lisaslosingstreak]

Wednesday’s Writing Hour

A Losing Streak Headcanon

This is dedicated to all the Wenclair FanFic writers and illustrators, who don’t do it for the money or the fame, we do it because we love it.

So in canon we assume Wednesday forces herself to write for an hour a day, yes? How about that it isn’t that way - instead she LIMITS herself to an hour.

When she was seven she started writing and it soon became an overriding obsession. She wrote for several hours a day, some day from sunrise to sunset. She wrote a books worth of text every week, not of high quality but she just had to get it out of her head, she has so many ideas she had to get down on paper. It eventually affected her mentally, and even more socially. She didn’t need to talk about inane subjects with her class friends, and she became withdrawn and quiet cos time spent at school was time spent not writing which was incredibly difficult for her, it hurt.

Eventually her mother and Grandmama had to cast a spell over her which meant Wends could only write for an hour a day. At first this upset Wends so much but after a few weeks she found the quality of her writing skyrocketed. Everything she typed was of the highest quality., with zero mistakes and she had the ability to write with no prep notes or plans.

Her father bought for her the finest vintage typewriter and had made a set of special monogrammed boxes (that we see in canon) to hold her finished work neatly. Each book she wrote had its own box, several of which were at the Addams house but she brought 3 to Nevermore to store new works in. Each box is a finished work typed directly and perfectly done, ready to go to a publishers, no editing or proof reading needed.

This is why Wednesday NEVER misses her writing hour. It has become an hour of unadulterated pleasure for her, those sixty minutes her only chance to get the fully formed storylines in her head down on paper. It’s HER time to decompress, to take her brain out of gear and just create something wonderful.

Years later, Enid and Wends are married and they have a huge house. One room is dedicated to all these finely crafted wooden boxes with WA engraved in then. Several hundred of them which she drip feeds into publishers under a variety of fake names. Each one carefully retuned to its special custom made mahogany cabinet like an old library.

There is one special shelf with a locked glass door. These are smaller boxes which look mostly the same but which also have faint pink tinged inlays in them, and monogrammed EA instead.

On their wedding day Grandmama changes the spell, and allows Wednesday an extra half hour of writing a day, whispering to her that “you know what this is for, use it wisely”

That extra time is for her to write about Enid. She sometimes stays up late to use this extra time, sometimes wakes up early and kisses Enid before typing for those 30 minutes. Each time is used to write something for Enid, whose existence changed the way Wends thought. She had so many love confessions, poems and revelations she wanted to share with her wife and those thirty minutes were used for that. And each time afterwards Enid would find a slim box on their bed, or maybe in Enid’s little office, or in their plush drawing room. Each time a little note attached would say “with all my love, WA”. It would be the highlight of Enid’s day to read this little dedications of love, and she would treasure each one and file it away with the others.

Eventually they have a daughter Ophelia and at the age of four Ophelia pushes her way into Wednesdays writing room. Wends is torn cos she loves her crazy little daughter so much, her blonde hair all in disarray and carrying a little black covered notepad and a little case full of coloured pencils. But she HAS to write, yes?

Enid watches from the door and her heart melts with pride as Wednesday, with great difficulty, forces herself to stop typing and bends down to pick Ophelia up and place her on her knee.

“What’s the matter little terror of mine?” she asks softly, trying to mask to pain she has caused herself by stopping writing.

“Mamma, can I come and sit with you and write a story myself?”

“There’s isn’t any spare room at my desk darling I’m afraid”

“We could sit on the floor mamma!”

And so it happened, a few minutes later that Wends was laid on a blanket on her front next to her daughter in her office, with a notepad and pencil, and wrote a short story with her.

The next day a new shelf was made in the library, with a row of small delicate cream boxes on it, all skilfully engraved OA, each with little bits of paper filled with messily scrawled writing on them, and more importantly little drawings to go with the little stories.

Because, as Ophelia insisted, what better way to make a story come alive than illustrate it?

[werrmu]

Hot tradition with a cold boy.

warning: without a plot, mistakes because english is not my native language, not quite canon because i never figured out what his personality is, but i really want to kiss him

also one ithaqua once in a match pinned me in the wall and did not let me pass for almost 3 MINUTES while my teammates were standing in the basement;

His hands are everywhere. In your hair, held by the waist, even if it is not necessary, on your hips, pressing circles into the soft skin, intertwined with your palms. Everything he can grab onto while his lips greedily dig into yours, not giving you a chance to take a breath or at least calm your heart after a hard chase.

He is demanding, moves his lips, bites, his tongue is always the first to slide between your lips, slowly and without words forcing you to open your mouth, letting him in. He knows what he's doing and he knows you like it. Even if his own cheeks are burning with embarrassment, and his body is languishing from an unknown feeling, he always does it so skillfully with you, making your breath come off in a couple of seconds, and your legs tremble.

This tradition came to you by chance and completely unexpectedly. That day you had almost finished the last cipher when all the sounds of the chase died down, leaving you alone with the buzzing of the typewriter. The difficult match against the new hunter was coming to an end, because there was only one cipher left, which you were just working on. Your hands were typing rapidly, typing the sequence, hardly noticing anything around, until your body suddenly shuddered from the cold and the frosty wind pulled you to the hunter, leaving almost no chance to grab something, at the same second forcing you to suffocate from your own hair and pain when the icy blade of the ice drill plunges into your flesh, knocking you down.

What the hell your teammates were doing at that time and where the fuck they are when you need them so badly is unknown, but you knew that you were finished. This is the third time you've become chairman, the third time you've screwed up again. A quiet, almost girly giggle of a hunter - and here you are in the air, limply and pitifully waiting for your exclusion from the match, when suddenly instead of a chair you find yourself on a dirty cot, firmly pressing your ass to its dusty, rusty surface. His weapon rings loudly in your ear as Ithaqua leans on it, squeezing his hips between your legs, unnaturally hunched to be at the level of your face. The hunter's sky-blue eyes eagerly dig into yours, intently watching the reaction, while his fingers nervously draw circles on your skin. Excited? Why?

— You're too angry, you don't let me chase you, you constantly run away to these incomprehensible things, not letting us be alone. - Boy dramatically sighs, pouting his lips, but the mask and thick fur on his hood carefully suppresses any sounds, turning everything into a rustle when you raise your eyebrows in surprise, and fear is changed by misunderstanding. — It's my turn to play!

You open your mouth to object, or at least to clarify what he means at all, as his hands brazenly rest against you, almost bending over with his whole body to briefly kiss you on the cheek, and poking the sharp edge of his half-hidden mask right into your nose and eye, demonstrating this strange affection. which came from him out of nowhere. Your confusion and inaction seem to give him a reason and permission to act further when the guy's dry lips are completely chaotically showering your face with kisses, completely childish and almost cute, but only until he gets to your lips with burning eyes, turning this situation into something that you share in each match strictly with the priming machine.

Someday your comrades will guess why after every match with the Night Watch it is you who get the MVP, and not them, regardless of what they did in this match, but let's hope not now.

[vaniloqu3nce]

I hyper fixated, and I wrote a small scene for a Spider-Wolf Au. Enid just wants everyone to like her. <3

WC: 700

──────────────────

Enid was desperate for a shred of dialogue from her roommate. Every other attempt to build a blooming friendship had been shut down by the psychic at every turn. Dreams of having a best friend who lived with her were quickly slipping away with every interaction. It became more than apparent that Wednesday, miss ‘allergic to color’, didn’t like her, or anyone.

But everyone in Jericho loved Spider-Wolf, (besides cops and anyone interested in legalities, but honestly that’s nobody important) who doesn’t love a badass superhero? And if Wednesday didn’t know who that was, she could tell her! It was a full proof plan. Then they could have a conversation, then it would lead to an unlikely friendship, and Enid would once again be happy knowing everyone likes her.

There is a beat of silence that has Enid holding her breath and overthinking. Maybe Wednesday would throw a knife at her for speaking? Or something more subtle, poison her breakfast when she oversleeps. The werewolf wracked her mind for possible ways the macabre girl could react until she was surprised.

“Spider-Wolf? Why would I concern myself with the likes of a coward who hides behind responsibility with a mask?” Wednesday’s voice was flat as she crushed any hope Enid had of trying to connect with the Addams in two short seconds. Apparently Wednesday Addams doesn’t love a badass superhero. There goes that full proof plan.

Enid has to remind herself not to stop smiling, and not to take it personally. But she can’t help it, what did that even mean?

Enid bites the inside of her cheek. It figures the grim girl wouldn’t be interested in superheroes either. Perhaps it was a bad idea to ask Wednesday, because now she took personal offense. Pride and hurt swelling in her chest as she stared at the back of her new roommate’s black uniform. “It’s not hiding, every hero needs a pretty costume!” Plus! Her family would kill her if they knew. The Sinclair pack was plenty of things, but open minded wasn’t one of them.

Wednesday didn’t look back, she sat perfectly straight, the repetitive clicking of her typewriter keeping the conversion from falling into complete silence. “The costume is impractical.”

Enid is slightly irritated. She put her heart and soul into that costume. Wednesday could be so difficult, but she realizes this is the closest they’ve had to a conversation since their tense encounter on Wednesday’s first night. “How so?” She doesn’t want to miss her chance to at least not be complete strangers.

“It draws attention, only an idiot would run around in an outfit that colorful if they wanted to hide who they were.”

Okay. Ouch.

Maybe Enid should feel relieved, if Wednesday had no interest in her alter ego, she wouldn’t have to work too hard to hide anything but Enid loves her costume! She’s proud of it! And so do her followers! She made it herself and it spoke her truth! “It’s–”

“No.”

Enid’s mouth clamps shut at the suddenness, almost startled, but Wednesday says nothing else. Enid waits until she does. The typewriter is the only sound she can hear for a long time. Enid hates to admit it takes her way too many silent seconds to realize Wednesday wasn’t going to say anything else. At all. The conversation had ended. Enid flops back against her pillow and pouts, defeated.

Wednesday doesn’t like her or Spider-Wolf! Or color! Or her blog. What does she like? What was wrong with her costume? Or her?

Enid’s chest twisted, she hated feeling like she wasn’t good enough. The werewolf quickly shook that thought off, brushing her mother’s echoing voice away and reaffirming herself. She will get Wednesday to be her friend. It will just take a little extra love and patience but Enid can do that. It would be awkward if they weren’t at least on positive terms, they lived together now. They were roommates. What could go wrong?

[notinmyvocab]

All odd number questions!

Buckle up lads, it's a long one!

What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting? -Usually whatever the default font is, though sometimes I'll use the Comic Sans trick if I'm stuck. Sometimes i'll get fancy and use a typewriter font.

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed? -the fact that I don't have one. Very cursed.

5. Do you have any writing superstitions? What are they and why are they 100% true? -that if I talk about my current work in too much detail with someone, I lose the motivation to write it because now the idea exists outside of my head. So if I'm really passionate about a piece, I won't say much about it.

7. . What is your deepest joy about writing? -putting that guy in situations. And the milfs

9. Do you believe in ghosts? This isn’t about writing I just wanna know -hell fucking yeah I do.

11. Do you believe in the old advice to “kill your darlings?” Are you a ruthless darling assassin? What happens to the darlings you murder? Do you have a darling graveyard? Do you grieve? -I don't grieve, but I am pretty ruthless.

13. What is a subject matter that is incredibly difficult for you write about? What is easy? -smut. Some people think I'm good at it and when I'm drunk, it comes easily but mostly I can't just write smut. Bloody imagery comes really easily though.

15. Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Why or why not? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends? -sometimes I'll write in the margins of pages. I don't dog ear them because a lot of my books are old and doing that will rip the paper. I used to judge people who did these things but now I see it as a sign of love.

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text. -oh god. Gonna do Woe Begets Misery (so @yourlocaldisneyvillain here's a little present!). Um, let's see... Isabel Noble lives in a haunted house in Los Angeles, though we won't be seeing it in this installment. She was adopted and her birth mother was clairvoyant. Her birth father was named Lawrence and was driven to madness both by the haunted house and Isabel's mother (girl power). She has had her heart broken a million times and will never learn from it. Her adoptive father, Derek Noble, has a face claim: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. He was a good dad, but his death wreaks havoc on Isabel's mind.

19. Tell me a story about your writing journey. When did you start? Why did you start? Were there bumps along the way? Where are you now and where are you going? -I started writing when I was veryyyyy little. I wrote a diary when I was six but it was fictitious, so that was the start. Lot of bumps. Finally got into playwriting.

21. Could you ever quit writing? Do you ever wish you could? Why or why not? -Nope could never quit writing. My mind is too full.

23. Describe the physical environment in which you write. Be as detailed as possible. Tell me what’s around you as you work. Paint me a picture. -My thoughts are around me. I tune out everything. It's just me and a blur. And a hot drink.

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story? Isabel Noble had braces and wore a retainer.

27. Who is the most stressful character you’ve ever written? Why? Gregory House. He's complex and I tend to soften him more than he is.

29. Where do you draw your inspiration? What do you do when the inspiration well runs dry? Life. My own horniness.

33. Do you practice any other art besides writing? Does that art ever tie into your writing, or is it entirely separate? I do some painting, but keep it separate

31. Write a short love letter to your readers.

Dear beloveds,

You are genuinely the reason I keep going.

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens? Incomplete sentences. Sometimes the cadence calls for it.

37. If you were to be remembered only by the words you’ve put on the page, what would future historians think of you? "Get this girl some therapy... I hope she found a milf to love her."

39. What keeps you writing when you feel like giving up? My ideas.

[margridarnauds]

Dracula the Musical Productions Ranked By How Much Unnecessary-Yet-Absolutely Necessary Romantic Tension There Is Between Mina and Van Helsing

Because I think some productions forget that Jonathan exists and, tbh? A bold gambit, but it pays off. 

1. The Korean - Now, this is an eccentric choice, given that this production, more than almost ANY of the others, goes out of its way to make Dracula an attractive figure but consider: We have held gazes during “Deep in the Darkest Night”, we have Mina saving VH’s life at the end of “Zu Ende” (you can see it in some of the promo video material), we have the Train Sequence being staged like a love triangle, ending with Mina in VH’s arms as he apologizes (which you can see in the one video of it on Youtube). Hot Dracula aside, this is the gold standard as far as Mina/Van Helsing productions.

2. St. Gallen - So MUCH touching and hand holding, I don’t want to say that Chris Murray understood the assignment so much as he read the assignment, nodded his head, burned the assignment, tossed the assignment out the window, and danced in the ashes while rocking a “Hot Adjunct Professor” vibe. And it was marvelous. Possibly one of the single most #married pairs we’ve had.

3. The Graz - A mixture -- It gains points by having grimy Indiana Jones Van Helsing kissing Mina’s hand twice (!!), loses points for being one of only two productions to make me worried for Mina’s safety during “The Train Sequence.” In general, I get the feeling that Van Helsing might feel something for Mina because she reminds him of his wife, but that she doesn’t really know what to do with it. Still, I understand why at least some fans were shipping it over Mina/Dracula by the end.

4. Pforzheim - Difficult - On one hand, we do get a lot of touching in this production, but there’s no tension behind it and it comes off more as a lovely, charming relationship between a grandfather and his granddaughter. Especially notable in that this production was borderline obsessed with sexing everything else up. (Mina/Lucy shippers winning with Lucy and Mina waltzing together in How Do You Choose.)

5. Broadway - Mina has more sexual tension with her typewriter and, you know what? That’s perfectly fine. Very much a “classic” Van Helsing. Probably the most book accurate of all the productions as far as the dynamic (though Van Helsing, as with any of the musical productions, doesn’t have the book’s sense of humor), though it’s hard to gauge when Van Helsing has relatively little time to interact with the rest of the cast. 

6. Japanese - Essentially no sexual tension, they only touch immediately after “The Train Sequence” and it’s both brief and awkward. Since the main draw of this particular production was the return of the dynamic duo of Hanafusa Mari and Wao Yoka, the Dracula/Mina relationship takes center stage here, so it’s really very little surprise there.

7. The 2011 Illinois production - Second one to make me fear for Mina’s safety during “The Train Sequence,” without the redeeming aspects to Van Helsing from the Graz. (”Roseanne” is still included, but it doesn’t quite offset things enough.)

[kyluxtrashpit]

For the writing game, I couldn't decide which, all the colors please? They're so interesting!

Omg I was so excited when I saw this! You’re so sweet to enable my rambling

Red: What type of writer’s block do you experience the most?

I guess the most common one is I get stuck in transitions. Like I know how this scene goes and I know how the next scene goes, but I don’t know exactly how to get from A to B and it’s one of those cases where I can’t just put a line and jump to it. Scene transitions are one of the hardest things for me for some reason. The second most common for me is probably when my brain is being a shit and won’t let me be productive due to some sort of emotional crisis lmao

White: Are you a supporter/lover of fanfiction?

I mean, kind of obvious lmao, but absolutely. I think it’s great that there are people who are creating things solely out of love for something, and that’s really what fanfiction is, at it’s deepest core. It’s a community of people being so enthusiastic about and loving something so hard that they work their asses of and dedicate time to just… making more of it. For no real external benefit other than some social validation, if they’re lucky. Love and passion are the true motivators and idk that’s just really beautiful to me

Black: Would you want to live in one of the fictional worlds you’vecreated?

I don’t really do a lot of worldbuilding because I find it incredibly boring and I’m terrible at it lmao, but since I always write either canon-verse or modern au, I’m going to treat this as ‘do I want to live in the Star Wars universe?’. And the answer to that would honestly be no. As much as there’s cool stuff, like advanced technology and aliens and maybe I’d be lucky enough to be able to move shit with my mind, there’s also a lot of bad things. A lot of fascism, a lot of wars, and every once in a while some asshole builds a planet-destroying superweapon and blows up a planet (or 5) and like… I could live on one of those, you know

That said, if I didn’t die because the planet I was living on exploded, I would probably survive alright. I mean, my background is in science, so tbh I might have better opportunities there than I do here. While that could mean making chemical weapons or something if the Empire was in power, that’s at least more interesting than customer service at a chemical company lmao. I still wouldn’t choose to live there, but I think I’d manage okay if I had to

[More beneath the cut - my sincerest apologies to those on mobile]

Blue: What’s more important to you: characters or plot?

I mean, they both definitely matter, but if I have to choose? Interesting characters can save a dry plot, but the best plot ever written will still be mediocre at best if the characters aren’t compelling. Personally, I love character-driven stories more than anything. Event-driven plots can still be fun, but I prefer the focus to be on how the characters are dealing with said events, as opposed to them just being passively driven along by them. The best is when it’s the characters themselves driving the events of the plot, but that’s more difficult to execute than it sounds. Regardless, it’s the characters that usually draw me into a story in the first place and that keep me interested. And from the perspective of my own writing, I go character-driven, all the way. Sure, some event might happen that drives the plot sometimes, but I’m far more interested in how the characters react to that event than anything else

Yellow: What’s a common writing tip that you mostly ignore?

In terms of writing advice, nothing makes my blood boil more than those posts that say ‘get rid of this entire class of words’ or ‘if it’s not absolutely strictly necessary to the plot, cut it’. Fuck that shit. If you want your writing to look like Hemingway, sure, go for it, but a) Hemingway is overrated, and b) that’s not the only way to write well. Especially as someone who tends to focus on characters, passages that aren’t necessary to the plot may be necessary to establish characterization. Or they may add some emotion to the story that gets the reader invested. Same with wording choices; more or less words can drastically change the tone or mood of the scene. Are there times when you need to cut words and keep things concise? Absolutely, but any writing tip that says ‘remove every instance of [word] in your document’ is fucking bullshit and you should never listen to it

Grey: What’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

Tbh I think every writing tip you see should always be taken with a grain of salt, especially if it’s a ‘never do x’ because there is almost always a situation where doing x is the right thing to do, it’s just a matter of knowing how to do it correctly (looking at you, ‘never use the passive voice’). So really, there are very few I always follow, but I’ll give one that was foundationally helpful for me

Edit in a different format than you write. That can be changing the text size, or the font, or printing it out physically, or whatever. For me, I usually pop it into AO3′s preview function and take notes of things that need changing as I go. It forces your brain to notice things it’s been overlooking for the entire writing period. I only do my final edit this way, generally speaking, but I’ve found it to be incredibly helpful for catching typos and general weirdness in the writing

Orange: How many projects do you usually have going at once?

Because my fics are usually short, I tend to only have 1, but I think I’ve had up to 3-4 before. That’s basically me just popping between documents everytime I get stuck on one until one is finished lmao. But more than 2 gets to be a lot to handle

Currently, I’m really only working on my Big Bang fic, though I do have at least one one-shot I’m planning to write when I need a short break from it

Pink: Which of your characters would become your best friend?

This is so hard because like, I don’t get along with a lot of people generally speaking. I’m also going to treat this as the entire SW cast even though I only write Kylo and Hux, for the most part. And I’m not sure I’d be good friends with either of them. While Kylo would make an excellent self-destruction buddy, I think we’re too similar for the most part to get along. And while I also have an element of Hux in me that’s my anal retentiveness when it comes to organization (not to be confused with cleanliness; I’m talking more about my colour-coded work email and my nested folder system on my computer), I’m also very emotional, messy, and I’m not really equipped to verbally spar with him. I think I would actually do okay with Hux as a boss, not a friend, but with Kylo, I think we’d get along really well until we really didn’t. And then I would be dead lmao

Aaaand none of that was an actual answer. But like, I honestly don’t know? Most of the other characters I really like (e.g. Rey, Rae Sloane, Ventress), it’s because I would have a big huge crush on them which would manifest as my hovering in their vicinity a lot but never actually starting a conversation and then waxing poetic while crying about my unrequited love when I continue to go unnoticed lmao. Which is, well, still not friendship

Maybe Finn… I might get along really well with Finn. He’s one of my favourites as well and I think he’d be really interesting to talk to. Has a lot of interesting views on things, likely a good listener. Hm. I’m still not 100% solid on it, but after far too many words, that’s my answer lmao

Purple: Which of your characters would become your sworn enemy?

Okay, hear me out on this one because the reason isn’t what you think lmao. I’m also treating this less as ‘sworn enemy’ and more ‘person I’d least get along with’ and that’s actually Poe. And the reason is that highly extroverted, extremely friendly people who others call charismatic tend to rub me the wrong way. Like there’s nothing wrong with them, they’re perfectly nice, but they’re just too friendly and my socially-inept, introverted brain always responds to that with DANGER DANGER. And I think he would definitely fall into that category for me haha

Green: Pencil, typewriter, or computer?

Computer. I have written fic by hand before (I also sometimes do planning by hand, just because it can be a bit more visual; Fractured was planned largely by hand when I used to work evenings at a gym and had access to unlimited spare paper), but that’s usually only when I have nothing else to work with. I wrote most of a fic in the Halifax airport on a layover, once. I’ve also done it on my phone, but that’s too fucking annoying lmao. Typerwriters are super fun to use but also very impractical for me; my typing accuracy isn’t good enough

Brown: Do you have a set writing space? Or do you write everywhere?

Mostly I’m at home on my couch, but that’s really cause I have nowhere else to write. I do write at work sometimes (not smut though lmao), but only when it’s slow enough that I can get away with it. And there’s nowhere else I really go where I’m sitting with a computer for long periods of time

Silver: Are you comfortable writing in public places?

I am, yeah. I don’t know why I wouldn’t be tbh. Work is a public place and the only reason I don’t write smut there is because I don’t want to get fired lmao (slacking off is one thing, porn is another). I don’t really ever write in public, but that’s more because I don’t spend a lot of time sitting in public places by myself

Gold: Do your stories usually contain lessons or morals?

Not really… I can’t think of any at least. They always have some sort of closure, though, because I fucking hate open-ended stuff where everything isn’t worked out in the end lmao (or is at least on it’s way there). I’m too fragile for that shit haha

Clear: Do your characters control where the story goes or do youmaintain control?

I tend to write more like an rper than an actual author, based on conversations I’ve had with others, so my characters have a lot of control. That said, if you’ve got your plot and all the major points of it planned out and then you get halfway through and find it doesn’t work because of the characters, then that’s a failure in planning, not the characters taking control. Sometimes things do change and are reworked as you go, that’s the nature of writing, but that still means your plan needed some adjusting, you just didn’t know it at the time. I intentionally leave a lot of room in my plans for the characters (e.g. ‘and then they talk about [blank]. Hux says something mean and Kylo gets angry’ might be my only note for an entire scene), but if you’ve planned enough to actually start writing, your characters and plot should already work together. Characters control the minor details of the story, not the major plot

Tan: Are you open to co-writing a story?

I might be. I’ve never done it before and the Big Bang I’m doing now is the most collaborative thing I’ve ever done writing-wise. If someone approached me and was really interested in it, I might be willing to give it a shot. I’m not really sure how it works, though. I tend to envision it as basically an rp except it’s planned out beforehand and then edited afterwards, but in all honesty, I have no idea how it actually goes

[theguildedtypewriter]

Tag Game

Answer the 10 questions, and then make 10 of your own up.

I was tagged by @sirilikestowrite and I am answering all the questions! Yay!!

1. When creating your characters, where do you draw inspiration from?

Sort of everywhere. Movies, TV, other books, dreams, random people on the street, some weird place in my brain that goes, “hey this would be cool.”

2. What is your naming process for your characters?

I like to choose names from the country of origin of the character that directly plays into who they are as a person or is ironic is some way. I also have characters pop up and say, “hello, I’m Thaine.” “Thaine?” “Yes, deal with it.”

3. Is there an important, overlying message that you want your readers to glean from your piece? If so, what is it?

Each NBC series book is different but for the first one it’s definitely that love has the power to heal and that running from something is never the answer. For the series as a whole: power corrupts, always. And I don’t just mean the antag.

4. Is your piece going to be a stand-alone book? Or do you intend on writing a sequel (or multiple sequels)?

It’s a series of 10. Yah. I’m nuts.

5. What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most? What part do you enjoy the least?

I love every aspect of writing except for editing. I feel soooo bad and sort of like a failure when I go over my stuff and see how much I need to change. Even though it’s nuts I want it to be good on the first try/draft.

6. What part of writing do you find most difficult? What do you do to get yourself through this process?

Moving past a difficult scene or overcoming a block of some sort.

7. When discussing your piece, what is your favorite thing to tell people? (Ex: Characters/World-building/Plot/Sideplots/Etc)

Everything! I love my little world so much. 

8. Where do you like to write?

In my office where everything is set up how I like it.

9. Do you prefer to write multiple pieces at the same time? Or just focus on one. Why?

I don’t know if it’s prefer so much as I can’t help but work on a bunch at once.

10. When did you first find your passion for writing? What caused it?

Well, in kindergarten we would dictate stories to our teacher who would write them down and then in second grade we had time to write our stories and make little books, my parents actually saved them, and it all exploded from there.

Siri’s ten questions:

1. What was the name of the first story you ever wrote? What was it about?

Well, I dictated a story about a princess with a cat to my kindergarten teacher. The first real novel I worked on was a story about people who could control the four elements, two of them fell in love- fire and water, but couldn’t touch each other, super dramatic sad scenes of them holding their hands up to a piece of glass, and then Pyra, fire girl, dies saving the world and can finally touch Acquin’s, water guy’s, hand as her powers leave her. I built a giant world around it and got to chapter 8 before my computer crashed and I lost it. I have it on paper up to that point. I may rework it at some point.

2.Who is your favorite of your ocs?

All of them, they are all weird, badass peeps

3.What is your fav wip?

NBC is the one I’m dedicating the most time to. I am excited about Through a Hawk’s Eyes though.

4.Which plot point destroyed you?(Aka what part of your plot hurt you most? You don’t need to give a lot of detail)

I had to put Ciaran through something horrible so that he could finally let go of the past and I had to have Hope do something really stupid so she could see the error of her ways. I’m sorry guys don’t hate me.

5. If you are a planner, what is your way of organizing your thoughts and if you are a pantser, how do you keep track of what you’ve written before?

Yes and yes, I plan and pants. I use evernote to keep track of things and if I just have to write something I save it in google drive and evernote so I can find it and incorporate it later.

6.What is your favorite book?

Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley. I read it at the perfect time. I also really love anything by Neil Gaiman, especially American Gods, and I love JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood, yes it’s romance. I like it, so there.

7.How do you make your ocs real? How do you develop them to make them feel more real to the reader?

People are walking contradictions and they have unique “flaws/habits” that affect their lives. I try to remember that when I create a person.

8.How do you get through writer’s block?

I re-read what I just wrote to see if it gets me in the mood, or I paint something and see if that image sparks an idea. Or, I read.

9.Most favorite and least favorite parts of writing?(Copying this from one of the questions I got cause I wanna know!)

Already answered above.

10.What do you think your fandom symbol would be?(Like the hallows symbol for hp, the ring for lotr, the mockingbird for hunger games…)

Oh wow, I don’t know. I don’t really have a symbol used in the books. But maybe a quick image of the sun coming up, since the Dawning is when demons were revealed.

Okay my own questions, hmmm...

What character pisses you off the most?

Which scene do you think will make people cry, or laugh?

What’s your worst writing habit?

Who is your favorite author/who do you aspire to write like?

Do you follow your outline?

Which character makes you laugh the most?

Do you like a good love story?

Do you like a good horror story?

What trope/stereotype is your least favorite?

What fairy tale is your favorite?

I’ll tag @brynprocrastinates @firewritten @she-who-fights-and-writes @merigreenleaf @audreyroseb @the-modern-typewriter @byjillianmaria

[lilithhawthorne]

I was tagged by @siarven - thank you! 

Rules: Answer the ten questions given and write ten new ones for ten other people.

1. What’s the last book that you read/are reading, and do you like it or not? Would you recommend it to other people?

I’m currently reading Miranda and Caliban by Jacqueline Carey. Carey is an excellent writer and the prose is lovely, but I haven’t made a decision yet if I like it. The story is intriguing, but the characters are difficult and the premise is… a little cringy. 

2. Favourite book/ book series and why?

My favorite book is The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. Everyone has to read it!!!!! I love it, you’ll love it!!! I think a lot of people have seen the movie, which is beautiful in it’s own right, but everyone should read the book. The story is so inspiring and heartbreaking in equal parts, and the cast of characters are unlike anything else. 

3. Name a character that you love to hate.

Oh, this is hard! I think it would have to be a character from one of my guilty pleasure books - I’d have to say Feyre Archeron from A Court of Thorns and Roses. I know she’s the protagonist and I’m not supposed to hate her, but I find everything she does to be so insufferable. Her supporting crew is much more interesting.

4. If you could switch places with one character, who would it be?

This is even harder than the previous question! Hmmm… Sidra / Lovelace from A Closed and Common Orbit. She’s the cutest little AI, and I want her great hair and cool friends. 

5. Do you prefer to write by hand or computer?

I love the idea of writing by hand (mainly because I love buying journals), but typing is the most productive. I have Focus Writer on my computer, which is great for many reasons, but my favorite function is the typewriter sounds it makes as you type! 

6. What’s the first story you ever wrote?

Oh gosh, that’s hard to say. I’ve been writing ever since I could. However, the first story I remember turning in as an assignment was when I was in fifth grade. I wrote a story about a serial killer in prison who faked his death so his brain could be transplanted into someone’s body. His will was so strong he was able to hold his consciousness in his brain and took control over his new body. My teacher had a long talk with me the next day.

7. Do you listen to music when writing or not? If yes, instrumental or with lyrics?

Only instrumental music. I use 8 Tracks and I choose playlists that are “epic,” “writing,” and “instrumental,” then choose one at random. 

8. What’s your favourite writing spot?

On a comfy couch or chair, curled up, with my laptop very precariously balanced on my knees or the arm of my seat.

9. When do you prefer to write? In the morning, during the day, on commute or during breaks, in the evening or night?

I love writing on my commute to school on the train, but I never have my computer and have to use my phone, which is less than ideal. Late, late, late at night tends to be the preferred time for inspiration to strike.

10. What drew you to writing, and what’s keeping you here?

I’m not sure what attracted me to writing. If I had to guess and take a deep dive into my inner self, it would probably be because I was naturally gifted at reading and was allowed to skip grades and subjects because of it, and writing became a natural extension of reading. I wasn’t good at math or science, so honing the skills that accompanied a voracious appetite for literature was in my best interest. 

I’ve always had so much swirling around in my head, I’m a compulsive day dreamer and my mind wanders whenever I have the time - writing became and remains the best way to explore the worlds in my head.

I’ll tag @venatohru, @solas-you-nerd, @rad-puppeteer, @chupacabrasmustdie, @theshapeofthatemptiness, @autodiscothings, @mass-effort, @pathfinderlittleduck, @keita52 and @nerdyholler

Your questions are:

1. Is there a piece of modern media that has inspired your creativity the most? 

2. Do you have to finish a book once you’ve started it, or are you able to walk away if it doesn’t interest you?

3. Do you wait until you’ve finished a current project before you start a new one, or are you the kind of person that has a folder full of WIPs?

4. Do things have to be just right for you to be able to write, or can you write wherever/whenever?

5. Do you have a favorite terrible book?

6. Do you have a OTP? A NOTP? A BROTP?

7. Do you write fanfiction? If yes, what was the first piece/fandom you wrote?

8. Do you find drawing, writing, or reading more relaxing?

9. What is your favorite cliché trope - to read and/or write?

10. How many journals do you have? Describe the prettiest one/your favorite.

[stuckasamemory-blog]

Asks!

I compiled about six different ask tags into one master post. PLEASE ASK ME AS MANY OR AS FEW AS YOU WANT!! 1. selfie 2. what would you name your future kids? 3. do you miss anyone? 4. what are you looking forward to? 5. is there anyone who can always make you smile? 6. is it hard for you to get over someone? 7. what was your life like last year? 8. have you ever cried because you were so annoyed? 9. who did you last see in person? 10. are you good at hiding your feelings? 11. are you listening to music right now? 12. what is something you want right now? 13. how do you feel right now? 14. when was the last time someone of the opposite sex hugged you? 15. personality description 16. have you ever wanted to tell someone something but you didn’t? 17. opinion on insecurities. 18. do you miss how things were a year ago? 19. have you ever been to New York? 20. what is your favourite song at the moment? 21. age and birthday? 22. description of crush. 23. fear(s) 24. height 25. role model 26. idol(s) 27. things i hate 28. i’ll love you if… 29. favorite film(s) 30. favorite tv show(s) 31. 3 random facts 32. are your friends mainly girls or guys? 33. something you want to learn 34. most embarrassing moment 35. favorite subject 36. 3 dreams you want to fulfill 37. favorite actor/actress 38. favorite comedian(s) 39. favorite sport(s) 40. favorite memory 41. relationship status 42. favorite book(s) 43. favorite song ever 44. age you get mistaken for 45. how you found out about your idol 46. what my last text message says 47. turn ons 48. turn offs 49. where i want to be right now 50. favorite picture of your idol 51. star sign 52. something i’m talented at 53. 5 things that make me happy 54. something thats worrying me at the moment 55. tumblr friends 56. favorite food(s) 57. favorite animal(s) 58. description of my best friend 59. why i joined tumblr 60. Name something that relaxes you. 61. Polaroid: Post a picture that makes you feel good about yourself. 62. Vinyl: What is some of your favorite music? 63. Incense: List your three favorite scents. 64. Roots: How do you ground yourself or recharge? 65. Silk Sheets: Any ways you treat or spoil yourself? 66. Paintbrushes: Do you have a creative past-time? 67. Scars: Share something difficult you've been through. 68. Rainstorms: What helps you fall asleep? 69. Bones: Name one strength and one weakness. 70. Teacups: Favorite beverages? 71. Sealing Wax: Have you ever received a letter or written one to someone else? 72. Dragons: What makes you feel powerful, what breathes life into you? 73. Soup: Comfort food? 74. The Moon: What's your favorite thing to do at night? 75. Klosh: If you could go back to any three era's what would they be? 76. Lace: Your favorite things to wear? 77. Pocketwatch: If you could be immortal or have an extremely long life span what would you pick and why? 78. Honeybee: Name something positive you have done for yourself or someone else in the last two weeks. 79. Typewriter: If you had to come up with ten words to describe your life story so far, what would they be? 80. Blue Hair Dye: One thing you like about your appearance? 81. Felines: Something that makes you feel better after a hard day? 82. Poetry: If you have one, name a favorite book or poem. 83. Black Cat: Do you have a familiar? 84. Pointy Hat: Do you have a Witchy style? 85. Toil and Trouble: Do you perform curses or hexes? 86. Cauldron Bubble: What are your favorite magickal materials to work with? 87. Monkey's Paw: Has a spell ever backfired on you? 88. Ravens Caw: Do you speak incantations aloud? 89. Little Poppet: Do you perform magic for others, or just yourself 90. Broom Closet: Are you openly a witch? 91. Feather Quill: Do you keep a book of shadows? 92. Magic Will: What got you on your Witchy journey? 93. Future Seen: Have you used divination to help make a major life choice? 94. Halloween: What witchy days do you observe/celebrate? 95. Skeleton Bone: What drives your magic? 96. Old Crone: Do you have a mentor? 97. Are you solitary or in a coven 98. Do you consider yourself Wiccan, Pagan, witch, or other? 99. What is your zodiac sign? 100. Do you have a Patron God/dess? 101. Do you work with a Pantheon? 102. Do you use tarot, palmistry, or any other kind of divination? 103. What are some of your favorite herbs to use in your practice? (if any) 104. How would you define your craft? 105. Do you curse? If not, do you accept others who do? 106. How long have you been practicing? 107. Do you currently or have you ever had any familiars? 108. Do you believe in Karma or Reincarnation? 109. Do you have a magical name? 110. Are you “out of the broom closet”? 111. What was the last spell you performed? 112. Would you consider yourself knowledgeable? 113. Do you write your own spells? 114. Do you have a book of shadows? If so, how is it written and/or set up? 115. Do you worship nature? 116. What is your favorite gemstone? 117. Do you use feathers, claws, fur, pelt, skeletons/bones, or any other animal body part for magical work? 118. Do you have an altar? 119. What is your preferred element? 120. Do you consider yourself an Alchemist? 121. Are you any other type of magical practitioner besides a witch? 122. What got you interested in witchcraft? 123. Have you ever performed a spell or ritual with the company of anyone who was not a witch? 124. Have you ever used ouija? 125. Do you consider yourself a psychic? 126. Do you have a spirit guide? If so, what is it? 127. What is something you wish someone had told you when you first started? 128. Do you celebrate the Sabbats? If so which one is your favorite? 129. Would you ever teach witchcraft to your children? 130. Do you meditate? 131. What is your favorite season 132. What is your favorite type of magick to preform? 133. How do you incorporate your spirituality into your daily life? 134. What is your favorite witchy movie? 135. What is your favorite witchy book, both fiction and non-fiction. Why? 136. What is the first spell you ever preformed? Successful or not. 137. What’s the craziest witchcraft-related thing that’s happened to you? 138. What is your favourite type of candle to use? 139. What is your favorite witchy tool? 140. Do you or have you ever made your own witchy tools 141. Have you ever worked with any magical creatures such as the fea or spirits? 142. Do you practice color magic? 143. Do you or have you ever had a witchy teacher or mentor of any kind? 144. What is your preferred way of shopping for witchcraft supplies? 145. Do you believe in predestination or fate? 146. What do you do to reconnect when you are feeling out of touch with your practice? 147. Have you ever had any supernatural experiences 148. What is your biggest witchy pet peeve? 149. Do you like incense? If so what’s your favorite scent? 150. Do you keep a dream journal of any kind? 151. What has been your biggest witchcraft disaster? 152. What has been your biggest witchcraft success? 153. What in your practice do you do that you may feel silly or embarrassed about? 154. Do you believe that you can be an atheist, Christian, Muslim or some other faith and still be a witch too? 155. Do you ever feel insecure, unsure or even scared of spell work? 156. Do you ever hold yourself to a standard in your witchcraft that you feel you may never obtain? 157. What is something witch related that you want right now? 158. What is your rune of choice 159. What is your tarot card of choice? 160. Do you use essential oils? If so what is your favorite? 161. Have you ever taken any kind of witchcraft or pagan courses? 162. Do you wear pagan jewelry in public? 163. Have you ever been discriminated against because of your faith or being a witch? 164. Do you read or subscribe to any pagan magazines? 165. Do you think it’s important to know the history of paganism and witchcraft? 166. What are your favorite things about being a witch? 167. What are your least favorite things about being a witch? 168. Do you listen to any pagan music? If so who is your favorite singer/band? 169. Do you celebrate the Esbbats? If so, how? 170. Do you ever work skyclad? 171. Do you think witchcraft has improved your life? If so, how? 172. Where do you draw inspiration from for your practice? 173. Do you believe in ‘fantasy’ creatures? (Unicorns, fairies, elves, gnomes, ghosts, etc) 174. What’s your favorite sigil/symbol? 175. Do you use blood magick in your practice? Why or why not? 176. Could you ever be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t support your practice? 177. In what area or subject would you most like your craft to grow? 178. What’s your favorite candle scent? Do you use it in your practice? 179. Do you have a pre-ritual ritual? (I.e. Something you do before rituals to prepare yourself for them). If so what is it? 180. What real life witch most inspires your practice? 181. What is your favorite method of communicating with deity? 182. How do you like to organize all your witchy items and ingredients? 183. Do you have any witches in your family that you know of? 184. How have you created your path? What is unique about it? 185. Do you feel you have any natural gifts or affinities (premonitions, hearing spirits, etc.) that led you toward the craft? If so what are they? 186. Do you believe you can initiate yourself or do you have to be initiated by another witch or coven 187. When you first started out in your path what was the first thing or things you bought? 188. What is the most spiritual or magickal place you’ve been? 189. What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone who is searching for their matron and patron deities 190. What techniques do you use to 'get in the zone’ for meditation? 191. Did visualization come easily to you or did you have to practice at it 192. Do you prefer day or night? Why? 193. What do you think is the best time and place to do spell work? 194. How did you feel when you cast your first circle? Did you stumble or did it go smoothly? 195. Do you believe witchcraft gets easier with time and practice? 196. Do you believe in many gods or one God with many faces? 197. Do you eat meat, eggs and dairy? 198. What is your favorite color and why? 199. What is the one question you get asked most by non-practitioners or non-pagans? How do you usually respond? 200. Which of your five senses would you say is your strongest? 201. What is a pagan or witchcraft rule that you preach but don’t practice? 202. Are you/ do you want to be in love? 203. Do you have a crush? 204. Tag three friends and your three favorite things about them! 205. Are you/do you want to get married? 206. Do you have a best friend? 207. List your three favorite things about yourself! 208. Have you ever had your heart broken? 209. What is the longest relationship you’ve been in? 210. Tag three people you want to get to know better and state why! 211. What are you attracted to in people personality-wise? 212. What are you attracted to in people physical appearance-wise? 213. Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley? 214. The Three Broomsticks or The Leaky Cauldron? 215. Fred or George? 216. Chocolate frogs or Every Flavored Beans? 217. The Chamber Of Secrets or The Room Of Requirement? 218. Voldemort or Umbridge? 219. The Burrow or Malfoy Manor? 220. Dementors or Giants? 221. Trevor or Crookshanks? 222. The Hogwarts express or Arthur’s Ford Anglia? 223. Hufflepuff’s cup or Ravenclaw’s Diadem? 224. Gryffindor or Slytherin? 225. Seeker or Chaser? 226. Amortentia or The Elixir Of Life? 227. Molly’s cooking or school feasts? 228. Death Eaters or The Order of The Phoenix? 229. Bring Sirius back to life or Bring Dobby back to life? 230. Kill Hagrid or Kill Mcgonagall? 231. Be part of the Weasleys or Be part of the Potters? 232. Charms or DADA? 233. Get bitten by a werewolf or Become a horcrux? 234. Free the elves or Free the goblins? 235. Have a date with Draco or Have a date with Cedric? 236. Bestow a curse on your best friend or a hex on your family? 237. Zonko’s or Honeyduke’s? 238. Illvermorny or Hogwarts? 239. Muggles or Squibs 240. Hermione Granger or Luna Lovegood? 241. Ten feet of parchment on a subject that you enjoy, or five feet of parchment on a subject that you hate/never listen to. 242. Own the Elder Wand or Own the Invisibility Cloak? 243. Wizard’s Chess or Exploding Snap? 244. Marauders or Albus and Scorpius? 245. Golden Snitches or Buldgers? 246. Nifflers or Demiguises? 247. Bellatrix or Narcissa? 248. O.W.Ls or N.E.W.Ts? 249. Have Lockheart or Snape as a teacher? 250. The Great Lake or The Forbidden Forest? 251. Get your soul sucked out (like Barty Crouch Jr.) or reveal all of your secrets to everyone under the effects of vertiserum? 252. Punch Harry or Kick Ron? 253. Live forever or Resurrect all deceased loved ones? 254. Discover your ACTUAL House or your patronus? 255. Sneaking into the kitchen or sneaking into other dorms? 256. The dungeons or The towers? 257. Merpeople or Centaurs? 258. Drarry or Scalbus? 259. Head Boy/Girl or Prefect? 260. MACUSA or The Ministry of Magic? 261. Fleur and Bill’s wedding or Remus and Tonks’s wedding? 262. “Always” or “Yer a wizard, Harry,” 263. tangerine - your crush’s name 264. apricot - favourite ice cream flavor 265. aqua - initials 266. auburn - favorite month 267. azure - favorite type of flower 268. blond - fuzzy or silky 269. violet - pastel or dark colors 270. turquoise - favorite art work 271. sapphire - how many siblings do you have 272. lavender - shampoo brand 273. carnation - paper or plastic 274. cotton candy - favorite tv show 275. cream - favourite blog champagne - least favorite fandom 276. eucalyptus - green or purple 277. emerald - hunger games or maze runner 278. indigo - first pet 279. lemon - vanilla or chocolate 280. baby pink - batman or superman 281. AC/DC - What are your favorite bands? 282. Aerosmith - What are your favorite songs? 283. Aretha Franklin - Do you have a favorite jazz song? 284. Alice Cooper - What is your favorite type of music? 285. Beach Boys - Have you ever been in a concert? 286. Black Sabbath - A song that motivates you? 287. Bob Dylan - Do you know how to play any musical instrument? 288. Bon Jovi - Your favorite song about love? 289. The Beatles - Latest song that made you smile? 290. David Bowie - A song that makes you feel happy? 291. Eric Clapton - Have you ever been in love with a rock artist? 292. Creedence Clearwater Revival - What is your favorite instrument? 293. Deep Purple - Do you prefer bassists or drummers? 294. The Doors - What is your favorite lyric? 295. Fleetwood Mac - Female or Male vocalists? 296. The Grateful Dead - What song are you listening right now? 297. Guns n’ Roses - What song describes your emotions right now? 298. Heart - Do you know a song that you want at your wedding? 299. Iron Maiden - Do you frequently listen to your songs on shuffle? 300. Jimi Hendrix - A song that represents “your aesthetic” 301. Joan Jett - Who do you think when you listen to your favorite love song? 302. Janis Joplin - What is your favorite 70s song? 303. Journey - Do you have any famous crushes? 304. The Kinks - What is the last single you downloaded? 305. Kiss - What is the perfect song to describe your relationship with your boyfriend/girlfriend/crush 306. Led Zeppelin - Do you like loud guitar solos? 307. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Do you like instrumental songs? 308. Metallica - A song that you think everybody should listen to? 309. Nirvana - A song that breaks your heart? 310. Pink Floyd - Name your top three songs in any language. 311. Pearl Jam - A song to drive to? 312. Queen - A song to dance to? 313. Bruce Springsteen - A song that you would sing in a karaoke? 314. The Rolling Stones - Your favorite album? 315. U2 - A artist/band you’re proud of? 316. Van Halen - Favorite guitarist? 317. The Who - Favorite bassist? 318. Yes - Favorite drummer? 319. Dusty Springfield - Do you have a favorite soul song? 320. The Supremes - Your favorite girlband? 321. Simon and Garfunkel - Your favorite acoustic song? 322. Derek & The Dominos - Do you prefer a cover more than the original song? 323. The Mamas and The Papas - What’s the song that have a harmony so good that makes you want to punch something? 324. Santana - Your favorite artist hairstyle? 325. Ramones - Do you like punk music? 326. The Temptations - A song that you liked when you were younger? 327. Cream - A song that you associate with summer? 328. The Band - A song that you never get tired of? 329. Steve Miller Band - A song that need to be played out loud? 330. Sonny & Cher - A song by an artist with a voice that you love? 331. Wings - A song that makes you remind of yourself 332. What’s one thing you would like to change about yourself? 333. Are you religious or spiritual? 334. Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert? 335. Are you more into looks or brains? 336. What is a relationship deal breaker for you? 337. What’s your favorite book of all time and why did it speak to you so much? 338. Would you ever take back someone who cheated? 339. How do you feel about sharing your password with your partner? 340. When do you think a person is ready for marriage? 341. What kind of parent do you think you will be? 342. Have you ever lost someone close to you? 343. If you are in a bad mood, do you prefer to be left alone or have someone to cheer you up? 344. Are you confrontational? 345. Would you relocate for love? 346. Did you ever write a journal? 347. What’s the one thing that people always misunderstand about you? 348. What did your past relationship teach you? 349. What are your thoughts on online dating or tinder? 350. What’s on your bucket list this year? 351. What do you define as a family? 352. Are my parents happy with the person I have become? 353. What relaxes me? 354. Can you handle the rigors of a long distance relationship? 355. What will people say at your funeral? 356. If you lost everything tomorrow, whose arms would you run into to make everything okay? 357. If you received enough money to never need to work again, what would you spend your time doing? 358. Would you break the law to save a loved one? 359. What were you doing when you last lost track of the time? 360. What can you do today that you couldn’t do a year ago? What will you be able to do at this time next year? 361. If you could ask for one wish, what would it be? 362. When you think of your home, what immediately comes to mind? 363. What did you want to be when you were a kid? 364. Where would you like to live? Why haven’t you moved? 365. If you dropped everything to pursue your dreams, what would you be risking? 366. What bad habits do you want to break? 367. Describe the next five years of your life, and your plans, in a single sentence 368. Do you consider yourself the hero or the villain in your story? 369. How much control do you really have over yourself 370. When did you last push the boundaries of your comfort zone? 371. What is something you believe is too serious to be joked about? 372. ask a different question, make it your own!

[inosukeofthenorth100]

Started Dishonored 2

Kinda disappointed

I’m currently playing on a laptop, so I’m using the infamous PC port.  It’s not good.  And this isn’t because i’m on a low power machine, my computer can run the witcher 3 and MGSV at low graphics and still function smoothly.  This game is just not polished, I’ve been running it on the lowest settings and I’m still having skipping frames and bad slow downs when overlooking larger areas.  It runs okay in small rooms, but the open areas are terrible.

Things I don’t like:

Despite the maps being bigger, it doesnt really feel better than the first game?  Like it just feels more jumbled, which is a little awkward in a stealth game.

There are certain mechanics that i’m not sure I like either.  The blood flies aren’t as difficult to out-maneuver as the rats, and are way more gross.  There are a ton more items it seems, and a crafting system for bone charms, but I kind of liked the limited resources of the first game.  You’re one person, and it made sense that you could only carry X many bullets or Y many bolts.  Then again, this be more of a personal thing because I’ve been playing MGSV with mostly the pistol and ignored 90% of the weaponry.

I’m also not sure about the bone charm crafting thing.  Crafting is kind of a common thing now, but it feels odd as a magical skill, and it seems like an odd sort of cop-out.  We didn’t want to make a new ability, so here’s a crafting system that could be kind of game breaking depending on how you use it.  I don’t find myself actually wanting to use the crafting because of how few pieces of bone you get and because the crafting has a chance of failing, making it risky.  Besides the fact that the bone charms of both games generally arent hard to choose between.  If you want stealth, you choose some things to muffle your footsteps and make you faster, etc.  For me I saw them as more of collectibles than necessary, and the fact that you can destroy your collectibles feels a little odd to me.

The plot and writing in general feels fairly ham-fisted.  The whole introduction kind of detracts from the air of mystery Dishonored left about it’s characters.  Most people had already figured out the Heart was Jessamine, most people have figured out Corvo is Emily’s father.  I know they may be trying to introduce new players to the story, but theres less of the well-written, nuanced speaking, and more of straight lines.  

I especially don’t like Emily’s commentary on a lot of things, Dishonored’s silent protag played REALLY well with documents and the creepy air, but Emily’s commentary feels redundant and pedantic in many cases.  There are some interesting comments she has that I really like, like how she comments on the hookah pipe in the palace, or how you can get her commentary on certain people she remembers.  However I don’t need commentary every time i encounter a painting or object of note, Dishonored had a huge talent for showing the player everything and letting them draw a conclusion, but 2 feels like it’s overemphasizing everything and twisting the player’s arm into LOOKING AT THE THING.  Look at this painting of Delilah, why’s it here, WHY’S IT HERE???  What if you just...  Let the player look at it.  And observe.  As people who play games do.

Things I DO LIKE:

Typewriters!  And the alarm clocks.  The little things you can manipulate in the environment to distract people are neat!

The designers did a good job of giving Serkonos a new feel.  Karnaca definitely has a warmer vibe than Dunwall, and it doesnt feel happy because of it.  It’s still a dark game without the heavy atmosphere and dark blues and grays of the first game.

I also love a lot of the ordinary hubub going on in the city and with NPCs.  When Emily first lands at the docks there’s just a WALL of sound, which feels so truly reminiscent of a city or a work area.  Theres just a good vibe and the NPCs are very nicely put together.

That Corvo actually trained Emily, and Emily isn’t coming into her abilities through horseshit ‘his daughter’ instincts.  She worked on this stuff and she’s GOOD.  Just as good as her father.

I also really like Emily’s character in general, she’s a bit wary of people, she’s still kind of playful and runs away from her responsibilities, but she’s tenacious.  She feels very well-rounded, and very obviously connected to young Emily.  She’s nicely written, as much as a lot of her lines feel redundant.

I haven’t played Corvo yet, but he seemed cool (i do want to play him eventually, i love the boy)

TLDR; There are some great characters, but the plot and game itself feel forced.  There was some definite work to be done, they could have made this a really fabulous sequel but it feels like they stopped halfway.

[wigglywlwsuggestions]

All the asks?

Lavender: Name something that relaxes you.CUDDLES!!!

Polaroid: Post a picture that makes you feel good.We will post this separately! 

Vinyl: What is some of your favorite music? Liza; Frank Sinatra-esque music, Lorde, opera, and musicals (at the moment Hamilton).Abbie: MUSICALS!!!!! And also Sleeping at Last.

Incense: List your three favorite scents.Liza: Abbie’s perfume, Abbie’s shampoo, and lily of the valley flowers.Abbie: Liza’s perfume, her perfume, and anything pomegranate/berry!

Roots: How do you ground yourself or recharge?By being around each other!!

Silk sheets: (already answered)

Paint brushes: Do you have a creative pass-time?We both do dance (Abbie) and opera (Liza) as our main focus but also we like to…Abbie: write and drawLiza: write and color and anything that strikes my fancy.Oh! And we also like to cosplay together :)

Scars: Share something difficult you’ve been through.Liza: Having obsessive compulsive disorder (which is almost completely under control) and dealing with the aftershocks and my generalized anxiety every day. Abbie: Having depression and internalized homophobia.(side note: we are both happy to talk about our experiences with these issues if we can give anyone help or comfort.)

Rainstorms: What helps you fall asleep?Liza: Playing a mindless game on mt phone. Also sleeping next to Abbie makes for A+ sleep Abbie: Sleeping next to Liza, and also some kind of auditory stimulation like the tv playing quietly.

Bones: Name one strength and one weakness.Liza: One strength is that I am hardworking, and one weakness is that I sometimes let my anxiety take control of my motivation.Abbie: I am good at helping people, (also Abbie jokingly said “I HAVE NO WEAKNESS”).

Teacups: Favorite beverages?Abbie: Iced tea...Mountain dew, juice, water, and actually strike that, she has a lot of beverages she likes.Liza: Caffeine free diet coke and BLUE DRINK!!!

Sealing Wax: Have you ever received a letter or written one to someone else?Abbie: WELL DUH WHO HASN’T? BABIES. BABIES HAVEN’T.Dragons: (already answered)

Soup: Comfort food?Liza: Beans and rice. And COOKIES!Abbie: Chocolate cake and fettuccine alfredo! 

The Moon: What’s your favorite thing to do at night?Liza: Cuddle!Abbie: Besides Liza? Okay, cuddles and tv with Liza.

Klosh: If you could go back to any three eras, what would they be?Did they mean cloche??Abbie: I’m not going backwards into other eras! There’s slavery and I couldn’t get married to Liza! Liza: I second that, although I’d really love to visit the sixties and witness some of the greatest opera singers of the twentieth century.

Lace: Your favorite thing to wear?Liza: A good sweatpant and this over-sized shirt that used to be my dad’s.Abbie: NOT PANTS.

Pocket watch: If you could be immortal or have an extremely long lifespan, what would you choose and why?Liza: I would only choose to be immortal if Abbie was also immortal.Abbie: I was going to say that too!!

Honey bee: Name something positive you’ve done for yourself or someone else in the last two weeks.Liza: I decided to audition for my first big part this fall for the opera.Abbie: I applied for a second job and for the college in my town.

Typewriter: If you had to come up with ten words to describe your life story so far, what would they be?Abbie: I can’t do that in ten words!! Liza: I’m so happy I’ve met the love of my life. Ha that’s ten!

Blue hair dye: One thing you like about your appearance?Liza: My smile.Abbie: My hair (she says as she flips her hair).

Felines: Something that makes you feel better after a hard day?Liza: Seeing/skyping with/calling Abbie!!Abbie: Same.

Poetry: If you have one, name a favorite book or poem.Liza: The Nutritionist by Andrea Gibson.Abbie: We’d be here all day if I listed mine!!

Thank you so so much for all the questions!!

[spectral-forest]

Answer all of them ❤

forgot I posted it hehe, sure :)Lavender: Name something that relaxes you. The sound of leaves rustling, rain, the sound fresh snow makes when you walk on it, my boyfriend’s voice and gamesPolaroid: Post a picture that makes you feel good about yourself. N A H sorry I don’t like posting my own picture, although I do have some in my old tumblr. (it’s in my bio)Vinyl: What is some of your favorite music?Jonna Jinton’s Kulning, I enjoy Folk and Pagan music a lot, Metal, Indie and Swing music :) I like a lot of genres but my favorite is Folk for sure.Incense: List your three favorite scents.Rain, whiskey and books. (not sure if it’s meant for candle scents but w/e)Roots: How do you ground yourself or recharge?I either play games or I just go outside and listen to all the different sounds. It’s weird but it relaxes me in a way.Silk Sheets: Any ways you treat or spoil yourself?I travel a lot with the little money I have hah which means that’s where all my money goes. hahah what are new clothes Paintbrushes: Do you have a creative past-time?I like drawing/sketching it never really goes beyond sketching tbh and I love photography as well. Scars: Share something difficult you’ve been through.Nah I don’t like sharing personal stuff sorry Rainstorms: What helps you fall asleep?Knowing I’m not alone which is the reason why I’m currently awake..Bones: Name one strength and one weakness.Strength: Honesty Weakness: AnxietyTeacups: Favorite beverages?WaterSealing Wax: Have you ever received a letter or written one to someone else?Yes when I was younger I had a friend from Estonia and we used to write to each other once a week.Dragons: What makes you feel powerful, what breathes life into you?Silence. Idk it just does Soup: Comfort food?Nutella. yupThe Moon: What’s your favorite thing to do at night?Sleep Ideally but I sometimes play games during the night. Klosh: If you could go back to any three era’s what would they be?Renaissance, Victorian and Viking era :)Lace: Your favorite things to wear?I’m literally in my Gryffindor robe 24/7 so that, I have a grey sweater that I always wear because I love it so much and lingerie.Pocketwatch: If you could be immortal or have an extremely long life span what would you pick and why?Extremely long life span because what’s life without death ? Honeybee: Name something positive you have done for yourself or someone else in the last two weeks.I’ve been loving and accepting myself more which feels amazing, I’m in a healthy mindset and I’m actually doing things and going out which is always good.Typewriter: If you had to come up with ten words to describe your life story so far, what would they be? Confusion, Grieve, Pain, Lonely, Acceptance, Freedom, Love, Solitary, Travel, Anxiety.  (in order kind of)Blue Hair Dye: One thing you like about your appearance?My eyes Felines: Something that makes you feel better after a hard day?Games and my boyfriend :)Poetry: If you have one, name a favorite book or poem.All Harry Potter books.Thanks whoever you are, I needed this today. It’s nice to know someone’s actually out there you know? Thanks again Feel free to message me without the anon part tho please x

[omahajunkdisposal-blog]

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[bookedsuccess]

DAY SIXTY

Summary by Sam T Davies

The Book in Three Sentences

A copywriter is a salesperson behind a keyboard.

Copy should be urgent, unique, ultra-specific and useful.

Your performance as a copywriter is based on sales generated, not originality.

The Five Big Ideas

For copy to convince the customer to buy a product or service it must get attention, communicate and persuade

“The word free is the most powerful word in the copywriter’s vocabulary.”

Four out of five readers will read the headline and skip the rest of the ad.

“When writing testimonial copy, use the customer’s own words as much as possible. Don’t polish his statements; a natural, conversational tone adds believability to the testimonial.”

Ask yourself, “Who is my customer? What are the important features of the product? Why will the customer want to buy the product? (What product feature is most important to him?)”

The Copywriter’s Handbook Summary

“A copywriter is a salesperson behind a typewriter.” – Judith Charles

For copy to convince the consumer to buy the product, it must do three things:

Get attention

Communicate

Persuade

Your headline can perform four different tasks:

Get attention

Select the audience

Deliver a complete message

Draw the reader into the body copy

“The word free is the most powerful word in the copywriter’s vocabulary.”

Powerful attention-getting words:

How to

Why

Sale

Quick

Easy

Bargain

Last chance

Guarantee

Results

Proven

Save

“Grade your performance as a copywriter on sales generated by your copy, not on originality.”

“When you write a headline, get attention by picking out an important customer benefit and presenting it in a clear, bold, dramatic fashion. Avoid headlines and concepts that are cute, clever, and titillating but irrelevant. They may generate some hoopla, but they do not sell.”

“According to David Ogilvy, four out of five readers will read the headline and skip the rest of the ad.”

“Ogilvy recommends that you include the selling promise and the brand name in the headline.”

“Remember, as a copywriter, you are not a creative artist; you are a salesperson. Your job is not to create literature; your job is to persuade people to buy the product.”

“When writing testimonial copy, use the customer’s own words as much as possible. Don’t polish his statements; a natural, conversational tone adds believability to the testimonial.”

The “4 U’s” Copywriting Formula

Urgent. “Urgency gives the reader a reason to act now instead of later. You can create a sense of urgency in your headline by incorporating a time element. A sense of urgency can also be created with a time-limited special offer, such as a discount or premium if you order by a certain date.”

Unique. “The powerful headline either says something new, or if it says something the reader has heard before, says it in a new and fresh way.”

Ultra-specific. “Boardroom, a newsletter publisher, is the absolute master of ultra-specific bullets, known as ‘fascinations,’ that tease the reader into reading further and ordering the product.”

Useful. “The strong subject line appeals to the reader’s self-interest by offering a benefit.”

“When you have written your headline, ask yourself how strong it is in each of the 4 U’s. Use a scale of 1 to 4 (1 = weak, 4 = strong) to rank it in each category.”

Questions to Ask Yourself

Who is my customer?

What are the important features of the product?

Why will the customer want to buy the product? (What product feature is most important to him?)

11 Tips for Writing Clear Copy

1. Put the Reader First

“Think of the reader. Ask yourself: Will the reader understand what I have written? Does he know the special terminology I have used? Does my copy tell her something important or new or useful? If I were the reader, would this copy persuade me to buy the product?”

“One technique to help you write for the reader is to address the reader directly as ‘you’ in the copy, just as I am writing to you in this book. Copywriters call this the ‘you-orientation’”.

2. Carefully Organize Your Selling Points

“When you write your copy, you must carefully organize the points you want to make.”

“The headline states the main selling proposition, and the first few paragraphs expand on it. Secondary points are covered later in the body copy. If this copy is lengthy, each secondary point may get a separate heading or number.”

“The organization of your selling points depends on their relative importance, the amount of information you give the reader, and the type of copy you are writing (letter, ad, commercial, or news story).”

“Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Tell them. And then, tell them what you told them.” – Terry C. Smith

“Before you create an ad or mailer, write down your sales points. Organize them in a logical, persuasive, clear fashion. And present them in this order when you write your copy.”

3. Break the Writing into Short Sections

“If the content of your ad can be organized as a series of sales points, you can cover each point in a separate section of copy.”

“If there is no particular order of importance or logical sequence between the sales points, use graphic devices such as bullets, asterisks, or dashes to set off each new section. If you have a lot of copy under each section, use subheads (as I’ve done in this book).”

“Paragraphs should also be kept short. Long, unbroken chunks of type intimidate readers.”

“When you edit your copy, use subheads to separate major sections. Leave space between paragraphs. And break long paragraphs into short paragraphs. A paragraph of five sentences can usually be broken into two or three shorter paragraphs by finding places where a new thought or idea is introduced and beginning the new paragraph with that thought.”

4. Use Short Sentences

“(D. H. Menzel) found that sentences became difficult to understand beyond a length of about 34 words.”

“To make your writing flow, vary sentence length. By writing an occasional short sentence or sentence fragment, you can reduce the average sentence length of your copy to an acceptable length even if you frequently use lengthy sentences.”

“Train yourself to write in crisp, short sentences. When you have finished a thought, stop. Start the next sentence with a new thought. When you edit, your pencil should automatically seek out places where a long string of words can be broken in two.”

5. Use Simple Words

“In advertising copy, you are trying to communicate with people, not impress them or boost your own ego. Avoid pompous words and fancy phrases.”

“Small words are better than big words whether you’re writing to farmers or physicists, fishermen or financiers.”

6. Avoid Technical Jargon

“Don’t use jargon when writing to an audience that doesn’t speak your special language.”

“Don’t use a technical term unless 95 percent or more of your readers will understand it.”

“Don’t use a technical term unless it precisely communicates your meaning.”

7. Be Concise

“Unnecessary words waste the reader’s time, dilute the sales message, and take up space that could be put to better use.”

“Rewriting is the key to producing concise copy.”

“Avoid redundancies, run-on sentences, wordy phrases, the passive voice, unnecessary adjectives, and other poor stylistic habits that take up space but add little to meaning or clarity.”

8. Be Specific

9. Go Straight to the Point

“If the headline is the most important part of an ad, then the lead paragraph is surely the second most important part.”

“Start selling with the very first line of copy.”

“The finished copy should sell from the first word to the last.”

10. Write in a Friendly, Conversational Style

“People enjoy reading clear, simple, easy-to-understand writing. And the simplest, clearest style is to write the way you talk.”

“John Louis DiGaetani recommends this simple test for conversational tone: ‘As you revise, ask yourself if you would ever say to your reader what you are writing. Or imagine yourself speaking to the person instead of writing.’”

11. Avoid Sexist Language

“Copywriters must avoid sexist language. Like it or not, sexist language offends a large portion of the population, and you don’t sell things to people by getting them angry at you.”

###

“Ending a sentence with a preposition adds to the conversational tone of the copy.”

“Sentence fragments help keep your average sentence length to a respectable number of words. And sentence fragments can add drama and rhythm to your copy.”

“Beginning a sentence with and, or, but, or for makes for a smooth, easy transition between thoughts.”

“An occasional one-sentence paragraph provides a change of pace that can liven up a piece of copy.”

“Highlighting and underlining can make words and phrases stand out in print advertising and promotion as well as in schoolbooks. Many readers skim copy without reading it carefully, so an underline or highlight can be useful in calling out key words, phrases, paragraphs, and selling points.”

“One of the most effective techniques for writing subscription copy is to present the publication’s content as a list of bulleted items, e.g., ‘7 ways to reduce your heating bill this winter.’”

“Be specific about the problem; be vague and mysterious about the solution. Plus, do it with a twist, hook, or unusual angle.”

Before you release copy to the client or the art department, ask yourself these questions:

Does the copy fulfill the promise of the headline?

Is the copy interesting?

Is it easy to read?

Is it believable?

Is it persuasive?

Is it specific?

Is it concise?

Is it relevant?

Does it flow smoothly?

Does it call for action?

“The first step in writing copy that sells is to write about benefits and not about features.”

“A feature is a descriptive fact about a product or service; it’s what the product is or has. A benefit is what the product does; it’s what the user of the product or service gains as a result of the feature.”

“According to AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action), the copy must first get the reader’s attention, then create an interest in the product, then turn that interest into a strong desire to own the product, and finally ask the reader to buy the product or take some other action that will eventually lead to a sale.”

“In ACCA (Awareness, Comprehension, Conviction, Action), consumers are first made aware that the product exists. Then they must comprehend what the product is and what it will do for them. After comprehension, the readers must be convinced to buy the product. And finally, they must take action and actually make the purchase.”

“The copywriter creates a picture of what the product can do for the reader, promises the picture will come true if the reader buys the product, proves what the product has done for others, and pushes for immediate action.”

“The Motivating Sequence”

1. Get Attention

“This is the job of the headline and the visual. The headline should focus on the single strongest benefit you can offer the reader.”

2. Show a Need

“The second step of writing copy that sells, then, is to show the reader why she needs the product.”

3. Satisfy the Need and Position Your Product as a Solution to the Problem

“Once you’ve convinced the reader that he has a need, you must quickly show him that your product can satisfy his need, answer his questions, or solve his problems.”

4. Prove Your Product Can Do What You Say It Can Do

“It isn’t enough to say you can satisfy the reader’s needs—you’ve got to prove you can.”

5. Ask for Action

“The last step in any piece of copy should always be a call for action.”

“False logic, a term coined by my friend, master copywriter Michael Masterson, is copy that, through skillful writing, manipulates (but does not lie about or misrepresent) existing facts. The objective: to help readers come to conclusions that these facts, presented without the twists of the copywriter’s pen, might not otherwise support.”

“According to Reeves, there are three requirements for a USP (and I am quoting, in the italics, from Reality in Advertising):

Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer. Each must say, ‘Buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit.’

The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot, or does not, offer.

The proposition must be so strong that it can move the mass millions, i.e., pull over new customers to your product.

“One popular method is to differentiate your product or service from the competition based on a feature that your product or service has and they don’t.”

“Malcolm D. MacDougall, former president and creative director of SSC&B, says there are four ways to advertise seemingly similar products:

Stress an underpublicized or little-known benefit.

Dramatize a known benefit in a compelling fashion.

Dramatize the product name or package.

Build long-term brand personalities.

“Study your list of product features and benefits. Then look at the competition’s ads. Is there an important benefit that they have ignored, one you can embrace as the Unique Selling Proposition that sets your product apart from all others?”

“The secondary promise is a lesser benefit that the product also delivers.”

“Your copy should reach prospects on three levels: intellectual, emotional, and personal.”

To reach your prospects on all three levels—intellectual, emotional, and personal—you must understand what copywriter Michael Masterson calls the buyer’s “Core Complex.” These are the emotions, attitudes, and aspirations that drive them, as represented by the BFD formula, which stands for beliefs, feelings, and desires.

Beliefs. What does your audience believe? What is their attitude toward your product and the problems or issues it addresses?

Feelings. How do they feel? Are they confident and brash? Nervous and fearful? What do they feel about the major issues in their lives, businesses, or industries?

Desires. What do they want? What are their goals? What change do they want in their lives that your product can help them achieve?

“Before you write your copy, it’s a good idea to review the reasons why people might want to buy your product.”

22 Reasons Why People Might Buy Your Product

To be liked

To be appreciated

To be right

To feel important

To make money

To save money

To save time

To make work easier

To be secure

To be attractive

To be sexy

To be comfortable

To be distinctive

To be happy

To have fun

To gain knowledge

To be healthy

To gratify curiosity

For convenience

Out of fear

Out of greed

Out of guilt

“The more expensive a product is, the more copy you generally need to sell it.”

“Copy that sells the product directly off the printed page or screen (known as “one-step” or “mail-order” copy) usually has to be long, because it must present all product information and overcome all objections.”

“People who are pressed for time, such as busy executives and professionals, often respond better to short copy.”

“Products that people need (a refrigerator, a fax machine) can be sold with short copy because . . . well, the prospect has to buy them. Products that people want but don’t have to buy (exercise videos, self-help audio programs, financial newsletters) must be “sold,” and require long copy to do so.”

“Short copy works well with products the prospect is already familiar with and understands.”

How to Write Persuasive, Fact-Filled Copy for Your Clients

Step 1: Get All Previously Published Material on the Product

“You should spend a lot of time printing out and reading the client’s Web site, or at least the pages pertaining to the product you are promoting.”

“By studying this background material, the copywriter should have 90 percent of the information he or she needs to write the copy.”

Step 2: Ask Questions About the Product

What are its features and benefits? (Make a complete list.)

Which benefit is the most important?

How is the product different from the competition’s? (Which features are exclusive? Which are better than the competition’s?)

If the product isn’t different, what attributes can be stressed that haven’t been stressed by the competition?

What technologies does the product compete against?

What are the applications of the product?

What problems does the product solve in the marketplace?

How is the product positioned against competing products?

How does the product work?

How reliable is the product? How long will it last?

How efficient is the product?

How economical?

How much does it cost?

Is it easy to use? Easy to maintain?

Who has bought the product and what do they say about it?

What materials, sizes, and models is it available in?

How quickly does the manufacturer deliver the product?

If they don’t deliver, how and where can you buy it?

What service and support does the manufacturer offer?

Is the product guaranteed?

Step 3: Ask Questions About Your Audience

Who will buy the product? (What markets is it sold to?)

What exactly does the product do for them?

Why do they need the product? And why do they need it now?

What is the customer’s main concern when buying this type of product (price, delivery, performance, reliability, service, maintenance, quality, efficiency, availability)?

What is the character of the buyer? What type of person is the product being sold to?

What motivates the buyer?

How many different buying influences must the copy appeal to? (A toy ad, for example, must appeal to both the parent and the child.)

“If you are writing an ad, read issues of the magazines in which the ad will appear.”

“If you are writing direct mail, find out what mailing lists will be used and study the list descriptions.”

Step 4: Determine the Objective of Your Copy

This objective may be one or more of the following:

To generate inquiries

To generate sales

To answer inquiries

To qualify prospects

To generate store traffic

To introduce a new product or an improvement of an old product

To keep in touch with prospects and customers

To transmit news or product information

To build brand recognition and preference

To build company image

To provide marketing tools for salespeople

Here are 10 criteria that an ad must satisfy if it is to be successful as a selling tool:

The headline contains an important consumer benefit, or news, or arouses curiosity, or promises a reward for reading the copy

The visual (if you use a visual) illustrates the main benefit stated in the headline

The lead paragraph expands on the theme of the headline

The layout draws readers into the ad and invites them to read the body copy

The body copy covers all important sales points in logical sequence

The copy provides the information needed to convince the greatest number of qualified prospects to take the next step in the buying process

When you sit down to write your ad, ask yourself: “What do I want the reader to do? And what can I tell him that will get him to do it?”

The copy is interesting to read

The copy is believable

The ad asks for action

[anndelize]

It is my great pleasure to introduce readers to British artist Michele Clamp, scientist turned watercolourist.

The Interview

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Michele Clamp and I am a watercolour artist.

Why do you do what you do?

I am tempted to reply ‘Because I can’. If you had the opportunity to create beautiful things that reflect who you are as a person and how you see the world why wouldn’t anyone? But maybe that’s too glib an answer. On a day to day basis painting simply makes life worth living. Even when the work goes badly (as it often does) it is still worthwhile. Painting is difficult, frustrating, unpredictable, and often not taken seriously by many. And objectively I am unlikely to go down in art history and sometimes it seems unlikely I’ll make a living at it. But none of that detracts from the satisfaction of setting your brushes down at the end of the day with something new on the easel. If, as I am lucky to have happen, other people want to take your work into their homes and it gives them pleasure in their lives so much the better.

Hare Today. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 14”x11”

Rose-breasted grosbeak. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 14”x11”

How do you work?

Regularly. That’s the main thing. I have a routine – go upstairs to the studio, put the lights on, put the radio on. Open the palette, top up any colors that are running low. Arrange the brushes and get the water pot filled with fresh water. Tape a fresh piece of paper to the empty board resting on the easel. It’s almost a ritual and it’s necessary. I am then in the right frame of mind to prod around in my subconscious to find out what I am itching to do.

As I am a watercolour painter and paint quickly I almost always complete a painting in a single session. This creates a lot of forward momentum as the weeks go by and I can move from subject to subject quickly. Other times I’ll work in series over a month or so. It could be birds one month, cityscapes another.

Even if a brush isn’t put to paper on any given day ideas are bubbling through my mind. These could be ideas for subject matter, design or style. A big portion involves reflecting on past works that may or may not have succeeded. What do I like, want don’t I like. Did I capture the light or the mood? Did it capture something about the moment that I didn’t expect and can I build on that.

Cockwomble. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 11”x14”

Puffins. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 11”x14”

What is your background?

Like many artists my interest was sparked in childhood. My father was a talented amateur artist when he was young but only had a limited amount of time to spend on it when I was a child.  Even so I remember sitting beside him as he sketched outside. I had my own small sketchbook and tried to learn from him as he drew landscapes in the Essex countryside, marking in color and lighting notes as he went. These were intended to be preparatory sketches for larger oil paintings but sadly these almost never came to pass. However, I had almost no detectable talent at that point. My mother is still incredulous that I’ve ended up painting as she often remarks how bad I was in those years. It turned out that the art bug didn’t bite me hard until I was about 13. Somehow something clicked in a school art lesson. Mrs Amner our art teacher had put a group of us in front of a huge old mechanical typewriter and we were instructed to draw it. Not an easy subject for us but the longer I looked the more the complex mechanical shapes made sense and my pencil followed suit. I’d discovered the pleasure of truly seeing something and representing it on paper.

I loved painting and drawing throughout the rest of my school years and did them both in parallel with science and maths. When it came to deciding on college I plumped for science and went on to do a degree in physics at Oxford followed by a PhD. Art was on the back burner for many years. I had a wonderful career in science and worked in many interesting areas including the Human Genome Project. My science career took me from Oxford to Cambridge to MIT and Harvard and I was extremely lucky to be part of the genomics revolution over the past couple of decades.

I always knew I’d come back to art at some point although I didn’t know when. It’s little appreciated that science is a hugely creative endeavor. Like art it’s also all-consuming – you can’t dabble and expect to do it well. So after emerging 5 years ago from immersion in the research world I needed a creative outlet again. And watercolour was there waiting.

From 2012 to the end of last year I balanced painting with working. This year, however,  we bit the bullet,  quit our jobs and I get to paint full time.  It’s bliss.

Sunflowers. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 11”x14”

Brass callipers. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 14”x11”

What is integral to the work of an artist?

Ah. There’s a quote about science by the famous physicist Richard Feynman that pops into my mind here. ‘The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.’ So honesty, humility, and at least an attempt to keep the ego on a short leash.

What role does an artist have in society?

Wow.  That’s a biggie.

What has been a seminal experience?

These are all hard questions but this one stumped me for a long while. I have to admit that I am not one of those artists that hate everything they do. Not that I’m uncritical (not at all) but I’m usually pretty positive about the work I produce. Very rarely does something emerge that is totally worthless in my eyes. I am self-aware enough to realise that I am hugely biased and lucky enough that I don’t need huge amounts of external validation. A year after I had returned to painting, however, something happened that made me think this wasn’t just an activity to please me. I used to go to a lot of classes at the local adult education centre in Cambridge, Mass. and they’d regularly run shows with students work.    When I’d been painting for about a year I managed to get 8 pieces into their summer show. I’d put prices on them but really had no expectations in that area.  When I arrived at the opening I was astounded that 3 had already sold.   As the evening went on 3 more sold and I was emailed by someone later to buy another one.  One painting was so popular the  organisers emailed me to ask if I had anything similar as they’d had so many requests.   It gave me huge confidence that this wasn’t just a solo journey.   

Trinity College, Oxford. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 14”x11

Baptist Church, Marlborough, MA. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 14”x11”

How has your practice changed over time?

The big thing was understanding how important just showing up is.

What art do you identify most with?

We live in a very noisy world. So shouty art is not my thing. Art that screams at you and grabs you by the lapels is not for me. I like art that slowly gets under your skin. Art that creeps up on you over a period of time. Art that you come back to after years away and go ‘Ah yes now I get it’. Subtlety, nuance, layers, longevity. I’m British – what do you expect?

What work do you most enjoy doing?

Oh that’s easy – good work. Definitely good work. Seriously though it’s easier to answer that by thinking about the work I don’t enjoy doing. And that is work that I do when I start taking myself too seriously. Stuff that I plan when things are going well and I think I’m really getting to the next level. I get really ambitious and start large complicated paintings and work really hard and all the fun goes out of it. I start fooling myself in other words. I learned early on that your really good work comes from painting what you want to paint. However you don’t consciously choose what you want to paint – it comes from somewhere below the surface and it takes practice to let that side of yourself free.

Sunlit. Michele Clamp. 11”x14”

Liberty Boat. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 11”x14”

What is your favourite artwork?

That is far too difficult a question to answer. If I absolutely had to pick one it would be John Sell Cotman’s Chirk aqueduct. It’s a watercolour (of course) and I first came across it as a kid in one of my parent’s art books. It has everything I love – subtle colors, strong design and I enjoy it a little more every time I come across it. The composition is slightly off kilter – it looks as though it doesn’t quite fit on the page. It’s a little disconcerting the first few times you come across it but it’s that little bit of quirkiness that offsets the restrained colors and apparent lack of action.

Is the artistic life lonely? What do you do to counteract it?

Hmm. Is it any lonelier than all the corporate nonsense I’ve had to deal with elsewhere? Performance reviews, 360 assessments, endless pointless meetings, snotty emails, deadlines and justifications? Nope, not really. Just don’t look at the bank balance.

Hethersett Church, Norfolk UK. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 8”x10”

What is the best piece of advice you have been given?

A few months after I’d started painting again regularly I was showing someone photos of what I’d been doing on my phone. I was still feeling my way but some were good, some not so good, but there was definitely something worthwhile there. On one photo they stopped – it was a quick watercolour still life sketch.   I’d managed to do something with lush colour and broad brushstrokes and it had confidence and ease and energy. ‘Oh Michele’ they said, ‘If only you could live your life the way you paint’.    That comment has always stayed with me.

What wouldn’t you do without?

My husband James Cuff.  Constantly supportive and encouraging even when things aren’t going well.  And makes a mean gin and tonic.

  Thank you for the insightful interview Michele. To see more of Michele’s work please contact her on the details below.

Website :       micheleclamp.com

For Sale:        micheleclamp.com/paintings-for-sale

Instagram:    @micheleclamp

Email:             michele@micheleclamp.com

Facebook:      MicheleClampArt

  Beauty, one brushstroke at a time.

  Artist Interview: Michele Clamp It is my great pleasure to introduce readers to British artist Michele Clamp, scientist turned watercolourist.