wit4writ

[wit4writ]

Group scenes are chaos - I usually can sort it out in my brain while everything is unfolding at the same time, but sometimes I divide it into tiny separate scenes all happening at once, sometimes interacting a little, and sometimes a lot.

Tips from a Beta Reading Writer

This one's for the scenes with multiple characters, and you're not sure how to keep everyone involved.

Writing group scenes is chaos. Someone’s talking, someone’s interrupting, someone’s zoning out thinking about breadsticks. And if you’re not careful, half your cast fades into the background like NPCs in a video game. I used to struggle with this so much—my characters would just exist in the scene without actually affecting it. But here’s what I've learned and have started implementing:

✨ Give everyone a job in the scene ✨

Not their literal job—like, not everyone needs to be solving a crime or casting spells. I mean: Why are they in this moment? What’s their role in the conversation?

My favourite examples are:

The Driver: Moves the convo forward. They have an agenda, they’re pushing the action.

The Instigator: Pokes the bear. Asks the messy questions. Stirring the pot like a chef on a mission.

The Voice of Reason: "Guys, maybe we don’t commit arson today?"

The Distracted One: Completely in their own world. Tuning out, doodling on a napkin, thinking about their ex.

The Observer: Not saying much, but noticing everything. (Quiet characters still have presence!)

The Wild Card: Who knows what they’ll do? Certainly not them. Probably about to make things worse.

If a character has no function, they’ll disappear. Give them something—even if it’s just a side comment, a reaction, or stealing fries off someone’s plate. Keep them interesting, and your readers will stay interested too.

[wit4writ]

Some light fireworks, some chase the night wind   Borrow a ray of time, cup a studded sky     Pause a moment, wait awhile Don’t rush away The dreamer has dreamed one worthy of my praise

The world gifts me insectsong, gifts me thunderbolts Gifts me a crescent moon, gifts me the evening stars Gifts me a bout of illness and windchimes and recovery Gifts me a bout of emptiness and the slow fullness of real love

Some sing love songs, some listen for evening bells Borrow a bit of ignorance Startle and roil the waves Hurry, give chase, the passion high Good stories grace good people Heaven-sent gifts

The world gifts me all to have, gifts me favors to return Gifts me a little window and gifts me a roof Gifts me a name and the slow fullness of age Gifts me a poem and its quiet reading in the calm

Some wish to look back, some to look forward Borrow a white petaled cloud Snap a photo with the group Think on it, ask yourself and not around Those who have gone have traveled far May they All be at peace.

有人放烟花 有人追晚风 借一缕时光 捧一片星空 停一停 等一等 别匆匆 造梦者造了好梦 值得我称颂

世界赠予我虫鳴 也赠予我雷霆 赠我弯弯一枚月 也赠予我晚星 赠我一场病 又慢慢痊愈摇风铃 赠我一场空 又渐渐填满真感情

有人唱情歌 有人听晚钟 借一丝懵懂 惊一片翻涌 追一追 赶一赶 情正浓 好故事眷顾好人 天赐的恩宠

世界赠予我拥有 也赠予我回敬 赠我小小一扇窗 也赠予我屋顶 赠我一个名 又渐渐长大的年龄 赠我一首诗 又悄悄读得很安静

有人要回望 有人要憧憬 借一朶白云 拍一张合影 想一想 问自己 莫打听 远去者去了远方 愿他 都安心

[wit4writ]

Rebuilt one of my older projects as a modern iOS project! This is the Morpheme Dictionary! It’s an etymological project for folks who like linguistics and words. Morphemes are the smallest divisible unit of meaning in a word. For example “dictionary” -> ‘dic’ + ‘tion’ + ‘ary’. Did you know that “disaster” (‘dis’ + ‘aster’) literally glosses to “bad star”?

I like learning what all the word bit means and how our words are constructed so I started compiling a database of them years ago. I’ve been wanting to get back into programming so I figured this would be a good re-introduction project.

Also if folks end up enjoying and getting a lot out of it, feel free to shoot me a tip! (Esp since that Apple dev license is costly to renew! @_@)

Eventually I’d like to release Android and Windows Desktop versions of the app once I’m more comfortable programming again and can learn those platforms so everyone can join in on the language fun!

[wit4writ]

my friend just told me that there's a secret second dashboard that solely contains posts from people you've turned on post notifications for, and when i click the link in the messages it opens it within the tumblr app, so the tumblr app also has a secret second dashboard for post notification blogs, and the only way to access it is to open the link for it within the app.

i literally love tumblr

[wit4writ]

Lying flat. Absolutely glorious.

just truly bonkers how much i love lying down..........like being horizontal? unparalleled

[wit4writ]

I was today years old when I learned that when you type “otp: true” in AO3 search results it filters out fics with additional ships, leaving only the fics where your otp is the main ship

[wit4writ]

@lladida Well, the snow and ice have melted now, the sun is BEAUTIFUL, and the wind is howling. The wonder and joy I feel in my cozy bed with a fluffy cat is immeasurable.

...you still on the ground?

"childlike sense of wonder" this and that. Personally, I'm cultivating my elderly sense of wonder. Hence my excitement over a perfectly ordinary bird in my backyard or an above-average-sized vegetable.

[wit4writ]

@lladida Do it please. :D

The Big Sleep (1946) dir. Howard Hawks

[wit4writ]

@lladida Go ahead. Do It. Please. :D

The Big Sleep (1946) dir. Howard Hawks

[wit4writ]

genuinely wild to me when I go to someone's house and we watch TV or listen to music or something and there are ads. I haven't seen an ad in my home since 2005. what do you mean you haven't set up multiple layers of digital infrastructure to banish corporate messaging to oblivion before it manifests? listen, this is important. this is the 21st century version of carving sigils on the wall to deny entry to demons or wearing bells to ward off the Unseelie. come on give me your router admin password and I'll show you how to cast a protective spell of Get Thee Tae Fuck, Capital

[wit4writ]

✨ What’s Your Super Personality? ✨

You wake up and suddenly there's a magic envelope, this is how the story of this cute small test starts. This is my result:

It’s such a fun way to figure out what vibe you give off.

Share your result if you feel like it!

Tag a few mutuals—or don’t. No pressure!

If you do take it, I’d love to see what you get. 🌟

@patiori @glimmerglamglowz @grimnmm @evry1h8s-me @r1p0utmygvtzz @dec4yingdogteeth @hotboyfreighttrain @bonelessratzz @alien-r3xi-4 @caramel-latte-cryptyd

And all my lovely moots of course! ❤

[wit4writ]

@nook-of-songs Long answer: You judge, seeking to immerse yourself in a watery container and cry in sorrow when the tub comes up short. Short answer: you do both.

bath tubs that can’t submerge an entire adult body should be illegal

[wit4writ]

@nook-of-songs HEY. THIS IS U TOO. U ALWAYS JUDGE THE TUB.

bath tubs that can’t submerge an entire adult body should be illegal

[wit4writ]

One Dress a Day Challenge

October: White Redux

The Court Jester / Angela Lansbury as Princess Gwendolyn

I'm pretty sure this is the dress that Gwendolyn is wearing under the blue and green robe/cloak that I featured in July--compare the cuffs. It's the most luxurious of all Gwendolyn's dresses, with the lavish gold trim and embroidery. It also reminds me of the gown worn by the lady in Edmund Leighton's painting The Accolade (see below)--enough that I wonder whether there is a deliberate reference. Especially since Gwendolyn wears this gown to a knighting ceremony, even though she doesn't get to do the actual "accolade" in the movie!

[wit4writ]

I didn't think it was possible to shorten words verbally without removing syllables but sailors managed.

[wit4writ]

The Middle

I wrote and illustrated this story as a birthday present for my partner, I hope you enjoy it!

[wit4writ]

i’m obsessed with these…

(From DepthOfWikipedia on Instagram)