@janeopries Sorry, Not Sorry.

For any of you who are writing ‘across the pond’-here is a little guide I put together of some common differences between British and American English!

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Something I have to remind myself of a lot.

If you're a creator and you needed to hear this today:

You have no idea how many people lurk on your work. No idea how many times people go back to revisit your work. How big they smile when they simply think about your work. How fast their heart beats, how excited they get when they see that you posted something.

People are shy with their feedback. Sometimes it’s because they’re simply shy. Other times it’s because they assume you already know how great and talented you are. Could be both.

My point is, even if you barely have any likes or reblogs, don’t get discouraged. You have a lot of silent fans, but they are still your fans. Keep on creating. Because there is always someone out there who will love what you have made.

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Why do people stop commenting on fics if they’re more than a week or two old? Please comment on old fics. Tell me you like my one shot from 2014. Tell me you like my old multi-chap I finished in 2016 that I spent a year writing. I will be fucking thrilled.

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How to write: ethnicity & skin colour

requested by: anonymous request: How exactly can I describe a characters ethnicity/skin color casually, without it sounding like a specific scene that just exists to describe the skin color? I hope this makes sense lmao… I just want to write a scene where I casually mention someone’s ethnicity or skin color

description of appearance: No matter if skin colour or hairstyle or clothes, a text is more dynamic if you don't dedicate an entire scene/paragraph to it but rather sprinkle the necessary information in here and there. However, there can be instances where it's conducive to the plot to put that entire paragraph (e.g. introducing a new important character with backstory). Otherwise, I'd say try to keep it short and put it where it serves the plot.

ways to incorporate...

... a description of appearance:

when a character makes their first entrance (describe everyone's colouring - POCs' and white characters')

the impression their complexion makes together with their clothes: "the bright yellow of their shirt complemented their dark skin"

the way their colouring interacts with lighting: "the grey weather took away the rosy hue of their fair skin"

when appearances create a contrast: "I immediately noticed them because they were the only other black person"

... ethnicity:

let the characters mention it where it makes sense

regarding the narrator you've chosen for your story, it can also be blended into an inner monologue

include parts of their culture: traditions, terms, family, etc. (this also allows to bring up their ethnicity repeatedly over the story and not only at the beginning)

show their struggles: are they affected by social struggles? then show it!

words to use to describe skin colour:

... basic colour descriptions:

brown

black

beige

white

pink

... more specific colours (try sticking to familiar/common words that can be easily visualised):

amber

bronze

copper

gold

ochre

terracotta

sepia

sienna

porcelain

tan

... prefixes or modifiers (can be easily combined with basic colours):

dark

rich

warm

deep

fair

faint

light

cool

pale

... undertones (pre-dominant colours underneath the skin - often warm or cool, sometimes also neutral and olive):

yellow

orange

coral

golden

silver

rose

pink

red

blue

... avoid food analogies as it's often received as offending, fetishising, and/or objectifying.

That's all I can provide as of now but I'm sure you guys have aspects to contribute. I'm very interested to hear your thoughts, so please feel free to add to this post whatever you like to/can share <3

And for more information, maybe also check out @writingwithcolor for more specialised posts on the topic <3

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never forget your roots

fanfiction.net before they removed the NC-17 stories

going to fanfiction.net at all

going to adultfanfiction.net in the fallout of the great “purge”

figuring out that ain’t nobody actually monitoring NC-17 stories there anyway so just rate it “M”

“please R&R! concrit appreciated!”

warning: lemon

though it may be more on the limey side of lemon

“summary sux just read it”

replying to reviews in the author’s notes

author’s notes in which the characters talk to each other and the author

WRITING HELP/CHARACTER

writing a bitchy character (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)

writing a cocky character (1,2,3,4)

writing a emotion character (1,2)

How to play a hippie

Playing the quiet character.

Portraying the shopaholic.

Portraying a mute character.

Portraying a kleptomaniac.

How to play the stalker.

Writing distant, indifferent characters.

How to write a character who stutters.

Writing a character who is sassy.

A guide to playing a southern character.

Portraying characters with crushes.

How to portray a teen mom.

How to play a character who is mean.

How to portray a character high on cocaine.

Writing a character who is high on amphetamines.

Playing an efficient male character.

Portraying the asshole.

Playing a character who suffers from shyness.

How to play a mentally ill/insane character.

Writing a character who self-harms.

Writing a happy character.

Writing a character who suffers from night terrors.

Writing a character with paranoid personality disorder.

How to play a victim of rape.

How to RP a blind character.

Writing a leader.

Writing a character with Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Writing a character with depression.

Writing a character who is homosexual.

Writing a character with schizophrenia.

Playing a fe/male character.

Writing a character with Nymphomania.

How to write a worry wart.

How to write a character with HPD.

How to write a bad ass character.

Playing a pansexual.

Tips on writing a drug addict.

Tips on writing the pregnant female.

Writing insane characters.

Playing a character under the influence of marijuana.

Portraying a character with diabetes.

How to play a prankster.

Playing a character who has been adopted.

Portraying a vampire.

Playing a character with an eating disorder.

Portraying a character who is anti-social.

Portraying a character who is depressed.

How to portray someone with dyslexia.

How to portray a character with bipolar disorder.

Portraying a character with severe depression.

How to play a serial killer.

Writing a tomboy.

Playing a pyromaniac.

How to write a mute character.

How to write a character with an OCD.

How to play a stoner.

How to write an asexual character.

How to play a bitchy/vicious character.

How to play a character with HPD.

Playing a pregnant woman.

Playing the burn-out.

Writing a “nice” character.

How to play a gentleman.

How to play a shy/introvert character.

How to play a naive character.

Playing characters with memory loss.

How to write a character who smokes.

How to write pirates.

How to write characters with PTSD.

How to play a character who isn’t ready for sex.

How to play the geek.

Playing the manipulative character.

Portraying a character with borderline personality disorder.

Playing a character with Orthorexia Nervosa.

Writing a character who lost someone important.

Playing the bullies.

Portraying the drug dealer.

Playing a rebellious character.

How to portray a sociopath.

How to play a swimmer.

Portraying a ballerina.

Playing a promiscuous male.

Playing a character with cancer.

How to portray a bubbly character.

How to portray a power driven character.

How to portray the shy character.

Playing a character under the influence of drugs.

Playing a character who struggles with Bulimia.

Portraying a hippie.

Portraying sexually/emotionally abused characters.

Playing a character with asthma.

Portraying characters who have secrets.

Portraying a recovering alcoholic.

Portraying a sex addict.

How to play someone creepy.

Portraying a foreigner.

Portraying an emotionally detatched character.

How to play a character with social anxiety.

Portraying a character who is high.

How to play a strong, female character.

Writing a character with a hangover.

Playing angry characters.

Playing a character who is smarter than you.

Playing and writing autistic characters.

Portraying a trans character.

How to portray a dominant character.

Playing a character who is faking a disorder.

Playing a prisoner.

Playing the opposite sex.

Portraying a character who has PTSD.

Playing a character who stutters.

Portraying characters with Aspergers Syndrome.

How to play a depressed character who selfharms.

Portraying the “dumb” character.

How to portray a lesbian.

How to play a blind character.

How to play a sexual assault victim.

Writing a compulsive gambler.

Writing a closeted character.

Playing a werewolf.

Writing a character with an addiction to sex.

Writing a character who is drunk.

Portraying a character who is British.

Playing a Brit.

Portraying a character with amnesia.

Playing heroes.

Portraying a witty character.

How to play an INTJ.

How to play a vampire.

How to play a character who is manipulative.

Portraying the natural born leader.

Portraying the character who is flirtatious.

Writing a nice character.

How to portray a character who has asthma.

Playing a character with ADHD.

Writing characters with anxiety.

Amnesia

Children

A Death Scene

Loosing Someone (2)

Old Persons

Physical Injuries (2, 3)

Sexual Abuse (2)

Fight Scenes (2, 3, 4)

Horror

Torture

How to Describe the Body Shape of Female Characters

Character Apperance Help

Words to Describe Voice

Body Language Cheat Sheet

Character Development Exercises

101 Character Development Questions

Art of Character Development

Introducing Characters

Characters You Need to Reinvent

Making Characters Likeable

Heros and Villains

Describing Clothing

Understanding Body Language

100 Positive Traits

Mental Illness in Writing

Conflicts and Characters

JOBS/HOBBIES

Actors

Ballet Dancer (2)

Christianity

Foreigners

Gamblers

Hinduism

Hitmen

Satanism

Smokers

Stoners

Taoism

Journalists

Vegetarians

LOCATIONS

Australia

Boston

California (2, 3)

England/Britain (2, 3, 4, 5)

New York

Prison

London

The South (2)

GENDERS

Females (2)

Males (2)

Transgender People

NAMES

Female Names (2, 3, 4, 5)

Male Names (2, 3, 4, 5) 

Last Names  (2, 3, 4)

QUOTES

Song Lyrics Masterlist

Songs for Biographies

Favorite Quotes: TV and Movies

Favorite Quotes: Notable Authors

Favorite Quotes: Celebrities

Favorite Quotes: Popular Books (2)

Quotes From Songs

Character Quotes

Masterlist of Bio Lyrics

Masterlist of Bio Quotes

Masterlist of Song Lyrics

Biography Lyrics

A Masterlist of Quotes

+130 Quotes

SMUT

Smut Guide: Casual Sex

Smut Guide: For Beginners

How to: Write a First Time Sex Scene Romantically

How to: Smut - The Bare Bones

How to: Smut (For Virgins)

How to: Write Lesbian Smut

How to: Write Smut (2, 3)

How to: Write a Blowjob/Prepping for Smut

Smut Guides of Tumblr

Tips on Writing Sex Scenes

A Guide to Language in Smut

Domination and Submission

Making Love

A Smut Guide

KISSES

How to: Write a Kiss (2)

Different Types of Kisses

Writing Out the First Kiss

GRAMMAR

Placement of Speech Tags

Grammar and Spelling

Grammar Slammer!

American vs. British Grammar

HyperGrammar

Grammar Girl

Punctuating Dialogue

How to Use the Semicolon

Introduction to the Basic Rules of Punctuation

Comma 101

All About Dialouge

11 Grammar Tips

Comma Usage

Correct Use of Apostrophe

Proofreading

Transition Words

40+ Tips to Improve your Grammar and Punctuation

Better Writing: Grammar & Spelling

Semicolons and Colons

Underlining and Italicizing

Dashes and Parentheses

Hyphens

Apostrophes

The Ellipsis

List of 1000+ Adjectives

ART

painting tutorial

colour palette (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)

drawing clothe folding

avoiding drawing the same face

draw ice

anatomy help

free drawing program (1) (2)

sai brushes (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)

draw hair

drawing ref

dont know what to draw?

draw 3D room tut

drawing eyes

lip tutorial

how to draw jeans

how to draw arms

expression tutorial

drawing hair and fur

drawing cats

pose reference blog [its actually a blog full of references i-]

download photoshop

paint blood

color blender

draw hands

hands 2

photoshop help (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

remove backgrounds from images online

clouds

brush setting ref (SAI)

kissing ref 

how to draw curls

realistic woman body ref

draw knees

draw feet

shadow help

male body

lips ref

contouring and highlighting

draw wings

change images using blur (PS)

gray

hat ref

glowing stuff

pastel colors

draw grass

eyeliner ref

Painting tutorial

Female/male arms

Kneeling + Sitting ref

Dragon head view tutorial

SAI brushes 86786

Drawing expressions

Sai Brushes 1

NGE colour palette 1

100+ colour palletes

Avoiding same face

Face contours/highlighting

free art MyPaint

Body anatomy help 1

How to shift images using blur in PS

Drawing clothe folding

How to draw ice

Colour palette 1

Colour palette 2

SAI brush settings 2

SAI/PS pixel brushes

Warm/Cool gray

Flower crown tutorial

Skin colour palette

Pink colour sheet

How to draw butts&thighs

The male torso

Drawing glowing stuff in SAI

Drawing horse/animal legs on humans

Drawing clouds

Muscular male with bow stock photos

Pastel colours

Drawing grass fields in SAI

Expressions&Legs

All about the human body

20+ colour palettes 

Colour conversion

Kissing ref

Creature design 

Colour meanings

Creating expression

Tutorial masterpost (100+)

Lineart

Canine

How to colour

Pose studies

Feline comparisons

How to draw penis

Leaf pressing

100+ anatomy references 

How to draw folds

SAI brushes 3

Sitting poses

Colour palette 4

Cloud painting

How to draw 3D rooms

Colour info

Colouring ref

Hair tutorial

Clothing ref

Bodies and poses

SAI brushes 5

Colour scheme designer

Folding ref

Heads&Angles 

Paint tool SAI masterpost

Drawing ref masterpost (10+)

Hair+Fur

How to draw faces

SAI brushes 4

Anatomy of mutant humans

What should I draw?

Free art software

pastel colour ref

Mass art ref

Soft SAI brushes

ways to draw stuff

SAI brush settings

baseball cap ref

Penis ref

Drawing human wings

Cool free art software

Huge art ref

Colour blender

2 SAI brushes

Photoshop for free 

MAKEUP

eyeliner

how to apply blush

how to draw eyebrows

ombre eyeliner

lipstick trick

the kitty eye ^.^

nude lips

smokey eye make up

what you need to know about beauty

5 of the best foundations

best powder foundations

quick foundation tip

how to apply liquid foundation

breaking it down

makeup highlights tutorial

blush for your skin tone

how to apply bronzer

how to contour your face

apply blush like a pro

blush according to your face shape

d.i.y. gel liner

get the perfect winged liner

get winged liner using tape

awesome eyeliner tricks

9 different eyeliner looks

different eyeliner styles

guide to applying eyeshadow

suit your eyeshadow to your eyes

glittery smoky eye

get the perfect smoky eye

a shade for every occasion

kool-aid lip stain

best lipsticks for blondes

hot red lips

how to get gradient lips

lipstick shades for fall

how to make any lipstick look matte

get soft kissable lips

long lasting makeup tricks

victoria’s secret model tips

saving face

beginner’s guide

when will it expire?

10 makeup tips from mac

best tips from professionals

18 beauty essentials

basics you should own

make-up brush tutorial

brush tricks

clean your makeup brushes

make-up brush guide

make up hacks

easy make up tips

BODY CARE

the runaway to gorgeous skin

winter dryness

acne foundation routine

wash your face correctly

how to wash your face 101

HAIR

messy bun tutorial

different ways to braid

three-braid updo

waterfall braid

how to fishtail

romantic curls

braid + bun updo

how to do pastel hair

8 ways to wear a bow

4-strand braid

braided bun

braided headband

dutch braid crown

pin curls!

how to contour

everyday makeup routine

lipstick using crayons

eyeliner ref wow

filling in eyebrows

banana facial mask (moisturizes)

strawberry facial mask (acne prone skin)

avocado facial mask (dry skin)

yogurt facial mask (sensitive skin)

list of oils to add to your face masks

already made masterpost :*

OTHER

sleep calculator

survive nature

rain

tumblr music

calming rain

need a hug?

like the sound of a coffee shop?

can’t remember the name of a song?

the thoughts room

how to love yourself

upload anything from your iPhone etc. to your laptop

learn another language

make HUGE unpoppable bubbles

play some piano

draw a stick man and watch the story!

thousands of stars (you can zoom in/out and learn about them)

check if a username is taken (any site! twitter/tumblr, etc)

draws stuff as you move your curser

tell your thoughts to no one

play with cob web

make music with balloons

learn to play the guitar

learn to build a ship in a bottle

learn origami

learn some yoyo tricks

make your own stuffed animals

how to decorate iphone cases

make a candle

important things you should remember

how to kill your anxiety

how to help someone with their anxiety

look for literally any book you want (free)

waterproof your shoes

know what your emotion is

how to love yourself

ultimate writers resources masterpost

learn how to make punk edits without photoshop

dont know what to read?

learn a new habit

how to answer the top 35 asked questions when applying for a job

want to draw?

The quiet place

MOVIES

Giant Movie masterpost

Disney movies masterpost

Superhero movies masterpost

Movies for when you’re sick

Scary movies masterpost

Tumblr dedicated to finding movie links

When to pee during a movie

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idk if anyone will find this useful, but this is how i go about planning my stories. i mostly write fantasy, so that’s what this is most applicable to. but it could work with other genres too.

so there’s three major components to a story: the characters, the plot, and the world. creating them individually is the easy part, but they all connect and affect each other in different ways. (like you can’t have a character who loves peaches and eats them every day if they live a peasant in a region that doesn’t grow peaches, for example.)

so i created a cheat sheet to help connect all three components together.

1) the world creates the characters.

this is related to the peach example above. the characters should be a direct result of the environment they grew up in and the environment they currently live in.

2) the characters are limited by the world.

also related to the peaches. characters can’t do anything outside of what the rules of their surroundings and universe allow, such as eating peaches when they’re not available. this also applies for magic users. they can’t have unlimited magic, so keep in mind what you want out of both the characters and the world when creating magic systems.

3) the characters carry the plot.

we’ve all heard it before: “bad characters can’t carry a good plot. good characters can carry a bad plot.” but we all like a good plot anyway. try to make sure you’re not giving your characters too heavy or too light of a plot to carry.

4) the plot pushes the characters.

if nothing in the plot happens, your characters will remain static forever. if you struggle with plots, try starting with what character development you want to happen, then go from there.

5) the plot depends on the world.

you can’t overthrow the evil government if there isn’t one. think of what your world needs most and what your plot is centered around, and fit those two together.

6) the world is changed by the plot.

even if your plot is centered around something most of your world would call “insignificant”, the world will still experience some change from the plot. either the evil government will be gone, or maybe that one teacher is now way more careful about keeping an eye on the test key. either way, the world will be different from now on.

final note: usually people will be able to write one or two of the components with ease, but don’t know where to go from there. i personally can’t write plots, but thinking this way has really helped me actually make a story out of the world and characters because i looked at what i needed from what i had. i really hope this can help you too! happy writing!

tl;dr this is a cheat sheet to help anyone who struggles with writing one or two of what i consider the three major components to a story.

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the venn diagram of ideas i have and content i’ve produced is two separate circles

Prompt #347

“Okay, I have an idea.”

“What?”

“Let’s just be honest with each other for five minutes. For five minutes whatever we say right now is going to be completely honest and after the five minutes are up, we can choose to forget about this or remember it.”

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