Helpful And Preventative Stretches For Writers, Artists, And Gamers 💪🎨✍🎮

i just found this website that can randomly generate a continent for you!! this is great for fantasy writers

plus, you can look at it in 3d!

theres a lot of viewing options and other things! theres an option on-site to take a screenshot, so you don’t have to have a program for that!

you can view it here!

You want weapons? We're in a library. Books are the best weapon in the world. This room's the greatest arsenal we could have. Arm yourself!

David Tennant as the 10th Doctor. - Doctor Who season 2: "Tooth and Claw"

The internet could change next week, and not in a good way

You may have heard about the efforts in Europe to reform copyright law. The debate has been ongoing in the European Parliament for months. If approved next week, these new regulations would require us to automatically filter and block content that you upload without meaningful consideration of your right to free expression. 

We respect the copyrights and trademarks of others, and we take all reports seriously to ensure that your creative expression is protected. We make this clear in our Community Guidelines. There’s already a legal framework that works and is fair: Today we take down posts and media that contain allegedly infringing content when we receive a valid DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown request. We also provide clear-cut ways for people to fight back if they believe their removed content was not a true violation. These instances are monitored and reported and live in our biannual transparency report. 

The suggestion to use automated filters for issues of copyright is short-sighted at best and harmful at worst. Automated filters are unable to determine whether a use should be considered “fair use” under the law and are unable to determine whether a use is authorized by a license agreement. They are unable to distinguish legitimate parody, satire, or even your own personal pictures that could be matched with similar photographs that have been protected by someone else. We don’t believe that technology should replace human judgment. Tumblr is and always has been a place for creative expression, and these new regulations would only make it harder for you to express yourself with the freedom and clarity you do so now. 

If you access Tumblr from Europe and want to act, you can find more information on saveyourinternet.eu. 

Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader - not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.

E. L. Doctorow

Book Review 2: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Being a wolf lover, I devour YA novels with wolves in it. I’ve done my research and watched documentaries (no one would be able to tell they’re my favorite animals. All the books, movies, and stuffed animals don’t give that away) so my expectations are high. Some authors like Tamora Pierce and Maggie Stiefvater make me very happy with how they write them, it’s clear they actually read up on things. With that rant over, authors like Andrea Cremer have much potential, but the execution makes me want to burn books (which I have sworn against).

Basically, it’s the usual plot of people who can turn into animals. A young girl is the “alpha” of her own pack and is supposed to marry another “alpha” to combine their packs. Naturally, she falls in love with a human boy and has to fight against her desire and duty.

Perhaps my dislike of this book is showing through, but I couldn’t take it seriously and only made it through because I wanted to see how much worse it could get. If Cremer made it clear that these were kids that could change to wolves but were still human, I could forgive it much more and lump it in with the mediocre of the YA genre. But I can’t do that.

Her writing, overall, is forgivable. It isn’t anything special but is bearable and probably the best thing about this novel. The plot is honestly not great, there are many plot holes, the main character is a cardboard cutout (cute, popular, the best in her “pack”, smart) and everyone else is nearly forgettable. I mean I couldn’t even find this book on wikipedia (no lie I spent an hour trying to find it, it’s not there).

Here’s where my rant really begins. It could be a good premise, wolves given powers to change by witches to serve as their protectors (or at least what I can remember of it) and they try to blend into the human world. Sadly, it doesn’t get close to that, and her “wolves” aren’t wolves at all. They’re hormonal teenagers that want to do everyone and have very little in common with a pack. Sure they change, but that’s the end of the similarities. I expected so much more on the wolf end. Like the concept of the alphas mating, fine I can handle it, but not when one of the two has been sleeping with human girls for years and his other members are coerced or genuinely love sleeping around. In a real pack, only the alphas mate in a pack, and only with each other. It’s for life Ms. Cremer!

That’s not even the end of my frustration with her “wolves”. But for some reason they can turn other people into wolves with a bite… Completely out of nowhere, and doesn’t make a lick of sense. Again another plot hole that I couldn’t look past.

I know these books are rather popular, but I loathe them. I see where it could be good; I tried looking at these books less criticality (hard to tell I know) as I know more in the writing world, but that just makes the writer in me more frustrated. It really had the potential to do well and fails in everything other than the writing itself. So I’m sorry if I’ve torn this apart or seem to not be giving it a fair review, but this really did come from a writer/editorial view point.

Perhaps they get better, but I don’t really have a care to give the series a second chance. If you feel differently, then please leave me a note with a fair argument and not looking for a fight.

“Boring when you aren’t around,” he said with a grin. Finishing up his own food and standing, holding out a hand to her. “Indulge me for a second.”

Sadira stared at them in a silent awe, they were gorgeous. It was nearly impossible to pick which one was better. She looked up at him, and smirked. “I could always model them, and you can decide which one looks good enough to deign the Tuuli Thea’s neck.” She pulled out her hair, as her sister often wore it down, and put on rose gold necklace.

She pushed her hair out of the way and made sure it rested on the hollow of her throat before turning to him. “Well?”

Kiesha’Ra RP- Private pt. 8

Araie turned and smiled at her, happy to see she was till alive and that her brother hadn’t chased her off. “Thank you for letting me borrow Aiden, he was a great guide through the Keep.”

Ulyesses scowled and looked away. That large eye sore of a building? 

Mara finished with with Ulyesses’s burn and turned back to her guests. “So, about that tea.”

A month had passed since Sadira had come to the Opries home and Araie had spent most of her nights with Aiden, dancing, laughing, and his attempts at formal courting made her only fall deeper and deeper in love with him.

Ulyesses had avoided leaving his shop the entire month, not even to venture to the nest to seek comfort from one of the dancers there. There was a banquet soon for the celebration of the new royal baby. Though not yet born, serpiente usually held a banquet in celebration of a new family member. Ulyesses did not know what to give his friend.

“Araie…I need you to tell Sadira that I…damn it, need her help with something. Make it quick.” He shooed his sister out of the stall.

I hate how there’s a fan culture where fan writing is seen as less valuable than fan art. Hold on with me here, I’ve got some coherent thoughts on this.

1. Creators of the original work one might be a fan of have explicitly said that they don’t look at or respond to anything written for fear of being sued. Like, shit. I don’t want to sue anyone. I want creators to tell me, “Oh, wow. You took my thing and made it amazing!” Fan art gets reblogged and commented on by creators because there’s no fear of law. Fan art gets more validation and praise than fan writing.

2. Popularity of fan writing increases when there is fan art dedicated to the piece. Fan art is popular no matter if fan writing is made from it.

3. In general, fan art is reblogged and liked more often than fan writing. Art is pretty and might occupy an “aesthetic” while writing is considered to clog up a dash with too many words.

4. Fan art is easy to engage with no matter the demographics of your audience. Writing will–at the very least–limit the age demographic. If you write for an older audience, younger folk might not be into it and vise versa.

5. And unless you’re super into supporting fan writing, you’ll probably not say anything about it. Fan art gets the bare minimum of “gorgeous.”

Abortion is still legal in 49 states! Visit ineedana.com to find a clinic near you.

There is a strong network of abortion funds throughout the country that have provided financial and practical support for decades! Visit http://abortionfunds.org/need-abortion to find your local one.

Anyone interested in promoting abortion access in the United States should donate to Keep Our Clinics to keep independent clinics (which provide 2/3 of abortions) open, or to their local abortion funds!

Anyone who's taking or planning on taking abortion pills at home can call or text ReproCare at 1-833-226-7821 for information, support, and referrals.

There are ways to legally get an abortion without your parents' permission if you are under 18! Visit the Judicial Bypass Wiki to find information specific to each state or call the JB Helpline: 1-844-868-2812

Project “Love Up Fic Writers” is go.  

In light of the recent spike in negativity directed towards fandom writers I’m issuing a personal challenge to myself (and anyone else who wants to join) to perform at least one (1) act of kindness and/or encouragement towards fanfic writers a day for the month of May, particularly towards authors who are often overlooked or are not as well publicized.  

Acts of encouragement include leaving comments, writing notes of appreciation, assembling rec lists, and creating fic illustrations, music, graphics, gifsets, etc, as well as other shows of appreciation not listed.  It can be as casual or labor intensive as your personal comfort level allows (I’m sure a lot of you guys do these things already lol) as long as the act shows your personal appreciation towards the writers in your life.  

Note: Please don’t use this as an opportunity to lash out at popular fandom writers or perceived BNF’s – this is a challenge to uplift the fanfiction writing community as a whole and particularly those who aren’t told often enough how much we appreciate their efforts.  

Erotica vs. Porn.

Warning: this is not my area of expertise and more of an observation. Dime store romance novels get a bad rep, being called “porn for woman”. I disagree but that doesn’t mean I like it. It usually feature the damsel in distress being rescued by the perfectly built hero (who usually is a vigilante or a mysterious stranger). I wouldn’t call them porn, most only have short sex scenes that last for a page or two and are done. Mostly, they’re the same plot with cardboard cut-out characters. Notice the key word? Plot.

Erotica has a plot, a story. No matter how overdone and unoriginal it is story driven. Sex does not fill it cover-to-cover. This doesn’t excuse shoddy writing but it is it’s one saving grace (granted there are some good ones).

Again, don’t be mistaken, erotica is it’s own genre. If you find a book in the fantasy section and it has sex in it, it’s still fantasy. Erotic specifically aims to incorporate sex and sexual tension; it’s the promise of at least one intimate, explicitly detailed (but for the most part tastefully worded), romantic moment between the two main characters. Another key word: romantic.

Porn is not tasteful. Porn is beginning to end sex with hardly any plot, or a horrible plot. There does not need to be any romance. The writing, more often than not, make dime store novels look like a “New York Times Best Seller”.

If you enjoy porn, it’s your life and your choice. I’m not trying to criticize a person’s life, but I bring this up for a few simple reasons: 1) Porn does not need to be video or images, stories can also be porn. 2) Woman in Erotica at least are (for the ones I’ve read) truly loved and are in love. Some are even very independent characters and CAN be likeable. Woman in porn are not like this. They are weak and submissive, bribed or coerced into their relationships. 3) Again, erotica is story driven with a fairly solid (no matter how dull) of a plot. They go through editors and a publishing house to end up on shelves. Porn is written strictly for the sex with little to no imagination put into it. The writing not up to par with erotica. 4) Fifty Shades of Gray is porn and, I admit, the reason for my post.

Sorry if this is overdone, but Fifty Shades of Gray is NOT erotica. It may be published, but it’s all about the sex with no plot. The romance is more of a hoax as Anastasia IS brided back into a relationship with Gray and emotionally blackmailed. And really guys, what other proof do you need than it was a Twilight fanfiction that was even less story and all sex.