Ally’s Super-Special Awesome Sherlock Giveaway!
I got an extra set of Sherlock Cluedo for Christmas, so I figured I should give it away to some lucky tumblr user. I’ve also decided to add in a couple extra things!As pictured above, this giveaway includes:
- Sherlock Cluedo
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes book with an introduction by Mark Gatiss
- four Sherlock bookmarks made by me (with help from my sister who is awesome and sweet)
The winner will also receive a fanfiction written by me. Hooray!
RULES:
- I’ll count both likes and reblogs.
- You can reblog as many times as you like, but just be mindful of your followers and such.
- I’ll be using a random number generator to choose the winner.
- You DO NOT have to be following me to participate.
- The deadline is April 30th, 2013, 11:59 PM MDT.
- Please make sure your askbox is open so I can contact you if you win!
I WILL SHIP INTERNATIONALLY.
Once the deadline passes, I will choose the winner within the following week.
Good luck everyone!
List of British words not widely used in the United States.
Lists of words having different meanings in American and British English.
List of American words not widely used in the United Kingdom.
I Promise I’m Not a Murderer: The Story of a Researching Writer
now with a sequel:
I Swear I’m Not Pregnant, I’m Just Naming Characters
Don’t forget: I’m not Trying to Break Into This Building, I Just Need to Know the Layout of it
I’m Not Really Looking for a Prostitute, My Character Is
do you guys remember that one post about how men feel entitled to take up so much space and women have to deal with a lot less?
This is actually a documented thing. You always see men on the subway or tube or whatever using both armrests while women sit with their arms hunched together into their laps. That’s why I always make a point to take up at least one if not both armrests of the tube so men can be uncomfortable for once.
^ again, for all the people telling me posting this picture is complaining too much.
In my college classes (and high school too) guys were always stretching, sticking fists and elbows in my face, leaning their heads back over my desk, over my work, spreading their legs out, kicking my bag with their dirty shoes. And let’s not pretend they were in other guys’ space as much as they were in women’s.
It’s so true, this happens to me every day on the train. Same with the walking thing, women will weave out of the way whereas men just walk straight and plow down anything in their path. I always end up playing chicken with men on the sidewalk now, because I refuse to move out of their way.
I love playing chicken with dudes who hog the sidewalk. BODY CHECK! Fucking assholes.
“NOT ALL MEN ARE LIKE THIS!” FUCK OFF.
“AS A MAN, I THINK THAT…” FUCK OFF.
Men always have the same defensive bullshit to spout every time they get called out on their shit. AND IT IS BORING. They remind me of those toys where you pull a string an they have like 5 phrases they can say. Over and over and over.
same here with playing chicken, its hilarious sometimes because they get this flash of realization in their eyes that says ‘holy shit, she’s NOT going to move/??? what do????’ because THEY ARE SO USED TO EVERYONE MOVING FOR THEM
when i was younger my grandpa drew this on a piece of paper,
and he asked me how i, as the red circle, would get around the two people (black circles) if i was walking down the street.
so of course i came back with
moving out of the way for them as i walked.
he asked me if i thought men would do the same and, at the time, i did because i thought it was just common courtesy. but he told me that men would barrel straight through without giving a shit and that i should do the exact same. because i was the one walking and they were the ones in the way. so that’s exactly what i do.
i find this really fascinating because this actually what defines so-called masculine and feminine traits and gestures. the whole limp-wrist thing? that’s someone decreasing the amount of space they take up by not extending their arm fully. same with crossing one’s legs, how it’s considered more masculine to swing your shoulders when you walk creating a wider gait instead of your hips, how someone who holds their elbows tightly into their torso instead of letting them fall more loosely at their sides is considered feminine.
taking up space is not just a frequent habit of males in our culture, its actually how society thinks masculinity is supposed to be expressed.
So I read this the other day and seeing as I am one of very few girls in an all boys school, I decided I would try walking through the corridor without moving aside for any one. I hadn’t gone ten steps before a boy who was at least 3 years younger than me charged square into me because he was so expectant that I would move out his way
Just wanted to put my two cents in, but you know that move that they person in front of you will do in at least one of your classes each year where they stretch and lean back and totally cover up your paper and your entire freakin’ desk with no regards to the fact that you’re trying to work?
When was the last time you saw a girl do it?
At first I thought maybe it was a height thing, but I’ve seen boys shorter than me (I’m 5’4” fyi) doing it and never seen a girl who I’ve known since the fourth grade and whose over six feet tall do it.
Body Language Cheat Sheet for Writers
As described by Selnick’s article:
Author and doctor of clinical psychology Carolyn Kaufman has released a one-page body language cheat sheet of psychological “tells” (PDF link) fiction writers can use to dress their characters.
Useful to remember!
Thank you!!! This is perfect! :D
A short list of several types of poison and their effects.
Oh, excellent. I like this.
characters
riiiight
#conan doyle would have a field day
I said that I’d show some tutorials I have saved up to someone, but decided that I’d just go ahead and post most of what I have stored away and create a sort of masterpost out of it. (I figure it’ll help me just as much since, as of now, they’re all pretty scattered between my Tumblr and bookmarks)
A lot of these are hosted on my personal Tumblr, but I don’t change my url so it’s pretty safe to bookmark them there (and not have to worry about the url changing) if you don’t wish to reblog them yourself for whatever reason.
Feline tutorials:
- Basic domesticated cat tutorial
- The domestic cat body
- Improving upon (lion) anatomy
- Realistic lion faces tips
- Big cat paw tips
- Canine vs. feline - paws and legs
- Beginner feline tutorial
- Guide to big cats
- Feline comparison
- Canine vs. feline - facial anatomy
- Canine vs. feline - chest anatomy
- Guide to little cats
- Big cat eyes (could work for other eyes)
Canine tutorials:
- Basic wolf anatomy
- Skeleton notes on wolf legs
- The wolf skeleton as a whole
- The wolf skull and teeth
- Wolf paw tips
- Basic canine poses
- Canine ears and chest
- Drawing realistic wolves
- Basic wolf tutorial
- Wolf paw tutorial
- Paw pad tips
- Wolf skeleton and muscles
- Wolf fur direction
- Canine vs. feline - paws and legs
- Canine vs. feline - facial anatomy
- Canine vs. feline - chest anatomy
- And this is just an excellent DA for wolf reference images
Avian tutorials:
- Bird wing anatomy applied on humanoids
- Bird wing tutorial (lots of underrated tips)
- Varying bird wing structure
- Basic owl anatomy
- Bird wing vs. bat wing vs. pterodactyl wing vs. human arm
- Bird wings and flight
- Various bird wings
Human(oid) tutorials:
- Hand tips and reference
- Simplifying human anatomy
- Feet and shoes tutorial
- Bird wing anatomy applied on humanoids
- A guide to movement: flexibility
- A male shoulder study
- Altalamatox face tutorial
- Male legs reference
- The human hand
- Male vs. female waist
- Excellent expressions tut
- Understanding anatomy part 1 (follow desc. links for more)
- Painting skin
- Simplifying hands
- More simplified hands
- Pose tutorial
- Varying the female figure
- Profile proportions
- Expression tutorial
- Virtual lighting studio
- Breaking up the male torso
- Male torso anatomy in use
- Simplifying the human foot
- Various facial and body shapes reference
- Drawing the nose
- Female anatomy patterns
- Human mouths
- Breaking down the human nose
- How to draw the ear
- More hand(y) tips
- Neck and torso tut
- Jawline and kissing tip
- Yet another hands tutorial
- Male torso in motion
- The human head at various angles
- Variation of colour throughout the skin
- Excellent action and couple references
- Advice on eyes
- Feet reference drawings
- Nose shapes
- The human skull and face
- Facial features
- Portrait lighting cheat sheet
- Animating dialogue (mouth movement)
- A kissing tutorial
- The fist
- Various athletic builds
- Various types of hair
- Proportional height of different positions
- Expressions photo references
- The hand in motion
- Skintone palettes
- Semi-realistic eye tutorial
- Male muscle reference
- The human body in perspective
- The human head at various angles
- Painting a realistic eye
- Arm shape and muscles
- Animal feet on a human figure
- Hand poses
- The face in profile
- Skin tutorial
- Body type diversity
- Drawing hair
- Muscles in the neck and face
- A beginner’s guide to knees
- Another ladies tutorial
Dragon tutorials (and bat wings):
Equine tutorials:
- Basic horse (back) reference
- The equine skeleton
- Horse anatomy and pointers
- A good, large collection of horse stock references
- Skeleton of a horse and its rider
Cervine tutorials:
Ursine tutorials:
Background and objects tutorials:
- Griffsnuff background tut part 1 (second in desc.)
- Tree tutorial
- Realistic gems tut
- Water tutorial
- General water tutorial
- Drawing crystals
- Drawing bows
Clothing tutorials:
- Fabric tutorial
- Clothing folds part 1 (second in desc.)
- Drawing hoods
- Drawing jeans
- Hat on human figure reference
- Armor
- More hat on figure references
General painting, drawing, and style tips:
- Altalamatox digital painting walkthrough
- Simple fur tutorial
- Realism painting tutorial (human subject)
- Excellent colour tutorial
- Painting a wolf (good fur painting visual)
- Photoshop brushes tut
- Basics of Photoshop tutorial
- Another digital painting tutorial
- Common digital painting mistakes
- Colour and light
- Soft cel-shading tutorial
- Various types of hair
- Colour tips and the mood it expresses
- Composition tips
- Lighting and colour tips
- Shadows
- Another composition tut
Hope these help!
So many tutorials! I’ll be spending my last weekend before Nagranowrimo looking at these.
22 Best Writing Tips
These writing tips cover the basics and the most important aspects of writing.
- Do it. Write.
- Read as much and as often as you can. Remember, every writer is a reader first.
- Keep a journal or notebook handy at all times so you can jot down all of your brilliant ideas.
- Make sure you have a dictionary and thesaurus available whenever you are writing.
- Be observant. The people and activities that surround you will provide you with great inspiration for characters, plots, and themes.
- Invest in a few valuable resources starting with The Chicago Manual of Style, and The Elements of Style.
- Grammar: learn the rules and then learn how to break them effectively.
- Stop procrastinating. Turn off the TV, tune out the rest of the world, sit down, and write.
- Read works by highly successful authors to learn what pleases publishers and earns a pretty penny.
- Read works by the canonical authors so you can understand what constitutes a respectable literary achievement.
- Join a writers’ group so you can gain support from the writing community and enjoy comradery in your craft.
- Create a space in your home especially for writing.
- Proofread everything at least three times before submitting your work for publication.
- Write every single day.
- Start a blog. Use it to talk about your own writing process, to share your ideas and experiences, or to publish your work to a reading audience.
- Subscribe to writing blogs on the Internet. Read them, participate, and enjoy!
- Use writing exercises to improve your skills, increase your talent, and explore different genres, styles, and techniques.
- Let go of your inner editor. When you sit down to write a draft, refrain from proofreading until that draft is complete.
- Allow yourself to write poorly, to write a weak, uninteresting story or a boring, grammatically incorrect poem. You’ll never succeed if you don’t allow yourself a few failures along the way.
- Make it your business to understand grammar and language. Do you know a noun from a verb, a predicate from a preposition? Do you understand tense and verb agreement? You should.
- You are a writer so own up and say it out loud: “I am a writer.” Whether it’s a hobby or your profession, you have the right to this title.
- Write, write, write, and then write some more. Forget everything else and just write.
SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A FANTASY: Writing what you don’t know.
Hello again writer. I wasn’t sure you’d come back.
Me either.
Well, you know. I didn’t make your work look easy, that was for sure. I feel like maybe we should start over fresh on writing culture. Sure, I maintain what I’ve said there, and here, but I feel like I could explain some things better.
Does this mean I didn’t have to do all that research I did?
No. We’re keeping all that research. But I want you to set it aside for a moment. We’re going to talk about Culture, Appropriation, and Writing things you don’t know.
But we’re supposed to write what we know, right?
Kind of. That’s what I’m getting at here. Obviously if you only ever wrote what you knew, you might not write much - ouch - but only because you don’t know everything! I’m going to assume you’re going to write things you’ve never actually experienced before, however. It’s an inevitability of fantasy. You’ve never flown on a dragon, or bandied about a stick that levitated things, or I don’t know, operated a steamship. But writing those and making them believable, while it takes effort, is not the big problem in writing Fantasy.
It’s not?
The Dos and Don’ts By James V. Smith Jr.
Don’ts
- Don’t introduce any new characters or subplots. Any appearances within the last 50 pages should have been foreshadowed earlier, even if mysteriously.
- Don’t describe, muse, explain or philosophize. Keep description to a minimum, but maximize action and conflict. You have placed all your charges. Now, light the fuse and run.
- Don’t change voice, tone or attitude. An ending will feel tacked on if the voice of the narrator suddenly sounds alien to the voice that’s been consistent for the previous 80,000 words.
- Don’t resort to gimmicks. No quirky twists or trick endings. The final impression you want to create is a positive one. Don’t leave your reader feeling tricked or cheated.
Dos
- Do create that sense of Oh, wow! Your best novelties and biggest surprises should go here. Readers love it when some early, trivial detail plays a part in the finale.
- Do enmesh your reader deeply in the outcome. Get her so involved that she cannot put down your novel to go to bed, to work or even to the bathroom until she sees how it turns out.
- Do resolve the central conflict. You don’t have to provide a happily-ever-after ending, but do try to uplift. Readers want to be uplifted, and editors try to give readers what they want.
- Do afford redemption to your heroic character. No matter how many mistakes she has made along the way, allow the reader—and the character—to realize that, in the end, she has done the right thing.
- Do tie up loose ends of significance. Every question you planted in a reader’s mind should be addressed, even if the answer is to say that a character will address that issue later, after the book ends.
- Do mirror your final words to events in your opener. When you reach the ending, go back to ensure some element in each of your complications will point to the beginning. It’s the tie-back tactic. Merely create a feeling that the final words hearken to an earlier moment in the story.
‘Writers Write’ is a great blog (not on tumblr as far as I’m aware) with writing tips, quotes, and more. Definitely worth checking out!
They’re also on facebook, if anyone’s interested.
Here’s a growing list of sci-fi/fantasy publishers for short fiction being put together by a contact that I sometimes submit my short stories to.
It’s the one piece of writing advice almost everyone hates. Write what you know. One of the reasons it gets a lot of hate is that nobody bothers explaining what it means. I’m betting a lot of people who say it don’t really think about what it means. So let’s look at…
