Tag: important

How to praise writers and influence fics

icybluepenguin:

I’ve seen a lot of posts recently reminding readers to leave feedback on fics, which is great!!  Writers deserve all the love they can get.  Likes, reblogs, comments, messages, these are the lifeblood of writers.  They are proof that people are reading, that they’re enjoying, and that they want more.  

But maybe readers don’t know what to say.  Maybe you’re new to Tumblr, new to reading fan fiction, shy, or just not sure how to say what you want to say.

Let me start by saying, no matter how popular the blog or how cool you think they are, everyone loves a compliment.  If you’re worried about sounding silly or bothering people, let me assure you- a message will make your writer do a happy dance (depending on the writer, they may actually get up and dance.  I have.)

Here’s the basic ways of communicating with writers on Tumblr:

Likes and kudos- these are great, they’re the high-fives in this world.  They’re the “hey, nice” nod.
Reblogs- even better, because they mean exposure.  More people see the story and that makes us really happy.  A reblog with a comment is amazing, especially one that entices others to read.  These make a writer’s day.
Comments and messages- these are the thing that keeps us going.  Most of us have anon turned on- and if we don’t, just let us know you want a private reply.  (And, if your writer has anon off, it probably means they’ve been getting hate and deserve extra love.)
Recommendations- recs are like coming in to work to find someone baked your favorite cake and left it on your desk.  Recommendations make your writer feel so loved and valued!

So, that’s all good, but what do you actually SAY to writers?  It doesn’t have to be much or take a lot of time.

A simple “This is great/funny/hot!” is wonderful.  "Best fic I’ve read this week!“  "Funny as hell and cute too.”  "You have to read this, it’s awesome!“  "I can’t wait for more of this.”  "I hope you keep going!“  These are great in reblogs and in messages.

Even better is specific feedback.  We love specific feedback, because it tells us what readers liked and what they didn’t.  Want to influence our next fic?  Tell us what you liked about this one and I bet you it will keep showing up!  Specific feedback is just telling the writer what you liked.  It doesn’t have to be long or complicated, either.  (But if you write a lot, we will love you so much.)

Was there a character you liked?  Talk about them:  "I love how you wrote X” “Y was so funny!”  "OMG I wanted to STRANGLE Q!“  "You can really feel X’s frustration.”  "Y has so much depth, they’re a really well-rounded character.“  "R says so much with so few words, it’s amazing.”

What about a part or line you enjoyed?  "That bit in the park- LOVE IT.“  "I have never read a better description of a cup of tea.”  "The way you wrote about his fear, that was heartbreaking.“

Was there a part that made you feel something?  Happy, sad, angry?  "That last sentence killed me, he’s so broken.”  "I wanted to jump around when they finally kissed!“  "This chapter was so tense, my heart was pounding by the end.”

Did the characters or plot or setting remind you of your life?  "I live in Brussels, that’s just how that street looks.“  "When Y talked about R, I knew exactly how he felt.”  "You captured that lost, aimless feeling perfectly; I’ve so been there.“

Are there unanswered questions?  Mention how much you want the answers.  "I can’t wait to find out what’s in the basket!”  "That was a cliffhanger ending, wow.“  "How is she going to explain THAT?”  (some writers are touchy about  predicting, though, so stay away from “I bet he’ll throw that letter out.” or “X is clearly coming back.”)

A few closing notes: be enthusiastic if that’s your style, go crazy with exclamation marks, smileys, caps!  Tell a writer if you’re rereading their work- very little makes us happier than knowing our writing has the staying power for a second, third, sixth, tenth read.  Did a reread give you a new insight or feeling about the fic?  Tell us!  We will be so excited to hear.  And remember, recommendations are wonderful- putting up a random post tagging your favorite writers or fics you’re enjoying will show the writers that they’re writing is more than a flash in the opan and they’ll get some new readers too!

We can’t do this writing thing without you guys.  So thank you so much!  Without readers, we’re just talking to ourselves.  We love and appreciate you for reading- but we need to know you’re doing it.  We need feedback like we need air.  Don’t let your favorite writers suffocate! 🙂

One reason that people have artist’s block is that they do not respect the law of dormancy in nature. Trees don’t produce fruit all year long, constantly. They have a point where they go dormant. And when you are in a dormant period creatively, if you can arrange your life to do the technical tasks that don’t take creativity, you are essentially preparing for the spring when it will all blossom again.

Marshall Vandruff, one of the best teachers I have ever had, on artist’s block. Said during a webinar done on Visualarium to advertise his upcoming online course on animal anatomy (source links to webinar)  (via pale-afternoon)

THIS QUOTE HELPS SO MUCH OMG

(via saathi1013)

image

This is actually really important to know – like, the number of times I mentally beat myself up for not producing 2000 words a day like “good” writer friends (remembering also that said writer friends don’t also have normal jobs that take portions of their time and creative energy) when actually it’s totally normal and fine not to be in a constant state of massive creative output.  You just have to trust that even if the ideas aren’t flowing right this very second doesn’t mean they won’t start flowing again soon.

(via llywela13)

musicalmarauder:

raggedick:

OK Tumblr, 

i see a lot of reblogs for Bernie here but we have to make sure we’re taking actions to ensure he has a fighting chance in this arena. His opponents have the money and the media circus backing them but he has us, so let’s run it! 

The primaries are elections held months before the ACTUAL presidential election that basically decide who the main candidates for each party will be, specifically, who will be listed on the ballot in the election in november. if we want Bernie to stand a chance at all he MUST be on the ballot in November. For that to become a reality we need everyone reading this to get them and their friends to vote in the Primaries! I’ve used the site www.voteforbernie.com to list the following info below so you can all see it easily enough and share it with just a click. Check your state below for the appropriate information on when and how to vote in the primaries! 

Below are the registration and voting dates for all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington DC (as a separate voting date). Be sure to register! Click your state to find out how! Below is a key to reading the following information!

Some states have open registration meaning it doesn’t matter which party you’re registered as, you can still vote for Bernie.

*** Some states are CLOSED meaning you MUST be registered as DEMOCRAT by the date’s i’ve listed to vote for Bernie. 

*~* Some states are SEMI-CLOSED meaning you must be registed as DEMOCRAT or UNDECLARED to vote for Bernie.

# means you can register or switch parties the day of voting at the voting station. 

NEW YORK!!! you have less than 30 days to register even tho your primaries aren’t until April. PLEASE GO REGISTER AND TELL EVERYONE ELSE!

Alabama – Tuesday, March 1st (register by February 19th)
Alaska – Saturday, March 26th *** # (register by January 19th)   
Arizona – Tuesday, March 22nd *** (register by February 22nd)
Arkansas – Tuesday, March 1st

(register by January 31st)
California – Tuesday, June 7th *~* (register by May 23rd)
Colorado  – Tuesday, March 1st *** (register by January 1st)
Connecticut – April, 26th *** (register by January 26th)
Delaware – Tuesday, April 26th *** (register by April 2nd
Washington, DC – Tuesday, June 14th*** (register by May 15th)
Florida – Tuesday, March 15th *** (register by February 16th)
Georgia – Tuesday, March 1st (February 1st)
Hawaii – Saturday, March 26th *~* #

(register by February 25th)
Idaho – TBD (check the site early next year!)*~*
Illinois – Tuesday, March 15th *~* #

(register by February 16th)
Indiana – Tuesday, May 3rd

(register by April 4th)
Iowa – Monday, February 1st *~* # (can register day of!)
Kansas – Saturday, March 5th *** (register by March 5th)
Kentucky – Tuesday, May 17th *** (register by April 18th)
Louisiana – Saturday, March 5th *** (register by February 4th)
Maine – Sunday, March 6th *** (register by February 14th)
Maryland – Tuesday, April 26th *** (register by April 5th)
Massachusetts – Tuesday, March 1st *~* (register by February 10th)
Michigan – Tuesday, March 8th

(register by February 7th)
Minnesota – Tuesday, March 1st (register by February 9th)   
Mississippi – Tuesday, March 8th

(register by February 7th)
Missouri – Tuesday, March 15th

(register by February 17th)
Montana – Tuesday, June 7th

(register by May 8th)
Nebraska – Saturday, March 5th *** (register by February 19th)
Nevada – Saturday, February 20th *** (register by January 20th)
New Hampshire – Tuesday, February 9th *~* #

(register by January 30th)
New Jersey – Tuesday, June 7th *** #

(register by May 17th)
New Mexico – Tuesday, June 7th *** (register by May 10th)
New York – Tuesday, April 19th *** (register by October 9th 2015)
North Carolina – Tuesday, March 1st *~* (register by February 5th)
North Dakota TBD (check the site early next year!)
Ohio – Tuesday, March 15th *~* (register by February 14th)
Oklahoma – Tuesday, March 1st *~* (register by February 5th)
Oregon – Tuesday, May 17th *~* (register by April 26th)
Pennsylvania – Tuesday, April 26th *** (register by March 27th)
Puerto Rico – Sunday, June 5th (register date TBD)
Rhode Island – Tuesday, April 26th *~* (register by March 27th)
South Carolina – Saturday, February 27th

(register by January 28th)
South Dakota – Tuesday, June 7th *~* (register by May 23rd)
Tennessee – Tuesday, March 1st

(register by January 31st)
Texas – Tuesday, March 1st

(register by January 31st)
Utah – Tuesday, March 22nd *~* (register by February 21st)
Vermont – Tuesday, March 1st

(register by February 24th)
Virginia – Tuesday, March 1st  (register by February 8th)
Washington – Saturday, March 26th

(register by July 6th)
West Virginia – Tuesday, May 10th*~* (register by April 19th)
Wisconsin – Tuesday, April 5th

(register by March 16th)
Wyoming – Saturday, April 9th*** (register by March 26)

REMINDER: About half of the states allow 17 year olds to vote in the primaries if they will be 18 years of age by the actual election. Check if your state let’s you do this and you can help if it is a state that allows this!

Some Artist Tips you May or May Not Know

ashalina-art:

Just from personal experience.

1: Never try to draw on an empty stomach. You’ll make mistakes and be uncomfortable. (But don’t stuff yourself till you’re sick either.)

2: If you have to go to the bathroom, go. A full bladder or otherwise does serious damage to the attention and patience spans. Plus it gives you time to stretch your legs.

3: Before you ink it, leave it alone. Come back later (a few hours, a day?) and check for major anatomy mistakes. Work on something else while you’re waiting.

4: Stay hydrated! The brain and fine motor skills work better when properly circulated.

5: Do not have an excessive amount of sugar before sitting down to work. You’ll get jittery and impatient. Same goes for immense amounts of caffeine.

6: If you’re stuck, take a break to stand and stretch. Walk around the room. But don’t THINK of it as a break. Just take time to really focus on your body. Loosen it up, get a goooood long stretch and some deep breaths. (but don’t pass out!) It’ll jolt the mind awake and let you really relax a moment.

7: Keep. All. Your. Old. Art. I don’t care what it is. Keep it. Date it if it’s in your computer folders. Make a suitcase filled with it. (I personally have ALL my old art in a thick work folder.)

8: Keep your sketchbooks together, used and unused. If there’s a good sale on sketchbooks, get two or three! You won’t regret it later. There’s no such thing as too many. (I currently have about ten spankin’ new sketchbooks and I know I’ll need/use every single one of them.)

9: Date your sketchbooks. Put a start and finish date on them.

10: I’m afraid I don’t practice this one: date your drawings. You’ll be happy about it later. You don’t need to SIGN every drawing, but do date them. At least date pages.

11: ART BLOCK HAPPENS. Art block is pretty much a CONSTANT state of mind for artists. You’re never out of art block totally. But sometimes you get bursts of inspiration that make it feel like you’re out. So instead of feeling like you’re ill if you suddenly have artblock, remind yourself that this happens all the time, and you get out of it eventually, every time. c:>

12: If you’re REALLY stuck on some bad art block, do what I do.

Draw a brain barf. This is where you take a blank sheet of paper, and you just LET your hand be A.D.D. Draw whatever comes to mind, as it comes to mind. in the middle of drawing a hippo in a top hat but you think of a jolly rancher riding a unicycle? Switch immediately.

Let your brain just vomit all over the page. You’ll be surprised what comes up and what art block this can get you out of. It’s gotten me out of it various times.

13: Take advice from more experienced artists. But do NOT take everything as Gospel. Some people are just wrong.

14: HAND SHYNESS/ ART ENVY/ SELF CONSCIOUSNESS/ AND SKILL IMPATIENCE WILL EAT YOU ALIVE like a Titan. Do not let yourself get shy after looking at ‘better art’, do not let yourself think your art is worthless or your skills are worthless, and do not let yourself get frustrated that you cannot be at a higher skill level RIGHT NOW. Your brain will try to do this. All the time. Keep yourself in check. If you keep going at it, and keep working, you will get better. This is why you keep your old art. Look at it to remind you how far you’ve come.

15: Draw what you like. This is so important. (This does not apply for exploitative art. :l That’s just wrong. So long as you’re not targeting someone harmfully, I guess you’re fine.)

But don’t let people’s preferences dictate what you can and can’t draw. Draw whatever the heck you like. Accept that no matter WHAT there will be someone out there that hates it. Always. This is just a fact of life. But don’t let it get you down. I would have stopped being an artist at day one if I had.

16: You never. Stop. Learning. Ever. You will be old and grey and still be learning new things. That’s okay. That’s the nature of art. Even the ‘pros’ don’t know everything.

I hope these help someone out there~

mementomakomori:

lookninjas:

Just read another post saying that kids shouldn’t learn algebra because they don’t need it and –

I mean, even if we pretend that the process of working your way through a mathematical proof and learning to apply seemingly abstract formulas to the actual work and going back and spotting errors and doing that kind of detail work is absolutely useless to the vast majority of us in our real lives (spoiler alert: IT NOT), you guys do realize that we are not in fact living in some kind of Brave New World dystopia where we are all put in color-coded jumpsuits once we emerge from our test tubes and only the children bred for high IQs are allowed to become scientists while the rest of us shovel shit, right?  We are all the same teeming mass of potential at eleven years old, and the only way to see which direction that potential is going to go is to feed the young brain a little of everything and see what it latches on to.

And also, ALSO, ALSO: 

Do you fucking get why minorities and women are traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields?  Do you?  DO YOU?  IT IS BECAUSE THEY ARE OFTEN DENIED A QUALITY EDUCATION IN SUBJECTS LIKE FUCKING ALGEBRA.  Because they’re not going into STEM fields anyway, so they don’t need it.  Because they’re not going to college, so they don’t need it. Because they’re only going to get married and have children, because they’re only going to be blue-collar laborers, because they’re only going to go to jail.  So they don’t need algebra, because they won’t use it.

Because in the absence of color-coded jumpsuits, we go with other arbitrary labels to choose who our scientists and mathematicians will be.  And I don’t think I need to fucking tell you what they are.

Mathematics is the language of the universe.  It is literally everything we are.  It is how we find our place in the spinning galaxy, our relationship to the sun and the moon and our fellow planets.  It is the smallest chemical reaction in the infinite cells of your body.  It is music, it is architecture.  It is how you know that if you set the cruise control to 80, you’ll be home in two hours (barring traffic).  It is the precise curve of your shirt collar and the humming electronics that allow us to speak to one another no matter where we are.

And you need this.  You do.  Because if you don’t have it, your ability to converse with the whole of creation is limited to “Hello,” “Thank you,” and “Bathroom?”

STOP LETTING PEOPLE TAKE THIS FROM YOU.  This is your birthright as much as it is anyone’s.  Seize that shit with both hands. 

Every student deserves a quality mathematical education that will take them as far as they can go.  We shouldn’t be eliminating algebra.  We should be expanding it!  We need to make sure every kid out there is getting the best damn math classes we can give them.  To teach them not to be afraid of numbers.  To teach them to be excited about it.  To show them the beauty!  Because what algebra can do, and where it can take you?  That’s the stars, man.  That’s the fucking future.

Better algebra.  More passionate algebra.  More enjoyable algebra.

Not less algebra, and definitely not no algebra. 

Also like…this argument is great, I’m not refuting it.

But algebra introduces methods of thinking that are different. You may not solve for x in your regular life, but you may have a problem to solve and you think ‘if these are the parameters by which we are limited, what is the optimum solution’ AND THAT IS ALSO ALGEBRA.

Miraculously, things we learn do not exist in a vacuum.

GASP.

transcendentalbrilliance:

it’s not normal for your boyfriend to ignore you when you want to talk to him.

it’s not normal for your boyfriend to shove you when he’s angry.

it’s not normal for your boyfriend to call you a dumbass or a bitch when you’re in an argument.

it’s not normal for your boyfriend to threaten to leave the relationship every time you defend yourself.

it’s not normal for your boyfriend to invalidate your feelings.

it’s not normal for your boyfriend to not tell you who he’s with or where he’s going.

it’s not normal for your boyfriend to keep making the same detrimental mistake over and over.

it’s not normal for your boyfriend to use your insecurities against you.

it’s not normal for your boyfriend to make you feel guilty for having desires and needs.

it’s not normal for your boyfriend to tell you that you’re stupid when you cry.

it’s not normal for your boyfriend to cheat on you because he’s “just a stupid guy.”

it’s not normal for your boyfriend to rely on you when he doesn’t do a thing for himself.

it’s not normal for your boyfriend to hurt you intentionally.

please stop normalizing toxic romantic relationships. it’s not healthy for your partner to upset you and behave recklessly as long as he apologizes later. apologies mean nothing after he has repeatedly disrespected you. kisses and hugs mean nothing after he has repeatedly disrespected you. public displays of affection mean nothing after he has repeatedly disrespected you. promises mean nothing after he has repeatedly disrespected you. it is not okay for him to hurt you physically or emotionally because he said he’ll change. he hasn’t. he won’t. get out now because THIS! IS! NOT! NORMAL! other couples do not go through this. other couples did NOT have to go through this to be in a happy, wholesome place.

he is manipulative and selfish and he is making you weak every time you agree to stay. even when you feel like “maybe this time, things will be okay,” they won’t – that’s what he wants you to think so you never slip from his grasp. you know as well as i do you’re 50 times overdue for “this is his last chance.” this is not normal.

Before You Hate Your Art Or Stop Drawing

shrineart:

Remember that all those people you think are classic artists and amazing? Yeah a bunch of them did that same shit.

Monet shredded canvases because he didn’t want them shown. He claimed that it was better to show nothing than to show such “mediocre” work.

Gerhard Richter destroyed art that he made that, today, would have been worth hundreds of millions of euros.

Michelangelo made tens of thousands of drawings. We have about 600 left. Because he burned most of the rest.

This is prevalent among the people many of use would consider to be the best of us. Even people like Monet suffer from the idea that their work isn’t good enough or that their work doesn’t meet their expectations.

Do the work anyway. Bad art, art you hate, art you’re not satisfied with? It’s still art. It’s still worth making. And even if you hate it you DO get something out of it.

Trust me, I have gigabytes of sketches on my pc that are never going to see the light of day but they were worth doing.

Everything you do doesn’t have to be perfect. Statistically everything you do simply won’t be perfect.

That doesn’t mean it’s not worth making or that it’s not valuable.