Unblockingwritersblock:“Writing Software Is Interesting Because It Can Be So Varied. Some People Prefer

Anonymous asked: One piece of advice I hear given is to read books to learn how to write. How do I do that?

I like to have white or ambient noise playing while I study, so I thought I’d share a list of my favourite websites in case anyone else was interested.

Rainymood - Allows you to play rain, with suggestions of ambient music to play at the same time. Has an iOS and Android app, my personal favourite.

Calm - A visually beautiful website. Provides moving backgrounds and an option for guided calm which allows you to immerse yourself in the music and to relax. Has a free app for iPhone. Another one of my favourites.

Showertime - The experience of taking a shower without the water. Allows you to control features such as length of shower, size of room, water pressure, etc.

Coffitivity - The background noise of a coffee shop. Allows you to choose between different locations such as lunchtime lounge, morning murmur  etc. Has an app for iOS and Android as well as a desktop app for OS X.

Soundrown - A website with a sleek minimalist design, allows you to choose between rain, coffee shop, ocean, fire, bird noises, or a combination of the five.

Relaxing Snow - Visually beautiful falling snow, the website gives you the opinion to play music with the scenery, or to choose your own.

Raining.Fm - This website gives you the ability to adjust the rain to exactly how you’d like it, with options to tweak thunder, rain and storm noises. Has an app for iOS and Android, as well as a timer and snooze option.

Rain For Me - Simple rain effects with the option to download the audio files for offline listening.

Snowy Mood - Inspired by Rainy Mood, this website really makes you feel like it’s winter. Perfect for playing while snuggled up in a warm bed.

Rainy Cafe - Combines the sounds of a bustling cafe setting with the sounds of drizzling rain. Allows you to select the volume of each setting, or turn one off completely.

https://english.radio.cz/beavers-build-planned-dams-protected-landscape-area-while-local-officials-still-8841536

A beaver colony in the Brdy region has gained overnight fame by building several dams in the Brdy protected landscape area, creating a natural wetland exactly where it was needed. It saved the local authorities 30 million crowns, and has the public cracking jokes about public administration and red tape.

The administration of the Brdy protected landscape area, which had gained approval for the 30 million crown project, was dealing with red tape and seeking the respective building permits from the Vltava River Basin authorities when the dam project was completed almost overnight by a local colony of beavers.

They could not have chosen their location better –erecting the dams on a bypass gully that was built by soldiers in the former military base years ago, so as to drain the area. The revitalization project drafted by environmentalists was supposed to remedy this. Bohumil Fišer, head of the Brdy Protected Landscape Area Administration says Nature took its course and the beavers created the necessary biotope conditions practically overnight.

Give a man a guitar and he’ll play for a day, teach a man guitar and today is gonna be the day that they’re gonna throw it back to you.

Bragi, probably. (via incorrectedda)

@edderkopper

Dark blue-ground festival kimono decorated with sea creatures, first half 20th century. Cloth: cotton; tsutsugaki (freehand resist) The John R. Van Derlip Fund and the Mary Griggs Burke Endowment Fund established by the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation.

Yeah, that sums it up nicely.

The two keys to recovery.

True. And also not enough time.

If there’s one thing I learned since I signed up on 05/15/2013 1:18:10 PM, it’s that #freyja aesthetics takes up too much of my time.

13))

countdown

16 days to 2015 and I still think I’m in 2012

There's something magical about old pictures of stars

Andromeda Galaxy, 1925 Around The Pleiades, 1932 Cygnus Wall, 1910 North America Nebula, c. 1920

How can I write a villainous character and convey that they do truly horrible things, without worrying about triggering my readers?

I might not be the most popular person with this answer, but here we go.

Hannibal Lecter gives no fucks.

While I don’t know of any author who purposefully sets out to trigger a reader, you cannot worry about triggers when you’re writing a villain. You just can’t. Otherwise, you end up with a straw man for a villain and your story goes to hell. Seriously, do you think Hannibal Lecter worried about triggering people? How shitty would Silence of the Lambs have been if he did?

Instead of triggers, you need to focus on that character’s motivations. What is driving him or her? Why are they doing what they do? Rarely do people kill/torture/rape for the lulz- and if they do, there’s probably pathological issues at work. Above all else, that character’s motivations need to be crystal clear to you.

Many people starting out don’t develop their villains because they don’t want to think about those motivations. It’s uncomfortable at best, agonizing at worst, and your mind goes to some very dark places. In a way, they become more terrifying the more relatable you make them. I know because one of my villains is a pedophile/serial killer*. I wince when I write that he likes orange marmalade and Earl Grey tea, or that he insists on punctuality.

Now, if you’re looking for an author who develops phenomenal villains, I think Thomas Harris is right up there. He’s the mind behind Hannibal Lecter, “Buffalo Bill”, and “The Tooth Fairy”. It’s safe to say he has penned some of the terrifying and vicious characters in fiction in the past 30 years. His villains have quirks, charisma, and can make you laugh or even experience a fleeting moment of sympathy. They have tremendous depth and are a joy to read. Find an author that can make you hate to love a villain and aspire to that.

Coming back to trigger warnings. Please do not misunderstand me. I’m not saying don’t have them. They are an invaluable heads up to your readers that there’s graphic/intense content ahead, but they do have their limits. One simple reason is anything can be a trigger. I knew people who’s triggers include the sound of a telephone ringing, the smell of coffee, and lawnmowers. You simply can’t tag everything that might set someone off, and I’m saying this as someone with triggers of her own. What I find helpful in addition to a warning, is a rating and summary. I include the rating because what causes a trigger warning in a YA novel has a different threshold for something that is geared towards Mature audiences. That way, readers have context and can make an informed decision. 

In case you haven’t noticed, I really like talking about villains. In fact, my MC’s are all villains in their own right. My challenge was to dream up villains so bad, they’d make the MC’s look like heroes. And you know what? I loved every, freakin’ second of it.

-Graphei

*yes I said villains (plural- i made more than one) and if you think there isn’t a Rogue in Batman who fits that description, you haven’t done your homework.