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productiveandfree · 1 month

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The Power of Personal Time: Boosting Professional Productivity

If you're like many people, you may prioritize work and focus most of your energy on a fulfilling career while solidifying your chances for advancement. While that’s important and hard work is necessary to succeed, if you’re not taking time for yourself, then you may be doing yourself a great disservice. It’s essential that you practice self-care and plan your week so that you can enjoy your favorite hobbies and unwind. Doing so could be the secret to higher productivity on the job.

There’s much to learn about the importance of personal time and how it can help your career. Educate yourself and use the tips here to succeed at home and work.

You Must Make Time For Yourself

Work is essential, but if it's all you think about, you're setting yourself up for failure. By working nonstop, you're increasing your chances of burnout. While burnout can mean something different to everyone, it often involves losing the passion you once had for your job while feeling physically and mentally exhausted. In addition to potential health concerns, the longer you work without breaks, the higher the chance your quality will decrease, and you could start making mistakes that you wouldn't make otherwise.

According to recent studies, 42% of the global workforce reports burnout, likely because they work too hard or their company requires too much. Compare that number to the happiness of workers who enjoy a work-life balance, as 33% of those employees plan to stay at their jobs and are likely happier with their employer.

A suitable work-life balance will make you more content at work and could lead to increased productivity. Especially if you’re stressed in a fast-paced work setting, taking a break, meditating, and returning refreshed could be what you need to tackle the problem with a refreshed mind frame. Breaks and a strong work-life balance can even help you work with your teams because you'll be in a better mood, which can help you be more patient. The benefits to your work and your physical and mental health make the necessity of personal time a no-brainer.

How To Balance Hobbies With Your Work

You may look at your situation and believe that your job or life doesn't allow you the chance to enjoy your personal time. Remember that there's always an opportunity to make a change and learn to find balance in your daily life.

If your work schedule makes you feel chained to your desk, then your first step is to learn to say no. Yes, you should work your schedule and complete your tasks, but if you're constantly asked to work overtime or you know you're being overworked, you need to stand up for yourself. Do so politely, but put your foot down for your own well-being.

Scheduling is also vital when you're trying to maximize your personal time. Stick to your schedule at work, and when your shift is over, turn off your computer, leave the work phone behind, and enjoy your life. You can also schedule your hobbies. Block out time during the afternoon to work on your gardening or on weekends to work on your art. Set reminders and stick to them. Allow enough time for your hobbies so you can enjoy them and use them to maximize your work at the office.

Hobbies That Can Help Your Work

Filling your free time with fun and productive hobbies is the best way to boost your professional productivity. There are many incredibly fulfilling activities that may catch your interest. Most creative pursuits, from painting to woodworking, are great for your mental health because you get to see something amazing come out of nothing and know that you made it happen. Plus, since most art is subjective, you can think outside the box and apply the same processes to your work.

Many hobbies can be both fun and educational. You may use your off-time to learn a new language or to play an instrument. Pursuits like these allow you to learn new skills while having fun, so it’s less of a chore. It’s good to keep this part of your brain working so you can continue to learn new processes at your job and succeed.

In addition to hobbies, the other best way to maximize your personal time is by practicing self-care, and you can start with exercise. Make it a routine to begin each day with your own exercise routine. Whether it's yoga or weight lifting, this regime will make you physically stronger while also giving you time to think and work through your stress so you can go to the job feeling good.

A healthy diet is also vital to your success in and out of the office. Avoid fast food and trans fats, which can bog you down mentally and physically. A positive diet with fruit, vegetables, and nuts will give you energy and help you stay positive. You can even make cooking a new hobby. Making completed dishes from a handful of ingredients can be incredibly rewarding and boost your self-esteem.

Conclusion

If you're feeling bogged down at work and know that you need to make the most of your personal time, then this is the time to make a change. Find a hobby that fulfills you, and you'll enjoy each new day much more.

Katie Brenneman

Katie is a passionate writer specializing in time management, marketing, and education-related content. When she isn't writing, you can find her with her nose buried in a book or hiking with her dog, Charlie. To connect with Katie, you can follow her on Twitter.

Share in the comments below: Questions go here

#Personal Time #Professional Productivity #Productivity #Time for yourself #burnout #physical exhausted #mentally exhausted #hobbies #work life balance #personal time #take breaks #overworked #practice self-care #stay positive

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artsy-sazy · 2 years

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My experience with getting out of burnout

So as I've mentioned, I basically disappeared from the Internet, lurking in the shadows, for over a year.

What happened? One random day, May 2021, I didn't have the drive to draw anything. I thought "Oh great! Another art block. Oh well, it'll go away in week I'm sure." So I decided to wait for it to pass and just chill for a bit. I waited, and waited, and waited, aaaand wai- WAIT IT'S BEEN FIVE MONTHS!?

So yeah... five months passed since I last even grabbed a pencil, when I finally started to worry. At this point I was trying to force myself to draw just ANYTHING, but it just didn't work. I either didn't have the drive for it or I had no clue what to draw.

I came to the conclusion that it's probably because of the extra stress I've been under from school (cause I was graduating). But even after all my exams were dealt with I still couldn't get myself to make anything.

"Maybe it's a sign. Maybe this whole art thing isn't actually for me." I legit thought about throwing in the towel for good on multiple occasions, but I didn't want to. Obviously. I've been drawing since I was a kid and always loved it, why would that now suddenly change. But I just didn't know what to do.

I just did what I'm great at: look for random posts from random people on the Internet and see if anyone has gone through something similar and what they did. In that search I became ever more familiar with the concept of burnout and it's effect on people.

I realised that I was experiencing burnout, and I realised why. I've been putting too much pressure on myself, on the quality of my art, and the amount of it. I was taking it way too seriously.

I'm not (yet) a professional, so why am I so hard on myself about the quality? Because the people whose work I look up to and admire are a thousand times better than mine. I tried to rush to get even close to their level. I would get extremely disappointed that my art didn't work out as I wanted and go "Why do I even bother? I'll never be as good as X or Y." You know, maybe that's true, I'll never be as good as them, but also I so far just didn't have the time to get to their level. I'm turning 20 next month, some of the people I look up to are in their 30s or 40s, they have been in the industry for literal DECADES. I haven't had the time to get to their level, because I just haven't been alive for long enough yet. For some reason I didn't realise this until like six months ago.

This finally allowed me to go easier on myself. Sure, I'm not yet as good as want to be, but I'm was still improving and that's the thing that should matter. After some thought, I decided to take it easy, for real this time. I started to revisit old movies a shows I remembered loving as kid, to try to go back to where my mind was when I decided to take art more seriously. I finally took the opportunity to play some games I've been meaning to for a while, and even replay older ones I liked.

A couple months go by when one day I was suddenly... bored. I didn't want to play anything, I didn't have it in me to sit down and watch something, instead I instinctively reached for my sketchbook and pencil! And then I started doodling some random shit! It wasn't a lot, but it was a start.

I've spent the past 4 months getting back into drawing regularly. It started with small steps, a small sketch here, some doodles there, and sometimes I fell back a little bit. One of those times was the occasion that gave me the idea to also start writing. I was getting so many ideas for things in my head, but I didn't yet have enough drive to visualise them, so I decided to write them down instead. This made for me to now have two creative outlets, so if I'm not feeling like doing one, I can always do the other.

I am still working on getting my old rhythm back and draw more frequently, but I'm making sure that I don't over work myself and that I don't take the art I make too seriously, it is supposed be fun after all. And boy have I been having fun lately!

So yeah.. things are finally looking brighter and I can't wait to start working on all the new ideas I've accumulated these past months. :)

btw this video by Adam Duff helped me out a lot with figuring out how to get my spark back and it’s great

#just wanted to ramble about it a bit #wanted to have this for future refrence #mental health #burnout #recovery

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shirecorn · 3 years

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how about 17 and 24? what inspires you and how do you deal with art block?

Long post warning.

Art block...

I don't actually get art block, which is probably a combination of neurodivergence and drawing every day for the last 3 years

I wrote an entire tutorial about how to do that, but didn't feel like illustrating it. Would people want to read it even without visuals?

Maybe... I'll just start rambling.

There's a couple different types of art block, and it's really just a philosophy puzzle to get past them. I'm going to assume that the things I think of slow days, or art mud, is a milder form of art block and work through that.

Art block is a symptom, not a disease. You probably have something deep inside that you don't want to face, or don't know how. Sometimes you need to discover the cause, sometimes just power through.

Method 1: Rest

Let yourself just Exist. The act of consuming art is part of the process. Watching shows and playing games, taking a break and going gardening or focus on school. This is what you need for burnout-induced art block.

Method 2: Action

I always choose action, sometimes it means a tiny 2 min sketch per day. Ugly or super simplified. As long as I don't stop moving.

Toss everything. Start every piece thinking you will throw it away.

The act of drawing moves you forward; pinning it to the fridge does not. Don't work things until they are perfect. Work them until they are there.

Art block causes and solutions:

- No Inspiration

Not sure what to draw, nothing seems appealing. Art won't come out like it used to.

Do studies from life or photos. Sketch, paint, digital, traditional, doesn't matter. Rocks, fruit, figure drawing, landscapes, buildings, anything.

Study and copy professional's work. Old masters are best, like rubens, michalangelo (only his men tho) etc because they will teach you anatomy while you work. If you copy someone with a lot of flaws, you will repeat those flaws.

Trace to learn, not to earn. Trace photography and art from anyone you want. Don't post it unless you have the artist's permission or they are dead, whichever comes first. This is strictly work for yourself, on yourself. It's not about the finished drawing.

Find an artist with a fun style and try converting stuff into their style. Don't make that your new style though and especially don't start selling it. Your style is a chimera of everyone you love, not a clone of one person.

Take blurry photos. You don't need a fancy camera or good skills or beautiful subjects. Doing studies from your own photos can spark life into your workflow.

Make challenges for yourself. Randomly generate things to combine. Try fusing characters! Don't try to make it look good, just be fun.

Doodle patterns, swirls, lines, random stuff. Try looking up art warmups and doing some of those.

- Everything Sucks

You finally see how bad you are. Or somehow you got worse. Every piece is a fight and you spend hours trying to get something right only for it to be stiff and disgusting and STILL wrong.

Why are you trying to draw good? It's enough just to draw.

Accept that your art is bad. Every artist can see flaws in their work. Your problem is that those flaws outweigh anything remotely worthwhile and hurt to look at.

So what? You're in a period of growth, not a period of production. Keep that wonky second eye. Let them have hot dog fingers.

Show everyone! Show no one! No piece of art can ever be a reflection of the artist. Not their worth, not their skill. The only thing your art says about you is "Held and moved a pen for a bit."

Make bad art. It's ok. Most of the time, the pressure to perform and get things Right is what made them wrong in the first place. Relax.

- No Motivation

The #1 killer of artists everywhere. On some level you think you should draw, on every other level you think you should stay in bed.

You are not lazy. You wouldn't have read this far in a post about art block if you were lazy. You wouldn't CALL it art block if you were lazy. Laziness is wishing you didn't have to do anything. A block is wishing you were doing something. If you think you can namecall Yourself into productivity again, you're wrong and You need to unionize so that you don't treat You like that anymore.

Consider Mental Illness. Losing interest in something that brought you joy can be a symptom of depression. I know it seems obvious, but if you're waiting for a sign that it's "bad enough," it's bad enough. Seek care if you have the means. Forgive yourself if you already know this.

Selfcare. Examine yourself for neglect. Nutrition, exercise, enrichment, social need, and sleep are all part of the art process. Eat three meals and sleep 8 hours. That's your gaymer fuel. You deserve it, I promise. Depriving yourself of your needs will make your blocks worse, not kick you into making them better.

Identify potholes. Sketchbook falling apart? Tablet cord frayed? Half your pencils missing? Chair uncomfortable? Desk hard to reach? There's a lot of things that you tell yourself to work around and get over. Just because you CAN workaround something, doesn't mean you SHOULD. A difficult work environment can cause secret dread deep inside that you don't recognize and just think you're lazy. What you think of as "no motivation" might actually be "I don't want to deal with my tablet disconnecting every time I move it wrong and I have to wiggle it for a few seconds to make it work again." These little things are like potholes in the road. Sure you CAN still drive through them, but eventually you're going to look up and realize you haven't voluntarily left the house in weeks.

Repair potholes and roadblocks. You might feel bad about buying a new pencil, headphones, tablet, car, etc because technically the old one works if you hustle. But if you're running into so many potholes you've ground to a halt, it doesn't Actually work anymore, does it? Invest, save up, request, and require working equipment and suitable conditions. This stuff isn't just cushy privilege, it's an investment in yourself and your art. You are worth the effort it takes to clear the way. If you can't afford reliable (reliable! not perfect or luxurious) equipment, then say it. If cardboard is all you can afford, draw on cardboard. But know that you deserve canvas, and one day you might be able to make the jump. Acknowledge that sometimes, if you don't have it in you to smear burned twigs on wet cardboard, the problem isn't motivation, but opportunity.

- Haven't Drawn in So Long

A unique type of art block that self perpetuates. The thought of starting again is so stressful you can't do it. Or maybe you'll do it tomorrow. Yeah. Tomorrow for sure.

Face your fears. Are you ashamed of your lack of drawing? Are you anthropomorphizing your paper and thinking it's going to judge you, like "oh NOW you come back >:/" I internalize voices I hear and project them onto other people, concepts, locations, and inanimate objects. Your paper, computer, WIPs folder.... none of that is judging you.

Reframe your WIPs. Do you feel shame when you see "unfinished" projects? Why? Who says you MUST bring everything you start to Finish? You don't have to. A sketch is a finished art piece; it's called a sketch! If a sketch is a fully realized creation, pages that are half colored, 75% lined, or partially rendered are all fully realized creations too. Unless paid otherwise, art is done when you're done working on it.

Lower the stakes. Draw a chibi or grab some crayons. Get messy and slowly ease yourself back into the flow over the course of a couple days. It's fine.

Get a buddy! Find an art meme, do an art trade, get a study subject, or just wing it. Drawing art alongside someone can help you get past that block.

Pretend you never stopped. Don't think about the gap, how long it's been, or rustiness. As far as anyone knows, you drew the mona lisa yesterday and didn't break a sweat. Today, you drew a starfish on your hand with a gel pen. Keep up that streak, good job!

Just keep drawing. Make a goal to do one sucky drawing per day on the back of a napkin. Don't make up for missed days, just pretend they didn't happen. Who's going to judge you? The calendar? That's pieces of paper; it doesn't have an opinion. Draw a cat on it. Done. Keeping up the momentum is a great way to prevent art blocks in the future.

TLDR: Draw imperfectly and toss it. Selfcare is king. Draw often and don't judge yourself.

Art is a process, not a product.

#shire screams #art tips #ask #art block #long post

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fallenhero-rebirth · 4 years

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Brain update

First, let me say that this isn't about what anybody has done. My reactions are not in proportion to anything that has happened, and might be considered odd, weird and sensitive to people involved.

So let me explain.

I'm an Aspie (what we call ourselves in Sweden), on the autism spectrum. Yeah, might have guessed that from the story I'm writing, Sidestep is not the only one trying to figure out how people work.

Over the years I have built up an arsenal of knowledge and analysis to be able to pretend to be neurotypical, something that I can manage alright most days, but which breaks down once you get to know me better. I'm open with this at my current job, and luckily both my bosses seem to be okay dealing with open communication and just telling me what I need to do.

It was not always like this, and that is one of the reasons why I had a breakdown and needed to get off discord/tumblr.

Back in the late nineties, I had finally got my dream job. I was a product developer in the food industry, part of a rather small department of middle-class academics. I was the new hire, everyone else had worked there for years, and things were going well. Or so I assumed. I got cool projects, got along well with one of the sales people, and well, my boss was weird but bosses always are.

Three years later. Our parent company wanted to sell us off, everyone was starting to get worried about their job. We tried to expand into things were weren't equipped to do (you don't bring spices into a fruit jam line, will be hell to clean) and while I did the projects, I also raised an (in retrospect) too big stink about the fact that we were wasting time developing things we couldn't produce without expanding. My boss (who I had learned was a devout christian) started to get really weird, I got called in and he wondered if I was a member of a cult (I was often wearing a headscarf at the time because pressure on my head is good for stress relief). I also got told off for wearing army boots to work (we had lab shoes in the lab), because (I kid you not) if we had danish visitors to the lab (we didn't have visitors) they could be offended since they had once been occupied by Nazis. Yes, at the time I was an Antifa metalhead/satanist, it was a very volatile time in sweden and nazis were everywhere. Now they're a political party, go figure.

It all came to a head when I was confronted with a folder one of the secretaries of the department had where she had written down every odd and strange thing that I did, and there were a lot of accusations of things I quite frankly blocked out. Around this time I was suffering from bad burnout, had memory loss, my hair was falling out and I lost two bikes because I forgot where I parked them. All because of workplace hostility.

So for the first time ever, I went to the company doctor, who immediately sent me on a one month sick leave, and gave a reference to a therapist. When I went and told my boss, his reaction was "It can't be anything at work," in a dismissive tone. I wrote my resignation right then and there, left the building, snuck back a Saturday to clean out my stuff so I didn't have to meet anyone. Luckily I was backed up by my union, so I got unemployment despite quitting, and the therapist helped me get back on my feet and hook me up with some antidepressants.

Still, I was a wreck for years.

At the time, I had NO idea I was an Aspie. It weren't talked about, the only thing I knew about Autism, was from the various portrayals in movies, and well, in the nineties you can guess. Rainman pretty much was it.

What destroyed me the most was not that people disliked me, I didn't like them either, we didn't have anything in common, and middle-class people always scared me. No, what broke me was the fact that my system failed.

See, I had built up myself over ten years into someone I wanted to be. Smart. Capable. Metalhead. Researcher. Activist. I thought I knew the rules. How to interact.

It turned out I knew nothing. People had been talking behind my back for years, and I didn't know. Getting annoyed by my ticks, and I had no idea. Nobody ever brought anything up to my face until it exploded one day out of the blue. This is why I have ranted about anons on this tumblr. This is why I have been so openly against passive aggressive posts and bullying, especially the anonymous kind, because it destroys people and I don't think the people who does it knows the impact they can have. I hope they don't.

I have never gone back to the lab. I can't. I'm having heart palpitations just thinking about it when I'm writing this. I retrained. Became a machinist. Back to the working class I came from. Eventually started writing.

And this is exactly what these last months have felt like.

I thought I understood things. I was pretty open with being old, an Aspie, not understanding memes, or humor, or tik tok, or certain aspects of people's behavior like jealousy, but the problem with joking about this is that it's so easy to take as just a joke. That I'm just making fun of myself (oh it's that too). I got advice from some of you, which I ignored, because I thought that I could be different. That there was no danger in getting close. That I could be just another voice in the crowd. An occasionally evil avocado. That this couldn't blow up in my face, that everything was cool.

And then it did. And I was wrong. And the talking started, and things were coming out that I had no idea that was going on. That I was being held responsible for. Opinions that were spoken in my name. Events I was supposed to have been aware of and supported. All of a sudden I was omniscient, aware of the true passive aggressive meaning of every reblog, aware of every post in every room in the discord I wasn't even running. Wasn't even a mod on. All of a sudden I had power, and I had used it to hurt people. The people I cared about. Everything I wrote was taken in the worst possible way, twisted into things I never meant, and the more I tried to talk to people, the worse it went.

Look. I know this was at heart a war between people that just doesn't like each other and the things they do/the ways they behave. I'm still not entirely sure who's been involved, and I'm not interested in finding out. I tried to build a supportive space, reblog everyone's art and fics, encourage people to make their own things, get a kofi, get some money, make some friends.

And herein lies my problem.

I thought I understood how to be, and now I don't. I have no idea who hates my guts and who doesn't (well, except some who has very vocally let me know). I can't trust anything. I can't trust anyone. And it sucks. Someone I trusted stabbed be in the back because they were convinced I stabbed them in the back and that sucks more than I can describe. Every time I make a comment on AO3 or twitter it's after psyching myself up for half an hour, and I'm usually a wreck afterwards, because my brain doesn't know if they hate me too, and if I am imposing on them and making their day bad.

So yeah. I need to figure out how to be. How not to have a nausea attack every time I accidentally click open tumblr from pure reflex, looking away from the screen just not to see how may messages I have.

I never wanted to be the aloof author, but maybe I have to be. The question is if I can. I have been told I can't comment on pics or fics, because then I have favorites. And that makes people jealous. And it makes people think I take sides. I have been told I can't be on the discord, because then I will be held responsible for what the mods do there, and everything that's said even when I'm not around. I should apparently have someone manage the tumblr, it's not something that I, an author should do.

I now understand the authors who just stay away and remain distant, because people give themselves the power to write the narrative for you.

Part of me wants to tell people what I've told my current bosses, don't assume, just talk to me. I don't pick up/do passive aggression, I don't understand hints, I have trouble with nuance, I don't listen to gossip, I don't interact enough to know anything that's going on. Just ask before assuming.

Except that right now I can't. I can't talk about any of this. It's too close. It sets me off. It's getting better, sure, I'm on medication again, but the smallest thing still can ruin my entire day. I have no idea how long it will take me to recover and come back to some semblance of normality. I'm not posting this myself (my partner does). Writing is going well, because it lets me not be myself. I need those walls again. The therapy of writing about pain.

I'll rebuild them. I'm not entirely sure who I'll be on the other end of it. We'll see.

I have consciously not spoken about any details because those could be misunderstood, this is not a passive aggressive callout to anybody. I have no hard feelings towards anyone, I am not angry or upset, just confused and sad. I am truly so very, very, very sorry that I've hurt people, both by action and inaction. It was never my intention. I will do my best to do better in the future.

Still working on how to do that.

#personal

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thedragonslibrary · 4 years

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Is it possible to be blocked like magick or energy wise? I do not know how to put it in words but sometimes I feel like there is something that i should connect to or should be able to do but I am not. Maybe I am not idk well practiced enough but it sometimes feels like I am running against a glass wall. Maybe I Idk man. I am just really frustrated. I cant really give examples just everytime I do something magick related it feels like running against a wall and it makes me wanna cry. Sorry

Yes, of course it’s possible to be blocked!

To clarify, your first statement about feeling as though you should be able to “connect” to something is a common beginner issue. It may simply be that you haven’t found the thing you’re supposed to connect to yet - whether that’s opening your third eye and being able to talk to your guides, finding the deity and/or pantheon you connect most to in a religious manner, or simply opening your psychic awareness fully enough to feel the energies around you. The best advice I can give is to experiment. Try everything, and don’t hold yourself back!

When I was a beginner witch, I tried everything from Wicca to demonolatry to Christian witchery, from reiki to hexing and cursing, from psychopomp work and shadow work and light work and everything you can imagine. If you can think of it, I probably tried it in some way. Only by putting yourself out there in as many avenues and paths as you possibly can, will you find what works for you. If something doesn’t work, doesn’t fit or “feel right,” put it away and move on. Read everything you can - on Tumblr, in books, in every single resource you can find. It took me probably five or six years of exploration to figure out what generally “worked” for me, and I still feel like I’m learning and discovering new outlets for my magical expression.

An extra “something” is not for everyone. Often in magical practices, you are the source of your own power. Sure, crystals and herbs and grounding and gods help, but ultimately the magic is coming from you. You might not necessarily need an extra “thing.” Let your magic be intuitive, don’t let books or Tumblr bloggers tell you how to do your thing step-by-step. Take spells or rituals and modify them to fit your needs - that is how they’ll be most powerful and useful for you.

But back to the topic of blockages, if you have already had magical abilities previously: I have gone through blockages myself, and they are exactly what you described here: frustrating, like hitting a wall. Sometimes it feels as though all your “power” has been taken away, and you’re left without your previous magical agency. You might have the thought that perhaps you were just making everything up all along, that maybe you’ve been deluding yourself. Trust me, you didn’t, and things will get better!

In my experience, there are two general types of blocks you can have. I’ll outline them for you and how they can be worked through.

The first is a bit simpler, and is more like an art block. Lots of magic-users go through periods of this softer, mental blockage at some point or another on their path. It can be sometimes referred to as a Fallow Period, which comes from a similar phrase in farming used to refer to when a partition of soil is meant to rest for a season or two to regain its fertility.

A Fallow Period can arise from burnout, especially from outside sources creating stress in your life.

Magic, especially psychic and spirit work, is infinitely more difficult when you are stressed, going through a rough mental health period, or when you are physically ill.

Fallow Periods can also be caused through divine intervention - your spirit guides or deities may have decided that you need to take a break to focus on real life, or to focus on taking care of yourself for a little while.

Blockages of this nature eventually right themselves, but it can take time - it can last anywhere from a few months to over a year.

The best thing to do when you’re experiencing a fallow period like this is to not force it. You are only going to frustrate yourself if you continue to attempt to perform magically and have little to no results. Additionally, you’re going to create a deadly cycle of feeling disappointed in yourself, and eventually burn out so hard you won’t want to do magic at all anymore.

Instead, take some time to create: write poetry, draw, or paint. Write devotional poetry. If you want to do magical work, work on your grimoire or book of shadows. Focus on practical magic you can do with your hands - cooking, creating items with intent, cleansing and clearing your home.

Take time to meditate and perform self-care. Perform practical, easy meditations like the simple, free ones in the Headspace app, or find guided meditations for free on YouTube that bring you into fun, brightly colored astral spaces. Take baths and imagine all of your troubles washing away down the drain when you’re finished. Give yourself room to heal and just feel good about yourself.

When you feel ready to move out of your Fallow Period, it will come very naturally. Like an urge to pick up a witchcraft book or to astral travel suddenly. Don’t worry about easing back into it - while taking it slow might be good for some, it’s not for everyone. If you’re really excited to get back into magic, and you’re being urged to do it right now, go ahead and do it!

The other type of blockage is a physical, energetic blockage. These are usually sudden-onset conditions. If one day you are performing just fine magically, and the next you wake up and you can’t feel any of your sixth senses, and you are not physically sick or particularly more stressed out than normal, you probably have a physical energetic blockage.

Ensure first that it’s an energetic blockage. Perform a reading on yourself, check your energy centers, figure out how you’re feeling physically. Meditation goes a long way here, as well as visualizing your energy moving through your body. Does it seem to stop anywhere? Likewise, do you feel extremely hopeless and drained energetically for no discernible, tangible reason (i.e. depression or a recent traumatic experience)? Can you not even muster up the motivation to check yourself? Then you probably have an energetic blockage.

Find an energy healer in physical proximity to you. Trust me when I say that it is not enough to go to the local Hand & Stone and ask for a reiki massage (I have tried this for you already, and please believe me when I say it’s not going to solve your problems). Distance healings do work and are worth it, but in my personal experience physical healings tend to be much more powerful when it comes to dismantling blockages in this way.

Ask around at your local metaphysical stores. Find someone who is a reiki master or another type of energy healer, who has great reviews outside of what’s posted on their website and who has a great deal of experience. Ask them if they have unedited testimonials anywhere they can share with you (such as Google reviews).

Ask what their process is, ask to see their healing space, ask them what physical tools they use in their session. Ask them if they’d be willing to charge a small fee for them to examine you and figure out what’s going on (don’t expect them to do something like that for free). Remember that they should never suggest that they can heal physical ailments or claim that their services replace allopathic medicine - they should only focus on your energetic issues.

Explain to them that you feel blocked energetically and that this is exactly what you are looking to be treated for - psychics and healers are not mind readers, and they cannot help you if they’re not told what they need to fix.

Pay attention to your gut and what feels right. Even in a blocked state, you always have decent access to your intuition.

I won’t lie, you will likely need to shell out a good amount of money for this. A good healer worth their salt most likely won’t charge you less than $60 for an hour session.

If you don’t feel some kind of energetic release during your healing session, mention that to your healer. Since you’ve already told them about your issue, they may be able to give advice as to why you didn’t feel any specific change, as everyone’s process is different and the healer you’ve chosen to work with is going to have the best understanding over the situation, after you. Again, pay attention to your gut. Give the healing a couple of days to set in, and make sure to drink plenty of water and pay attention to how you feel.

When I personally dealt with my own physical energy blockage, when it was finally healed it felt like a dam breaking and all of my energy flowing back into my body. It felt like I had had one of my senses shut off, and for the switch to finally be turned back on. Not everyone is going to feel this way, but if you’ve been blocked for a particularly long time, it may feel very strong and overwhelming to have yourself be un-blocked.

Whatever your situation is, I hope this post was helpful! Good luck on finding your solution!

#witchcraft #energy work #fallow period #spirit work #blockages #energy blockages #energy blocks #healing #energy healing #energy healer #talymaly

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faireladypenumbra · 4 years

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Writing in 2020: Some Reflections on Creativity, Depression, and The Last Four Years

When I first started writing seriously in 2012, I declared on my earliest drafts that I would never write with the intention of publication.

This might seem odd coming from a 19-year-old whose only claim to fame by this point, were a couple a popular fanfic. I was worried then, as I began to shape up my first original novel (a half-written steampunk time-travel book that will never ever see the light of day) that the active chase that was publication would kill my relationship with writing.

The relationship I had with writing at the time was still very young, but I have always used the metaphorical well to describe where my energy to write comes from. There is a well somewhere in my brain, and in that well is all the imagery and beauty and terror that I can draw out into my works. This as a sacred space, from which That well is still the image I picture if I am conjuring some physical embodiment of my writing, or what my process might look like. It’s eight years since I started this journey, and I have watched my well diminish over the past four years in a quiet circling of the drain. It is not that the desire to write is gone, but the thing that connected my brain and my work is less palpable than it was before. It’s a complicated idea to venture on as well, knowing I still occasionally write fiction and still write a great deal academically. But there are many days when ever those parts of writing have become a trial of self-doubt and struggle.

“This is just a part of writing,” I tell myself for the hundredth time- but by this time, I’m not even really writing, and just considering the idea of making time for myself and my art makes me ill.

It is in these times that I realize how much damage- not just the pursual of publication, but the active work I did in publication, did to my process.

I: The Public- And My Complicated Relationship With It.

I really like the public, first off, and I like sharing my work to the public when I have the absolute confidence to do so. Chimehour was one of those times, in 2015, when I first emerged on Inkitt quietly. The site was still small- barely creeping over 15,000 members when I joined, so I had a fair amount of confidence that my work would be safe here.

It was. And it was not, all at once. I was revived by every good review I got, and the encouragement pushed me to finish my novel properly and even push back my release deadline. I tried to actually edit the book and revise it properly before I either released or queried it, which was a good call.

Around the fall of 2015 though, my relationship with the website and the community became something negative. Not bad, just… counter-intuitive to creativity. 2015 was a hard year beforehand: my uncle suddenly passed away on the same day I finished my, as of now, unpublished second novel. My grandparents both passed away not long after. My academic life had been unturned in the fall semester by an extremely toxic professor, who I eventually had to help report to the university. I didn’t really tell my writing community these things were happening, but I leaned into Inkitt as a support for my emotional wellbeing. I turned to the reviews, and contests, and to the public to help ease the burn from everything else going on in my life. This was the first time I felt the well begin to empty: not writers’ block, not a creative burnout, but a slow, easing drain on my resources. I suspect now that an author’s relationship with the public is complicated, and that at times, it can be more addictive to be popular than it is to make things.

II. Inkitt

I place some blame on what happened to my writing with my paid job in 2016 with Inkitt. I became their community manager for a period of time. An extremely long story lies behind that statement, but I will add that my writing was a tool that got used in the company’s favor during that period, and this wasn’t something I consented to. I was bullied, harassed, and made to feel very small for the period I spent with the company.

I started to write again in Europe that year: I remember penning chapters on a rainy afternoon in England, perched on the sofa of a hotel bar, and this was after a very long stint of creating nothing, but my work remained on the same novel.

Deep down, I felt like if I polished it enough, it would do better than any of the other pieces I’d thumbed through or reviewed for this godforsaken company. It was a nasty, mean-spirited line of thinking that led me to resent the very authors who had supported me all this time, not because I thought they were bad authors, but because I was so burdened by the company’s demands. I became angry that the other authors couldn’t see all the work I did- “how dare you ask things of me? How dare you write when I can’t? When they won’t let me anymore?”

It was a very blackened spot on my mind, and I have recognized this place for what it was: anger at my oppressive job (which I quit) and some unchecked grief over the previous year. It took me time to fully grieve my uncle, and even longer to fully bury Inkitt. I forgive nothing of them, and I can only hope my author community will forgive me for what I sometimes became in the wake of the company’s damage.

The writing well was never quite the same after Inkitt: it felt poisoned, or even hard to access. It’s important to note that I changed schools during that time, but… I knew something was unwell in the space of my brain.

III: The Aftermath

I speak of all that’s happened as if my creative force suddenly ground to a halt four years ago, but that’s not quite right. I’ve just written less and less as years have passed or contributed less with a passionate fervor. I do love some of my academic writing, I do make things from fiction that are great, but these pieces emerge from a sort of inner morass that takes a great deal of effort to push back. I have to fight with a work to make it happen.

As for the finished second novel? It remains finished: I have diced it up and attempted to rework its contents, but the original draft is very painful to read and colored by the things that happened around it. Last year, I surmised to scrap the whole draft and start Chimehour’s sequels fresh, with maybe one or two scenes intact. It was a hard call: one of the most agonizing things I have done in my writing, in fact. 188k of words, and only a few people will have ever read them. Some of it is to do with a principle character, whom my uncle inspired and who became- after his death, very difficult to write. Some of it is the flawed nature of draft that maybe, just maybe, was meant for me to grow from, and nothing else. Outside of that, I suppose I’m sharing this to admit, with confidence, that I’ve been dealing with anxiety spikes and depressive episodes for about three years. This is not new: I’ve had depression and anxiety for a long, long time, but the return of these episodes caught me off guard. I had not felt so low since I was in middle school, I had not had bad panic attacks after I settled into college. But here we are. I have not decided if I need to see a therapist yet (I might), but I do know that I feel lighter for expressing these struggles and acknowledging their realness. We’ll see what the writing well brings in the future.

#amwriting #writblr #depression #anxiety #creative

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peace-coast-island · 4 years

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Diary of a Junebug

Having a whale of a great time!

Scuba diving in the Crystal Blue Lagoon? Check. Collecting pearl oysters and whatever else lies at Sea Glass Shores. Check. Crafting a bunch of cool floaties and braving the Shimmering Whirlpool? Check and check. Riding whales towards the sunset? Check!

Vacationing at the Sparkle Islands has been exactly what I needed! It's nice meeting up with Lenie again as well as Nico and Dewey. The Fairweathers have been taking a break from recording and performing so they've been focusing on adventuring and solo endeavors.

I can't believe that Lenie's a college senior now - where did the time go? Jimmy's busy with family stuff so that's why he's not with us. It feels like forever since I last saw him - but that's what video chats are for! Also, his kids are adorable and I'm glad to finally meet them as well as his husband. Nico's been globe trotting as usual, full of fun and exciting stories to tell us. Dewey's been taking it easy, trying to create a better work-life balance after taking on too much last year.

So far their break has been going really well. With everything going on in their personal lives, they could really take some time off. Artist's block sucks but sometimes there's nothing you can really do about it other than wait it out and focus on other things. Creativity can be finicky, especially when you've got other things on your mind like responsibilities, burnout, or a busy schedule.

I've been in a bit of a creative slump as well. From running events at the camp to personal life stuff getting in the way, I've been feeling off this past week. Like I can't relax because I have a million things running in my mind. If I'm expecting a call or email I find myself unable to focus on anything else because I'm too busy mentally preparing for having to do something that makes me nervous and often drained at the end.

Fortunately, I managed to get pretty much all the boring and stressful adulting stuff out of the way. But after spending most of last week being on edge, it's hard to fall back into my normal rhythm. I've been kinda on autopilot, just trying to get through the day. Up until a couple days ago I've been feeling pretty meh most of the time.

Usually, to de-stress, I turn to art. Doodling, journaling, knitting - whatever creative medium I'm in the mood for. But when you're in an art block, it causes more stress. As someone who's been journaling for years, there will be times when you've hardly touched your notebook in days, weeks, and even months. I have to say, though, since running the camp I've been journaling in a somewhat regular basis - especially when I started incorporating art journaling into it - but I still have times when I'm just not feeling it.

Sometimes getting your feelings out on paper doesn't help, especially when you don't have the words to explain exactly how you feel without it sounding forced or an incomprehensible mess of words. There are times when I want to write about something but the words just don't come out right, so I end up scrapping the whole thing. And of course, there are times when I want to write about something that's been on my mind, only to end up rambling about something else and going off on that tangent.

Then there are times when your mind is so fogged up that you come up completely empty. Up until today, I've been head full of fog, thoughts completely empty. Still kinda feels like that, to be completely honest, but the fog's slowly clearing up. I think the whale ride really helped with that.

As someone who believes a change of scenery and a good distraction helps when life takes a lot of out you, I find that I have a hard time following my own advice. I'm all about taking time to forget your troubles and worries for a bit, but yet I'm having difficulty doing so. I don't know why, but I always find it difficult to completely let loose - like I let myself have fun but at the same time my worries are always there in the back of my mind. It's like I'm subconsciously telling myself to have fun, but not too much fun. As much as I want to let go, there's a part of me that holds on, making me afraid to let myself fall freely.

What's the point in telling people to escape their troubles for a bit when I can't even do that without feeling like I'm doing something wrong? It's not that I don't know how to have fun - though it's taken a lot longer for me to catch on than most people - but sometimes it feels forced. I don't know, it's always something I've struggled with - at least compared to most of my peers growing up. Maybe part of it comes from being a convenient person - one who doesn't ask for much, someone who doesn't go out of their way to bring attention to themselves - the kind of person who tags along and is just there.

It's kinda like I don't know exactly how to have fun. Sort of like I'm second guessing myself by wondering, "Is this what having fun feels like? Am I doing it right? Is this enough?" and of course, that totally defeats the purpose of escaping and letting go.

I have to say, being at the camp as helped a lot in terms of teaching me how to live in the moment and enjoy the good times to the fullest. It's still a bit of a new concept for me, but at least I'm coming out of my shell - and that's what counts. Maybe I'll never be as carefree as some people - I've been told that I'm kinda low-key and serious by nature - and I'm okay with that. Sometimes I wish that I could be a bit more vocal and expressive and active, but most of the time I'm happy with being an observer and doing my own thing in the background.

It was Chai and Rhonda's idea to visit the Sparkle Islands. It was on the list for a while but for the past year the islands were undergoing a lot of reconstruction so a lot of places were closed. Leyla, who's one of the princesses of the islands, was behind a lot of the restoration and repair of various sites.

Turns out that I just missed her when we visited Maron Heights to watch our friends perform in After Hours at the Opera. Because she was so busy getting the islands back in shape, she dropped by to see the show the night before we came and went back home the next morning.

Like with Kat, Hawk, AJ, and Elara, Leyla's been going through a bunch of changes as well now that things are settling down. Aside from rebuilding the islands, Leyla's getting reacquainted with her mom Archer, who disappeared about twenty years ago in a disaster that left part of the main island in shambles for years. Having her back is still a huge adjustment for Leyla and her momma Rosie as she missed out on a lot. Leyla and Kat are pretty much on the same page when it comes to reuniting with a parent who was presumed dead for most of their lives. Despite the initial awkwardness, things are going well.

As for Leyla, a heated reunion between her moms led to an unexpected surprise - three actually. In about five months their little family of three will double in size. While her moms are terrified, Leyla's at the point where she's fully looking forward to having three new siblings. Sure, it'll be tough as her moms are out of practice with taking care of a baby (or babies). The way Leyla sees it, the 20 + age difference is more of an advantage because she can easily help take care of the babies as her moms will definitely be overwhelmed.

So along with overseeing the islands, Leyla's been helping Rosie take care of Archer, who's on strict bedrest. Archer's doing okay for the most part but the pregnancy has taken a toll on her, especially since there's a high potential for complications. Now with reconstruction almost done - about 98% according to Leyla - she has been spending a lot of time with her moms.

It was by chance that we ran into Lenie and her brothers as well as Leyla and her moms. Leyla's been dropping by to check in on us but it wasn't until today she joined us on a fun filled day of crafting floaties and riding whales. Rosie insisted that Leyla take a well deserved break and invited us for dinner when we got back.

Crafting floaties was a lot of fun and so was diving in the Shimmering Whirlpool. It does take some getting used to though, and one should be a somewhat experienced swimmer as the currents can get quite unpredictable. A bit too rough for my liking at times - not a fan of being spun around quickly because motion sickness, ugh - but overall it was an interesting experience. Definitely more into crafting floaties though.

Maybe I would be more of a thrill seeker if I didn't get so dizzy easily. I can't even look at something spinning for more than half a minute without feeling a headache coming on.

Late afternoon and evening were much more chill, thankfully. Bubble tea, sandwiches, and ice cream at the beach. Building sandcastles and breaking open coconuts. Lying on a beach towel under an umbrella and watching the waves. It's hard to believe that a couple months ago this place was left in ruins.

The biggest highlight was the whale ride. Leyla set us up with some of her friends, who were more than happy to let us hop on and show us the ocean. And I have to say, it was an amazing experience!

For a moment, I was able to let go completely. No worries, no doubts, no second guessing myself. Just bliss and exhilaration. A rare moment in which I get to be in the moment instead of being aware that I'm living a memory that I'll be looking back on fondly someday. It's strange, to lose yourself like that and not feel... weird? Guilty? Disconnected? Like you're not enjoying it enough because a part of your mind is elsewhere.

Riding a whale towards a sunset - what a way to spend an evening! I guess my takeaway from this mind blowing experience is that I need to learn that a part of having fun is letting happiness come to you instead of forcing it or telling yourself that you should be enjoying this. I need to keep that in mind.

#animal crossing #animal crossing pocket camp #Diary of a Junebug #headcanon ramble

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hegglespeggles · 4 years

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How to write an essay you could not care less about in 10 steps

Hello. I have an essay to write.

I am also, (unfortunately) the kind of lazy, apathetic burnout who will only do my FUCKING work if I get really worked up. Usually that ends up meaning all of my papers are spite-fuelled tirades but my profs seem to like them so fine. I hope you find this particular raging tirade useful.

Today, I would like to educate the 4 of you that will actually see this on a fine art I have perfected over the years. Writing a paper, about which, you do not give a single, solitary, crumb of a fuck about. This is (you may have guessed) and excellent way for me to procrastinate doing a paper that *I* do not give a single solitary crumb of a fuck about. For best results, I recommend doing this NIGHT-BEFORE-PANIC like, a week in advance so you can fix all the NONSENSE that your more reasonable brain will undoubtedly find. But if it’s the night before and you are shit outta luck, this will get ‘er done. And with practice, you can even pull good grades outta these bitches.

Dissociating? I gotchu. Woke up the day of the deadline to feel like absolute utter garbage? Search no more friends.

FAILING GRADES ARE BETTER THAN ZEROS JUST FUCKIN DOOOOOO ITTTT

1. Go get the prompt.

I fucking mean it. Even if you are like 1000% sure you know what the prompt is asking, go to the FUCKING assignment, and copy that shit into your word document. Got the assignment on paper? TYPE THAT SHIT UP MOTHERFUCKER.

(Do you see what I fucking have to deal with)

Boom?

BOOM.

Congratulations, you now have a document, and whats more, there are WORDS in it!! You aren’t starting from scratch anymore kiddo. Fringe benefit, you always know EXACTLY what the assignment wants because its fucking Staring You Down. Not saying you have to do exactly as it says, mama didn’t raise no BITCH and I aint scared of fuckin CALLING PROFS OUT but if you wanna break the rules you gotta know what they are first

(Disclaimer: I have also been kicked out of class on numerous occasions for fighting with the prof and had full classes where the lecture WAS me arguing so maybe take my opinions of conformity with a grain of salt.)

2. Math THE FIRST

I know, this is an essay and not a fucking calculus test. But some of this shit is USEFUL OKAY

Take the paper in question. How long does it have to be? Mine is 5 pages. A page is generally accepted to be 250 words (double spaced because we FUCKING LOVE OURSELVES) so 5 x 250 = 1250 wds. That’s the goal. That’s the pinnacle. That’s your new holy grail.

Time to split this bitch up

3. Yarrrrrr, CONTENT

And finally, we get to the part that is the reason why you are being an absolute bitch baby about this essay (maybe. I might be projecting. Your life is your life and im sure youre doing your best.) I Hate this part, but now with our magic number we don’t need to pull 5 pages out of the ether.

This part really requires you to know your vibe. Is this something that you have a lot of little opinions (read: evidence) about or like, only 2 or 3 big bois? Look deep into your soul and figure out which is the easiest for you to shit out, a rant or a list. a great way to do this is to WRITE ANYTHING YOU GOT OUT

Here you can see I’ve put all of the thoughts I have about the question into a list, slapped some standard “opening” and “closing” shit around it so I can FUCKING FIND IT AGAIN and given it a good hard look. Whats the common thread in all of my opinions? That the prompt is fucking stupid and makes no sense is asking 2 different questions. Congratulations: you found your thesis. This essay, like many of my essays, bears the thesis “this is a weird question to be asking” (which falls under my broader category of “bitches aint shit” essays.)

Congratulations you have the bare bones of your skeleton.

4. MATH THE SECOND

The magic number returns. All hail our glorious leader. 1250 right?

So heres how I break this down. Break off a small chunk at the beginning. For this essay im gonna split off the 250. Split that baby in half. Congratulations, now you have a word count on your opening and closing. Personally, I know I like a lil extra space at the end to get all ranty, so Imma split this puppy up 100 for my opening and 150 for the closing. WARNING: You will think that you will be able to write enough in your opening and closing to take up lots of space. You will feel the urge to give them both the same amount of words that you give your points. This is misguided and foolish. Not only will you 1) not be able to do it but 2) even if you did, that’s like getting a sandwich which is all bread. No one wants that. Don’t be that dude. Fight the urge.

RIGHT SO. We’re still left on the other 1000 words.

If you have an idea that like, is bigger than the others, go ahead and give that puppy more of the word count than the others, fractions are your friend here and you wanna think about how much of your final product each of these babies will be. If you, like me, are an utter buffoon with no clue what youre doing, open your calculator up. Divide the remaining word count by the number of points you have. Congratulations. Youre doing the essaying.

If this is enough to get you started, GREAT! See you at step seven. BEFORE YOU GO I would like to give you this tip

5. CITE YOUR INFORMATION AS YOU ADD IT IN.

It doesn’t need to be a full citation, just literally a footnote with something that will help you remember where its from and for the love of god WHAT PAGE IT IS ON. The you of 3 hours from now will thank you.

6. Filling in the skeleton

I don’t know about you, but I cant exactly riff off of a single sentence. Like, I know what the VIBE of my point is, but like, I cant pull it out of a hat. The name of the game here is whittling down your arguments into thinner and thinner chunks that are easier and easier to bullshit. This is how you avoid that “burning building found in flames during Brooklyn fire” bullshit that memes. You don’t wanna meme. You wanna pass. So, figure out what the things you are gonna say and in each bit, keep track of how many words you are gonna write. EITHER

a) You put how many words you think you can write on any point beside the point as you go and just keep developing points and shuffling word counts around until it matches the total for that section

b) You evenly breakup the word count between all the points and keep breaking them down until you look at a subject and a word count and go “yeah that’s doable. I can do that.”

I prefer the second so LEGGO.

Ta-Da!

7. Write ‘er up

Ahhh glad to see we’re all back together again. Try-hards who can ACTUALLY bullshit papers, glad to see you’ve rejoined us! This is the part where you take all that shit you’ve broken up into nice little chunks and you turn it into something worth reading. You can do it. I believe in you. Try and keep your citations in place.

I like to do this as a question answer thingy, like an exam, so halfway through writing mine is gonna look like this

The handy part about the numbers is that it gives you a frame of reference for how your bullshit is going. Realized you had a lot more to say here than you thought? Dope! Less bullshit somewhere else, take it out of a weaker point. This point didn’t give as much as you thought it would? Split the difference elsewhere! This way you have checkpoints and you can see how your essay is going

And then you can go ahead and delete your skeleton work. Its time. Its served you well. For extra drama, whisper menacing nothings to it as you send it into the darkness. Personal favourites include “no one will mourn you,” “your fate belongs to me,” and “so this is what you have come to”

8. Citations

Theres like a million ways out there to find out how to do your citations and its gonna depend on what kind of a paper you are writing. I use Chicago most of the time, including here. My advice? Use a site like, bib.me or something to do your bibliography, and then plaster that in the bottom of your document. Use that as the building blocks to do your footnotes. Let Purdue Owl be your guide. Purdue Owl Style Guide Is A Mighty Friend Indeed.

Also your welcome for that, “putting the page numbers in as you put the info in” shit. That took me alarmingly long to figure out. It’s a wonder theyre giving me a degree.

9. Proofread that shit, ya bougie bitch.

If you wanna be time effective, getting a friend to proofread while you do your citations is a great way to go. If you have a few days, put your paper away and come back to it. If you are out of friends and time then https://www.paperrater.com/ is your last hope.

10. Slap a title page on that shit and GET IT SUBMITTED

No joke, I have been using the same template for a coverpage all through highschool and my undergrad. There is only one title page and every time I write an essay I take the title page from the last paper I wrote. There is no beginning. Only title page. Title? Topic of paper: point of paper. For example, If I had to title this screed I’d call it Essay Writing: An exploration of mediocrity. slap the date and your name and the course and instructor on there and BAM. YA DONE.

Anyway submit that shit an go to bed youre done goodnight

EPILOGUE

I’ve gotten this essay back, and when I wrote it, I was barely a human being. Barely capable of human speech let alone a coherent argument. I would forget the end of the sentence by the time I typed out the beginning. But I still for a 70%! is it the best mark I’ve ever gotten? no! but it is a hell of a lot better than the 0% I would have gotten if i hadnt done this. I get it. And i hope this helps.

#mine #my stuff #studyblr #essaywriting #musicblr #game of thrones #study motivation #study #academic

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theincompetentgenius · 4 years

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hi! can I get a matchup for mlqc, ikerev and dfel? Virgo, intp, 9, and very evenly divided between all four houses for Hogwarts. i’m 5’1.75" with curly hair just past chin length dyed in a gradient from my natural ginger to Ruby to amethyst to sapphire hair and eyes that change colors under different lighting. Very petite and pale, freckled.

i’m a performing introvert, so while I can come off as an extravert in reality I’m deeply introverted. I make friends easily, especially with animals (which I love dearly!). I’m very stubborn and persistent when it comes to those I care about, but otherwise am very open and free flowing, following the wind and my intuition. Love to learn, seeks understanding, empathetic, and analytical.

I’m a creative writing and Eastern Asian studies double major with minors in literature and music performance. I love stories, reading and writing them, and creating all kinds of art whether it be on the 12+ instruments I play, singing, or visual arts. I’m a varsity fencer, my main weapon of choice being foil. I’m incredibly hard to offend or bother. I love adventures and exploring new things – especially when it comes to food and art and stories. I love soft things and pillows.

Often described as passionate, enthusiastic, talkative, and dramatic, I actually am very anxious and can be incredibly reserved in private, often closing off lots of personal information and only disclosing it to those closest to me when absolutely necessary. Due to suffering from chronic nightmares, anxiety, depression, and PTSD I often underneath the energetic exterior exhausted and dealing with extreme difficulty keeping it up. Gifted kid burnout, and heavy imposter syndrome. Comes from a successful family with 6 older siblings and as such has developed a strong desire for independence while constantly fearing hurting others or being forgotten or left behind.

Thank you so much and I hope I didn’t add too much!!!

—————————————————————————

No problem! In fact, more information helps me pick a match for you. Anywho, I hope you enjoy the matchup!

MLQC

I’d pair you with……….. Victor!

Honestly, Victor seems like the strongest match for you and it’s pretty clear in your description why the two of you would work. However, I feel like Kiro would also be a great option for you since he’s literally a ball of sunshine who’d be able to cheer you up within minutes. If it’s the rare occasion that he can’t, you can at least expect Kiro to be right by your side when trouble occurs. He’d be able to slow down for you without putting too much pressure.

However, Victor is the clear winner here. Although you’re an introvert, you are able to put yourself out of your comfort zone– which helps you interact with Victor at his colder states. It’s even better that you make friends quickly, helping you get closer to the CEO. While he finds the small talk useless, Victor appreciates that you’re trying to get close to him (because no one else wants to take the time to get to know him).

He also finds your passion for art and music very interesting. Although he’s not a music nerd, Victor understands the difficulty in playing 12+ instruments and commends you for your talent. From time to time, he’ll ask you to play certain instruments for him– even classical songs that you’ve memorized and he enjoys listening to.

Victor also likes to push you to your full potential. He notices that you often feel like a waste of talent, but that’s not what he sees. Although he’s not verbal about his support, Victor is willing to help you do your very best in all your goals and assignments.

He also appreciates the fact that you’re empathetic towards his feelings while being analytical about other things. The duality is important and impressive to him because he needs someone who knows how to control their feelings (especially because he’s not in tune with his own emotions).

The only bump in this relationship would be the independence issue, but that’s ok because it would help the two of you strengthen the relationship in the long run. Although Victor is hesitant about leaving you on your own a lot, you prove to him that you are more than capable of taking care of yourself. As time goes by, he trusts your abilities more and finds your independence helpful in certain situations,

Another Possibility: Kiro

Ikemen Revolution

I’d pair you with……… Blanc Lapin!

Again, it seemed pretty clear to me that Blanc would be the winner, but Sirius wasn’t far off. The Queen of Spades is motherly, so he’d be able to attend to your emotional needs (especially if you’re feeling really bad). Also, it would be super cute to see you constantly trying to care for Sirius (because the poor man needs a break) as he tries to assure that he’s fine. But you’re too stubborn to listen and he’s secretly glad that you like to look after him.

However, I couldn’t pass the opportunity to match you with my favorite bunny man! You don’t have to worry too much about getting close because Blanc naturally does that for you. As he shows you around the Cradle, you don’t feel worried or uncomfortable. The two of you chat during your entire tour. You gobble all of Blanc’s fun facts and basics of the Cradle within minutes. He’s impressed with your memory and finds it endearing that you actually pay attention to his ramblings.

As a history person, you’d probably make connections between the Cradle and our world (especially East Asia). Although Blanc knows a few things about our world, he doesn't have extensive knowledge like you, so he’s always intrigued by whatever connections you make. He begins to ask you for more in-depth questions about East Asian history, and the two of you talk for hours. Blanc feels like he’s finally found someone who appreciates his interests with the constant discussions about the histories of the two worlds.

Blanc loves taking you for sight-seeing! Whenever he’s going somewhere that isn’t dangerous, he’ll always ask you whether you want to join him. If you’re down, then the two of you go around and make new memories. Every trip is an adventure and Blanc always gets you a plushie or something cute as a souvenir. It’s both bonding and exploring time!

While some consider Blanc’s smooth-talking as a bad thing, it also means that he knows how to comfort you when you’re feeling down or insecure. Although he doesn’t always have time to help you, the record-keeper knows exactly how to calm your nerves in a short amount of time. Even if he’s on a really tight schedule, Blanc always spares a few minutes to make sure that you’re alright.

Another Possibility: Sirius Oswald

Dangerous Fellows

I’d pair you with……….. Harry!

Not going to lie, my first choice for you is Lawrence (but no one likes his psycho, murdering ass). I could’ve written headcanons for you and pretend like he wasn’t insane, but that would ruin his character. Also, it’s not fun being paired with a killer, so I went with Harry instead! However, I do feel like you and Lawrence would do a great job at leading the team and ultimately form a deeper bond.

But enough of Lawrence, let’s get to Harry. Now Harry is definitely going to approach you first (mainly out of courtesy). He understands that it is difficult to adjust to their group, so he’ll be checking up on you quite often. Besides, he’s the only nice one so you feel more inclined to talk to him out of everyone else in the group.

Although simple talk can be hard (since there’s not much to talk about during a zombie apocalypse), the two of you manage. You talk about your passion for writing, which Harry finds really cool. He inspires you to write a story about the gang, where everyone manages to escape without any casualties. It’s hard to combat your writer’s block, but Harry’s enthusiasm inspires you to get a strong start. Soon, this writing becomes your way of coping.

You’re able to use your fencing skills for a foundation for zombie combat. Harry is surprised and amazed that you have a strong athletic background, so he starts taking combat lessons from you. At first they’re strictly combat, but the lessons ultimately give you two more time alone for bonding. When the two of you become official, there’s more kissing than combat.

Both of you have crying sessions together. Since Harry bottles up all his troubles, he doesn’t have any other opportunity to vent his frustrations. While it may seem sad as the two of you cry and hold each other, it’s also comforting to know that neither of you is alone. If either one of you is having an episode, the other is always ready for emotional and physical support.

Another Possibility: Lawrence

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justwritingscibbles · 5 years

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Much Needed Inspiration

Thank you so much to @milky-chxnce for the purchase of this commission. It was so relaxing to write with Robbie and Antisepticeye.

Hope you enjoy!!

Want a Commission? Find the Costs here

Want to buy me a coffee? Or a cookie? Support me here!!

Colours. Shades. Lines and blank canvas’.

You’ve worked with it all. And the art you produced has brought you much happiness and relaxation. You practically breathed sketches and paints. Sometimes accidentally drank it in the water you mistook for a coffee mug.

But it was all worth the end result. Even if a certain detail was a little too round. Or a shade was too dark against the rest of the piece.

Sometimes, it was better leaving the mistakes. It gave you something to learn from. And also gave the artwork some personality.

But even with all the ideas and fantasies; sometimes you ran low on inspiration. And when you did; it hit HARD.

It would go on for days. Sometimes weeks on end your hand would never stray near a pencil or a brush. And it would weigh heavy on you sometimes. What if there was a reason you stopped drawing? Maybe you’re not good enough. You were losing interest in the thing you loved because you couldn’t see your artwork getting any better. No one would notice your silly little paintings. Nor give compliments to how hard you worked.

You sighed and rolled over to press your face into the pillows of your couch. A low groan of irritation rippled from your chest; muffled by the plush material that smothered your mouth.

“This is so annoying. I want to paint but my mind doesn’t remember how to draw!” You grumbled. Frustration biting at your words, despite the gentle cool hand that filtered through your wavy strands of hair.

“I think your mind just needs to rest.” Robbie murmured softly. Not wanting to upset you anymore than you already were with yourself. “Everyone needs a break from what they enjoy.”

“Yeah,” You reluctantly agreed. “But I want to do something! I hate sitting still; but I also kind of don’t want to go anywhere.”

Robbie wheezed a gentle laugh. His fingers freezing to detangle a knot from your hair before continuing the comforting motions. “Lets go to the art museum. I know that sometimes helps with your art-blocks.”

You lifted your head from the stuffy confinements of the pillow to rest your chin on Robbie’s lap. He smelt almost overwhelmingly like pine today. Obviously he had used half a bottle of fragrance to cover the smell of decay. “I don’t think that’ll help. We’ve gone loads of times already. I know you’re getting bored of staring at the same art pieces.”

Robbie was a terrible liar. Everyone knew that. His eye twitched and he couldn’t look you in the eye. But he always tried his best; just so your feelings weren’t hurt. Not that Robbie could ever do such a thing.

“I like the ex..ex..exhi-bits.” Robbie’s face scrunched up in concentration as he forced the word through his pale lips. “It just confuses me that people would pay so much money for a splatter of red. Or a weird painting of a dog.”

“Because it’s art, Dead-Man. People don’t need to understand it. They only need to think it’s pretty.” Anti huffed as he wandered back into the lounge-room. Taking a seat on the arm of the couch near your feet. A warm cup of black coffee wrapped between his hands. “Take the guy who made that scream painting or whatever-”

“Edvard Munch,” You butted in.

“The fuck kind of name is that? Anyway. People don’t understand why he painted such a horrific painting. It’s popular because it’s weird. Cool looking. And no one understands it.” Anti said, taking a moment to sip his coffee. Stretching out the moment now he had your attention on him. “The same goes for art these days. People just need to like it, it doesn’t need to be good.”

You huffed a soft sigh and shrugged. “That doesn’t help my burnout situation.”

“Like Corpse said, ya brain just needs to rest.” Anti took another sip of coffee. Smacking his lips together in a dramatic way before nodding down at your discarded sketchbook. The same one that you had thrown down in frustration after attempting to draw the same accursed hand for the past hour. “Maybe Walker and I can try. You can teach us.”

Robbie tried, very hard, not to look excited by the suggestion. He loved watching you work on your art. He’d curl up next to you with his head resting against your shoulder or nuzzled into your side. His grey eyes following your hands as they glide across the paper. Robbie was absolutely enraptured by how you could turn a white slate of paper into a colourful picture.

And with Anti’s suggestion, his leg started to bounce and a wide smile stretched across his lips. His way of showing excitement, while trying valiantly to sound uncertain.

“Only if Sam wants too. I’m not very good, but I’ve always wanted to learn.”

You couldn’t help but grin up at Robbie. He was too damn adorable for you to resist him. To Anti however, you gave a warily raised eyebrow. As if suspicious of his suggestion. “You hate art! Why would you want to learn?”

Anti was one of those people that tried to draw once, failed, and then called quits. Whenever you were doing something, he’d try to distract you. Growing bored with idly sitting near you, waiting for you to finish. He’d chat with you. Occasionally knocking whatever surface you were drawing on to make you stuff up your work. Snatch your pencils and paper. He has even swapped the labels of your paints before, and hidden your sketch pads until he was satisfied with the time you’ve spent with him. Never once in your friendship, has Anti asked you to teach him to draw.

At your question; Anti shrugged. A disdained expression crossing his face as he hid his answer behind his mug of coffee. “Because I wanna draw but I suck. And you’re really good.”

You heard him nonetheless. But decided not to push your luck on getting the compliment spoken out loud. You nodded and pushed up from Robbie’s lap to pick up your fallen sketch-book. Beside you, Robbie was eagerly bouncing in his seat. Smiling so wide you could see most of his teeth. You laughed and scooched aside to give room to Anti. Who slid down onto the couch beside you as you tore some empty pages from your sketch-book and handed one each to the egos.

“Ok, so we’ll start off simple. Drawing eyes is a pretty good start. Since you can make them as little detailed as you want.” You explained. Getting up from the couch to go and get some pencils and erasers for the egos. Also snatching up something for them to lean their pages on and draw somewhat more accurately.

“Before I start to get annoyed,” Anti started. Placing down his coffee to position his paper on his lap, resting against the hard surface you handed him. “How long have you been practising your art?”

“A few years.” You replied. Smiling at the low groan of exasperation from Anti. “Also you’re the first person to actually say ‘practising’. Not called it talent or ignored the length of time I’ve been doing this.”

Anti gave you a small wink and shrugged a one shoulder shrug. “I got that screwed into me from Marvin and Schneep. Marvin has been practising Magic for years. He had the talent to begin practising. And the passion to learn through those practices. But he didn’t get as good as he is today because of that talent. It was because of the time he dedicated to his work.”

Anti very rarely rambled on about a subject. But when he did; you were reminded just how deep his personality was. He wasn’t just an annoyance. Which he sometimes stretched out to be all he was to you. “Must have been a pretty bad curse if you remember to talk like that about Marvin.” You teased. And Anti grimaced in a threatric way.

“I saw things I never want to see again.” He murmured. His voice a low drawl that matched the long distance stare he plastered onto his face. You laughed and waved dismissively. Turning back to the papers in the egos hands, you started to instruct them on how to draw an eye. Halfway through you decided it was better to actually show them and let them follow along with your instructions.

Anti was quiet with concentration. His fingers held the pencil carefully but with a white knuckle grip. After a few attempts at making an oval like shape, Anti found it easier to sketch the shape than try to draw the shape in one movement.

Robbie had a harder time. His hand shook alot when he was excited. And with the big puppy grin and eager expression, you could tell his drawings were going to be a little more than scribbles. He managed to get the shape correct after a few attempts. The lines weren’t smooth, but he was very happy with how it looked. And his smile was contagious. Plus, art was different for everyone. So, they didn’t need to follow your instructions to the absolute point. Which you needed to explain to Anti after he started to glitch a little from frustration. Causing his eye to become misshapen and a little misformed.

“Look, Sam! Mine sort of looks like Septic Sam.” Robbie exclaimed happily. You leaned over his shoulder and smiled. You had been helping Anti so much with his eye that you had left Robbie to his own devices for a few minutes. And he had gone off on his own to start another drawing. This one was wider and more round. It was smudged in places, but you could see the resemblance to the green eye that zoomed around the Septic House.

“That’s really good, Rob.” You cooed softly. Ruffling his hair as Robbie giggled softly. His trembling hand picking the pencil back up to start drawing again. This time, you could tell he was attempting to shade the edges of the eye. Which indicated that Robbie had been listening in on your instructions to Anti about his eye. That was complete with a pupil, the iris and a border of eyelashes. But Anti was frowning down at it. His green eyes flashing every once in a while as he scanned the sketch in his lap.

“What’s up, Anti?” You asked softly. “You did really well for your first try.”

“Thanks.” It was a forced reply. He was trying to be polite, and you could tell Anti was struggling with keeping his irritation from making his words sound harsh. You didn’t miss how his gaze flickered from your page to his. And you didn’t need to ask why he looked so disheartened after taking a glance at yours.

“Would you like to start again? Drawing is learning from your previous artworks. Or you could try to put some colour in it.” You suggested the last bit because now your mind was urging you to put colour in your own sketched eye. Anti sighed and grabbed the eraser. He scrubbed away the sketch and flicked the remnants of the rubber from the page with a glitching hand.

“Mind if I try drawing something else?” Anti asked, and you nodded. Although, his hand was already beginning to glide across the page. His concentration now on the paper in front of him, you turned to Robbie. Who was gently poking your arm to get your attention.

“Can I colour my drawing in? I want to make it purple.” Robbie said. Clapping happily when you nodded and he followed you to your room to get the coloured pencils you keep on your desk. He ran back with the colours firmly hugged to his chest. This time he sat crossed legged on the floor with the pencils set down beside him. He looked like a toddler now. And it was adorable.

Anti looked like a moody teenager slouched over his drawing. Shoulders stooped down, bottom lip in between his teeth as he traced the shapes of his sketch.

You’ve never seen them working together. Nor sat beside one another without Anti picking on Robbie or Rob getting a little anxious around the Glitch. So, it was a relaxing image to you. And it was definitely a nice space to be in as you sat beside Robbie and picked up one of the colours.

By the time you had finished shading and colouring, your back ached and your fingers were close to cramping. Poor Robbie wasn’t so lucky. His hands had seized up ages ago. The pencil still clutched in his stiff fingers, he tried his best to finish his purple Sam drawing. He had added another Sam, this one wasn’t coloured yet. But Robbie had explained that he wanted it to be the green Sam. So, then purple Sam would have a friend and green Sam wouldn’t be alone anymore.

It was an adorable little sentiment. And by that time, you realised that you’ve thought Robbie was adorable alot lately. But he was. So, you can excuse yourself by this point.

Anti didn’t want to show you his drawing. Not yet at least. When you attempted to sneak a peek, Anti had basically crushed the piece of paper against his chest. Glaring at you with sparking green eyes. You instantly backed away with your hands up in a surrender like gesture. But the way he was acting made you laugh nonetheless. It had been how you had acted when you first started drawing.

Now, with your nicely coloured eye done and the shading how you wanted it; you turned around to look at Anti. His legs were propped up on the couch. Back pressed against the back of the chair but he was horrible hunched with the paper resting against his thighs. He had been tapping the top of his pencil against the paper for half a minute now. Obviously deep in thought. But when he noticed you looking at him, the tapping stopped and his green eyes flashed a warning.

“I’m not done.” He said before you could speak. You chuckled and tilted your head, almost in a pleading manner.

“Come on, Glitch. Show me what you’ve been doing. I promise I will love it no matter what.” You said. Flashing him your best puppy eyes and pouty lips.

Anti grumbled and inched up into a more sensible sitting position. He gave his draw one final look over before sighing heavily and handing you the paper. You eagerly snatched it up and turned so Robbie could see over your shoulder.

“It’s meant to be you drawing us.” Anti said. His voice huffed and he scratched the back of his neck in slight embarrassment. “The first time I saw you drawing us, I thought it was really cool. So, I kinda wanted to try to draw you. But I fucking suck at drawing….”

You could definitely see that it was you. The hair on the person’s head was wavy and shaded in a way that was obviously meant to make it a darker shade. The facial features were blank and you could see the many attempts Anti did at drawing your face. The imprints of the previous mouth and nose were still embedded into the paper. But now, even though it was heavily smudged. Anti had left your face blank with no details. But even so, your sketched body and even the canvas that was propped up on a easel, was drawn well enough you could tell what they were.

“Aww Anti, this is so sweet.” You said. Smiling as you looked back at Anti. “And I mean it. I love it. And if you ever think of trying to rub this one out, I will destroy you.”

Anti chuckled and nodded. Handing you the pencil to add to the pile on the floor. “Thank you. And I am done for the day. I can feel my hand bones aching now. Also, are you feeling like drawing again?”

You rolled your eyes and shrugged. Glancing down at your sketched eye, the shaded colours and darkened tints were definitely scratching that urge that’s been annoying you for the past few days. “A little. But this helped. Thank you. Also it was fun drawing with you guys. We should make this a thing.”

“Oh, yes! I’d love that!” Robbie peaked excitedly. Though his gaze was now back on his drawing, adding some more purple to the eye he sketched.

“I wouldn’t mind either. Stops me from harassing you, right Sammy.” Anti shot you a wink, leaning down to pick up his coffee mug and take a sip. But as soon as the beverage struck his lips, he spat it back into the mug. “Holy fuck. Cold coffee is disgusting.”

You chuckled and nodded. “It happens. You start drawing, you gotta remind yourself that you have a drink next to you. Otherwise it goes to waste.” Anti mumbled his annoyance and got up to go back to the kitchen. No doubt to make himself another cup of dirty bean juice.

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scifimagpie · 5 years

Text

Game of ZZZs: How Long Stories Ruin Everything

I've been putting this one off because I was kind of busy writing an 18-part series deep-dive involving journalism and undercover work, but since Lindsay Ellis has released her video essay conclusion, I have finally put my thoughts in order.

youtube

So, today we're going to talk about something contentious. I have no issue with books being long, or shows being long, or movies being long - but at the same time, I do. And yes, I know some people adore epic scale stories for their own sake. Not everything needs to be a thousand-page-long ten-book series with three spinoffs and prequels. Oh, sure, market forces and advertising play a role in this, but creators still participate in it.

But sometimes a story isn't long because it needs to be, it's long because the writer thinks it HAS to be. From my personal experience as a reader and writer, and especially as an editor, I've come to some conclusions about how stories are artificially extended. And in a world of global warming and climate change, shouldn't we be fighting waste everywhere, on every level?

Now, a certain show ended its eighth season not long ago; Big Bang Theory came to a whimper of a close after ten seasons, and Veep - which I only heard about towards its grand finale, alas - has also finished up a seven-season run.

I'm not saying all of these shows participated in various errors. I'm saying pretty much every show, book, and movie series will partake in them eventually. So how do we do better than the bad ones, and how do we echo or even improve on the good ones? We can't fight what we don't know about, so let's get into it.

Spacing

Everything happens, but not right away. No, the important events are distanced from each other, to the point where there are long stretches of dead zones or deserts of nonsense in between them. I'm not talking about character interactions as nonsense here, but unfortunately, a lot of authors seem to think that they count, and that human drama isn't interesting enough to be a climax. Older fantasy works--cough, cough, Wheel of Time--can be particularly bad about this. The problem with spacing out events and using human drama between the big McGuffin/army-driven fights is that readers get frustrated by the human drama rather than finding it rewarding. Or worse, they find the army and McGuffiny-crap a distraction from the human stuff.

Padding

I know about this issue from the inside. Bad Things that Happen to Girls started off as a book called Foreverland, and then was untitled for a while before getting its current name. It went through two full rewrites before arriving at its current published form. When I wrote it at first, I thought it absolutely had to be a long novel, with lots of details about the girls' lives and a slow-burn breakdown, then an extended road trip in the middle and a bunch of scenes about their experiences in university.

I didn't realise I was padding it, but when I experimented with radically decreasing the timeline of events, I had a revelation. I didn't need years and paragraphs on paragraphs chronicling their lived experiences, full of pointless dialogue and meandering descriptions. All I had to do were give little samples and important moments, and that would get the idea across. Sometimes a flash reveals more than a long exposure shot, to put it in cinematic terms.

Cramming

EVERYTHING MUST HAPPEN AND IT MUST HAPPEN NOW AND HERE ARE TEN NEW CHARACTERS AND A NEW SUBPLOT AND HOLY CRAP WE MUST MAKE UP FOR WRAPPING UP TOO MANY THREADS AT THE END OF THE LAST SEASON OOPS.

The caps lock here was entirely necessary and appropriate, because with cramming, the story often feels like it's shouting at you. (Probably in German.)

The biggest problem with cramming, too, is that it requires glossing over things. If readers get interested by a small detail, they might end up screaming, "wait, go back!" long after the author's moved to another topic, or three other topics. Finding the balance between this and padding can be tricky, but the best solution I can offer is "external perspective." Get someone to read over your work, and when they lose attention, that's time to cut. It's a trick I often use with editing manuscripts - the minute my attention wavers, I mark it, just in case.

Crashing

this tends to happen to shows that have lived past their expiry date. Supernatural is a fine example of this. This is where "shark-jumping" tends to come into play; characters do things that go against their nature and development for the sake of jump-starting a narrative or adding some excitement.

Oh, the shark-jump. That's worth a mini-section of its own. Honestly, most shows either end or jump the shark in order to keep going. There's no such thing as a perfect writer or a perfect story; mostly because these things are subjective, but partly because keeping all the balls in the air for a story is just plain hard.

Endless escalation

Science fiction authors are prone to this, and so are epic fantasy authors. In an effort to keep reader interest, stakes rise and rise and rise, and then lose sight of the human scale of things. The problem is that stories are made of people, and if you forget about the people, you don't have a story anymore.

As with Cramming, this can lead to glossing over interesting bits as well. The full impact of a big change or shift isn't always felt if we rush to the next big, shiny thing. In real life, though, long-reaching consequences of events can have ripples for decades or even centuries. The Magna Carta was a big deal when it was signed; the effects of the Spanish Inquisitions, the Crusades, the unification of China (which happened more than once), the Viking cultural expansions, and the colonization of North America (by which I mean the land-theft and genocide of Indigenous peoples) are all still talked about to this day.

Bad things that happen to characters need room to resonate. PTSD and trauma are not only interesting, they're natural, and even when people mostly recover from them, they leave a lasting impact. Let your characters get wrecked by something. Have characters reference things that have happened. Let characters get fatigued, collapse, and have to fix themselves. It'll not only demonstrate the actual impact of your events, it'll keep you from having to throw together another big, shiny thing to make the story more exciting (looking at you, Avengers series and mainstream comics).

So, what tends to actually cause these writing techniques behind the scenes?

Burnout or boredom

One of the most difficult and important factors - one which arguably contributed to the absolute mess that was the GoT finale - is just getting tired of your own damn story. When this happens, authors and creators will end up trying to revamp something with weird new twists partly to keep themselves interested, might engineer an awkward left turn to justify a foreshadowed plot element, or might just do a half-hearted wrap-up of the previous plot elements.

Here's the thing - audiences don't always consume stories at the same rate as authors write them. Many times, readers or viewers will stumble on a work and binge it in a relatively short time, so what took years for the writer will take months, at most, for the consumer. This can make tonal clashes very jarring.

In other cases, an author will abandon a series due to writer's block or life events - a sin of which I, cough, am guilty - and then try to pick it up later. This will still impact the story, often negatively. Maybe one has just gotten well and thoroughly tired of the subject matter, or it's been done to death in the popular sphere. It doesn't really matter - either way, authors are subject to the world around them, and sometimes, the only way to deal with burnout or boredom is rotating to another project. That's fine - the only issue comes when the first project is completely abandoned, and languishes, unfinished.

Societal changes and personal development

I'm combining these two because the world around us affects us, and sometimes, we even affect the world. If you'd told me that Donald Trump and Boris Johnson were going to rise to power during my lifetime, I wouldn't've believed you. To many, it sounded like a bad dream. Well, here we are, and the long night has not yet come to an end. Using art to cope with dark times and critique them is a long-celebrated human trend, and there's no reason to stop now. Sure, we might fear our work aging poorly - but stories that try to be timeless always age anyhow, and an earnest time capsule often lasts longer, because it can tap into the problems of an era (which echo forward, as discussed in the section above).

If you'd told me that I'd be able to deal with my family issues in a more satisfactory way, I might have believed you - but realising the impact of that on my writing both as a Game Master and an author is another matter. However, the additional perspective and maturity of healing has, rather than distancing me from characters' struggles, provided additional objectivity and even empathy. Fixing ourselves and healing doesn't "take away our artistic magic" - far from it. If anything, getting over issues unlocks the ability to deal with them in fiction much more effectively.

Disillusionment and insecurity

These are nasty brain demons, all right - perhaps one has taken a look at the broad span of one's work, compared it to one's goals, and feels they are just - well, left wanting. Every creator struggles with this at some point, whether crafting a story for a D&D party or for hundreds of readers or thousands of viewers. The only way to deal with it is with external perspective and turning to objective sources of both external critique and validation.

After all, we tell ourselves things that may or may not be true all the time, and measuring them against the perceptions of the audience can drastically correct things. Your readers might just be happy to see the characters get married - never mind that it took you five years to write about them getting together. And even if they don't like something specific or complain about it or nitpick - hey, they're coming back. You compelled them. Even if the readers, say, abandon their fandom and proclaim it a trashfire - they're still paying for or giving your story attention and money. And ultimately, from a marketing perspective attention is always neutral or positive - even if that attention is controversial - because it increases profits.

How do we even begin to fix all this?

But. All hope is not lost.

By acknowledging burnout, boredom, disillusionment, insecurity, personal development, and societal change - the factors which often lead to writing shortcuts detailed in the previous section - we can compensate for the natural creative struggles by accepting and anticipating them.

Try to write books in a series in a continuous stretch when possible, making it harder to lose track of the tone or style or character journeys. Plot things out, and get yourself a hands-on editor and/or extremely trustworthy beta-readers. And forgive yourself for screwing up - then get back to writing. At least, that's what I'm doing!

***

Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and Max the cat. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people's manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.

Find her all over the internet: * OG Blog * Mailing list * Magpie Editing *

* Amazon * Medium * Twitter * Instagram * Facebook * Tumblr * Paypal.me * Ko-fi

#game of thrones #how to #advice #writing #editing #beta reading #list

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dxmedstudent · 6 years

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Getting through things one day at a time...

It’s been a reflective couple of weeks, and I took some time out to reflect on how I’d been feeling over the course of the entire year, but particularly in the run up to the past month or so when everything seemed to get on top of me.

I took a break from revision, after discussing it with my tutors. Looking back, it was important to take a break so I could begin to get better. I really, really wanted to take that exam, and I was so frustrated because I’d already put in so much work. But I’ve had to resign myself it’ll have to wait a little longer. I stressed a lot about getting everything ready by the deadlines (as does everyone else), and I think I just tried to do so much, until it wore me down. Maybe because it never quite feels like enough, and maybe because it always feels like it’s framed like the results will be dire if you do not. It took a while for me to accept that I needed to put myself first, and now I think I’m finding a better balance. After talking to my tutors, I tried to find non-medical things to fill up my time. I knew I needed to do something, but it’s hard when you’re struggling to stop thinking about work stress and feeling miserable about not being able to do everything you wanted/needed to do because you’ve not been well. I took the time to take regular exercise, lots of walks in the sunshine. I worked on trying to eat and sleep better, and occupying my time with activities as best as I could. I didn’t create much art; somehow, I’m not quite back to my usual creativity. It sucks when you have free time, but lack the energy and will to do things you’d usually love to do. I’m sure it’ll come back, right now I just have to be patient. In the meantime, I decided to make myself do things that required less effort; so I read a few books that had been on my to-do list for a while. I read most of the books in Sarah J. Maas’ ACOTAR series (does it have a real name?). I like the characters, and I can see why they attract a fandom. It’s less fun reading about characters struggling with their own issues when you want a diversion from your own, but they weren’t too heavy to read. There were a few bits that dragged, and I feel they were meant give the impression that it feels terrible and interminable for the characters, but I think I was in the wrong place to be entertained by that aspect.

I also read Good Omens! After putting it on my to-read list multiple times since what feels like forever. For me, reading has always been a healing activity, and it helped, it really did. I have no idea how reading about the apocalypse helped to lift me out of the difficult place I’d found myself in, but I think it’ll keep a special place in my heart.

I took up resin casting some simple things. Nothing... exciting, but we’ll see. I haven’t done much crafting for a long time, and I guess this was the least exhausting way to be creative. D&D remains a godsend to my remaining sanity; There’s something refreshing about immersing yourself completely in hijinks and stratagems and whatever it is that your party gets up to. I’m glad that I have the kind of friends who can be there in whatever way you need. I haven’t worked on comics in a while; I’ve not felt the joy in coming up with ideas or bringing them about, and rather than producing things that feel like they aren’t up to what I want to do, or feel forced, I decided to take a little time and focus on wherever the muse took me, rather than get upset that I was burnt out and art-blocked. I put out weekly comics for so long (for years), that it really frustrates me that I just couldn’t keep up with that recently. When the portfolio-panic dies down, I’ll start up with comics again, hopefully.

I’ve started writing again. Well, my initial concept for this story was a sort of mellow, reflective xxx-holic or Mushishi-like exploration of working in hospital, and somehow it morphed into the hitchhiker’s guide to hospital, and I guess I like writing things that are amusing, but deep down inside it’s underlined by anger at parts of the system. I don’t care if it’s any good, or if anyone else ever reads it, as long as it helps me unwind, or blow off steam.

I finally started the medical BSL course I wanted to start. It’s only a small part of level 1, and I’d love to continue to finish the rest of the level if/when I had the time to, but right now, I’m taking it one lesson at a time. I enjoy it, and though I’ll never be interpreter level, even if I can make my Deaf patients feel a little more included and respected, then I’ll be happy. Following a period of leave, I’ve started back at work. Staffing has been... OK at present. I’m not sure how long that will last, we’ll have to see. I have the uncomfortable feeling that I’m counting down the weeks until I move on from this rotation, which is sad,because I usually really enjoy and miss the departments I work in. But then we can’t like everything. This too shall pass. The main issue right now is the serious amount of portfolio/ARCP related stress permeating all my friends and colleagues. It’s pretty hard to avoid stressing out and falling back into burnout mode when it’s all everyone else talks about. I’ve managed to get back to my portfolio after my break, and make some good progress, but I’m just saturated with it. I’ll be glad when this bit is over. One step at a time.

#personal #my life #mental health and medicine #burnout diaries

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itssiennatheasian · 5 years

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10 Creative Pitfalls: How to Get Out of Art Block

So, your creative juices have stopped flowing. Try as you might, you just can't seem to come up with a concept that inspires you.

How do you get rid of art block, and how did it get here in the first place? Let's take a look at ten creative pitfalls that can start up art block, and how we might be able to kick them to the curb.

Fatigue

When Burnout Takes Over

Sometimes, I love to fool myself into thinking I can work forever—super long hours, without any real need to recharge. Imagine the amount of content we could put out, if we never had to take a breather! If I had as many hours in a day as I have ideas, I'd have a lot of hours freely at my disposal. There just aren't enough hours in a day to do all the things I'd love to do, especially as a creative professional.

I'm not a machine—and even if I were, machines need maintenance and a power supply. Aside from physical and mental exhaustion, excessive work always seems to take a toll on my creativity. It's hard to feel inspired and motivated when your body and your mind are just plain old tired.

Let's get real here—this is especially heart-breaking when professional commitments leave us feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, with little room for passion projects or creative exploration. No one wants to feel burnt out, right? But bills need to get paid, and due dates need to be met. How do we feel inspired and creative under these circumstances?

Photography by garetsworkshop

The Value of Not Working

I get it—"take a break" is so easy to say, and "self-care" has become a popular phrase in recent years—but it's so much easier said than done. Life is full of commitments, responsibilities, and obligations. Even if they are an important part of life, they can also be wildly draining, if not a damper on our creativity.

So what do we do?

I'd like to propose the following—turning off work is essential, just as essential as working hard. Sometimes, we need to unplug and not think like a content creator. Just exist for a moment!

I used to think that "time off" meant "time for my other creative projects", but no. I mean real, genuine time for rest. Just let your mind breathe a little. This can be as simple as giving yourself a little time, every day, to just unwind, rest, and "be"—without thinking about what you're working on or what's due.

What do you like to do to relax and let go? Do you have a go-to routine for resting your mind and allowing your creative juices to recharge? It might be just what you need to get rid of that art block and return to your work with fresh eyes.

Photography by javi_indy

Boredom

When Everything's a Snore

Ever worked on a project and it just seems to go on forever? No matter what you do, the hours just slowly slink by, and everything starts to feel tedious.

I'm a creative person, so I thrive when my mind is stimulated and curious. In a perfect world, I'd always be working on something that has my heart in a tizzy, wildly excited and curious.

However, that's not always reality. It's not unusual to have a project that, while interesting and appreciated, isn't exactly a whirlwind romance.

Likewise, sometimes I just feel... bored, even with my own work. I'm a game developer, and after drawing thousands of sprites, it does get a little tedious, and, well... boring, sometimes.

"Bored" goes hand in hand with "uninspired" for me, and it can make my creativity feel sluggish. So what do you do when boredom takes a toll on your creativity?

Photography by Rido81

Falling in Love Again

When I feel boredom setting in, I like to look at it as a red flag. It's time to not only mix things up but check myself, too.

I see my creative projects a lot like a relationship—sure, it's easy to be involved in the beginning, when puppy love sets in. Things are a lot harder when you're knee-deep in the development of a large project, and you've got to revise, troubleshoot, and rework content. That stuff can be stressful and a lot less exciting—but it's a part of reaching the finish line.

However, that's not to say I think the solution to boredom is "sucking it up". Rather, I like to remind myself of why I'm doing what I'm doing.

I think it's important to continually fall in love with your work. Enjoy and feel pride in your progress, no matter how small. Remind yourself of why you're doing this—and if there isn't an inspiring reason, maybe something has to change.

Photography by NomadSoul1

Perfectionism

When Nothing's Ever Just Right

I think most of us out there want our work to be good. When you're a content creator, your work can feel especially personal. We pour our time and our hearts into making something, and then, in many cases, it's put out into the world for others to enjoy, consume, and observe.

Honestly, that's a little stressful, sometimes.

A friend and I were talking once, and we joked that 75% of an illustration is actually the last 1% of the entire drawing—when you stare, poke, adjust, observe, and tweak things to make sure it's just right. Of course, this was said in good humor, but it was an interesting look at the perfectionism that often plagued us both. A lot of time is potentially spent (or even wasted) on debating if the work is "perfect".

Ever been there?

Aspiring to be the best you can be is admirable, but perfectionism can be immobilizing and frustrating—not something I typically associate with creative freedom. So what do we do when perfectionism starts to go beyond striving for our best and into excess?

Photography by Prostock-studio

Perfectly Imperfect

It's hard to see it sometimes, but imperfection isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, even the biggest hiccups in a project can be very rewarding learning experiences. Sometimes, if I'm too focused on perfection, it can discourage me from taking risks, trying new things, and having fun with my work.

It's worth noting that "perfect" can also be wildly subjective. I was working on logo design concepts for a client once, and found myself very surprised when the client picked my least favorite concept—he actually didn't like my favorite concept, at all! And you know what? That's okay—it's not always about being "perfect".

I like to think it's more about doing your best. Do good work, enjoy doing it, and allow yourself to make mistakes. It's one of the ways we learn and grow. Allowing yourself to be imperfect and enjoying the process can be a great way to help get your creative juices flowing again.

Photography by erikreis

Isolation

When Your Eyes Are Closed Tight

Working alone can be a very rewarding experience. Sometimes, it's nice to create without outside influences—to just create for yourself, by yourself. There's something very refreshing about having that kind of personal relationship and time with your work.

However, when we completely cut ourselves off from the rest of the world, creatively, we potentially miss out on a lot of wonderful ideas and energy. For example, I would never have known about the principles of design if I hadn't read and studied these ideas, crafted by designers that came before me.

When I say "isolation", I'm speaking of disconnecting from anything outside of your own creative headspace. This, of course, is a choice—but personally, I've found that it can be a big damper on my creativity. It's hard to feel inspired, sometimes, when the only creative stimulus around me... is me.

Photography by seventyfourimages

The Joy of Perspective

There is so much knowledge, so much community, and so much support out there to enrich our creative lives. If you're feeling creatively apathetic, maybe some outside perspective and experience will help inspire you once again.

This could include getting involved with other artists or designers—consider joining a professional organization or participating in a creation event. I love themed design or development challenges because they usually involve multiple creatives, a specific time frame, and specific tools or focus. It's awesome to see what others create!

Or maybe it's about expanding your personal library—read up on design topics or pick up a creative magazine. Take a class or make a list of tutorials you'd love to walk through! Learning about, observing, and appreciating the world around you—all the wonderful creative people and content in it—can be very inspiring.

Photography by Wavebreakmedia

Fear

Wondering If It'll Work Out

Sometimes, I have pretty nasty anxiety when it comes to my work—I don't think I'm alone in that. Being an independent, creative professional isn't easy, and there has been a lot of uncertainty, at times—especially early in my career. I knew I wanted my professional life to be a creative one, but could I pay the bills like that?

Then there's the logistics of how to do "everything". What software do I need to know? How do I stay up to date? How do I afford it? Do I go to college—and which one? Do I want to freelance? Do I want to be an in-house designer, or maybe work at a firm? What type of art or design is right for me—and should I care how they pay, in comparison? What should I be paid—what is fair pay? What about copyright and ownership?

Whew.

When I was teaching, I had a lot of students with similar fears and anxiety about working towards a creative career. It can be really difficult to feel inspired and creative when you're bogged down with worry—worry if this will "work out" or if pursuing your creative passions is an idea you'll regret.

Photography by Wavebreakmedia

You Will Make Mistakes, and That's Okay

I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, personally and professionally—but I like to think it's an important part of continuing to grow as a person. For example, did I know how to handle my taxes perfectly, in my first year of being an independent artist? Well, I did my homework, but I still made mistakes—and when I made a mistake, I had to make it right. Lesson learned.

Being immobilized by the fear of making mistakes or something going wrong doesn't really help anything, in my opinion or experience—it just feels tense, which isn't normally a creative space for me.

Things are going to go wrong sometimes. Maybe you'll experience art theft, one day. Maybe a due date will get messed up, or you'll get burnt by a bad contract. All we can do is arm ourselves with knowledge and have confidence that we'll continue to learn and grow, as long as we approach our work ethically and in good faith.

If fear, confusion, and doubt are taking a toll on your creativity, consider speaking with another creative professional. We often go through a lot of the same growing pains. If there's something you don't know about, make a point to learn it. Empowering yourself is a great way to combat uncertainty.

Photography by Rawpixel

Hesitation

Waiting and Waiting, Then Waiting Some More

What are you waiting for?

No, seriously, what are you waiting for? This is something I have often asked myself, when it comes to a creative project I've been itching to work on—but hesitant to start.

Starting a project, a piece, or even going after a big opportunity can be both daunting and intimidating. What if it doesn't work out? What if I don't have the time to do it? Do I have what I need to complete this? There's such a circle of thought there that can feed into this hesitation.

There's nothing wrong with being cautious—in fact, it can be really intelligent to wait, weigh your options, and make an educated decision about your projects and professional life. However, there can come point where hesitation begins to turn waiting into... a lot of waiting. If we wait forever, life's just going to pass us by.

It can be really frustrating to look back on things we've really wanted to do—but haven't. It's not typically a creative space to be in. Rather, it can feel limiting, anxious, and filled with loss.

Photography by vadymvdrobot

Take the Initiative

Why not today?

Day one is often the hardest day of any project—it's the starting line, so we don't have any progress to look back on. We only have the path ahead to look at. Rather than looking at the distance ahead of us as daunting and scary, consider looking at it as a wonderful journey with bountiful rewards. It's going to feel awesome, once you hit that finish line.

Is there something, creatively, that you've always wanted to do? What have you been waiting for?

Maybe this is why art block has crept its way into your workflow—maybe it's time to take the plunge and go after something you've always wanted to do! Whether it's an illustration you've always wanted to draw or an entirely new, creative business venture, chasing after what inspires you is a great way to give art block the boot.

Photography by FlamingoImages

Rigidity

When There's No Flexibility

Many of us have a process—we know how we make our work, from start to finish. In my opinion, there's a certain comfort and confidence that comes with knowing your process. You know how to start and finish your work, and this is generally a good thing.

However, there have been times that I've caught myself feeling really rigid, when it comes to my process. This rigidity, while I thought it was the stability that I needed to get work done, has actually ended up costing me both time and inspiration. Art and design are not always as simple as Step A + Step B = Step C.

There are times when a project might need a different approach. Likewise, the same can be said for our inspiration and creativity. Doing the same thing, over and over again, without any flexibility can make for an environment that feels stiff, rather than a space that is curious and open to ideas.

Photography by Wavebreakmedia

New Can Be Wonderful

Flexibility can open a world of possibilities—whether your creative work is of a personal or professional nature. Sometimes, just stepping back and looking at the possibilities can reveal options that we may not have considered, given our "normal" process.

In my opinion, there are always options; it's our job to step back and allow ourselves to see them. When we're at a loss for creative concepts, we might be depriving ourselves of the opportunity to see things differently.

If you're feeling devoid of creative ideas and art block is taking a hold on you, maybe it's time to step back and look at the bigger picture. Are you forcing yourself to create work in a rigid way? Are there other options, other solutions, and other processes that might better serve your work or your project?

Photography by DragonImages

Impatience

Hurry Up and Happen Already

Who wouldn't want to get things done faster? I'd love to be able to create numerous projects and pieces, every single day—but that's just not how things work. Art and design take time, as do different parts of our professional and personal lives.

However, that's not to say that impatience isn't still a struggle. For example, when you're learning design software, it can be easy to slip into frustrating impatience. No one wants to futz around with software, trying to figure out how it works. We want to dig in and make wonderful things! We want a portfolio full of works that we're proud of!

These things, however, take time. It takes hours of practice and training to learn design software, to learn design theory, and to build a solid portfolio of work.

Impatience can be a major downer and lead to frustration and disappointment. It can be really difficult to feel creative and excited about your work when you feel impatient with yourself and your progress.

Photography by vadymvdrobot

Slow and Steady

I know it's easier said than done, but I think it's important to be patient with ourselves and our work, as creative professionals. Set due dates and timelines that are both reasonable and realistic, so you don't end up frustrated, disappointed, and overwhelmed.

But sometimes, this happens on a smaller level, too. For example, sometimes I've worked on an illustration—for myself—and felt impatient with my process. Why can't I finish this faster?

In those cases, I try to remind myself that the time and energy I'm putting into my work is precious. Enjoy the process. Learn from it! Art and design are not necessarily just about the finished product. As creatives, the process is the part we're living for, right? It's what we do—we don't just enjoy art and design, we live it and we experience it.

I often feel impatient, for example, if I can't come up with concepts fast enough. Instead, I try to reframe my thinking—of course conceptual work takes time. That time is precious and worth it. Be patient—give yourself the time to create work that you feel great about.

Photography by Wavebreakmedia

Disorganization

When There's No Beginning or End

When you don't know where you're going, and you don't know what you're doing, it can be a lot harder to make consistent, confident progress. Maybe that's why a clear and organized desk feels so good—you know where everything is when you need it.

I associate creativity with freedom, so talking about something like structure, as a means of combatting art block, feels a little backwards. Why would we want structure, especially after we just spoke about rigidity?

Well, too much of a good thing can turn into a not-so-good thing. For example, having no design process—just winging it, from start to finish—can make for an anxious experience. Who knows how long it will take, or how we'll get to the finish line, with no map?

Or imagine having no professional boundaries and just working haphazardly until bedtime. Or what if we want to make design our professional focus, but we have no plan of action to make it happen?

If you're feeling discouraged, or your creativity is feeling drained, maybe it's because you're spread all over the place, without any structure. Do you create with a plan? What are you working towards, and how are you doing so?

Photography by Prostock-studio

Know Where You're Going

I think there's a lot of value in clearly defining what you're doing and how you plan to do it. This works on a large and small scale.

So, for example, if you want to be a professional graphic designer, you should probably have a plan. This is more than "I'm going to school"—a degree isn't a guaranteed pass straight to success. Your plan should potentially inspire and excite you! Actively engage with content and projects that support your goals.

This works with single projects too. For example, when I sit down to draw, and I have no idea what I'm going to draw, it's easier for me to get discouraged. I don't have any plan—it's easy to end up with disjointed doodles, instead of a concept I love. Instead, it's often more advantageous to draw thumbnail sketches, choose a concept, and then start to formally draw. Even the simplest of roadmaps can help clearly define where you're going and what you're doing—a focus that you love can be very inspiring!

Photography by Wavebreakmedia

The Unknown

Who Knows What Might Happen?

All the research, classes, books, and conversations in the world can't prepare and protect you from life—there are going to be unexpected twists and turns in your creative pursuits. Some of them might even knock the wind right out of you!

One of the unknowns that really hit me, earlier in my career, was the uncertainty of freelance life. Some months, my income would be great—but others, not so much. Sometimes, job offers wouldn't pan out. Inquiries might go unanswered.

Even the best of students aren't going to know everything there is to know before entering the professional world. In fact, any professional who thinks they know everything is probably just a good actor—we all have something to learn, and life takes us all by surprise sometimes.

So when are you ready to create? When can you call yourself a professional? The unknown can be intimidating. It can leave you feeling less than ready to go after your creative goals.

Photography by diego_cervo

You've Got This

No, seriously—you've got this. We get one life. Even if your experience is limited, you can put yourself out there, handle yourself in a professional manner, and continually build a body of professional, quality work.

One of the best counters to fearing the unknown, or "not knowing what to do", is arming yourself with knowledge! Think outside of the creative side of art and design on this, too. For example, many of us have to deal with the business side of design—we can't just ignore that vital part of being a creative professional. Educate yourself on topics like copyright concerns that pertain to your work. Research best practices, when it comes to practical, professional skills. Don't wait—actively move forward.

Being proactive not only arms you with knowledge. I find it very empowering—and when I feel empowered, it's a lot easier to sit down with a smile and create something awesome.

Photography by RawPixel

Here's to Staying Inspired and Creative!

Thanks for joining me in this conversation about the many things that can bring about art block—and how we can combat them! These are my two cents and experiences—what do you think? What helps you get inspired when you're feeling out of sorts?

Photography by RawPixel

Special thanks to PixelBuddha and their wonderful Watercolor Dry Brush Effects for Adobe Photoshop! I used this wonderful Photoshop effect in this article—it's super easy to use and apply to your favorite photographs. Check it out!

If you enjoyed this article, here are some others you might want to check out!

Inspiration

The 10 Best Motivational Royalty-Free Music Tracks

Dacia Egurrola

Presentations

15 Creative Presentation Ideas: That Will Inspire Your Audience to Action

Julia Melymbrose

Graphic Design

Smart vs. Stylish: How to Balance Design Principles With Design Trends

Daisy Ein

Design Theory

The Basic Elements of Design

Laura Keung

International Women's Day

Press for Progress: 40 Inspiring Quotes for Women Entrepreneurs

Andrew Blackman

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