#strategies & tips

[ask-the-prose]

Conducting a War

So, your story takes place during a war. Maybe your characters are experiencing war or maybe they're waging war against other characters or groups. Likely, you are not a general or expert in warfare. How do you write a story that is set during a war?

Who's fighting who?

The first, most obvious, step is to know who is fighting whom and why. Wars are between groups of people. They can be a small clan, a massive nation, or even an entire planet or galaxy. Two characters fighting it out are not considered "at war" because they are representing themselves and settling an individual dispute, even if it is a high-stakes dispute.

Why are the parties in your story fighting? There are a lot of different reasons why two groups of people would go to war against each other, but most wars are over resources at their center. Disputes over land and borders, over who gets what crops and for what price, and even religious wars are usually about the resources available and scarcity. So when you're talking about war, you need to know what either side wants. Just like a character, your war parties need to have desires and stakes.

"Resources" can mean just about anything that society needs. Food, fresh water, opportunities for trade, minerals, metals, building materials, and wealth are all examples of resources your war parties can fight over.

What does it take to wage war?

Wars require resources too. It's not just about getting resources but spending resources as well. When nations go to war in the real world, there are opportunities for people to make exorbitant amounts of money and wealth by taking advantage of a wartime economy.

The parties waging war need people to fight their battles. They need to pay those people, arm them, feed and clothe them, and transport them to where they need to be. Where does the government or person in charge get the food, armor, weapons, and transportation? Where do they allocate those scarce resources? Oftentimes in war, those in charge must make sacrifices. Is there a portion of land that the person in charge gives up to protect another portion with their limited resources?

There are unlimited stories hidden in these questions, and a large base of world-building will help to answer these questions in depth. There are many opportunities for tension and rising stakes for your war parties in the event that the opposing side makes acquiring war resources difficult or impossible.

Types of Armies

Your armies tell you a lot about the resources available to your characters and how you can build your story and plot line around the war. So I'll discuss the differences between four types of armies that exist in the real world and throughout history. These are examples; you can change or twist these examples however best suits your story.

The first is a professional army. These guys are paid and trained by the state; being in the army is their entire job. The army can fill a number of different roles other than fighting, but their purpose is to provide martial protection to the people of their nation and carry out martial orders from the government or sovereign entity in charge. Important aspects of a professional army to consider: these soldiers are paid for their work, they are trained by professionals, and oftentimes they follow a hierarchy or chain of command. Most governments provide medical care to their professional armies, but this isn't required. The soldiers can be conscripted or voluntary.

Next up is a mercenary army. This army is also paid for their services, but they are not trained by the state, and they ultimately take their orders from the organization, not the government. The government commissions the mercenary army for their services. The government does not provide most of the resources required to maintain an army. They pay for the army but don't necessarily feed, arm, or clothe them.

A fyrd is a historical term that refers specifically to the Anglo-Saxon armies raised by different Lords and Thegns to protect their lands and shires. These armies consisted of civilians and able-bodied free men from the local settlements and farms gathered by the ealdorman. They were conscripted into the service, and they lacked formal martial training. Also, importantly, their provisions and weapons were provided by the soldiers themselves. Meaning you will see fewer long swords and forged weapons for the purposes of fighting and more axes and improvised weaponry. The purposes of the improvised weaponry are primarily as other tools, such as axes for chopping wood and knives for butchery. Any horses or mules brought along for work or fighting are the property of the lords or farm owners who provided them.

A militia is very similar to a fyrd; this army consists of civilians who are paid or conscripted into service by the government but are not professional soldiers. These militias may sometimes have training from professional soldiers among their ranks, but mostly they are civilians training themselves. The soldiers provide their provisions, weaponry, and armor, meaning that the wealth has to come from the soldiers and their professional jobs and not from their martial services. The militia is a more modern term, but it is marginally different in that most militias we think of today are voluntary and not conscripted.

Battle Strategy

This is where a little research may help you. Battles behave differently depending on different factors. What technology and weaponry is available to your war parties? Are we talking about bladed weapons or guns or lasers? Is your army a professional or mercenary army, or is it more like a fyrd or militia?

When setting up a battle in your story, focus on the differences between the two armies and how that may affect their strategy toward fighting or engaging the enemy. If your fyrd faces a professional army, they may encounter some problems regarding weaponry and armor. Your fyrd will struggle to match a professional army in defending against well-made weapons and professional training. How do they work to compensate for those weaknesses?

When looking at two equally armed and trained armies, a general or battle strategist will look to the terrain to plan a battle. Generally, controlling the high ground helps in battles. If one army has a heavy cavalry presence, your opposing army may want anti-cavalry measures in place. Do they have the space to do so? Urban areas will lend themselves well to guerilla-style and urban warfare tactics. Jungles and forests will look different to hills and plains, and deserts bring unique problems to a battle that a mountainous terrain might not.

What is the battle for? Battles have a purpose; otherwise, there would be no value to the loss of troops. What is worth the risk of losing lives? Does the battle have stakes? Some stakes that might be worth conducting a battle over include taking control of a river pass, allowing naval trade and travel, cutting off control of a trade route to the enemy, or invading an important town or city to process and refine necessary materials.

Ending the War

The war will eventually end if your characters are lucky. But what ends a war? Wars usually end with agreements between the two opposing parties following surrender or extension of peaceful negotiations. Negotiating what each party needs or wants is an art in and of itself. Each party must come to the agreement that waging war further is more expensive and less rewarding than ending violent opposition with concessions made by either side.

Conclusion

Wars and battles are like characters; they have needs, desires, and stakes. Writing your characters in a war or battle will hinge on the needs and stakes of the greater war and story. Important questions to ask are: what are we fighting for? Who are we fighting? And what happens if we don't fight?

–Indy

#writing advice #writing tips #writing resources #writeblr #amwriting #writblr #writers of tumblr #writers on tumblr #writing help #writing guide #on writing #creative writing #writing #writers #writing about war #writing war #writing warfare #writing battle strategy #writing battle planning

[thewriteblrlibrary]

A Step-by-Step Marketing Guide so we can spite traditional publishers (and make people cry).

~ This is a guide specific for fiction/writeblr. All of this is for free and there is little social media posting/ads involved (unless you want to venture into that). ~

Within the writeblr spheres, there's this underlying hope that our stories will find their audience. Perhaps we'll have a fandom full of fanart and video essays, or maybe we'll be an instant classic and sit on collectors' beloved bookshelves. Our stories could sit within the deepest corners of someone's heart and maybe they never tell a soul about what's so special to them. Maybe our stories become those 'underrated masterpieces'.

Or we just want to see people ugly cry over our writing.

Whatever your hope may be, marketing is an important path to venture on (especially because traditional publishers are rejecting diverse books in favor of ones that are already famous + the whole sub-par machine thing they seem obsessed with.)

And thus, my childhood marketing obsession will hopefully be of use to you. This is all for free (unless you want to spend money) and you don't need to figure out social media platforms (unless you want to, and this guide works if you decide to take that route too.)

Step One: Characters

Marketing spheres will define these fictious people as 'avatars' or 'the target audience'. You could also call them characters. Because that's what they are: fictional people.

For this step, you shall create characters that would love your story.

And here's some great news: You've already done this.

Perhaps you wrote your story to comfort a prior version of yourself. Perhaps each character in your story holds an aspect of your personality. Perhaps you were ridiculously self-indulgent and made the story you would've loved to read. These are all possible characters you can reuse for marketing.

Write down 2-4 quick archetypes for these characters. You'll chose an aspect of your story (characters, themes, or the younger-self that you wrote it for) and write a thumbnail sketch. (Main issue, fears, wants, personality traits if they relate to the main issue.)

I'll do it for my story (the Land of the Fallen Fairies) down below:

Anuli-like (my MC): Overthinking and aloof. Wants a happy ending but thinks their current personality/character isn't good enough for one. The present stales in comparison to the past/the childhood they lost. The 'gifted theater kids'. Kamari-like (side character): Postpones happiness in favor of creating a perfect schedule/getting accomplishments. Heavy masking. Creative but doesn't create anymore. Promises themself they'll enjoy themselves later, when they've earned it. Workaholics. My younger self: Wanting a fantasy escapism to embody the traits they wish they had in real life. Dissatisfied and worried about reality. Perfectionists. Self-indulgent: People who love plants and forests and fantasy worlds far away from reality/humanity.

Great! Now it's time to find these characters.

Step Two: Setting.

(Let's assume you're using the internet for your marketing. But a similar method works for real life too.)

Where do the characters live?

In order to figure that out, we need to discover the characters' interests, what they watch to solve their problems, and who they find #relatable.

(You can do this for each character or for all the characters at once.)

For example:

Anuli-like -

interests: Stories. Analysis videos. Fantasy escapism. Things that remind them of their childhood. (so nature, warmth, comfort, play, imagination and the times they would actually enjoy learning.)

Places to look: Nature quotes, ambience videos, children's shows and fairytales (comfort shows). Fandom culture - fanfic video essays, fan art.

Solving problems (the problem being wanting a 'happy ending' but feeling that their personality/lifestyle/characteristics aren't right for one): Mindfulness things. Self-healing. Quotes and meditations and candles galore. Slow living. Nature vlogs. Self care. All that 'live in the moment' culture.

Places to look: Slow living. Nature vlogs. The 'softer self-help' (spirituality stuff. Magic/ overnight answers). Witchcraft. 'aesthetic nature' places. Guided meditations.

#relatable: Burnt out gifted kids. People who think so much that their life passes them by. Storytellers and creative who create to make sense of the world. People who like dark, gory things in spite of who they want to be. People who don't like reality.

Places to look: Those 'learn better and remember everything' places. (The 'burnt-out gifted kid' recovery places.) Stop overthinking spots. Those quotes on Pinterest from poetic people who think too much /aff. Storyteller places. Dark academia. Classical music. One off quotes/ poetry.

Okie dokie. Once you have this, find channels, social media accounts, blogs, songs, books, etc. that fit with the categories you wrote down. (They should appeal to the characters) You can search up some of the terms you listed into searches and see who pops up. Bonus points if you find people that overlap with multiple sections.

I know I didn't include booktube or booktok in here. You can if you want too. But those can be a bit... 'consume these 500 books'. You also want to find other places where people who would like you story live, even if they don't follow booktube or booktok.

Congrats! Now you know where your characters live!

Step Three: the scary part

Take everyone you found on your search for the settings and write them down a list. Make sure you get an email/contact info. (they usually list them somewhere under 'for business inquires') Also feel free to watch their content and get to know what attributes these settings have.

And now... we talk to them. about our stories. You can do it. I believe in you.

This called 'pitching your product' in marketing spheres. But you can be informal about it.

I know it can be difficult to talk about your work, so here's a tone to have:

'I made this thing I like and I think you'll like it too'.

What you'll do is send an email (or dm) that goes like this (inspired by Creative Hive on youtube):

Hi [name],

[Genuine compliment]

[Quick sentence or two about your story. Include the themes and who it appeals to. If you have a logline/sentence summary, include that. But I find that the underlying themes and 'who's it's for' is more engaging.

For my story, I might say something like.

I've written a story you might enjoy, since you like [interest]. It's called the Land of the Fallen Fairies. It's a nature-themed commentary on the pursuit of happiness and fixing yourself to deserve that happiness, told by an overthinking, unreliable, houseplant narrator. It was supposed to comfort me when I got frustrated with myself and my happiness chasing, and I hope it can comfort others too.

(That's probably a bit long and I can trim it down a bit.)

You can phrase it like a gift if you want too.]

[Call to action.

'If you like it, I'd appreciate a mention on your [platform].

I know this part may be difficult to mention (imposter syndrome is not fun.) But I promise that if they do like it, they'll be happy to mention it.]

If they don't respond within... four-ish days? (A week at most). then you can include a follow up. For this you can include a template with info about your story. This way it's easy for them to talk about your story.

The template:

title

genre

blurb

Author

where to find the book

Bonus points if you have an additional, physical thing to send them.

Congrats! Now do this pitching process a few times until you've covered most of your bases. (Pitch to as many people as you can. It will get more comfortable as you do it. Play your favorite song and don't let yourself think too hard about it.)

----------

The benefits of this process are that you find people that are already interested in the themes and vibes of your story (in comparison to to ads, which get shoved in everyone's faces.). Someone your audience already trusts will talk about it, which means you don't need to do all this trial and error to find your audience and make content for them.

It's basically a bunch of people talking about something they like!

AND you diversify your audience across niches, but with an underlying theme/interests. Booktok/booktube must appeal to everyone, so it's a hit or miss for recommendations. (Unless there is someone that specifically does one genre/type of story.)

From here you can do fun little things to build up hype and make the book launch feel like this fun event. (I love it when that happens so here's my thoughts about trying to create an event with your story... although that may require another post entirely.)

preorder goals

charity goals

Arg's and puzzles

fund with side plushies and trinkets

Book blog tour

book boxes

as many memes as you can make

rewards (like bookmarks or posters or smth) that people can get for supporting

Talk about the process of creating your story. I know this one channel called 'Dead Sound' that creates 'making of' videos for his short films and they are some of the best videos on youtube.

Okay dear storyteller! Now go forth and share your story with the world!

Additional resources:

Creative Hive <-- a youtube channel that goes through the pitching process.

This video is also very good <-- Haven't watched the rest of the channel but I assume it's also good.

One of the best marketing channels on the internet (the videos are actually entertianing to watch.

Seth Goldin <-- I read his book and took the parts I liked and modified for storytelling marketing.

Dead Sound <-- propaganda to watch the short film series he has (he did the whole 2-d 3-d style wayyyy before spiderverse did... and he's one person making these. One person. It's amazing.

Glitch <--- If someone can figure out how The Amazing Digital Circus was marketed then I will pay you money. It seems to be a lot of memes and funny things.

#writers of tumblr #writerscommunity #writing advice #writing tips #writer stuff #on writing #writeblr #writing community #writer #storytelling tips #fiction #writing #filmmaking #creative writing #writers on tumblr #writers and poets #marketing strategy #pitching #writing resources #resources #useful #for reference #useful stuff #the writeblr library #please do well post #I've spent so much time on this

[sensible-tips]

Mindful Monday

Tips for dealing with dysphoria when it reels its ugly head.

#FTM #F2M #transmasculine #transgender man #trans man #genderqueer #genderfluid #genderflux #demiboy #agender #bigender #non binary #pangender #FTM wellness #Mindful Monday #sensible-tips #healthy coping #coping skills #coping strategies #FTM health #FTM mental health

[hisui-dreamer]

reminder to master chef twst jp players that:

the 20 minute ingredient gathering is the most efficient one, but find the one that matches your schedule

focus on getting sugar, eggs and fruits because they're pretty popular ingredients

use low/medium ingredients to raise skill level, only use high quality ingredients when the recipe is above 50%

try focusing on one recipe at a time

when you're done with the event, use up the rest of your ingredients for 100%, then do the recipes with the fewest ingredients

when nothing else can be made, just keep making black dishes to earn what medals you can

i hope these tips help!!

#^ tips i learnt from strategy guides and personal experience hehe #i didn't realise 20 mins was the most efficient and i kept doing 360 mins 😯😵‍💫 #also the idea of using up all my ingredients to make black dishes never crossed my mind??? so many ingredients wasted😭😭😭 #anyways lesson learned at least #twisted wonderland #twst master chef #twst jp

[neurodiversitysci]

Three Strategies for Doing Home Chores With ADHD

A family member with undiagnosed ADHD has the following routine for washing the dishes.

When he starts making coffee, he uses that time to put away 10 dishes. Since he uses a very fast Keurig coffeemaker, it turns into a game or challenge: can he put away all 10 dishes before the coffee is ready?

He points out that making coffee would otherwise be “dead time” where he’s just standing around. These moments feel torturous for me and many others with ADHD. So, he makes use of that “dead time” to do a little bit of chores.

It made me think about such moments of down time in my life, and my own first reaction -- to pull out my phone and check my email and social media or play a relatively mindless game. I started wondering how much easier cleaning my home would be if I made better use of my dead time.

The strategies he’s combining here are:

1) Use those torturous little bits of down time to do some small “productive” thing

2) Break a task into small pieces that can fit into little bits of down time.

3) Turn a boring task into a game or challenge. (This is one of his favorites).

Have you used any of these strategies? Would a habit like this work for you?

1/14/23

#original post #original #actually adhd #adhd adult #adulting #adult adhd #self care #self regulation #habits #executive function #executive functioning #coping strategies #tips #actually neurodivergent #neurodivergence #neurodivergent #neurodiversity #advice #productivity #organization #adhd

[pollenallergie]

“do the hardest task first”

no. just… no.

hot take: this doesn’t work for people with adhd (in my experience/from what i’ve heard from other people with adhd in my life). i recommend doing the easy/moderately difficult stuff first, that way you can convince yourself that it’s all going to be this easy and undemanding. then hyper-focus will kick in because your brain is like, “yeah, we can do this, we’ve got this.” then, before you know it, you’ve completed both the easy tasks and the hard tasks while hyperfocusing.

like, on a serious note, it’s always been easier for me to convince myself to get the most difficult tasks done when i’m already working/in the working frame of mind, not when i’m laying in bed or sitting on the couch, mindlessly scrolling through stuff on my phone, and struggling to start at all.

if the choice comes down to you not starting at all or starting with the easiest task first (which, for me, it often does), always, always pick starting with the easiest task first. sometimes you need a small victory, a little bit of an accomplishment, to give you the courage to take on bigger challenges.

#adhd #audhd #in my experience… ‘study tips’ or ‘time management tips’ from neurotypical people will almost never work for us #they don’t conceptualize time the same way we do #they don’t look at challenges the same way we do #it’s okay to take bits and pieces of their advice #ya know… whatever parts of it work for you #but don’t think that you have to use all the strategies and programs that they do to be successful #because you don’t #all that fake business soft skills/mental health guru/grind mindset stuff is total bullshit #pick strategies that speak to/work for you #it’s okay to fail at things and to have to try again #it’s okay to make mistakes and not get shit done sometimes #sometimes you need a fucking break #it’s okay to start with the easy stuff first and just ease your way into being productive #it’s okay to hyperfocus and work for hours on end sometimes #if it’s hard for you to take breaks when you’re studying and you feel like you learn better if you stay in that hyperfocused zone #than just go until the hyperfocus wears off #then take a break… eat… nourish your body… take care of yourself… and come back later #maybe later is later on that day #maybe later is tomorrow #either way is completely fine #do what works best for you #work with your neurodivergent brain… no against it #pol’s diary <3

[cubsha]

#elden ring #blaidd the half wolf #important #video game strategy #high level boss strat #tips to get good #become the best at video game using these hot tips #tip screen #from software

[charles-leclerc-official]

hi!! New fan here, i was wondering, how do you know which stats and data to look for in terms of fairly comparing the performances of drivers? and just in general tips on race analysis :') like figuring out if they did the right strategy, the data you need to look for, anything else you find significant? thank you so much! i'd like to be more objective tbh bc the emotions are vv strong during a race and they tend to overpower my rational side.

Well there is a lot that can go into this. Some of it is very much a learned skill that you get better at over time.

General good rules of thumb for comparison and analysis:

1.The same car/teammates: comparing teammates is usually very helpful in understanding a car and also where the two drivers differ. Since they are in the same machinery we can see what some general characteristics are of a specific car. And then we can also see where there are differences that can be attributed to a driver specifically. Comparing teammates is always useful, and helpful in understanding a team overall because you know that team is constantly comparing their driver's performances.

2. Max(or whoever is the current #1): having Max as a benchmark of the current top driver is always helpful because he's obviously the one to beat. Also since he is so good he delivers amazing data on tracks. So if I want to see where the SF-24 or Charles need to improve comparing to Max is a good way to do it. It would not be as helpful to compare Charles to say Fernando, who while a great driver, the car he's in and his standing right now just isn't going to offer many valuable insights.

3. Race strategy: this is a very complicated topic, it is way more like chess than people realize. Seeing who starts where, the places they can likely gain from there, the timing that needs to happen to gain those places etc. Those are all factors. You really get a sense of it after you watch for a while. This is an extremely complex area that is a constantly evolving logic problem (which is why teams are so focused during races) This is the area where I have the fewest tips because it is really one of those things that just comes from experience and observation. One thing to do would be read interviews about what your team is saying about their strategy and the thinking that went into it. Spatial reasoning and logic are a big part of race strategy, and then once the lights go out those things get affected by time and random events (ex a driver DNFing) So race strategy is a combination of spatial logic and being able to do it dynamically as time progresses over a race. So thinking of it like chess that changes every lap is a good way to think about it.

4. Race specific battles: pay attention during races who is really battling (ex Lewis and Oscar in Jeddah, or Lando and Carlos in Suzuka or Lando and Charles in Melbourne) then you can look at the data for some insights into why the battle played out the way it did. Another example would be if you wanted to understand why Mclaren made Oscar and Lando switch in Australia, you can go look at the data and the answer it pretty clear. So these kinds of comparisons can give a lot of insight into why a team made certain strategy calls.

5. DRS: DRS is always something I look at when talking about speed, because while it's great for speed it's more of a luck right place at the right time thing, and so if I want to be fair in pace or speed comparisons I try to find laps where either both drivers got DRS or neither did (sometimes this isn't possible but it's a good factor to keep in mind)

6. Same tyres: comparing pace and speed on tyres it's important to keep the compound in mind. Comparing a fast lap one driver did on a medium tyre to one another driver did on hards isn't really in good faith. Now sometimes doing cross compound comparison can be useful, (ex a driver setting the same times on hards as another driver on mediums is interesting and worth digging into) But if you are wanting to do a direct comparison and want to eliminate this as a variable always compare on the same compound (sometimes this isn't possible so keep that in mind) Comparing across compounds is helpful too, but you should be very clear about why and the logic behind it.

7. Field placement: Comparing a midfield car to a top car isn't super helpful. Max isn't Logan's competition, other midfield drivers are Logan's competition. So it's important to look at who is actually competing with who. You could do a Logan to Max comparison but it likely wouldn't offer much insight into either drivers' strengths or weaknesses. Comparing Logan to Alex(his teammate) or Zhou(someone else in the midfield) is going to be way more useful.

8. Weather/Temperature: this can be a massive compounding factor for performance and should always be considered. Was it raining? Was it windy? Was there notable heat? How was that affecting drivers? etc

9. Mechanical issues: always note them and take them into account, this sounds like a no-brainer but not everyone does this and it leads to a lot of bad faith representations of a driver or a race.

10. Team Radio: if you want to understand what a driver and a team were thinking during the race and want answers for why things played out the way they did (good or bad) then team radio usually has a lot of answers. A good example of this would be listening to Charles' radios in Suzuka, you can listen to him talking about which strategy to go with and then the team figuring that out with him. Radios are very informative. I always listen to Charles', so if you have a driver/team you are focused on I highly recommend doing that.

11. Sometimes there is no way to do a fair comparison: this is something that is important to keep in mind(and again a lot of people forget this). For example in Bahrain when Charles had that massive brake temperature imbalance issue, no one else had it. So we cannot really compare his pace or performance to anyone and account for that. We can still compare his say fastest lap to Carlos' to see what he was able to do in less than optimal circumstances. But this is another very important thing to remember. Sometimes conditions do not allow for a totally fair comparison, and that is always worth noting. This is a very important fallacy to be aware of, and it's a trap a lot of people fall into, making it appear as though there is a fair comparison in a situation when there is not. So always keep this in mind. Sometimes the fact no fair comparison can be made is informative in itself.

A lot of analysis is also what I feel like just falls under plain old common sense and logical reasoning. Races are big logical puzzles, so just like with any logic based game it takes practice to get the hang of it. This just comes with watching races and paying attention to the details.

Also analysis doesn't get rid of the emotional reactions(at least not for me) I watch live and have all kinds of emotions. I just do that in private and wait to look at the data. And that is totally normal for the record. This is why I recommend re-watching a race for analysis for 2 reasons. 1. You will probably catch a lot of things you didn't notice the first time, and 2. You won't be as emotional and will probably be able to view what happened more objectively.

Hopefully this answers your question <3

#luci answers #race analysis tips #analysis resources #race strategy is both more complicated than people think but it's also not rocket science #it's just a big logic puzzle that evolves every second so you have to keep finding new solutions

[thejournallo]

DAILY REMINDER:

Every time you believe, something comes true.

If you believe that brushing your hair will make it longer, it will automatically become true. 

Every object you own can function in the same way.

#manifestation #manifesting #shifting methods #loa methods #manifestation method #spiritual development #manifesation #journal #explain the method #explained #daily reminder #daily life #daily memes #daily noods #daily drawing #daily tarot #create #notes #postaday #trying #manifesting tips #tips and tricks #tips and strategies #tips and advice #manifesting appearance #how to manifest #law of assumption #self concept #neville goddard

[drumlincountry]

one of the best & funniest things I heard this week was when a student activist was asking an ~~elder eco warrior what organisation they should get involved in & this 75 year old retired doctor was like "nah, you gotta set up your own. You need like 10 separate groups. Even if all the members are the same. When one of them gets in legal trouble, you just shut it down and continue with the others. This shit is basic."

#me fein #its a solid strategy just something about the delivery #the contrast between this kid who wanted to know which organisation was Least Problematic #and the guy who knows what it is to be sued for defamation by a company worth literal billions #beautiful. real learning space. #top tips: 1. have disposable organisations #2. make sure those organsations have no money so it doesn't matter if they get sued #politics

[alwaysbewoke]

#Wendy’s #stupid #supply and demand #pricing strategies #consumer behavior #savings tips #happy hour deals #early bird specials #booking tips #off-peak travel #surge pricing #dynamic pricing #variable pricing #real-time pricing #revenue optimization #technological advances #fast food pricing #restaurant pricing #retail pricing #pricing trends

[bitfruity]

why has it been so tame lately? what happened to showing ass and squaring over dildos? he was moaning for santa to come a couple days ago

and then santa comes and that’s it?? i’m gonna need more than that babe😩

#how did we get here?😭😭 #i was expecting santa to give them naughty presents at least #the teddy bear was cute but i thought for sure it was a red herring #they need to take a look at what makes the most tips and change their strategy #i can think of a million dirty things that santa could have given him that i know he has from fan gifts #käärijä #khäärijä of #khäärijä calendar #day 12

[femmefatalevibe]

Hello! I’ve just changed industries and I’ve changed to a big one (music industry but the business side) and I need to do networking, mostly via LinkedIn since I’m my city this industry is mostly death. Do you have any tip or advice? Because every time I open LinkedIn I start to doubt myself since I’m 30 changing from an industry to another one with not experienced. I’ve studied a master degree but for personal reasons (taking care of my parents) couldn’t change industries before and it gives me more anxiety, so the motivation to network is nonexistent. Thank you 🖤

Hi love! So exciting you've made an industry change you've been hoping to make for years. Congrats!

Here are some tips:

Optimize your LinkedIn profile around your new industry and job/career aspirations (this will optimize your profile for searches and incline more people in your industry to trust your profile/read & hopefully answer your message)

Do your research on your prospects and share your similarities/similar interests. Make it clear why you reached out to them specifically (some position they held, working at a certain company, an article they shared, etc.) and how it aligns with your career experience/goals to communicate why you two should connect

Once you get a warm lead, invite them to get a coffee (digital gift card) for a virtual informational interview about said experience, industry focus, career path, similar interests/field specialties, etc.

Ask thoughtful questions. Genuinely listen to their opinions, perspectives, interests, and expertise

Reconnect with old contacts/existing network; Catch up and see if they have any (new) industry-relevant connections

Connect your old/new connections with each other. Being known as the social connector among your existing network/within your new industry can only open doors to many immediate and future opportunities

Build authority and a strong personal brand by sharing industry-relevant articles and commenting on those shared by others; Create/answer polls and questions prompted by those new to your network and leaders in your industry

Hope this helps xx

#networking #networking opportunities #career advice #career path #music industry #linkedin #social networks #networking strategies #professionalism #personal branding #people skills #social skills #dream life #career tips #femmefatalevibe #business tips #women business #q/a

[miles-edgewords]

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how much I wish we were taught in school how to interact with people online (and just how to use the internet in general) and then I remembered that I can type.

So, without further ado, I present…

How to Argue with People on the Internet

A (sort of) comprehensive guide on discussing everything from world peace to your blorbos

Forewordwarning: This is a long (but hopefully useful and entertaining) post. You have been warned.

SECTION I: The Decision

I have read SO many posts that essentially say “want to stop getting annoyed and fighting strangers? Just don’t! Simply do not!” and if that works for you? Fantastic! That is commendable and I salute you for it and I’m only a little bit jealous. (Okay, maybe more than a little bit jealous.) But if you’re like me—an absolute yapper, that is— you will likely find yourself in quite a few situations where you simply must yap. The urge is too strong. The stupidity of this collection of pixels on your screen that may or may not be the vessel for another human somewhere in the world is too much and you just have to tell them so. I understand. I will not tell you to hold back. I will, however, advise that before engaging with any individuals, you follow a few simple steps that I like to call “RAT”— otherwise known as Rest, Analyze, and Type.

Let’s say, for a moment, that you’ve just run into a comment hating on your favorite character in your favorite TV show. Yes, that one. You want to reply—but wait—you’ve just remembered to use RAT first! You intelligent human, you.

First, you REST. You take a moment to bookmark the comment (whether mentally or literally is up to you) and you step away from your phone (or you do what I do and look at that one youtube video of a parrot asking Alexa to fart 939472 times, you know the one) and you wait. Is this comment something you’re willing to take time out of your day to handle? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with deciding that it is, in fact, worth it— but it’s important to consider it first. You won’t ever have time to talk about the things you’re actually passionate about if you reply to every comment that bothers you. (Trust me— I’ve been there.)

Now, if you’ve decided to continue, reopen the comment and ANALYZE. This can mean many different things depending on the situation: is this comment generated by an AI? Is this person expressing a genuine opinion, or are they a troll? Have other people argued with them? If so, how did they respond? These are all important questions to ask, but it’s okay if you don’t know the answers to all of them. Just get the best information you can; you can always come back to this step later.

Finally, it’s time to TYPE. Let those words fly, friend! You tell ‘em!

SECTION II: Debating vs Fighting

So, you’ve RATted it up, and now you’ve decided it’s time to yap. But how to go about this? Should you be aggressive? Appeal to the enemy? What to do? Don’t worry, I’ve got another acronym for you! It’s time to take MOUSE into account: Motive, Openness, Understanding, Success, and Education.

First, think about your own MOTIVE. What do you want to accomplish? Do you want to change the other person’s mind? Are you unconcerned with changing their mind, instead going in with the intention to change the minds of others who might be reading through the conversation? Do you not care about changing anyone’s mind and simply want to discuss the topic at hand? All of these are valid, but they’re all very different. Deciding what your goal is prior to replying is one of the most important things about debating, whether it’s over the internet or face-to-face.

Once you’ve got that cleared up, it’s time to consider your OPENNESS and UNDERSTANDING. How open are you to potentially having your mind changed? Can you see a piece of truth in the other side of the argument? Do you understand where the commenter is coming from, or are they just being ridiculous? It’s okay to have opinions you aren’t open to changing on a whim— everyone has core beliefs that shape who they are as people. But sometimes looking at the other side through a lens of open-mindedness and a desire to understand is the most effective thing you can do. Give it a try— the worst thing that happens is the other person being just as bad as you thought they were.

Next, it’s time to address SUCCESS. What would succeeding look like here? This is similar to MOTIVE, but now we’re looking at the potential completion of the debate. What is the outcome you’re striving for?

Finally, EDUCATION. Is this a fact-based topic you want to educate people about, or is it purely opinion-driven? Either is fine, but if it’s fact-based, you should brush up on the facts of the situation— you don’t want to be caught in a lie and potentially humiliated, I hope. Also, misinformation on the internet is a huge issue. But mostly the humiliation thing.

Section III: Tips and Tricks

My last acronym contains an assortment of tips and tricks for internet usage and communication: Consent, Anonymity, Privacy, Yapping, Blocking, Apps, Reason, and Ability (CAPYBARA).

One of the most important things in life and on the internet is CONSENT. Now, this doesn’t mean you have to ask permission to voice your opinions— just that you should take into consideration the actual, living person on the other side of the screen. (Unless you’re arguing with an AI, in which case I suppose it probably doesn’t care much one way or the other). Ask before you DM people unless they state that their DMs are open. If someone blocks you, DO NOT make another account to harass them (yes, even if they’re really terrible). Consent online may look different than it does in real life, but it still follows the same ground rule: when in doubt, ASK.

ANONYMITY is another important thing to consider when you’re surfing among the virtual tides. Remember that even if someone displays their real name and picture on a website, you still don’t know them. They could be someone entirely different from the persona they’ve put up on the internet, and that’s okay. We all act differently depending on the situations and settings we’re in, and that’s dialed waaaay up when social media allows us to literally customize ourselves into what we want other people to see. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t treat people as if they’re real, but it does mean that you should take everything with a grain of salt— especially if someone is being an absolute jerk.

Okay, PRIVACY is the one section in here that anyone under a certain age probably did learn in class— along with its annoying younger cousin, PIRACY (you wouldn’t steal a CAR, would you?) You probably know by now that you shouldn’t share personal data online, so I won’t go into this one too much in this post. There are a billion textbooks about it, and as important as it is, it’s not something I’m really qualified to cover. Just don’t do anything stupid and you should be fine.

YAPPING— everyone’s favorite thing to do on the internet! For the most part, this is a reminder that you should have fun. If you feel like you can’t yap about your interests in the space you’re in, maybe you should relocate— whether that’s to a different app, a different blog, or even just to a different comment section is up to you. You should feel free to voice your opinions and talk about the things you love (within reason—don’t get yourself on an FBI watchlist—but you get the idea).

BLOCKING is one of the most underrated features on many social media apps. There is absolutely nothing wrong with blocking someone and moving on. It doesn’t make you a coward; it makes you someone who values your own time and safety. You are never obligated to argue with someone just because they said so. And—this is one of my favorite internet secrets—you can block people you agree with. If someone’s posts are well-meaning and useful, but they upset you or make you uncomfortable? You can still block them, or mute/restrict them if the app you’re using allows it. You are not a bad person for not wanting to see things that upset you in your day-to-day life. You can support good causes without reading about tragedies every morning. Digging yourself into a depressive hole isn’t going to help anything. Please, please use the block button. It’s there for a reason.

APPS are another variable you should consider when catering your online experience. For instance, you can make a nuanced post on Tumblr and more realistically expect reasonable replies because you aren’t confined to a tiny amount of characters. Trying to express the same point on Twitter, however, likely risks people getting extremely angry at you due to the nature of the app not allowing nuanced conversations. That’s not to say Tumblr is necessarily superior— just that they’re different areas with different setups. The reason Twitter is so no-nuance a lot of the time isn’t just due to the people— the app is deliberately set up so that users can’t make multiple points in one post. This also attracts people who don’t want to have nuanced conversations, which feeds the cycle. This is an (extremely oversimplified) explanation of why most social media apps feel so separate from each other, even if you follow all the same people. You should know your audience—but you should also know your stage.

It’s important to have a certain amount of REASON and common sense when you’re talking to someone about the skrunkly little guys in your favorite movie. It’s not that you can’t be passionate—I once essentially made an entire powerpoint presentation about why I think my opinion about a fictional cat person is the correct one—but you need to remember that not everything is the same level of seriousness. Expressing an opinion about whether Team Rocket are actually villains is not the same thing as expressing an opinion about the upcoming US election. (Though I think Team Rocket could potentially do an okay job, to be honest. Meowth 2024?) You can 100% have intense, long discussions about fictional characters, but it’s never worth genuinely harming your own mental health or attacking someone else because of an opinion that ultimately doesn’t hurt anyone. It’s okay to agree to disagree.

Lastly, remember that a lot of this is not intuitive. Your ABILITY to make smart decisions online is a skill that takes time to develop (as is evidenced by 99% of past me’s Twitter posts) and it’s important to give yourself grace. As much as the internet hates to admit it, we all make mistakes. Just own up to those mistakes and move on. It’s okay to delete a post you made because you don’t agree with it anymore. It’s okay to come back to an argument and apologize for going too far. It’s okay to not be perfect. Accept the consequences of your own actions and move forward.

#i hope this is helpful #advice #internet #media literacy #yapping #professional yapper #controversy #internet drama #arguing #tips and tricks #tips and advice #tips and strategies #how tos #social media #debate #online safety #internet safety #education #safety #guidance #fyi #text post #yapyapyap #communities #fandom #online privacy #data privacy #pro tip #*demon noises* P R O T I P 👹👻💀😈 #milesrambles

[kulapti]

Cover construction for The silent isle imbowers, July-Aug 2023.

Finished binding here.

Materials shown: metallic gold and matte black heat transfer vinyl with cricut-cut designs, cricut-cut paper stencil, acrylic paint, bookcloth made of cotton + drawing paper backing + Lineco PVA glue. Calligraphy by quillingwords, flower art and cover construction by me.

————-General tips on how to make smth like this:

Steps in order were (1) have bookcloth, (2) cut and paint stencil, (3) cut and weed both HTV layers, (4) apply black HTV, (5) apply gold HTV, (6) add paint detail with paintbrush over the vinyl, (7) apply bookcloth to cover board.

This is not a beginner-friendly design LOL. Be like me and try most of the steps by themselves on other projects first.

I drew this design knowing how the sections would be layered, and which materials (and therefore colors) would go with each layer. Achieving a similar result with a premade design will likely require editing in a digital art program.

Test how your materials will layer before committing to a complex design. In this case I discovered that the type of bookcloth I made actually helps conceal the adhesive spread under the black HTV.

Layering HTV over small sections of acrylic paint works! Cannot confirm the result if you were to use large painted sections.

PSA This black layer with many very small pointy bits is at the extreme limit of what I think is possible to weed from machine-cut HTV. A different material might work better, and I got a lot faster at weeding the second copy than the first one, but some of this is just a technical limit. The gold section worked great but I would not recommend this for the black.

Layering HTV is much easier to do uniformly with a heat press! Check if your local library or maybe an art class studio has one you can use before doing smth like this with your iron.

Paper stencils are easy to make with the cricut but don’t try to use them for anything with small details. The above example is pushing it despite being very simple shapes. Stick-on stencils are better.

Tiny HTV design tip: designs with jagged sections and very thin lines are hardest to weed successfully. Smooth curves are much easier.

Scale all pieces of a stacked design on the same drawing program and within the same canvas in cricut so they layer precisely.

Cut tiny HTV designs with the washi paper setting on a cricut. I did not find this out myself but I can confirm the results! Using the HTV setting will cause the blade to catch on and pull up small sections of the design while cutting, ruining parts of the design.

—————-Tiny HTV design weeding tips:

For the love of cheese do not try anything this complicated the first time you use a cricut. or the second. you will cry

Seriously consider trying both HTV and cricut stencils before doing anything complicated like this. I wish I had at least attempted the black layer as a stick-on stencil.

This isn't a weeding tip but again you better cut this with a washi setting.

Use a very sharp weeding tool, good lighting, and consider a magnifying glass

Be prepared for this to take several hours, especially if you have never done a tiny piece before.

Important! The cricut does not perfectly cut out designs, leaving very small connected sections around the design at various locations. This is almost unnoticeable on large designs but can ruin tiny designs very easily. Be prepared to hold down the “keep” sections of the design with tweezers or a fingertip while pulling or trimming off some of the “remove” negative space.

Do NOT attempt to pull off all the negative space in a single piece. Either add dividing lines to your design for the machine to cut, or use a sharp tool to scrape them yourself. You are much less likely to accidentally remove part of your design if you weed the design in distinct sections.

#my art #bookbinding #work in progress #fanbinding #art tips #artists on tumblr #here there be fandom #long post #weeding the black layer was so. lol. I started the first one and was like I may have made a terrible mistake #renegade chat lighting candles for me #worth it!! also would hopefully come up with a more efficient stencil strategy instead next time!! #I normally post wip stuff on my side blog but figured this might be worth going on main #also the first wip photo looks neat so #only the vision of this fic being a Really Hecking Badass Book could sustain me thru 12 hours of weeding those black layers #my Learn Bookbinding Skills strategy is basically to choose an extremely ambitious project that excites me enough to keep me motivated #and then to just work on it for months because I am stubborn as all hell and genuinely find this fun instead of frustrating :D #tailfeather binding #id in alt text #described #update I have added ids!

[hotcat37]

Would u guys survive stalker! Tommy.

If yes, why? If no, also why? (being kidnapped is inevitable)

#what's the strategy #to give a survival tip: feed into the delusions #tommy cash #Stalker! Tommy