#directing advice

[thefirsthogokage]

Since my dream would be to be WGA one day, I am saving this here.

(video link)

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Edit: John Rogers post actually lead me to that thread:

Gonna have to look into that book.

#bryan edward hill #working with actors #directing #directing actors #sag afra strike #sag aftra #sag aftra strong #directing advice #judith weston

[soy-sauce-and-mothra]

Hey! Are there blacksmiths in your story? I'm a hobbyist blacksmith and I'm here to help!

Blacksmithing is one of those things that a lot of people get wrong because they don't realize it stuck around past the advent of the assembly line. Here's a list of some common misconceptions I see and what to do instead!

Not all blacksmiths are gigantic terrifying muscly guys with beards and deep voices. I am 5'8, skinny as a twig, have the muscle mass of wet bread, and exist on Tumblr. Anybody who is strong enough to pick up a hammer and understands fire safety can be a blacksmith.

You can make more than just swords with blacksmithing. Though swords are undeniably practical, they're not the only things that can be made. I've made candle holders, wall hooks, kebab skewers, fire pokers, and more. Look up things other people have made, it's really amazing what can be done.

"Red-hot" is actually not that hot by blacksmith terms. when heated up, the metal goes from black, to red, to orange, to yellow, to white. (for temperature reference, I got a second degree burn from picking up a piece of metal on black heat) The ideal color to work with the metal is yellow. White is not ideal at all, because the metal starts sparking and gets all weird and lumpy when it cools. (At no point in this process does the metal get even close to melting. It gets soft enough to work with, but I have never once seen metal become a liquid.)

Blacksmithing takes fucking forever. Not even taking into account starting the forge, selecting and preparing metal, etc. etc. it takes me around an hour to make one (1) fancy skewer. The metals blacksmiths work with heat up and cool down incredibly fast. When the forge is going good, it only takes like 20 seconds to get your metal hot enough to work with, but it takes about the same time for it to cool down, sometimes even less.

As long as you are careful, it is actually stupidly easy to not get hurt while blacksmithing. When I picked up this hobby I was like "okay, cool! I'm gonna make stuff, and I'm gonna end up in the hospital at some point!" Thus far, the latter has yet to occur. I've been doing this for nearly a year. I have earned myself a new scar from the aforementioned second degree burn, and one singe mark on my jeans. I don't even wear gloves half the time. Literally just eye protection, common sense, and fast reflexes and you'll probably be fine. (Accidents still happen of course, but I have found adequate safety weirdly easy to achieve with this hobby)

A forge is not a fire. The forge is the thing blacksmiths put their metal in to heat it up. It starts as a small fire, usually with newspaper or something else that's relatively small and burns easily, which we then put in the forge itself, which is sort of a fireplace-esque thing (there's a lot of different types of forge, look into it and try to figure out what sort of forge would make the most sense for the context you're writing about) and we cover it with coal, which then catches fire and heats up. The forge gets really hot, and sometimes really bright. Sometimes when I stare at the forge for too long it's like staring into the sun. The forge is also not a waterfall of lava, Steven Universe. It doesn't work like that, Steven Universe.

Welding and blacksmithing are not the same thing. They often go hand-in-hand, but you cannot connected two pieces of metal with traditional blacksmithing alone. There is something called forge welding, where you heat your metal, sprinkle borax (or the in-universe equivalent) on it to prevent the metal from oxidizing/being non-weldable, and hammer the pieces together very quickly. Forge welding also sends sparks flying everywhere, and if you're working in a small space with other blacksmiths, you usually want to announce that you're welding before you do, so that everyone in a five-foot radius can get out of that five-foot radius. You also cannot just stuck some random pebbles into the forge and get a decent piece of metal that you can actually make something with, Steven Universe. It doesn't work like that, Steven Universe.

Anvils are really fucking heavy. Nothing else to add here.

Making jewelry is not a blacksmithing thing unless you want jewelry made of steel. And it will be very ugly if you try. Blacksmithing wasn't invented to make small things.

If there's anything here I didn't mention, just ask and I'll do my best to answer.

#yes some of this was directed at steven universe #the only thing su got right was bismuth crying when her anvil broke #cus those things are goddamn expensive and hard to transport #blacksmith #blacksmithing #writing #writing prompts #writing advice #writeblr #writer #writer problems #writerblr #writerscommunity #writers on tumblr #writers and poets #writers

[keferon]

Someone asked me to put Wing in my Snow bots au so there we go>:D I unmurdered him for you haha

#transformers #maccadam #snow bots au #Wing #tf wing #idw wing #drift #tf drift #idw drift #ratchet #idw ratchet #dratchet #Wing being proud sensei #Drift regretting some of his life choices #but only some #okay funny story for those two of you who actually reads my tags #I started thinking of Wings design and planning some sketches about him right #and for some reason my brain started drifting (ba dum tss) in the direction of uhhhhh some kind of wise classic sensei figure? #For a couple of minutes I was like #yeah he should probably be that calm and wise man #You know. A strict and disciplined teacher who never loses his cool and always has some valuable advice for any situation #And then I checked the canon #And quickly remembered how fucking crazy and chaotic Wing is ahaha #He wasn’t even asked to teach Drift he straight up just picked him off the ground like a stray cat #and then brought him home and like..mom can we keep him…and didn’t wait for an answer

[hisbucky]

Maddie: So did you take my advice? Buck: Y-yeah! Thanks, Maddie. Maddie: So? Any updates for the being the best sister in the whole world? Buck: Well, me and Eddie are cool now... Maddie: And...? Buck, shyly: And Tommy kissed me. Maddie, blinking aggressively: ...What.

#911 spoilers #7x04 #911 show #911 on abc #incorrect 911 quotes #incorrect quotes #firefly🔥🚁 #kinkley #cause ya know #kinard and buckley #giving thanks to that random post I saw in a server #aggressive blinking #evan buckley #maddie buckley #buckley siblings #advice gone wrong #or right? #personally #liking the direction #no buddie tag feels weird #cause it's not buddie but it is about it

[3hks]

How to Avoid "Talking to The Reader"

A lot of people will often tell you to avoid talking to the reader, but why? How? And what does it mean? "Talking to the reader" is a technique used by an author when they want to specifically address the reader directly. Depending on your writing level and style, there could be several drawbacks to using this, such as a sense of informality and sudden awkwardness. However, I'm not saying that you shouldn't talk to the reader, because how you write is ultimately up to you!

But if you're genuinely looking for some tips on how to avoid talking to the reader, then I absolutely got you! As both a frequent reader and writer, I have advice based on experience and knowledge! These simple tips can seriously elevate your writing (especially if you're pretty new), or at the very least, make you aware of certain things and offer new ideas!

Replacing the 'you' with...

A VERY common factor in talking to the reader is using the word 'you' to reach out to your reader (dialogue from characters don't count). Although you should avoid this when you're trying not to talk to the reader, there is something behind it. Majority of the time, we include this word in a story when asking a rhetorical question. This creates a certain effect that reaches out to the reader while making them think, which can't be exactly duplicated.

Okay, so how do we fix this? Well, my advice is to simply replace 'you' with the word 'one'! Let's go a bit into depth, shall we? When dealing with a rhetorical question, the first step is to rephrase and reform the inquiry into a statement that answers what you're asking. Remember that this is a rhetorical question, meaning that there IS technically a right answer that you're looking for! Next, remove the 'you' and slap the 'one' on top of it! The replace-you-with-one method also works when you're not including it in a question, but instead a statement! Let's look into some examples, shall we?

Prompt: A lot of people will often tell you to avoid talking to the reader, but why?

Let's examine this example that I took from the top of this post, shall we? While this sentence is indeed in the format of the question, I am not directly asking you to give me an answer and there isn't really just one right answer. So how do we fix this? Replace 'you' with 'one' and boom! Done!

Fixed: A lot of people will often tell one to avoid talking to the reader, but why?

Alright, how about a much more direct question?

Prompt: The king's way of ruling was incredibly biased and unfair, wouldn't you agree?

For this prompt, we can see that 'you' is in "wouldn't you agree?" so it's pretty clear that we are seeking for an answer from the reader. In this type of context, the answer is almost always "yes," so we will have to take the longer route of rewording the sentence.

Fixed: The king's way of ruling was incredibly biased and unfair, one might argue.

As you can see, the phrase "wouldn't you agree" got altered into "one might argue." Why did I choose this? Well for starters, the sentence is now a statement, not a question, and it does indirectly answer our questions of "wouldn't you agree?" because it distinctly demonstrates that they agree with the opinion that the king's rule was unjust. Now, why did I choose "might argue"? Our previous question may have been rhetorical, but not everyone is going to say "yes, the king was unfair," so adding "might" and "argue" helps include the fact that it is indeed, an opinion!

Now that we have gotten the 'you' part out of our system, let's talk about another thing that can really help you improve on your writing (while avoiding talking to the reader)!

Stop Using...

Stop starting the sentences with "he/she is or has" (including past forms) when describing someone. I can safely say with first-hand experience that repetitive use of the sentence starter can feel a bit unnatural and too straightforward. In other words, you can most definitely do better!

When writing one's attributes, instead of starting with "he is" or "she is," try starting out with a possessive form of the pronoun, such as "his" or "her"! After that, it'll work itself out; let's look at an example to clarify!

Prompt: She had long, luscious, brown hair that fell over her shoulders in waves.

Fixed: Her long, luscious, brown hair fell over her shoulder in waves.

Simple, right? There may seem to be hardly any change, but this can seriously improve your writing when used correctly! Of course, continuous use of "his," "her," or "their" will also sound repetitive, but it's a good place to start! As experience follows, you'll get the hang of creating more varied sentence styles! Let's look at an example!

Prompt: He was new to the school. He didn't know how to interact with those his age because he was homeschooled his whole life. He was nervous even when thinking about his classmates and didn't know how he was going to survive.

Does it sound choppy? Too direct? Let's fix that!

Fixed: He was new to the school. Having been homeschooled his whole life, he struggled to interact with those his age, and even thinking about his classmates made him anxious. He had no idea on how he was going to survive.

Look at the second sentence; that's the most major change. As I combined a few different parts of the other sentences and rearranged them, it should seem much smoother now!

Be creative with how to form your sentences--that's all there really is to it! Experience will be your biggest guide and best friend when it comes to this!

Did this help? Keep in mind that my advice won't work with every sentence because a lot of it mainly depends on context! Happy Easter Sunday!

Happy writing~

3hks :)

#writing #writeblr #writerscommunity #writing tips #creative writing #writing advice #writing inspo #how to not talk to the reader #avoiding talking to the reader #avoid being too direct #talking to the reader #tips on avoiding talking to the reader #tips on not talking to the reader #advice on avoiding talking to the reader #advice on not talking to the reader #thank you

[hadesoftheladies]

sure you need to exercise and sleep and eat well. but gyns, you really, really, really need to de-stress as much as possible. if that means deleting your social media, or regulating/restricting it severely, or cutting off idk how many other toxic relationships you need to get on that. you need to find or build a healthy community. that is an integral part of your health.

it is toxic to your body to be bombarded by horrifying news each morning you log onto your phone. it is toxic to your body to be in constant hypervigilance. it is toxic to your body to be hyper-aware of all the awful things that are happening or could happen. your brain should not be in constant hypervigilance.

if you want to do activism, it needs to become less reactive and more strategic. meaning, no replying to ugly comments. read a feminist book instead, donate to feminist organizations instead. you don't have to stay in radfem IG, twitter, tumblr, reddit or whatever to continue being feminist. yes, perhaps these are the only places you can access feminist community where you're at right now, but even then, you've got to get in control of it.

cut off the males in your life that leech your energy, whether mental or otherwise. stop negotiating about it. it doesn't have to be a dramatic bridge-burning. you could just disengage. (this applies to your mother or any other codependent relationship) remain friendly without being a friend. even toxic female friendships. if your negative friendships outweigh your positive ones, you have serious house cleaning to do. because those are affecting your health.

put more energy into making positive connections (they do not have to be deep or dedicated, just positive) with the women around you. the woman who works at the pharmacy, or the plumber, idk. just foster positive attitudes with the people around you.

and de-stress, de-stress, de-stress. practice mindfulness, keep a clean gut, sleep better. this is your life we're talking about.

#radblr #women keep neglecting this aspect of their health which is relationships #you aboslutely must have healthy relationships to live a healthy life #feminism #radfem #this is all advice i'm taking as well #i'm not totally there #but you just need one little step in the right direction every day

[vampirechatroom]

legal advice for all activists: saying things like "by any means necessary" or anything that can be construed as a threat attached to a direct action can and will land you with trumped-up terrorism enhancements if you are charged. be careful what you say publicly, including speeches at protests and on social media, if you are planning to engage in direct action. there are people doing a lot of extra years in prison because of this.

#for example saying “free palestine by any means necessary” before smashing the window of a politician's office is now going to have -- #-- terrorism charges attached #antifa dad protest advice #antifa dad protest tips #free gaza #free palestine #protesting #protests #direct action

[ursiday]

Okay im being so real do you mind if I use your art of cats as a reference? I’m trying to relearn on how to draw cat faces and I’m using your art to help me out. I’m not sure if you would be okay with that???

If you'd like to sure I don't really mind, but if you post anything referencing specific pieces I've done I'd appreciate credit! Though I'd be cautious in general about primarily relying on art when learning to draw something, especially any particular artist. I get that it's easier to reference drawings a lot of the time since they're already broken-down/stylized more than a photo, but you'll also be referencing whatever quirks and inaccuracies the artist has intentionally or unintentionally put in the drawing, and my cat drawings are certainly not perfect and also tend to be anthropomorphized lol

If anyone is interested in good sources for cat reference photos these are some of my faves :-)

https://www.warrenphotographic.co.uk/set12ff/1/cats-kittens

https://catza.net/en/

https://cfa.org/top-cats-2023-regions-1-9/

https://tica.org/breeds/tica-s-top-cats/2023-top-cats

(CFA and TICA have a bunch of pages of top cats from the last decade, as well as galleries for each breed)

#art #anonymous #I hope this doesnt sound soapbox-y this is more general advice than directed at you specifically

[offkilterkeys]

It sucks that Jane and Kanaya got shoved into the mommy friend roles cause they’ve got such potent exasperated older sister and bug eyed younger sister energy respectively

#homestuck #jane crocker #kanaya maryam #like seriously #Kanaya always being the mediator is peak younger sister behavior #Jane always assuming she’s gotta be the one who’s emotionally mature is older sister to the max #I wish people realized that there are more familial archetypes to be filled rather than just “mommy/daddy friend“ #btw their inverses are Jake and Karkat #with Karkat being peak exasperated older brother energy and Jake being the bug eyed annoying younger brother #like I know for a fact it was not Karkat who was coming to Kanaya for romance advice on that meteor #Kanaya’s like “But How Can I Be Sure She Wants To Take Things In A Red Direction?” #and Karkat’s eye is twitching and his shoulder spasms because he’s been watching Rose act like an idiot draping herself on Kanaya at every #moment possible #and is like #“I THINK I KNOW WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT KANAYA.”

[loganslowdown4]

Logan: The quickest way to a man's heart is through the fourth and fifth rib.

Logan: The quickest way to a woman's heart too.

Logan: Anyone, really.

Virgil:

Logan: Oh, you wanted romantic advice.

Virgil: Yes, thanks!

Logan: Ask Roman.

#I know what you’re gonna say #why didn’t he just go to Roman first #well first of all : comedy #second: I don’t think Virgil would actually be comfortable asking romance directly for love advice #I Headcanon he might be a little intimidated by the idea and would rather ask someone who would be more direct about it #also this is open to any Virgil ship so you could say it prinxiety and he can’t ask Roman for that reason #also could be analogical and he’s indirectly asking Logan what he likes #up to you 😉 #thomas sanders #sanders sides #roman sanders #logan sanders #ts roman #Virgil sanders #ts virgil #ts logan #incorrect sanders sides #all Virgil ships #analogical #prinxiety #Moxiety #anxceit #dukexiety

[sugaredoleander]

i say this with love. house fanfic writers, if you ever want me to beta something for medical accuracy, i'll fucking do it no questions asked

#hate crimes md #house md #hilson #listen. every medstudent is some version of an idiot and i am only a second year so for the love of god do not ask me #for Actual medical advice that i am not qualifed to give. i'm just qualified enough to check Fanfic. and i'll do it too just ask #this isn't directed at everyone. some of you have managed to put together well-researched compelling cases and i am kissing you #on the mouth for it mwah. even as i don't actually give a toss about most internal medicine #(look. i am just in a very monogamous relationship with trauma surgery) #anyway don't rely on the show either - sure it's one of the more accurate medical dramas but these morons still shock asystole #you can ask me how medschool works too!! the show is house md not house getting his md yet i've lost count of the ridiculous ways #people have gotten medschool wrong just. mentioned in passing. so concise and yet so wrong #serious offer. #these inaccuracies bug me more than they should

[vacantgodling]

✨preferences should not be standards for writing advice✨

#whenever i see writing advice i just get annoyed #honestly one of my biggest gripes about writing communities in general is this #constant need to regurgitate certain pieces of writing advice like they’re ambrosia of the gods #my biggest writing advice is to just stop fucking listening to all writing advice that has to do with #prose and style #just stop doing it #read books and find things you like and craft your own style of things #i know this is not simple for everyone but i’m tired of constantly seeing #i think flowery prose bogs things down too much #and i think that direct prose isn’t good enough at putting people in the world #like mate—everyone has preferences and preferences do not make good advice #so like #i wish people would stop acting like their opinion is the next best piece of writing advice #it doesn’t help anyone it just causes fucking insecurities #i am also having sensory overload so perhaps ren doth bitch too much #but you can pry flowery prose and run on sentences and incomprehensible blocks of text from my cold dead hands #bc it makes me happy to write like this and fuck off #ren hot cakes #i’ll delete this later im just cold and annoyed #and unfortunately you can thank my mother bc im extremely passive aggressive

[stil-lindigo]

I work for a Palestinian man at his small business. It's just me, him, and two others doing env. testing. He is old and has family in the region. I've shown my support already, donated money for medical supplies etc. Do I go on strike, or would causing him problems at this time be counterproductive? I feel like I'm in one of the few situations where I'm behooved not to go on strike for this specific instance.

hi - yes, in this situation, i absolutely agree with you here. I can't imagine what your employer must be feeling right now, and I think if there's anything you can do to minimise his burden, that would be wonderful.

If at all possible this week and if you're in a situation where it's doable, I think it would also be a good idea to try do something nice for him. And, if you feel comfortable about it and his business takes donations, feel free to share a link in the replies.

#i wish you and your employer the best #and thank you for showing your support in other ways #btw (and this is completely unrelated to the asker) but i feel like ive become an authority (???) in this strike for some reason #and would just like to say im a normal person doing her best like the rest of you #im happy to direct y'all to resources and stuff #but im really like. not specially qualified to be giving out advice #askbox

[royallyprincesslilly]

Please!

Stop✋🏽🛑⛔ referring to a black person's brown eyes as chocolate brown. There are soooooo many other adjectives besides food based. Most times it comes off lazy, boring and sometimes sounding like a fetish.

There are sooo many other things that are brown besides chocolate and other words/shades. Ex: umber, sepia, mahogany (plus like several other types of wood), copper, russet...etc.

**An occasional "chocolate" , "honey" or even "caramel" is fine (barely😬) but everytime or predominantly in all stories isn't.

#lee thoughts #Not directed at anyone in particular except the author of this tradish published book I was contemplating #writing advice #writing tips #Writing in color #i said what i said #Dont agree? 🤷🏽‍♀️

[breelynnxoxoxo]

WHAT TO DO? WHERE TO GO? 💋💋💋

#need some advice #need some help #which direction #no direction #new directions #guidance #blonde babe #blonde ambition

[librarycards]

what can you do if you want to become a therapist but are a communist lol like i feel like i would probably end up losing my license but i did so much school for this before i was radicalized :\

so, i'm basically recapitulating what my current therapist - an avowed abolitionist and anarchist who does not institutionalize anyone, including pts in 'medical danger', unless they explicitly request it (and even then she'll offer alts first).

you either have or will have to do some kind of rotation/trial period, probably in a congregate carceral setting. you will experience abuse at the hands of your employers. you will witness, facilitate, and/or be powerless to stop the abuse of patients.

when you're done with this, you'll have a few limited choices. you can stick around. you can join somebody else's practice, and possibly be able to accept more insurances / have stability. you can also go solo, which dramatically increases the likelihood that you will not be able to accept insurance, medicaid, etc.

you will have to charge too much for appts. this is inevitable, because everything should be free. but even sliding-scale services offered by private practitioners are unjustly high and out of reach to those who need it most. there is virtually no way to rectify this, while still affording rent, *and* maintaining a commitment to your values (that said, i have a few leads. dm me and i can try to put you in the right direction)

you will be reifying an approach to disability/noncompliance that is irredeemably vile.

you will be offering Madpeople a vital space of growth and intimacy not currently offered elsewhere, and filling a huge need (there are very few abolitionist practitioners and many, many people who want them)

tldr: you will be culpable for grievous harm. you are also, as an abolitionist practitioner, deeply necessary given contemporary social conditions. you will never forgive yourself. patients will be suspicious of you. you will, if you put your values first, save and improve a lot of lives. you will not fix anyone or anything. you will, at your best, understand those you work with as comrades and interlocutors, but you will, inevitably, be aware of the fact that your power places a wall between you & them. you will, hopefully, commit together to carving out a space of exchange-care-possibility within all of the above constraints.

good luck man this sucks but we love you need you etc

#for real though dm me if you want me to put you in touch w ppl who can give you more direct advice/direction #i've never studied social work/psychology/etc. so i can only give you info as a pcsx and as someone who's had these convos with my current #therapist / done the readings as it were #ask #anonymous #antipsychiatry #madness