| May 20th, 7:29pm | 23,197 notes | via  source  |
ALL. OF. THESE. THINGS.
YOU. ARE. ALL. AMAZING.
NEVER. LIMIT. YOURSELF.
This is all of the true. I need, like, a daily reminder of how true this is.
(Source: hyenabonz)
| May 17th, 6:40am | 24,761 notes | via  source  |
Do yourself a favour. Click on the picture.
This is honestly the greatest thing ever created. I’m so happy right now.
OH MY MON DIEU.
I can now play Pokemon Blue to my hearts content. Without even hunting down my gameboy game thing.
| May 10th, 8:24pm | 605 notes | via  source  |
Drawing programs don’t always have a “point”, even if they are fun. Recursive Drawing, however, aims to use a simple and addictive user-interface to explore how drawings could be translated into programming.
On the surface, it’s a purely fun tool (which you can, and should, play with!) to draw crazy-awesome things like Fibonacci trees (like in the video). But deep down, it’s an experiment in translating visual objects into programming commands. That’s called a spatial or visual programming environment, and it’s a way to disconnect the syntax of programming from the logic and math.
Environments like these also let non-English speakers and young people get introduced to programming skills without having to master the language itself. But if you don’t want to pay attention to all that, it’s just really FUN!
Previously: A dangerously addictive online fluid dynamics simulator and a particle/gravity simulator that really looks more like fireworks.
| May 7th, 7:32pm | 31,499 notes | via  source  |
Are you still stuck for ideas for National Novel Writing Month? Or are you working on a novel at a more leisurely pace? Here are 102 resources on Character, Point of View, Dialogue, Plot, Conflict, Structure, Outlining, Setting, and World Building, plus some links to generate Ideas and Inspiration.
CHARACTER, POINT OF VIEW, DIALOGUE
The Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test
Priming the idea pump (A character checklist shamlessly lifted from acting)
Handling a Cast of Thousands – Part I: Getting to Know Your Characters
Establishing the Right Point of View: How to Avoid “Stepping Out of Character”
How to Start Writing in the Third Person
Web Resources for Developing Characters
What are the Sixteen Master Archetypes?
Fiction Writer’s Character Chart
Fiction Writer’s Character Chart
Villains are People, Too, But …
Top 10 Tips for Writing Dialogue
Advantages, Disadvantages and Skills (character traits)
How to Write a Character Bible
Character Development Exercises
All Your Characters Sounds the Same — And They’re Not a Hivemind!
Writing the Other: Bridging Cultural Difference for Successful Fiction
Family Echo (family tree website)
Interviewing Characters: Follow the Energy
100 Character Development Questions for Writers
Lineage Chart Layout Generator
PLOT, CONFLICT, STRUCTURE, OUTLINE
How to Write a Novel: The Snowflake Method
Effectively Outlining Your Plot
Conflict and Character within Story Structure
Ideas, Plots & Using the Premise Sheets
Creating Conflict and Sustaining Suspense
Plunge Right In … Into Your Story, That Is!
Fiction Writing Tips: Story Grid
Tips for Creating a Compelling Plot
The Thirty-six (plus one) Dramatic Situations
The Evil Overlord Devises a Plot: Excerpt from Stupid Plotting Tricks
The Hero’s Journey: Summary of the Steps
Outline Your Novel in Thirty Minutes
SETTING, WORLD BUILDING
The Art of Description: Eight Tips to Help You Bring Your Settings to Life
Creating the Perfect Setting – Part I
An Impatient Writer’s Approach to Worldbuilding
Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions
Character and Setting Interactions
Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds
Maps Workshop — Developing the Fictional World Through Mapping
IDEAS, INSPIRATION
Solve Your Problems Simply by Saying Them Out Loud
Writing Inspiration, or Sex on a Bicycle
Creative Acceleration: 11 Tips to Engineer a Productive Flow
The Seven Major Beginner Mistakes
Complete Your First Book with these 9 Simple Writing Habits
Free Association, Active Imagination, Twilight Imaging
Story Starters and Idea Generators
REVISION
One-Pass Manuscript Revision: From First Draft to Last in One Cycle
Revising Your Novel: Read What You’ve Written
Writing 101: So You Want to Write a Novel Part 3: Revising a Novel
TOOLS and SOFTWARE
My Writing Nook (online text editor; free)
Bubbl.us (online mind map application; free)
Freemind (mind map application; free; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable)
XMind (mind map application; free; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable)
Liquid Story Binder (novel organization and writing software; free trial, $45.95; Windows, portable)
Scrivener (novel organization and writing software; free trial, $39.95; Mac)
SuperNotecard (novel organization and writing software; free trial, $29; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable)
yWriter (novel organization and writing software; free; Windows, Linux, portable)
JDarkRoom (minimalist text editor; free; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable)
AutoRealm (map creation software; free; Windows, Linux with Wine)
| April 16th, 9:54am | 10,621 notes | via  source  |
| April 15th, 7:37pm | 18,186 notes | via  source  |
| April 15th, 2:31pm | 344 notes | via  source  |
| March 28th, 9:22pm | 9,735 notes | via  source  |
{previous comments snipped}
TW: Description of depression and suicide
So, one day you are walking along, minding your own business, when suddenly you trip and fall into this enormously deep pit sitting right in the middle of the path. No clue how it got there or how you failed to notice it until you had fallen in. You struggle and try to get out of the pit but the wall are too steep and crumbly and the ground under you is wet and muddy and you make no progress at all to get out.
So there you are. Sitting at the bottom of a dark pit, miserable, with no foreseeable way out. And then you hear a voice from above.
“Hey there stranger, you seem to have fallen into a pit, eh?”
“Help! Help I’m stuck and can’t get out! Please help!”
“Listen, what you need to do now is buck up and see the good things in life. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, everything is just grand. Smile!”
And off they go, leaving you in the pit to contemplate how muddy the mud is and how little sunlight actually reaches you, and when you can faintly hear birds signing it is only a reminder of how far down and stuck you are. Then another voice.
“My good friend, how nice to see you down there!”
“Help! For the love of god I am stuck! Help!”
“Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to go hang at the mall today. We could catch a movie or something.”
“I’m stuck down here! I need help! Get a rope or something, please!”
“Dude, come on. Don’t be so down all the time. If you don’t want to come you could just tell me instead of making excuses. Way to not care about my feelings.”
And off they go. Shit. Now you are in a hole and you hurt your friend’s feelings and you kinda did want to go to the mall. And the mud is really cold. Your feet are starting to sink in and you start spending a lot of energy just to keep from sinking in so far they you can’t move anymore. It is exhausting. But then a voice that you know so well.
“Hey love! How are you today? I bought your favorite food for supper tonight <3”
“Oh thank god! Help please! I fell down here and can’t get out and I am sinking into the mud and I’m so scared that I might sink too far in and never be able to get out!”
“You know, you don’t have to get upset with me.”
“I’m not! I just need help. I love you.”
“Well you certainly have a funny way of showing, moping about down there in that hole. If you really loved me maybe you would climb out so we can go home.”
“I’ve tried! Really I have. The walls are too steep. I can’t do it. I need a ladder or something. Call the fire department!”
“Ugh. You aren’t the only one with problems, you know. Just earlier today I stumble in a small dip in the sidewalk and stepped in a shallow puddle but you don’t see me using it as an excuse to be all self centered. You know what, fine. I’ll just go home and eat by myself. I hope you enjoy your little pity party down there.”
And off they go.
You are desperate and alone even though you can hear and even occasionally see people walking past the opening of the hole. You call out over and over but nobody seems to care or notice. And those that do give you trite little nothings.
“You should have waited till you were older to fall into a hole. Why didn’t you think before you fell in?”
“Kids these days, leaping into holes without any consideration for the rest of us. Grow up already.”
“You know, if I was in a hole, I would have a grand time of it. No rules or concerns to hold me back. I would make mud pies all day long. You are in such a great position.”
“Cheer up! If you smiled more and had some fun you would be out of that hole in no time!”
“Stop crying so much. You’re making the rest of us feel bad.”
At some point somebody hears you and actually listens as you cry for help. They run off and return later with a large crowd of strangers who stand around the rim of your hole shouting down more pointless little nothings and encouraging you. More than a few say things like “think about your family! Being stuck in a hole is so selfish when there are so many people who love you!”
And eventually they all clear out and you are still in the hole and the sun is setting and it genuinely feel likes there is no hope at all.
The end. No, this story doesn’t have a happy ending. It doesn’t have a cheerful humorous joke to sum up the moral. You sit in the hole until you get tired of trying. You stop calling for help. You let yourself sink into the mud up to your knees and waist and chest. Your friends stop coming by. Your partner leaves you because it is too much trouble putting up with you. Your family stops by to admonish you for being down there and embarrassing them so much. And someday you do the only thing that would end your existence in the hole and pile the mud up over your face and suffocate, because as scary and awful as death is, it seems to be a better option than living the rest of your life miserable and cold and in pain stuck at the bottom of a hole unable to enjoy anything or feel anything. And that is the end of my little story.
READ THIS.
This story illustrates the point very well, but doesn’t do anything to inform people of how they CAN help. People fall into depression for a wide variety of reasons but when trying to help somebody with depression, the imperative word is isolation. If you have a loved one with depression you can:
>Ask them to play a game with you
>Ask them to hang out
>Ask them to Skype
>Ask them to watch a movie
>Ask them to get dinner with you
>Ask them how they’re feeling
>Tell them you love them
>NOT TAKE THEIR ACTIONS/WORDS PERSONALLY
>Give them a hug
>Spend time with them
>Talk to them about anything
>Talk to them about nothing in particular
>if you see their mood perking up, encourage it and empower them
>Text them
>Offer up advice ::IF AND ONLY IF YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE SAYING AND THAT IT IS APPROPRIATE::
>Try to relate on a personal level ::IF AND ONLY IF YOU HAD A LEGITIMATELY SIMILAR PROBLEM AND YOU DON’T IMPLY THAT YOUR STORY IS WORSE THAN THEIRS::
>Ask them if they’d ever consider talking to somebody who know’s exactly what their going through
>Don’t tell them flat out “you need medication”
>Give them your time and attention.
>AND if all else fails and you don’t know how to help/can’t do it
ASK.
FOR.
HELP.
Don’t ever try to go about consoling a person you seriously think may have depression with words that are either insincere or faltering. It only makes them feel more alone, which is the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve. There are those out there who know how to support people with depression, and are more than willing to give you good advice.
this is actually perfect.
I don’t usually reblog long things like this, but I think people could definitely benefit from reading this.
(Source: the-unpopular-opinions)
| March 28th, 3:00pm | 54 notes | via  source  |
| March 27th, 6:21am | 17,627 notes | via  source  |
America. Learn this.
tbh, im british an I didn’t know this.
You guys need to work out a less complicated system.
That explains a lot, actually! It is a bit complicated, but more clear now, thank you!
How is that complicated?
These countries together have too many names.
I like to to think in the future England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland become one country. They could call it “United Britain” or something.
Yeah. United Britain.
I still call it Great Britain, ‘cause it is great. Regardless of what the Tories try and tell us or guilt us into, I fucking love this country.
I call it the UK.
Because it’s a kingdom. And the UK includes Ireland.
^Ireland is a republic so it doesn’t have a monarch which means it’s not under British rule.
I still find it funny how people who live in the UK are called British or Irish even though they belong to the same country, technically.
It is a bit confusing, not gonna lie. But just go with it.
