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בבקשה תתרמו אם אתם יכולים (ותעדכנו אם הקישור לפייבוקס עובד כי אני לא מצליחה כרגע...)

זה הקישור

Here’s an invaluable writing resource for you.

Incorrect Quotes Tag Game

This was fun! Thanks for the tag, @mjparkerwriting!

Aneiric: Ugh, crushes are so dumb. Bran: I know. Whenever I’m near the person I like I just start acting stupid. Aneiric: But you’re always acting stupid? Bran: … Bran: Yeah, don’t think about that too hard.

Cenwyn: I learned a valuable lesson from this. Saewor: I’m guessing they are all horrible distortions on the lesson you actually should’ve taken away… Cenwyn: DEATH ISN’T REAL AND I AM BASICALLY GOD!

Conur: Let's just agree to both say we're sorry on the count of three. Conur: One... two... three. Saewor: ... Conur: ... Conur: See, now I'm just disappointed in both of us.

Saewor: Ow! Bran: What’s wrong? Saewor: I have this weird pain right above my eyebrow. Bran: It’s called a stress headache. I got my first one when I was four.

Aneiric: We have a problem. Bran: No, YOU have a problem. I have an idiot who keeps making them.

Tagging @anyablackwood, @koala2all and @boundedsea - no pressure though. :)

I'm late again!

Meg has several pets, technically. She speaks to animals, so she has "animal friends" such as Michael the raccoon. Her mom also has a turtle.

Kairi had a dog, named Aki. Adrasteia.... she's not into taking care of things, so if she had one, it'd likely be an exotic animal for status/vanity reasons.

Blorbo Blursday #6

Would your character ever own a pet? If so, what and why? If not, why not?

TAGLIST (DM to be +/-) @interroblog @muumysworld @afusiek @the-ravens-requiem @sender-paulson @everthewip @bluberimufim @amaiguri @akiwitch @thetruearchmagos @autumnalwalker @gracehosborn @cljordan-imperium @aether-wasteland-s @saintedseraph @deanwax @berristrawberri @owlbearwrites @the-down-upside-finch @stridingwriter @dandelion-jester @johnmurphysgirl @ghostsofchernobyl @alexsidereus @innocenthedgehog @unmellowyellowfellow @oh-no-another-idea @druidx @ibuprofen-exe @shay-creates @aquadestinyswriting

@loopyhoopywrites @n1ghtcrwler @writingonmymind @wardenred @void-botanist @dyrewrites @sm-writes-chaos @iishmael @romances-not-tragedies @inscrutable-shadow @athenswrites @uraniumwriting @pigeonwhumps @stesierra @bittersqxtch @imslowlydisintegrating @harleyacoincidence @keysandopenmind @pga-books @halleyuhm @wordswrittenbynight @worldsfromhoney @imaslothandsowhat @i-am-the-doctor @callahanscorner

@iamwritehere @hannahholowach46 @frenchbullpigs @informedimagining @anyablackwood @lili-loves-whump @laffy-taffy-creations @downtoithaca @rayesworld @susurrus-mxfluffy @kyuponstories @themswritinwords @valentinerose529 @365runesoftheamalgamations @guessillcallitart

Is a Ten, But... Tag Game

Thanks so much @athenswrites for the tag! This should be fun, lol. I really couldn't decide what WIP to use! But since I mostly do Asteria Heights and Crown of Blood, I figure I'd try introducing a WIP I haven't talked about before. So I'll be using the Traveling Bards!

Rules: List your OCs as “tens but” to give us a not at all comprehensive scope of their characters

Luna: Is a ten, but would kill a man for a good bagel, and probably has. Currently has several felony charges and a bounty on her head.

Iris: Is a ten, but has been accused of stabbing a man 3 years ago in the back of a tavern over an illegal tome of arcane magic.

Claire: Is a ten, but has committed several acts of treason and would do it again for the right price. Also has an extensive collection of dried plants and animal parts in her bottomless satchel.

Felix: Is a ten, but has no almost concept of morality and absolutely no respect for anyone besides his sisters. Has calculated 83 separate ways to take over the kingdom without military resistance.

Bonus: Side Characters

Leopold: Is a ten, but doesn't understand the concept of poverty.

Genevieve: Is a ten, but is so unaware of it it's actually suspicious.

This is fun! I'd love to do it again. (Gently) tagging: @nemaliwrites, @amaiguri, @theunboundwriter, @aalinaaaaaa

Other things to consider when writing about a country/culture not your own:

Maybe it's obvious, but there are some things that I think people might overlook when writing a story that takes place in another country or culture that can actually be very important to look into. I might make this into a series, but as I mentioned in the tags of my last post, one of the most common things I seen people overlook in stories about other countries is the education system.

As I'm only really familiar with American and Japanese school systems, I'm only going to be speaking about those. However, I think this is worth looking into for any culture that you're unfamiliar with!

Unlike the American school system, wherein the school year starts in August/September and ends in May/June with some breaks in between, Japan's school system ends and begins in spring. The first term ends in July, with summer vacation going for just over a month (about 40 days), then continuing into the next term of the year. They have winter, spring, and summer breaks, but none for fall/autumn (at least not for public or international schools; I'm unfamiliar with private schools, but I understand that they operate a bit differently).

The school week is also different. Most schools operate on the standard Monday-Friday schedule, but with the addition of classes every other Saturday. This can vary to some extent depending on the school, but for the most part, this is standard for most high schools and middle schools. On top of that, many students from middle to high (and some elementary) schools are in "cram schools" or extracurriculars (which are technically not required but socially kind of... expected??), which take place after usual school hours and/or on weekends.

Speaking of grade levels, those are also different. "Kindergarten" students are 3-5 years old (this is not considered part of elementary school; more like Pre-K). Elementary school spans from 1st to 6th grade, middle school is 7th to 9th, and high school is 10th to 12th. Which is why many anime/manga will refer to "third year" as the highest high school grade level; they are not graduating younger, the grade levels are just shifted.

So if a character is referred to as a "first year" in high school, they're actually about 15-16, not 14-15. And unlike America, skipping grades or testing into classes isn't allowed. Not that it's rare; it's genuinely NOT allowed, no exceptions given. So regardless, there is no explanation for a 14-year-old to be a high school first-year in Japan unless they've straight up faked their birth certificates/were adopted and didn't actually know their correct birthday until recently. And considering how rare adoptions are in Japan and how difficult it is to make edits to the registry in city hall... those are both unlikely. This is why testing into schools/getting into the "good schools" in high school matter so much in Japan; they're not talking about private schools, they're talking about getting into a school with a more rigorous academic system so that they aren't bored out of their minds in a class too slow for them (also because it looks good to colleges and universities, but that's another post).

That being said, up until recently, the age of adulthood in Japan was 20; this changed a few years ago to 18, but it is worth mentioning, as that would affect characters who have graduated/reached adulthood prior to this change. Side note, the drinking age has not changed; it is still 20. This would affect things such as college applications and the decisions around those, since applicants weren't (until recently) considered legal adults. Especially since most schools don't allow their students to have jobs while in school without their permission (if the family is financially struggling, the parents might tell the school, which would give them special permission to work part-time). This affects things such as financial autonomy, social expectations (it's considered embarrassing to have a job in this context as it implies you're extremely poor, and most teens don't tend to be proud of that). There's much more to be said; uniforms, the extent of control the school/staff have on students off school grounds, social expectations, etc. but this isn't meant to be the essay that it's become so I'll just leave it here.

In conclusion, make sure to look it up! You'd be surprised how much you'd find from such a seemingly innocuous, seemingly unimportant topic. This barely scratches the surface on the differences in these two school systems alone, as well as the many socioeconomic strings attached to them. There's likely way more differences with cultures that are especially on the other side of the equator, with different weather patterns etc. causing differences in schedules!