If Youre Ever About To Comment On A Writers Work And Think, Oh, They Probably Know How Good They Are,

if you’re ever about to comment on a writer’s work and think, oh, they probably know how good they are, you’re definitely wrong. every time a writer posts or publishes anything, no matter how many years they’ve been doing it and no matter how many readers they have, they are struck with the idea that perhaps they aren’t very good at all.

if you think you’re annoying for commenting, or that we won’t see your comments anyway, you’re wrong. we see your comments. we actively look for them. we are starved for them no matter how many we get. we remember them and they fuel us. leave comments, even if it’s just saying “oh i like this”. i see an “oh i like this” and my heart grows three times its size and i am seized with an urge to provide you more writing just to hear you say “oh i like this” again.

Ten questions to ask a friend who just read your novel

Here are ten questions to ask that will not put your friend in a tough spot, but will still give you some useful input on your novel:

1. At what point did you feel like “Ah, now the story has really begun!”  2. What were the points where you found yourself skimming?  3. Which setting in the book was clearest to you as you were reading it? Which do you remember the best?  4. Which character would you most like to meet and get to know?  5. What was the most suspenseful moment in the book?  6. If you had to pick one character to get rid of, who would you axe?  7. Was there a situation in the novel that reminded you of something in your own life?  8. Where did you stop reading, the first time you cracked open the manuscript? (Can show you where your first dull part is, and help you fix your pacing.)  9. What was the last book you read, before this? And what did you think of it? (This can put their comments in context in surprising ways, when you find out what their general interests are. It might surprise you.)  10. Finish this sentence: “I kept reading because…”

Your friend is probably still going to tell you, “It was good!” However, if you can ask any specific questions, and read between the lines, you can still get some helpful information out of even the most well-meaning reader.

Source: Examiner

While Apple Sauce seems to have people’s attention

So, India is dying.

Look, I know a good number of you are from the US and things aren't amazing there either, but my country is literally on the brink of collapse. So I'd love it if we could talk about that for a minute.

If you can't do anything else, please just read and reblog.

A second COVID wave has taken out the healthcare system. There are no more hospital beds. There's an oxygen shortage. There's a critical vaccine shortage. The Central Government has thrown its hands up and is passing the baton to the State Governments to do what they can.

There are over 16 million covid cases. A record 330,000 new cases reported yesterday - comparable to the US at its peak. 187,000 dead as of today.

There is no plan.

Mass cremations are taking place. The cremation grounds are running day and night and they are short on wood. People are watching their loved ones die while waiting for a hospital bed, and then they're unable to give them the proper burial rights.

Hospitals are overwhelmed. Patients are being confined, two to a bed. They're the lucky ones.

We are on the verge of people dying in the streets.

This is the second-most populous country in the world. The largest democracy. A country that encapsulates over 15,000 years of recorded human history and has endured everything from famine to invasion to colonisation.

We might be at the end. This might be the thing that does us in.

People are dying.

People are dying.

People are dying and there is no plan.

More good news? Variants are popping up. A double mutation strain has shown up. It is resistant to current vaccines. This will not go away. This is the devastation they warned of when the anti-maskers were out protesting the minor inconvenience of covering their face in public.

My country is on the verge of an emergency state. Our government has failed us. This is as dire a situation as it ever could be.

Look. I don't do much with my life. I write fics, some of you have read them and that's pretty much it. I spend my days with my head in the clouds because that's where I like to be.

But two days ago, my grandmother tested positive, had to be taken to hospital and the ambulance caught fire.

She barely made it to the urgent care she needs.

So, here I am, using whatever meager platform I have to cobble this request together. Because I have to do something.

If you can, donate.

Or spread the word.

Help. Please.

April Prompts Day 10 - kitchen table

A/N: Yes I did skip days. And this is probably the last day I'm doing this. School got the jump on me so I had no time to write. I'll probably try again in June when summer holidays start

Featuring: Bella, Zach and Freddie

“We need a place to eat.” Anabella cast a disgusted look at the rickety metal bench the boys were sitting on.

“What’s wrong with this?” Zach’s words were garbled as his mouth was stuffed with a bagel.

Freddie stood, making the bench sway dangerously. Zach almost dropped his breakfast.

“You’re gross,” Bella remarked snidely. “Remind me why I let you join us?”

Zach shrugged, struggling to work down his overfull mouthful of food. “Protection?” he managed to say.

“Sure, strong man,” Bella said patronizingly. “How about you make yourself useful and help me make a new place to eat.”

“Seriously, what’s wrong with this thing?” He swallowed the last of his food and shifted. The bench shrieked in protest.

Bella rolled her eyes and kicked one of the legs. It flew off completely, making Zach and the seat clang to the ground. He groaned and glared up at her. “See? Now it’s broken. Help me find a new one.”

Zach moaned petulantly, “Because you broke it. And now I’ll be too sore to be useful.” 

Roughly grabbing his hand, Bella yanked Zach up with enough force to nearly pop his shoulder out of his socket. She dragged him bouncing to the door and up the stairs.

The sky was slate gray above as the pair wandered the ghostly streets, searching for a kitchen table. It took serious convincing to get Zach to go into the houses, but Bella wasn’t on the debate team for nothing. They broke the first table trying to get it through the door, and the second one they found was too fragile - glass. The third table was from a storage room - a foldable table.

And that was how, three hours later, Freddie almost crashed into the grimy white table when leaving his room for a snack.

best of luck y'all!!! Stay strong!