He/him. Love cyberpunk, steampunk, solarpunk, fantasy and fantastical elements in stories. Aspiring to be a better ally. In support of Palestinian liberation. In support of the Iranian women fighting for freedom.
36 posts
Klats - Tropical Cyborg Goblin - Tumblr Blog
Legendary U Washington bookseller Duane Wilkins is drowning in medical debt
Nearly every sf writer who's ever toured the west coast knows Duane - he's the encyclopedically knowledgeable sf buyer for the U Washington Bookseller, who has organized some of the best sf signings in Seattle history. He's a force of nature.
He's also broke. A two-week hospital stay left him drowning in medical debt - despite being insured! - and now he's being threatened by a collection agency.
Now, Duane is forced into participating in one of the most barbaric of contemporary American rituals, fundraising to cover his medical debt. He's raised $6k of the $10k he needs (I just pitched in $100).
If you can afford to help out someone who's done so much for our community, please kick Duane whatever you can spare.
#palestine #important #activism
anti-doxing resources for activists
via Twitter (please rt if you are active there!)
Why Creative Writing Might Make You Anxious (Even If You Love It)
When I sit down to write, sometimes I get so anxious that my stomach gets queasy. It can happen even when Iâm wondering if Iâll have time to write today.
Anxiety affects even the best writers, so letâs talk about why your favorite hobby might also put you on edge.
Your Stories Involve Topics You Care About
Great stories always have centralized themes. Your theme drives your plot, informs your characterâs choices, and draws readers in.
Theyâre essential, but they can also be deeply meaningful. You might feel the weight of being a voice on the topic, even if youâre talking about it through a goofy or unrealistic story.
Solution: Remember that youâre continuing a conversation, not presenting yourself as the all-knowing leader on any given theme. Give your perspective and thoughts on the theme through your work. Your unique take is why your readers will pick up your work.
Your Work Relates to Your Past or Present
Inspiration comes from anywhere. You might get an idea while walking the dog, but you can also think of stories when reflecting on your past or present.
Sometimes that means opening up parts of our history that wounded us. They might still feel like pressing on a bruise, even if youâre only writing a story for yourself.
Solution: Be gentle with yourself if youâre writing about a deeply personal topic, event, subject, or period in your life. Recognize that your anxiety is likely your brain trying to protect you, not sabotage you. If you canât let it wash over you and continue your writing, consider starting therapy before writing your short story or novel. OpenPath is a great affordable option, along with sliding-scale therapists in your town. You might need to process that sensitive subject before you can write about it.
Your Story Feels Complicated
Longer stories can be overwhelming, even if theyâre stories we desperately want to finish. They might involve more plotlines than youâre used to handling or a bigger cast of characters you need to develop.
We grow as writers by taking on new creative challenges. A few things I want to remind you if you feel like this is the source of your creative writing anxiety:
Thereâs no rush to finish a story. Ever.
Give yourself extra time when youâre trying something new. You wouldnât expect a new runner to finish a marathon in 2 hours.
Take breaks to reset your energy, especially when you feel frustrated or anxious.
Itâs okay to not finish a story.
Read that one again.
It really is okay to not finish a story.
You might come back to it in a year or two or three when your plot management or character development skills are better. Itâs never a mark of failure to leave a draft in a to-be-finished folder.
Solution: Read through the bullet points above. Be gentle with yourself. Practice in shorter story forms, even with the same characters. You always have the judgment-free choice to finish a story or delete it entirely.
You Donât Have a Plot Outline
Free writing is great. Itâs a completely valid way to write short stories and novels. Some people excel at it. Others need an outline.
You might feel anxious about your current writing sessions because you donât know where your story is going or how it will end. Itâs a normal thing to experience and doesnât make you any less of a writerâeven if creating a plot outline changes your writing method temporarily.
Solution: Acknowledge that itâs okay to change your writing process sometimes. Every story needs a different support structure. Write your story idea in a single sentence, then expand on it in a paragraph. You can transform that into a bullet-point list or outline that makes writing the story more manageable.
You Havenât Been Writing For a While
Some writers dream of having the time to write every day. Others like to write, but wouldnât want to spend hours every day with their latest draft.
No matter what you prefer, sometimes returning to the craft of writing can spark anxiety if itâs been a while since your last creative venture. Whether itâs motivated by guilt, embarrassment, or shame, youâre not alone. Itâs a typical form of creative anxiety and itâs something you can absolutely handle.
Solution: Give yourself some slack. Writing routines always change. Sometimes life draws us away from our creative writing for months or years at a time. Youâre still a writer. Whatever your story becomes will be valid.
You Have a Loud Inner Critic
Weâve all been there. Youâre trying to write but your inner critic is holding you back. You might want to jump into editing so you only continue with a perfect draft. Maybe youâre constantly polishing your world-building or character details.
The pressure naturally translates into anxiety. Itâs okay to step away from your work if this anxiety makes you uncomfortable. You can always return when your inner critic is distracted or you feel more naturally confident.
Solution: Ask that inner critic to take a backseat. Theyâll give you a powerful advantage when you move from the writing phase into the editing phases. Linework and structural editing can always happen later. But to reach that point, you need a draft. Preferably, your worst draft possible. Go wild with your writingâthatâs what a first draft is for.
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Itâs okay to love creative writing and also feel anxious about it. I think the only time anxiety didnât affect my writing was when I was a kid and had never received criticism, constructive or otherwise.
Be gentle with yourself as you reflect on your anxiety triggers and potential solutions. Youâre in the for the long run. Sustainable help will be your best source of help.
I'm Decol, the disabled one who can't work. My trans gf is the working one. I have a kid and we very recently took in my gf's little sister for safety reasons, too.
Our food card was supposed to be filled on July 18th but it wasn't. I called but it won't get filled again until August 18th. Which leaves a month of groceries that we don't have money for. We heavily rely on our EBT for food.
This is where I'm hoping your help comes in!
If you're able to spare any grocery money we'd absolutely appreciate it âš
But if not a reblog and boost are just as appreciated!
PayPal link is here
The best of friends
Wow everyone is going through it. Hold my hand
#happytears #bittersweettears #thisisbeautiful
anyway stream montero
fall of rome
Hi if you'd like to help a family of native queers pay rent and avoid being evicted we'd really appreciate it. June rent is coming up and we still haven't been able to catch up for May plssss help.
LGBT & native allies pls reblog if you can't donate
Cashapp: $CEOofAntifa
PayPal:
Venmo: CEOofAntifa
#help #helppeople
Hi if you'd like to help a family of native queers pay rent and avoid being evicted we'd really appreciate it. June rent is coming up and we still haven't been able to catch up for May plssss help.
LGBT & native allies pls reblog if you can't donate
Cashapp: $CEOofAntifa
PayPal:
Venmo: CEOofAntifa
Nationwide Protest & Boycott JUNE 1ST in Solidarity with the Queer Community
First off, who the hell am I, right?
We can fight back.
We can do this
Repost and use the tag #WrathWithPride2023
put the graphics on tik tok, insta, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
(you may have seen these already, I just wanted them to have their own post so it's neater & easier to find/track/reference)
Happy LDOV from Butch Barbie! Have a lovely day celebrating lesbianism đ§Ąđ€đ
iâve noticed a lot of people lashing out in response to the posts celebrating and being positive towards men lately and itâs⊠not great.
in the past few days alone, iâve seen lot of âwow men are so weak they canât take ANY criticism or stand posts not praising themâ and âin the real world men donât see women as humans so i donât care.â
look. i get it. iâm a queer woman who was abused by men. i used to say âall men,â too. but then i got older and met more people and stepped back from my trauma to realize that viewing all men as a single, malevolent group with inherent traits and equal power over women is a broken mentality.
itâs dangerous to say all men have inherent traits and values. that rhetoric reinforces the gender binary, gender norms, and gender essentialism. it prevents all people from being themselves and pursuing life choices while perpetuating the idea that all men are preprogrammed for things like violence. it also allows misogynistic men to absolve themselves with âwell, boys will be boys.â posts saying âmen can be softâ and the like are fighting this.
oppression is complex. it is not simply âmen bad, women good.â race, class, disability, sexuality, etc. all complicate power dynamics. ex: a white woman can exert power over a black man.
certain groups of menâblack men, mentally ill men, etc.âare particularly demonized. they are framed as violent and dangerous, which enables their systematic oppression. they deserve to be assured that this is not the case.
a lot of positivity posts are specifically for trans men and trans masc people. they tell them âyour gender is not evil. you are not doing a bad thing by transitioning. you do not have to be like X to be a man.â
a lot of these posts are also to let people attracted to men know that their attraction is not a dirty mistake. for years, i felt i had to apologize for being a bisexual woman attracted to men, like it was a flaw.
some of these posts are for younger users here. boys who need to be told they have the power to defy patriarchal values and determine what their gender means and who they are, that theyâre not doomed to be misogynistic abusers.
the harbinger of the apocalypse and his cute boyfriend
more pocket boyfriend:
#swords #armor
kate bush wielding a sword (1980) â photographed by adrian boot
#animation #anime #animemovies
METROPOLIS ăĄăăăăȘăč (2001) dir. Rintaro
#art #usersubmitted #notmine #helpsupporttheartist
got it right this time
sure do put a lot of emphasis on couples falling in love through mutual trust and vulnerability for someone who needs to be pried open like an oyster emotionally speaking
#secret coupon
Secret Coupon
Today I got a message asking for a coupon for shop.tumblr.com and I thought, you know what, let's give the people what they want.
After the keep reading button I hide a secret coupon code. Please don't tell anyone about it and definitely don't reblog this.
I'm serious, don't. I know I can trust you all to do what I ask. I'll be very upset if this post gets a ton of reblogs. I'd be so upset if this post got 2000 reblogs that I'd probably in my rage release a few new products, one of them crab socks.
EDIT: Come on folks, I'm starting to see a few reblogs, you need to stop. I'm serious.
EDIT #2: I'm trying reverse psychology, I really want you to reblog this as making sales put food on my crab's table. I just thought doing it this way was more fun.
Use code ISTOLETHEMFROMTHEPRESIDENT for 10% off.