HOW TO WRITE A FINAL DRAFT

Cheetahs are wonderful animals.

I didn’t know cheetahs meow I’ve always thought they roar my whole life has been a lie

Just a bunch of Useful websites - Updated for 2023

Removed/checked all links to make sure everything is working (03/03/23). Hope they help!

Sejda - Free online PDF editor.

Supercook - Have ingredients but no idea what to make? Put them in here and it'll give you recipe ideas.

Still Tasty - Trying the above but unsure about whether that sauce in the fridge is still edible? Check here first.

Archive.ph - Paywall bypass. Like 12ft below but appears to work far better and across more sites in my testing. I'd recommend trying this one first as I had more success with it.

12ft – Hate paywalls? Try this site out.

Where Is This - Want to know where a picture was taken, this site can help.

TOS/DR - Terms of service, didn't read. Gives you a summary of terms of service plus gives each site a privacy rating.

OneLook - Reverse dictionary for when you know the description of the word but can't for the life of you remember the actual word.

My Abandonware - Brilliant site for free, legal games. Has games from 1978 up to present day across pc and console. You'll be surprised by some of the games on there, some absolute gems.

Project Gutenberg – Always ends up on these type of lists and for very good reason. All works that are copyright free in one place.

Ninite – New PC? Install all of your programs in one go with no bloat or unnecessary crap.

PatchMyPC - Alternative to ninite with over 300 app options to keep upto date. Free for home users.

Unchecky – Tired of software trying to install additional unwanted programs? This will stop it completely by unchecking the necessary boxes when you install.

Sci-Hub – Research papers galore! Check here before shelling out money. And if it’s not here, try the next link in our list.

LibGen – Lots of free PDFs relate primarily to the sciences.

Zotero – A free and easy to use program to collect, organize, cite and share research.

Car Complaints – Buying a used car? Check out what other owners of the same model have to say about it first.

CamelCamelCamel – Check the historical prices of items on Amazon and set alerts for when prices drop.

Have I Been Pawned – Still the king when it comes to checking if your online accounts have been released in a data breach. Also able to sign up for email alerts if you’ve ever a victim of a breach.

I Have No TV - A collection of documentaries for you to while away the time. Completely free.

Radio Garden – Think Google Earth but wherever you zoom, you get the radio station of that place.

Just The Recipe – Paste in the url and get just the recipe as a result. No life story or adverts.

Tineye – An Amazing reverse image search tool.

My 90s TV – Simulates 90’s TV using YouTube videos. Also has My80sTV, My70sTV, My60sTV and for the younger ones out there, My00sTV. Lose yourself in nostalgia.

Foto Forensics – Free image analysis tools.

Old Games Download – A repository of games from the 90’s and early 2000’s. Get your fix of nostalgia here.

Online OCR – Convert pictures of text into actual text and output it in the format you need.

Remove Background – An amazingly quick and accurate way to remove backgrounds from your pictures.

Twoseven – Allows you to sync videos from providers such as Netflix, Youtube, Disney+ etc and watch them with your friends. Ad free and also has the ability to do real time video and text chat.

Terms of Service, Didn’t Read – Get a quick summary of Terms of service plus a privacy rating.

Coolors – Struggling to get a good combination of colors? This site will generate color palettes for you.

This To That – Need to glue two things together? This’ll help.

Photopea – A free online alternative to Adobe Photoshop. Does everything in your browser.

BitWarden – Free open source password manager.

Just Beam It - Peer to peer file transfer. Drop the file in on one end, click create link and send to whoever. Leave your pc on that page while they download. Because of how it works there are no file limits. It's genuinely amazing. Best file transfer system I have ever used.

Atlas Obscura – Travelling to a new place? Find out the hidden treasures you should go to with Atlas Obscura.

ID Ransomware – Ever get ransomware on your computer? Use this to see if the virus infecting your pc has been cracked yet or not. Potentially saving you money. You can also sign up for email notifications if your particular problem hasn’t been cracked yet.

Way Back Machine – The Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites and loads more.

Rome2Rio – Directions from anywhere to anywhere by bus, train, plane, car and ferry.

Splitter – Seperate different audio tracks audio. Allowing you to split out music from the words for example.

myNoise – Gives you beautiful noises to match your mood. Increase your productivity, calm down and need help sleeping? All here for you.

DeepL – Best language translation tool on the web.

Forvo – Alternatively, if you need to hear a local speaking a word, this is the site for you.

For even more useful sites, there is an expanded list that can be found here.

CompoundChem always puts out really fun infographics. Here’s one about blood

It’s #Halloween tomorrow! Why is blood red and why does it have a metallic smell? This graphic explains! https://ift.tt/31XdIKJ https://ift.tt/3jK2ak4

Study clarifies mystery of crocodilian hemoglobin

The success of a croc’s ambush lies in the nanoscopic scuba tanks—hemoglobins—that course through its bloodstream, unloading oxygen from lungs to tissues at a slow but steady clip that allows it to go hours without air.

sulc.us/crochemo

Happy holidays, @junk-thrillz! I got to be your @paranaturalsecretsanta this year. I really had fun thinking of potential ways to sneak all the prompts in, although I didn't get all of them. I couldn't think of a good Werewolf Violet idea in my head, so I did the next best thing and threw a werewolf *at* Violet instead. I hope you enjoy it!

This is so rad! And the person that reblogs these also makes sure that every artist is credited so you can check them out! Props to both!

Two-headed Dragon with a Skull, ink on paper by Zhyreb

This artist on Instagram

abandonware should be public domain. force companies to actively support and provide products if they don't wanna lose the rights to them

Hello.

This is mainly an account to use for @pnatsecretsanta. I don’t really use Tumblr all that much unless I’m lurking. It’s easier to find me on Discord or Reddit (pm me if you want that info, I guess.), but I might stick around if I feel like doing so later on.

Hi there! I was wondering if you have any advice/opinions on the importance of originality vs. the finer mechanics of a story (plot, character motivations, etc). I've always been insecure about having unoriginal ideas, but the few times I've had an idea that feels genuinely unique, every other important element of the work feels lacking. The characters are passive and unmotivated, the plot is full of holes, etc. Currently, I have an idea which I'm not confident in the originality of, but the character has clear motivations and the plot, while tropey and not the most original, has a clear direction and no immediately obvious holes. So I'm a bit torn up over whether it is better to bend over backwards to try to make the unique ideas work or to go with the one that is less original, but comes easily to me and ticks all the other important boxes. Ultimately, I'm writing it for me, but if I ever did decide to publish, I worry the premise alone wouldn't catch the attention of potential publishers or readers. Any input you might have would be much appreciated!

Here's what I'm going to recommend: Throw out ideas of originality and marketability for now. They're both holding you back from making the real decision you need to make. Sit down and ask yourself some questions:

Which story concept has more appeal (to you)? Does thinking about working on it make you feel excited, or fill you with dread? Wanting to work on the story is the most important factor here. Trying to force something because you think you must do it won't work.

Which story concept is easier for you to write? You already have the answer to that, but I want you to think about why. What about your more conventional story makes it easier to make characters for and plot? Is it because that's where you feel more comfortable at? Is it because that's the kind of story you most like to read?

Which story concept do you see yourself finishing (and editing)? Carrying the story through to the end is the biggest factor here. If writing the story is a slog from beginning to end, you're probably not going to end up with a finished book that you like.

Now obviously, I am leaning toward one way - the story that comes more easily for you. I'm doing that for a couple of reasons, but mainly a finished story with interesting characters and a cohesive plot is going to be a much easier sell than a unique story with no appealing characters and a plot that's confusing. Most readers are sold on good character arcs and fun plots, not the uniqueness of the premise. If uniqueness is all you have, there's little appeal to the reader.

This does not mean you should toss out those unique and appealing story ideas! You want to write them, and they will not go away, but you're not going to suddenly wake up and become the next China Mieville or Jeff VanderMeer overnight. Getting those unique story ideas to work means giving them time to become something you can write while in the meantime still writing and working on stories that you know you can write.

Put those little plot mushrooms in a dark place and let them grow while you continue to develop the skills you need to bring them to life. Review them from time to time, but if they aren't ready and other stories are, don't force them. One day you will find the key you need to pull them together in a way in a story you're ready and excited to write, but in the meantime, give yourself permission to become.

Uniqueness doesn't sell books; good stories do.