OH YEAH I’m Gonna Listen To All Of These When I’ll Read The Whole Series All Over Again YAY 👏🏻

World Building Tips:  Empires and Power Structures

World building is important in any setting. There are places, such as fantasy literature where it can become the difference between a believable world and an unbelievable one. Suspension of disbelief is often a critical part to stories. 

Many fantasy books take place during times of war, or revolution or even a fall of a corrupt empire.  I love reading these sorts of stories, as many people do.  Power structures can be complex.  They can be used to create tension and drama between characters - take for instance the hero versus the corrupt government troupe in fiction such as The Hunger Games, Harry Potter or even more traditional fantasies such as Tigana ( by Guy Gavriel Kay) or The Wheel of Time series (by Robert Jordan).   As a reader it can be compelling to follow these stories.  For writers though, it can seem daunting to go into the details of shaping a believable power structure.  Here are some basic tips for creating one.  

There are four crucial factors to any power structure.  These are as follows:

1. Military - this includes the size of the army, the types of technology used (guns or swords? navy or land army?), the basic structure of the army (is it highly regimented like the Romans? What are the different groups within the army? How are they divided - by technology, skills or social status?). Another important question here is why has the military developed in this way? The Roman military, for example, grew out of competition with other Italian states. The opposition is equally important here - who were/are they within your story? Apply the above questions just as much to them, because empires and other structures are influenced by the world around them. The military can be the reason an empire begins in the first place.  The military should also play a role in sustaining the power structure/empire.  It doesn’t have to be the strongest factor by any means.  It may even become the downfall of the structure in the end.

2. Economy - How is your power structure or empire funded? Does this change over time? Does your empire take part in internal or external trade? Is trade important to the running of the empire? Resources such as crops, fertile land or people are also a part of this and influences the larger actions (such as conquest) your structure takes towards other countries. Trade can be a form of control and influence as well, even outside of the structure’s territory. In terms of story, a lot of decisions that are made involve trade or economic reasons - no one wants to get on the wrong side of someone who controls valuable resources or trade with other entities. The British Empire was based mainly on trade and this insured a global influence even as it declined in actual power.

3. Administration: The system of government and the way it manages itself is important to know. Is it a traditional monarchy or a democracy? How is leadership decided? How is power delegated throughout the larger administration? Hierarchy? One person can’t do or know everything. In terms of empire and conquest this is equally important. Does the empire recruit the local elites from conquered areas to administer to the general public, like the Romans? If your story is set in the outskirts of your empire, this could effect the outcome of the story - local elites might enjoy the power they have gained through an alliance with the larger empire and thus be unwilling to revolt against it. What other ways does your power structure control its territory? Does it use culture, or a set language to spread out into new territory? What kind of empire is your empire? Is it land based (only conquering territories linked by land) or maritime (navy focused with overseas territory)?

4. Culture: How does your power structure interact with its subjects? Even in a small area, different ethnic groups exist, so what unites all of them together? Are they all united, or is there groups of people the power structure leaves out? Have they always been left out deliberately or have these groups formed over time?How does the the government and the people from inside the empire view outsiders and their culture? Does this influence your story or characters? Do negative stereotypes or different language create a barrier between your character and others? In newly conquered areas is the empire’s language, laws and social ideals endorsed to locals or is it forced upon them? Is religion important to how the empire works or interacts? For example, before war do the gods need to show approval for the empire’s commanders? What about clashes of religion with other areas? Where do cultures intersect? Is your empire influenced by an older power or a hard past? What is seen as integral to your structure’s culture - art, literature, music etc? Are allies connected with your structure through culture, a shared distant history?

Most power structures rely on all of these factors - but none are ever equal in importance. Your government will identify one or two of these areas as important and focus on them. This can impact how the structure comes together and eventually falls apart - the greatest strength becomes a weakness, or something is overlooked until it is too late.

This is a long post - so I’m going to leave it here for now. If you guys have any questions, feel free to use the Ask feature to contact me.

Oh shit I’m being followed

a realistic study mood

you get home at 4, you planned to do your homework the moment you got home, you lay in your bed, you open your phone and begin to scroll, your phone alerts you you’re on low battery, you look at the clock, it’s now 7, you panic, you start your homework. you keep getting distracted it’s now 12, you plan to not do the same the next day.

Slytherin: Come on Huff, I wasn't that drunk.

Hufflepuff: You tried to color my face with a highlighter because you said I was important.

Slytherin: That's because you are.

hey i'm creating a race of fairies and since they generally have small builds and metal such as iron cold steel are deadly to them what are some good materials to use for the fairies to craft their weapons, i considered gems but doing some research i realized substance like diamonds and crystal are utterly impractical even for the fairies.

Well, fairies are magic. If a fairy wanted to wield a diamond sword, they could and no audience would question it. Magic is the solution to a lot of problems. The weakness of a weapon forged with magic is, of course, a steel blade but that only matters if they’re encountering humans wielding steel on the regular. Fairies can do whatever they want and dance merrily on the graves of scientists the world over, so don’t let that stop you.

Blades of pure light.

Blades of diamond.

Blades from plants.

Fairies wielding magma blades or swords forged from stardust.

A sword of glass containing the beating heart and heat of the sun.

Futuristic fairies who behave like aliens in Iron Man style power armor formed from plastics/polymers wielding lightsabers and firing bolts of plasma.

They’re fairies. Sky’s the limit here. Except, it’s not because then we catapult ourselves out into space. Go however far your imagination takes you.

Look to myth for your solutions, especially the Celtic Sidhe. Unless you’re dealing with a modern setting (and even if you are) mythology has already developed solutions. It’s a great place to start your search.

However, here are some things I’ll point out:

Cold Iron/Cold Steel are a reference to a specific forging technique rather than a type of metal, though in folklore it can just mean steel swords. Still, this will open up your options some.

Cold Iron for fairies dates back to when iron forging was still mostly new, or less common. There’s certainly lore out there with mythological fairies fighting warriors wielding iron blades, but were unbeatable until new forging techniques were developed.

Ask yourself: is it the forging technique which makes these swords dangerous to your fairies or is it the metal itself? In which case, then you can cut out “cold” as it’s just steel.

Here’s the Wikipedia article about iron in folklore. It may help you some in your search.

If you want to write Urban Fantasy with fairies then I’d go with the forging process rather steel itself. The reason is that they couldn’t go anywhere. At least, not places like the US or Europe or anywhere there’s a high steel content in the buildings, cars, and sewer systems. Even with a shift to polymers too much of the major metropolitan centers in the developed world are built on steel bones. Science fiction fairies re-emerging in the future where all metals are polymers has more potential.

Honestly, any army from a period using steel or iron weapons could curb stomp fairies if they’re allergic to the metal. Using the forging process moves all to some and then down to almost none, making way for the future fairyocalypse of 2018.

-Michi

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MASTERPOST OF ALL THE HOE TIPS/GLO UP TIPS YOU’LL EVER NEED ✨

1. How to be a bad b!tch

2. Skincare/beauty tips from twitter user @ambitionVEVO

3. Hoe products to try out 

4. Random hoe tips pt.1

5. Random hoe tips pt.2

6. How to look expensive on a budget

7. Even more ways to look expensive for cheap courtesy of the queen Amber Scholl 

8. A hoe’s guide to flirting

9. How to make your skin glow 

10. Real life hoe tips

11. Hoe wisdom - MANIPULATION

12. How to hoe when you’re not a hoe

13. SELF LOVE

14. How to have the softest skin + hoe bath & body care routine

15. Tips for treating yourself

16. Self-improvement masterpost

17. Treating body acne

18. Super silky summer legs!

19. 25 common makeup mistakes courtesy of @ImTheBombDotCom on twitter

20. The Bad B!tch Mentality

21. The Bad B!tch Mentality pt.2

22. How to get rid of dark spots : underarms, neck, inner thighs (read description)

23.  Hygiene/beauty masterpost

THAT’S ABOUT IT FOR NOW BBYS, DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW ME FOR MORE AND HMU ON HERE OR @bitchynextdoor IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS♡

these lists of books to read before you die that are full of classics are all well and good but what if you don’t like classics? and what about the ya ones that are just full of popular series? so this is an alternative list of ya books you should read before you die. thanks to everyone who contributed books; i’ve had to miss some off because i’ve got more than 100, so i’ll probably include them on a second list. (also, i’ve not actually read all these books. it’s a group effort)

under the lights by dahlia adler

the wrath and the dawn by renee ahdieh

throne of the crescent moon by saladin ahmed

simon vs the homo sapiens agenda by becky albertalli

the absolutely true diary of a part time indian by sherman alexie

last night i sang to the monster by benjamin alire sáenz

aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe by benjamin alire sáenz

mosquitoland by david arnold

pure trilogy by julianna baggott

the fixer by jennifer lynn barnes

the last leaves falling by sarah benwell

ashes trilogy by ilsa j bick

the darkest part of the forest by holly black

curse workers by holly black

noughts and crosses by malorie blackman

anna duology by kendare blake

the princess and the captain by anne-laure bondoux

the diviners by libba bray

gemma doyle trilogy by libba bray

fire and thorns by rae carson

gallagher girls by ally carter

heist society by ally carter

graceling realm by kristin cashore

a hero at the end of the world by erin claiborne

artemis fowl by eoin colfer

the miseducation of cameron post by emily m danforth

i’ll meet you there by heather demetrios

just listen by sarah dessen

spiderwick chronicles by tony diterlizzi & holly black

penryn and the end of days by susan ee

engelsfors trilogy by sara b elfgren & mats strandberg

fearsome dreamer by laure eve

dragonfly by julia golding

since you asked by maurine goo

half life trilogy by sally green

to all the boys i’ve loved before by jenny han

burn for burn by jenny han

saving june by hannah harrington

the outsiders by s e hinton

shades of london by maureen johnson

shadowshaper by daniel josé older

everybody sees the ants by a s king

in honor by jessi kirby

charm & strange by stephanie kuehn

everything leads to you by nina lacour

micah grey by laura lam

momentum by saci lloyd

huntress by malinda lo

adaptation by malinda lo

we were liars by e lockhart

legend by marie lu

the lost girl by sangu mandanna

the lumatere chronicles by melina marchetta

on the jellicoe road by melina marchetta

wicked lovely by melissa marr

since you’ve been gone by morgan matson

yaqui delgado wants to kick your ass by meg medina

the lunar chronicles by marissa meyer

conquered earth by j barton mitchell

if you find me by emily murdoch

i’ll give you the sun by jandy nelson

chaos walking by patrick ness

a monster calls by patrick ness

the summer of chasing mermaids by sarah ockler

before i fall by lauren oliver

wonder by r j palacio

even in paradise by chelsey philpot

his dark materials by philip pullman

the demon’s lexicon by sarah rees brennan

the lynburn legacy by sarah rees brennan

slice of cherry by dia reeves

falling kingdoms by morgan rhodes

how i live now by meg rosoff

bone gap by laura ruby

the winner’s trilogy by marie rutkoski

written in the stars by aisha saeed

persepolis by marjane satrapi

the archived by v e schwab

between shades of grey by ruth sepetys

the bone season by samantha shannon

far from you by tess sharpe

more happy than not by adam silvera

jasper jones by craig silvey

unwind dystology by neal shusterman

grasshopper jungle by andrew smith

the secrets of lily graves by sarah strohmeyer

all the rage by courtney summers

an ember in the ashes by sabaa tahir

because you’ll never meet me by leah thomas

my heart and other black holes by jasmine warga

ms marvel by g willow wilson

don’t touch by rachel m wilson

brown girl dreaming by jacqueline woodson

howl’s moving castle by dianna wynne jones

dirty london by kelley york

made of stars by kelley york

how to save a life by sara zarr

falling into place by amy zhang

i am the messenger by markus zusak

wolfe brothers by markus zusak

Cute.

7 Ways to organize your laptop because we can always be a little more organized on our devices (including myself). 

Excuse me wtf

Sci-Fantasy and Technomancy

Creating a world where magic and technology co-exist

Mixing science fiction and magic can be tricky; if everyone in the world is capable of teleporting anywhere at anytime, it probably won’t make much sense for people to own cars, for example. Blending these two forces leads to countless exciting possibilities, but it can also end up creating some inconsistencies that your audience will pick up on if you don’t think things through well.

I have several tips and things you should think about if you want to build a world that mixes sci-fi and fantasy. Ultimately how detailed you get with it is up to you; maybe you want to plot out ever single tiny aspect of how your world works, or maybe you just want to have robot dragons and to hell with whoever disagrees! It’s a story of your making; if you and your audience are having fun with it, that’s what I consider most important.

Either way, here’s some things to think about!

- Of course, it helps to start off with the usual integral factors that tend to define societies; things like geography, language, religion, laws, agriculture, philosophy, etc. Before you even start throwing magic/tech into the mix, what does your world look like? What does it sound like? What does it taste like??

- How does magic work in your world? Is it a gift only available to a select few, or can pretty much any Average Joe summon a fireball? Are all mages Clerics (with magic derived from a powerful entity), Wizards (with magic learned from studying), Sorcerers (with magic just as an innate trait), or a mixture of these (and other?) things? 

- How does technology (generally) work in your world? How widely available is it? How well is it understood? What level is it at; are there nanobots in everyone’s bloodstreams, or is a bronze sword considered “high technology”? 

- How well do magic and technology (generally) mix in your world? Are they both just two different tools for solving problems, or opposed forces? Can one be used to study the other? Can someone be an expert on both things? What problems have been solved (and created) from blending the two?

- Are either things taboo? How much social friction do either things cause? Is the use of one meant to be secret or forbidden? Why?

- Are tech-favoring people/societies generally on equal footing with magic-favoring ones? They don’t have to be! The world being skewed in one side’s favor could be a great source of conflict! 

- What can only be done with magic? What can only be done with technology? Consider the limitations of both forces in the world. Does one force typically work better in some or most ways than the other? What things simply can’t be replicated by one side? 

- Consider how advanced each side is. What methods of communication, transportation, education, fuel consumption, medical care, etc are available to magic-favoring societies and which ones are available to tech-favoring societies? One side may not be exclusively better than the other; a tech-favoring society might have much faster land transportation in the form of huge cars, but a magic-favoring one might be able to magically tame huge creatures that can walk on walls and reach places tech can’t easily get to. 

- (When it can,) how does magic solve the same problems as tech and vice versa? A magical stone of far-speech can fill the magic-equivalent role of a phone, for example. A manufactured chemical packet could function like a certain spell. Of course, if one side’s method is so ubiquitous and accessible, it’s more likely that all people’s will favor it. 

- On the other hand, the different perspectives will likely produce entirely different problems and methods of solving them. Beyond one side being unable to replicate certain things from another, they may not want to. Mages may have no interest in creating an internet analogue they instead have access to some great collective unconscious tech-favoring people can’t access. How might one describe these things to the other? This is where the real creative world-building comes in; not every problem should be solved by just having an equally viable magic or tech version of it. Different cultures will value things differently, and exploring that leads to lots of creative worldbuilding and conflict!

- Consider what divisions might exist within societies. There are always subdivisions within groups; not all mages are as powerful, knowledgeable, or experienced as one another. Some subgroups may think themselves superior in some way, and/or might look down upon others within their own circle for all kinds of reasons. No group is a hivemind (unless they literally are); groups are made up individuals! 

- Lastly (but possibly most importantly), DON’T GET TOO CAUGHT UP WITH HOW COOL YOUR WORLD IS! Consider exactly what information is relevant to the audience and what interesting ways you can show/explain it. Remember that the focus should generally remain on the characters; there’s nothing wrong with having lots of extra world-building details, but they can bog down the story in minutia if you get too off track! You can always explore and explain deeper lore in side material!